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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of With Moore at Corunna, by G. A. Henty
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
+
+
+Title: With Moore at Corunna
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Posting Date: June 2, 2012 [EBook #8651]
+Release Date: August, 2005
+First Posted: July 29, 2003
+[Last updated: October 6, 2013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ted Garvin, S.R.Ellison, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
+
+BY
+
+G. A. HENTY
+
+Author of "With Cochrane the Dauntless," "A Knight of the White Cross,"
+"In Freedom's Cause," "St. Bartholomew's Eve," "Wulf the Saxon," etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE FINDS THAT THE _SEA-HORSE_ HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED
+BETWEEN-DECKS.]
+
+
+
+
+WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS BY WAL PAGET
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+From the termination of the campaigns of Marlborough--at which time the
+British army won for itself a reputation rivalled by that of no other in
+Europe--to the year when the despatch of a small army under Sir Arthur
+Wellesley marked the beginning of another series of British victories as
+brilliant and as unbroken as those of that great commander, the opinion
+had gained ground in Europe that the British had lost their military
+virtues, and that, although undoubtedly powerful at sea, they could have
+henceforth but little influence in European affairs. It is singular that
+the revival of Britain's activity began under a Government which was one
+of the most incapable that ever controlled the affairs of the country. Had
+their deliberate purpose been to render nugatory the expedition
+which--after innumerable vacillations and changes of purpose--they
+despatched to Portugal, they could hardly have acted otherwise than they
+did.
+
+Their agents in the Peninsula were men singularly unfitted for the
+position. Then the Government divided the commands among their generals
+and admirals, sending to each absolutely contradictory orders, and when at
+last they brought themselves to appoint one to the supreme command, they
+changed that commander six times in the course of a year. While lavishing
+enormous sums of money, arms, clothing, and materials of war upon the
+Spaniards, who wasted or pocketed them, they kept their own army
+unsupplied with money, transport, or clothes. Unsupported by the home
+authorities, the British commanders had yet to struggle with the
+faithlessness, mendacity, and inertness of the Portuguese and Spanish
+authorities, and were hampered with obstacles such as never beset a
+British commander before. Still, in spite of this, British genius and
+valour triumphed over all difficulties, and Wellesley delivered Lisbon and
+compelled the French army to surrender.
+
+Then again, Moore, by his marvellous march, checked the course of victory
+of Napoleon and saved Spain for a time. Cradock organized an army, and
+Wellesley hurled back Soult's invasion of the north, and drove his army, a
+dispirited and worn-out mass of fugitives, across the frontier, and in
+less than a year from the commencement of the campaign carried the war
+into Spain. So far I have endeavoured to sketch the course of these events
+in the present volume. But the whole course of the Peninsular War was far
+too long to be condensed in a single book, except in the form of history
+pure and simple; therefore, I have been obliged to divide it into two
+volumes; and I propose next year to follow up the adventures of my present
+hero, who had the good fortune, with Trant, Wilson, and other British
+officers, to attain the command of a body of native irregulars, acting in
+connection with the movements of the British army.
+
+Yours sincerely,
+
+G. A. HENTY.
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAP.
+
+    I. THE MAYO FUSILIERS
+
+   II. TWO DANGERS
+
+  III. DISEMBARKED
+
+   IV. UNDER CANVAS
+
+    V. ROLICA AND VIMIERA
+
+   VI. A PAUSE
+
+  VII. THE ADVANCE
+
+ VIII. A FALSE ALARM
+
+   IX. THE RETREAT
+
+    X. CORUNNA
+
+   XI. AN ESCAPE
+
+  XII. A DANGEROUS MISSION
+
+ XIII. AN AWKWARD POSITION
+
+  XIV. AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND
+
+   XV. THE FIRST SKIRMISH
+
+  XVI. IN THE PASSES
+
+ XVII. AN ESCAPE
+
+XVIII. MARY O'CONNOR
+
+  XIX. CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
+
+   XX. WITH THE MAYOS
+
+  XXI. PORTUGAL FREED
+
+ XXII. NEWS FROM HOME
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+TERENCE FINDS THAT THE _SEA-HORSE_ HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED BETWEEN-DECKS
+
+TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE _SEA-HORSE_
+
+"I SHOULD NOT HAVE MINDED BEING HIT, FATHER, IF YOU HAD ESCAPED"
+
+"I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL"
+
+"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE?... WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM OUT OF THEIR
+BOOTS IN NO TIME"
+
+"POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM AT TORRES
+VEDRAS"
+
+TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN CRADOCK
+
+"IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION," SAID CORTINGOS
+
+"THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE MET WITH HEAVY
+VOLLEYS"
+
+"MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH HIS PISTOLS"
+
+TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR
+
+"WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR ASKED, SHARPLY
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Sketch Map of NORTHERN PORTUGAL.]
+
+
+
+WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE MAYO FUSILIERS
+
+"What am I to do with you, Terence? It bothers me entirely; there is not a
+soul who will take you, and if anyone would do so, you would wear out his
+patience before a week's end; there is not a dog in the regiment that does
+not put his tail between his legs and run for his bare life if he sees
+you; and as for the colonel, he told me only the other day that he had so
+many complaints against you, that he was fairly worn out with them."
+
+"That was only his way, father; the colonel likes a joke as well as any of
+them."
+
+"Yes, when it is not played on himself; but you haven't even the sense to
+respect persons, and it is well for you that he could not prove that it
+was you who fastened the sparrow to the plume of feathers on his shako the
+other day, and no one noticed it till the little baste began to flutter
+just as he came on to parade, and nigh choked us all with trying to hold
+in our laughter, while the colonel was nearly suffocated with passion. It
+was lucky you were able to prove that you had gone off at daylight
+fishing, and that no one had seen you anywhere near his quarters. By my
+faith, if he could have proved it was you he would have had you turned out
+of the barrack gate, and word given to the sentries that you were not to
+be allowed to pass in again."
+
+"I could have got over the wall, father," the boy said, calmly; "but mind,
+I never said that it was I who fastened the sparrow in his shako."
+
+"Because I never asked you, Terence; but it does not need the asking. What
+I am to do with you I don't know. Your Uncle Tim would not take you if I
+were to go down upon my knees to him. You were always in his bad books,
+and you finished it when you fired off that blunderbuss in his garden as
+he was passing along in the twilight, and yelled out 'Death to the
+Protestants!'"
+
+The boy burst into a fit of laughter. "How could I tell that he was going
+to fall flat upon the ground and shout a million murders, when I fired
+straight into the air?"
+
+"Well, you did for yourself there, Terence. Not that the old man would
+ever have taken to you, for he never forgave my marriage with his niece;
+still, he might have left you some money some day, seeing that there is no
+one nearer to him, and it would have come in mighty useful, for you are
+not likely to get much from me. But we are no nearer the point yet. What
+am I to do with you at all? Here is the regiment ordered on foreign
+service and likely to have sharp work, and not a place where I can stow
+you. It beats me altogether!"
+
+"Why not take me with you, father?"
+
+"I have thought of that, but you are too young entirely."
+
+"I am nearly sixteen, father. I am sure I am as tall as many boys of
+seventeen, and as strong too. Why should I not go? I am certain I could
+stand roughing it as well as Dick Ryan, who is a good bit over sixteen.
+Could I not go as a volunteer? Or I might enlist; the doctor would pass me
+quick enough."
+
+"O'Flaherty would pass you if you were a baby in arms; he is as full of
+mischief as you are, and has not much more discretion; but you could not
+carry a musket, full cartridge-box, and kit for a long day's march."
+
+"I can carry a gun through a long day's shooting, dad; but you might make
+me your soldier servant."
+
+"Bedad, I should fare mighty badly, Terence; still as I don't see anything
+else for you, I must try and take you somehow, even if you have to go as a
+drummer. I will talk it over with the colonel, though I doubt whether he
+has forgotten that sparrow yet."
+
+"He would not bear malice, dad, even if he were sure that it was me--which
+he cannot be."
+
+The speaker was Captain O'Connor of his Majesty's regiment of Mayo
+Fusiliers, now under orders to proceed to Portugal to form part of the
+force that was being despatched under Sir Arthur Wellesley to assist the
+Portuguese in resisting the advance of the French. He was a widower, and
+Terence was his only child. The boy had been brought up in the regiment.
+His mother had died when he was nine years old, and Terence had been
+allowed by his father to run pretty nearly wild. He picked up a certain
+amount of education, for he was as sharp at lessons as at most other
+things. His mother had taught him to read and write, and the officers and
+their wives were always ready to lend him books; and as, during the hours
+when drill and exercise were going on, he had plenty of time to himself,
+he had got through a very large amount of desultory reading, and, having a
+retentive memory, knew quite as much as most lads of his age, although the
+knowledge was of a much more irregular kind.
+
+He was a general favourite among the officers and men of the regiment,
+though his tricks got him into frequent scrapes, and more than one
+prophesied that his eventual fate was likely to be hanging. He was great
+at making acquaintances among the country people, and knew the exact spot
+where the best fishing could be had for miles round; he had also been
+given leave to shoot on many of the estates in the neighbourhood.
+
+His father had, from the first, absolutely forbidden him to associate with
+the drummer boys.
+
+"I don't mind your going into the men's quarters," he said, "you will come
+to no harm there, but among the boys you might get into bad habits; some
+of them are thorough young scamps. With the men you would always be one of
+their officers' sons, while with the boys you would soon become a mere
+playmate."
+
+As he grew older, Terence, being a son of one of the senior officers,
+became a companion of the ensigns, and one or other of them generally
+accompanied him on his fishing excursions, and were not unfrequently
+participators in his escapades, several of which were directed against the
+tranquillity of the inhabitants of Athlone. One night the bells of the
+three churches had been rung simultaneously and violently, and the idea
+that either the town was in flames, or that the French had landed, or that
+the whole country was up in arms, brought all the inhabitants to their
+doors in a state of violent excitement and scanty attire. No clew was ever
+obtained as to the author of this outrage, nor was anyone able to discover
+the origin of the rumour that circulated through the town, that a large
+amount of gunpowder had been stored in some house or other in the
+market-place, and that on a certain night half the town would be blown
+into the air.
+
+So circumstantial were the details that a deputation waited on Colonel
+Corcoran, and a strong search-party was sent down to examine the cellars
+of all the houses in the market-place and for some distance round. These
+and some similar occurrences had much alarmed the good people of Athlone,
+and it was certain that more than one person must have been concerned in
+them.
+
+"I have come, Colonel," Captain O'Connor said, when he called upon his
+commanding officer, "to speak to you about Terence."
+
+The colonel smiled grimly. "It is a comfort to think that we are going to
+get rid of him, O'Connor; he is enough to demoralize a whole brigade, to
+say nothing of a battalion, and the worst of it is he respects no one. I
+am as convinced as can be that it was he who fastened that baste of a bird
+in my shako the other day, and made me the laughing stock of the whole
+regiment on parade. Faith, I could not for the life of me make out what
+was the matter, there was a tugging and a jumping and a fluttering
+overhead, and I thought the shako was going to fly away. It fairly gave me
+a scare, for I thought the shako had gone mad, and that the divil was in
+it. I have often overlooked his tricks for your sake, but when it comes to
+his commanding officer, it is too serious altogether."
+
+"Well, you see, Colonel, the lad proved clearly enough that he was out of
+the way at the time; and besides, you know he has given you many a hearty
+laugh."
+
+"He has that," the colonel admitted.
+
+"And, moreover," Captain O'Connor went on, "even if he did do this, which
+I don't know, for I never asked him" ("Trust you for that," the colonel
+muttered), "you are not his commanding officer, though you are mine, and
+that is the matter that I came to speak to you about. You see there is no
+one in whose charge I can leave him, and the lad wants to go with us; he
+would enlist as a drummer, if he could go no other way, and when he got
+out there I should get the adjutant to tell him off as my soldier
+servant."
+
+"It would not do, O'Connor," the colonel laughed.
+
+"Then I thought, Colonel, that possibly he might go as a volunteer--most
+regiments take out one or two young fellows, who have not interest enough
+to obtain a commission."
+
+"He is too young, O'Connor; besides, the boy is enough to corrupt a whole
+regiment; he has made half the lads as wild as he is himself. Sure you can
+never be after asking me to saddle the regiment with him, now that there
+is a good chance of getting quit of him altogether."
+
+"I think that he would not be so bad when we are out there, Colonel; it is
+just because he has nothing to do that he gets into mischief. With plenty
+of hard work and other things to think of I don't believe that he would be
+any trouble."
+
+"Do you think that you can answer for him, O'Connor?"
+
+"Indeed and I cannot," the captain laughed; "but I will answer for it that
+he will not joke with you, Colonel. The lad is really steady enough, and I
+am sure that if he were in the regiment he would not dream of playing
+tricks with his commanding officer, whatever else he might do."
+
+"That goes a long way towards removing my objection," the colonel said,
+with a twinkle in his eye; "but he is too young for a volunteer--a
+volunteer is the sort of man to be the first to climb a breach, or to risk
+his life in some desperate enterprise, so as to win a commission. But
+there is another way. I had a letter yesterday from the Horse Guards,
+saying that as I am two ensigns short, they had appointed one who will
+join us at Cork, and that they gave me the right of nominating another. I
+own that Terence occurred to me, but sixteen is the youngest limit of age,
+and he must be certified and all that by the doctor. Now Daly is away on
+leave, and is to join us at Cork; but O'Flaherty would do; still, I don't
+know how he would get over the difficulty about the age."
+
+"Trust him for that. I am indeed obliged to you, Colonel."
+
+"Don't say anything about it, O'Connor; if we had been going to stay at
+home I don't think that I could have brought myself to take him into the
+regiment, but as we are going on service he won't have much opportunity
+for mischief, and even if he does let out a little--not at my expense, you
+know--a laugh does the men good when they are wet through and their
+stomachs are empty." He rang a bell. "Orderly, tell the adjutant and
+Doctor O'Flaherty that I wish to see them. Mr. Cleary," he went on, as
+soon as the former entered, "I have been requested by the Horse Guards to
+nominate an ensign, so as to fill up our ranks before starting, and I have
+determined to give the appointment to Terence O'Connor."
+
+"Very well, sir, I am glad to hear it; he is a favourite with us all, but
+I am afraid that he is under age."
+
+"Is there any regular form to be filled up?"
+
+"None that I know of in the case of officers, sir. I fancy they pass some
+sort of medical examination at the Horse Guards, but, of course, in this
+case it would be impossible. Still, I should say that, in writing to state
+that you have nominated him, it would be better to send a medical
+certificate, and certainly it ought to be mentioned that he is of the
+right age."
+
+At this moment the assistant-surgeon entered. "Doctor O'Flaherty," the
+colonel said, "I wish you to write a certificate to the effect that
+Terence O'Connor is physically fit to take part in a campaign as an
+officer."
+
+"I can do that, Colonel, without difficulty; he is as fit as a fiddle, and
+can march half the regiment off their legs."
+
+"Yes, I know that, but there is one difficulty, Doctor, he is under the
+regulation age."
+
+O'Flaherty thought for a moment and then sat down at the table, and taking
+a sheet of paper, be began:
+
+_I certify that Terence O' Connor is going on for seventeen years of
+age, he is five feet eight in height, thirty-four inches round the
+chest, is active, and fully capable of the performance of his duties
+as an officer either at home or abroad._
+
+Then he added another line and signed his name.
+
+"As a member of a learned profession, Colonel," he said, gravely, "I would
+scorn to tell a lie even for the son of Captain O'Connor;" and he passed
+the paper across to him.
+
+The colonel looked grave, and Captain O'Connor disappointed. He was
+reassured, however, when his commanding officer broke into a laugh.
+
+"That will do well, O'Flaherty," he said; "I thought that you would find
+some way of getting us out of the difficulty."
+
+"I have told the strict truth, Colonel," the doctor said, gravely. "I have
+certified that Terence O'Connor is going on for seventeen; I defy any man
+to say that he is not. He will get there one of these days, if a French
+bullet does not stop him on the way, a contingency that it is needless for
+me to mention."
+
+"I suppose that it is not strictly regular to omit the date of his birth,"
+the colonel said; "but just at present I expect they are not very
+particular. I suppose that that will do, Mr. Cleary?"
+
+"I think that you can countersign that, Colonel," the adjutant said, with
+a laugh. "The Horse Guards do not move very rapidly, and by the time that
+letter gets to London we may be on board ship, and they would hardly
+bother to send a letter for further particulars to us in Spain, but will
+no doubt gazette him at once. The fact, too--which of course you will
+mention--that he is the son of the senior captain of your regiment, will
+in itself render them less likely to bother about the matter."
+
+"Well, just write out the letter of nomination, Cleary; I am a mighty bad
+hand at doing things neatly."
+
+The adjutant drew a sheet of foolscap to him and wrote:--
+
+_To the Adjutant-general, Horse Guards,_
+
+_Sir, I have the honour to inform you that, in accordance with the
+privilege granted to me in your communication of--_
+
+and he looked at the colonel.
+
+"The 14th inst.," the latter said, after consulting the letter.
+
+_--I beg to nominate as an ensign in this regiment, Terence O'
+Connor, the son of Captain Lawrence O' Connor, its senior captain. I
+inclose certificate of Assistant-surgeon O' Flaherty,--the surgeon
+being at present absent on leave--certifying to his physical fitness
+for a commission in his Majesty's service. Mr. O' Connor having been
+brought up from childhood in the regiment is already perfectly
+acquainted with the work, and will therefore be able to take up his
+duties without difficulty. This fact has had some influence in my
+choice, as a young officer who had to be taught all his duties would
+have been of no use for service in the field for a considerable time
+after landing in Portugal. Relying on the nomination being approved
+by the commander-in-chief, I shall at once put him on the staff of
+the regiment for foreign service, as there will be no time to wait
+your reply._
+
+_I have the honour to be_
+
+_Your humble, obedient servant,_
+
+Then he left a space, and added:
+
+_Colonel Mayo Fusiliers._
+
+"Now, if you will sign it, Colonel, the matter will be complete, and I
+will send it off with O'Flaherty's certificate today."
+
+"That is a good stroke, Cleary," the colonel said, as he read it aloud.
+"They will see that it is too late to raise any questions, and the 'going
+on for seventeen' will be accepted as sufficient."
+
+He touched a bell.
+
+"Orderly, tell Mr. Terence O'Connor that I wish to see him."
+
+Terence was sitting in a state of suppressed excitement at his father's
+quarters. He had a strong belief that the matter would be managed somehow,
+for he knew that the colonel had no malice in his disposition, and would
+not let the episode of the bird--for which he was now heartily
+sorry--stand in the way. On receiving the message he at once went across
+to the colonel's quarters. The latter rose and held out his hand to him as
+he entered.
+
+"Terence O'Connor," he said, "I am pleased to be able to inform you that
+from the present moment you are to consider yourself an officer in his
+Majesty's Mayo Fusiliers. The Horse Guards have given me the privilege of
+nominating a gentleman to the vacant ensigncy, and I have had great
+pleasure in nominating your father's son. Now, lad," he said, in different
+tone of voice, "I feel sure that you will do credit my nomination, and
+that you will keep your love of fun and mischief within reasonable
+bounds."
+
+"I will try to do so, Colonel," the lad said, in a low voice, "and I am
+grateful indeed for the kindness that you have shown me. I have always
+hoped that some day I might obtain a commission in your regiment, but
+never even hoped that it would be until after I had done something to
+deserve it. Indeed I did not think that it was even possible that I could
+obtain a commission until----"
+
+"Tut, tut, lad, don't say a word about age! Doctor O'Flaherty had
+certified that you are going on for seventeen, which is quite sufficient
+for me, and at any rate you will see that boyish tricks are out of place
+in the case of an officer going on for seventeen. Now, your father had
+best take you down into the town and get you measured for your uniforms at
+once. You must make them hurry on with his undress clothes, O'Connor. I
+should not bother about full-dress till we get back again; it is not
+likely to be wanted, and the lad will soon grow out of them. If there
+should happen to be full-dress parade in Portugal, Cleary will put him on
+as officer of the day, or give him some duties that will keep him from
+parade. We may get the route any day, and the sooner he gets his uniform
+the better."
+
+Two days later Terence took his place on parade as an officer of the
+regiment. He had witnessed such numberless drills that he had picked up
+every word of command, knew his proper place in every formation, and fell
+into the work as readily as if he had been at it for years. He had been
+heartily congratulated by the officers of the regiment.
+
+"I am awfully glad that you are one of us, Terence," Dick Ryan said. "I
+don't know what we should have done without you. I expect we shall have
+tremendous fun in Portugal."
+
+"I expect we shall, Dick; but we shall have to be careful. We shall be on
+active service, you see, and from what they say of him I don't think Sir
+Arthur Wellesley is the sort of man to appreciate jokes."
+
+"No, I should say not. Of course, we shall have to draw in a bit. It would
+not do to set the bells of Lisbon ringing."
+
+"I should think not, Dick. Still, I dare say we shall have plenty of fun,
+and at any rate we are likely, from what they say, to have plenty of
+fighting. I don't expect the Portuguese will be much good, and as there
+are forty or fifty thousand Frenchmen in Portugal, we shall have all our
+work to do, unless they send out a much bigger force than is collecting at
+Cork. It is a pity that the 10,000 men who have been sent out to Sweden on
+what my father says is a fool's errand are not going with us instead. We
+might make a good stand-up fight of it then, whereas I don't see that with
+only 6,000 or 7,000 we can do much good against Junot's 40,000."
+
+"Oh, I dare say we shall get on somehow!" Dick said, carelessly. "Sir
+Arthur knows what he is about, and it is our turn to do something now. The
+navy has had it all its own way so far, and it is quite fair that we
+should do our share. I have a brother in the navy, and the fellows are
+getting too cheeky altogether. They seem to think that no one can fight
+but themselves. Except in Egypt we have never had a chance at all of
+showing we can lick the French just as easily on land as we can at sea."
+
+"I hope we shall, Dick. They have certainly had a great deal more practice
+at it than we have."
+
+"Now I think we ought to do something here that they will remember us for
+before we start, Terence."
+
+"Well, if you do, I am not with you this time, Dick. I am not going to
+begin by getting in the colonel's bad books after he has been kind enough
+to nominate me for a commission. I promised him that I would try and not
+get into any scrapes, and I am not going to break my word. When we once
+get out there I shall be game to join in anything that is not likely to
+make a great row, but I have done with it for the present."
+
+"I should like to have one more good bit of fun," Ryan said; "but I expect
+you are right, Terence, in what you say about yourself, and it is no use
+our thinking to humbug Athlone again if you are not in it with us;
+besides, they are getting too sharp. They did not half turn out last time,
+and, indeed, we had a narrow escape of being caught. Well, I shall be very
+glad when we are off; it is stupid work waiting for the route, with all
+leave stopped, and we not even allowed to go out for a day's fishing."
+
+Three days later the expected order arrived. As the baggage had all been
+packed up, that which was to be left behind being handed over to the care
+of the barrack-master, and a considerable portion of the heavy baggage
+sent on by cart, there was no delay. Officers and men were alike delighted
+that the period of waiting had come to an end, and there was loud cheering
+in the barrack-yard as soon as the news came. At daybreak next morning the
+rest of the baggage started under a guard, and three hours later the Mayo
+Fusiliers marched through the town with their band playing at their head,
+and amid the cheers of the populace.
+
+As yet the martial spirit that was roused by the struggle in the Peninsula
+had scarcely begun to show itself, but there was a strong animosity to
+France throughout England, and a desire to aid the people of Spain and
+Portugal in their efforts for freedom. In Ireland, for the most part,
+there was no such feeling. Since the battle of the Boyne and the siege of
+Limerick, France had been regarded by the greater portion of the
+peasantry, and a section of the population of the towns, as the  natural
+ally of Ireland, and there was a hope that when Napoleon had all Europe
+prostrate under his feet he would come as the deliverer of Ireland from
+the English yoke. Consequently, although the townspeople of Athlone
+cheered the regiment as it marched away, the country people held aloof
+from it as it passed along the road. Scowling looks from the women greeted
+it in the villages, while the men ostentatiously continued their work in
+the fields without turning to cast a glance at them.
+
+Terence was not posted to his father's company, but was in that of Captain
+O'Driscol, although the lad himself would have preferred to be with
+Captain O'Grady, with whom he was a great favourite. The latter was one of
+the captains whose companies were unprovided with an ensign, and he had
+asked the adjutant to let him have the lad instead of the ensign who was
+to join at Cork.
+
+"The matter has been settled the other way, O'Grady; in the colonel's
+opinion he will be much better with O'Driscol, who is more likely to keep
+him in order than you are."
+
+O'Grady was one of the most original characters in the regiment. He was
+rather under middle height, and had a smooth face, a guileless and
+innocent expression, and a habit of opening his light-blue eyes as in
+wonder. His hair was short, and stuck up aggressively; his brogue was the
+strongest in the regiment; his blunders were innumerable, and his look of
+amazement at the laughter they called forth was admirably feigned, save
+that the twinkle of his eye induced a suspicion that he himself enjoyed
+the joke as well as anyone. His good-humour was imperturbable, and he was
+immensely popular both among men and officers.
+
+"O'Driscol!" he repeated, in mild astonishment. "Do you mean to say that
+O'Driscol will keep him in better order than meself? If there is one man
+in this regiment more than another who would get on well with the lad it
+is meself, barring none."
+
+"You would get on well enough with him, O'Grady, I have no doubt, but it
+would be by letting him have his own way, and in encouraging him in
+mischief of all kinds."
+
+O'Grady's eyebrows were elevated, and his eyes expressed hopeless
+bewilderment.
+
+"You are wrong entirely, Cleary; nature intended me for a schoolmaster,
+and it is just an accident that I have taken to soldiering. I flatter
+meself that no one looks after his subalterns more sharply than I do. My
+only fear is that I am too severe with them. I may be mild in my manners,
+but they know me well enough to tremble if I speak sternly to them."
+
+"The trembling would be with amusement," the adjutant grumbled. "Well, the
+colonel has settled the matter, and Terence will be in Orders to-morrow as
+appointed to O'Driscol's company, and the other to yours."
+
+"Thank you for nothing, Cleary," O'Grady said, with dignity. "You would
+have seen that under my tuition the lad would have turned out one of the
+smartest officers in the regiment."
+
+"You have heard of the Spartan way of teaching their sons to avoid
+drunkenness, Captain O'Grady?"
+
+"Divil a word, Cleary; but I reckon that the best way with the haythens
+was to keep them from touching whisky. It is what I always recommend to
+the men of my company when I come across one of them the worse for
+liquor."
+
+The adjutant laughed. "That was not the Spartan way, O'Grady; but the
+advice, if taken, would doubtless have the same effect."
+
+"And who were the Spartans at all?"
+
+"I have not time to tell you now, O'Grady; I have no end of business on my
+hands."
+
+"Thin what do you keep me talking here for? haven't I a lot of work on me
+hands too. I came in to ask a simple question, and instead of giving me a
+civil answer you kape me wasting my time wid your O'Driscols and your
+Spartans and all kinds of rigmarole. That is the worst of being in an
+Irish regiment, nothing can be done widout ever so much blather;" and
+Captain O'Grady stalked out of the orderly-room.
+
+On the march Terence had no difficulty in obtaining leave from his captain
+to drop behind and march with his friend Dick Ryan. The marches were long
+ones, and they halted only at Parsonstown, Templemore, Tipperary, and
+Fermoy, as the colonel had received orders to use all speed. At each place
+a portion of the regiment was accommodated in the barracks, while the rest
+were quartered in the town. Late in the evening of the fifth day's march
+they arrived at Cork, and the next day went on board the two transports
+provided for them, and joined the fleet assembled in the Cove. Some of the
+ships had been lying there for nearly a month waiting orders, and the
+troops on board were heartily weary of their confinement. The news,
+however, that Sir Arthur Wellesley had been at last appointed to command
+them, and that they were to sail for Portugal, had caused great delight,
+for it had been feared that they might, like other bodies of troops, be
+shipped off to some distant spot, only to remain there for months and then
+to be brought home again.
+
+Nothing, indeed, could exceed the vacillation and confusion that reigned
+in the English cabinet at that time. The forces of England were frittered
+away in small and objectless expeditions, the plans of action were changed
+with every report sent either by the interested leaders of insurrectionary
+movements in Spain, or by the signally incompetent men who had been sent
+out to represent England, and who distributed broadcast British money and
+British arms to the most unworthy applicants. By their lavishness and
+subservience to the Spaniards our representatives increased the natural
+arrogance of these people, and caused them to regard England as a power
+which was honoured by being permitted to share in the Spanish efforts
+against the French generals. General Spencer with 5,000 men was kept for
+months sailing up and down the coast of Spain and Portugal, receiving
+contradictory orders from home, and endeavouring in vain to co-operate
+with the Spanish generals, each of whom had his own private purposes, and
+was bent on gratifying personal ambitions and of thwarting the schemes of
+his rivals, rather than on opposing the common enemy.
+
+Not only were the English ministry incapable of devising any plan of
+action, but they were constantly changing the naval and military officers
+of the forces. At one moment one general or admiral seemed to possess
+their confidence, while soon afterwards, without the slightest reason, two
+or three others with greater political influence were placed over his
+head; and when at last Sir Arthur Wellesley, whose services in India
+marked him as our greatest soldier, was sent out with supreme military
+power, they gave him no definite plan of action. General Spencer was
+nominally placed under his orders by one set of instructions, while
+another authorized him to commence operations in the south, without
+reference to Sir Arthur Wellesley. Admiral Purvis, who was junior to
+Admiral Collingwood, was authorized to control the operations of Sir
+Arthur, while Wellesley himself had scarcely sailed when Sir Hew Dalrymple
+was appointed to the chief command of the forces, Sir Harry Burrard was
+appointed second in command, and Sir Arthur Wellesley was reduced to the
+fourth rank in the army that he had been sent out to command, two of the
+men placed above him being almost unknown, they never having commanded any
+military force in the field.
+
+The 9,000 men assembled in the Cove of Cork knew nothing of these things;
+they were going out under the command of the victor of Assaye to measure
+their strength against that of the French, and they had no fear of the
+result.
+
+"I hope," Captain O'Grady said, as the officers of the wing of the
+regiment to which he belonged sat down to dinner for the first time on
+board the transport, "that we shall not have to keep together in going
+out."
+
+"Why so, O'Grady?" another captain asked.
+
+"Because there is no doubt at all that our ship is the fastest in the
+fleet, and that we shall get there in time to have a little brush with the
+French all to ourselves before the others arrive."
+
+"What makes you think that she is the fastest ship here, O'Grady?"
+
+"Anyone can see it with half an eye, O'Driscol. Look at her lines; she is
+a flyer, and if we are not obliged to keep with the others we shall be out
+of sight of the rest of them before we have sailed six hours."
+
+"I don't pretend to know anything about her lines, O'Grady, but she looks
+to me a regular old tub."
+
+"She is old," O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "but give her plenty of wind
+and you will see how she can walk along."
+
+There was a laugh all round the table; O'Grady's absolute confidence in
+anything in which he was interested was known to them all. His horse had
+been notoriously the most worthless animal in the regiment, but although
+continually last in the hunting field, O'Grady's opinion of her speed was
+never shaken. There was always an excuse ready; the horse had been badly
+shod, or it was out of sorts and had not had its feed before starting, or
+the going was heavy and it did not like heavy ground, or the country was
+too hilly or too flat for it. It was the same with his company, with his
+non-commissioned officers, with his soldier servant, a notoriously drunken
+rascal, and with his quarters.
+
+O'Grady looked round in mild expostulation at the laugh.
+
+"You will see," he said, confidently, "there can be no mistake about it."
+
+Two days later a ship-of-war entered the harbour, the usual salutes were
+exchanged, then a signal was run up to one of her mast-heads, and again
+the guns of the forts pealed out a salute, and word ran through the
+transports that Sir Arthur Wellesley was on board. On the following day
+the fleet got under way, the transports being escorted by a line-of-battle
+ship and four frigates, which were to join Lord Collingwood's squadron as
+soon as they had seen their charge safe into the Tagus.
+
+Before evening the _Sea-horse_ was a mile astern of the rearmost ship of
+the convoy, and one of the frigates sailing back fired a gun as a signal
+to her to close up.
+
+"Well, O'Grady, we have left the fleet, you see, though not in the way you
+predicted."
+
+"Whist, man! don't you see that the captain is out of temper because they
+have all got to keep together, instead of letting him go ahead?"
+
+Every rag of sail was now piled on to the ship, and as many of the others
+were showing nothing above their topgallant sails she rejoined the rest
+just as darkness fell.
+
+"There, you see!" O'Grady said, triumphantly, "look what she can do when
+she likes."
+
+"We do see, O'Grady. With twice as much sail up as anything else, she has
+in three hours picked up the mile she had lost."
+
+"Wait until we get some wind."
+
+"I hope we sha'n't get anything of the sort--at least no strong winds; the
+old tub would open every seam if we did, and we might think ourselves
+lucky if we got through it at all."
+
+O'Grady smiled pleasantly, and said it was useless to argue with so
+obstinate a man.
+
+"I am afraid O'Grady is wrong as usual," Dick Ryan said to Terence, who
+was sitting next to him. "When once he has taken an idea into his head
+nothing will persuade him that he is wrong; there is no doubt the
+_Sea-horse_ is as slow as she can be. I suppose her owners have some
+interest with the government, or they would surely never have taken up
+such an old tub as a troop-ship."
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+TWO DANGERS
+
+The next day, in spite of the sail she carried, the _Sea-horse_ lagged
+behind, and one of the frigates sailed back to her, and the captain
+shouted angry orders to the master to keep his place in the convoy.
+
+"If we get any wind," O'Grady said, as the frigate bore up on her course
+again, "it will take all your time to keep up with her, my fine fellow.
+You see," he explained to Terence, "no vessel is perfect in all points;
+some like a good deal of wind, some are best in a calm. Now this ship
+wants wind."
+
+"I think she does, Captain O'Grady," Terence replied, gravely. "At any
+rate her strong point is not sailing in a light wind."
+
+"No," O'Grady admitted, regretfully; "but it is not the ship's fault. I
+have no doubt at all that her bottom is foul, and that she has a lot of
+barnacles and weeds twice as long as your body. That is the reason why she
+is a little sluggish."
+
+"That may be it," Terence agreed; "but I should have thought that they
+would have seen to that before they sent her to Cork."
+
+"It is like enough that her owners are well-wishers of Napoleon, Terence,
+and that it is out of spite that they have done it. There is no doubt that
+she is a wonderful craft."
+
+"I am quite inclined to agree with you, Captain O'Grady, for as I have
+never seen a ship except when the regiment came back from India ten years
+ago, I am no judge of one."
+
+"It is the eye, Terence. I can't say that I have been much at sea myself,
+except on that voyage out and home; but I have an eye for ships, and can
+see their good points at a glance. You can take it from me that she is a
+wonderful vessel."
+
+"She would look all the better if her sails were a bit cleaner, and not so
+patched," Terence said, looking up.
+
+"She might look better to the eye, lad, but no doubt the owners know what
+they are doing, and consider that she goes better with sails that fit her
+than she would with new ones."
+
+Terence burst into a roar of laughter. O'Grady, as usual, looked at him in
+mild surprise.
+
+"What are you laughing at, you young spalpeen?"
+
+"I am thinking, Captain O'Grady," the lad said, recovering himself, "that
+it is a great pity you could not have obtained the situation of Devil's
+Advocate. I have read that years ago someone was appointed to defend Old
+Nick when the others were pitching into him, and to show that he was not
+as black as he was painted, but was a respectable gentleman who had been
+maligned by the world."
+
+"No doubt there is a good deal to be said for him," O'Grady said,
+seriously. "Give a dog a bad name, you know, and you may hang him; and I
+have no doubt the Old One has been held responsible for lots of things he
+never had as much as the tip of his finger in at all, at all."
+
+Seeing that his captain was about to pursue the matter much further,
+Terence, making the excuse that it was time he went down to see if the
+men's breakfast was all right, slipped off, and he and Dick Ryan had a
+hearty laugh over O'Grady's peculiarities.
+
+"I think, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said, two days later, "we are going
+to have our opportunity, for unless I am mistaken there is going to be a
+change of weather. Those clouds banking up ahead look like a gale from the
+southwest."
+
+Before night the wind was blowing furiously, and the _Sea-horse_ taking
+green sea over her bows and wallowing gunwale under in the waves. At
+daylight, when they went on deck, gray masses of cloud were hurrying
+overhead and an angry sea alone met the eye. Not a sail was in sight, and
+the whole convoy had vanished.
+
+"We are out of sight of the fleet, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said,
+grimly.
+
+"I felt sure we should be," O'Grady said, triumphantly. "Sorra one of them
+could keep foot with us."
+
+"They are ahead of us, man," O'Driscol said, angrily; "miles and miles
+ahead."
+
+"Ahead, is it? You must know better, O'Driscol; though it is little enough
+you know of ships. You see we are close-hauled, and there is no doubt that
+that is the vessel's strong point. Why, we have dropped the rest of them
+like hot potatoes, and if this little breeze keeps on, maybe we shall be
+in the Tagus days and days before them."
+
+O'Driscol was too exasperated to argue.
+
+"O'Driscol is a good fellow," O'Grady said, turning to Terence, "but it is
+a misfortune that he is so prejudiced. Now, what is your own opinion?"
+
+"I have no opinion about it, Captain O'Grady. I have a very strong opinion
+that I am not going to enjoy my breakfast, and that this motion does not
+agree with me at all. I have been ill half the night. Dick Ryan is awfully
+bad, and by the sounds I heard I should say a good many of the others are
+the same way. On the main deck it is awful; they have got the hatches
+battened down. I just took a peep in and bolted, for it seemed to me that
+everyone was ill."
+
+"The best plan, lad, is to make up your mind that you are quite well. If
+you once do that you will be all right directly."
+
+Terence could not for the moment reply, having made a sudden rush to the
+side.
+
+"I don't see how I can persuade myself that I am quite well," he said,
+when he returned, "when I feel terribly ill."
+
+"Yes, it wants resolution, Terence, and I am afraid that you are deficient
+in that. It must not be half-and-half. You have got to say to yourself,
+'This is glorious; I never enjoyed myself so well in my life,' and when
+you have said that and feel that it is quite true, the whole thing will be
+over."
+
+"I don't doubt it in the least," Terence said; "but I can't say it without
+telling a prodigious lie, and worse still, I could not believe the lie
+when I had told it."
+
+"Then I am afraid that you must submit to be ill, Terence. I know once
+that I had a drame, and the drame was that I was at sea and horribly
+sea-sick, and I woke up and said to myself, 'This is all nonsense, I am as
+well as ever I was;' and, faith, so I was."
+
+Ill as Terence was, he burst into a fit of laughter.
+
+"That was just a dream, Captain O'Grady; but mine is a reality, you know.
+I don't think that you are looking quite well yourself."
+
+"I am perfectly well as far as the sea goes, Terence; never was better in
+my life; but that pork we had for dinner yesterday was worse than usual,
+and I think perhaps I ought to have taken another glass or two to correct
+it."
+
+"It must have been the pork," Terence said, as seriously as O'Grady
+himself; "and it is unfortunate that you are such an abstemious man, or,
+as you say, its effects might have been corrected."
+
+"It's me opinion, Terence, my boy, that you are a humbug."
+
+"Then, Captain O'Grady, it is clear that evil communications must have
+corrupted my good manners."
+
+"It must have been in your infancy then, Terence, for divil a bit of
+manners good or bad have I ever seen in you; you have not even the good
+manners to take a glass of the cratur when you are asked."
+
+"That is true enough," Terence laughed. "Having been brought up in the
+regiment, I have learned, at least, that the best thing to do with whisky
+is to leave it alone."
+
+"I am afraid you will never be a credit to us, Terence."
+
+"Not in the way of being able to make a heavy night of it and then turn
+out as fresh as paint in the morning," Terence retorted; "but you see,
+Captain O'Grady, even my abstinence has its advantages, for at least there
+will always be one officer in the corps able to go the round of the
+sentries at night."
+
+At this moment the vessel gave such a heavy lurch that they were both
+thrown off their feet and rolled into the lee-scuppers, while, at the same
+moment, a rush of water swept over them. Amidst shouts of laughter from
+the other officers the two scrambled to their feet.
+
+
+[Illustration: TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE _SEA-HORSE_]
+
+
+"Holy Moses!" O'Grady exclaimed, "I am drowned entirely, and I sha'n't get
+the taste of the salt water out of me mouth for a week."
+
+"There is one comfort," Terence said; "it might have been worse."
+
+"How could it have been worse?" O'Grady asked, angrily.
+
+"Why, if we hadn't been in the steadiest ship in the whole fleet we might
+have been washed overboard."
+
+There was another shout of laughter. O'Grady made a dash at Terence, but
+the latter easily avoided him and went down below to change his clothes.
+
+The gale increased in strength, and the whole vessel strained so heavily
+that her seams began to open, and by one o'clock the captain requested
+Major Harrison, who was in command, to put some of the soldiers at the
+pumps. For three days and nights relays of men kept the pumps going. Had
+it not been for the 400 troops on board, the _Sea-horse_ would long
+before have gone to the bottom; but with such powerful aid the water was
+kept under, and on the morning of the fourth day the storm began to abate,
+and by evening more canvas was got on her. The next morning two vessels
+were seen astern at a distance of four or five miles. After examining them
+through his glass, the captain sent down a message to Major Harrison
+asking him to come up. In three or four minutes that officer appeared.
+
+"There are two strange craft over there, Major; from their appearance I
+have not the least doubt that they are French privateers. I thought I
+should like your advice as to what had best be done."
+
+"I don't know. You see, your guns might just as well be thrown overboard
+for any good they would be," the major said. "The things would not be safe
+to fire a salute with blank cartridge."
+
+"No, they can hardly be called serviceable," the master agreed. "I spoke
+to the owner about it, but he said that as we were going to sail with a
+convoy it did not matter, and that we should have some others for the next
+voyage."
+
+"I should like to see your owner dangling from the yardarm," the major
+said, wrathfully. "However, just at present the question is what had best
+be done. Of course they could not take the ship from us, but they would
+have very little difficulty in sinking her."
+
+"The first thing is to put on every stitch of sail."
+
+"That would avail us nothing; they can sail two feet to our one."
+
+"Quite so, Major; I should not hope to get away, but they would think that
+I was trying to do so. My idea is that we should press on as fast as we
+can till they open fire at us; we could hold on for a bit, and then haul
+up into the wind and lower our top-sails, which they will take for a proof
+of surrender."
+
+"You won't strike the flag, Captain; we cannot do anything treacherous."
+
+"No, no, I am not thinking of doing that. You see, the flag is not hoisted
+yet, and we won't hoist it at all till they get close alongside, then we
+can haul it up, and sweep their decks with musketry. Of course your men
+will keep below until the last moment."
+
+"That plan will do very well," the major agreed, "that is, if they venture
+to come boldly alongside."
+
+"One is pretty sure to do so, though the other may lay herself ahead or
+astern of us, with her guns pointed to rake us in case we make any
+resistance; but seeing what we are, and that we carry only four small guns
+each side, they are hardly likely to suspect anything wrong. I am not at
+all afraid of beating them off; my only fear is that after they have
+sheared away they will open upon us from a distance."
+
+"Yes, that would be awkward. However, if they do, we must keep the men
+below, and in the meantime you had better get your carpenter to cut up
+some spars and make a lot of plugs in readiness to stop up any holes they
+make near the water-line. I don't think they are likely to make very
+ragged holes, the wood is so rotten the shot would go through the side as
+if it were brown paper; still, you might get a lot of squares of canvas
+ready, with hammers and nails."
+
+The strange craft were already heading towards the _Sea-horse._ No time
+was lost in setting every stitch of canvas that she could carry; the wind
+was light now, but the vessel was rolling heavily in a long swell. The
+major examined the guns closely and found that they were even worse than
+he had anticipated, the rust holes eaten in the iron having been filled up
+with putty, and the whole painted. He was turning away, with an
+exclamation of disgust, when Terence, who was standing near, said to him:
+
+"I beg your pardon, Major, but don't you think that if we were to wind
+some thin rope very tightly round them three or four inches thick, they
+might stand a charge or two of grape to give them at close quarters; we
+needn't put in a very heavy charge of powder. Even if they did burst, I
+should think that the rope would prevent the splinters from flying about."
+
+"The idea is not a bad one at all, Terence. I will see if the captain has
+got a coil or two of thin rope on board."
+
+Fortunately the ship was fairly well supplied in this respect, and a few
+of the sailors who were accustomed to serving rope, with a dozen soldiers
+to help them, were told off to the work. The rope was wound round as
+tightly as the strength of a dozen men could pull it, the process being
+repeated five or six times, until each gun was surrounded by as many
+layers of rope. A thin rod had been inserted in the touch-hole. The cannon
+was then loaded with half the usual charge of powder, and filled to the
+muzzle with bullets. The rod was then drawn out, and powder poured in
+until it reached the surface.
+
+While this was being done, all the soldiers not engaged in the work went
+below, and the officers sat down under shelter of the bulwarks. The two
+privateers, a large lugger and a brig, had been coming up rapidly, and by
+the time the guns were ready for action they were but a mile away.
+Presently a puff of smoke burst out from the bows of the lugger, and a
+round shot struck the water a short distance ahead of the _Sea-horse_.
+She held on her course without taking any notice of it, and for a few
+minutes the privateer was silent; then, when they were but half a mile
+away the brig opened fire, and two or three shots hulled the vessel.
+
+"That will do, Captain," the major said. "You may as well lay-to now."
+
+The _Sea-horse_ rapidly flew up into the wind, the sheets were thrown
+off, and the upper sails were lowered, one after the other, the job being
+executed slowly, as if by a weak crew. The two privateers, which had been
+sailing within a short distance of each other, now exchanged signals, and
+the lugger ran on, straight towards the _Sea-horse_, while the brig took
+a course which would lay her across the stern of the barque, and enable
+them to rake her with her broadside. Word was passed below, and the
+soldiers poured up on deck, stooping as they reached it, and taking their
+places under the bulwarks. The major had already asked for volunteers
+among the officers, to fire the guns. All had at once offered to do so.
+
+"As it was your proposal, Terence," the major said, "you shall have the
+honour of firing one; Ryan, you take another; Lieutenant Marks and Mr.
+Haines, you take the other two, and then England and Ireland will be
+equally represented."
+
+The deck of the lugger was crowded with men, and the course she was
+steering brought her within a length of the _Sea-horse_. Some of the men
+were preparing to lower her boats, when suddenly a thick line of red coats
+appeared above the bulwarks, two hundred muskets poured in their fire,
+while the contents of the four guns swept her deck. The effect of the fire
+was tremendous. The deck was in a moment covered with dead and dying men;
+half a minute later another volley, fired by the remaining companies,
+completed the work of destruction. The halliards of one of the lugger's
+sails had been cut by the grape, and the sail now came down with a run to
+the deck.
+
+"Down below, all of you," the major shouted, "the fellow behind will rake
+us in a minute."
+
+The soldiers ran down to the hold again. A minute later the brig, sailing
+across the stern, poured in the fire of her guns one by one. Standing much
+lower in the water than her opponent, none of her shot traversed the deck
+of the _Sea-horse_, but they carried destruction among the cabins and
+fittings of the deck below. As this, however, was entirely deserted, no
+one was injured by the shot or flying fragments. The brig then took up her
+position three or four hundred yards away, on the quarter of the
+_Sea-horse_, and opened a steady fire against her.
+
+To this the barque could make no reply, the fire of the muskets being
+wholly ineffective at that distance. The lugger lay helpless alongside the
+_Sea-horse_; the survivors of her crew had run below, and dared not
+return on deck to work their guns, as they would have been swept by the
+musketry of the _Sea-horse_.
+
+Half an hour later Terence was ordered to go below to see how they were
+getting on in the hold.
+
+Terence did so. Some lanterns had been lighted there, and he found that
+four men had been killed and a dozen or so wounded by the enemy's shot,
+the greater portion of which, however, had gone over their heads. The
+carpenter, assisted by some of the non-commissioned officers, was busy
+plugging holes that had been made in her between wind and water, and had
+fairly succeeded, as but four or five shots had struck so low, the enemy's
+object being not to sink, but to capture the vessel. As he passed up
+through the main deck to report, Terence saw that the destruction here was
+great indeed. The woodwork of the cabins had been knocked into fragments,
+there was a great gaping hole in the stern, and it seemed to him that
+before long the vessel would be knocked to pieces. He returned to the
+deck, and reported the state of things.
+
+"It looks bad," the major said to O'Driscol. "This is but half an hour's
+work, and when the fellows come to the conclusion that they cannot make us
+strike, they will aim lower, and there will be nothing to do but to choose
+between sinking and hauling down our flag."
+
+After delivering his report, Terence went to the side of the ship and
+looked down on the lugger. The attraction of the ship had drawn her closer
+to it, and she was but a few feet away. A thought struck him, and he went
+to O'Grady.
+
+"Look here, O'Grady," he said, "that fellow will smash us up altogether if
+we don't do something."
+
+"You must be a bright boy to see that, Terence; faith, I have been
+thinking so for the last ten minutes. But what are we to do? The muskets
+won't carry so far, at least not to do any good. The cannon are next to
+useless. Two of that lot you fired burst, though the ropes prevented any
+damage being done."
+
+"Quite so, but there are plenty of guns alongside. Now, if you go to the
+major and volunteer to take your company and gain possession of the
+lugger, with one of the mates and half a dozen sailors to work her, we can
+get up the main-sail and engage the brig."
+
+"By the powers, Terence, you are a broth of a boy," and he hurried away to
+the major.
+
+"Major," he said, "if you will give me leave, I will have up my company
+and take possession of the lugger; we shall want one of the ship's
+officers and half a dozen men to work the sails, and then we will go out
+and give that brig pepper."
+
+"It is a splendid idea, O'Grady."
+
+"It is not my idea at all, at all; it is Terence O'Connor who suggested it
+to me. I suppose I can take the lad with me?"
+
+"By all means, get your company up at once."
+
+O'Grady hurried away, and in a minute the men of his company poured up
+onto the deck.
+
+"You can come with me, Terence; I have the major's leave," he said to the
+lad.
+
+At this moment there was a slight shock, as the lugger came in contact
+with the ship.
+
+"Come on, lads," O'Grady said, as he set the example of clambering down
+onto the deck of the lugger. He was followed by his men, the first mate
+and six sailors also springing on board. The hatches were first put on to
+keep the remnant of the crew below. The sailors knotted the halliards of
+the main-sail, the soldiers tailed on to the rope, and the sail was
+rapidly run up. The mate put two of his men at the tiller, and the
+soldiers ran to the guns, which were already loaded.
+
+"Haul that sheet to windward," the mate shouted, and the four sailors,
+aided by some of the soldiers, did so. Her head soon payed off, and amid a
+cheer from the officers on deck the lugger swept round. She mounted twelve
+guns. O'Grady divided the officers and non-commissioned officers among
+them, himself taking charge of a long pivot-gun in the bow.
+
+"Take stiddy aim, boys, and fire as your guns bear on her; you ought not
+to throw away a shot at this distance."
+
+As the lugger came out from behind the Sea-horse, gun after gun was fired,
+and the white splinters on the side of the brig showed that most, if not
+all, of the shots had taken effect. O'Grady's gun was the last to speak
+out, and the shot struck the brig just above the water-line.
+
+"Take her round," he shouted to the mate; "give the boys on the other side
+a chance." The lugger put about and her starboard guns poured in their
+contents.
+
+"That is the way," he shouted, as he laboured away with the men with him
+to load the pivot-gun again; "we will give him two or three more rounds,
+and then we will get alongside and ask for his health."
+
+The brig, however, showed no inclination to await the attack. Some shots
+had been hastily fired when the lugger's first gun told them that she was
+now an enemy, and she at once put down her helm and made off before the
+wind, which was now very light.
+
+"Load your guns and then out with the oars," Captain O'Grady shouted. "Be
+jabers, we will have that fellow. Let no man attend to the _Sea-horse_;
+it's from me that you are to take your orders. Besides," he said to
+Terence, "there is no signal-book on board, and they may hoist as many
+flags as they like."
+
+The twelve sweeps on board the lugger were at once got out, and each
+manned by three soldiers. O'Grady himself continued to direct the fire of
+the pivot-gun, and sent shot after shot into the brig's stern. The latter
+had but some four hundred yards' start, and although she also hurriedly
+got out some sweeps, the lugger gained upon her. Her crew clustered on
+their taffrail, and kept up a musketry fire upon the party working the
+pivot-gun. Two of these had been killed and four wounded, when O'Grady
+said to the others:
+
+"Lave the gun alone, boys; we shall be alongside of her in a few minutes;
+it is no use throwing away lives by working it. Run all the guns over to
+the other side; we will give them a warming, and then go at her."
+
+The _Sea-horse_ had hoisted signals directly those on board perceived
+that the lugger was starting in pursuit of the brig. Terence had informed
+his commanding officer of this, but O'Grady replied:
+
+"I know nothing about them, Terence; most likely they mane 'Good-luck to
+you! Chase the blackguard, and capture him.' Don't let Woods come near me,
+whatever you do; I don't want to hear his idea of what the signals may
+mane."
+
+Terence had just time to stop the mate as he was coming forward.
+
+"The ship is signalling," he said.
+
+"I have told Captain O'Grady, sir," Terence replied. "He does not know
+what the signal means, but has no doubt that it is instructions to capture
+the brig, and he means to do so."
+
+The officer laughed.
+
+"I think myself that it would be a pity not to," he said; "we shall be
+alongside in ten minutes. But I think it my duty to tell you what the
+signal is."
+
+"You can tell me what it is," Terence said, "and it is possible that in
+the heat of action I may forget to report it to Captain O'Grady."
+
+"That is right enough, sir. I think it is the recall."
+
+"Well, I will attend to it presently," Terence laughed.
+
+When within a hundred yards of the brig the troops opened a heavy musketry
+fire, many of the men making their way up the ratlines and so commanding
+the brig's deck. They were answered with a brisk fire, but the French
+shooting was wild, and by the shouting of orders and the confusion that
+prevailed on board it was evident that the privateersmen were disorganized
+by the sight of the troops and the capture of their consort. The brig's
+guns were hastily fired, as they could be brought to bear on the lugger,
+as she forged alongside. The sweeps had already been got in, and the
+lugger's eight guns poured their contents simultaneously into the brig,
+then a withering volley was fired, and, headed by O'Grady, the soldiers
+sprang on board the brig.
+
+As they did so, however, the French flag fluttered down from the peak, and
+the privateersmen threw down their arms. The English broadside and volley
+fired at close quarters had taken terrible effect. Of the crew of eighty
+men thirty were killed and a large proportion of the rest wounded. The
+soldiers gave three hearty cheers as the flag came down.
+
+The privateersmen were at once ordered below.
+
+"Lieutenant Hunter," O'Grady said, "do you go on board the lugger with the
+left wing of the company. Mr. Woods, I think you had better stay here,
+there are a good many more sails to manage than there are in the lugger.
+One man here will be enough to steer her; we will pull at the ropes for
+you. Put the others on board the lugger."
+
+"By the by, Mr. Woods," he said, "I see that the ship has hoisted a
+signal; what does it mean?"
+
+"I believe that to be the recall, sir; I told Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"You ought to have reported that same to me," O'Grady said, severely;
+"however, we will obey it at once."
+
+The _Sea-horse_ was lying head to wind a mile and a half away, and the
+two prizes ran rapidly up to her. They were received with a tremendous
+cheer from the men closely packed along her bulwarks. O'Grady at once
+lowered a boat and was rowed to the _Sea-horse_, taking Terence with him.
+
+"You have done extremely well, Captain O'Grady," Major Harrison said, as
+he reached the deck, "and I congratulate you heartily. You should,
+however, have obeyed the order of recall; the brig might have proved too
+strong for you, and, bound on service as we are, we have no right to risk
+valuable lives except in self-defence."
+
+"Sure I knew nothing about the signal," O'Grady said, with an air of
+innocence; "I thought it just meant 'More power to ye! give it 'em hot!'
+or something of that kind. It was not until after I had taken the brig
+that I was told that it was an order of recall. As soon as I learned that,
+we came along as fast as we could to you."
+
+"But Mr. Woods must surely have known."
+
+"Mr. Woods did tell me, Major," Terence put in, "but somehow I forgot to
+mention it to Captain O'Grady."
+
+There was a laugh among the officers standing round.
+
+"You ought to have informed him at once, Mr. O'Connor," the major said,
+with an attempt at gravity. "However," he went on, with a change of voice,
+"we all owe so much to you that I must overlook it, as there can be very
+little doubt that had it not been for your happy idea of taking possession
+of the lugger we should have been obliged to surrender, for I should not
+have been justified in holding out until the ship sank under us. I shall
+not fail, in reporting the matter, to do you full credit for your share in
+it. Now, what is your loss, Captain O'Grady?"
+
+"Three men killed and eleven wounded, sir."
+
+"And what is that of the enemy?"
+
+"Thirty-two killed and about the same number of wounded, more or less. We
+had not time to count them before we sent them down, and I had not time
+afterwards, for I was occupied in obeying the order of recall. I am sorry
+that we have killed so many of the poor beggars, but if they had hauled
+down their flag when we got up with them there would have been no occasion
+for it. I should have told their captain that I looked upon him as an
+obstinate pig, but as he and his first officer were both killed, there was
+no use in my spaking to him."
+
+"Well, it has been a very satisfactory operation," the major said, "and we
+are very well out of a very nasty fix. Now, you will go back to the brig,
+Captain O'Grady, and prepare to send the prisoners on board. We will send
+our boats for them. Doctor Daly and Doctor O'Flaherty will go on board
+with you and see to the wounded French and English. Doctor Daly will bring
+the worst cases on board here, and will leave O'Flaherty on the brig to
+look after the others. They will be better there than in this crowded
+ship. The first officer will remain there with you with five men, and you
+will retain fifty men of your own company. The second officer, with five
+men, will take charge of the lugger. He will have with him fifty men of
+Captain O'Driscol's company, under that officer. That will give us a
+little more room on board here. How many prisoners are there?"
+
+"Counting the wounded, Major, there are about fifty of them; her crew was
+eighty strong to begin with. There are only some thirty, including the
+slightly wounded, to look after."
+
+"If the brig's hold is clear, I think that you had better take charge of
+them. At present you will both lie-to beside us here till we have
+completed our repairs, and when we make sail you are both to follow us,
+and keep as close as possible; and on no account, Captain O'Grady, are you
+to undertake any cruises on your own account."
+
+"I will bear it in mind, Major; and we will do all we can to keep up with
+you."
+
+A laugh ran round the circle of officers at O'Grady's obstinacy in
+considering the _Sea-horse_ to be a fast vessel, in spite of the evidence
+that they had had to the contrary. The major said, gravely:
+
+"You will have to go under the easiest sail possible. The brig can go two
+feet to this craft's one, and you will only want your lower sails. If you
+put on more you will be running ahead and losing us at night. We shall
+show a light over our stern, and on no account are you to allow yourselves
+to lose sight of it."
+
+A party of men were already at work nailing battens over the shattered
+stern of the _Sea-horse_. When this was done, sail-cloth was nailed over
+them, and a coat of pitch given to it. The operation took four hours, by
+which time all the other arrangements had been completed. The holds of the
+two privateers were found to be empty, and they learned from the French
+crews that the two craft had sailed from Bordeaux in company but four days
+previously, and that the _Sea-horse_ was the first English ship that they
+had come across.
+
+"You will remember, Captain O'Grady," the major said, as that officer
+prepared to go on board, "that Mr. Woods is in command of the vessel, and
+that he is not to be interfered with in any way with regard to making or
+taking in sail. He has received precise instructions as to keeping near
+us, and your duties will be confined to keeping guard over the prisoners,
+and rendering such assistance to the sailors as they may require."
+
+"I understand, Major; but I suppose that in case you are attacked we may
+take a share in any divarsion that is going on?"
+
+"I don't think that there is much chance of our being attacked, O'Grady;
+but if we are, instructions will be signalled to you. French privateers
+are not likely to interfere with us, seeing that we are together, and if
+by any ill-luck a French frigate should fall in with us, you will have
+instructions to sheer off at once, and for each of you to make your way to
+Lisbon as quickly as you can. You see, we have transferred four guns from
+each of your craft to take the place of the rotten cannon on board here,
+but our united forces would be of no avail at all against a frigate, which
+would send us to the bottom with a single broadside. We can neither run
+nor fight in this wretched old tub. If we do see a French frigate coming,
+I shall transfer the rest of the troops to the prizes and send them off at
+once, and leave the _Sea-horse_ to her fate. Of course we should be very
+crowded on board the privateers, but that would not matter for a few days.
+So you see the importance of keeping quite close to us, in readiness to
+come alongside at once if signalled to. We shall separate as soon as we
+leave the ship, so as to ensure at least half our force reaching its
+destination."
+
+Captain O'Driscol took Terence with him on board the lugger, leaving his
+lieutenant in charge of the wing that remained on board the ship.
+
+"You have done credit to the company, and to my choice of you, Terence,"
+he said, warmly, as they stood together on the deck of the lugger. "I did
+not see anything for it but a French prison, and it would have broken my
+heart to be tied up there while the rest of our lads were fighting the
+French in Portugal. I thought that you would make a good officer some day
+in spite of your love of devilment, but I did not think that before you
+had been three weeks in the service you would have saved half the regiment
+from a French prison."
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+DISEMBARKED
+
+As soon as the vessels were under way again it was found that the lugger
+was obliged to lower her main-sail to keep in her position astern of the
+_Sea-horse_, while the brig was forced to take in sail after sail until
+the whole of the upper sails had been furled.
+
+"It is tedious work going along like this," O'Driscol said; "but it does
+not so much matter, because as yet we do not know where we are going to
+land. Sir Arthur has gone on in a fast ship to Corunna to see the Spanish
+Junta there, and find out what assistance we are likely to get from
+Northern Spain. That will be little enough. I expect they will take our
+money and arms and give us plenty of fine promises in return, and do
+nothing; that is the game they have been playing in the south, and if
+there were a grain of sense among our ministers they would see that it is
+not of the slightest use to reckon on Spain. As to Portugal, we know very
+little at present, but I expect there is not a pin to choose between them
+and the Spaniards."
+
+"Then we are not going to Lisbon?" Terence said, in surprise.
+
+"I expect not. Sir Arthur won't determine anything until he joins us after
+his visit to Corunna, but I don't think that it will be at Lisbon, anyhow.
+There are strong forts guarding the mouth of the river, and ten or twelve
+thousand troops in the city, and a Russian fleet anchored in the port. I
+don't know where it will be, but I don't think that it will be Lisbon. I
+expect that we shall slip into some little port, land, and wait for Junot
+to attack us; we shall be joined, I expect, by Stewart's force, that have
+been fooling about for two or three months waiting for the Spaniards to
+make up their minds whether they will admit them into Cadiz or not. You
+see, at present there are only 9,000 of us, and they say that Junot has at
+least 50,000 in Portugal; but of course they are scattered about, and it
+is hardly likely that he would venture to withdraw all his garrisons from
+the large towns, so that the odds may not be as heavy as they look, when
+we meet him in the field. And I suppose that at any rate some of the
+Portuguese will join us. From what I hear, the peasantry are brave enough,
+only they have never had a chance yet of making a fight for it, owing to
+their miserable government, which never can make up its mind to do
+anything. I hope that Sir Arthur has orders, as soon as he takes Lisbon,
+to assume the entire control of the country and ignore the native
+government altogether. Even if they are worth anything, which they are
+sure not to be, it is better to have one head than two, and as we shall
+have to do all the fighting, it's just as well that we should have the
+whole control of things too."
+
+For four days they sailed along quietly. On the morning of the fifth the
+signal was run up from the _Sea-horse_ for the prizes to close up to her.
+Mr. Woods, the mate on board the brig, at once sent a sailor up to the
+mast-head.
+
+"There is a large ship away to the south-west, sir," he shouted down.
+
+"What does she look like?"
+
+"I can only see her royals and top-sails yet, but by their square cut I
+think that she is a ship-of-war."
+
+"Do you think she is French or English?"
+
+"I cannot say for certain yet, sir, but it looks to me as if she is
+French. I don't think that the sails are English cut anyhow."
+
+Such was evidently the opinion on board the _Sea-horse_, for as the
+prizes came up within a hundred yards of her they were hailed by the major
+through a speaking-trumpet, and ordered to keep at a distance for the
+present, but to be in readiness to come up alongside directly orders were
+given to that effect.
+
+In another half-hour the look-out reported that he could now see the lower
+sails of the stranger, and had very little doubt but that it was a large
+French frigate. Scarcely had he done so before the two prizes were ordered
+to close up to the _Sea-horse_. The sea was very calm and they were able
+to lie alongside, and as soon as they did so the troops began to be
+transferred to them. In a quarter of an hour the operation was completed,
+Major Harrison taking his place on board the lugger; half the men were
+ordered below, and the prize sheered off from the _Sea-horse_.
+
+"The Frenchman is bearing down straight for us," he said to O'Driscol;
+"she is bringing a breeze down with her, and in an hour she will be
+alongside. I shall wait another half-hour, and then we must leave the
+_Sea-horse_ to her fate; except for our stores she is worthless. Well,
+Terence, have you any suggestion to offer? You got us out of the last
+scrape, and though this is not quite so bad as that, it is unpleasant
+enough. The frigate when she comes near will see that the _Sea-horse_ is
+a slow sailer, and will probably leave her to be picked up at her leisure,
+and will go off in chase either of the brig or us. The brig is to make for
+the north-west and we shall steer south-east, so that she will have to
+make a choice between us. When we get the breeze we shall either of us
+give her a good dance before she catches us--that is, if the breeze is not
+too strong; if it is, her weight would soon bring her up to us."
+
+"Yes, Major, but perhaps she may not trouble about us at all. She would
+see at once that the lugger and brig are French, and if they were both to
+hoist French colours, and the _Sea-horse_ were to fly French colours over
+English, she would naturally suppose that she had been captured by us, and
+would go straight on her course without troubling herself further about
+it."
+
+"So she might, Terence. At any rate the scheme is worth trying. If they
+have anything like good glasses on board they could make out our colours
+miles away. If she held on towards us after that, there would be plenty of
+time for us to run, but if we saw her change her course we should know
+that we were safe. Your head is good for other things besides mischief,
+lad."
+
+The lugger sailed up near the ship again, and the major gave the captain
+instructions to hoist a French ensign over an English one, and then,
+sailing near the brig, told them to hoist French colours.
+
+"Keep all your men down below the line of the bulwarks, O'Grady. Mr.
+Woods, you had better get your boat down and row alongside of the ship,
+and ask the captain to get the slings at work and hoist some of our stores
+into her; we will do the same on the other side. Tell the captain to lower
+a couple of his boats; also take twenty soldiers on board with you without
+their jackets; we will do the same, so that it may be seen that we have a
+strong party on board getting out the cargo."
+
+In a few minutes the orders were carried out, and forty soldiers were at
+work on the deck of the Sea-horse, slinging up tents from below, and
+lowering them into the boats alongside. The approach of the frigate was
+anxiously watched from the decks of the prizes. The upper sails of the
+_Sea-horse_ had been furled, and the privateers, under the smallest
+possible canvas, kept abreast of her at a distance of a couple of lengths.
+The hull of the French frigate was now visible. "She is very fast," the
+mate said to the major, "and she is safe to catch one of us if the breeze
+she has got holds."
+
+As she came nearer the feeling of anxiety heightened.
+
+"They ought to make out our colours now, sir."
+
+Almost immediately afterwards the frigate was seen to change her course.
+Her head was turned more to the east. A suppressed cheer broke from the
+troops.
+
+"It is all right now, sir," the mate said; "she is making for Brest. We
+have fooled her nicely."
+
+The boats passed and repassed between the _Sea-horse_ and the prizes, and
+the frigate crossed a little more than a mile ahead.
+
+"Five-and-twenty guns a-side," the major said. "By Jove! she would have
+made short work of us."
+
+As it was not advisable to make any change in the position until the
+frigate was far on her way, the boats continued to pass to and fro,
+carrying back to the _Sea-horse_ the stores that had just been removed,
+until the Frenchman was five or six miles away.
+
+"Don't you think that we might make sail again, Captain?" the major then
+hailed.
+
+"I think that we had better give him another hour, sir. Were she to see us
+making sail with the prize to the south it would excite suspicion at once,
+and the captain might take it into his head to come back again to inquire
+into it."
+
+"Half an hour will surely be sufficient," the major said. "She is
+travelling at eight or nine knots an hour, and she is evidently bound for
+port. It would be unlikely in the extreme that her commander would beat
+back ten miles on what, after all, might be a fool's errand."
+
+"That is true enough, sir. Then in half an hour we shall be ready to sail
+again."
+
+The major was rowed to the _Sea-horse_. "We may as well transfer the men
+at once," he said. "We have had a very narrow escape of it, Captain, and
+there is no doubt that we owe our safety entirely to the sharpness of that
+young ensign. We should have been sunk or taken if he had not suggested
+our manning the lugger in the first place, and of pretending that the ship
+had been captured by French privateers in the second."
+
+"You are right, Major. Another half-hour and the craft would have
+foundered under us; and the frigate would certainly have captured the
+_Sea-horse_ and one of the prizes if the Frenchman had not, as he
+thought, seen two privateers at work emptying our hold. He is a sharp
+young fellow, that."
+
+"That he is," the major agreed. "He has been brought up with the regiment,
+and has always been up to pranks of all kinds; but he has used his wits to
+good purpose this time, and I have no doubt will turn out an excellent
+officer."
+
+Before sail was made the major summoned the officers on board the
+_Sea-horse_. The troops from the lugger and brig were drawn up on deck,
+and the major, standing on the poop, said in a voice that could be heard
+from end to end of the ship:
+
+"Officers and men, we have had a narrow escape from a French prison, and
+as it is possible that before we arrive at our destination we may fall in
+with an enemy again and not be so lucky, I think it right to take this
+occasion at once of thanking Mr. O' Connor, before you all, in my own
+name, and in yours, for to his intelligence and quickness of wit it is
+entirely due that we escaped being captured when the brig was pounding us
+with its shot, without our being able to make any return, and it was
+certain that in a short time we should have had to haul down our flag or
+be sunk. It was he who suggested that we should take possession of the
+lugger, and with her guns drive off the brig. As the result of that
+suggestion this craft was saved from being sunk, and the brig was also
+captured.
+
+"In the second place, when that French frigate was bearing down upon us
+and our capture seemed certain, it was he who suggested to me, that by
+hoisting the French flag and appearing to be engaged in transferring the
+cargo of the ship to the privateers, we might throw dust into the eyes of
+the Frenchmen. As you saw, the ruse succeeded perfectly. I therefore, Mr.
+O'Connor, thank you most heartily in my own name, and in that of your
+fellow-officers, also in the name of the four hundred men of the regiment,
+and of the ship's company, for the manner in which you have, by your
+quickness and good sense, saved us all from a French prison, and saved his
+Majesty from the loss of the wing of a fine regiment."
+
+As he concluded the men broke into loud cheering, and the officers
+gathered around Terence and thanked and congratulated him most heartily on
+the service that he had rendered them.
+
+"You are a broth of a boy, Terence," Captain O'Grady said. "I knew that it
+was in you all along. I would not give a brass farthing for a lad who had
+not a spice of divil-ment in him. It shows that he has got his wits about
+him, and that when he steddys down he will be hard to bate."
+
+Terence was so much overpowered at the praise he had received that, beyond
+protesting that it was quite undeserved, he had no reply to make to the
+congratulations that he received from the captain. O'Driscol, seeing that
+he was on the verge of breaking down, at once called upon him to take his
+place in the boat, and rowed with him to the lugger.
+
+A few minutes later all sail was set on the _Sea-horse_, and with her
+yards braced tautly aft she laid her course south, close-hauled; a fresh
+breeze was now blowing, and she ploughed her way through the water at a
+rate that almost justified O'Grady's panegyrics upon her. In another three
+days she entered the port of Vigo, where the convoy was to rendezvous, and
+all were glad to find that the whole fleet were still there. On anchoring,
+the major went on board the _Dauphin_, which had brought the
+headquarters, and the other wing of the regiment. He was heartily greeted
+by the colonel.
+
+"We were getting very uneasy about you, Harrison," he said. "The last ship
+of the convoy came in three days ago, and we began to fear that you must
+have been either dismasted or sunk in the gale. I saw the senior naval
+officer this morning, and he said that if you did not come in during the
+day he would send a frigate out in search of you; but I could see by his
+manner that he thought it most likely that you had gone down. So you may
+imagine how pleased we were when we made out your number, though we could
+not for the life of us make out what those two craft flying the English
+colours over the French, that came in after you, were. But of course they
+had nothing to do with you. I suppose they were two privateers that had
+been captured by one of our frigates, and sent in here with prize crews to
+refit before going home. They have both of them been knocked about a bit."
+
+"I will tell you about them directly, Colonel; it is rather a long story.
+We have had a narrow squeak of it. We got through the storm pretty well,
+but we had a bad time of it afterwards, and we owe it entirely to young
+O'Connor that we are not, all of us, in a prison at Brest at present."
+
+"You don't say so! Wait a moment, I will call his father here; he will be
+glad to hear that the young scamp has behaved well. I may as well call
+them all up; they will like to hear the story."
+
+Turning to the group of officers who were standing on the quarter-deck a
+short distance away, waiting to hear the news when the major had given his
+report, he said: "You may as well come now and hear Major Harrison's
+story; it will save his telling it twice. You will be glad to hear,
+O'Connor, that Terence has been distinguishing himself in some way, though
+I know not yet in what; the major says that if it had not been for him the
+whole wing of the regiment would have now been in a French prison."
+
+"Terence was always good at getting out of scrapes, Colonel, though I
+don't say he was not equally good in getting into them; but I am glad to
+hear that this time he has done something useful."
+
+The major then gave a full account of their adventure with the privateers,
+and of the subsequent escape from the French frigate.
+
+"Faith, O'Connor," the colonel said, warmly, holding out his hand to him,
+"I congratulate you most heartily, which is more than I ever thought to do
+on Terence's account. I had some misgivings when I recommended him for a
+commission, but I may congratulate myself as well as you that I did so. I
+was sure the lad had plenty in him, but I was afraid that it was more
+likely to come out the wrong way than the right; and now it turns out that
+he has saved half the regiment, for there is no doubt from what Harrison
+says that he has done so."
+
+"Thank you, Colonel; I am glad indeed that the boy has done credit to your
+kindness. It was a mighty bad scrape this time, and he got out of it
+well."
+
+"Of course, Major, you will give a full report in writing of this, and
+will send it in to Sir Arthur; he arrived this morning. I will go on board
+the flag-ship at once and report as to the prizes. Who they belong to I
+have not the least idea. I never heard of a transport capturing a couple
+of privateers before; but, I suppose, as she is taken up for the king's
+service and the prizes were captured by his Majesty's troops, they will
+rank as if taken by the navy, that is, a certain amount of their value
+will go to the admiral. Anyhow, the bulk of it will go, I should think, to
+the troops--the crew and officers of the ship, of course, sharing."
+
+"It won't come to much a head, Colonel, anyhow. You see, they were both
+empty, and there is simply the value of the ships themselves, which I
+don't suppose would fetch above five or six hundred apiece."
+
+"Still, the thing must be done in a regular way, and I must leave it in
+the admiral's hands. I will take your boat, Major, and go to him at once.
+You will find pen and ink in my cabin, and I should be glad if you would
+write your report by the time that I return; then I will go off at once to
+Sir Arthur."
+
+"I have it already written, Colonel," the major said, producing the
+document.
+
+"That looks to me rather long, Harrison, and busy as Sir Arthur must be,
+he might not take the trouble to read it. I wish you would write out
+another, as concise as you can make it, of the actual affair, saying at
+the end that you beg to report especially the conduct of Ensign O'Connor,
+to whose suggestions the escape of the ship both from the privateers and
+French frigate were due. I will hand that in as the official report, and
+with it the other, saying that it gives further details of the affair. Of
+course, with them I must give in an official letter from myself, inclosing
+your two reports. But first I will go and see the admiral."
+
+In a little over half an hour he returned. "The admiral knows no more than
+I do whether the navy have anything to do with the prizes or not. Being so
+small in value he does not want to trouble himself about it. He says that
+the matter would entail no end of correspondence and bother, and that the
+crafts might rot at their anchors before the matter was decided. He thinks
+the best thing that I can do will be to sell the two vessels for what they
+will fetch, and divide the money according to prize rules, and say nothing
+about it. In that way there is not likely ever to be any question about
+it, while if the Admiralty and Horse Guards once get into a correspondence
+over the matter, there is no saying what bother I might have; and that he
+should advise me, if I do not adopt that plan, to simply scuttle them
+both, and report that they have sunk. Now I will just write my official
+letter and take it to head-quarters."
+
+In two hours he was back again.
+
+"I have not seen the chief," he said, "but I gave the reports to his
+adjutant-general. General Fane was with him; he is an old friend of mine,
+and I told him the story of your voyage, and the adjutant-general joined
+in the conversation. Fane was waiting to go in to Sir Arthur, who was
+dictating some despatches to England, and he said that if he had a chance
+he would mention the affair to Sir Arthur; and, at any rate, the other
+officer said that he would lay the reports before him, with such mention
+that Sir Arthur would doubtless look through them both. I find that there
+is a bit of insurrection going on in Portugal, but that no one thinks much
+will come of it, as bands of unarmed peasants can have no chance with the
+French. Nothing is determined as yet about our landing. Lisbon and the
+Tagus are completely in the hands of the French.
+
+"Sir Arthur is going down to Oporto to-morrow, where it is likely that he
+will learn more about the situation than he did at Corunna. Fane says that
+he hopes we shall soon be ashore, as the general is not the man to let the
+grass grow under his feet."
+
+After holding counsel with his officers the colonel determined to adopt
+the advice he had received, and to sell the two craft for what they would
+fetch, the officers all agreeing to refund their shares if any questions
+were ever asked on the subject. The captain of the _Sea-horse_ agreed to
+accept the share of a captain in the line, and his mates those of first
+and second lieutenant. The colonel put himself in communication with some
+merchants on shore, and the two craft were sold for twelve hundred pounds.
+
+"This gave something over a pound a head to the 400 soldiers and the crew,
+twice that amount to the non-commissioned officers, and sums varying from
+ten pounds apiece to the ensigns to fifty pounds to the major. The admiral
+was asked to approve of the transaction, and said, 'I have no right
+formally to sanction it, since, so far as I know, it is not a strictly
+naval matter; but I will give you a letter, Colonel, saying that you have
+informed me of the course that you have adopted, and that I consider that
+under the peculiar circumstances of the capture, and the fact that there
+are no men available for sending the prizes to England, the course was the
+best and most convenient that could possibly be adopted, though, had the
+craft been of any great value, it would, of course, have been necessary to
+refer the matter home.'"
+
+A week passed without movement. The expedition had left England on the
+12th of July, 1808, and Sir Arthur rejoined it towards the end of the
+month. He had learned at Oporto from Colonel Brown, our agent there, that,
+contrary to what he had been told at Corunna, there were no Spanish troops
+in the north of Portugal, but that a body of some 8,000 Portuguese
+irregulars and militia, half-armed and but slightly disciplined, were
+assembled on the river Mondego. After a consultation with Admiral Sir
+Charles Cotton, Sir Arthur had concluded that an attack at the mouth of
+the Tagus was impracticable, owing to the strength of the French there,
+the position of the forts that commanded the entrance of the river, and
+the heavy surf that broke in all the undefended creeks and bays near.
+There was then the choice of landing far enough north of Lisbon to ensure
+a disembarkation undisputed by the French, or else to sail south, join
+Spencer, and act against the French army under Dupont.
+
+Sir Arthur finally determined that the Mondego River was the most
+practicable for the enterprise. The fort of Figueira at its mouth was
+already occupied by British marines, and the Portuguese force was at least
+sufficient to deter any small body of troops approaching the
+neighbourhood. Therefore, to the great joy of the troops, the order was
+given that the fleet should sail on the following morning; two days later
+they anchored off the mouth of the Mondego. Just before starting a vessel
+arrived with despatches from Spencer, saying that he was at St. Mary's and
+was free to act with Sir Arthur, and a fast vessel was despatched with
+orders to him to sail to the Mondego.
+
+On arriving there Sir Arthur received the mortifying intelligence that Sir
+Hew Dalrymple had been appointed over his head, nevertheless he continued
+to push on his own plans with vigour, pending the arrival of that general.
+With this bad news came the information that the French general, Dupont,
+had been defeated. This set free a small force under General Anstruther,
+and some fast-sailing craft were at once despatched to find his command,
+and order it to sail at once to the Mondego. Without further delay,
+however, the landing of the troops began on the 1st of August, and the
+9,000 men, their guns and stores, were ashore by the 5th.
+
+On that day Spencer fortunately arrived with 3,300 men. He had not
+received Sir Arthur's orders, but the moment that Dupont surrendered he
+had sailed for the Tagus, and had learned from Sir C. Cotton, who
+commanded the fleet at the entrance to the river, where Sir Arthur was,
+and at once sailed to join him. While the troops were disembarking Sir
+Arthur had gone over to the Portuguese head-quarters, two miles distant,
+to confer with Bernardin Friere, the Portuguese commander-in-chief. The
+visit was a disappointing one. He found that the Portuguese troops were
+almost unarmed, and that their commander was full of inflated ideas. He
+proposed that the forces should unite, that they should relinquish the
+coast, and march into the interior and commence an offensive campaign, and
+was lavish in his promises to provide ample stores of provisions. The
+English general saw, however, that no effectual assistance could be hoped
+for from the Portuguese troops, and as little from the promises of their
+commander. He gave Friere 5,000 muskets for his troops, but absolutely
+declined to adopt the proposed plan, his own intention being to keep near
+the coast, where he could receive his supplies from the ships and be
+joined by reinforcements.
+
+As soon as they had landed the Mayo regiment was marched to a village two
+miles inland, and, with two others of the same brigade, encamped near it.
+All idea of keeping up a regimental officers' mess had been abandoned, and
+as soon as the tents were pitched and the troops had settled down in them,
+O'Grady said to Terence:
+
+"We will go into the village and see if we can find a suitable place for
+taking our meals. It may be that in time our fellows will learn how to
+cook for us, but, by jabers! we will live dacent as long as we can. My
+servant, Tim Hoolan, has gone on ahead to look for such a place, and he is
+the boy to find one if there is one anyhow to be got. As our companies are
+number 1 and 2, it is reasonable that we should stick together, and though
+O'Driscol's a quare stick, with all sorts of ridiculous notions, he is a
+good fellow at heart, and I will put up with him for the sake of having
+you with me."
+
+As they entered the village the servant came up. "I have managed it,
+Captain; we have got hold of the best quarters in the village; it is a
+room over the only shebeen here. The ould scoundrel of a landlord wanted
+to keep it as a general room, but I brought the Church to bear on him, and
+I managed it finally."
+
+"How did you work it, Tim?"
+
+"Sure, your honour, I went to the praste, and by good luck his house is in
+front of the church. I went into the church, and I crossed myself before
+the altar and said a prayer or two. As I did so who should come out of the
+vestry but the father himself. He waited until I had done and then came up
+to me, and to my surprise said in good Irish:
+
+"'So it's a Catholic you are, my man?'
+
+"'That am I, your riverence,' said I, 'and most all of the rigiment are;
+sure, we were raised in the ould country, and belong, most of us, to
+County Mayo, and glad we were to come out here to fight for those of the
+true religion against these Frenchmen, who they say have no religion at
+all, at all. And how is it you spake the language, your riverence, if I
+may be so bold as to ask?'"
+
+"Then he told me that he had been at college at Lisbon, where the sons of
+many Catholic Irish gentlemen were sent to be educated, and that he had
+learned it from them.
+
+"'And how is it that you are not with your regiment, my man?'
+
+"'I am here to hire rooms for the officers, your riverence, just a place
+where they can ate a dacent meal in peace and quietness. I have been to
+the inn, but I cannot for the life of me make the landlord understand. He
+has got a room that would be just suitable, so I thought I would come to
+your riverence to explain to you that the rigiment are not heretics, but
+true sons of the Church. I thought that, being a learned man, I might make
+shift to make you understand, and that you would maybe go wid me and
+explain the matter to him.'
+
+"'That will I,' says he; and he wint and jabbered away with the innkeeper,
+and at last turned to me and said: 'He will let you have a room, seeing
+that it is for the service of good Catholics and not heretics.'"
+
+"But, you rascal, you know that we are not Catholics."
+
+"Sure, your honour, didn't I say that most all the rigiment were
+Catholics; I did not say all of them."
+
+"I must go and explain the matter to him, Hoolan. If he calls upon us, as
+like he may do, he would find out at once that you have desaved him."
+
+"Sure, your honour, if you think that it is necessary, of course it must
+be done; but would it not be as well to go to the shebeen first and to
+take possession of the room, and to get comfortably settled down in it
+before ye gives me away?"
+
+"I think it might be worth while, Tim," O'Grady said, gravely. "What do
+you say, Terence?"
+
+"I think the matter will keep for a few hours," Terence said, laughing,
+"and when we are once settled there it will be very hard to turn us out."
+
+The room was found to be larger than they had expected, and O'Grady
+proposed that they should admit the whole officers of their wing to share
+it with them, to which Terence at once agreed heartily. "I think that with
+a little squeezing the place would hold the officers of the five
+companies, and the major and O'Flaherty. The more of us there are, the
+merrier, and the less fear of our being turned out."
+
+"That is so. We had better put the names up on the door. You go down and
+try and make that black-browed landlord understand that you want some
+paper and pen and ink."
+
+With some difficulty and much gesticulation Terence succeeded. The names
+of the officers were written down on a paper and it was then fastened on
+the door.
+
+"Now, Terence, I will go and fetch the boys; you and Hoolan make the
+landlord understand that we want food and wine for fifteen or sixteen
+officers. Of course they won't all be able to get away at once. We must
+contint ourselves with anything we can get now; afterwards we will send up
+our rations, and with plenty of good wine and a ham (there are lots of
+them hanging from the ceiling down below), we shall do pretty well, with
+what you can forage outside."
+
+Terence left this part of the work to Hoolan, who, by bringing up a number
+of plates and ranging them on the table, getting down a ham and cutting it
+into slices, and by pointing to the wine-skins, managed to acquaint the
+landlord with what was required. In this he was a good deal aided by the
+man's two nieces, who acted as his assistants, and who were much quicker
+in catching his meaning than was the landlord himself. Very soon the room
+below was crowded with officers from other regiments, and Hoolan went up
+to Terence:
+
+"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that it would be a good job if you were to go down
+and buy a dozen of them hams. A lot of them have been sold already, and it
+won't be long before the last has gone, though I reckon that there are
+three or four dozen of them still there."
+
+"That is a very good idea, Tim. You come down with me and bring them
+straight up here, and we will drive some nails into those rafters. I
+expect before nightfall the place will be cleared out of everything that
+is eatable."
+
+The bargain was speedily concluded. The landlord was now in a better
+temper. At first he had been very doubtful of the intentions of the
+new-comers. Now that he saw that they were ready to pay for everything,
+and that at prices much higher than he could before have obtained, his
+face shone with good-humour. He and the two girls were already busy
+drawing wine and selling it to the customers.
+
+"I will get some wood, your honour, and light a fire here, or it is mighty
+little dinner that you will be getting. The soldiers will soon be dropping
+in, that is, if they don't keep this place for officers only, for there
+are two other places where they sell wine in the village. When I came up
+two officers had a slice of ham each on the points of their swords over
+the fire."
+
+"That will be a very good plan, Tim; you had better set to work about it
+at once, and at the same time I will try and get some bread."
+
+By the time that O'Grady returned with seven or eight other officers the
+fire was blazing. Terence had managed to get a sufficient number of knives
+and forks; there was, however, no table-cloth in the house. He and Terence
+were cooking slices of ham on a gridiron over the fire.
+
+"This is first-rate, O'Grady," Major Harrison said; "the place is crowded
+down below, and we should have fared very badly if you had not managed to
+get hold of this room."
+
+"If some of the boys will see to the cooking, Major, I will go down with
+Hoolan and get a barrel of wine and bring it up here; then we shall do
+first-rate."
+
+"How about the rations, Major?" Terence asked.
+
+"They have just been served out. I sent my man down to draw the rations
+for the whole wing at once, and told him to bring them up here."
+
+"And I have told mine," Captain O'Driscol said, "to go round the village
+and buy up two or three dozen chickens, if he can find them, and as many
+eggs as he can collect. I think that we had better tell off two of the men
+as cooks. I don't think it is likely that they will be able to get much
+done that way below. Hoolan and another will do."
+
+"I should think it best to keep Hoolan as forager; he is rather a genius
+in that capacity. I think he has got round those two girls, whether by his
+red hair or his insinuating manners I cannot say, but they seem ready to
+do anything for him, and we shall want lots of things in the way of pots
+and pans and so on."
+
+"Very well, Terence, then we will leave him free and put two others on."
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+UNDER CANVAS
+
+In a short time O'Grady returned, followed by Hoolan, carrying a small
+barrel of wine.
+
+"It is good, I hope," the major said, as the barrel was set down in one
+corner of the room.
+
+"I think that it is the best they have; one of the girls went down with
+Tim into the cellar and pointed it out to him. I told him to ask her for
+_bueno vino_. I don't know whether it was right or not, but I think she
+understood."
+
+"How much does it hold, O'Grady?"
+
+"I cannot say; five or six gallons, I should think; anyhow, I paid three
+dollars for it."
+
+"You must put down all the outgoings, O'Grady, and we will square up when
+we leave here."
+
+"I will put them down, Major. How long do you think we shall stop here?"
+
+"That is more than anyone can say; we have to wait for Anstruther and
+Spencer. It may be three or four days; it may be a fortnight."
+
+Dick Ryan assisted Terence in the cooking, while Tim went down to get
+something to drink out of. He returned with three mugs and two horns.
+
+"Divil a thing else is there that can be found, yer honour," he said, as
+he placed them on the table; "every mortial thing is in use."
+
+"That will do to begin with," the major said; "we will get our own things
+up this afternoon. We must manage as best we can for this meal; it is
+better than I expected by a long way."
+
+Tim now relieved the two young officers at the gridiron, and sitting down
+at the benches along the table the meal was eaten with much laughter and
+fun.
+
+"After all, there is nothing like getting things straight from the
+gridiron," the major said.
+
+O'Grady had got the bung out of the barrel and filled the five drinking
+vessels, and the wine was pronounced to be very fair. One by one the other
+officers dropped in, and Hoolan was for an hour kept busy. The major, who
+spoke a little Spanish, went down and returned with a dozen bottles of
+spirits, two or three of which were opened and the contents consumed.
+
+"It is poor stuff by the side of whisky," O'Grady said, as he swallowed a
+stiff glass of it; "still, I will not be denying that it is warming and
+comforting, and if we can get enough of it we can hold on till we get home
+again. Here is success to the campaign. I will trouble you for that
+bottle, O'Driscol."
+
+"Here it is. I shall stick to wine; I don't care for that fiery stuff.
+Here is success to the campaign, and may we meet the French before long!
+
+"We are pretty sure to do that," he went on, as he set his horn down on
+the table. "If Junot knows his business he won't lose a day before
+marching against us directly he hears of our landing. He will know well
+enough that unless he crushes us at once he will have all Portugal up in
+arms. Here, Terence, you can have this horn."
+
+The difficulty of drinking had to some extent been solved by Hoolan, who
+had gone downstairs, and returned with a tin pot capable of holding about
+a couple of quarts. This he had cleaned by rubbing it with sand and water,
+and it went round as a loving-cup among those unprovided with mugs or
+horns. When all had finished, the two soldier servants, who had now
+arrived with the rations, were left in charge. O'Driscol's servant had
+brought in a dozen fowls and a large basket full of eggs, and, ordering
+supper to be ready at eight, the officers returned to their camp. They
+found that their comrades had done fairly well. Several rooms had been
+obtained in the village, and hams, black sausages, and other provisions
+purchased, and cooked in a rough way on a gridiron.
+
+"I am afraid that it is too good to last," the colonel said, as the
+officers gathered around him as the bugle sounded for parade; "a week of
+this and the last scrap of provisions here will have been eaten, and we
+shall have nothing but our rations to fall back upon. There is one thing,
+however, that is not likely to give out, that is wine. They grow it about
+here, and I hear that the commissariat have bought up large quantities
+without difficulty to serve out to the troops."
+
+The regiment had a long afternoon's drill to get them out of the slackness
+occasioned by their enforced idleness on the voyage. When it was over they
+were formed up, and the colonel addressed a few words to the men.
+
+"Men of the Mayo regiment," he said, "I trust that, now we are fairly
+embarked upon the campaign, you will so behave as to do credit to
+yourselves and to Ireland. Perhaps some of you think that, now that you
+are on a campaign, you can do just as you like. Those who think so are
+wrong; it is just the other way. When you were at home I did not think it
+necessary that I should be severe with you; and as long as a man was able,
+when he came into barracks, to walk to his quarters, I did not trouble
+about him. But it is different here; any breach of duty will be most
+severely punished, and any man who is found drunk will be flogged. Any man
+plundering or ill-treating the people of the country will be handed over
+to the provost-marshal, and, unless I am mistaken, he is likely to be
+shot.
+
+"Sir Arthur Wellesley is not the man to stand nonsense. There must be no
+straggling; you must keep within the bounds of the camps, and no one must
+go into the village without a permit from the captain of his company. As
+to your fighting--well, I have no fear of that; we will say nothing about
+it. Before the enemy I know that you will all do your duty, and it is just
+as necessary that you should do your duty and be a credit to your regiment
+at other times. There are blackguards in the regiment, as there are in
+every other, but I tell them that a sharp eye will be kept upon them, and
+that no mercy will be shown them if they misbehave while they are in
+Portugal. That is all I have to say to you."
+
+"That was the sort of thing, I think, Major," he said, as, after the men
+were dismissed, he walked back to his tent with Major Harrison.
+
+"Just the sort of thing, Colonel," the other said, smiling; "and said in
+the sort of way that they will understand. I am afraid that we shall have
+trouble with some of them. Wine and spirits are cheap, and it will be very
+difficult to keep them from it altogether. Still, if we make an example of
+the first fellow who is caught drunk it will be a useful lesson to the
+whole. A few floggings at the start may save some hanging afterwards. I
+know you are averse to flogging--there have only been four men flogged in
+the last six months--but this is a case where punishment must be dealt out
+sharply if discipline is to be maintained, and the credit of the regiment
+be kept up."
+
+O'Grady and one of the other officers called upon the priest to thank him
+for his good offices in obtaining the room for them.
+
+"I am afraid from what my man tells me that he did not state the case
+quite fairly to you. Our regiment was, as he said, raised in Ireland, and
+the greater portion of the men are naturally of your faith, Father, but we
+really have no claim to your services whatever."
+
+The priest smiled.
+
+"I am, nevertheless, glad to have been of service to you, gentlemen," he
+said, courteously; "at least you are Irishmen, and I have many good
+friends countrymen of yours. And you have still another claim upon us all,
+for are you not here to aid us to shake off this French domination? I hope
+that you are comfortable, but judging from what I see and hear when
+passing I fear that your lodging is a somewhat noisy one."
+
+"You may well say that, Father; and we do our full share towards making it
+so; but having the room makes all the difference to us. They have no time
+to cook downstairs, and it is done by our own servants; but it is handy to
+have the wine and other things within call, and if we always do as well,
+we shall have good cause to feel mighty contented; for barring that we are
+rather crowded, we are just as well off here as we were at home, saving
+only in the quality of the spirits. Now, Father, we cannot ask you up
+there, seeing that it is your own village, but if you would like to take a
+walk through the camps we should be glad to show you what there is to be
+seen, and can give you a little of the real cratur. It is not much of it
+that we have been able to bring ashore, for the general is mighty stiff in
+the matter of baggage, but I doubt whether there is one of us who did not
+manage to smuggle a bottle or two of the real stuff hidden in his kit."
+
+The priest accepted the invitation, and was taken through the brigade
+camp, staying some time in that of the Mayos, and astonishing some of the
+soldiers by chatting to them in English, and with a brogue almost as
+strong as their own. He then spent half an hour in O'Grady's tent, and
+sampled the whisky, which he pronounced excellent, and of which his
+entertainer insisted upon his taking a bottle away with him.
+
+Three days later it was known in camp that two French divisions had been
+set in motion against them, the one from Abrantes to the east under
+Loison, the other from the south under Laborde. Junot himself remained at
+Lisbon. The rising in the south, and the news of the British landing
+caused an intense feeling among the population, and the French general
+feared that at any moment an insurrection might break out. The natural
+point of junction of these two columns would be at Leirya. That night
+orders were issued for the tents of the division to which the Mayo
+regiment belonged to be struck before daylight, and the troops were to be
+under arms and ready to march at six o'clock.
+
+"Good news!" O'Grady said, as he entered the mess-room at four o'clock in
+the afternoon, after having learned from the colonel the orders for the
+next morning; "our brigade is to form the advanced guard, and we are to
+march at six tomorrow."
+
+A general exclamation of pleasure broke from the five or six officers
+present. "We shall have the first of the fun, boys; hand me that horn,
+Terence. Here is to Sir Arthur; good-luck to him, and bad cess to the
+French!"
+
+The toast was drunk with some laughter. "Now we are going to campaign in
+earnest," he went on; "no more wine swilling, no more devilled ham----"
+
+"No more spirits, O'Grady," one of the group cut in; "and as for the wine,
+you have drunk your share, besides twice your share of the spirits."
+
+"Whin there is nothing to do, Debenham, I can take me liquor in
+moderation."
+
+"I have never remarked that, O'Grady," one of the others put in.
+
+"In great moderation," O'Grady said, gravely, but he was again interrupted
+by a shout of laughter.
+
+"Ye had to be helped home last night, O'Grady, and it took Hoolan a
+quarter of an hour to wake you this morning. I heard him say, 'Now, master
+dear, the bugle will sound in a minute or two; it's wake you must, or
+there will be a divil of botheration over it.' I looked in, and there you
+were. Hoolan was standing by the side of you shaking his head gravely, as
+if it was a hopeless job that he had in hand, and if I had not emptied a
+water-bottle over you, you would never have been on parade in time."
+
+"Oh! it was you, was it?" O'Grady said, wrathfully. "Hoolan swore by all
+the saints that he had not seen who it was. Never mind, me boy, I will be
+even wid ye yet; the O'Grady is not to be waked in that fashion; mind I
+owe you one, though I am not saying that I should have been on parade in
+time if you had not done it; I only just saved my bacon."
+
+"And hardly that," Terence laughed, "for the adjutant was down upon you
+pretty sharply; your coatee was all buttoned up wrong; your hair had not
+been brushed, and stuck up all ways below your shako; your sword-belt was
+all awry, and you looked worse than you did when I brought you home."
+
+"Well, it is a poor heart that never rejoices, Terence. We must make a
+night of it, boys; if the tents are to be struck before daylight it will
+be mighty little use your turning in."
+
+"You won't catch me sitting up all night," Terence said, "with perhaps a
+twenty-mile march in the morning, and maybe a fight at the end of it. If
+it is to Leirya we are going it will be nearer thirty miles than twenty,
+and even you, seasoned vessel as you are, will find it a long walk after
+being up all night, and having had pretty hard work to-day."
+
+"I cannot hold wid the general there," O'Grady said, gravely; "he has been
+kapeing us all at it from daybreak till night, ivery day since we landed,
+and marching the men's feet off. It is all very well to march when we have
+got to march, but to keep us tramping fifteen or twenty miles a day when
+there is no occasion for it is out of all reason."
+
+"We shall march all the better for it to-morrow, O'Grady. It has been hard
+work, certainly, but not harder than it was marching down to Cork; and we
+should have a good many stragglers to-morrow if it had not been for the
+last week's work. We have got half a dozen footsore men in my company
+alone, and you would have fifty to-morrow night if the men had not had all
+this marching to get them fit."
+
+"It is all very well for you, Terence, who have been tramping all over the
+hills round Athlone since you were a gossoon; but I am sure that if I had
+not had that day off duty when I showed the priest round the camp I should
+have been kilt."
+
+"Here is the general order of the day," the adjutant said, as he came in
+with Captain O'Connor. "The general says that now the army is about to
+take the field he shall expect the strictest discipline to be maintained,
+and that all stragglers from the ranks will at once be handed over to the
+provost-marshal, and all offences against the peasantry or their property
+will be severely punished. Then there are two or three orders that do not
+concern us particularly, and then there is one that concerns you, Terence.
+The general has received a report from Colonel Corcoran of the Mayo
+Fusiliers stating that 'the transport carrying the left wing of that
+regiment was attacked by two French privateers, and would have been
+compelled to surrender, she being practically unarmed, had it not been for
+the coolness and quick wit of Ensign Terence O'Connor. Having read the
+report the general commanding fully concurs, and expresses his high
+satisfaction at the conduct of Ensign O'Connor, which undoubtedly saved
+from capture the wing of the regiment.'
+
+"There, Terence, that is a feather in your cap. Sir Arthur is not given to
+praise unduly, and it is seldom that an ensign gets into general orders.
+It will do you good some day, perhaps when you least expect it."
+
+"I am heartily pleased, my lad," Captain O'Connor said, as he laid his
+hand upon Terence's shoulder. "I am proud of you. I have never seen my own
+name in general orders, but I am heartily glad to see yours. Bedad, when I
+think that a couple of months ago you were running wild and getting into
+all sorts of mischief, it seems hard to believe that you should not only
+be one of us, but have got your name into general orders."
+
+"And all for nothing, father," Terence said. "I call it a beastly shame
+that just because I thought of using that lugger I should be cracked up
+more than the others."
+
+"It was not only that, though, Terence; those guns that crippled the
+lugger could not have been fired if you had not thought of putting rope
+round them, and that French frigate would never have left you alone had
+not you suggested to the major how to throw dust into their eyes. No, my
+lad, you thoroughly deserve the credit that you have got, and I am sure
+that there is not a man in the regiment who would not say the same."
+
+"Gintlemen," Captain O'Grady said, solemnly, "we will drink to the health
+of Ensign Terence O'Connor; more power to his elbow!" And the toast was
+duly honoured.
+
+"It is mighty good of me to propose it," O'Grady went on, after Terence
+had said a few words of thanks, "because I have a strong idea that in
+another two or three minutes I should have made just the same suggestion
+that you did, me lad. I knew at the time that there was a plan I wanted to
+propose, but sorra a word came to me lips. I was just brimful with it when
+you came up and took the words out of me mouth. If I had spoken first it
+is a brevet majority I had got, sure enough."
+
+"You must be quicker next time, O'Grady," the adjutant said, when the
+laughter had subsided; "as you say, you have missed a good thing by your
+slowness. I am afraid your brain was still a little muddled by your
+indulgence the night before."
+
+"Just the contrary, me boy; I feel that if I had taken just one glass more
+of the cratur me brain would have been clearer and I should have been to
+the fore. But I bear you no malice, Terence. Maybe the ideas would not
+have managed to straighten themselves out until after we had had to haul
+down the flag, and then it would have been too late to have been any good.
+It has happened to me more than once before that I have just thought of a
+good thing when it was too late."
+
+"It has occurred to most of us, O'Grady," Captain O'Connor said, laughing.
+"Terence, you see, doesn't care for whisky, and perhaps that has something
+to do with his ideas coming faster than ours. Well, so we are off
+to-morrow; though, of course, no one knows which way we are going to
+march, it must be either to Leirya or along the coast road. It is a good
+thing Spencer has come up in time, for there is no saying how strong the
+French may be; though I fancy they are all so scattered about that, after
+leaving a garrison to keep Lisbon in order, and holding other points,
+Junot will hardly be able at such short notice to gather a force much
+superior to ours. But from what I hear there are some mighty strong
+positions between this and Lisbon, and if he sticks himself up on the top
+of a hill we shall have all our work to turn him off again."
+
+"I fancy it will be to Leirya," the adjutant said; "the Portuguese report
+that one French division is at Candieros and another coming from Abrantes,
+and Sir Arthur is likely to endeavour to prevent them from uniting."
+
+That evening there was a grand feast at the mess-room. The colonel had
+been specially invited, and every effort was made to do honour to the
+occasion. Tim Hoolan had been very successful in a foraging expedition,
+and had brought in a goose and four ducks, and had persuaded the
+landlord's nieces to let him and the cook have sole possession of the
+kitchen. The banquet was a great success, but the majority of those
+present did not sit very long afterwards. The colonel set the example of
+rising early.
+
+"I should advise you, gentlemen, to turn in soon," he said. "I do not say
+where we are to march to-morrow, but I can tell you at least that the
+march is a very long one, and that it were best to get as much sleep as
+possible, for I can assure you that it will be no child's play; and I
+think that it is quite probable we shall smell powder before the day is
+over."
+
+Accordingly, all the young officers and several of the seniors left with
+him, but O'Grady and several of the hard drinkers kept it up until
+midnight, observing, however, more moderation than usual in their
+potations.
+
+There was none of the grumbling common when men are turned out of their
+beds before dawn; all were in high spirits that the time for action had
+arrived; the men were as eager to meet the enemy as were their officers;
+and the tents were all down and placed in the waggons before daylight. The
+regimental cooks had already been at work, and the officers went round and
+saw that all had had breakfast before they fell in. At six o'clock the
+whole were under arms and in their place as the central regiment in the
+brigade. They tramped on without a halt until eleven; then the bugle
+sounded, and they fell out for half an hour.
+
+The men made a meal from bread and the meat that had been cooked the night
+before, each man carrying three days' rations in his haversack. There was
+another halt, and a longer one, at two o'clock, when the brigade rested
+for an hour in the shade of a grove.
+
+"It is mighty pleasant to rest," O'Grady said, as the officers threw
+themselves down on the grass, "but it is the starting that bates one. I
+feel that my feet have swollen so that every step I take I expect my boots
+to burst with an explosion. Faith, if it comes to fighting I shall take
+them off altogether, and swing them at my belt. How can I run after the
+French when I am a cripple?"
+
+"You had better take your boots off now, O'Grady," one of the others
+suggested.
+
+"It is not aisy to get them off, and how should I get them on again? No;
+they have got there, and there they have got to stop, bad cess to them! I
+told Hoolan to rub grease into them for an hour last night, but the rascal
+was as drunk as an owl."
+
+There was no more talking, for every man felt that an hour's sleep would
+do wonders for him; soon absolute quiet reigned in the grove, and
+continued until the bugle again called them to their feet. All knew now
+that it was Leirya they were making for, and that another ten miles still
+remained to be accomplished. A small body of cavalry which accompanied
+them now pushed on ahead, and when half the distance had been traversed a
+trooper brought back the news that the enemy had not yet reached the town.
+It was just six o'clock when the brigade marched in amid the cheers and
+wild excitement of the inhabitants. The waggons were not yet up, and the
+troops were quartered in the town, tired, and many of them foot-sore, but
+proud of the march they had accomplished, and that it had enabled them to
+forestall the French.
+
+Laborde, indeed, arrived the same night at Batalha, eight miles distant,
+but on receiving the news in the morning that the British had already
+occupied Leirya, he advanced no farther. His position was an exceedingly
+difficult one; his orders were to cover the march of Loison from Abrantes,
+and to form a junction with that general; but to do so now would be to
+leave open the road through Alcobaca and Obidos to the commanding position
+at Torres Vedras. Batalha offered no position that he could hope to defend
+until the arrival of Loison; therefore, sending word to that general to
+move from Torras Novas, as soon as he reached that town, to Santarem, and
+then to march to join him at Rolica, he fell back to Alcobaca and then to
+Obidos, a town with a Moorish castle, built on a gentle eminence in the
+middle of a valley.
+
+Leaving a detachment here, he retired to Rolica, six miles to the south of
+it. At this point several roads met, and he at once covered all the
+approaches to Torres Vedras, and the important port of Peniche, and could
+be joined by Loison marching down from Santarem.
+
+The advanced brigade of the British force remained in quiet possession of
+Leirya during the next day, and on the following, the 11th of August, the
+main body of the army arrived, having taken two days on the march. The
+Portuguese force also came in under Friere. That general at once took
+possession of the magazines there, and although he had promised the
+English general that their contents should be entirely devoted to the
+maintenance of the English army, he divided them among his own force.
+ Disgusted as the British commander was at this barefaced dishonesty, he
+was not in a position to quarrel with the Portuguese. It was essential to
+him that they should accompany him, not for the sake of the assistance
+that they would give, for he knew that none was to be expected from them,
+but from a political point of view. It was most important that the people
+at large should feel that their own troops were acting with the British,
+and that no feelings of jealousy or suspicion of the latter should arise.
+Friere was acting under the orders of the Bishop and Junta of Oporto,
+whose great object was to keep the Portuguese army together and not to
+risk a defeat, as they desired to keep this body intact in order that, if
+the British were defeated, they should be able to make favourable terms
+for themselves. Consequently, even after appropriating the whole of the
+stores and provisions found at Leirya, Friere continued to make exorbitant
+demands, and to offer a vigorous opposition to any further advance.
+
+So far did he carry this that the British general, finding that in no
+other way could he get the Portuguese to advance with him, proposed that
+they should follow behind him and wait the result of the battle, to which
+Friere at last consented. The Portuguese, in fact, had no belief whatever
+that the British troops would be able to withstand the onslaught of the
+French, whom they regarded as invincible. Colonel Trant, however, one of
+our military agents, succeeded in inducing Friere to place 1,400 infantry
+and 250 cavalry under the command of Sir Arthur.
+
+The addition of the cavalry was a very useful one, for the English had
+with them only 180 mounted men; the country was entirely new to them,
+scarcely an officer could speak the language, and there was no means,
+therefore, of obtaining information as to the movements of the enemy.
+Moving forward through Batalha, and regaining the coast road at Alcobaca,
+the British forces arrived at Caldas on the 15th; and on the same day
+Junot quitted Lisbon with a force of 2,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and
+ten pieces of artillery, leaving 7,000 to garrison the forts and keep down
+the population of the city. His force was conveyed to Villa Franca by
+water, and the general then pushed forward to Santarem, where he found
+Loison, and took command of his division.
+
+The British advanced guard, after arriving at Caldas, pushed forward,
+drove the French pickets out of Brilos, and then from Obidos. Here,
+however, a slight reverse took place. Some companies of the 95th and 60th
+Rifles pressed forward three miles farther in pursuit, when they were
+suddenly attacked in flank by a greatly superior force, and had it not
+been that General Spencer, whose division was but a short distance behind,
+pressed forward to their assistance, they would have suffered heavily; as
+it was they escaped with the loss of two officers and twenty-seven men
+killed and wounded. Their rashness, however, led to the discovery that
+Laborde's force had taken up a strong position in front of the village of
+Rolica, and that he apparently intended to give battle there.
+
+The next day was spent in reconnoitring the French position. It was a very
+strong one. Rolica stood on a table-land rising in a valley, affording a
+view of the road as far as Obidos. The various points of defence there,
+and on the flank, were held by strong parties of the enemy. A mile in the
+rear was a steep and lofty ridge that afforded a strong second line of
+defence. By the side of this ridge the road passed through a deep defile,
+and then mounted over a pass through the range of hills extending from the
+sea to the Tagus, and occupying the intermediate ground until close to
+Lisbon. Laborde's position was an embarrassing one. If he retired upon
+Torres Vedras his line of communication with Loison would be lost, if he
+moved to meet Loison he would leave open the direct road to Lisbon, while
+if he remained at Rolica he had to encounter a force almost three times
+his own strength.
+
+Trusting in the advantages of his position, and confident in the valour of
+his troops, he chose the last alternative. Very anxiously, during the day,
+the British officers watched the French line of defence, fearful lest the
+enemy would again retreat. By sunset they came to the conclusion that
+Laborde intended to stay where he was, and to meet them. The French,
+indeed, had been so accustomed to beat the Spanish and Portuguese, that
+they had not woke up to the fact that they had troops of a very different
+material facing them.
+
+"We ought to have easy work," Major Harrison said, as the officers
+gathered round the fire that had been built in front of the colonel's
+tent; "the people here all declare that Laborde has not above 5,000 troops
+with him, while, counting Trant's Portuguese, we have nearly 14,000."
+
+"There will be no credit in thrashing them with such odds as that," Dick
+Ryan grumbled.
+
+"I suppose, Ryan," Major Harrison said, "if you had been in Sir Arthur's
+place you would have preferred remaining at Leirya until Junot could have
+gathered all his forces, and obtained a reinforcement of some fifty
+thousand or so from Spain, then you would have issued a general order
+saying, that as the enemy had now a hundred thousand troops ready, the
+army would advance and smite them."
+
+"Not so bad as that, Major," the young ensign said, colouring, as there
+was a general laugh from the rest; "but there does not seem much
+satisfaction in thrashing an enemy when we are three to one against him."
+
+"But that is just the art of war, Ryan. Of course, it is glorious to
+defeat a greatly superior army and to lose half your own in doing so; that
+may be heroic, but it is not modern war. The object of a general is, if
+possible, to defeat an enemy in detail, and to so manoeuvre that he is
+always superior in strength to the force that is immediately in front of
+him, and so to ensure victory after victory until the enemy are destroyed.
+That is what the general is doing by his skilful manoeuvring; he has
+prevented Junot from massing the whole of the army of Portugal against us.
+
+"To-morrow we shall defeat Laborde, and doubtless a day or two later we
+shall fight Loison; then I suppose we shall advance against Lisbon, Junot
+will collect his beaten troops and his garrison, there will be another
+battle, and then we shall capture Lisbon, and the French will have to
+evacuate Portugal. Whereas, if all the French were at Rolica they would
+probably smash us into a cocked hat, in spite of any valour we might show;
+and as we have no cavalry to cover a retreat, as the miserable horses can
+scarcely drag the few guns that we have got, and the carriages are so
+rickety that the artillery officers are afraid that as soon as they fire
+them they will shake to pieces, it is not probable that a single man would
+regain our ships."
+
+"Please say no more, Major; I see I was a fool."
+
+"Still," Captain O'Connor said, "you must own, Major, that one does like
+to win against odds."
+
+"Quite so, O'Connor; individuals who may survive such a battle no doubt
+would be glad that it was a superior force that they had beaten, but then
+you see battles are not fought for the satisfaction of individuals.
+Moreover, you must remember that the proportion of loss is much heavier
+when the numbers are pretty equally matched, for in that case they must
+meet to a certain extent face to face. Skill on the part of the general
+may do a great deal, but in the end it must come to sheer hard fighting.
+Now, I expect that to-morrow, although there may be hard fighting, it is
+not upon that that Sir Arthur will principally rely for turning the French
+out of those strong positions.
+
+"He will, no doubt, advance directly against them with perhaps half his
+force, but the rest will move along on the top of the heights, and so
+threaten to cut the French line of retreat altogether. Laborde is, they
+say, a good general, and therefore won't wait until he is caught in a
+trap, but will fall back as soon as he sees that the line of retreat is
+seriously menaced. I fancy, too, that he must expect Loison up some time
+tomorrow, or he would hardly make a stand, and if Loison does come up,
+Ryan's wish will be gratified and we shall be having the odds against us.
+
+"Then you must remember that our army is a very raw one. A large
+proportion of it is newly raised, and though there may be a few men here
+who fought in Egypt, the great bulk have never seen a shot fired in
+earnest; while, on the other hand, the French have been fighting all over
+Europe. They are accustomed to victory, and are confident in their own
+valour and discipline. Our officers are as raw as our men, and we must
+expect that all sorts of blunders will be made at first. I can tell you
+that I am very well satisfied that our first battle is going to be fought
+with the odds greatly on our side. In six months I should feel pretty
+confident, even if the French had the same odds on their side."
+
+"The major gave it you rather hotly, Dick," Terence said to his friend, as
+they sauntered off together from the group. "I am glad that you spoke
+first, for I had it on the tip of my tongue to say just what you did, and
+I expect that a good many of the others felt just the same."
+
+"Yes, I put my foot in it badly, Terence. I have no doubt the major was
+right; anyhow, I have nothing to say against it. But for all that I wish
+that either we were not so strong or that they were stronger. What credit
+is there, I should like to know, in thrashing them when we are three to
+one? Anyhow, I hope that we shall have some share in the scrimmage. We
+shall get an idea when the orders are published to-night, and shall see
+where Fane's brigade is to be put."
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+ROLICA AND VIMIERA
+
+At nine o'clock in the evening it became known that the general plan of
+attack predicted by Major Harrison was to be carried out. Some five
+thousand men under General Ferguson were to ascend the hills on the left
+of the valley, while Trant, with a thousand Portuguese infantry and some
+Portuguese horse, were to move on the hills on the right; the centre, nine
+thousand strong, and commanded by Sir Arthur himself, were to march
+straight up the valley.
+
+Early in the morning the British troops marched out from Obidos.
+Ferguson's command at once turned to the left and ascended the hills,
+while Trant's moved to the west.
+
+After proceeding a short distance, Fane's brigade moved off from the road
+and marched along the valley, equidistant from the main body and from
+Ferguson, forming a connecting link between them; and on reaching the
+village of St. Mamed, three-quarters of a mile from the French position,
+Hill's brigade turned off to the right. From their elevated position the
+French opened fire with their artillery, and this was answered by the
+twelve guns in the valley and from Ferguson's six guns on the heights.
+Fane's brigade, extended to its left, was the first in action, and drove
+back the French skirmishers and connected Ferguson with the centre. They
+then turned to attack the right of the French position; while Ferguson,
+seeing no signs of Loison's force, descended from the high ground to the
+rear of Fane, while the Portuguese pressed forward at the foot of the
+hills on the other side of the valley and threatened the enemy's left
+flank.
+
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF ROLICA map.]
+
+
+Seeing that his position was absolutely untenable, Laborde did not wait
+the assault, but fell back, covered by his cavalry, to the far stronger
+position in his rear. A momentary pause ensued before the British
+continued their advance. The new position of the French was of great
+natural strength, and could be approached only by narrow paths winding up
+through deep ravines on its face. Ferguson and Fane received orders to
+keep to the left, and so turn the enemy's right. Trant similarly was to
+push forward and threaten his left flank, while Hill and Nightingale
+advanced against the front.
+
+The battle commenced by a storm of skirmishers from these brigades running
+forward. These soon reached the foot of the precipitous hill and plunged
+into the passes. Neither the fire of the enemy nor the difficulties of the
+ascent checked them. Spreading right and left from the paths they made
+their way up, and taking advantage of the shelter afforded by great
+boulders, broken masses of rock, and the stumps of trees, climbed up
+wherever they could find a foothold. The supporting columns experienced
+much greater difficulty; the paths were too narrow, and the ground too
+broken for them to retain their formation, and they made their way forward
+as best they could in necessary disorder.
+
+The din of battle was prodigious, for the rattle of musketry was echoed
+and re-echoed from the rocks. The progress of the skirmishers could only
+be noted by the light smoke rising through the foliage and by the shouts
+of the soldiers, which were echoed by the still louder ones of the French,
+gathered strongly on the hill above them. As the British made their way
+up, Laborde, who was still anxiously looking for the expected coming of
+Loison, withdrew a portion of his troops from the left and strengthened
+his right, in order to hold on as long as possible on the side from which
+aid was expected. The ardour of the British to get to close quarters
+favoured this movement.
+
+It had been intended that the 9th and 29th Regiments should take the
+right-hand path where the track they were following up the pass forked,
+and so join Trant's Portuguese at the top of the hill and fall upon the
+French left. The left-hand path, however, was the one that would take them
+direct to the enemy, and the 29th, which was leading, took this, and the
+9th followed them. So rapidly did they press up the hill that they arrived
+at the crest before Ferguson and Fane, on the left, and Trant on the
+right, had got far enough to menace the line of retreat, and so shake the
+enemy's position. The consequence was, that as the right wing of the 29th
+arrived at the top of the path it was met by a very heavy fire before it
+could form, and some companies of a French regiment, who had been cut off
+from the main body by its sudden appearance, charged through the
+disordered troops and carried with them a major and fifty or sixty other
+prisoners.
+
+The rest of the wing, thus exposed to the full fire of the French, fell
+back over the crest, and there rallied on the left wing; and being joined
+by the 9th, pushed forward again and obtained a footing on the plateau.
+Laborde in vain endeavoured to hurl them back again. They maintained their
+footing, but suffered heavily, both the colonels being killed, with many
+officers and men. But the 5th Regiment were now up, and at other points
+the British were gathering thickly at the edge of the plateau. Ferguson
+and Trant were pushing on fast past the French flanks, and Laborde, seeing
+that further resistance would lead to great disaster, gave the order to
+retire to a third position, still farther in the rear. The movement was
+conducted in splendid order. The French steadily fell back by alternate
+masses, their guns thundering on their flanks, while their cavalry covered
+the rear by repeated charges.
+
+Gaining the third position, Laborde held it for a time, and so enabled
+isolated bodies of his force to join him. Then, finding himself unable to
+resist the impetuosity of the British attack, he retired, still disputing
+every foot of ground, and took to the narrow pass of Runa. He then marched
+all night to the strong position of Montechique, thereby securing his
+junction with Loison, but leaving the road to Torres Vedras open to the
+British. The loss of the French in this fight was 600 killed and wounded,
+and three guns. Laborde himself was among the wounded. The British lost
+nearly 500 killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. The number of the
+combatants actually engaged on either side was about 4,000, and the loss
+sustained showed the obstinacy of the fighting. Sir Arthur believed that
+the French had, as they retreated, been joined by Loison, and therefore
+prepared to march at once by the coast-line to seize the heights of Torres
+Vedras before the French could throw themselves in his way.
+
+Great was the disappointment among officers and men of the Mayo Fusiliers
+that they had taken no part whatever in the actual fighting, beyond
+driving in the French skirmishers at the beginning of the operations.
+
+"Divil a man killed or wounded!" Captain O'Grady remarked, mournfully, as
+the regiment halted at the conclusion of the fight. "Faith, it is too bad,
+entirely; there we are left out in the cold, and scarce a shot has been
+fired!"
+
+"There are plenty of others in the same case," Captain O'Driscol said.
+"None of our three brigades on the left have had anything to do with the
+matter, as far as fighting went. I don't think more than four thousand of
+our troops were in action; but you see if it had not been for our advance,
+Hill and Nightingale might not have succeeded in driving Laborde off the
+hill. There is no doubt that the French fought well, but it's our advance
+that forced him to retire, not the troops in front of him; so that, even
+if we have not had any killed or wounded, O'Grady, we have at least the
+satisfaction of having contributed to the victory."
+
+"Oh, bother your tactics! We have come here to fight, and no fighting have
+we had at all, at all. When we marched out this morning it looked as if we
+were going to have our share in the divarshon, and we have been fairly
+chated out of it."
+
+"Well, O'Grady, you should not grumble," Terence said, "for we had some
+fighting on the way out, which is more than any of the other troops had."
+
+"That was a mere skirmish, Terence. First of all we were shot at, and
+could not shoot back again; and thin we shot at the enemy, and they could
+not shoot back at us. And as for the boarding affair, faith, it did not
+last a minute. The others have had two hours of steady fighting,
+clambering up the hill, and banging away at the enemy, and shouting and
+cheering, and all sorts of fun; and there were we, tramping along among
+those bastely stones and rocks, and no one as much as took the trouble to
+fire a shot at us!"
+
+"Well, if we had been there, O'Grady, we should have lost about a hundred
+and twenty men and officers--if we had suffered in the same proportion as
+the others--and we should now be mourning their loss--perhaps you among
+them. We might have been saying: 'There is O'Grady gone; he was a beggar
+to talk, but he meant well. Faith, the drink bill of the regiment will
+fall off.'"
+
+"Well, it might have been so," O'Grady said, in a more contented voice;
+"and if I had been killed going up the hill, without even as much as
+catching a glimpse of the Frenchies, I would niver have forgiven
+them--niver!"
+
+There was a roar of laughter at the bull.
+
+"Phwat is it have I said?" he asked, in surprise.
+
+"Nothing, O'Grady; but it would be an awful thing for the French to know
+that after your death you would have gone on hating them for ever."
+
+"Did I say that? But you know my maneing, and as long as you know that,
+what does it matter which way I put it? Well, now, I suppose Sir Arthur is
+going to take us tramping along again. Ah, it is a weary thing being a
+soldier!"
+
+"Why, you were saying yesterday, O'Grady, that your feet were getting all
+right," Terence said.
+
+"All right in a manner, Terence. And it is a bad habit that you have got
+of picking up your supayrior officer's words and throwing them into his
+teeth. You will come to a bad end if you don't break yourself of it; and
+the worst of it is, you are corrupting the other lads, and the young
+officers are losing all respect for their seniors. I am surprised, Major,
+that you and the colonel don't take the matter in hand before the
+discipline of the regiment is destroyed entirely."
+
+"You draw it upon yourself, O'Grady, and it is good for us all to have a
+laugh sometimes. We should all have missed you sorely had you gone down on
+that hill over there--as many a good fellow has done. I hear that both the
+9th and 29th have lost their colonels."
+
+"The Lord presarve us from such a misfortune, Major! It would give us a
+step all through the regiment; but then, you see--" And he stopped.
+
+"You mean I should be colonel, O'Grady," the major said, with a laugh;
+"and you know I should not take things as quietly as he does. Well, you
+see, there are consolations all round."
+
+The firing had ceased at four o'clock, and until late that night a large
+portion of the force were occupied in searching the ground that had been
+traversed, burying the dead, and carrying the wounded of both
+nationalities down into the hospital that had been established at Rolica.
+Sir Arthur determined to march at daybreak, so as to secure the passes
+through Torres Vedras; but in the evening a messenger arrived with the
+news that Anstruther and Acland's division, with a large fleet of
+store-ships, were off the coast. The dangerous nature of the coast, and
+the certainty that, should a gale spring up, a large proportion of the
+ships would be wrecked, rendered it absolutely necessary to secure the
+disembarkation of the troops at once. The next morning, therefore, he only
+marched ten miles to Lourinha, and thence advanced to Vimiera, eight miles
+farther, where he covered the disembarkation of the troops.
+
+The next day Anstruther's brigade were with difficulty, and some loss,
+landed on an open sandy beach, and on the night of the 20th Acland's
+brigade were disembarked at Maciera Bay. The reinforcements were most
+opportune, for already the British had proof that Junot was preparing a
+heavy blow. That general had, indeed, lost no time in taking steps to
+bring on a decisive battle. While the British were marching to Lourinha,
+he had, with Loison's division, crossed the line of Laborde's retreat, and
+on the same evening reached Torres Vedras, where the next day he was
+joined by Laborde, and on the 20th by his reserve. In the meantime he sent
+forward his cavalry, which scoured the country round the rear of the
+British camp, and prevented the general from obtaining any information
+whatever as to his position or intentions.
+
+The arrival of Acland's brigade on the night of the 20th increased the
+fighting strength of the army to 16,000 men, with eighteen guns, exclusive
+of Trant's Portuguese, while Sir Arthur judged that Junot could not put
+more than 14,000 in the field. Previous to leaving Mondego he had sent to
+Sir Harry Burrard notice of his plan of campaign, advising him to let Sir
+John Moore, on his arrival with 5,000 men, disembark there and march on
+Santarem, where he would protect the left of the army in its advance,
+block the line of the Tagus, and menace the French line of communication
+between Lisbon and the important fortress of Elvas. The ground at Santarem
+was suited for defence, and Moore could be joined with Friere, who was
+still, with his 5,000 men, at Leirya.
+
+The general intended to make a forced march, keeping by the sea-road. A
+strong advance guard would press forward and occupy the formidable
+position of Mathia in the rear of the hills. With the main body he
+intended to seize some heights a few miles behind Torres Vedras, and to
+cut the road between that place and Montechique, on the direct road to
+Lisbon, and so interpose between Junot and the capital. At twelve o'clock
+that night Sir Arthur was roused by a messenger, who reported that Junot,
+with 20,000 men, was advancing to attack him, and was but an hour's march
+distant. He disbelieved the account of the force of the enemy, and had no
+doubt but that the messenger's fears had exaggerated the closeness of his
+approach. He therefore contented himself with sending orders to the
+pickets to use redoubled vigilance, and at daylight the whole British
+force was, as usual, under arms.
+
+Nothing could have suited the British commander better than that Junot
+should attack him, for the position of Vimiera was strong. The town was
+situated in a valley, through which the little river Maciera flows. In
+this were placed the commissariat stores, while the cavalry and Portuguese
+were on a small plain behind the village. In front of Vimiera was a steep
+hill with a flat top, commanding the ground to the south and east for a
+considerable distance. Fane's and Anstruther's infantry, with six guns,
+were posted here. Fane's left rested on a churchyard, blocking a road
+which led round the declivity of the hill to the town. Behind this
+position, and separated by the river and road, was a hill extending in a
+half-moon to the sea.
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF VIMIERA. map]
+
+Five brigades of infantry, forming the British right, occupied this
+mountain. On the other side of the ravine formed by the river, just beyond
+Vimiera, was another strong and narrow range of heights. There was no
+water to be found on this ridge, and only the 40th Regiment and some
+pickets were stationed here. It was vastly better to be attacked in such a
+position than to be compelled to storm the heights of Torres Vedras, held
+by a strong French army. The advance of the French was fortunate in
+another respect. On the 20th Sir Harry Burrard arrived in the bay on board
+a frigate, and Sir Arthur, thus superseded, went on board to report the
+position of affairs, renewing his recommendation that Sir John Moore
+should land at Mondego and march to Santarem. Sir Harry Burrard, however,
+had already determined that his force should land at Maciera, and he
+refused to permit Sir Arthur's plan of advance to be carried out, and
+ordered that no offensive step should be undertaken until Sir John Moore
+had landed.
+
+The advance of Junot, happily, left Wellesley at liberty to act; and
+disposing his force in order of battle, he awaited the appearance of the
+enemy. It was not until seven o'clock that a cloud of dust was seen rising
+above the opposite ridge, and an hour later a body of cavalry crowned the
+height and sent out a swarm of scouts in every direction. Almost
+immediately afterwards a body of cavalry and infantry were seen marching
+along the road from Torres Vedras to Lourinha, threatening to turn the
+left of the British position. As the British right was not menaced, four
+of the brigades on the hill on that flank were ordered to cross the valley
+and to take post with the 40th Regiment for the defence of the ridge.
+
+This movement, being covered by the Vimiera heights, was unseen by the
+enemy; the 5th brigade and the Portuguese were on a second ridge behind
+the other, and thus assisted to cover the English left and protect its
+rear. The ground between the crest on which the French were first seen and
+our position was so thickly covered with wood, that after the enemy had
+descended into it no correct view of their movements could be obtained.
+
+Junot had intended to fall upon the English army at daybreak, but the
+defiles through which the force had to pass had delayed the march, as had
+the fatigue of the troops, who had been marching all night. From the
+height from which he obtained a view of the British position it seemed to
+him that the British centre and right were held in great strength, and
+that the left was almost unguarded. He therefore determined to attack upon
+that flank, which, indeed, was in any case the most favourable, as, were
+he successful there, he would cut the line of the British retreat and pen
+them up on the sea-shore.
+
+The march of the four brigades through Vimiera to take post on the British
+left was hidden from him, and he divided his force into two heavy columns,
+one of which was to attack the British left, and having, mounted the
+height to sweep all before it into the town; the other was to attack
+Vimiera Hill, held by Anstruther and Fane.
+
+Brennier commanded the attack against the left, Laborde against the
+centre, Loison followed at a short distance. Kellermann commanded the
+reserve of Grenadiers. Unfortunately for the success of Junot's plan, he
+was unaware of the fact that along the foot of the ridge on the British
+left ran a deep ravine, that rendered it very difficult to attack except
+at the extreme end of the position.
+
+"We are going to have our share of the fun to-day," O'Grady said, as he
+stood with a group of officers, watching the wooded plain and the head of
+Laborde's column debouching from among the trees, and moving towards the
+hill.
+
+There was a general murmur of satisfaction from the officers, for although
+they had all laughed at O'Grady's exaggerated regrets at their not being
+engaged at Rolica, all were somewhat sore at the regiment having had no
+opportunity of distinguishing itself on that occasion. No sooner had the
+column cleared the wood than the six guns posted with Fane's and
+Anstruther's brigade at once opened fire upon it. It had been intended
+that Brennier's attack should begin at the same time as Laborde's, but
+that advance had been stopped by the defile, which was so steep and so
+encumbered with rocks, brushwood, and trees, that his troops had the most
+extreme difficulty in making their way across. This enabled Acland, whose
+brigade was in the act of mounting the heights from the town, to turn his
+battery against Laborde's column, which was thus smitten with a shower of
+grape both in front and flank, and to this was added a heavy musketry fire
+from the three brigades.
+
+"Take it easy, lads, take it easy," the colonel said, as he walked up and
+down the ranks. "They are hardly in range yet, and you had better keep
+your ammunition until they get to the foot of the hill, then you can blaze
+away as hard as you like."
+
+Junot, receiving news of the arrest of Brennier's column and the obstacles
+that he had encountered, and seeing that the whole British fire was now
+directed against Laborde, ordered Loison to support that general with one
+brigade, and directed Solignac to turn the ravine in which Brennier was
+entangled and to fall upon the left extremity of the enemy's line.
+
+Fane had been given discretionary power to call up the reserve artillery
+posted in the village behind him, and seeing so strong an attack against
+his position about to be made called it up to the top of the hill.
+
+Loison and Laborde now formed their troops into three columns of attack.
+One advanced against that part of the hill held by Anstruther's brigade,
+another endeavoured to penetrate by the road past the church on Fane's
+extreme left, while the main column, represented by a large number of the
+best troops, advanced against the centre of the position. The reserve
+artillery, and the battery originally there, opened a terrible fire, which
+was aided by the musketry of the infantry. But with loud shouts the French
+pressed forward, and although already shaken by the terrible fire of the
+artillery, and breathless from their exertions, they gained the crest of
+the hill. Before they could re-form a tremendous volley was poured into
+them, and with a wild yell the Mayo Fusiliers and the 50th charged them in
+front and flank and hurled them down the hill.
+
+In the meantime, Anstruther, having repulsed the less serious attack made
+on him, detached the 43d to check the enemy's column moving through the
+churchyard, and prevented their advance until Kellermann brought up a
+force of Grenadiers, who, running forward with loud shouts, drove back the
+advanced companies of the 43d. The guns on the heights were turned upon
+them with great effect, and those of Acland's and Bowe's brigades on the
+left of the ridge took them in flank and brought them almost to a
+stand-still; then the 43d, in one mass, charged furiously down on the
+column, and after a fierce struggle drove them back in confusion.
+
+The French attacks on this side had now completely failed, and Colonel
+Taylor, riding out with his little body of cavalry, dashed out into the
+confused mass, slaying and scattering it. Margaron, who commanded a
+superior force of French cavalry, led them down through their infantry,
+and falling upon the British force killed Taylor and cut half his squadron
+to pieces. Kellermann took post with his reserve of Grenadiers in a
+pine-wood in advance of the wooded country through which they had
+advanced, while Margaron's horsemen maintained a position covering the
+retreat of the fugitives into the wood. At this moment Solignac reached
+his assigned position and encountered Ferguson's brigade, which was on the
+extreme left of the division, and was taken by surprise on finding a force
+equal to his own where he had expected to find the hill untenanted.
+Ferguson was drawn up in three lines on a steep declivity. A heavy
+artillery fire opened upon the French as soon as they were seen, while the
+5th brigade and the Portuguese marched along the next ridge and threatened
+the enemy's rear.
+
+Ferguson did not wait to be attacked, but marched his brigade against the
+French, who, falling fast under the musketry and artillery fire which had
+swept their lines, fell back fighting to the farthest edge of the ridge.
+Solignac was carried off severely wounded, and his brigade was cut off
+from its line of retreat and driven into a low valley, in which stood the
+village of Peranza, leaving six guns behind them. Ferguson left two
+regiments to guard these guns, and with the rest of his force pressed hard
+upon the French; but at this moment Brennier, who had at last surmounted
+the difficulties that had detained him, fell upon the two regiments
+suddenly, and retook the guns.
+
+The 82d and 71st, speedily recovered from their surprise, rallied on some
+higher ground, and then, after pouring in a tremendous volley of musketry,
+charged with a mighty shout and overthrew the French brigade and recovered
+the guns. Brennier himself was wounded and taken prisoner, and Ferguson
+having completely broken up the brigade opposed to him would have forced
+the greater part of Solignac's troops to surrender, if he had not been
+required to halt by an unexpected order. The French veterans speedily
+rallied, and in admirable order, protected by their cavalry, marched off
+to join their comrades who had been defeated in their attack upon the
+British centre.
+
+It was now twelve o'clock; the victory was complete; thirteen guns had
+been captured. Neither the 1st, 5th, nor Portuguese brigades had fired a
+shot, and the 4th and 8th had suffered very little, therefore Sir Arthur
+resolved with these five brigades to push Junot closely, while Hill,
+Anstruther, and Fane were to march forward as far as Torres Vedras, and,
+pushing on to Montechique, cut him off from Lisbon. Had this operation
+been executed Junot would probably have lost all his artillery, and seven
+thousand stragglers would have been driven to seek shelter under the guns
+of Elvas, from which fortress, however, he would have been cut off had
+Moore landed as Sir Arthur wished at Mondego. Unhappily, however, the
+latter was no longer commander-in-chief. Sir Harry Burrard, who had been
+present at the action, had not interfered with the arrangements, but as
+soon as victory was won he assumed command, sent an order arresting
+Ferguson's career of victory, and forbade all further offensive operations
+until the arrival of Sir John Moore.
+
+The adjutant-general and quartermaster supported his views, and Sir
+Arthur's earnest representations were disregarded. Sir Arthur's plan would
+probably have been crowned with success, but it was not without peril. The
+French had rallied with extraordinary rapidity under the protection of
+their cavalry. The British artillery-carriages were so shaken as to be
+almost unfit for service, the horses insufficient in number and wretched
+in quality, the commissariat waggons in the greatest confusion, and the
+hired Portuguese vehicles had made off in every direction. The British
+cavalry were totally destroyed, and two French regiments had just made
+their appearance on the ridge behind the wood where Junot's troops were
+reforming.
+
+Sir Harry Burrard, with a caution characteristic of age, refused to adopt
+Wellesley's bold plan. A great success had been gained, and that would
+have been imperilled by Junot's falling with all his force upon one or
+other of the British columns. Sir Arthur himself, at a later period, when
+a commission was appointed by Parliament to inquire into the
+circumstances, admitted that, though he still believed that success would
+have attended his own plan, he considered that Sir Harry Burrard's
+decision was fully justified on military grounds.
+
+Junot took full advantage of the unexpected cessation of hostilities. He
+re-formed his broken army on the arrival of the two regiments, which
+brought it up to its original strength; and then, covered by his cavalry,
+marched in good order until darkness fell. He had regained the command of
+the passes of Torres Vedras, and the two armies occupied precisely the
+same positions that they had done on the previous evening.
+
+One general, thirteen guns, and several hundred prisoners fell into the
+hands of the British, and Junot's total loss far exceeded that of the
+British, which was comparatively small. At the commencement of the fight
+the British force was more than two thousand larger than that of the
+French, but of these only a half had taken an active part in the battle,
+while every man in Junot's army had been sent forward to the attack.
+
+Sir Harry Burrard's command was a short one, for on the following morning
+Sir Hew Dalrymple superseded him. Thus in twenty-four hours a battle had
+been fought and the command of the army had been three times changed, a
+striking proof of the abject folly and incapacity of the British ministry
+of the day.
+
+Two of these three commanders arrived fresh on the scene without any
+previous knowledge of the situation, and all three differed from each
+other in their views regarding the general plan of the campaign; the last
+two were men without any previous experience in the handling of large
+bodies of troops, and without any high military reputation; while the man
+displaced had already shown the most brilliant capacity in India, and was
+universally regarded as the best general in the British service. Dalrymple
+adopted neither the energetic action advised by Sir Arthur nor the
+inactivity supported by Burrard, but, taking a middle course, decided to
+advance on the following morning, but not to go far until Sir John Moore
+landed at Maciera.
+
+Sir Arthur was strongly opposed to this policy. He pointed out that there
+were at present on shore but seven or eight days' provisions for the force
+at Vimiera. No further supplies could be obtained in the country, and at
+any moment a gale might arise and scatter or destroy the fleet, from which
+alone they could draw supplies during their advance. The debate on the
+subject was continuing when the French general, Kellermann, bearing a flag
+of truce and escorted by a strong body of cavalry, arrived at the outposts
+and desired a conference. The news was surprising, indeed. Junot's force
+was practically unshaken. He possessed all the strong places in Portugal,
+and could have received support in a short time from the French forces in
+Spain.
+
+Upon the other hand, the position of the British, even after winning a
+victory, was by no means a satisfactory one; they had already learnt that
+it was useless to rely in the slightest degree upon Portuguese promises or
+Portuguese assistance, and that, even in the matter of provisions and
+carriage, their commander-in-chief expected to be maintained by those who
+had come to aid in freeing the country of the French, instead of these
+receiving any help from him. In carriage the British army was wholly
+deficient; of cavalry they had none. When Sir John Moore landed there
+would be but four days' provisions on-shore for the army, and were the
+fleet driven off by a gale, starvation would at once threaten them.
+
+The gallantry with which the French had fought in both engagements, the
+skill with which they had been handled, and above all, the quickness and
+steadiness with which, after defeat, they had closed up their ranks and
+drawn off in excellent order, showed that the task of expelling such
+troops from the country would, even if all went well in other respects, be
+a very formidable one, and the offer of a conference was therefore at once
+embraced by Sir Hew Dalrymple.
+
+Kellermann was admitted to the camp. His mission was to demand a cessation
+of arms in order that Junot might, under certain conditions, evacuate
+Portugal. The advantage of freeing the country from the French without
+further fighting was so evident that Sir Hew at once agreed to discuss the
+terms, and took Sir Arthur Wellesley into his counsels. The latter quite
+agreed with the policy by which a strong French army would be quietly got
+out of the country, in which it held all the military posts and strong
+positions. A great moral effect would be produced, and the whole resources
+of Portugal would then be available for operations in Spain.
+
+By the afternoon the main points of the convention had been generally
+agreed upon. The French were to evacuate Portugal, and were to be conveyed
+in the English vessels to France with their property, public or private.
+There was to be no persecution of persons who had been the adherents of
+France during the occupation; the only serious difference that arose was
+as to the Russian fleet in the Tagus. Kellermann proposed to have it
+guaranteed from capture, with leave to return to the Baltic. This,
+however, was refused, and the question was referred to Admiral Cotton,
+who, as chief representative of England, would have to approve of the
+treaty before it could be signed.
+
+Kellermann returned to Lisbon with Colonel Murray, the
+quartermaster-general, and after three days' negotiations the treaty was
+finally concluded, the Russian difficulty being settled by their vessels
+being handed over to the British, and the crew transported in English
+ships to the Baltic. The convention was, under the circumstances,
+unquestionably a most advantageous one. It would have cost long and severe
+fighting and the siege of several very strong fortresses before the French
+could have been turned out of Portugal. Heavy siege-guns would have been
+necessary for these operations. At the very shortest calculation a year
+would have been wasted, very heavy loss of life incurred, and an immense
+expenditure of money before the result, now obtained so suddenly and
+unexpectedly, had been arrived at.
+
+Nevertheless, the news of the convention was received with a burst of
+popular indignation in England, where the public, wholly ignorant of the
+difficulty of the situation, had formed the most extravagant hopes,
+founded on the two successes obtained by their troops. The result was that
+a commission was appointed to investigate the whole matter. The three
+English generals were summoned to England to attend before it, and so
+gross were the misrepresentations and lies by which the public had been
+deceived by the agents of the unscrupulous and ambitious Bishop of Oporto
+and his confederates, that it was even proposed to bring the generals to
+trial who had in so short a time and with such insufficient means freed
+Portugal from the French. Sir John Moore remained in command of the troops
+in Portugal.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A PAUSE
+
+The Mayo Fusiliers had suffered their full proportion of losses at the
+battle of Vimiera. Major Harrison had been killed, Captain O'Connor had
+been severely wounded, as his company had been thrown forward as
+skirmishers on the face of the hill, and a third of their number had
+fallen when Laborde's great column had driven them in as it charged up the
+ascent. Terence's father had been brought to the ground by a ball that
+struck him near the hip; had been trampled on by the French as they passed
+up over him, and again on their retreat; and he was insensible when, as
+soon as the enemy retired, a party was sent down to bring up the wounded.
+By the death of the major, O'Connor, as senior captain, now attained that
+rank, but the doctor pronounced that it would be a long time before he
+would be able to take up his duties. Another captain and three subalterns
+had been killed, and several other officers had been wounded. Among these
+was O'Grady, whose left arm had been carried away below the elbow by a
+round shot. As Terence was in the other wing of the regiment he did not
+hear of his father's wounds until after the battle was over, and on the
+order being given that there was to be no pursuit the regiment fell out of
+its ranks. As soon as the news reached him he obtained permission to go
+down to Vimiera, where the church and other buildings had been turned into
+temporary hospitals, to which the seriously wounded had been carried as
+soon as the French retired. Hurrying down, he soon learned where the
+wounded of General Fane's brigade had been taken. He found the two
+regimental doctors hard at work. O'Flaherty came up to Terence as soon as
+he saw him enter the barn that had been hastily converted into a hospital
+by covering the floor deeply with straw.
+
+
+[Illustration: 'I should not have minded being hit, Father, if you had
+escaped.']
+
+
+"I think your father will do, Terence, my boy," he said, cheeringly; "we
+have just got the bullet out of his leg, and we hope that it has not
+touched the bone, though we cannot be altogether sure. We shall know more
+about that when we have got through the rough of our work. Still, we have
+every hope that he will do well. He is next the door at the further end;
+we put him there to let him get as much fresh air as possible, for, by the
+powers, this place is like a furnace!"
+
+Captain O'Connor was lying on his back, the straw having been arranged so
+as to raise his shoulders and head. He smiled when Terence came up to him.
+
+"Thank God you have got safely through it, lad!"
+
+"I should not have minded being hit, father, if you had escaped," Terence
+said, with difficulty suppressing a sob, while in spite of his efforts the
+tears rolled down his cheeks.
+
+"The doctors say I shall pull through all right. I hear poor Harrison is
+killed; he was a good fellow. Though it has given me my step, I am
+heartily sorry. So we have thrashed them, lad; that is a comfort. I was
+afraid when they went up the hill that they might be too much for us, and
+I was delighted when I heard them coming tearing down again, though I had
+not much time to think about it. They had stepped over me pretty much as
+they went up, but they had no time to pick their way as they came back
+again, and after one or two had jumped on me, I remembered no more about
+it until I found myself here with O'Flaherty probing the wound and hurting
+me horribly. I am bruised all over, and I wonder some of my ribs are not
+broken; at present they hurt me a good deal more than this wound in the
+hip. Still, that is only an affair of a day or two. Who have been killed
+besides the major?"
+
+"Dorman, Phillips, and Henderson are killed. O'Grady is wounded, I hear,
+and so are Saunders, Byrne, and Sullivan; there have been some others hit,
+but not seriously; they did not have to fall out."
+
+"O'Grady is over on the other side somewhere, Terence; I heard his voice
+just now. Go and see where he is hurt."
+
+O'Grady was sitting up with his back to the wall; the sleeves of his
+jacket and shirt had been cut off, and a tourniquet was on his arm just
+above the elbow.
+
+"Well, Terence," he said, cheerfully, "I am in luck, you see."
+
+"I can't see any luck about it, O'Grady."
+
+"Why, man, it might have been my right arm, and where should I have been
+then? As to the left arm, one can do without it very well. Then, again, it
+is lucky that the ball hit me below the elbow and not above it. O'Flaherty
+says they will be able to make a dacent job of it, and that after a bit
+they will be able to fit a wooden arm on, so that I can screw a fork into
+it. The worst of it at present is, that I have a terrible thirst on me,
+and nothing but water have they given me, a thing that I have not drunk
+for years. They have tied up the arteries, and they are going presently to
+touch up the loose ends with hot pitch to stop the bleeding altogether. It
+is not a pleasant job; they have done it to three or four of the men
+already. One of them stood it well, but the others cried a thousand
+murders. O'Flaherty has promised me a drink of whisky and water before
+they do it, and just at present I feel as if I would let them burn all my
+limbs at the same price. It is sorry I am, Terence, to hear that your
+father is hit so hard, but O'Flaherty says he will get through it all
+right. Well, he will get his majority, though I am mightily sorry that
+Harrison is killed; he was a good boy, though he was an Englishman. Ah,
+Terence, my heart's sore when I think what I said that evening after the
+fight at Rolica! I did not mean it altogether, but the words come home to
+me now. It is not for meself but for the poor boys that have gone. It was
+just thoughtlessness, but I would give me other arm not to have said those
+words."
+
+"I know that you did not mean it, O'Grady, and we were all feeling sorry
+that the regiment had not had a chance to be in the thick of it."
+
+"Here they are, coming this way with the pitch kettle. You had better get
+away, lad, before they begin."
+
+Terence was glad to follow the advice, and hurried out of the barn and
+walked three or four hundred yards away. He was very fond of O'Grady, who
+had always been very kind to him, and who was thoroughly warm-hearted and
+a good fellow, in spite of his eccentricities. In a quarter of an hour he
+returned. Just as he was entering, O'Flaherty came out of the door.
+
+"I must have a breath of fresh air, Terence," he said. "The heat is
+stifling in there, and though we are working in our shirt-sleeves we are
+just as damp as if we had been thrown into a pond."
+
+"Has O'Grady's arm been seared?"
+
+"Yes, and he stood it well; not a word did he say until it was over. Then
+he said, 'Give me another drink, O'Flaherty; it's wake-like I feel.'
+Before I could get the cup to his lips he went off in a faint. He has come
+round now and has had a drink of weak whisky and water, and is lying quiet
+and composed. It is better that you should not go near him at present. I
+hope that he will drop off to sleep presently. I have just given a glance
+at your father, and he is nearly, if not quite, asleep too, so you had
+better leave them now and look in again this evening. Now that the affair
+is over, and there is time to go round, they will clear out some houses
+and get things more comfortable. The principal medical officer was round
+here half an hour ago. He said they would fit up rooms for the officers at
+once, and I will have your father, O'Grady, and Saunders carried up on
+stretchers and put into a room together. If they can bear the moving it
+will be all in their favour, for it will be cooler there than in this oven
+of a place. I hear the church has been requisitioned, and that the worst
+cases among our men will be taken there."
+
+In comparison with the loss of the French that of the British had been
+very small. From their position on commanding heights they had suffered
+but little from the fire of the French artillery, and the casualties were
+almost confined to Fane's brigade, the 43d Regiment, Anstruther's, and the
+two regiments of Ferguson's brigade that had been attacked by Brennier,
+and before nightfall the whole of the wounded had been brought in and
+attended to, the hospitals arranged, and the men far more comfortably
+bestowed than in the temporary quarters taken up during the heat of the
+conflict. As there was no prospect of an immediate movement, the soldier
+servants of the wounded officers had been excused from military duty and
+told off to attend to them, and when Terence went down in the evening he
+found his father, O'Grady, and Saunders--the latter a young
+lieutenant--comfortably lodged in a large room in which three hospital
+beds had been placed. O'Grady had quite recovered his usual good spirits.
+
+"Don't draw such along face, Terence," he said, as the lad entered; "we
+are all going on well. Your father has been bandaged all over the chest
+and body, and is able to breathe more comfortably; as for me, except that
+I feel as if somebody were twisting a red-hot needle about in my arm, I am
+as right as possible, and Saunders is doing first-rate. The doctors
+thought at first that he had got a ball through his body; after they got
+him here they had time to examine him carefully, and they find that it has
+just run along the ribs and gone out behind, and that he will soon be
+about again. If it wasn't that the doctors say I must drink nothing but
+water with lemon-juice squeezed into it, I would have nothing to complain
+of. We have got our servants. Hoolan came in blubbering like a calf, the
+omadhoun, and I had to threaten to send him back to the regiment before he
+would be sensible. He has sworn off spirits until I am well enough to take
+to them, which is a comfort, for I am sorry to say he is one of those men
+who never know when they have had enough."
+
+"Like master, like man, O'Grady."
+
+"Terence, when I get well you will repint of your impudence to your
+supayrior officer, when he is not able to defend himself."
+
+Terence went across to his father's bed.
+
+"Do you really feel easier, father?"
+
+"A great deal, lad. I was so bruised that every breath I took hurt me;
+since I have been tightly bandaged I am better, ever so much. Daly says
+that in a few days I shall be all right again as to that, but that the
+other business will keep me on my back for a long time. He has examined my
+wound again, and says he won't touch it for a few days; but I can see that
+he is rather afraid that the bone has been grazed if not splintered. You
+have not heard what is going to be done, have you?"
+
+"No, father; the talk is that no move will be made anyhow until Sir John
+Moore lands with his troops; after that I suppose we shall go forward."
+
+"It is a pity we did not push forward to-day, lad, if, as I hear, half the
+force were never engaged at all. Junot would not have carried off a gun if
+our fellows had been launched against them while they were in disorder. As
+it is, I hear they have marched away over that ridge in as good order as
+they came, and so we shall have all the work of thrashing them to do over
+again."
+
+"They say that is what Sir Arthur wanted to do, father, but Burrard
+overruled him."
+
+"Did any man ever hear of such nonsense as a general who knows nothing at
+all about the matter coming and taking over the command from a general who
+has just won a battle, and who has all the ins and outs of the matter at
+his finger-ends!"
+
+"Now, my dear O'Connor," O'Grady broke in, "you know what Daly said, the
+quieter you lie and the less you talk the better. He did not say so to
+meself; in the first place, because he knew it would be of no use, and in
+the second, because there is no raison on earth why, because a man has
+lost a bit of his arm, his tongue should not wag. And what does the
+colonel say, Terence; is he not delighted with the regiment?"
+
+"He is that, and he has a right to be," Terence said. "The way they went
+at the French, and tumbled them over the crest and down the hill was
+splendid. The tears rolled down his cheeks when he heard that the major
+and the others were killed, but he said that a man could not die more
+gloriously. He shook hands with all the officers after it was over, and
+sent a party down to the town to buy and bring up some barrels of wine,
+and served out a good allowance to each man. As soon as the firing ceased
+I heard him tell O'Driscol that he was proud to have commanded the
+regiment."
+
+"That is good, Terence; and now, do you think that you could bring me up
+just a taste of the cratur?"
+
+"The divil a drop, O'Grady; if Daly and O'Flaherty both say that you are
+not to have it, it is certain that it is bad for you. But I'll tell you
+what I will do; I have one bottle of whisky left, and I will promise you
+that it sha'n't be touched till you are well enough to drink it, and if we
+are marched away, as I suppose we shall be, I will hand it over to
+O'Flaherty to give you when you are fit to take it. He tells me that he
+will be left to look after the wounded when we move."
+
+"I could not trust him, Terence; I would hand over a bag of gold uncounted
+to him, but as for whisky, the temptation would be too great for an
+Irishman to resist. Look here, you put it into a wooden box and nail it up
+securely, and write on it 'O'Grady's arm,' and hand it over to him
+solemnly, and tell him that I have a fancy for burying the contents
+myself, which will be true enough, though it is me throat I mean to bury
+it in."
+
+Knowing that it was best they should be left in quiet, Terence soon left
+them and returned to the regiment.
+
+"Well, Dick, what did you think of a battle?" he asked his chum.
+
+"I don't quite know what I did think. It does not seem to me that I
+thought much about it at all, what with the noise of the firing and the
+shouting of the men, and the whistle overhead of the French round shot,
+and the men cheering, the French shouting and the excitement, there was no
+time for thinking at all. From the time the skirmishers came running up
+the hill to the time when we rolled the French down it, I seem to have
+been in a dream. It's lucky that I had no words of command to give, for I
+am sure I should not have given them. I don't think I was frightened at
+all; somehow I did not seem to think of the danger. It was just a horrible
+confusion."
+
+"I felt very much like that, too. It was not a bit like what it was when
+we took that brig; I felt cool enough when we jumped on to her deck. But
+then there was no noise to speak of, while the row this morning was
+tremendous. I tried to cheer when the men did, but I could not hear my own
+voice, and I don't know whether I made any sound or not."
+
+A delay of some weeks took place after the battle of Vimiera. The Mayo
+Fusiliers were not among the troops who entered Lisbon in order to overawe
+the populace and prevent attacks both upon French soldiers and officers,
+and Portuguese suspected of leaning towards the French cause. Throughout
+the country everything was in confusion. A strong party, at whose head
+were the Bishop of Oporto and Friere, denounced the convention with the
+French--against whom they themselves had done nothing--as gross treachery
+on the part of the English to Portugal. They endeavoured in every way to
+excite the feelings of the population, both in the country and the
+capital, against the British; but in this they failed altogether, for the
+people were too thankful to get rid of the oppression and exactions of the
+invaders to feel aught but satisfaction at their being compelled to leave
+the country.
+
+The Junta at Oporto, at whose head was the bishop, desired to grasp the
+entire power throughout the country, and were furious at being thwarted in
+their endeavours to prevent a central Junta being established at Lisbon.
+Throughout Spain also chaos reigned. Each provincial Junta refused
+co-operation with others, and instead of concerting measures for
+resistance against the great force that Napoleon was assembling on the
+frontier, thought only of satisfying the ambitions and greed of its
+members. The generals disregarded alike the orders from the central Junta
+at Madrid and those of the provincial Juntas, quarrelled among themselves
+to a point that sometimes approached open hostility, and each acted only
+for his private ends. Arms had been sent in vast numbers from England;
+yet, while the money so lavishly bestowed by British agents went into the
+pockets of individuals, the arms were retained by the Juntas of Seville,
+Cadiz, and the maritime ports, and the armies of Spain were left almost
+unarmed.
+
+The term army is indeed absurd, as applied to the gatherings of peasants
+without, an idea of discipline, with scarcely any instruction in drill,
+and in the majority of, cases, as the result proved, altogether deficient
+in courage; and yet, while neglecting all military precautions and ready
+to crumble to pieces at the first approach of the French, the arrogance
+and insolence of the authorities, civil and military alike, were
+absolutely unbounded. They disregarded wholly the advice of the British
+officers and agents, and treated the men who alone could save them from
+the consequences of their folly with open contempt.
+
+After a fortnight's halt at Vimiera the Mayo Fusiliers were marched, with
+four other regiments, to Torres Vedras, where they took up their quarters.
+In the middle of October O'Grady and Saunders rejoined, and Terence
+obtained a few days' leave to visit his father.
+
+The latter's progress had been slow; the wound was unhealed, pieces of
+bone working their way out, and the doctors had decided that he must be
+invalided home, as it was desirable to clear out the hospitals altogether
+before the army marched into Spain.
+
+"They think the change of air will do me good," Major O'Connor said to
+Terence, as they were chatting together after the latter arrived, "and I
+think so myself. It is evident that I cannot take part in the next
+campaign, but I hope to rejoin again in the spring. Of course it is hard,
+but I must not grumble; if the bullet had been half an inch more to the
+right it would have smashed the bone altogether, then I should have had
+small chance indeed, for taking off the leg at the hip is an operation
+that not one man in twenty survives. O'Flaherty says he thinks that all
+the bits of bone have worked out now, and that I may not be permanently
+lame; but if it is to be so, lad, it is of no use kicking against fate. I
+have got my majority, and if permanently disabled by my wounds, can retire
+on a pension on which I can live comfortably.
+
+"So I hear that Sir John Moore is going to march into Spain. By the way,
+you have got some cousins in Oporto or the neighbourhood, though I don't
+suppose you are likely to run against them."
+
+"I never heard you say anything about them before, father."
+
+"No; I don't think that I ever did mention it. A first cousin of mine went
+over, just about the time that I was married, to Oporto, and established
+himself there as a wine merchant. He had been out there before for a firm
+in Dublin, and when Clancy's father died, and he came into some money he
+went out, as I said, and started for himself. He was a sharp fellow and
+did well, and married the daughter of a big land-owner. We used to hear
+from him occasionally. He died about a year ago, and left a girl behind
+him; she had been brought up in her mother's religion. He never said much
+about his wife, but I fancy she was a very strong Roman Catholic, and that
+they did not quite agree about the girl, who, as I gathered, had a
+hankering after her father's religion. However, after Clancy died we never
+heard any more of them.
+
+"There was a letter from their man of business announcing the death, and
+stating that Clancy had left his own property, that is to say, the money
+he had made in business, to the girl. What has become of her since I do
+not know. It was no business of mine, though I believe that I was his
+nearest relation--at least my uncle had no other children, and there were
+neither brothers nor sisters except him and my father. Still, as he left a
+widow who had a good big property on her own account, and was connected
+with a lot of grandee families, there was no occasion for me to mix myself
+up in the affair; and, indeed, it never entered my head to do so. Yet,
+Clancy and I were great friends, and I should be glad to know what has
+become of his girl. I fancy that she is about your age, and if Moore
+should take you up north you might make some inquiries there. The mother's
+family name was Montarlies, and I fancy, from what Clancy said, her
+father's property was somewhere to the north of Oporto, so I expect that
+at that town you would be likely to hear something of them."
+
+"All right, father; if we go there I will be sure to make some inquiries."
+
+On the fourth day after Terence's arrival the hospital was broken up, the
+convalescents marched for Torres Vedras, and Major O'Connor, with four
+other officers and forty men, were put on board a ship to be taken to
+England.
+
+"Your visit has done your father good, Terence," O'Flaherty said, as,
+after seeing the party safely on board ship, he returned to the town
+whence they were to march with the convalescents, sixty in number, among
+whom were five officers. "He has brightened up a deal the last four days,
+and his wound looks distinctly more healthy. I have a strong hope that all
+those splinters have worked out now, and your being here has given him a
+fillip, so that he is altogether better and more cheerful. I hope by the
+spring he will be able to rejoin us. I can tell you I am mighty glad to be
+off again myself. It has been pretty hard work here, for I have had, for
+the last fortnight, a hundred and twenty men on my hands. At first there
+were three of us here, but two went off with the last batch of
+convalescents, and I have been alone since. Luckily Major Peters has been
+well enough to look after things in general, and help the commissariat
+man; still, with forty bad cases, I have not had much time on my hands. Of
+course I knew him and all the other officers, but they all belonged to
+other regiments, and it was not like being among the Mayos. And when do
+you think we will be starting again?"
+
+"I have no idea. I have heard that Moore is doing everything he can to
+hurry on things, but that he is awfully hampered for want of money. It is
+scandalous. Here are our agents supplied with immense sums for the use of
+these blackguard Spaniards, yet they keep their own army without funds."
+
+"If the general has no funds, Terence, he had better be stopping where he
+is. There is no getting anything in Portugal without paying ten times the
+proper price for it, and from what I hear of the Spaniards they will
+charge twenty times, put the money in their pockets, and then not even
+give you what you paid for. As to their being any good to us as allies, it
+is not to be hoped for; they will take our arms and our money, expect us
+to feed their troops, and will then run away at the sight of a French
+soldier; you will see if they don't."
+
+"I hear that the Junta of Corunna says that all the north will rise as
+soon as we enter their country."
+
+"They may rise and flock round us until they have got arms and money, and
+then they will go off to their homes again. That is the sort of assistance
+that is to be had from them. We should do a deal better if there was not a
+Spaniard in the country, and it was left to us to fight it out with the
+French."
+
+"In that case, O'Flaherty, we should never cross the frontier at all. They
+say that Napoleon is gathering a great army, and against such a force,
+with the French troops already in Spain, our twenty or twenty-five
+thousand men would fare very badly, especially as they say that the
+emperor is coming himself."
+
+"That is worse news than the other, Terence. It is only because the French
+generals have always been quarrelling among themselves that the whole
+Peninsula has not been conquered; but with Napoleon at the head of affairs
+it would be a different matter altogether, and my humble opinion is that
+we had better stay where we are until he has wiped out the Spaniards
+altogether."
+
+Terence laughed.
+
+"You don't take a sanguine view of things."
+
+"You have been with the regiment, Terence, and have had very little to do
+with the natives. I have not seen very much of them either, thank
+goodness; but I have seen quite enough to know that though perhaps the
+peasants would make good soldiers, if officered by Englishmen, there is
+mighty little feeling of patriotism among the classes above them. Reading
+and writing may be good for some countries, but as far as I see here,
+reading and writing spoil them here, for every man one comes across who
+can sign his name is intent either on filling his pocket, or on working
+some scheme or other for his own advantage. If I were Sir John Moore I
+would send up a division to Oporto, hang the bishop and every member of
+the Junta, shoot Friere and a dozen of his principal officers, and if the
+people of Oporto gave them the chance clear the streets with grape-shot.
+Why, if it hadn't been for a small guard of our fellows with the French
+garrisons that were marched down there to embark, the Portuguese would
+have murdered every man-jack of them. They did murder a good many, and
+robbed them all of their baggage; and if it had not been that our men
+loaded and would have fired on them if they had gone further, not a
+Frenchman would have got off alive. If this had been done in Lisbon, where
+the French had been masters, there might have been some sort of excuse for
+it; but they had never been near Oporto at all, and therefore the people
+there had no scores to settle with them."
+
+"I am afraid, O'Flaherty, that an army worked on your principles would
+never get far from the coast, for we should have the whole country against
+us."
+
+"So much the better if we never got far from the coast. How much help have
+we had from them? There is not a single horse or waggon for transport
+except those we have hired at exorbitant prices; not a single ounce of
+food. They would not even divide with us the magazines at Leirya, which
+they had no share in capturing. The rabble they call an army has never
+fired a shot or marched a yard with us, except Trant's small command, and
+they were kept so far out of it in both fights, that I doubt whether they
+fired a shot; and yet they take upon themselves to throw every obstacle in
+our way, to dictate to our generals, and to upset every plan as soon as it
+is formed.
+
+"Well, I shall be glad to be back with the regiment again, Terence. There
+is some fun going on there anyhow, and I have not had a hearty laugh since
+O'Grady went off ten days ago."
+
+"We were all heartily glad to see him back again," Terence said. "He does
+not seem a bit the worse for having lost his hand."
+
+"No, he has got through it a deal better than I had expected, considering
+that he is not what might be called a very temperate man."
+
+"Not by any means. It is not very often that he takes more liquor than he
+can carry, but he generally goes very close to the mark."
+
+"I kept him very short here," O'Flaherty laughed, "and told him that if he
+did not obey orders I would have him invalided home; I have got him to
+promise that he will draw in a bit in future, and have good hopes of his
+keeping it, seeing that when the army starts again you won't get much
+chance of indulging."
+
+"It will be a good thing for others as well as O'Grady," Terence said,
+quietly. "I suppose in Ireland the whisky does not do much harm, seeing
+that it is a wet country; but here I notice that they cannot drink half as
+much as they were accustomed to without feeling it."
+
+"That is true for you, Terence. Half a bottle here goes as far as a bottle
+in the old country; and I find with the wounded, spirits have a very bad
+effect, even in very small quantities. There is one thing, when the troops
+are on the march they not only get small chance of getting drink, but
+mighty little time to think of it. When you have been doing your twenty
+miles a day, with halts and stoppages on these beastly roads and defiles,
+and are on your feet from daylight until late in the evening, and then,
+perhaps, a turn at the outposts, a man hasn't got much time for divarshon;
+and even if there is liquor to be had, he is glad enough when he has had a
+glass or so to wrap himself in his cloak and lie down to sleep. I have
+nearly sworn off myself, for I found that my head troubled me in the
+morning after a glass or two, more than it did after an all-night's
+sitting at Athlone. Ah, Terence, it is lucky for you that you have no
+fancy for it!"
+
+"I hope I never shall have, O'Flaherty. If one has got thoroughly wet
+through in a long day's fishing, it may be that a glass of punch may keep
+away a cold, though even that I doubt. But I am sure that I am better
+without it at any other time; and I hope some day the fashion will change,
+and instead of it being considered almost as a matter of course after a
+dinner that half the men should be under the table, it will then be looked
+upon as disgraceful for a man to get drunk, as it is now for a woman to do
+so."
+
+O'Flaherty looked at his companion with amused surprise. "Faith, Terence,
+that would be a change indeed, and you might as well say that you hope the
+time will come when you can whip off a fellow's leg without his feeling
+pain."
+
+"Perhaps that may come too," Terence laughed; "there is no saying."
+
+The next morning the detachment started at daybreak and marched to Torres
+Vedras, where they heard that a general movement was expected to begin.
+The regiment had now a comfortable mess, and the situation was freely
+discussed as scraps of news arrived from Lisbon. Could the English
+ministry have heard the comments on their imbecility passed by the
+officers of the British army, even they might have doubted the perfect
+wisdom of their plan. On the 6th of October, Moore had received a despatch
+stating that 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry were to be employed in the
+north of Spain. Ten thousand of these were to be sent out direct from
+England, the remainder were to be composed of regiments from the army in
+Portugal. Moore had the choice of taking the troops round in ships or of
+marching them direct. He decided upon the latter course, for arrangements
+had been made by Sir Hew Dalrymple to enter Spain by Almeida, and,
+moreover, he thought that the resources of the sea-coast of Galicia would
+not be more than sufficient to supply transport and food for the 10,000
+men who were to land there under the command of Sir David Baird.
+
+The English general's difficulties were indeed overwhelming. He had
+soldiers who, although but recently raised, had shown themselves good
+fighters; but he was altogether without even transport sufficient for the
+officers. With an ample supply of money, an experienced staff, and a
+well-organized commissariat, the difficulties might have been overcome,
+but Sir John Moore was practically without money. His staff had no
+experience whatever, and the commissariat and transport officers were
+alike ignorant of the work they were called upon to perform. He was
+unacquainted with the views of the Spanish government, and uninformed as
+to the numbers, composition, and situation of the Spanish armies with whom
+he was to act, or with those of the enemy. He had a winter march of 300
+miles before he could join Sir David Baird, who would have 200 miles to
+march from Corunna to join him, and there was then a distance of another
+300 miles to be traversed before he reached the Ebro, which was designated
+as the centre of his operations.
+
+And all this had to be done while a great French army was already pouring
+in through the passes of the Pyrenees. No more tremendous, or, it may be
+said, impossible, task was ever assigned to an English commander; and to
+add to the absurdity of their scheme, the British government sent off Sir
+David Baird without instructions, and even without money. The Duke of York
+had vainly protested against the plan of the ministry, and had pointed out
+that nothing short of an army of 60,000 men, fully equipped with all
+necessaries for war--money, transport, and artillery--could achieve
+success of any kind.
+
+Upon the day Terence rejoined, news came from the engineers in advance
+that the assurances Sir John Moore had received that the road by which the
+army was to travel was perfectly practicable for artillery and
+baggage-waggons, were wholly false, and it was probable that the artillery
+and cavalry would have to make a long circuit to the south.
+
+It was too late now to change the route for the rest of the army. Nearly
+half the force had already started on the road to Almeida, and the
+supplies for their subsistence had been collected at that town. Therefore
+it was necessary that the main body of the infantry should travel by that
+road, while three thousand were to act as a guard for the artillery and
+cavalry on the other route.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE ADVANCE
+
+"It is enough to drive Sir John out of his senses," the colonel said, as
+the news was discussed after mess. "These people must be the champion
+liars of the world. Not content with doing nothing themselves, they seem
+to delight in inventing lies to prevent our doing anything for them. Who
+ever heard of an army marching, without artillery and cavalry, one way,
+while these arms travelled by a different road entirely, and that not for
+a march of twenty miles, but for a march of three hundred? One battery is
+to go with us. But what will be the use of six guns against an enemy with
+sixty? Every day the baggage is being cut down owing to these blackguard
+Portuguese breaking their engagements to furnish waggons, and we shall
+have to march pretty nearly as we stand, and to take with us nothing
+beyond one change of clothes."
+
+Loud exclamations of discontent ran round the table. It was bad enough
+that in the midst of a campaign waggons should break down and baggage be
+left behind, but that troops should start upon a campaign with scarcely
+the necessaries of life had caused general anger in the army; and no order
+would have been more willingly obeyed than one to march upon Lisbon, shoot
+every public official, establish a state of siege, and rule by martial
+law, seizing for the use of the army every draught animal, waggon, and
+carriage that could be found in the city, or swept in from the country
+round. The colonel had not exaggerated matters. The number of tents to be
+taken were altogether insufficient for the regiment, even with the utmost
+crowding possible. The officers' baggage had been cut down to twenty
+pounds a head--an amount scarcely sufficient for a single change of
+clothes and boots. Even the amount of ammunition to be taken would be
+insufficient to refill the soldiers' pouches after the supply they carried
+was exhausted.
+
+The paucity of baggage would not have mattered so much had the march begun
+at the commencement of summer, instead of just as winter was setting in.
+In the former case, men could have slept in the open air, and a solitary
+blanket and one change of clothes would have sufficed; but with the wet
+season at hand, to be followed by winter cold, the grievance was a very
+serious one. Terence had already learned that the brigade was to march in
+two days, and that the great bulk of the baggage was to be stored at
+Torres Vedras, which was to be occupied on their leaving by some of the
+troops that would remain in Portugal.
+
+"Faith, it is an evil look-out, Terence," O'Grady, who was sitting next to
+him, said, pathetically. "Sorra a drop of whisky is there in the camp, and
+now we sha'n't be able to have even a drink of their bastely spirits,
+onless we can buy it at the towns; and as Anstruther's division has gone
+on ahead of us, it is likely that every drop has been drunk up."
+
+"It will be all the better for you, O'Grady. Daly tells me that your arm
+is not fully healed yet. I know that you would not like to be left behind
+when we have once started."
+
+"That is true enough, but a drop of the cratur hurts no one."
+
+"I beg your pardon, O'Grady, it is very bad for anything like a wound. The
+doctor told me, when I was chatting with him before dinner, that he really
+did not think that you could go, for you would not obey his orders to give
+up spirits altogether."
+
+"Well, I own that it has been smarting a good deal the last few days,"
+O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "though I have not said as much to the
+doctor. I don't know that you are not about right, Terence; but faith,
+after being kept upon bastely slops by O'Flaherty, it was not in human
+nature to drink nothing but water when one gets a chance. At any rate, I
+am not likely to find any great temptation after we have started."
+
+"Well, you had better begin to-night, O'Grady. I am going to get away as
+soon as I can, and if you will take my advice you will come too."
+
+"What! and us to march in two days? It is not to be thought of. You mane
+well, Terence, but a lad like you must not take to lecturing your
+supayrior officer. Shure, and don't I know what to do for meself better
+than any other?"
+
+Terence saw that it was useless to endeavour to persuade him to move, and
+presently went round to Dr. Daly and said, quietly:
+
+"Doctor, O'Grady tells me that his arm has been hurting him a good deal
+more during the last two days. I expect they will make a night of it this
+evening, and again to-morrow, and if he once begins, nothing will stop him
+until they break up. Could not you do anything?"
+
+"I will talk to him like a father, Terence. You are a good boy to have
+told me; I might have gone away without thinking of it."
+
+"Don't mention my name, Doctor."
+
+The doctor nodded, and Terence went away and took a vacant seat at some
+distance from him. Presently the doctor got up and went round to O'Grady.
+The supply of claret had just been finished, and bottles of spirits had
+been placed upon the table. O'Grady stretched out his hand to one near
+him, but the doctor quietly removed it.
+
+"Not for you, O'Grady," he said; "you have had more than sufficient wine
+already. I have been doubting whether you are fit to go on with the
+regiment; and, by the powers, if you touch spirits to-night or to-morrow,
+I will put your name down in the list of those who are to be left behind
+as unfit for service!"
+
+"Sure you are joking, Doctor?"
+
+"Never was more earnest in my life, O'Grady. You don't want to be left
+behind, I suppose, in some filthy Portuguese town, while we march on, and
+that is what it will come to if your wound inflames. I told you this
+morning that it was not doing as well as it ought to, and that you must
+cut off liquor altogether. I have had my eye upon you, and you have taken
+down more than a bottle of wine already. I don't think I ought to let you
+go with us, even as it is; but, by the piper that played before Moses, if
+you don't go off to your quarters, without touching a drop more, I will
+have you left behind!"
+
+"You are mighty hard on a poor fellow, and must have a heart of stone to
+treat a man, who has lost his arm and wants a bit of comfort, in such
+fashion. Faith, I would not do it to a dog."
+
+"There would be no occasion, O'Grady; a dog has got sense."
+
+"And I haven't? Thank ye for the compliment. I will appeal to the colonel.
+Colonel, the doctor says if I drink a drop of spirits to-night or
+to-morrow he will put me down in the black list. Now, I ask you, do the
+regulations justify his using such a threat as that?"
+
+"I think they do," the colonel said, with a laugh. "I think that his order
+is good and sensible, and I endorse it. You know yourself that spirits are
+bad for you, with an arm only just healed up. Now, behave like a
+raisonable fellow, and go off to your quarters. You know well enough that
+if you stop here you won't be able to keep from it."
+
+"Faith, if the two of you are against me I have nothing more to say. It is
+mighty hard that after having lost an arm in the service of my country I
+should be treated like a child and sent off to bed."
+
+"I am going, too, O'Grady," Terence, who had gone back to his original
+place, now said. "There is no occasion to go to bed. I have a box of good
+cigars in my tent, and we can sit there and chat as long as you like."
+
+But O'Grady's dignity was ruffled.
+
+"Thank you, Mr O'Connor," he said, stiffly; "but with your lave I will do
+as I said."
+
+"That is the best thing," the doctor said. "You have not had a long
+night's rest since you rejoined. I am going myself, and I see that some of
+the others are getting up, too, and it would be a good thing if all would
+do so, for, with such work as we have got before us, the more sleep we
+get, while we can, the better."
+
+As nearly half the officers now rose from their seats, O'Grady was
+mollified, and as he went out he said:
+
+"I think, after all, Terence, I will try one of those cigars of yours."
+
+On the 14th of October Fane's brigade left Torres Vedras.
+
+
+[Illustration: 'I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL.']
+
+
+A number of the troops had been stationed along the line of route to be
+followed, and these had started simultaneously with the departure of
+Fane's brigade from Torres Vedras. The discontent as to the reduction of
+baggage ceased as soon as the troops were in motion. They were going to
+invade Spain, and ignorant as the soldiers were of the real state of
+affairs, none doubted but that success would attend them there. Among the
+officers better acquainted with the state of things there was no such
+feeling of confidence, but they hoped that they should at least give as
+good an account of themselves as before, against any French force of
+anything like equal strength they might encounter. O'Grady, influenced by
+the doctor's threats, which he knew the latter would be firm enough to
+carry out, had obeyed his orders, and had confided to Terence, when the
+regiment formed up at daybreak for the march, that his arm felt much
+better.
+
+"I don't say that the doctor may not have been right, Terence, but he need
+not have threatened me in that way, at all, at all."
+
+"I don't know," Terence replied. "I feel pretty sure that if he hadn't,
+you would not have knocked off spirits. Well, it is a glorious morning for
+starting, but I am afraid the fine weather won't last long. Everyone says
+that the rains generally begin about this time."
+
+As Terence fell in with his company the adjutant rode up.
+
+"Mr. O'Connor, you are to report yourself to the brigadier."
+
+Wondering much at the message, Terence hurried to the house occupied by
+General Fane. He and several officers were standing in front of it.
+
+"I am told that you wish to speak to me, General," he said, saluting.
+
+"Oh, you are Mr. O'Connor! Can you ride?"
+
+"Yes, sir," Terence replied; for he had often had a scamper across the
+hills around Athlone on half-broken ponies, and occasionally on the horses
+of some of his friends in the regiment.
+
+"I have a vacancy on my staff. Lieutenant Andrews was thrown when riding
+out from Lisbon with a despatch last night, and broke a leg. I was on
+board the flag-ship when your colonel brought his report about the fight
+between the transport and the two privateers. I read it, and was so much
+struck with the quickness and intelligence you displayed, that I made a
+note at the time that if I should have a vacancy on my staff I would
+appoint you."
+
+"I am very much obliged, General," Terence said, "but I have no horse."
+
+"I have arranged that. Lieutenant Andrews will not be fit for service for
+a long time. It is a compound fracture, and he will, the doctor says,
+probably be sent back to England by the first ship that arrives after he
+reaches Lisbon. His horse is therefore useless to him, and as it is only a
+native animal and would not fetch a ten-pound note, he agreed at once to
+hand it over to his successor, and in fact was rather glad to get it off
+his hands. He has an English saddle, bridle, and holsters; he will take
+five pounds for them. If you happen to be short of cash the paymaster will
+settle it for you."
+
+"Thank you, sir; I have the money about me, and I am very much obliged to
+you for making the arrangement."
+
+Terence was indeed in funds, for in addition to the ten pounds that had
+fallen to him as his share of the prize money, his pay had been almost
+untouched from the day he left England, and his father had, on embarking,
+added ten pounds to his store.
+
+"I won't want it, Terence," he said; "I have got another twenty pounds by
+me, and by the time I get to England I shall have another month's pay to
+draw, and shall no doubt be put in a military hospital, where I shall have
+no occasion for money till I am out again."
+
+"But I sha'n't want it either, father."
+
+"There is never any saying, lad; it is always useful to have money on a
+campaign. You may be in places where the commissariat breaks down
+altogether, and you have to depend on what you buy; you may be left behind
+wounded, or may be taken prisoner, one never can tell. I shall feel more
+comfortable about you if I know that you are well provided with cash,
+whatever may happen. My advice is, Terence, get fifteen or twenty pounds
+in gold sewn up in your boot; have an extra sole put on, and the money
+sewn inside. If it is your bad luck to be taken prisoner, you will find
+the money mighty useful in a great many ways."
+
+Terence had followed this advice and had fifteen pounds hidden away,
+besides ten that he carried in his pockets; he therefore hurried to the
+hut where Lieutenant Andrews was lying. He was slightly acquainted with
+him, as he had been Fane's aide-de-camp from the time of landing. The
+young lieutenant's servant was standing at the door with a horse ready
+saddled and bridled.
+
+"I am very sorry to hear of your injury," he said to the young officer.
+
+"Yes, it is a horrible nuisance," the other replied; "and just as we were
+starting, too. There is an end of my campaigning for the present. I should
+not have minded if it had been a French ball, but to be merely thrown from
+a horse is disgusting."
+
+"I am extremely obliged to you for the horse, Andrews, but I would rather
+pay you for it; it is not fair that I should get it for nothing."
+
+"Oh, that is all right! It would be a bother taking it down, and I should
+not know what to do with it when I got to Lisbon; it would be a nuisance
+altogether, and I am glad to get rid of it. The money is of no consequence
+to me one way or the other. I wish you better luck with it than I have
+had."
+
+"At any rate here are five pounds for the saddle and bridle," and he put
+the money down on the table by the bed.
+
+"That is all right," the other said, without looking at it; "they are well
+off my hands, too. I hope the authorities will send me straight on board
+ship when I get to Lisbon; my servant will go down with me. If I am kept
+there, he will of course stay with me until I sail; if not, he will rejoin
+as soon as he has seen me on board. He is a good servant, and I can
+recommend him to you; he is rather fond of the bottle, but that is his
+only fault as far as I know. He is a countryman of yours, and you will be
+able to make allowances for his failing," he added, with a laugh.
+
+There was no time to be lost--the bugles were sounding--so, with a brief
+adieu, Terence went out, mounted the horse and rode after the general, who
+had just left with his staff, and taken his place at the head of the
+column. As he passed his regiment, he stopped for a moment to speak to the
+colonel.
+
+"I heard that you were wanted by the general, Terence," the latter said,
+"and I congratulate you on your appointment. I am sorry that you are
+leaving us, but, as you will be with the brigade, we shall often see you.
+O'Driscol is as savage as a bull at the loss of one of his subalterns.
+Well, it is your own luck that you have and another's; drop in this
+evening, if you can, and tell us how it was that Fane came to pick you
+out."
+
+"It was thanks to you, Colonel. If you remember, you told us at Vigo that
+Fane was on board when you went to make your report, and that he and Sir
+Arthur's adjutant-general read it over together, and asked you a good many
+questions. It was owing to that affair that he thought of me."
+
+"That is good, lad. I thought at the time that more might come of it than
+just being mentioned in orders, and I am very glad that it was for that
+you got it. At any rate, come in this evening; I want to hear where you
+have stolen that horse from, and all about it."
+
+Terence rode off and took his place with his fellow aide-de-camp behind
+the two other officers of the staff. He scarcely knew whether to be glad
+or sorry, at present, at the change that had so suddenly taken place. It
+was gratifying to have been selected as he had been. It was certainly more
+pleasant to ride through a campaign than to march; and there would be a
+good many more chances of distinguishing himself than there could be as a
+regimental officer; while, on the other hand, he would be away from the
+circle of his friends and comrades, and should greatly miss the fun and
+jollity of the life with them.
+
+"An unfortunate affair this of Andrews," Lieutenant Trevor, his fellow
+aide-de-camp, said.
+
+"Most unfortunate. I little thought when you and he lunched with us two
+days since that to-day he would be down with a broken leg and I riding in
+his place. Just at present I certainly do not feel very delighted at the
+change. You see, from my father being a captain in the regiment, I have
+been brought up with it, and to be taken so suddenly away from them seems
+a tremendous wrench."
+
+"Yes, I can understand that," the other said. "In my case it is different.
+My regiment was not coming out, and of course I was greatly pleased when
+the general gave me a chance of going with him. Still, you see, as your
+regiment is in the brigade you will still be able to be with it when off
+duty, and when the end of the campaign comes you will return to it.
+Besides, there are compensations--you will at least get a roof to sleep
+under, at any rate nine times out of ten. I don't know how you feel it,
+but to me it is no small comfort being on horseback instead of tramping
+along these heavy roads on foot. The brigadier is a capital fellow; and
+though he does keep us hard at work, at any rate he works hard himself,
+and does not send us galloping about with all sorts of trivial messages
+that might as well be unsent. Besides, he is always thoughtful and
+considerate. Is he related to you in any way?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"Then I suppose you had good interest in some way, or else how did he come
+to pick you out?"
+
+"It was just a piece of luck," Terence said; "it was because he had heard
+my name in connection with a fight the transport I came over in had with
+two French privateers."
+
+"Oh, yes, I remember now," the other said; "I had forgotten that the name
+was O'Connor. I remember all about it now. He told us the story at Vigo,
+and you were put in general orders by Sir Arthur. I know the chief spoke
+very highly about your conduct in that affair. It is just like him to
+remember it, and to pick you out to take Andrews' place. Well, you fairly
+won it, which is more than one can say for most staff appointments, which
+are in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the result of pure favouritism
+or interest.
+
+"Well, O'Connor, I am very glad to have you on the staff. You see, it
+makes a lot of difference, when there are only two of us, that we should
+like each other. I own I have not done anything as yet to get any credit,
+for at Vimiera it was just stand up and beat them back, and I had not a
+single message to carry, and, of course, at Rolica our brigade was not in
+it; but I hope I shall get a turn some day. Then it was your father who
+was badly wounded?"
+
+"Yes; I saw him off to England four days ago. I hope that he will be able
+to rejoin before long, but it is not certain yet that the wound won't
+bring on permanent lameness. I am very anxious about it, especially as he
+has now got his step, and it would be awfully hard on him to leave the
+service just as he has got field-officer's rank."
+
+"Yes, it would be hard. However, I hope that the sea-voyage and English
+air will set him up again."
+
+Presently one of the officers who were in front turned and said: "The
+general wishes you to ride back along the line, Mr. Trevor, and report
+whether the intervals between the regiments are properly kept, and also as
+to how the baggage-waggons are going on."
+
+As Trevor turned to ride back the general cantered on, followed by the
+three officers and the four troopers who served as orderlies. Two miles
+ahead they came to a bridge across a torrent. The road, always a bad one,
+had been completely cut up by the passage of the provision and ammunition
+carts going to the front, and was now almost impassable.
+
+"Will you please to ride back, Mr. O'Connor, and request the colonel of
+the leading regiment to send on the pioneers and a company of men at the
+double to clear the road and make it passable for the waggons."
+
+The work was quickly done. While some men filled up the deep ruts, others
+cut down shrubs and bushes growing by the river bank, tied them into
+bundles, and put them across the narrow road, and threw earth and stones
+upon them, and in half an hour from the order being given the bugle
+sounded the advance. The head of the column had been halted just before it
+reached the bridge, and the men fell out, many of them running down to the
+stream to refill their water-bottles. As the bugle sounded they at once
+fell in again, and the column got into motion. General Fane and his staff
+remained at the bridge until the waggons had all crossed it.
+
+"It is not much of a job," Fane said. "Of course the four regiments
+passing over it flattened the earth well down, but the waggons have cut it
+all up again. The first heavy shower will wash all the earth away, and in
+a couple of days it will be as bad as before. There are plenty of stones
+down in the river, but we have no means of breaking up the large ones, or
+of carrying any quantity of small ones. A few hundred sappers and
+engineers, with proper tools, would soon go a long way towards making the
+road fairly fit for traffic, but nothing can be done without tools and
+wheel-barrows, or at least hand-barrows for carrying stones. You see, the
+men wanted to use their blankets, but the poor fellows will want them
+badly enough before long, and those contractors' goods would go all to
+pieces by the time they had carried half a dozen loads of stones. At any
+rate, we will content ourselves with making the road passable for our own
+waggons, and the troops who come after us must do the same. By the way,
+Mr. O'Connor, you have not got your kit yet."
+
+"No, sir; but I have no doubt that it is with the regimental baggage, and
+I will get it when we halt to-night."
+
+"Do so," the general said. "Of course it can be carried with ours, but I
+should advise you always to take a change of clothes in your valise, and a
+blanket strapped on with your greatcoat."
+
+"I have Mr. Andrews' blanket, sir. It was strapped on when I mounted, and
+I did not notice it."
+
+"That is all right. The store blankets are very little use for keeping off
+rain, but we all provided ourselves with good thick horse-cloths before
+leaving England. They are a great deal warmer than blankets, and are
+practically water-proof. I have no doubt that Mr. Andrews told his servant
+to strap it on as usual."
+
+Many and many a time during the campaign had Terence good reason for
+thinking with gratitude of Andrews' kindly thought. His greatcoat, which
+like those of all the officers of the regiment, had been made at Athlone,
+of good Irish frieze lined with flannel, would stand almost any amount of
+rain, but it was not long enough to protect his legs while lying down. But
+by rolling himself in the horse-cloth he was able to sleep warm and dry,
+when without it he would have been half-frozen, or soaked through with
+rain from above and moisture from the ground below. He found that the
+brigadier and his staff carried the same amount of baggage as other
+officers, the only difference being that the general had a tent for
+himself, his assistant-adjutant and quartermaster one between them, while
+a third was used as an office-tent in the day, and was occupied by the two
+aides-de-camp at night.
+
+The baggage-waggon allotted to them carried the three tents, their scanty
+kits, and a box of stationery and official forms, but was mainly laden
+with musketry ammunition for the use of the brigade. After marching
+eighteen miles the column halted at a small village. The tents were
+speedily pitched, rations served out, and fires lighted. The general took
+possession of the principal house in the village for the use of himself
+and his staff, and the quartermaster-general apportioned the rest of the
+houses between the officers of the four battalions. The two aides-de-camp
+accompanied the general in his tour of inspection through the camp.
+
+"It will be an hour before dinner is ready," Trevor said, as they returned
+to the house, "and you won't be wanted before that. I shall be about if
+the chief has any orders to send out. I don't think it is likely that he
+will have; he is not given, as some brigadiers are, to worrying; and,
+besides, there are the orderlies here to take any routine orders out, so
+you can be off if you like."
+
+Terence at once went down to the camp of the Mayo Fusiliers. The officers
+were all there, their quartermaster having gone into the village to fix
+their respective quarters.
+
+"Hooray, Terence, me boy!" O'Grady shouted, as he came up, "we all
+congratulate you. Faith, it is a comfort to see that for once merit has
+been recognized. I am sure that there is not a man in the regiment but
+would have liked to have given you a cheer as you rode along this morning
+just before we started. We shall miss you, but as you will be up and down
+all day and can look in of an evening, it won't be as if you had been put
+on the staff of another brigade. As to Dicky Ryan, he is altogether down
+in the mouth, whether it is regret for your loss or whether it is from
+jealousy at seeing you capering about on horseback, while he is tramping
+along on foot, is more than I know."
+
+"If you were not my superior officer, Captain O'Grady, I should make a
+personal onslaught on you," Ryan laughed. "You will have to mind how you
+behave now, Terence; the brigadier is an awfully good fellow, but he is
+pretty strict in matters of discipline."
+
+"I will take care of meself, Dicky, and now that you will have nobody to
+help you out of your scrapes, you will have to mind yourself too."
+
+"I am glad that you have got a lift, Terence," Captain O'Driscol said;
+"but it is rather hard on me losing a subaltern just as the campaign is
+beginning in earnest."
+
+"Menzies likes doing all the work," Terence said, "so it won't make so
+much difference to you."
+
+"It would not matter if I was always with my company, Terence, but now,
+you see, that I am acting as field-officer to the left wing till your
+father rejoins, it makes it awkward."
+
+"I intend to attach Parsons to your company, O'Driscol," the colonel said.
+"Terence went off so suddenly this morning that I had no time to think of
+it before we marched, but he shall march with your company to-morrow. You
+will not mind, I hope, Captain Holland?"
+
+"I shall mind, of course, Colonel; but, as O'Driscol's company has now
+really only one officer, of course it cannot be helped, and as Menzies is
+the senior lieutenant, I have no doubt that he can manage very well with
+Parsons, who is very well up in his work."
+
+"Thank you, Captain Holland; it is the first compliment that you ever paid
+me; it is abuse that I am most accustomed to."
+
+"It is thanks to that that you are a decent officer, Parsons," Captain
+Holland laughed. "You were the awkwardest young beggar I ever saw when you
+first joined, and you have given me no end of trouble in licking you into
+shape. How do you think you will like your work, Terence?"
+
+"I think I shall like it very much," the lad replied. "The other
+aide-de-camp, Trevor, is a very nice fellow, and every one likes Fane; as
+to Major Dowdeswell and Major Errington, I haven't exchanged a word with
+either of them, and you know as much about them as I do."
+
+"Errington is a very good fellow, but the other man is very unpopular. He
+is always talking about the regulations, as if anyone cared a hang about
+the regulations when one is on service."
+
+"I expect that if Fane were not such a good fellow Dowdeswell would make
+himself a baste of a nuisance, and be bothering us about pipe-clay and
+buttons, and all sorts of rigmarole," O'Grady said; "as if a man would
+fight any the better for having his belt white as snow!"
+
+"He would not fight any the better, O'Grady, but the regiment would do
+so," the colonel put in. "All these little matters are nothing in
+themselves, but still they have a good deal to do with the discipline of
+the regiment; there is no doubt that we are not as smart in appearance as
+we ought to be, and that the other regiments in the brigade show up better
+than we do. It is a matter that must be seen to. I shall inspect the
+regiment very carefully before we march to-morrow."
+
+There was a little silence among the group, but a smile stole over several
+of the faces. As a rule, the colonel was very lax in small matters of this
+kind, but occasionally he thought it necessary to put on an air of
+severity, and to insist upon the most rigid accuracy in this respect; but
+the fit seldom lasted beyond twenty-four hours, after which things went on
+pleasantly again. Some of the officers presently sauntered off to warn the
+colour-sergeants that the colonel himself intended to inspect the regiment
+closely before marching the next morning, and that the men must be warned
+to have their uniforms, belts, and firearms in perfect order.
+
+Terence remained for some little time longer chatting, and then got
+possession of his kit, which was carried by Tim Hoolan across to his
+quarters.
+
+"We are all sorry you've left us, yer honour," that worthy said, as he
+walked a short distance behind Terence; "the rigiment won't be like itself
+widout you. Not that it has been quite the same since you joined us
+reg'lar, and have taken to behaving yourself."
+
+"What do you mean, you impudent rascal?" Terence said, with a pretence at
+indignation.
+
+"No offence, yer honour, but faith the games that you and Mr. Ryan and
+some of the others used to play, kept the boys alive, and gave mighty
+contintment to the regiment."
+
+"I was only a lad then, Hoolan."
+
+"That was so, yer honour, and now you are a man and an officer, it is
+natural it should be different."
+
+"Tim Hoolan, you are a humbug," Terence said, laughing.
+
+"Sorra a bit of one, yer honour. I am not saying that you won't grow a bit
+more; everyone says what a fine man you will make. But sure ye saved our
+wing from being captured, and you would not have us admit that, if it had
+not been for a boy, a wing of the Mayo Fusiliers would have been captured
+by the French. No, your honour, when we tell that story we spake of one of
+our officers who had the idea that saved the _Sea-horse_, and brought
+thim two privateer vessels into Vigo."
+
+"Well, Tim, it is only three months since I joined, and I don't suppose I
+have changed much in that time; but of course I cannot play tricks now as
+I used to do, before I got my commission."
+
+"That is so, yer honour; the rigiment misses your tricks, though they did
+bother us a bit. Three times were we turned out at night, under arms, when
+we were at Athlone, once on a wet night too, and stood there for two hours
+till the colonel found out it was a false alarm, and there was me and Mr.
+Ryan, and two or three others as was in the secret, nigh choking ourselves
+with laughter, to hear the men cursing and swearing at being called out of
+bed. That was a foine time, yer honour."
+
+"Attention, Tim!" Terence said, sharply.
+
+They had now entered the village, and the burst of laughter in which
+Hoolan indulged at the thought of the regiment being turned out on a false
+alarm was unseemly, as he was accompanying an officer. So Tim straightened
+himself up, and then followed in Terence's footsteps with military
+precision and stiffness.
+
+"There is a time for all things, Tim," the latter said, as he took the
+little portmanteau from him. "It won't do to be laughing like that in
+sight of head-quarters. I can't ask you to have a drink now; there is no
+drink to be had, but the first time we get a chance I will make it up to
+you."
+
+"All right, yer honour! I was wrong entirely, but I could not have helped
+it if the commander-in-chief had been standing there."
+
+Terence went up to the attic that he and Trevor shared. There was no
+changing for dinner, but after a wash he went below again.
+
+"You are just in time," Trevor said, "and we are in luck. The head man of
+the village sent the general a couple of ducks, and they will help out our
+rations. I have been foraging, and have got hold of half a dozen bottles
+of good wine from the priest.
+
+"We always try to get the best of things in the village, if they will but
+part with them. That is an essential part of our duties. To-morrow it will
+be your turn."
+
+"But our servants always did that sort of thing," Terence said, in some
+surprise.
+
+"I dare say, O'Connor, but it would not do for the general's servant to be
+going about picking up things. No matter what he paid, we should have
+tales going about in no time of the shameful extortion practised by our
+servants, who under threats compelled the peasantry to sell provisions for
+the use of their masters at nominal prices."
+
+"I did not think of that," Terence laughed. "Yes, as the Portuguese have
+circulated scores of calumnious lies on less foundation, one cannot be too
+particular. I will see what I can do to-morrow."
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+A FALSE ALARM
+
+The march was continued until the brigade arrived at Almeida, which they
+reached on the 7th of November, and Sir John Moore and the head-quarters
+staff came up on the following day. All the troops were now assembled at
+that place; for Anstruther, by some misconception of orders, had halted
+the leading division, instead of, as intended by the general, continuing
+his march to Salamanca. The condition of the troops was excellent.
+Discipline, which had been somewhat relaxed during the period of
+inactivity, was now thoroughly restored. The weather had continued fine,
+and the steady exercise had well prepared them for the campaign which was
+beginning. Things, however, were in other respects going on unfavourably.
+
+The Junta of Corunna had given the most solemn promises that transport and
+everything necessary for the advance of Sir David Baird's force should be
+ready by the time that officer arrived. Yet nothing whatever had been
+done, and so conscious were the Junta of their shortcomings, that when the
+fleet with the troops arrived off the port they refused to allow them to
+enter without an order from the central Junta, and fifteen days were
+wasted before the troops could disembark. Then it was found that neither
+provisions nor transport had been provided, and that nothing whatever was
+to be hoped for from the Spanish authorities. Baird was entirely
+unprovided with money, and was supplied with £8,000 from Moore's scanty
+military chest, while at the very time the British agent, Mr. Frere, was
+in Corunna with two millions of dollars for the use of the Spaniards,
+which he was squandering, like the other British agents, right and left
+among the men who refused to put themselves to the slightest trouble to
+further the expedition.
+
+Spain was at this time boasting of the enthusiasm of its armies, and of
+the immense force that it had in the field, and succeeded in persuading
+the English cabinet and the English people that with the help of a little
+money they could alone and unaided drive the French right across the
+frontier. The emptiness of this braggadocio, and the utter incapacity of
+the Spanish authorities and generals was now speedily exposed, for
+Napoleon's newly arrived armies scattered the Spaniards before them like
+sheep, and it was only on one or two occasions that anything like severe
+fighting took place. Within the space of three weeks there remained of the
+great armies of Spain but a few thousand fugitives hanging together
+without arms or discipline. Madrid, the centre of this pretended
+enthusiasm and patriotism, surrendered after a day's pretence at
+resistance, and the whole of the eastern provinces fell, practically
+without a blow, into the hands of the invaders.
+
+At present, however, Moore still hoped for some assistance from the
+Spaniards. He, like Baird, was crippled for want of money, but determined
+not to delay his march, and sent agents to Madrid and other places to make
+contracts and raise money; thus while the ministers at home squandered
+huge sums on the Spaniards, they left it to their own military commanders
+to raise money by means of loans to enable them to march. Never in the
+course of the military history of England were her operations so crippled
+and foiled by the utter incapacity of her government as in the opening
+campaigns of the Peninsular War.
+
+While Baird was vainly trying to obtain transport at Corunna, a
+reinforcement of some five thousand Spanish troops under General Romana
+landed at San Andero, and, being equipped from the British stores, joined
+the Spanish general, Blake, in Biscay. These troops had been raised for
+the French service at the time Napoleon's brother Joseph was undisputed
+King of Spain. They were stationed in Holland, and when the insurrection
+at home broke out, the news of the rising was sent to them, and in
+pursuance of a plan agreed upon they suddenly rose, marched down to a port
+and embarked in English ships sent to receive them, and were in these
+transported to the northern coast of Spain.
+
+Sir David Baird was a man of great energy, and, having succeeded in
+borrowing a little more money from Mr. Frere, he started on his march to
+join General Moore. He had with great difficulty hired some country carts
+at an exorbitant rate, but the number was so small that he was obliged to
+send up his force in half-battalions, and so was able to proceed but very
+slowly.
+
+Sir John Moore was still in utter ignorance of the situation in Spain. The
+jealousy among the generals, and the disinclination of the central Junta
+to appoint any one person to a post that might enable him to interfere
+with their intrigues, had combined to prevent the appointment of a
+commander-in-chief, and there was no one therefore with whom Sir John
+could open negotiations and learn what plans, if any, had been decided
+upon for general operations against the advancing enemy.
+
+On the day that Moore arrived at Almeida, Blake was in full flight,
+pursued by a French army 50,000 strong, and Napoleon was at Vittoria with
+170,000 troops.
+
+Of these facts he was ignorant, but the letters that he received from Lord
+William Bentinck and Colonel Graham, exposing the folly of the Spanish
+generals, reached him. On the 11th he crossed the frontier of Spain,
+marching to Ciudad-Rodrigo. On that day Blake was finally defeated, and
+one of the other armies completely crushed and dispersed. These events
+left a large French army free to act against the British. Sir John Moore,
+however, did not hear of this until a week later. He knew, however, that
+the situation was serious; and after all the reports of Spanish
+enthusiasm, he was astonished to find that complete apathy prevailed, that
+no effort was made to enroll the population, or even to distribute the
+vast quantity of British muskets stored up in the magazines of the cities.
+
+The general arrived at Salamanca with 4,000 British infantry. The French
+cavalry were at Valladolid, but three marches distant. On the 18th more
+troops had arrived, and on the 23d 12,000 infantry and six guns were at
+Salamanca. But Moore now knew of the defeat of Blake, and that the French
+army that had crushed him was free to advance against Salamanca. But he
+did not yet know of the utter dispersal of the Asturian army, or that the
+two armies of Castanos and Palafox were also defeated and scattered beyond
+any attempt at rallying, and that their conquerors were also free to march
+against him. Although ignorant of the force with which Napoleon had
+entered Spain, and having no idea of its enormous strength, he knew that
+it could not be less than 80,000 men, and that it could be joined by at
+least 30,000 more.
+
+His position was indeed a desperate one. Baird was still twenty marches
+distant, his cavalry and artillery still far away. It would require
+another five days to bring the rear of his own army to Salamanca, as only
+a small portion could come forward each day, owing to want of transport;
+and yet, while in this position of imminent danger, the Spanish
+authorities, through Mr. Frere and other agents, were violently urging an
+advance to Madrid.
+
+General Moore was indeed in a position of imminent danger; but the lying
+reports as to the strength of the Spanish army induced him for a moment to
+make preparations for such a movement. When, however, he learned the utter
+overthrow and dispersal of the whole of the Spanish armies, he saw that
+nothing remained but to fall back, if possible, upon Portugal.
+
+It was necessary, however, that he should remain at Salamanca until Hope
+should arrive with the guns, and the army be in a position to show a front
+to the enemy. Instructions had been previously sent to Hope to march to
+the Escurial. Hope had endeavoured to find a road across the mountains of
+Ciudad-Rodrigo, but the road was so bad that he dared not venture upon it,
+as the number of horses was barely sufficient to drag the guns and
+ammunition waggons along a good road. He therefore kept on his way until
+he reached the Escurial; but after advancing three days farther towards
+Madrid, he heard of the utter defeat of the Spaniards and the flight of
+their armies. His cavalry outposts brought in word that more than 4,000
+cavalry were but twelve miles away, and that other French troops were at
+Segovia and other places. The prospect of his making his way to join Sir
+John Moore seemed well-nigh hopeless; but, with admirable skill and
+resolution, Hope succeeded in eluding some of his foes, in checking others
+by destroying or defending bridges, and finally joined the main force
+without the loss of any of the important convoy of guns and ammunition
+that he was escorting.
+
+The satisfaction of the troops at the arrival of the force that had been
+regarded as lost was unbounded. Hitherto, unprovided as they were with
+artillery and cavalry, they could have fought only under such
+disadvantages as would render defeat almost inevitable, for an enemy could
+have pounded them with artillery from a distance beyond their musket
+range, and they could have made no effectual reply whatever. His cavalry
+could have circled round them, cut their communications, and charged down
+on their lines in flank and rear while engaged with his infantry. Now
+every man felt that once again he formed part of an army, and that that
+army could be relied upon to beat any other of equal numbers.
+
+Terence had enjoyed the march to Salamanca. The fine weather had broken
+up, and heavy rains had often fallen, but his thick coat kept him dry
+except in the steadiest downpours; while on one or two occasions only the
+general and his staff had failed to find quarters available. As they
+proceeded they gradually closed up with the troops forming a part of the
+same division, and at Almeida came under the command of General Fraser,
+whose division was made complete by their arrival. Up to this point the
+young aide-de-camp's duties had been confined solely to the work of the
+brigade--to seeing that the regiments kept their proper distances, that
+none of the waggons loitered behind, and that the roads were repaired,
+where absolutely necessary, for the baggage to pass.
+
+In the afternoon he generally rode forward with Major Errington, the
+quartermaster-general of the brigade, to examine the place fixed upon for
+the halt, to apportion the ground between the regiments, and ascertain the
+accommodation to be obtained in the village. Two orderlies accompanied
+them, each carrying a bundle of light rods. With these the ground was
+marked off, a card with the name of the regiment being inserted in a slit
+at the end of the rod; the village was then divided in four quarters for
+the accommodation of the officers. But beyond fixing the name of each
+regiment to the part assigned to it, no attempt was made to allot any
+special quarters to individual officers, this being left for the
+regimental quartermaster to do on the arrival of the troops.
+
+When the column came up Terence led each regiment to the spot marked off,
+and directed the baggage-waggons to their respective places. While he was
+doing this, Trevor, with the orderlies, saw the head-quarters baggage
+carried to the house chosen for the general's use, and that the place was
+made as comfortable as might be, and then endeavoured to add to the
+rations by purchases in the village. Fane himself always remained with the
+troops until the tents were erected, and they were under cover, the
+rations distributed, and the fires lighted. The latter operation was often
+delayed by the necessity of fetching wood from a distance, the wood in the
+immediate neighbourhood having been cut down and burned either by the
+French on their advance, or by the British regiments ahead.
+
+He then went to his quarters, where he received the reports of the
+medical, commissariat, and transport officers, wrote a report of the state
+of the road and the obstacles that he had encountered, and sent it back by
+an orderly to the officer commanding the six guns which were following a
+day's march behind him. These had been brought along with great labour, it
+being often necessary to take them off their carriages and carry them up
+or down difficult places, while the men were frequently compelled to
+harness themselves to ropes and aid the horses to drag the guns and
+waggons through the deep mud. Between the arrival of the troops and dinner
+Terence had his time to himself, and generally spent it with his regiment.
+
+"Never did I see such a country, Terence," O'Grady complained to him one
+day. "Go where you will in ould Oirland, you can always get a jugful of
+poteen, a potful of 'taties, and a rasher of bacon; and if it is a
+village, a fowl and eggs. Here there are not even spirits or wine; as for
+a chicken, I have not seen the feather of one since we started, and I
+don't believe the peasants would know an egg if they saw it."
+
+"Nonsense, O'Grady! If we were to go off the main road we should be able
+to buy all these things, barring the poteen, and maybe the potatoes, but
+you could get plenty of onions instead. You must remember that the French
+army came along here, and I expect they must have eaten nearly everything
+up on their way, and you may be sure that Anstruther's brigade gleaned all
+they left. As we marched from the Mondego we found the villagers well
+supplied--better a good deal than places of the same size would be in
+Ireland--except at our first halting-place."
+
+"I own that, although Hoolan sometimes fails to add to our rations, we
+have not been so badly off, Terence. He goes out with two or three more of
+the boys directly we halt, laving the other servants to get the tents
+ready, and he generally brings us half a dozen fish, sometimes a dozen,
+that he has got out of the stream.
+
+"He is an old hand, is Tim, and if he can't get them for dinner he gets
+them for breakfast. He catches them with night-lines and snares, and all
+sorts of poaching tricks. I know he bought a bag with four or five pounds
+of lime at Torres Vedras, and managed to smuggle it away in the regimental
+baggage. I asked him what it was for, and the rascal tipped me a wink, as
+much as to say, Don't ask no questions, master; and I believe that he
+drops a handful into a likely pool when he comes across one. I have never
+dared to ask him, for my conscience would not let me countenance such an
+unsportsmanlike way of getting round the fish."
+
+"I don't think that there is much harm in it under the present
+circumstances," Terence laughed. "It is not sport, but it is food. I am
+afraid, Tim, that you must have been poaching a good deal at home or you
+would never have thought of buying lime before starting on this march."
+
+"I would scorn to take in an Oirish fish, yer honour!" Hoolan said,
+indignantly. "But it seems to  me that as the people here are trating us
+in just as blackguardly a manner as they can, shure it is the least we can
+do to catch their fish any way we can, just to pay them off."
+
+"Well, looking at it in that light, Tim, I will say no more against the
+practice. I don't think I could bring myself to lime even Portuguese
+water, but my conscience would not trouble me at eating fish that had been
+caught by somebody else."
+
+"I will bear it in mind, yer honour, and next time we come on a good pool
+a dish of fine fish shall be left at your quarters, but yer honour must
+not mintion to the gineral where you got them from. Maybe his conscience
+in the matter of ateing limed fish would be more tender than your own, and
+it might get me into trouble."
+
+"I will take care about that, Tim; at any rate, I will try and manufacture
+two or three hooks, and when we halt for a day will try and do a little
+fishing on my own account."
+
+"I will make you two or three, Mr. O'Connor. I made a couple for Mr. Ryan,
+and he caught two beauties yesterday evening."
+
+"Thank you, Hoolan. Fond as I am of fishing, I wonder it did not strike me
+before. I can make a line by plaiting some office string, with twisted
+horse-hair instead of gut."
+
+"I expect that that is just what Mr. Ryan did, yer honour. I heard the
+adjutant using powerful language this morning because he could not find a
+ball of twine."
+
+After this Terence generally managed to get an hour's fishing before the
+evening twilight had quite faded away; and by the aid of a long rod cut on
+the river bank, a line manufactured by himself, and Hoolan's hook baited
+with worms, he generally contrived to catch enough fish to supplement the
+ordinary fare at the following morning's breakfast.
+
+"This is a welcome surprise, Trevor," the brigadier said the first time
+the fish appeared at table. "I thought I smelt fish frying, but I felt
+sure I must be mistaken. Where on earth did you get them from?"
+
+"It is not my doing, General, but O'Connor's. I was as much surprised as
+yourself when I saw Burke squatting over the fire frying three fine fish.
+I asked him where he had stolen them. He told me that Mr. O'Connor brought
+them in at eight o'clock yesterday evening."
+
+"Where did you get them from, O'Connor?"
+
+"I caught them in the stream that we crossed half a mile back, sir. I
+found a likely pool a few hundred yards down it, and an hour's work there
+gave me those three fish. They stopped biting as soon as it got dark."
+
+"What did you catch them with?"
+
+Terence explained the nature of his tackle.
+
+"Capital! You have certainly given us a very pleasant change of food, and
+I hope that you will continue the practice whenever there is a chance."
+
+"There ought often to be one, General. We cross half a dozen little
+mountain streams every day, and the villages are generally built close to
+one. I don't suppose I should have thought of it, if I had not found that
+some of the men of my regiment have been supplying the mess with them. I
+hope to do better in future, for going over the ground where some of the
+troops in front of us have bivouacked I came upon some white feathers
+blowing about, and I shall try to tie a fly. That ought to be a good deal
+more killing than a worm when the light begins to fade."
+
+"You have been a fisherman, then, at home?"
+
+"Yes, sir; I did a good deal of fishing round Athlone, and was taught to
+tie my own flies. I wish I had a packet of hooks--the two one of our
+fellows made for me are well enough for worms, but they are rather clumsy
+for flies."
+
+"I used to be fond of fishing myself," Fane said; "but I have always
+bought my tackle, and I doubt whether I should make much hand at it, if
+left to my own devices. We are not likely to be able to get any hooks till
+we get to Almeida, but I should think you would find some there."
+
+"I shall be able to get some wire to make them with, no doubt, sir."
+
+"I fancy after we have left Almeida you won't find many opportunities of
+fishing, O'Connor. We shall have other work on hand then, and shall, I
+hope, be able to buy what we want; at any rate, we shall have as good a
+chance of doing so as others, while along this road there is nothing to be
+had for love or money, and the peasants would no doubt be glad to sell us
+anything they have, but they are living on black bread themselves; and,
+indeed, the greater part have moved away to less-frequented places. No
+doubt they will come back again as soon as we have all passed, but how
+long they will be allowed to live in peace and quietness is more than I
+can say. As long as it is only our troops who come along they have nothing
+much to complain of, for they can sell everything they have to dispose of
+at prices they never dreamt of before; but they complain bitterly of the
+French, who ate their fruit and drank their wine, killed their pigs and
+fowls, appropriated their cattle and horses, and they thought themselves
+lucky to escape with their lives. You see there are very few men about
+here; they have all gone off to join one or other of the Portuguese
+bands."
+
+"I fancy these Portuguese fellows will turn out useful some day, General,"
+Major Errington said. "They are stout fellows, and though I don't think
+the townspeople would be of any good, the peasantry ought to make good
+soldiers if they were well drilled and led."
+
+"That is a very large if," Fane laughed. "I see no signs of any leader,
+and unless we could lend them a few hundred non-commissioned officers I
+don't see where their drill instructors are to come from. Still, I have
+more hope of them than I have of the Spaniards. Those men under Trant were
+never tried much under fire, but they certainly improved in discipline
+very much in the short time they were with us. If we could but get rid of
+all the Portuguese authorities and take the people in hand ourselves, we
+ought to be able to turn out fifty thousand good fighting troops in the
+course of a few months, but so long as things go on as they are I see no
+hope of any efficient aid from them."
+
+At Almeida Terence managed to procure some hooks. They were clumsily made,
+but greatly superior to anything that he could turn out himself. He was
+also able to procure some strong lines, but the use of flies seemed to be
+altogether unknown. However, during his stay he made half a dozen
+different patterns, and with these in a small tin box and a coil of line
+stowed away at the bottom of one of his holsters, he felt that if
+opportunity should occur he ought to be able to have fair sport. He had
+suffered a good deal during the heavy rains, which came on occasionally,
+from the fact that his infantry cloak was not ample enough to cover his
+legs when riding. He was fortunate enough here to be able to buy a pair of
+long riding-boots, and with these and a pair of thick canvas trousers,
+made by one of the regimental tailors, and coming down just below the
+knee, he felt that in future he could defy the rain.
+
+At Salamanca there were far better opportunities of the officers
+supplementing their outfits. Landing on the Mondego early in August, they
+had made provision against the heat, but had brought no outfit at all
+suited for wear in winter, and all seized the opportunity of providing
+themselves with warm under-garments, had linings sewn into greatcoats, and
+otherwise prepared for the cold which would shortly set in. The greater
+part of the troops were here quartered in the convents and other extensive
+buildings, and as Fane's brigade was one of the first to arrive they
+enjoyed a short period of well-earned rest. Terence had by this time
+picked up a good deal of Portuguese, and was able to make himself pretty
+well understood by the Spanish shopkeepers. He, as well as the other
+officers, was astonished and disgusted at the lethargy that prevailed
+when, as all now knew, the great Spanish armies were scattered to the
+winds, and large bodies of French troops were advancing in all directions
+to crush out the last spark of resistance.
+
+The officers of the Mayo Fusiliers had established a mess, and Terence
+often dined there. He was always eagerly questioned as to what was going
+to be done.
+
+"I can assure you, O'Grady," he said, one day, "that aides-de-camp are not
+admitted to the confidence of the officer commanding-in-chief. I know no
+more as to Sir John's intentions than the youngest drummer-boy. I suppose
+that everything will depend upon the weather, and whether General Hope,
+with the artillery and cavalry, manages to join us. If he does, I suppose
+we shall fight a battle before we fall back. If he does not, I suppose we
+shall have to fall back without fighting, if the French will let us."
+
+"I wish, Terence, you would give these lazy Spaniards a good fright, just
+as you gave the people at Athlone. Faith, I would give a couple of months'
+pay to see them regularly scared."
+
+"If I were not on the staff I might try it, O'Grady, but it would never do
+for me to try such a thing now."
+
+Dick Ryan, who was standing by, winked significantly, and in a short time
+he and Terence were talking eagerly together in a corner of the room.
+
+"Who is to know you are a staff-officer, Terence?" the latter urged.
+"Isn't it an infantry uniform that you are wearing? and ain't there
+hundreds of infantry officers here? It was good fun at Athlone, but I
+don't think that many of them believed there was any real danger. It would
+be altogether different here; they are scared enough as it is, though they
+walk about with their cloaks wrapped round them and pretend to be mighty
+confident."
+
+"Let us come and talk it over outside, Dick. It did not much matter before
+if it had been discovered we had a hand in it. Of course the colonel would
+have given us a wigging, but at heart he would have been as pleased at the
+joke as any of us. But it is a different affair here."
+
+Going out, they continued their talk and arranged their plans. Late the
+following night two English officers rushed suddenly into a drinking-shop
+close to the gate through which the road to Valladolid passed.
+
+"The French! the French!" one exclaimed. "Run for your lives and give the
+alarm!"
+
+The men all leapt to their feet, rushed out tumultuously, and scattered
+through the streets, shouting at the top of their voices: "The French are
+coming! the French are coming! Get up, or you will all be murdered in your
+beds!"
+
+The alarm spread like wildfire, and Terence and Ryan made their way back,
+by the shortest line, to the room where most of the officers were still
+sitting, smoking and chatting.
+
+"Any news, O'Connor?" the colonel asked.
+
+"Nothing that I have heard of, Colonel. I thought I would drop in for a
+cigar before turning in."
+
+A few minutes later Tim Hoolan entered.
+
+"There is a shindy in the town, your honour," he said to the colonel.
+"Meself does not know what it is about; but they are hallooing and bawling
+fit to kill themselves."
+
+One of the officers went to the window and threw it up.
+
+"Hoolan is right, Colonel; there is something the matter. There--" he
+broke off as a church bell pealed out with loud and rapid strokes.
+
+"That is the alarm, sure enough!" the colonel exclaimed. "Be off at once,
+gentlemen, and get the men up and under arms."
+
+"I must be off to the general's quarters!" Terence exclaimed, hastily
+putting on his greatcoat again.
+
+"The divil fly away with them," O'Grady grumbled, as he hastily finished
+the glass before him; "sorrow a bit of peace can I get at all, at all, in
+this bastely country."
+
+Terence hurried away to his quarters. A score of church bells were now
+pealing out the alarm. From every house men and women rushed out
+panic-stricken, and eagerly questioned each other. All sorts of wild
+reports were circulated.
+
+"The British outposts have been driven in; the Valladolid gate has been
+captured; Napoleon himself, with his whole army, is pouring into the
+town."
+
+The shrieks of frightened women added to the din, above which the British
+bugles calling the troops to arms could be heard in various quarters of
+the city.
+
+"Oh, here you are, Mr. O'Connor!" General Fane exclaimed, as he hurried
+in. "Mr. Trevor has just started for the convent; he may be intercepted,
+and therefore do you carry the same message; the brigade is to get under
+arms at once, and to remain in readiness for action until I arrive. From
+what I can gather from these frightened fools, the French have already
+entered the town. If the convent is attacked, it is to be defended until
+the last. I am going to head-quarters for orders."
+
+A good deal alarmed at the consequences of the tumult that he and Dick
+Ryan had excited, Terence made his way through the streets at a run; his
+progress, however, was impeded by the crowd, many of whom seized him as he
+passed and implored him to tell them the news. He observed that not a
+weapon was to be seen among the crowd; evidently resistance was absolutely
+unthought of. Trevor had reached the convent before him. The four
+regiments had already gathered there under arms.
+
+"Have you any orders, Mr. O'Connor?" Colonel Corcoran asked, eagerly, for
+the Mayo Fusiliers happened to be formed up next the gate of the convent.
+
+"No, sir; only to repeat those brought by Mr. Trevor, as the general
+thought that he might be intercepted on the way. The troops are to remain
+here in readiness until he arrives. If attacked, they are to hold the
+convent until the last."
+
+"Have you seen any signs of the French?"
+
+"None, whatever, Colonel."
+
+"Did you hear any firing?"
+
+"No, sir; but there was such an uproar--what with the church bells,
+everyone shouting, and the women screaming--that I don't suppose I should
+have heard it unless it had been quite close."
+
+"We thought we heard musketry," the colonel replied, "but it might have
+been only fancy. There is such a hullabaloo in the city that we might not
+have heard the fire of small-arms, but I think that we must have heard
+artillery."
+
+In ten minutes Fane with his staff galloped in. "The brigade will march
+down towards the Valladolid gate," he said. "If you encounter any enemies,
+Colonel Corcoran you will at once occupy the houses on both sides of the
+street and open fire upon them from the windows and roofs; the other
+regiments will charge them. At present," he went on, as the colonel gave
+the order for the regiment to march, "we can obtain no information as to
+the cause of this uproar. An officer rode in, just as I was starting, from
+Anstruther's force, encamped outside the walls, asking for orders, and
+reporting that his outposts have seen no signs of the enemy. I believe it
+is a false alarm after all, and we are marching rather to reassure the
+populace than with any idea of meeting the enemy."
+
+The troops marched rapidly through the streets, making their way without
+ceremony through the terrified crowd. They had gone but a short distance
+when the bells of the churches one by one ceased their clamour, and a hush
+succeeded the din that had before prevailed. When the head of the column
+reached the gate, they saw Sir John Moore and his staff sitting there on
+horseback. Fane rode up to him for orders.
+
+"It is, as I fancied, wholly a false alarm," the general said. "How it
+could have started I have no idea. I have had another report from
+Anstruther; all is quiet at the outposts, and there is no sign whatever of
+the enemy. There is nothing to do but to march the troops back to
+barracks. However, I am not sorry, for possibly the scare may wake the
+authorities up to the necessity of taking some steps for the protection of
+the town."
+
+Terence rode back with General Fane to his quarters.
+
+"I cannot make out," Trevor said, as they went, "how the scare can have
+begun; everything was quiet enough. I was just thinking of turning in when
+we heard a shouting in the streets. In three minutes the whole town seemed
+to have gone mad, and I made sure that the French must be upon us; but I
+could not make out how they could have done so without our outposts giving
+the alarm. Where were you when it began?"
+
+"I was in the mess-room of the Mayos, when one of the servants ran in to
+say that there was a row. Directly afterwards the alarm-bells began to
+ring, the colonel at once gave orders for the regiment to be got under
+arms, and I ran back to the general for orders; and I must have passed you
+somewhere on the road. Did you ever see such cowards as these Spaniards?
+Though there are arms enough in the town for every man to bear a
+musket--and certainly the greater portion of them have weapons of some
+sort or other--I did not see a man with arms of any kind in his hand."
+
+
+"I noticed the same thing," Trevor said. "It is disgusting. It was evident
+that the sole thought that possessed them was as to their own wretched
+lives. I have no doubt that, if they could have had their will, they would
+have disarmed all our troops, in order that no resistance whatever should
+be offered. And yet only yesterday the fellows were all bragging about
+their patriotism, and the bravery that would be shown should the French
+make their appearance. It makes one sick to be fighting for such people."
+
+The following afternoon Terence went up to the convent.
+
+"Well, O'Connor, have you heard how it all began?" the colonel asked, as
+he went into the mess-room.
+
+"No one seems to know at all, Colonel. The authorities are making
+inquiries, but, as far as I have heard, nothing has taken place to account
+for it."
+
+"It reminds me," the colonel said, shutting one eye and looking fixedly at
+Terence, "of a certain affair that took place at Athlone."
+
+"I was thinking the same myself," Terence replied, quietly, "only the
+scare was a good deal greater here than it was there; besides, a good many
+of the townspeople in Athlone did turn out with guns in their hands,
+whereas here, I believe every man in the town hid his gun in his bed
+before running out."
+
+"I always suspected you of having a hand in that matter, Terence."
+
+"Did you, Colonel?" Terence said, in a tone of surprise. "Well, as,
+fortunately, I was sitting here when this row began, you cannot suspect me
+this time."
+
+"I don't know; you and Ryan came in together, which was suspicious in
+itself, and it was not two minutes after you had come in that the rumpus
+began. Just give me a wink, lad, if you had a finger in the matter. You
+know you are safe with me; besides, ain't you a staff-officer now, and
+outside my jurisdiction altogether?"
+
+"Well, Colonel, a wink does not cost anything," Terence said, "so here is
+to ye."
+
+He exchanged a wink with the colonel, who burst into a fit of laughter so
+loud that he startled all the other officers, who at once came up to hear
+the joke.
+
+"It is just a little story that Terence has been telling me," the colonel
+said, when he had recovered his breath, "about the scare last night, and
+how a young woman, with next to nothing on her, threw her arms round his
+neck and begged him to save her. The poor young fellow blushed up to his
+eyelids with the shame of it in the public streets!"
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE RETREAT
+
+O'Grady asked no questions, but presently whispered to Terence: "Faith, ye
+did it well, me boy."
+
+"Did what well, O'Grady?"
+
+"You need not tell me about it, Terence. I was expecting it. Didn't I
+spake to ye the day before about it, and didn't I feel sure that something
+would come of it? When that row began last night, I looked at you hard and
+saw you wink at that young spalpeen, Dicky Ryan; and sure all the time
+that we were standing there, formed up, I well-nigh burst the buttons off
+me coatee in holding in me laughter, when everyone else was full of
+excitement.
+
+"'Are you ill, O'Grady?' the colonel said, for I had to sit meself down on
+some steps and rock meself to and fro to aise meself. 'Is it sick ye are?'
+'A sudden pain has saised me, Colonel,' says I, 'but I will be all right
+in a minute.' 'Take a dram out of me flask,' says he; something must have
+gone wrong wid ye.' I took a drink--"
+
+"That I may be sure you did," Terence interrupted.
+
+"--And thin told him that I felt better; but as we marched down through
+the crowd and saw the fright of the men, and the women screaming in their
+night-gowns at the windows, faith, I well-nigh choked."
+
+"Have you spoken to Ryan about this absurd suspicion, O'Grady?"
+
+"I spoke to him, but I might as well have spoke to a brick wall. Divil a
+thing could I get out of him. How did you manage it at all, lad?"
+
+"How could I manage it?" Terence said, indignantly. "No, no, O'Grady; I
+know you did make some remark about that scare at Athlone, and said it
+would be fun to have one here. I was a little shocked at hearing such a
+thing from, as you often say, a superior officer, and it certainly appears
+to me that it was you who first broached the idea. So I have much more
+right to feel a suspicion that you had a hand in the carrying of it out
+than for you to suspect me."
+
+"Well, Terence," O'Grady said, in an insinuating way, "I won't ask you any
+questions now, and maybe some day when you have marched away from this
+place, you will tell me the ins and outs of the business."
+
+"Maybe, O'Grady, and perhaps you will also confess to me how you managed
+to bring the scare about."
+
+"Go along wid you, Terence, it is yourself knows better than anyone else
+that I had nothing to do with it, and I will never forgive you until you
+make a clean breast of it to me."
+
+"We shall see about it," Terence laughed. "Anyhow, if you allude to the
+subject again, I shall feel it my duty to inform the colonel of my reasons
+for suspecting that you were concerned in spreading those false reports
+last night."
+
+"It was first-rate, wasn't it?" Dick Ryan said, as he joined Terence, when
+the latter left the mess-room.
+
+"It was good fun, Dicky; but I tell you, for a time I was quite as much
+scared as anyone else. I never thought that it would have gone quite so
+far. When it came to all the troops turning out, and Sir John and
+everyone, I felt that there would be an awful row if we were ever found
+out."
+
+"It was splendid, Terence. I knew that we could not be found out when we
+had not told a soul. Did you ever see such a funk as the Spaniards were
+all in, and after all their bragging and the airs that they had given
+themselves. Our men were so savage at their cowardice, that I believe they
+would have liked nothing better than an order to pitch into them. And
+didn't the women yell and howl? It is the best lark we have ever had."
+
+"It is good fun to look back at, Dicky, but I shall be glad when we are
+out of this. The Spanish authorities are making all sorts of inquiries,
+and I have no doubt that they will get hold of some of the men in that
+wine-shop, and it will come out that two British officers started the
+alarm."
+
+"What if it did?" Ryan said. "There were only two wretched candles burning
+in the place, and they could not have got a fair sight at us, and indeed
+they all jumped up and bolted the moment we spoke. I will bet that there
+is not one among them who would be able to swear to us though we were
+standing before him; and I have no doubt if they were questioned every man
+would give a different account of what we were like. I have no fear that
+they will ever find us out. Still, I shall be glad when we are out of this
+old place. Not because I am afraid about our share in that business being
+discovered, but we have been here nearly a fortnight now, and as we know
+there is a strong French force within ten miles of us, I think that it is
+about time that the fun began. You don't think that we are going to
+retreat, do you?"
+
+"I don't know any more about it than you do, Dicky; but I feel absolutely
+sure that we shall retreat. I don't see anything else for us to do. Every
+day fresh news comes in about the strength of the French, and as the
+Spanish resistance is now pretty well over, and Madrid has fallen, they
+will all be free to march against us; and even when Hope has joined us we
+shall only be about 20,000 strong, and they have, at the least, ten times
+that force. I thing we shall be mighty lucky if we get back across the
+frontier into Portugal before they are all on us."
+
+Sir John Moore, however, was not disposed to retire without doing
+something for the cause of Spain. The French armies had not yet penetrated
+into the southern provinces, and he nobly resolved to make a movement that
+would draw the whole strength of the French towards him, and give time for
+the Spaniards in the south to gather the remains of their armies together
+and organize a resistance to the French advance. In view of the number and
+strength of the enemy, no more heroic resolution was ever taken by a
+military commander, and it was all the more to be admired, inasmuch as he
+could hope to win no victory that would cover himself and his army with
+glory, no success that would satisfy the public at home, and at best he
+could but hope, after long, fatiguing, and dangerous marches, to effect
+his retreat from the overwhelming forces that would be hurled against him.
+
+While remaining at Salamanca, Sir John, foreseeing that a retreat into
+Portugal must be finally carried out, took steps to have magazines
+established on two of the principal routes to the coast, that a choice
+might be left open to him by which to retire when he had accomplished his
+main object of diverting the great French wave of invasion from the south.
+
+On the 11th of December the march began, and for the next ten days the
+army advanced farther and farther into the country. So far Moore had only
+Soult's army opposing his advance towards Burgos, and it might be possible
+to strike a heavy blow at that general before Napoleon, who was convinced
+that the British must fall back into Portugal if they had not already
+begun to do so, should come up. He had been solemnly assured that he
+should be joined by Romana with 14,000 picked men, but that general had
+with him but 5,000 peasants, who were in such a miserable condition that
+when the British reached the spot where the junction was to be effected,
+he was ashamed to show them, and marched away into Leon.
+
+The British, in order to obtain forage, were obliged to move along several
+lines of route. Sir David Baird's division joined them as they advanced,
+and when they reached the Carrion their effective force amounted to 23,583
+men, with sixty pieces of artillery. On the French side, Soult had--on
+hearing of the British advance to the north-east, by which, if successful,
+they would cut the French lines of communication between Madrid and the
+frontier--called up all his detached troops, and wrote to the governor of
+Burgos to divert to his assistance all troops coming along the road from
+France, whatever their destination might be.
+
+On the 21st Lord Paget, with the 10th and 15th Hussars, surprised a French
+cavalry force at Sahagun, and ordered the 15th to turn their position and
+endeavour to cut them off. When with the 10th Hussars Lord Paget arrived
+in the rear of the village, he found six hundred French dragoons drawn up
+and ready to attack him. He at once charged and broke them and pursued
+them for some distance. Twenty were killed, thirteen officers and 154 men
+taken prisoners. On the 23d, Soult had concentrated his forces at the town
+of Carrion, and that night the British troops were got in motion to attack
+them, the two forces being about even in numbers; but scarcely had he
+moved forward when reports, both from Romana and his own spies, reached
+Sir John Moore to the effect that his march had achieved the object with
+which it was undertaken. Orders had been sent by Napoleon for the whole of
+the French armies to move at once against the British, while he himself,
+with the troops at Madrid, 70,000 strong, had started by forced marches to
+fall upon him.
+
+The instant Moore received this information he arrested the forward
+movement of his troops. His object had been attained. The French invasion
+of the south was arrested, and time given to the Spaniards. There was
+nothing now but to fall back with all speed. It was well indeed that he
+did not carry out his intention of attacking Soult. The latter had that
+day received orders from the emperor not to give battle, but to fall back,
+and so tempt Moore to pursue, in which case his line of retreat would have
+been intercepted and his army irretrievably lost.
+
+The order to retreat was an unwelcome one indeed to the troops. For twelve
+days they had marched through deep snow and suffered fatigues, privations,
+and hardships. That evening they had expected to be repaid for their
+exertions by a battle and a victory on the following morning, and the
+order to retreat, coming at such a moment, was a bitter disappointment
+indeed.
+
+They were, of course, ignorant of the reasons for this sudden change, and
+the officers shared the discontent of the troops, a feeling that largely
+accounted for the disorders and losses that took place during the retreat.
+
+Napoleon led his troops north with his usual impetuosity. The deep snow
+choked the passes through the mountains. The generals, after twelve hours
+of labour, reported the roads impracticable, but Napoleon placed himself
+at the head of the column, and, amidst a storm of snow and driving hail,
+led them over the mountain. With tremendous efforts he reached Desillas on
+the 26th; while Houssaye entered Valladolid on the same day, and Ney, with
+the 6th corps, arrived at Rio Seco.
+
+Full of hope that he had caught the British, the emperor pushed on towards
+Barras, only to find that he was twelve hours too late. Moore had, the
+instant he received the news, sent back the heavy baggage with the main
+body of infantry, himself following more slowly with the light brigade and
+cavalry, the latter at times pushing parties up to the enemy's line and
+skirmishing with his outposts to prevent Soult from suspecting that the
+army had retreated. On the 26th the whole army, moving by different
+routes, approached the river Esla, which they crossed in a thick fog,
+which greatly hindered the operation. A brigade remained on the left bank
+to protect the passage, for the enemy's cavalry were already close at
+hand, and Soult was hotly pressing in pursuit.
+
+A strong body of horse belonging to the emperor's army intercepted Lord
+Paget near Mayorga, but two squadrons of the 10th Hussars charged up the
+rising ground on which they had posted themselves, and, notwithstanding
+their disadvantage in numbers and position, killed twenty and took a
+hundred prisoners. Moore made but a short pause on the Esla, for that
+position could be turned by the forces advancing from the south. He
+waited, therefore, only until he could clear out his magazines, collect
+his stragglers, and send forward his baggage. He ordered the bridge by
+which the army had crossed to be broken down, and left Crawford to perform
+this duty.
+
+Short as the retreat had been, it had already sufficed to damage most
+seriously the morale of the army. The splendid discipline and order that
+had been shown during the advance was now gone; many of the regimental
+officers altogether neglected their duties, and the troops were
+insubordinate. Great numbers straggled, plundered the villages, and
+committed excesses of all sorts, and already the general had been forced
+to issue an order reproaching the army for its conduct, and appealing to
+the honour of the soldiers to second his efforts. Valiant in battle,
+capable of the greatest efforts on the march, hardy in enduring fatigue
+and the inclemency of weather, the British soldier always deteriorates
+rapidly when his back is turned to the enemy. Confident in his bravery,
+regarding victory as assured, he is unable to understand the necessity for
+retreat, and considers himself degraded by being ordered to retire, and
+regards prudence on the part of his general as equivalent to cowardice.
+
+The armies of Wellington deteriorated with the same rapidity as this
+force, when upon two occasions it was necessary to retreat when threatened
+by overwhelming forces; and yet, however disorganized, the British soldier
+recovers his discipline the instant he is attacked, and fiercely turns
+upon his pursuers. At the bridge across the Esla two privates of the 3d
+gave an example of splendid courage and determination. It was night. Some
+of the baggage was still on the farther bank, and the two men were posted
+as sentries beyond the bridge, their orders being that if an enemy
+appeared, one should fire and then run back to the bridge and shout to
+warn the guard whether the enemy were in force or not. The other was to
+maintain his post as long as possible.
+
+
+[Illustration: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE? WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM OUT
+OF THEIR BOOTS IN NO TIME]
+
+
+During the night the light cavalry of the imperial guard rode down.
+Jackson, one of the sentries, fired and ran back to give the alarm. He was
+overtaken, and received over a dozen sabre cuts; nevertheless he staggered
+on until he reached the bridge, and gave the signal. Walton, the other
+sentry, with equal resolution stood his ground and wounded several of his
+assailants, who, as they drew off, left him unhurt, although his cap,
+knapsack, belt, and musket were cut in over twenty places, and his bayonet
+bent double.
+
+Terence O'Connor's duties had been light enough during the advance, but
+during the three days of the retreat to the Esla he had been incessantly
+occupied. He and Trevor had both been directed to ride backwards and
+forwards along the line of the brigade to see that there was no straggling
+in the ranks, and that the baggage carts in the rear kept close up. The
+task was no easy one, and was unpleasant as well as hard. Many of the
+officers plodded sulkily along, paying no attention whatever to their men,
+allowing them to straggle as they chose; and they were obliged to report
+several of the worst cases to the brigadier. With the Mayo Fusiliers they
+had less trouble than with others. Terence had, when he joined them at
+their first halt after the retreat began, found them as angry and
+discontented as the rest at the unexpected order, and was at once assailed
+with questions and complaints.
+
+He listened to them quietly, and then said:
+
+"Of course, if you all prefer a French prison to a few days' hard
+marching, you have good reason to grumble at being baulked in your wishes;
+that is all I have to say about it."
+
+"What do you mean, Terence?" O'Grady asked, angrily. "Soult's force was
+not stronger than ours, at least so we heard; and if it had been it would
+make no difference, we would have thrashed them out of their boots in no
+time."
+
+"I dare say we should, O'Grady, and what then?"
+
+"Well, I don't know what then," O'Grady said, after a moment's silence;
+"that would have been the general's business."
+
+"Quite so; and so is this. There you would have been with perhaps a couple
+of thousand wounded and as many French prisoners, and Napoleon with 60,000
+men or so, and Ney with as many more, and Houssaye with his cavalry
+division, all in your rear cutting you off from the sea. What would have
+been your course then?"
+
+A general silence fell upon the officers.
+
+"Is that so?" the colonel asked at last.
+
+"That is so," Terence said, gravely. "All these and other troops are
+marching night and day to intercept us. It is no question of fighting now.
+Victory over Soult, so far from being of any use, would only have burdened
+us with wounded and prisoners, and even a day's delay would be absolutely
+fatal. As it is, it is a question whether we shall have time to get back
+to the coast before they are all posted in our front. Every hour is of the
+greatest importance. You all know that we have talked over lots of times
+how dangerous our position is. General Fane told us, when the orders to
+retreat were issued, that he believed the peril to be even more imminent
+than we thought. We all know when we marched north from Salamanca, that,
+without a single Spaniard to back us, all that could be hoped for was to
+aid Saragossa and Seville and Cadiz to gather the levies in the south and
+prepare for defence, and that erelong we should have any number of enemies
+upon us. That is what has precisely happened, and now there is grumbling
+because the object has been attained, and that you are not allowed to
+fight a battle that, whether won or lost, would equally ruin us."
+
+"Sure ye are right," O'Grady said, warmly, "and we are a set of omadhouns.
+You have sense in your head, Terence, and there is no gainsaying you. I
+was grumbling more than the rest of them, but I won't grumble any more.
+Still, I suppose that there is no harm in hoping we shall have just a bit
+of fighting before we get back to Portugal."
+
+"We shall be lucky if we don't have a good deal of fighting, O'Grady, and
+against odds that will satisfy even you. As to Portugal, there is no
+chance of our getting there. Ney will certainly cut that road, and the
+emperor will, most likely, also do so, as you can see for yourself on the
+map."
+
+"Divil a map have I ever looked at since I was at school," O'Grady said.
+"Then if we can't get back to Portugal, where shall we get to?"
+
+"To one of the northern seaports; of course, I don't know which has been
+decided upon; I don't suppose the general himself has settled that yet. It
+must depend upon the roads and the movements of the enemy, and whether
+there is a defensible position near the port that we can hold in case the
+fleet and transports cannot be got there by the time we arrive."
+
+"Faith, Terence, ye're a walking encyclopeydia. You have got the matter at
+your finger ends."
+
+"I don't pretend to know any more than anyone else," Terence said, with a
+laugh. "But of course I hear matters talked over at the brigade mess. I
+don't think that Fane knows more of the general's absolute plans than you
+do. I dare say the divisional generals know, but it would not go further.
+Still, as Fane and Errington and Dowdeswell know something about war
+besides the absolute fighting, they can form some idea as to the plans
+that will be adopted."
+
+"Well, Terence," the colonel said, "I didn't think the time was coming so
+soon when I was going to be instructed by your father's son, but I will
+own that you have made me feel that I have begun campaigning too late in
+life, and that you have given me a lesson."
+
+"I did not mean to do that, Colonel," Terence said, a good deal abashed.
+"It was O'Grady I was chiefly speaking to."
+
+"Your supeyrior officer!" O'Grady murmured.
+
+"My superior officer, certainly," Terence went on, with a smile; "but who,
+having, as he says, never looked at a map since he left school--while I
+have naturally studied one every evening since we started from Torres
+Vedras--can therefore know no more about the situation than does Tim
+Hoolan. But I certainly never intended my remarks to apply to you,
+Colonel."
+
+"They hit the mark all the same, lad, and the shame is mine and not yours.
+I think you have done us all good. One doesn't care when one is retreating
+for a good reason, but when one marches for twelve days to meet an enemy,
+and then, when just close to him, one turns one's back and runs away, it
+is enough to disgust an Englishman, let alone an Irishman. Well, boys, now
+we see it is all right, we will do our duty as well on the retreat as we
+did on the advance, and divil a grumble shall there be in my hearing."
+
+From that moment, therefore, the Mayo Fusiliers were an example to the
+brigade. Any grumble in the ranks was met with a cheerful "Whist, boys! do
+you think that you know the general's business better than he does
+himself? It is plenty of fighting you are likely to get before you have
+done, never fear. Now is the time, boys, to get the regiment a good name.
+The general knows that we can fight. Now let him see that we can wait
+patiently till we get another chance. Remember, the better temper you are
+in, the less you will feel the cold."
+
+So, laughing and joking, and occasionally breaking into a song, the Mayo
+Fusiliers pushed steadily forward, and the colonel that evening
+congratulated the men that not one had fallen out.
+
+"Keep that up, boys," he said. "It will be a proud day for me when we get
+to our journey's end, wherever that may be, to be able to say to the
+brigadier: 'Except those who have been killed by the enemy, here is my
+regiment just as it was when it started from the Carrion--not a man has
+fallen out, not a man has straggled away, not a man has made a baste of
+himself and was unfit to fall in the next morning.' I know them," he said
+to O'Driscol, as the regiment was dismissed from parade. "They will not
+fall out, they will not straggle, but if they come to a place where wine's
+in plenty, they will make bastes of themselves; and after all," he added,
+"after the work they have gone through, who is to blame them?"
+
+At the halt the next evening at Bembibre the colonel's forebodings that
+the men could not be trusted where liquor was plentiful were happily not
+verified. There were immense wine-vaults in the town. These were broken
+open, and were speedily crowded by disbanded Spaniards, soldiers,
+camp-followers, muleteers, women and children--the latter taking refuge
+there from the terrible cold. The rear-guard, to which the Mayo regiment
+had been attached the evening before, found that Baird's division had gone
+on, but that vast numbers of drunken soldiers had been left behind.
+General Moore was himself with the rear-guard, and the utmost efforts were
+made to induce the drunkards to rejoin their regiments. He himself
+appealed to the troops, instructing the commanders of the different
+regiments to say that he relied implicitly upon the soldiers to do their
+duty. The French might at any moment be up, and every man must be in his
+ranks. No men were to fall out or to enter any wine-house or cellar, but
+each should have at once a pint of wine served out to him, and as much
+more before they marched in the morning.
+
+After the colonel read out this order, he supplemented it by saying, "Now,
+boys, the credit of the regiment is at stake. It is a big honour that has
+been paid you in choosing you to join the rear-guard, and you have got to
+show that you deserve it. As soon as it can be drawn, you will have your
+pint of wine each, which will be enough to warm your fingers and toes.
+Wait here in the ranks till you have drunk your wine and eaten some of the
+bread in your haversacks, and by that time I will see what I can do for
+you. You will have another pint before starting; but mind, though I hope
+there isn't a mother's son who would bring discredit on the regiment, I
+warn you that I shall give the officers instructions to shoot down any man
+who wanders from the ranks in search of liquor. The French may be here in
+half an hour after we have started, and it is better to be shot than to be
+sabred by a French dragoon, which will happen surely enough to every baste
+who has drunk too much to go on with the troops."
+
+Only a few murmurs were heard at the conclusion of the speech.
+
+"Now, gentlemen," the colonel said, "will half a dozen of you see to the
+wine. Get hold of some of those fellows loafing about there and make them
+roll out as many barrels as will supply a pint to every man in the
+regiment, ourselves as well as the men. O'Grady, take Lieutenant Horton
+and Mr. Haldane and two sergeants with you. Here is my purse. Go through
+the town and get some bread and anything else in the way of food that you
+can lay your hands upon. And, if you can, above all things get some
+tobacco."
+
+O'Grady's search was for a time unsuccessful, as the soldiers and
+camp-followers had already broken into the shops and stores. In an
+unfrequented street, however, they came across a large building. He
+knocked at the door with the hilt of his sword. It was opened after a time
+by an old man.
+
+"What house is this?"
+
+"It is a tobacco factory," he replied.
+
+"Be jabers, we have come to the right place. I want about half a ton of
+it. We are not robbers, and I will pay for what we take." Then another
+idea struck him. "Wait a moment, I will be back again in no time. Horton,
+do you stay here and take charge of the men. I am going back to the
+colonel."
+
+He found on reaching the regiment that the men were already drinking their
+wine and eating their bread.
+
+"I am afraid I shall never keep them, O'Grady," the colonel said,
+mournfully. "It is scarcely in human nature to see men straggling about as
+full as they can hold, and know that there is liquor to be had for taking
+it and not to go for it."
+
+"It is all right, Colonel. I know that we can never keep the men if we
+turn them into the houses to sleep; but I have found a big building that
+will hold the whole regiment, and the best of it is that it is a tobacco
+factory. I expect it is run by the authorities of the place, and as we are
+doing what we can for them, they need not grudge us what we take; and
+faith, the boys will be quiet and contented enough, so that they do but
+get enough to keep their pipes going, and know that they will march in the
+morning with a bit in their knapsacks."
+
+"The very thing, O'Grady! Pass the word for the regiment to fall in the
+instant they have finished their meal."
+
+It was not long before they were ready, and in a few minutes, guided by
+O'Grady, the head of the regiment reached the building.
+
+"Who is the owner of this place?" the colonel asked the old man, who, with
+a lantern in his hand, was still standing at the door.
+
+"The Central Junta of the Province has of late taken it, your Excellency."
+
+"Good! Then we will be the guests of the Central Junta of the Province for
+the night." Then he raised his voice, "Boys, here is a warm lodging for
+you for the night, and tobacco galore for your pipes; and, for those who
+haven't got them, cigars. Just wait until I have got some lights, and then
+file inside in good order."
+
+There was no difficulty about this, for the factory was in winter worked
+long after dark set in. In a very few minutes the place was lighted up
+from end to end. The troops were then marched in and divided amongst the
+various rooms.
+
+"Now, boys, tell the men to smoke a couple of pipes, and then to lie down
+to sleep. In the morning each man can put as much tobacco into his
+knapsack and pockets as they will hold, and when we halt they can give
+some of it away to regiments that have not been as lucky as themselves."
+
+The men sat down in the highest state of satisfaction. Boxes of cigars
+were broken open, and in a couple of minutes almost every man and officer
+in the regiment had one alight in his mouth. There were few, however, who
+got beyond one cigar; the warmth of the place after their long march in
+the snow speedily had its effect, and in half an hour silence reigned in
+the factory, save for a murmur of voices in one of the lower rooms where
+the officers were located.
+
+"O'Grady, you are a broth of a boy," the colonel said. "The men have
+scarce had a smoke for the last week, and it will do them a world of good.
+We have got them all under one roof, and there is no fear that anyone will
+want to get out, and they will fall in in the morning as fresh as paint.
+Half an hour before bugle-call three or four of you had best turn out with
+a dozen men, and roll up enough barrels from the vaults to give them the
+drink promised to them, before starting. Who will volunteer?"
+
+Half a dozen officers at once offered to go, and a captain and three
+lieutenants were told off for the work.
+
+"They know how to make cigars, if they don't know anything else," Captain
+O'Driscol said; "this is a first-rate weed."
+
+"So it ought to be by the brand," another officer said. "I took the two
+boxes from a cupboard that was locked up. There are a dozen more like
+them, and I thought it was as well to take them out; they are at present
+under the table. I have no doubt that they are real Havannas, and have
+probably been got for some grandee or other."
+
+"He will have to do without them," O'Grady said, calmly, as he lighted his
+second cigar; "they are too good for any Spaniard under the sun. And,
+moreover, if we did not take them you may be sure that the French would
+have them to-morrow, and I should say that the Central Junta of the
+Province will be mighty pleased to know that the tobacco was smoked by
+their allies instead of by the French."
+
+"I don't suppose that they will care much about it one way or another,"
+O'Driscol remarked; "their pockets are so full of English gold that the
+loss of a few tons of tobacco won't affect them much. I enjoy my cigar
+immensely, and have the satisfaction of knowing that for once I have got
+something out of a Spaniard--it is the first thing since I landed."
+
+"Well, boys, we had better be off to sleep," the colonel said. "I am so
+sleepy that I can hardly keep my eyes open, and you ought to be worse, for
+you have tramped well-nigh forty miles to-day. See that the sentry at the
+door keeps awake, Captain Humphrey; you are officer of the day; upon my
+word I am sorry for you. Tell him he can light up if he likes, but if he
+sees an officer coming round he must get rid of it. Mind the sentries are
+changed regularly, for I expect that we shall sleep so soundly that if all
+the bugles in the place were sounding an alarm we should not hear them."
+
+"All right, Colonel! I have got Sergeant Jackson in charge of the reliefs
+in the passage outside, and I think that I can depend upon him, but I will
+tell him to wake me up whenever he changes the sentries. I don't say I
+shall turn out myself, but as long as he calls me I shall know that he is
+awake, and that it is all right. I had better tell him to call you half an
+hour before bugle-call, Sullivan, so that you can wake the others and get
+the wine here; he mustn't be a minute after the half-hour. Thank goodness,
+we don't have to furnish the outposts to-night."
+
+In ten minutes all were asleep on the floor, wrapped in their greatcoats,
+the officer of the day taking his place next the door so that he could be
+roused easily. Every hour one or other of the two non-commissioned
+officers in charge of the guard in the passage opened the door a few
+inches and said softly, "I am relieving the sentries, sir;" and each time
+the officer murmured assent.
+
+Sullivan was called at the appointed time, got up, and stretched himself,
+grumbling:
+
+"I don't believe that I have been asleep ten minutes."
+
+On going out into the passage, however, where a light was burning, his
+watch told him that it was indeed time to be moving. He woke the others,
+and with the men went down to the cellars. Here the scene of confusion was
+great; drunken men lay thickly about the floor, others sat, cup in hand,
+talking, or singing snatches of song, Spanish or English. Hastily picking
+out enough unbroken casks for the purpose, he set the men to carry them up
+to the street, and they were then rolled along to the factory. Just as
+they reached the door the bugle-call sounded; the men were soon on their
+feet, refreshed by a good night's sleep. The casks were broached, and the
+wine served out.
+
+"It is awful, Colonel," Sullivan said. "There will be hundreds of men left
+behind. There must have been over that number in the cellar I went into,
+and there are a dozen others in the town. I never saw such a disgusting
+scene."
+
+Scarcely had they finished when the assemble sounded, and the regiment at
+once fell-in outside the factory, every man with knapsack and haversack
+bulging out with tobacco. They then joined the rest of the troops in the
+main street. General Moore had made a vain attempt to rouse the besotted
+men. A few of those least overcome joined the rear-guard, but the greater
+number were too drunk to listen to orders, or even to the warning that the
+French would be into the town as soon as the troops marched out.
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CORUNNA
+
+As the confusion in the streets increased from the pouring out from the
+houses and cellars of the camp-followers--women and children, together
+with men less drunk than their comrades, but still unable to walk
+steadily--who filled the air with shouts and drunken execrations, Colonel
+Corcoran rode along the line.
+
+"Just look at that, boys," he said. "Isn't it better for you to be
+standing here like dacent men, ready to do your duty, than to be rolling
+about in a state like those drunken blackguards, for the sake of half an
+hour's pleasure? Sure it is enough to make every mother's son of you swear
+off liquor till ye get home again. When the French get inside the town
+there is not one of the drunken bastes that won't be either killed or
+marched away a thousand miles to a French prison, and all for half an
+hour's drink."
+
+The lesson was indeed a striking one, and careless as many of the men
+were, it brought home to them with greater force than ever before in their
+lives, not only the folly but the degradation of drunkenness. A few
+minutes later, General Moore, who was riding up and down the line,
+inspecting the condition of the men in each regiment, came along.
+
+"Your men look very well, Colonel," he said, as he reached the Fusiliers.
+"How many are you short of your number?"
+
+"Not a man, General; I am happy to say that there was not a single one
+that did not answer when his name was called."
+
+"That is good, indeed," the general said, warmly. "I am happy to say that
+all the regiments of the rear-guard have turned out well, and shown
+themselves worthy of the trust reposed in them; none, however, can give so
+good a report as you have done. I selected your regiment to strengthen
+this division from the excellent order that I observed you kept along the
+line of march, and I am glad indeed that it has shown itself so worthy of
+the honour. March your regiment across to the side of the street, let the
+others pass you, and fall in at the rear of the column. I shall give the
+Mayo Fusiliers the post of honour, as a mark of my warm approbation for
+the manner in which they have turned out."
+
+Scarcely had the troops left the town when the French cavalry poured in.
+Now that it was too late, the sense of danger penetrated the brains of the
+revellers, and the mob of disbanded Spanish and British soldiers and
+camp-followers poured out from the cellars. Few of the soldiers had the
+sense even to bring up their muskets. Most of those who did so were too
+drunk to use them, and the French troopers rode through the mob, sabring
+them right and left, and trampling them under foot, and then, riding
+forward without a pause, set out in pursuit of the retiring columns. As
+they came clattering along the road the colonel ordered the last two
+companies to halt, and when the head of the squadron was within fifty
+yards of them, and the troopers were beginning to check their horses, a
+heavy volley was poured in, which sent them to the right-about as fast as
+they had come, and emptied a score of saddles. Then the two companies
+formed fours again, and went on at the double until they reached the rear
+of the column.
+
+All day the French cavalry menaced the retreat, until Lord Paget came back
+with a regiment of hussars and drove them back in confusion, pursuing them
+a couple of miles, with the view of discovering whether they were followed
+by infantry. Such, however, was not the case, and the column was not
+further molested until they reached Cacabolos, where they were halted. The
+rest of the army had moved on, the troops committing excesses similar to
+those that had taken place at Bembibre, and plundering the shops and
+houses.
+
+The division marched over a deep stream crossed by a stone bridge, and
+took up their ground on a lofty ridge, the ascent being broken by
+vineyards and stone walls. Four hundred men of the rifles and as many
+cavalry were posted on a hill two miles beyond the river to watch the
+roads. They had scarcely taken their post when the enemy were seen
+approaching, preceded by six or eight squadrons of cavalry. The rifles
+were at once withdrawn, and the cavalry, believing that the whole French
+army was advancing, presently followed them, and, riding fast, came up to
+the infantry just as they were crossing the bridge.
+
+Before all the infantry were over the French cavalry came down at a
+furious gallop, and for a time all was confusion. Then the rifles,
+throwing themselves among the vineyards and behind the walls, opened a
+heavy fire. The French general in command of the cavalry was killed, with
+a number of his troops, and the rest of the cavalry fell back. A regiment
+of light infantry had followed them across the bridge, and two companies
+of the 52d and as many of the Mayo regiment went down the hill and
+reinforced the rifles. A sharp fight ensued until the main body of the
+French infantry approached the bridge. A battery of artillery opened upon
+them, and seeing the strength of the British division, and believing that
+the whole army was before him, Soult called back his troops. The
+voltigeurs retired across the bridge again, and the fight came to an end.
+Between two and three hundred men had been killed or wounded.
+
+As soon as night came on the British force resumed its march, leaving two
+companies of the rifles as piquets at the bridge. The French crossed again
+in the night, but after some fighting, fell back again without having been
+able to ascertain whether the main body of the defenders of the position
+were still there. Later on the rifles fell back, and at daybreak rejoined
+the main body of the rear-guard, which had reached Becerréa, eighteen
+miles away. Here General Moore received the report from the engineers he
+had sent to examine the harbours, and they reported in favour of Corunna,
+which possessed facilities for defence which were lacking at Vigo.
+Accordingly he sent off orders to the fleet, which was lying at the latter
+port, to sail at once for Corunna, and directed the various divisions of
+the army to move on that town.
+
+The rear-guard passed the day without moving, enjoying a welcome rest
+after the thirty-six miles they had covered the day before. By this march
+they had gained a long start of the enemy and had in the evening reached
+the town the division before them had quitted that morning. The scene as
+they marched along was a painful one. Every day added to the numbers of
+the stragglers. The excesses in drink exhausted the strength of the troops
+far more than did the fatigue of the marches. Their shoes were worn out;
+many of them limped along with rags tied round their feet. Even more
+painful than the sight of these dejected and worn-out men was that of the
+camp-followers. These, in addition to their terrible hardships and
+fatigue, were worn out with hunger, and almost famished. Numbers of them
+died by the roadside, others still crawled on in silent misery.
+
+Nothing could be done to aid these poor creatures. The troops themselves
+were insufficiently fed, for the evil conduct of the soldiers who first
+marched through the towns defeated all the efforts of the commissariat;
+for they had broken into the bakers' shops and so maltreated the
+inhabitants that the people fled in terror, and no bread could be obtained
+for the use of the divisions in the rear. Towards evening the next day the
+reserve approached Constantina. The French were now close upon their rear.
+A bridge over a river had to be crossed to reach the town, and as there
+was a hill within a pistol-shot of the river, from which the French
+artillery could sweep the bridge, Sir John Moore placed the riflemen and
+artillery on it. The enemy, believing that he intended to give battle,
+halted, and before their preparations could be made the troops were across
+the bridge, and were joined by the artillery, which had retired at full
+speed.
+
+The French advanced and endeavoured to take the bridge. General Paget,
+however, held the post with two regiments of cavalry, and then fell back
+to Lugo, where the whole army was now assembled. The next day Sir John
+Moore issued an order strongly condemning the conduct of the troops, and
+stating that he intended to give battle to the enemy. The news effected an
+instant transformation. The stragglers who had left their regiments and
+entered the town by twos and threes at once rejoined their corps. Fifteen
+hundred men had been lost during the retreat, of whom the number killed
+formed but a small proportion. But the army still amounted to its former
+strength, as it was here joined by two fresh battalions, who had been left
+at Lugo by General Baird on his march from the coast. The force therefore
+numbered 19,000 men; for it had been weakened by some 4,000 of the light
+troops having, early in the retreat, been directed towards other ports, in
+order to lessen as far as possible the strain on the commissariat.
+
+The position was a strong one, and when Soult at mid-day came up at the
+head of 12,000 men he saw at once that until his whole force arrived he
+could not venture to attack it. Like the British, his troops had suffered
+severely from the long marches, and many had dropped behind altogether.
+Uncertain whether he had the whole of the British before him, he sent a
+battery of artillery and some cavalry forward; when the former opened
+fire, they were immediately silenced by a reply from fifteen pieces. Then
+he made an attack upon the right, but was sharply repulsed with a loss of
+from three to four hundred men; and, convinced now that Moore was ready to
+give battle with his whole force, he drew off.
+
+The next day both armies remained in their positions. Soult had been
+joined by Laborde's division, and had 17,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and
+50 guns; the English had 16,000 infantry, 1,800 cavalry, and 40 guns. The
+French made no movement to attack, and the British troops were furious at
+the delay. Soult, however, was waiting until Ney, who was advancing by
+another road, should threaten the British flank or cut the line of
+retreat. Moore, finding that Soult would not fight alone, and knowing that
+Ney was approaching, gave the order for the army to leave its position
+after nightfall and march for Corunna. He exhorted them to keep good
+order, and to make the effort which would be the last demanded from them.
+It was indeed impossible for him to remain at Lugo, even if Ney had not
+been close at hand, for there was not another day's supply of bread in the
+town.
+
+He took every precaution for securing that no errors should take place as
+to the route to be followed in the dark, for the ground behind the
+position was intersected by stone walls and a number of intricate lanes.
+To mark the right tracks, bundles of straw were placed at intervals along
+the line, and officers appointed to guide the columns. All these
+precautions, however, were brought to naught by the ill-fortune that had
+dogged the general along the whole line of retreat. A tremendous storm of
+wind and rain set in, the night was pitch dark, the bundles of straw were
+whirled away by the wind, and when the army silently left their post at
+ten o'clock at night, the task before them was a difficult one indeed. All
+the columns lost their way, and one division alone recovered the main
+road; the other two wandered about all night, buffeted by the wind,
+drenched by the rain, disheartened and weary.
+
+Some regiments entered what shelters they could find, the men soon
+scattered to plunder, stragglers fell out in hundreds, and at daybreak the
+remnants of the two divisions were still in Lugo. The moment the light
+afforded means of recovering their position, the columns resumed their
+march, the road behind them being thickly dotted by stragglers. The
+rearguard, commanded by the general himself, covered the rear, but
+fortunately the enemy did not come up until evening; but so numerous were
+the stragglers that when the French cavalry charged, they mustered in
+sufficient force to repel their attack, a proof that it was not so much
+fatigue as insubordination that caused them to lag behind. The rear-guard
+halted a few miles short of Friol and passed the night there, which
+enabled the disorganized army to rest and re-form. The loss during this
+unfortunate march was greater than that of all the former part of the
+retreat, added to all the losses in action and during the advance.
+
+The next day the army halted, as the French had not come up in sufficient
+numbers to give battle, and on the following day marched in good order
+into Corunna, where, to the bitter disappointment of the general, the
+fleet had not yet arrived. At the time, Sir John Moore was blamed by the
+ignorant for having worn out his troops by the length of the marches; but
+the accusation was altogether unfounded, as is proved by the fact that the
+rear-guard--upon whom the full brunt of the fighting had fallen, who had
+frequently been under arms all night in the snow, had always to throw out
+very strong outposts to prevent surprises, and had marched eighty miles in
+two days, had suffered far more than the other troops, owing to the fact
+that the food supply intended for all had been several times wasted and
+destroyed by the excesses of those who had preceded them--yet who, when
+they reached Corunna, had a much smaller number missing from their ranks
+than was the case with the three other divisions.
+
+After all the exertions that had been made, and the extraordinary success
+with which the general had carried his force through a host of enemies,
+all his calculations were baffled by the contrary winds that delayed the
+arrival of the fleet, and it remained but to surrender or fight a battle,
+which, if won, might yet enable the army to embark. Sir John did not even
+for a moment contemplate the former alternative. The troops on arriving
+were at once quartered in the town. The inhabitants here, who had so
+sullenly held aloof from Baird's force on its arrival, and had refused to
+give him the slightest aid, now evinced a spirit of patriotism seldom
+exhibited by the Spaniards, save in their defence of Saragossa, and on a
+few other occasions.
+
+Although aware that the army intended, if possible, to embark, and that
+the French on entering might punish them for any aid given to it, they
+cheerfully aided the troops in removing the cannon from the sea-face and
+in strengthening the defences on the land side. Provisions in ample
+quantity were forthcoming, and in twenty-four hours the army, knowing that
+at last they were to engage the foe who had for the last fortnight hunted
+them so perseveringly, recovered its confidence and discipline. This was
+aided by the fact that Corunna had large magazines of arms and ammunition,
+which had been sent out fifteen months before, from England, and were
+still lying there, although Spain was clamouring for arms for its newly
+raised levies.
+
+To the soldiers this supply was invaluable. Their muskets were so rusted
+with the almost constant downfall of rain and snow of the past month as to
+be almost unserviceable, and these were at once exchanged for new arms.
+The cartridge-boxes were re-filled with fresh ammunition, an abundant
+store served out for the guns, and, after all this, two magazines
+containing four thousand barrels of powder remained. These had been
+erected on a hill, three miles from the town, and were blown up so that
+they should not fall into the hands of the enemy. The explosion was a
+terrible one, and was felt for many miles round. The water in the harbour
+was so agitated that the shipping rolled as if in a storm, and many
+persons who had gone out to witness the explosion were killed by falling
+fragments.
+
+The ground on which the battle was to take place was unfit for the
+operations of cavalry. The greater portion of the horses were hopelessly
+foundered, partly from the effects of fatigue, partly from want of shoes;
+for although a supply of these had been issued on starting, no hammers or
+nails had been sent, and the shoes were therefore useless. It would in any
+case have been impossible to ship all these animals, and accordingly, as a
+measure of mercy, the greater portion of them were shot. Three days were
+permitted Moore to make his arrangements, for it took that time for Soult
+to bring up his weary troops and place them in a position to give battle.
+Their position was a lofty ridge which commanded that upon which Sir John
+Moore now placed his troops, covering the town. On the right of the French
+ridge there was another eminence upon which Soult had placed eleven heavy
+guns.
+
+On the evening of the 14th there was an exchange of artillery fire, but it
+led to nothing. That afternoon the sails of the long-expected fleet were
+made out, and just at nightfall it entered the harbour. The dismounted
+cavalry, the sick, the remaining horses, and fifty guns were embarked,
+nine guns only being kept on shore for action. On the 15th Soult occupied
+himself in completing his preparations. Getting his great guns on to the
+rocks on his left, he attacked and drove from an advanced position some
+companies of the 5th Regiment, and posted his mass of cavalry so as to
+threaten the British right, and even menace its retreat to the town from
+the position it held. Had the battle been delayed another day, Sir John
+Moore had made every preparation for embarking the rest of his troops
+rather than await a battle in which even victory would be worthless, for
+Ney's corps would soon be up. The French, however, did not afford him an
+opportunity of thus retiring.
+
+Terence O'Connor speedily paid a visit to his regiment at Corunna, for he
+had, of course, accompanied Fane's brigade during the retreat. He was
+delighted to find that there had been only a few trifling casualties among
+the officers, and that the regiment itself, although it had lost some men
+in the fighting that had taken place, had not left a single straggler
+behind, a circumstance that was mentioned with the warmest commendation by
+General Paget in his report of the doings of the rear-guard.
+
+"I was awfully afraid that it would have been quite the other way,"
+Terence said. "I know how all the three other divisions suffered, though
+they were never pressed by the enemy, and had not a shadow of excuse for
+their conduct."
+
+"You did not know us, me boy," O'Grady said. "I tell ye, the men were
+splendid. I expect if we had been with the others we should have behaved
+just as badly; but being chosen for the rear-guard put our boys all on
+their mettle, and every man felt that the honour of the regiment depended
+on his good conduct. Then, too, we were lucky in lighting on a big store
+of tobacco, and tobacco is as good as food and drink. The men gave a lot
+away to the other regiments, and yet had enough to last them until we got
+here."
+
+"Then they were not above doing a little plundering," Terence laughed.
+
+"Plunder is it!" O'Grady repeated, indignantly. "It was a righteous
+action, for the factory belonged to the Central Junta of the Province, and
+it was just stripping the French of their booty to carry it away. Faith,
+it was the most meritorious action of the campaign."
+
+"Have you got a good cigar left, O'Grady?"
+
+"Oh, you have taken to smoking, have you?"
+
+"I was obliged to, to keep my nose warm. On the march, Fane and the major
+and Errington all smoked, and they looked so comfortable and contented
+that I felt it was my duty to keep them company."
+
+"I have just two left, Terence, so we will smoke them together, and I have
+got a bottle of dacent spirits. Think of that, me boy; thirty-two days
+without spirits! They will never believe me when I go home and tell 'em I
+went without it for thirty-two mortal days."
+
+"Well, you have had wine, O'Grady."
+
+"It's poor stuff by the side of the cratur, still I am not saying that it
+wasn't a help. But it was cold comfort, Terence, a mighty cold comfort."
+
+"You are looking well on it, anyhow. And how is the wound?"
+
+"Och, I have nigh forgot I ever had one, save when it comes to ateing. Tim
+has to cut my food up for me, and I never sit down to a male without
+wishing bad cess to the French. When we get back I will have a patent
+machine for holding a fork fixed on somehow. It goes against me grain to
+have me food cut up as if I was a baby; if it wasn't for that I should not
+miss my hand one way or the other. In fact, on the march it has been a
+comfort that I have only had five fingers to freeze, instead of ten. There
+is a compensation in all things. So we are going to fight them at last?
+There is no chance of the fleet coming to take us off before that, I
+hope?" he asked, anxiously, "for we should all break our hearts if we were
+obliged to go without a fight."
+
+"I don't think there is any chance of that, O'Grady, though I should be
+very glad if there were. I am not afraid of the fighting, but we certainly
+sha'n't win without heavy loss, and every life will be thrown away, seeing
+that we shall, after all, have to embark when the battle is over. Ney,
+with 50,000 men, is only two or three marches away.
+
+"Well, Dicky, how do you do?" he asked, as Ryan came up.
+
+"I am well enough, Mr. Staff Officer. I needn't ask after yourself, for
+you have been riding comfortably about, while we have been marched right
+off our legs. Forty miles a day, Terence, and over such roads as they have
+in this country; it is just cruelty to animals."
+
+"I would rather have been with you, Dicky, than see to the horrible
+confusion that has been going on. Why, as soon as the day's march was over
+we had to set to work to go about trying to keep order. A dozen times I
+have been nearly shot by drunken rascals whom I was trying to get to
+return to their corps. Worse still, it was heartrending to see the misery
+of the starving women and camp-followers. I would rather have been on
+outpost duty, with Soult's cavalry hovering round, ready to charge at any
+moment."
+
+"It is all very well to say that, Terence!" O'Grady exclaimed. "But wait
+until you try it a bit, my boy. I had five nights of it, and that widout a
+drop of whisky to cheer me. It was enough to have made Samson weep, let
+alone a man with only one hand, and a sword to hold in it, and a bad could
+in his head. It was enough to take the heart out of any man entoirely, and
+if it hadn't been for the credit of the regiment, I could often have sat
+down on a stone and blubbered. It is mighty hard for a man to keep up his
+spirits when he feels the mortal heat in him oozing out all over, and his
+fingers so cold that it is only by looking that one knows one has got a
+sword in them, and you don't know whether you are standing on your feet or
+on your knee-bones, and feel as if your legs don't belong to you, but are
+the property of some poor chap who has been kilt twenty-four hours before.
+Och, it was a terrible time! and a captain's pay is too small for it, if
+it was not for the divarsion of a scrimmage now and then!"
+
+"How about an ensign's pay?" Ryan laughed. "I think that on such work as
+we have had, O'Grady, the pay of all the officers, from the colonel down,
+ought to be put together and equally divided."
+
+"I cannot say whether I should approve the plan, Ryan, until I have made
+an intricate calculation, which, now I am comfortable at last, would be a
+sin and a shame to ask me brain to go through; but as my present idea is
+that I should be a loser, I may say that your scheme is a bad one, and not
+to say grossly disrespectful to the colonel, to put his value down as only
+equal to that of a slip of a lad like yourself. Boys nowadays have no
+respect for their supeyrior officers. There is Terence, who is not sixteen
+yet--"
+
+"Sixteen three months back, O'Grady," Terence put in.
+
+"Yes, I remember now, but a week or two one way or the other makes no
+difference. Here is Terence, just sixteen, who ought to be at school
+trying to get a little learning into his head, laying down the law to his
+supeyrior officers, just because he has had the luck to get onto the
+brigadier's staff. I think sometimes that the world is coming to an end."
+
+"At any rate, O'Grady," Terence laughed, "I am half a head taller than you
+are, and could walk you off your legs any day."
+
+"There! And he says this to a man who has gone through all the fatigues of
+the rear-guard, while he has been riding about the country like a
+gentleman at aise."
+
+"Well, I cannot stop any longer," Terence said. "I am on my way up to see
+how they are getting on with the earthworks, and the general may want me
+at any moment."
+
+"I would not trouble about that," O'Grady said, sarcastically; "perhaps he
+might make a shift to do widout you, widout detriment to the service."
+
+Terence made no reply, but, mounting, rode off up the hill behind the
+town. At two o'clock on the 16th a general movement of the French line was
+observed, and the British infantry, 14,500 strong, drew up in order of
+battle along the position marked for them. The British were fighting under
+a serious disadvantage, for not only had Soult over 20,000 infantry, with
+very powerful artillery and great strength in cavalry, but owing to their
+position on the crest running somewhat obliquely to the higher one
+occupied by the French, the heavy battery on the rocks to their right
+raked the whole line of battle. Hope's division was on the British left,
+Baird's on the right. Fraser's division was on another ridge some distance
+from the others, and immediately covering the town of Corunna; and Paget,
+with his division to which the Mayo regiment was still attached, was
+posted at the village of Airis, on the height between Hope's division and
+the harbour, and looking down the valley between the main position and the
+ridge held by Fraser.
+
+From here he could either reinforce Hope and Baird, or advance down the
+valley to repel any attack of the French cavalry, and cover the retreat of
+the main body if forced to fall back. The battle commenced by the French
+opening fire with their field-guns, which were distributed along the front
+of their position, and by the heavy battery on their left, while their
+infantry descended the mountain in three heavy columns, covered by clouds
+of skirmishers. The British piquets were at once driven in, and the
+village of Elvina, held by a portion of the 50th, carried. The French
+column on this side then divided into two portions; one endeavoured to
+turn Baird's right and enter the valley behind the British position, while
+the other climbed the hill to attack him in front. The second column moved
+against the British centre, and the third attacked Hope's left, which
+rested on the village of Palavia Abaxo.
+
+The nine English guns were altogether overmatched by those of Soult's
+heavy battery. Moore, seeing that the half-column advancing by Baird's
+flank made no movement to penetrate beyond his right, directed him to
+throw back one regiment and take the French in flank. Paget was ordered to
+advance up the valley, to drive back the French column, and menace the
+French battery, uniting himself with a battalion previously posted on a
+hill to keep the threatening masses of French cavalry in check. He also
+sent word to Fraser to advance at once and support Paget. Baird launched
+the 50th and 42d Regiments to meet the enemy issuing from Elvina. The
+ground round the village was broken by stone walls and hollow roads, but
+the French were forced back, and the 50th, entering the village with the
+fleeing enemy, drove them, after a struggle, beyond the houses.
+
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Battle of Corunna.]
+
+
+The 42d, misunderstanding orders, retired towards the hill, and the
+French, being reinforced, again attacked Elvina, which the 50th held
+stubbornly until again joined by the 42d, which had been sent forward by
+Moore himself. Paget was now engaged in the valley, the advance of the
+enemy was arrested, and they suffered very heavily from the fire of the
+regiments on the height above their flank, while Paget steadily gained
+ground. The centre and left were now hotly engaged, but held their ground
+against all the attacks of the enemy, and on the extreme left advanced and
+drove the French out of the village of Palavia Abaxo, which they had
+occupied. Elvina was now firmly held, while Paget carried all before him
+on the right, and, with Fraser's division behind him, menaced the great
+French battery.
+
+Had this been carried, the two divisions could have swept along the French
+position, crumpling up the forces as they went, and driving them down
+towards the river Moro, in which case they would have been lost. Owing,
+however, to the battle having been begun at so late an hour, darkness now
+fell. The general himself, while watching the contest at Elvina, had been
+struck by a cannon-ball and mortally wounded. General Baird had also been
+struck down. This loss of commanders combined with the darkness to arrest
+the progress of the victorious troops, and permitted the French, who were
+already falling back in great confusion, to recover themselves and
+maintain their position.
+
+The object for which the battle had been fought was gained. Night, which
+had saved the French from total defeat, afforded the British the
+opportunity of extricating themselves from their position, and General
+Hope, who now assumed the command, ordered the troops to abandon their
+positions and to march down to the port, leaving strong piquets with fires
+burning to deceive the enemy. All the arrangements for embarkation had
+been carefully arranged by Sir John Moore, and without the least hitch or
+confusion the troops marched down to the port, and before morning were all
+on board with the exception of a rear-guard, under General Beresford,
+which occupied the citadel.
+
+At daybreak the piquets were withdrawn and also embarked, and a force
+under General Hill, that had been stationed on the ramparts to cover the
+movement, then marched down to the citadel, and there took boats for the
+ships. By this time, however, the French, having discovered that the
+British position was abandoned, had planted a battery on the heights of
+San Lucia and opened fire on the shipping. This caused much confusion
+among the transports. Several of the masters cut their cables, and four
+vessels ran ashore. The troops, however, were taken on board of other
+transports by the boats of the men-of-war. The stranded ships were fired,
+and the fleet got safely out of harbour.
+
+The noble commander, by whose energy, resolution, and talent this
+wonderful march had been achieved, lived only long enough to know that his
+soldiers were victorious, and was buried the same night on the ramparts.
+His memory was for a time assailed with floods of abuse by that portion of
+the press and public that had all along vilified the action of the British
+general, had swallowed eagerly every lie promulgated by the Junta of
+Oporto, and by the whole of the Spanish authorities; but in time his
+extraordinary merits came to be recognized to their full value, and his
+name will long live as one of the noblest men and best generals Great
+Britain has ever produced.
+
+Beresford held the citadel until the 18th, and then embarked with his
+troops and all the wounded; the people of Corunna, remaining true to their
+promises, manned the ramparts of the town until the last British soldier
+was on board.
+
+The British loss in the battle was estimated at 800 men; that of the
+French was put down at 3,000. Their greater loss was due to the fact that
+they assumed the offensive, and were much more exposed than the defenders;
+that the nine little guns of the latter were enabled to sweep them with
+grape, while the British were so far away from the French batteries that
+the latter were obliged to fire round shot; and lastly that the new
+muskets and fresh ammunition gave a great advantage to the British over
+the rusty muskets and often damaged powder of the French. Paget's division
+had suffered but slightly, the main loss of the English having occurred in
+and around Elvina, and from the shot of the heavy battery that swept the
+crest held by them. Two officers killed and four wounded were the only
+casualties in that division, while but thirty of the rank and file were
+put out of action.
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+AN ESCAPE
+
+While the battle was at its height Terence was despatched by the brigadier
+to carry an order to one of the regiments that had pushed too far forward
+in its ardour. Scrambling over rough ground, and occasionally leaping a
+wall, he reached the colonel. "The general requests you to fall back a
+little, sir; you are farther forward than the regiment on your flank. The
+enemy are pushing a force down the hill in your direction, and as there is
+no support that can be sent to you at present, he wishes your extreme
+right to be in touch with the left of the regiment holding Elvina."
+
+"Very good. Tell General Fane that I will carry out his instructions.
+Where is he now?"
+
+"He is in the village, sir." Terence turned his horse to ride back. The
+din of battle was almost bewildering. A desperate conflict was going on in
+front of the village, where every wall was obstinately contested, the
+regiment being hotly engaged with a French force that was rapidly
+increasing in strength. The great French battery was sending its missiles
+far overhead against the British position on the hill, the British guns
+were playing on the French troops beyond the village, and the French light
+field-pieces were pouring their fire into Elvina. Terence made his way
+across the broken ground near the village. Galloping at a low stone wall,
+the horse was in the act of rising to clear it when it was struck in the
+head by a round shot. Terence was thrown far ahead over the wall, and fell
+heavily head-foremost on a pile of stones covered by some low shrubs.
+
+The shock was a terrible one, and for many hours he lay insensible. When
+he recovered consciousness, he remained for some time wondering vaguely
+where he was. Above him was a canopy of foliage, through which the rays of
+the sun were streaming. A dead silence had succeeded the roar of battle.
+He put his hand to his head, which was aching intolerably, and found that
+his hair was thick with clotted blood.
+
+"Yes, of course," he said to himself at last; "I was carrying a message to
+Fane. I was just going to jump a wall and there was a sudden crash. I
+remember--I flew out of the saddle--that is all I do remember. I have been
+stunned, I suppose. How is it so quiet? I suppose the battle is over."
+
+Then he sat suddenly upright.
+
+"The sun is shining," he said. "It was getting dusk when I was riding back
+to the village. I must have lain here all night."
+
+Suddenly he heard a gun fired; it was quickly followed by others. He rose
+on his knees and looked cautiously over the bushes.
+
+"It is away there," he said, "on those heights above the harbour. The army
+must have embarked, and the French are firing at the ships."
+
+
+[Illustration: "POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM
+AT TORRES VEDRAS."]
+
+
+His conjecture was speedily verified, for, looking along the crest which
+the British had held during the fight, he saw a large body of French
+troops just reaching the top of the rise. He stood up now and looked
+round. No one could be seen moving in the orchards and vineyards round. He
+peered over the wall; his horse lay there in a huddled-up heap.
+
+"A round shot in the head!" he exclaimed; "that accounts for it. Poor old
+Jack! he has carried me well ever since I got him at Torres Vedras."
+
+He climbed down and got what he was in search of--a large flask full of
+brandy-and-water, which he carried in one of the holsters. He took a long
+drink, and felt better at once.
+
+"I may as well take the pistols," he said, and, putting them into his
+belt, climbed over the wall again, and lay down among the bushes.
+
+He was now able to think clearly. Should he get up and surrender himself
+as a prisoner to the first body of French troops that he came across? or
+should he lie where he was until nightfall, and then try to get away? If
+he surrendered, there was before him a march of seven or eight hundred
+miles to a French prison; if he tried to get away, no doubt there were
+many hardships and dangers, but at least a possibility of rejoining sooner
+or later. At any rate, he would be no worse off than the many hundreds who
+had straggled during the march, for it was probable that the great
+majority of these were spread over the country, as the French, pressing
+forward in pursuit, would not have troubled themselves to hunt down
+fugitives, who, if caught, would only be an encumbrance to them.
+
+He was better off than they were, for at any rate he could make himself
+understood, which was more than the majority of the soldiers could do; and
+at least he would not provoke the animosity of the peasants by the rough
+measures they would be likely to take to satisfy their wants. The worst of
+it was that he had no money. Then suddenly he sat up again and looked at
+his feet.
+
+"This is luck!" he exclaimed; "I had never given the thing a thought
+before."
+
+On his arrival at Corunna he had thrown away the riding-boots he had
+bought at Salamanca. The constant rains had so shrunk them that he could
+no longer wear them without pain, and he had taken again to the boots that
+he carried in his valise.
+
+From the time when, at his father's suggestion, he had had extra soles
+placed on them, above which were hidden fifteen guineas, the fact of the
+money being there had never once occurred to him. He had had sufficient
+cash about him to pay for purchases at Salamanca and on the road, and,
+indeed, had five guineas still in his pocket, though he had drawn no pay
+from the time of leaving Torres Vedras.
+
+This discovery decided him. With twenty guineas he could pay his way for
+months, and he determined to make the attempt to escape.
+
+The firing continued for some time and then ceased.
+
+"The fleet must have got out," he said to himself. "It is certain that the
+French have not taken Corunna. We were getting the best of it up to the
+time I was hurt, and it would be dark in another half-hour, and there
+could be no fighting on such ground as this, after that. Besides, Corunna
+is a strong fortress, and we could have held out there for weeks, for
+Soult can have no battering train with him; besides, everything was ready
+for embarkation, and I know that it was intended, whether we won or lost,
+that the troops should go on board in the night."
+
+As he lay there he could occasionally hear the sound of drums and trumpets
+as the troops marched from their positions of the night before, to take up
+others nearer to the town. At times he heard voices, and knew that they
+were searching for wounded over the ground that had been so desperately
+contested; but the spot where he was lying lay between the village and the
+ground where the regiment he had gone to order back had been engaged with
+the enemy, and as no fighting had taken place there, it was unlikely that
+the search-parties would go over it. This, indeed, proved to be the case,
+and after a time he fell off to sleep, and did not wake until night was
+closing in. He was hungry now, and again crossing the wall he took half a
+chicken and a piece of bread that his servant had thrust into his wallet
+just before starting, and made a hearty meal. He unbuckled his sword and
+left it behind him; he had his pistols, and a sword would be only an
+encumbrance.
+
+As soon as it became quite dark he made his way cautiously down the
+valley, passed the spot where the French column had suffered so heavily,
+and then, turning to the left, traversed the narrow plain that divided the
+position on which the French heavy battery had been placed and the plateau
+on which their cavalry had been massed. Numerous fires blazed in the wide
+valley behind, where the reserve had been stationed on the previous
+morning, and he doubted not that the French cavalry were there, especially
+as he found no signs of life on the plateau above. Coming presently on a
+small stream he bathed his head for a considerable time, and then
+proceeded on his way, feeling much brighter and fresher than he had done
+before.
+
+The ground began to ascend more steeply, and after an hour's walking he
+stood on the crest of the hill and looked down on the position that the
+French had held, and beyond it on Corunna and the sea. The cold was
+extreme. He had brought with him his greatcoat and blanket, and, wrapping
+himself in these, lay down in a sheltered position and slept again till
+morning broke. His head was now better, and he was able to think more
+clearly than he could the day before. The first thing was to decide as to
+his course. It would be dangerous to make direct for the frontier of
+Portugal. Now that the British army had embarked, Soult would be free to
+undertake operations in that country, and would doubtless shortly put his
+troops in motion in that direction, and his cavalry would be scattering
+all over the province collecting provisions. Moreover, there would be the
+terrible range of the Tras-os-Montes to pass, and no certainty whatever of
+being well received by the Portuguese peasants north of Oporto.
+
+His constant study of the staff maps was now of great assistance to him.
+He determined to turn west until he reached the river Minho some distance
+below Lugo, which he could do by skirting the top of the hills. He would
+therefore strike it somewhere about the point where the river Sil joined
+it, and, following this, would find himself at the foot of the Cantabrian
+Hills, dividing the Asturias from Leon. Then he could be guided by
+circumstances, and could either cross these mountains and make for a
+seaport, or could journey down through Leon to Ciudad-Rodrigo, which was
+still held by a Spanish garrison, and from there make his way through
+Portugal to Lisbon.
+
+He questioned whether it would be wise for him to attempt to get the dress
+of a Spanish peasant instead of his uniform, but he finally decided that
+until he was beyond any risk of being captured by parties from either
+Soult or Ney's armies, it would be better to continue in uniform. If taken
+in that dress it would be seen that he was a straggler from Moore's army,
+and he would be simply treated as a prisoner of war; while, if taken in
+the dress of a peasant, he would be liable to be treated as a spy and
+shot. Having made up his mind, he started at once, and in three hours was
+at the foot of the hills on the other side of which ran the road from Lugo
+to Corunna, which proved so disastrous to the army. He presently arrived
+at a small hamlet, and the children in the streets ran shrieking away as
+they saw him. Women appeared at the doors and looked out anxiously; they
+had not before seen a British uniform, and at once supposed that he was
+French. Seeing that he was alone, several men armed with clubs and picks
+came out.
+
+"I am an English officer," he said, "and I desire food and shelter for a
+few hours. I have money to pay for it."
+
+The peasants at once came round him. Confused accounts had reached them of
+the doings on the other side of the hills. They knew that an English army
+had marched from Lugo to Corunna, hotly pursued by the French, but they
+had heard nothing of what had happened afterwards. They eagerly asked for
+news. Terence told them that there had been a great battle outside
+Corunna, that the French had been repulsed with much loss, and that the
+English had embarked on board ships to take them round to Lisbon, there to
+march east to meet the French again.
+
+Nothing could be kinder than the treatment he received. They told him that
+Ney's army was between the Sil and Lugo, but that no French troops had
+crossed the Minho as yet.
+
+They were eager to know why the English, if they had beaten the French,
+sailed away. But when he said that Soult would have been joined by Ney in
+a couple of days, and would then be well-nigh double the strength of the
+British, who would be so hotly pressed that they would be unable to
+embark, the peasants saw that what they considered their desertion could
+not have been avoided. The news of the terrible defeats that had, a month
+before, been inflicted upon their armies had not reached them, and Terence
+did not think it necessary to enlighten them. He told them that the march
+north of the English had been intended to bring all the French forces in
+that direction, and so to enable the Spanish armies to operate
+successfully, and that not only Soult and Ney, but Napoleon himself, had
+been drawn off from the south in pursuit of them.
+
+They were filled with satisfaction, and he was at once taken into one of
+the cottages. A good meal was shortly placed before him, his head was
+carefully bandaged, and he was then asked how it was that he had not
+embarked with the rest of the army. He related how he had been left
+behind, and then asked them their opinion as to his best course, telling
+them the plan he himself had formed. They agreed at once that this was the
+wisest one, but that it would be dangerous to try it until Ney's force had
+moved from its present position. They knew that he had a division at
+Orense on the Minho, and that parties of his cavalry had scoured the plain
+as far as the river Ulla, and urged upon him to remain with them until
+some news was obtained of the movements of the French army.
+
+He gladly accepted the invitation, and for a couple of days remained at
+the little hamlet. One of the peasants came in at the end of that time,
+saying that the French in Corunna had crossed the mountains and had
+arrived at Santiago, twenty miles distant, and that their cavalry were
+scouring the country. They also brought news that Romana was at Toabado,
+and that he had but two or three thousand men with him, the rest having
+been routed and cut up by the French cavalry. Terence at once determined
+to join him.
+
+The fact that he still had some troops with him had no influence in
+causing him to form this resolution. Romana had been so often defeated
+that he knew that his men would, after their recent misfortunes, scatter
+at once before even the weakest French detachment. But Romana himself knew
+the country well, was a man of great resource and activity, and was likely
+to evade all efforts to capture him. He thought then that by joining him
+and sharing his fortunes he was more likely to have some opportunity of
+making his way to Lisbon than he would have if left to his own resources,
+especially as he had no doubt that Soult would at once prepare to invade
+Portugal by occupying all the passes, and thus render it next to
+impossible to journey thither alone and on foot. One of the peasants
+offered to guide him across the hills to Toabado. They started at once,
+and at daybreak next morning reached the village.
+
+As Romana had been several times in personal communication with Sir John
+Moore, Terence was acquainted with his appearance, and seeing him standing
+at the door of the principal house of the village, went up to him and
+saluted him. The latter looked upon him with great surprise.
+
+"How have you managed to pass through the French?" he asked.
+
+"I have seen none of them, Marquis. I was wounded in the battle of
+Corunna, and after lying insensible all that night, found, when I
+recovered in the morning, that the French had advanced and that I was in
+their rear. I heard their guns from the heights above the town, and knew
+that our army had gained their transports. I lay concealed all day and
+then crossed the mountains, and have been resting for two days at a
+village on the other side of the hills. The news came that you were here,
+and I decided to join you at once. I was on the staff of General Fane,
+and, knowing the duties of an aide-de-camp, thought I might make myself
+useful to you until there was an opportunity of my rejoining a British
+force."
+
+"You are welcome, sir," Romana said, courteously. "It was only this
+morning that we learned from a prisoner that my men took that you had
+driven back Soult before Corunna and had embarked safely. I was in great
+fear that your army would have been captured. I see that you have been
+wounded on the head."
+
+"It can scarcely be called a wound, Marquis. I was carrying a message on
+the battle-field; when I was taking a wall my horse was struck with a
+round shot. I was thrown over his head onto a heap of rough stones, and it
+was a marvel to me that I was not killed."
+
+"I am just going to breakfast, señor, and shall be glad if you will join
+me. I have no doubt that you will do justice to it."
+
+Romana, who had commanded the Spanish troops which had escaped from
+Holland, was the most energetic of the Spanish generals. Defeated often,
+he was speedily at the head of fresh gatherings, and ready to take the
+field again. As a partisan chief he was excellent, but possessed no
+military talent, and was, like the Spaniards generally, full of grand but
+utterly impracticable schemes, and in spite of his experience to the
+contrary, confident that the Spaniards would overthrow the French.
+
+"I have been unfortunate," he said, in reply to the inquiry as to how many
+troops he had with him. "At your English general's request I took a
+different course with my army to that which he was pursuing, in order that
+his magazines should be untouched. I crossed his line of retreat, but
+unfortunately Franceschi's cavalry come down upon us, cut up my artillery
+and infantry, and scattered my force entirely. However, some three
+thousand have rejoined, and I expect in a short time to be at the head of
+20,000. I ought to have more, but these Galician peasants are stubborn
+fellows. They know nothing of the affairs of Spain, and although they will
+fight in defence of their own villages, they have no interest in anything
+beyond, and hang back from joining an army that might operate outside
+their province. You see, until now it has been untouched by war. They have
+suffered in no way from French extortions and outrages. As soon as they
+feel the smart themselves, I doubt not they will be as full of hatred of
+the invaders as people are elsewhere, and as ready to take up arms against
+them."
+
+Romana's troops were but a motley gathering. The force that he had brought
+with him from Holland had been landed at Santander, marched to Bilbao, and
+joined Blake's army, and had shared in the crushing defeat suffered by
+that general at Espinosa, where most of them were taken prisoners. They
+were again incorporated in the French army, and afterwards took part in
+the Russian campaign, and in the retreat no less than four thousand of
+them were taken prisoners by the Russians and handed over by them to
+British transports sent to Cronstadt to fetch them. Romana himself had
+escaped from the battle-field, and afterward raised a fresh force. This
+had dwindled away from 15,000 to 5,000 when he joined Moore on his
+advance, and now amounted to barely 2,000, of whom the greater portion had
+thrown away their arms in their flight.
+
+On the following day Romana, with a small body of cavalry, left Toabado,
+crossed the Minho, descended into the valley of the Tamega, and took
+refuge close to the Portuguese frontier line. Here he was, for a time,
+safe from the pursuit of the French, the insignificance of his force being
+his best protection. Soult lost no time. As soon as the English army had
+left, Corunna opened its gates to him, as did Ferrol, although neither of
+these towns could have been taken without a siege, and Soult must have
+been delayed until a battering-train was brought from Madrid.
+
+The magazines of British powder and stores that had been lying for months
+in Ferrol were invaluable to him.
+
+The soldiers were set to work to make fresh cartridges, and then, after
+six days' halt to give rest to his weary and footsore men, he began to
+prepare to carry out Napoleon's orders to invade Portugal. Ney, with
+20,000 men, was to maintain Galicia, and, reinforced by a fresh division,
+Soult was to march direct upon Oporto with 25,000 men, leaving 12,000 in
+hospital, and 8,000 to keep up the line of communication with Ney. It took
+some time to complete all the arrangements and to gather the force at St.
+Jago Compostella, and it was not until the first of February that he was
+able to move.
+
+On the day of his arrival on the frontier, Romana despatched Terence to
+Sir John Cradock, who now commanded the British troops in Portugal, which
+had been augmented by fresh arrivals from England until their numbers
+almost equalled that of the force with which Sir John Moore marched into
+Spain.
+
+Romana asked that arms and money should be sent to him, promising to
+harass the French advance, and cut their communications from the rear.
+Terence gladly consented to carry his despatch; he was furnished with one
+of the best horses in the troop, and at once started on his journey. It
+was a long and harassing one; many ranges of mountains and hills had to be
+crossed, by roads difficult in the extreme at the best of times, but
+almost impassable in winter. Three times he was seized by parties of
+Portuguese militia and raw levies, but was released on convincing their
+leaders that he was the bearer of a communication to the English general.
+
+The distance to be travelled was, in a direct line, over two hundred and
+thirty miles. This was greatly increased by the circuitous nature of the
+route through the mountainous country, so that it took nine days, and
+would have much exceeded this time, had Terence not found a British force
+at Coimbra, and there exchanged his worn-out animal for a fresh one,
+placed at his disposal by the officer in command.
+
+Cradock was experiencing exactly the same difficulties that Moore had
+done. The Spanish and Portuguese authorities united in pressing him to
+advance, the former urging upon him that his presence would be the signal
+for the Spanish armies in the south to unite and entirely overthrow the
+French, while the latter were desirous that he should march to
+Ciudad-Rodrigo, defeat the French at Salamanca, and so protect Portugal
+from invasion from that side.
+
+That Portugal might be attacked from the north and south simultaneously by
+Soult and Victor did not enter into their calculations, but while urging
+an advance, the Junta would take no steps whatever to enable the army to
+move; they would neither afford him facilities for collecting transport,
+nor order the roads that he would have to traverse to be put in order, and
+thwarted all his efforts to raise a strong force among the Portuguese.
+
+There was, indeed, some improvement in the latter respect. At their own
+request, Lord Beresford had been sent out from England to take the command
+of the Portuguese armies, and as he had brought many British officers with
+him, some 20,000 men had been armed and drilled, and could be reckoned
+upon to do some service, if employed with British troops to give them
+backbone. The Portuguese peasantry were strong and robust, and by nature
+courageous, and needed only the discipline--that they could not receive
+from their own officers--to turn them into valuable troops. According to
+the law of the country every man was liable for service, and had the
+corrupt Junta been dismissed, and full power been given to the British, an
+army of 250,000 men might have been placed in the field for the defence of
+the country, with a proper supply of arms and money.
+
+But so far from assisting, the Junta threw every possible impediment in
+the way. They feared that any real national effort, if successful, would
+get altogether beyond their control, and that they would lose the power
+that enabled them to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. Not
+only that, but they were engaged in a struggle for supremacy with the
+Junta of Oporto, which was striving by every means to render itself the
+supreme authority of the whole of Portugal.
+
+Terence had hoped that when he arrived at Lisbon he should meet the army
+he had left at Corunna, for Sir John Moore's instructions had been precise
+that the fleet was to go thither. These instructions, however, had been
+disobeyed, and the fleet had sailed direct for England. It had on the way
+encountered a great storm, which had scattered it in all directions.
+Several of the ships were wrecked on the coast of England, and the army
+which would have been of inestimable service at Lisbon, now served only,
+by the tattered garments and emaciated frames of the soldiers, to excite a
+burst of misplaced indignation against the memory of the general whose
+genius had saved it from destruction.
+
+On arriving at head-quarters and stating his errand, Terence was at once
+admitted to the room where Sir John Cradock was at work.
+
+"I am told, sir, that you are the bearer of a despatch from the Spanish
+general, Romana. Before I open it, will you explain how it was that you
+came to be with him?"
+
+Terence gave a brief account of the manner in which, after being left
+behind on the field of Corunna, he had succeeded in joining Romana.
+
+The general's face, which had at first been severe, softened as he
+proceeded.
+
+"That is altogether satisfactory, Mr. O'Connor," he said. "I feared that
+you might have been one of the stragglers, among whom I hear were many
+officers, as well as thousands of men belonging to Sir John Moore's army.
+We received news of his glorious fight at Corunna and the embarkation of
+his army, by a ship that arrived here but three days since from that port.
+Have you heard of the death of that noble soldier himself?"
+
+"No, sir," Terence replied, much shocked at the news. "That is a terrible
+loss, indeed. He was greatly loved by the army. He saw into every matter
+himself, was with the rearguard all through the retreat, and laboured
+night and day to maintain order and discipline, and it was assuredly no
+fault of his if he failed."
+
+"Was your own regiment in the rear-guard?"
+
+"Yes, sir. It had the honour of being specially chosen by Sir John Moore
+for its steadiness and good conduct. I was not with it, but was one of
+Brigadier-general Fane's aides-de-camp. It was while carrying a message to
+him that my horse was killed and I myself stunned by being thrown onto a
+heap of stones."
+
+Sir John Cradock nodded, and then opened Romana's despatch. He raised his
+eyebrows slightly. He had been accustomed to such appeals for arms and
+money, and knew how valueless were the promises that accompanied them.
+
+"What force has General Romana with him?"
+
+"Some two hundred cavalry and three or four thousand peasants, about a
+quarter of whom only are armed."
+
+"He says that he expects to be joined by twenty thousand men in a few
+days. Have you any means of judging whether this statement is well
+founded?"
+
+"That I cannot say. General Romana seems to me to be a man of greater
+energy than any Spaniard I have hitherto met, and I know that he has
+already sent messages to the priests throughout that part of Galicia
+urging upon them the necessity of using their influence among the
+peasantry. He got a force together in a very short time, after the
+complete defeat and capture of his own command by the French, at the time
+of Blake's defeat, and I think that he might do so again, though whether
+they would be of any use whatever in the field I cannot say; but should
+Soult advance into Portugal, I should think that bands of this sort might
+very much harass him."
+
+"No doubt they might do so. I will see, at any rate, if I can obtain some
+money from the political agents. I have next to nothing in my military
+chest, and our forces are at a standstill for the want of it. But that
+does not seem to matter. While our troops are ill-fed, ragged, almost
+shoeless, and unpaid, every Spanish or Portuguese rascal who holds out his
+hand can get it filled with gold. As to arms, they are in the first place
+wanted for the purpose of the Portuguese militia, who are likely to be a
+good deal more useful than these irregular bands; and in the second place,
+there are no means whatever of conveying even a hundred muskets, let alone
+the ten thousand that Romana is good enough to ask for. By the way, are
+you aware whether Sir John Moore intended the army to sail to England?"
+
+"Certainly not, sir. I know that up to the moment the battle began the
+preparation for the embarkation went on unceasingly, and General Fane told
+me the night before that we were to be taken here. Whether Sir John may,
+at the last moment, have countermanded that order I am unable to say."
+
+"Yes, I know that it was his intention, for I received a letter from him,
+written after his arrival at Corunna, saying that the embarkation could
+not be effected without a battle, and that if he beat Soult he should at
+once embark and bring the troops round here, as Ney's approaching force
+would render Corunna untenable. Just at present the arrival of 20,000
+tried troops would be invaluable. General Baird will, of course, have
+succeeded Sir John Moore?"
+
+"General Baird was severely wounded, sir. He had just ridden up to General
+Fane when he was struck. General Hope would therefore be in command after
+Sir John Moore was killed."
+
+"I have heard no particulars of the battle," Sir John said, "beyond that
+it has been fought and Soult has been driven back, that Sir John Moore is
+killed, and that the army has embarked safely. And do I understand you
+that it was towards the end of the battle that you were hurt?"
+
+"It was getting dusk at the time, General, but I cannot say how long
+fighting went on afterwards."
+
+"Will you please to sit down at that table and give me, as nearly as you
+can, a sketch of the position of our troops and those of the French, and
+then explain to me, as far as you may have seen or know, the movements of
+the corps and the course of events."
+
+As Terence had, the evening before the battle, seen a sketch-map on which
+General Fane had written the names and positions of the British force and
+those of the French, he was able to draw one closely approximating to it.
+In ten minutes he got up and handed the sketch to Sir John Cradock.
+
+"I am afraid it is very rough, sir," he said, "but I think that it may
+give you an idea of the position of the town and the neighbouring heights,
+and the position occupied by our troops."
+
+"Excellent, Mr. O'Connor!"
+
+"I had the advantage of seeing a sketch-map that the brigadier drew out,
+sir."
+
+"Well, benefited from it. Now point out to me the various movements. It
+seems to me that this large French battery must have galled the whole line
+terribly; but, on the other hand, it is itself very exposed."
+
+"General Fane said, sir, that he thought Soult was likely to be
+over-confident. Our army was in frightful confusion on the retreat from
+Lugo, and the number of stragglers was enormous. Although many came in
+next day, the field-state showed that over 2,000 were still absent from
+the colours. The brigadier was observing that there was one advantage in
+this, namely, that Soult would suppose that the whole army was
+disorganized, and might, therefore, take more liberties than he would
+otherwise have done; and that, at any rate, he was likely to rely upon his
+great force of cavalry on this plateau to cover the battery hill from any
+attack on its left flank. It was for that purpose that General Paget
+posted one of the regiments on this eminence on the right of the valley,
+which had the effect of completely checking the French cavalry."
+
+He then related the incidents of the battle as far as they had come under
+his notice.
+
+"A very ably fought battle," Sir John Cradock said, as he followed on the
+map Terence's account of the movements. "Soult evidently miscalculated Sir
+John's strength and the fighting powers of his troops. He hurled his whole
+force directly against the position, specially endeavouring to turn our
+right, but the force he employed there was altogether insufficient for the
+purpose. From his position I gather that he could not have known of the
+existence of Paget's reserve up the valley, but he must have seen Fraser's
+division on the hill above Coranto. I suppose he reckoned that this
+turning movement would shake the British position, throw them into
+confusion, and enable his direct attack to be successful before Fraser
+could come to their support. I am much obliged to you for your
+description, Mr. O'Connor; it is very clear and lucid. I will write a
+note, which you shall take to Mr. Villiers, and it is possible that you
+may get help from him for Romana. I shall be glad if you will dine with me
+here at six o'clock."
+
+"I am much obliged to you, General, but I have nothing but the uniform in
+which I stand, which is, as you see, almost in rags, and stained with mire
+and blood."
+
+"I think it is probable that you will have no difficulty in buying a fresh
+uniform in the city; so many officers have come out here with exaggerated
+ideas of the amount of transport, that they have had to cut down their
+wardrobes to a very large extent."
+
+He touched the bell. "Will you ask Captain Nelson to step in," he said to
+the clerk who answered. "Captain Nelson," he said, as one of his staff
+entered, "I want you to take Mr. O'Connor under your charge. He has just
+arrived from the north, and was present at the battle of Corunna. He was
+on Brigadier Fane's staff. As at present he is unattached, I shall put him
+down in orders to-morrow as an extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He will be
+leaving to-morrow for the northern frontier. I wish you to see if you
+cannot get him an undress uniform. He belongs to the infantry. I will give
+you an order on the paymaster, Mr. O'Connor, to honour your draft for any
+amount that you may need. I dare say you are in arrears of pay."
+
+"Yes, Sir John. I have drawn nothing since we marched from Torres Vedras
+in October."
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A DANGEROUS MISSION
+
+Captain Nelson at once took Terence under his charge.
+
+"You certainly look as if you wanted a new uniform," he said. "You must
+have had an awfully rough time of it. If only for the sake of policy, we
+ought to get you into a new one as soon as possible, for the very sight of
+yours would be likely to demoralize the whole division by affording a
+painful example of what they might expect on a campaign."
+
+Terence laughed. "I know I look a perfect scarecrow. Do you think that you
+can find me something? I really don't know what I should have done if I
+had not had my greatcoat, for I could never have ventured to walk through
+the street from the little inn where I put up my horse, if I could not
+have hidden myself in it."
+
+"I can, fortunately, put you in the right way without difficulty. There is
+a man here who has made a business of buying up uniforms. I believe he
+sends most of them to England, where they would certainly fetch a good
+deal more than he gave for them; but I know that he keeps a stock by him,
+for there is a constant demand. The work out in the country here does for
+a uniform in no time, and many men who, before marching for the frontier,
+parted with all their extra kit for a song, are glad enough to write to
+him for a fresh outfit at three times the price he gave them two or three
+months before."
+
+"I wonder they don't send their surplus outfit back to England direct,"
+Terence said.
+
+"Well, you see, there is the risk of the things being lost or stolen on
+the way home, or being ruined by damp before they are wanted again.
+Besides, a man thinks there is no saying whether he shall ever want them
+again, or how long the war will last, and is glad to take anything he can
+get to save himself any further bother about them."
+
+Terence was fortunate in being able to buy an undress uniform, with
+facings similar to those of his own regiment, and to lay in a stock of
+underclothes at a very much lower price than he could have purchased them
+for even at home. Before leaving the shop he put on his new uniform and
+left the old one to be thrown away.
+
+"Now," Captain Nelson said, when they left the shop, "it is just our lunch
+time. You must come with me and tell us all about your wonderful march and
+the fight at the end of it."
+
+"I was going down to see about my horse."
+
+"Oh, that is all right! I sent down an orderly to bring him up to our
+stables. There, this is where we mess," he said, stopping before a hotel.
+"We find it much more comfortable than having it in a room at
+head-quarters. Besides, one gets away from duty here. Of course, the chief
+knows where we are, and can send for us if we are wanted; but one gets off
+being set to do a lot of office work in the evening, and we find ourselves
+much more free and comfortable when we haven't got two or three of the
+big-wigs of the staff. So they have a little mess of their own there, and
+we have a room kept for ourselves here."
+
+There were more than a dozen officers assembled when the two entered the
+room, where a meal was laid; for Captain Nelson had looked into the hotel
+for a moment on their way to the tailor's, to tell his companions who
+Terence was, and to say that he should bring him in to lunch. They had
+told some of their acquaintances. Terence was introduced all round, and as
+soon as the first course was taken off the table he was asked many
+questions as to the march and battle; and by the time when, an hour later,
+the party broke up, they had learned the leading incidents of the
+campaign.
+
+"You may guess how anxious we were here," one of them said, "when Moore's
+last despatch from Salamanca arrived, saying that he intended to advance,
+and stating his reasons. Then there was a long silence; all sorts of
+rumours reached us. Some said that, aided by a great Spanish army, he had
+overthrown Napoleon, and had entered Madrid; others, again, stated that
+his army had been crushed, and he, with the survivors, were prisoners, and
+were on their way to the frontier--in fact, we had no certain news until
+three days ago, when we heard of the battle, his death, and the
+embarkation of the army, and its sailing for England. The last was a
+terrible blunder."
+
+"Only a temporary one, I should think," Captain Nelson said. "From Mr.
+O'Connor's account of the state of the army, I should think that it is
+just as well that they should have gone home to obtain an entirely new
+rig-out; there would be no means of fitting them out here. A fortnight
+ought to be enough to set them up in all respects, and as we certainly
+shall not be able to march for another month--"
+
+"For another three months, you mean, Nelson."
+
+"Well, perhaps for another three months, the delay will not matter
+materially."
+
+"It won't matter at all, if the French oblige us by keeping perfectly
+quiet, but if Soult menaces Portugal with invasion from the north, Lapisse
+from the centre, and Victor from the south, we may have to defend
+ourselves here in Lisbon before six weeks are out."
+
+"Personally, I should not be sorry," another said, "if Soult does invade
+the north and captures Oporto, hangs the bishop, and all the Junta. It
+would be worth ten thousand men to us, for they are continually at
+mischief. They do nothing themselves, and thwart all our efforts. They are
+worse than the Junta here--if that is possible--and they have excited the
+peasants so much against us that they desert in thousands as fast as they
+are collected, while the population here hate us, I believe, quite as much
+as they hate the French. But why they should do so Heaven knows, when we
+have spent more money in Portugal than the whole country contained before
+we came here."
+
+After the party had broken up, Captain Nelson took Terence to Mr.
+Villiers, who, on reading the general's letter and hearing from Terence
+how Romana was situated, at once said that he would hand over to him
+20,000 dollars to take to the Spanish general.
+
+"How am I to carry it, sir? It will be of considerable weight, if it is in
+silver."
+
+"I will obtain for you four good mules," Mr. Villiers said, "and an escort
+of twelve Portuguese cavalry under an officer."
+
+"May I ask, sir, that the money shall be packed in ammunition-boxes, and
+that no one except the officer shall know that these contain anything but
+ammunition?"
+
+"You have no great faith in Portuguese honesty, Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"As to their honesty as a general thing, sir, I express no opinion,"
+Terence said, bluntly; "as to the honesty of their political partisans, I
+have not a shadow of belief. Moreover, there is no love lost between them
+and the Spaniards, and though possibly money for any of the Portuguese
+leaders might be allowed to pass untouched by others--and even of this I
+have great doubt--I feel convinced that none of them would allow it to go
+out of the country for the use of the Spaniards if they could lay hold of
+it by the way."
+
+"Those being your sentiments, sir, I think that it is a pity the duty is
+not intrusted to some officer of broader views."
+
+"I doubt whether you would find one, sir; especially if he has, like
+myself, been three or four months in the country. I have simply accepted
+the duty, and not sought it, and should gladly be relieved of it. General
+Romana sent me here with a despatch, and it is my duty, unless General
+Cradock chooses another messenger, to carry back the reply, and anything
+else with which I may be intrusted. I have for the past three months been
+incessantly engaged on arduous and fatiguing duty. I have ridden for the
+last nine days by some of the worst roads to be found in any part of the
+world, I should say, and have before me the same journey. Besides, if I
+receive the general's orders to that effect, I may have to stay with the
+Spanish general, and in that case shall, I am sure, be constantly upon the
+move, and that among wild mountains. If this treasure is handed over to me
+I shall certainly do my best to take it safely and to defend it, if
+necessary, with my life; but it is assuredly a duty of which I would
+gladly be relieved. But that, sir, it seems to me, is a question solely
+for the commander-in-chief."
+
+Mr. Villiers gazed in angry surprise at the young ensign; then thinking,
+perhaps, that he would put himself in the wrong, and as his interferences
+in military matters with Sir John Cradock had not met with the success he
+desired for them, he checked the words that rose to his lips, and said,
+shortly: "The convoy will be ready to start from the treasury at daybreak
+to-morrow."
+
+"I shall be there--if so commanded by General Cradock."
+
+As soon as they had left the house Captain Nelson burst into shout of
+laughter.
+
+"What is it?" Terence asked, in surprise.
+
+"I would not have missed that for twenty pounds, O'Connor; it is the first
+bit of real amusement I have had since I landed. To see Villiers--who
+regards himself as the greatest man in the country, who not only thinks
+that he regulates every political intrigue in Spain and Portugal, but
+assumes to give the direction of every military movement also, and tries
+to dictate to the general on purely military matters--quietly cheeked by
+an ensign, is the best thing I ever saw."
+
+"But he has nothing to do with military matters, has he?"
+
+"No more than that mule-driver there, but he thinks he has; and yet, even
+in his own political line, he is the most ill-informed and gullible of
+fools, even among the mass of incompetent agents who have done their
+utmost to ruin every plan that has been formed. I doubt whether he has
+ever been correct in a single statement that he has made, and am quite
+sure that every prophecy he has ventured upon has been falsified, every
+negotiation he has entered into has failed, and every report sent home to
+government is useful only if it is assumed to be wrong in every
+particular; and yet the man is so puffed up with pride and arrogance that
+he is well-nigh insupportable. The Spaniards have fooled him to the top of
+his bent; it has paid them to do so. Through his representations the
+ministry at home have distributed millions among them. Arms enough have
+been sent to furnish nearly every able-bodied man in Spain, and harm
+rather than good has come of it. Still, he is a very great man, and our
+generals are obliged to treat him with the greatest civility, and to
+pretend to give grave consideration to the plans that, if they emanated
+from any other man, would be considered as proofs that he was only fit for
+a mad-house. And to see you looking calmly in his face and announcing your
+views of the Spanish and Portuguese was delightful." And Captain Nelson
+again burst into laughter at the recollection.
+
+Terence joined in the laugh. "I had no intention of offending him," he
+said. "Of course I have often heard how he was pressing General Moore to
+march into Spain, and promising that he should be met by immense armies
+that were eager and ready to drive the French out of that country, and
+were only waiting for his coming to set about doing so. I know that the
+brigadier and his staff used to talk about what they called Villiers'
+phantom armies, but as I only said what everyone says who has been in
+Spain, it never struck me that I was likely to give him serious offence."
+
+"And if you had thought so, I don't suppose it would have made any
+difference, O'Connor."
+
+"I don't suppose it would," Terence admitted; "and perhaps it will do him
+good to hear a straightforward opinion for once."
+
+"It will certainly do him no harm. Now, you had better tell the chief that
+you are to have the money. I should think that he will probably send a
+trooper with you as your orderly. Certainly, he has no reason to have a
+higher opinion of the Portuguese than you have."
+
+"I will go back with you, Captain Nelson; but as you were present, will
+you kindly tell the general? I don't like bothering him."
+
+"Certainly, if you wish it."
+
+On arriving at head-quarters Terence sat down in the anteroom and took up
+an English paper, as he had heard no home news for the last three months.
+Presently Captain Nelson came out from the general's room and beckoned to
+him. He followed him in. Four or five officers of rank were with the
+general, and all were looking greatly amused when he entered.
+
+"So you have succeeded in obtaining money for Romana," the general said.
+
+"Yes, sir, there was no difficulty about it. Mr. Villiers asked me a few
+questions as to the situation on the frontier, and at once said that I
+should have £5,000 to take him."
+
+"Captain Nelson tells us that you were unwise enough to express an opinion
+as to the honesty of the Portuguese escort that he proposed to send with
+you."
+
+"I said what I thought, General, and had no idea that Mr. Villiers would
+take it as an offence, as he seemed to."
+
+"Well, he has his own notions on these things, you see," the general said,
+dryly, "and they do not exactly coincide with our experience; but then Mr.
+Villiers claims to understand these people more thoroughly than we can
+do."
+
+Terence was silent for a moment. "I only went by what I have seen, you
+know," he said, after a pause, "and certainly had no intention of angering
+Mr. Villiers. But it seemed to me that, as I was responsible for taking
+this money to Romana, it was my duty to suggest a precaution that appeared
+to me necessary."
+
+"Quite right, quite right; and it is just as well, perhaps, that Mr.
+Villiers should occasionally hear the opinions of officers of the army
+frankly expressed. Certainly, I think that the precaution you suggested
+was a wise one, and if Mr. Villiers does not do so, I will see that it is
+carried out.
+
+"I have asked Captain Nelson to go with you, taking the treasure, to the
+barracks and see that the money is taken out of the cases and repacked in
+ammunition-boxes. It would be unwise in the extreme to tempt the cupidity
+of any wandering parties that you might fall in with by the sight of
+treasure-cases. Your suggestion quite justifies the opinion that I had
+formed of you from the brief narrative that you gave me of the battle of
+Corunna. For the present, gentlemen, I have appointed Mr. O'Connor as an
+extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He served in that capacity with
+Brigadier-general Fane from the time that the troops marched from here,
+which is in itself a guarantee that he must, in the opinion of that
+general, be thoroughly fit for the work.
+
+"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that, going as you will as an officer on my staff,
+it is best that you should be accompanied by a couple of troopers, and I
+have just spoken to Colonel Gibbons, who will detach two of his best men
+for that service. In addition to your being in charge of the treasure, you
+will also carry a despatch from myself to General Romana, with suggestions
+as to his co-operation in harassing the advance of the French. I will not
+detain you further now. Don't forget the dinner hour."
+
+A large party sat down to table. There were the officers Terence had seen
+there in the afternoon, and several colonels and heads of departments of
+the army, and Terence, although not shy by nature, felt a good deal
+embarrassed when, as soon as the meal was concluded, several maps were, by
+the general's orders, placed upon the table, and he was asked to give as
+full an account as he was able of the events that had happened from the
+time General Moore marched with his army from Salamanca, and so cut
+himself off from all communication.
+
+It was well that Terence had paid great attention to the conversations
+between General Fane and the officers of the brigade staff, had studied
+the maps, and had made himself, as far as he could, master of the details
+of the movements of the various divisions, and had gathered from Fane's
+remarks fair knowledge of General Moore's objects and intentions.
+Therefore, when he had overcome his first embarrassment, he was able to
+give a clear and lucid account of the campaign, and of the difficulties
+that Moore had encountered and overcome in the course of his retreat. The
+officers followed his account upon the maps, asked occasional questions,
+and showed great interest in his description of the battle.
+
+When he had done, Sir John Cradock said: "I am sure, gentlemen, that you
+all agree with me that Mr. O'Connor has given us a singularly clear and
+lucid account of the operations of the army, and that it is most
+creditable that so young an officer should have posted himself up so
+thoroughly, not only in the details of the work of his own brigade, but in
+the general plans of the campaign and the movements of the various
+divisions of the army."
+
+There were also hearty compliments from all the officers as they rose from
+the table.
+
+"I doubt, indeed, Sir John," one of them said, "whether we should ever
+have got so clear an account as that he has given from the official
+despatches. I own that I, for one, have never fully understood what seemed
+a hopeless incursion into the enemy's country, and I cannot too much
+admire the daring of its conception. As to the success which has attended
+it, there can be no doubt, for it completely paralysed the march of the
+French armies, and has given ample time to the southern provinces of Spain
+to place themselves in a position of defence. If they have not taken
+advantage of the breathing time so given them, it is their fault, and in
+no way detracts from the chivalrous enterprise of Moore."
+
+"No, indeed," Sir John agreed; "the conception was truly an heroic one,
+and one that required no less self-sacrifice than daring. There are few
+generals who would venture on an advance when certain that it must be
+followed by a retreat, and that at best he could but hope to escape from a
+terrible disaster. It is true that he gained a victory which, under the
+circumstances, was a most glorious one, but this was the effect of
+accident rather than design. Had the fleet been in Corunna when he
+arrived, he would have embarked at once, and in that case he would have
+been attacked with ferocity by politicians at home, and would have been
+accused of sacrificing a portion of his army on an enterprise that
+everyone could have seen was ordained to be a failure before it
+commenced."
+
+"Did you know General Fane personally before you were appointed to his
+staff?"
+
+"No, General; he commanded the brigade of which my regiment formed part,
+and of course I knew him by sight, but I had never had the honour of
+exchanging a word with him."
+
+"Then, may I ask why you were appointed to his staff, Mr. O'Connor?"
+
+Terence hesitated. There was nothing he disliked more than talking of what
+he himself had done. "It was a sort of accident, General."
+
+"How an accident, Mr. O'Connor? Your conduct must have attracted his
+attention in some way."
+
+"It was an accident, sir," Terence said, reluctantly, "that General Fane
+happened to be on board Sir Arthur Wellesley's ship at Vigo when my
+colonel went there to make a report of some circumstances that occurred on
+the voyage."
+
+"Well, what were these circumstances?" the general asked. "You have shown
+us that you have the details of a campaign at your finger ends, surely you
+must be able to tell what those circumstances were that so interested
+General Fane that he selected you to fill a vacancy on his staff."
+
+Terence felt that there was no escape, and related as briefly as he could
+the account of the engagement with the two privateers, and of their narrow
+escape from being captured by a French frigate.
+
+"That is a capital account, Mr. O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, smiling,
+as he brought it to a conclusion. "But, so far, I fail to see your
+particular share in the matter."
+
+"My share was very small, sir."
+
+"I think I can fill up the facts that Mr. O'Connor's modesty has prevented
+him from stating," one of the officers said.
+
+"It happened that before we sailed from Ireland six weeks ago, an officer
+of the Mayo Fusiliers, who had been invalided home in consequence of a
+wound, dined at our mess, and he told the story very much as Mr. O'Connor
+has told it, but he added the details that Mr. O'Connor has omitted.
+Restated that really the escape of the wing of the regiment was entirely
+due to an ensign who had recently joined--a son of one of the captains of
+the regiment. He said that, in the first place, when the cannon were found
+to be so honeycombed with rust that it would have been madness to attempt
+to fire them, this young officer suggested that they should be bound round
+with rope just like the handle of a cricket bat. This suggestion was
+adopted, and they were therefore able to pour in the broadside that
+crippled the lugger and brought her sails down, leaving her helpless under
+the musketry fire of the troops. In the second place, when the ship was
+being pounded by the other privateer without being able to make any reply,
+and must shortly have either sunk or surrendered, this young officer
+suggested to one of the captains that the lugger, lying helpless
+alongside, should be boarded, and her guns turned on the brig, a
+suggestion that led not only to the saving of the ship, but the capture of
+the brig itself.
+
+"Lastly, when the French frigate hove in sight, the troops were
+transferred to the two prizes, and were about to make off, in which case
+one of them would almost certainly have been captured. He suggested that
+they should hoist French colours, and that both should be set to work to
+transfer some of the stores from the ship to the privateers. This
+suggestion was adopted, with the result that on the frigate approaching,
+and seeing, as was supposed, two French privateers engaged in rifling a
+prize, she continued on her way without troubling herself further about
+them. Sir Arthur Wellesley issued a most laudatory notice of Mr.
+O'Connor's conduct in general orders."
+
+Most of those present remembered seeing the order, now that it was
+mentioned, and the general, turning to Terence, who was colouring scarlet
+with embarrassment and confusion, said, kindly:
+
+"You see, we have got at it after all, Mr. O'Connor. I am glad that it
+came from another source, for I do not suppose that we should have got all
+the facts from you, even by cross-questioning. You may think, and I have
+no doubt that you do think, that you received more credit than you
+deserved for what you consider were merely ideas that struck you at the
+moment; but such is not my opinion, nor that, I am sure, of the other
+officers present. The story which we have just heard of you, and the
+account that you have given of the campaign, afford great promise, I may
+almost say a certainty, of your attaining, if you are spared, high
+eminence in your profession.
+
+"Your narrative showed that you are painstaking, accurate, and
+intelligent. The facts that we have just heard prove you to be
+exceptionally quick in conceiving ideas, cool in action, and able to think
+of the right thing at the right time--all qualities that are requisite for
+a great commander. I warmly congratulate you, that at the very
+commencement of your career you should have had the opportunity afforded
+you for showing that you possess these qualities, and of gaining the warm
+approbation of men very much older than yourself, and all of wide
+experience in their profession. I am sorry now that you are starting
+to-morrow on what I cannot but consider a useless, as well as a somewhat
+dangerous, undertaking. I should have been glad to have utilized your
+services at once, and only hope that you will erelong rejoin us."
+
+So saying, he rose. The hour was late, for Terence's description of the
+campaign and battle had necessarily been a very long one, and the party at
+once broke up, all the officers present shaking the lad warmly by the
+hand.
+
+"You are a lucky fellow, O'Connor," Captain Nelson said, as he accompanied
+him to his room, in which a second bed had been set up for the young
+ensign's accommodation. "You will certainly get on after this. There were
+a dozen colonels and two generals of brigade among the party, and I fancy
+that there is not one of them that will not bear you in mind and say a
+good word for you, if opportunity occurs, and Sir John himself is sure to
+push you on. I should say that not an officer of your rank in the army has
+such good chances, and you look such a lad, too. You did not show it so
+much when you first arrived; of course you were fagged and travel-stained
+then, but now I should not take you for more than seventeen. Indeed, I
+suppose you are not, as you only joined the service six months ago."
+
+"No; I am not more than seventeen," Terence said, quietly, not thinking it
+necessary to state that he wanted a good many months yet to that age, for
+to do so would provoke questions as to how he obtained his commission
+before he was sixteen. "But, you see, I have had a good many advantages. I
+was brought up in barracks, and I suppose that sharpens one's wits a bit.
+When I was quite a young boy I used to be a good deal with the junior
+officers; of course, that made me older in my ideas than I should have
+been if I had always associated with boys of my own age. Still, it has
+been all luck, and though Sir John was kind enough to speak very warmly
+about it, I really can't see that I have done anything out of the way."
+
+"Luck comes to a good many fellows, O'Connor, but it is not every one who
+has the quickness to make the most of the opportunity. You may say that
+they are only ideas; but you see you had three valuable ideas, and none of
+your brother officers had them, and you cannot deny that your brains
+worked more quickly than those of the others.
+
+"Well, we may as well turn in at once, as we have all got to be up before
+daylight. I am very glad that Sir John has given you a couple of troopers.
+It will make you feel a good deal more comfortable anyhow, even if you
+don't get into any adventure where their aid may be of vital importance."
+
+"It will indeed; alone I should have very little influence with the
+Portuguese guard. These might be perfectly honest themselves, but they
+might not be at all disposed to risk their lives by offering any
+opposition to any band that might demand the ammunition they would believe
+were in the cases. I was twice stopped by bands of scantily armed peasants
+on my way down, and although they released me on seeing the letter that I
+carried to the general, it was evident that they felt but little good-will
+towards us, and had I had anything about me worth taking, my chance of
+reaching Lisbon would have been small."
+
+"The Junta of Oporto has spared no pains in spreading all sorts of
+atrocious lies against us ever since the escort of the French prisoners
+interfered to save them from the fury of the populace, though perhaps the
+peasants in this part of the country still feel grateful to us for having
+delivered them from the exactions of the French.
+
+"In the north, where no French soldier has set foot, they have been taught
+to regard us as enemies to be dreaded as much as the French. Up to the
+present time all the orders for the raising of levies have been
+disregarded north of the Douro, and though great quantities of arms have
+been sent up to Oporto, I doubt whether a single musket has been
+distributed by the Junta. That fellow Friere, the general of what they
+call their army, is as bad as any of them. I hope that if Soult comes down
+through the passes he will teach the fellow and his patrons a wholesome
+lesson."
+
+"And do you think that the troops here will march north to defend Oporto?"
+
+"I should hardly think that there is a chance of it. Were our force to do
+so, Lisbon would be at the mercy of Victor and of the army corps at
+Salamanca. Cuesta is, what he calls, watching Victor. He is one of the
+most obstinate and pigheaded of all the generals. Victor will crush him
+without difficulty, and could be at Lisbon long before we could get back
+from Oporto. No, Lisbon is the key of the situation; there are very strong
+positions on the range of hills between the river and the sea at Torres
+Vedras, which could be held against greatly superior forces. The town
+itself is protected by strong forts, which have been greatly strengthened
+since we came. The men-of-war can come up to the town, aid in its defence,
+and bring reinforcements; and provisions can be landed at all times.
+
+"The loss of Lisbon would be a death-blow to Portuguese independence, and
+you may be sure that the ministry at home would eagerly seize the
+opportunity of abandoning the struggle here altogether. Do you know that
+at the present moment, while urging Sir John Cradock to take the offensive
+with only 15,000 men against the whole army of France in the Peninsula,
+they have had the folly to send a splendid expedition of from thirty to
+forty thousand good troops to Holland, where they will be powerless to do
+any good, while their presence here would be simply invaluable. Well, we
+will not enter upon that subject to-night; the folly and the incapacity of
+Mr. Canning and his crew is a subject that, once begun, would keep one
+talking until morning."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+AN AWKWARD POSITION
+
+When Captain Nelson and Terence went out, just as the morning was
+breaking, they found the two troopers waiting in the street. Each held a
+spare horse; the one was that upon which Terence had ridden from Coimbra,
+the other was a fine English horse.
+
+"What horse is this?" Terence asked.
+
+"It is a present to you from Sir John Cradock," Captain Nelson said. "He
+told me last night that the troopers had been ordered to ask for it when
+they took your horse this morning, and that his men were ordered to hand
+it over to them. He wished me to tell you that he had pleasure in
+presenting the horse to you as a mark of his great satisfaction at the
+manner in which you had mastered the military details of Sir John Moore's
+expedition, and the clearness with which you had explained them."
+
+"I am indeed greatly obliged to the general; it is most kind of him,"
+Terence said. "Will you please express my thanks to him in a proper way,
+Captain Nelson."
+
+They rode to the Treasury, where they found the Portuguese escort, with
+the mules, waiting them. The officer in charge of the Treasury was already
+there, and admitted the two officers.
+
+"I have packed the money in ammunition-boxes," he said. "I received
+instructions from Mr. Villiers to do so."
+
+"It is evident that your words had some effect, Mr. O'Connor," Captain
+Nelson said aside to Terence. "I suppose that when he thought it over he
+came to the conclusion that, after all, your suggestions, were prudent
+ones, and that it would add to the chance of the money reaching Romana
+were he to adopt it."
+
+"I am glad that he did so, for had the money been placed in the ordinary
+chests and then brought to the barracks to be packed in ammunition-cases,
+the Portuguese troopers would all have been sure of the nature of the
+contents; whereas now, whatever they may suspect, they cannot be sure
+about it, because there is a large amount of ammunition stored in the same
+building."
+
+Some of the guard stationed in the Treasury carried the chests out, and
+assisted the muleteers to lash them in their places.
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN
+CRADOCK]
+
+
+"I cannot thank you too warmly, Captain Nelson, for the kindness that you
+have shown me," Terence said.
+
+"Not at all," that officer replied; "I simply carried out the general's
+orders, and the duty has been a very pleasant one. No, I don't think I
+would mount that horse if I were you," he went on, as Terence walked
+towards his acquisition. "I would have him led as far as Coimbra, while
+you ride the horse you borrowed there, then he will be fresh for the
+further journey."
+
+"That would be the best way, no doubt, though our stages must all be
+comparatively short ones, owing to our having mules with us."
+
+"I should not press them if I were you. I don't suppose that it will make
+much difference whether Romana gets the money a few days sooner or later."
+
+"None whatever, I should say," Terence laughed, as he mounted his horse.
+"Still, I do think that he will be able to gather a mob of peasants. Of
+course, being almost without arms, they will be of no use whatever for
+fighting, but still they may harass Soult's communications, cut off
+stragglers, and compel him to move slowly and cautiously."
+
+Terence now saluted the Portuguese officer, who said, as he returned the
+salute:
+
+"My name, señor, is Juan Herrara."
+
+"And mine is Terence O'Connor, señor. Our journey will be a somewhat long
+one together, and I hope that we shall meet with no adventures or
+accidents by the way."
+
+"I hope not, señor. My instructions are simple; I am to place myself under
+your orders, and to convey eight cases of ammunition to the northern
+frontier, and to follow the routes that you may point out. I was ordered
+also to pick the men who are to form the escort. I have done so, and I
+think I can answer that they can be relied upon to do their duty under all
+circumstances."
+
+Terence now turned, and with a hearty farewell to Captain Nelson, rode on
+by the side of Lieutenant Herrara. The two British troopers followed them,
+the four mules with their two muleteers kept close behind, and the twelve
+Portuguese troopers brought up the rear.
+
+"It is a strong escort for four mules carrying ammunition," the Portuguese
+officer said, with a smile.
+
+"It may seem so," Terence laughed, "but you see the country, especially
+north of the Douro, is greatly disturbed."
+
+"Very much so, and I think that the precaution that has been taken is a
+very wise one. I have been informed what is really in the cases. Were I
+going by myself with a sergeant and twelve men, I should say that to put
+the money in ammunition-cases was not only absolutely useless but
+dangerous, the disproportion between the force and the value of the
+ammunition would be so great that it would attract attention at once, but
+as you are with us it is more likely to pass without observation. You are
+an officer on the staff of the English general. You have your own two
+orderlies, and, as you are carrying despatches, it is considered necessary
+that you should have an escort of our people. The cases in that event
+would seem to be of little importance, but to be simply travelling with us
+to have the advantage of the protection of our escort."
+
+"You are quite right, Senior Herrara, and it would have been vastly better
+had the money been stowed in sacks filled up with grain; then they could
+follow a short distance behind us, and it would seem that they were simply
+carrying forage for our use on the road."
+
+"That would have been very much better, senior. You might have it done at
+Torres Vedras."
+
+"The money is in bags, each containing two hundred dollars. There will be
+no trouble in transferring them to sacks filled with plenty of forage. Two
+of your soldiers have behind them a bundle or two of faggots, a basket of
+fowls, and other matters; these can be piled on the top of the sacks, so
+that the fact that the principal load was forage would hardly be noticed.
+You might mention to the muleteers that I thought that it would be a
+considerable saving of weight if we used sacks instead of those heavy
+cases, and that the ammunition would travel just as well in the one as the
+other. We must arrange so that the muleteers do not suspect anything."
+
+"As a rule," Herrara said, "they are very trustworthy. There is scarcely a
+case known in which they have stolen goods intrusted to them, however
+valuable; but it would be easy to place a few packets of ammunition in the
+mouth of each sack, and call them in to cord them up firmly. The sight of
+the ammunition would go far to lessen any suspicions they might have."
+
+They reached Torres Vedras that night. Terence spoke to the officer in
+command there, and was furnished with the sacks he required, and enough
+forage to fill them. The boxes were put into a room in the barracks, and
+here Terence, with his two orderlies, opened the cases and transferred the
+bags of money to the centre of the sacks. Two or three dozen packets of
+ammunition were obtained, and a few put into the mouths of the sacks.
+These were left open, and the room locked up, two of the Portuguese
+soldiers being placed on guard before it. Terence and Lieutenant Herrara
+were invited to dine at mess and had quarters assigned to them, and
+Terence, after dinner, again, but much more briefly than before, gave the
+officers at the station a sketch of the retreat and battle.
+
+The next morning the muleteers were called in to fasten up the sacks. At
+the suggestion of the officer in command, a tent was also taken.
+
+"You may want it badly before you are done," he said. "If I were you I
+should always have it pitched, except when you are at a village, for you
+can have the sacks in as beds, and so keep them under your eye; and if, as
+you tell me, you are giving out that they contain ammunition, it would
+seem but a natural step, as you are so able to keep it dry."
+
+The mules looked more heavily laden than upon the preceding day, but they
+were carrying no heavier burden, for the weight of the tent, its poles,
+the basket of fowls, Terence's valise, and other articles, were
+considerably less than those of the eight heavy cases that had been left
+behind. The two officers now rode at the head of the detachment, and two
+only of the Portuguese soldiers kept in rear of the mules, which now
+followed at a distance of thirty or forty yards behind them. They stopped
+that night at Rolica and the next at Leirya. This was a long march, and a
+short one the next day brought them to Pombal, and the following afternoon
+they arrived at Coimbra. Here they spent another pleasant evening with the
+regiment stationed in the town.
+
+"By the way, O'Connor," one of the officers said, after the dinner was
+over and cigars lighted, "I suppose you don't happen to have any relations
+at Oporto?"
+
+"Well, I do happen to have some," Terence answered, in some surprise. "Why
+do you ask?"
+
+"Well, that is singular," the officer said; "I will tell you how it
+happened. I was with the party that escorted the French prisoners down to
+Oporto. Just as we had got into the town--it was before the row began, and
+being early in the morning, there were very few people about--a head
+appeared at a window on the second floor of a big convent standing on the
+left side of the road. I remember the name was carved over the door-it was
+the Convent of Santa Maria. I happened to catch sight of the nun, and she
+at once dropped a little letter, which fell close to me. I picked it up
+and stuck it into my glove, and thought no more about it for a time, for
+the mob soon began to gather, to yell and threaten the prisoners, and my
+hands were too full, till we had got them safely on board a ship, to think
+any more of the matter. When I took off my glove the letter fell out. It
+was simply addressed 'to an English officer.'
+
+"'_I, an English girl, am detained here, a prisoner, principally because
+my Spanish relations wish to seize my property. I have been made a nun by
+force, though my father was a Protestant, and taught me his religion. I
+pray you to endeavour to obtain my freedom. I am made most miserable here,
+and am kept in solitary confinement. I have nothing to eat but bread and
+water, because I will not sign a renunciation of my property. The Bishop
+of Oporto has himself threatened me, and it is useless to appeal to him.
+Nothing but an English army being stationed here can save me. Have pity
+upon me, and aid me_.'
+
+"It was signed '_Mary O'Connor_.' Of course no British troops have been
+there since, but if we are sent there I had made up my mind to bring the
+matter before the general, and ask him to interfere on the poor girl's
+behalf; though I know that it would be an awkward matter. For if there is
+one thing that the Portuguese are more touchy about than another, it is
+any interference in religious matters, and the bishop, who is a most
+intolerant rascal, would be the last man who would give way on such a
+subject."
+
+"I have not the least doubt in the world but that it is a cousin of mine,"
+Terence said. "Her father went out to join a firm of wine merchants in
+Oporto. I know that he married a very rich Portuguese heiress, and that
+they had one daughter. My father told me that he gathered from his
+cousin's letters that he and his wife did not get on very well together.
+He died two years ago, and it is quite possible that the mother, who may
+perhaps want to marry again, has shut the girl up in a convent to get rid
+of her altogether, and to make her sign a document renouncing her right to
+the property in favour of herself, or possibly, as the bishop seems to
+have meddled in the affair, partly of the Church.
+
+"I quite see that nothing can be done now, but if we do occupy Oporto,
+some day, which is likely enough, I will speak to the general, and if he
+says that it is a matter that he cannot entertain, I will see what I can
+do to get her out."
+
+"It is awkward work, O'Connor, fooling with a nunnery either here or in
+Spain. The Portuguese are not so bigoted as the Spaniards across the
+frontier, but there is not much difference, and if anyone is caught
+meddling with a nunnery they would tear him to pieces, especially in
+Oporto, where men who are even suspected of hostility to the bishop are
+murdered every day."
+
+"I don't want to run the risk of being torn to pieces, certainly, but
+after what you have told me of her letter, I will not let my little cousin
+be imprisoned all her life in a nunnery, and robbed of her property,
+without making some strong effort to save her."
+
+"I will give you the letter presently, O'Connor; I have it in a
+pocket-book at my quarters. By the by, how old is your cousin?"
+
+"About my own age, or a little younger."
+
+The subject of the conversation was then changed, and half an hour later
+the officer left the room and returned with the letter.
+
+"At any rate," he said, "if we do go to Oporto you will have more
+opportunity for getting the general to move than I should."
+
+Terence had handed over the horse he had borrowed, with many thanks for
+its use, and received his own again, which was in good condition after its
+rest of seven or eight days. It was by no means a valuable animal, but he
+thought it as well to take it on with him in case any of the other horses
+should meet with an accident or break down during the journey through the
+mountains.
+
+Coimbra was the last British station through which they would pass, and
+the real difficulties of the journey would now begin. Terence had, before
+starting, received a sum of money for the maintenance of himself and his
+escort upon the way, and he had done all in his power to see that the
+troopers were comfortable at their various halting-places.
+
+The journey as far as the Douro passed without any adventure. They
+encountered on the road several bands of peasants armed with pikes, clubs,
+hoes, and a few guns. These were for the most part ordenanças or levies,
+called out when a larger force than the regular troops and militia was
+required. They were on their way to join the forces assembling under the
+edicts, and beyond pausing to stare at the British officer with the two
+dragoons behind him and an escort of their own troops, they paid no
+attention to the party.
+
+They crossed the Douro at St. Joa de Pesquiera, and on stopping at a large
+village some ten miles beyond, found it occupied by a rabble of some two
+thousand men, absolutely useless for service in the field, but capable of
+offering an obstinate defence to the passage of a river, or of impeding an
+enemy's advance through a mountain defile. As they stopped before the
+principal inn a man, dressed in some attempt at a uniform, came out from a
+door.
+
+"You are a British officer, sir?" he asked Terence, raising his broad hat
+courteously.
+
+"I am an officer on the English general's staff, and am proceeding on a
+mission from him to the northern frontier to ascertain the best means of
+defence, and the route that the enemy are most likely to move by if they
+attempt to invade Portugal from that direction."
+
+"The French general would hardly venture to do that," the officer said,
+disdainfully, "when there will be 50,000 Portuguese to bar his way."
+
+"He may be in ignorance of the force that will gather to meet him,"
+Terence said, gravely, and with difficulty restraining a smile at the
+confident tone of this leader of an armed mob. "However, I have my orders
+to carry out. Do you not think," he said, turning to Herrara, "that it
+will be better for us to go on to the next hamlet, if there is one within
+two or three miles. I fear there is little chance of obtaining any
+accommodation for our men here."
+
+"There is no need for that," the Portuguese colonel broke in. "There is a
+large house at the end of the village that is at present vacant; the
+proprietor, who was a disturber of the peace, and who belonged to the
+French faction, was killed last week in the course of a disturbance
+created by him. I, as Commissioner of the Junta here, had the house closed
+up, but it is quite at your service."
+
+As the march had already been a long one, Terence thought it best to
+accept the offer. The colonel called a man, who presently brought a key,
+and accompanied them to the house in question. It showed signs at once of
+mob violence. The snow in the garden was trampled down, the windows
+broken, and one of the lower ones smashed in as if an entry had been
+effected here. The door was riddled with bullet holes. Upon this being
+opened the destruction within was seen to be complete, rooms being strewn
+with broken furniture and litter of all sorts.
+
+"At any rate there is plenty of firewood," the lieutenant said, as he
+ordered his men to clear out one of the rooms. "There has been dastardly
+work here," he went on, as the man who had brought the key left the place.
+
+"Yes, I have no doubt the proprietor, whoever he was, has been foully
+murdered, and as likely as not by the orders of that fellow we met, who
+says he is Commissioner of the Junta. I should not be surprised if we have
+trouble with him before we have done. I should think, Herrara, you had
+better send off a couple of men to get what they can in the way of
+provisions and a skin of wine. This is a cheerless-looking place, and
+these broken windows are not of much use for keeping out the cold. Bull,
+you had better see if you can find something among all this rubbish to
+hang up in front of the window, for in its present state it merely creates
+a draught."
+
+The orderly went out, and returned with two torn curtains.
+
+"There has been some bad work going on here, sir," he said. "There are
+pools of blood in three of the rooms upstairs, and it is evident that
+there has been a desperate struggle. One of the doors is broken in, and
+there are several shot-holes through it."
+
+"I am afraid there has been bad work. I suppose the man here was obnoxious
+to somebody, so they murdered him. However, it is not our business."
+
+Some of the horses were stabled in a large shed, the others in the lower
+rooms of the house, the soldiers and muleteers taking possession of the
+large kitchen, where they soon had a huge fire burning. The windows on
+this side of the house were unbroken. The two orderlies soon fastened up
+the curtains across the windows of the officers' room, and when the fire
+was lighted it had a more cheerful aspect. The burdens of the mules were
+brought into the room opposite, where there was a key in the door and bars
+across the windows. Presently the soldiers returned with some meat, a
+couple of fowls, bread, and some wine, together with a bunch of candles.
+The fowls were soon plucked, cut in two, and grilled over the fire, and in
+a quarter of an hour after the men's return the two officers sat down to
+supper. The meal was just finished when there was a knock at the outer
+door, and the soldier acting as sentry came in and said that Colonel
+Cortingos desired to speak to them.
+
+"I suppose that is the fellow we saw in the town," Terence said; "show him
+in."
+
+The supposition was a correct one, for the man entered, accompanied by two
+others. Terence had no doubt that this fellow was the author of the attack
+upon the house, and the murderer of the proprietor and others. He did not
+feel disposed to be exceptionally civil to him, but as he had a couple of
+thousand men under his command and had certainly put the only available
+place in the village at their disposal, he rose as he entered.
+
+"These two gentlemen," the colonel began, "form, with myself, the
+committee appointed by the Junta of Oporto to organize the national
+resistance here and in the surrounding neighbourhood, to keep our eye upon
+persons suspected of being favourable to the enemy, and to arrest and send
+them to Oporto for trial. We are also enjoined to make close inquiries
+into the business of all persons who may pass through here."
+
+"I have already told you," Terence said, quietly, "that I am an officer on
+the staff of the English general, and that I have a mission from him to
+see what are the best means of defending the northern passes, and, I may
+add, to enter into such arrangements as I may think proper with the
+leaders of any bands who may be gathered for the purpose of defending
+them. As I am acting under the direct orders of the general, I in no way
+recognize the right of any local authority to interfere with me in any
+way."
+
+"And I, Lieutenant Herrara, have been ordered by the colonel of my
+regiment to command the escort of Portuguese cavalry told off to accompany
+this British officer, and also feel myself free from any interference or
+examination by civilians."
+
+"I am a colonel!" Cortingos said, angrily.
+
+"By whom appointed, if I may ask?"
+
+"By the Junta of Oporto."
+
+"I was not aware that they possessed the right of granting high
+commissions," Herrara said, "although, of course, they can grant temporary
+rank to those who command irregular forces. This British officer has
+assured you as to the object of his journey, and unless that object has
+had the approval of the military authorities at Lisbon he would not have
+been furnished with an escort by them."
+
+"I have only his word and yours as to that," Cortingos said, insolently.
+"I am acting under the orders of the supreme authority of this province."
+
+"You are doing your duty, no doubt," the lieutenant said, "in making these
+inquiries. This officer has answered them, and I will answer any further
+questions if I consider them to be reasonable."
+
+"We wish, in the first place," Cortingos said, "to examine any official
+passes you may have received."
+
+"Our official passes are our uniforms," Herrara replied, haughtily.
+
+"Uniforms have been useful for purposes of disguise before now," Cortingos
+replied. "I again ask you to show me your authority."
+
+"Here is an authority," Terence broke in. "Here is a despatch from General
+Sir John Cradock to General Romana."
+
+"Ah, ah, a Spaniard."
+
+"A Spanish general, a marquis and grandee of Spain, who has been fighting
+the French, and who is now with a portion of his army preparing to defend
+the passes into Portugal."
+
+Cortingos held out his hand for the paper, but Terence put it back again
+into the breast-pocket of his uniform.
+
+"No, sir," he said; "this communication is for the Marquis of Romana, and
+for him only. No one else touches it so long as I am alive to defend it."
+
+The colonel whispered to his two associates.
+
+"We will let that pass for the present," he replied, and turning to
+Terence again, said, "In the next place we wish to know the nature of the
+contents of the sacks that are being carried by the mules that accompany
+you."
+
+"They contain ammunition, and forage for our horses," Lieutenant Herrara
+said. "You can, if you choose, question the muleteers, who fastened up the
+sacks and had an opportunity of seeing the ammunition."
+
+"In the name of the Junta I demand that ammunition!" Cortingos said, with
+an air of authority. "It is monstrous that ammunition should be taken to
+Spaniards, who have already shown that they are incapable of using it with
+any effect, while here we have loyal men ready to die in their country's
+defence, but altogether unprovided with ammunition."
+
+"For that, sir, you must apply to your Junta. Since they give you orders,
+let them give you ammunition; there is enough in Oporto to supply the
+whole population, had they arms; and you may be assured that I and my men
+will see that the convoy intrusted to our charge reaches its destination."
+
+
+[Illustration: "IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA, I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION,"]
+
+
+"I believe that there is not only ammunition, but money in those sacks,"
+said Cortingos. "It would be an act of treachery to allow it to pass,
+when, even if not taken to them directly, it might fall into the hands of
+the French. It is needed here; my men lack shoes and clothes, and as you
+say the object of your mission is to see to the defence of our frontier,
+any money you may have cannot be better applied than to satisfy the
+necessities of my soldiers. However, we do not wish to take steps that
+might appear unfriendly. And, therefore, if you will allow us to inspect
+the contents of those sacks, we will let you pass on if we find that they
+contain no money--confiscating only the ammunition for the use of the
+troops of the province."
+
+"I refuse absolutely," Herrara said, "to allow anything confided to my
+charge to be touched."
+
+"That is your final decision," the man said, with a sneer.
+
+"Final and absolute."
+
+"I also shall do my duty;" and then, without another word, the colonel
+with his two associates left the house.
+
+"We shall have trouble with that fellow," Herrara said.
+
+"So much the better," Terence replied. "We have evidence here that the
+scoundrel is a murderer. No doubt he had some private enmity against the
+owner of this establishment, and so denounced him to the Junta, and then
+attacked the place, murdered him, and perhaps some of his servants, and
+sacked the house. They won't find it so easy a job as it was last time;
+all the windows are barred, and there are only three on this floor to
+defend. The shutters of two of them are uninjured, so it is only the one
+where they broke in before that they can attack, while our men at the
+windows upstairs will make it hot for them as they approach. But I should
+hardly think that the men he calls soldiers will venture to attack a party
+of regular troops."
+
+The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"He will tell them some lies, probably assert that we are French agents in
+disguise taking money to the French army. Indeed, there is neither order
+nor discipline among these bands, and, roused to a pitch of fury, they
+would murder their own leaders as readily as anyone else. The Junta acts
+as if the province were altogether independent, and numbers of men of
+position have been butchered on the pretence of their being adherents of
+the French, when their sole crime was that they disapproved of the doings
+of the bishop and his tools. You will see that the night will not pass off
+without something happening. Of course, I shall be sorry to have to order
+the men to fire. In the first place it would render it very difficult for
+us to resume our journey; and in the second, if we succeed in getting out
+alive, they will send a lying account of the affair to Lisbon, and there
+will be all sorts of trouble. Still, of course, if they attack the house
+we shall defend ourselves."
+
+The two officers then made a tour of the house and carefully examined the
+means of defence. The broken shutters were replaced in their position in
+the window, and were backed with a pile of the fragments of furniture. The
+horses were all brought in from the shed outside, the soldiers were warned
+that the mob in the place were likely to attack them, and four of them
+were placed as sentries at the upper windows; and, by the looks of the men
+when the lieutenant made the communication to them, Terence saw that they
+could be relied upon.
+
+"I have no doubt that we shall be able to defend the place successfully,"
+Terence said to the two British troopers; "but if the worst comes to the
+worst we will all mount inside the house, throw open the door behind, and
+then go right at them. But I hope that we shall avoid a fight, for if we
+have one, it will be very difficult for us to make our way to the north,
+or to get back across the Douro."
+
+In an hour one of the sentries at the upper window brought news that a
+large number of men were approaching. Terence at once gave some orders
+that he and the lieutenant had agreed upon to the two soldiers, and four
+of the Portuguese troopers, and then went up with the lieutenant to the
+window over the door. He threw it open just as a crowd of men poured into
+the garden in front.
+
+"What is it?" he asked. "What do you want?"
+
+"I demand entrance to this house in the name of the Junta of Oporto," a
+voice which he recognized as that of Cortingos replied. "If that is
+refused I shall denounce you as traitors to Portugal, and your blood will
+be on your own heads."
+
+"We respect the orders of the Junta," Herrara replied, "and are ready to
+open the door as you demand; but I must first be assured that it is really
+the committee appointed by the Junta that demand it."
+
+Several of the men had torches, and these were brought forward, and they
+saw the man and his two associates standing in front.
+
+"Good, I will open the door," the lieutenant said, and he and Terence went
+down. The bars were removed and the door thrown open, the two officers
+walked a few paces outside, and then halted.
+
+Followed closely by their armed followers, the three men approached,
+confident in the strength of their following.
+
+"Enter, gentlemen," Terence said. "I protest against this invasion, by
+force, but I cannot oppose it."
+
+The three men entered the door, the two officers standing aside and
+allowing them to pass. The instant the three Portuguese had entered
+Terence and the lieutenant threw themselves suddenly upon those following
+them. Two or three rolled over with the suddenness of the assault, and the
+rest recoiled a step or two. Before they could recover themselves Herrara
+and Terence dashed through the door, which was slammed to and barred by
+the two English troopers. Meanwhile, the three men had been seized by the
+Portuguese troopers, their coats torn off them, and their hands tied
+behind their backs, and then they were hurried upstairs.
+
+Yells of fury filled the air outside, shots were fired at the windows, and
+men began to beat the door and shutters with bludgeons and hatchets.
+Suddenly a light appeared from a window above, and Cortingos and his two
+friends were seen standing there. By the side of each stood a trooper,
+holding a rope with a noose round the prisoners' necks. For a moment there
+was a silence of stupefaction outside, followed by a yell of fury from the
+mob. Herrara went to the window and shouted: "My friends." Again there was
+a moment of silence, as each wanted to hear what he said. "My friends, at
+the first shot that is fired, or the first blow that is struck at the
+doors of this house, these three men will be hung out of the window. They
+have deceived you grossly. I am an officer of the National Army, these
+troopers are men of the 2d Portuguese Dragoons. We have been appointed by
+the military authorities of Lisbon to escort this British officer, who is
+on the staff of the British general, and whose commission is to make
+arrangements with the Spanish general, Romana to harass the rear of the
+French, and attack their convoys should they attempt to enter the northern
+passes.
+
+"These three scoundrels have deceived you, in order, as they hoped, to
+obtain some money that they believed us to be escorting. As loyal
+Portuguese, I warn you against attempting to aid the fellows in a deed
+which would bring disgrace upon the national name, and would result in the
+British general refusing to assist in the defence of your country. You are
+brave men, but you see these three cowards are trembling like children. We
+advise you to appoint fresh officers among yourselves, and to remain
+faithful to your duty, which is to march when ordered to the defence of
+the defiles. These three fellows we shall take with us, and will see that
+they do not further deceive you. Already they have done harm enough by
+goading you to theft, and to murder a man whose only fault was that he was
+more patriotic than they are. Be assured that in no case would you be able
+to carry this house. It is defended by sixteen well-armed men, and
+hundreds of you would throw away your lives in the attempt. Therefore, I
+advise you to go back to your quarters, and in the morning assemble and
+choose your officers."
+
+The crowd stood irresolute.
+
+"Tell them to go, you cur," Herrara said to Cortingos, standing back from
+the window and giving him a kick that almost sent him on his face. "Tell
+them to disperse at once, if you don't want to be dangling from the end of
+this rope."
+
+Cortingos stepped forward, and in a quavering voice told the men to
+disperse to their quarters.
+
+"We have made a mistake," he said. "I am now convinced that these officers
+are what they appear to be. I beseech you do not cause trouble, and
+disperse at once--quietly."
+
+Hoots of derision and scorn rose from the peasants.
+
+"I have a good mind to fire a shot before I go," one of the peasants
+shouted, "just for the pleasure of seeing three such cowards hung."
+
+Another yell of disgust and anger arose, and then the crowd melted away.
+
+"Keep these three fellows at the window. Remove the ropes from their
+necks, and take your place behind them; you will be relieved every hour.
+If they move, bayonet them at once."
+
+"We shall die of cold," one of the men whimpered.
+
+"That would be a more honourable death than you are likely to meet,"
+Terence said, scornfully. "I fancy if I don't hang you, those men in the
+village will do so if they can lay hands on you."
+
+"How about the sentries, sir?" the corporal of the escort asked Herrara as
+they went downstairs. "They can all be removed except the one keeping
+guard over these men--he is to be relieved every hour--and one inside the
+door, he can be relieved every two hours."
+
+The night passed quietly. Just as they were preparing to start next
+morning, the soldier on guard over the prisoners shouted, "There is a
+crowd of men coming!"
+
+"Get your arms ready," Herrara said to the escort; "but I don't think
+there will be any occasion to use them."
+
+Terence went to the door. "Bull, do you and Macwitty keep close behind;
+but whatever happens don't use your weapons, unless I order you to do so."
+
+The crowd stopped at the gate, two of them only coming forward.
+
+"We are ready to fight, sir," one said, addressing Terence, "but we have
+no officers; none of us know anything about drill. We will follow you, if
+you will command us, and you will find that we won't turn our backs to the
+enemy. We know that English officers will fight."
+
+"Wait a minute or two," Terence said, after a moment's hesitation, "I will
+then give you my answer."
+
+Herrara had followed him out and heard the offer.
+
+"I don't know what to do, Herrara," Terence said, as he re-entered the
+house. "My instructions are to join Romana, and to remain with him for a
+time, sending word to Lisbon as to the state of things, and aiding him in
+any way in my power. Here are between two and three thousand stout,
+healthy fellows, evidently disposed to fight. If they were armed I would
+not hesitate a moment, but I don't suppose that there are a hundred
+muskets among them, and certainly Romana has none to give them. Still, in
+the defiles we might give a good deal of trouble to the French by rolling
+stones down, breaking up bridges, and that sort of thing."
+
+"It would be good fun," Herrara laughed. "As for myself," he said, "I have
+orders to return as soon as I have seen the treasure safely in Romana's
+camp. If it hadn't been for that I should have liked nothing better,
+though there would not have been much chance for cavalry work in these
+defiles."
+
+"I will talk to them again," Terence said. "It is not often that one gets
+the chance of an independent command. It is just the sort of work I should
+like."
+
+He went out again. "I should like to command a number of brave fellows,"
+he said, "but the question is about arms. There have been any quantity
+sent out by England for your use; but instead of being served out, the
+Juntas keep them all hidden up in magazines. Even now, when the French are
+going to invade your country, they still keep them locked up, and send you
+out with only pikes and staves to fight against a well-armed army. It is
+nothing short of murder."
+
+"Down with the Juntas!" cried half a dozen of the men standing near enough
+to hear what was said.
+
+"I don't say 'Down with the Juntas!'" Terence replied; "but I do say take
+arms if you can get them. Are there any magazines near here?"
+
+"There is one at Castro, ten miles away," the man said. "I know that there
+are waggon-loads of arms there."
+
+"Well, my friends, the matter stands thus: I, as a British officer, cannot
+lead you to break open magazines; but I say this, if you choose to go in a
+body to Castro and do it yourselves, and arm yourselves with all the
+muskets that you can find there, and bring with you a good store of
+ammunition in carts that you could take with you from here, and then come
+to me at a spot where I will halt to-night five or six miles beyond
+Castro, I will take command of you. But mind, if I command, I command. I
+must have absolute obedience. It is only by obeying my orders without
+question that you can hope to do any good. The first man who disobeys me I
+shall shoot on the spot, and if others are disposed to support him I shall
+leave you at once."
+
+"I will consult the others," the man said. "Many of us, I know, will be
+glad to fight under an English officer, and agree to obey him implicitly."
+
+"Very well, I will give you a quarter of an hour to decide."
+
+Before that time had elapsed a dozen men came to the door with the
+principal spokesman.
+
+"We have made up our minds, señor. We will follow you, and we will arm
+ourselves at Castro. It is a sin that the arms should be lying there idle
+with so many hands ready to use them."
+
+"That is good," Terence said. "Now, my first order is that you wait until
+I have been gone an hour; then, that you form up in military order, four
+abreast; the men with guns in front, the others after them. You must go as
+soldiers, and not as a mob. You must march into Castro peacefully and
+quietly, not a man must straggle from the ranks. You must go to the
+authorities and demand the arms and ammunition; if they refuse to give
+them to you, march--always in regular order--to the magazine and burst it
+open; then distribute the muskets and a hundred rounds of ammunition to
+each man having one, take the rest of the stores in carts, and then march
+away along the road north until you come to the place where we are halted.
+
+"Observe the most perfect order in Castro. If any man plunders or meddles
+in any way with the inhabitants and is reported to me, I shall know how to
+punish him. From the moment that you leave this place remember that you
+are soldiers of Portugal, and you must behave so as to be an honour to it
+as well as a defence. Now let us all shout 'Viva Portugal!'"
+
+A great shout followed the words, and then Terence went indoors, and five
+minutes later started with his convoy, telling the three prisoners they
+could go where they liked.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND
+
+As they left the village the Portuguese lieutenant burst into a sudden fit
+of laughter.
+
+"What is it, Lieutenant?" Terence asked.
+
+"I am laughing at the way in which you--who, as you tell me, have only
+been six months in the army--without hesitation organize what is really a
+rising against the authorities, you having already taken representatives
+of the Junta prisoners--"
+
+"Yes; but you must remember that they took upon themselves to endeavour to
+forcibly possess themselves of the treasure in my charge."
+
+"That is true enough; still, you did capture them. You treated them with
+considerable personal indignity, imprisoned them, and threatened their
+lives. Then you incite, say 2,500 ordenanças to break open magazines."
+
+"No, no, Lieutenant, I did not incite them. You will remember they
+expressed a desire to march under my command to fight against the French.
+I simply pointed out to them that they had no arms, and asked if they
+could get any; and hearing that there were plenty lying useless a few
+miles away, suggested that those arms would do more good in their hands
+than stowed away in magazines. Upon their agreeing with me on this head, I
+advised them to proceed in a quiet and orderly way, and to have no rioting
+or disturbance of any sort. I said that if they, after arming themselves,
+came to me and still wished to follow me, I would undertake to command
+them. You see, everything depends upon the manner in which the thing is
+put."
+
+"But you must remember, señor, that the Junta will naturally view the
+matter in the light in which their representatives will place it before
+them."
+
+"I think it unlikely," Terence replied, "that they will have any
+opportunity of doing so. I took care that they were removed from the
+window before I met the deputies of the men. They will consequently be
+unaware of the arrangements made, and will, perhaps, go out as soon as we
+have left and try to persuade the men to follow and attack us. As it was
+possible that they might take this course, I took the precaution of
+sending out one of the muleteers, with instructions to mention casually to
+the men that I was leaving the three fellows behind me, and that it might
+be as well for them to confine them under a guard so as to prevent their
+going to Oporto at present and making mischief."
+
+"I agree with you, señor, that they are certainly not likely to make any
+report as to the proceedings here."
+
+"I fancy not; in fact I should not be at all surprised if at the present
+moment they are hanging from the windows of the house of the man they
+caused to be murdered. They will most richly deserve their fate, and it
+may save us some trouble. No doubt the Junta will hear some day that the
+ordenanças here rose, killed the three members of their committee,
+obtained arms at Castro, and marched into the mountains. The Junta will
+care nothing whatever for the killing of its three agents; plenty of men
+of the same kind can be found to do their work. That the mutineers
+afterwards fell in with a British officer, and placed themselves under his
+command, will not concern the Junta one way or the other, and they will
+certainly be a great deal more useful in that way than they would be in
+remaining unarmed here. They may even, when the French once get in motion,
+come to regard the affair altogether as satisfactory. If all the new
+levies were to act in exactly the same way, Portugal would be very
+materially benefited."
+
+"But how are you going to feed them?"
+
+"That is rather a serious question. I suppose they will have to be fed in
+the same way as other irregular bands. However, I shall consider myself
+fully justified in devoting a fifth of the money I am carrying to that
+purpose. I obtained from Villiers £5,000 to enable Romana to support the
+levies he is raising. Those levies will be for the most part unarmed, and
+therefore practically useless; and as these Portuguese will be at any rate
+fairly armed, and are likely to be of very much greater service than a
+horde of Galician peasants, a portion at least of the money can be very
+much more usefully employed in feeding them than were it all given to
+Romana, I have no doubt whatever that when I explain the circumstances to
+General Cradock, he will entirely approve of my appropriating a small
+portion of the money that Villiers has chosen to throw away on Romana.
+When you return I shall get you to carry a report from me to the general,
+stating what I have done. I have no doubt he will warmly approve of it."
+
+On approaching Castro they made a detour to avoid the town.
+
+"There may be more representatives of the Junta there," Terence said, "and
+we may have even more trouble with them than we had with the last. I don't
+want any more bother, especially as I have much greater interest in the
+money now than I had before. I have not a shadow of belief in those bands
+of Portuguese peasants, but I do think that, with the aid of my two
+troopers, I shall be able to lick these fellows into some sort of shape,
+and to annoy Soult, if I cannot stop him. I hope they will find a good
+supply of powder, besides the muskets and ammunition at Castro; we shall
+want it for blowing up bridges and work of that sort."
+
+"I wish I could go with you," Herrara said.
+
+"I really don't see why you should not. I would take the blame on my own
+shoulders. One of your troopers could carry my report to the general, and
+I will say that under the circumstances I have taken upon myself to retain
+you with me in order to assist me in drilling and organizing this band,
+conceiving that your services with me would be very much more useful than
+with your regiment. You see, you were placed under my orders, so that no
+blame can fall upon you for obeying them, and at any rate you certainly
+will be doing vastly better service to the country than if you were
+stationed at Lisbon, with no prospect of an advance for a long time to
+come. Still, of course, I will not retain you against your will."
+
+"I should like it of all things," Herrara said; "but do you really think
+that the general would approve?"
+
+"I have not the least doubt that he would, and at any rate if he did not
+he would only blame me, and not you. Your help would certainly be
+invaluable to me, and so would that of your men. They are all picked
+soldiers, and if we divided the force up into twelve companies, they would
+very soon teach them as much drill as is necessary for work like this.
+Each trooper would command one of the companies, my two orderlies would
+act as field officers; you would be colonel, and I should be political
+officer in command."
+
+Herrara burst into a fit of laughter.
+
+"You are the strangest fellow I ever met, señor. Here is a very serious
+business, and you take it as easily as if it were a game of play. However,
+it does seem to me that we might do some good service. At any rate I am
+quite willing to obey your orders. It would be an adventure to talk of all
+one's life."
+
+"That is right," Terence said; "and there will be some credit to be
+gained, too. Indeed, we can safely say that our band will be very much
+better organized than nineteen out of twenty of the irregular bands."
+
+The track they followed was a very bad one, and the point at which they
+regained the main road was eight miles north of Castro. There was a small
+village here, and they at once halted. Although they had travelled slowly
+they knew that the men could not come along for some time, as they were
+not to start until an hour after them, and would be detained for some
+considerable time at Castro. It was indeed nearly three hours before a
+column marching in good order was seen coming along the road.
+
+"That is a good sign," Terence said; "they have obeyed orders strictly;
+whether they have got the arms I cannot tell yet. The men at the head of
+the column have certainly muskets, but as the armed men were to go in
+front that is no proof."
+
+However, as the column approached, it could be seen that at any rate a
+very considerable number were armed.
+
+"We had better form them up as they come, Herrara. If the head of the
+column stops it will stop them all, and then there will be confusion."
+
+The road through the village was wide. When a hundred ranks had passed
+they were halted, faced round, and marched forward, and so they continued
+until the village was filled with a dense mass of men, twenty deep.
+Terence observed with satisfaction that they had with them six bullock
+carts filled with ammunition-cases, spare muskets, and powder-barrels. The
+men who had first spoken to Terence had headed the column, and these had
+stopped by his side as the others marched in.
+
+"You have succeeded, I see," he said. "I hope that you were enabled to
+accomplish it without violence."
+
+"They were too much surprised to offer much resistance. Five fellows, who
+said they were the committee appointed by the Junta, came to us and told
+us that unless we dispersed at once we should be severely punished. We
+told them that we had come out of our homes at the orders of the Junta,
+but that as the Junta had not supplied us with arms we had come for them,
+as we were not going to fight the French with nothing but sticks. They
+then threatened us again, and we told them that if they hindered us from
+defending the country we should hang them at once; and as they saw we
+meant it, they went quietly off to their houses. Then we broke down the
+door of the magazine. We found four thousand muskets there. Each man took
+one, and we left the remainder and enough ammunition for them, and have
+brought the rest here, together with a hundred spare muskets.
+
+"We have observed excellent order, and no one was hurt or alarmed. The
+only men who left the ranks were a score who went round to the bakers'
+shops by my orders, and bought up all the bread in the place. We found a
+bag with a thousand dollars at the quarters of Cortingos."
+
+"What became of him and his two associates?"
+
+"They had the impudence to come out and harangue us when you had gone; but
+we tied them up to the branch of a tree, so there is an end of them."
+
+"And a very fitting end, too," Terence said. "What have you done with the
+money?"
+
+"The bag is in that cart, señor."
+
+"You had better appoint four of your number as treasurers. I would rather
+not touch it. You must be as careful as you can, and spend it only on the
+barest necessaries of life. We shall have few opportunities of buying
+things in the mountains, but when we do come upon them they must be paid
+for. Of course, we shall go no farther to-night. How many men have you?"
+
+"About two thousand five hundred, señor."
+
+"They must be told off into twelve companies. That will be two hundred and
+ten to each company. I shall appoint one of these soldiers to each company
+to drill and command it. I propose that each company shall elect its other
+officers. Lieutenant Herrara will, under my orders, command the regiment.
+The two English soldiers with me will each take command of six companies.
+The first thing to be done is to tell off the men into companies.
+
+"This we will at once do. After that they can be marched just outside the
+village, and each company will then fall out and elect its officers. When
+that is done the men will be quartered in the village. I have set apart
+one room in each house for the inhabitants, and the men must pack as
+tightly as they can into the others; and of course the sheds and stables
+must also be utilized."
+
+With the assistance of the troopers the work of dividing the force up into
+companies was accomplished in an hour. Herrara then called his men to him.
+
+"You will each take the command of a company," he said, "and drill them
+and teach them the use of their arms. This force is now under the command
+of this British officer. Acting under his orders, I take the command of
+the force under him. So long as we are out you will each act as captains
+of your companies, and your British comrades will act as field officers,
+each taking the command of six companies. We are going to hinder the
+advance of the French, and to cut their communications with Spain. It will
+be a glorious and most honourable duty, and I rely most implicitly on your
+doing your best to make the men under your command fit to meet the enemy.
+Captain Juan Sanches, you will take the first company;" and so he allotted
+to each his command.
+
+The soldiers saluted gravely, but with an air of delight.
+
+"You will, in the first place, march your men to various spots around the
+village; they will then fall out and select six officers each. You will
+see that each man knows the number of his company, so that they can fall
+in without hesitation as soon as the order is given. While you are away we
+shall examine the houses and allot so many to each company."
+
+In the meantime Terence had been similarly instructing the two orderlies.
+Although standing at attention, a broad grin of amusement stole over their
+faces as he went on:
+
+"I did not expect this any more than you did," he said; "but my orders
+were open ones, and were to assist General Romana in hindering the advance
+of the French, and I think that I cannot do so better than by augmenting
+his forces by 2,500 well-armed men. I rely greatly upon you to assist me
+in the work. You will, as you see, each occupy the position of field
+officers, while the Portuguese troopers will each have the command of a
+company. In order to support your authority I shall address you each as
+major, and you can consider that you hold that rank as long as we are out
+with this force. I have seen enough of you both to know that you will do
+your duty well. You will understand that this is going to be no child's
+play; it will be a dangerous service. I shall spare neither myself nor any
+under my command. There will be lots of fighting and opportunities for you
+to distinguish yourselves, and I hope that I shall be able to speak in
+high terms of you when I send in my report to General Cradock."
+
+"We will do our best, sir," Andrew Macwitty said. "How are we to address
+you?"
+
+"I shall keep to Mr. O'Connor, and shall consider myself a political
+officer with supreme military authority. Your titles are simply for local
+purposes, and to give you authority among the Portuguese."
+
+"We don't know enough of the lingo to give the words of command, sir,"
+William Bull said.
+
+"That will not matter. The Portuguese dragoons will teach them as much
+drill as it is necessary for them to know. If you have to post them in a
+position you can do that well enough by signs; but at the same time it is
+most desirable that you should both set to work in earnest and try to pick
+up a little of the language. You both know enough to make a start with,
+and if you ride every day with one or other of the captains of companies,
+and when they are drilling the men stand by and listen to them, you will
+soon learn enough to give the men the necessary orders. As a rule, the two
+wings will act as separate regiments; each of them is rather stronger than
+that of a line regiment at its full war strength, and it will be more
+convenient to treat them as separate regiments, and, until we get to the
+frontier, march them a few miles apart.
+
+"In this way they can occupy different villages, and obtain better
+accommodation than if they were all together. They have money enough to
+buy bread and wine for some time. You and the captains under you had
+better each form a sort of mess. You will, of course, draw rations of
+bread and wine, and I will provide you with money to buy a sheep
+occasionally or some fowls, to keep you in meat."
+
+The two troopers walked gravely away, but as soon as they were at a little
+distance they turned round the corner of a house and burst into a shout of
+laughter.
+
+"How are you finding yourself to-day, Major Macwitty?"
+
+"Just first-rate; and how is yoursel', Major Bull?" and they again went
+off into another shout of laughter.
+
+"This is a rum start, and no mistake, Macwitty."
+
+"Ay, but it is no' an unpleasant one, I reckon. Mr. O'Connor knows what he
+is about, though he is little more than a laddie. The orderly who brought
+our orders to go with him, said he had heard from one of the general's
+mess waiters that the general and the other officers were saying the young
+officer had done something quite out of the way, and were paying him
+compliments on it, and the general had put him on his own staff in
+consequence, and was saying something about his having saved a wing of his
+regiment from being captured by the French. The man had not heard it all;
+but just scraps as he went in and out of the room with wine, but he said
+it seemed something out of the way, and mighty creditable. And now what do
+you think of this affair, Bull?"
+
+"There is one thing, and that is that there is like to be, as he said,
+plenty of fighting, for I should say that he is just the sort of fellow to
+give us the chance of it, and I do think that these Portuguese fellows
+really mean to fight."
+
+"I think that mysel', but there is no answering for these brown-skin
+chaps. Still, maybe it is the fault of the officers as well as the men."
+
+"It will be a rare game anyhow, Macwitty. At any rate I will do my best to
+get the fellows into order. He is a fine young officer, and a thorough
+gentleman, and no mistake. He goes about it all as if he had been
+accustomed to command two regiments all his life, and these Portuguese
+fellows seem to have taken to him wonderfully. At any rate it will be a
+thing for us to talk about all our lives--how we were majors for a bit,
+and fought the French on our own account."
+
+"Yes, if we get home to tell about it," Macwitty said, cautiously. "I
+dinna think we can reckon much on that yet. It is a desperate sort of a
+business, and he is ower young to command."
+
+"I would rather have a young officer than an old one," Bull said,
+carelessly; "and though he is Irish, I feel sure that he has got his head
+screwed on the right way. Look how well he managed last night. Why, an old
+general could not have done better. If he hadn't caught those three
+fellows in a trap, I doubt whether we should have got out of the scrape.
+Sixteen or seventeen men against over two thousand is pretty long odds. We
+should have accounted for a lot of them, but they would have done for us
+in the end."
+
+"You are right there, Bull. I thought mysel' that it was an awkward fix,
+and certainly he managed those Portuguese fellows well, and turned the lot
+round his little finger. Ay, ay; he knows what he is doing perfectly well,
+young as he is."
+
+"Well, we had best be off to look after our commands,"
+
+Bull laughed. "I suppose they will call mine the first regiment, as I have
+the right wing."
+
+While the men were away, Terence and Herrara, with the head man of the
+village, went round to all the houses, and marked on pieces of paper the
+number of men who could manage to lie down on the floors and passages,
+with the number of the company, and fixed them on the doors; they also
+made an arrangement with the proprietor of a neighbouring vineyard to
+supply as much wine as was required, at the rate of a pint to each man.
+When the men returned four men were told off from each company to fetch
+the rations of bread, and another four to carry the wine. They were
+accompanied by one of the newly elected sergeants to check the quantity,
+and see that all was done in order. To prevent confusion the companies
+were kept drawn up until the rations had been distributed; then they were
+taken into their quarters, filling every room, attic and cellar, barn,
+granary, and stable in the village. Then Terence and Herrara in one room,
+and the troopers in another of the little inn, sat down to a meal Terence
+had ordered as soon as they arrived.
+
+The next morning at daybreak they marched off. Terence rode at their head,
+Herrara at the rear of the regiment, and each captain at the head of his
+company. From time to time Terence rode up and down the line, and ordered
+the men to keep step.
+
+"It is just as easy," he said to the captains, "for the men to do so as to
+walk along anyhow, and they will find that the sound of all the footfalls
+together helps them to march steadily and lessens fatigue. Never mind
+about the slope of their muskets; you must not harass them about little
+things, else they will get sulky; it will all come gradually."
+
+Four marches of twenty miles each took them over the mountains in four
+days. The Portuguese marched well, and not a single man fell out from the
+ranks, while at the end of the day they were still fresh enough to allow
+of an hour's drill. Even in that short time there was a very appreciable
+difference in their appearance. They had already learned to keep their
+distances on the march, to slope their muskets more evenly on their
+shoulders, and to carry themselves with a more erect bearing. The first
+two drills had been devoted to teaching them how to load and aim, the
+other two to changes of formation, from column into line and back again.
+
+"They would make fine soldiers, sir," Bull said, on the fourth evening,
+"after they have had six months' drill."
+
+"No doubt they would move more regularly," Terence agreed, "but in
+mountain warfare that makes little difference; as soon as they have
+learned to shoot straight, and to have confidence in themselves, they will
+do just as well holding a defile or the head of a bridge as if they had
+been drilled for months. We must get hold of some horns of some sort, and
+they must learn a few simple calls, such as the advance, retire, form
+square, and things of that sort. With such large companies the voice would
+never be heard in the din of a battle. I hope that we shall get at least a
+week to practise skirmishing over rough ground and to fall back in good
+order, taking advantage of every rock and shelter, before we get under
+fire. Do you know anything about blowing up bridges?"
+
+"Not me, sir. That is engineers' business."
+
+"It is a thing that troopers ought to know something about too, Bull; for
+if you were far in advance without an engineer near you, you might do good
+service by blowing up a bridge and checking the advance of an enemy.
+However, I dare say we shall soon find out how it is best done. Now,
+to-morrow morning we will have three hours of skirmishing work on these
+hillsides. By that time the other regiment will have come up, and then we
+will march together to join Romana."
+
+The Spanish general was much surprised at the arrival of Terence at the
+head of two well-armed regiments. His force had swelled considerably in
+point of numbers, for he had sent messengers all over the country to the
+priests, and these, having a horror of the French, had stirred up the
+peasants by threats of eternal perdition if they came back; while Romana
+issued proclamations threatening death to all who did not take up arms.
+Thus he had some 8,000 men collected, of whom fully half were his own
+dispersed soldiers. He received Terence with effusion.
+
+"Have you brought me arms?" was his first question.
+
+"No, sir; no transport could be obtained in Lisbon, and it was found
+impossible to despatch any muskets to you. I have, however, four thousand
+pounds, in dollars, to hand over. At starting I had five thousand, but of
+these I have, in the exercise of my discretion, retained a thousand for
+the purchase of provisions and necessaries for these two Portuguese
+regiments which are under my command, and with which I hope to do good
+service by co-operating with your force. Have you not found great
+difficulty in victualling your men?"
+
+"No, I have had no trouble on that score," the marquis said. "I found that
+a magazine of provisions had been collected for the use of General Moore's
+army at Montrui, three miles from here, and have been supporting my troops
+on the contents. The money will be most useful, however, directly we move.
+Fully half of my men have guns, for the Galician peasants are accustomed
+to the use of arms. I wish that it had been more, but four thousand pounds
+will be very welcome. Do you propose to join my force with your
+regiments?"
+
+"Not exactly to join them, General; my orders are to give you such
+assistance as I can, and I think that I can do more by co-operating with
+you independently. In the first place, I do not think that my Portuguese
+would like to be commanded by a Spanish general; in the second place, it
+would be extremely difficult to feed so large a body of troops in these
+mountains, and the smaller the number the more easily can they move about.
+Besides, in these defiles a large force of undisciplined men could not act
+efficiently, and in case of a reverse would fall rapidly into confusion. I
+propose to use my force as a sort of flying column, co-operating with
+yours. Thus, if you attack the head of a column, I will fall on their
+flank or rear, will harass their line of communication, blow up bridges
+and destroy roads, and so render their movements slow and difficult. By
+such means I should certainly render you more efficient service than if my
+regiments were to form a part of your force."
+
+"Perhaps that would be best," Romana said. "Could you supply me with any
+ammunition? For although the peasants have guns, very few have more than a
+few rounds of ammunition, and even this is not made up into cartridges."
+
+"That I can do, sir. I can give you 20,000 rounds of ammunition and ten
+barrels of powder. I have no lead, but you may perhaps be able to obtain
+that."
+
+"Yes. The priests, in fact, have sent in a considerable amount. They have
+stripped the roofs off their churches. That will be a most welcome supply
+indeed, and I am heartily obliged to you."
+
+The gift of the ammunition had the effect of doing away with any
+discontent the Spaniard may have felt on finding that Terence was going to
+act independently of him. It had indeed already flashed across his mind
+that it might be unpleasant always to have a British officer with him,
+from whose opinion he might frequently differ, and who might endeavour to
+control his movements. He had hardly expected that, with so much on their
+hands, and the claims that would be made from Oporto for assistance, they
+would have sent any money; and the sixteen thousand dollars were therefore
+most welcome, while the ammunition would be invaluable to him.
+
+Terence had taken out his share of the money, and the cart with the
+remainder for Romana was now at the door. The sacks were brought in,
+Romana called in four or five officers, the dollars were counted out and a
+receipt given to Terence for them.
+
+"I will send the ammunition up in half an hour, Marquis."
+
+"I thank you greatly, señor. I will at once order a number of men to set
+to work casting bullets and preparing cartridge-cases. In the meantime,
+please let me hear what are your general's plans for the defence of
+Portugal."
+
+Terence told him that he was unaware what were the intentions of the
+British general, but that, from what he learned during the few hours that
+he was at Lisbon, he thought it improbable in the extreme that Sir John
+Cradock would be able to send any force to check the advance of the French
+upon Oporto.
+
+"In the first place," he said, "he is absolutely without transport; and in
+the second Victor has a large army, and now that Saragossa has fallen,
+there is nothing to prevent his marching direct upon Lisbon. Lapisse is at
+Salamanca and can enter Portugal from the east. The whole country is in
+confusion; with the exception of a force gathering under Lord Beresford
+there is no army whatever. Lisbon is almost at the mercy of the mob, who,
+supported by the government, march about with British muskets and pikes,
+killing all they suspect of being favourable to the French, and even
+attacking British soldiers and officers in the streets.
+
+"Were the general to march north, he would not get news of Victor's
+advance in time to get back to save Lisbon, therefore I fear that it is
+absolutely impossible for him to attempt to check the French until they
+cross the Douro, perhaps not until they cross the Mondego. The levies of
+the northern province are ordered to assemble at Villa Real, and I
+believe, from what I gathered on the march, that some thousands of men are
+there, but I doubt very greatly whether they are in a state to offer any
+determined resistance to Soult."
+
+"That is a bad look-out," the general said, gloomily; "still, we must hope
+for the best, as Spain will soon raise fresh armies, and so occupy the
+attention of the enemy that Soult will have to fall back. I am in
+communication with General Silveira, who will advance to Chaves; he has
+four thousand men. He has written to me that the bishop had collected
+50,000 peasants at Oporto."
+
+"Where they will probably do more harm than good," Terence said,
+scornfully. "I would rather have half a regiment of British troops than
+the whole lot of them. It is not men that are wanted, it is discipline,
+and 50,000 peasants will be even more unmanageable and useless than 5,000
+would be. By the way, General, I have now to inform you that General
+Cradock has done me the honour of placing me on his personal staff."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," the marquis said, courteously; "it will certainly
+increase your authority greatly."
+
+Terence, leaving Romana, marched his troops to within a mile of Monterey,
+choosing a spot where there was a wood which would afford some shelter to
+the troops, and would give them a supply of firewood. At Monterey he would
+be able to purchase provisions, and he wished to keep them apart from
+Romana's men, whose undisciplined habits and general insubordination would
+counteract his efforts with his own men.
+
+The next ten days were spent in almost incessant drilling, and in
+practising shooting. Bread and wine were obtained from Monterey, and he
+purchased a large flock of sheep at a very low price, the peasants, in
+their fear of the French, being very anxious to turn their flocks and
+herds into money, which could be hid away securely until the tide of
+invasion had passed. Laborious and frugal in their habits, these peasants
+seldom touch meat, and the troops were highly gratified at the rations
+supplied to them, and worked hard and cheerfully at their drill.
+
+Among so many men there were naturally a few who were inclined to be
+insubordinate. These were speedily weeded out. The offenders were promptly
+seized, flogged, and expelled from the force, their places being supplied
+from among the peasants, many of whom were desirous of enlisting. Terence
+sent these off, save a few he selected, to Silveira, as his own force was
+quite as large as could properly be handled. With improved food and
+incessant drill the men rapidly developed into soldiers. Each carried a
+rough native blanket rolled up like a scarf over one shoulder. This was
+indeed the only point of regular equipment. They had no regular uniform,
+but they were all in their peasant dresses. There was no communication
+between them and Romana's forces, for the animosity between the two
+peoples amounted to hatred. The Portuguese would indeed have marched to
+attack them as willingly as they would have received the order to move
+against the French.
+
+During this week of waiting, Silveira with 4,000 men arrived at Chaves,
+and a meeting took place between him and Romana. Both had plans equally
+wild and impracticable, neither would give way, and as they were well
+aware that their forces would never act together, they decided to act
+independently against the French. At the end of eight days the news came
+that Soult, having made all his preparations, had left Orense on his march
+southward.
+
+Terence had bought a quantity of rough canvas, and the men, as they sat
+round the fires after their day's work was over, made haversacks in which
+they could carry rations for four or five days. As soon as the news was
+received that Soult was advancing, Terence ordered sufficient bread to
+supply them for that time, from the bakehouses of Monterey. A hundred
+rounds of ball-cartridge were served round to each. A light cart
+containing eight barrels of powder, a bag with 1,000 dollars, and the
+tent, was the only vehicle taken, and the rest of the ammunition and
+powder was buried deep in the wood, and the bulk of the money privately
+hidden in another spot by Terence and Herrara. Twelve horns had been
+obtained; several of the men were able to blow them, and these, attached
+one to each company, had learned a few calls. Terence and Herrara took
+their post at the edge of the wood to watch the two regiments march past.
+
+"I think they will do," Terence said; "they have picked up marvellously
+since they have been here; and though I should not like to trust them in
+the plain with Franceschi's cavalry sweeping down upon them, I think that
+in mountain work they can be trusted to make a stand."
+
+"I think so," Herrara agreed. "They have certainly improved wonderfully.
+Our peasants are very docile and easily led when they have confidence in
+their commander, and are not stirred up by agitators, but they are given
+to sudden fury, as is shown by the frightful disorders at Lisbon and
+Oporto. However, they certainly have confidence in you, and if they are
+successful in the first skirmish or two they can be trusted to fight
+stoutly afterwards."
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE FIRST SKIRMISH
+
+Soult had spent a month in making his preparations for the invasion of
+Portugal. The time, however, had not been wasted by him. Vigo, Tuy, and
+Guardia had all been occupied without opposition. Salvatierra on the Minho
+had been taken possession of, and thus three roads were open to him by
+which to cross low down on the river, namely, at Guardia, Tuy, and
+Salvatierra. These roads afforded the shortest and easiest line to Oporto.
+Romana and Silveira had both been of opinion that he would march south
+from Orense, through Monterey, and up the valley of the Tamega, and their
+plans were all made with a view of opposing his advance in that direction.
+The night before Terence marched he called upon Romana.
+
+"It seems to me probable, Marquis, as it does to you, that the French will
+advance by this line, but it is possible that they may follow the north
+bank of the Minho and cross at Salvatierra or Tuy. By that route they
+would have several rivers to cross but no mountains or defiles. Were they
+to throw troops across there they would meet with no opposition until they
+arrived at Oporto. It seems to me that my best plan would be to march west
+and endeavour to prevent such a passage being made. If I could do so it
+would prevent your position being turned. There are no bridges marked on
+my map, and if I could secure the boats we should, at any rate, cause
+Soult much difficulty and delay. No doubt there are some local levies
+there, and we should be able to watch a considerable extent of the river;
+indeed, so far as I can see, they must cross, if they cross at all there,
+at one of the three towns on the north side, for it is only by the roads
+running through these that they could carry their artillery and baggage."
+
+"I think that will be an excellent plan," Romana said, "for although I
+believe that they will come this way, I have been very uneasy at the
+thought that they might possibly cross lower down, and so turn our
+position altogether. But you will have to watch not only the three places
+through which the roads pass, but other parts of the river, for they may
+throw a few hundred men across in boats at any point, and these falling
+suddenly upon your parties on the bank, might drive them away and enable
+the main body to cross without resistance."
+
+"I will keep as sharp a look-out as I can, Marquis." Marching north from
+Monterey the troops moved through Villa Real and Gingo, and then, turning
+west, crossed the river Lima, there a small stream, and then following the
+valley of that river for some distance, turned off and struck the Minho
+opposite Salvatierra, having covered fifty miles in two days. Here a
+considerable number of armed peasants and ordenanças were gathered. They
+were delighted at the arrival of two well-armed regiments; and hearing
+from Herrara that Terence was a staff-officer of the British general, and
+was sent by him to direct the defence of the river, they at once placed
+themselves under his orders.
+
+Terence found, to his satisfaction, that on the approach of the French
+most of the boats had been removed to the south side of the river and
+hauled up the bank. His first order was that anyone acquainted with the
+position of any boats on the other side of the river should at once inform
+him of it. It was not long before he heard of some twenty or thirty that
+had been hidden by their owners on the other side, in order that they
+might have the means of crossing to escape the French exactions. At
+nightfall several boats were launched, and parties of men, directed by
+those who had given information, started to cross the river and bring
+those boats over. The Minho was at this time in flood and was running with
+great rapidity, and Terence felt confident that in its present state none
+of the enemy's cavalry would attempt to cross it by swimming.
+
+He decided on placing the largest part of his force opposite Tuy, as the
+principal road south passed through this town, and he would here be
+supported by the guns of the fortress of Valenca. He stationed his first
+battalion here, with orders to line the river for six miles above and
+below this spot. Half of the second battalion he left under Macwitty, and
+with the other half determined to march down towards the mouth of the
+river. The next morning all the boats returned, bringing those for which
+they had been searching, and after closely questioning the guides he felt
+assured that there could be so few remaining that the French would hardly
+attempt to cross the river in the face of the crowd of peasants--whom they
+could not but see--lining the southern bank.
+
+As soon as the boats had returned he marched with the three companies.
+When half-way between Valenca and Caminha he met a peasant, who had
+crossed from the northern bank in a boat that had escaped the search of
+the French. He reported that some days before some 10,000 of the French
+had arrived in the neighbourhood of the village Campo Sancos, and that a
+division had been hard at work since their arrival transporting some large
+fishing-boats and heavy guns from the harbour of Guardia to Campo Sancos.
+The guns had been placed in a battery on a height, and the boats launched
+in a little river that ran into the Minho village. Terence learned that
+the work was now nearly completed, and the peasant had risked his life in
+coming across to give information.
+
+Terence at once sent off a mounted man to Valenca to request Herrara to
+march down with the first battalion and to send on to Macwitty to leave
+one company to assist the ordenanças to guard the river between
+Salvatierra and Valenca, and to take post with the other two in front of
+the latter town. At nightfall he was joined by Herrara.
+
+After explaining the situation to him, Terence said:
+
+"It will not be necessary to watch the river above Campo Sancos, for it
+would be impossible to row heavy fishing-boats against this stream, so
+they must land somewhere between that place and the mouth of the river.
+Thus we have only some eight miles to guard, and as we have eighteen
+hundred men, besides the peasants, we ought to be able to do that
+thoroughly. I expect they will endeavour to make the passage to-night, and
+they will certainly cross, as nearly as they can, opposite the village.
+The battery is about a mile below it, and is no doubt intended to cover
+their landing. I shall post myself with two companies of the first
+battalion there, and extend another company from that point up to Campos
+Sancos. You, with the other three companies and the three companies of the
+second battalion, will watch the river below.
+
+"It is unlucky that there is no moon at present. I do not expect, however,
+that the attack will take place till morning, for, in the first place, the
+peasant said that although the guns had been got up to the height they had
+not yet been placed in position, and as we have noticed no movement there
+all day, nor seen a French soldier anywhere near the river, they will only
+be beginning work now, and can hardly have finished it until well on in
+the night. Besides, when the first party who crossed have obtained a
+footing here, the boats will have to go backwards and forwards. No doubt
+the cavalry will be among the first to cross, and they would hardly get
+the horses on board in the dark. It is of vital importance to repel this
+attack, for if the French got across they would be at Vianna to-morrow
+evening, and at Oporto three days later. I don't suppose that place will
+resist for a day; and if, as is probable, Victor moves up from the south,
+he and Soult may be in front of Lisbon in ten days' time.
+
+"You had better tell your captains this, in order that they may understand
+how vital it is to prevent the passage. From what I hear from the
+peasants, the boats will not be able to carry more than three or four
+hundred men, and wherever they land we ought to be able to crush them
+before the boats can cross again and bring over reinforcements."
+
+"Well, Bull, I think we are likely to have fighting tonight," Terence
+said, as Herrara marched off with his men.
+
+"I hope so, sir. I don't think they will be able to cross in our face, and
+it will do the men a lot of good to win the first fight."
+
+"If Romana's troops were worth anything, Soult would find himself in an
+awkward position. He has got his whole army jammed up in the corner here,
+and if he cannot cross there is nothing for him to do but to march along
+the river to Orense, and then come down by the road through Monterey.
+There are several streams to cross as he marches up the bank. Romana is
+sure to have heard of his concentrating somewhere down near the mouth of
+the river, and I should think that by this time he will have crossed near
+Orense, and will arrive in time to dispute the passage of these streams.
+He told me that the Galician peasants have been so enraged by their cattle
+being carried off for the use of the French army that they will rise in
+insurrection the instant the French march, and if that is the case, they
+and Romana ought to be able to give Soult a lot of trouble before he
+reaches Orense."
+
+"I don't think those fellows with Romana are likely to do much, sir. The
+French will just sweep them before them."
+
+"I am afraid so, Bull; still, if we can prevent the French from crossing
+here and compel them to follow the long road through Monterey, we shall
+have done good service. It would give Portugal another seven or eight days
+to prepare, and will send the enemy through a country where undisciplined
+troops ought to be able to make a stand even against soldiers like the
+French."
+
+All through the night Terence and his major patrolled the bank from the
+point facing Campo Sancos to a mile below that on which the French were
+placing their guns. Everything went on quietly, sentries at intervals kept
+watch, and the men, wrapped in their blankets, lay down in parties of
+fifty at short intervals.
+
+"The day is beginning to break," Terence said, as he met Bull coming back
+from the lower end of the line. "I am not afraid now, for if we can but
+see them coming we can gather two or three hundred men at any point they
+may be making for. Besides, our shooting would be very wild in the dark."
+
+"That it would, sir; not one shot in fifty would hit the boats, let alone
+the men; and when the Portuguese saw the boats come on without pause in
+spite of their fire, they would be likely to lose heart and to get
+unsteady."
+
+"We may as well stop here, Bull. It will be light enough to see across the
+river in another quarter of an hour, and if there are no boats coming
+then, I think it is pretty certain that they will not begin until
+to-morrow night. The peasant said that they have only got 10,000 troops
+there as yet, and we know that Soult has more than double that, and he may
+wait another day for them all to come up."
+
+Ten minutes later one of the sentries close to them shouted out that he
+could see boats. Terence ran up to him.
+
+"Where are they, my man?"
+
+"Nearly opposite, sir."
+
+Terence gazed fixedly for a moment, and then said: "I see them; they are
+heading straight across." Then he gave the order to the man who always
+accompanied him with a horn, to blow the alarm.
+
+At the sound, the troops sprang to their feet, and some hundreds of
+peasants, who were lying down a short distance behind, ran up. The horn
+was evidently heard on the other side of the river, for immediately the
+guns of the battery opposite opened fire, and their shot whizzed overhead.
+The boats plied their oars vigorously, and the French soldiers cheered;
+they were but some three hundred yards away when first discovered. The
+Portuguese were coming rapidly up at the double. Terence shouted that not
+a shot was to be fired until he gave the order. He was obeyed by his own
+men, but the peasants at once began a wild fire at the boats. By the time
+these were within fifty yards of the shore Terence saw with satisfaction
+that fully a company had come up. The men stood firmly, although the balls
+from the French battery ploughed up the ground around them.
+
+"Wait until the first boat grounds," Terence shouted again. Another minute
+and the first fishing-boat touched the shore. Then the horn sounded, and
+the front line of the Portuguese poured a terrible volley into it. A few
+of the French soldiers only succeeded in gaining the land, and these were
+at once shot down. Then the troops opened a rolling fire upon the other
+boats. The French replied with their musketry, but their fire was feeble.
+They had expected to have effected a landing with but slight opposition,
+and the concentrated fire of the troops and the peasantry convinced them
+that, even should they gain the shore, they would be greatly outnumbered,
+and would be shot down before they could gather in any regular formation.
+Many of the rowers, who were Spanish peasants forced into the work, had
+fallen. Most of their comrades left the oars and threw themselves into the
+bottom of the boats, and the craft drifted down the stream.
+
+Shouts of triumph rose from the Portuguese, who obeyed the signal to form
+fours, and marched along parallel with the boats, forming line
+occasionally and firing heavy volleys. The French soldiers now seized the
+oars and rowed the craft into the middle of the river, and then slowly and
+painfully made their way to Campo Sancos, having lost more than half of
+the three hundred men who had left there. The French battery ceased to
+fire, and the din of battle was succeeded by a dead silence. Once
+convinced that the French had abandoned the attempt to land, the
+Portuguese broke into loud shouts of triumph, which were only checked when
+Terence ordered them to form up in close order. When they did so he
+addressed a few words to them, complimenting them upon the steadiness that
+they had shown, and upon their obeying his order to reserve their fire
+till the French were close at hand.
+
+"I was convinced that you would behave well," he said, "and in future I
+shall have no hesitation in meeting a body of French equal in numbers to
+yourselves."
+
+Messengers were at once despatched to order up all the troops that had
+been posted below, and in two hours the whole force, with the exception of
+the three companies, between them and Salvatierra, were assembled.
+
+"The question is, Herrara," Terence said, when he and his colonel had
+exchanged congratulations on the repulse of the French, "what will Soult
+do next?
+
+"That is a question upon which everything depends. I don't think he will
+try again here. He has been eight days in preparing those boats to cross,
+and now that he knows there is a very strong force here, and that even if
+he got three or four times as many boats he would scarcely be able to
+force a passage, my idea is that he will abandon the attack and march at
+once for Orense. In that case the question is, shall we wait until we have
+assured ourselves that he has gone, and then follow and harass his rear?
+or shall we march up the river and then cross to help Romana to bar his
+passage?"
+
+"I think the latter will be the best plan. You see, we should not be
+cutting his communication were we to march now, because when he has
+crossed the river Avia he will have direct communication with Ney, and
+will of course draw all his supplies from the north, so I think that we
+had better lose no time in pushing up along the river."
+
+The troops were ordered to light fires and cook their breakfast. While
+this was going on Terence assembled the peasant bands, and told them that
+he thought the French would not make another attempt to cross, but that
+they must remain in a state of watchfulness until they received certain
+news from the other side that they had marched for Orense.
+
+As soon as breakfast was over and the cooking-pots packed in the cart, the
+two regiments started on their march. They were in high spirits, and
+laughed and sang as they tramped along. They had lost but two killed by
+the French musketry fire, and there were but five so severely wounded as
+to be unable to take their places in the ranks. These Terence ordered to
+be taken in a country cart to Pontelima, and he provided them with money
+for their support there until cured.
+
+The men having been on foot all night, Terence halted them after doing
+fifteen miles. On the following morning, soon after they had started, they
+saw a large body of French cavalry following the road by the river. These
+were La Houssaye's, who had been quartered at Salvatierra. The river here
+was narrower than it had been below, and halting the troops and forming
+them in line, two or three volleys were fired across the river. These did
+some execution, and caused much confusion in the French ranks. The
+horsemen, however, galloped rapidly up the river, and were soon out of
+range.
+
+"That settles the question, Herrara. The French are retracing their steps,
+and bound for Orense. Soult has not let the grass grow under his feet, and
+the cavalry are evidently sent on to clear out any bands of peasants that
+may be gathering at the rivers."
+
+La Houssaye, indeed, twice in the course of the day broke up irregular
+bands, and burned two villages. The infantry and artillery, after passing
+through Salvatierra, moved by the main road. This, however, was found to
+be so bad that the artillery were, with ten of the sixteen light guns, and
+six howitzers, left behind at Tuy, with a great ammunition and baggage
+train, together with 900 sick. A garrison of 500 men were left in the
+fort. Orders were given that all stragglers were to be retained at that
+place.
+
+
+[Illustration: "THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE
+MET WITH HEAVY VOLLEYS"]
+
+
+The march of the French was not unopposed. When they arrived at the river
+Morenta they found 800 Spaniards had barricaded the bridges and repulsed
+the advance parties of cavalry. On the 17th, at daybreak, the leading
+division attacked them fiercely, carried the bridge, and pursued them
+hotly, until at a short distance from Ribadavia the Spaniards rallied upon
+some 10,000 irregulars arrayed in order of battle in a strong position
+covering the town. The rest of the division and a brigade of cavalry came
+up, and, directed by Soult himself, attacked the Spaniards, drove them
+through the town and across the Avia with great loss. Twenty priests were
+found among the slain. The next day three or four thousand other
+irregulars from the valley of Avia were attacked and scattered, and on the
+18th the French cavalry, with three brigades of infantry, entered Orense.
+
+An hour earlier Terence had arrived on the other side of the river, and
+had at once made preparations for blowing up the bridge. The men had been
+but a short time at work when numbers of the townsmen streamed across the
+bridge and reported that a great body of the French were entering the
+town. Terence had a hasty consultation with Herrara, and both agreed that
+they could not hope to hold the bridge long against the whole French army,
+especially as they had learned two hours before from a peasant who had
+ridden up, that strong bodies of French troops had crossed the river by
+the ferries at Ribadavia and Barbibante, and that they might shortly be
+attacked in flank. The powder-barrels were therefore hastily repacked, and
+the troops marched off towards the hills on their left.
+
+They were but half-way across the plain when a regiment of French cavalry
+were seen riding in pursuit. The regiments were at once formed into
+squares within fifty yards of each other, and Terence and Bull in the
+centre of one square, and Herrara and Macwitty in the other, exhorted the
+men to stand steady, assuring them there was nothing whatever to be feared
+from the cavalry if they did so. The French rode up towards the squares,
+but were met by heavy volleys, and after riding round them drew off,
+having suffered considerable loss, being greatly surprised at finding that
+instead of a mob of armed men, such as they had met at Avia, they were
+encountered by soldiers possessing the steadiness of trained troops.
+
+The regiments resumed their march until far up the hill, where they
+proceeded to cut down trees and brushwood and to form an encampment, as
+their leader had decided to stay here and await events until Soult's
+intentions were clearly shown. There were two courses open to the French
+general. He might advance to Allaritz and then march along the Lima, be
+joined by his artillery and train from Tuy, and then move direct upon
+Oporto, or he might follow the valley of the Tamega to Chaves, whence he
+would have the choice of routes, and take either that over the Sierra de
+Cabrera to Braga, or continue his course down the valley until he reached
+the Douro.
+
+It was not until the 4th of March that the French again moved forward. In
+the meantime Terence was forced to remain quiet, except that each day he
+marched his men farther among the hills and drilled them for some hours
+perseveringly. The affair on the Minho and the repulse of the French
+cavalry had given them great confidence in themselves and their leader,
+and had shown them the value of steadiness, and of maintaining order and
+discipline in the ranks. They therefore devoted themselves even more
+willingly and zealously than before to their military exercises, and the
+ten days taken by Soult in preparing for the advance were well spent in
+accustoming the Portuguese to rapid movements among the mountains, and to
+attaining a fair knowledge of what would be required of them in mountain
+warfare. Two companies always remained in the camp, and these had several
+skirmishes with bodies of French marauders, and small parties of cavalry
+making across the country to ascertain the position and strength of the
+Portuguese.
+
+The advance of the French was rapid, and on the 5th the cavalry and a
+portion of the infantry reached Villa Real, where, on the evening of the
+same day, two divisions of infantry arrived. That night Terence with his
+men having on the 4th marched along the hills parallel to the road, made a
+forced march, crossed the road and took up a position on the spur of the
+mountains between Montalegre and the river. Even yet it was doubtful which
+route Soult intended to follow, as the division at Villa Real might be
+intended only to prevent Romana and Silveira falling upon his flank. As he
+marched down the valley of the Lima, he had learned from Romana that he
+and Silveira had decided to fall back to Chaves, and that he agreed with
+Terence's opinion that he had better remain in the rear of the French, and
+intercept their communications with Orense.
+
+On the following morning the French advanced in force to Monterey. Romana
+abandoned the position as they advanced, drew off to Verin, and then
+retired along the road towards Sanabria. He thus left it open to himself
+either to follow the road to Chaves, as agreed upon, or to retire into
+Spain through the mountains. Franceschi's cavalry and a battalion of
+French infantry overtook between two and three thousand men forming the
+rear of Romana's column. The latter drew up in a great square. Franceschi
+attacked the rear face with his infantry, passed with his cavalry round
+the sides of the square, and placed himself between it and the rest of the
+retiring column. He had with him four regiments of cavalry, and now hurled
+a regiment at each side of the square.
+
+The Spaniards were at once seized with dismay, broke their formation, and
+in a moment the French cavalry were upon them, cutting and trampling them
+down. Twelve hundred were killed and the rest made prisoners. As soon as
+Romana heard of the disaster that had befallen his rearguard, he broke his
+engagement with Silveira and led his force over the mountains into Spain,
+where the news of his defeat caused the Spanish insurgent bands to
+disperse rapidly to their homes, where they delivered up their arms; and
+even the priests, who had been the main promoters of the rising, seeing
+the failure of all their plans, advised them to maintain a peaceable
+attitude in future.
+
+Silveira was not more fortunate, for two thousand of his troops with some
+guns, issuing from the mountains just as Franceschi returned from the
+annihilation of Romana's rearguard, the French cavalry charged and
+captured the Portuguese guns, and drove Silveira down the valley.
+
+Soult paused two days at Monterey, the baggage and hospital train, and a
+great convoy of provisions being brought up from Orense, under the guard
+of a whole division. This rendered it evident that he intended to cut
+himself off altogether from Spain, and to subsist entirely upon the
+country. It was clear then that it was useless to attempt to fall upon his
+rear, and by a long march through the mountains Terence took his force
+down to Chaves.
+
+Here he found that Silveira, deserted by Romana and beaten by Franceschi,
+had fallen back to a mountain immediately behind Chaves. Terence continued
+his march until he joined him. He found a great tumult going on among his
+troops; always insubordinate, they were now in a state of mutiny. Many of
+the officers openly advocated that they should desist from a struggle in
+which success was altogether hopeless, and should go over and join the
+French. The troops, however, not only spurned the advice, but fell upon
+and killed several of those who offered it, and demanded from Silveira
+that he should lead them down to defend Chaves. This he refused to do,
+saying that the fortifications were old and useless, the guns worn out,
+and that were they to shut themselves up there, they would be surrounded
+and forced to surrender.
+
+This refusal excited the mutineers to the highest pitch, and when Terence
+arrived they were clamouring for his death. A small party of soldiers who
+remained faithful to him surrounded him, but they would speedily have been
+overpowered had it not been for the arrival of Terence's command. As soon
+as he understood what was happening, he formed his men into a solid body,
+marched through the excited crowd, and formed up in hollow square round
+the general. The firm appearance of the force and the fact that they
+possessed more arms than the whole of Silveira's army, had its effect. The
+mutineers, however, to the number of 3,500, determined to carry out their
+intentions, and at once marched away to Chaves. Silveira remained with but
+a few hundred men, as the 2,000 routed by Franceschi had not rejoined him.
+
+"I owe you my life, señor," he said to Terence, "for those mad fools would
+certainly have murdered me."
+
+"It is not surprising," Terence said. "A mob of men who are not soldiers
+cannot be expected to observe discipline, especially when insubordination
+and anarchy have been absolutely fomented by the authorities, crimes of
+all sorts perpetrated by their orders, and no efforts whatever made to
+punish ill-doers."
+
+"Your men seem to be disciplined and obedient," Silveira said.
+
+"They have been taught to be so, General, and I believe that I can rely
+upon them absolutely. If you had but officers and discipline, I am certain
+that your soldiers would be excellent; but as it is, with a few
+exceptions, your officers are worse than useless. They are appointed as a
+reward for their support of the Junta; they are ignorant of their duties,
+and many of them favour the French; they regard their soldiers as raised,
+not for the defense of Portugal, but for the support of the Junta. I have
+seen enough to know that the peasants are brave, hardy, and ready to
+fight. But what can they do when they are but half-armed, and no attempt
+whatever is made to discipline them? Have you heard, since these troubles
+began, of a single man being shot for insubordination, or of a single
+officer being punished even for the grossest neglect of orders? It is
+nothing short of murder to put a mob of half-armed peasants to stand
+against French troops."
+
+"All that is quite true," Silveira said, heartily. "However, I shall do my
+best, and shall, I doubt not, soon have another force collected, for now
+that the French have fairly entered Portugal, and are marching towards the
+capital, every man will take up arms. And you, señor, what do you mean to
+do?"
+
+"I shall harass the French as I see an opportunity, but I shall not
+subject my men to certain disaster by joining any of the new levies. I
+know what my men can do, and what I can do with them; but if mixed up with
+thousands of raw peasants they would be swept away by the latter and share
+in any misfortune that might befall them. What I have seen of your troops
+to-day, and what I saw of Romana's, is quite enough to show me that to
+lead peasants into the field is simply to bring misfortune and death upon
+them. Far better that each leader should collect two or three hundred men
+and teach them discipline and a little drill instead of taking a mob
+thousands strong out to battle. Those men that have marched down into
+Chaves will, you will see, offer no resistance, and will simply be killed
+or made prisoners to a man. Now, may I ask if you have any stores here,
+General? We have had great difficulty in buying food up in the mountains,
+and as it will be useless to you, and certainly cannot be carried off, I
+should be glad to fill the men's haversacks before we go farther."
+
+"Certainly. I had enough meat and bread for my whole force for a week, and
+you are welcome to take as much as you require. Which way do you propose
+marching?"
+
+"I am waiting to see which way the French go after leaving Chaves. Whether
+they go down the valley or across the mountains to Braga, I shall
+endeavour to get ahead of them; and as my men are splendid marchers, I
+have no doubt that I shall succeed in doing so, even if the French have a
+few hours' start. If I can do nothing else, I can at least make their
+cavalry keep together instead of riding in small parties all over the
+country to sweep in food."
+
+Fires were soon lighted, some bullocks killed and cut up, and a hearty
+meal eaten. They had already made a very long march, and were ordered to
+lie down until nightfall. Silveira marched away with his men, and Terence
+and Herrara sat and watched the road, down which bodies of French troops
+could already be seen advancing from Monterey towards Chaves. As they
+approached the town, gun after gun was fired. The advance-guard halted and
+waited until the whole division had come up.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+IN THE PASSES
+
+On the following day the French cavalry, with a division of infantry, took
+up their position beyond the town, so as to cut off the retreat of the
+garrison, who were then summoned to surrender. No reply was made, but for
+the next twenty-four hours the defenders, although in no way attacked,
+kept up a random fire from the guns on the walls, and with musketry, to
+which no reply whatever was made by the French.
+
+On the following day, the whole army having now come up, the town was
+again summoned, and at once surrendered, when Soult, who did not wish to
+be hampered with a mob of prisoners, contemptuously allowed them to depart
+to their homes.
+
+After bringing up his sick from Chaves, and discovering that the passes
+through the mountains were unoccupied, and that the Portuguese army was at
+Braga, Soult, on the 14th, began to move in that direction, both for the
+purpose of crushing Friere and getting into communication with Tuy, and
+being joined by his artillery from there. As soon as this movement was
+seen from the hill where Terence's regiments had been for three days
+resting, preparations were made for marching, and with haversacks well
+filled with bread and meat, the troops started in good spirits. Terence
+procured the services of a peasant well acquainted with the mountains, and
+was led by paths used by shepherds across the hills, and after a twelve
+hours' toilsome journey came down into the defiles that the French were
+following. There he learned from peasants, that, with the exception of a
+small scouting party two days before, there were no signs of any hostile
+force.
+
+The men were at once set to work to destroy a bridge across a torrent at
+the mouth of a defile. It was built of stone, but was old and in bad
+repair, and the men had little difficulty in prising the stones of the
+side walls from their places, and throwing them down into the stream.
+Another party made a hole over the key of an arch. A barrel of powder was
+placed here, and a train having been laid, was covered up by a pile of
+rocks. A third party formed a barricade six feet high, across the end of
+the bridge, and also two breastworks, each fifty yards away on either
+side, so as to flank the approaches to the other end and the bridge. The
+troops were extended along the hillsides, one battalion on each side of
+the defile, under the shelter of the rocks and brush.
+
+While these preparations were being made, the horses were taken up to the
+top of the hills by some paths known to the peasants of a little village
+near the mouth of the defile, the women and children following them.
+Terence and Herrara had a consultation, and then the former called Bull
+and Macwitty to him.
+
+"Now," he said, "you understand that while we will defend this defile as
+long as we can, we will run no risk of a defeat that might end in a rout.
+We shall inflict heavy loss upon them before they can repair the bridge,
+and can certainly force their cavalry to remain quiet until they bring up
+their infantry. Colonel Herrara, you, with one company of the second
+battalion, will hold the village, and we shall sweep the column advancing
+along the bottom of the defile with a fire from each flank, while they
+will also be exposed to your fire in front. When they succeed in making
+their way up to within charging distance you will evacuate the village and
+join Macwitty on the hill.
+
+"They must attack us there on both sides, for no troops could march
+through until the hillsides are cleared. It is probable that they may do
+this before they attempt to attack the village, but in any case you must
+keep up a steady fire until they get within fifty yards of you, then
+retire up the hill, but leave a party to keep them in check until the rest
+have gained the crest and formed up in good order. By the time you do this
+they will have driven in your rear-guard. The French will be breathless
+with their exertions when they reach you. Wait till a considerable number
+have gained the crest, then, before they have time to form, pour a heavy
+volley into them and charge, and then sweep them with your fire until they
+reach the bottom. The next time they will no doubt attack in much greater
+force; in that case we will move quietly off without waiting for them, and
+will reunite at the village of Romar, five miles in the rear. If we find,
+as we near it, that the French are in possession, we will halt, and I will
+send orders to the second regiment as to what is to be done. If the force
+is not too great we will attack them at night."
+
+"How will you know where we shall be, sir?" Macwitty said.
+
+"I have arranged with Colonel Herrara that when you halt you shall light
+two fires a short distance from each other. I will reply by lighting one,
+and the fires are then to be extinguished."
+
+This being arranged, Terence went down and applied a match to the train,
+and then retired at a run. Three minutes later there was a heavy
+explosion, rocks flew high in the air, and when the smoke cleared away, a
+cheer from the hillside told that the explosion had been successful.
+Terence returned to the bridge; a considerable portion of the arch had
+been blown away, and putting fifty men to work, the gap was soon carried
+across the road and widened, so that there was a chasm twelve feet across.
+The parties who were to man the breastworks were now posted. Terence
+himself took the command here. The defenders consisted of a company of
+Bull's battalion.
+
+Half an hour later a deep sound was heard, and as it grew louder the head
+of a column of cavalry was seen approaching. The whole of the force on the
+hillsides were hidden behind rocks or brushwood; not a head was shown
+above the breastworks. The cavalry, however, halted, and an officer with
+four men rode forward. When within fifty yards of the bridge a volley of
+twenty muskets flashed out from the work behind it. The officer and three
+men fell, the other galloped back to the main body. He had seen nothing
+beyond the fact that there was a breastwork across the road, and
+Franceschi, thinking that he had but a small force of peasants in front of
+him, ordered a squadron to charge, and clear the obstacle.
+
+As before, they were allowed to approach to within fifty yards of the
+bridge, when from the breastwork in front, and the two side redoubts a
+storm of musketry was poured into them. The effect was terrible; the head
+of the squadron was swept away, but a few men charged forward until close
+to the break in the bridge. Most of these fell, but a few galloped back,
+and the remains of the squadron then trotted off in good order.
+
+No further movement took place for an hour, and then a body of infantry,
+some two thousand strong, appeared. As they passed the cavalry, the first
+two companies were thrown out in skirmishing order, and were soon swarming
+down towards the stream. The banks of this, although very steep, were not
+impassable by infantry, and the defenders of the two side redoubts spread
+themselves out along the bank, and, as the skirmishers approached, opened
+fire.
+
+For a time the rattle of firearms was incessant. When the main body of
+French infantry had, as their commander thought, ascertained the strength
+of the defenders, they advanced in solid order until near the bridge, and
+then wheeled off on either flank and advanced with loud shouts. A horn was
+sounded, and from the hillsides near a scattering fire of musketry opened
+at once. The French, however, pushed forward without a pause. Terence's
+horn sounded again, the men fell back from the bank, and the whole company
+ran at full speed across the narrow valley, and took their place with
+their comrades on the hillside.
+
+The French crossed the stream under a heavy fire, and, dividing into two
+portions, prepared to assault both hills simultaneously. The combat was
+obstinate, the French suffered heavily, but pushed their way up
+unflinchingly. The Portuguese, encouraged by the shouts of their officers,
+held their ground obstinately, retreating only at the sound of their
+horns, and renewing the combat a short distance higher up. Being sheltered
+by the rocks behind which they lay, their loss was but trifling in
+comparison to that of the French, who were forced to expose themselves as
+they advanced, and whose numbers dwindled so rapidly that when half-way up
+they were on both sides brought to a stand-still, and then, taking shelter
+behind the rocks, they maintained the contest on more equal terms.
+
+But by this time a column of 4,000 men was marching down to the stream,
+and, dividing like the first, climbed the hills. The Portuguese now fell
+back more rapidly, their fire slackened, and the French, with loud shouts,
+pressed up the hill. Presently the resistance ceased altogether, and,
+firing as they advanced at the flying figures, of whom they caught an
+occasional glimpse, the French pressed forward as rapidly as the nature of
+the ground would permit, cheering loudly. At last they reached the top of
+the hill, and the leaders paused in doubt as they saw before them some
+eleven or twelve hundred men drawn up in line four deep at a distance of
+fifty yards. Every moment added to the number of the French, and as they
+arrived their officers tried to form them into order. When their numbers
+about equalled those of the Portuguese, two heavy volleys were poured into
+them, and then, with loud shouts, the Portuguese rushed at them with
+levelled bayonets.
+
+The charge was irresistible. The French were hurled over the crest and
+went down the hill, carrying confusion and dismay among those climbing up.
+The Portuguese pressed them hotly, giving them no time to rally, and
+forcing them down to the bottom of the hill without a check. Then at the
+signal they fell back to the post that they had held at the beginning of
+the fight. The success was equal on both hillsides, and the regiments
+cheered each other's victory with shouts which rose high above the roar of
+musketry. With their usual discipline, the French speedily rallied, in
+spite of the heavy fire that from both sides swept their ranks, and they
+prepared, when joined by another regiment which was approaching at the
+double to their assistance, to renew the assault.
+
+Terence saw that, this time, the odds would be too great to withstand. His
+horn sounded the retreat, and the Portuguese turned to make their way up
+the hill just as a French battery opened fire. Sheltered among the rocks,
+the infantry below were unconscious of the movement, for on either side a
+company had been left to continue their fire until the main body gained
+the top of the hill, when they too were summoned by the horns to fall
+back. The wounded had been all taken up the hill, and were laid in
+blankets and carried off by their comrades. As the two regiments marched
+away from the crest of the defile the soldiers were in the highest
+spirits. They had repulsed with heavy loss a French force of three times
+their own strength, and they greeted Terence and Bull, as they rode
+together along the column, with enthusiastic cheers.
+
+The wounded, which in the first battalion numbered forty-three, were
+despatched with a party a hundred strong to a village four miles away
+among the mountains, and the regiment marched on until it reached the
+point agreed upon.
+
+Two men were sent forward to reconnoitre the village, and returned with
+the report that it had already been occupied by a very strong force of
+French cavalry. Half an hour later two wreaths of smoke rose on the
+opposite hill. Sticks had been gathered in readiness, and the answering
+signal was at once made. Two minutes later the smoke ceased to rise on
+either side. Terence now received the reports of the captains of the six
+companies, and found that fifteen men had been killed, and that his
+strength was thus reduced by fifty-eight. The men were now told that they
+could lie down, the companies keeping together so as to be ready for
+instant action.
+
+Trifling wounds, of which there were some two or three and twenty, were
+then attended to and bandaged. Some of these were quite serious enough to
+have warranted the men falling out, but the delight and pride they felt at
+their success had been so great that they had refused to be taken off with
+their disabled comrades. Terence made a round of the troops and addressed
+a few words to each company, praising their conduct, and thanking them for
+the readiness and quickness with which they had obeyed his orders.
+
+"You see, my lads," he said, "what can be done by discipline. Had it not
+been for the steady drill you have had ever since we marched, we could not
+have hoped to oppose the French, and I should not have ventured to have
+done so. Now, you see, you have proved that you are as brave as the enemy,
+and not only have you beaten them with heavy loss, but the effect of this
+fight will be to render them more cautious in future and slower in their
+movements, and the news of the blow you have struck will inspirit your
+countrymen everywhere."
+
+Having nothing else to do until after darkness fell, Terence, after
+finishing his round, sat down and added an account of the fight to the
+report he had written up at their last halting-place. This was written in
+duplicate, one copy being intended for General Cradock, and the other for
+the Portuguese authorities at Oporto. Outposts had been thrown out towards
+the village as soon as they halted, and after opening their haversacks,
+eating a meal, and quenching their thirst at a little rivulet that ran
+down to the village, the men lay down to sleep, tired with their long
+night's march and the excitement of the battle.
+
+Terence was no exception to the general rule, for although he had had his
+horse, yet for the greater part of the distance he had marched on foot, as
+the ruggedness of the ground traversed had in most places been too great
+to travel in safety on horseback in the dark. When night fell all were on
+their feet again, refreshed by a long sleep. Two men were now sent down to
+reconnoitre the village again. They reported that it was still occupied by
+the cavalry. The infantry, as they could see by the fires along the road,
+had bivouacked there, and one regiment at least had passed through the
+village and had occupied the road ahead.
+
+Terence had already written out his instructions to Herrara in triplicate,
+and three men were despatched with these. They were warned to be extremely
+careful, for the men who had first been sent, had reported that the French
+had posted sentries out on their flanks. One of the messengers was to make
+a long detour to cross the road half a mile ahead of the French, and then
+to make his way along on the opposite hillside to the spot where Herrara
+was posted. The other two were to make their way as best they could
+through the village. The pieces of paper they carried were rolled up into
+little balls, and they were ordered that, if noticed and an alarm given,
+these were at once to be swallowed.
+
+Soon after ten o'clock the regiment formed up. Terence had given detailed
+orders to the captain of each company. These were instructed to call up
+their men twenty at a time, and to explain their orders to them, so that
+every man should know exactly what to do. No sound had been heard in the
+village, and Terence felt sure that Herrara must have received his orders,
+and at a quarter past ten he with one company moved slowly down towards
+the village; Bull, with the main body of the force, marching westward
+along the hills. Six men had volunteered for the service of silencing the
+French outposts, and these, leaving their muskets behind, stole forward in
+advance of the company, which halted at some little distance from the
+French centre.
+
+In a quarter of an hour they returned. Eight French sentries had been
+surprised and killed, the Portuguese crawling up to them until near enough
+to spring upon and stab them without the slightest alarm being given. The
+company now moved silently forward again until within a hundred yards of
+the village, when they halted until the church clock struck eleven. Then
+they rushed down into the village. As they entered it shots were fired,
+and an outcry rose from the other side, showing that Herrara had managed
+matters as well as they had. The surprise was complete; the street was
+full of horses, while the soldiers had taken shelter in the houses. A
+scene of the wildest confusion ensued. The horses were shot, for it was
+most important to cripple this most formidable arm of the French service,
+and the men were attacked as they poured out of the houses.
+
+Bull, with a hundred men, made his way straight to the upper end of the
+village and repelled the desperate attempts of a squadron of horse that
+were posted beyond it in readiness for action, to break through to the
+assistance of their comrades, while Terence and Herrara, each with a
+hundred men, held the road at the lower end of the village to check an
+infantry attack there. It was not long before it was delivered. The French
+infantry, disciplined veterans, accustomed to surprises, had sprung to
+their feet when the first shot was fired, and forming instantly into
+column, came on at a run, led by their officers. Terence, with fifty men,
+four deep, barred the way across the road; the rest of his men were
+stationed along the high ground flanking it on one side, while Herrara
+with his hundred flanked the opposite side.
+
+As the French came on the Portuguese on the high ground remained silent
+and unnoticed, but when a flash of fire ran across the road and a deadly
+volley was poured in upon the enemy, those on the flanks at once opened
+fire. For a moment the column paused in surprise, and then opened fire at
+their unseen assailants, whose fire was causing such gaps in the ranks.
+The colonel and several other officers who had been at its head had
+fallen; in the din no orders could be heard, and for some minutes the head
+of the column wasted away under the rain of bullets. Then a general
+officer dashed up, and another body of Frenchmen came along at a run.
+Terence's horn rang out loudly; the signal was repeated in the village,
+the fire instantly ceased, and when the French column rushed into the
+place not a foe was to be seen, but the street was choked up by dead
+horses and men.
+
+These reinforcements did not pause, but making their way over the
+obstacles pressed on to where a roar of fire in front showed how hotly the
+advance-guard was engaged. Here the surprise had been rather less
+complete. Some of the outposts had given the alarm, and the French were on
+their feet before, after pouring terrible volleys into them, a thousand
+men fell upon them on either side. Great numbers of the French fell under
+the fire, and the long line was broken up into sections by the impetuous
+rush of the Portuguese. Nevertheless, the French soldiers hung together,
+and the combat raged desperately until the head of the relieving column
+came up. Then, as suddenly as before, the attack ceased. Not a gun was
+fired, and, as if by magic, their assailants stole away into the darkness,
+while the French opened a random fire after them.
+
+An hour later the two Portuguese regiments united on the road two miles in
+advance of the village. Their loss had been eighty-four killed and a
+hundred and fifty wounded, of which seventy were serious cases. These
+were, as before, sent off to be cared for in the mountain villages. The
+French loss, as Terence afterward heard, had been very heavy; three
+hundred of the cavalry had been killed, and upwards of four hundred
+infantry. Great was the enthusiasm when the two regiments met, and after a
+short halt marched away together into the hills and encamped in a wood two
+miles from the road.
+
+"What next, Generalissimo?" Herrara, whose left arm had been broken by a
+bullet, asked.
+
+"I think that we have done enough for the present," Terence said. "We will
+leave it to the rest of the army to do a little fighting now. We have
+lost, in killed and wounded, some two hundred men, and I don't wish to see
+the whole force dwindle away. I propose that we do not go near Braga. I
+have no idea of putting myself under the command of Friere; I have seen
+enough of him already. So we will travel by by-roads till we get near
+Oporto, then we will find out how matters stand there. My own idea is that
+when the French army approaches, the Junta's courage will ooze out of its
+finger ends, and that the 50,000 peasants, which it calls an army, will
+bolt at the first attack of the French. So, as I don't mean to be trapped
+there, we will rest on our laurels until we see how matters go."
+
+It was well for the corps that Terence abstained from joining the army at
+Braga. As the French entered the pass of Benda Nova, the peasants rushed
+furiously down upon them. Many broke into the French columns, and fighting
+desperately, were slain. The survivors made their way up the hillside, and
+then making a detour, fell upon the rear of the column, killed fifty
+stragglers and plundered the baggage. This spontaneous action of the
+peasants was the only attempt made to bar the advance of the French, and
+Friere permitted them to pass through defile after defile without firing a
+shot. His conduct aroused the fury of his troops, and the feeling was
+fanned by agents of the bishop, who had now become jealous of him, and his
+men rushing upon him dragged him from a house in which he had taken
+refuge, and slew him--a fit end to the career of a man who had proved
+himself as unpatriotic as he was incapable.
+
+On the 18th Soult arrived near Braga, and the Portuguese, who were now
+commanded by Eben, a German officer in the British service, drew up to
+meet him. The French began their advance on the 20th, and half an hour
+later the Portuguese army was a mob of fugitives. The vanquished army lost
+4,000 men and all their guns, 400 only being taken prisoners; the rest
+dispersed in all directions, carrying tales of the invincibility of the
+French. Had it not been for the stout resistance offered by 3,000 men,
+placed on a position in the rear commanding the road, which checked the
+pursuit of the cavalry and enabled the fugitives to make off, scarce a man
+of the Portuguese would have escaped to tell the tale.
+
+Terence had approached Oporto, and encamped in a large wood, when the
+fugitives brought him news of the crushing defeat that they had suffered.
+The soldiers were so furious when they heard of the disgraceful rout, that
+Terence and Herrara had difficulty in preventing them from killing the
+fugitives. The result strengthened his position. The troops on arriving at
+their present camping-place were eager to be led into Oporto. Terence and
+Herrara had talked the matter over several times, and agreed that such a
+step might be fatal. Standing, as this town did, on the north side of the
+river, the only means of leaving it was the bridge of boats, and if
+anything happened to this all retreat would be cut off.
+
+The defeat at Braga at once confirmed their opinion that the army of
+peasants that the bishop had gathered round Oporto would be able to make
+but little resistance to the French attack.
+
+"It would be terrible," Herrara said; "50,000 fugitives, and a great
+portion of the inhabitants of the town, all struggling to cross the
+bridge, with the French cavalry pressing on their rear, and the French
+artillery playing upon them. It is not to be thought of."
+
+The troops, however, had been full of confidence in the valour of their
+countrymen, and from their own success against the French believed that
+the army at Braga would certainly defeat Soult, and there had been some
+dissatisfaction that they had not been permitted to take part in the
+victory. The news brought by the fugitives at once dissipated the hopes
+that they had entertained. They saw that their commander had acted wisely
+in refusing to join the army there, and their feeling of contempt for the
+undisciplined ordenanças and peasants equalled the confidence they had
+before reposed in them. Terence ordered the two regiments to form into a
+hollow square and addressed them.
+
+"Soldiers," he said, "I know that it was a disappointment to you that I
+did not take you to Braga. Had I done so, not one of you would have
+escaped, for when the rest fled like a flock of sheep you could not alone
+have withstood the attack of the whole French army. I know that you wish
+to enter Oporto. I have withstood that wish, and now you must see that I
+was right in doing so. The peasants gathered in its defence are even less
+disciplined than those at Braga, and Soult will, after two or three
+minutes' fighting, capture the place. Were you there you could not prevent
+such a result. You might hold the spot at which you were stationed, but if
+the French broke in at any other point you would be surrounded and killed
+to a man. What use would that be to Portugal? You can do more good by
+living and fighting another day.
+
+"Even if you should fall back with the other fugitives, what chance of
+safety would there be? You know that there is but one bridge of boats
+across the river, and that will soon be blocked by a panic-stricken crowd,
+and your chance of crossing would be slight indeed. The men who fought at
+Braga, those men who will fight before Oporto, are no more cowards than
+you are, and had they gained as much discipline as you have, I would march
+down with you at once and join in the defence. But a mob cannot withstand
+disciplined troops. When the Portuguese have learned to be soldiers, they
+may fight with a hope of success; until then it is taking them to
+slaughter to set them in line of battle against the French. Soult may be
+here in twenty-four hours, therefore I propose to march you down to the
+river above Oporto. We are sure to find boats there, and we will cross at
+once to the other side and encamp near the suburb at the south end of the
+bridge, and when the fugitives pour over we will take our station there,
+cover their retreat, and prevent the French from crossing in pursuit."
+
+A murmur of satisfaction broke from the soldiers and swelled into a shout.
+Soon after evening fell the corps marched from the wood, and two hours
+later came down on the bank of the Douro. As Terence anticipated, there
+were plenty of fishermen's boats hauled up, and the regiments passed over
+by companies. By three in the morning all were across, and by five they
+encamped in a wood beyond the steep hill rising behind the Villa Nova
+suburb, on the left bank of the river. As soon as he had seen the soldiers
+settled Terence borrowed the clothes of one of the men, and putting these
+on instead of his uniform, he sent for Bull and Macwitty, and the two
+soldiers soon arrived. They looked in astonishment at their officer.
+
+"I am going into the town," he said, "partly to judge for myself of the
+state of things there, and partly on a little private business of my own.
+It is possible that I may get into trouble. I hope that I shall not do so,
+but it is as well to be prepared for any emergency that might happen. If,
+then, I do not return, you are to look to Colonel Herrara for orders. When
+the French enter Oporto, which I am certain they will do as soon as they
+attack it, you may gather your men at this end of the bridge, cover the
+retreat, and repulse all efforts of the French to cross. As soon as those
+attempts have ceased, you will march with the two regiments for Coimbra,
+and report yourselves to the officer commanding there. Here are my
+despatches to the general, in which I have done full justice to your
+bravery and your conduct. Here is also a note to the officer commanding at
+Coimbra. I have spoken to him about your conduct, and have asked him to
+allow you to continue with the Portuguese until an order is received from
+Sir John Cradock. I have given Colonel Herrara a duplicate of my
+despatches and official orders, in case you should be killed."
+
+"Cannot we go with you, sir?" Bull asked.
+
+"I don't think so, Bull. Dress as you might, you could hardly be taken for
+anything but an Englishman. Your walk and your complexion, to say nothing
+of your hair, would betray you both at once. The first person who happened
+to address you would discover that you were not natives, and the chances
+are he would denounce you, and that you would be torn to pieces before you
+could offer any explanation. Now, I think that I can pass readily enough.
+The wind and rough weather have brought me to nearly the right colour, and
+I know how to speak Portuguese well enough to ask any question without
+exciting suspicion."
+
+"But why not take two of the men with you?" Macwitty said. "They could do
+any talking that was necessary; and should anyone suggest that you are not
+a native, they could declare that you were a comrade from their own
+village."
+
+Bull strongly approved of the suggestion, and Terence, though in some
+respects he would rather have been alone, at last agreed to it.
+
+"They may as well take their arms; not for use, but to give them the
+appearance of two men from the camp who had come down to make purchases in
+the city."
+
+Daylight was just breaking as the three crossed the bridge of boats into
+the town, and passed through it up the hill to the great camp that had
+been established there. It covered a large extent of ground, and contained
+tents sufficient for the whole of the 50,000 men assembled. A short
+distance away was the line of intrenchments on which the peasants had been
+for some weeks engaged. They consisted of forts crowning a succession of
+rounded hills, and connected by earthen ramparts, loopholed houses,
+ditches, and an abattis of felled trees. No less than two hundred guns
+were in place on the forts. It was a position that two thousand good
+troops should have been able to hold against an army.
+
+"It is a strong position," Terence said to the two men with him.
+
+"Yes, the French can never pass that," one of them said, exultingly.
+
+"That we shall see. They ought not to, certainly, but whether they will or
+not is another matter."
+
+They wandered about for a couple of hours. Once one of the Portuguese
+joined a group of peasants, and learned from them something of the state
+of things in the town, representing that they had but just arrived.
+
+"You are lucky. You will see how we shall destroy the French army. Our
+guns will sweep them away. Every man in the town is full of confidence,
+and the traitors are all trembling in their houses. When the news of the
+business at Braga came yesterday, and we learned the treachery of our
+generals, the people rose, dragged fifteen suspected men of rank from the
+prison and killed them. There is not a day that some of these traitors are
+not rooted out."
+
+"That is well," the other said; "it is traitors that have brought us to
+this pass."
+
+"You will see how we shall fight when the French come. The bishop himself
+has promised to come out in his robes to give us his blessing, and to call
+down the wrath of heaven on the French infidels."
+
+After having finished his survey of the line, Terence returned to the
+city, and following the instructions that he had received as to the
+situation of the convent at Santa Maria, he was not long in finding it. It
+was a massive building; the windows of the two lower stories were closely
+barred. He could not see any way of opening communications with his
+cousin, or of devising any way of escape. He, however, thought that it
+might possibly be managed if he could send in a rope to her and a pulley,
+with means of fixing it; in that way he could lower her to the ground. But
+all this would be very difficult to manage, even if he had ample time at
+his disposal, and in the present circumstances it was altogether
+impossible. He stared at the house for a long time in silence, but no idea
+came to him, and it was with a feeling of hopelessness that he recrossed
+the bridge and rejoined the troops.
+
+"I am glad to see you back, sir," Bull said, heartily. "I have been in a
+funk all this morning that something might happen to you."
+
+"It has all gone off quietly. I will now tell you and Macwitty what my
+business here is. I may need your help, and it is a matter in which none
+of the Portuguese would dare to offer me any assistance."
+
+"I think they would do maist anything for you, sir," Mac-witty said. "They
+have that confidence in you, they would go through fire and water if you
+were to lead them."
+
+"They would do almost anything but what I want done now. I have a cousin,
+a young lady, who is an heiress to a large fortune. Her father is dead,
+and her mother, a wealthy land-owner, has had her shut up in a convent,
+where they are trying to force her, against her will, to become a nun. She
+is kept a prisoner, on bread and water, until she consents to sign a paper
+surrendering all her rights. Now, what I want to do is to get her out. It
+cannot be done by force; that is out of the question. It is a strong
+building, and even if the men would consent to attack a convent, which
+they would not do, all the town would be up, and we should have the whole
+populace on us. So that force is out of the question. Now, the French are
+sure to take the place. When they do, there will be an awful scene. They
+will be furious at the resistance they have met with, and at the losses
+that they have suffered. They will be maddened, and reasonably, by the
+frightful tortures inflicted upon prisoners who have fallen into the hands
+of the Portuguese, and you may be sure that for some time no quarter will
+be given. The soldiers will be let loose upon the city, and there will be
+no more respect for a convent than a dwelling-house. You may imagine how
+frightfully anxious I am. If it had not been for the French I would have
+let the matter stand until our army entered Oporto, but as it is, I must
+try and do something; and, as far as I can see, the only chance will be in
+the frightful confusion that will take place when the French enter the
+town."
+
+"We will stand by you, Mr. O'Connor, you may be sure. You have only got to
+tell us what to do, and you may trust us to do it."
+
+Macwitty, who was a man of few words, nodded. "Mr. O'Connor knows that,"
+he said.
+
+"Thank you both," Terence said, heartily. "I must think out my plan, and
+when I have decided upon it I will let you know."
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+AN ESCAPE
+
+During his visit to the other side of the river Terence had seen, with
+great satisfaction, that a powerful battery, mounting fifty guns, had been
+erected on the heights of Villa Nova, and its fire, he thought, should
+effectually bar any attempt of the French to cross the bridge.
+
+It would indeed be madness for them to attempt such an operation, as the
+boats supporting the bridge could be instantly sunk by the concentrated
+fire of the battery. He said nothing of this on his return to camp, as it
+might have given rise to fresh agitation among the men, were they to be
+aware that their presence was not really required for the defence of the
+bridge. After a short stay in camp he again went down into the town, with
+the idea that he was more likely to hit upon some plan of action there
+than he would be in the camp.
+
+The two men again went with him. Another prolonged stare at the convent
+failed to inspire him with any scheme that was in the slightest degree
+practicable. He fell back upon the conclusion he had mentioned to the two
+troopers, that the only chance would be to take advantage of the wild
+confusion that would prevail upon the entry of the French. The difficulty
+that presented itself to him was, that the nuns would be so appalled by
+the approach of the French that it would be unlikely that they would think
+of leaving the protection--such as it was--of the convent, and would
+shrink from encountering the wild turmoil in the streets. Even if they did
+so, it would be too late for them to have any chance of getting across the
+bridge, which would be thronged to a point of suffocation by the mob of
+fugitives, and might readily be destroyed by one or two of the boats being
+sunk by the French artillery.
+
+The one thing evident was, that he must arrange to get a boat and to
+station it at the end of some street going down to the river from the
+neighbourhood of the convent. That part of the city being some distance
+from the bridge, the streets would soon be deserted, and there would not
+be a wild rush of fugitives to the boat, which would be the case were it
+to be lying alongside anywhere near the bridge. Upon the other hand, it
+would be less likely that the nuns would leave the convent if all was
+comparatively quiet in that neighbourhood, and did they do so it would be
+difficult in the extreme to carry off his cousin from their midst,
+ignorant, too, as he was of her appearance. After looking for some time at
+the convent, he returned to the more busy part of the town. Presently he
+heard a great shouting; every window opened, and he saw a crowd coming
+along the street. By the candles, banners, crucifixes, and canopies it was
+evident that it was a religious procession. He was about to turn off into
+a side street when the thought struck him that possibly it was the bishop
+himself on his way up to the camp; therefore he remained in his place,
+doffed his hat, and, like all around him, went down on one knee.
+
+The procession was a long and stately one, and in the midst, walking
+beneath a canopy, came the bishop himself. Terence gazed at him fixedly in
+order to impress on his mind the features of the man whose ambition had
+cost Portugal so dearly, and at whose instigation so much blood of the
+most honest and capable men of the province had been shed. The face fully
+justified the idea that he had formed of the man. The bishop was of
+commanding presence, and walked with the air of one who was accustomed to
+see all bow before him; but on the other hand, the face bore traces of his
+violent character. There was a set smile on his lips, but his brow was
+heavy and frowning, while his receding chin contradicted the strength of
+the upper part of his face. There was, too, a look of anxiety and
+restlessness betrayed by a nervous twitching of the lips.
+
+"The scoundrel is a coward," Terence said to himself. "He may profess
+absolute confidence, but I don't think he feels it, and I will bet odds
+that he won't be in the front when the time for fighting comes."
+
+Terence walked away after the procession had passed.
+
+"If one could get hold of the bishop," he said to himself, "one might get
+an order on the superior of the convent to hand over Mary O'Connor to the
+bearer, but I don't see how that can possibly be managed. Of course, he is
+surrounded by priests and officials all day, and his palace will be
+guarded by any number of soldiers, for he must have many enemies. There
+must be scores of relatives of men who have been killed by his orders, who
+would assassinate him, bishop though he is, had they the chance. And even
+if I got an order--and it seems to me impossible to do so--it would not be
+made out in the name of Mary O'Connor. I know that they change their names
+when they go into nunneries, and she may be Sister Angela or Cecilia, or
+anything else, and I should not know in the slightest degree whether the
+name he put down was the one that she really goes by. No, that idea is out
+of the question."
+
+Returning to the camp, he held counsel with Herrara. The latter, he knew,
+had none of the bigotry so general among his countrymen. He had before
+told him about his cousin being shut up against her will, and of the
+letter that she had thrown out, but had hitherto said nothing of his
+intention to bring about her escape if possible.
+
+"I had an idea that that was what was in your mind when you went off so
+early this morning, O'Connor. I have a high respect for the Church, but I
+have no respect for its abuses. And the shutting up of a young lady, and
+forcing her to take the veil in order to rob her of her property, is as
+hateful to me as it can be to you, so that I should have no hesitation in
+aiding you in your endeavour to bring about her escape. Have you formed
+any plan?"
+
+"No; I have thought it over again and again, but cannot think of any
+scheme."
+
+"If that is the case, O'Connor, I fear that it is useless for me to try to
+do so; you are so full of ideas always, that if you cannot see your way
+out of the difficulty, it is hopeless to expect that I could do so. If you
+can contrive any plan I will promise to aid you in any way you can point
+out, but as to inventing one, I should never do so if I racked my brain
+ever so much."
+
+"There must be some way," Terence said. "I used to get into all sorts of
+scrapes when I was a boy, but found there was always some way out of them,
+if one could but hit upon it. The only thing that I can think of, is to
+carry her off in the confusion when the French enter the town."
+
+"I should say that the nuns would never think of leaving their convent,
+O'Connor; it is their best hope of safety to remain there."
+
+"No doubt it is, but the French don't always respect the convents--very
+much the contrary, indeed. No, I don't think that they would go out merely
+to rush into the street; but they might go out if they thought they could
+get over the bridge before the French arrived."
+
+"They might do that, certainly; indeed, it would be the best thing they
+could do."
+
+"Do you think that if one were to dress up as a priest, or as one of the
+bishop's attendants, and to go as from him with an order to the lady
+superior to take the nuns at once across the bridge to the convent on the
+other side, she would obey it?"
+
+"Not without some written order," Herrara said. "The bishop would
+naturally send someone who would be known to her, or if he did send a
+stranger he would give him a letter or some token she would recognize;
+otherwise, she could not know that it was his order."
+
+"That is what I was afraid of, Herrara, but it is what I shall try, if I
+can see no other way. Indeed, I see only one chance of getting over the
+difficulty. The bishop is a tyrant of the worst kind. Now, as far as I can
+remember, tyrants of his sort--that is to say, tyrants who rule by working
+on the passions of the mob--are always cowards. I watched the bishop
+closely when I saw him to-day, and I am convinced he is one also. Even in
+that kneeling crowd he could not conceal it. There was a nervous twitching
+about his lips which, to my mind, showed that he was in a state of intense
+anxiety, and that under all his swagger and show of confidence he was,
+nevertheless, in a horrible state of alarm. That being so, it seems to me
+extremely likely that when the fighting begins he will make a bolt of it.
+He won't wait for the French to enter, for he would know well enough that
+in their fury at their defeat, the fugitives, if they came upon him, would
+be likely to tear him limb from limb, just as they have murdered dozens of
+infinitely better men; so I think that he will make off beforehand. I
+imagine that he will go secretly, and with only two or three attendants."
+
+"But you could never carry him off without an alarm being raised, if that
+is what you are thinking of, O' Connor."
+
+"No, I am not thinking of that; but if I could, say with Bull and
+Macwitty, suddenly attack him like three robbers, we might carry off
+something that would serve as a sort of passport to the lady abbess. For
+instance, he had a tremendously big ring on. I noticed it as he held up
+his hands, as if on purpose to show it off."
+
+"That was his episcopal ring," Herrara laughed. "Yes, if you could get
+hold of that, it would be a key that would open the door of any convent."
+
+"Do you think she would hand my cousin over to me if I showed it to her
+and gave her a message as from the bishop?"
+
+"Yes, if you knew the name. You see, from the day she was made a nun she
+lost her former name altogether; and certainly the bishop would send for
+her under her convent name."
+
+"That is what I was thinking myself. Then I must get them all out."
+
+"You have got to get the ring first," Herrara said with a smile.
+
+"Yes, yes, I mean if I get it."
+
+"But if the French have entered the town you can never get them across the
+bridge."
+
+"No, I know that. I mean to get a boat and have it lying off the end of
+some quiet street. I could put a couple of our men into that, for they
+would only regard it, when I had got her on board, as an effort on my part
+to save one of the nuns from the French. One thing to do would be to get
+the robe of a priest, or the dress of one of the bishop's officials."
+
+Herrara thought for some time. "I think that I could do that for you,
+O'Connor. Of course I have a good many acquaintances in Oporto, among them
+some ladies. I was intending to go across this evening and see some of
+them, and implore them to leave the town before it is too late. One of
+these friends of mine might buy some robes for me; a woman can do that
+sort of thing when a man cannot. She can pretend that she wants to buy the
+robe as a present for the parish priest, or her father confessor, or
+something of that sort. At any rate, it is worth trying."
+
+"It is, indeed, Herrara, and if you could manage it I should be greatly
+obliged to you."
+
+"I will go across at once. I expect Soult will be close up to-morrow
+morning, or at any rate the next day. It may be another couple of days
+before he gets his whole force concentrated, but in four days anyhow his
+shot will be rattling down into the town. I will go and see what I can do.
+You had better get one of my troopers to get the boat for you."
+
+Herrara did not return until early on the following morning.
+
+"I have managed it," he said, as Terence, who was getting very anxious
+about him, ran forward to meet him.
+
+"There is one family in Oporto whose eldest son is a brother officer of
+mine, and I have visited them here with him, and have met them several
+times at Lisbon. Indeed, I may tell you frankly that had it not been for
+the troubles, his sister would, ere this time, have been affianced to me.
+I had hoped that they had left the town before this, but they told me that
+any movement of that sort might bring disaster on them. Two of her
+brothers are in the army, and the bishop could not, therefore, pretend
+that the father was a traitor to the country; being an elderly man, the
+latter has in fact held aloof altogether from politics; but he is
+certainly not of the bishop's party, and the bishop considers that all who
+are not with him are against him. Had they attempted to leave the town
+there is no doubt he would have made it a pretext for arresting the
+father, and would certainly do so on the first opportunity. However, they
+quite believed that the great force that there is here would be sufficient
+to defend the fortifications, and were completely taken aback when I told
+them that I was absolutely convinced that the place would fall at the
+first attack of the French.
+
+"They agreed to make all preparations for leaving at once. Their horses
+have been seized, nominally that they should be used on the
+fortifications, but really, I have no doubt, to prevent their leaving. Of
+course I told them all about what we had been doing, in which they were
+intensely interested. For aught they know, their house may be watched; so
+they will come out in some of their servants' clothes. I told them that
+they must leave on the night before Soult made his attack. Of course he
+will summon the town, and the bishop will, of course, refuse to surrender,
+and you may be sure the French will attack on the following day. They left
+me alone with Lorenza for a time, and I took that opportunity of telling
+her about your plan, and what you wanted, and she promised to procure you
+the dress of an ecclesiastic to-morrow. I told her that you were about my
+size and height.
+
+"She knew your cousin personally, and was very fond of her, and therefore
+entered all the more readily into our plans to get her out. She said that
+she disappeared suddenly some months ago, and that her mother had given
+out that she had been suddenly seized with the determination to enter a
+convent, much against her own wishes. Lorenza felt sure that this was not
+true, for she knew that your cousin had heard from her father much about
+the Reformed religion, and was in her heart disposed that way. The mother
+is engaged to be married to a nobleman who is one of the bishop's warmest
+supporters, and the general idea was that Mary O'Connor had been forced
+into a nunnery against her will. I sat talking with them until late last
+night, and they would not hear of my leaving, especially as they said that
+the town was full of bands of ruffians, who traversed the streets,
+attacking and robbing anyone of respectable appearance. As I had rather a
+fancy to try what a comfortable bed was like again, I did not need much
+pressing."
+
+"Thank you greatly, Herrara, I am indeed obliged to you; things seem to
+look really hopeful. I have arranged with Bull and Macwitty that on the
+evening before the attack is likely to take place we will watch all night
+at this end of the bridge. The bishop won't leave until the last thing,
+but I would wager any money he will do so that night. He won't go farther
+than Villa Nova, so as to be ready to cross again at once if the news
+comes that the French have been beaten off. No doubt he will make the
+excuse that as an ecclesiastic he could take no active part in the
+defence, but had been engaged in prayer, which had done more towards
+gaining the victory than his presence could possibly have done."
+
+"I should not be surprised if that should be his course," Herrara said,
+smiling. "At any rate, for your sake I hope that it will be. Have you seen
+about a boat?"
+
+"Yes, I spoke to Francesco Nortis yesterday evening, and told him that I
+wanted to hire a boat with two boatmen for the next week. They were to be
+at his service night and day. He was to tell them that he would not want
+it for fishing, but that, in case, by any possibility, the French took the
+town, he should be able to go across and bring some friends over. When I
+told him that money was no object, he said that there would be no
+difficulty about it. They will be glad enough to get a good week's pay and
+next to nothing to do for it."
+
+Two days passed quietly. On the first day the news arrived that Silveira
+had invested Chaves on the day of the battle of Braga, and had forced the
+garrison, which consisted of but a hundred fighting men, with twelve
+hundred sick, to capitulate.
+
+Day after day news came of the advance of the French. They had moved in
+three columns. Each had met with a stout resistance, but had carried the
+passes and bridges after severe loss. One of the columns had been held for
+some time in check at the Ponte D'Ave, but had carried it at last,
+whereupon the Portuguese had murdered their general and dispersed.
+
+On the 26th, six days after the battle of Braga, Franceschi's cavalry were
+seen approaching the position in front of Oporto. The alarm bells rung,
+the troops hurried to their positions, but the day passed off quietly, the
+confidence of the people being still further raised by the arrival of
+2,000 regular troops sent by Beresford to their assistance. As there were
+already seven or eight thousand regular troops in the camp, it seemed to
+all that as Soult had but 20,000 men fit for action, the defences ought to
+be held against him for any length of time. The majority, indeed, believed
+that he would not even venture to attack the town when upon his arrival he
+perceived its strength, especially when they knew that he had but a few
+guns with him, his park of artillery being still at Tuy, which was closely
+invested by the Spaniards.
+
+On the following day the whole French army settled down in front of the
+Portuguese works, and a wild and purposeless fire was now opened by the
+defenders, although the French were far beyond musket-range.
+
+Soult sent in a message to the bishop urging him to surrender. He assured
+him that resistance was hopeless, and that it was his earnest desire to
+save so great a city from the horrors of a storm. The message was sent by
+a prisoner, who was seized by the mob in spite of the flag of truce that
+he carried, and would have been murdered had he not assured the people
+that he came with a message from Soult, to the effect that, seeing the
+hopelessness of attacking the town or of marching back to the frontier in
+safety, he wished to negotiate for a surrender for himself and his army.
+
+At one point the Portuguese displayed a white flag, and shouted that they
+wished to surrender. A French general advanced with another officer, but
+when they reached the lines the Portuguese fell upon him, killed his
+companion, and carried the general a prisoner into the town. The
+negotiations were prolonged until evening, but the bishop declined all
+Soult's overtures, and the fire from the intrenchments continued. In the
+course of the evening Merle's division, in order to divert attention from
+the points Soult had fixed upon for the attack, moved towards the
+Portuguese left, when a tremendous fire of artillery and musketry opened
+upon it. The division made its way forward, and occupied some hollow
+ground which shielded it from fire, within a very short distance of the
+intrenchments. Feeling that the crisis was at hand, Terence had everything
+prepared. The boatmen were told that they might be required that night,
+and that they were to have the boat in readiness to start at any moment.
+Herrara had warned his friends, and went to their house with six of his
+men, as soon as it became dusk, to escort them over. Terence with his two
+troopers, clad in the dresses of two of the tallest of the men and wrapped
+in cloaks, with their broad hats pressed low down upon their foreheads,
+went down to the end of the bridge as soon as it became quite dark. The
+river was three hundred yards broad, but the sound of the confusion and
+alarm that prevailed in the city could be plainly heard, although the
+evening had set in rough and tempestuous. The shouts of the excited mob
+mingled with the clanging of the church bells.
+
+"That does not sound like confidence in victory," Terence remarked.
+
+"Quite the other way, sir. I should say that after all their bragging
+every man in the place is in a blue funk."
+
+A great many people, especially women with children, were making their way
+across the bridge. About nine o'clock a little knot of five or six men,
+following a tall figure, passed them.
+
+"That is the bishop," Terence whispered, and in pursuance of the orders
+that he had previously given them, the two men followed him as he fell in
+at a short distance behind the group. These turned off from the main road
+and took one that led up to the Serra Convent, standing on the crest of a
+rugged hill. As soon as they had passed beyond the houses at the foot of
+the hill, and the road was altogether deserted, Terence said to the men:
+
+"Now is our time. Do you take the attendants; I will manage the bishop."
+
+They moved forward quickly and silently until they were close to the
+group, then they dashed forward. As the startled attendants turned round
+the troopers fell upon them, and with heavy blows from their fists knocked
+them to the ground like nine-pins. The bishop turned round and shouted:
+
+"Villains, I am the bishop!"
+
+"I know that!" Terence exclaimed, and sprang at him.
+
+The prelate reeled and fell. Terence threw himself upon him, and seizing
+his hand wrested from it the episcopal ring. Then, upon seeing that the
+bishop had fainted, probably from fright, Terence leapt to his feet. The
+five attendants were lying on the ground.
+
+"All right, lads," he said, "we have got what we wanted, but just strip
+off one of these fellows' clothes. Take this one, he is a priest."
+
+It took but a minute for the two troopers to strip off the garment and
+pick up the three-cornered hat.
+
+"Now, come along, men."
+
+They reached the houses again without hearing so much as a cry from the
+astounded Portuguese, who as yet had but a vague idea of what had happened
+to them. The capture of the clothes had been rendered necessary by
+Herrara's report, two days before, that the young lady had failed to get
+the clothes, for the shopman had asked so many questions concerning them
+that she had said carelessly that it made no matter. She had intended to
+give them as a present and a surprise, but as there seemed a difficulty
+about it she would give money instead, and let the priest choose his own
+clothes. She had purposely entered a shop in the opposite end of the town
+from that in which her father lived, so that there would be less chance of
+her being recognized.
+
+Herrara said that she would try elsewhere, but Terence at once begged him
+to tell her not to do so.
+
+"The bishop is sure to have some of his priests with him," he said, "and
+if I rob him of his ring, I might just as well rob one of them of his
+clothes."
+
+On returning to the camp Terence found that his comrade had already
+arrived with a gentleman and three ladies. The tent had been given up for
+the use of the latter. Herrara had warned him not to say a word to the old
+gentleman of his adventure.
+
+"He and the others know nothing about it," he said, "and it is just as
+well that they shouldn't, for he is somewhat rigid in his notions, and
+might be rather horrified at your assaulting a bishop, however great a
+scoundrel he might be, and would be specially so at the borrowing of his
+ring."
+
+At twelve o'clock heavy peals of thunder were heard, followed by a
+tremendous outbreak of firing from the intrenchments, two hundred guns and
+a terrific musketry fire opening suddenly.
+
+"The French are attacking!" Herrara exclaimed.
+
+"I don't think so," Terence replied. "It is more likely to be a false
+alarm. The troops may have thought that the thunder was the roar of French
+guns. Soult would hardly make an attack at night, or, not knowing the
+nature of the ground behind the intrenchments, his men would be falling
+into confusion, and perhaps fire into each other."
+
+As, after a quarter of an hour of prodigious din, the fire slackened and
+presently ceased altogether, it was evident that this supposition was a
+correct one. The morning broke bright and still, and an hour later the
+cannonade began again. Terence at once, after telling Herrara to form the
+troops up and march them down to the end of the bridge, left the camp, and
+after proceeding a short distance took off his uniform and donned the
+attire of the ecclesiastic, and then hurried down into the town. He was
+accompanied by the two troopers in their peasant dress. These left him at
+the bridge. The din was now tremendous, every church bell was ringing
+furiously, and frightened women were already crowding down towards the
+bridge.
+
+Their point of crossing had already been decided upon--it was at the end
+of a street close to the convent, and when Terence reached the convent the
+two men were already standing at the end of the street, awaiting him.
+
+"Now, you do your part of the business and I will do mine," Terence said,
+and he moved forward to the door of the convent, where he would be unseen
+should anyone look out.
+
+The two troopers went to the middle of the street, opposite the window
+which the officer had described to Terence, and both shouted in a
+stentorian voice:
+
+"Mary O'Connor!"
+
+The shout was heard above the tumult of the battle and the din in the
+city, and a head appeared at the window and looked down with a bewildered
+expression.
+
+"Mary O'Connor," Bull shouted again, "a friend is here to rescue you. You
+will leave the convent directly with the rest. Look out for us."
+
+Then they walked on, and passed Terence.
+
+"Have you seen her face?"
+
+"We have, sir. We shall know her again, never fear."
+
+Terence now seized the bell and rung it vigorously. The door opened, and a
+terrified face appeared at the window.
+
+"I have a message from the bishop to the lady superior."
+
+The door was opened, and was at once closed and barred behind him. He was
+led along some passages to the room where the lady superior, pale and
+agitated, was awaiting him.
+
+"Have the French entered the intrenchments?" she asked.
+
+"I trust they have not entered yet, but they may do so at any moment. The
+bishop is at the Serra Convent, and from there has a view over the town to
+the intrenchments. He begs you to instantly bring the nuns across, for
+they will be in safety there, whereas no one can say what may happen in
+the town. Here is his episcopal ring in proof that I am the bearer of his
+orders. I pray you to hasten, sister, for a crowd of fugitives are already
+pouring over the bridge, and there is not a moment to be lost."
+
+"The nuns are just coming down to prayer in the chapel, and we will start
+instantly."
+
+In two minutes upward of a hundred frightened women were gathered in the
+courtyard.
+
+"Are all here?" Terence asked the lady superior.
+
+"All of them."
+
+"I asked because I know that he is specially anxious that one, who is a
+sort of prisoner, should not fall into the hands of the French, as that
+might cause serious trouble."
+
+"I know whom you mean," and she called out "Sister Theresa!" There was no
+answer.
+
+
+[Illustration: "MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH HIS
+PISTOLS"]
+
+
+"It is well you asked," she said. "They have forgotten her." She gave
+orders to one of the sisters, who at once entered the house, and returned
+in a minute with a young nun. The door was now opened, and they moved out
+in procession. Terence could hear regular volleys amidst the roar of guns
+and the incessant crack of muskets.
+
+"I fear that they have entered the intrenchments," he said. "Hasten,
+sister, or we shall be too late."
+
+With hurried steps they passed along the deserted streets. As they neared
+the bridge a crowd of fugitives were hastening in that direction, and when
+they approached its head they found it blocked by a struggling mass.
+
+"What is to be done?" the lady superior asked in consternation.
+
+"We must wait a minute or two; they may clear off."
+
+But every second the crowd increased, and was soon thick behind them.
+Already the line of nuns was broken up by the pressure. Terence had kept
+his eyes on the two tall figures who had followed, at first behind them,
+and had then quickened their footsteps until abreast of the centre of the
+line, and to his satisfaction saw that they had one of the nuns between
+them, and were forcing their way with her through the crowd behind. At
+this moment a terrible cry arose from the crowd. A troop of Portuguese
+dragoons rode furiously down the street leading to the bridge, and dashed
+into the crowd, trampling down all in their way in their reckless terror,
+until they gained the end of the bridge. As they rode on to it, two of the
+boats, already low in the water from the weight upon them, gave a surge
+and sank, carrying with them hundreds of people. The crowd recoiled with a
+cry of horror.
+
+"There is no escape now, sister," Terence said; "go back to the convent."
+
+"Home, sisters!" she cried in a loud, shrill voice, that made itself heard
+even over the screams of the drowning people and the wails and cries of
+the mob.
+
+Terence placed himself before the lady superior, and by main force made a
+way through the crowd; which was the more easy as, seeing their only
+escape cut off, numbers were now beginning to disperse to their homes. The
+movement was converted into a wild rush when a troop of French cavalry
+came thundering down to the bridge. In a moment all was mad confusion and
+fright. The nuns followed their superior, and all thought of decorum being
+now lost, fled with her like a flock of frightened sheep along the street
+leading to the convent. Terence paused a moment. He saw that the French
+troopers threw themselves from their horses, and, all animosity being for
+the moment forgotten in the horror of the scene, set to work to endeavour
+to save the drowning wretches, regardless of the fire which, as soon as
+the French appeared, was opened by the battery on the height of Villa
+Nova.
+
+Then he sped away after the nuns, whom he soon passed. He turned down the
+street next to the convent, and, on reaching the end, saw the two troopers
+with a nun in a boat ten yards away. Macwitty was standing covering the
+two boatmen with his pistols.
+
+"Row back to the shore again," he roared out in English, "and take off
+that gentleman there." The men did not understand his words, but they
+understood his gestures, and a stroke or two took them alongside. Terence
+leapt in and told the men to row across the river.
+
+"This is an unexpected meeting, cousin," he said to the girl.
+
+"They have been telling me who you are, and how you have effected my
+rescue," she said, bursting into tears. "How can I thank you?"
+
+"Well, this is hardly a time for thanks," he said, "and I am as glad as
+you are that it has all turned out well. I will tell you all about it as
+soon as we are across."
+
+They were nearly over when he exclaimed to the troopers:
+
+"The French have repaired the bridge with planks. See, they are crossing!"
+
+They sprang out on reaching the opposite shore. A moment later a rattle of
+musketry broke out.
+
+"Macwitty," he said, "I will give this young lady into your charge. Take
+her straight up to the camp. There are three ladies there," he said to his
+cousin, "and in the tent they have some clothes for you to change into. It
+will not be long before I shall rejoin you. But I must join my regiment
+now; they are engaged with the enemy."
+
+As he hurried along with Bull, he could hear above the sound of the
+musketry the sharp crack of the field-guns from the opposite side of the
+river.
+
+"They are covering the passage, Bull."
+
+As he came up he found that Herrara had taken possession of the houses
+near the end of the bridge. A part of his troops filled the windows, while
+the main body lined the quay. The French were recoiling, but a mass of
+their troops could be seen at the further end of the bridge, and two field
+batteries were keeping up an incessant fire. Herrara was posted with a
+company at the end of the bridge.
+
+"We had better fall back, Herrara, before they form a fresh column of
+attack. We might repulse them again, but they will be able to cross by
+boats elsewhere, and we shall be taken in front and rear. Let us draw off
+in good order. The infantry will be sure to march straight against the
+battery on the hill behind, and it will be half an hour before the cavalry
+can cross, and by that time we shall be well on our way; whereas, if we
+stop here until we are taken in flank and rear, we shall be cut to
+pieces."
+
+"I quite agree with you," Herrara said, and ordered the man with the horn
+standing beside him to sound the retreat.
+
+The men near at once formed up and got in motion, those in the houses
+poured out, and in two minutes the whole force were going up the hill at a
+trot, but still preserving their order. Five minutes later the head of the
+French column poured over the bridge. Just as the troops reached the place
+of encampment the fire of the battery ceased suddenly.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+MARY O'CONNOR
+
+Never was a large force of men driven from a very strong position,
+carefully prepared and defended by a vast number of guns, so quickly and
+easily as were the Portuguese before Oporto. The bishop, after rejecting
+Soult's summons and disregarding his prayers to save the city from ruin,
+suddenly lost heart, and after all his boasting, slipped away after dark
+to the Serra Convent, leaving the command to the generals of the army. The
+feint which Soult had made with Merle's division the night before against
+the Portuguese left succeeded perfectly, the Portuguese massing their
+forces on that side to resist the expected attack.
+
+Soult's real intentions, however, were to break through the centre of the
+line and then to drive the Portuguese right and left away from the town,
+while he pushed a body of troops straight through the city to seize the
+bridge and thus cut off all retreat. Accordingly he commenced the attack
+on both wings. The Portuguese weakened their centre to meet these, and
+then the central division of the French rushed forward, burst through the
+intrenchments, and carried at once the two principal forts. Then two
+battalions marched into the town and made for the bridge, while the rest
+fell on the Portuguese rear. The French right carried in succession a
+number of forts, took fifty pieces of artillery, and drove off a great
+mass of the Portuguese from the town, while Merle met with equal success
+on the other flank. Half the Portuguese, therefore, were driven up the
+valley of the Douro, and the other half down towards the sea.
+
+Maddened by terror, some of them strove to swim across, others to get over
+in small boats. Lima, their general, shouted to them that the river was
+too wide to swim, and that those who took to boats would be shot down by
+the pursuing French. Whereupon his own troops turned upon him and murdered
+him, although the French were but a couple of hundred yards away; they
+then renewed their attempt to cross, and many perished. Similar scenes
+took place in the valley above the town, but here the French cavalry
+interposed between the panic-stricken fugitives and the river, and so
+prevented them throwing away their lives in the hopeless attempt to swim
+across. In the meantime incessant firing was going on in the city. The
+French column arriving at the bridge, after doing their best to rescue the
+drowning people, sacrificed to the heartless cowardice of the Portuguese
+cavalry, speedily repaired the break caused by the sinking boats and
+prepared to cross the river, while others scattered through the town.
+
+The inhabitants fired upon them from the roofs and windows, and two
+hundred men defended the bishop's palace to the last. Every house was the
+scene of conflict. The French on entering one of the principal squares
+found a number of their comrades, who had been taken prisoners and sent to
+the town, still alive but horribly mutilated, some of them having been
+blinded, others having legs cut off, and all mutilated in various ways.
+This terrible sight naturally goaded them to such a state of fury that
+Soult in vain endeavoured to stop the work of slaughter and pillage. This
+continued for several hours, and altogether the number of Portuguese who
+perished by drowning and slaughter in the streets was estimated at ten
+thousand, of which the number killed in the defence of the works formed
+but an insignificant portion.
+
+Terence on his arrival at the camp in the wood resumed his uniform.
+Herrara had, on the previous day, purchased a light waggon and two horses
+for the use of the ladies, and as soon as the men had strapped on the
+cloaks and blankets which they had left behind them when they advanced to
+the defence of the bridge, the retreat began. Not until he had seen the
+column fairly on its way did Terence ride up to speak to the occupants of
+the waggon. He had not been introduced by Herrara to his friends, for on
+his return from his encounter with the bishop the ladies had already
+retired to their tent.
+
+"I must introduce myself to you, Don Jose. I am Terence O' Connor, an
+ensign in his Britannic Majesty's regiment of Mayo Fusiliers and an
+aide-de-camp of General Cradock, a very humble personage, though at
+present in command of these troops--irregular regiments of the Portuguese
+army."
+
+"Lieutenant Herrara has told us so much about you, Señor O'Connor, that we
+have been looking forward with much pleasure to meeting you. Allow me to
+present you to my wife and daughters, who have been as anxious as myself
+to meet an officer who has done such good services to the cause, and to
+whom it is due at the present moment that we are here, instead of being in
+the midst of the terrible scenes that are no doubt at this moment being
+enacted in Oporto."
+
+Terence bowed deeply to the ladies, and then said to his cousin:
+
+"I almost require introducing to you, for I caught but a glimpse of you as
+we crossed the river, and you look so different now that you have got rid
+of that hideous attire that I don't think that I should have known you."
+
+"You have changed greatly, too, Señor O'Connor."
+
+Terence burst into a laugh.
+
+"My dear cousin, it is evident that you know very little of English
+customs, though you speak English so well. We don't call our cousins Mr.
+and Miss; you will have to call me Terence and I shall certainly call you
+Mary. Macwitty brought you back to camp all right?"
+
+"Yes; but it was terrible to hear all that firing, and I was wondering all
+the time whether you were being hurt."
+
+"There is a great deal of powder fired away to every one that gets hit."
+
+"Do you know what has happened in the town?" Don Jose asked.
+
+"I know no more than what my cousin has no doubt told you of that terrible
+scene at the bridge. It is evident that the French burst through the lines
+without any difficulty, as we saw no soldiers, except those cowardly
+cavalrymen, before the French arrived. It is probable that the
+intrenchments were carried in the centre, and Soult evidently sent a body
+of soldiers straight through the town to secure the bridge. I think he
+must have cut off the main body of the defenders of the intrenchments from
+entering the town and must either have captured them or driven them off.
+The fire of cannon had ceased over there before we retired, and it is
+clear from that that the whole of the intrenchments must have been
+captured. There was, however, a heavy rattle of musketry in the town, and
+I suppose that the houses, and perhaps some barricades, were being
+defended. It was a mad thing to do, for it would only excite the fury of
+the French troops, and get them out of hand altogether. If there had been
+no resistance the columns might have marched in in good order; but even
+then I fear there might have been trouble, for unfortunately, your
+peasants have behaved with such merciless cruelty to all stragglers who
+fell into their hands, that the thirst for vengeance would in any case
+have been irrepressible. Still, the officers might possibly have preserved
+order had there been no resistance."
+
+"Shall we be pursued, do you think, señor?" Don Jose's wife asked.
+
+"I do not think so. Possibly parties of horse may scour the country for
+some distance round, to see if there is a body of troops here, but we are
+too strong to be attacked by any but a very numerous body of horse; and if
+they should attempt it, you may be sure that we can render a very good
+account of ourselves. We have beaten off the French horse once, and, as
+since then we have had some stiff fighting, I have no fear of the men
+being unsteady, even if all Franceschi's cavalry came down upon us. Of
+that, however, there will be little chance; the French have their hands
+full for some days, and a few scouting parties are all that they are
+likely to send out."
+
+"You speak Portuguese very well, Terence," Mary O'Connor said, in that
+language, hesitating a little before she used his Christian name.
+
+"I have been nearly nine months in the country, during most of which I
+have been on the staff, and have had to communicate with peasants and
+others, and for the past two months I have spoken nothing else; necessity
+is a good teacher. Besides which, Lieutenant Herrara has been good enough
+to take great pains in correcting my mistakes and teaching me the proper
+idioms; another six months of this work and I have no doubt I shall be
+able to pass as a native."
+
+After marching fifteen miles the column halted, Terence feeling assured
+that the French would not push out their scouting parties more than three
+or four miles from Villa Nova. They halted at the edge of a forest, and a
+party under one of the officers was at once despatched to a village two
+miles away, and returned in an hour with a drove of pigs that had been
+bought there, and a cart laden with bread and wine. Fires had already been
+lighted, and after seeing that the rations were divided among the various
+companies, Terence went to the tent. Herrara was chatting with his
+friends, and Mary O'Connor came out at once and joined him.
+
+"That is right, Mary; we will take a stroll in the wood and have a talk
+together. Now tell me how you have got on. I had expected to find you
+quite thin and almost starving."
+
+"No, I have had plenty of bread to eat," she laughed; "the sisters kept me
+well supplied. I am sure that most of them were sorry for me, and they
+used to hide away some of their own bread and bring it to me when they had
+a chance. The lady superior was very hard, and if I had had to depend
+entirely on what she sent me up I should have done very badly. I always
+ate as much as I could, as I wanted to keep up my strength; for I knew
+that if I got weak I might give way and do what they wanted, and I was
+quite determined that I would not, if I could help it."
+
+"Macwitty told you, I suppose, how I came to hear where you were
+imprisoned?"
+
+"Yes; he said that the officer had given you the letter that I dropped to
+him; yet how did he come to know that you were my cousin?"
+
+"It was quite an accident; just the similarity of name. We were chatting,
+and he said, casually, 'I suppose that you have no relatives at Oporto,'
+and I at once said I had, for fortunately my father had been telling me
+about your father and you, the last time I saw him, that is four months
+ago. He was badly wounded at Vimiera and invalided home. Then Captain
+Travers told me about getting your letter and what was in it, and I felt
+sure that it was you, and of course made up my mind to do what I could to
+get you out, though at the time I did not think that I should be in Oporto
+until I entered with the British army."
+
+"But I cannot think how you got us all to start, and walked along with the
+lady superior as if you were a friend of hers. Macwitty had not time to
+tell me that. I was so frightened and bewildered with the dreadful noise
+and the strangeness of it all that I could not ask him many questions."
+
+"It was by virtue of this ring," he said, holding up his hand.
+
+"Why," she exclaimed in surprise, "that is the bishop's! I noticed it on
+his finger when he came one day to me and scolded me, and said that I
+should remain a prisoner if it was for years until my obstinate spirit was
+broken. But how did you get it?"
+
+"Not with the bishop's good-will, you may be sure, Mary," Terence laughed;
+and he then told her how he had become possessed of it.
+
+The girl looked quite scared.
+
+"It sounds dreadful, doesn't it, Mary, to think that I should have laid
+hands upon a bishop, and such a bishop, a man who regards himself as the
+greatest in Portugal. However, there was no other way of getting the ring,
+and I could not see how, without it, I could persuade the lady superior to
+leave her convent with you all; and to tell you the truth, I would rather
+have got it that way than any other. The bishop is, in my opinion, a man
+who deserves no respect. He has terrorized all the north of Portugal, has
+caused scores of better men than himself to be imprisoned or put to death,
+and has now by his folly and ignorance cost the lives of no one knows how
+many thousand men, and brought about the sack of Oporto."
+
+"Did you hear anything of my mother?" the girl asked.
+
+"No; my Portuguese was not good enough for me to ask questions without
+risking being detected as a foreigner at once. She has behaved shamefully
+to you, Mary."
+
+"She never liked me," the girl said, simply. "She and father never got on
+well together, and I think her dislike began by his taking to me, and my
+liking to be with him and getting to talk English. There was a terrible
+quarrel between them once because she accused him of teaching me to be a
+Protestant, although he never did so. He did give me a Bible, and I used
+to ask him questions and he answered them, that was all; but as it did
+seem to me that he was much wiser in all things than she was, I thought
+that he might be wiser in religion too. I would have given up the property
+directly they wanted me to, if they would have let me go away to England;
+but when they took me to the convent and cut off my hair, and forced me to
+become a nun, I would not give way to them. I never took the vows,
+Terence; I would not open my lips, but they went on with the service just
+the same. I was determined that I would not yield. I thought that the
+English would come some day, and that I might be freed then."
+
+"What would you have done in England if you had gone there, Mary?"
+
+"I should have found your father out, and gone to him. Father told me that
+your father was his greatest friend, and just before he died he told me
+that he had privately sent over all his own money to a bank at Cork, and
+ordered it to be put in your father's name. It was a good deal of money,
+for he would not give up the business when he married my mother, though
+she wanted him to; but he said that he could not live in idleness on her
+money, and that he must be doing something. And I know that he kept up the
+house in Oporto, while she kept up her place in the country. He told me
+that the sum he had sent over was £20,000. That will be enough to live on,
+won't it?"
+
+"Plenty," Terence laughed. "I had no idea that I was rescuing such an
+heiress. I was sure that there was no chance of your getting your mother's
+money, at any rate, as long as the bishop was leader of Oporto. However
+just your claim, no judge would decide in your favour."
+
+"Now tell me about yourself, Terence, and your home in Ireland, and all
+about it."
+
+"My home has been the regiment, Mary. My father has a few hundred acres in
+County Mayo, and a tumble-down house; that is to say, it was a tumble-down
+house when I saw it four years ago, but it had been shut up for a good
+many years, and I should not be surprised if it has quite tumbled down
+now. However, my father was always talking of going to live there when he
+left the army. The land is not worth much, I think. There are five hundred
+acres, and they let for about a hundred a year. However, my father has
+been in the regiment now for about eighteen years; and as I was born in
+barracks I have only been three or four times to Ballinagra, and then only
+because father took a fancy to have a look at the old house. My mother
+died when I was ten years old, and I ran almost wild until I got my
+commission last June."
+
+"And how did you come to be a staff-officer of the English general?" she
+asked.
+
+"I have had awfully good luck," Terence replied. "It happened in all sorts
+of ways."
+
+"Please tell me everything," she said. "I want to know all about you."
+
+"It is a long story, Mary."
+
+"So much the better," she said. "I know nothing of what has passed for the
+last year, and I dare say I shall learn about it from your story. You
+don't know how happy I am feeling to be out in the sun and in the air
+again, and to see the country after being shut up in one room for a year.
+Suppose we sit down here and you tell me the whole story."
+
+Terence accordingly related the history of his adventures since he had
+left England. The girl asked a great many questions, and specially
+insisted upon hearing his own adventures very fully.
+
+"It is no use your keeping on saying that it is all luck," she said when
+he had finished. "Your colonel could not have thought that it was luck
+when he wrote the report about that adventure at sea, and your general
+could not have thought so, either, or he would not have praised you in his
+despatch. Then, you know, General Fane must have thought that it was quite
+out of the way or he would not have chosen you to be on his staff. Then
+afterwards the other general must have been pleased with you, or he would
+not have put you on his staff and sent you off on a mission to General
+Romana. It is quite certain that these things could not have been all
+luck, Terence. And anyhow, you cannot pretend that it was luck that this
+regiment of yours fought so well against the French, while none of the
+others seem to have fought at all. I suppose that you will say next that
+it was all luck that you got me out of the convent."
+
+"There was a great deal of luck in it, Mary. If that cowardly bishop
+hadn't left Oporto secretly, after declaring that he would defend it until
+the last, I could never have got his ring."
+
+"You would have got me out some other way if he hadn't," the girl said,
+with confidence. "No, Terence, you can say what you like, but I shall
+always consider that you have been wonderfully brave and clever."
+
+"Then you will always think quite wrong," Terence said, bluntly.
+
+"I shall begin to think that you are a tyrant, like the Bishop of Oporto,
+if you speak in that positive way. How old are you, sir?"
+
+"I was sixteen six months ago."
+
+"And I was sixteen three days ago," she said. "Fancy your commanding two
+thousand soldiers and only six months older than I am."
+
+"It is not I, it is the uniform," Terence said. "They obey me when they
+won't obey their own officers, because I am on the English general's
+staff. They know that we have thrashed the French, and that their own
+officers know nothing at all about fighting, and they have no respect
+whatever for them. More than that, they despise them because they know
+that they are always intriguing, and that really, although they may be
+called generals, they are but politicians. You will see, when they get
+English officers to discipline them, they will turn out capital soldiers;
+but they think so little of their own, that if anything goes wrong their
+first idea is that their officers must be traitors, and so fall upon them
+and murder them.
+
+"You look older than I do, Mary. You seem to me quite a woman, while, in
+spite of my uniform and my command, and all that, I am really only a boy."
+
+"I suppose I am almost a woman, Terence, but I don't feel so. You see out
+here girls often marry at sixteen. I know father said once that he hoped I
+shouldn't marry until I was eighteen, and that he wanted to keep me young.
+I never thought about getting almost a woman until the bishop told me one
+day that if I chose to marry a señor that he would choose for me, he would
+get me absolution from my vows, and that I need not then resign my
+property."
+
+"The old blackguard!" Terence exclaimed, angrily. "And what did you say to
+him?"
+
+"I said that, in the first place, I had never thought of marrying; that in
+the second place, I had not taken any vows; and in the third place that
+when I did marry I would choose for myself. He got into a terrible rage,
+and said that I was an obstinate heretic, and that some day when I was
+tired of my prison I would think better of it."
+
+"I would have hit the bishop hard if I had known about that," Terence
+grumbled. "If ever I fall in with him again I will pay him out for it.
+Well, anyhow, I may as well take off his ring; it might lead to awkward
+questions if anyone noticed it."
+
+"I think that you had certainly better do so, Terence; it might cost you
+your life. The bishop is a bad man, and he is a very dangerous enemy. If
+he heard that an English officer was wearing an episcopal ring, and upon
+inquiring found that that officer had been in Oporto at its capture, he
+would know at once that it was you who assaulted him, and he would never
+rest until he had your life. You had better throw it away."
+
+"All right, here goes!" Terence said, carelessly, and he threw the ring
+into a clump of bushes. "Now, Mary, it is getting dark, and I should think
+supper must be waiting for us."
+
+"Yes, it is late; we have been a long while, indeed," the girl said,
+getting up hastily. "I forgot all about time."
+
+"We are in plenty of time," Terence said, looking at his watch. "As we all
+had some cold meat for lunch as soon as we arrived, I ordered dinner at
+six o'clock, and it wants twenty minutes of that time now."
+
+"It is shocking, according to our Portuguese ideas," she said, demurely,
+"for a young lady and gentleman to be talking together for nearly three
+hours without anyone to look after them."
+
+"It is not at all shocking, according to Irish ideas," Terence said,
+laughing, "especially when the young lady and gentleman happen to be
+cousins."
+
+They walked a short time in silence, then she said:
+
+"I have obeyed you, Terence, and haven't uttered a word of thanks for what
+you have done for me."
+
+"That shows that you are a good girl," Terence laughed.
+
+"Good girls always do as they are told; at least they are supposed to,
+though as to the fact I never had any experience, for I have no sisters,
+and there were no girls in barracks; still, I am glad that you kept your
+promise, and hope that you will always do so. Being a cousin, of course it
+was natural that I should try to rescue you."
+
+"And you would not if I hadn't been a cousin?"
+
+"No, I don't say that. I dare say I should have tried the same if I had
+heard that any English or Irish girl was shut up here. I am sure I should
+if I had seen you beforehand."
+
+She coloured a little at the compliment, and said, lightly: "Father told
+me once that Irishmen were great hands at compliments. He told me that
+there was some stone that people went to an old castle to kiss--I think
+that he called it the Blarney Stone--and after that they were able to say
+all sorts of absurd things."
+
+"I have never kissed the Blarney Stone," Terence said, laughing. "If I
+wanted to kiss anything, it would be something a good deal softer than
+that."
+
+They were now entering the camp, and in a few minutes they arrived at the
+tent.
+
+"I began to think that you were lost, O'Connor," Herrara said, as they
+came up.
+
+"We had a lot to talk about," Terence replied. "My cousin has been
+insisting upon my telling her my whole history, and all about what has
+passed here since she was shut up a year ago, and, as you may imagine, it
+was rather a long story."
+
+A few minutes later they sat down on the ground to a meal in which roast
+pork was the leading feature.
+
+"This is what we call in England a picnic, señora," Terence said to Don
+Jose's wife.
+
+"A picnic," she repeated; "what does that mean? It is a funny word."
+
+"I have no idea why it should be called so," Terence said. "It means an
+open-air party. The ladies are supposed to bring the provisions, and the
+gentlemen the wine. Sometimes it is a boating party; at other times they
+drive in carriages to the spot agreed upon. It is always very jolly, and
+much better than a formal meal indoors, and you can play all sorts of
+tricks."
+
+"What sort of tricks, señor?"
+
+"Oh, there are lots of them. I was always having fun before I became an
+officer. My father was one of the captains of the regiment, and I was
+generally in for any amusement that there was. Once at a picnic, I
+remember that I got hold of the salt-cellars and mustard-pots beforehand,
+and I filled up one with powdered Epsom salts, which are horribly nasty,
+you know, and I mixed the mustard with cayenne pepper. Nobody could make
+out what had happened to the food. They soon suspected the mustard, but
+nobody thought of the salt for a long time. The colonel was furious over
+it, but fortunately they could not prove that I had any hand in the
+matter, though I know that they suspected me, for I did not get an
+invitation to a picnic for a long time afterwards."
+
+The three girls laughed, but Don Jose said, seriously: "But you would have
+got into terrible trouble if you had been found out, would you not?"
+
+"I should have got a licking, no doubt, señor; but I was pretty accustomed
+to that, and it did not trouble me in any way. At any rate, it did not
+cure me of my love for mischief. I am afraid I never shall be cured of
+that. I used to have no end of fun in the regiment, and I think that it
+did us all good. It takes some thinking to work out a bit of mischief
+properly, and I suppose if one can think one thing out well, one can think
+out another."
+
+"It seems to have succeeded well in your case, anyhow," Herrara laughed.
+"Perhaps if it had not been for your playing that trick at the picnic you
+would never have taken command of that mob, and we should never have gone
+to Oporto, and my friends and your cousin would be there now--that is, if
+they had not been killed."
+
+"It may have had something to do with it," Terence admitted.
+
+"And now, señor," Don Jose said, "which way are you going to take us?"
+
+"We shall go straight on to Coimbra," Terence said, "unless we come upon a
+British force before that. Two long days' march will take us there. After
+that I must do as I am ordered; my independent command will come to an end
+there. I hope that I shall soon hear that my regiment has returned from
+England."
+
+"And what is to become of me? I have not thought of asking," Mary O'Connor
+said.
+
+"That must depend upon circumstances, Mary. If I go down to Lisbon, I hope
+that we shall all travel together, and I can then put you on board a
+transport returning to England. I am sure to find letters from my father
+there, telling me where he is and whether he is coming back with the
+regiment."
+
+"We shall be very happy, señor," Don Jose said, courteously, "to take
+charge of the señora, until there is an opportunity for sending her to
+England. I have, of course, many friends in Lisbon, and shall take a house
+there the instant I arrive, and Donna O'Connor will be as one of my own
+family."
+
+"I am extremely obliged to you, Don Jose. I have been wondering all day as
+I rode along what I should do with my cousin if, as is probable, I am
+obliged to stay at Coimbra until I receive orders from Lisbon. Your kind
+offer relieves me of a great anxiety. I think that it will be prudent for
+her to take another name while she is at Lisbon. There will certainly be
+no inquiries after her, for the lady superior of her convent will, of
+course, conclude that she was accidentally separated from the others in
+the crush, and that she was trampled on, or killed; and, indeed, there
+will be such confusion in Oporto that the loss of a nun more or less would
+fail to attract attention. At any rate, it is likely to be a long time
+before any report the lady superior will make to the bishop will reach
+him--months, perhaps, for she is not likely to take any particular pains
+to tell him news that would certainly anger him.
+
+"Still, if he goes to Lisbon, as no doubt he will, and by any chance
+happens to hear that Miss O'Connor was one of those who had escaped from
+the sack of Oporto, he might make inquiries, and then all sorts of trouble
+might arise, even if he did not have her carried off by force, which would
+be easy enough in a place so disturbed as Lisbon at present is."
+
+"I think that you are right, señor," Don Jose said, gravely. "At any rate
+it would be as well to avoid any risk. What name shall we call her?"
+
+"You can call her Miss Dillon, señor, that is the name of an officer in
+our regiment."
+
+"But the bishop might meet her in the street by chance; what then?"
+
+"I don't think that he would know me," Mary O'Connor put in. "I have seen
+him, but I don't suppose that he ever noticed me until he saw me in my
+nun's dress, and, of course, I look very different now. Still, he is very
+sharp, and I will take good care never to go out without a veil."
+
+"That will be the safest plan, Mary," Terence said, "though I don't think
+anyone would recognize you. Of course, he supposes that you are still
+snugly shut up in the convent; still, it is just as well not to run the
+slightest risk."
+
+They made two long marches and reached Coimbra early on the third morning,
+bringing the first news that had been received there of the storming of
+Oporto. Terence at once reported himself to the commanding officer.
+
+"I was wondering where these two regiments came from, Mr. O'Connor," the
+colonel said. "I watched them march in, and thought that they were the
+most orderly body that I have seen since we came out here. Whose corps are
+they?"
+
+"Well, Colonel, they are my corps. I will tell you about it presently; it
+is a long story."
+
+"How strong are they?"
+
+"The field state this morning made them two thousand three hundred and
+fifty-five. They were two thousand five hundred to begin with; the rest
+are either killed or wounded."
+
+"Oh, you have had some fighting then."
+
+"We have had our share, at any rate, Colonel, and I think I can venture to
+say that no other Portuguese corps shows so good a record."
+
+"We have a large number of tents in store, and I will order a sufficient
+number to be served out to put all your men under canvas, with the
+understanding that if the army advances this way the tents must be handed
+back to us. There are quantities of uniforms also. There have been
+ship-loads sent over for the use of the Portuguese militia, who were to
+turn out in their hundreds of thousands, but who have yet to be
+discovered. Would you like some of them?"
+
+"Very much, indeed, Colonel. It would add very greatly to their
+appearance; though, as far as fighting goes, I am bound to say that I
+could wish nothing better."
+
+"Really! Then all I can say is you have made a very valuable discovery.
+Hitherto the fighting powers of the Portuguese have been invisible to the
+naked eye. But if you have found that they really will fight under some
+circumstances, we may hope that, now Lord Beresford has come out to take
+command of the Portuguese army, and is going to have a certain number of
+British officers to train and command them, they will be of some utility,
+instead of being simply a scourge to the country and a constant drain on
+our purse."
+
+"Have you heard that Oporto is captured, sir?"
+
+"No, you don't say so!"
+
+"Captured in less than an hour from the time that the first gun was
+fired."
+
+"Just what I expected. When you have political bishops who not only
+pretend to govern a country, but also assume the command of armies, how
+can it be otherwise? However, you shall tell me about it presently. I will
+go down with you at once to the stores and order the issue of the tents
+and uniforms. My orders were that the uniforms were to be served out to
+militia and ordenanças; under which head do your men come?"
+
+"The latter, sir; that is what they really were, but they hung the three
+men the Junta sent to command them, and placed themselves in my hands, and
+I have done the best I could with them, with the assistance of Lieutenant
+Herrara--who, as you may remember, accompanied me in charge of the
+escort--and my own two troopers and his men, and between us we have really
+done much in the way of disciplining them."
+
+Two hours later the tents were pitched on a spot half a mile distant from
+the town. By the time that this was done the carts with the uniforms came
+up, to the great delight of the men.
+
+"I have to go to the commandant again now, Herrara; let the uniforms be
+served out to the men at once. Tell the captains to see to their fitting
+as well as possible. I have no doubt that the colonel will come down to
+inspect them this afternoon, and will probably bring a good many officers
+with him, so we must make as good a show as possible."
+
+Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor had, on arriving at Coimbra, hired
+rooms, as Don Jose had determined to stay for a few days before going on,
+because his wife had been much shaken by the events that had taken place,
+and his eldest daughter was naturally anxious to wait until she knew
+whether Herrara would be able to return to Lisbon, or would remain with
+the corps. By the time Terence returned to the colonel's quarters it was
+lunch time.
+
+"You must come across to mess, Mr. O'Connor," the commandant said.
+"Everyone is anxious to hear your news, and it will save your going over
+it twice if you will tell it after lunch. I fancy every officer in the
+camp will be there."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
+
+Terence, after lunch was over, first related to the officers all that he
+knew of the siege of Oporto, explaining why he did not choose to sacrifice
+the men under him by joining the undisciplined rabble in the
+intrenchments, but determined to keep the head of the bridge. They
+listened with breathless interest to his narrative of the attack and
+capture of Oporto.
+
+"But how was it that that fifty-gun battery did not knock the bridge to
+pieces when the French tried to cross?"
+
+"That is more than I can say, Colonel. I should fancy that they were so
+terrified at the utter rout on the other side, which they could see well
+enough, for they had a view right over the town to the intrenchments, that
+they simply fired wildly. I don't believe a single ball hit the bridge,
+though, of course, they ought to have sunk a dozen boats in a couple of
+minutes. My men could have held it for days, though they were suffering
+somewhat from the fire of two of the French field batteries; but I found
+that no steps whatever had been taken to remove the boats from the other
+side. There were great numbers of them all along the bank, and the enemy
+could have crossed a mile higher up, at the spot where I took my men over,
+and so fallen on our rear, therefore I withdrew to save them from being
+cut up or captured uselessly."
+
+"Now tell us about those troops of yours, O'Connor."
+
+Terence gave a somewhat detailed account of the manner in which he took
+the command and of the subsequent operations, being desirous of doing
+justice to Herrara and his troopers, and to his own two orderlies. There
+was much laughter among the officers at his assumption of command, and at
+the subsequent steps he took to form his mob of men into an orderly body;
+but interest took the place of amusement as he told how they had prevented
+the French from crossing at the mouth of the Minho, and caused Soult to
+take the circuitous and difficult route by Orense. His subsequent defence
+of the defile and the night attack upon the French, surprised them much,
+and when he brought his story to a conclusion there were warm expressions
+of approval among his hearers.
+
+"I must congratulate you most heartily, Mr. O'Connor," the colonel said.
+"What seemed at first a very wild and hare-brained enterprise, if you
+don't mind my saying so, certainly turned out a singular success. It would
+have seemed almost impossible that you, a young ensign, should be able to
+exercise any authority over a great body of mere peasants, who have
+everywhere shown themselves utterly insubordinate and useless under their
+native officers. It is nothing short of astonishing; and it is most
+gratifying to find that the Portuguese should, under an English officer,
+develop fighting powers far beyond anything with which they have been
+hitherto credited. What are you going to do now?"
+
+"I was intending to send my despatches on to Sir John Cradock, and wait
+here for orders."
+
+"I think that you had better take your despatches on yourself, Mr. O'
+Connor. I do not suppose that they are anything like so full as the story
+you have told us, which, I am sure, would be of as much interest to the
+general as it has been to us."
+
+"I will do so, sir, and will start this evening. My horse had three days'
+rest at Villa Nova, and is quite fit to travel."
+
+"You must be feeling terribly anxious about your cousin," the officer who
+had first told him about her remarked; "there is no saying what may have
+happened in Oporto after it was stormed."
+
+"I should indeed be, if she were there," Terence replied; "but I am happy
+to say that she is at present in Coimbra, having travelled with us under
+the charge of some Portuguese ladies, friends of Herrara."
+
+"You don't mean to say that you persuaded the bishop to let her out of the
+convent?"
+
+"Scarcely," Terence laughed, "though the bishop did unwittingly aid me."
+
+"I congratulate you on getting her out," the colonel said.
+
+"Travers was telling us the day after you left what a curious coincidence
+it was that the nun who threw him out a letter should turn out to be a
+cousin of yours. Will you tell us how you managed it?"
+
+"I don't mind telling it, sir, if all here will promise not to repeat it.
+The Bishop of Oporto is a somewhat formidable person, and were he to lodge
+a complaint against me he might get me into serious trouble, and is
+perfectly capable of having me stabbed some dark night in the streets of
+Lisbon; therefore, I think it would be as well to omit any details of the
+share he played in the matter. Without that the story is simple enough.
+Having got a boat with two men in it at the end of the street in which
+stood the convent, I went there in the dress of an ecclesiastic, just as
+the French burst into the town. The bishop had fled on the night before to
+the Serra Convent on the other side of the river, and I was able to
+produce an authority from him which satisfied the lady superior that I was
+the bearer of his order for her and the nuns to make for the bridge, and
+to cross the river at once.
+
+"Of course, I accompanied them. The crowd was great and they naturally got
+separated. In the confusion my orderlies managed to get my cousin out of
+the crowd, and took her straight to the boat. As soon as I saw that they
+had gone, I persuaded the lady superior to take the rest of the nuns back
+to the convent at once, as the bridge was by this time broken, and the
+French had made their appearance. She got the nuns together and made off
+with them as fast as they could run, and after seeing that they were all
+nearly back to their convent without any signs of the French being near, I
+joined the others in the boat, and we rowed across the river. It was a
+simple business altogether, though at first it seemed very hopeless."
+
+"Especially to get the authority of the bishop," the colonel said, with a
+smile.
+
+"That certainly seemed the most hopeless part of the business," Terence
+replied; "but happily I was able to manage it somehow."
+
+"Well, you certainly have had a most remarkable series of adventures, Mr.
+O'Connor. Now we will go and inspect your corps. Of course they will be
+rationed while they are here, and will be under my general orders until I
+hear from Cradock."
+
+"Quite so, Colonel; I am sure they will be proud of being inspected by
+you. Of course, they are unable to do any complicated manoeuvres, but
+those they do know they know pretty thoroughly, and can do them in a rough
+and ready way that for actual work is, I think, just as good as a
+parade-ground performance. I will go on ahead, sir, and form them up."
+
+"I would rather, if you don't mind, that they should have no warning," the
+colonel said; "we will just go down quietly, and see how quickly they can
+turn out."
+
+"Very well, sir."
+
+All there expressed their wish to go, and as all were provided with horses
+or ponies of some kind, in ten minutes they rode off in a body. His
+officers had been very busy all the time that Terence had been away,
+serving out the uniforms and seeing that they were properly put on. The
+work was just over, and the men were sauntering about round their tents
+when the party arrived. Herrara came up and saluted. He was known to the
+colonel, as he had dined with Terence at the mess on their way through.
+
+After a few words, Terence said to Herrara:
+
+"Have the assembly blown, and let the men fall in."
+
+Herrara walked back to the tents, and a moment later a horn blew. It had
+an uncouth sound, and bore no resemblance to the ordinary call, but it was
+promptly obeyed. The men snatched their muskets from the piles in front of
+the tents, and in a wonderfully short time the whole were formed up in
+their ranks, stiff and immovable.
+
+"Excellently done!" the colonel said; "no British regiment could have
+fallen in more smartly."
+
+Accompanied by Terence, and followed by the rest of the officers, he rode
+along the line. The evening before Terence had impressed upon the captains
+of companies the necessity for having the rifles perfectly clean, as they
+were about to join a British camp, so that the pieces were all in perfect
+order. When the inspection was over the mounted group drew off a little.
+
+"The troops will form up in columns of companies," Terence said, and Bull
+and Macwitty, who were at the head of their respective regiments, gave the
+orders. The movements were well executed. The men, proud of their uniform,
+and on their mettle at being inspected by British officers, did their
+best, and that best left little to be desired. After marching past, they
+formed into company squares to resist cavalry, then retired by alternate
+companies, and then formed into line.
+
+"Excellently done!" said the colonel. "Indeed, I can hardly believe it
+possible that a party of peasants have in a month's time been formed into
+a body of good soldiers. I should like the officers to come up."
+
+"Call the officers."
+
+There was an officers' call, and this now sounded, and the twelve captains
+with their two majors rode to the front and saluted. "Mr. Herrara," the
+colonel said, "I have seen with surprise and the greatest satisfaction the
+movements of the men under you; they do you the greatest credit, and I
+shall have pleasure in sending in a most favourable report to the general,
+the result of my inspection of the regiments. I hear from Mr. O'Connor
+that your men have shown themselves capable of holding their own against
+the French, and I can say that I should feel perfectly confident in going
+into action with my regiment supported by such brave and capable troops.
+Would that instead of 2,000 we had 100,000 Portuguese troops equally to be
+trusted, we should very speedily turn the French out of Portugal and drive
+them from the Peninsula."
+
+The officers bowed and rode off. The troops had not learned the salute,
+and when the horn sounded they were at once dismissed drill.
+
+"Well, Mr. O'Connor, I must congratulate you most heartily on what you
+have done. If nothing else, you have added to our army a couple of strong
+regiments of capable soldiers. If I had not seen it myself I should have
+thought it impossible that over 2,000 men could be converted into soldiers
+in so short a time, and that without experienced non-commissioned officers
+to work them up."
+
+Returning to Coimbra with the colonel, Terence rode to the house where
+Herrara's friends had taken rooms, and told them that he was going to
+leave them. Don Jose at once wrote several letters of introduction to
+influential friends at Lisbon, telling them that he and his daughters had
+escaped from the sack of Oporto, and asking them to show every kindness to
+the officer, to whom they chiefly owed their safety.
+
+Terence meanwhile returned to camp, arranged with Herrara and the two
+majors that everything was to go on as usual during his absence, urging
+them to work hard at their drill, and to impress upon the men the
+necessity, now that they were in uniform, of carrying themselves as
+soldiers, and doing credit to their corps.
+
+Five days later he arrived at Lisbon, taking with him a report from the
+commandant of his inspection of the corps.
+
+"I had begun to be afraid that you had been killed or taken prisoner, Mr.
+O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, as Terence presented himself, "or that
+you must have fallen back with Romana into Spain. He seems to have behaved
+very badly, for, as I hear, although he had 10,000 men with him, half of
+them regular troops, he retired without a shot being fired--except by two
+regiments who were mauled by the French cavalry--and left Silveira in the
+lurch."
+
+"I was on other business, General, and I fear that you will think that I
+exceeded my orders; but I hope that you will consider that the result has
+justified my doing so. Will you kindly first run your eye over this report
+by the officer commanding at Coimbra?"
+
+Sir John Cradock read the report with a puzzled expression of face, then
+he said: "But what regiments are these that Colonel Wilberforce speaks of
+in such high terms? Were they part of Romana's force? He speaks of them as
+a corps under your command, and as being 2,300 strong."
+
+"They were not Romana's men, sir, but a body of ordenanças, of whom, as my
+report will inform you, I came by a combination of circumstances to take
+the command, appointing Lieutenant Herrara, who commanded my escort,
+colonel, my two orderlies as majors, and the Portuguese troopers of my
+escort as captains of companies. We have been several times engaged with
+the French, and I cannot speak too highly of the behaviour of officers and
+men."
+
+Sir John Cradock burst into a laugh. "You certainly are a cool hand, Mr.
+O'Connor. Assuredly I did not contemplate when I sent you off that you
+would return as colonel of two regiments."
+
+"Nor did I, sir. But, you see, you gave me general instructions to concert
+measures with Romana for the defence of the frontier. I saw at once that
+Romana was hopeless, and was therefore myself driven to take these
+measures. As Oporto has fallen I cannot say they were successful, but at
+least I may say that we gave Oporto fourteen days' extra time to prepare
+her defence, and if she did not take advantage of the time it was not my
+fault."
+
+The look of amusement on the general's face turned to one of interest.
+
+"How did you do that, sir?"
+
+"My corps prevented Soult from crossing at the mouth of the Minho,
+General, killing some two hundred of his men and driving his boats back
+across the river. When the French general saw that he could not cross in
+face of such opposition, he was obliged to march his army round by Orense
+and down by the passes, which ought to have been successfully defended by
+the Portuguese."
+
+"That was good service, indeed, Mr. O'Connor. I received despatches from
+our agents at Oporto, saying that Soult's landing had been repulsed by
+armed peasants."
+
+"My men were little more than armed peasants then, sir, though they had
+had a few days' hard drill; still, a British officer would scarcely have
+called them soldiers."
+
+"Well, I think that Wilberforce's report shows that they have a right to
+that title now. Take a seat, Mr. O' Connor, and a newspaper--there are
+some that arrived two days ago--while I look over your report."
+
+Terence had written in much greater detail than is usual in official
+reports, as he wished the general to see how well the men and their
+officers had behaved. It was twenty minutes before the general finished
+it.
+
+"A very remarkable report, Mr. O'Connor; very remarkable. You must dine
+with me this evening. I have many questions to ask you about it, and also
+about the storming of Oporto, of which we have, as yet, received no
+details, although a messenger from the bishop brought us the news some
+days ago. He seems to have made a terrible mess of it."
+
+"He ought to be hung, sir!" Terence said, indignantly. "After getting all
+those unfortunate peasants together he sneaked off and hid himself in a
+convent on the other side of the river, on the very night before the
+French attacked."
+
+"Unfortunately, Mr. O'Connor, we cannot give all men their deserts, or we
+should want all the rope on board the ships in the harbour for the
+purpose. The bishop is a firebrand of the most dangerous kind; and I
+suppose we shall have him here in a day or two, for he said in his letter
+that he was on his way. There is one comfort: he will be too busy in
+quarrelling with the authorities to have any time to spend on his quarrels
+with us. Then I shall see you in an hour's time. Please ask Captain Nelson
+to come in here; I have some notes for him to write."
+
+Terence bowed and retired.
+
+"What a nuisance!" Captain Nelson said. "I was wanting to hear all that
+you had been doing."
+
+"I am to dine with the general," Terence said. "Perhaps I shall meet you
+there."
+
+Captain Nelson found that he was wanted to write notes of invitation to
+such of the officers who were still at Lisbon as had dined there when
+Terence was last the general's guest; and as the general's invitations
+overrode all other engagements, most of them were present when Terence
+returned.
+
+"Mr. O'Connor has another story for you, gentlemen," the general said,
+when the cloth was removed and the wine put upon the table. "I am not sure
+whether I am right in calling him Mr. O' Connor, for he has been
+performing the duties of a colonel, commanding two regiments in the
+Portuguese service. I will preface his story by reading the report of
+Colonel Wilberforce, commanding at Coimbra, of the state of efficiency of
+his command."
+
+There was a look of surprise at the general's remarks, and that surprise
+was greatly heightened on the reading of Colonel Wilberforce's report.
+
+"Now, Mr. O'Connor," the general said, when he had finished, "I am sure
+that we shall all be obliged by your giving us a detailed statement of the
+manner in which you raised those regiments, and of the operations that you
+undertook with them; and the more details you give us the better, for it
+is well that we should understand how the Portuguese can be best handled.
+I may say at once that, personally, we are greatly indebted to you for
+having proved that, when even partially disciplined and well led, they are
+capable of doing very good service, a fact of which, I own, I have been
+hitherto very doubtful."
+
+Smiles were exchanged among the auditors when Terence described the manner
+in which he came to command the body of undisciplined ordenanças. When he
+spoke of the state in which he found Romana's army, and the reason for his
+determination to keep his column intact, they listened more attentively,
+and exchanged looks of surprise when he described his rapid march to the
+mouth of the Minho, and the repulse of Soult's attempt to cross from Tuy.
+He then described how he had joined Silveira, and the mutiny of that
+general's troops. Still more surprise was manifested when he related the
+action in the defile and the bravery with which his troops had behaved,
+and the manner in which they had been handled by the troopers that he had
+appointed as their officers. The night attack on the cavalry and infantry
+of the head of Soult's column was equally well received. His reasons for
+not joining the army at Braga, and of keeping aloof from the mob of
+peasants at Oporto were as much approved as was the holding of the bridge
+for a while, and his reasons for withdrawing.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," the general said, when Terence had finished, "I think
+you will allow that my aide-de-camp, Mr. O'Connor, has given a good
+account of himself, and that if he went outside my orders, his doing so
+has been most amply justified."
+
+"It has, indeed, General," one of the senior officers said, warmly. "I can
+answer for myself, that I should have been proud to have been able to tell
+such a story."
+
+A murmur of approval ran round the table.
+
+"It is difficult to say whether Mr. O'Connor's readiness to accept
+responsibility, or the manner in which, in the short space of a month, he
+turned a mob of peasants into regular soldiers, or the quickness with
+which he marched to the spot threatened by Soult, and so compelled him to
+entirely change the plan of his campaign, or his conduct in the defence of
+the defile, and in his night attack, are most remarkable."
+
+"I should wish to say, General, that in telling this story I have been
+chiefly anxious to do justice to the hearty co-operation of Lieutenant
+Herrara, and the services rendered by my own two orderlies and his
+troopers. By myself, I could have done absolutely nothing. Their work was
+hard and incessant, and the drill and discipline of the troops was wholly
+due to them."
+
+"I understand, Mr. O'Connor; it is quite right for you to say so, and I
+thoroughly recognize that they must have done good service; but it is to
+the man that plans, organizes, and infuses his own spirit into those under
+his command, that everything is due. Now, Mr. O'Connor, I think I will ask
+you to leave us for a few minutes; the case is rather an exceptional one,
+and I shall be glad to chat the matter over with the officers present.
+Well, gentlemen, what do you think that we are to do with Mr. O'Connor?"
+he went on, with a smile, as the door closed behind Terence.
+
+"My experience affords me no guide, General," another of the senior
+officers said. "It is simply amazing that a lad of seventeen--I suppose he
+is not much over that--should have conceived and carried out such a plan.
+It sounds like a piece of old knight-errantry. Clive did as much, but
+Clive was some years older when he first became a thorn in the side of the
+French. What is your opinion, sir?"
+
+"He is already a lieutenant," the general said. "I sent home a strong
+recommendation that he should be promoted, when he was last here, and
+received an intimation three days ago that he had been gazetted lieutenant
+and transferred to my staff. This time I shall simply, send home a copy of
+the report he has furnished me with, and that of Colonel Wilberforce, and
+say that I leave the reports to speak for themselves, but that in my
+opinion it is a case altogether exceptional. That is all I can do now. The
+question of course is, whether he shall return to staff service again, or
+shall continue in command of the corps with which he has done so much. If
+he does the latter he must have local rank, otherwise he would be liable
+to be overruled by any Portuguese officer of superior rank. I think that
+the best way would be to send a copy of the reports to Lord Beresford,
+saying that my opinion is very strong that Lieutenant O'Connor should be
+allowed to retain an independent command of the corps that he has raised
+and disciplined; and that I will either myself bestow local rank upon him,
+and treat the corps as forming a part of the British army, like that of
+Trant, or that he should give him local rank as its colonel, in which case
+he would operate still independently, but in connection with Beresford's
+own force."
+
+"I should almost think that the first step would be best, General, if I
+might say so. In the first place, Beresford will have any number of
+irregular parties operating with him, while such a corps would be
+invaluable to us. They are capable of taking long marches, they know the
+mountains and forests, and would keep us supplied with news, while they
+harassed the enemy. As an officer on your staff, O'Connor would have a
+much greater power among the Portuguese population than he would have on
+his own account in their own army, and he would be very much less likely
+to be interfered with by the leaders of other parties and corps."
+
+"Perhaps that would be the best way, Colonel. I will send the reports to
+Beresford, and say that I have appointed Lieutenant O'Connor to remain in
+command of this corps, which I shall attach to my own command; and saying
+that I shall be obliged if he will have a commission made out for him,
+giving him the local rank of colonel in the Portuguese army. Beresford is
+himself a gallant soldier, and will appreciate, as you do, the work that
+O'Connor has done; and as he knows nothing of the lad's age he will
+comply, as a matter of course, with my request. I shall, in writing home,
+strongly recommend his two cavalrymen for commissions. As to Herrara, I
+shall ask Beresford to give him the rank of lieutenant-colonel. I shall
+suggest to Beresford that his troopers should all receive commissions in
+his army. They have all earned them, which is more than I can say of any
+other Portuguese soldiers, so far as I have heard."
+
+Terence was then called in again.
+
+"In the first place, I have a pleasant piece of news to give you, Mr. O'
+Connor, namely, that I have received from home an official letter, that on
+my recommendation you have been gazetted to the rank of lieutenant and
+transferred to my staff; in the second place, I have decided, that while
+still retaining you on my staff, you will be continued in your present
+command; I shall obtain for you a commission as colonel in the Portuguese
+service, but your corps will form part of my command, and act with the
+British army. I shall request Lord Beresford to appoint Mr. Herrara to the
+rank of lieutenant-colonel, and shall recommend that commissions be given
+to his troopers. The two orderlies, of whose services you spoke so highly,
+I shall recommend for commissions in our army, and shall request Lord
+Beresford to give them local rank as majors."
+
+Terence coloured with pleasure and confusion.
+
+"I am greatly obliged to you, General," he said; "but I do not at all feel
+that the services that I have tried to perform----"
+
+"That is for me to judge," the general said, kindly. "All the officers
+here quite agree with me, that those services have been very marked and
+exceptional and are at one with me as to how they should be recognized.
+Moreover, in obtaining for you the rank of colonel in the Portuguese army,
+I am not only recognizing those services, but am adding to the power that
+you will have of rendering further services to the army. Although attached
+to our forces, you will receive your colonel's commission from Lord
+Beresford, who is now the general appointed by the Portuguese government
+to command their army."
+
+It was now late, and the party rose. All of them shook hands warmly with
+Terence, who retired with his friend Captain Nelson. The latter told him
+before they went in to dinner that he had had a bed put up for him in his
+own room.
+
+"Well, Colonel O'Connor," Nelson laughed, "you must allow me to be the
+first to salute you as my superior officer."
+
+"It is absurd altogether," Terence said, almost ruefully. "Still, Captain
+Nelson, though I may hold a superior rank in the Portuguese army, that
+goes for very little. I have seen enough of Portuguese officers to know
+that even their own soldiers have not got any respect for them, and in our
+own army I am only a lieutenant."
+
+"That is so, lad; however, there was never promotion more deserved. And as
+you hung, or rather left to be hung, a Portuguese colonel, it is only
+right that you should supply the deficiency."
+
+"I hope I shall not have to wear a Portuguese uniform," Terence said,
+earnestly.
+
+"I should think not, O'Connor, but I will ask the general in the morning.
+Of course, you will not wear your present uniform, because you are now
+gazetted into the staff and out of your own regiment. Now we will smoke a
+quiet cigar before we turn in. Have you any other story to tell me that
+you have not already related?"
+
+"Well, yes, I have one, but it is only of a personal interest;" and he
+then gave an account of his discovery of his cousin in the convent at
+Oporto, and how he had managed to rescue her, ending by saying: "I have
+told you the story, Nelson, so that if by any unexpected accident it is
+found out that she is an escaped nun, and her friends appeal to the
+general for protection, you may be aware of the circumstances, and help."
+
+"Certainly I will do so," Captain Nelson said, warmly. "You certainly have
+a wonderful head for devising plans."
+
+"I began it early," Terence laughed. "I was always in mischief before I
+got my commission, and I suppose that helps me; but you see I had
+wonderful luck."
+
+"I don't say anything against your luck; but good luck is of no use unless
+a fellow knows how to take advantage of it, and that is just what you have
+done. I suppose that you will stay here for a day or two."
+
+"My horse wants a couple of days' rest, and I have my uniform to get. I
+suppose I can get one made in a couple of days, whether it is a Portuguese
+or an English one."
+
+"Yes, I dare say you will be able to manage that."
+
+The next morning, to his great satisfaction, Terence learned that the
+general said he had better wear staff uniform, and he accordingly went
+with Captain Nelson and was measured.
+
+"Your Portuguese seems to have improved amazingly in the two months you
+have been away," the latter said, as they came out from the shop; "you
+seem to jabber away quite fluently."
+
+"I have been talking nothing else, and Herrara has acted as my instructor,
+so I get on very fairly now."
+
+At this moment a carriage drove past them.
+
+"That is the Bishop of Oporto," said Terence; "I suppose he has just
+arrived."
+
+"It is a good thing that he does not know you as well as you know him,"
+Captain Nelson said, dryly; "if he did, your adventures would be likely to
+be cut short by a knife between your shoulders some dark night."
+
+"He does not know me at all," Terence laughed; "the advantages are all on
+my side in the present case."
+
+"It is an advantage," Captain Nelson laughed. "When I think that you have
+raised your hand against that venerable but somewhat truculent prelate, I
+shudder at your boldness. I only caught a glimpse of him as he passed, but
+I could see that he looks rather scared."
+
+"Perhaps he hasn't recovered yet from the fright I gave him," laughed
+Terence; "I have seen and heard enough of his doings, and paid him a very
+small instalment of the debt due to him."
+
+The uniforms were promised for the next evening, and Terence felt when he
+put them on that they were a considerable improvement upon his late one,
+stained and discoloured as it was by wet, mud, and travel. After paying a
+visit to the general to say good-bye, Terence mounted and started for
+Coimbra.
+
+Upon his arrival there four days later he at once reported himself to the
+commandant.
+
+"I received a copy of the general order of last Tuesday," the latter said,
+"and congratulate you warmly on being confirmed in your rank. I thought
+that it would be so, for one could not reckon that, had another taken your
+place, your corps would have maintained its present state of efficiency."
+
+"You are very good to say so, Colonel, but any British officer appointed
+to command it would do as well or better than I should."
+
+"I don't think that he would in any way; but certainly he would not be
+followed with the same confidence by his men as they would follow you, and
+with troops like these everything depends upon their confidence in their
+commander."
+
+"The corps is now attached to our army, Colonel; you were good enough to
+order them to be rationed before, but I have now an order from the general
+for them to draw pay and rations the same as the British troops."
+
+"That is all right," the colonel said, examining the document; "I will
+take a copy of it, but as it is a general order you must keep the original
+yourself. I see that you have now adopted the uniform of the staff. It is
+certainly a great improvement upon that of an infantry officer, and
+appearances go for a good deal among these Portuguese. I see, by the way,
+that you have got your step in our army."
+
+"Yes, Colonel, the general was good enough to recommend me. Of course I am
+glad in one way, but I am sorry that it has put me out of the regiment
+that I have been brought up with. But, of course, it was necessary, for I
+could not have gone over other men's heads in it."
+
+"No, when a man gets special promotion it is always into another regiment
+for that reason. You will be glad to hear that your men have been behaving
+extremely well in your absence, and that I have not heard of a single case
+of drunkenness or misconduct among them. I have been down there several
+times, and always found them hard at work drilling; they seem to me to
+improve every time I see them."
+
+On leaving the colonel's quarters Terence rode to his cousin's. Mary rose
+with an exclamation of surprise as he entered.
+
+"What a handsome uniform, Terence! How is it that you have changed it?"
+
+"I am now regularly on the general's staff, Mary, and this is the
+uniform."
+
+"You look very well in it," she said; "don't you think so, Lorenza?"
+
+"I do, indeed," her friend agreed; "it does make a difference."
+
+"Well, to begin with, it is clean and new," Terence laughed; "and though
+the other was not old, it had seen its best days. But I have more news,
+Mary; you have now to address your cousin as colonel."
+
+Mary clapped her hands, and Don Jose and his family uttered exclamations
+of pleasure.
+
+"It is quite right," Mary said; "it is ridiculous that Señor Herrara
+should be colonel and you only Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"It does not matter much about a name," he said. "I commanded before and I
+shall do so now, but I have got Portuguese rank."
+
+"Why did not they make you an English colonel?" Mary asked, rather
+indignantly.
+
+Terence laughed. "I shall be lucky if I get that in another twenty years,
+Mary. I am a lieutenant now--I have got the step since you saw me
+last--but I am to rank as a colonel in the Portuguese army as long as I
+command this corps, which I am glad to say is now to form a part of the
+British army. Herrara is to have the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Bull and
+Macwitty will, I hope, get their commissions as ensigns in the British
+army, with local rank of majors. The general will recommend that Herrara's
+troopers all get commissions in the Portuguese army."
+
+"Ah, well! I am pleased that your services are appreciated, Terence. We
+are very glad that you have come back, Lorenza especially so, as, now you
+have returned, she thinks she will see more of Señor Herrara."
+
+"The bishop is in Lisbon, Mary."
+
+"That is not such good news, Terence. I will be very careful to keep out
+of his way."
+
+"Do," he said. "I have spoken to Captain Nelson, one of the general's
+staff, about you, and if by any chance you should be recognized as an
+escaped nun, I hope that Don Jose will go to him at once and ask him to
+obtain the general's protection for you, which will, I am sure, be given.
+Your father was an Irishman. You are a British subject, and have a right
+to protection. You won't forget the name, Don Jose--Captain Nelson?"
+
+"I will write it down at once," the Portuguese said, "but as Donna Mary
+will pass under the name of Dillon, and her dress has so changed her
+appearance, I do not think that there is the smallest fear of her being
+recognized. Indeed, no one could know her except the bishop himself."
+
+"You may be sure that I shall not go out much in Lisbon," Mary said, "and
+if I do I will keep my promise to be always closely veiled."
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+WITH THE MAYOS
+
+The news that Terence brought to the regiment gave great and general
+satisfaction. Herrara was delighted to hear that he was to be made a
+lieutenant-colonel in his army. Bull and Macwitty were overjoyed on
+hearing that they had both been recommended for commissions, and Herrara's
+troopers were equally pleased. The rank and file felt no less
+gratification, both at the honour of being attached to the British army,
+and at the substantial improvement in their condition that this would
+entail.
+
+On the following day Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor left for Lisbon,
+and the latter astonished Terence by bursting into tears as she said
+good-bye to him.
+
+"I have said nothing yet of the gratitude that I feel to you, Terence, for
+all that you have done for me, for you have always stopped me whenever I
+have tried to, but I shall always feel it, always; and shall think of you
+and love you dearly."
+
+"It has been just as fortunate for me as it has been good for you, Mary,"
+he said. "I have never had a sister, and I seem to have found one now."
+
+The girl looked up, pouting. "I don't think," she said, "I should
+particularly care about being a sister; I think that I would rather remain
+a cousin."
+
+Terence looked surprised and a little hurt.
+
+"You are only a silly boy," she laughed, "but will understand better some
+day. Well, good-bye, Terence," and the smile faded from her face.
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR.]
+
+
+"Good-bye, dear. Take great care of yourself in Lisbon, and be sure that
+you look out to see if the Mayo Fusiliers arrive while you are there. I
+heard that they were about to embark again with a force that General Hill
+is bringing out, but my father won't be with them, I am afraid. I have not
+heard from him, but I should hardly think that he will be fit for hard
+service again; yet, if he should be, he will tell you where to go to till
+we get back. At any rate, don't start for England until the regiment
+comes. I fancy that it will be at Lisbon before you are, and Don Jose can
+easily find out for you whether father is with it. If he is not, go to
+Ballinagra. I have written instructions how you are to travel, but you had
+better write to him there directly you land, and I have no doubt that he
+will come over and fetch you. I don't know anything about London, but you
+had better see Captain Nelson at Lisbon. Here is a note I have written to
+him, asking him where you had better go, and what you had better do when
+you get to London."
+
+The day after the party had left, Terence marched with his corps north,
+and established himself at Carvalho, where the road from Oporto passed
+over the spurs of the Serra de Caramula, in order to check the incursions
+of French cavalry from Oporto. In the course of the next fortnight he had
+several sharp engagements with them. In the last of these, when making a
+reconnaissance with both regiments, he was met by the whole of
+Franceschi's cavalry. They charged down on all four sides of the square
+into which he formed his force, expecting that, as upon two previous
+occasions, the Portuguese would at once break up at their approach. They
+stood, however, perfectly firm, and received the cavalry with such
+withering volleys that Franceschi speedily drew off, leaving upwards of
+two hundred dead behind him.
+
+The day after this fight Terence received a letter from Mary, saying that
+General Hill had arrived before they reached Lisbon, and that Don Jose had
+learned that Major O'Connor had retired on half-pay. Also that Captain
+Nelson had obtained a passage for her in one of the returning transports,
+and had given her a letter to his mother, who resided in London, asking
+her to receive her until she heard from the major.
+
+A few days afterwards he learned from Colonel Wilberforce that the English
+army had marched for Leirya. General Hill's force of five thousand men and
+three hundred horses for the artillery arrived at an opportune moment. The
+storming of Oporto, the approach of Victor to Badajos, after totally
+defeating Cuesta's Spanish army, killing three-fifths of his men, and
+capturing thousands of prisoners, while Lapisse was advancing from the
+east, had created a terrible panic in Portugal. Beresford's orders were
+disobeyed, many of his regiments abandoned their posts, and the populace
+in Lisbon were in a state of furious turmoil. Hill's arrival to some
+extent restored confidence, the disorders were repressed, and Sir John
+Cradock now felt himself strong enough to advance.
+
+Terence's report of the repulse of Franceschi's cavalry was answered by a
+letter from Cradock himself, expressing warm approval at the conduct of
+the corps.
+
+"There is but little fear of an advance by Soult at present," he said. "He
+must know that we have received reinforcements, and he will not venture to
+march on Lisbon, as the force now gathering at Leirya could operate upon
+his flank and rear. I shall be glad, therefore, if you would march with
+your command to the latter town. The example of your troops cannot but
+have a good effect upon the raw Portuguese levies, and, in the event of
+our advancing to the relief of Ciudad-Rodrigo, could render good service
+by clearing the passes, driving in the French outposts, and keeping me
+well informed of the state of the roads, the accommodation available for
+the troops, and the existence of supplies."
+
+Immediately on receipt of this Terence marched for Leirya, where the
+British army was under canvas. On the way down they halted for a night at
+Coimbra.
+
+"An official letter came for you last night, O'Connor," Colonel
+Wilberforce said. "I kept it until I should have an opportunity of
+forwarding it to you. Here it is, duly addressed, Colonel O'Connor, the
+Minho Regiment."
+
+This was the name Sir John Cradock suggested to Terence, as a memorial of
+the service they had rendered in repulsing Soult at that river. It was the
+first time Terence had seen his name with the prefix of colonel.
+
+"It looks like a farce," he said, as he broke the seal.
+
+Inside was an official document, signed by Lord Beresford, to the effect
+that as a recognition of the very great services rendered by Lieutenant
+O'Connor, an officer on the staff of Sir John Cradock, when in command of
+the two battalions of the Minho Regiment, and in accordance with the
+strong recommendation of the British general, Lieutenant Terence O'Connor
+is hereby appointed to the rank of colonel in the Portuguese service, with
+the pay and allowances of his rank. Colonel O' Connor is to continue in
+command of the regiments, which will be attached to the British army,
+under the command of Sir John Cradock.
+
+"Here is also a letter for your friend Herrara, and a much more bulky one;
+will you hand it to him?"
+
+Herrara's letter contained his promotion to lieutenant-colonel, with an
+order to remain under Terence's command; also fourteen commissions, two
+giving Bull and Macwitty the Portuguese rank of major, the remaining being
+captain's commissions for the twelve troopers.
+
+Two days later they reached Leirya. The April sun rendered shelter
+unnecessary for the Portuguese, and after establishing them, for the
+present, a quarter of a mile away from the British camp, he went and
+reported his arrival to the officer in command, and was told that he could
+not do better than bivouac on the ground he had selected. Leaving the
+headquarters he soon found where the Mayo regiment was encamped, and made
+his way to the officers' marquee. They were just sitting down to lunch
+when, at the entry of an officer on the general's staff, the colonel at
+once rose gravely. O'Grady was the first to recognize the newcomer.
+
+"Be jabers," he shouted, "but it is Terence O' Connor himself!" There was
+a general rush to shake hands with him, and a din of voices and a
+confusion of questions and greetings.
+
+"And what in the world have you got that uniform on for, Terence?" O'Grady
+asked, when the din somewhat subsided. "We saw that the general had
+appointed you as one of his aides-de-camp when you got here after Corunna,
+but you would wear your own uniform all the same."
+
+"What matters about his uniform, O'Grady?" the others exclaimed. "What we
+want to know is how he saved his life at Corunna, when we all thought that
+he was either killed or taken prisoner."
+
+"Wait till the lad has got something to eat and drink," the colonel said,
+peremptorily. "Pray take your seats, gentlemen. You take this chair by me,
+O'Connor; and now, while you are waiting for your plate, tell us in a few
+words how you escaped. Everyone made sure that you were killed. We heard
+that Fane had sent you to carry an order, that you had delivered it, and
+then started to rejoin him; from that time nobody saw you alive or dead."
+
+"The matter was very simple, Colonel. My horse was hit in the head with a
+round shot. I went a frightful cropper on some stones in the middle of a
+clump of bushes. I lay there insensible all night, and coming-to in the
+morning, saw that the French had advanced, and the firing on the hill over
+the town told me that the troops had got safely on board ship. I lay quiet
+all day, and at night made off, sheltered for a couple of days with some
+peasants on the other side of the hill, joined Romana, went to the
+Portuguese frontier with him, and then rode to Lisbon, where Sir John
+Cradock was good enough to put me on his staff."
+
+"We heard you had turned up safely at Lisbon, and glad we were, as you may
+be sure, and a good jollification we had over it. As for O'Grady, it has
+served as an excuse for an extra tumbler ever since."
+
+"Bad excuses are better than none," Terence laughed, "and if it hadn't
+been that, it would have been something else."
+
+"Shut up, you young scamp," O'Grady said. "How is it that you have not
+answered my question? Why are you wearing staff-officer's uniform instead
+of your own?"
+
+"Have you not heard, Colonel," Terence said, "that I no longer belong to
+the regiment?"
+
+There was a chorus of expressions of regret round the table.
+
+"And how has that happened, Terence?" the colonel asked. "That is bad news
+for us all, anyway."
+
+"I was gazetted lieutenant a month ago, Colonel. I suppose you had sailed
+from England before the _Gazette_ came out."
+
+"I suppose so, lad. Well, you richly deserved your promotion, if it was
+only for that affair on board the _Sea-horse_, and you ought to have had
+it long ago."
+
+"I am awfully sorry to leave the regiment. It has been my home as long as
+I can remember, and wherever I may be, I shall always regard it in that
+light."
+
+"And so you remain on the staff at present, O'Connor?"
+
+"Well, sir, I am on the staff still, but for the present I am on detached
+duty."
+
+"What sort of duty, Terence?"
+
+"I have the honour to command two Portuguese regiments that marched in an
+hour ago."
+
+A shout of laughter followed the announcement.
+
+"Bedad, Terence," O'Grady said, "that crack on your head hasn't changed
+your nature, thanks to your thick skull. I suppose it is poking fun at us
+that you are. But you won't take us in this time."
+
+"I saw the regiments pass at a distance," the colonel said, "and they
+marched in good order, too, which is more than I have seen any other
+Portuguese troops do. Now you mention it, I did see an officer, in what
+looked like a British uniform, riding with the men, but it was too far off
+to see what branch of the service he belonged to. That was you, was it?"
+
+"That was me, sure enough, Colonel."
+
+"And what were you doing there? Tell us, like a good boy."
+
+"Absurd as it may appear, and, indeed, absurd as it is, I am in command of
+those two regiments."
+
+Again a burst of incredulous laughter arose. Terence took out his
+commission and handed it to the colonel.
+
+"Perhaps, Colonel, if you will be kind enough to read that out loud, my
+assurance will be believed."
+
+"Faith, it was not your assurance that we doubted, Terence, me boy!"
+O'Grady exclaimed. "You have plenty of assurance, and to spare; it is the
+statement that we were doubting."
+
+The colonel glanced down the document, and his face assumed an expression
+of extreme surprise.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, rising, "if you will endeavour to keep silence for a
+minute, I will read this document."
+
+The surprise on his own face was repeated on the faces of all those
+present, as he proceeded with his reading. O'Grady was the first to break
+the silence.
+
+"In the name of St. Peter," he said, "what does it all mean? Are you sure
+that it is a genuine document, Colonel? Terence is capable of anything by
+way of a joke."
+
+"It is undoubtedly genuine, O'Grady. It is dated from Lord Beresford's
+quarters, and signed by his lordship himself as commander-in-chief of the
+Portuguese army. How it comes about beats me as much as it does you. But
+before we ask any questions we will drink a toast. Gentlemen, fill your
+glasses; here is to the health of Colonel Terence O'Connor."
+
+The toast was drank with much enthusiasm, mingled with laughter, for many
+of them had still a suspicion that the whole matter was somehow an
+elaborate trick played by Terence.
+
+"Now, Colonel O'Connor, will you please to favour us with an account of
+how General Cradock and Lord Beresford have both united in giving you so
+big a step up."
+
+"It is a long story, Colonel."
+
+"So much the better," the colonel replied. "We have nothing to do, and it
+will keep us all awake."
+
+Terence's account of his interview with the colonel of the ordenanças, the
+demand by Cortingos that he should hand over the money he was escorting,
+and the subsequent gathering to attack the house, and the manner in which
+the leaders were captured, the rioters appeased and subsequently advised
+to direct their efforts to obtain arms and ammunition, excited
+exclamations of approval; but the belief that the story was a pure romance
+still prevailed in the minds of many, and Terence saw Captain O'Grady and
+Dick Ryan exchanging winks. It was not until Terence spoke of his rapid
+march to the mouth of the Minho, as soon as he heard that the French were
+concentrating there, that he began to be seriously listened to; and when
+he told how Soult's attempt to cross had been defeated, and the French
+general obliged to change the whole plan of the campaign, and to march
+round by Orense, the conviction that all this was true was forced upon
+them.
+
+"By the powers, Terence!" the colonel exclaimed, bringing his hand down on
+his shoulder, "you are a credit to the ould country. I am proud of you, me
+boy, and it is little I thought when O'Flaherty and myself conspired to
+get ye into the regiment that you were going to be such a credit to it.
+Gentlemen, before Colonel O'Connor goes further, we will drink his health
+again."
+
+This time there was no laughter mixed with the cheers. Many of the
+officers left their seats and came round to shake his hand warmly, O'Grady
+foremost among them.
+
+"Sure I thought at first that it was blathering you were, Terence; but,
+begorra, I see now that it's gospel truth you are telling, and I am proud
+of you. Faith, I am as proud as if I were your own father, for haven't I
+brought you up in mischief of all kinds? Be the poker, I would have given
+me other arm to have been with you."
+
+The rest of the story was listened to without interruption. When it was
+concluded, Colonel Corcoran again rose.
+
+"Gentlemen, we will for the third time drink to the health of Colonel
+O'Connor, and I think that you will agree with me that if ever a man
+deserved to be made a colonel it's himself."
+
+This time O'Grady and three others rushed to where Terence was sitting,
+seized him, and before he knew what they were going to do, hoisted him
+onto the shoulders of two of them, and carried him in triumph round the
+table. When at length quiet was restored, and Terence had resumed his
+seat, the colonel said:
+
+"By the way, Terence, there was a little old gentleman called on me three
+days after we landed to ask if Major O'Connor was with the regiment. I
+told him that he was not, having gone on half-pay for the present on
+account of a wound. He seemed rather pleased than otherwise, I thought,
+and I asked him pretty bluntly what he wanted to know for. He brought an
+interpreter with him, and said through him that he hoped that I would not
+press that question, especially as a lady was concerned in the matter. It
+bothered me entirely. Why, from the time we landed at the Mondego till
+your father was hit at Vimiera I don't believe we ever had the chance to
+speak to a woman. It may be that it was some lady that nursed him there
+after we had marched away, and who had taken a fancy to him. The ould man
+may have been her father, and was perhaps mighty glad to hear that the
+major was not coming back again."
+
+Terence burst into a shout of laughter.
+
+"My dear Colonel," he said, "the respectable old gentleman did not call on
+behalf of his daughter, but on behalf of a cousin of mine, who was wanting
+to find my father; and Don Jose, who was in charge of her, was glad to
+hear that he was going to remain in England."
+
+"A cousin!" O'Grady exclaimed. "Why how in the name of fortune does a lady
+cousin of yours come to be cruising about in such an outlandish place as
+this?"
+
+"That is another story, Colonel, and I have talked until I am hoarse now,
+so that that must keep until another sitting. It is quite time that I was
+off to see how my men are getting on."
+
+"Of course you will dine with us?"
+
+"Not to-night, Colonel; this has been a long sitting, and I would rather
+not begin a fresh one."
+
+"Well, we will come and have a look at your regiments."
+
+"I would rather you did not come until to-morrow, Colonel. The men have
+marched five-and-twenty miles a day for the last five days, and they want
+rest, so I should not like to parade them again. If you will come over,
+say at twelve o'clock to-morrow, I shall be proud to show them."
+
+The corps now possessed five tents, Terence having obtained four more at
+Coimbra. Herrara and himself occupied one, while two were allotted to the
+officers of each regiment. Bull and Macwitty had both by this time picked
+up sufficient Portuguese to be able to get on comfortably, and had agreed
+with Terence that although they would like to remain together, it was
+better that each should stay with the officers of his own regiment.
+
+At twelve o'clock next day Colonel Corcoran came over with nearly the
+whole of the officers of the Mayo regiment, and was accompanied by many
+others, as they had the night before given many of their acquaintances an
+outline of Terence's story.
+
+The men had been on foot from an early hour after breakfast. There had
+been a parade. Every man's firelock, accoutrements, and uniform had been
+very closely inspected, and when they fell in again at a quarter to twelve
+a most rigid inspection would have failed to find any fault with their
+appearance. Terence joined the colonel as soon as he came on the ground.
+
+"So your officers are all mounted, I see, Terence?"
+
+"Yes, Colonel; you see the companies are over two hundred strong, for the
+losses we had have been filled up since, and one officer to each corps
+could do but little unless he were mounted."
+
+"The men looked uncommonly well, Terence, uncommonly well. I should like
+to walk along the line before you move them."
+
+"By all means, Colonel. Their uniforms do not fit as well as I should
+like, but I had to take them as they were served out, and have had no
+opportunity of getting them altered."
+
+Since the inspection at Coimbra the men had been taught the salute, and as
+Terence shouted:
+
+"Attention! General salute! Present arms!" the men executed the order with
+a sharpness and precision that would have done no discredit to a British
+line regiment. Then the colonel and officers walked along the line, after
+which the troops were put through their manoeuvres for an hour, and then
+dismissed.
+
+"Upon my word, it is wonderful," Colonel Corcoran said. "Why, if the
+beggars had been at it six months they could not have done it better."
+
+There was a chorus of agreement from all the officers round.
+
+"We could not have done some of those movements better ourselves, could
+we, O'Driscol?"
+
+"That we could not," the major said, heartily. "Another three months' work
+and these two regiments would be equal to our best; and I can understand
+now how they stood up against the charge of Franceschi's cavalry
+regiments."
+
+"Now, Colonel, I cannot ask you all to a meal," Terence said; "my
+arrangements are not sufficiently advanced for that yet; but I managed to
+get hold of some very good wine this morning, and I hope that you will
+take a glass all round before you go back to camp."
+
+"That we will, and with pleasure, for the dust has well-nigh choked me. It
+is a different thing drilling on this sandy ground from drilling on a
+stretch of good turf. Of course, you will come back and lunch with us, and
+bring your friend Herrara."
+
+Herrara, however, excused himself. He did not know a word of English, and
+felt that until he could make himself understood he would feel
+uncomfortable at a gathering of English officers. After lunch Terence was
+called upon to tell the story about his cousin. Among his friends of the
+regiment he had no fear of his adventure with the bishop getting abroad,
+and he therefore related the whole story as it happened.
+
+"By my sowl," O'Grady said to him, afterwards, "Terence O'Connor, you take
+me breath away altogether. To think that a year ago you were just a
+gossoon, and here ye are a colonel--a Portuguese colonel, I grant, but
+still a colonel--fighting Soult, and houlding defiles, and making night
+attacks, and thrashing the French cavalry, and carrying off a nun from a
+convent, and outwitting a bishop, and playing all sorts of divarsions. It
+bates me entirely. There is Dicky Ryan, who, as I tould him yesterday, had
+just the same chances as you have had, just Dicky Ryan still. I tould him
+he ought to blush down to his boots."
+
+"And what did he say, O'Grady?"
+
+"The young spalpeen had the impudence to say that there was I, Captain
+O'Grady, just the same as when he first joined, and, barring the loss of
+an arm, divil a bit the better. And the worst of it is, it was true
+entirely. If I could but find a pretty cousin shut up in a convent you
+would see that I would not be backward in doing what had to be done; but
+no such luck comes to me at all, at all."
+
+"Quite so, O' Grady; I have had tremendous luck. And it has all come about
+owing to my happening to think it would be a good thing to take possession
+of that French lugger."
+
+"Don't you think it, me boy," O'Grady said, seriously. "No doubt a man may
+have a turn of luck, though it is not everyone who takes advantage of it
+when it comes. But when you see a man always succeeding, always doing
+something that other fellows don't do, and making his way up step by step,
+you may put it down that luck has very little to do with the matter, and
+that he has got something in him that other men haven't got. You may have
+had some luck to start with--enough, perhaps, to have got you your
+lieutenancy, though I don't say that it was luck; but you cannot put the
+rest of it down to that."
+
+At this moment Dick Ryan came and joined them.
+
+"Well, Dicky," Terence said, "have you had no fun lately in the regiment?"
+
+"Not a scrap," Ryan said, dismally. "There was not much chance of fun on
+that long march; on board ship there was a storm all the way; then we were
+kept on board the transport at Cork nearly three months. Everyone was out
+of temper, and a mouse would not have dared squeak on board the ship. I
+have had a bad time of it since the day we lost you."
+
+"Oh, well, you will have plenty of chances yet, Dicky."
+
+"It has not been the same thing since you have gone, Terence," he
+grumbled. "Of course we could not always be having fun; but you know that
+we were always putting our heads together and talking over what might be
+done. It was good fun, even if we could not carry it out. I tried to stir
+up the others of our lot, but they don't seem to have it in them. I wish
+you could get me transferred to your regiment. I know that we should have
+plenty of fun there."
+
+"I am afraid that it could not be done, Dicky, though I should like it
+immensely. But you see you have not learned a word of Portuguese, and you
+would be of no use in the world."
+
+"There it is, you see," O'Grady said. "That is one of the points which had
+no luck in it, Terence. You were always trying to talk away with the
+peasants; and, riding about as you did as Fane's aide-de-camp, you had
+opportunities of doing so and made the most of them. Now there are not
+three other fellows in the regiment who can ask a simple question. I can
+shout _Carajo!_ at a mule-driver who loiters behind, and can add two or
+three other strong Portuguese words, but there is an end of it. Cradock
+would never have sent you that errand to Romana if you could not have
+talked enough to have made yourself understood. You could never have jawed
+those mutineers and put them up to getting hold of the arms. If Dicky Ryan
+and I had been sent on that mission we should just have been as helpless
+as babies, and should, like enough, have been murdered by that mob. There
+was no luck about that, you see; it was just because you had done your
+best to pick up the language, and nobody else had taken the trouble to
+learn a word of it."
+
+"I see that, O'Grady," Ryan said, dolefully. "I don't envy Terence a bit.
+I know that he has quite deserved what he has got, and that if I had had
+his start, I should never have got any farther. Still, I wish I could go
+with him. I know that he has always been the one who invented our plans.
+Still, I have had a good idea sometimes."
+
+"Certainly you have, Dicky; and if I have generally started an idea, you
+have always worked it up with me. Well, if you will get up Portuguese a
+bit, and I see a chance of asking for another English officer, say as
+adjutant, I will see if I cannot get you; but I could not ask for you
+without being able to give as a reason that you could speak Portuguese
+well."
+
+"I will try, Terence; upon my honour, I will try hard," Ryan said. "I will
+get hold of a fellow and begin to-day."
+
+"Quite right, Dicky," O'Grady said. "Faith, I would do it meself, if it
+wasn't in the first place that I am too old to learn, and in the second
+place that I niver could learn anything when I was a boy. I used to get
+thrashed every day regularly, but divil a bit of difference did it make. I
+got to read and write, and there I stuck. As for the ancients, I was
+always mixing them up together; and whether it was Alexander or Caesar who
+marched over the Alps and burnt Jerusalem, divil a bit do I know, and I
+don't see that if I did know it would do me a hap'orth of good."
+
+"I don't think that particular piece of knowledge would, O'Grady," Terence
+agreed, with a hearty laugh; "still, even if you did learn Portuguese, I
+couldn't ask for you. I don't mind Dicky, because he is only a year senior
+to me; but if they made me commander-in-chief of the Portuguese army, I
+could never have the cheek to give you an order."
+
+Three weeks later came the startling news that Sir Arthur Wellesley had
+arrived at Lisbon, and was to assume the command of the army. Sir John
+Cradock was to command at Gibraltar. There was general satisfaction at the
+news, for the events of the last campaign had given all who served under
+him an implicit confidence in Sir Arthur; but it was felt that Sir John
+Cradock had been very hardly treated. In the first place, he was a good
+way senior to Sir Arthur, and in the second place, he had battled against
+innumerable difficulties, and the time was now approaching when he would
+reap the benefit of his labours. To Terence the news came almost as a
+blow, for he felt that it was probable he might be at once appointed to a
+British regiment.
+
+Personally he would not have cared so much, but he would have regretted it
+greatly for the sake of the men who had followed him. It was true that
+they might obey Herrara as willingly as they did himself, but he knew that
+the native officers did not possess anything like the same influence with
+the Portuguese that the English did, and that there might be a rapid
+deterioration in their discipline and morale. He remained in a state of
+uncertainty for a week, at the end of which time he received a letter from
+Captain Nelson, and tearing it open, read as follows:--
+
+_My Dear O' Connor,_
+
+_I dare say you have been feeling somewhat doubtful as to your position
+since you heard that Sir Arthur has superseded Sir John Cradock. I may
+tell you at once that he has taken over the whole of Sir John's staff,
+yourself, of course, included. I ventured to suggest to Sir John that he
+should mention your case to Sir Arthur, and he told me that he had
+intended to take the opportunity of the first informal talk he had with
+him to do so. The opportunity came yesterday, and Sir John went fully into
+your case, showed him the reports, and mentioned how he came to appoint
+you because of the clear and lucid description you gave of the movements
+of every division of Moore's army._
+
+_Sir Arthur remembered your name at once, and the circumstances under which
+he had mentioned you in general orders for your conduct on board the
+transport coming out. Sir John told me that he said, 'There is no doubt
+that O'Connor is a singularly promising young officer, Sir John. The check
+he gave Soult on the Minho might have completely reversed the success of
+the Frenchman's campaign had he had any but Spaniards and Portuguese to
+oppose him. The report shows that O'Connor has done wonders with those two
+regiments of his, and I shall not think of removing him from their
+command. A trustworthy native corps of that description would be of the
+greatest advantage, and will act, like Trant and Wilson's commands, as the
+eyes of the army. I am much obliged to you for your having brought the
+case before my notice, for otherwise, not knowing the circumstances, I
+might very well have considered that the position of a lieutenant on my
+staff as the commander of two native regiments was an anomalous one. I
+should, no doubt, have inquired how it occurred before I thought of
+superseding an officer you had selected, but your explanation more than
+justifies his appointment.' So you see, Terence, the change will make no
+difference in your position. And as I fancy Sir Arthur will not let the
+grass grow under his feet, you are likely to have a lively time of it
+before long. By the way, a Gazette has arrived, and it contains the
+appointment of your two men to commissions._
+
+While waiting at Leirya, Terence had ordered uniforms for all the
+officers. He had, after consultation with Herrara, decided upon one
+approximating rather to the cavalry than to infantry dress, as being more
+convenient for mounted officers. It consisted of tight-fitting green
+patrol jacket, breeches of the same colour, and half-high boots and a
+gold-embroidered belt and slings. The two English officers wore a yellow
+band round their caps, and Herrara a gold one.
+
+"I am sure, Colonel O'Connor," Bull said, when Terence told Macwitty and
+him that they had been gazetted to commissions, "we cannot thank you
+enough. Macwitty and I have done our best, but it has been nothing more
+than teaching drill to a lot of recruits."
+
+"We had two or three hard fights, too, Bull; and I have very good reason
+for thinking most highly of you, for I should never have got the corps
+into an efficient state without your assistance. And, indeed, I doubt
+whether I should have ventured upon the task at all if I had not been sure
+that I should be well seconded by you."
+
+"It is good of you to say so, Colonel," Macwitty said; "but at any rate,
+it has been a rare bit of luck for us, and little did we think when we
+were ordered to accompany you it was going to lead to our getting
+commissions. Well, we will do our best to deserve them."
+
+"That I am sure you will, Macwitty; and now that the campaign is going to
+commence in earnest, and we may have two or three years' hard fighting,
+you may have opportunities of getting another step before you go home."
+
+Three days later an order came to Terence to march north again with his
+corps, and to place himself in some defensible position north of the
+Mondego, and to co-operate, if necessary, with Trant and Silveira, also
+ordered to take post beyond the river. Cuesta, the Portuguese general, had
+gathered a fresh army of six thousand cavalry and thirty thousand
+infantry. The greater portion were in a position in front of Victor's
+outposts. Between the Tagus and the Mondego were 16,000 Portuguese troops
+of the line, under Lord Beresford, that had been drilled and organized to
+some extent by British officers. The British and German troops numbered
+22,000 fighting men.
+
+Sir Arthur Wellesley, at Lisbon, had the choice of either falling upon
+Victor or Soult. The former would be the most advantageous operation, but,
+upon the other hand, the Portuguese were most anxious to recover Oporto,
+their second city, with the fertile country round it.
+
+Another fact which influenced the decision was that Cuesta was alike
+incapable and obstinate, and was wholly indisposed to co-operate warmly
+with the British. The British commander, therefore, decided in the first
+place to attack Soult, and the force at Leirya was ordered to march to
+Coimbra. Five British battalions and two regiments of cavalry, with 7,000
+Portuguese troops, were ordered to Abrantes and Santarem to check Victor,
+should he endeavour to make a rapid march upon Lisbon. Four Portuguese
+battalions were incorporated in each British brigade at Coimbra, Beresford
+retaining 6,000 under his personal command. On the 2d of May Sir Arthur
+reached Coimbra and reviewed the force, 25,000 strong, 9,000 being
+Portuguese, 3,000 Germans, and 13,000 British.
+
+Soult was badly informed of the storm that was gathering about him, or
+many of his officers were disaffected, and were engaged in a plot to have
+him supplanted; consequently, they kept back the information they received
+of the movements of the British.
+
+
+[Illustration: "WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+PORTUGAL FREED
+
+On the 9th of May Terence was directing the movements of his men, who were
+practising skirmishing among some rough ground at the bottom of the hill
+upon which he had taken up his position, to defend, if necessary, the road
+that crossed it. His men had thrown up several lines of breast-works along
+the face of the hill to a point where steep ravines protected the flank of
+his position. Presently he saw a party of horsemen riding down the hill
+behind him. They reined up suddenly when half-way down the hill and paused
+to watch what was being done; then they came on again. As they approached,
+Terence recognized the erect figure of the officer who rode at the head of
+the party. He cantered up and saluted.
+
+"Who are you, sir, and what troops are these?" Sir Arthur asked, sharply.
+
+"My name is O'Connor, sir. These men constitute the corps that I have the
+honour to command."
+
+"Form them up in line," the general said, briefly.
+
+Terence rode away at a gallop, and as soon as he reached the spot where
+his bugler was standing--for bugles had now taken the place of the horns
+that had before served the purpose--the latter at once blew the assembly,
+and then the order to form line. The men dashed down at the top of their
+speed, and in a very short time formed up in a long line with their
+officers in front.
+
+"Break them into columns of companies," the general, who had now ridden
+with the staff to the front, said.
+
+The manoeuvre was performed steadily and well.
+
+"Send out the alternate companies as skirmishers, while the other
+companies form line and move forward in support." When this had been done
+the order came: "Skirmishers, form into company squares to resist enemy's
+cavalry."
+
+This had been so frequently practised that in a few seconds the six
+squares were formed up in an attitude to receive cavalry.
+
+"That is very well done, Colonel O'Connor," Sir Arthur said, with more
+warmth than was usual with him. "Your men are well in hand and know their
+business. It is a very creditable display, indeed; you have proved your
+capacity for command. I have not forgotten what I have heard of you, sir,
+and it will not be long before your services are utilized."
+
+So saying he rode on. Captain Nelson lingered behind for a moment to shake
+hands with Terence.
+
+"You may feel proud of that, O'Connor," he said; "Sir Arthur is not given
+to praise, I can assure you. Good-bye, I must catch them up;" and,
+turning, he soon overtook the general's staff.
+
+That the general was well satisfied was proved by the fact that three days
+later the following appeared in general orders:
+
+_"The officer commanding-in-chief on Thursday inspected the corps under
+the command of Lieutenant (with the rank of colonel in the Portuguese
+army) O'Connor. He was much pleased with the discipline and quickness with
+which the corps went through certain movements ordered by him. This corps
+has already greatly distinguished itself, and Sir Arthur would point to it
+as an example to be imitated by all officers having command of Portuguese
+troops."_
+
+Soult's position had now become very dangerous. The Spanish and Portuguese
+insurgents were upon the Lima, and the principal portion of his own force
+was south of the Douro.
+
+Franceschi's cavalry, supported by infantry and artillery, and by Mermet's
+division, occupied the country between that river and the Vouga, and was
+without communication with the centre at Oporto, except by the bridge of
+boats.
+
+Although aware that there was a considerable force gathering at Coimbra,
+the French general had no idea that the whole of the British army was
+assembling there. Confident that success would attend his operations, Sir
+Arthur directed the Portuguese corps to be in readiness to harass Soult's
+retreat through the mountain denies and up the valley of the Tamega, and
+so to force him to march north instead of making for Salamanca, where he
+could unite with the French army there.
+
+A mounted officer brought similar orders to Terence. Half an hour after
+receiving them the corps was on the march. The instructions were brief and
+simple:
+
+_"You will endeavour to harass Soult as he retreats across the
+Tras-os-Montes, and try to head him off to the north. Act as circumstances
+may dictate."_
+
+The service was a dangerous one, and Terence felt that it was a high
+honour that the general should have appointed him to undertake it, for he
+assuredly would not have sent the corps on such a mission had he not
+considered that they could be relied upon to take care of themselves. They
+would be wholly unsupported save by parties of peasants and ordenanças;
+they would have to operate against an army broken, doubtless, by defeat,
+but all the more determined to push on, as delay might mean total loss.
+
+He followed the line of the Vouga to the point where it emerged from the
+hills, crossed these, and came down upon the Douro some ten miles above
+San Joao, at nearly the same spot where he had before made the passage
+when on his way to join Romana.
+
+He was now well beyond the district held by the French south of the Douro,
+and, obtaining a number of boats, crossed the river, and then made for
+Mirandella on the river Tua, and halted some distance from the town,
+having made a march of over seventy miles in two days. Learning from the
+peasants that there were no French troops west of the Tamega, he marched
+the next day to the crest looking down into the valley, and here halted
+until he could learn that Soult was retreating, and what road he was
+following. He had not long to wait for news, for, on the night of the 9th,
+while he was on his march by the Vouga, the British force had moved
+forward to Aveiro. Hill's division had there taken boats, and proceeding
+up the lake to Ovar, had landed at sunrise on the 10th, and placed himself
+on Franceschi's right.
+
+In the meantime Paget's division had marched to Albergaria, while Cotton's
+division and Trant's command moved to turn Franceschi's position on its
+right. The darkness and their ignorance of the roads prevented the
+movement being attended with the hoped-for success. Had the operation been
+carried out without a hitch, Franceschi and Mermet would both have been
+driven off the line of retreat to the bridge of Oporto, and must have been
+captured or destroyed. As it was, Franceschi fell back fighting, joined
+Mermet's division at Crijo, a day's march in the rear, and although the
+whole were driven on the following day from this position, they retired in
+good order, and that night effected their retreat across the bridge of
+boats, which was then destroyed.
+
+As Franceschi's report informed Soult that the whole force of the allies
+was now upon him, he at once sent off his heavy artillery and baggage by
+the road to Amarante. Mermet was posted at Valongo, with orders to patrol
+the river and to seize every boat. Those at Oporto were also secured. On
+the morning of the 12th the British force was concentrated behind the hill
+of Villa Nova, and Sir Arthur took his place on the top of the Serra
+Convent, from whence he commanded a view of the city and opposite bank. He
+saw that the French force was stationed for the most part below Oporto.
+Franceschi's report had led Soult to believe that Hill's division had come
+by sea, and he expected that the transports would go up to the mouth of
+the Douro, and that the British would attempt to effect a landing there.
+
+The river took a sharp turn round the Serra Convent, and Sir Arthur saw
+that another large convent on the opposite bank, known as the Seminary,
+was concealed by the hill from Soult's position, and that it might be
+occupied without attracting the attention of the French. After much search
+a little boat was found; in this a few men crossed and brought back two
+large boats from the opposite side of the river. In these the troops at
+once began to cross, and two companies had taken possession of the convent
+before Soult was aware of what was going on. Then a prodigious din arose.
+Troops were hurried through the town, the bugles and trumpets sounded the
+alarm, while the populace thronged to the roofs of their houses wildly
+cheering and waving handkerchiefs and scarves, and the church bells added
+to the clamour.
+
+Three batteries of artillery had been brought up close to the Serra
+Convent, and now that there was no longer need of concealment these were
+brought forward, and--as the French issued from the town and hurried
+towards the post held by the two companies that had crossed--opened a
+heavy fire upon them. The French pushed on gallantly in spite of this fire
+and the musketry of the soldiers, but the wall of the convent was strong,
+more boats had been obtained, and every minute added to the number of the
+defenders. The attack was, nevertheless, obstinately continued. The French
+artillery endeavoured to blow in the gate, and for a time the position of
+the defenders was serious, but the enemy's troops were now evacuating the
+lower part of the town, and immediately they did so the inhabitants
+brought boats over, and a brigade under Sherwood crossed there.
+
+In the meantime General Murray had been sent with the German division to
+effect a passage of the river two miles farther up. Soult's orders to take
+possession of all the boats had been neglected, and it was not long before
+Murray crossed with his force. The confusion in the French line of retreat
+was now terrible. A battery of artillery, who brought up the rear, were
+smitten by the fire of Sherwood's men; many were killed, and the rest cut
+their traces and galloped on to join the retreating army. Sherwood's men
+pressed these in the rear, the infantry on the roof of the Seminary poured
+their fire on the retiring masses, and the guns on the Serra rock swept
+the long line.
+
+Had Murray now fallen upon the disordered crowd their discomfiture would
+have been complete, but he held his force inactive, afraid that the French
+might turn upon him and drive him into the river. General Stewart and
+Major Harvey, furious at his inactivity, charged the French at the head of
+two squadrons of cavalry only, dashed through the enemy's column, unhorsed
+General Laborde and wounded General Foy. Receiving, however, no support
+whatever from Murray, the gallant little band of cavalry were forced to
+fight their way back with loss. Thus, as Franceschi had been saved from
+destruction from an error as to the road, Soult was saved the loss of this
+army by Murray's timidity, and in both cases Sir Arthur's masterly plans
+failed in attaining the complete success they deserved.
+
+Terence had engaged several peasants to watch the roads leading from
+Oporto, and as soon as he learned that a long train of baggage and heavy
+guns was leaving the city by the road to Amarante, he crossed the valley,
+took up a position on the Catalena hill flanking the road, and as the
+waggons came along opened a sudden and heavy fire upon them. Although
+protected by a strong guard the convoy fell into confusion, many of the
+horses being killed by the first volley. Some of the drivers leapt from
+their seats and deserted their charges, others flogged their horses, and
+tried to push through the struggling mass. An incessant fire was kept up,
+but just as Terence was about to order the whole corps to charge down and
+complete the work, a large body of cavalry, followed by a heavy body of
+infantry, appeared on the scene.
+
+This was Merle's division, that had hastened up from Valonga on hearing
+the firing. The advance of the cavalry was checked by the musketry fire,
+but Merle at once ordered his infantry to mount the hill and drive the
+Portuguese off. The latter stood their ground gallantly for some time,
+inflicting heavy loss upon their assailants. Terence saw, however, that he
+could not hope to withstand long the attack of a whole French division,
+and leaving two companies behind to check the enemy's advance, he marched
+along the crest of the hill until he came upon the road crossing from
+Amarante to the Ave river.
+
+By this time he had been joined by the rear-guard, who had retired in time
+to make their escape before the French reached the top of the hill. Merle
+posted a brigade along the crest of the ridge to prevent a repetition of
+the attack, and to cover Soult's line of retreat, if he were forced to
+fall back; while Terence took up his position near Pombeiro, whence he
+presently saw the convoy enter Amarante. He had the satisfaction, however,
+of noticing that it was greatly diminished in length, a great many of the
+waggons having been left behind owing to the number of horses that had
+been killed. His attack had had another advantage of which he was unaware,
+for it had so occupied Merle's attention that he had neglected to have all
+the boats taken across the river, which enabled Murray's command to cross
+the next day, an error which, had Murray been possessed of any dash and
+energy, would have proved fatal to the French army.
+
+The next day Terence heard the sound of the guns on the Serra height, but
+the distance was too great for the crack of musketry to reach him, and he
+had no idea that the British were crossing the river until he saw the
+French marching across the mouth of the valley towards Amarante. Among
+such veteran troops discipline was speedly recovered, and they encamped in
+good order in the valley. That town was, however, in the hands of the
+Portuguese, Loison, either from treachery or incapacity, having disobeyed
+Soult's orders and retired before the advance of the Portuguese force
+under Lord Beresford, and, evacuating Amarante, taken the road to
+Guimaraens, passing by Pombeiro.
+
+He had sent no news to Soult, and the latter general was altogether
+ignorant that he had left Amarante. Upon receiving the news from the head
+of the column he at once saw that the position had now become a desperate
+one. Beresford, he learned at the same time, had marched up the Tamega
+valley to take post at Chaves, where Silveira had joined him. A retreat in
+that direction, therefore, was impossible, and he at once destroyed his
+baggage, spiked his guns, and at nightfall, guided by a peasant, ascended
+a path up the Serra Catalena, and, marching all night, rejoined Loison at
+Guimaraens, passing on his way through Pombeiro. Terence had left the
+place a few hours before, believing that Soult must return up the valley
+of the Tamega, and, ignorant that Beresford and Silveira barred the way,
+he marched after nightfall towards Chaves and took up a position where he
+could arrest, for a time, the retreat of the French army.
+
+He had left two of his men at Pombeiro, and had halted but a short time
+after completing his long and arduous march when his two men came up with
+the news that Soult had passed by the very place he had a few hours before
+left. As there was more than one route open to Soult, Terence was unable
+to decide which he had best take. His men had already performed a very
+long march, and it was absolutely necessary to give them a rest; he
+therefore allowed them to sleep during the day. Towards evening he crossed
+the Serra de Cabrierra and came down upon Salamende, and sent out scouts
+for news. Destroying the guns, ammunition, and baggage of Loison's
+division, Soult reached the Carvalho on the evening of the 14th, drew up
+his army on the position that he had occupied two months before at the
+battle of Braga, reorganized his forces, and ordering Loison to lead the
+advance, while he himself took command of the rear, continued his march.
+The next day Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had been obliged to halt at Oporto
+until the whole army, with its artillery and train, had passed the river,
+reached Braga, having marched by a much shorter road.
+
+Terence's scouts brought news that the whole of the French army were
+marching towards Salamende. Wholly unsupported as he was, ignorant of the
+position of Beresford and Silveira, and knowing nothing of Sir Arthur's
+march towards Braga, he decided not to attempt with his force to bar the
+way to Soult's twenty thousand men, but to hold Salamende for a time and
+then fall back up the mountains. Before doing so he sent a party to blow
+up the bridge at Ponte Nova across the Cavado, and also sent his second
+regiment to defend the passage at Riuvaens.
+
+Thinking it likely that Soult would again cross the mountains to Chaves,
+he sent Herrara in command of the force at the bridge, while he himself
+remained at Salamende. Here he had the houses facing the road by which the
+enemy would approach, loopholed and the road itself barricaded. Late in
+the afternoon the French cavalry were seen approaching, and a heavy fire
+was at once opened upon them. The rapidity of the discharges showed
+Franceschi that the place was held by more than a mere party of peasants,
+and he drew off his cavalry and allowed the infantry to pass him. For half
+an hour the Portuguese held their ground and repulsed three determined
+assaults; then, seeing a strong body of troops ascending the hillside to
+take the position in flank, Terence ordered his troops to fall back. This
+they did in good order, and took up a position high up on the hill.
+
+The French made but a short pause; a small body of cavalry that Soult had
+left near Braga brought him the news that the British army was entering
+that town. Scouts were sent forward at once, and their report that the
+bridge of Riuvaens was destroyed, and that 1,200 Portuguese regular troops
+were on the opposite bank, decided him to take the road by the Ponte Nova.
+The night was a terrible one; the rain had for two days been continuous,
+and the troops were drenched to the skin and impatient at the hardship
+that they had suffered. The scouts reported that the bridge here had also
+been destroyed, but that one of the parapets was still unbroken, and that
+the force on the other side consisted only of peasants. Soult ordered
+Major Doulong, an officer celebrated for his courage, to take a hundred
+grenadiers and secure the passage.
+
+A violent storm was now raging, and their footsteps being deadened by the
+roar of the wind, the French crept up, killed the Portuguese sentry on
+their side of the bridge before he could give the alarm, and then crawled
+across the narrow line of masonry. Then they rushed up the opposite
+heights, shouting and firing, and the peasantry, believing that the whole
+French army were upon them, fled at once. The bridge was hastily repaired,
+and at four o'clock in the morning the whole of the French army had
+crossed. Their retreat was opposed at a bridge of a single arch over a
+torrent, by a party of Portuguese peasantry, but after two repulses the
+French, led by Major Doulong, carried it.
+
+They were just in time, for in the afternoon the British came upon a
+strong rear-guard left at Salamende. Some light troops at once turned
+their flank, while Sherwood attacked them in front, and they fled in
+confusion to the Ponte Nova. As the general imagined that Soult would take
+the other road, their retreat in this direction was for some time
+unperceived, but just as they were crossing, the British artillery opened
+fire upon the bridge with terrible effect, very many of the enemy being
+killed before they could effect a passage. Their further retreat was
+performed without molestation. The British troops had made very long
+marches in the hopes of cutting Soult's line of retreat, and as the
+French, unlike the British, carried no provisions for their march, there
+was now little hope of overtaking them, especially as their main body was
+far ahead.
+
+Sir Arthur halted for a day at Riuvaens, where Terence's corps was now
+concentrated, he having marched there the night he was driven out of
+Salamende. As soon as the British entered the place, the general inquired
+what corps was holding it, and at once sent for Terence.
+
+"Let me hear what you have been doing, Colonel O'Connor."
+
+Terence had, as soon as he heard that the army had arrived at Salamende,
+written out a report of his movements from the time that he had marched
+from Vouga. He now presented it. The general waved it aside.
+
+"Tell me yourself," he said.
+
+Terence related as briefly as possible the course he had followed, and the
+reasons of his movements.
+
+"Good!" the general said, when he had finished. "Your calculations were
+all well founded; but, of course, you could not calculate on Soult's night
+march across the Catalena hills, and, as you knew nothing of the
+whereabouts of Beresford and Silveira, you had good reason to suppose that
+Soult would continue his march up the valley of the Tamega to Chaves. That
+was the only mistake you committed, and an older soldier might well have
+fallen into the same error. When you had found out your mistake, you acted
+promptly, and could not have done better than to proceed to Salamende. You
+did well to destroy both bridges, and to place half your force to defend
+the passage here, for you naturally supposed, as I supposed myself, that
+Soult would follow this road down to Chaves.
+
+"You were again deceived, but were in no way to blame. Your position was
+most judiciously chosen on the Catalena hills on Soult's natural line of
+retreat, and I heard that the enemy's baggage train had been very severely
+mauled, and was only saved from destruction by Merle deploying his whole
+division against the force attacking it. Again I see you made a stout
+defence at Salamende. We saw a large number of French dead there as we
+marched in. If everyone else had done as well as you have done, young sir,
+Soult's army would never have escaped me."
+
+Terence bowed, and retired deeply gratified, for he had been doubtful what
+his reception would be. He knew that he had done his best, but twice he
+had been mistaken, and each time the mistake had allowed Soult to pass
+unmolested; and he was, therefore, all the more pleased on learning that
+so skilful a general had declared that these mistakes, although
+unfortunate, were yet natural.
+
+Soult reached Orense on the 20th, without guns, stores, ammunition, or
+baggage, his men exhausted with fatigue and misery, most of them shoeless,
+and some without muskets. He had left Orense seventy-six days before with
+22,000 men, and had lately been joined by 3,500 from Tuy. He returned with
+19,500, having lost 6,000 by sword, sickness, assassination, and capture.
+Of these 3,600 were taken in the hospitals at Oporto, Chaves, Vianna, and
+Braga. One thousand were killed in the advance, and the remainder captured
+or killed within the last eight days.
+
+A day later the news arrived that Victor was at last advancing and a
+considerable number of the troops assembled at Salamende, among them
+Terence's corps, were ordered to march to join the force opposed to him.
+Terence started two hours before the bulk of the force got into motion,
+and traversing the ground at a high rate of speed, struck the road from
+Lisbon a day in advance of the British troops. There was, however, no
+occasion for action, for Victor, who had taken Abrantes, had, on receiving
+news of the fall of Oporto, at once evacuated that town and fallen back,
+and for a time all operations ceased on that side.
+
+The British army had suffered but slight loss in battle, but the long
+marches, the terribly wet weather, and the effect of climate told heavily
+upon them, and upwards of 4,000 men were, in a short time, in hospital.
+
+Fortunately, however, a reinforcement of equal strength arrived from
+England, and the fighting strength of the army was therefore maintained.
+There was still, however, a great want of transport animals; the
+commissariat were, for the most part, new to their duties, and ignorant of
+the language. Sir Arthur Wellesley was engaged in the endeavour to get
+Cuesta to co-operate with him, but the obstinate old man refused to do so
+unless his plans were adopted; and these were of so wild and impracticable
+a character that Sir Arthur preferred to act alone, especially as Cuesta's
+army had already been repeatedly beaten by the French, and the utter
+worthlessness of his soldiers demonstrated.
+
+The pause of operations in Spain, entailed by the concentration of the
+commands of Soult, Ney, Victor, and Lapisse on the frontier, had given
+breathing time to Spain. Large armies had again been raised, and the same
+confident ideas, the same jealousy between generals, and the same quarrels
+between the Juntas had been prevalent. Once again Spain was confident that
+she could alone, and unaided, drive the French across the frontier
+altogether, forgetful of the easy and crushing defeats that had before
+been inflicted upon her. Like Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley was to some
+extent deceived by these boastings, and believed that he should obtain
+material assistance in the way of transports and provisions, and that at
+least valuable diversions might be made by the Spanish army.
+
+He accepted, too, to some extent, the estimate of the Spaniards as to the
+strength of the French, and believed that their fighting force in the
+Peninsula did not exceed 130,000 men, whereas in reality it amounted to
+over 250,000. The greatest impediment to the advance was the want of
+money, for while the British government continued to pour vast sums into
+Cadiz and Seville, for the use of the Spaniards, they were unable to find
+money for the advance of their own army. The soldiers consequently were
+unpaid, badly fed, almost in rags, and a large proportion of them
+shoeless; and to meet the most urgent wants, the general was forced to
+raise loans at exorbitant rates at Lisbon. And yet, while a great general
+and a victorious army were nearly starving in Portugal, the British
+government had landed 12,000 troops in Italy and had despatched one of the
+finest expeditions that ever sailed from England, consisting of 40,000
+troops and as many seamen and marines of the fleet, to Walcheren, where no
+small proportion of them died of fever, and the rest returned home broken
+in health and unfit for active service, without having performed a single
+action worthy of merit.
+
+The Mayo Fusiliers were among the regiments stationed at Abrantes, and
+Terence received orders to take up a position four miles ahead of that
+town, and hold it unless Victor again advanced in overwhelming strength,
+and then to fall back on Abrantes. This exactly suited his own wishes. It
+was pleasant to him to be within a short ride of his old regiment, while
+at the same time his corps were not encamped with a British division, for
+his own position was an anomalous one, and among the officers who did not
+know him he was regarded as a young staff-officer. He could not explain
+the position he held without constantly repeating the manner in which he
+had gained a commission as colonel in the Portuguese service.
+
+During the month that had passed without movement, he continued his
+efforts to improve his corps, and borrowed a dozen non-commissioned
+officers from Colonel Corcoran to instruct his sergeants in their duty,
+and thus enable them to train others and relieve the officers of some of
+their work. He had in his first report stated that he had kept back £1,000
+of the money he carried to Romana for the use of his corps, and as he had
+never received any comment or instructions as to the portion that had not
+been expended, he had still some money in hand. This he spent in
+supplementing the scanty rations served out. Frequently he rode into
+Abrantes and spent the evening with the Mayo Fusiliers. The first time he
+did so he requested the officers always to call him, as before, Terence
+O'Connor.
+
+"It is absurd being addressed as colonel when I am only a lieutenant in
+the service. Of course when I am with the corps it is a different thing; I
+am its colonel, and must be called so; but it is really very annoying to
+be called so here."
+
+"You must be feeling quite rusty," Colonel Corcoran said to him, "sitting
+here doing nothing, after nine months of incessant moving about."
+
+"I am not rusting, Colonel, I am hard at work sharpening my blade; that
+is, improving my corps. Your men drill my sergeants four hours a day, and
+for the other eight each of them is repeating the instructions that he has
+received to three others. So that by the time we are in movement again I
+hope to have a sergeant who knows something of his duty to each fifty men.
+I can assure you that in addition to the great need for such men when the
+troops are out skirmishing, or otherwise detached in small parties, I felt
+that their appearance on parade was greatly marred by the fact that the
+non-commissioned officers did not know their proper places or their proper
+work, which neither Bull nor Macwitty, nor indeed the company officers,
+could instruct them in, all being cavalrymen."
+
+"Yes, I noticed that when I saw them at Leirya," the colonel said. "Of
+course it was of no consequence at all as far as their efficiency went,
+but to the eye of an English officer, naturally, something seemed
+wanting."
+
+"I should be glad of at least four more officers to each company, and at
+one time thought of writing to Lord Beresford to ask him to supply me with
+some, but I came to the conclusion that we had better leave matters as
+they were. In the first place young officers would know nothing of their
+work, and nothing of me; and in the second place, if they were men of good
+family they would not like serving under officers who have been raised
+from the ranks; and lastly, if they became discontented, they might render
+the men so. We have done very fairly at present, and we had better go on
+as we are; and when I get a sufficient number of trained men to furnish a
+full supply of non-commissioned officers, I shall do better than with
+commissioned ones, for the men are of course carefully selected, and I
+know them to be trustworthy, whereas those they sent me might be idle, or
+worse than useless."
+
+"You spake like King Solomon, Terence," O'Grady said; "not that he can
+have known anything whatever about military matters."
+
+A roar of laughter greeted this very doubtful compliment.
+
+"Thank you, O'Grady," Terence said. "That is one of the prettiest speeches
+I have heard for a long time. I shall know where to come for a character."
+
+"You are right there, Terence; but you may live a good many years before
+you get a chance of calling a whole British army under arms, as you did at
+Salamanca."
+
+Terence was at once assailed with a storm of questions, for with the
+exception of O'Grady, no one had suspected the share that he and Dicky
+Ryan had had in that affair. Terence knew that the latter had kept the
+secret, for he had asked him only two or three days before, and he
+therefore assumed an expression of innocence.
+
+"What on earth do you mean, O'Grady?"
+
+"What do I mane? Why, that somehow or other you were at the bottom of that
+shindy when all the troops were turned out on a false alarm."
+
+"Really, O'Grady, that is too bad. You know that every trick that was
+played at Athlone was your suggestion, and as we never could find out how
+that alarm originated, of course you put it down to me, whereas it is just
+as likely to have been your own work. Colonel Corcoran knows that Dicky
+and I were in the mess-room at the convent at the time when the alarm
+broke out."
+
+"That was so," the colonel agreed, "for I know that you were talking to me
+when Hoolan ran in and told us that there was a row in the town. On what
+do you base your suspicions, O'Grady?"
+
+"Just upon me knowledge of the two lads, Colonel. Faith, there never was a
+piece of mischief afloat that they were not mixed up with."
+
+"If that is all you have to say, O'Grady," Terence replied, "I should
+advise you not to go hunting for mares' nests again. I know that you can
+see as far into a brick wall as most people, but you cannot see what is
+going on on the other side."
+
+"All the same, Terence," O'Grady said, doggedly, "to the end of me life I
+will always believe that you had a hand in the matter. There is no one
+else that I know of except you and Ryan who would have had the cheek to do
+such a thing, and I don't believe that you can deny it yourself."
+
+"I shall not trouble myself to plead not guilty, except before a regularly
+constituted court," Terence laughed. "At any rate, as when the march
+begins we shall go on first as scouts, it may be that I shall send in news
+which will turn out a British army again."
+
+"I will forgive you if you do, for it is likely that we should have some
+divarsion after turning out, instead of marching out and back again like a
+regiment of omadhouns."
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+NEWS FROM HOME
+
+A week after arriving at Abrantes, seeing that there was no probability
+whatever of fighting for a time, Terence had suggested to Herrara that it
+would be a good opportunity for him to run down to Lisbon for a few days
+to see his fiancée and his friends in the town.
+
+"I don't know who you really ought to apply to for leave," he said, "but
+as we are a sort of half-independent corps, it seems the simplest way for
+me to take the responsibility. Nobody is ever likely to ask any questions
+about it; and now that it will simply be a matter of hard drill till the
+army moves again, you can be very well spared. If it is company work, it
+is the captain's business. If the two regiments are manoeuvring together,
+they will of course be under Bull and Macwitty, and I should be acting as
+brigadier."
+
+"I should like to go very much," Herrara said. "I have not yet had the
+pleasure of introducing myself to my family and friends as a
+lieutenant-colonel. Of course, I wrote to my people when I received the
+commission from Lord Beresford; but it would be really fun to surprise
+some of my school-fellows and comrades, so if you think that it will not
+be inconvenient I should like very much to go."
+
+"Then if I were you I should start at once. I will give you a sort of
+formal letter of leave in case you are questioned as you go down. You can
+get to Santarem to-night and to Lisbon to-morrow afternoon."
+
+"Is there anything that I can do for you?"
+
+"Yes; I wish you would ask Don Jose if he will, through his friends at
+Oporto, find out whether my cousin's mother was there at the time the
+French entered, and if she was, whether she got through that horrible
+business unhurt. I have been hearing about it from my friends, who were a
+couple of days there before the force marched to Braga. They tell me that,
+by all accounts, the business was even worse than we feared. The French
+came upon some of their comrades tied to posts in the great square,
+horribly mutilated, some of them with their eyes put out, still living,
+and after that they spared no one; and upon my word, I can hardly blame
+them, and in fact don't blame them at all, so long as they only  their
+vengeance on men. The people made it worse for themselves by keeping up a
+desultory fire from windows and housetops when resistance had long ceased
+to be of any use; and, of course, seeing their comrades shot down in this
+way infuriated the troops still further.
+
+"I don't suppose it will make the slightest difference in the world to my
+cousin whether her mother is dead or not, for I fancy from what Mary said
+that her mother never cared for her in the slightest. Possibly she was
+jealous that the child had the first place in the father's affections.
+However that may be, there was certainly no great love between them, and
+of course her subsequent treatment of my cousin destroyed any affection
+that might have existed. That either by some deed executed at the time of
+marriage, or by Portuguese law, Mary has a right to the estate at her
+mother's death, is clear from the efforts they made to get her to renounce
+that right. Still, there is no more chance of her ever inheriting it than
+there would be of her flying. As a nun she would naturally have to
+renounce all property, and no doubt the law of this priest-ridden country
+would decide that she had done so. She tells me--and I am sure,
+truly--that she refused to open her lips to say a single word when she was
+forced to go through the ceremony; but as, no doubt, a score of witnesses
+would be brought forward to swear that she answered all the usual
+questions and renounced all worldly possessions, that denial would go for
+nothing."
+
+"Besides," Herrara said, "it would never do for her to set foot in
+Portugal. She would be seized as an escaped nun immediately, and would
+never be heard of again."
+
+"I have no doubt that that would be so, Herrara; and as she has a nice
+fortune from her father, you may be sure that she will not trouble about
+the estates here, and her mother would be welcome to do as she likes with
+them, which is, after all, not unreasonable, as they are her property and
+descended to her from her father. Still, I should be glad to learn, if it
+does not give any great trouble, whether if, as is almost certain--for the
+people from all the country round took refuge there long before the French
+arrived--she was in Oporto, and if so, whether she got through the sack of
+the town unharmed. No doubt Mary would be glad to hear."
+
+"I am sure Don Jose would be able to find out for you without any
+difficulty," Herrara said; "indeed I expect he will soon be going back
+there himself. Now that there is a British garrison in the town, that the
+bishop must be utterly discredited there, and a good many of his Junta
+must have been killed, while the rabble of the town has been thoroughly
+discomfited, the place will be more comfortable to live in than it has
+been for a long time past. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
+
+"Nothing whatever."
+
+A quarter of an hour later Herrara left for Lisbon, bearing many messages
+of kind regards on Terence's part to Don Jose and his family. Terence's
+last words were:
+
+"By the way, Herrara, if you should be able to find at any store in Lisbon
+some Irish whisky, I wish you would get six dozen cases for me, or what
+would be more handy, a sixteen or eighteen gallon keg, and could get it
+sent on by some cart coming here, I should be very much obliged. It had
+better be sent to me, care of Colonel Corcoran, Mayo Fusiliers, Abrantes.
+I should like to be able to give a glass to my friends when they ride out
+to see me. But have the barrel or cases sewn up in canvas before the
+address is put on; I would not trust it to the escort of any British guard
+if they were aware of the nature of the contents. Wine would be safe with
+them, for they can get that anywhere, but it would be too much for the
+honesty of any Irishman if he were to see a cask labelled Irish whisky."
+
+A week later Colonel Corcoran said when Terence rode in:
+
+"By the bye, O'Connor, there is a cask of wine for you at my quarters; it
+was brought up by an ammunition train this morning. The officer said that
+a Portuguese colonel had begged him so earnestly to bring it up that he
+could not refuse."
+
+ "It was Herrara, no doubt, Colonel; he has gone down to Lisbon for a
+week."
+
+"Ah! I suppose he sent you a keg of choice wine."
+
+"You shall taste it next time you come out, Colonel. I have been wishing
+that I had something better than the ordinary wine of the country to offer
+when you come over to see me. I will send over a couple of men with a cart
+in the morning to bring it out to me."
+
+On leaving that evening Terence invited all the officers who could get
+away from duty to come over to lunch the next day.
+
+"Bring your knives and forks with you," he said; "and I think you had
+better bring your plates, too; I fancy four are all I can muster."
+
+Early next morning Terence told Bull and Macwitty that he expected a dozen
+officers out to lunch with him. "And I want you to lunch with me too. I
+know that Captain O'Grady and others have asked you several times to go in
+and dine at mess, and that you have not gone. I hope to-day you will meet
+them at luncheon. I can understand that you feel a little uncomfortable at
+this first meeting with a lot of officers as officers yourselves; but, of
+course, you must do it sooner or later, and it would be much better doing
+so at once.
+
+"The next thing is, what can I give them to eat? I should be glad if you
+will send out a dozen foraging parties in different directions; there must
+be little villages scattered among the hills that have so far escaped
+French and English plunderers. Let each party take four or five dollars
+with them. I want anything that can be got, but my idea is a couple of
+young kids, three or four ducks, or a couple of geese, as many chickens,
+and of course any vegetables that you can get hold of. My man Sancho is a
+capital cook, and he will get fires ready and two or three assistants.
+They will be here by one o'clock, so the foraging parties had better
+return by ten."
+
+"If there is anything to be brought you shall have it, Colonel," Bull
+said; "Macwitty and I will both go ourselves, and we will get half a dozen
+of the captains to go too; between us it is hard if we don't manage to get
+enough."
+
+By ten o'clock the officers rode in, almost every one of them having some
+sort of bird or beast hanging from his saddle-bow; there were two kids, a
+sucking pig, two hares, half a dozen chickens, three geese, and five
+ducks, while the nets which they carried for forage for their horses were
+filled with vegetables. Half a dozen fires had already been lighted, and
+Sancho had obtained as many assistants, so that by the time the colonel
+and fifteen officers rode up lunch was ready.
+
+After chatting for a few minutes with them, Terence led the way to a rough
+table that was placed under the shade of a tree. Ammunition boxes were
+arranged along for seats. Although but a portion of what had been brought
+in had been cooked, the effect of the table was imposing.
+
+"Why, O'Connor," the colonel said, "have you got one of the genii, like
+Aladdin, and ordered him to bring up a banquet for you? I have not seen a
+winged thing since we marched from Coimbra, and here you have got all the
+luxuries of the season. No wonder you like independent action, if this is
+what comes of it; there have we been feeding on tough ration beef, and
+here are the contents of a whole farmyard."
+
+Almost all the officers had been out before, and Bull and Macwitty had
+been introduced to them. They now all sat down to the meal.
+
+"I am sorry Major O'Driscol is not here," Terence said.
+
+"He could not get away," the colonel said, from the other end of the
+table. "If the general had come round and there hadn't been a
+field-officer left to meet him there would have been a row over it. I have
+brought pretty nearly all the officers with me, and I dared not stretch it
+further."
+
+"O'Grady," Terence said, "I wish you would carve this hare for me, I have
+no idea how it ought to be cut. I can manage a chicken, or a duck, but
+this is beyond me altogether."
+
+"I will do it gladly, Terence; faith, it is a comfort to find that there
+is something you can't do." And so, with much laughter and fun, the meal
+was eaten.
+
+"You have not told us yet where you got all these provisions, O'Connor,"
+the colonel said; "it is too bad to keep all the good things to yourself."
+
+"It has been the work of eight officers, Colonel; they rode off this
+morning in different directions among the hills, and there was not one of
+them who returned empty-handed."
+
+"The wine is fairly good," the colonel said, as he set down his tin mug
+after a long draught, "but it was scarce worth sending all the way up from
+Lisbon."
+
+"That has to follow, Colonel; I thought you would appreciate it better
+after you had done eating."
+
+"I have not had such a male since we left Athlone," O'Grady said, when at
+last he reluctantly laid down his knife and fork. "Be jabers, it would be
+all up with me if the French were to put in an appearance now, for faith I
+don't think I could run a yard to save me life."
+
+The tin mugs were all taken away and washed when the table was cleared.
+
+"You are mighty particular, O'Connor," the colonel said.
+
+"One mug is good enough for us. If we liquored-up a dozen times--which, by
+the way, we never do--one of these wines is pretty well like another, and
+if there was a slight difference it would not matter."
+
+When the board was cleared a large jug was placed before Terence, and some
+water-bottles at various points of the table.
+
+"I thought, Colonel, that you might prefer spirits even to the wine,"
+Terence said.
+
+"And you are right, O'Connor. A good glass of wine after a good dinner is
+no bad thing, but after such a meal as we have eaten I think that even
+this bastely spirit of theirs--which, after all, is not so bad when you
+get accustomed to it--is better than wine; it settles matters a bit."
+
+Terence poured some of the spirit from a jug into his tin and filled it up
+with water. "Help yourself," he said, passing the jug to O'Grady, who sat
+next to him.
+
+O'Grady was about to do so when he suddenly set the jug down.
+
+"By the powers," he exclaimed, in astonishment, "but it is the real
+cratur!"
+
+"Go on, O'Grady, go on, the others are all waiting while you are looking
+at it. If you feel too surprised to take it, pass the jug on."
+
+O'Grady grasped it. "I will defind it wid me life!" he exclaimed. In the
+meantime the colonel had filled his mug.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, solemnly, after raising it to his lips, "O'Grady is
+right; it is Irish whisky, and good at that."
+
+"It is a cruel trick you've played on us," O'Grady said, with a sigh, as
+he replaced the empty mug upon the table. "I had almost forgotten the
+taste, and had come to take kindly to the stuff here. Now I shall have to
+go through it all again. It is like holding the cup to the lips of that
+old heathen Tartarus, and taking it away again."
+
+"Tantalus, O'Grady."
+
+"Och, what does it matter, when he has been dead and buried thousands of
+years, how he spilt his name. Where did you get it from, Terence?"
+
+"I asked Herrara to try and find some for me at Lisbon; I thought it was
+most likely that some English merchant there would have laid in a stock,
+and it seems that he has found one."
+
+"Do you hear that, Colonel? There is whisky to be had at Lisbon, and us
+not know it."
+
+"Well, Captain O'Grady, all I can say is that I shall at dinner this
+evening move a vote of censure upon you as mess president for not having
+discovered the fact before."
+
+"Don't talk of dinner, Colonel; there is not one of us could think of
+sitting down to ration beef after such a male as we have had--and with
+whisky here, too! I move, Colonel, that no further mintion be made of
+dinner. I have no doubt that Terence will give us some divilled
+bones--there is as much left on the table as we have eaten--before we
+start home to-night."
+
+"I will do that with pleasure. In fact, it is exactly what I reckoned
+upon," Terence replied.
+
+"I think, O'Grady, we must send to Lisbon for some of this."
+
+"Is it only think, Colonel? Faith, I would go down for it myself, if I had
+to walk with pays in my boots and to carry it back on me shoulders. Can I
+find Herrara there?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, I can give you the address where he will be found."
+
+"Anyhow, Colonel," O'Flaherty said, "I must--and I'm sure all present will
+join me in the matter--protest against Captain O'Grady going down to
+Lisbon to fetch whisky for the mess. You must know, sir, as well as I do,
+that he would never return again, and we should probably hear some day
+that his body had been found by the side of the road with three or four
+empty kegs beside him."
+
+There was a general burst of agreement.
+
+"Perhaps, Doctor O'Flaherty," O'Grady said, in a tone of withering
+sarcasm, "it's yourself who would like to be the messenger."
+
+"There might be a worse one," O'Flaherty said, calmly; "but as I believe
+that Captain Hall is going down on a week's leave to-morrow, I propose
+that he, being an Englishman, and therefore more trustworthy than any
+Irish member of the mess would be on such a mission, be requested to
+purchase some for the use of the mess, and to escort it back again. How
+much shall I say, Colonel?"
+
+"That is a grave matter, and not to be answered hastily, Doctor. Let me
+see, there are thirty-two officers with the regiment. Now, what would you
+say would be a fair allowance per day for each man?"
+
+"I should say half a bottle, Colonel. There are some of them won't take as
+much, but O'Grady will square matters up."
+
+"I protest against the insinuation," O'Grady said, rising; "and, moreover,
+I would observe, that it is mighty little would be left for me after each
+man had taken his whack."
+
+"That is sixteen bottles a day. For a continuance I should consider that
+too much; but seeing that we have been out of dacent liquor for a month,
+and may have but a fortnight after it arrives to make up for lost time, we
+will say sixteen bottles."
+
+"Make it three gallons," O'Grady said, persuasively; "we shall be having
+lots of men drop in when it gets known that we have got a supply."
+
+"There is something in that, O'Grady. Well, we will say three
+gallons--that is, forty-two gallons for a fortnight. We will commission
+Captain Hall to bring back that quantity."
+
+"If you say forty-five, Colonel, it will give us a drop in our flasks to
+start with, and we are as likely to be fifteen days as fourteen, anyway."
+
+"Let it be forty-five then," the colonel assented. "Will you undertake
+that, Captain Hall?"
+
+"Willingly, Colonel. I will get the whisky emptied into wine casks, and as
+I know one of the chief commissaries at Lisbon, I can get it brought up
+with the wine for the troops."
+
+After sitting for a couple of hours, the colonel proposed that they should
+all go for a walk, while those who preferred it should take a nap in the
+shade.
+
+"I move, O'Connor," he said, "that this meeting be adjourned until
+sunset."
+
+"I think that will be a very good plan, Colonel."
+
+The proposal was carried out. O'Grady and a few others declared that they
+should prefer a nap. The rest started on foot, and sauntered about in the
+shade of the wood for a couple of hours, then all gathered at the table
+again. At eight o'clock grilled joints of fowls and ducks were put upon
+the table, and at nine all mounted and rode back to Abrantes.
+
+"How many of those quart jugs have been filled, Sancho?"
+
+"Eight, sir."
+
+"That is not so bad," Terence said to Macwitty. "That is twelve bottles;
+and as there were sixteen and our three selves, that is only about two
+bottles between three men."
+
+"I call that vera moderate under the circumstances, Colonel," Macwitty
+said, gravely. "I have drank more myself many a time."
+
+"They were a good many hours over it too," Terence added; "you may say it
+was two sittings. You will see that we shall have a great many callers
+from the camp for the next few days."
+
+A fortnight later Terence received a letter from Don Jose, saying that he
+had heard from his friend at Oporto, and that they informed him that the
+Señora Johanna O'Connor had been killed at the sack of Oporto. She had
+left her own house and taken refuge at the bishop's. That place had been
+defended to the last, and when the infuriated French broke in, all within
+its walls had been killed.
+
+Terence was not altogether sorry to hear the news. The woman had been a
+party to the cruel imprisonment of Mary. No doubt his cousin would feel
+her death, but her grief could not be very deep; and it was, he thought,
+just as well for her that her connection with Portugal should be
+altogether severed. Her mother might have endeavoured to tempt her to
+return there; and although he felt sure that she would not succeed in
+this, she might at least have caused some trouble, and it was better that
+there should be an end of it. As to the woman herself, she had been in
+agreement with the bishop, had been mixed up in his intrigues, and her
+death was caused by her misplaced confidence in him. Of course she had not
+known that he had left the town, and thought that under his protection she
+would be safe in the palace.
+
+"She must have been a bad lot," he said to himself.
+
+"Evidently she did not make her husband happy, and persecuted her
+daughter, and I regret her death no more than any other of the ten
+thousand people who fell in Oporto."
+
+A few days later he received letters both from his father and Mary. Being
+under eighteen he opened the former first.
+
+_My Dear Terence,_
+
+_I have heard all about you and your doings from Mary, and I am proud of
+you. It is grand satisfaction that you should have won your lieutenancy,
+and that you should be on the general's staff; as to your being a colonel,
+although only a Portuguese one, it is simply astounding. I don't care so
+much about the rank, for the Portuguese officers are poor creatures, not
+one in fifty of them knows anything of his duty; but what I do value is
+your independent command. That will give you opportunities for
+distinguishing yourself that can never fall in the way of a subaltern of
+the line, and I fancy, now that you have got Wellesley at the head, there
+will be plenty of such opportunities._
+
+_I was delighted, as you may guess, when I got Mary's letter from London. I
+had just settled at the old house, and mighty lonely I felt with no one to
+speak to, and the wind whistling in at the broken windows, and the whole
+place in confusion. So putting aside Mary, I was glad enough to have some
+excuse for running away. I took the next coach for Dublin; found, by good
+luck, a packet just sailing for London; and got there a week later. She is
+a nice girl and a pretty one; but I suppose I need not tell you that. I
+told her it was a poor place I was going to take her to, but she would be
+as welcome as the flowers in May; but she only laughed and said, that
+after being shut up for a year in a single room, and having nothing but
+bread and water, it would not matter a pin to her what it was like._
+
+_She was in a grand house, and Mrs. Nelson insisted on my putting up there.
+We stopped three days and then we took ship to Cork. We had to prove that
+the money lying there belonged to me; that is to say, that I was the
+person in whose name it had been put. I had all sort of botheration about
+it, but luckily I knew the colonel of the regiment there, and he went to
+the bank with me and testified. Then we came down here, and Mary hadn't
+been here a day before she began to spend money. I said I would not allow
+it; and she said I could not help it, the money was her own, and she could
+spend it as she liked, which was true enough; and at present the place is
+more topsy-turvy than ever._
+
+_I won't have anything to do with giving orders, but she has got a score of
+masons and carpenters over from Athlone, and she is turning the old place
+upside down. I sha'n't know it myself when she has done with it. There is
+not a place fit to sit down in, and we are living for the time at the inn
+at Kilnally, three miles away, and drive backwards and forwards to the
+house. Except that we quarrel over that, we get on first-rate together.
+She is never tired of talking about you, and when I hinted one day that it
+was ridiculous your being made a colonel, she spurred up like a young
+bantam, and more than hinted that if you had been appointed
+commander-in-chief instead of Sir Arthur it would not have been beyond
+your deserts._
+
+_My wound hurts me a bit sometimes, but I am able to get about all right,
+and the surgeon says in a few months I shall be able to walk as straight
+as anyone. And so, good-bye. I don't think I ever wrote such a long letter
+before, and as Mary will be telling you everything, I don't suppose I
+shall ever write such a long one again._
+
+Terence laughed as he put the letter down and opened one from his cousin.
+
+_Dear Cousin Terence,_
+
+_Here I am with your father as happy as a bird, and as free. I sing about
+the place all day, my heart is so light, and should be perfectly happy
+were it not that I am afraid that you will be fighting again soon, and
+then I shall be very anxious about you. Your father is just what I thought
+he would be from what I know of you. He is as kind as if he was my own
+father, and reminds me of him. You told me it was a tumbledown old place,
+and it is. When we came it was only fit for owls to live in, so, of
+course, I set to work at once. Your father was very foolish about it, but,
+of course, I had my way. What is the use of having money and living in an
+owl's nest? So I have set a lot of men to work._
+
+_Your father won't interfere with it one way or the other. I had a builder
+down, he shook his head over it and said that it would be cheaper to pull
+it down and build a new one; but as it was an old family house I could not
+do that. However, between ourselves, I don't think there will be much of
+the old one left by the time we have finished. It looks awful at present.
+I am building a new wall against the old one, so that it will look just
+the same, only it will be new. The windows are going to be made bigger,
+and there will be a new roof put on. Inside it will all have to come down,
+all the woodwork was so rotten that it was dangerous to walk upstairs. It
+is great fun looking after the workmen. And though your father does keep
+on grumbling and saying that I am destroying the old place, I don't think
+he really minds._
+
+_As I tell him, one could live in a house without windows nine months in
+the year in Portugal, but it is not so in Ireland. One wants comfort,
+Terence; and, as I have plenty of money, I don't see why we should not
+have it. You can sleep on the ground, and go from morning till night in
+wet clothes, when you are on a campaign, but that is no reason why you
+should do it at other times. The weather is fine here now, at least your
+father says it is fine, and I want to get everything pushed on and
+finished before it changes to what even he will admit is wet. The people
+here seem all very nice and pleasant. They are delighted at having your
+father back again. I drive about with him a great deal, and we call upon
+the neighbours, who all seem very pleased that the house is going to be
+occupied again._
+
+_The poor people seem very poor. I don't know that they are poorer than
+they are in Portugal, but I think they look poorer; but they don't seem to
+mind much. I have made great friends with most of the children already,
+and always go about with a large bag of sweetmeats in what your father
+calls "the trap." I think of you very often, Terence, and your father and
+I generally talk about you all the evening. By what he says you must have
+been a very naughty boy, indeed, before you became a soldier. Do take care
+of yourself. We shall be very, very anxious about you as soon as we hear
+that fighting has begun again. I hope you think very often of your very
+loving cousin,                        MARY O'CONNOR._
+
+"She will do a world of good to my father," Terence said to himself as he
+put down the letters. "After being so long in the regiment he would have
+felt being alone in that old place horribly, especially as it has, of
+course, been a terrible trial to him to be laid aside just as a big
+campaign is beginning. She will keep him alive, and he won't have any time
+to mope. Even if for no other reason, it is a lucky thing indeed that I
+was able to get Mary out. I sha'n't feel a bit anxious about him now."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of With Moore at Corunna, by G. A. Henty
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of With Moore at Corunna, by G. A. Henty
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
+
+
+Title: With Moore at Corunna
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Posting Date: June 2, 2012 [EBook #8651]
+Release Date: August, 2005
+First Posted: July 29, 2003
+[Last updated: October 6, 2013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ted Garvin, S.R.Ellison, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<P>[Illustration: TERENCE FINDS THAT THE <i>SEA-HORSE</i> HAS BEEN BADLY
+MAULED BETWEEN-DECKS.]</P>
+<CENTER><H1>WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA</H1>
+<p>BY</p>
+<H1>G. A. HENTY</H1>
+<P>Author of "With Cochrane the Dauntless," "A Knight of the White Cross,"
+"In Freedom's Cause," "St. Bartholomew's Eve," "Wulf the Saxon,"
+etc.</P>
+<br>
+</CENTER>
+<CENTER><H3>PREFACE</H3></CENTER>
+<P>From the termination of the campaigns of Marlborough--at which time the
+British army won for itself a reputation rivalled by that of no other in
+Europe--to the year when the despatch of a small army under Sir Arthur
+Wellesley marked the beginning of another series of British victories as
+brilliant and as unbroken as those of that great commander, the opinion
+had gained ground in Europe that the British had lost their military
+virtues, and that, although undoubtedly powerful at sea, they could have
+henceforth but little influence in European affairs. It is singular that
+the revival of Britain's activity began under a Government which was one
+of the most incapable that ever controlled the affairs of the country. Had
+their deliberate purpose been to render nugatory the expedition which--after innumerable vacillations and changes of purpose--they despatched to
+Portugal, they could hardly have acted otherwise than they did.</P>
+<P>Their agents in the Peninsula were men singularly unfitted for the
+position. Then the Government divided the commands among their generals
+and admirals, sending to each absolutely contradictory orders, and when at
+last they brought themselves to appoint one to the supreme command, they
+changed that commander six times in the course of a year. While lavishing
+enormous sums of money, arms, clothing, and materials of war upon the
+Spaniards, who wasted or pocketed them, they kept their own army
+unsupplied with money, transport, or clothes. Unsupported by the home
+authorities, the British commanders had yet to struggle with the
+faithlessness, mendacity, and inertness of the Portuguese and Spanish
+authorities, and were hampered with obstacles such as never beset a
+British commander before. Still, in spite of this, British genius and
+valour triumphed over all difficulties, and Wellesley delivered Lisbon and
+compelled the French army to surrender.</P>
+<P>Then again, Moore, by his marvellous march, checked the course of
+victory of Napoleon and saved Spain for a time. Cradock organized an army,
+and Wellesley hurled back Soult's invasion of the north, and drove his
+army, a dispirited and worn-out mass of fugitives, across the frontier,
+and in less than a year from the commencement of the campaign carried the
+war into Spain. So far I have endeavoured to sketch the course of these
+events in the present volume. But the whole course of the Peninsular War
+was far too long to be condensed in a single book, except in the form of
+history pure and simple; therefore, I have been obliged to divide it into
+two volumes; and I propose next year to follow up the adventures of my
+present hero, who had the good fortune, with Trant, Wilson, and other
+British officers, to attain the command of a body of native irregulars,
+acting in connection with the movements of the British army.</P>
+<P>Yours sincerely,</P>
+<P class="SIG">G. A. HENTY.</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CONTENTS</H3></CENTER>
+<P>CHAP.</P>
+<P>    I. THE MAYO FUSILIERS</P>
+<P>   II. TWO DANGERS</P>
+<P>  III. DISEMBARKED</P>
+<P>   IV. UNDER CANVAS</P>
+<P>    V. ROLICA AND VIMIERA</P>
+<P>   VI. A PAUSE</P>
+<P>  VII. THE ADVANCE</P>
+<P> VIII. A FALSE ALARM</P>
+<P>   IX. THE RETREAT</P>
+<P>    X. CORUNNA</P>
+<P>   XI. AN ESCAPE</P>
+<P>  XII. A DANGEROUS MISSION</P>
+<P> XIII. AN AWKWARD POSITION</P>
+<P>  XIV. AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND</P>
+<P>   XV. THE FIRST SKIRMISH</P>
+<P>  XVI. IN THE PASSES</P>
+<P> XVII. AN ESCAPE</P>
+<P>XVIII. MARY O'CONNOR</P>
+<P>  XIX. CONFIRMED IN COMMAND</P>
+<P>   XX. WITH THE MAYOS</P>
+<P>  XXI. PORTUGAL FREED</P>
+<P> XXII. NEWS FROM HOME</P>
+
+<CENTER><H3>ILLUSTRATIONS</H3></CENTER>
+<P>TERENCE FINDS THAT THE <i>SEA-HORSE</i> HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED BETWEEN-DECKS</P>
+<P>TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE <i>SEA-HORSE</i></P>
+<P>"I SHOULD NOT HAVE MINDED BEING HIT, FATHER, IF YOU HAD ESCAPED"</P>
+<P>"I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL"</P>
+<P>"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE?... WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM OUT OF THEIR
+BOOTS IN NO TIME"</P>
+<P>"POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM AT TORRES
+VEDRAS"</P>
+<P>TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN CRADOCK</P>
+<P>"IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION," SAID CORTINGOS</P>
+<P>"THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE MET WITH
+HEAVY VOLLEYS"</P>
+<P>"MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH HIS PISTOLS"</P>
+<P>TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR</P>
+<P>"WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR ASKED,
+SHARPLY</P>
+
+<p><img src="images/Portugal.png" alt="A sketch map of Portugal" hspace="0"
+width="100%" height="1000"></p>
+
+<CENTER><H1>WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA</H1></CENTER>
+
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER I</H3>
+<H4>THE MAYO FUSILIERS</H4></CENTER>
+<P>"What am I to do with you, Terence? It bothers me entirely; there is
+not a soul who will take you, and if anyone would do so, you would wear
+out his patience before a week's end; there is not a dog in the regiment
+that does not put his tail between his legs and run for his bare life if
+he sees you; and as for the colonel, he told me only the other day that he
+had so many complaints against you, that he was fairly worn out with
+them."</P>
+<P>"That was only his way, father; the colonel likes a joke as well as any
+of them."</P>
+<P>"Yes, when it is not played on himself; but you haven't even the sense
+to respect persons, and it is well for you that he could not prove that it
+was you who fastened the sparrow to the plume of feathers on his shako the
+other day, and no one noticed it till the little baste began to flutter
+just as he came on to parade, and nigh choked us all with trying to hold
+in our laughter, while the colonel was nearly suffocated with passion. It
+was lucky you were able to prove that you had gone off at daylight
+fishing, and that no one had seen you anywhere near his quarters. By my
+faith, if he could have proved it was you he would have had you turned out
+of the barrack gate, and word given to the sentries that you were not to
+be allowed to pass in again."</P>
+<P>"I could have got over the wall, father," the boy said, calmly; "but
+mind, I never said that it was I who fastened the sparrow in his
+shako."</P>
+<P>"Because I never asked you, Terence; but it does not need the asking.
+What I am to do with you I don't know. Your Uncle Tim would not take you
+if I were to go down upon my knees to him. You were always in his bad
+books, and you finished it when you fired off that blunderbuss in his
+garden as he was passing along in the twilight, and yelled out 'Death to
+the Protestants!'"</P>
+<P>The boy burst into a fit of laughter. "How could I tell that he was
+going to fall flat upon the ground and shout a million murders, when I
+fired straight into the air?"</P>
+<P>"Well, you did for yourself there, Terence. Not that the old man would
+ever have taken to you, for he never forgave my marriage with his niece;
+still, he might have left you some money some day, seeing that there is no
+one nearer to him, and it would have come in mighty useful, for you are
+not likely to get much from me. But we are no nearer the point yet. What
+am I to do with you at all? Here is the regiment ordered on foreign
+service and likely to have sharp work, and not a place where I can stow
+you. It beats me altogether!"</P>
+<P>"Why not take me with you, father?"</P>
+<P>"I have thought of that, but you are too young entirely."</P>
+<P>"I am nearly sixteen, father. I am sure I am as tall as many boys of
+seventeen, and as strong too. Why should I not go? I am certain I could
+stand roughing it as well as Dick Ryan, who is a good bit over sixteen.
+Could I not go as a volunteer? Or I might enlist; the doctor would pass me
+quick enough."</P>
+<P>"O'Flaherty would pass you if you were a baby in arms; he is as full of
+mischief as you are, and has not much more discretion; but you could not
+carry a musket, full cartridge-box, and kit for a long day's march."</P>
+<P>"I can carry a gun through a long day's shooting, dad; but you might
+make me your soldier servant."</P>
+<P>"Bedad, I should fare mighty badly, Terence; still as I don't see
+anything else for you, I must try and take you somehow, even if you have
+to go as a drummer. I will talk it over with the colonel, though I doubt
+whether he has forgotten that sparrow yet."</P>
+<P>"He would not bear malice, dad, even if he were sure that it was me--which he cannot be."</P>
+<P>The speaker was Captain O'Connor of his Majesty's regiment of Mayo
+Fusiliers, now under orders to proceed to Portugal to form part of the
+force that was being despatched under Sir Arthur Wellesley to assist the
+Portuguese in resisting the advance of the French. He was a widower, and
+Terence was his only child. The boy had been brought up in the regiment.
+His mother had died when he was nine years old, and Terence had been
+allowed by his father to run pretty nearly wild. He picked up a certain
+amount of education, for he was as sharp at lessons as at most other
+things. His mother had taught him to read and write, and the officers and
+their wives were always ready to lend him books; and as, during the hours
+when drill and exercise were going on, he had plenty of time to himself,
+he had got through a very large amount of desultory reading, and, having a
+retentive memory, knew quite as much as most lads of his age, although the
+knowledge was of a much more irregular kind.</P>
+<P>He was a general favourite among the officers and men of the regiment,
+though his tricks got him into frequent scrapes, and more than one
+prophesied that his eventual fate was likely to be hanging. He was great
+at making acquaintances among the country people, and knew the exact spot
+where the best fishing could be had for miles round; he had also been
+given leave to shoot on many of the estates in the neighbourhood.</P>
+<P>His father had, from the first, absolutely forbidden him to associate
+with the drummer boys.</P>
+<P>"I don't mind your going into the men's quarters," he said, "you will
+come to no harm there, but among the boys you might get into bad habits;
+some of them are thorough young scamps. With the men you would always be
+one of their officers' sons, while with the boys you would soon become a
+mere playmate."</P>
+<P>As he grew older, Terence, being a son of one of the senior officers,
+became a companion of the ensigns, and one or other of them generally
+accompanied him on his fishing excursions, and were not unfrequently
+participators in his escapades, several of which were directed against the
+tranquillity of the inhabitants of Athlone. One night the bells of the
+three churches had been rung simultaneously and violently, and the idea
+that either the town was in flames, or that the French had landed, or that
+the whole country was up in arms, brought all the inhabitants to their
+doors in a state of violent excitement and scanty attire. No clew was ever
+obtained as to the author of this outrage, nor was anyone able to discover
+the origin of the rumour that circulated through the town, that a large
+amount of gunpowder had been stored in some house or other in the market-place, and that on a certain night half the town would be blown into the
+air.</P>
+<P>So circumstantial were the details that a deputation waited on Colonel
+Corcoran, and a strong search-party was sent down to examine the cellars
+of all the houses in the market-place and for some distance round. These
+and some similar occurrences had much alarmed the good people of Athlone,
+and it was certain that more than one person must have been concerned in
+them.</P>
+<P>"I have come, Colonel," Captain O'Connor said, when he called upon his
+commanding officer, "to speak to you about Terence."</P>
+<P>The colonel smiled grimly. "It is a comfort to think that we are going
+to get rid of him, O'Connor; he is enough to demoralize a whole brigade,
+to say nothing of a battalion, and the worst of it is he respects no one.
+I am as convinced as can be that it was he who fastened that baste of a
+bird in my shako the other day, and made me the laughing stock of the
+whole regiment on parade. Faith, I could not for the life of me make out
+what was the matter, there was a tugging and a jumping and a fluttering
+overhead, and I thought the shako was going to fly away. It fairly gave me
+a scare, for I thought the shako had gone mad, and that the divil was in
+it. I have often overlooked his tricks for your sake, but when it comes to
+his commanding officer, it is too serious altogether."</P>
+<P>"Well, you see, Colonel, the lad proved clearly enough that he was out
+of the way at the time; and besides, you know he has given you many a
+hearty laugh."</P>
+<P>"He has that," the colonel admitted.</P>
+<P>"And, moreover," Captain O'Connor went on, "even if he did do this,
+which I don't know, for I never asked him" ("Trust you for that," the
+colonel muttered), "you are not his commanding officer, though you are
+mine, and that is the matter that I came to speak to you about. You see
+there is no one in whose charge I can leave him, and the lad wants to go
+with us; he would enlist as a drummer, if he could go no other way, and
+when he got out there I should get the adjutant to tell him off as my
+soldier servant."</P>
+<P>"It would not do, O'Connor," the colonel laughed.</P>
+<P>"Then I thought, Colonel, that possibly he might go as a volunteer--most regiments take out one or two young fellows, who have not interest
+enough to obtain a commission."</P>
+<P>"He is too young, O'Connor; besides, the boy is enough to corrupt a
+whole regiment; he has made half the lads as wild as he is himself. Sure
+you can never be after asking me to saddle the regiment with him, now that
+there is a good chance of getting quit of him altogether."</P>
+<P>"I think that he would not be so bad when we are out there, Colonel; it
+is just because he has nothing to do that he gets into mischief. With
+plenty of hard work and other things to think of I don't believe that he
+would be any trouble."</P>
+<P>"Do you think that you can answer for him, O'Connor?"</P>
+<P>"Indeed and I cannot," the captain laughed; "but I will answer for it
+that he will not joke with you, Colonel. The lad is really steady enough,
+and I am sure that if he were in the regiment he would not dream of
+playing tricks with his commanding officer, whatever else he might
+do."</P>
+<P>"That goes a long way towards removing my objection," the colonel said,
+with a twinkle in his eye; "but he is too young for a volunteer--a
+volunteer is the sort of man to be the first to climb a breach, or to risk
+his life in some desperate enterprise, so as to win a commission. But
+there is another way. I had a letter yesterday from the Horse Guards,
+saying that as I am two ensigns short, they had appointed one who will
+join us at Cork, and that they gave me the right of nominating another. I
+own that Terence occurred to me, but sixteen is the youngest limit of age,
+and he must be certified and all that by the doctor. Now Daly is away on
+leave, and is to join us at Cork; but O'Flaherty would do; still, I don't
+know how he would get over the difficulty about the age."</P>
+<P>"Trust him for that. I am indeed obliged to you, Colonel."</P>
+<P>"Don't say anything about it, O'Connor; if we had been going to stay at
+home I don't think that I could have brought myself to take him into the
+regiment, but as we are going on service he won't have much opportunity
+for mischief, and even if he does let out a little--not at my expense, you
+know--a laugh does the men good when they are wet through and their
+stomachs are empty." He rang a bell. "Orderly, tell the adjutant and
+Doctor O'Flaherty that I wish to see them. Mr. Cleary," he went on, as
+soon as the former entered, "I have been requested by the Horse Guards to
+nominate an ensign, so as to fill up our ranks before starting, and I have
+determined to give the appointment to Terence O'Connor."</P>
+<P>"Very well, sir, I am glad to hear it; he is a favourite with us all,
+but I am afraid that he is under age."</P>
+<P>"Is there any regular form to be filled up?"</P>
+<P>"None that I know of in the case of officers, sir. I fancy they pass
+some sort of medical examination at the Horse Guards, but, of course, in
+this case it would be impossible. Still, I should say that, in writing to
+state that you have nominated him, it would be better to send a medical
+certificate, and certainly it ought to be mentioned that he is of the
+right age."</P>
+<P>At this moment the assistant-surgeon entered. "Doctor O'Flaherty," the
+colonel said, "I wish you to write a certificate to the effect that
+Terence O'Connor is physically fit to take part in a campaign as an
+officer."</P>
+<P>"I can do that, Colonel, without difficulty; he is as fit as a fiddle,
+and can march half the regiment off their legs."</P>
+<P>"Yes, I know that, but there is one difficulty, Doctor, he is under the
+regulation age."</P>
+<P>O'Flaherty thought for a moment and then sat down at the table, and
+taking a sheet of paper, be began:</P>
+<DIV class="QUOTE">
+<P><i>I certify that Terence O' Connor is going on for seventeen years of
+age, he is five feet eight in height, thirty-four inches round the chest,
+is active, and fully capable of the performance of his duties as an
+officer either at home or abroad.</i></P>
+</DIV>
+<P>Then he added another line and signed his name.</P>
+<P>"As a member of a learned profession, Colonel," he said, gravely, "I
+would scorn to tell a lie even for the son of Captain O'Connor;" and he
+passed the paper across to him.</P>
+<P>The colonel looked grave, and Captain O'Connor disappointed. He was
+reassured, however, when his commanding officer broke into a laugh.</P>
+<P>"That will do well, O'Flaherty," he said; "I thought that you would
+find some way of getting us out of the difficulty."</P>
+<P>"I have told the strict truth, Colonel," the doctor said, gravely. "I
+have certified that Terence O'Connor is going on for seventeen; I defy any
+man to say that he is not. He will get there one of these days, if a
+French bullet does not stop him on the way, a contingency that it is
+needless for me to mention."</P>
+<P>"I suppose that it is not strictly regular to omit the date of his
+birth," the colonel said; "but just at present I expect they are not very
+particular. I suppose that that will do, Mr. Cleary?"</P>
+<P>"I think that you can countersign that, Colonel," the adjutant said,
+with a laugh. "The Horse Guards do not move very rapidly, and by the time
+that letter gets to London we may be on board ship, and they would hardly
+bother to send a letter for further particulars to us in Spain, but will
+no doubt gazette him at once. The fact, too--which of course you will
+mention--that he is the son of the senior captain of your regiment, will
+in itself render them less likely to bother about the matter."</P>
+<P>"Well, just write out the letter of nomination, Cleary; I am a mighty
+bad hand at doing things neatly."</P>
+<P>The adjutant drew a sheet of foolscap to him and wrote:--</P>
+<P><i>To the Adjutant-general, Horse Guards,</i></P>
+<DIV class="QUOTE">
+<P><i>Sir, I have the honour to inform you that, in accordance with the
+privilege granted to me in your communication of--</i></P>
+</DIV>
+<P>and he looked at the colonel.</P>
+<P>"The 14th inst.," the latter said, after consulting the letter.</P>
+<DIV class="QUOTE">
+<P><i>--I beg to nominate as an ensign in this regiment, Terence O'
+Connor, the son of Captain Lawrence O' Connor, its senior captain. I
+inclose certificate of Assistant-surgeon O' Flaherty,--the surgeon being
+at present absent on leave--certifying to his physical fitness for a
+commission in his Majesty's service. Mr. O' Connor having been brought up
+from childhood in the regiment is already perfectly acquainted with the
+work, and will therefore be able to take up his duties without difficulty.
+This fact has had some influence in my choice, as a young officer who had
+to be taught all his duties would have been of no use for service in the
+field for a considerable time after landing in Portugal. Relying on the
+nomination being approved by the commander-in-chief, I shall at once put
+him on the staff of the regiment for foreign service, as there will be no
+time to wait your reply.</i></P>
+<P><i>I have the honour to be</i></P>
+<P><i>Your humble, obedient servant,</i></P>
+</DIV>
+<P>Then he left a space, and added:</P>
+<DIV class="QUOTE">
+<P><i>Colonel Mayo Fusiliers.</i></P>
+</DIV>
+<P>"Now, if you will sign it, Colonel, the matter will be complete, and I
+will send it off with O'Flaherty's certificate today."</P>
+<P>"That is a good stroke, Cleary," the colonel said, as he read it aloud.
+"They will see that it is too late to raise any questions, and the 'going
+on for seventeen' will be accepted as sufficient."</P>
+<P>He touched a bell.</P>
+<P>"Orderly, tell Mr. Terence O'Connor that I wish to see him."</P>
+<P>Terence was sitting in a state of suppressed excitement at his father's
+quarters. He had a strong belief that the matter would be managed somehow,
+for he knew that the colonel had no malice in his disposition, and would
+not let the episode of the bird--for which he was now heartily sorry--stand in the way. On receiving the message he at once went across to the
+colonel's quarters. The latter rose and held out his hand to him as he
+entered.</P>
+<P>"Terence O'Connor," he said, "I am pleased to be able to inform you
+that from the present moment you are to consider yourself an officer in
+his Majesty's Mayo Fusiliers. The Horse Guards have given me the privilege
+of nominating a gentleman to the vacant ensigncy, and I have had great
+pleasure in nominating your father's son. Now, lad," he said, in different
+tone of voice, "I feel sure that you will do credit my nomination, and
+that you will keep your love of fun and mischief within reasonable
+bounds."</P>
+<P>"I will try to do so, Colonel," the lad said, in a low voice, "and I am
+grateful indeed for the kindness that you have shown me. I have always
+hoped that some day I might obtain a commission in your regiment, but
+never even hoped that it would be until after I had done something to
+deserve it. Indeed I did not think that it was even possible that I could
+obtain a commission until----"</P>
+<P>"Tut, tut, lad, don't say a word about age! Doctor O'Flaherty had
+certified that you are going on for seventeen, which is quite sufficient
+for me, and at any rate you will see that boyish tricks are out of place
+in the case of an officer going on for seventeen. Now, your father had
+best take you down into the town and get you measured for your uniforms at
+once. You must make them hurry on with his undress clothes, O'Connor. I
+should not bother about full-dress till we get back again; it is not
+likely to be wanted, and the lad will soon grow out of them. If there
+should happen to be full-dress parade in Portugal, Cleary will put him on
+as officer of the day, or give him some duties that will keep him from
+parade. We may get the route any day, and the sooner he gets his uniform
+the better."</P>
+<P>Two days later Terence took his place on parade as an officer of the
+regiment. He had witnessed such numberless drills that he had picked up
+every word of command, knew his proper place in every formation, and fell
+into the work as readily as if he had been at it for years. He had been
+heartily congratulated by the officers of the regiment.</P>
+<P>"I am awfully glad that you are one of us, Terence," Dick Ryan said. "I
+don't know what we should have done without you. I expect we shall have
+tremendous fun in Portugal."</P>
+<P>"I expect we shall, Dick; but we shall have to be careful. We shall be
+on active service, you see, and from what they say of him I don't think
+Sir Arthur Wellesley is the sort of man to appreciate jokes."</P>
+<P>"No, I should say not. Of course, we shall have to draw in a bit. It
+would not do to set the bells of Lisbon ringing."</P>
+<P>"I should think not, Dick. Still, I dare say we shall have plenty of
+fun, and at any rate we are likely, from what they say, to have plenty of
+fighting. I don't expect the Portuguese will be much good, and as there
+are forty or fifty thousand Frenchmen in Portugal, we shall have all our
+work to do, unless they send out a much bigger force than is collecting at
+Cork. It is a pity that the 10,000 men who have been sent out to Sweden on
+what my father says is a fool's errand are not going with us instead. We
+might make a good stand-up fight of it then, whereas I don't see that with
+only 6,000 or 7,000 we can do much good against Junot's 40,000."</P>
+<P>"Oh, I dare say we shall get on somehow!" Dick said, carelessly. "Sir
+Arthur knows what he is about, and it is our turn to do something now. The
+navy has had it all its own way so far, and it is quite fair that we
+should do our share. I have a brother in the navy, and the fellows are
+getting too cheeky altogether. They seem to think that no one can fight
+but themselves. Except in Egypt we have never had a chance at all of
+showing we can lick the French just as easily on land as we can at
+sea."</P>
+<P>"I hope we shall, Dick. They have certainly had a great deal more
+practice at it than we have."</P>
+<P>"Now I think we ought to do something here that they will remember us
+for before we start, Terence."</P>
+<P>"Well, if you do, I am not with you this time, Dick. I am not going to
+begin by getting in the colonel's bad books after he has been kind enough
+to nominate me for a commission. I promised him that I would try and not
+get into any scrapes, and I am not going to break my word. When we once
+get out there I shall be game to join in anything that is not likely to
+make a great row, but I have done with it for the present."</P>
+<P>"I should like to have one more good bit of fun," Ryan said; "but I
+expect you are right, Terence, in what you say about yourself, and it is
+no use our thinking to humbug Athlone again if you are not in it with us;
+besides, they are getting too sharp. They did not half turn out last time,
+and, indeed, we had a narrow escape of being caught. Well, I shall be very
+glad when we are off; it is stupid work waiting for the route, with all
+leave stopped, and we not even allowed to go out for a day's fishing."</P>
+<P>Three days later the expected order arrived. As the baggage had all
+been packed up, that which was to be left behind being handed over to the
+care of the barrack-master, and a considerable portion of the heavy
+baggage sent on by cart, there was no delay. Officers and men were alike
+delighted that the period of waiting had come to an end, and there was
+loud cheering in the barrack-yard as soon as the news came. At daybreak
+next morning the rest of the baggage started under a guard, and three
+hours later the Mayo Fusiliers marched through the town with their band
+playing at their head, and amid the cheers of the populace.</P>
+<P>As yet the martial spirit that was roused by the struggle in the
+Peninsula had scarcely begun to show itself, but there was a strong
+animosity to France throughout England, and a desire to aid the people of
+Spain and Portugal in their efforts for freedom. In Ireland, for the most
+part, there was no such feeling. Since the battle of the Boyne and the
+siege of Limerick, France had been regarded by the greater portion of the
+peasantry, and a section of the population of the towns, as the  natural
+ally of Ireland, and there was a hope that when Napoleon had all Europe
+prostrate under his feet he would come as the deliverer of Ireland from
+the English yoke. Consequently, although the townspeople of Athlone
+cheered the regiment as it marched away, the country people held aloof
+from it as it passed along the road. Scowling looks from the women greeted
+it in the villages, while the men ostentatiously continued their work in
+the fields without turning to cast a glance at them.</P>
+<P>Terence was not posted to his father's company, but was in that of
+Captain O'Driscol, although the lad himself would have preferred to be
+with Captain O'Grady, with whom he was a great favourite. The latter was
+one of the captains whose companies were unprovided with an ensign, and he
+had asked the adjutant to let him have the lad instead of the ensign who
+was to join at Cork.</P>
+<P>"The matter has been settled the other way, O'Grady; in the colonel's
+opinion he will be much better with O'Driscol, who is more likely to keep
+him in order than you are."</P>
+<P>O'Grady was one of the most original characters in the regiment. He was
+rather under middle height, and had a smooth face, a guileless and
+innocent expression, and a habit of opening his light-blue eyes as in
+wonder. His hair was short, and stuck up aggressively; his brogue was the
+strongest in the regiment; his blunders were innumerable, and his look of
+amazement at the laughter they called forth was admirably feigned, save
+that the twinkle of his eye induced a suspicion that he himself enjoyed
+the joke as well as anyone. His good-humour was imperturbable, and he was
+immensely popular both among men and officers.</P>
+<P>"O'Driscol!" he repeated, in mild astonishment. "Do you mean to say
+that O'Driscol will keep him in better order than meself? If there is one
+man in this regiment more than another who would get on well with the lad
+it is meself, barring none."</P>
+<P>"You would get on well enough with him, O'Grady, I have no doubt, but
+it would be by letting him have his own way, and in encouraging him in
+mischief of all kinds."</P>
+<P>O'Grady's eyebrows were elevated, and his eyes expressed hopeless
+bewilderment.</P>
+<P>"You are wrong entirely, Cleary; nature intended me for a schoolmaster,
+and it is just an accident that I have taken to soldiering. I flatter
+meself that no one looks after his subalterns more sharply than I do. My
+only fear is that I am too severe with them. I may be mild in my manners,
+but they know me well enough to tremble if I speak sternly to them."</P>
+<P>"The trembling would be with amusement," the adjutant grumbled. "Well,
+the colonel has settled the matter, and Terence will be in Orders to-morrow as appointed to O'Driscol's company, and the other to yours."</P>
+<P>"Thank you for nothing, Cleary," O'Grady said, with dignity. "You would
+have seen that under my tuition the lad would have turned out one of the
+smartest officers in the regiment."</P>
+<P>"You have heard of the Spartan way of teaching their sons to avoid
+drunkenness, Captain O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"Divil a word, Cleary; but I reckon that the best way with the haythens
+was to keep them from touching whisky. It is what I always recommend to
+the men of my company when I come across one of them the worse for
+liquor."</P>
+<P>The adjutant laughed. "That was not the Spartan way, O'Grady; but the
+advice, if taken, would doubtless have the same effect."</P>
+<P>"And who were the Spartans at all?"</P>
+<P>"I have not time to tell you now, O'Grady; I have no end of business on
+my hands."</P>
+<P>"Thin what do you keep me talking here for? haven't I a lot of work on
+me hands too. I came in to ask a simple question, and instead of giving me
+a civil answer you kape me wasting my time wid your O'Driscols and your
+Spartans and all kinds of rigmarole. That is the worst of being in an
+Irish regiment, nothing can be done widout ever so much blather;" and
+Captain O'Grady stalked out of the orderly-room.</P>
+<P>On the march Terence had no difficulty in obtaining leave from his
+captain to drop behind and march with his friend Dick Ryan. The marches
+were long ones, and they halted only at Parsonstown, Templemore,
+Tipperary, and Fermoy, as the colonel had received orders to use all
+speed. At each place a portion of the regiment was accommodated in the
+barracks, while the rest were quartered in the town. Late in the evening
+of the fifth day's march they arrived at Cork, and the next day went on
+board the two transports provided for them, and joined the fleet assembled
+in the Cove. Some of the ships had been lying there for nearly a month
+waiting orders, and the troops on board were heartily weary of their
+confinement. The news, however, that Sir Arthur Wellesley had been at last
+appointed to command them, and that they were to sail for Portugal, had
+caused great delight, for it had been feared that they might, like other
+bodies of troops, be shipped off to some distant spot, only to remain
+there for months and then to be brought home again.</P>
+<P>Nothing, indeed, could exceed the vacillation and confusion that
+reigned in the English cabinet at that time. The forces of England were
+frittered away in small and objectless expeditions, the plans of action
+were changed with every report sent either by the interested leaders of
+insurrectionary movements in Spain, or by the signally incompetent men who
+had been sent out to represent England, and who distributed broadcast
+British money and British arms to the most unworthy applicants. By their
+lavishness and subservience to the Spaniards our representatives increased
+the natural arrogance of these people, and caused them to regard England
+as a power which was honoured by being permitted to share in the Spanish
+efforts against the French generals. General Spencer with 5,000 men was
+kept for months sailing up and down the coast of Spain and Portugal,
+receiving contradictory orders from home, and endeavouring in vain to co-operate with the Spanish generals, each of whom had his own private
+purposes, and was bent on gratifying personal ambitions and of thwarting
+the schemes of his rivals, rather than on opposing the common enemy.</P>
+<P>Not only were the English ministry incapable of devising any plan of
+action, but they were constantly changing the naval and military officers
+of the forces. At one moment one general or admiral seemed to possess
+their confidence, while soon afterwards, without the slightest reason, two
+or three others with greater political influence were placed over his
+head; and when at last Sir Arthur Wellesley, whose services in India
+marked him as our greatest soldier, was sent out with supreme military
+power, they gave him no definite plan of action. General Spencer was
+nominally placed under his orders by one set of instructions, while
+another authorized him to commence operations in the south, without
+reference to Sir Arthur Wellesley. Admiral Purvis, who was junior to
+Admiral Collingwood, was authorized to control the operations of Sir
+Arthur, while Wellesley himself had scarcely sailed when Sir Hew Dalrymple
+was appointed to the chief command of the forces, Sir Harry Burrard was
+appointed second in command, and Sir Arthur Wellesley was reduced to the
+fourth rank in the army that he had been sent out to command, two of the
+men placed above him being almost unknown, they never having commanded any
+military force in the field.</P>
+<P>The 9,000 men assembled in the Cove of Cork knew nothing of these
+things; they were going out under the command of the victor of Assaye to
+measure their strength against that of the French, and they had no fear of
+the result.</P>
+<P>"I hope," Captain O'Grady said, as the officers of the wing of the
+regiment to which he belonged sat down to dinner for the first time on
+board the transport, "that we shall not have to keep together in going
+out."</P>
+<P>"Why so, O'Grady?" another captain asked.</P>
+<P>"Because there is no doubt at all that our ship is the fastest in the
+fleet, and that we shall get there in time to have a little brush with the
+French all to ourselves before the others arrive."</P>
+<P>"What makes you think that she is the fastest ship here, O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"Anyone can see it with half an eye, O'Driscol. Look at her lines; she
+is a flyer, and if we are not obliged to keep with the others we shall be
+out of sight of the rest of them before we have sailed six hours."</P>
+<P>"I don't pretend to know anything about her lines, O'Grady, but she
+looks to me a regular old tub."</P>
+<P>"She is old," O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "but give her plenty of
+wind and you will see how she can walk along."</P>
+<P>There was a laugh all round the table; O'Grady's absolute confidence in
+anything in which he was interested was known to them all. His horse had
+been notoriously the most worthless animal in the regiment, but although
+continually last in the hunting field, O'Grady's opinion of her speed was
+never shaken. There was always an excuse ready; the horse had been badly
+shod, or it was out of sorts and had not had its feed before starting, or
+the going was heavy and it did not like heavy ground, or the country was
+too hilly or too flat for it. It was the same with his company, with his
+non-commissioned officers, with his soldier servant, a notoriously drunken
+rascal, and with his quarters.</P>
+<P>O'Grady looked round in mild expostulation at the laugh.</P>
+<P>"You will see," he said, confidently, "there can be no mistake about
+it."</P>
+<P>Two days later a ship-of-war entered the harbour, the usual salutes
+were exchanged, then a signal was run up to one of her mast-heads, and
+again the guns of the forts pealed out a salute, and word ran through the
+transports that Sir Arthur Wellesley was on board. On the following day
+the fleet got under way, the transports being escorted by a line-of-battle
+ship and four frigates, which were to join Lord Collingwood's squadron as
+soon as they had seen their charge safe into the Tagus.</P>
+<P>Before evening the <i>Sea-horse</i> was a mile astern of the rearmost
+ship of the convoy, and one of the frigates sailing back fired a gun as a
+signal to her to close up.</P>
+<P>"Well, O'Grady, we have left the fleet, you see, though not in the way
+you predicted."</P>
+<P>"Whist, man! don't you see that the captain is out of temper because
+they have all got to keep together, instead of letting him go ahead?"</P>
+<P>Every rag of sail was now piled on to the ship, and as many of the
+others were showing nothing above their topgallant sails she rejoined the
+rest just as darkness fell.</P>
+<P>"There, you see!" O'Grady said, triumphantly, "look what she can do
+when she likes."</P>
+<P>"We do see, O'Grady. With twice as much sail up as anything else, she
+has in three hours picked up the mile she had lost."</P>
+<P>"Wait until we get some wind."</P>
+<P>"I hope we sha'n't get anything of the sort--at least no strong winds;
+the old tub would open every seam if we did, and we might think ourselves
+lucky if we got through it at all."</P>
+<P>O'Grady smiled pleasantly, and said it was useless to argue with so
+obstinate a man.</P>
+<P>"I am afraid O'Grady is wrong as usual," Dick Ryan said to Terence, who
+was sitting next to him. "When once he has taken an idea into his head
+nothing will persuade him that he is wrong; there is no doubt the <i>Sea-horse</i> is as slow as she can be. I suppose her owners have some
+interest with the government, or they would surely never have taken up
+such an old tub as a troop-ship."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER II</H3>
+<H4>TWO DANGERS</H4></CENTER>
+<P>The next day, in spite of the sail she carried, the <i>Sea-horse</i>
+lagged behind, and one of the frigates sailed back to her, and the captain
+shouted angry orders to the master to keep his place in the convoy.</P>
+<P>"If we get any wind," O'Grady said, as the frigate bore up on her
+course again, "it will take all your time to keep up with her, my fine
+fellow. You see," he explained to Terence, "no vessel is perfect in all
+points; some like a good deal of wind, some are best in a calm. Now this
+ship wants wind."</P>
+<P>"I think she does, Captain O'Grady," Terence replied, gravely. "At any
+rate her strong point is not sailing in a light wind."</P>
+<P>"No," O'Grady admitted, regretfully; "but it is not the ship's fault. I
+have no doubt at all that her bottom is foul, and that she has a lot of
+barnacles and weeds twice as long as your body. That is the reason why she
+is a little sluggish."</P>
+<P>"That may be it," Terence agreed; "but I should have thought that they
+would have seen to that before they sent her to Cork."</P>
+<P>"It is like enough that her owners are well-wishers of Napoleon,
+Terence, and that it is out of spite that they have done it. There is no
+doubt that she is a wonderful craft."</P>
+<P>"I am quite inclined to agree with you, Captain O'Grady, for as I have
+never seen a ship except when the regiment came back from India ten years
+ago, I am no judge of one."</P>
+<P>"It is the eye, Terence. I can't say that I have been much at sea
+myself, except on that voyage out and home; but I have an eye for ships,
+and can see their good points at a glance. You can take it from me that
+she is a wonderful vessel."</P>
+<P>"She would look all the better if her sails were a bit cleaner, and not
+so patched," Terence said, looking up.</P>
+<P>"She might look better to the eye, lad, but no doubt the owners know
+what they are doing, and consider that she goes better with sails that fit
+her than she would with new ones."</P>
+<P>Terence burst into a roar of laughter. O'Grady, as usual, looked at him
+in mild surprise.</P>
+<P>"What are you laughing at, you young spalpeen?"</P>
+<P>"I am thinking, Captain O'Grady," the lad said, recovering himself,
+"that it is a great pity you could not have obtained the situation of
+Devil's Advocate. I have read that years ago someone was appointed to
+defend Old Nick when the others were pitching into him, and to show that
+he was not as black as he was painted, but was a respectable gentleman who
+had been maligned by the world."</P>
+<P>"No doubt there is a good deal to be said for him," O'Grady said,
+seriously. "Give a dog a bad name, you know, and you may hang him; and I
+have no doubt the Old One has been held responsible for lots of things he
+never had as much as the tip of his finger in at all, at all."</P>
+<P>Seeing that his captain was about to pursue the matter much further,
+Terence, making the excuse that it was time he went down to see if the
+men's breakfast was all right, slipped off, and he and Dick Ryan had a
+hearty laugh over O'Grady's peculiarities.</P>
+<P>"I think, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said, two days later, "we are
+going to have our opportunity, for unless I am mistaken there is going to
+be a change of weather. Those clouds banking up ahead look like a gale
+from the southwest."</P>
+<P>Before night the wind was blowing furiously, and the <i>Sea-horse</i>
+taking green sea over her bows and wallowing gunwale under in the waves.
+At daylight, when they went on deck, gray masses of cloud were hurrying
+overhead and an angry sea alone met the eye. Not a sail was in sight, and
+the whole convoy had vanished.</P>
+<P>"We are out of sight of the fleet, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said,
+grimly.</P>
+<P>"I felt sure we should be," O'Grady said, triumphantly. "Sorra one of
+them could keep foot with us."</P>
+<P>"They are ahead of us, man," O'Driscol said, angrily; "miles and miles
+ahead."</P>
+<P>"Ahead, is it? You must know better, O'Driscol; though it is little
+enough you know of ships. You see we are close-hauled, and there is no
+doubt that that is the vessel's strong point. Why, we have dropped the
+rest of them like hot potatoes, and if this little breeze keeps on, maybe
+we shall be in the Tagus days and days before them."</P>
+<P>O'Driscol was too exasperated to argue.</P>
+<P>"O'Driscol is a good fellow," O'Grady said, turning to Terence, "but it
+is a misfortune that he is so prejudiced. Now, what is your own
+opinion?"</P>
+<P>"I have no opinion about it, Captain O'Grady. I have a very strong
+opinion that I am not going to enjoy my breakfast, and that this motion
+does not agree with me at all. I have been ill half the night. Dick Ryan
+is awfully bad, and by the sounds I heard I should say a good many of the
+others are the same way. On the main deck it is awful; they have got the
+hatches battened down. I just took a peep in and bolted, for it seemed to
+me that everyone was ill."</P>
+<P>"The best plan, lad, is to make up your mind that you are quite well.
+If you once do that you will be all right directly."</P>
+<P>Terence could not for the moment reply, having made a sudden rush to
+the side.</P>
+<P>"I don't see how I can persuade myself that I am quite well," he said,
+when he returned, "when I feel terribly ill."</P>
+<P>"Yes, it wants resolution, Terence, and I am afraid that you are
+deficient in that. It must not be half-and-half. You have got to say to
+yourself, 'This is glorious; I never enjoyed myself so well in my life,'
+and when you have said that and feel that it is quite true, the whole
+thing will be over."</P>
+<P>"I don't doubt it in the least," Terence said; "but I can't say it
+without telling a prodigious lie, and worse still, I could not believe the
+lie when I had told it."</P>
+<P>"Then I am afraid that you must submit to be ill, Terence. I know once
+that I had a drame, and the drame was that I was at sea and horribly sea-sick, and I woke up and said to myself, 'This is all nonsense, I am as
+well as ever I was;' and, faith, so I was."</P>
+<P>Ill as Terence was, he burst into a fit of laughter.</P>
+<P>"That was just a dream, Captain O'Grady; but mine is a reality, you
+know. I don't think that you are looking quite well yourself."</P>
+<P>"I am perfectly well as far as the sea goes, Terence; never was better
+in my life; but that pork we had for dinner yesterday was worse than
+usual, and I think perhaps I ought to have taken another glass or two to
+correct it."</P>
+<P>"It must have been the pork," Terence said, as seriously as O'Grady
+himself; "and it is unfortunate that you are such an abstemious man, or,
+as you say, its effects might have been corrected."</P>
+<P>"It's me opinion, Terence, my boy, that you are a humbug."</P>
+<P>"Then, Captain O'Grady, it is clear that evil communications must have
+corrupted my good manners."</P>
+<P>"It must have been in your infancy then, Terence, for divil a bit of
+manners good or bad have I ever seen in you; you have not even the good
+manners to take a glass of the cratur when you are asked."</P>
+<P>"That is true enough," Terence laughed. "Having been brought up in the
+regiment, I have learned, at least, that the best thing to do with whisky
+is to leave it alone."</P>
+<P>"I am afraid you will never be a credit to us, Terence."</P>
+<P>"Not in the way of being able to make a heavy night of it and then turn
+out as fresh as paint in the morning," Terence retorted; "but you see,
+Captain O'Grady, even my abstinence has its advantages, for at least there
+will always be one officer in the corps able to go the round of the
+sentries at night."</P>
+<P>At this moment the vessel gave such a heavy lurch that they were both
+thrown off their feet and rolled into the lee-scuppers, while, at the same
+moment, a rush of water swept over them. Amidst shouts of laughter from
+the other officers the two scrambled to their feet.</P>
+<P> [Illustration: TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE <i>SEA-HORSE</i>]</P>
+<P> "Holy Moses!" O'Grady exclaimed, "I am drowned entirely, and I sha'n't
+get the taste of the salt water out of me mouth for a week."</P>
+<P>"There is one comfort," Terence said; "it might have been worse."</P>
+<P>"How could it have been worse?" O'Grady asked, angrily.</P>
+<P>"Why, if we hadn't been in the steadiest ship in the whole fleet we
+might have been washed overboard."</P>
+<P>There was another shout of laughter. O'Grady made a dash at Terence,
+but the latter easily avoided him and went down below to change his
+clothes.</P>
+<P>The gale increased in strength, and the whole vessel strained so
+heavily that her seams began to open, and by one o'clock the captain
+requested Major Harrison, who was in command, to put some of the soldiers
+at the pumps. For three days and nights relays of men kept the pumps
+going. Had it not been for the 400 troops on board, the <i>Sea-horse</i>
+would long before have gone to the bottom; but with such powerful aid the
+water was kept under, and on the morning of the fourth day the storm began
+to abate, and by evening more canvas was got on her. The next morning two
+vessels were seen astern at a distance of four or five miles. After
+examining them through his glass, the captain sent down a message to Major
+Harrison asking him to come up. In three or four minutes that officer
+appeared.</P>
+<P>"There are two strange craft over there, Major; from their appearance I
+have not the least doubt that they are French privateers. I thought I
+should like your advice as to what had best be done."</P>
+<P>"I don't know. You see, your guns might just as well be thrown
+overboard for any good they would be," the major said. "The things would
+not be safe to fire a salute with blank cartridge."</P>
+<P>"No, they can hardly be called serviceable," the master agreed. "I
+spoke to the owner about it, but he said that as we were going to sail
+with a convoy it did not matter, and that we should have some others for
+the next voyage."</P>
+<P>"I should like to see your owner dangling from the yardarm," the major
+said, wrathfully. "However, just at present the question is what had best
+be done. Of course they could not take the ship from us, but they would
+have very little difficulty in sinking her."</P>
+<P>"The first thing is to put on every stitch of sail."</P>
+<P>"That would avail us nothing; they can sail two feet to our one."</P>
+<P>"Quite so, Major; I should not hope to get away, but they would think
+that I was trying to do so. My idea is that we should press on as fast as
+we can till they open fire at us; we could hold on for a bit, and then
+haul up into the wind and lower our top-sails, which they will take for a
+proof of surrender."</P>
+<P>"You won't strike the flag, Captain; we cannot do anything
+treacherous."</P>
+<P>"No, no, I am not thinking of doing that. You see, the flag is not
+hoisted yet, and we won't hoist it at all till they get close alongside,
+then we can haul it up, and sweep their decks with musketry. Of course
+your men will keep below until the last moment."</P>
+<P>"That plan will do very well," the major agreed, "that is, if they
+venture to come boldly alongside."</P>
+<P>"One is pretty sure to do so, though the other may lay herself ahead or
+astern of us, with her guns pointed to rake us in case we make any
+resistance; but seeing what we are, and that we carry only four small guns
+each side, they are hardly likely to suspect anything wrong. I am not at
+all afraid of beating them off; my only fear is that after they have
+sheared away they will open upon us from a distance."</P>
+<P>"Yes, that would be awkward. However, if they do, we must keep the men
+below, and in the meantime you had better get your carpenter to cut up
+some spars and make a lot of plugs in readiness to stop up any holes they
+make near the water-line. I don't think they are likely to make very
+ragged holes, the wood is so rotten the shot would go through the side as
+if it were brown paper; still, you might get a lot of squares of canvas
+ready, with hammers and nails."</P>
+<P>The strange craft were already heading towards the <i>Sea-horse.</i> No
+time was lost in setting every stitch of canvas that she could carry; the
+wind was light now, but the vessel was rolling heavily in a long swell.
+The major examined the guns closely and found that they were even worse
+than he had anticipated, the rust holes eaten in the iron having been
+filled up with putty, and the whole painted. He was turning away, with an
+exclamation of disgust, when Terence, who was standing near, said to
+him:</P>
+<P>"I beg your pardon, Major, but don't you think that if we were to wind
+some thin rope very tightly round them three or four inches thick, they
+might stand a charge or two of grape to give them at close quarters; we
+needn't put in a very heavy charge of powder. Even if they did burst, I
+should think that the rope would prevent the splinters from flying
+about."</P>
+<P>"The idea is not a bad one at all, Terence. I will see if the captain
+has got a coil or two of thin rope on board."</P>
+<P>Fortunately the ship was fairly well supplied in this respect, and a
+few of the sailors who were accustomed to serving rope, with a dozen
+soldiers to help them, were told off to the work. The rope was wound round
+as tightly as the strength of a dozen men could pull it, the process being
+repeated five or six times, until each gun was surrounded by as many
+layers of rope. A thin rod had been inserted in the touch-hole. The cannon
+was then loaded with half the usual charge of powder, and filled to the
+muzzle with bullets. The rod was then drawn out, and powder poured in
+until it reached the surface.</P>
+<P>While this was being done, all the soldiers not engaged in the work
+went below, and the officers sat down under shelter of the bulwarks. The
+two privateers, a large lugger and a brig, had been coming up rapidly, and
+by the time the guns were ready for action they were but a mile away.
+Presently a puff of smoke burst out from the bows of the lugger, and a
+round shot struck the water a short distance ahead of the <i>Sea-horse</i>. She held on her course without taking any notice of it, and for
+a few minutes the privateer was silent; then, when they were but half a
+mile away the brig opened fire, and two or three shots hulled the
+vessel.</P>
+<P>"That will do, Captain," the major said. "You may as well lay-to
+now."</P>
+<P>The <i>Sea-horse</i> rapidly flew up into the wind, the sheets were
+thrown off, and the upper sails were lowered, one after the other, the job
+being executed slowly, as if by a weak crew. The two privateers, which had
+been sailing within a short distance of each other, now exchanged signals,
+and the lugger ran on, straight towards the <i>Sea-horse</i>, while the
+brig took a course which would lay her across the stern of the barque, and
+enable them to rake her with her broadside. Word was passed below, and the
+soldiers poured up on deck, stooping as they reached it, and taking their
+places under the bulwarks. The major had already asked for volunteers
+among the officers, to fire the guns. All had at once offered to do
+so.</P>
+<P>"As it was your proposal, Terence," the major said, "you shall have the
+honour of firing one; Ryan, you take another; Lieutenant Marks and Mr.
+Haines, you take the other two, and then England and Ireland will be
+equally represented."</P>
+<P>The deck of the lugger was crowded with men, and the course she was
+steering brought her within a length of the <i>Sea-horse</i>. Some of the
+men were preparing to lower her boats, when suddenly a thick line of red
+coats appeared above the bulwarks, two hundred muskets poured in their
+fire, while the contents of the four guns swept her deck. The effect of
+the fire was tremendous. The deck was in a moment covered with dead and
+dying men; half a minute later another volley, fired by the remaining
+companies, completed the work of destruction. The halliards of one of the
+lugger's sails had been cut by the grape, and the sail now came down with
+a run to the deck.</P>
+<P>"Down below, all of you," the major shouted, "the fellow behind will
+rake us in a minute."</P>
+<P>The soldiers ran down to the hold again. A minute later the brig,
+sailing across the stern, poured in the fire of her guns one by one.
+Standing much lower in the water than her opponent, none of her shot
+traversed the deck of the <i>Sea-horse</i>, but they carried destruction
+among the cabins and fittings of the deck below. As this, however, was
+entirely deserted, no one was injured by the shot or flying fragments. The
+brig then took up her position three or four hundred yards away, on the
+quarter of the <i>Sea-horse</i>, and opened a steady fire against her.</P>
+<P>To this the barque could make no reply, the fire of the muskets being
+wholly ineffective at that distance. The lugger lay helpless alongside the
+<i>Sea-horse</i>; the survivors of her crew had run below, and dared not
+return on deck to work their guns, as they would have been swept by the
+musketry of the <i>Sea-horse</i>.</P>
+<P>Half an hour later Terence was ordered to go below to see how they were
+getting on in the hold.</P>
+<P>Terence did so. Some lanterns had been lighted there, and he found that
+four men had been killed and a dozen or so wounded by the enemy's shot,
+the greater portion of which, however, had gone over their heads. The
+carpenter, assisted by some of the non-commissioned officers, was busy
+plugging holes that had been made in her between wind and water, and had
+fairly succeeded, as but four or five shots had struck so low, the enemy's
+object being not to sink, but to capture the vessel. As he passed up
+through the main deck to report, Terence saw that the destruction here was
+great indeed. The woodwork of the cabins had been knocked into fragments,
+there was a great gaping hole in the stern, and it seemed to him that
+before long the vessel would be knocked to pieces. He returned to the
+deck, and reported the state of things.</P>
+<P>"It looks bad," the major said to O'Driscol. "This is but half an
+hour's work, and when the fellows come to the conclusion that they cannot
+make us strike, they will aim lower, and there will be nothing to do but
+to choose between sinking and hauling down our flag."</P>
+<P>After delivering his report, Terence went to the side of the ship and
+looked down on the lugger. The attraction of the ship had drawn her closer
+to it, and she was but a few feet away. A thought struck him, and he went
+to O'Grady.</P>
+<P>"Look here, O'Grady," he said, "that fellow will smash us up altogether
+if we don't do something."</P>
+<P>"You must be a bright boy to see that, Terence; faith, I have been
+thinking so for the last ten minutes. But what are we to do? The muskets
+won't carry so far, at least not to do any good. The cannon are next to
+useless. Two of that lot you fired burst, though the ropes prevented any
+damage being done."</P>
+<P>"Quite so, but there are plenty of guns alongside. Now, if you go to
+the major and volunteer to take your company and gain possession of the
+lugger, with one of the mates and half a dozen sailors to work her, we can
+get up the main-sail and engage the brig."</P>
+<P>"By the powers, Terence, you are a broth of a boy," and he hurried away
+to the major.</P>
+<P>"Major," he said, "if you will give me leave, I will have up my company
+and take possession of the lugger; we shall want one of the ship's
+officers and half a dozen men to work the sails, and then we will go out
+and give that brig pepper."</P>
+<P>"It is a splendid idea, O'Grady."</P>
+<P>"It is not my idea at all, at all; it is Terence O'Connor who suggested
+it to me. I suppose I can take the lad with me?"</P>
+<P>"By all means, get your company up at once."</P>
+<P>O'Grady hurried away, and in a minute the men of his company poured up
+onto the deck.</P>
+<P>"You can come with me, Terence; I have the major's leave," he said to
+the lad.</P>
+<P>At this moment there was a slight shock, as the lugger came in contact
+with the ship.</P>
+<P>"Come on, lads," O'Grady said, as he set the example of clambering down
+onto the deck of the lugger. He was followed by his men, the first mate
+and six sailors also springing on board. The hatches were first put on to
+keep the remnant of the crew below. The sailors knotted the halliards of
+the main-sail, the soldiers tailed on to the rope, and the sail was
+rapidly run up. The mate put two of his men at the tiller, and the
+soldiers ran to the guns, which were already loaded.</P>
+<P>"Haul that sheet to windward," the mate shouted, and the four sailors,
+aided by some of the soldiers, did so. Her head soon payed off, and amid a
+cheer from the officers on deck the lugger swept round. She mounted twelve
+guns. O'Grady divided the officers and non-commissioned officers among
+them, himself taking charge of a long pivot-gun in the bow.</P>
+<P>"Take stiddy aim, boys, and fire as your guns bear on her; you ought
+not to throw away a shot at this distance."</P>
+<P>As the lugger came out from behind the Sea-horse, gun after gun was
+fired, and the white splinters on the side of the brig showed that most,
+if not all, of the shots had taken effect. O'Grady's gun was the last to
+speak out, and the shot struck the brig just above the water-line.</P>
+<P>"Take her round," he shouted to the mate; "give the boys on the other
+side a chance." The lugger put about and her starboard guns poured in
+their contents.</P>
+<P>"That is the way," he shouted, as he laboured away with the men with
+him to load the pivot-gun again; "we will give him two or three more
+rounds, and then we will get alongside and ask for his health."</P>
+<P>The brig, however, showed no inclination to await the attack. Some
+shots had been hastily fired when the lugger's first gun told them that
+she was now an enemy, and she at once put down her helm and made off
+before the wind, which was now very light.</P>
+<P>"Load your guns and then out with the oars," Captain O'Grady shouted.
+"Be jabers, we will have that fellow. Let no man attend to the <i>Sea-horse</i>; it's from me that you are to take your orders. Besides," he
+said to Terence, "there is no signal-book on board, and they may hoist as
+many flags as they like."</P>
+<P>The twelve sweeps on board the lugger were at once got out, and each
+manned by three soldiers. O'Grady himself continued to direct the fire of
+the pivot-gun, and sent shot after shot into the brig's stern. The latter
+had but some four hundred yards' start, and although she also hurriedly
+got out some sweeps, the lugger gained upon her. Her crew clustered on
+their taffrail, and kept up a musketry fire upon the party working the
+pivot-gun. Two of these had been killed and four wounded, when O'Grady
+said to the others:</P>
+<P>"Lave the gun alone, boys; we shall be alongside of her in a few
+minutes; it is no use throwing away lives by working it. Run all the guns
+over to the other side; we will give them a warming, and then go at
+her."</P>
+<P>The <i>Sea-horse</i> had hoisted signals directly those on board
+perceived that the lugger was starting in pursuit of the brig. Terence had
+informed his commanding officer of this, but O'Grady replied:</P>
+<P>"I know nothing about them, Terence; most likely they mane 'Good-luck
+to you! Chase the blackguard, and capture him.' Don't let Woods come near
+me, whatever you do; I don't want to hear his idea of what the signals may
+mane."</P>
+<P>Terence had just time to stop the mate as he was coming forward.</P>
+<P>"The ship is signalling," he said.</P>
+<P>"I have told Captain O'Grady, sir," Terence replied. "He does not know
+what the signal means, but has no doubt that it is instructions to capture
+the brig, and he means to do so."</P>
+<P>The officer laughed.</P>
+<P>"I think myself that it would be a pity not to," he said; "we shall be
+alongside in ten minutes. But I think it my duty to tell you what the
+signal is."</P>
+<P>"You can tell me what it is," Terence said, "and it is possible that in
+the heat of action I may forget to report it to Captain O'Grady."</P>
+<P>"That is right enough, sir. I think it is the recall."</P>
+<P>"Well, I will attend to it presently," Terence laughed.</P>
+<P>When within a hundred yards of the brig the troops opened a heavy
+musketry fire, many of the men making their way up the ratlines and so
+commanding the brig's deck. They were answered with a brisk fire, but the
+French shooting was wild, and by the shouting of orders and the confusion
+that prevailed on board it was evident that the privateersmen were
+disorganized by the sight of the troops and the capture of their consort.
+The brig's guns were hastily fired, as they could be brought to bear on
+the lugger, as she forged alongside. The sweeps had already been got in,
+and the lugger's eight guns poured their contents simultaneously into the
+brig, then a withering volley was fired, and, headed by O'Grady, the
+soldiers sprang on board the brig.</P>
+<P>As they did so, however, the French flag fluttered down from the peak,
+and the privateersmen threw down their arms. The English broadside and
+volley fired at close quarters had taken terrible effect. Of the crew of
+eighty men thirty were killed and a large proportion of the rest wounded.
+The soldiers gave three hearty cheers as the flag came down.</P>
+<P>The privateersmen were at once ordered below.</P>
+<P>"Lieutenant Hunter," O'Grady said, "do you go on board the lugger with
+the left wing of the company. Mr. Woods, I think you had better stay here,
+there are a good many more sails to manage than there are in the lugger.
+One man here will be enough to steer her; we will pull at the ropes for
+you. Put the others on board the lugger."</P>
+<P>"By the by, Mr. Woods," he said, "I see that the ship has hoisted a
+signal; what does it mean?"</P>
+<P>"I believe that to be the recall, sir; I told Mr. O'Connor."</P>
+<P>"You ought to have reported that same to me," O'Grady said, severely;
+"however, we will obey it at once."</P>
+<P>The <i>Sea-horse</i> was lying head to wind a mile and a half away, and
+the two prizes ran rapidly up to her. They were received with a tremendous
+cheer from the men closely packed along her bulwarks. O'Grady at once
+lowered a boat and was rowed to the <i>Sea-horse</i>, taking Terence with
+him.</P>
+<P>"You have done extremely well, Captain O'Grady," Major Harrison said,
+as he reached the deck, "and I congratulate you heartily. You should,
+however, have obeyed the order of recall; the brig might have proved too
+strong for you, and, bound on service as we are, we have no right to risk
+valuable lives except in self-defence."</P>
+<P>"Sure I knew nothing about the signal," O'Grady said, with an air of
+innocence; "I thought it just meant 'More power to ye! give it 'em hot!'
+or something of that kind. It was not until after I had taken the brig
+that I was told that it was an order of recall. As soon as I learned that,
+we came along as fast as we could to you."</P>
+<P>"But Mr. Woods must surely have known."</P>
+<P>"Mr. Woods did tell me, Major," Terence put in, "but somehow I forgot
+to mention it to Captain O'Grady."</P>
+<P>There was a laugh among the officers standing round.</P>
+<P>"You ought to have informed him at once, Mr. O'Connor," the major said,
+with an attempt at gravity. "However," he went on, with a change of voice,
+"we all owe so much to you that I must overlook it, as there can be very
+little doubt that had it not been for your happy idea of taking possession
+of the lugger we should have been obliged to surrender, for I should not
+have been justified in holding out until the ship sank under us. I shall
+not fail, in reporting the matter, to do you full credit for your share in
+it. Now, what is your loss, Captain O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"Three men killed and eleven wounded, sir."</P>
+<P>"And what is that of the enemy?"</P>
+<P>"Thirty-two killed and about the same number of wounded, more or less.
+We had not time to count them before we sent them down, and I had not time
+afterwards, for I was occupied in obeying the order of recall. I am sorry
+that we have killed so many of the poor beggars, but if they had hauled
+down their flag when we got up with them there would have been no occasion
+for it. I should have told their captain that I looked upon him as an
+obstinate pig, but as he and his first officer were both killed, there was
+no use in my spaking to him."</P>
+<P>"Well, it has been a very satisfactory operation," the major said, "and
+we are very well out of a very nasty fix. Now, you will go back to the
+brig, Captain O'Grady, and prepare to send the prisoners on board. We will
+send our boats for them. Doctor Daly and Doctor O'Flaherty will go on
+board with you and see to the wounded French and English. Doctor Daly will
+bring the worst cases on board here, and will leave O'Flaherty on the brig
+to look after the others. They will be better there than in this crowded
+ship. The first officer will remain there with you with five men, and you
+will retain fifty men of your own company. The second officer, with five
+men, will take charge of the lugger. He will have with him fifty men of
+Captain O'Driscol's company, under that officer. That will give us a
+little more room on board here. How many prisoners are there?"</P>
+<P>"Counting the wounded, Major, there are about fifty of them; her crew
+was eighty strong to begin with. There are only some thirty, including the
+slightly wounded, to look after."</P>
+<P>"If the brig's hold is clear, I think that you had better take charge
+of them. At present you will both lie-to beside us here till we have
+completed our repairs, and when we make sail you are both to follow us,
+and keep as close as possible; and on no account, Captain O'Grady, are you
+to undertake any cruises on your own account."</P>
+<P>"I will bear it in mind, Major; and we will do all we can to keep up
+with you."</P>
+<P>A laugh ran round the circle of officers at O'Grady's obstinacy in
+considering the <i>Sea-horse</i> to be a fast vessel, in spite of the
+evidence that they had had to the contrary. The major said, gravely:</P>
+<P>"You will have to go under the easiest sail possible. The brig can go
+two feet to this craft's one, and you will only want your lower sails. If
+you put on more you will be running ahead and losing us at night. We shall
+show a light over our stern, and on no account are you to allow yourselves
+to lose sight of it."</P>
+<P>A party of men were already at work nailing battens over the shattered
+stern of the <i>Sea-horse</i>. When this was done, sail-cloth was nailed
+over them, and a coat of pitch given to it. The operation took four hours,
+by which time all the other arrangements had been completed. The holds of
+the two privateers were found to be empty, and they learned from the
+French crews that the two craft had sailed from Bordeaux in company but
+four days previously, and that the <i>Sea-horse</i> was the first English
+ship that they had come across.</P>
+<P>"You will remember, Captain O'Grady," the major said, as that officer
+prepared to go on board, "that Mr. Woods is in command of the vessel, and
+that he is not to be interfered with in any way with regard to making or
+taking in sail. He has received precise instructions as to keeping near
+us, and your duties will be confined to keeping guard over the prisoners,
+and rendering such assistance to the sailors as they may require."</P>
+<P>"I understand, Major; but I suppose that in case you are attacked we
+may take a share in any divarsion that is going on?"</P>
+<P>"I don't think that there is much chance of our being attacked,
+O'Grady; but if we are, instructions will be signalled to you. French
+privateers are not likely to interfere with us, seeing that we are
+together, and if by any ill-luck a French frigate should fall in with us,
+you will have instructions to sheer off at once, and for each of you to
+make your way to Lisbon as quickly as you can. You see, we have
+transferred four guns from each of your craft to take the place of the
+rotten cannon on board here, but our united forces would be of no avail at
+all against a frigate, which would send us to the bottom with a single
+broadside. We can neither run nor fight in this wretched old tub. If we do
+see a French frigate coming, I shall transfer the rest of the troops to
+the prizes and send them off at once, and leave the <i>Sea-horse</i> to
+her fate. Of course we should be very crowded on board the privateers, but
+that would not matter for a few days. So you see the importance of keeping
+quite close to us, in readiness to come alongside at once if signalled to.
+We shall separate as soon as we leave the ship, so as to ensure at least
+half our force reaching its destination."</P>
+<P>Captain O'Driscol took Terence with him on board the lugger, leaving
+his lieutenant in charge of the wing that remained on board the ship.</P>
+<P>"You have done credit to the company, and to my choice of you,
+Terence," he said, warmly, as they stood together on the deck of the
+lugger. "I did not see anything for it but a French prison, and it would
+have broken my heart to be tied up there while the rest of our lads were
+fighting the French in Portugal. I thought that you would make a good
+officer some day in spite of your love of devilment, but I did not think
+that before you had been three weeks in the service you would have saved
+half the regiment from a French prison."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER III</H3>
+<H4>DISEMBARKED</H4></CENTER>
+<P>As soon as the vessels were under way again it was found that the
+lugger was obliged to lower her main-sail to keep in her position astern
+of the <i>Sea-horse</i>, while the brig was forced to take in sail after
+sail until the whole of the upper sails had been furled.</P>
+<P>"It is tedious work going along like this," O'Driscol said; "but it
+does not so much matter, because as yet we do not know where we are going
+to land. Sir Arthur has gone on in a fast ship to Corunna to see the
+Spanish Junta there, and find out what assistance we are likely to get
+from Northern Spain. That will be little enough. I expect they will take
+our money and arms and give us plenty of fine promises in return, and do
+nothing; that is the game they have been playing in the south, and if
+there were a grain of sense among our ministers they would see that it is
+not of the slightest use to reckon on Spain. As to Portugal, we know very
+little at present, but I expect there is not a pin to choose between them
+and the Spaniards."</P>
+<P>"Then we are not going to Lisbon?" Terence said, in surprise.</P>
+<P>"I expect not. Sir Arthur won't determine anything until he joins us
+after his visit to Corunna, but I don't think that it will be at Lisbon,
+anyhow. There are strong forts guarding the mouth of the river, and ten or
+twelve thousand troops in the city, and a Russian fleet anchored in the
+port. I don't know where it will be, but I don't think that it will be
+Lisbon. I expect that we shall slip into some little port, land, and wait
+for Junot to attack us; we shall be joined, I expect, by Stewart's force,
+that have been fooling about for two or three months waiting for the
+Spaniards to make up their minds whether they will admit them into Cadiz
+or not. You see, at present there are only 9,000 of us, and they say that
+Junot has at least 50,000 in Portugal; but of course they are scattered
+about, and it is hardly likely that he would venture to withdraw all his
+garrisons from the large towns, so that the odds may not be as heavy as
+they look, when we meet him in the field. And I suppose that at any rate
+some of the Portuguese will join us. From what I hear, the peasantry are
+brave enough, only they have never had a chance yet of making a fight for
+it, owing to their miserable government, which never can make up its mind
+to do anything. I hope that Sir Arthur has orders, as soon as he takes
+Lisbon, to assume the entire control of the country and ignore the native
+government altogether. Even if they are worth anything, which they are
+sure not to be, it is better to have one head than two, and as we shall
+have to do all the fighting, it's just as well that we should have the
+whole control of things too."</P>
+<P>For four days they sailed along quietly. On the morning of the fifth
+the signal was run up from the <i>Sea-horse</i> for the prizes to close up
+to her. Mr. Woods, the mate on board the brig, at once sent a sailor up to
+the mast-head.</P>
+<P>"There is a large ship away to the south-west, sir," he shouted
+down.</P>
+<P>"What does she look like?"</P>
+<P>"I can only see her royals and top-sails yet, but by their square cut I
+think that she is a ship-of-war."</P>
+<P>"Do you think she is French or English?"</P>
+<P>"I cannot say for certain yet, sir, but it looks to me as if she is
+French. I don't think that the sails are English cut anyhow."</P>
+<P>Such was evidently the opinion on board the <i>Sea-horse</i>, for as
+the prizes came up within a hundred yards of her they were hailed by the
+major through a speaking-trumpet, and ordered to keep at a distance for
+the present, but to be in readiness to come up alongside directly orders
+were given to that effect.</P>
+<P>In another half-hour the look-out reported that he could now see the
+lower sails of the stranger, and had very little doubt but that it was a
+large French frigate. Scarcely had he done so before the two prizes were
+ordered to close up to the <i>Sea-horse</i>. The sea was very calm and
+they were able to lie alongside, and as soon as they did so the troops
+began to be transferred to them. In a quarter of an hour the operation was
+completed, Major Harrison taking his place on board the lugger; half the
+men were ordered below, and the prize sheered off from the <i>Sea-horse</i>.</P>
+<P>"The Frenchman is bearing down straight for us," he said to O'Driscol;
+"she is bringing a breeze down with her, and in an hour she will be
+alongside. I shall wait another half-hour, and then we must leave the
+<i>Sea-horse</i> to her fate; except for our stores she is worthless.
+Well, Terence, have you any suggestion to offer? You got us out of the
+last scrape, and though this is not quite so bad as that, it is unpleasant
+enough. The frigate when she comes near will see that the <i>Sea-horse</i>
+is a slow sailer, and will probably leave her to be picked up at her
+leisure, and will go off in chase either of the brig or us. The brig is to
+make for the north-west and we shall steer south-east, so that she will
+have to make a choice between us. When we get the breeze we shall either
+of us give her a good dance before she catches us--that is, if the breeze
+is not too strong; if it is, her weight would soon bring her up to
+us."</P>
+<P>"Yes, Major, but perhaps she may not trouble about us at all. She would
+see at once that the lugger and brig are French, and if they were both to
+hoist French colours, and the <i>Sea-horse</i> were to fly French colours
+over English, she would naturally suppose that she had been captured by
+us, and would go straight on her course without troubling herself further
+about it."</P>
+<P>"So she might, Terence. At any rate the scheme is worth trying. If they
+have anything like good glasses on board they could make out our colours
+miles away. If she held on towards us after that, there would be plenty of
+time for us to run, but if we saw her change her course we should know
+that we were safe. Your head is good for other things besides mischief,
+lad."</P>
+<P>The lugger sailed up near the ship again, and the major gave the
+captain instructions to hoist a French ensign over an English one, and
+then, sailing near the brig, told them to hoist French colours.</P>
+<P>"Keep all your men down below the line of the bulwarks, O'Grady. Mr.
+Woods, you had better get your boat down and row alongside of the ship,
+and ask the captain to get the slings at work and hoist some of our stores
+into her; we will do the same on the other side. Tell the captain to lower
+a couple of his boats; also take twenty soldiers on board with you without
+their jackets; we will do the same, so that it may be seen that we have a
+strong party on board getting out the cargo."</P>
+<P>In a few minutes the orders were carried out, and forty soldiers were
+at work on the deck of the Sea-horse, slinging up tents from below, and
+lowering them into the boats alongside. The approach of the frigate was
+anxiously watched from the decks of the prizes. The upper sails of the
+<i>Sea-horse</i> had been furled, and the privateers, under the smallest
+possible canvas, kept abreast of her at a distance of a couple of lengths.
+The hull of the French frigate was now visible. "She is very fast," the
+mate said to the major, "and she is safe to catch one of us if the breeze
+she has got holds."</P>
+<P>As she came nearer the feeling of anxiety heightened.</P>
+<P>"They ought to make out our colours now, sir."</P>
+<P>Almost immediately afterwards the frigate was seen to change her
+course. Her head was turned more to the east. A suppressed cheer broke
+from the troops.</P>
+<P>"It is all right now, sir," the mate said; "she is making for Brest. We
+have fooled her nicely."</P>
+<P>The boats passed and repassed between the <i>Sea-horse</i> and the
+prizes, and the frigate crossed a little more than a mile ahead.</P>
+<P>"Five-and-twenty guns a-side," the major said. "By Jove! she would have
+made short work of us."</P>
+<P>As it was not advisable to make any change in the position until the
+frigate was far on her way, the boats continued to pass to and fro,
+carrying back to the <i>Sea-horse</i> the stores that had just been
+removed, until the Frenchman was five or six miles away.</P>
+<P>"Don't you think that we might make sail again, Captain?" the major
+then hailed.</P>
+<P>"I think that we had better give him another hour, sir. Were she to see
+us making sail with the prize to the south it would excite suspicion at
+once, and the captain might take it into his head to come back again to
+inquire into it."</P>
+<P>"Half an hour will surely be sufficient," the major said. "She is
+travelling at eight or nine knots an hour, and she is evidently bound for
+port. It would be unlikely in the extreme that her commander would beat
+back ten miles on what, after all, might be a fool's errand."</P>
+<P>"That is true enough, sir. Then in half an hour we shall be ready to
+sail again."</P>
+<P>The major was rowed to the <i>Sea-horse</i>. "We may as well transfer
+the men at once," he said. "We have had a very narrow escape of it,
+Captain, and there is no doubt that we owe our safety entirely to the
+sharpness of that young ensign. We should have been sunk or taken if he
+had not suggested our manning the lugger in the first place, and of
+pretending that the ship had been captured by French privateers in the
+second."</P>
+<P>"You are right, Major. Another half-hour and the craft would have
+foundered under us; and the frigate would certainly have captured the
+<i>Sea-horse</i> and one of the prizes if the Frenchman had not, as he
+thought, seen two privateers at work emptying our hold. He is a sharp
+young fellow, that."</P>
+<P>"That he is," the major agreed. "He has been brought up with the
+regiment, and has always been up to pranks of all kinds; but he has used
+his wits to good purpose this time, and I have no doubt will turn out an
+excellent officer."</P>
+<P>Before sail was made the major summoned the officers on board the
+<i>Sea-horse</i>. The troops from the lugger and brig were drawn up on
+deck, and the major, standing on the poop, said in a voice that could be
+heard from end to end of the ship:</P>
+<P>"Officers and men, we have had a narrow escape from a French prison,
+and as it is possible that before we arrive at our destination we may fall
+in with an enemy again and not be so lucky, I think it right to take this
+occasion at once of thanking Mr. O' Connor, before you all, in my own
+name, and in yours, for to his intelligence and quickness of wit it is
+entirely due that we escaped being captured when the brig was pounding us
+with its shot, without our being able to make any return, and it was
+certain that in a short time we should have had to haul down our flag or
+be sunk. It was he who suggested that we should take possession of the
+lugger, and with her guns drive off the brig. As the result of that
+suggestion this craft was saved from being sunk, and the brig was also
+captured.</P>
+<P>"In the second place, when that French frigate was bearing down upon us
+and our capture seemed certain, it was he who suggested to me, that by
+hoisting the French flag and appearing to be engaged in transferring the
+cargo of the ship to the privateers, we might throw dust into the eyes of
+the Frenchmen. As you saw, the ruse succeeded perfectly. I therefore, Mr.
+O'Connor, thank you most heartily in my own name, and in that of your
+fellow-officers, also in the name of the four hundred men of the regiment,
+and of the ship's company, for the manner in which you have, by your
+quickness and good sense, saved us all from a French prison, and saved his
+Majesty from the loss of the wing of a fine regiment."</P>
+<P>As he concluded the men broke into loud cheering, and the officers
+gathered around Terence and thanked and congratulated him most heartily on
+the service that he had rendered them.</P>
+<P>"You are a broth of a boy, Terence," Captain O'Grady said. "I knew that
+it was in you all along. I would not give a brass farthing for a lad who
+had not a spice of divil-ment in him. It shows that he has got his wits
+about him, and that when he steddys down he will be hard to bate."</P>
+<P>Terence was so much overpowered at the praise he had received that,
+beyond protesting that it was quite undeserved, he had no reply to make to
+the congratulations that he received from the captain. O'Driscol, seeing
+that he was on the verge of breaking down, at once called upon him to take
+his place in the boat, and rowed with him to the lugger.</P>
+<P>A few minutes later all sail was set on the <i>Sea-horse</i>, and with
+her yards braced tautly aft she laid her course south, close-hauled; a
+fresh breeze was now blowing, and she ploughed her way through the water
+at a rate that almost justified O'Grady's panegyrics upon her. In another
+three days she entered the port of Vigo, where the convoy was to
+rendezvous, and all were glad to find that the whole fleet were still
+there. On anchoring, the major went on board the <i>Dauphin</i>, which had
+brought the headquarters, and the other wing of the regiment. He was
+heartily greeted by the colonel.</P>
+<P>"We were getting very uneasy about you, Harrison," he said. "The last
+ship of the convoy came in three days ago, and we began to fear that you
+must have been either dismasted or sunk in the gale. I saw the senior
+naval officer this morning, and he said that if you did not come in during
+the day he would send a frigate out in search of you; but I could see by
+his manner that he thought it most likely that you had gone down. So you
+may imagine how pleased we were when we made out your number, though we
+could not for the life of us make out what those two craft flying the
+English colours over the French, that came in after you, were. But of
+course they had nothing to do with you. I suppose they were two privateers
+that had been captured by one of our frigates, and sent in here with prize
+crews to refit before going home. They have both of them been knocked
+about a bit."</P>
+<P>"I will tell you about them directly, Colonel; it is rather a long
+story. We have had a narrow squeak of it. We got through the storm pretty
+well, but we had a bad time of it afterwards, and we owe it entirely to
+young O'Connor that we are not, all of us, in a prison at Brest at
+present."</P>
+<P>"You don't say so! Wait a moment, I will call his father here; he will
+be glad to hear that the young scamp has behaved well. I may as well call
+them all up; they will like to hear the story."</P>
+<P>Turning to the group of officers who were standing on the quarter-deck
+a short distance away, waiting to hear the news when the major had given
+his report, he said: "You may as well come now and hear Major Harrison's
+story; it will save his telling it twice. You will be glad to hear,
+O'Connor, that Terence has been distinguishing himself in some way, though
+I know not yet in what; the major says that if it had not been for him the
+whole wing of the regiment would have now been in a French prison."</P>
+<P>"Terence was always good at getting out of scrapes, Colonel, though I
+don't say he was not equally good in getting into them; but I am glad to
+hear that this time he has done something useful."</P>
+<P>The major then gave a full account of their adventure with the
+privateers, and of the subsequent escape from the French frigate.</P>
+<P>"Faith, O'Connor," the colonel said, warmly, holding out his hand to
+him, "I congratulate you most heartily, which is more than I ever thought
+to do on Terence's account. I had some misgivings when I recommended him
+for a commission, but I may congratulate myself as well as you that I did
+so. I was sure the lad had plenty in him, but I was afraid that it was
+more likely to come out the wrong way than the right; and now it turns out
+that he has saved half the regiment, for there is no doubt from what
+Harrison says that he has done so."</P>
+<P>"Thank you, Colonel; I am glad indeed that the boy has done credit to
+your kindness. It was a mighty bad scrape this time, and he got out of it
+well."</P>
+<P>"Of course, Major, you will give a full report in writing of this, and
+will send it in to Sir Arthur; he arrived this morning. I will go on board
+the flag-ship at once and report as to the prizes. Who they belong to I
+have not the least idea. I never heard of a transport capturing a couple
+of privateers before; but, I suppose, as she is taken up for the king's
+service and the prizes were captured by his Majesty's troops, they will
+rank as if taken by the navy, that is, a certain amount of their value
+will go to the admiral. Anyhow, the bulk of it will go, I should think, to
+the troops--the crew and officers of the ship, of course, sharing."</P>
+<P>"It won't come to much a head, Colonel, anyhow. You see, they were both
+empty, and there is simply the value of the ships themselves, which I
+don't suppose would fetch above five or six hundred apiece."</P>
+<P>"Still, the thing must be done in a regular way, and I must leave it in
+the admiral's hands. I will take your boat, Major, and go to him at once.
+You will find pen and ink in my cabin, and I should be glad if you would
+write your report by the time that I return; then I will go off at once to
+Sir Arthur."</P>
+<P>"I have it already written, Colonel," the major said, producing the
+document.</P>
+<P>"That looks to me rather long, Harrison, and busy as Sir Arthur must
+be, he might not take the trouble to read it. I wish you would write out
+another, as concise as you can make it, of the actual affair, saying at
+the end that you beg to report especially the conduct of Ensign O'Connor,
+to whose suggestions the escape of the ship both from the privateers and
+French frigate were due. I will hand that in as the official report, and
+with it the other, saying that it gives further details of the affair. Of
+course, with them I must give in an official letter from myself, inclosing
+your two reports. But first I will go and see the admiral."</P>
+<P>In a little over half an hour he returned. "The admiral knows no more
+than I do whether the navy have anything to do with the prizes or not.
+Being so small in value he does not want to trouble himself about it. He
+says that the matter would entail no end of correspondence and bother, and
+that the crafts might rot at their anchors before the matter was decided.
+He thinks the best thing that I can do will be to sell the two vessels for
+what they will fetch, and divide the money according to prize rules, and
+say nothing about it. In that way there is not likely ever to be any
+question about it, while if the Admiralty and Horse Guards once get into a
+correspondence over the matter, there is no saying what bother I might
+have; and that he should advise me, if I do not adopt that plan, to simply
+scuttle them both, and report that they have sunk. Now I will just write
+my official letter and take it to head-quarters."</P>
+<P>In two hours he was back again.</P>
+<P>"I have not seen the chief," he said, "but I gave the reports to his
+adjutant-general. General Fane was with him; he is an old friend of mine,
+and I told him the story of your voyage, and the adjutant-general joined
+in the conversation. Fane was waiting to go in to Sir Arthur, who was
+dictating some despatches to England, and he said that if he had a chance
+he would mention the affair to Sir Arthur; and, at any rate, the other
+officer said that he would lay the reports before him, with such mention
+that Sir Arthur would doubtless look through them both. I find that there
+is a bit of insurrection going on in Portugal, but that no one thinks much
+will come of it, as bands of unarmed peasants can have no chance with the
+French. Nothing is determined as yet about our landing. Lisbon and the
+Tagus are completely in the hands of the French.</P>
+<P>"Sir Arthur is going down to Oporto to-morrow, where it is likely that
+he will learn more about the situation than he did at Corunna. Fane says
+that he hopes we shall soon be ashore, as the general is not the man to
+let the grass grow under his feet."</P>
+<P>After holding counsel with his officers the colonel determined to adopt
+the advice he had received, and to sell the two craft for what they would
+fetch, the officers all agreeing to refund their shares if any questions
+were ever asked on the subject. The captain of the <i>Sea-horse</i> agreed
+to accept the share of a captain in the line, and his mates those of first
+and second lieutenant. The colonel put himself in communication with some
+merchants on shore, and the two craft were sold for twelve hundred
+pounds.</P>
+<P>"This gave something over a pound a head to the 400 soldiers and the
+crew, twice that amount to the non-commissioned officers, and sums varying
+from ten pounds apiece to the ensigns to fifty pounds to the major. The
+admiral was asked to approve of the transaction, and said, 'I have no
+right formally to sanction it, since, so far as I know, it is not a
+strictly naval matter; but I will give you a letter, Colonel, saying that
+you have informed me of the course that you have adopted, and that I
+consider that under the peculiar circumstances of the capture, and the
+fact that there are no men available for sending the prizes to England,
+the course was the best and most convenient that could possibly be
+adopted, though, had the craft been of any great value, it would, of
+course, have been necessary to refer the matter home.'"</P>
+<P>A week passed without movement. The expedition had left England on the
+12th of July, 1808, and Sir Arthur rejoined it towards the end of the
+month. He had learned at Oporto from Colonel Brown, our agent there, that,
+contrary to what he had been told at Corunna, there were no Spanish troops
+in the north of Portugal, but that a body of some 8,000 Portuguese
+irregulars and militia, half-armed and but slightly disciplined, were
+assembled on the river Mondego. After a consultation with Admiral Sir
+Charles Cotton, Sir Arthur had concluded that an attack at the mouth of
+the Tagus was impracticable, owing to the strength of the French there,
+the position of the forts that commanded the entrance of the river, and
+the heavy surf that broke in all the undefended creeks and bays near.
+There was then the choice of landing far enough north of Lisbon to ensure
+a disembarkation undisputed by the French, or else to sail south, join
+Spencer, and act against the French army under Dupont.</P>
+<P>Sir Arthur finally determined that the Mondego River was the most
+practicable for the enterprise. The fort of Figueira at its mouth was
+already occupied by British marines, and the Portuguese force was at least
+sufficient to deter any small body of troops approaching the
+neighbourhood. Therefore, to the great joy of the troops, the order was
+given that the fleet should sail on the following morning; two days later
+they anchored off the mouth of the Mondego. Just before starting a vessel
+arrived with despatches from Spencer, saying that he was at St. Mary's and
+was free to act with Sir Arthur, and a fast vessel was despatched with
+orders to him to sail to the Mondego.</P>
+<P>On arriving there Sir Arthur received the mortifying intelligence that
+Sir Hew Dalrymple had been appointed over his head, nevertheless he
+continued to push on his own plans with vigour, pending the arrival of
+that general. With this bad news came the information that the French
+general, Dupont, had been defeated. This set free a small force under
+General Anstruther, and some fast-sailing craft were at once despatched to
+find his command, and order it to sail at once to the Mondego. Without
+further delay, however, the landing of the troops began on the 1st of
+August, and the 9,000 men, their guns and stores, were ashore by the
+5th.</P>
+<P>On that day Spencer fortunately arrived with 3,300 men. He had not
+received Sir Arthur's orders, but the moment that Dupont surrendered he
+had sailed for the Tagus, and had learned from Sir C. Cotton, who
+commanded the fleet at the entrance to the river, where Sir Arthur was,
+and at once sailed to join him. While the troops were disembarking Sir
+Arthur had gone over to the Portuguese head-quarters, two miles distant,
+to confer with Bernardin Friere, the Portuguese commander-in-chief. The
+visit was a disappointing one. He found that the Portuguese troops were
+almost unarmed, and that their commander was full of inflated ideas. He
+proposed that the forces should unite, that they should relinquish the
+coast, and march into the interior and commence an offensive campaign, and
+was lavish in his promises to provide ample stores of provisions. The
+English general saw, however, that no effectual assistance could be hoped
+for from the Portuguese troops, and as little from the promises of their
+commander. He gave Friere 5,000 muskets for his troops, but absolutely
+declined to adopt the proposed plan, his own intention being to keep near
+the coast, where he could receive his supplies from the ships and be
+joined by reinforcements.</P>
+<P>As soon as they had landed the Mayo regiment was marched to a village
+two miles inland, and, with two others of the same brigade, encamped near
+it. All idea of keeping up a regimental officers' mess had been abandoned,
+and as soon as the tents were pitched and the troops had settled down in
+them, O'Grady said to Terence:</P>
+<P>"We will go into the village and see if we can find a suitable place
+for taking our meals. It may be that in time our fellows will learn how to
+cook for us, but, by jabers! we will live dacent as long as we can. My
+servant, Tim Hoolan, has gone on ahead to look for such a place, and he is
+the boy to find one if there is one anyhow to be got. As our companies are
+number 1 and 2, it is reasonable that we should stick together, and though
+O'Driscol's a quare stick, with all sorts of ridiculous notions, he is a
+good fellow at heart, and I will put up with him for the sake of having
+you with me."</P>
+<P>As they entered the village the servant came up. "I have managed it,
+Captain; we have got hold of the best quarters in the village; it is a
+room over the only shebeen here. The ould scoundrel of a landlord wanted
+to keep it as a general room, but I brought the Church to bear on him, and
+I managed it finally."</P>
+<P>"How did you work it, Tim?"</P>
+<P>"Sure, your honour, I went to the praste, and by good luck his house is
+in front of the church. I went into the church, and I crossed myself
+before the altar and said a prayer or two. As I did so who should come out
+of the vestry but the father himself. He waited until I had done and then
+came up to me, and to my surprise said in good Irish:</P>
+<P>"'So it's a Catholic you are, my man?'</P>
+<P>"'That am I, your riverence,' said I, 'and most all of the rigiment
+are; sure, we were raised in the ould country, and belong, most of us, to
+County Mayo, and glad we were to come out here to fight for those of the
+true religion against these Frenchmen, who they say have no religion at
+all, at all. And how is it you spake the language, your riverence, if I
+may be so bold as to ask?'"</P>
+<P>"Then he told me that he had been at college at Lisbon, where the sons
+of many Catholic Irish gentlemen were sent to be educated, and that he had
+learned it from them.</P>
+<P>"'And how is it that you are not with your regiment, my man?'</P>
+<P>"'I am here to hire rooms for the officers, your riverence, just a
+place where they can ate a dacent meal in peace and quietness. I have been
+to the inn, but I cannot for the life of me make the landlord understand.
+He has got a room that would be just suitable, so I thought I would come
+to your riverence to explain to you that the rigiment are not heretics,
+but true sons of the Church. I thought that, being a learned man, I might
+make shift to make you understand, and that you would maybe go wid me and
+explain the matter to him.'</P>
+<P>"'That will I,' says he; and he wint and jabbered away with the
+innkeeper, and at last turned to me and said: 'He will let you have a
+room, seeing that it is for the service of good Catholics and not
+heretics.'"</P>
+<P>"But, you rascal, you know that we are not Catholics."</P>
+<P>"Sure, your honour, didn't I say that most all the rigiment were
+Catholics; I did not say all of them."</P>
+<P>"I must go and explain the matter to him, Hoolan. If he calls upon us,
+as like he may do, he would find out at once that you have desaved
+him."</P>
+<P>"Sure, your honour, if you think that it is necessary, of course it
+must be done; but would it not be as well to go to the shebeen first and
+to take possession of the room, and to get comfortably settled down in it
+before ye gives me away?"</P>
+<P>"I think it might be worth while, Tim," O'Grady said, gravely. "What do
+you say, Terence?"</P>
+<P>"I think the matter will keep for a few hours," Terence said, laughing,
+"and when we are once settled there it will be very hard to turn us
+out."</P>
+<P>The room was found to be larger than they had expected, and O'Grady
+proposed that they should admit the whole officers of their wing to share
+it with them, to which Terence at once agreed heartily. "I think that with
+a little squeezing the place would hold the officers of the five
+companies, and the major and O'Flaherty. The more of us there are, the
+merrier, and the less fear of our being turned out."</P>
+<P>"That is so. We had better put the names up on the door. You go down
+and try and make that black-browed landlord understand that you want some
+paper and pen and ink."</P>
+<P>With some difficulty and much gesticulation Terence succeeded. The
+names of the officers were written down on a paper and it was then
+fastened on the door.</P>
+<P>"Now, Terence, I will go and fetch the boys; you and Hoolan make the
+landlord understand that we want food and wine for fifteen or sixteen
+officers. Of course they won't all be able to get away at once. We must
+contint ourselves with anything we can get now; afterwards we will send up
+our rations, and with plenty of good wine and a ham (there are lots of
+them hanging from the ceiling down below), we shall do pretty well, with
+what you can forage outside."</P>
+<P>Terence left this part of the work to Hoolan, who, by bringing up a
+number of plates and ranging them on the table, getting down a ham and
+cutting it into slices, and by pointing to the wine-skins, managed to
+acquaint the landlord with what was required. In this he was a good deal
+aided by the man's two nieces, who acted as his assistants, and who were
+much quicker in catching his meaning than was the landlord himself. Very
+soon the room below was crowded with officers from other regiments, and
+Hoolan went up to Terence:</P>
+<P>"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that it would be a good job if you were to go
+down and buy a dozen of them hams. A lot of them have been sold already,
+and it won't be long before the last has gone, though I reckon that there
+are three or four dozen of them still there."</P>
+<P>"That is a very good idea, Tim. You come down with me and bring them
+straight up here, and we will drive some nails into those rafters. I
+expect before nightfall the place will be cleared out of everything that
+is eatable."</P>
+<P>The bargain was speedily concluded. The landlord was now in a better
+temper. At first he had been very doubtful of the intentions of the new-comers. Now that he saw that they were ready to pay for everything, and
+that at prices much higher than he could before have obtained, his face
+shone with good-humour. He and the two girls were already busy drawing
+wine and selling it to the customers.</P>
+<P>"I will get some wood, your honour, and light a fire here, or it is
+mighty little dinner that you will be getting. The soldiers will soon be
+dropping in, that is, if they don't keep this place for officers only, for
+there are two other places where they sell wine in the village. When I
+came up two officers had a slice of ham each on the points of their swords
+over the fire."</P>
+<P>"That will be a very good plan, Tim; you had better set to work about
+it at once, and at the same time I will try and get some bread."</P>
+<P>By the time that O'Grady returned with seven or eight other officers
+the fire was blazing. Terence had managed to get a sufficient number of
+knives and forks; there was, however, no table-cloth in the house. He and
+Terence were cooking slices of ham on a gridiron over the fire.</P>
+<P>"This is first-rate, O'Grady," Major Harrison said; "the place is
+crowded down below, and we should have fared very badly if you had not
+managed to get hold of this room."</P>
+<P>"If some of the boys will see to the cooking, Major, I will go down
+with Hoolan and get a barrel of wine and bring it up here; then we shall
+do first-rate."</P>
+<P>"How about the rations, Major?" Terence asked.</P>
+<P>"They have just been served out. I sent my man down to draw the rations
+for the whole wing at once, and told him to bring them up here."</P>
+<P>"And I have told mine," Captain O'Driscol said, "to go round the
+village and buy up two or three dozen chickens, if he can find them, and
+as many eggs as he can collect. I think that we had better tell off two of
+the men as cooks. I don't think it is likely that they will be able to get
+much done that way below. Hoolan and another will do."</P>
+<P>"I should think it best to keep Hoolan as forager; he is rather a
+genius in that capacity. I think he has got round those two girls, whether
+by his red hair or his insinuating manners I cannot say, but they seem
+ready to do anything for him, and we shall want lots of things in the way
+of pots and pans and so on."</P>
+<P>"Very well, Terence, then we will leave him free and put two others
+on."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER IV</H3>
+<H4>UNDER CANVAS</H4></CENTER>
+<P>In a short time O'Grady returned, followed by Hoolan, carrying a small
+barrel of wine.</P>
+<P>"It is good, I hope," the major said, as the barrel was set down in one
+corner of the room.</P>
+<P>"I think that it is the best they have; one of the girls went down with
+Tim into the cellar and pointed it out to him. I told him to ask her for
+<i>bueno vino</i>. I don't know whether it was right or not, but I think
+she understood."</P>
+<P>"How much does it hold, O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"I cannot say; five or six gallons, I should think; anyhow, I paid
+three dollars for it."</P>
+<P>"You must put down all the outgoings, O'Grady, and we will square up
+when we leave here."</P>
+<P>"I will put them down, Major. How long do you think we shall stop
+here?"</P>
+<P>"That is more than anyone can say; we have to wait for Anstruther and
+Spencer. It may be three or four days; it may be a fortnight."</P>
+<P>Dick Ryan assisted Terence in the cooking, while Tim went down to get
+something to drink out of. He returned with three mugs and two horns.</P>
+<P>"Divil a thing else is there that can be found, yer honour," he said,
+as he placed them on the table; "every mortial thing is in use."</P>
+<P>"That will do to begin with," the major said; "we will get our own
+things up this afternoon. We must manage as best we can for this meal; it
+is better than I expected by a long way."</P>
+<P>Tim now relieved the two young officers at the gridiron, and sitting
+down at the benches along the table the meal was eaten with much laughter
+and fun.</P>
+<P>"After all, there is nothing like getting things straight from the
+gridiron," the major said.</P>
+<P>O'Grady had got the bung out of the barrel and filled the five drinking
+vessels, and the wine was pronounced to be very fair. One by one the other
+officers dropped in, and Hoolan was for an hour kept busy. The major, who
+spoke a little Spanish, went down and returned with a dozen bottles of
+spirits, two or three of which were opened and the contents consumed.</P>
+<P>"It is poor stuff by the side of whisky," O'Grady said, as he swallowed
+a stiff glass of it; "still, I will not be denying that it is warming and
+comforting, and if we can get enough of it we can hold on till we get home
+again. Here is success to the campaign. I will trouble you for that
+bottle, O'Driscol."</P>
+<P>"Here it is. I shall stick to wine; I don't care for that fiery stuff.
+Here is success to the campaign, and may we meet the French before
+long!</P>
+<P>"We are pretty sure to do that," he went on, as he set his horn down on
+the table. "If Junot knows his business he won't lose a day before
+marching against us directly he hears of our landing. He will know well
+enough that unless he crushes us at once he will have all Portugal up in
+arms. Here, Terence, you can have this horn."</P>
+<P>The difficulty of drinking had to some extent been solved by Hoolan,
+who had gone downstairs, and returned with a tin pot capable of holding
+about a couple of quarts. This he had cleaned by rubbing it with sand and
+water, and it went round as a loving-cup among those unprovided with mugs
+or horns. When all had finished, the two soldier servants, who had now
+arrived with the rations, were left in charge. O'Driscol's servant had
+brought in a dozen fowls and a large basket full of eggs, and, ordering
+supper to be ready at eight, the officers returned to their camp. They
+found that their comrades had done fairly well. Several rooms had been
+obtained in the village, and hams, black sausages, and other provisions
+purchased, and cooked in a rough way on a gridiron.</P>
+<P>"I am afraid that it is too good to last," the colonel said, as the
+officers gathered around him as the bugle sounded for parade; "a week of
+this and the last scrap of provisions here will have been eaten, and we
+shall have nothing but our rations to fall back upon. There is one thing,
+however, that is not likely to give out, that is wine. They grow it about
+here, and I hear that the commissariat have bought up large quantities
+without difficulty to serve out to the troops."</P>
+<P>The regiment had a long afternoon's drill to get them out of the
+slackness occasioned by their enforced idleness on the voyage. When it was
+over they were formed up, and the colonel addressed a few words to the
+men.</P>
+<P>"Men of the Mayo regiment," he said, "I trust that, now we are fairly
+embarked upon the campaign, you will so behave as to do credit to
+yourselves and to Ireland. Perhaps some of you think that, now that you
+are on a campaign, you can do just as you like. Those who think so are
+wrong; it is just the other way. When you were at home I did not think it
+necessary that I should be severe with you; and as long as a man was able,
+when he came into barracks, to walk to his quarters, I did not trouble
+about him. But it is different here; any breach of duty will be most
+severely punished, and any man who is found drunk will be flogged. Any man
+plundering or ill-treating the people of the country will be handed over
+to the provost-marshal, and, unless I am mistaken, he is likely to be
+shot.</P>
+<P>"Sir Arthur Wellesley is not the man to stand nonsense. There must be
+no straggling; you must keep within the bounds of the camps, and no one
+must go into the village without a permit from the captain of his company.
+As to your fighting--well, I have no fear of that; we will say nothing
+about it. Before the enemy I know that you will all do your duty, and it
+is just as necessary that you should do your duty and be a credit to your
+regiment at other times. There are blackguards in the regiment, as there
+are in every other, but I tell them that a sharp eye will be kept upon
+them, and that no mercy will be shown them if they misbehave while they
+are in Portugal. That is all I have to say to you."</P>
+<P>"That was the sort of thing, I think, Major," he said, as, after the
+men were dismissed, he walked back to his tent with Major Harrison.</P>
+<P>"Just the sort of thing, Colonel," the other said, smiling; "and said
+in the sort of way that they will understand. I am afraid that we shall
+have trouble with some of them. Wine and spirits are cheap, and it will be
+very difficult to keep them from it altogether. Still, if we make an
+example of the first fellow who is caught drunk it will be a useful lesson
+to the whole. A few floggings at the start may save some hanging
+afterwards. I know you are averse to flogging--there have only been four
+men flogged in the last six months--but this is a case where punishment
+must be dealt out sharply if discipline is to be maintained, and the
+credit of the regiment be kept up."</P>
+<P>O'Grady and one of the other officers called upon the priest to thank
+him for his good offices in obtaining the room for them.</P>
+<P>"I am afraid from what my man tells me that he did not state the case
+quite fairly to you. Our regiment was, as he said, raised in Ireland, and
+the greater portion of the men are naturally of your faith, Father, but we
+really have no claim to your services whatever."</P>
+<P>The priest smiled.</P>
+<P>"I am, nevertheless, glad to have been of service to you, gentlemen,"
+he said, courteously; "at least you are Irishmen, and I have many good
+friends countrymen of yours. And you have still another claim upon us all,
+for are you not here to aid us to shake off this French domination? I hope
+that you are comfortable, but judging from what I see and hear when
+passing I fear that your lodging is a somewhat noisy one."</P>
+<P>"You may well say that, Father; and we do our full share towards making
+it so; but having the room makes all the difference to us. They have no
+time to cook downstairs, and it is done by our own servants; but it is
+handy to have the wine and other things within call, and if we always do
+as well, we shall have good cause to feel mighty contented; for barring
+that we are rather crowded, we are just as well off here as we were at
+home, saving only in the quality of the spirits. Now, Father, we cannot
+ask you up there, seeing that it is your own village, but if you would
+like to take a walk through the camps we should be glad to show you what
+there is to be seen, and can give you a little of the real cratur. It is
+not much of it that we have been able to bring ashore, for the general is
+mighty stiff in the matter of baggage, but I doubt whether there is one of
+us who did not manage to smuggle a bottle or two of the real stuff hidden
+in his kit."</P>
+<P>The priest accepted the invitation, and was taken through the brigade
+camp, staying some time in that of the Mayos, and astonishing some of the
+soldiers by chatting to them in English, and with a brogue almost as
+strong as their own. He then spent half an hour in O'Grady's tent, and
+sampled the whisky, which he pronounced excellent, and of which his
+entertainer insisted upon his taking a bottle away with him.</P>
+<P>Three days later it was known in camp that two French divisions had
+been set in motion against them, the one from Abrantes to the east under
+Loison, the other from the south under Laborde. Junot himself remained at
+Lisbon. The rising in the south, and the news of the British landing
+caused an intense feeling among the population, and the French general
+feared that at any moment an insurrection might break out. The natural
+point of junction of these two columns would be at Leirya. That night
+orders were issued for the tents of the division to which the Mayo
+regiment belonged to be struck before daylight, and the troops were to be
+under arms and ready to march at six o'clock.</P>
+<P>"Good news!" O'Grady said, as he entered the mess-room at four o'clock
+in the afternoon, after having learned from the colonel the orders for the
+next morning; "our brigade is to form the advanced guard, and we are to
+march at six tomorrow."</P>
+<P>A general exclamation of pleasure broke from the five or six officers
+present. "We shall have the first of the fun, boys; hand me that horn,
+Terence. Here is to Sir Arthur; good-luck to him, and bad cess to the
+French!"</P>
+<P>The toast was drunk with some laughter. "Now we are going to campaign
+in earnest," he went on; "no more wine swilling, no more devilled ham----
+"</P>
+<P>"No more spirits, O'Grady," one of the group cut in; "and as for the
+wine, you have drunk your share, besides twice your share of the
+spirits."</P>
+<P>"Whin there is nothing to do, Debenham, I can take me liquor in
+moderation."</P>
+<P>"I have never remarked that, O'Grady," one of the others put in.</P>
+<P>"In great moderation," O'Grady said, gravely, but he was again
+interrupted by a shout of laughter.</P>
+<P>"Ye had to be helped home last night, O'Grady, and it took Hoolan a
+quarter of an hour to wake you this morning. I heard him say, 'Now, master
+dear, the bugle will sound in a minute or two; it's wake you must, or
+there will be a divil of botheration over it.' I looked in, and there you
+were. Hoolan was standing by the side of you shaking his head gravely, as
+if it was a hopeless job that he had in hand, and if I had not emptied a
+water-bottle over you, you would never have been on parade in time."</P>
+<P>"Oh! it was you, was it?" O'Grady said, wrathfully. "Hoolan swore by
+all the saints that he had not seen who it was. Never mind, me boy, I will
+be even wid ye yet; the O'Grady is not to be waked in that fashion; mind I
+owe you one, though I am not saying that I should have been on parade in
+time if you had not done it; I only just saved my bacon."</P>
+<P>"And hardly that," Terence laughed, "for the adjutant was down upon you
+pretty sharply; your coatee was all buttoned up wrong; your hair had not
+been brushed, and stuck up all ways below your shako; your sword-belt was
+all awry, and you looked worse than you did when I brought you home."</P>
+<P>"Well, it is a poor heart that never rejoices, Terence. We must make a
+night of it, boys; if the tents are to be struck before daylight it will
+be mighty little use your turning in."</P>
+<P>"You won't catch me sitting up all night," Terence said, "with perhaps
+a twenty-mile march in the morning, and maybe a fight at the end of it. If
+it is to Leirya we are going it will be nearer thirty miles than twenty,
+and even you, seasoned vessel as you are, will find it a long walk after
+being up all night, and having had pretty hard work to-day."</P>
+<P>"I cannot hold wid the general there," O'Grady said, gravely; "he has
+been kapeing us all at it from daybreak till night, ivery day since we
+landed, and marching the men's feet off. It is all very well to march when
+we have got to march, but to keep us tramping fifteen or twenty miles a
+day when there is no occasion for it is out of all reason."</P>
+<P>"We shall march all the better for it to-morrow, O'Grady. It has been
+hard work, certainly, but not harder than it was marching down to Cork;
+and we should have a good many stragglers to-morrow if it had not been for
+the last week's work. We have got half a dozen footsore men in my company
+alone, and you would have fifty to-morrow night if the men had not had all
+this marching to get them fit."</P>
+<P>"It is all very well for you, Terence, who have been tramping all over
+the hills round Athlone since you were a gossoon; but I am sure that if I
+had not had that day off duty when I showed the priest round the camp I
+should have been kilt."</P>
+<P>"Here is the general order of the day," the adjutant said, as he came
+in with Captain O'Connor. "The general says that now the army is about to
+take the field he shall expect the strictest discipline to be maintained,
+and that all stragglers from the ranks will at once be handed over to the
+provost-marshal, and all offences against the peasantry or their property
+will be severely punished. Then there are two or three orders that do not
+concern us particularly, and then there is one that concerns you, Terence.
+The general has received a report from Colonel Corcoran of the Mayo
+Fusiliers stating that 'the transport carrying the left wing of that
+regiment was attacked by two French privateers, and would have been
+compelled to surrender, she being practically unarmed, had it not been for
+the coolness and quick wit of Ensign Terence O'Connor. Having read the
+report the general commanding fully concurs, and expresses his high
+satisfaction at the conduct of Ensign O'Connor, which undoubtedly saved
+from capture the wing of the regiment.'</P>
+<P>"There, Terence, that is a feather in your cap. Sir Arthur is not given
+to praise unduly, and it is seldom that an ensign gets into general
+orders. It will do you good some day, perhaps when you least expect
+it."</P>
+<P>"I am heartily pleased, my lad," Captain O'Connor said, as he laid his
+hand upon Terence's shoulder. "I am proud of you. I have never seen my own
+name in general orders, but I am heartily glad to see yours. Bedad, when I
+think that a couple of months ago you were running wild and getting into
+all sorts of mischief, it seems hard to believe that you should not only
+be one of us, but have got your name into general orders."</P>
+<P>"And all for nothing, father," Terence said. "I call it a beastly shame
+that just because I thought of using that lugger I should be cracked up
+more than the others."</P>
+<P>"It was not only that, though, Terence; those guns that crippled the
+lugger could not have been fired if you had not thought of putting rope
+round them, and that French frigate would never have left you alone had
+not you suggested to the major how to throw dust into their eyes. No, my
+lad, you thoroughly deserve the credit that you have got, and I am sure
+that there is not a man in the regiment who would not say the same."</P>
+<P>"Gintlemen," Captain O'Grady said, solemnly, "we will drink to the
+health of Ensign Terence O'Connor; more power to his elbow!" And the toast
+was duly honoured.</P>
+<P>"It is mighty good of me to propose it," O'Grady went on, after Terence
+had said a few words of thanks, "because I have a strong idea that in
+another two or three minutes I should have made just the same suggestion
+that you did, me lad. I knew at the time that there was a plan I wanted to
+propose, but sorra a word came to me lips. I was just brimful with it when
+you came up and took the words out of me mouth. If I had spoken first it
+is a brevet majority I had got, sure enough."</P>
+<P>"You must be quicker next time, O'Grady," the adjutant said, when the
+laughter had subsided; "as you say, you have missed a good thing by your
+slowness. I am afraid your brain was still a little muddled by your
+indulgence the night before."</P>
+<P>"Just the contrary, me boy; I feel that if I had taken just one glass
+more of the cratur me brain would have been clearer and I should have been
+to the fore. But I bear you no malice, Terence. Maybe the ideas would not
+have managed to straighten themselves out until after we had had to haul
+down the flag, and then it would have been too late to have been any good.
+It has happened to me more than once before that I have just thought of a
+good thing when it was too late."</P>
+<P>"It has occurred to most of us, O'Grady," Captain O'Connor said,
+laughing. "Terence, you see, doesn't care for whisky, and perhaps that has
+something to do with his ideas coming faster than ours. Well, so we are
+off to-morrow; though, of course, no one knows which way we are going to
+march, it must be either to Leirya or along the coast road. It is a good
+thing Spencer has come up in time, for there is no saying how strong the
+French may be; though I fancy they are all so scattered about that, after
+leaving a garrison to keep Lisbon in order, and holding other points,
+Junot will hardly be able at such short notice to gather a force much
+superior to ours. But from what I hear there are some mighty strong
+positions between this and Lisbon, and if he sticks himself up on the top
+of a hill we shall have all our work to turn him off again."</P>
+<P>"I fancy it will be to Leirya," the adjutant said; "the Portuguese
+report that one French division is at Candieros and another coming from
+Abrantes, and Sir Arthur is likely to endeavour to prevent them from
+uniting."</P>
+<P>That evening there was a grand feast at the mess-room. The colonel had
+been specially invited, and every effort was made to do honour to the
+occasion. Tim Hoolan had been very successful in a foraging expedition,
+and had brought in a goose and four ducks, and had persuaded the
+landlord's nieces to let him and the cook have sole possession of the
+kitchen. The banquet was a great success, but the majority of those
+present did not sit very long afterwards. The colonel set the example of
+rising early.</P>
+<P>"I should advise you, gentlemen, to turn in soon," he said. "I do not
+say where we are to march to-morrow, but I can tell you at least that the
+march is a very long one, and that it were best to get as much sleep as
+possible, for I can assure you that it will be no child's play; and I
+think that it is quite probable we shall smell powder before the day is
+over."</P>
+<P>Accordingly, all the young officers and several of the seniors left
+with him, but O'Grady and several of the hard drinkers kept it up until
+midnight, observing, however, more moderation than usual in their
+potations.</P>
+<P>There was none of the grumbling common when men are turned out of their
+beds before dawn; all were in high spirits that the time for action had
+arrived; the men were as eager to meet the enemy as were their officers;
+and the tents were all down and placed in the waggons before daylight. The
+regimental cooks had already been at work, and the officers went round and
+saw that all had had breakfast before they fell in. At six o'clock the
+whole were under arms and in their place as the central regiment in the
+brigade. They tramped on without a halt until eleven; then the bugle
+sounded, and they fell out for half an hour.</P>
+<P>The men made a meal from bread and the meat that had been cooked the
+night before, each man carrying three days' rations in his haversack.
+There was another halt, and a longer one, at two o'clock, when the brigade
+rested for an hour in the shade of a grove.</P>
+<P>"It is mighty pleasant to rest," O'Grady said, as the officers threw
+themselves down on the grass, "but it is the starting that bates one. I
+feel that my feet have swollen so that every step I take I expect my boots
+to burst with an explosion. Faith, if it comes to fighting I shall take
+them off altogether, and swing them at my belt. How can I run after the
+French when I am a cripple?"</P>
+<P>"You had better take your boots off now, O'Grady," one of the others
+suggested.</P>
+<P>"It is not aisy to get them off, and how should I get them on again?
+No; they have got there, and there they have got to stop, bad cess to
+them! I told Hoolan to rub grease into them for an hour last night, but
+the rascal was as drunk as an owl."</P>
+<P>There was no more talking, for every man felt that an hour's sleep
+would do wonders for him; soon absolute quiet reigned in the grove, and
+continued until the bugle again called them to their feet. All knew now
+that it was Leirya they were making for, and that another ten miles still
+remained to be accomplished. A small body of cavalry which accompanied
+them now pushed on ahead, and when half the distance had been traversed a
+trooper brought back the news that the enemy had not yet reached the town.
+It was just six o'clock when the brigade marched in amid the cheers and
+wild excitement of the inhabitants. The waggons were not yet up, and the
+troops were quartered in the town, tired, and many of them foot-sore, but
+proud of the march they had accomplished, and that it had enabled them to
+forestall the French.</P>
+<P>Laborde, indeed, arrived the same night at Batalha, eight miles
+distant, but on receiving the news in the morning that the British had
+already occupied Leirya, he advanced no farther. His position was an
+exceedingly difficult one; his orders were to cover the march of Loison
+from Abrantes, and to form a junction with that general; but to do so now
+would be to leave open the road through Alcobaca and Obidos to the
+commanding position at Torres Vedras. Batalha offered no position that he
+could hope to defend until the arrival of Loison; therefore, sending word
+to that general to move from Torras Novas, as soon as he reached that
+town, to Santarem, and then to march to join him at Rolica, he fell back
+to Alcobaca and then to Obidos, a town with a Moorish castle, built on a
+gentle eminence in the middle of a valley.</P>
+<P>Leaving a detachment here, he retired to Rolica, six miles to the south
+of it. At this point several roads met, and he at once covered all the
+approaches to Torres Vedras, and the important port of Peniche, and could
+be joined by Loison marching down from Santarem.</P>
+<P>The advanced brigade of the British force remained in quiet possession
+of Leirya during the next day, and on the following, the 11th of August,
+the main body of the army arrived, having taken two days on the march. The
+Portuguese force also came in under Friere. That general at once took
+possession of the magazines there, and although he had promised the
+English general that their contents should be entirely devoted to the
+maintenance of the English army, he divided them among his own force.
+Disgusted as the British commander was at this barefaced dishonesty, he
+was not in a position to quarrel with the Portuguese. It was essential to
+him that they should accompany him, not for the sake of the assistance
+that they would give, for he knew that none was to be expected from them,
+but from a political point of view. It was most important that the people
+at large should feel that their own troops were acting with the British,
+and that no feelings of jealousy or suspicion of the latter should arise.
+Friere was acting under the orders of the Bishop and Junta of Oporto,
+whose great object was to keep the Portuguese army together and not to
+risk a defeat, as they desired to keep this body intact in order that, if
+the British were defeated, they should be able to make favourable terms
+for themselves. Consequently, even after appropriating the whole of the
+stores and provisions found at Leirya, Friere continued to make exorbitant
+demands, and to offer a vigorous opposition to any further advance.</P>
+<P>So far did he carry this that the British general, finding that in no
+other way could he get the Portuguese to advance with him, proposed that
+they should follow behind him and wait the result of the battle, to which
+Friere at last consented. The Portuguese, in fact, had no belief whatever
+that the British troops would be able to withstand the onslaught of the
+French, whom they regarded as invincible. Colonel Trant, however, one of
+our military agents, succeeded in inducing Friere to place 1,400 infantry
+and 250 cavalry under the command of Sir Arthur.</P>
+<P>The addition of the cavalry was a very useful one, for the English had
+with them only 180 mounted men; the country was entirely new to them,
+scarcely an officer could speak the language, and there was no means,
+therefore, of obtaining information as to the movements of the enemy.
+Moving forward through Batalha, and regaining the coast road at Alcobaca,
+the British forces arrived at Caldas on the 15th; and on the same day
+Junot quitted Lisbon with a force of 2,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and
+ten pieces of artillery, leaving 7,000 to garrison the forts and keep down
+the population of the city. His force was conveyed to Villa Franca by
+water, and the general then pushed forward to Santarem, where he found
+Loison, and took command of his division.</P>
+<P>The British advanced guard, after arriving at Caldas, pushed forward,
+drove the French pickets out of Brilos, and then from Obidos. Here,
+however, a slight reverse took place. Some companies of the 95th and 60th
+Rifles pressed forward three miles farther in pursuit, when they were
+suddenly attacked in flank by a greatly superior force, and had it not
+been that General Spencer, whose division was but a short distance behind,
+pressed forward to their assistance, they would have suffered heavily; as
+it was they escaped with the loss of two officers and twenty-seven men
+killed and wounded. Their rashness, however, led to the discovery that
+Laborde's force had taken up a strong position in front of the village of
+Rolica, and that he apparently intended to give battle there.</P>
+<P>The next day was spent in reconnoitring the French position. It was a
+very strong one. Rolica stood on a table-land rising in a valley,
+affording a view of the road as far as Obidos. The various points of
+defence there, and on the flank, were held by strong parties of the enemy.
+A mile in the rear was a steep and lofty ridge that afforded a strong
+second line of defence. By the side of this ridge the road passed through
+a deep defile, and then mounted over a pass through the range of hills
+extending from the sea to the Tagus, and occupying the intermediate ground
+until close to Lisbon. Laborde's position was an embarrassing one. If he
+retired upon Torres Vedras his line of communication with Loison would be
+lost, if he moved to meet Loison he would leave open the direct road to
+Lisbon, while if he remained at Rolica he had to encounter a force almost
+three times his own strength.</P>
+<P>Trusting in the advantages of his position, and confident in the valour
+of his troops, he chose the last alternative. Very anxiously, during the
+day, the British officers watched the French line of defence, fearful lest
+the enemy would again retreat. By sunset they came to the conclusion that
+Laborde intended to stay where he was, and to meet them. The French,
+indeed, had been so accustomed to beat the Spanish and Portuguese, that
+they had not woke up to the fact that they had troops of a very different
+material facing them.</P>
+<P>"We ought to have easy work," Major Harrison said, as the officers
+gathered round the fire that had been built in front of the colonel's
+tent; "the people here all declare that Laborde has not above 5,000 troops
+with him, while, counting Trant's Portuguese, we have nearly 14,000."</P>
+<P>"There will be no credit in thrashing them with such odds as that,"
+Dick Ryan grumbled.</P>
+<P>"I suppose, Ryan," Major Harrison said, "if you had been in Sir
+Arthur's place you would have preferred remaining at Leirya until Junot
+could have gathered all his forces, and obtained a reinforcement of some
+fifty thousand or so from Spain, then you would have issued a general
+order saying, that as the enemy had now a hundred thousand troops ready,
+the army would advance and smite them."</P>
+<P>"Not so bad as that, Major," the young ensign said, colouring, as there
+was a general laugh from the rest; "but there does not seem much
+satisfaction in thrashing an enemy when we are three to one against
+him."</P>
+<P>"But that is just the art of war, Ryan. Of course, it is glorious to
+defeat a greatly superior army and to lose half your own in doing so; that
+may be heroic, but it is not modern war. The object of a general is, if
+possible, to defeat an enemy in detail, and to so manoeuvre that he is
+always superior in strength to the force that is immediately in front of
+him, and so to ensure victory after victory until the enemy are destroyed.
+That is what the general is doing by his skilful manoeuvring; he has
+prevented Junot from massing the whole of the army of Portugal against
+us.</P>
+<P>"To-morrow we shall defeat Laborde, and doubtless a day or two later we
+shall fight Loison; then I suppose we shall advance against Lisbon, Junot
+will collect his beaten troops and his garrison, there will be another
+battle, and then we shall capture Lisbon, and the French will have to
+evacuate Portugal. Whereas, if all the French were at Rolica they would
+probably smash us into a cocked hat, in spite of any valour we might show;
+and as we have no cavalry to cover a retreat, as the miserable horses can
+scarcely drag the few guns that we have got, and the carriages are so
+rickety that the artillery officers are afraid that as soon as they fire
+them they will shake to pieces, it is not probable that a single man would
+regain our ships."</P>
+<P>"Please say no more, Major; I see I was a fool."</P>
+<P>"Still," Captain O'Connor said, "you must own, Major, that one does
+like to win against odds."</P>
+<P>"Quite so, O'Connor; individuals who may survive such a battle no doubt
+would be glad that it was a superior force that they had beaten, but then
+you see battles are not fought for the satisfaction of individuals.
+Moreover, you must remember that the proportion of loss is much heavier
+when the numbers are pretty equally matched, for in that case they must
+meet to a certain extent face to face. Skill on the part of the general
+may do a great deal, but in the end it must come to sheer hard fighting.
+Now, I expect that to-morrow, although there may be hard fighting, it is
+not upon that that Sir Arthur will principally rely for turning the French
+out of those strong positions.</P>
+<P>"He will, no doubt, advance directly against them with perhaps half his
+force, but the rest will move along on the top of the heights, and so
+threaten to cut the French line of retreat altogether. Laborde is, they
+say, a good general, and therefore won't wait until he is caught in a
+trap, but will fall back as soon as he sees that the line of retreat is
+seriously menaced. I fancy, too, that he must expect Loison up some time
+tomorrow, or he would hardly make a stand, and if Loison does come up,
+Ryan's wish will be gratified and we shall be having the odds against
+us.</P>
+<P>"Then you must remember that our army is a very raw one. A large
+proportion of it is newly raised, and though there may be a few men here
+who fought in Egypt, the great bulk have never seen a shot fired in
+earnest; while, on the other hand, the French have been fighting all over
+Europe. They are accustomed to victory, and are confident in their own
+valour and discipline. Our officers are as raw as our men, and we must
+expect that all sorts of blunders will be made at first. I can tell you
+that I am very well satisfied that our first battle is going to be fought
+with the odds greatly on our side. In six months I should feel pretty
+confident, even if the French had the same odds on their side."</P>
+<P>"The major gave it you rather hotly, Dick," Terence said to his friend,
+as they sauntered off together from the group. "I am glad that you spoke
+first, for I had it on the tip of my tongue to say just what you did, and
+I expect that a good many of the others felt just the same."</P>
+<P>"Yes, I put my foot in it badly, Terence. I have no doubt the major was
+right; anyhow, I have nothing to say against it. But for all that I wish
+that either we were not so strong or that they were stronger. What credit
+is there, I should like to know, in thrashing them when we are three to
+one? Anyhow, I hope that we shall have some share in the scrimmage. We
+shall get an idea when the orders are published to-night, and shall see
+where Fane's brigade is to be put."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER V</H3>
+<H4>ROLICA AND VIMIERA</H4></CENTER>
+<P>At nine o'clock in the evening it became known that the general plan of
+attack predicted by Major Harrison was to be carried out. Some five
+thousand men under General Ferguson were to ascend the hills on the left
+of the valley, while Trant, with a thousand Portuguese infantry and some
+Portuguese horse, were to move on the hills on the right; the centre, nine
+thousand strong, and commanded by Sir Arthur himself, were to march
+straight up the valley.</P>
+<P>Early in the morning the British troops marched out from Obidos.
+Ferguson's command at once turned to the left and ascended the hills,
+while Trant's moved to the west.</P>
+<P>After proceeding a short distance, Fane's brigade moved off from the
+road and marched along the valley, equidistant from the main body and from
+Ferguson, forming a connecting link between them; and on reaching the
+village of St. Mamed, three-quarters of a mile from the French position,
+Hill's brigade turned off to the right. From their elevated position the
+French opened fire with their artillery, and this was answered by the
+twelve guns in the valley and from Ferguson's six guns on the heights.
+Fane's brigade, extended to its left, was the first in action, and drove
+back the French skirmishers and connected Ferguson with the centre. They
+then turned to attack the right of the French position; while Ferguson,
+seeing no signs of Loison's force, descended from the high ground to the
+rear of Fane, while the Portuguese pressed forward at the foot of the
+hills on the other side of the valley and threatened the enemy's left
+flank.</P>
+<p><img src="images/Rolica.png" width="100%" alt="map" height="600"></p>
+<P> Seeing that his position was absolutely untenable, Laborde did not
+wait the assault, but fell back, covered by his cavalry, to the far
+stronger position in his rear. A momentary pause ensued before the British
+continued their advance. The new position of the French was of great
+natural strength, and could be approached only by narrow paths winding up
+through deep ravines on its face. Ferguson and Fane received orders to
+keep to the left, and so turn the enemy's right. Trant similarly was to
+push forward and threaten his left flank, while Hill and Nightingale
+advanced against the front.</P>
+<P>The battle commenced by a storm of skirmishers from these brigades
+running forward. These soon reached the foot of the precipitous hill and
+plunged into the passes. Neither the fire of the enemy nor the
+difficulties of the ascent checked them. Spreading right and left from the
+paths they made their way up, and taking advantage of the shelter afforded
+by great boulders, broken masses of rock, and the stumps of trees, climbed
+up wherever they could find a foothold. The supporting columns experienced
+much greater difficulty; the paths were too narrow, and the ground too
+broken for them to retain their formation, and they made their way forward
+as best they could in necessary disorder.</P>
+<P>The din of battle was prodigious, for the rattle of musketry was echoed
+and re-echoed from the rocks. The progress of the skirmishers could only
+be noted by the light smoke rising through the foliage and by the shouts
+of the soldiers, which were echoed by the still louder ones of the French,
+gathered strongly on the hill above them. As the British made their way
+up, Laborde, who was still anxiously looking for the expected coming of
+Loison, withdrew a portion of his troops from the left and strengthened
+his right, in order to hold on as long as possible on the side from which
+aid was expected. The ardour of the British to get to close quarters
+favoured this movement.</P>
+<P>It had been intended that the 9th and 29th Regiments should take the
+right-hand path where the track they were following up the pass forked,
+and so join Trant's Portuguese at the top of the hill and fall upon the
+French left. The left-hand path, however, was the one that would take them
+direct to the enemy, and the 29th, which was leading, took this, and the
+9th followed them. So rapidly did they press up the hill that they arrived
+at the crest before Ferguson and Fane, on the left, and Trant on the
+right, had got far enough to menace the line of retreat, and so shake the
+enemy's position. The consequence was, that as the right wing of the 29th
+arrived at the top of the path it was met by a very heavy fire before it
+could form, and some companies of a French regiment, who had been cut off
+from the main body by its sudden appearance, charged through the
+disordered troops and carried with them a major and fifty or sixty other
+prisoners.</P>
+<P>The rest of the wing, thus exposed to the full fire of the French, fell
+back over the crest, and there rallied on the left wing; and being joined
+by the 9th, pushed forward again and obtained a footing on the plateau.
+Laborde in vain endeavoured to hurl them back again. They maintained their
+footing, but suffered heavily, both the colonels being killed, with many
+officers and men. But the 5th Regiment were now up, and at other points
+the British were gathering thickly at the edge of the plateau. Ferguson
+and Trant were pushing on fast past the French flanks, and Laborde, seeing
+that further resistance would lead to great disaster, gave the order to
+retire to a third position, still farther in the rear. The movement was
+conducted in splendid order. The French steadily fell back by alternate
+masses, their guns thundering on their flanks, while their cavalry covered
+the rear by repeated charges.</P>
+<P>Gaining the third position, Laborde held it for a time, and so enabled
+isolated bodies of his force to join him. Then, finding himself unable to
+resist the impetuosity of the British attack, he retired, still disputing
+every foot of ground, and took to the narrow pass of Runa. He then marched
+all night to the strong position of Montechique, thereby securing his
+junction with Loison, but leaving the road to Torres Vedras open to the
+British. The loss of the French in this fight was 600 killed and wounded,
+and three guns. Laborde himself was among the wounded. The British lost
+nearly 500 killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. The number of the
+combatants actually engaged on either side was about 4,000, and the loss
+sustained showed the obstinacy of the fighting. Sir Arthur believed that
+the French had, as they retreated, been joined by Loison, and therefore
+prepared to march at once by the coast-line to seize the heights of Torres
+Vedras before the French could throw themselves in his way.</P>
+<P>Great was the disappointment among officers and men of the Mayo
+Fusiliers that they had taken no part whatever in the actual fighting,
+beyond driving in the French skirmishers at the beginning of the
+operations.</P>
+<P>"Divil a man killed or wounded!" Captain O'Grady remarked, mournfully,
+as the regiment halted at the conclusion of the fight. "Faith, it is too
+bad, entirely; there we are left out in the cold, and scarce a shot has
+been fired!"</P>
+<P>"There are plenty of others in the same case," Captain O'Driscol said.
+"None of our three brigades on the left have had anything to do with the
+matter, as far as fighting went. I don't think more than four thousand of
+our troops were in action; but you see if it had not been for our advance,
+Hill and Nightingale might not have succeeded in driving Laborde off the
+hill. There is no doubt that the French fought well, but it's our advance
+that forced him to retire, not the troops in front of him; so that, even
+if we have not had any killed or wounded, O'Grady, we have at least the
+satisfaction of having contributed to the victory."</P>
+<P>"Oh, bother your tactics! We have come here to fight, and no fighting
+have we had at all, at all. When we marched out this morning it looked as
+if we were going to have our share in the divarshon, and we have been
+fairly chated out of it."</P>
+<P>"Well, O'Grady, you should not grumble," Terence said, "for we had some
+fighting on the way out, which is more than any of the other troops
+had."</P>
+<P>"That was a mere skirmish, Terence. First of all we were shot at, and
+could not shoot back again; and thin we shot at the enemy, and they could
+not shoot back at us. And as for the boarding affair, faith, it did not
+last a minute. The others have had two hours of steady fighting,
+clambering up the hill, and banging away at the enemy, and shouting and
+cheering, and all sorts of fun; and there were we, tramping along among
+those bastely stones and rocks, and no one as much as took the trouble to
+fire a shot at us!"</P>
+<P>"Well, if we had been there, O'Grady, we should have lost about a
+hundred and twenty men and officers--if we had suffered in the same
+proportion as the others--and we should now be mourning their loss--perhaps you among them. We might have been saying: 'There is O'Grady gone;
+he was a beggar to talk, but he meant well. Faith, the drink bill of the
+regiment will fall off.'"</P>
+<P>"Well, it might have been so," O'Grady said, in a more contented voice;
+"and if I had been killed going up the hill, without even as much as
+catching a glimpse of the Frenchies, I would niver have forgiven them--niver!"</P>
+<P>There was a roar of laughter at the bull.</P>
+<P>"Phwat is it have I said?" he asked, in surprise.</P>
+<P>"Nothing, O'Grady; but it would be an awful thing for the French to
+know that after your death you would have gone on hating them for
+ever."</P>
+<P>"Did I say that? But you know my maneing, and as long as you know that,
+what does it matter which way I put it? Well, now, I suppose Sir Arthur is
+going to take us tramping along again. Ah, it is a weary thing being a
+soldier!"</P>
+<P>"Why, you were saying yesterday, O'Grady, that your feet were getting
+all right," Terence said.</P>
+<P>"All right in a manner, Terence. And it is a bad habit that you have
+got of picking up your supayrior officer's words and throwing them into
+his teeth. You will come to a bad end if you don't break yourself of it;
+and the worst of it is, you are corrupting the other lads, and the young
+officers are losing all respect for their seniors. I am surprised, Major,
+that you and the colonel don't take the matter in hand before the
+discipline of the regiment is destroyed entirely."</P>
+<P>"You draw it upon yourself, O'Grady, and it is good for us all to have
+a laugh sometimes. We should all have missed you sorely had you gone down
+on that hill over there--as many a good fellow has done. I hear that both
+the 9th and 29th have lost their colonels."</P>
+<P>"The Lord presarve us from such a misfortune, Major! It would give us a
+step all through the regiment; but then, you see--" And he stopped.</P>
+<P>"You mean I should be colonel, O'Grady," the major said, with a laugh;
+"and you know I should not take things as quietly as he does. Well, you
+see, there are consolations all round."</P>
+<P>The firing had ceased at four o'clock, and until late that night a
+large portion of the force were occupied in searching the ground that had
+been traversed, burying the dead, and carrying the wounded of both
+nationalities down into the hospital that had been established at Rolica.
+Sir Arthur determined to march at daybreak, so as to secure the passes
+through Torres Vedras; but in the evening a messenger arrived with the
+news that Anstruther and Acland's division, with a large fleet of store-ships, were off the coast. The dangerous nature of the coast, and the
+certainty that, should a gale spring up, a large proportion of the ships
+would be wrecked, rendered it absolutely necessary to secure the
+disembarkation of the troops at once. The next morning, therefore, he only
+marched ten miles to Lourinha, and thence advanced to Vimiera, eight miles
+farther, where he covered the disembarkation of the troops.</P>
+<P>The next day Anstruther's brigade were with difficulty, and some loss,
+landed on an open sandy beach, and on the night of the 20th Acland's
+brigade were disembarked at Maciera Bay. The reinforcements were most
+opportune, for already the British had proof that Junot was preparing a
+heavy blow. That general had, indeed, lost no time in taking steps to
+bring on a decisive battle. While the British were marching to Lourinha,
+he had, with Loison's division, crossed the line of Laborde's retreat, and
+on the same evening reached Torres Vedras, where the next day he was
+joined by Laborde, and on the 20th by his reserve. In the meantime he sent
+forward his cavalry, which scoured the country round the rear of the
+British camp, and prevented the general from obtaining any information
+whatever as to his position or intentions.</P>
+<P>The arrival of Acland's brigade on the night of the 20th increased the
+fighting strength of the army to 16,000 men, with eighteen guns, exclusive
+of Trant's Portuguese, while Sir Arthur judged that Junot could not put
+more than 14,000 in the field. Previous to leaving Mondego he had sent to
+Sir Harry Burrard notice of his plan of campaign, advising him to let Sir
+John Moore, on his arrival with 5,000 men, disembark there and march on
+Santarem, where he would protect the left of the army in its advance,
+block the line of the Tagus, and menace the French line of communication
+between Lisbon and the important fortress of Elvas. The ground at Santarem
+was suited for defence, and Moore could be joined with Friere, who was
+still, with his 5,000 men, at Leirya.</P>
+<P>The general intended to make a forced march, keeping by the sea-road. A
+strong advance guard would press forward and occupy the formidable
+position of Mathia in the rear of the hills. With the main body he
+intended to seize some heights a few miles behind Torres Vedras, and to
+cut the road between that place and Montechique, on the direct road to
+Lisbon, and so interpose between Junot and the capital. At twelve o'clock
+that night Sir Arthur was roused by a messenger, who reported that Junot,
+with 20,000 men, was advancing to attack him, and was but an hour's march
+distant. He disbelieved the account of the force of the enemy, and had no
+doubt but that the messenger's fears had exaggerated the closeness of his
+approach. He therefore contented himself with sending orders to the
+pickets to use redoubled vigilance, and at daylight the whole British
+force was, as usual, under arms.</P>
+<P>Nothing could have suited the British commander better than that Junot
+should attack him, for the position of Vimiera was strong. The town was
+situated in a valley, through which the little river Maciera flows. In
+this were placed the commissariat stores, while the cavalry and Portuguese
+were on a small plain behind the village. In front of Vimiera was a steep
+hill with a flat top, commanding the ground to the south and east for a
+considerable distance. Fane's and Anstruther's infantry, with six guns,
+were posted here. Fane's left rested on a churchyard, blocking a road
+which led round the declivity of the hill to the town. Behind this
+position, and separated by the river and road, was a hill extending in a
+half-moon to the sea.</P>
+<p><img src="images/Vimiera.png" alt="map" width="100%" height="600"></p>
+<P>Five brigades of infantry, forming the British right, occupied this
+mountain. On the other side of the ravine formed by the river, just beyond
+Vimiera, was another strong and narrow range of heights. There was no
+water to be found on this ridge, and only the 40th Regiment and some
+pickets were stationed here. It was vastly better to be attacked in such a
+position than to be compelled to storm the heights of Torres Vedras, held
+by a strong French army. The advance of the French was fortunate in
+another respect. On the 20th Sir Harry Burrard arrived in the bay on board
+a frigate, and Sir Arthur, thus superseded, went on board to report the
+position of affairs, renewing his recommendation that Sir John Moore
+should land at Mondego and march to Santarem. Sir Harry Burrard, however,
+had already determined that his force should land at Maciera, and he
+refused to permit Sir Arthur's plan of advance to be carried out, and
+ordered that no offensive step should be undertaken until Sir John Moore
+had landed.</P>
+<P>The advance of Junot, happily, left Wellesley at liberty to act; and
+disposing his force in order of battle, he awaited the appearance of the
+enemy. It was not until seven o'clock that a cloud of dust was seen rising
+above the opposite ridge, and an hour later a body of cavalry crowned the
+height and sent out a swarm of scouts in every direction. Almost
+immediately afterwards a body of cavalry and infantry were seen marching
+along the road from Torres Vedras to Lourinha, threatening to turn the
+left of the British position. As the British right was not menaced, four
+of the brigades on the hill on that flank were ordered to cross the valley
+and to take post with the 40th Regiment for the defence of the ridge.</P>
+<P>This movement, being covered by the Vimiera heights, was unseen by the
+enemy; the 5th brigade and the Portuguese were on a second ridge behind
+the other, and thus assisted to cover the English left and protect its
+rear. The ground between the crest on which the French were first seen and
+our position was so thickly covered with wood, that after the enemy had
+descended into it no correct view of their movements could be
+obtained.</P>
+<P>Junot had intended to fall upon the English army at daybreak, but the
+defiles through which the force had to pass had delayed the march, as had
+the fatigue of the troops, who had been marching all night. From the
+height from which he obtained a view of the British position it seemed to
+him that the British centre and right were held in great strength, and
+that the left was almost unguarded. He therefore determined to attack upon
+that flank, which, indeed, was in any case the most favourable, as, were
+he successful there, he would cut the line of the British retreat and pen
+them up on the sea-shore.</P>
+<P>The march of the four brigades through Vimiera to take post on the
+British left was hidden from him, and he divided his force into two heavy
+columns, one of which was to attack the British left, and having, mounted
+the height to sweep all before it into the town; the other was to attack
+Vimiera Hill, held by Anstruther and Fane.</P>
+<P>Brennier commanded the attack against the left, Laborde against the
+centre, Loison followed at a short distance. Kellermann commanded the
+reserve of Grenadiers. Unfortunately for the success of Junot's plan, he
+was unaware of the fact that along the foot of the ridge on the British
+left ran a deep ravine, that rendered it very difficult to attack except
+at the extreme end of the position.</P>
+<P>"We are going to have our share of the fun to-day," O'Grady said, as he
+stood with a group of officers, watching the wooded plain and the head of
+Laborde's column debouching from among the trees, and moving towards the
+hill.</P>
+<P>There was a general murmur of satisfaction from the officers, for
+although they had all laughed at O'Grady's exaggerated regrets at their
+not being engaged at Rolica, all were somewhat sore at the regiment having
+had no opportunity of distinguishing itself on that occasion. No sooner
+had the column cleared the wood than the six guns posted with Fane's and
+Anstruther's brigade at once opened fire upon it. It had been intended
+that Brennier's attack should begin at the same time as Laborde's, but
+that advance had been stopped by the defile, which was so steep and so
+encumbered with rocks, brushwood, and trees, that his troops had the most
+extreme difficulty in making their way across. This enabled Acland, whose
+brigade was in the act of mounting the heights from the town, to turn his
+battery against Laborde's column, which was thus smitten with a shower of
+grape both in front and flank, and to this was added a heavy musketry fire
+from the three brigades.</P>
+<P>"Take it easy, lads, take it easy," the colonel said, as he walked up
+and down the ranks. "They are hardly in range yet, and you had better keep
+your ammunition until they get to the foot of the hill, then you can blaze
+away as hard as you like."</P>
+<P>Junot, receiving news of the arrest of Brennier's column and the
+obstacles that he had encountered, and seeing that the whole British fire
+was now directed against Laborde, ordered Loison to support that general
+with one brigade, and directed Solignac to turn the ravine in which
+Brennier was entangled and to fall upon the left extremity of the enemy's
+line.</P>
+<P>Fane had been given discretionary power to call up the reserve
+artillery posted in the village behind him, and seeing so strong an attack
+against his position about to be made called it up to the top of the
+hill.</P>
+<P>Loison and Laborde now formed their troops into three columns of
+attack. One advanced against that part of the hill held by Anstruther's
+brigade, another endeavoured to penetrate by the road past the church on
+Fane's extreme left, while the main column, represented by a large number
+of the best troops, advanced against the centre of the position. The
+reserve artillery, and the battery originally there, opened a terrible
+fire, which was aided by the musketry of the infantry. But with loud
+shouts the French pressed forward, and although already shaken by the
+terrible fire of the artillery, and breathless from their exertions, they
+gained the crest of the hill. Before they could re-form a tremendous
+volley was poured into them, and with a wild yell the Mayo Fusiliers and
+the 50th charged them in front and flank and hurled them down the
+hill.</P>
+<P>In the meantime, Anstruther, having repulsed the less serious attack
+made on him, detached the 43d to check the enemy's column moving through
+the churchyard, and prevented their advance until Kellermann brought up a
+force of Grenadiers, who, running forward with loud shouts, drove back the
+advanced companies of the 43d. The guns on the heights were turned upon
+them with great effect, and those of Acland's and Bowe's brigades on the
+left of the ridge took them in flank and brought them almost to a stand-still; then the 43d, in one mass, charged furiously down on the column,
+and after a fierce struggle drove them back in confusion.</P>
+<P>The French attacks on this side had now completely failed, and Colonel
+Taylor, riding out with his little body of cavalry, dashed out into the
+confused mass, slaying and scattering it. Margaron, who commanded a
+superior force of French cavalry, led them down through their infantry,
+and falling upon the British force killed Taylor and cut half his squadron
+to pieces. Kellermann took post with his reserve of Grenadiers in a pine-wood in advance of the wooded country through which they had advanced,
+while Margaron's horsemen maintained a position covering the retreat of
+the fugitives into the wood. At this moment Solignac reached his assigned
+position and encountered Ferguson's brigade, which was on the extreme left
+of the division, and was taken by surprise on finding a force equal to his
+own where he had expected to find the hill untenanted. Ferguson was drawn
+up in three lines on a steep declivity. A heavy artillery fire opened upon
+the French as soon as they were seen, while the 5th brigade and the
+Portuguese marched along the next ridge and threatened the enemy's
+rear.</P>
+<P>Ferguson did not wait to be attacked, but marched his brigade against
+the French, who, falling fast under the musketry and artillery fire which
+had swept their lines, fell back fighting to the farthest edge of the
+ridge. Solignac was carried off severely wounded, and his brigade was cut
+off from its line of retreat and driven into a low valley, in which stood
+the village of Peranza, leaving six guns behind them. Ferguson left two
+regiments to guard these guns, and with the rest of his force pressed hard
+upon the French; but at this moment Brennier, who had at last surmounted
+the difficulties that had detained him, fell upon the two regiments
+suddenly, and retook the guns.</P>
+<P>The 82d and 71st, speedily recovered from their surprise, rallied on
+some higher ground, and then, after pouring in a tremendous volley of
+musketry, charged with a mighty shout and overthrew the French brigade and
+recovered the guns. Brennier himself was wounded and taken prisoner, and
+Ferguson having completely broken up the brigade opposed to him would have
+forced the greater part of Solignac's troops to surrender, if he had not
+been required to halt by an unexpected order. The French veterans speedily
+rallied, and in admirable order, protected by their cavalry, marched off
+to join their comrades who had been defeated in their attack upon the
+British centre.</P>
+<P>It was now twelve o'clock; the victory was complete; thirteen guns had
+been captured. Neither the 1st, 5th, nor Portuguese brigades had fired a
+shot, and the 4th and 8th had suffered very little, therefore Sir Arthur
+resolved with these five brigades to push Junot closely, while Hill,
+Anstruther, and Fane were to march forward as far as Torres Vedras, and,
+pushing on to Montechique, cut him off from Lisbon. Had this operation
+been executed Junot would probably have lost all his artillery, and seven
+thousand stragglers would have been driven to seek shelter under the guns
+of Elvas, from which fortress, however, he would have been cut off had
+Moore landed as Sir Arthur wished at Mondego. Unhappily, however, the
+latter was no longer commander-in-chief. Sir Harry Burrard, who had been
+present at the action, had not interfered with the arrangements, but as
+soon as victory was won he assumed command, sent an order arresting
+Ferguson's career of victory, and forbade all further offensive operations
+until the arrival of Sir John Moore.</P>
+<P>The adjutant-general and quartermaster supported his views, and Sir
+Arthur's earnest representations were disregarded. Sir Arthur's plan would
+probably have been crowned with success, but it was not without peril. The
+French had rallied with extraordinary rapidity under the protection of
+their cavalry. The British artillery-carriages were so shaken as to be
+almost unfit for service, the horses insufficient in number and wretched
+in quality, the commissariat waggons in the greatest confusion, and the
+hired Portuguese vehicles had made off in every direction. The British
+cavalry were totally destroyed, and two French regiments had just made
+their appearance on the ridge behind the wood where Junot's troops were
+reforming.</P>
+<P>Sir Harry Burrard, with a caution characteristic of age, refused to
+adopt Wellesley's bold plan. A great success had been gained, and that
+would have been imperilled by Junot's falling with all his force upon one
+or other of the British columns. Sir Arthur himself, at a later period,
+when a commission was appointed by Parliament to inquire into the
+circumstances, admitted that, though he still believed that success would
+have attended his own plan, he considered that Sir Harry Burrard's
+decision was fully justified on military grounds.</P>
+<P>Junot took full advantage of the unexpected cessation of hostilities.
+He re-formed his broken army on the arrival of the two regiments, which
+brought it up to its original strength; and then, covered by his cavalry,
+marched in good order until darkness fell. He had regained the command of
+the passes of Torres Vedras, and the two armies occupied precisely the
+same positions that they had done on the previous evening.</P>
+<P>One general, thirteen guns, and several hundred prisoners fell into the
+hands of the British, and Junot's total loss far exceeded that of the
+British, which was comparatively small. At the commencement of the fight
+the British force was more than two thousand larger than that of the
+French, but of these only a half had taken an active part in the battle,
+while every man in Junot's army had been sent forward to the attack.</P>
+<P>Sir Harry Burrard's command was a short one, for on the following
+morning Sir Hew Dalrymple superseded him. Thus in twenty-four hours a
+battle had been fought and the command of the army had been three times
+changed, a striking proof of the abject folly and incapacity of the
+British ministry of the day.</P>
+<P>Two of these three commanders arrived fresh on the scene without any
+previous knowledge of the situation, and all three differed from each
+other in their views regarding the general plan of the campaign; the last
+two were men without any previous experience in the handling of large
+bodies of troops, and without any high military reputation; while the man
+displaced had already shown the most brilliant capacity in India, and was
+universally regarded as the best general in the British service. Dalrymple
+adopted neither the energetic action advised by Sir Arthur nor the
+inactivity supported by Burrard, but, taking a middle course, decided to
+advance on the following morning, but not to go far until Sir John Moore
+landed at Maciera.</P>
+<P>Sir Arthur was strongly opposed to this policy. He pointed out that
+there were at present on shore but seven or eight days' provisions for the
+force at Vimiera. No further supplies could be obtained in the country,
+and at any moment a gale might arise and scatter or destroy the fleet,
+from which alone they could draw supplies during their advance. The debate
+on the subject was continuing when the French general, Kellermann, bearing
+a flag of truce and escorted by a strong body of cavalry, arrived at the
+outposts and desired a conference. The news was surprising, indeed.
+Junot's force was practically unshaken. He possessed all the strong places
+in Portugal, and could have received support in a short time from the
+French forces in Spain.</P>
+<P>Upon the other hand, the position of the British, even after winning a
+victory, was by no means a satisfactory one; they had already learnt that
+it was useless to rely in the slightest degree upon Portuguese promises or
+Portuguese assistance, and that, even in the matter of provisions and
+carriage, their commander-in-chief expected to be maintained by those who
+had come to aid in freeing the country of the French, instead of these
+receiving any help from him. In carriage the British army was wholly
+deficient; of cavalry they had none. When Sir John Moore landed there
+would be but four days' provisions on-shore for the army, and were the
+fleet driven off by a gale, starvation would at once threaten them.</P>
+<P>The gallantry with which the French had fought in both engagements, the
+skill with which they had been handled, and above all, the quickness and
+steadiness with which, after defeat, they had closed up their ranks and
+drawn off in excellent order, showed that the task of expelling such
+troops from the country would, even if all went well in other respects, be
+a very formidable one, and the offer of a conference was therefore at once
+embraced by Sir Hew Dalrymple.</P>
+<P>Kellermann was admitted to the camp. His mission was to demand a
+cessation of arms in order that Junot might, under certain conditions,
+evacuate Portugal. The advantage of freeing the country from the French
+without further fighting was so evident that Sir Hew at once agreed to
+discuss the terms, and took Sir Arthur Wellesley into his counsels. The
+latter quite agreed with the policy by which a strong French army would be
+quietly got out of the country, in which it held all the military posts
+and strong positions. A great moral effect would be produced, and the
+whole resources of Portugal would then be available for operations in
+Spain.</P>
+<P>By the afternoon the main points of the convention had been generally
+agreed upon. The French were to evacuate Portugal, and were to be conveyed
+in the English vessels to France with their property, public or private.
+There was to be no persecution of persons who had been the adherents of
+France during the occupation; the only serious difference that arose was
+as to the Russian fleet in the Tagus. Kellermann proposed to have it
+guaranteed from capture, with leave to return to the Baltic. This,
+however, was refused, and the question was referred to Admiral Cotton,
+who, as chief representative of England, would have to approve of the
+treaty before it could be signed.</P>
+<P>Kellermann returned to Lisbon with Colonel Murray, the quartermaster-general, and after three days' negotiations the treaty was finally
+concluded, the Russian difficulty being settled by their vessels being
+handed over to the British, and the crew transported in English ships to
+the Baltic. The convention was, under the circumstances, unquestionably a
+most advantageous one. It would have cost long and severe fighting and the
+siege of several very strong fortresses before the French could have been
+turned out of Portugal. Heavy siege-guns would have been necessary for
+these operations. At the very shortest calculation a year would have been
+wasted, very heavy loss of life incurred, and an immense expenditure of
+money before the result, now obtained so suddenly and unexpectedly, had
+been arrived at.</P>
+<P>Nevertheless, the news of the convention was received with a burst of
+popular indignation in England, where the public, wholly ignorant of the
+difficulty of the situation, had formed the most extravagant hopes,
+founded on the two successes obtained by their troops. The result was that
+a commission was appointed to investigate the whole matter. The three
+English generals were summoned to England to attend before it, and so
+gross were the misrepresentations and lies by which the public had been
+deceived by the agents of the unscrupulous and ambitious Bishop of Oporto
+and his confederates, that it was even proposed to bring the generals to
+trial who had in so short a time and with such insufficient means freed
+Portugal from the French. Sir John Moore remained in command of the troops
+in Portugal.</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER VI</H3>
+<H4>A PAUSE</H4></CENTER>
+<P>The Mayo Fusiliers had suffered their full proportion of losses at the
+battle of Vimiera. Major Harrison had been killed, Captain O'Connor had
+been severely wounded, as his company had been thrown forward as
+skirmishers on the face of the hill, and a third of their number had
+fallen when Laborde's great column had driven them in as it charged up the
+ascent. Terence's father had been brought to the ground by a ball that
+struck him near the hip; had been trampled on by the French as they passed
+up over him, and again on their retreat; and he was insensible when, as
+soon as the enemy retired, a party was sent down to bring up the wounded.
+By the death of the major, O'Connor, as senior captain, now attained that
+rank, but the doctor pronounced that it would be a long time before he
+would be able to take up his duties. Another captain and three subalterns
+had been killed, and several other officers had been wounded. Among these
+was O'Grady, whose left arm had been carried away below the elbow by a
+round shot. As Terence was in the other wing of the regiment he did not
+hear of his father's wounds until after the battle was over, and on the
+order being given that there was to be no pursuit the regiment fell out of
+its ranks. As soon as the news reached him he obtained permission to go
+down to Vimiera, where the church and other buildings had been turned into
+temporary hospitals, to which the seriously wounded had been carried as
+soon as the French retired. Hurrying down, he soon learned where the
+wounded of General Fane's brigade had been taken. He found the two
+regimental doctors hard at work. O'Flaherty came up to Terence as soon as
+he saw him enter the barn that had been hastily converted into a hospital
+by covering the floor deeply with straw.</P>
+<P> [Illustration: 'I should not have minded being hit, Father, if you had
+escaped.']</P>
+<P> "I think your father will do, Terence, my boy," he said, cheeringly;
+"we have just got the bullet out of his leg, and we hope that it has not
+touched the bone, though we cannot be altogether sure. We shall know more
+about that when we have got through the rough of our work. Still, we have
+every hope that he will do well. He is next the door at the further end;
+we put him there to let him get as much fresh air as possible, for, by the
+powers, this place is like a furnace!"</P>
+<P>Captain O'Connor was lying on his back, the straw having been arranged
+so as to raise his shoulders and head. He smiled when Terence came up to
+him.</P>
+<P>"Thank God you have got safely through it, lad!"</P>
+<P>"I should not have minded being hit, father, if you had escaped,"
+Terence said, with difficulty suppressing a sob, while in spite of his
+efforts the tears rolled down his cheeks.</P>
+<P>"The doctors say I shall pull through all right. I hear poor Harrison
+is killed; he was a good fellow. Though it has given me my step, I am
+heartily sorry. So we have thrashed them, lad; that is a comfort. I was
+afraid when they went up the hill that they might be too much for us, and
+I was delighted when I heard them coming tearing down again, though I had
+not much time to think about it. They had stepped over me pretty much as
+they went up, but they had no time to pick their way as they came back
+again, and after one or two had jumped on me, I remembered no more about
+it until I found myself here with O'Flaherty probing the wound and hurting
+me horribly. I am bruised all over, and I wonder some of my ribs are not
+broken; at present they hurt me a good deal more than this wound in the
+hip. Still, that is only an affair of a day or two. Who have been killed
+besides the major?"</P>
+<P>"Dorman, Phillips, and Henderson are killed. O'Grady is wounded, I
+hear, and so are Saunders, Byrne, and Sullivan; there have been some
+others hit, but not seriously; they did not have to fall out."</P>
+<P>"O'Grady is over on the other side somewhere, Terence; I heard his
+voice just now. Go and see where he is hurt."</P>
+<P>O'Grady was sitting up with his back to the wall; the sleeves of his
+jacket and shirt had been cut off, and a tourniquet was on his arm just
+above the elbow.</P>
+<P>"Well, Terence," he said, cheerfully, "I am in luck, you see."</P>
+<P>"I can't see any luck about it, O'Grady."</P>
+<P>"Why, man, it might have been my right arm, and where should I have
+been then? As to the left arm, one can do without it very well. Then,
+again, it is lucky that the ball hit me below the elbow and not above it.
+O'Flaherty says they will be able to make a dacent job of it, and that
+after a bit they will be able to fit a wooden arm on, so that I can screw
+a fork into it. The worst of it at present is, that I have a terrible
+thirst on me, and nothing but water have they given me, a thing that I
+have not drunk for years. They have tied up the arteries, and they are
+going presently to touch up the loose ends with hot pitch to stop the
+bleeding altogether. It is not a pleasant job; they have done it to three
+or four of the men already. One of them stood it well, but the others
+cried a thousand murders. O'Flaherty has promised me a drink of whisky and
+water before they do it, and just at present I feel as if I would let them
+burn all my limbs at the same price. It is sorry I am, Terence, to hear
+that your father is hit so hard, but O'Flaherty says he will get through
+it all right. Well, he will get his majority, though I am mightily sorry
+that Harrison is killed; he was a good boy, though he was an Englishman.
+Ah, Terence, my heart's sore when I think what I said that evening after
+the fight at Rolica! I did not mean it altogether, but the words come home
+to me now. It is not for meself but for the poor boys that have gone. It
+was just thoughtlessness, but I would give me other arm not to have said
+those words."</P>
+<P>"I know that you did not mean it, O'Grady, and we were all feeling
+sorry that the regiment had not had a chance to be in the thick of
+it."</P>
+<P>"Here they are, coming this way with the pitch kettle. You had better
+get away, lad, before they begin."</P>
+<P>Terence was glad to follow the advice, and hurried out of the barn and
+walked three or four hundred yards away. He was very fond of O'Grady, who
+had always been very kind to him, and who was thoroughly warm-hearted and
+a good fellow, in spite of his eccentricities. In a quarter of an hour he
+returned. Just as he was entering, O'Flaherty came out of the door.</P>
+<P>"I must have a breath of fresh air, Terence," he said. "The heat is
+stifling in there, and though we are working in our shirt-sleeves we are
+just as damp as if we had been thrown into a pond."</P>
+<P>"Has O'Grady's arm been seared?"</P>
+<P>"Yes, and he stood it well; not a word did he say until it was over.
+Then he said, 'Give me another drink, O'Flaherty; it's wake-like I feel.'
+Before I could get the cup to his lips he went off in a faint. He has come
+round now and has had a drink of weak whisky and water, and is lying quiet
+and composed. It is better that you should not go near him at present. I
+hope that he will drop off to sleep presently. I have just given a glance
+at your father, and he is nearly, if not quite, asleep too, so you had
+better leave them now and look in again this evening. Now that the affair
+is over, and there is time to go round, they will clear out some houses
+and get things more comfortable. The principal medical officer was round
+here half an hour ago. He said they would fit up rooms for the officers at
+once, and I will have your father, O'Grady, and Saunders carried up on
+stretchers and put into a room together. If they can bear the moving it
+will be all in their favour, for it will be cooler there than in this oven
+of a place. I hear the church has been requisitioned, and that the worst
+cases among our men will be taken there."</P>
+<P>In comparison with the loss of the French that of the British had been
+very small. From their position on commanding heights they had suffered
+but little from the fire of the French artillery, and the casualties were
+almost confined to Fane's brigade, the 43d Regiment, Anstruther's, and the
+two regiments of Ferguson's brigade that had been attacked by Brennier,
+and before nightfall the whole of the wounded had been brought in and
+attended to, the hospitals arranged, and the men far more comfortably
+bestowed than in the temporary quarters taken up during the heat of the
+conflict. As there was no prospect of an immediate movement, the soldier
+servants of the wounded officers had been excused from military duty and
+told off to attend to them, and when Terence went down in the evening he
+found his father, O'Grady, and Saunders--the latter a young lieutenant--comfortably lodged in a large room in which three hospital beds had been
+placed. O'Grady had quite recovered his usual good spirits.</P>
+<P>"Don't draw such along face, Terence," he said, as the lad entered; "we
+are all going on well. Your father has been bandaged all over the chest
+and body, and is able to breathe more comfortably; as for me, except that
+I feel as if somebody were twisting a red-hot needle about in my arm, I am
+as right as possible, and Saunders is doing first-rate. The doctors
+thought at first that he had got a ball through his body; after they got
+him here they had time to examine him carefully, and they find that it has
+just run along the ribs and gone out behind, and that he will soon be
+about again. If it wasn't that the doctors say I must drink nothing but
+water with lemon-juice squeezed into it, I would have nothing to complain
+of. We have got our servants. Hoolan came in blubbering like a calf, the
+omadhoun, and I had to threaten to send him back to the regiment before he
+would be sensible. He has sworn off spirits until I am well enough to take
+to them, which is a comfort, for I am sorry to say he is one of those men
+who never know when they have had enough."</P>
+<P>"Like master, like man, O'Grady."</P>
+<P>"Terence, when I get well you will repint of your impudence to your
+supayrior officer, when he is not able to defend himself."</P>
+<P>Terence went across to his father's bed.</P>
+<P>"Do you really feel easier, father?"</P>
+<P>"A great deal, lad. I was so bruised that every breath I took hurt me;
+since I have been tightly bandaged I am better, ever so much. Daly says
+that in a few days I shall be all right again as to that, but that the
+other business will keep me on my back for a long time. He has examined my
+wound again, and says he won't touch it for a few days; but I can see that
+he is rather afraid that the bone has been grazed if not splintered. You
+have not heard what is going to be done, have you?"</P>
+<P>"No, father; the talk is that no move will be made anyhow until Sir
+John Moore lands with his troops; after that I suppose we shall go
+forward."</P>
+<P>"It is a pity we did not push forward to-day, lad, if, as I hear, half
+the force were never engaged at all. Junot would not have carried off a
+gun if our fellows had been launched against them while they were in
+disorder. As it is, I hear they have marched away over that ridge in as
+good order as they came, and so we shall have all the work of thrashing
+them to do over again."</P>
+<P>"They say that is what Sir Arthur wanted to do, father, but Burrard
+overruled him."</P>
+<P>"Did any man ever hear of such nonsense as a general who knows nothing
+at all about the matter coming and taking over the command from a general
+who has just won a battle, and who has all the ins and outs of the matter
+at his finger-ends!"</P>
+<P>"Now, my dear O'Connor," O'Grady broke in, "you know what Daly said,
+the quieter you lie and the less you talk the better. He did not say so to
+meself; in the first place, because he knew it would be of no use, and in
+the second, because there is no raison on earth why, because a man has
+lost a bit of his arm, his tongue should not wag. And what does the
+colonel say, Terence; is he not delighted with the regiment?"</P>
+<P>"He is that, and he has a right to be," Terence said. "The way they
+went at the French, and tumbled them over the crest and down the hill was
+splendid. The tears rolled down his cheeks when he heard that the major
+and the others were killed, but he said that a man could not die more
+gloriously. He shook hands with all the officers after it was over, and
+sent a party down to the town to buy and bring up some barrels of wine,
+and served out a good allowance to each man. As soon as the firing ceased
+I heard him tell O'Driscol that he was proud to have commanded the
+regiment."</P>
+<P>"That is good, Terence; and now, do you think that you could bring me
+up just a taste of the cratur?"</P>
+<P>"The divil a drop, O'Grady; if Daly and O'Flaherty both say that you
+are not to have it, it is certain that it is bad for you. But I'll tell
+you what I will do; I have one bottle of whisky left, and I will promise
+you that it sha'n't be touched till you are well enough to drink it, and
+if we are marched away, as I suppose we shall be, I will hand it over to
+O'Flaherty to give you when you are fit to take it. He tells me that he
+will be left to look after the wounded when we move."</P>
+<P>"I could not trust him, Terence; I would hand over a bag of gold
+uncounted to him, but as for whisky, the temptation would be too great for
+an Irishman to resist. Look here, you put it into a wooden box and nail it
+up securely, and write on it 'O'Grady's arm,' and hand it over to him
+solemnly, and tell him that I have a fancy for burying the contents
+myself, which will be true enough, though it is me throat I mean to bury
+it in."</P>
+<P>Knowing that it was best they should be left in quiet, Terence soon
+left them and returned to the regiment.</P>
+<P>"Well, Dick, what did you think of a battle?" he asked his chum.</P>
+<P>"I don't quite know what I did think. It does not seem to me that I
+thought much about it at all, what with the noise of the firing and the
+shouting of the men, and the whistle overhead of the French round shot,
+and the men cheering, the French shouting and the excitement, there was no
+time for thinking at all. From the time the skirmishers came running up
+the hill to the time when we rolled the French down it, I seem to have
+been in a dream. It's lucky that I had no words of command to give, for I
+am sure I should not have given them. I don't think I was frightened at
+all; somehow I did not seem to think of the danger. It was just a horrible
+confusion."</P>
+<P>"I felt very much like that, too. It was not a bit like what it was
+when we took that brig; I felt cool enough when we jumped on to her deck.
+But then there was no noise to speak of, while the row this morning was
+tremendous. I tried to cheer when the men did, but I could not hear my own
+voice, and I don't know whether I made any sound or not."</P>
+<P>A delay of some weeks took place after the battle of Vimiera. The Mayo
+Fusiliers were not among the troops who entered Lisbon in order to overawe
+the populace and prevent attacks both upon French soldiers and officers,
+and Portuguese suspected of leaning towards the French cause. Throughout
+the country everything was in confusion. A strong party, at whose head
+were the Bishop of Oporto and Friere, denounced the convention with the
+French--against whom they themselves had done nothing--as gross treachery
+on the part of the English to Portugal. They endeavoured in every way to
+excite the feelings of the population, both in the country and the
+capital, against the British; but in this they failed altogether, for the
+people were too thankful to get rid of the oppression and exactions of the
+invaders to feel aught but satisfaction at their being compelled to leave
+the country.</P>
+<P>The Junta at Oporto, at whose head was the bishop, desired to grasp the
+entire power throughout the country, and were furious at being thwarted in
+their endeavours to prevent a central Junta being established at Lisbon.
+Throughout Spain also chaos reigned. Each provincial Junta refused co-operation with others, and instead of concerting measures for resistance
+against the great force that Napoleon was assembling on the frontier,
+thought only of satisfying the ambitions and greed of its members. The
+generals disregarded alike the orders from the central Junta at Madrid and
+those of the provincial Juntas, quarrelled among themselves to a point
+that sometimes approached open hostility, and each acted only for his
+private ends. Arms had been sent in vast numbers from England; yet, while
+the money so lavishly bestowed by British agents went into the pockets of
+individuals, the arms were retained by the Juntas of Seville, Cadiz, and
+the maritime ports, and the armies of Spain were left almost unarmed.</P>
+<P>The term army is indeed absurd, as applied to the gatherings of
+peasants without, an idea of discipline, with scarcely any instruction in
+drill, and in the majority of, cases, as the result proved, altogether
+deficient in courage; and yet, while neglecting all military precautions
+and ready to crumble to pieces at the first approach of the French, the
+arrogance and insolence of the authorities, civil and military alike, were
+absolutely unbounded. They disregarded wholly the advice of the British
+officers and agents, and treated the men who alone could save them from
+the consequences of their folly with open contempt.</P>
+<P>After a fortnight's halt at Vimiera the Mayo Fusiliers were marched,
+with four other regiments, to Torres Vedras, where they took up their
+quarters. In the middle of October O'Grady and Saunders rejoined, and
+Terence obtained a few days' leave to visit his father.</P>
+<P>The latter's progress had been slow; the wound was unhealed, pieces of
+bone working their way out, and the doctors had decided that he must be
+invalided home, as it was desirable to clear out the hospitals altogether
+before the army marched into Spain.</P>
+<P>"They think the change of air will do me good," Major O'Connor said to
+Terence, as they were chatting together after the latter arrived, "and I
+think so myself. It is evident that I cannot take part in the next
+campaign, but I hope to rejoin again in the spring. Of course it is hard,
+but I must not grumble; if the bullet had been half an inch more to the
+right it would have smashed the bone altogether, then I should have had
+small chance indeed, for taking off the leg at the hip is an operation
+that not one man in twenty survives. O'Flaherty says he thinks that all
+the bits of bone have worked out now, and that I may not be permanently
+lame; but if it is to be so, lad, it is of no use kicking against fate. I
+have got my majority, and if permanently disabled by my wounds, can retire
+on a pension on which I can live comfortably.</P>
+<P>"So I hear that Sir John Moore is going to march into Spain. By the
+way, you have got some cousins in Oporto or the neighbourhood, though I
+don't suppose you are likely to run against them."</P>
+<P>"I never heard you say anything about them before, father."</P>
+<P>"No; I don't think that I ever did mention it. A first cousin of mine
+went over, just about the time that I was married, to Oporto, and
+established himself there as a wine merchant. He had been out there before
+for a firm in Dublin, and when Clancy's father died, and he came into some
+money he went out, as I said, and started for himself. He was a sharp
+fellow and did well, and married the daughter of a big land-owner. We used
+to hear from him occasionally. He died about a year ago, and left a girl
+behind him; she had been brought up in her mother's religion. He never
+said much about his wife, but I fancy she was a very strong Roman
+Catholic, and that they did not quite agree about the girl, who, as I
+gathered, had a hankering after her father's religion. However, after
+Clancy died we never heard any more of them.</P>
+<P>"There was a letter from their man of business announcing the death,
+and stating that Clancy had left his own property, that is to say, the
+money he had made in business, to the girl. What has become of her since I
+do not know. It was no business of mine, though I believe that I was his
+nearest relation--at least my uncle had no other children, and there were
+neither brothers nor sisters except him and my father. Still, as he left a
+widow who had a good big property on her own account, and was connected
+with a lot of grandee families, there was no occasion for me to mix myself
+up in the affair; and, indeed, it never entered my head to do so. Yet,
+Clancy and I were great friends, and I should be glad to know what has
+become of his girl. I fancy that she is about your age, and if Moore
+should take you up north you might make some inquiries there. The mother's
+family name was Montarlies, and I fancy, from what Clancy said, her
+father's property was somewhere to the north of Oporto, so I expect that
+at that town you would be likely to hear something of them."</P>
+<P>"All right, father; if we go there I will be sure to make some
+inquiries."</P>
+<P>On the fourth day after Terence's arrival the hospital was broken up,
+the convalescents marched for Torres Vedras, and Major O'Connor, with four
+other officers and forty men, were put on board a ship to be taken to
+England.</P>
+<P>"Your visit has done your father good, Terence," O'Flaherty said, as,
+after seeing the party safely on board ship, he returned to the town
+whence they were to march with the convalescents, sixty in number, among
+whom were five officers. "He has brightened up a deal the last four days,
+and his wound looks distinctly more healthy. I have a strong hope that all
+those splinters have worked out now, and your being here has given him a
+fillip, so that he is altogether better and more cheerful. I hope by the
+spring he will be able to rejoin us. I can tell you I am mighty glad to be
+off again myself. It has been pretty hard work here, for I have had, for
+the last fortnight, a hundred and twenty men on my hands. At first there
+were three of us here, but two went off with the last batch of
+convalescents, and I have been alone since. Luckily Major Peters has been
+well enough to look after things in general, and help the commissariat
+man; still, with forty bad cases, I have not had much time on my hands. Of
+course I knew him and all the other officers, but they all belonged to
+other regiments, and it was not like being among the Mayos. And when do
+you think we will be starting again?"</P>
+<P>"I have no idea. I have heard that Moore is doing everything he can to
+hurry on things, but that he is awfully hampered for want of money. It is
+scandalous. Here are our agents supplied with immense sums for the use of
+these blackguard Spaniards, yet they keep their own army without
+funds."</P>
+<P>"If the general has no funds, Terence, he had better be stopping where
+he is. There is no getting anything in Portugal without paying ten times
+the proper price for it, and from what I hear of the Spaniards they will
+charge twenty times, put the money in their pockets, and then not even
+give you what you paid for. As to their being any good to us as allies, it
+is not to be hoped for; they will take our arms and our money, expect us
+to feed their troops, and will then run away at the sight of a French
+soldier; you will see if they don't."</P>
+<P>"I hear that the Junta of Corunna says that all the north will rise as
+soon as we enter their country."</P>
+<P>"They may rise and flock round us until they have got arms and money,
+and then they will go off to their homes again. That is the sort of
+assistance that is to be had from them. We should do a deal better if
+there was not a Spaniard in the country, and it was left to us to fight it
+out with the French."</P>
+<P>"In that case, O'Flaherty, we should never cross the frontier at all.
+They say that Napoleon is gathering a great army, and against such a
+force, with the French troops already in Spain, our twenty or twenty-five
+thousand men would fare very badly, especially as they say that the
+emperor is coming himself."</P>
+<P>"That is worse news than the other, Terence. It is only because the
+French generals have always been quarrelling among themselves that the
+whole Peninsula has not been conquered; but with Napoleon at the head of
+affairs it would be a different matter altogether, and my humble opinion
+is that we had better stay where we are until he has wiped out the
+Spaniards altogether."</P>
+<P>Terence laughed.</P>
+<P>"You don't take a sanguine view of things."</P>
+<P>"You have been with the regiment, Terence, and have had very little to
+do with the natives. I have not seen very much of them either, thank
+goodness; but I have seen quite enough to know that though perhaps the
+peasants would make good soldiers, if officered by Englishmen, there is
+mighty little feeling of patriotism among the classes above them. Reading
+and writing may be good for some countries, but as far as I see here,
+reading and writing spoil them here, for every man one comes across who
+can sign his name is intent either on filling his pocket, or on working
+some scheme or other for his own advantage. If I were Sir John Moore I
+would send up a division to Oporto, hang the bishop and every member of
+the Junta, shoot Friere and a dozen of his principal officers, and if the
+people of Oporto gave them the chance clear the streets with grape-shot.
+Why, if it hadn't been for a small guard of our fellows with the French
+garrisons that were marched down there to embark, the Portuguese would
+have murdered every man-jack of them. They did murder a good many, and
+robbed them all of their baggage; and if it had not been that our men
+loaded and would have fired on them if they had gone further, not a
+Frenchman would have got off alive. If this had been done in Lisbon, where
+the French had been masters, there might have been some sort of excuse for
+it; but they had never been near Oporto at all, and therefore the people
+there had no scores to settle with them."</P>
+<P>"I am afraid, O'Flaherty, that an army worked on your principles would
+never get far from the coast, for we should have the whole country against
+us."</P>
+<P>"So much the better if we never got far from the coast. How much help
+have we had from them? There is not a single horse or waggon for transport
+except those we have hired at exorbitant prices; not a single ounce of
+food. They would not even divide with us the magazines at Leirya, which
+they had no share in capturing. The rabble they call an army has never
+fired a shot or marched a yard with us, except Trant's small command, and
+they were kept so far out of it in both fights, that I doubt whether they
+fired a shot; and yet they take upon themselves to throw every obstacle in
+our way, to dictate to our generals, and to upset every plan as soon as it
+is formed.</P>
+<P>"Well, I shall be glad to be back with the regiment again, Terence.
+There is some fun going on there anyhow, and I have not had a hearty laugh
+since O'Grady went off ten days ago."</P>
+<P>"We were all heartily glad to see him back again," Terence said. "He
+does not seem a bit the worse for having lost his hand."</P>
+<P>"No, he has got through it a deal better than I had expected,
+considering that he is not what might be called a very temperate man."</P>
+<P>"Not by any means. It is not very often that he takes more liquor than
+he can carry, but he generally goes very close to the mark."</P>
+<P>"I kept him very short here," O'Flaherty laughed, "and told him that if
+he did not obey orders I would have him invalided home; I have got him to
+promise that he will draw in a bit in future, and have good hopes of his
+keeping it, seeing that when the army starts again you won't get much
+chance of indulging."</P>
+<P>"It will be a good thing for others as well as O'Grady," Terence said,
+quietly. "I suppose in Ireland the whisky does not do much harm, seeing
+that it is a wet country; but here I notice that they cannot drink half as
+much as they were accustomed to without feeling it."</P>
+<P>"That is true for you, Terence. Half a bottle here goes as far as a
+bottle in the old country; and I find with the wounded, spirits have a
+very bad effect, even in very small quantities. There is one thing, when
+the troops are on the march they not only get small chance of getting
+drink, but mighty little time to think of it. When you have been doing
+your twenty miles a day, with halts and stoppages on these beastly roads
+and defiles, and are on your feet from daylight until late in the evening,
+and then, perhaps, a turn at the outposts, a man hasn't got much time for
+divarshon; and even if there is liquor to be had, he is glad enough when
+he has had a glass or so to wrap himself in his cloak and lie down to
+sleep. I have nearly sworn off myself, for I found that my head troubled
+me in the morning after a glass or two, more than it did after an all-night's sitting at Athlone. Ah, Terence, it is lucky for you that you have
+no fancy for it!"</P>
+<P>"I hope I never shall have, O'Flaherty. If one has got thoroughly wet
+through in a long day's fishing, it may be that a glass of punch may keep
+away a cold, though even that I doubt. But I am sure that I am better
+without it at any other time; and I hope some day the fashion will change,
+and instead of it being considered almost as a matter of course after a
+dinner that half the men should be under the table, it will then be looked
+upon as disgraceful for a man to get drunk, as it is now for a woman to do
+so."</P>
+<P>O'Flaherty looked at his companion with amused surprise. "Faith,
+Terence, that would be a change indeed, and you might as well say that you
+hope the time will come when you can whip off a fellow's leg without his
+feeling pain."</P>
+<P>"Perhaps that may come too," Terence laughed; "there is no saying."</P>
+<P>The next morning the detachment started at daybreak and marched to
+Torres Vedras, where they heard that a general movement was expected to
+begin. The regiment had now a comfortable mess, and the situation was
+freely discussed as scraps of news arrived from Lisbon. Could the English
+ministry have heard the comments on their imbecility passed by the
+officers of the British army, even they might have doubted the perfect
+wisdom of their plan. On the 6th of October, Moore had received a despatch
+stating that 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry were to be employed in the
+north of Spain. Ten thousand of these were to be sent out direct from
+England, the remainder were to be composed of regiments from the army in
+Portugal. Moore had the choice of taking the troops round in ships or of
+marching them direct. He decided upon the latter course, for arrangements
+had been made by Sir Hew Dalrymple to enter Spain by Almeida, and,
+moreover, he thought that the resources of the sea-coast of Galicia would
+not be more than sufficient to supply transport and food for the 10,000
+men who were to land there under the command of Sir David Baird.</P>
+<P>The English general's difficulties were indeed overwhelming. He had
+soldiers who, although but recently raised, had shown themselves good
+fighters; but he was altogether without even transport sufficient for the
+officers. With an ample supply of money, an experienced staff, and a well-organized commissariat, the difficulties might have been overcome, but Sir
+John Moore was practically without money. His staff had no experience
+whatever, and the commissariat and transport officers were alike ignorant
+of the work they were called upon to perform. He was unacquainted with the
+views of the Spanish government, and uninformed as to the numbers,
+composition, and situation of the Spanish armies with whom he was to act,
+or with those of the enemy. He had a winter march of 300 miles before he
+could join Sir David Baird, who would have 200 miles to march from Corunna
+to join him, and there was then a distance of another 300 miles to be
+traversed before he reached the Ebro, which was designated as the centre
+of his operations.</P>
+<P>And all this had to be done while a great French army was already
+pouring in through the passes of the Pyrenees. No more tremendous, or, it
+may be said, impossible, task was ever assigned to an English commander;
+and to add to the absurdity of their scheme, the British government sent
+off Sir David Baird without instructions, and even without money. The Duke
+of York had vainly protested against the plan of the ministry, and had
+pointed out that nothing short of an army of 60,000 men, fully equipped
+with all necessaries for war--money, transport, and artillery--could
+achieve success of any kind.</P>
+<P>Upon the day Terence rejoined, news came from the engineers in advance
+that the assurances Sir John Moore had received that the road by which the
+army was to travel was perfectly practicable for artillery and baggage-waggons, were wholly false, and it was probable that the artillery and
+cavalry would have to make a long circuit to the south.</P>
+<P>It was too late now to change the route for the rest of the army.
+Nearly half the force had already started on the road to Almeida, and the
+supplies for their subsistence had been collected at that town. Therefore
+it was necessary that the main body of the infantry should travel by that
+road, while three thousand were to act as a guard for the artillery and
+cavalry on the other route.</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER VII</H3>
+<H4>THE ADVANCE</H4></CENTER>
+<P>"It is enough to drive Sir John out of his senses," the colonel said,
+as the news was discussed after mess. "These people must be the champion
+liars of the world. Not content with doing nothing themselves, they seem
+to delight in inventing lies to prevent our doing anything for them. Who
+ever heard of an army marching, without artillery and cavalry, one way,
+while these arms travelled by a different road entirely, and that not for
+a march of twenty miles, but for a march of three hundred? One battery is
+to go with us. But what will be the use of six guns against an enemy with
+sixty? Every day the baggage is being cut down owing to these blackguard
+Portuguese breaking their engagements to furnish waggons, and we shall
+have to march pretty nearly as we stand, and to take with us nothing
+beyond one change of clothes."</P>
+<P>Loud exclamations of discontent ran round the table. It was bad enough
+that in the midst of a campaign waggons should break down and baggage be
+left behind, but that troops should start upon a campaign with scarcely
+the necessaries of life had caused general anger in the army; and no order
+would have been more willingly obeyed than one to march upon Lisbon, shoot
+every public official, establish a state of siege, and rule by martial
+law, seizing for the use of the army every draught animal, waggon, and
+carriage that could be found in the city, or swept in from the country
+round. The colonel had not exaggerated matters. The number of tents to be
+taken were altogether insufficient for the regiment, even with the utmost
+crowding possible. The officers' baggage had been cut down to twenty
+pounds a head--an amount scarcely sufficient for a single change of
+clothes and boots. Even the amount of ammunition to be taken would be
+insufficient to refill the soldiers' pouches after the supply they carried
+was exhausted.</P>
+<P>The paucity of baggage would not have mattered so much had the march
+begun at the commencement of summer, instead of just as winter was setting
+in. In the former case, men could have slept in the open air, and a
+solitary blanket and one change of clothes would have sufficed; but with
+the wet season at hand, to be followed by winter cold, the grievance was a
+very serious one. Terence had already learned that the brigade was to
+march in two days, and that the great bulk of the baggage was to be stored
+at Torres Vedras, which was to be occupied on their leaving by some of the
+troops that would remain in Portugal.</P>
+<P>"Faith, it is an evil look-out, Terence," O'Grady, who was sitting next
+to him, said, pathetically. "Sorra a drop of whisky is there in the camp,
+and now we sha'n't be able to have even a drink of their bastely spirits,
+onless we can buy it at the towns; and as Anstruther's division has gone
+on ahead of us, it is likely that every drop has been drunk up."</P>
+<P>"It will be all the better for you, O'Grady. Daly tells me that your
+arm is not fully healed yet. I know that you would not like to be left
+behind when we have once started."</P>
+<P>"That is true enough, but a drop of the cratur hurts no one."</P>
+<P>"I beg your pardon, O'Grady, it is very bad for anything like a wound.
+The doctor told me, when I was chatting with him before dinner, that he
+really did not think that you could go, for you would not obey his orders
+to give up spirits altogether."</P>
+<P>"Well, I own that it has been smarting a good deal the last few days,"
+O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "though I have not said as much to the
+doctor. I don't know that you are not about right, Terence; but faith,
+after being kept upon bastely slops by O'Flaherty, it was not in human
+nature to drink nothing but water when one gets a chance. At any rate, I
+am not likely to find any great temptation after we have started."</P>
+<P>"Well, you had better begin to-night, O'Grady. I am going to get away
+as soon as I can, and if you will take my advice you will come too."</P>
+<P>"What! and us to march in two days? It is not to be thought of. You
+mane well, Terence, but a lad like you must not take to lecturing your
+supayrior officer. Shure, and don't I know what to do for meself better
+than any other?"</P>
+<P>Terence saw that it was useless to endeavour to persuade him to move,
+and presently went round to Dr. Daly and said, quietly:</P>
+<P>"Doctor, O'Grady tells me that his arm has been hurting him a good deal
+more during the last two days. I expect they will make a night of it this
+evening, and again to-morrow, and if he once begins, nothing will stop him
+until they break up. Could not you do anything?"</P>
+<P>"I will talk to him like a father, Terence. You are a good boy to have
+told me; I might have gone away without thinking of it."</P>
+<P>"Don't mention my name, Doctor."</P>
+<P>The doctor nodded, and Terence went away and took a vacant seat at some
+distance from him. Presently the doctor got up and went round to O'Grady.
+The supply of claret had just been finished, and bottles of spirits had
+been placed upon the table. O'Grady stretched out his hand to one near
+him, but the doctor quietly removed it.</P>
+<P>"Not for you, O'Grady," he said; "you have had more than sufficient
+wine already. I have been doubting whether you are fit to go on with the
+regiment; and, by the powers, if you touch spirits to-night or to-morrow,
+I will put your name down in the list of those who are to be left behind
+as unfit for service!"</P>
+<P>"Sure you are joking, Doctor?"</P>
+<P>"Never was more earnest in my life, O'Grady. You don't want to be left
+behind, I suppose, in some filthy Portuguese town, while we march on, and
+that is what it will come to if your wound inflames. I told you this
+morning that it was not doing as well as it ought to, and that you must
+cut off liquor altogether. I have had my eye upon you, and you have taken
+down more than a bottle of wine already. I don't think I ought to let you
+go with us, even as it is; but, by the piper that played before Moses, if
+you don't go off to your quarters, without touching a drop more, I will
+have you left behind!"</P>
+<P>"You are mighty hard on a poor fellow, and must have a heart of stone
+to treat a man, who has lost his arm and wants a bit of comfort, in such
+fashion. Faith, I would not do it to a dog."</P>
+<P>"There would be no occasion, O'Grady; a dog has got sense."</P>
+<P>"And I haven't? Thank ye for the compliment. I will appeal to the
+colonel. Colonel, the doctor says if I drink a drop of spirits to-night or
+to-morrow he will put me down in the black list. Now, I ask you, do the
+regulations justify his using such a threat as that?"</P>
+<P>"I think they do," the colonel said, with a laugh. "I think that his
+order is good and sensible, and I endorse it. You know yourself that
+spirits are bad for you, with an arm only just healed up. Now, behave like
+a raisonable fellow, and go off to your quarters. You know well enough
+that if you stop here you won't be able to keep from it."</P>
+<P>"Faith, if the two of you are against me I have nothing more to say. It
+is mighty hard that after having lost an arm in the service of my country
+I should be treated like a child and sent off to bed."</P>
+<P>"I am going, too, O'Grady," Terence, who had gone back to his original
+place, now said. "There is no occasion to go to bed. I have a box of good
+cigars in my tent, and we can sit there and chat as long as you like."</P>
+<P>But O'Grady's dignity was ruffled.</P>
+<P>"Thank you, Mr O'Connor," he said, stiffly; "but with your lave I will
+do as I said."</P>
+<P>"That is the best thing," the doctor said. "You have not had a long
+night's rest since you rejoined. I am going myself, and I see that some of
+the others are getting up, too, and it would be a good thing if all would
+do so, for, with such work as we have got before us, the more sleep we
+get, while we can, the better."</P>
+<P>As nearly half the officers now rose from their seats, O'Grady was
+mollified, and as he went out he said:</P>
+<P>"I think, after all, Terence, I will try one of those cigars of
+yours."</P>
+<P>On the 14th of October Fane's brigade left Torres Vedras.</P>
+<P> [Illustration: 'I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL.']</P>
+<P> A number of the troops had been stationed along the line of route to
+be followed, and these had started simultaneously with the departure of
+Fane's brigade from Torres Vedras. The discontent as to the reduction of
+baggage ceased as soon as the troops were in motion. They were going to
+invade Spain, and ignorant as the soldiers were of the real state of
+affairs, none doubted but that success would attend them there. Among the
+officers better acquainted with the state of things there was no such
+feeling of confidence, but they hoped that they should at least give as
+good an account of themselves as before, against any French force of
+anything like equal strength they might encounter. O'Grady, influenced by
+the doctor's threats, which he knew the latter would be firm enough to
+carry out, had obeyed his orders, and had confided to Terence, when the
+regiment formed up at daybreak for the march, that his arm felt much
+better.</P>
+<P>"I don't say that the doctor may not have been right, Terence, but he
+need not have threatened me in that way, at all, at all."</P>
+<P>"I don't know," Terence replied. "I feel pretty sure that if he hadn't,
+you would not have knocked off spirits. Well, it is a glorious morning for
+starting, but I am afraid the fine weather won't last long. Everyone says
+that the rains generally begin about this time."</P>
+<P>As Terence fell in with his company the adjutant rode up.</P>
+<P>"Mr. O'Connor, you are to report yourself to the brigadier."</P>
+<P>Wondering much at the message, Terence hurried to the house occupied by
+General Fane. He and several officers were standing in front of it.</P>
+<P>"I am told that you wish to speak to me, General," he said,
+saluting.</P>
+<P>"Oh, you are Mr. O'Connor! Can you ride?"</P>
+<P>"Yes, sir," Terence replied; for he had often had a scamper across the
+hills around Athlone on half-broken ponies, and occasionally on the horses
+of some of his friends in the regiment.</P>
+<P>"I have a vacancy on my staff. Lieutenant Andrews was thrown when
+riding out from Lisbon with a despatch last night, and broke a leg. I was
+on board the flag-ship when your colonel brought his report about the
+fight between the transport and the two privateers. I read it, and was so
+much struck with the quickness and intelligence you displayed, that I made
+a note at the time that if I should have a vacancy on my staff I would
+appoint you."</P>
+<P>"I am very much obliged, General," Terence said, "but I have no
+horse."</P>
+<P>"I have arranged that. Lieutenant Andrews will not be fit for service
+for a long time. It is a compound fracture, and he will, the doctor says,
+probably be sent back to England by the first ship that arrives after he
+reaches Lisbon. His horse is therefore useless to him, and as it is only a
+native animal and would not fetch a ten-pound note, he agreed at once to
+hand it over to his successor, and in fact was rather glad to get it off
+his hands. He has an English saddle, bridle, and holsters; he will take
+five pounds for them. If you happen to be short of cash the paymaster will
+settle it for you."</P>
+<P>"Thank you, sir; I have the money about me, and I am very much obliged
+to you for making the arrangement."</P>
+<P>Terence was indeed in funds, for in addition to the ten pounds that had
+fallen to him as his share of the prize money, his pay had been almost
+untouched from the day he left England, and his father had, on embarking,
+added ten pounds to his store.</P>
+<P>"I won't want it, Terence," he said; "I have got another twenty pounds
+by me, and by the time I get to England I shall have another month's pay
+to draw, and shall no doubt be put in a military hospital, where I shall
+have no occasion for money till I am out again."</P>
+<P>"But I sha'n't want it either, father."</P>
+<P>"There is never any saying, lad; it is always useful to have money on a
+campaign. You may be in places where the commissariat breaks down
+altogether, and you have to depend on what you buy; you may be left behind
+wounded, or may be taken prisoner, one never can tell. I shall feel more
+comfortable about you if I know that you are well provided with cash,
+whatever may happen. My advice is, Terence, get fifteen or twenty pounds
+in gold sewn up in your boot; have an extra sole put on, and the money
+sewn inside. If it is your bad luck to be taken prisoner, you will find
+the money mighty useful in a great many ways."</P>
+<P>Terence had followed this advice and had fifteen pounds hidden away,
+besides ten that he carried in his pockets; he therefore hurried to the
+hut where Lieutenant Andrews was lying. He was slightly acquainted with
+him, as he had been Fane's aide-de-camp from the time of landing. The
+young lieutenant's servant was standing at the door with a horse ready
+saddled and bridled.</P>
+<P>"I am very sorry to hear of your injury," he said to the young
+officer.</P>
+<P>"Yes, it is a horrible nuisance," the other replied; "and just as we
+were starting, too. There is an end of my campaigning for the present. I
+should not have minded if it had been a French ball, but to be merely
+thrown from a horse is disgusting."</P>
+<P>"I am extremely obliged to you for the horse, Andrews, but I would
+rather pay you for it; it is not fair that I should get it for
+nothing."</P>
+<P>"Oh, that is all right! It would be a bother taking it down, and I
+should not know what to do with it when I got to Lisbon; it would be a
+nuisance altogether, and I am glad to get rid of it. The money is of no
+consequence to me one way or the other. I wish you better luck with it
+than I have had."</P>
+<P>"At any rate here are five pounds for the saddle and bridle," and he
+put the money down on the table by the bed.</P>
+<P>"That is all right," the other said, without looking at it; "they are
+well off my hands, too. I hope the authorities will send me straight on
+board ship when I get to Lisbon; my servant will go down with me. If I am
+kept there, he will of course stay with me until I sail; if not, he will
+rejoin as soon as he has seen me on board. He is a good servant, and I can
+recommend him to you; he is rather fond of the bottle, but that is his
+only fault as far as I know. He is a countryman of yours, and you will be
+able to make allowances for his failing," he added, with a laugh.</P>
+<P>There was no time to be lost--the bugles were sounding--so, with a
+brief adieu, Terence went out, mounted the horse and rode after the
+general, who had just left with his staff, and taken his place at the head
+of the column. As he passed his regiment, he stopped for a moment to speak
+to the colonel.</P>
+<P>"I heard that you were wanted by the general, Terence," the latter
+said, "and I congratulate you on your appointment. I am sorry that you are
+leaving us, but, as you will be with the brigade, we shall often see you.
+O'Driscol is as savage as a bull at the loss of one of his subalterns.
+Well, it is your own luck that you have and another's; drop in this
+evening, if you can, and tell us how it was that Fane came to pick you
+out."</P>
+<P>"It was thanks to you, Colonel. If you remember, you told us at Vigo
+that Fane was on board when you went to make your report, and that he and
+Sir Arthur's adjutant-general read it over together, and asked you a good
+many questions. It was owing to that affair that he thought of me."</P>
+<P>"That is good, lad. I thought at the time that more might come of it
+than just being mentioned in orders, and I am very glad that it was for
+that you got it. At any rate, come in this evening; I want to hear where
+you have stolen that horse from, and all about it."</P>
+<P>Terence rode off and took his place with his fellow aide-de-camp behind
+the two other officers of the staff. He scarcely knew whether to be glad
+or sorry, at present, at the change that had so suddenly taken place. It
+was gratifying to have been selected as he had been. It was certainly more
+pleasant to ride through a campaign than to march; and there would be a
+good many more chances of distinguishing himself than there could be as a
+regimental officer; while, on the other hand, he would be away from the
+circle of his friends and comrades, and should greatly miss the fun and
+jollity of the life with them.</P>
+<P>"An unfortunate affair this of Andrews," Lieutenant Trevor, his fellow
+aide-de-camp, said.</P>
+<P>"Most unfortunate. I little thought when you and he lunched with us two
+days since that to-day he would be down with a broken leg and I riding in
+his place. Just at present I certainly do not feel very delighted at the
+change. You see, from my father being a captain in the regiment, I have
+been brought up with it, and to be taken so suddenly away from them seems
+a tremendous wrench."</P>
+<P>"Yes, I can understand that," the other said. "In my case it is
+different. My regiment was not coming out, and of course I was greatly
+pleased when the general gave me a chance of going with him. Still, you
+see, as your regiment is in the brigade you will still be able to be with
+it when off duty, and when the end of the campaign comes you will return
+to it. Besides, there are compensations--you will at least get a roof to
+sleep under, at any rate nine times out of ten. I don't know how you feel
+it, but to me it is no small comfort being on horseback instead of
+tramping along these heavy roads on foot. The brigadier is a capital
+fellow; and though he does keep us hard at work, at any rate he works hard
+himself, and does not send us galloping about with all sorts of trivial
+messages that might as well be unsent. Besides, he is always thoughtful
+and considerate. Is he related to you in any way?"</P>
+<P>"Not at all."</P>
+<P>"Then I suppose you had good interest in some way, or else how did he
+come to pick you out?"</P>
+<P>"It was just a piece of luck," Terence said; "it was because he had
+heard my name in connection with a fight the transport I came over in had
+with two French privateers."</P>
+<P>"Oh, yes, I remember now," the other said; "I had forgotten that the
+name was O'Connor. I remember all about it now. He told us the story at
+Vigo, and you were put in general orders by Sir Arthur. I know the chief
+spoke very highly about your conduct in that affair. It is just like him
+to remember it, and to pick you out to take Andrews' place. Well, you
+fairly won it, which is more than one can say for most staff appointments,
+which are in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the result of pure
+favouritism or interest.</P>
+<P>"Well, O'Connor, I am very glad to have you on the staff. You see, it
+makes a lot of difference, when there are only two of us, that we should
+like each other. I own I have not done anything as yet to get any credit,
+for at Vimiera it was just stand up and beat them back, and I had not a
+single message to carry, and, of course, at Rolica our brigade was not in
+it; but I hope I shall get a turn some day. Then it was your father who
+was badly wounded?"</P>
+<P>"Yes; I saw him off to England four days ago. I hope that he will be
+able to rejoin before long, but it is not certain yet that the wound won't
+bring on permanent lameness. I am very anxious about it, especially as he
+has now got his step, and it would be awfully hard on him to leave the
+service just as he has got field-officer's rank."</P>
+<P>"Yes, it would be hard. However, I hope that the sea-voyage and English
+air will set him up again."</P>
+<P>Presently one of the officers who were in front turned and said: "The
+general wishes you to ride back along the line, Mr. Trevor, and report
+whether the intervals between the regiments are properly kept, and also as
+to how the baggage-waggons are going on."</P>
+<P>As Trevor turned to ride back the general cantered on, followed by the
+three officers and the four troopers who served as orderlies. Two miles
+ahead they came to a bridge across a torrent. The road, always a bad one,
+had been completely cut up by the passage of the provision and ammunition
+carts going to the front, and was now almost impassable.</P>
+<P>"Will you please to ride back, Mr. O'Connor, and request the colonel of
+the leading regiment to send on the pioneers and a company of men at the
+double to clear the road and make it passable for the waggons."</P>
+<P>The work was quickly done. While some men filled up the deep ruts,
+others cut down shrubs and bushes growing by the river bank, tied them
+into bundles, and put them across the narrow road, and threw earth and
+stones upon them, and in half an hour from the order being given the bugle
+sounded the advance. The head of the column had been halted just before it
+reached the bridge, and the men fell out, many of them running down to the
+stream to refill their water-bottles. As the bugle sounded they at once
+fell in again, and the column got into motion. General Fane and his staff
+remained at the bridge until the waggons had all crossed it.</P>
+<P>"It is not much of a job," Fane said. "Of course the four regiments
+passing over it flattened the earth well down, but the waggons have cut it
+all up again. The first heavy shower will wash all the earth away, and in
+a couple of days it will be as bad as before. There are plenty of stones
+down in the river, but we have no means of breaking up the large ones, or
+of carrying any quantity of small ones. A few hundred sappers and
+engineers, with proper tools, would soon go a long way towards making the
+road fairly fit for traffic, but nothing can be done without tools and
+wheel-barrows, or at least hand-barrows for carrying stones. You see, the
+men wanted to use their blankets, but the poor fellows will want them
+badly enough before long, and those contractors' goods would go all to
+pieces by the time they had carried half a dozen loads of stones. At any
+rate, we will content ourselves with making the road passable for our own
+waggons, and the troops who come after us must do the same. By the way,
+Mr. O'Connor, you have not got your kit yet."</P>
+<P>"No, sir; but I have no doubt that it is with the regimental baggage,
+and I will get it when we halt to-night."</P>
+<P>"Do so," the general said. "Of course it can be carried with ours, but
+I should advise you always to take a change of clothes in your valise, and
+a blanket strapped on with your greatcoat."</P>
+<P>"I have Mr. Andrews' blanket, sir. It was strapped on when I mounted,
+and I did not notice it."</P>
+<P>"That is all right. The store blankets are very little use for keeping
+off rain, but we all provided ourselves with good thick horse-cloths
+before leaving England. They are a great deal warmer than blankets, and
+are practically water-proof. I have no doubt that Mr. Andrews told his
+servant to strap it on as usual."</P>
+<P>Many and many a time during the campaign had Terence good reason for
+thinking with gratitude of Andrews' kindly thought. His greatcoat, which
+like those of all the officers of the regiment, had been made at Athlone,
+of good Irish frieze lined with flannel, would stand almost any amount of
+rain, but it was not long enough to protect his legs while lying down. But
+by rolling himself in the horse-cloth he was able to sleep warm and dry,
+when without it he would have been half-frozen, or soaked through with
+rain from above and moisture from the ground below. He found that the
+brigadier and his staff carried the same amount of baggage as other
+officers, the only difference being that the general had a tent for
+himself, his assistant-adjutant and quartermaster one between them, while
+a third was used as an office-tent in the day, and was occupied by the two
+aides-de-camp at night.</P>
+<P>The baggage-waggon allotted to them carried the three tents, their
+scanty kits, and a box of stationery and official forms, but was mainly
+laden with musketry ammunition for the use of the brigade. After marching
+eighteen miles the column halted at a small village. The tents were
+speedily pitched, rations served out, and fires lighted. The general took
+possession of the principal house in the village for the use of himself
+and his staff, and the quartermaster-general apportioned the rest of the
+houses between the officers of the four battalions. The two aides-de-camp
+accompanied the general in his tour of inspection through the camp.</P>
+<P>"It will be an hour before dinner is ready," Trevor said, as they
+returned to the house, "and you won't be wanted before that. I shall be
+about if the chief has any orders to send out. I don't think it is likely
+that he will have; he is not given, as some brigadiers are, to worrying;
+and, besides, there are the orderlies here to take any routine orders out,
+so you can be off if you like."</P>
+<P>Terence at once went down to the camp of the Mayo Fusiliers. The
+officers were all there, their quartermaster having gone into the village
+to fix their respective quarters.</P>
+<P>"Hooray, Terence, me boy!" O'Grady shouted, as he came up, "we all
+congratulate you. Faith, it is a comfort to see that for once merit has
+been recognized. I am sure that there is not a man in the regiment but
+would have liked to have given you a cheer as you rode along this morning
+just before we started. We shall miss you, but as you will be up and down
+all day and can look in of an evening, it won't be as if you had been put
+on the staff of another brigade. As to Dicky Ryan, he is altogether down
+in the mouth, whether it is regret for your loss or whether it is from
+jealousy at seeing you capering about on horseback, while he is tramping
+along on foot, is more than I know."</P>
+<P>"If you were not my superior officer, Captain O'Grady, I should make a
+personal onslaught on you," Ryan laughed. "You will have to mind how you
+behave now, Terence; the brigadier is an awfully good fellow, but he is
+pretty strict in matters of discipline."</P>
+<P>"I will take care of meself, Dicky, and now that you will have nobody
+to help you out of your scrapes, you will have to mind yourself too."</P>
+<P>"I am glad that you have got a lift, Terence," Captain O'Driscol said;
+"but it is rather hard on me losing a subaltern just as the campaign is
+beginning in earnest."</P>
+<P>"Menzies likes doing all the work," Terence said, "so it won't make so
+much difference to you."</P>
+<P>"It would not matter if I was always with my company, Terence, but now,
+you see, that I am acting as field-officer to the left wing till your
+father rejoins, it makes it awkward."</P>
+<P>"I intend to attach Parsons to your company, O'Driscol," the colonel
+said. "Terence went off so suddenly this morning that I had no time to
+think of it before we marched, but he shall march with your company to-morrow. You will not mind, I hope, Captain Holland?"</P>
+<P>"I shall mind, of course, Colonel; but, as O'Driscol's company has now
+really only one officer, of course it cannot be helped, and as Menzies is
+the senior lieutenant, I have no doubt that he can manage very well with
+Parsons, who is very well up in his work."</P>
+<P>"Thank you, Captain Holland; it is the first compliment that you ever
+paid me; it is abuse that I am most accustomed to."</P>
+<P>"It is thanks to that that you are a decent officer, Parsons," Captain
+Holland laughed. "You were the awkwardest young beggar I ever saw when you
+first joined, and you have given me no end of trouble in licking you into
+shape. How do you think you will like your work, Terence?"</P>
+<P>"I think I shall like it very much," the lad replied. "The other aide-de-camp, Trevor, is a very nice fellow, and every one likes Fane; as to
+Major Dowdeswell and Major Errington, I haven't exchanged a word with
+either of them, and you know as much about them as I do."</P>
+<P>"Errington is a very good fellow, but the other man is very unpopular.
+He is always talking about the regulations, as if anyone cared a hang
+about the regulations when one is on service."</P>
+<P>"I expect that if Fane were not such a good fellow Dowdeswell would
+make himself a baste of a nuisance, and be bothering us about pipe-clay
+and buttons, and all sorts of rigmarole," O'Grady said; "as if a man would
+fight any the better for having his belt white as snow!"</P>
+<P>"He would not fight any the better, O'Grady, but the regiment would do
+so," the colonel put in. "All these little matters are nothing in
+themselves, but still they have a good deal to do with the discipline of
+the regiment; there is no doubt that we are not as smart in appearance as
+we ought to be, and that the other regiments in the brigade show up better
+than we do. It is a matter that must be seen to. I shall inspect the
+regiment very carefully before we march to-morrow."</P>
+<P>There was a little silence among the group, but a smile stole over
+several of the faces. As a rule, the colonel was very lax in small matters
+of this kind, but occasionally he thought it necessary to put on an air of
+severity, and to insist upon the most rigid accuracy in this respect; but
+the fit seldom lasted beyond twenty-four hours, after which things went on
+pleasantly again. Some of the officers presently sauntered off to warn the
+colour-sergeants that the colonel himself intended to inspect the regiment
+closely before marching the next morning, and that the men must be warned
+to have their uniforms, belts, and firearms in perfect order.</P>
+<P>Terence remained for some little time longer chatting, and then got
+possession of his kit, which was carried by Tim Hoolan across to his
+quarters.</P>
+<P>"We are all sorry you've left us, yer honour," that worthy said, as he
+walked a short distance behind Terence; "the rigiment won't be like itself
+widout you. Not that it has been quite the same since you joined us
+reg'lar, and have taken to behaving yourself."</P>
+<P>"What do you mean, you impudent rascal?" Terence said, with a pretence
+at indignation.</P>
+<P>"No offence, yer honour, but faith the games that you and Mr. Ryan and
+some of the others used to play, kept the boys alive, and gave mighty
+contintment to the regiment."</P>
+<P>"I was only a lad then, Hoolan."</P>
+<P>"That was so, yer honour, and now you are a man and an officer, it is
+natural it should be different."</P>
+<P>"Tim Hoolan, you are a humbug," Terence said, laughing.</P>
+<P>"Sorra a bit of one, yer honour. I am not saying that you won't grow a
+bit more; everyone says what a fine man you will make. But sure ye saved
+our wing from being captured, and you would not have us admit that, if it
+had not been for a boy, a wing of the Mayo Fusiliers would have been
+captured by the French. No, your honour, when we tell that story we spake
+of one of our officers who had the idea that saved the <i>Sea-horse</i>,
+and brought thim two privateer vessels into Vigo."</P>
+<P>"Well, Tim, it is only three months since I joined, and I don't suppose
+I have changed much in that time; but of course I cannot play tricks now
+as I used to do, before I got my commission."</P>
+<P>"That is so, yer honour; the rigiment misses your tricks, though they
+did bother us a bit. Three times were we turned out at night, under arms,
+when we were at Athlone, once on a wet night too, and stood there for two
+hours till the colonel found out it was a false alarm, and there was me
+and Mr. Ryan, and two or three others as was in the secret, nigh choking
+ourselves with laughter, to hear the men cursing and swearing at being
+called out of bed. That was a foine time, yer honour."</P>
+<P>"Attention, Tim!" Terence said, sharply.</P>
+<P>They had now entered the village, and the burst of laughter in which
+Hoolan indulged at the thought of the regiment being turned out on a false
+alarm was unseemly, as he was accompanying an officer. So Tim straightened
+himself up, and then followed in Terence's footsteps with military
+precision and stiffness.</P>
+<P>"There is a time for all things, Tim," the latter said, as he took the
+little portmanteau from him. "It won't do to be laughing like that in
+sight of head-quarters. I can't ask you to have a drink now; there is no
+drink to be had, but the first time we get a chance I will make it up to
+you."</P>
+<P>"All right, yer honour! I was wrong entirely, but I could not have
+helped it if the commander-in-chief had been standing there."</P>
+<P>Terence went up to the attic that he and Trevor shared. There was no
+changing for dinner, but after a wash he went below again.</P>
+<P>"You are just in time," Trevor said, "and we are in luck. The head man
+of the village sent the general a couple of ducks, and they will help out
+our rations. I have been foraging, and have got hold of half a dozen
+bottles of good wine from the priest.</P>
+<P>"We always try to get the best of things in the village, if they will
+but part with them. That is an essential part of our duties. To-morrow it
+will be your turn."</P>
+<P>"But our servants always did that sort of thing," Terence said, in some
+surprise.</P>
+<P>"I dare say, O'Connor, but it would not do for the general's servant to
+be going about picking up things. No matter what he paid, we should have
+tales going about in no time of the shameful extortion practised by our
+servants, who under threats compelled the peasantry to sell provisions for
+the use of their masters at nominal prices."</P>
+<P>"I did not think of that," Terence laughed. "Yes, as the Portuguese
+have circulated scores of calumnious lies on less foundation, one cannot
+be too particular. I will see what I can do to-morrow."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER VIII</H3>
+<H4>A FALSE ALARM</H4></CENTER>
+<P>The march was continued until the brigade arrived at Almeida, which
+they reached on the 7th of November, and Sir John Moore and the head-quarters staff came up on the following day. All the troops were now
+assembled at that place; for Anstruther, by some misconception of orders,
+had halted the leading division, instead of, as intended by the general,
+continuing his march to Salamanca. The condition of the troops was
+excellent. Discipline, which had been somewhat relaxed during the period
+of inactivity, was now thoroughly restored. The weather had continued
+fine, and the steady exercise had well prepared them for the campaign
+which was beginning. Things, however, were in other respects going on
+unfavourably.</P>
+<P>The Junta of Corunna had given the most solemn promises that transport
+and everything necessary for the advance of Sir David Baird's force should
+be ready by the time that officer arrived. Yet nothing whatever had been
+done, and so conscious were the Junta of their shortcomings, that when the
+fleet with the troops arrived off the port they refused to allow them to
+enter without an order from the central Junta, and fifteen days were
+wasted before the troops could disembark. Then it was found that neither
+provisions nor transport had been provided, and that nothing whatever was
+to be hoped for from the Spanish authorities. Baird was entirely
+unprovided with money, and was supplied with £8,000 from Moore's scanty
+military chest, while at the very time the British agent, Mr. Frere, was
+in Corunna with two millions of dollars for the use of the Spaniards,
+which he was squandering, like the other British agents, right and left
+among the men who refused to put themselves to the slightest trouble to
+further the expedition.</P>
+<P>Spain was at this time boasting of the enthusiasm of its armies, and of
+the immense force that it had in the field, and succeeded in persuading
+the English cabinet and the English people that with the help of a little
+money they could alone and unaided drive the French right across the
+frontier. The emptiness of this braggadocio, and the utter incapacity of
+the Spanish authorities and generals was now speedily exposed, for
+Napoleon's newly arrived armies scattered the Spaniards before them like
+sheep, and it was only on one or two occasions that anything like severe
+fighting took place. Within the space of three weeks there remained of the
+great armies of Spain but a few thousand fugitives hanging together
+without arms or discipline. Madrid, the centre of this pretended
+enthusiasm and patriotism, surrendered after a day's pretence at
+resistance, and the whole of the eastern provinces fell, practically
+without a blow, into the hands of the invaders.</P>
+<P>At present, however, Moore still hoped for some assistance from the
+Spaniards. He, like Baird, was crippled for want of money, but determined
+not to delay his march, and sent agents to Madrid and other places to make
+contracts and raise money; thus while the ministers at home squandered
+huge sums on the Spaniards, they left it to their own military commanders
+to raise money by means of loans to enable them to march. Never in the
+course of the military history of England were her operations so crippled
+and foiled by the utter incapacity of her government as in the opening
+campaigns of the Peninsular War.</P>
+<P>While Baird was vainly trying to obtain transport at Corunna, a
+reinforcement of some five thousand Spanish troops under General Romana
+landed at San Andero, and, being equipped from the British stores, joined
+the Spanish general, Blake, in Biscay. These troops had been raised for
+the French service at the time Napoleon's brother Joseph was undisputed
+King of Spain. They were stationed in Holland, and when the insurrection
+at home broke out, the news of the rising was sent to them, and in
+pursuance of a plan agreed upon they suddenly rose, marched down to a port
+and embarked in English ships sent to receive them, and were in these
+transported to the northern coast of Spain.</P>
+<P>Sir David Baird was a man of great energy, and, having succeeded in
+borrowing a little more money from Mr. Frere, he started on his march to
+join General Moore. He had with great difficulty hired some country carts
+at an exorbitant rate, but the number was so small that he was obliged to
+send up his force in half-battalions, and so was able to proceed but very
+slowly.</P>
+<P>Sir John Moore was still in utter ignorance of the situation in Spain.
+The jealousy among the generals, and the disinclination of the central
+Junta to appoint any one person to a post that might enable him to
+interfere with their intrigues, had combined to prevent the appointment of
+a commander-in-chief, and there was no one therefore with whom Sir John
+could open negotiations and learn what plans, if any, had been decided
+upon for general operations against the advancing enemy.</P>
+<P>On the day that Moore arrived at Almeida, Blake was in full flight,
+pursued by a French army 50,000 strong, and Napoleon was at Vittoria with
+170,000 troops.</P>
+<P>Of these facts he was ignorant, but the letters that he received from
+Lord William Bentinck and Colonel Graham, exposing the folly of the
+Spanish generals, reached him. On the 11th he crossed the frontier of
+Spain, marching to Ciudad-Rodrigo. On that day Blake was finally defeated,
+and one of the other armies completely crushed and dispersed. These events
+left a large French army free to act against the British. Sir John Moore,
+however, did not hear of this until a week later. He knew, however, that
+the situation was serious; and after all the reports of Spanish
+enthusiasm, he was astonished to find that complete apathy prevailed, that
+no effort was made to enroll the population, or even to distribute the
+vast quantity of British muskets stored up in the magazines of the
+cities.</P>
+<P>The general arrived at Salamanca with 4,000 British infantry. The
+French cavalry were at Valladolid, but three marches distant. On the 18th
+more troops had arrived, and on the 23d 12,000 infantry and six guns were
+at Salamanca. But Moore now knew of the defeat of Blake, and that the
+French army that had crushed him was free to advance against Salamanca.
+But he did not yet know of the utter dispersal of the Asturian army, or
+that the two armies of Castanos and Palafox were also defeated and
+scattered beyond any attempt at rallying, and that their conquerors were
+also free to march against him. Although ignorant of the force with which
+Napoleon had entered Spain, and having no idea of its enormous strength,
+he knew that it could not be less than 80,000 men, and that it could be
+joined by at least 30,000 more.</P>
+<P>His position was indeed a desperate one. Baird was still twenty marches
+distant, his cavalry and artillery still far away. It would require
+another five days to bring the rear of his own army to Salamanca, as only
+a small portion could come forward each day, owing to want of transport;
+and yet, while in this position of imminent danger, the Spanish
+authorities, through Mr. Frere and other agents, were violently urging an
+advance to Madrid.</P>
+<P>General Moore was indeed in a position of imminent danger; but the
+lying reports as to the strength of the Spanish army induced him for a
+moment to make preparations for such a movement. When, however, he learned
+the utter overthrow and dispersal of the whole of the Spanish armies, he
+saw that nothing remained but to fall back, if possible, upon
+Portugal.</P>
+<P>It was necessary, however, that he should remain at Salamanca until
+Hope should arrive with the guns, and the army be in a position to show a
+front to the enemy. Instructions had been previously sent to Hope to march
+to the Escurial. Hope had endeavoured to find a road across the mountains
+of Ciudad-Rodrigo, but the road was so bad that he dared not venture upon
+it, as the number of horses was barely sufficient to drag the guns and
+ammunition waggons along a good road. He therefore kept on his way until
+he reached the Escurial; but after advancing three days farther towards
+Madrid, he heard of the utter defeat of the Spaniards and the flight of
+their armies. His cavalry outposts brought in word that more than 4,000
+cavalry were but twelve miles away, and that other French troops were at
+Segovia and other places. The prospect of his making his way to join Sir
+John Moore seemed well-nigh hopeless; but, with admirable skill and
+resolution, Hope succeeded in eluding some of his foes, in checking others
+by destroying or defending bridges, and finally joined the main force
+without the loss of any of the important convoy of guns and ammunition
+that he was escorting.</P>
+<P>The satisfaction of the troops at the arrival of the force that had
+been regarded as lost was unbounded. Hitherto, unprovided as they were
+with artillery and cavalry, they could have fought only under such
+disadvantages as would render defeat almost inevitable, for an enemy could
+have pounded them with artillery from a distance beyond their musket
+range, and they could have made no effectual reply whatever. His cavalry
+could have circled round them, cut their communications, and charged down
+on their lines in flank and rear while engaged with his infantry. Now
+every man felt that once again he formed part of an army, and that that
+army could be relied upon to beat any other of equal numbers.</P>
+<P>Terence had enjoyed the march to Salamanca. The fine weather had broken
+up, and heavy rains had often fallen, but his thick coat kept him dry
+except in the steadiest downpours; while on one or two occasions only the
+general and his staff had failed to find quarters available. As they
+proceeded they gradually closed up with the troops forming a part of the
+same division, and at Almeida came under the command of General Fraser,
+whose division was made complete by their arrival. Up to this point the
+young aide-de-camp's duties had been confined solely to the work of the
+brigade--to seeing that the regiments kept their proper distances, that
+none of the waggons loitered behind, and that the roads were repaired,
+where absolutely necessary, for the baggage to pass.</P>
+<P>In the afternoon he generally rode forward with Major Errington, the
+quartermaster-general of the brigade, to examine the place fixed upon for
+the halt, to apportion the ground between the regiments, and ascertain the
+accommodation to be obtained in the village. Two orderlies accompanied
+them, each carrying a bundle of light rods. With these the ground was
+marked off, a card with the name of the regiment being inserted in a slit
+at the end of the rod; the village was then divided in four quarters for
+the accommodation of the officers. But beyond fixing the name of each
+regiment to the part assigned to it, no attempt was made to allot any
+special quarters to individual officers, this being left for the
+regimental quartermaster to do on the arrival of the troops.</P>
+<P>When the column came up Terence led each regiment to the spot marked
+off, and directed the baggage-waggons to their respective places. While he
+was doing this, Trevor, with the orderlies, saw the head-quarters baggage
+carried to the house chosen for the general's use, and that the place was
+made as comfortable as might be, and then endeavoured to add to the
+rations by purchases in the village. Fane himself always remained with the
+troops until the tents were erected, and they were under cover, the
+rations distributed, and the fires lighted. The latter operation was often
+delayed by the necessity of fetching wood from a distance, the wood in the
+immediate neighbourhood having been cut down and burned either by the
+French on their advance, or by the British regiments ahead.</P>
+<P>He then went to his quarters, where he received the reports of the
+medical, commissariat, and transport officers, wrote a report of the state
+of the road and the obstacles that he had encountered, and sent it back by
+an orderly to the officer commanding the six guns which were following a
+day's march behind him. These had been brought along with great labour, it
+being often necessary to take them off their carriages and carry them up
+or down difficult places, while the men were frequently compelled to
+harness themselves to ropes and aid the horses to drag the guns and
+waggons through the deep mud. Between the arrival of the troops and dinner
+Terence had his time to himself, and generally spent it with his
+regiment.</P>
+<P>"Never did I see such a country, Terence," O'Grady complained to him
+one day. "Go where you will in ould Oirland, you can always get a jugful
+of poteen, a potful of 'taties, and a rasher of bacon; and if it is a
+village, a fowl and eggs. Here there are not even spirits or wine; as for
+a chicken, I have not seen the feather of one since we started, and I
+don't believe the peasants would know an egg if they saw it."</P>
+<P>"Nonsense, O'Grady! If we were to go off the main road we should be
+able to buy all these things, barring the poteen, and maybe the potatoes,
+but you could get plenty of onions instead. You must remember that the
+French army came along here, and I expect they must have eaten nearly
+everything up on their way, and you may be sure that Anstruther's brigade
+gleaned all they left. As we marched from the Mondego we found the
+villagers well supplied--better a good deal than places of the same size
+would be in Ireland--except at our first halting-place."</P>
+<P>"I own that, although Hoolan sometimes fails to add to our rations, we
+have not been so badly off, Terence. He goes out with two or three more of
+the boys directly we halt, laving the other servants to get the tents
+ready, and he generally brings us half a dozen fish, sometimes a dozen,
+that he has got out of the stream.</P>
+<P>"He is an old hand, is Tim, and if he can't get them for dinner he gets
+them for breakfast. He catches them with night-lines and snares, and all
+sorts of poaching tricks. I know he bought a bag with four or five pounds
+of lime at Torres Vedras, and managed to smuggle it away in the regimental
+baggage. I asked him what it was for, and the rascal tipped me a wink, as
+much as to say, Don't ask no questions, master; and I believe that he
+drops a handful into a likely pool when he comes across one. I have never
+dared to ask him, for my conscience would not let me countenance such an
+unsportsmanlike way of getting round the fish."</P>
+<P>"I don't think that there is much harm in it under the present
+circumstances," Terence laughed. "It is not sport, but it is food. I am
+afraid, Tim, that you must have been poaching a good deal at home or you
+would never have thought of buying lime before starting on this
+march."</P>
+<P>"I would scorn to take in an Oirish fish, yer honour!" Hoolan said,
+indignantly. "But it seems to  me that as the people here are trating us
+in just as blackguardly a manner as they can, shure it is the least we can
+do to catch their fish any way we can, just to pay them off."</P>
+<P>"Well, looking at it in that light, Tim, I will say no more against the
+practice. I don't think I could bring myself to lime even Portuguese
+water, but my conscience would not trouble me at eating fish that had been
+caught by somebody else."</P>
+<P>"I will bear it in mind, yer honour, and next time we come on a good
+pool a dish of fine fish shall be left at your quarters, but yer honour
+must not mintion to the gineral where you got them from. Maybe his
+conscience in the matter of ateing limed fish would be more tender than
+your own, and it might get me into trouble."</P>
+<P>"I will take care about that, Tim; at any rate, I will try and
+manufacture two or three hooks, and when we halt for a day will try and do
+a little fishing on my own account."</P>
+<P>"I will make you two or three, Mr. O'Connor. I made a couple for Mr.
+Ryan, and he caught two beauties yesterday evening."</P>
+<P>"Thank you, Hoolan. Fond as I am of fishing, I wonder it did not strike
+me before. I can make a line by plaiting some office string, with twisted
+horse-hair instead of gut."</P>
+<P>"I expect that that is just what Mr. Ryan did, yer honour. I heard the
+adjutant using powerful language this morning because he could not find a
+ball of twine."</P>
+<P>After this Terence generally managed to get an hour's fishing before
+the evening twilight had quite faded away; and by the aid of a long rod
+cut on the river bank, a line manufactured by himself, and Hoolan's hook
+baited with worms, he generally contrived to catch enough fish to
+supplement the ordinary fare at the following morning's breakfast.</P>
+<P>"This is a welcome surprise, Trevor," the brigadier said the first time
+the fish appeared at table. "I thought I smelt fish frying, but I felt
+sure I must be mistaken. Where on earth did you get them from?"</P>
+<P>"It is not my doing, General, but O'Connor's. I was as much surprised
+as yourself when I saw Burke squatting over the fire frying three fine
+fish. I asked him where he had stolen them. He told me that Mr. O'Connor
+brought them in at eight o'clock yesterday evening."</P>
+<P>"Where did you get them from, O'Connor?"</P>
+<P>"I caught them in the stream that we crossed half a mile back, sir. I
+found a likely pool a few hundred yards down it, and an hour's work there
+gave me those three fish. They stopped biting as soon as it got dark."</P>
+<P>"What did you catch them with?"</P>
+<P>Terence explained the nature of his tackle.</P>
+<P>"Capital! You have certainly given us a very pleasant change of food,
+and I hope that you will continue the practice whenever there is a
+chance."</P>
+<P>"There ought often to be one, General. We cross half a dozen little
+mountain streams every day, and the villages are generally built close to
+one. I don't suppose I should have thought of it, if I had not found that
+some of the men of my regiment have been supplying the mess with them. I
+hope to do better in future, for going over the ground where some of the
+troops in front of us have bivouacked I came upon some white feathers
+blowing about, and I shall try to tie a fly. That ought to be a good deal
+more killing than a worm when the light begins to fade."</P>
+<P>"You have been a fisherman, then, at home?"</P>
+<P>"Yes, sir; I did a good deal of fishing round Athlone, and was taught
+to tie my own flies. I wish I had a packet of hooks--the two one of our
+fellows made for me are well enough for worms, but they are rather clumsy
+for flies."</P>
+<P>"I used to be fond of fishing myself," Fane said; "but I have always
+bought my tackle, and I doubt whether I should make much hand at it, if
+left to my own devices. We are not likely to be able to get any hooks till
+we get to Almeida, but I should think you would find some there."</P>
+<P>"I shall be able to get some wire to make them with, no doubt,
+sir."</P>
+<P>"I fancy after we have left Almeida you won't find many opportunities
+of fishing, O'Connor. We shall have other work on hand then, and shall, I
+hope, be able to buy what we want; at any rate, we shall have as good a
+chance of doing so as others, while along this road there is nothing to be
+had for love or money, and the peasants would no doubt be glad to sell us
+anything they have, but they are living on black bread themselves; and,
+indeed, the greater part have moved away to less-frequented places. No
+doubt they will come back again as soon as we have all passed, but how
+long they will be allowed to live in peace and quietness is more than I
+can say. As long as it is only our troops who come along they have nothing
+much to complain of, for they can sell everything they have to dispose of
+at prices they never dreamt of before; but they complain bitterly of the
+French, who ate their fruit and drank their wine, killed their pigs and
+fowls, appropriated their cattle and horses, and they thought themselves
+lucky to escape with their lives. You see there are very few men about
+here; they have all gone off to join one or other of the Portuguese
+bands."</P>
+<P>"I fancy these Portuguese fellows will turn out useful some day,
+General," Major Errington said. "They are stout fellows, and though I
+don't think the townspeople would be of any good, the peasantry ought to
+make good soldiers if they were well drilled and led."</P>
+<P>"That is a very large if," Fane laughed. "I see no signs of any leader,
+and unless we could lend them a few hundred non-commissioned officers I
+don't see where their drill instructors are to come from. Still, I have
+more hope of them than I have of the Spaniards. Those men under Trant were
+never tried much under fire, but they certainly improved in discipline
+very much in the short time they were with us. If we could but get rid of
+all the Portuguese authorities and take the people in hand ourselves, we
+ought to be able to turn out fifty thousand good fighting troops in the
+course of a few months, but so long as things go on as they are I see no
+hope of any efficient aid from them."</P>
+<P>At Almeida Terence managed to procure some hooks. They were clumsily
+made, but greatly superior to anything that he could turn out himself. He
+was also able to procure some strong lines, but the use of flies seemed to
+be altogether unknown. However, during his stay he made half a dozen
+different patterns, and with these in a small tin box and a coil of line
+stowed away at the bottom of one of his holsters, he felt that if
+opportunity should occur he ought to be able to have fair sport. He had
+suffered a good deal during the heavy rains, which came on occasionally,
+from the fact that his infantry cloak was not ample enough to cover his
+legs when riding. He was fortunate enough here to be able to buy a pair of
+long riding-boots, and with these and a pair of thick canvas trousers,
+made by one of the regimental tailors, and coming down just below the
+knee, he felt that in future he could defy the rain.</P>
+<P>At Salamanca there were far better opportunities of the officers
+supplementing their outfits. Landing on the Mondego early in August, they
+had made provision against the heat, but had brought no outfit at all
+suited for wear in winter, and all seized the opportunity of providing
+themselves with warm under-garments, had linings sewn into greatcoats, and
+otherwise prepared for the cold which would shortly set in. The greater
+part of the troops were here quartered in the convents and other extensive
+buildings, and as Fane's brigade was one of the first to arrive they
+enjoyed a short period of well-earned rest. Terence had by this time
+picked up a good deal of Portuguese, and was able to make himself pretty
+well understood by the Spanish shopkeepers. He, as well as the other
+officers, was astonished and disgusted at the lethargy that prevailed
+when, as all now knew, the great Spanish armies were scattered to the
+winds, and large bodies of French troops were advancing in all directions
+to crush out the last spark of resistance.</P>
+<P>The officers of the Mayo Fusiliers had established a mess, and Terence
+often dined there. He was always eagerly questioned as to what was going
+to be done.</P>
+<P>"I can assure you, O'Grady," he said, one day, "that aides-de-camp are
+not admitted to the confidence of the officer commanding-in-chief. I know
+no more as to Sir John's intentions than the youngest drummer-boy. I
+suppose that everything will depend upon the weather, and whether General
+Hope, with the artillery and cavalry, manages to join us. If he does, I
+suppose we shall fight a battle before we fall back. If he does not, I
+suppose we shall have to fall back without fighting, if the French will
+let us."</P>
+<P>"I wish, Terence, you would give these lazy Spaniards a good fright,
+just as you gave the people at Athlone. Faith, I would give a couple of
+months' pay to see them regularly scared."</P>
+<P>"If I were not on the staff I might try it, O'Grady, but it would never
+do for me to try such a thing now."</P>
+<P>Dick Ryan, who was standing by, winked significantly, and in a short
+time he and Terence were talking eagerly together in a corner of the
+room.</P>
+<P>"Who is to know you are a staff-officer, Terence?" the latter urged.
+"Isn't it an infantry uniform that you are wearing? and ain't there
+hundreds of infantry officers here? It was good fun at Athlone, but I
+don't think that many of them believed there was any real danger. It would
+be altogether different here; they are scared enough as it is, though they
+walk about with their cloaks wrapped round them and pretend to be mighty
+confident."</P>
+<P>"Let us come and talk it over outside, Dick. It did not much matter
+before if it had been discovered we had a hand in it. Of course the
+colonel would have given us a wigging, but at heart he would have been as
+pleased at the joke as any of us. But it is a different affair here."</P>
+<P>Going out, they continued their talk and arranged their plans. Late the
+following night two English officers rushed suddenly into a drinking-shop
+close to the gate through which the road to Valladolid passed.</P>
+<P>"The French! the French!" one exclaimed. "Run for your lives and give
+the alarm!"</P>
+<P>The men all leapt to their feet, rushed out tumultuously, and scattered
+through the streets, shouting at the top of their voices: "The French are
+coming! the French are coming! Get up, or you will all be murdered in your
+beds!"</P>
+<P>The alarm spread like wildfire, and Terence and Ryan made their way
+back, by the shortest line, to the room where most of the officers were
+still sitting, smoking and chatting.</P>
+<P>"Any news, O'Connor?" the colonel asked.</P>
+<P>"Nothing that I have heard of, Colonel. I thought I would drop in for a
+cigar before turning in."</P>
+<P>A few minutes later Tim Hoolan entered.</P>
+<P>"There is a shindy in the town, your honour," he said to the colonel.
+"Meself does not know what it is about; but they are hallooing and bawling
+fit to kill themselves."</P>
+<P>One of the officers went to the window and threw it up.</P>
+<P>"Hoolan is right, Colonel; there is something the matter. There--" he
+broke off as a church bell pealed out with loud and rapid strokes.</P>
+<P>"That is the alarm, sure enough!" the colonel exclaimed. "Be off at
+once, gentlemen, and get the men up and under arms."</P>
+<P>"I must be off to the general's quarters!" Terence exclaimed, hastily
+putting on his greatcoat again.</P>
+<P>"The divil fly away with them," O'Grady grumbled, as he hastily
+finished the glass before him; "sorrow a bit of peace can I get at all, at
+all, in this bastely country."</P>
+<P>Terence hurried away to his quarters. A score of church bells were now
+pealing out the alarm. From every house men and women rushed out panic-stricken, and eagerly questioned each other. All sorts of wild reports
+were circulated.</P>
+<P>"The British outposts have been driven in; the Valladolid gate has been
+captured; Napoleon himself, with his whole army, is pouring into the
+town."</P>
+<P>The shrieks of frightened women added to the din, above which the
+British bugles calling the troops to arms could be heard in various
+quarters of the city.</P>
+<P>"Oh, here you are, Mr. O'Connor!" General Fane exclaimed, as he hurried
+in. "Mr. Trevor has just started for the convent; he may be intercepted,
+and therefore do you carry the same message; the brigade is to get under
+arms at once, and to remain in readiness for action until I arrive. From
+what I can gather from these frightened fools, the French have already
+entered the town. If the convent is attacked, it is to be defended until
+the last. I am going to head-quarters for orders."</P>
+<P>A good deal alarmed at the consequences of the tumult that he and Dick
+Ryan had excited, Terence made his way through the streets at a run; his
+progress, however, was impeded by the crowd, many of whom seized him as he
+passed and implored him to tell them the news. He observed that not a
+weapon was to be seen among the crowd; evidently resistance was absolutely
+unthought of. Trevor had reached the convent before him. The four
+regiments had already gathered there under arms.</P>
+<P>"Have you any orders, Mr. O'Connor?" Colonel Corcoran asked, eagerly,
+for the Mayo Fusiliers happened to be formed up next the gate of the
+convent.</P>
+<P>"No, sir; only to repeat those brought by Mr. Trevor, as the general
+thought that he might be intercepted on the way. The troops are to remain
+here in readiness until he arrives. If attacked, they are to hold the
+convent until the last."</P>
+<P>"Have you seen any signs of the French?"</P>
+<P>"None, whatever, Colonel."</P>
+<P>"Did you hear any firing?"</P>
+<P>"No, sir; but there was such an uproar--what with the church bells,
+everyone shouting, and the women screaming--that I don't suppose I should
+have heard it unless it had been quite close."</P>
+<P>"We thought we heard musketry," the colonel replied, "but it might have
+been only fancy. There is such a hullabaloo in the city that we might not
+have heard the fire of small-arms, but I think that we must have heard
+artillery."</P>
+<P>In ten minutes Fane with his staff galloped in. "The brigade will march
+down towards the Valladolid gate," he said. "If you encounter any enemies,
+Colonel Corcoran you will at once occupy the houses on both sides of the
+street and open fire upon them from the windows and roofs; the other
+regiments will charge them. At present," he went on, as the colonel gave
+the order for the regiment to march, "we can obtain no information as to
+the cause of this uproar. An officer rode in, just as I was starting, from
+Anstruther's force, encamped outside the walls, asking for orders, and
+reporting that his outposts have seen no signs of the enemy. I believe it
+is a false alarm after all, and we are marching rather to reassure the
+populace than with any idea of meeting the enemy."</P>
+<P>The troops marched rapidly through the streets, making their way
+without ceremony through the terrified crowd. They had gone but a short
+distance when the bells of the churches one by one ceased their clamour,
+and a hush succeeded the din that had before prevailed. When the head of
+the column reached the gate, they saw Sir John Moore and his staff sitting
+there on horseback. Fane rode up to him for orders.</P>
+<P>"It is, as I fancied, wholly a false alarm," the general said. "How it
+could have started I have no idea. I have had another report from
+Anstruther; all is quiet at the outposts, and there is no sign whatever of
+the enemy. There is nothing to do but to march the troops back to
+barracks. However, I am not sorry, for possibly the scare may wake the
+authorities up to the necessity of taking some steps for the protection of
+the town."</P>
+<P>Terence rode back with General Fane to his quarters.</P>
+<P>"I cannot make out," Trevor said, as they went, "how the scare can have
+begun; everything was quiet enough. I was just thinking of turning in when
+we heard a shouting in the streets. In three minutes the whole town seemed
+to have gone mad, and I made sure that the French must be upon us; but I
+could not make out how they could have done so without our outposts giving
+the alarm. Where were you when it began?"</P>
+<P>"I was in the mess-room of the Mayos, when one of the servants ran in
+to say that there was a row. Directly afterwards the alarm-bells began to
+ring, the colonel at once gave orders for the regiment to be got under
+arms, and I ran back to the general for orders; and I must have passed you
+somewhere on the road. Did you ever see such cowards as these Spaniards?
+Though there are arms enough in the town for every man to bear a musket--and certainly the greater portion of them have weapons of some sort or
+other--I did not see a man with arms of any kind in his hand."</P>
+<P> "I noticed the same thing," Trevor said. "It is disgusting. It was
+evident that the sole thought that possessed them was as to their own
+wretched lives. I have no doubt that, if they could have had their will,
+they would have disarmed all our troops, in order that no resistance
+whatever should be offered. And yet only yesterday the fellows were all
+bragging about their patriotism, and the bravery that would be shown
+should the French make their appearance. It makes one sick to be fighting
+for such people."</P>
+<P>The following afternoon Terence went up to the convent.</P>
+<P>"Well, O'Connor, have you heard how it all began?" the colonel asked,
+as he went into the mess-room.</P>
+<P>"No one seems to know at all, Colonel. The authorities are making
+inquiries, but, as far as I have heard, nothing has taken place to account
+for it."</P>
+<P>"It reminds me," the colonel said, shutting one eye and looking fixedly
+at Terence, "of a certain affair that took place at Athlone."</P>
+<P>"I was thinking the same myself," Terence replied, quietly, "only the
+scare was a good deal greater here than it was there; besides, a good many
+of the townspeople in Athlone did turn out with guns in their hands,
+whereas here, I believe every man in the town hid his gun in his bed
+before running out."</P>
+<P>"I always suspected you of having a hand in that matter, Terence."</P>
+<P>"Did you, Colonel?" Terence said, in a tone of surprise. "Well, as,
+fortunately, I was sitting here when this row began, you cannot suspect me
+this time."</P>
+<P>"I don't know; you and Ryan came in together, which was suspicious in
+itself, and it was not two minutes after you had come in that the rumpus
+began. Just give me a wink, lad, if you had a finger in the matter. You
+know you are safe with me; besides, ain't you a staff-officer now, and
+outside my jurisdiction altogether?"</P>
+<P>"Well, Colonel, a wink does not cost anything," Terence said, "so here
+is to ye."</P>
+<P>He exchanged a wink with the colonel, who burst into a fit of laughter
+so loud that he startled all the other officers, who at once came up to
+hear the joke.</P>
+<P>"It is just a little story that Terence has been telling me," the
+colonel said, when he had recovered his breath, "about the scare last
+night, and how a young woman, with next to nothing on her, threw her arms
+round his neck and begged him to save her. The poor young fellow blushed
+up to his eyelids with the shame of it in the public streets!"</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER IX</H3>
+<H4>THE RETREAT</H4></CENTER>
+<P>O'Grady asked no questions, but presently whispered to Terence: "Faith,
+ye did it well, me boy."</P>
+<P>"Did what well, O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"You need not tell me about it, Terence. I was expecting it. Didn't I
+spake to ye the day before about it, and didn't I feel sure that something
+would come of it? When that row began last night, I looked at you hard and
+saw you wink at that young spalpeen, Dicky Ryan; and sure all the time
+that we were standing there, formed up, I well-nigh burst the buttons off
+me coatee in holding in me laughter, when everyone else was full of
+excitement.</P>
+<P>"'Are you ill, O'Grady?' the colonel said, for I had to sit meself down
+on some steps and rock meself to and fro to aise meself. 'Is it sick ye
+are?' 'A sudden pain has saised me, Colonel,' says I, 'but I will be all
+right in a minute.' 'Take a dram out of me flask,' says he; something must
+have gone wrong wid ye.' I took a drink--"</P>
+<P>"That I may be sure you did," Terence interrupted.</P>
+<P>"--And thin told him that I felt better; but as we marched down through
+the crowd and saw the fright of the men, and the women screaming in their
+night-gowns at the windows, faith, I well-nigh choked."</P>
+<P>"Have you spoken to Ryan about this absurd suspicion, O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"I spoke to him, but I might as well have spoke to a brick wall. Divil
+a thing could I get out of him. How did you manage it at all, lad?"</P>
+<P>"How could I manage it?" Terence said, indignantly. "No, no, O'Grady; I
+know you did make some remark about that scare at Athlone, and said it
+would be fun to have one here. I was a little shocked at hearing such a
+thing from, as you often say, a superior officer, and it certainly appears
+to me that it was you who first broached the idea. So I have much more
+right to feel a suspicion that you had a hand in the carrying of it out
+than for you to suspect me."</P>
+<P>"Well, Terence," O'Grady said, in an insinuating way, "I won't ask you
+any questions now, and maybe some day when you have marched away from this
+place, you will tell me the ins and outs of the business."</P>
+<P>"Maybe, O'Grady, and perhaps you will also confess to me how you
+managed to bring the scare about."</P>
+<P>"Go along wid you, Terence, it is yourself knows better than anyone
+else that I had nothing to do with it, and I will never forgive you until
+you make a clean breast of it to me."</P>
+<P>"We shall see about it," Terence laughed. "Anyhow, if you allude to the
+subject again, I shall feel it my duty to inform the colonel of my reasons
+for suspecting that you were concerned in spreading those false reports
+last night."</P>
+<P>"It was first-rate, wasn't it?" Dick Ryan said, as he joined Terence,
+when the latter left the mess-room.</P>
+<P>"It was good fun, Dicky; but I tell you, for a time I was quite as much
+scared as anyone else. I never thought that it would have gone quite so
+far. When it came to all the troops turning out, and Sir John and
+everyone, I felt that there would be an awful row if we were ever found
+out."</P>
+<P>"It was splendid, Terence. I knew that we could not be found out when
+we had not told a soul. Did you ever see such a funk as the Spaniards were
+all in, and after all their bragging and the airs that they had given
+themselves. Our men were so savage at their cowardice, that I believe they
+would have liked nothing better than an order to pitch into them. And
+didn't the women yell and howl? It is the best lark we have ever had."</P>
+<P>"It is good fun to look back at, Dicky, but I shall be glad when we are
+out of this. The Spanish authorities are making all sorts of inquiries,
+and I have no doubt that they will get hold of some of the men in that
+wine-shop, and it will come out that two British officers started the
+alarm."</P>
+<P>"What if it did?" Ryan said. "There were only two wretched candles
+burning in the place, and they could not have got a fair sight at us, and
+indeed they all jumped up and bolted the moment we spoke. I will bet that
+there is not one among them who would be able to swear to us though we
+were standing before him; and I have no doubt if they were questioned
+every man would give a different account of what we were like. I have no
+fear that they will ever find us out. Still, I shall be glad when we are
+out of this old place. Not because I am afraid about our share in that
+business being discovered, but we have been here nearly a fortnight now,
+and as we know there is a strong French force within ten miles of us, I
+think that it is about time that the fun began. You don't think that we
+are going to retreat, do you?"</P>
+<P>"I don't know any more about it than you do, Dicky; but I feel
+absolutely sure that we shall retreat. I don't see anything else for us to
+do. Every day fresh news comes in about the strength of the French, and as
+the Spanish resistance is now pretty well over, and Madrid has fallen,
+they will all be free to march against us; and even when Hope has joined
+us we shall only be about 20,000 strong, and they have, at the least, ten
+times that force. I thing we shall be mighty lucky if we get back across
+the frontier into Portugal before they are all on us."</P>
+<P>Sir John Moore, however, was not disposed to retire without doing
+something for the cause of Spain. The French armies had not yet penetrated
+into the southern provinces, and he nobly resolved to make a movement that
+would draw the whole strength of the French towards him, and give time for
+the Spaniards in the south to gather the remains of their armies together
+and organize a resistance to the French advance. In view of the number and
+strength of the enemy, no more heroic resolution was ever taken by a
+military commander, and it was all the more to be admired, inasmuch as he
+could hope to win no victory that would cover himself and his army with
+glory, no success that would satisfy the public at home, and at best he
+could but hope, after long, fatiguing, and dangerous marches, to effect
+his retreat from the overwhelming forces that would be hurled against
+him.</P>
+<P>While remaining at Salamanca, Sir John, foreseeing that a retreat into
+Portugal must be finally carried out, took steps to have magazines
+established on two of the principal routes to the coast, that a choice
+might be left open to him by which to retire when he had accomplished his
+main object of diverting the great French wave of invasion from the
+south.</P>
+<P>On the 11th of December the march began, and for the next ten days the
+army advanced farther and farther into the country. So far Moore had only
+Soult's army opposing his advance towards Burgos, and it might be possible
+to strike a heavy blow at that general before Napoleon, who was convinced
+that the British must fall back into Portugal if they had not already
+begun to do so, should come up. He had been solemnly assured that he
+should be joined by Romana with 14,000 picked men, but that general had
+with him but 5,000 peasants, who were in such a miserable condition that
+when the British reached the spot where the junction was to be effected,
+he was ashamed to show them, and marched away into Leon.</P>
+<P>The British, in order to obtain forage, were obliged to move along
+several lines of route. Sir David Baird's division joined them as they
+advanced, and when they reached the Carrion their effective force amounted
+to 23,583 men, with sixty pieces of artillery. On the French side, Soult
+had--on hearing of the British advance to the north-east, by which, if
+successful, they would cut the French lines of communication between
+Madrid and the frontier--called up all his detached troops, and wrote to
+the governor of Burgos to divert to his assistance all troops coming along
+the road from France, whatever their destination might be.</P>
+<P>On the 21st Lord Paget, with the 10th and 15th Hussars, surprised a
+French cavalry force at Sahagun, and ordered the 15th to turn their
+position and endeavour to cut them off. When with the 10th Hussars Lord
+Paget arrived in the rear of the village, he found six hundred French
+dragoons drawn up and ready to attack him. He at once charged and broke
+them and pursued them for some distance. Twenty were killed, thirteen
+officers and 154 men taken prisoners. On the 23d, Soult had concentrated
+his forces at the town of Carrion, and that night the British troops were
+got in motion to attack them, the two forces being about even in numbers;
+but scarcely had he moved forward when reports, both from Romana and his
+own spies, reached Sir John Moore to the effect that his march had
+achieved the object with which it was undertaken. Orders had been sent by
+Napoleon for the whole of the French armies to move at once against the
+British, while he himself, with the troops at Madrid, 70,000 strong, had
+started by forced marches to fall upon him.</P>
+<P>The instant Moore received this information he arrested the forward
+movement of his troops. His object had been attained. The French invasion
+of the south was arrested, and time given to the Spaniards. There was
+nothing now but to fall back with all speed. It was well indeed that he
+did not carry out his intention of attacking Soult. The latter had that
+day received orders from the emperor not to give battle, but to fall back,
+and so tempt Moore to pursue, in which case his line of retreat would have
+been intercepted and his army irretrievably lost.</P>
+<P>The order to retreat was an unwelcome one indeed to the troops. For
+twelve days they had marched through deep snow and suffered fatigues,
+privations, and hardships. That evening they had expected to be repaid for
+their exertions by a battle and a victory on the following morning, and
+the order to retreat, coming at such a moment, was a bitter disappointment
+indeed.</P>
+<P>They were, of course, ignorant of the reasons for this sudden change,
+and the officers shared the discontent of the troops, a feeling that
+largely accounted for the disorders and losses that took place during the
+retreat.</P>
+<P>Napoleon led his troops north with his usual impetuosity. The deep snow
+choked the passes through the mountains. The generals, after twelve hours
+of labour, reported the roads impracticable, but Napoleon placed himself
+at the head of the column, and, amidst a storm of snow and driving hail,
+led them over the mountain. With tremendous efforts he reached Desillas on
+the 26th; while Houssaye entered Valladolid on the same day, and Ney, with
+the 6th corps, arrived at Rio Seco.</P>
+<P>Full of hope that he had caught the British, the emperor pushed on
+towards Barras, only to find that he was twelve hours too late. Moore had,
+the instant he received the news, sent back the heavy baggage with the
+main body of infantry, himself following more slowly with the light
+brigade and cavalry, the latter at times pushing parties up to the enemy's
+line and skirmishing with his outposts to prevent Soult from suspecting
+that the army had retreated. On the 26th the whole army, moving by
+different routes, approached the river Esla, which they crossed in a thick
+fog, which greatly hindered the operation. A brigade remained on the left
+bank to protect the passage, for the enemy's cavalry were already close at
+hand, and Soult was hotly pressing in pursuit.</P>
+<P>A strong body of horse belonging to the emperor's army intercepted Lord
+Paget near Mayorga, but two squadrons of the 10th Hussars charged up the
+rising ground on which they had posted themselves, and, notwithstanding
+their disadvantage in numbers and position, killed twenty and took a
+hundred prisoners. Moore made but a short pause on the Esla, for that
+position could be turned by the forces advancing from the south. He
+waited, therefore, only until he could clear out his magazines, collect
+his stragglers, and send forward his baggage. He ordered the bridge by
+which the army had crossed to be broken down, and left Crawford to perform
+this duty.</P>
+<P>Short as the retreat had been, it had already sufficed to damage most
+seriously the morale of the army. The splendid discipline and order that
+had been shown during the advance was now gone; many of the regimental
+officers altogether neglected their duties, and the troops were
+insubordinate. Great numbers straggled, plundered the villages, and
+committed excesses of all sorts, and already the general had been forced
+to issue an order reproaching the army for its conduct, and appealing to
+the honour of the soldiers to second his efforts. Valiant in battle,
+capable of the greatest efforts on the march, hardy in enduring fatigue
+and the inclemency of weather, the British soldier always deteriorates
+rapidly when his back is turned to the enemy. Confident in his bravery,
+regarding victory as assured, he is unable to understand the necessity for
+retreat, and considers himself degraded by being ordered to retire, and
+regards prudence on the part of his general as equivalent to
+cowardice.</P>
+<P>The armies of Wellington deteriorated with the same rapidity as this
+force, when upon two occasions it was necessary to retreat when threatened
+by overwhelming forces; and yet, however disorganized, the British soldier
+recovers his discipline the instant he is attacked, and fiercely turns
+upon his pursuers. At the bridge across the Esla two privates of the 3d
+gave an example of splendid courage and determination. It was night. Some
+of the baggage was still on the farther bank, and the two men were posted
+as sentries beyond the bridge, their orders being that if an enemy
+appeared, one should fire and then run back to the bridge and shout to
+warn the guard whether the enemy were in force or not. The other was to
+maintain his post as long as possible.</P>
+<P> [Illustration: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE? WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM
+OUT OF THEIR BOOTS IN NO TIME]</P>
+<P> During the night the light cavalry of the imperial guard rode down.
+Jackson, one of the sentries, fired and ran back to give the alarm. He was
+overtaken, and received over a dozen sabre cuts; nevertheless he staggered
+on until he reached the bridge, and gave the signal. Walton, the other
+sentry, with equal resolution stood his ground and wounded several of his
+assailants, who, as they drew off, left him unhurt, although his cap,
+knapsack, belt, and musket were cut in over twenty places, and his bayonet
+bent double.</P>
+<P>Terence O'Connor's duties had been light enough during the advance, but
+during the three days of the retreat to the Esla he had been incessantly
+occupied. He and Trevor had both been directed to ride backwards and
+forwards along the line of the brigade to see that there was no straggling
+in the ranks, and that the baggage carts in the rear kept close up. The
+task was no easy one, and was unpleasant as well as hard. Many of the
+officers plodded sulkily along, paying no attention whatever to their men,
+allowing them to straggle as they chose; and they were obliged to report
+several of the worst cases to the brigadier. With the Mayo Fusiliers they
+had less trouble than with others. Terence had, when he joined them at
+their first halt after the retreat began, found them as angry and
+discontented as the rest at the unexpected order, and was at once assailed
+with questions and complaints.</P>
+<P>He listened to them quietly, and then said:</P>
+<P>"Of course, if you all prefer a French prison to a few days' hard
+marching, you have good reason to grumble at being baulked in your wishes;
+that is all I have to say about it."</P>
+<P>"What do you mean, Terence?" O'Grady asked, angrily. "Soult's force was
+not stronger than ours, at least so we heard; and if it had been it would
+make no difference, we would have thrashed them out of their boots in no
+time."</P>
+<P>"I dare say we should, O'Grady, and what then?"</P>
+<P>"Well, I don't know what then," O'Grady said, after a moment's silence;
+"that would have been the general's business."</P>
+<P>"Quite so; and so is this. There you would have been with perhaps a
+couple of thousand wounded and as many French prisoners, and Napoleon with
+60,000 men or so, and Ney with as many more, and Houssaye with his cavalry
+division, all in your rear cutting you off from the sea. What would have
+been your course then?"</P>
+<P>A general silence fell upon the officers.</P>
+<P>"Is that so?" the colonel asked at last.</P>
+<P>"That is so," Terence said, gravely. "All these and other troops are
+marching night and day to intercept us. It is no question of fighting now.
+Victory over Soult, so far from being of any use, would only have burdened
+us with wounded and prisoners, and even a day's delay would be absolutely
+fatal. As it is, it is a question whether we shall have time to get back
+to the coast before they are all posted in our front. Every hour is of the
+greatest importance. You all know that we have talked over lots of times
+how dangerous our position is. General Fane told us, when the orders to
+retreat were issued, that he believed the peril to be even more imminent
+than we thought. We all know when we marched north from Salamanca, that,
+without a single Spaniard to back us, all that could be hoped for was to
+aid Saragossa and Seville and Cadiz to gather the levies in the south and
+prepare for defence, and that erelong we should have any number of enemies
+upon us. That is what has precisely happened, and now there is grumbling
+because the object has been attained, and that you are not allowed to
+fight a battle that, whether won or lost, would equally ruin us."</P>
+<P>"Sure ye are right," O'Grady said, warmly, "and we are a set of
+omadhouns. You have sense in your head, Terence, and there is no
+gainsaying you. I was grumbling more than the rest of them, but I won't
+grumble any more. Still, I suppose that there is no harm in hoping we
+shall have just a bit of fighting before we get back to Portugal."</P>
+<P>"We shall be lucky if we don't have a good deal of fighting, O'Grady,
+and against odds that will satisfy even you. As to Portugal, there is no
+chance of our getting there. Ney will certainly cut that road, and the
+emperor will, most likely, also do so, as you can see for yourself on the
+map."</P>
+<P>"Divil a map have I ever looked at since I was at school," O'Grady
+said. "Then if we can't get back to Portugal, where shall we get to?"</P>
+<P>"To one of the northern seaports; of course, I don't know which has
+been decided upon; I don't suppose the general himself has settled that
+yet. It must depend upon the roads and the movements of the enemy, and
+whether there is a defensible position near the port that we can hold in
+case the fleet and transports cannot be got there by the time we
+arrive."</P>
+<P>"Faith, Terence, ye're a walking encyclopeydia. You have got the matter
+at your finger ends."</P>
+<P>"I don't pretend to know any more than anyone else," Terence said, with
+a laugh. "But of course I hear matters talked over at the brigade mess. I
+don't think that Fane knows more of the general's absolute plans than you
+do. I dare say the divisional generals know, but it would not go further.
+Still, as Fane and Errington and Dowdeswell know something about war
+besides the absolute fighting, they can form some idea as to the plans
+that will be adopted."</P>
+<P>"Well, Terence," the colonel said, "I didn't think the time was coming
+so soon when I was going to be instructed by your father's son, but I will
+own that you have made me feel that I have begun campaigning too late in
+life, and that you have given me a lesson."</P>
+<P>"I did not mean to do that, Colonel," Terence said, a good deal
+abashed. "It was O'Grady I was chiefly speaking to."</P>
+<P>"Your supeyrior officer!" O'Grady murmured.</P>
+<P>"My superior officer, certainly," Terence went on, with a smile; "but
+who, having, as he says, never looked at a map since he left school--while
+I have naturally studied one every evening since we started from Torres
+Vedras--can therefore know no more about the situation than does Tim
+Hoolan. But I certainly never intended my remarks to apply to you,
+Colonel."</P>
+<P>"They hit the mark all the same, lad, and the shame is mine and not
+yours. I think you have done us all good. One doesn't care when one is
+retreating for a good reason, but when one marches for twelve days to meet
+an enemy, and then, when just close to him, one turns one's back and runs
+away, it is enough to disgust an Englishman, let alone an Irishman. Well,
+boys, now we see it is all right, we will do our duty as well on the
+retreat as we did on the advance, and divil a grumble shall there be in my
+hearing."</P>
+<P>From that moment, therefore, the Mayo Fusiliers were an example to the
+brigade. Any grumble in the ranks was met with a cheerful "Whist, boys! do
+you think that you know the general's business better than he does
+himself? It is plenty of fighting you are likely to get before you have
+done, never fear. Now is the time, boys, to get the regiment a good name.
+The general knows that we can fight. Now let him see that we can wait
+patiently till we get another chance. Remember, the better temper you are
+in, the less you will feel the cold."</P>
+<P>So, laughing and joking, and occasionally breaking into a song, the
+Mayo Fusiliers pushed steadily forward, and the colonel that evening
+congratulated the men that not one had fallen out.</P>
+<P>"Keep that up, boys," he said. "It will be a proud day for me when we
+get to our journey's end, wherever that may be, to be able to say to the
+brigadier: 'Except those who have been killed by the enemy, here is my
+regiment just as it was when it started from the Carrion--not a man has
+fallen out, not a man has straggled away, not a man has made a baste of
+himself and was unfit to fall in the next morning.' I know them," he said
+to O'Driscol, as the regiment was dismissed from parade. "They will not
+fall out, they will not straggle, but if they come to a place where wine's
+in plenty, they will make bastes of themselves; and after all," he added,
+"after the work they have gone through, who is to blame them?"</P>
+<P>At the halt the next evening at Bembibre the colonel's forebodings that
+the men could not be trusted where liquor was plentiful were happily not
+verified. There were immense wine-vaults in the town. These were broken
+open, and were speedily crowded by disbanded Spaniards, soldiers, camp-followers, muleteers, women and children--the latter taking refuge there
+from the terrible cold. The rear-guard, to which the Mayo regiment had
+been attached the evening before, found that Baird's division had gone on,
+but that vast numbers of drunken soldiers had been left behind. General
+Moore was himself with the rear-guard, and the utmost efforts were made to
+induce the drunkards to rejoin their regiments. He himself appealed to the
+troops, instructing the commanders of the different regiments to say that
+he relied implicitly upon the soldiers to do their duty. The French might
+at any moment be up, and every man must be in his ranks. No men were to
+fall out or to enter any wine-house or cellar, but each should have at
+once a pint of wine served out to him, and as much more before they
+marched in the morning.</P>
+<P>After the colonel read out this order, he supplemented it by saying,
+"Now, boys, the credit of the regiment is at stake. It is a big honour
+that has been paid you in choosing you to join the rear-guard, and you
+have got to show that you deserve it. As soon as it can be drawn, you will
+have your pint of wine each, which will be enough to warm your fingers and
+toes. Wait here in the ranks till you have drunk your wine and eaten some
+of the bread in your haversacks, and by that time I will see what I can do
+for you. You will have another pint before starting; but mind, though I
+hope there isn't a mother's son who would bring discredit on the regiment,
+I warn you that I shall give the officers instructions to shoot down any
+man who wanders from the ranks in search of liquor. The French may be here
+in half an hour after we have started, and it is better to be shot than to
+be sabred by a French dragoon, which will happen surely enough to every
+baste who has drunk too much to go on with the troops."</P>
+<P>Only a few murmurs were heard at the conclusion of the speech.</P>
+<P>"Now, gentlemen," the colonel said, "will half a dozen of you see to
+the wine. Get hold of some of those fellows loafing about there and make
+them roll out as many barrels as will supply a pint to every man in the
+regiment, ourselves as well as the men. O'Grady, take Lieutenant Horton
+and Mr. Haldane and two sergeants with you. Here is my purse. Go through
+the town and get some bread and anything else in the way of food that you
+can lay your hands upon. And, if you can, above all things get some
+tobacco."</P>
+<P>O'Grady's search was for a time unsuccessful, as the soldiers and camp-followers had already broken into the shops and stores. In an unfrequented
+street, however, they came across a large building. He knocked at the door
+with the hilt of his sword. It was opened after a time by an old man.</P>
+<P>"What house is this?"</P>
+<P>"It is a tobacco factory," he replied.</P>
+<P>"Be jabers, we have come to the right place. I want about half a ton of
+it. We are not robbers, and I will pay for what we take." Then another
+idea struck him. "Wait a moment, I will be back again in no time. Horton,
+do you stay here and take charge of the men. I am going back to the
+colonel."</P>
+<P>He found on reaching the regiment that the men were already drinking
+their wine and eating their bread.</P>
+<P>"I am afraid I shall never keep them, O'Grady," the colonel said,
+mournfully. "It is scarcely in human nature to see men straggling about as
+full as they can hold, and know that there is liquor to be had for taking
+it and not to go for it."</P>
+<P>"It is all right, Colonel. I know that we can never keep the men if we
+turn them into the houses to sleep; but I have found a big building that
+will hold the whole regiment, and the best of it is that it is a tobacco
+factory. I expect it is run by the authorities of the place, and as we are
+doing what we can for them, they need not grudge us what we take; and
+faith, the boys will be quiet and contented enough, so that they do but
+get enough to keep their pipes going, and know that they will march in the
+morning with a bit in their knapsacks."</P>
+<P>"The very thing, O'Grady! Pass the word for the regiment to fall in the
+instant they have finished their meal."</P>
+<P>It was not long before they were ready, and in a few minutes, guided by
+O'Grady, the head of the regiment reached the building.</P>
+<P>"Who is the owner of this place?" the colonel asked the old man, who,
+with a lantern in his hand, was still standing at the door.</P>
+<P>"The Central Junta of the Province has of late taken it, your
+Excellency."</P>
+<P>"Good! Then we will be the guests of the Central Junta of the Province
+for the night." Then he raised his voice, "Boys, here is a warm lodging
+for you for the night, and tobacco galore for your pipes; and, for those
+who haven't got them, cigars. Just wait until I have got some lights, and
+then file inside in good order."</P>
+<P>There was no difficulty about this, for the factory was in winter
+worked long after dark set in. In a very few minutes the place was lighted
+up from end to end. The troops were then marched in and divided amongst
+the various rooms.</P>
+<P>"Now, boys, tell the men to smoke a couple of pipes, and then to lie
+down to sleep. In the morning each man can put as much tobacco into his
+knapsack and pockets as they will hold, and when we halt they can give
+some of it away to regiments that have not been as lucky as
+themselves."</P>
+<P>The men sat down in the highest state of satisfaction. Boxes of cigars
+were broken open, and in a couple of minutes almost every man and officer
+in the regiment had one alight in his mouth. There were few, however, who
+got beyond one cigar; the warmth of the place after their long march in
+the snow speedily had its effect, and in half an hour silence reigned in
+the factory, save for a murmur of voices in one of the lower rooms where
+the officers were located.</P>
+<P>"O'Grady, you are a broth of a boy," the colonel said. "The men have
+scarce had a smoke for the last week, and it will do them a world of good.
+We have got them all under one roof, and there is no fear that anyone will
+want to get out, and they will fall in in the morning as fresh as paint.
+Half an hour before bugle-call three or four of you had best turn out with
+a dozen men, and roll up enough barrels from the vaults to give them the
+drink promised to them, before starting. Who will volunteer?"</P>
+<P>Half a dozen officers at once offered to go, and a captain and three
+lieutenants were told off for the work.</P>
+<P>"They know how to make cigars, if they don't know anything else,"
+Captain O'Driscol said; "this is a first-rate weed."</P>
+<P>"So it ought to be by the brand," another officer said. "I took the two
+boxes from a cupboard that was locked up. There are a dozen more like
+them, and I thought it was as well to take them out; they are at present
+under the table. I have no doubt that they are real Havannas, and have
+probably been got for some grandee or other."</P>
+<P>"He will have to do without them," O'Grady said, calmly, as he lighted
+his second cigar; "they are too good for any Spaniard under the sun. And,
+moreover, if we did not take them you may be sure that the French would
+have them to-morrow, and I should say that the Central Junta of the
+Province will be mighty pleased to know that the tobacco was smoked by
+their allies instead of by the French."</P>
+<P>"I don't suppose that they will care much about it one way or another,"
+O'Driscol remarked; "their pockets are so full of English gold that the
+loss of a few tons of tobacco won't affect them much. I enjoy my cigar
+immensely, and have the satisfaction of knowing that for once I have got
+something out of a Spaniard--it is the first thing since I landed."</P>
+<P>"Well, boys, we had better be off to sleep," the colonel said. "I am so
+sleepy that I can hardly keep my eyes open, and you ought to be worse, for
+you have tramped well-nigh forty miles to-day. See that the sentry at the
+door keeps awake, Captain Humphrey; you are officer of the day; upon my
+word I am sorry for you. Tell him he can light up if he likes, but if he
+sees an officer coming round he must get rid of it. Mind the sentries are
+changed regularly, for I expect that we shall sleep so soundly that if all
+the bugles in the place were sounding an alarm we should not hear
+them."</P>
+<P>"All right, Colonel! I have got Sergeant Jackson in charge of the
+reliefs in the passage outside, and I think that I can depend upon him,
+but I will tell him to wake me up whenever he changes the sentries. I
+don't say I shall turn out myself, but as long as he calls me I shall know
+that he is awake, and that it is all right. I had better tell him to call
+you half an hour before bugle-call, Sullivan, so that you can wake the
+others and get the wine here; he mustn't be a minute after the half-hour.
+Thank goodness, we don't have to furnish the outposts to-night."</P>
+<P>In ten minutes all were asleep on the floor, wrapped in their
+greatcoats, the officer of the day taking his place next the door so that
+he could be roused easily. Every hour one or other of the two non-commissioned officers in charge of the guard in the passage opened the
+door a few inches and said softly, "I am relieving the sentries, sir;" and
+each time the officer murmured assent.</P>
+<P>Sullivan was called at the appointed time, got up, and stretched
+himself, grumbling:</P>
+<P>"I don't believe that I have been asleep ten minutes."</P>
+<P>On going out into the passage, however, where a light was burning, his
+watch told him that it was indeed time to be moving. He woke the others,
+and with the men went down to the cellars. Here the scene of confusion was
+great; drunken men lay thickly about the floor, others sat, cup in hand,
+talking, or singing snatches of song, Spanish or English. Hastily picking
+out enough unbroken casks for the purpose, he set the men to carry them up
+to the street, and they were then rolled along to the factory. Just as
+they reached the door the bugle-call sounded; the men were soon on their
+feet, refreshed by a good night's sleep. The casks were broached, and the
+wine served out.</P>
+<P>"It is awful, Colonel," Sullivan said. "There will be hundreds of men
+left behind. There must have been over that number in the cellar I went
+into, and there are a dozen others in the town. I never saw such a
+disgusting scene."</P>
+<P>Scarcely had they finished when the assemble sounded, and the regiment
+at once fell-in outside the factory, every man with knapsack and haversack
+bulging out with tobacco. They then joined the rest of the troops in the
+main street. General Moore had made a vain attempt to rouse the besotted
+men. A few of those least overcome joined the rear-guard, but the greater
+number were too drunk to listen to orders, or even to the warning that the
+French would be into the town as soon as the troops marched out.</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER X</H3>
+<H4>CORUNNA</H4></CENTER>
+<P>As the confusion in the streets increased from the pouring out from the
+houses and cellars of the camp-followers--women and children, together
+with men less drunk than their comrades, but still unable to walk
+steadily--who filled the air with shouts and drunken execrations, Colonel
+Corcoran rode along the line.</P>
+<P>"Just look at that, boys," he said. "Isn't it better for you to be
+standing here like dacent men, ready to do your duty, than to be rolling
+about in a state like those drunken blackguards, for the sake of half an
+hour's pleasure? Sure it is enough to make every mother's son of you swear
+off liquor till ye get home again. When the French get inside the town
+there is not one of the drunken bastes that won't be either killed or
+marched away a thousand miles to a French prison, and all for half an
+hour's drink."</P>
+<P>The lesson was indeed a striking one, and careless as many of the men
+were, it brought home to them with greater force than ever before in their
+lives, not only the folly but the degradation of drunkenness. A few
+minutes later, General Moore, who was riding up and down the line,
+inspecting the condition of the men in each regiment, came along.</P>
+<P>"Your men look very well, Colonel," he said, as he reached the
+Fusiliers. "How many are you short of your number?"</P>
+<P>"Not a man, General; I am happy to say that there was not a single one
+that did not answer when his name was called."</P>
+<P>"That is good, indeed," the general said, warmly. "I am happy to say
+that all the regiments of the rear-guard have turned out well, and shown
+themselves worthy of the trust reposed in them; none, however, can give so
+good a report as you have done. I selected your regiment to strengthen
+this division from the excellent order that I observed you kept along the
+line of march, and I am glad indeed that it has shown itself so worthy of
+the honour. March your regiment across to the side of the street, let the
+others pass you, and fall in at the rear of the column. I shall give the
+Mayo Fusiliers the post of honour, as a mark of my warm approbation for
+the manner in which they have turned out."</P>
+<P>Scarcely had the troops left the town when the French cavalry poured
+in. Now that it was too late, the sense of danger penetrated the brains of
+the revellers, and the mob of disbanded Spanish and British soldiers and
+camp-followers poured out from the cellars. Few of the soldiers had the
+sense even to bring up their muskets. Most of those who did so were too
+drunk to use them, and the French troopers rode through the mob, sabring
+them right and left, and trampling them under foot, and then, riding
+forward without a pause, set out in pursuit of the retiring columns. As
+they came clattering along the road the colonel ordered the last two
+companies to halt, and when the head of the squadron was within fifty
+yards of them, and the troopers were beginning to check their horses, a
+heavy volley was poured in, which sent them to the right-about as fast as
+they had come, and emptied a score of saddles. Then the two companies
+formed fours again, and went on at the double until they reached the rear
+of the column.</P>
+<P>All day the French cavalry menaced the retreat, until Lord Paget came
+back with a regiment of hussars and drove them back in confusion, pursuing
+them a couple of miles, with the view of discovering whether they were
+followed by infantry. Such, however, was not the case, and the column was
+not further molested until they reached Cacabolos, where they were halted.
+The rest of the army had moved on, the troops committing excesses similar
+to those that had taken place at Bembibre, and plundering the shops and
+houses.</P>
+<P>The division marched over a deep stream crossed by a stone bridge, and
+took up their ground on a lofty ridge, the ascent being broken by
+vineyards and stone walls. Four hundred men of the rifles and as many
+cavalry were posted on a hill two miles beyond the river to watch the
+roads. They had scarcely taken their post when the enemy were seen
+approaching, preceded by six or eight squadrons of cavalry. The rifles
+were at once withdrawn, and the cavalry, believing that the whole French
+army was advancing, presently followed them, and, riding fast, came up to
+the infantry just as they were crossing the bridge.</P>
+<P>Before all the infantry were over the French cavalry came down at a
+furious gallop, and for a time all was confusion. Then the rifles,
+throwing themselves among the vineyards and behind the walls, opened a
+heavy fire. The French general in command of the cavalry was killed, with
+a number of his troops, and the rest of the cavalry fell back. A regiment
+of light infantry had followed them across the bridge, and two companies
+of the 52d and as many of the Mayo regiment went down the hill and
+reinforced the rifles. A sharp fight ensued until the main body of the
+French infantry approached the bridge. A battery of artillery opened upon
+them, and seeing the strength of the British division, and believing that
+the whole army was before him, Soult called back his troops. The
+voltigeurs retired across the bridge again, and the fight came to an end.
+Between two and three hundred men had been killed or wounded.</P>
+<P>As soon as night came on the British force resumed its march, leaving
+two companies of the rifles as piquets at the bridge. The French crossed
+again in the night, but after some fighting, fell back again without
+having been able to ascertain whether the main body of the defenders of
+the position were still there. Later on the rifles fell back, and at
+daybreak rejoined the main body of the rear-guard, which had reached
+Becerréa, eighteen miles away. Here General Moore received the report from
+the engineers he had sent to examine the harbours, and they reported in
+favour of Corunna, which possessed facilities for defence which were
+lacking at Vigo. Accordingly he sent off orders to the fleet, which was
+lying at the latter port, to sail at once for Corunna, and directed the
+various divisions of the army to move on that town.</P>
+<P>The rear-guard passed the day without moving, enjoying a welcome rest
+after the thirty-six miles they had covered the day before. By this march
+they had gained a long start of the enemy and had in the evening reached
+the town the division before them had quitted that morning. The scene as
+they marched along was a painful one. Every day added to the numbers of
+the stragglers. The excesses in drink exhausted the strength of the troops
+far more than did the fatigue of the marches. Their shoes were worn out;
+many of them limped along with rags tied round their feet. Even more
+painful than the sight of these dejected and worn-out men was that of the
+camp-followers. These, in addition to their terrible hardships and
+fatigue, were worn out with hunger, and almost famished. Numbers of them
+died by the roadside, others still crawled on in silent misery.</P>
+<P>Nothing could be done to aid these poor creatures. The troops
+themselves were insufficiently fed, for the evil conduct of the soldiers
+who first marched through the towns defeated all the efforts of the
+commissariat; for they had broken into the bakers' shops and so maltreated
+the inhabitants that the people fled in terror, and no bread could be
+obtained for the use of the divisions in the rear. Towards evening the
+next day the reserve approached Constantina. The French were now close
+upon their rear. A bridge over a river had to be crossed to reach the
+town, and as there was a hill within a pistol-shot of the river, from
+which the French artillery could sweep the bridge, Sir John Moore placed
+the riflemen and artillery on it. The enemy, believing that he intended to
+give battle, halted, and before their preparations could be made the
+troops were across the bridge, and were joined by the artillery, which had
+retired at full speed.</P>
+<P>The French advanced and endeavoured to take the bridge. General Paget,
+however, held the post with two regiments of cavalry, and then fell back
+to Lugo, where the whole army was now assembled. The next day Sir John
+Moore issued an order strongly condemning the conduct of the troops, and
+stating that he intended to give battle to the enemy. The news effected an
+instant transformation. The stragglers who had left their regiments and
+entered the town by twos and threes at once rejoined their corps. Fifteen
+hundred men had been lost during the retreat, of whom the number killed
+formed but a small proportion. But the army still amounted to its former
+strength, as it was here joined by two fresh battalions, who had been left
+at Lugo by General Baird on his march from the coast. The force therefore
+numbered 19,000 men; for it had been weakened by some 4,000 of the light
+troops having, early in the retreat, been directed towards other ports, in
+order to lessen as far as possible the strain on the commissariat.</P>
+<P>The position was a strong one, and when Soult at mid-day came up at the
+head of 12,000 men he saw at once that until his whole force arrived he
+could not venture to attack it. Like the British, his troops had suffered
+severely from the long marches, and many had dropped behind altogether.
+Uncertain whether he had the whole of the British before him, he sent a
+battery of artillery and some cavalry forward; when the former opened
+fire, they were immediately silenced by a reply from fifteen pieces. Then
+he made an attack upon the right, but was sharply repulsed with a loss of
+from three to four hundred men; and, convinced now that Moore was ready to
+give battle with his whole force, he drew off.</P>
+<P>The next day both armies remained in their positions. Soult had been
+joined by Laborde's division, and had 17,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and
+50 guns; the English had 16,000 infantry, 1,800 cavalry, and 40 guns. The
+French made no movement to attack, and the British troops were furious at
+the delay. Soult, however, was waiting until Ney, who was advancing by
+another road, should threaten the British flank or cut the line of
+retreat. Moore, finding that Soult would not fight alone, and knowing that
+Ney was approaching, gave the order for the army to leave its position
+after nightfall and march for Corunna. He exhorted them to keep good
+order, and to make the effort which would be the last demanded from them.
+It was indeed impossible for him to remain at Lugo, even if Ney had not
+been close at hand, for there was not another day's supply of bread in the
+town.</P>
+<P>He took every precaution for securing that no errors should take place
+as to the route to be followed in the dark, for the ground behind the
+position was intersected by stone walls and a number of intricate lanes.
+To mark the right tracks, bundles of straw were placed at intervals along
+the line, and officers appointed to guide the columns. All these
+precautions, however, were brought to naught by the ill-fortune that had
+dogged the general along the whole line of retreat. A tremendous storm of
+wind and rain set in, the night was pitch dark, the bundles of straw were
+whirled away by the wind, and when the army silently left their post at
+ten o'clock at night, the task before them was a difficult one indeed. All
+the columns lost their way, and one division alone recovered the main
+road; the other two wandered about all night, buffeted by the wind,
+drenched by the rain, disheartened and weary.</P>
+<P>Some regiments entered what shelters they could find, the men soon
+scattered to plunder, stragglers fell out in hundreds, and at daybreak the
+remnants of the two divisions were still in Lugo. The moment the light
+afforded means of recovering their position, the columns resumed their
+march, the road behind them being thickly dotted by stragglers. The
+rearguard, commanded by the general himself, covered the rear, but
+fortunately the enemy did not come up until evening; but so numerous were
+the stragglers that when the French cavalry charged, they mustered in
+sufficient force to repel their attack, a proof that it was not so much
+fatigue as insubordination that caused them to lag behind. The rear-guard
+halted a few miles short of Friol and passed the night there, which
+enabled the disorganized army to rest and re-form. The loss during this
+unfortunate march was greater than that of all the former part of the
+retreat, added to all the losses in action and during the advance.</P>
+<P>The next day the army halted, as the French had not come up in
+sufficient numbers to give battle, and on the following day marched in
+good order into Corunna, where, to the bitter disappointment of the
+general, the fleet had not yet arrived. At the time, Sir John Moore was
+blamed by the ignorant for having worn out his troops by the length of the
+marches; but the accusation was altogether unfounded, as is proved by the
+fact that the rear-guard--upon whom the full brunt of the fighting had
+fallen, who had frequently been under arms all night in the snow, had
+always to throw out very strong outposts to prevent surprises, and had
+marched eighty miles in two days, had suffered far more than the other
+troops, owing to the fact that the food supply intended for all had been
+several times wasted and destroyed by the excesses of those who had
+preceded them--yet who, when they reached Corunna, had a much smaller
+number missing from their ranks than was the case with the three other
+divisions.</P>
+<P>After all the exertions that had been made, and the extraordinary
+success with which the general had carried his force through a host of
+enemies, all his calculations were baffled by the contrary winds that
+delayed the arrival of the fleet, and it remained but to surrender or
+fight a battle, which, if won, might yet enable the army to embark. Sir
+John did not even for a moment contemplate the former alternative. The
+troops on arriving were at once quartered in the town. The inhabitants
+here, who had so sullenly held aloof from Baird's force on its arrival,
+and had refused to give him the slightest aid, now evinced a spirit of
+patriotism seldom exhibited by the Spaniards, save in their defence of
+Saragossa, and on a few other occasions.</P>
+<P>Although aware that the army intended, if possible, to embark, and that
+the French on entering might punish them for any aid given to it, they
+cheerfully aided the troops in removing the cannon from the sea-face and
+in strengthening the defences on the land side. Provisions in ample
+quantity were forthcoming, and in twenty-four hours the army, knowing that
+at last they were to engage the foe who had for the last fortnight hunted
+them so perseveringly, recovered its confidence and discipline. This was
+aided by the fact that Corunna had large magazines of arms and ammunition,
+which had been sent out fifteen months before, from England, and were
+still lying there, although Spain was clamouring for arms for its newly
+raised levies.</P>
+<P>To the soldiers this supply was invaluable. Their muskets were so
+rusted with the almost constant downfall of rain and snow of the past
+month as to be almost unserviceable, and these were at once exchanged for
+new arms. The cartridge-boxes were re-filled with fresh ammunition, an
+abundant store served out for the guns, and, after all this, two magazines
+containing four thousand barrels of powder remained. These had been
+erected on a hill, three miles from the town, and were blown up so that
+they should not fall into the hands of the enemy. The explosion was a
+terrible one, and was felt for many miles round. The water in the harbour
+was so agitated that the shipping rolled as if in a storm, and many
+persons who had gone out to witness the explosion were killed by falling
+fragments.</P>
+<P>The ground on which the battle was to take place was unfit for the
+operations of cavalry. The greater portion of the horses were hopelessly
+foundered, partly from the effects of fatigue, partly from want of shoes;
+for although a supply of these had been issued on starting, no hammers or
+nails had been sent, and the shoes were therefore useless. It would in any
+case have been impossible to ship all these animals, and accordingly, as a
+measure of mercy, the greater portion of them were shot. Three days were
+permitted Moore to make his arrangements, for it took that time for Soult
+to bring up his weary troops and place them in a position to give battle.
+Their position was a lofty ridge which commanded that upon which Sir John
+Moore now placed his troops, covering the town. On the right of the French
+ridge there was another eminence upon which Soult had placed eleven heavy
+guns.</P>
+<P>On the evening of the 14th there was an exchange of artillery fire, but
+it led to nothing. That afternoon the sails of the long-expected fleet
+were made out, and just at nightfall it entered the harbour. The
+dismounted cavalry, the sick, the remaining horses, and fifty guns were
+embarked, nine guns only being kept on shore for action. On the 15th Soult
+occupied himself in completing his preparations. Getting his great guns on
+to the rocks on his left, he attacked and drove from an advanced position
+some companies of the 5th Regiment, and posted his mass of cavalry so as
+to threaten the British right, and even menace its retreat to the town
+from the position it held. Had the battle been delayed another day, Sir
+John Moore had made every preparation for embarking the rest of his troops
+rather than await a battle in which even victory would be worthless, for
+Ney's corps would soon be up. The French, however, did not afford him an
+opportunity of thus retiring.</P>
+<P>Terence O'Connor speedily paid a visit to his regiment at Corunna, for
+he had, of course, accompanied Fane's brigade during the retreat. He was
+delighted to find that there had been only a few trifling casualties among
+the officers, and that the regiment itself, although it had lost some men
+in the fighting that had taken place, had not left a single straggler
+behind, a circumstance that was mentioned with the warmest commendation by
+General Paget in his report of the doings of the rear-guard.</P>
+<P>"I was awfully afraid that it would have been quite the other way,"
+Terence said. "I know how all the three other divisions suffered, though
+they were never pressed by the enemy, and had not a shadow of excuse for
+their conduct."</P>
+<P>"You did not know us, me boy," O'Grady said. "I tell ye, the men were
+splendid. I expect if we had been with the others we should have behaved
+just as badly; but being chosen for the rear-guard put our boys all on
+their mettle, and every man felt that the honour of the regiment depended
+on his good conduct. Then, too, we were lucky in lighting on a big store
+of tobacco, and tobacco is as good as food and drink. The men gave a lot
+away to the other regiments, and yet had enough to last them until we got
+here."</P>
+<P>"Then they were not above doing a little plundering," Terence
+laughed.</P>
+<P>"Plunder is it!" O'Grady repeated, indignantly. "It was a righteous
+action, for the factory belonged to the Central Junta of the Province, and
+it was just stripping the French of their booty to carry it away. Faith,
+it was the most meritorious action of the campaign."</P>
+<P>"Have you got a good cigar left, O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"Oh, you have taken to smoking, have you?"</P>
+<P>"I was obliged to, to keep my nose warm. On the march, Fane and the
+major and Errington all smoked, and they looked so comfortable and
+contented that I felt it was my duty to keep them company."</P>
+<P>"I have just two left, Terence, so we will smoke them together, and I
+have got a bottle of dacent spirits. Think of that, me boy; thirty-two
+days without spirits! They will never believe me when I go home and tell
+'em I went without it for thirty-two mortal days."</P>
+<P>"Well, you have had wine, O'Grady."</P>
+<P>"It's poor stuff by the side of the cratur, still I am not saying that
+it wasn't a help. But it was cold comfort, Terence, a mighty cold
+comfort."</P>
+<P>"You are looking well on it, anyhow. And how is the wound?"</P>
+<P>"Och, I have nigh forgot I ever had one, save when it comes to ateing.
+Tim has to cut my food up for me, and I never sit down to a male without
+wishing bad cess to the French. When we get back I will have a patent
+machine for holding a fork fixed on somehow. It goes against me grain to
+have me food cut up as if I was a baby; if it wasn't for that I should not
+miss my hand one way or the other. In fact, on the march it has been a
+comfort that I have only had five fingers to freeze, instead of ten. There
+is a compensation in all things. So we are going to fight them at last?
+There is no chance of the fleet coming to take us off before that, I
+hope?" he asked, anxiously, "for we should all break our hearts if we were
+obliged to go without a fight."</P>
+<P>"I don't think there is any chance of that, O'Grady, though I should be
+very glad if there were. I am not afraid of the fighting, but we certainly
+sha'n't win without heavy loss, and every life will be thrown away, seeing
+that we shall, after all, have to embark when the battle is over. Ney,
+with 50,000 men, is only two or three marches away.</P>
+<P>"Well, Dicky, how do you do?" he asked, as Ryan came up.</P>
+<P>"I am well enough, Mr. Staff Officer. I needn't ask after yourself, for
+you have been riding comfortably about, while we have been marched right
+off our legs. Forty miles a day, Terence, and over such roads as they have
+in this country; it is just cruelty to animals."</P>
+<P>"I would rather have been with you, Dicky, than see to the horrible
+confusion that has been going on. Why, as soon as the day's march was over
+we had to set to work to go about trying to keep order. A dozen times I
+have been nearly shot by drunken rascals whom I was trying to get to
+return to their corps. Worse still, it was heartrending to see the misery
+of the starving women and camp-followers. I would rather have been on
+outpost duty, with Soult's cavalry hovering round, ready to charge at any
+moment."</P>
+<P>"It is all very well to say that, Terence!" O'Grady exclaimed. "But
+wait until you try it a bit, my boy. I had five nights of it, and that
+widout a drop of whisky to cheer me. It was enough to have made Samson
+weep, let alone a man with only one hand, and a sword to hold in it, and a
+bad could in his head. It was enough to take the heart out of any man
+entoirely, and if it hadn't been for the credit of the regiment, I could
+often have sat down on a stone and blubbered. It is mighty hard for a man
+to keep up his spirits when he feels the mortal heat in him oozing out all
+over, and his fingers so cold that it is only by looking that one knows
+one has got a sword in them, and you don't know whether you are standing
+on your feet or on your knee-bones, and feel as if your legs don't belong
+to you, but are the property of some poor chap who has been kilt twenty-four hours before. Och, it was a terrible time! and a captain's pay is too
+small for it, if it was not for the divarsion of a scrimmage now and
+then!"</P>
+<P>"How about an ensign's pay?" Ryan laughed. "I think that on such work
+as we have had, O'Grady, the pay of all the officers, from the colonel
+down, ought to be put together and equally divided."</P>
+<P>"I cannot say whether I should approve the plan, Ryan, until I have
+made an intricate calculation, which, now I am comfortable at last, would
+be a sin and a shame to ask me brain to go through; but as my present idea
+is that I should be a loser, I may say that your scheme is a bad one, and
+not to say grossly disrespectful to the colonel, to put his value down as
+only equal to that of a slip of a lad like yourself. Boys nowadays have no
+respect for their supeyrior officers. There is Terence, who is not sixteen
+yet--"</P>
+<P>"Sixteen three months back, O'Grady," Terence put in.</P>
+<P>"Yes, I remember now, but a week or two one way or the other makes no
+difference. Here is Terence, just sixteen, who ought to be at school
+trying to get a little learning into his head, laying down the law to his
+supeyrior officers, just because he has had the luck to get onto the
+brigadier's staff. I think sometimes that the world is coming to an
+end."</P>
+<P>"At any rate, O'Grady," Terence laughed, "I am half a head taller than
+you are, and could walk you off your legs any day."</P>
+<P>"There! And he says this to a man who has gone through all the fatigues
+of the rear-guard, while he has been riding about the country like a
+gentleman at aise."</P>
+<P>"Well, I cannot stop any longer," Terence said. "I am on my way up to
+see how they are getting on with the earthworks, and the general may want
+me at any moment."</P>
+<P>"I would not trouble about that," O'Grady said, sarcastically; "perhaps
+he might make a shift to do widout you, widout detriment to the
+service."</P>
+<P>Terence made no reply, but, mounting, rode off up the hill behind the
+town. At two o'clock on the 16th a general movement of the French line was
+observed, and the British infantry, 14,500 strong, drew up in order of
+battle along the position marked for them. The British were fighting under
+a serious disadvantage, for not only had Soult over 20,000 infantry, with
+very powerful artillery and great strength in cavalry, but owing to their
+position on the crest running somewhat obliquely to the higher one
+occupied by the French, the heavy battery on the rocks to their right
+raked the whole line of battle. Hope's division was on the British left,
+Baird's on the right. Fraser's division was on another ridge some distance
+from the others, and immediately covering the town of Corunna; and Paget,
+with his division to which the Mayo regiment was still attached, was
+posted at the village of Airis, on the height between Hope's division and
+the harbour, and looking down the valley between the main position and the
+ridge held by Fraser.</P>
+<P>From here he could either reinforce Hope and Baird, or advance down the
+valley to repel any attack of the French cavalry, and cover the retreat of
+the main body if forced to fall back. The battle commenced by the French
+opening fire with their field-guns, which were distributed along the front
+of their position, and by the heavy battery on their left, while their
+infantry descended the mountain in three heavy columns, covered by clouds
+of skirmishers. The British piquets were at once driven in, and the
+village of Elvina, held by a portion of the 50th, carried. The French
+column on this side then divided into two portions; one endeavoured to
+turn Baird's right and enter the valley behind the British position, while
+the other climbed the hill to attack him in front. The second column moved
+against the British centre, and the third attacked Hope's left, which
+rested on the village of Palavia Abaxo.</P>
+<P>The nine English guns were altogether overmatched by those of Soult's
+heavy battery. Moore, seeing that the half-column advancing by Baird's
+flank made no movement to penetrate beyond his right, directed him to
+throw back one regiment and take the French in flank. Paget was ordered to
+advance up the valley, to drive back the French column, and menace the
+French battery, uniting himself with a battalion previously posted on a
+hill to keep the threatening masses of French cavalry in check. He also
+sent word to Fraser to advance at once and support Paget. Baird launched
+the 50th and 42d Regiments to meet the enemy issuing from Elvina. The
+ground round the village was broken by stone walls and hollow roads, but
+the French were forced back, and the 50th, entering the village with the
+fleeing enemy, drove them, after a struggle, beyond the houses.</P>
+<p><img src="images/Corunna.png" alt="map" width="984" height="1118"></p>
+<P> The 42d, misunderstanding orders, retired towards the hill, and the
+French, being reinforced, again attacked Elvina, which the 50th held
+stubbornly until again joined by the 42d, which had been sent forward by
+Moore himself. Paget was now engaged in the valley, the advance of the
+enemy was arrested, and they suffered very heavily from the fire of the
+regiments on the height above their flank, while Paget steadily gained
+ground. The centre and left were now hotly engaged, but held their ground
+against all the attacks of the enemy, and on the extreme left advanced and
+drove the French out of the village of Palavia Abaxo, which they had
+occupied. Elvina was now firmly held, while Paget carried all before him
+on the right, and, with Fraser's division behind him, menaced the great
+French battery.</P>
+<P>Had this been carried, the two divisions could have swept along the
+French position, crumpling up the forces as they went, and driving them
+down towards the river Moro, in which case they would have been lost.
+Owing, however, to the battle having been begun at so late an hour,
+darkness now fell. The general himself, while watching the contest at
+Elvina, had been struck by a cannon-ball and mortally wounded. General
+Baird had also been struck down. This loss of commanders combined with the
+darkness to arrest the progress of the victorious troops, and permitted
+the French, who were already falling back in great confusion, to recover
+themselves and maintain their position.</P>
+<P>The object for which the battle had been fought was gained. Night,
+which had saved the French from total defeat, afforded the British the
+opportunity of extricating themselves from their position, and General
+Hope, who now assumed the command, ordered the troops to abandon their
+positions and to march down to the port, leaving strong piquets with fires
+burning to deceive the enemy. All the arrangements for embarkation had
+been carefully arranged by Sir John Moore, and without the least hitch or
+confusion the troops marched down to the port, and before morning were all
+on board with the exception of a rear-guard, under General Beresford,
+which occupied the citadel.</P>
+<P>At daybreak the piquets were withdrawn and also embarked, and a force
+under General Hill, that had been stationed on the ramparts to cover the
+movement, then marched down to the citadel, and there took boats for the
+ships. By this time, however, the French, having discovered that the
+British position was abandoned, had planted a battery on the heights of
+San Lucia and opened fire on the shipping. This caused much confusion
+among the transports. Several of the masters cut their cables, and four
+vessels ran ashore. The troops, however, were taken on board of other
+transports by the boats of the men-of-war. The stranded ships were fired,
+and the fleet got safely out of harbour.</P>
+<P>The noble commander, by whose energy, resolution, and talent this
+wonderful march had been achieved, lived only long enough to know that his
+soldiers were victorious, and was buried the same night on the ramparts.
+His memory was for a time assailed with floods of abuse by that portion of
+the press and public that had all along vilified the action of the British
+general, had swallowed eagerly every lie promulgated by the Junta of
+Oporto, and by the whole of the Spanish authorities; but in time his
+extraordinary merits came to be recognized to their full value, and his
+name will long live as one of the noblest men and best generals Great
+Britain has ever produced.</P>
+<P>Beresford held the citadel until the 18th, and then embarked with his
+troops and all the wounded; the people of Corunna, remaining true to their
+promises, manned the ramparts of the town until the last British soldier
+was on board.</P>
+<P>The British loss in the battle was estimated at 800 men; that of the
+French was put down at 3,000. Their greater loss was due to the fact that
+they assumed the offensive, and were much more exposed than the defenders;
+that the nine little guns of the latter were enabled to sweep them with
+grape, while the British were so far away from the French batteries that
+the latter were obliged to fire round shot; and lastly that the new
+muskets and fresh ammunition gave a great advantage to the British over
+the rusty muskets and often damaged powder of the French. Paget's division
+had suffered but slightly, the main loss of the English having occurred in
+and around Elvina, and from the shot of the heavy battery that swept the
+crest held by them. Two officers killed and four wounded were the only
+casualties in that division, while but thirty of the rank and file were
+put out of action.</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XI</H3>
+<H4>AN ESCAPE</H4></CENTER>
+<P>While the battle was at its height Terence was despatched by the
+brigadier to carry an order to one of the regiments that had pushed too
+far forward in its ardour. Scrambling over rough ground, and occasionally
+leaping a wall, he reached the colonel. "The general requests you to fall
+back a little, sir; you are farther forward than the regiment on your
+flank. The enemy are pushing a force down the hill in your direction, and
+as there is no support that can be sent to you at present, he wishes your
+extreme right to be in touch with the left of the regiment holding
+Elvina."</P>
+<P>"Very good. Tell General Fane that I will carry out his instructions.
+Where is he now?"</P>
+<P>"He is in the village, sir." Terence turned his horse to ride back. The
+din of battle was almost bewildering. A desperate conflict was going on in
+front of the village, where every wall was obstinately contested, the
+regiment being hotly engaged with a French force that was rapidly
+increasing in strength. The great French battery was sending its missiles
+far overhead against the British position on the hill, the British guns
+were playing on the French troops beyond the village, and the French light
+field-pieces were pouring their fire into Elvina. Terence made his way
+across the broken ground near the village. Galloping at a low stone wall,
+the horse was in the act of rising to clear it when it was struck in the
+head by a round shot. Terence was thrown far ahead over the wall, and fell
+heavily head-foremost on a pile of stones covered by some low shrubs.</P>
+<P>The shock was a terrible one, and for many hours he lay insensible.
+When he recovered consciousness, he remained for some time wondering
+vaguely where he was. Above him was a canopy of foliage, through which the
+rays of the sun were streaming. A dead silence had succeeded the roar of
+battle. He put his hand to his head, which was aching intolerably, and
+found that his hair was thick with clotted blood.</P>
+<P>"Yes, of course," he said to himself at last; "I was carrying a message
+to Fane. I was just going to jump a wall and there was a sudden crash. I
+remember--I flew out of the saddle--that is all I do remember. I have been
+stunned, I suppose. How is it so quiet? I suppose the battle is over."</P>
+<P>Then he sat suddenly upright.</P>
+<P>"The sun is shining," he said. "It was getting dusk when I was riding
+back to the village. I must have lain here all night."</P>
+<P>Suddenly he heard a gun fired; it was quickly followed by others. He
+rose on his knees and looked cautiously over the bushes.</P>
+<P>"It is away there," he said, "on those heights above the harbour. The
+army must have embarked, and the French are firing at the ships."</P>
+<P> [Illustration: "POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT
+HIM AT TORRES VEDRAS."]</P>
+<P> His conjecture was speedily verified, for, looking along the crest
+which the British had held during the fight, he saw a large body of French
+troops just reaching the top of the rise. He stood up now and looked
+round. No one could be seen moving in the orchards and vineyards round. He
+peered over the wall; his horse lay there in a huddled-up heap.</P>
+<P>"A round shot in the head!" he exclaimed; "that accounts for it. Poor
+old Jack! he has carried me well ever since I got him at Torres
+Vedras."</P>
+<P>He climbed down and got what he was in search of--a large flask full of
+brandy-and-water, which he carried in one of the holsters. He took a long
+drink, and felt better at once.</P>
+<P>"I may as well take the pistols," he said, and, putting them into his
+belt, climbed over the wall again, and lay down among the bushes.</P>
+<P>He was now able to think clearly. Should he get up and surrender
+himself as a prisoner to the first body of French troops that he came
+across? or should he lie where he was until nightfall, and then try to get
+away? If he surrendered, there was before him a march of seven or eight
+hundred miles to a French prison; if he tried to get away, no doubt there
+were many hardships and dangers, but at least a possibility of rejoining
+sooner or later. At any rate, he would be no worse off than the many
+hundreds who had straggled during the march, for it was probable that the
+great majority of these were spread over the country, as the French,
+pressing forward in pursuit, would not have troubled themselves to hunt
+down fugitives, who, if caught, would only be an encumbrance to them.</P>
+<P>He was better off than they were, for at any rate he could make himself
+understood, which was more than the majority of the soldiers could do; and
+at least he would not provoke the animosity of the peasants by the rough
+measures they would be likely to take to satisfy their wants. The worst of
+it was that he had no money. Then suddenly he sat up again and looked at
+his feet.</P>
+<P>"This is luck!" he exclaimed; "I had never given the thing a thought
+before."</P>
+<P>On his arrival at Corunna he had thrown away the riding-boots he had
+bought at Salamanca. The constant rains had so shrunk them that he could
+no longer wear them without pain, and he had taken again to the boots that
+he carried in his valise.</P>
+<P>From the time when, at his father's suggestion, he had had extra soles
+placed on them, above which were hidden fifteen guineas, the fact of the
+money being there had never once occurred to him. He had had sufficient
+cash about him to pay for purchases at Salamanca and on the road, and,
+indeed, had five guineas still in his pocket, though he had drawn no pay
+from the time of leaving Torres Vedras.</P>
+<P>This discovery decided him. With twenty guineas he could pay his way
+for months, and he determined to make the attempt to escape.</P>
+<P>The firing continued for some time and then ceased.</P>
+<P>"The fleet must have got out," he said to himself. "It is certain that
+the French have not taken Corunna. We were getting the best of it up to
+the time I was hurt, and it would be dark in another half-hour, and there
+could be no fighting on such ground as this, after that. Besides, Corunna
+is a strong fortress, and we could have held out there for weeks, for
+Soult can have no battering train with him; besides, everything was ready
+for embarkation, and I know that it was intended, whether we won or lost,
+that the troops should go on board in the night."</P>
+<P>As he lay there he could occasionally hear the sound of drums and
+trumpets as the troops marched from their positions of the night before,
+to take up others nearer to the town. At times he heard voices, and knew
+that they were searching for wounded over the ground that had been so
+desperately contested; but the spot where he was lying lay between the
+village and the ground where the regiment he had gone to order back had
+been engaged with the enemy, and as no fighting had taken place there, it
+was unlikely that the search-parties would go over it. This, indeed,
+proved to be the case, and after a time he fell off to sleep, and did not
+wake until night was closing in. He was hungry now, and again crossing the
+wall he took half a chicken and a piece of bread that his servant had
+thrust into his wallet just before starting, and made a hearty meal. He
+unbuckled his sword and left it behind him; he had his pistols, and a
+sword would be only an encumbrance.</P>
+<P>As soon as it became quite dark he made his way cautiously down the
+valley, passed the spot where the French column had suffered so heavily,
+and then, turning to the left, traversed the narrow plain that divided the
+position on which the French heavy battery had been placed and the plateau
+on which their cavalry had been massed. Numerous fires blazed in the wide
+valley behind, where the reserve had been stationed on the previous
+morning, and he doubted not that the French cavalry were there, especially
+as he found no signs of life on the plateau above. Coming presently on a
+small stream he bathed his head for a considerable time, and then
+proceeded on his way, feeling much brighter and fresher than he had done
+before.</P>
+<P>The ground began to ascend more steeply, and after an hour's walking he
+stood on the crest of the hill and looked down on the position that the
+French had held, and beyond it on Corunna and the sea. The cold was
+extreme. He had brought with him his greatcoat and blanket, and, wrapping
+himself in these, lay down in a sheltered position and slept again till
+morning broke. His head was now better, and he was able to think more
+clearly than he could the day before. The first thing was to decide as to
+his course. It would be dangerous to make direct for the frontier of
+Portugal. Now that the British army had embarked, Soult would be free to
+undertake operations in that country, and would doubtless shortly put his
+troops in motion in that direction, and his cavalry would be scattering
+all over the province collecting provisions. Moreover, there would be the
+terrible range of the Tras-os-Montes to pass, and no certainty whatever of
+being well received by the Portuguese peasants north of Oporto.</P>
+<P>His constant study of the staff maps was now of great assistance to
+him. He determined to turn west until he reached the river Minho some
+distance below Lugo, which he could do by skirting the top of the hills.
+He would therefore strike it somewhere about the point where the river Sil
+joined it, and, following this, would find himself at the foot of the
+Cantabrian Hills, dividing the Asturias from Leon. Then he could be guided
+by circumstances, and could either cross these mountains and make for a
+seaport, or could journey down through Leon to Ciudad-Rodrigo, which was
+still held by a Spanish garrison, and from there make his way through
+Portugal to Lisbon.</P>
+<P>He questioned whether it would be wise for him to attempt to get the
+dress of a Spanish peasant instead of his uniform, but he finally decided
+that until he was beyond any risk of being captured by parties from either
+Soult or Ney's armies, it would be better to continue in uniform. If taken
+in that dress it would be seen that he was a straggler from Moore's army,
+and he would be simply treated as a prisoner of war; while, if taken in
+the dress of a peasant, he would be liable to be treated as a spy and
+shot. Having made up his mind, he started at once, and in three hours was
+at the foot of the hills on the other side of which ran the road from Lugo
+to Corunna, which proved so disastrous to the army. He presently arrived
+at a small hamlet, and the children in the streets ran shrieking away as
+they saw him. Women appeared at the doors and looked out anxiously; they
+had not before seen a British uniform, and at once supposed that he was
+French. Seeing that he was alone, several men armed with clubs and picks
+came out.</P>
+<P>"I am an English officer," he said, "and I desire food and shelter for
+a few hours. I have money to pay for it."</P>
+<P>The peasants at once came round him. Confused accounts had reached them
+of the doings on the other side of the hills. They knew that an English
+army had marched from Lugo to Corunna, hotly pursued by the French, but
+they had heard nothing of what had happened afterwards. They eagerly asked
+for news. Terence told them that there had been a great battle outside
+Corunna, that the French had been repulsed with much loss, and that the
+English had embarked on board ships to take them round to Lisbon, there to
+march east to meet the French again.</P>
+<P>Nothing could be kinder than the treatment he received. They told him
+that Ney's army was between the Sil and Lugo, but that no French troops
+had crossed the Minho as yet.</P>
+<P>They were eager to know why the English, if they had beaten the French,
+sailed away. But when he said that Soult would have been joined by Ney in
+a couple of days, and would then be well-nigh double the strength of the
+British, who would be so hotly pressed that they would be unable to
+embark, the peasants saw that what they considered their desertion could
+not have been avoided. The news of the terrible defeats that had, a month
+before, been inflicted upon their armies had not reached them, and Terence
+did not think it necessary to enlighten them. He told them that the march
+north of the English had been intended to bring all the French forces in
+that direction, and so to enable the Spanish armies to operate
+successfully, and that not only Soult and Ney, but Napoleon himself, had
+been drawn off from the south in pursuit of them.</P>
+<P>They were filled with satisfaction, and he was at once taken into one
+of the cottages. A good meal was shortly placed before him, his head was
+carefully bandaged, and he was then asked how it was that he had not
+embarked with the rest of the army. He related how he had been left
+behind, and then asked them their opinion as to his best course, telling
+them the plan he himself had formed. They agreed at once that this was the
+wisest one, but that it would be dangerous to try it until Ney's force had
+moved from its present position. They knew that he had a division at
+Orense on the Minho, and that parties of his cavalry had scoured the plain
+as far as the river Ulla, and urged upon him to remain with them until
+some news was obtained of the movements of the French army.</P>
+<P>He gladly accepted the invitation, and for a couple of days remained at
+the little hamlet. One of the peasants came in at the end of that time,
+saying that the French in Corunna had crossed the mountains and had
+arrived at Santiago, twenty miles distant, and that their cavalry were
+scouring the country. They also brought news that Romana was at Toabado,
+and that he had but two or three thousand men with him, the rest having
+been routed and cut up by the French cavalry. Terence at once determined
+to join him.</P>
+<P>The fact that he still had some troops with him had no influence in
+causing him to form this resolution. Romana had been so often defeated
+that he knew that his men would, after their recent misfortunes, scatter
+at once before even the weakest French detachment. But Romana himself knew
+the country well, was a man of great resource and activity, and was likely
+to evade all efforts to capture him. He thought then that by joining him
+and sharing his fortunes he was more likely to have some opportunity of
+making his way to Lisbon than he would have if left to his own resources,
+especially as he had no doubt that Soult would at once prepare to invade
+Portugal by occupying all the passes, and thus render it next to
+impossible to journey thither alone and on foot. One of the peasants
+offered to guide him across the hills to Toabado. They started at once,
+and at daybreak next morning reached the village.</P>
+<P>As Romana had been several times in personal communication with Sir
+John Moore, Terence was acquainted with his appearance, and seeing him
+standing at the door of the principal house of the village, went up to him
+and saluted him. The latter looked upon him with great surprise.</P>
+<P>"How have you managed to pass through the French?" he asked.</P>
+<P>"I have seen none of them, Marquis. I was wounded in the battle of
+Corunna, and after lying insensible all that night, found, when I
+recovered in the morning, that the French had advanced and that I was in
+their rear. I heard their guns from the heights above the town, and knew
+that our army had gained their transports. I lay concealed all day and
+then crossed the mountains, and have been resting for two days at a
+village on the other side of the hills. The news came that you were here,
+and I decided to join you at once. I was on the staff of General Fane,
+and, knowing the duties of an aide-de-camp, thought I might make myself
+useful to you until there was an opportunity of my rejoining a British
+force."</P>
+<P>"You are welcome, sir," Romana said, courteously. "It was only this
+morning that we learned from a prisoner that my men took that you had
+driven back Soult before Corunna and had embarked safely. I was in great
+fear that your army would have been captured. I see that you have been
+wounded on the head."</P>
+<P>"It can scarcely be called a wound, Marquis. I was carrying a message
+on the battle-field; when I was taking a wall my horse was struck with a
+round shot. I was thrown over his head onto a heap of rough stones, and it
+was a marvel to me that I was not killed."</P>
+<P>"I am just going to breakfast, señor, and shall be glad if you will
+join me. I have no doubt that you will do justice to it."</P>
+<P>Romana, who had commanded the Spanish troops which had escaped from
+Holland, was the most energetic of the Spanish generals. Defeated often,
+he was speedily at the head of fresh gatherings, and ready to take the
+field again. As a partisan chief he was excellent, but possessed no
+military talent, and was, like the Spaniards generally, full of grand but
+utterly impracticable schemes, and in spite of his experience to the
+contrary, confident that the Spaniards would overthrow the French.</P>
+<P>"I have been unfortunate," he said, in reply to the inquiry as to how
+many troops he had with him. "At your English general's request I took a
+different course with my army to that which he was pursuing, in order that
+his magazines should be untouched. I crossed his line of retreat, but
+unfortunately Franceschi's cavalry come down upon us, cut up my artillery
+and infantry, and scattered my force entirely. However, some three
+thousand have rejoined, and I expect in a short time to be at the head of
+20,000. I ought to have more, but these Galician peasants are stubborn
+fellows. They know nothing of the affairs of Spain, and although they will
+fight in defence of their own villages, they have no interest in anything
+beyond, and hang back from joining an army that might operate outside
+their province. You see, until now it has been untouched by war. They have
+suffered in no way from French extortions and outrages. As soon as they
+feel the smart themselves, I doubt not they will be as full of hatred of
+the invaders as people are elsewhere, and as ready to take up arms against
+them."</P>
+<P>Romana's troops were but a motley gathering. The force that he had
+brought with him from Holland had been landed at Santander, marched to
+Bilbao, and joined Blake's army, and had shared in the crushing defeat
+suffered by that general at Espinosa, where most of them were taken
+prisoners. They were again incorporated in the French army, and afterwards
+took part in the Russian campaign, and in the retreat no less than four
+thousand of them were taken prisoners by the Russians and handed over by
+them to British transports sent to Cronstadt to fetch them. Romana himself
+had escaped from the battle-field, and afterward raised a fresh force.
+This had dwindled away from 15,000 to 5,000 when he joined Moore on his
+advance, and now amounted to barely 2,000, of whom the greater portion had
+thrown away their arms in their flight.</P>
+<P>On the following day Romana, with a small body of cavalry, left
+Toabado, crossed the Minho, descended into the valley of the Tamega, and
+took refuge close to the Portuguese frontier line. Here he was, for a
+time, safe from the pursuit of the French, the insignificance of his force
+being his best protection. Soult lost no time. As soon as the English army
+had left, Corunna opened its gates to him, as did Ferrol, although neither
+of these towns could have been taken without a siege, and Soult must have
+been delayed until a battering-train was brought from Madrid.</P>
+<P>The magazines of British powder and stores that had been lying for
+months in Ferrol were invaluable to him.</P>
+<P>The soldiers were set to work to make fresh cartridges, and then, after
+six days' halt to give rest to his weary and footsore men, he began to
+prepare to carry out Napoleon's orders to invade Portugal. Ney, with
+20,000 men, was to maintain Galicia, and, reinforced by a fresh division,
+Soult was to march direct upon Oporto with 25,000 men, leaving 12,000 in
+hospital, and 8,000 to keep up the line of communication with Ney. It took
+some time to complete all the arrangements and to gather the force at St.
+Jago Compostella, and it was not until the first of February that he was
+able to move.</P>
+<P>On the day of his arrival on the frontier, Romana despatched Terence to
+Sir John Cradock, who now commanded the British troops in Portugal, which
+had been augmented by fresh arrivals from England until their numbers
+almost equalled that of the force with which Sir John Moore marched into
+Spain.</P>
+<P>Romana asked that arms and money should be sent to him, promising to
+harass the French advance, and cut their communications from the rear.
+Terence gladly consented to carry his despatch; he was furnished with one
+of the best horses in the troop, and at once started on his journey. It
+was a long and harassing one; many ranges of mountains and hills had to be
+crossed, by roads difficult in the extreme at the best of times, but
+almost impassable in winter. Three times he was seized by parties of
+Portuguese militia and raw levies, but was released on convincing their
+leaders that he was the bearer of a communication to the English
+general.</P>
+<P>The distance to be travelled was, in a direct line, over two hundred
+and thirty miles. This was greatly increased by the circuitous nature of
+the route through the mountainous country, so that it took nine days, and
+would have much exceeded this time, had Terence not found a British force
+at Coimbra, and there exchanged his worn-out animal for a fresh one,
+placed at his disposal by the officer in command.</P>
+<P>Cradock was experiencing exactly the same difficulties that Moore had
+done. The Spanish and Portuguese authorities united in pressing him to
+advance, the former urging upon him that his presence would be the signal
+for the Spanish armies in the south to unite and entirely overthrow the
+French, while the latter were desirous that he should march to Ciudad-Rodrigo, defeat the French at Salamanca, and so protect Portugal from
+invasion from that side.</P>
+<P>That Portugal might be attacked from the north and south simultaneously
+by Soult and Victor did not enter into their calculations, but while
+urging an advance, the Junta would take no steps whatever to enable the
+army to move; they would neither afford him facilities for collecting
+transport, nor order the roads that he would have to traverse to be put in
+order, and thwarted all his efforts to raise a strong force among the
+Portuguese.</P>
+<P>There was, indeed, some improvement in the latter respect. At their own
+request, Lord Beresford had been sent out from England to take the command
+of the Portuguese armies, and as he had brought many British officers with
+him, some 20,000 men had been armed and drilled, and could be reckoned
+upon to do some service, if employed with British troops to give them
+backbone. The Portuguese peasantry were strong and robust, and by nature
+courageous, and needed only the discipline--that they could not receive
+from their own officers--to turn them into valuable troops. According to
+the law of the country every man was liable for service, and had the
+corrupt Junta been dismissed, and full power been given to the British, an
+army of 250,000 men might have been placed in the field for the defence of
+the country, with a proper supply of arms and money.</P>
+<P>But so far from assisting, the Junta threw every possible impediment in
+the way. They feared that any real national effort, if successful, would
+get altogether beyond their control, and that they would lose the power
+that enabled them to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. Not
+only that, but they were engaged in a struggle for supremacy with the
+Junta of Oporto, which was striving by every means to render itself the
+supreme authority of the whole of Portugal.</P>
+<P>Terence had hoped that when he arrived at Lisbon he should meet the
+army he had left at Corunna, for Sir John Moore's instructions had been
+precise that the fleet was to go thither. These instructions, however, had
+been disobeyed, and the fleet had sailed direct for England. It had on the
+way encountered a great storm, which had scattered it in all directions.
+Several of the ships were wrecked on the coast of England, and the army
+which would have been of inestimable service at Lisbon, now served only,
+by the tattered garments and emaciated frames of the soldiers, to excite a
+burst of misplaced indignation against the memory of the general whose
+genius had saved it from destruction.</P>
+<P>On arriving at head-quarters and stating his errand, Terence was at
+once admitted to the room where Sir John Cradock was at work.</P>
+<P>"I am told, sir, that you are the bearer of a despatch from the Spanish
+general, Romana. Before I open it, will you explain how it was that you
+came to be with him?"</P>
+<P>Terence gave a brief account of the manner in which, after being left
+behind on the field of Corunna, he had succeeded in joining Romana.</P>
+<P>The general's face, which had at first been severe, softened as he
+proceeded.</P>
+<P>"That is altogether satisfactory, Mr. O'Connor," he said. "I feared
+that you might have been one of the stragglers, among whom I hear were
+many officers, as well as thousands of men belonging to Sir John Moore's
+army. We received news of his glorious fight at Corunna and the
+embarkation of his army, by a ship that arrived here but three days since
+from that port. Have you heard of the death of that noble soldier
+himself?"</P>
+<P>"No, sir," Terence replied, much shocked at the news. "That is a
+terrible loss, indeed. He was greatly loved by the army. He saw into every
+matter himself, was with the rearguard all through the retreat, and
+laboured night and day to maintain order and discipline, and it was
+assuredly no fault of his if he failed."</P>
+<P>"Was your own regiment in the rear-guard?"</P>
+<P>"Yes, sir. It had the honour of being specially chosen by Sir John
+Moore for its steadiness and good conduct. I was not with it, but was one
+of Brigadier-general Fane's aides-de-camp. It was while carrying a message
+to him that my horse was killed and I myself stunned by being thrown onto
+a heap of stones."</P>
+<P>Sir John Cradock nodded, and then opened Romana's despatch. He raised
+his eyebrows slightly. He had been accustomed to such appeals for arms and
+money, and knew how valueless were the promises that accompanied them.</P>
+<P>"What force has General Romana with him?"</P>
+<P>"Some two hundred cavalry and three or four thousand peasants, about a
+quarter of whom only are armed."</P>
+<P>"He says that he expects to be joined by twenty thousand men in a few
+days. Have you any means of judging whether this statement is well
+founded?"</P>
+<P>"That I cannot say. General Romana seems to me to be a man of greater
+energy than any Spaniard I have hitherto met, and I know that he has
+already sent messages to the priests throughout that part of Galicia
+urging upon them the necessity of using their influence among the
+peasantry. He got a force together in a very short time, after the
+complete defeat and capture of his own command by the French, at the time
+of Blake's defeat, and I think that he might do so again, though whether
+they would be of any use whatever in the field I cannot say; but should
+Soult advance into Portugal, I should think that bands of this sort might
+very much harass him."</P>
+<P>"No doubt they might do so. I will see, at any rate, if I can obtain
+some money from the political agents. I have next to nothing in my
+military chest, and our forces are at a standstill for the want of it. But
+that does not seem to matter. While our troops are ill-fed, ragged, almost
+shoeless, and unpaid, every Spanish or Portuguese rascal who holds out his
+hand can get it filled with gold. As to arms, they are in the first place
+wanted for the purpose of the Portuguese militia, who are likely to be a
+good deal more useful than these irregular bands; and in the second place,
+there are no means whatever of conveying even a hundred muskets, let alone
+the ten thousand that Romana is good enough to ask for. By the way, are
+you aware whether Sir John Moore intended the army to sail to
+England?"</P>
+<P>"Certainly not, sir. I know that up to the moment the battle began the
+preparation for the embarkation went on unceasingly, and General Fane told
+me the night before that we were to be taken here. Whether Sir John may,
+at the last moment, have countermanded that order I am unable to say."</P>
+<P>"Yes, I know that it was his intention, for I received a letter from
+him, written after his arrival at Corunna, saying that the embarkation
+could not be effected without a battle, and that if he beat Soult he
+should at once embark and bring the troops round here, as Ney's
+approaching force would render Corunna untenable. Just at present the
+arrival of 20,000 tried troops would be invaluable. General Baird will, of
+course, have succeeded Sir John Moore?"</P>
+<P>"General Baird was severely wounded, sir. He had just ridden up to
+General Fane when he was struck. General Hope would therefore be in
+command after Sir John Moore was killed."</P>
+<P>"I have heard no particulars of the battle," Sir John said, "beyond
+that it has been fought and Soult has been driven back, that Sir John
+Moore is killed, and that the army has embarked safely. And do I
+understand you that it was towards the end of the battle that you were
+hurt?"</P>
+<P>"It was getting dusk at the time, General, but I cannot say how long
+fighting went on afterwards."</P>
+<P>"Will you please to sit down at that table and give me, as nearly as
+you can, a sketch of the position of our troops and those of the French,
+and then explain to me, as far as you may have seen or know, the movements
+of the corps and the course of events."</P>
+<P>As Terence had, the evening before the battle, seen a sketch-map on
+which General Fane had written the names and positions of the British
+force and those of the French, he was able to draw one closely
+approximating to it. In ten minutes he got up and handed the sketch to Sir
+John Cradock.</P>
+<P>"I am afraid it is very rough, sir," he said, "but I think that it may
+give you an idea of the position of the town and the neighbouring heights,
+and the position occupied by our troops."</P>
+<P>"Excellent, Mr. O'Connor!"</P>
+<P>"I had the advantage of seeing a sketch-map that the brigadier drew
+out, sir."</P>
+<P>"Well, benefited from it. Now point out to me the various movements. It
+seems to me that this large French battery must have galled the whole line
+terribly; but, on the other hand, it is itself very exposed."</P>
+<P>"General Fane said, sir, that he thought Soult was likely to be over-confident. Our army was in frightful confusion on the retreat from Lugo,
+and the number of stragglers was enormous. Although many came in next day,
+the field-state showed that over 2,000 were still absent from the colours.
+The brigadier was observing that there was one advantage in this, namely,
+that Soult would suppose that the whole army was disorganized, and might,
+therefore, take more liberties than he would otherwise have done; and
+that, at any rate, he was likely to rely upon his great force of cavalry
+on this plateau to cover the battery hill from any attack on its left
+flank. It was for that purpose that General Paget posted one of the
+regiments on this eminence on the right of the valley, which had the
+effect of completely checking the French cavalry."</P>
+<P>He then related the incidents of the battle as far as they had come
+under his notice.</P>
+<P>"A very ably fought battle," Sir John Cradock said, as he followed on
+the map Terence's account of the movements. "Soult evidently miscalculated
+Sir John's strength and the fighting powers of his troops. He hurled his
+whole force directly against the position, specially endeavouring to turn
+our right, but the force he employed there was altogether insufficient for
+the purpose. From his position I gather that he could not have known of
+the existence of Paget's reserve up the valley, but he must have seen
+Fraser's division on the hill above Coranto. I suppose he reckoned that
+this turning movement would shake the British position, throw them into
+confusion, and enable his direct attack to be successful before Fraser
+could come to their support. I am much obliged to you for your
+description, Mr. O'Connor; it is very clear and lucid. I will write a
+note, which you shall take to Mr. Villiers, and it is possible that you
+may get help from him for Romana. I shall be glad if you will dine with me
+here at six o'clock."</P>
+<P>"I am much obliged to you, General, but I have nothing but the uniform
+in which I stand, which is, as you see, almost in rags, and stained with
+mire and blood."</P>
+<P>"I think it is probable that you will have no difficulty in buying a
+fresh uniform in the city; so many officers have come out here with
+exaggerated ideas of the amount of transport, that they have had to cut
+down their wardrobes to a very large extent."</P>
+<P>He touched the bell. "Will you ask Captain Nelson to step in," he said
+to the clerk who answered. "Captain Nelson," he said, as one of his staff
+entered, "I want you to take Mr. O'Connor under your charge. He has just
+arrived from the north, and was present at the battle of Corunna. He was
+on Brigadier Fane's staff. As at present he is unattached, I shall put him
+down in orders to-morrow as an extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He will be
+leaving to-morrow for the northern frontier. I wish you to see if you
+cannot get him an undress uniform. He belongs to the infantry. I will give
+you an order on the paymaster, Mr. O'Connor, to honour your draft for any
+amount that you may need. I dare say you are in arrears of pay."</P>
+<P>"Yes, Sir John. I have drawn nothing since we marched from Torres
+Vedras in October."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XII</H3>
+<H4>A DANGEROUS MISSION</H4></CENTER>
+<P>Captain Nelson at once took Terence under his charge.</P>
+<P>"You certainly look as if you wanted a new uniform," he said. "You must
+have had an awfully rough time of it. If only for the sake of policy, we
+ought to get you into a new one as soon as possible, for the very sight of
+yours would be likely to demoralize the whole division by affording a
+painful example of what they might expect on a campaign."</P>
+<P>Terence laughed. "I know I look a perfect scarecrow. Do you think that
+you can find me something? I really don't know what I should have done if
+I had not had my greatcoat, for I could never have ventured to walk
+through the street from the little inn where I put up my horse, if I could
+not have hidden myself in it."</P>
+<P>"I can, fortunately, put you in the right way without difficulty. There
+is a man here who has made a business of buying up uniforms. I believe he
+sends most of them to England, where they would certainly fetch a good
+deal more than he gave for them; but I know that he keeps a stock by him,
+for there is a constant demand. The work out in the country here does for
+a uniform in no time, and many men who, before marching for the frontier,
+parted with all their extra kit for a song, are glad enough to write to
+him for a fresh outfit at three times the price he gave them two or three
+months before."</P>
+<P>"I wonder they don't send their surplus outfit back to England direct,"
+Terence said.</P>
+<P>"Well, you see, there is the risk of the things being lost or stolen on
+the way home, or being ruined by damp before they are wanted again.
+Besides, a man thinks there is no saying whether he shall ever want them
+again, or how long the war will last, and is glad to take anything he can
+get to save himself any further bother about them."</P>
+<P>Terence was fortunate in being able to buy an undress uniform, with
+facings similar to those of his own regiment, and to lay in a stock of
+underclothes at a very much lower price than he could have purchased them
+for even at home. Before leaving the shop he put on his new uniform and
+left the old one to be thrown away.</P>
+<P>"Now," Captain Nelson said, when they left the shop, "it is just our
+lunch time. You must come with me and tell us all about your wonderful
+march and the fight at the end of it."</P>
+<P>"I was going down to see about my horse."</P>
+<P>"Oh, that is all right! I sent down an orderly to bring him up to our
+stables. There, this is where we mess," he said, stopping before a hotel.
+"We find it much more comfortable than having it in a room at head-quarters. Besides, one gets away from duty here. Of course, the chief
+knows where we are, and can send for us if we are wanted; but one gets off
+being set to do a lot of office work in the evening, and we find ourselves
+much more free and comfortable when we haven't got two or three of the
+big-wigs of the staff. So they have a little mess of their own there, and
+we have a room kept for ourselves here."</P>
+<P>There were more than a dozen officers assembled when the two entered
+the room, where a meal was laid; for Captain Nelson had looked into the
+hotel for a moment on their way to the tailor's, to tell his companions
+who Terence was, and to say that he should bring him in to lunch. They had
+told some of their acquaintances. Terence was introduced all round, and as
+soon as the first course was taken off the table he was asked many
+questions as to the march and battle; and by the time when, an hour later,
+the party broke up, they had learned the leading incidents of the
+campaign.</P>
+<P>"You may guess how anxious we were here," one of them said, "when
+Moore's last despatch from Salamanca arrived, saying that he intended to
+advance, and stating his reasons. Then there was a long silence; all sorts
+of rumours reached us. Some said that, aided by a great Spanish army, he
+had overthrown Napoleon, and had entered Madrid; others, again, stated
+that his army had been crushed, and he, with the survivors, were
+prisoners, and were on their way to the frontier--in fact, we had no
+certain news until three days ago, when we heard of the battle, his death,
+and the embarkation of the army, and its sailing for England. The last was
+a terrible blunder."</P>
+<P>"Only a temporary one, I should think," Captain Nelson said. "From Mr.
+O'Connor's account of the state of the army, I should think that it is
+just as well that they should have gone home to obtain an entirely new
+rig-out; there would be no means of fitting them out here. A fortnight
+ought to be enough to set them up in all respects, and as we certainly
+shall not be able to march for another month--"</P>
+<P>"For another three months, you mean, Nelson."</P>
+<P>"Well, perhaps for another three months, the delay will not matter
+materially."</P>
+<P>"It won't matter at all, if the French oblige us by keeping perfectly
+quiet, but if Soult menaces Portugal with invasion from the north, Lapisse
+from the centre, and Victor from the south, we may have to defend
+ourselves here in Lisbon before six weeks are out."</P>
+<P>"Personally, I should not be sorry," another said, "if Soult does
+invade the north and captures Oporto, hangs the bishop, and all the Junta.
+It would be worth ten thousand men to us, for they are continually at
+mischief. They do nothing themselves, and thwart all our efforts. They are
+worse than the Junta here--if that is possible--and they have excited the
+peasants so much against us that they desert in thousands as fast as they
+are collected, while the population here hate us, I believe, quite as much
+as they hate the French. But why they should do so Heaven knows, when we
+have spent more money in Portugal than the whole country contained before
+we came here."</P>
+<P>After the party had broken up, Captain Nelson took Terence to Mr.
+Villiers, who, on reading the general's letter and hearing from Terence
+how Romana was situated, at once said that he would hand over to him
+20,000 dollars to take to the Spanish general.</P>
+<P>"How am I to carry it, sir? It will be of considerable weight, if it is
+in silver."</P>
+<P>"I will obtain for you four good mules," Mr. Villiers said, "and an
+escort of twelve Portuguese cavalry under an officer."</P>
+<P>"May I ask, sir, that the money shall be packed in ammunition-boxes,
+and that no one except the officer shall know that these contain anything
+but ammunition?"</P>
+<P>"You have no great faith in Portuguese honesty, Mr. O'Connor."</P>
+<P>"As to their honesty as a general thing, sir, I express no opinion,"
+Terence said, bluntly; "as to the honesty of their political partisans, I
+have not a shadow of belief. Moreover, there is no love lost between them
+and the Spaniards, and though possibly money for any of the Portuguese
+leaders might be allowed to pass untouched by others--and even of this I
+have great doubt--I feel convinced that none of them would allow it to go
+out of the country for the use of the Spaniards if they could lay hold of
+it by the way."</P>
+<P>"Those being your sentiments, sir, I think that it is a pity the duty
+is not intrusted to some officer of broader views."</P>
+<P>"I doubt whether you would find one, sir; especially if he has, like
+myself, been three or four months in the country. I have simply accepted
+the duty, and not sought it, and should gladly be relieved of it. General
+Romana sent me here with a despatch, and it is my duty, unless General
+Cradock chooses another messenger, to carry back the reply, and anything
+else with which I may be intrusted. I have for the past three months been
+incessantly engaged on arduous and fatiguing duty. I have ridden for the
+last nine days by some of the worst roads to be found in any part of the
+world, I should say, and have before me the same journey. Besides, if I
+receive the general's orders to that effect, I may have to stay with the
+Spanish general, and in that case shall, I am sure, be constantly upon the
+move, and that among wild mountains. If this treasure is handed over to me
+I shall certainly do my best to take it safely and to defend it, if
+necessary, with my life; but it is assuredly a duty of which I would
+gladly be relieved. But that, sir, it seems to me, is a question solely
+for the commander-in-chief."</P>
+<P>Mr. Villiers gazed in angry surprise at the young ensign; then
+thinking, perhaps, that he would put himself in the wrong, and as his
+interferences in military matters with Sir John Cradock had not met with
+the success he desired for them, he checked the words that rose to his
+lips, and said, shortly: "The convoy will be ready to start from the
+treasury at daybreak to-morrow."</P>
+<P>"I shall be there--if so commanded by General Cradock."</P>
+<P>As soon as they had left the house Captain Nelson burst into shout of
+laughter.</P>
+<P>"What is it?" Terence asked, in surprise.</P>
+<P>"I would not have missed that for twenty pounds, O'Connor; it is the
+first bit of real amusement I have had since I landed. To see Villiers--who regards himself as the greatest man in the country, who not only
+thinks that he regulates every political intrigue in Spain and Portugal,
+but assumes to give the direction of every military movement also, and
+tries to dictate to the general on purely military matters--quietly
+cheeked by an ensign, is the best thing I ever saw."</P>
+<P>"But he has nothing to do with military matters, has he?"</P>
+<P>"No more than that mule-driver there, but he thinks he has; and yet,
+even in his own political line, he is the most ill-informed and gullible
+of fools, even among the mass of incompetent agents who have done their
+utmost to ruin every plan that has been formed. I doubt whether he has
+ever been correct in a single statement that he has made, and am quite
+sure that every prophecy he has ventured upon has been falsified, every
+negotiation he has entered into has failed, and every report sent home to
+government is useful only if it is assumed to be wrong in every
+particular; and yet the man is so puffed up with pride and arrogance that
+he is well-nigh insupportable. The Spaniards have fooled him to the top of
+his bent; it has paid them to do so. Through his representations the
+ministry at home have distributed millions among them. Arms enough have
+been sent to furnish nearly every able-bodied man in Spain, and harm
+rather than good has come of it. Still, he is a very great man, and our
+generals are obliged to treat him with the greatest civility, and to
+pretend to give grave consideration to the plans that, if they emanated
+from any other man, would be considered as proofs that he was only fit for
+a mad-house. And to see you looking calmly in his face and announcing your
+views of the Spanish and Portuguese was delightful." And Captain Nelson
+again burst into laughter at the recollection.</P>
+<P>Terence joined in the laugh. "I had no intention of offending him," he
+said. "Of course I have often heard how he was pressing General Moore to
+march into Spain, and promising that he should be met by immense armies
+that were eager and ready to drive the French out of that country, and
+were only waiting for his coming to set about doing so. I know that the
+brigadier and his staff used to talk about what they called Villiers'
+phantom armies, but as I only said what everyone says who has been in
+Spain, it never struck me that I was likely to give him serious
+offence."</P>
+<P>"And if you had thought so, I don't suppose it would have made any
+difference, O'Connor."</P>
+<P>"I don't suppose it would," Terence admitted; "and perhaps it will do
+him good to hear a straightforward opinion for once."</P>
+<P>"It will certainly do him no harm. Now, you had better tell the chief
+that you are to have the money. I should think that he will probably send
+a trooper with you as your orderly. Certainly, he has no reason to have a
+higher opinion of the Portuguese than you have."</P>
+<P>"I will go back with you, Captain Nelson; but as you were present, will
+you kindly tell the general? I don't like bothering him."</P>
+<P>"Certainly, if you wish it."</P>
+<P>On arriving at head-quarters Terence sat down in the anteroom and took
+up an English paper, as he had heard no home news for the last three
+months. Presently Captain Nelson came out from the general's room and
+beckoned to him. He followed him in. Four or five officers of rank were
+with the general, and all were looking greatly amused when he entered.</P>
+<P>"So you have succeeded in obtaining money for Romana," the general
+said.</P>
+<P>"Yes, sir, there was no difficulty about it. Mr. Villiers asked me a
+few questions as to the situation on the frontier, and at once said that I
+should have £5,000 to take him."</P>
+<P>"Captain Nelson tells us that you were unwise enough to express an
+opinion as to the honesty of the Portuguese escort that he proposed to
+send with you."</P>
+<P>"I said what I thought, General, and had no idea that Mr. Villiers
+would take it as an offence, as he seemed to."</P>
+<P>"Well, he has his own notions on these things, you see," the general
+said, dryly, "and they do not exactly coincide with our experience; but
+then Mr. Villiers claims to understand these people more thoroughly than
+we can do."</P>
+<P>Terence was silent for a moment. "I only went by what I have seen, you
+know," he said, after a pause, "and certainly had no intention of angering
+Mr. Villiers. But it seemed to me that, as I was responsible for taking
+this money to Romana, it was my duty to suggest a precaution that appeared
+to me necessary."</P>
+<P>"Quite right, quite right; and it is just as well, perhaps, that Mr.
+Villiers should occasionally hear the opinions of officers of the army
+frankly expressed. Certainly, I think that the precaution you suggested
+was a wise one, and if Mr. Villiers does not do so, I will see that it is
+carried out.</P>
+<P>"I have asked Captain Nelson to go with you, taking the treasure, to
+the barracks and see that the money is taken out of the cases and repacked
+in ammunition-boxes. It would be unwise in the extreme to tempt the
+cupidity of any wandering parties that you might fall in with by the sight
+of treasure-cases. Your suggestion quite justifies the opinion that I had
+formed of you from the brief narrative that you gave me of the battle of
+Corunna. For the present, gentlemen, I have appointed Mr. O'Connor as an
+extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He served in that capacity with Brigadier-general Fane from the time that the troops marched from here, which is in
+itself a guarantee that he must, in the opinion of that general, be
+thoroughly fit for the work.</P>
+<P>"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that, going as you will as an officer on my
+staff, it is best that you should be accompanied by a couple of troopers,
+and I have just spoken to Colonel Gibbons, who will detach two of his best
+men for that service. In addition to your being in charge of the treasure,
+you will also carry a despatch from myself to General Romana, with
+suggestions as to his co-operation in harassing the advance of the French.
+I will not detain you further now. Don't forget the dinner hour."</P>
+<P>A large party sat down to table. There were the officers Terence had
+seen there in the afternoon, and several colonels and heads of departments
+of the army, and Terence, although not shy by nature, felt a good deal
+embarrassed when, as soon as the meal was concluded, several maps were, by
+the general's orders, placed upon the table, and he was asked to give as
+full an account as he was able of the events that had happened from the
+time General Moore marched with his army from Salamanca, and so cut
+himself off from all communication.</P>
+<P>It was well that Terence had paid great attention to the conversations
+between General Fane and the officers of the brigade staff, had studied
+the maps, and had made himself, as far as he could, master of the details
+of the movements of the various divisions, and had gathered from Fane's
+remarks fair knowledge of General Moore's objects and intentions.
+Therefore, when he had overcome his first embarrassment, he was able to
+give a clear and lucid account of the campaign, and of the difficulties
+that Moore had encountered and overcome in the course of his retreat. The
+officers followed his account upon the maps, asked occasional questions,
+and showed great interest in his description of the battle.</P>
+<P>When he had done, Sir John Cradock said: "I am sure, gentlemen, that
+you all agree with me that Mr. O'Connor has given us a singularly clear
+and lucid account of the operations of the army, and that it is most
+creditable that so young an officer should have posted himself up so
+thoroughly, not only in the details of the work of his own brigade, but in
+the general plans of the campaign and the movements of the various
+divisions of the army."</P>
+<P>There were also hearty compliments from all the officers as they rose
+from the table.</P>
+<P>"I doubt, indeed, Sir John," one of them said, "whether we should ever
+have got so clear an account as that he has given from the official
+despatches. I own that I, for one, have never fully understood what seemed
+a hopeless incursion into the enemy's country, and I cannot too much
+admire the daring of its conception. As to the success which has attended
+it, there can be no doubt, for it completely paralysed the march of the
+French armies, and has given ample time to the southern provinces of Spain
+to place themselves in a position of defence. If they have not taken
+advantage of the breathing time so given them, it is their fault, and in
+no way detracts from the chivalrous enterprise of Moore."</P>
+<P>"No, indeed," Sir John agreed; "the conception was truly an heroic one,
+and one that required no less self-sacrifice than daring. There are few
+generals who would venture on an advance when certain that it must be
+followed by a retreat, and that at best he could but hope to escape from a
+terrible disaster. It is true that he gained a victory which, under the
+circumstances, was a most glorious one, but this was the effect of
+accident rather than design. Had the fleet been in Corunna when he
+arrived, he would have embarked at once, and in that case he would have
+been attacked with ferocity by politicians at home, and would have been
+accused of sacrificing a portion of his army on an enterprise that
+everyone could have seen was ordained to be a failure before it
+commenced."</P>
+<P>"Did you know General Fane personally before you were appointed to his
+staff?"</P>
+<P>"No, General; he commanded the brigade of which my regiment formed
+part, and of course I knew him by sight, but I had never had the honour of
+exchanging a word with him."</P>
+<P>"Then, may I ask why you were appointed to his staff, Mr.
+O'Connor?"</P>
+<P>Terence hesitated. There was nothing he disliked more than talking of
+what he himself had done. "It was a sort of accident, General."</P>
+<P>"How an accident, Mr. O'Connor? Your conduct must have attracted his
+attention in some way."</P>
+<P>"It was an accident, sir," Terence said, reluctantly, "that General
+Fane happened to be on board Sir Arthur Wellesley's ship at Vigo when my
+colonel went there to make a report of some circumstances that occurred on
+the voyage."</P>
+<P>"Well, what were these circumstances?" the general asked. "You have
+shown us that you have the details of a campaign at your finger ends,
+surely you must be able to tell what those circumstances were that so
+interested General Fane that he selected you to fill a vacancy on his
+staff."</P>
+<P>Terence felt that there was no escape, and related as briefly as he
+could the account of the engagement with the two privateers, and of their
+narrow escape from being captured by a French frigate.</P>
+<P>"That is a capital account, Mr. O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said,
+smiling, as he brought it to a conclusion. "But, so far, I fail to see
+your particular share in the matter."</P>
+<P>"My share was very small, sir."</P>
+<P>"I think I can fill up the facts that Mr. O'Connor's modesty has
+prevented him from stating," one of the officers said.</P>
+<P>"It happened that before we sailed from Ireland six weeks ago, an
+officer of the Mayo Fusiliers, who had been invalided home in consequence
+of a wound, dined at our mess, and he told the story very much as Mr.
+O'Connor has told it, but he added the details that Mr. O'Connor has
+omitted. Restated that really the escape of the wing of the regiment was
+entirely due to an ensign who had recently joined--a son of one of the
+captains of the regiment. He said that, in the first place, when the
+cannon were found to be so honeycombed with rust that it would have been
+madness to attempt to fire them, this young officer suggested that they
+should be bound round with rope just like the handle of a cricket bat.
+This suggestion was adopted, and they were therefore able to pour in the
+broadside that crippled the lugger and brought her sails down, leaving her
+helpless under the musketry fire of the troops. In the second place, when
+the ship was being pounded by the other privateer without being able to
+make any reply, and must shortly have either sunk or surrendered, this
+young officer suggested to one of the captains that the lugger, lying
+helpless alongside, should be boarded, and her guns turned on the brig, a
+suggestion that led not only to the saving of the ship, but the capture of
+the brig itself.</P>
+<P>"Lastly, when the French frigate hove in sight, the troops were
+transferred to the two prizes, and were about to make off, in which case
+one of them would almost certainly have been captured. He suggested that
+they should hoist French colours, and that both should be set to work to
+transfer some of the stores from the ship to the privateers. This
+suggestion was adopted, with the result that on the frigate approaching,
+and seeing, as was supposed, two French privateers engaged in rifling a
+prize, she continued on her way without troubling herself further about
+them. Sir Arthur Wellesley issued a most laudatory notice of Mr.
+O'Connor's conduct in general orders."</P>
+<P>Most of those present remembered seeing the order, now that it was
+mentioned, and the general, turning to Terence, who was colouring scarlet
+with embarrassment and confusion, said, kindly:</P>
+<P>"You see, we have got at it after all, Mr. O'Connor. I am glad that it
+came from another source, for I do not suppose that we should have got all
+the facts from you, even by cross-questioning. You may think, and I have
+no doubt that you do think, that you received more credit than you
+deserved for what you consider were merely ideas that struck you at the
+moment; but such is not my opinion, nor that, I am sure, of the other
+officers present. The story which we have just heard of you, and the
+account that you have given of the campaign, afford great promise, I may
+almost say a certainty, of your attaining, if you are spared, high
+eminence in your profession.</P>
+<P>"Your narrative showed that you are painstaking, accurate, and
+intelligent. The facts that we have just heard prove you to be
+exceptionally quick in conceiving ideas, cool in action, and able to think
+of the right thing at the right time--all qualities that are requisite for
+a great commander. I warmly congratulate you, that at the very
+commencement of your career you should have had the opportunity afforded
+you for showing that you possess these qualities, and of gaining the warm
+approbation of men very much older than yourself, and all of wide
+experience in their profession. I am sorry now that you are starting to-morrow on what I cannot but consider a useless, as well as a somewhat
+dangerous, undertaking. I should have been glad to have utilized your
+services at once, and only hope that you will erelong rejoin us."</P>
+<P>So saying, he rose. The hour was late, for Terence's description of the
+campaign and battle had necessarily been a very long one, and the party at
+once broke up, all the officers present shaking the lad warmly by the
+hand.</P>
+<P>"You are a lucky fellow, O'Connor," Captain Nelson said, as he
+accompanied him to his room, in which a second bed had been set up for the
+young ensign's accommodation. "You will certainly get on after this. There
+were a dozen colonels and two generals of brigade among the party, and I
+fancy that there is not one of them that will not bear you in mind and say
+a good word for you, if opportunity occurs, and Sir John himself is sure
+to push you on. I should say that not an officer of your rank in the army
+has such good chances, and you look such a lad, too. You did not show it
+so much when you first arrived; of course you were fagged and travel-stained then, but now I should not take you for more than seventeen.
+Indeed, I suppose you are not, as you only joined the service six months
+ago."</P>
+<P>"No; I am not more than seventeen," Terence said, quietly, not thinking
+it necessary to state that he wanted a good many months yet to that age,
+for to do so would provoke questions as to how he obtained his commission
+before he was sixteen. "But, you see, I have had a good many advantages. I
+was brought up in barracks, and I suppose that sharpens one's wits a bit.
+When I was quite a young boy I used to be a good deal with the junior
+officers; of course, that made me older in my ideas than I should have
+been if I had always associated with boys of my own age. Still, it has
+been all luck, and though Sir John was kind enough to speak very warmly
+about it, I really can't see that I have done anything out of the
+way."</P>
+<P>"Luck comes to a good many fellows, O'Connor, but it is not every one
+who has the quickness to make the most of the opportunity. You may say
+that they are only ideas; but you see you had three valuable ideas, and
+none of your brother officers had them, and you cannot deny that your
+brains worked more quickly than those of the others.</P>
+<P>"Well, we may as well turn in at once, as we have all got to be up
+before daylight. I am very glad that Sir John has given you a couple of
+troopers. It will make you feel a good deal more comfortable anyhow, even
+if you don't get into any adventure where their aid may be of vital
+importance."</P>
+<P>"It will indeed; alone I should have very little influence with the
+Portuguese guard. These might be perfectly honest themselves, but they
+might not be at all disposed to risk their lives by offering any
+opposition to any band that might demand the ammunition they would believe
+were in the cases. I was twice stopped by bands of scantily armed peasants
+on my way down, and although they released me on seeing the letter that I
+carried to the general, it was evident that they felt but little good-will
+towards us, and had I had anything about me worth taking, my chance of
+reaching Lisbon would have been small."</P>
+<P>"The Junta of Oporto has spared no pains in spreading all sorts of
+atrocious lies against us ever since the escort of the French prisoners
+interfered to save them from the fury of the populace, though perhaps the
+peasants in this part of the country still feel grateful to us for having
+delivered them from the exactions of the French.</P>
+<P>"In the north, where no French soldier has set foot, they have been
+taught to regard us as enemies to be dreaded as much as the French. Up to
+the present time all the orders for the raising of levies have been
+disregarded north of the Douro, and though great quantities of arms have
+been sent up to Oporto, I doubt whether a single musket has been
+distributed by the Junta. That fellow Friere, the general of what they
+call their army, is as bad as any of them. I hope that if Soult comes down
+through the passes he will teach the fellow and his patrons a wholesome
+lesson."</P>
+<P>"And do you think that the troops here will march north to defend
+Oporto?"</P>
+<P>"I should hardly think that there is a chance of it. Were our force to
+do so, Lisbon would be at the mercy of Victor and of the army corps at
+Salamanca. Cuesta is, what he calls, watching Victor. He is one of the
+most obstinate and pigheaded of all the generals. Victor will crush him
+without difficulty, and could be at Lisbon long before we could get back
+from Oporto. No, Lisbon is the key of the situation; there are very strong
+positions on the range of hills between the river and the sea at Torres
+Vedras, which could be held against greatly superior forces. The town
+itself is protected by strong forts, which have been greatly strengthened
+since we came. The men-of-war can come up to the town, aid in its defence,
+and bring reinforcements; and provisions can be landed at all times.</P>
+<P>"The loss of Lisbon would be a death-blow to Portuguese independence,
+and you may be sure that the ministry at home would eagerly seize the
+opportunity of abandoning the struggle here altogether. Do you know that
+at the present moment, while urging Sir John Cradock to take the offensive
+with only 15,000 men against the whole army of France in the Peninsula,
+they have had the folly to send a splendid expedition of from thirty to
+forty thousand good troops to Holland, where they will be powerless to do
+any good, while their presence here would be simply invaluable. Well, we
+will not enter upon that subject to-night; the folly and the incapacity of
+Mr. Canning and his crew is a subject that, once begun, would keep one
+talking until morning."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XIII</H3>
+<H4>AN AWKWARD POSITION</H4></CENTER>
+<P>When Captain Nelson and Terence went out, just as the morning was
+breaking, they found the two troopers waiting in the street. Each held a
+spare horse; the one was that upon which Terence had ridden from Coimbra,
+the other was a fine English horse.</P>
+<P>"What horse is this?" Terence asked.</P>
+<P>"It is a present to you from Sir John Cradock," Captain Nelson said.
+"He told me last night that the troopers had been ordered to ask for it
+when they took your horse this morning, and that his men were ordered to
+hand it over to them. He wished me to tell you that he had pleasure in
+presenting the horse to you as a mark of his great satisfaction at the
+manner in which you had mastered the military details of Sir John Moore's
+expedition, and the clearness with which you had explained them."</P>
+<P>"I am indeed greatly obliged to the general; it is most kind of him,"
+Terence said. "Will you please express my thanks to him in a proper way,
+Captain Nelson."</P>
+<P>They rode to the Treasury, where they found the Portuguese escort, with
+the mules, waiting them. The officer in charge of the Treasury was already
+there, and admitted the two officers.</P>
+<P>"I have packed the money in ammunition-boxes," he said. "I received
+instructions from Mr. Villiers to do so."</P>
+<P>"It is evident that your words had some effect, Mr. O'Connor," Captain
+Nelson said aside to Terence. "I suppose that when he thought it over he
+came to the conclusion that, after all, your suggestions, were prudent
+ones, and that it would add to the chance of the money reaching Romana
+were he to adopt it."</P>
+<P>"I am glad that he did so, for had the money been placed in the
+ordinary chests and then brought to the barracks to be packed in
+ammunition-cases, the Portuguese troopers would all have been sure of the
+nature of the contents; whereas now, whatever they may suspect, they
+cannot be sure about it, because there is a large amount of ammunition
+stored in the same building."</P>
+<P>Some of the guard stationed in the Treasury carried the chests out, and
+assisted the muleteers to lash them in their places.</P>
+<P> [Illustration: TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN
+CRADOCK]</P>
+<P> "I cannot thank you too warmly, Captain Nelson, for the kindness that
+you have shown me," Terence said.</P>
+<P>"Not at all," that officer replied; "I simply carried out the general's
+orders, and the duty has been a very pleasant one. No, I don't think I
+would mount that horse if I were you," he went on, as Terence walked
+towards his acquisition. "I would have him led as far as Coimbra, while
+you ride the horse you borrowed there, then he will be fresh for the
+further journey."</P>
+<P>"That would be the best way, no doubt, though our stages must all be
+comparatively short ones, owing to our having mules with us."</P>
+<P>"I should not press them if I were you. I don't suppose that it will
+make much difference whether Romana gets the money a few days sooner or
+later."</P>
+<P>"None whatever, I should say," Terence laughed, as he mounted his
+horse. "Still, I do think that he will be able to gather a mob of
+peasants. Of course, being almost without arms, they will be of no use
+whatever for fighting, but still they may harass Soult's communications,
+cut off stragglers, and compel him to move slowly and cautiously."</P>
+<P>Terence now saluted the Portuguese officer, who said, as he returned
+the salute:</P>
+<P>"My name, señor, is Juan Herrara."</P>
+<P>"And mine is Terence O'Connor, señor. Our journey will be a somewhat
+long one together, and I hope that we shall meet with no adventures or
+accidents by the way."</P>
+<P>"I hope not, señor. My instructions are simple; I am to place myself
+under your orders, and to convey eight cases of ammunition to the northern
+frontier, and to follow the routes that you may point out. I was ordered
+also to pick the men who are to form the escort. I have done so, and I
+think I can answer that they can be relied upon to do their duty under all
+circumstances."</P>
+<P>Terence now turned, and with a hearty farewell to Captain Nelson, rode
+on by the side of Lieutenant Herrara. The two British troopers followed
+them, the four mules with their two muleteers kept close behind, and the
+twelve Portuguese troopers brought up the rear.</P>
+<P>"It is a strong escort for four mules carrying ammunition," the
+Portuguese officer said, with a smile.</P>
+<P>"It may seem so," Terence laughed, "but you see the country, especially
+north of the Douro, is greatly disturbed."</P>
+<P>"Very much so, and I think that the precaution that has been taken is a
+very wise one. I have been informed what is really in the cases. Were I
+going by myself with a sergeant and twelve men, I should say that to put
+the money in ammunition-cases was not only absolutely useless but
+dangerous, the disproportion between the force and the value of the
+ammunition would be so great that it would attract attention at once, but
+as you are with us it is more likely to pass without observation. You are
+an officer on the staff of the English general. You have your own two
+orderlies, and, as you are carrying despatches, it is considered necessary
+that you should have an escort of our people. The cases in that event
+would seem to be of little importance, but to be simply travelling with us
+to have the advantage of the protection of our escort."</P>
+<P>"You are quite right, Senior Herrara, and it would have been vastly
+better had the money been stowed in sacks filled up with grain; then they
+could follow a short distance behind us, and it would seem that they were
+simply carrying forage for our use on the road."</P>
+<P>"That would have been very much better, senior. You might have it done
+at Torres Vedras."</P>
+<P>"The money is in bags, each containing two hundred dollars. There will
+be no trouble in transferring them to sacks filled with plenty of forage.
+Two of your soldiers have behind them a bundle or two of faggots, a basket
+of fowls, and other matters; these can be piled on the top of the sacks,
+so that the fact that the principal load was forage would hardly be
+noticed. You might mention to the muleteers that I thought that it would
+be a considerable saving of weight if we used sacks instead of those heavy
+cases, and that the ammunition would travel just as well in the one as the
+other. We must arrange so that the muleteers do not suspect anything."</P>
+<P>"As a rule," Herrara said, "they are very trustworthy. There is
+scarcely a case known in which they have stolen goods intrusted to them,
+however valuable; but it would be easy to place a few packets of
+ammunition in the mouth of each sack, and call them in to cord them up
+firmly. The sight of the ammunition would go far to lessen any suspicions
+they might have."</P>
+<P>They reached Torres Vedras that night. Terence spoke to the officer in
+command there, and was furnished with the sacks he required, and enough
+forage to fill them. The boxes were put into a room in the barracks, and
+here Terence, with his two orderlies, opened the cases and transferred the
+bags of money to the centre of the sacks. Two or three dozen packets of
+ammunition were obtained, and a few put into the mouths of the sacks.
+These were left open, and the room locked up, two of the Portuguese
+soldiers being placed on guard before it. Terence and Lieutenant Herrara
+were invited to dine at mess and had quarters assigned to them, and
+Terence, after dinner, again, but much more briefly than before, gave the
+officers at the station a sketch of the retreat and battle.</P>
+<P>The next morning the muleteers were called in to fasten up the sacks.
+At the suggestion of the officer in command, a tent was also taken.</P>
+<P>"You may want it badly before you are done," he said. "If I were you I
+should always have it pitched, except when you are at a village, for you
+can have the sacks in as beds, and so keep them under your eye; and if, as
+you tell me, you are giving out that they contain ammunition, it would
+seem but a natural step, as you are so able to keep it dry."</P>
+<P>The mules looked more heavily laden than upon the preceding day, but
+they were carrying no heavier burden, for the weight of the tent, its
+poles, the basket of fowls, Terence's valise, and other articles, were
+considerably less than those of the eight heavy cases that had been left
+behind. The two officers now rode at the head of the detachment, and two
+only of the Portuguese soldiers kept in rear of the mules, which now
+followed at a distance of thirty or forty yards behind them. They stopped
+that night at Rolica and the next at Leirya. This was a long march, and a
+short one the next day brought them to Pombal, and the following afternoon
+they arrived at Coimbra. Here they spent another pleasant evening with the
+regiment stationed in the town.</P>
+<P>"By the way, O'Connor," one of the officers said, after the dinner was
+over and cigars lighted, "I suppose you don't happen to have any relations
+at Oporto?"</P>
+<P>"Well, I do happen to have some," Terence answered, in some surprise.
+"Why do you ask?"</P>
+<P>"Well, that is singular," the officer said; "I will tell you how it
+happened. I was with the party that escorted the French prisoners down to
+Oporto. Just as we had got into the town--it was before the row began, and
+being early in the morning, there were very few people about--a head
+appeared at a window on the second floor of a big convent standing on the
+left side of the road. I remember the name was carved over the door-it was
+the Convent of Santa Maria. I happened to catch sight of the nun, and she
+at once dropped a little letter, which fell close to me. I picked it up
+and stuck it into my glove, and thought no more about it for a time, for
+the mob soon began to gather, to yell and threaten the prisoners, and my
+hands were too full, till we had got them safely on board a ship, to think
+any more of the matter. When I took off my glove the letter fell out. It
+was simply addressed 'to an English officer.'</P>
+<P>"'<i>I, an English girl, am detained here, a prisoner, principally
+because my Spanish relations wish to seize my property. I have been made a
+nun by force, though my father was a Protestant, and taught me his
+religion. I pray you to endeavour to obtain my freedom. I am made most
+miserable here, and am kept in solitary confinement. I have nothing to eat
+but bread and water, because I will not sign a renunciation of my
+property. The Bishop of Oporto has himself threatened me, and it is
+useless to appeal to him. Nothing but an English army being stationed here
+can save me. Have pity upon me, and aid me</i>.'</P>
+<P>"It was signed '<i>Mary O'Connor</i>.' Of course no British troops have
+been there since, but if we are sent there I had made up my mind to bring
+the matter before the general, and ask him to interfere on the poor girl's
+behalf; though I know that it would be an awkward matter. For if there is
+one thing that the Portuguese are more touchy about than another, it is
+any interference in religious matters, and the bishop, who is a most
+intolerant rascal, would be the last man who would give way on such a
+subject."</P>
+<P>"I have not the least doubt in the world but that it is a cousin of
+mine," Terence said. "Her father went out to join a firm of wine merchants
+in Oporto. I know that he married a very rich Portuguese heiress, and that
+they had one daughter. My father told me that he gathered from his
+cousin's letters that he and his wife did not get on very well together.
+He died two years ago, and it is quite possible that the mother, who may
+perhaps want to marry again, has shut the girl up in a convent to get rid
+of her altogether, and to make her sign a document renouncing her right to
+the property in favour of herself, or possibly, as the bishop seems to
+have meddled in the affair, partly of the Church.</P>
+<P>"I quite see that nothing can be done now, but if we do occupy Oporto,
+some day, which is likely enough, I will speak to the general, and if he
+says that it is a matter that he cannot entertain, I will see what I can
+do to get her out."</P>
+<P>"It is awkward work, O'Connor, fooling with a nunnery either here or in
+Spain. The Portuguese are not so bigoted as the Spaniards across the
+frontier, but there is not much difference, and if anyone is caught
+meddling with a nunnery they would tear him to pieces, especially in
+Oporto, where men who are even suspected of hostility to the bishop are
+murdered every day."</P>
+<P>"I don't want to run the risk of being torn to pieces, certainly, but
+after what you have told me of her letter, I will not let my little cousin
+be imprisoned all her life in a nunnery, and robbed of her property,
+without making some strong effort to save her."</P>
+<P>"I will give you the letter presently, O'Connor; I have it in a pocket-book at my quarters. By the by, how old is your cousin?"</P>
+<P>"About my own age, or a little younger."</P>
+<P>The subject of the conversation was then changed, and half an hour
+later the officer left the room and returned with the letter.</P>
+<P>"At any rate," he said, "if we do go to Oporto you will have more
+opportunity for getting the general to move than I should."</P>
+<P>Terence had handed over the horse he had borrowed, with many thanks for
+its use, and received his own again, which was in good condition after its
+rest of seven or eight days. It was by no means a valuable animal, but he
+thought it as well to take it on with him in case any of the other horses
+should meet with an accident or break down during the journey through the
+mountains.</P>
+<P>Coimbra was the last British station through which they would pass, and
+the real difficulties of the journey would now begin. Terence had, before
+starting, received a sum of money for the maintenance of himself and his
+escort upon the way, and he had done all in his power to see that the
+troopers were comfortable at their various halting-places.</P>
+<P>The journey as far as the Douro passed without any adventure. They
+encountered on the road several bands of peasants armed with pikes, clubs,
+hoes, and a few guns. These were for the most part ordenanças or levies,
+called out when a larger force than the regular troops and militia was
+required. They were on their way to join the forces assembling under the
+edicts, and beyond pausing to stare at the British officer with the two
+dragoons behind him and an escort of their own troops, they paid no
+attention to the party.</P>
+<P>They crossed the Douro at St. Joa de Pesquiera, and on stopping at a
+large village some ten miles beyond, found it occupied by a rabble of some
+two thousand men, absolutely useless for service in the field, but capable
+of offering an obstinate defence to the passage of a river, or of impeding
+an enemy's advance through a mountain defile. As they stopped before the
+principal inn a man, dressed in some attempt at a uniform, came out from a
+door.</P>
+<P>"You are a British officer, sir?" he asked Terence, raising his broad
+hat courteously.</P>
+<P>"I am an officer on the English general's staff, and am proceeding on a
+mission from him to the northern frontier to ascertain the best means of
+defence, and the route that the enemy are most likely to move by if they
+attempt to invade Portugal from that direction."</P>
+<P>"The French general would hardly venture to do that," the officer said,
+disdainfully, "when there will be 50,000 Portuguese to bar his way."</P>
+<P>"He may be in ignorance of the force that will gather to meet him,"
+Terence said, gravely, and with difficulty restraining a smile at the
+confident tone of this leader of an armed mob. "However, I have my orders
+to carry out. Do you not think," he said, turning to Herrara, "that it
+will be better for us to go on to the next hamlet, if there is one within
+two or three miles. I fear there is little chance of obtaining any
+accommodation for our men here."</P>
+<P>"There is no need for that," the Portuguese colonel broke in. "There is
+a large house at the end of the village that is at present vacant; the
+proprietor, who was a disturber of the peace, and who belonged to the
+French faction, was killed last week in the course of a disturbance
+created by him. I, as Commissioner of the Junta here, had the house closed
+up, but it is quite at your service."</P>
+<P>As the march had already been a long one, Terence thought it best to
+accept the offer. The colonel called a man, who presently brought a key,
+and accompanied them to the house in question. It showed signs at once of
+mob violence. The snow in the garden was trampled down, the windows
+broken, and one of the lower ones smashed in as if an entry had been
+effected here. The door was riddled with bullet holes. Upon this being
+opened the destruction within was seen to be complete, rooms being strewn
+with broken furniture and litter of all sorts.</P>
+<P>"At any rate there is plenty of firewood," the lieutenant said, as he
+ordered his men to clear out one of the rooms. "There has been dastardly
+work here," he went on, as the man who had brought the key left the
+place.</P>
+<P>"Yes, I have no doubt the proprietor, whoever he was, has been foully
+murdered, and as likely as not by the orders of that fellow we met, who
+says he is Commissioner of the Junta. I should not be surprised if we have
+trouble with him before we have done. I should think, Herrara, you had
+better send off a couple of men to get what they can in the way of
+provisions and a skin of wine. This is a cheerless-looking place, and
+these broken windows are not of much use for keeping out the cold. Bull,
+you had better see if you can find something among all this rubbish to
+hang up in front of the window, for in its present state it merely creates
+a draught."</P>
+<P>The orderly went out, and returned with two torn curtains.</P>
+<P>"There has been some bad work going on here, sir," he said. "There are
+pools of blood in three of the rooms upstairs, and it is evident that
+there has been a desperate struggle. One of the doors is broken in, and
+there are several shot-holes through it."</P>
+<P>"I am afraid there has been bad work. I suppose the man here was
+obnoxious to somebody, so they murdered him. However, it is not our
+business."</P>
+<P>Some of the horses were stabled in a large shed, the others in the
+lower rooms of the house, the soldiers and muleteers taking possession of
+the large kitchen, where they soon had a huge fire burning. The windows on
+this side of the house were unbroken. The two orderlies soon fastened up
+the curtains across the windows of the officers' room, and when the fire
+was lighted it had a more cheerful aspect. The burdens of the mules were
+brought into the room opposite, where there was a key in the door and bars
+across the windows. Presently the soldiers returned with some meat, a
+couple of fowls, bread, and some wine, together with a bunch of candles.
+The fowls were soon plucked, cut in two, and grilled over the fire, and in
+a quarter of an hour after the men's return the two officers sat down to
+supper. The meal was just finished when there was a knock at the outer
+door, and the soldier acting as sentry came in and said that Colonel
+Cortingos desired to speak to them.</P>
+<P>"I suppose that is the fellow we saw in the town," Terence said; "show
+him in."</P>
+<P>The supposition was a correct one, for the man entered, accompanied by
+two others. Terence had no doubt that this fellow was the author of the
+attack upon the house, and the murderer of the proprietor and others. He
+did not feel disposed to be exceptionally civil to him, but as he had a
+couple of thousand men under his command and had certainly put the only
+available place in the village at their disposal, he rose as he
+entered.</P>
+<P>"These two gentlemen," the colonel began, "form, with myself, the
+committee appointed by the Junta of Oporto to organize the national
+resistance here and in the surrounding neighbourhood, to keep our eye upon
+persons suspected of being favourable to the enemy, and to arrest and send
+them to Oporto for trial. We are also enjoined to make close inquiries
+into the business of all persons who may pass through here."</P>
+<P>"I have already told you," Terence said, quietly, "that I am an officer
+on the staff of the English general, and that I have a mission from him to
+see what are the best means of defending the northern passes, and, I may
+add, to enter into such arrangements as I may think proper with the
+leaders of any bands who may be gathered for the purpose of defending
+them. As I am acting under the direct orders of the general, I in no way
+recognize the right of any local authority to interfere with me in any
+way."</P>
+<P>"And I, Lieutenant Herrara, have been ordered by the colonel of my
+regiment to command the escort of Portuguese cavalry told off to accompany
+this British officer, and also feel myself free from any interference or
+examination by civilians."</P>
+<P>"I am a colonel!" Cortingos said, angrily.</P>
+<P>"By whom appointed, if I may ask?"</P>
+<P>"By the Junta of Oporto."</P>
+<P>"I was not aware that they possessed the right of granting high
+commissions," Herrara said, "although, of course, they can grant temporary
+rank to those who command irregular forces. This British officer has
+assured you as to the object of his journey, and unless that object has
+had the approval of the military authorities at Lisbon he would not have
+been furnished with an escort by them."</P>
+<P>"I have only his word and yours as to that," Cortingos said,
+insolently. "I am acting under the orders of the supreme authority of this
+province."</P>
+<P>"You are doing your duty, no doubt," the lieutenant said, "in making
+these inquiries. This officer has answered them, and I will answer any
+further questions if I consider them to be reasonable."</P>
+<P>"We wish, in the first place," Cortingos said, "to examine any official
+passes you may have received."</P>
+<P>"Our official passes are our uniforms," Herrara replied, haughtily.</P>
+<P>"Uniforms have been useful for purposes of disguise before now,"
+Cortingos replied. "I again ask you to show me your authority."</P>
+<P>"Here is an authority," Terence broke in. "Here is a despatch from
+General Sir John Cradock to General Romana."</P>
+<P>"Ah, ah, a Spaniard."</P>
+<P>"A Spanish general, a marquis and grandee of Spain, who has been
+fighting the French, and who is now with a portion of his army preparing
+to defend the passes into Portugal."</P>
+<P>Cortingos held out his hand for the paper, but Terence put it back
+again into the breast-pocket of his uniform.</P>
+<P>"No, sir," he said; "this communication is for the Marquis of Romana,
+and for him only. No one else touches it so long as I am alive to defend
+it."</P>
+<P>The colonel whispered to his two associates.</P>
+<P>"We will let that pass for the present," he replied, and turning to
+Terence again, said, "In the next place we wish to know the nature of the
+contents of the sacks that are being carried by the mules that accompany
+you."</P>
+<P>"They contain ammunition, and forage for our horses," Lieutenant
+Herrara said. "You can, if you choose, question the muleteers, who
+fastened up the sacks and had an opportunity of seeing the
+ammunition."</P>
+<P>"In the name of the Junta I demand that ammunition!" Cortingos said,
+with an air of authority. "It is monstrous that ammunition should be taken
+to Spaniards, who have already shown that they are incapable of using it
+with any effect, while here we have loyal men ready to die in their
+country's defence, but altogether unprovided with ammunition."</P>
+<P>"For that, sir, you must apply to your Junta. Since they give you
+orders, let them give you ammunition; there is enough in Oporto to supply
+the whole population, had they arms; and you may be assured that I and my
+men will see that the convoy intrusted to our charge reaches its
+destination."</P>
+<P> [Illustration: "IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA, I DEMAND THAT
+AMMUNITION,"]</P>
+<P> "I believe that there is not only ammunition, but money in those
+sacks," said Cortingos. "It would be an act of treachery to allow it to
+pass, when, even if not taken to them directly, it might fall into the
+hands of the French. It is needed here; my men lack shoes and clothes, and
+as you say the object of your mission is to see to the defence of our
+frontier, any money you may have cannot be better applied than to satisfy
+the necessities of my soldiers. However, we do not wish to take steps that
+might appear unfriendly. And, therefore, if you will allow us to inspect
+the contents of those sacks, we will let you pass on if we find that they
+contain no money--confiscating only the ammunition for the use of the
+troops of the province."</P>
+<P>"I refuse absolutely," Herrara said, "to allow anything confided to my
+charge to be touched."</P>
+<P>"That is your final decision," the man said, with a sneer.</P>
+<P>"Final and absolute."</P>
+<P>"I also shall do my duty;" and then, without another word, the colonel
+with his two associates left the house.</P>
+<P>"We shall have trouble with that fellow," Herrara said.</P>
+<P>"So much the better," Terence replied. "We have evidence here that the
+scoundrel is a murderer. No doubt he had some private enmity against the
+owner of this establishment, and so denounced him to the Junta, and then
+attacked the place, murdered him, and perhaps some of his servants, and
+sacked the house. They won't find it so easy a job as it was last time;
+all the windows are barred, and there are only three on this floor to
+defend. The shutters of two of them are uninjured, so it is only the one
+where they broke in before that they can attack, while our men at the
+windows upstairs will make it hot for them as they approach. But I should
+hardly think that the men he calls soldiers will venture to attack a party
+of regular troops."</P>
+<P>The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders.</P>
+<P>"He will tell them some lies, probably assert that we are French agents
+in disguise taking money to the French army. Indeed, there is neither
+order nor discipline among these bands, and, roused to a pitch of fury,
+they would murder their own leaders as readily as anyone else. The Junta
+acts as if the province were altogether independent, and numbers of men of
+position have been butchered on the pretence of their being adherents of
+the French, when their sole crime was that they disapproved of the doings
+of the bishop and his tools. You will see that the night will not pass off
+without something happening. Of course, I shall be sorry to have to order
+the men to fire. In the first place it would render it very difficult for
+us to resume our journey; and in the second, if we succeed in getting out
+alive, they will send a lying account of the affair to Lisbon, and there
+will be all sorts of trouble. Still, of course, if they attack the house
+we shall defend ourselves."</P>
+<P>The two officers then made a tour of the house and carefully examined
+the means of defence. The broken shutters were replaced in their position
+in the window, and were backed with a pile of the fragments of furniture.
+The horses were all brought in from the shed outside, the soldiers were
+warned that the mob in the place were likely to attack them, and four of
+them were placed as sentries at the upper windows; and, by the looks of
+the men when the lieutenant made the communication to them, Terence saw
+that they could be relied upon.</P>
+<P>"I have no doubt that we shall be able to defend the place
+successfully," Terence said to the two British troopers; "but if the worst
+comes to the worst we will all mount inside the house, throw open the door
+behind, and then go right at them. But I hope that we shall avoid a fight,
+for if we have one, it will be very difficult for us to make our way to
+the north, or to get back across the Douro."</P>
+<P>In an hour one of the sentries at the upper window brought news that a
+large number of men were approaching. Terence at once gave some orders
+that he and the lieutenant had agreed upon to the two soldiers, and four
+of the Portuguese troopers, and then went up with the lieutenant to the
+window over the door. He threw it open just as a crowd of men poured into
+the garden in front.</P>
+<P>"What is it?" he asked. "What do you want?"</P>
+<P>"I demand entrance to this house in the name of the Junta of Oporto," a
+voice which he recognized as that of Cortingos replied. "If that is
+refused I shall denounce you as traitors to Portugal, and your blood will
+be on your own heads."</P>
+<P>"We respect the orders of the Junta," Herrara replied, "and are ready
+to open the door as you demand; but I must first be assured that it is
+really the committee appointed by the Junta that demand it."</P>
+<P>Several of the men had torches, and these were brought forward, and
+they saw the man and his two associates standing in front.</P>
+<P>"Good, I will open the door," the lieutenant said, and he and Terence
+went down. The bars were removed and the door thrown open, the two
+officers walked a few paces outside, and then halted.</P>
+<P>Followed closely by their armed followers, the three men approached,
+confident in the strength of their following.</P>
+<P>"Enter, gentlemen," Terence said. "I protest against this invasion, by
+force, but I cannot oppose it."</P>
+<P>The three men entered the door, the two officers standing aside and
+allowing them to pass. The instant the three Portuguese had entered
+Terence and the lieutenant threw themselves suddenly upon those following
+them. Two or three rolled over with the suddenness of the assault, and the
+rest recoiled a step or two. Before they could recover themselves Herrara
+and Terence dashed through the door, which was slammed to and barred by
+the two English troopers. Meanwhile, the three men had been seized by the
+Portuguese troopers, their coats torn off them, and their hands tied
+behind their backs, and then they were hurried upstairs.</P>
+<P>Yells of fury filled the air outside, shots were fired at the windows,
+and men began to beat the door and shutters with bludgeons and hatchets.
+Suddenly a light appeared from a window above, and Cortingos and his two
+friends were seen standing there. By the side of each stood a trooper,
+holding a rope with a noose round the prisoners' necks. For a moment there
+was a silence of stupefaction outside, followed by a yell of fury from the
+mob. Herrara went to the window and shouted: "My friends." Again there was
+a moment of silence, as each wanted to hear what he said. "My friends, at
+the first shot that is fired, or the first blow that is struck at the
+doors of this house, these three men will be hung out of the window. They
+have deceived you grossly. I am an officer of the National Army, these
+troopers are men of the 2d Portuguese Dragoons. We have been appointed by
+the military authorities of Lisbon to escort this British officer, who is
+on the staff of the British general, and whose commission is to make
+arrangements with the Spanish general, Romana to harass the rear of the
+French, and attack their convoys should they attempt to enter the northern
+passes.</P>
+<P>"These three scoundrels have deceived you, in order, as they hoped, to
+obtain some money that they believed us to be escorting. As loyal
+Portuguese, I warn you against attempting to aid the fellows in a deed
+which would bring disgrace upon the national name, and would result in the
+British general refusing to assist in the defence of your country. You are
+brave men, but you see these three cowards are trembling like children. We
+advise you to appoint fresh officers among yourselves, and to remain
+faithful to your duty, which is to march when ordered to the defence of
+the defiles. These three fellows we shall take with us, and will see that
+they do not further deceive you. Already they have done harm enough by
+goading you to theft, and to murder a man whose only fault was that he was
+more patriotic than they are. Be assured that in no case would you be able
+to carry this house. It is defended by sixteen well-armed men, and
+hundreds of you would throw away your lives in the attempt. Therefore, I
+advise you to go back to your quarters, and in the morning assemble and
+choose your officers."</P>
+<P>The crowd stood irresolute.</P>
+<P>"Tell them to go, you cur," Herrara said to Cortingos, standing back
+from the window and giving him a kick that almost sent him on his face.
+"Tell them to disperse at once, if you don't want to be dangling from the
+end of this rope."</P>
+<P>Cortingos stepped forward, and in a quavering voice told the men to
+disperse to their quarters.</P>
+<P>"We have made a mistake," he said. "I am now convinced that these
+officers are what they appear to be. I beseech you do not cause trouble,
+and disperse at once--quietly."</P>
+<P>Hoots of derision and scorn rose from the peasants.</P>
+<P>"I have a good mind to fire a shot before I go," one of the peasants
+shouted, "just for the pleasure of seeing three such cowards hung."</P>
+<P>Another yell of disgust and anger arose, and then the crowd melted
+away.</P>
+<P>"Keep these three fellows at the window. Remove the ropes from their
+necks, and take your place behind them; you will be relieved every hour.
+If they move, bayonet them at once."</P>
+<P>"We shall die of cold," one of the men whimpered.</P>
+<P>"That would be a more honourable death than you are likely to meet,"
+Terence said, scornfully. "I fancy if I don't hang you, those men in the
+village will do so if they can lay hands on you."</P>
+<P>"How about the sentries, sir?" the corporal of the escort asked Herrara
+as they went downstairs. "They can all be removed except the one keeping
+guard over these men--he is to be relieved every hour--and one inside the
+door, he can be relieved every two hours."</P>
+<P>The night passed quietly. Just as they were preparing to start next
+morning, the soldier on guard over the prisoners shouted, "There is a
+crowd of men coming!"</P>
+<P>"Get your arms ready," Herrara said to the escort; "but I don't think
+there will be any occasion to use them."</P>
+<P>Terence went to the door. "Bull, do you and Macwitty keep close behind;
+but whatever happens don't use your weapons, unless I order you to do
+so."</P>
+<P>The crowd stopped at the gate, two of them only coming forward.</P>
+<P>"We are ready to fight, sir," one said, addressing Terence, "but we
+have no officers; none of us know anything about drill. We will follow
+you, if you will command us, and you will find that we won't turn our
+backs to the enemy. We know that English officers will fight."</P>
+<P>"Wait a minute or two," Terence said, after a moment's hesitation, "I
+will then give you my answer."</P>
+<P>Herrara had followed him out and heard the offer.</P>
+<P>"I don't know what to do, Herrara," Terence said, as he re-entered the
+house. "My instructions are to join Romana, and to remain with him for a
+time, sending word to Lisbon as to the state of things, and aiding him in
+any way in my power. Here are between two and three thousand stout,
+healthy fellows, evidently disposed to fight. If they were armed I would
+not hesitate a moment, but I don't suppose that there are a hundred
+muskets among them, and certainly Romana has none to give them. Still, in
+the defiles we might give a good deal of trouble to the French by rolling
+stones down, breaking up bridges, and that sort of thing."</P>
+<P>"It would be good fun," Herrara laughed. "As for myself," he said, "I
+have orders to return as soon as I have seen the treasure safely in
+Romana's camp. If it hadn't been for that I should have liked nothing
+better, though there would not have been much chance for cavalry work in
+these defiles."</P>
+<P>"I will talk to them again," Terence said. "It is not often that one
+gets the chance of an independent command. It is just the sort of work I
+should like."</P>
+<P>He went out again. "I should like to command a number of brave
+fellows," he said, "but the question is about arms. There have been any
+quantity sent out by England for your use; but instead of being served
+out, the Juntas keep them all hidden up in magazines. Even now, when the
+French are going to invade your country, they still keep them locked up,
+and send you out with only pikes and staves to fight against a well-armed
+army. It is nothing short of murder."</P>
+<P>"Down with the Juntas!" cried half a dozen of the men standing near
+enough to hear what was said.</P>
+<P>"I don't say 'Down with the Juntas!'" Terence replied; "but I do say
+take arms if you can get them. Are there any magazines near here?"</P>
+<P>"There is one at Castro, ten miles away," the man said. "I know that
+there are waggon-loads of arms there."</P>
+<P>"Well, my friends, the matter stands thus: I, as a British officer,
+cannot lead you to break open magazines; but I say this, if you choose to
+go in a body to Castro and do it yourselves, and arm yourselves with all
+the muskets that you can find there, and bring with you a good store of
+ammunition in carts that you could take with you from here, and then come
+to me at a spot where I will halt to-night five or six miles beyond
+Castro, I will take command of you. But mind, if I command, I command. I
+must have absolute obedience. It is only by obeying my orders without
+question that you can hope to do any good. The first man who disobeys me I
+shall shoot on the spot, and if others are disposed to support him I shall
+leave you at once."</P>
+<P>"I will consult the others," the man said. "Many of us, I know, will be
+glad to fight under an English officer, and agree to obey him
+implicitly."</P>
+<P>"Very well, I will give you a quarter of an hour to decide."</P>
+<P>Before that time had elapsed a dozen men came to the door with the
+principal spokesman.</P>
+<P>"We have made up our minds, señor. We will follow you, and we will arm
+ourselves at Castro. It is a sin that the arms should be lying there idle
+with so many hands ready to use them."</P>
+<P>"That is good," Terence said. "Now, my first order is that you wait
+until I have been gone an hour; then, that you form up in military order,
+four abreast; the men with guns in front, the others after them. You must
+go as soldiers, and not as a mob. You must march into Castro peacefully
+and quietly, not a man must straggle from the ranks. You must go to the
+authorities and demand the arms and ammunition; if they refuse to give
+them to you, march--always in regular order--to the magazine and burst it
+open; then distribute the muskets and a hundred rounds of ammunition to
+each man having one, take the rest of the stores in carts, and then march
+away along the road north until you come to the place where we are
+halted.</P>
+<P>"Observe the most perfect order in Castro. If any man plunders or
+meddles in any way with the inhabitants and is reported to me, I shall
+know how to punish him. From the moment that you leave this place remember
+that you are soldiers of Portugal, and you must behave so as to be an
+honour to it as well as a defence. Now let us all shout 'Viva
+Portugal!'"</P>
+<P>A great shout followed the words, and then Terence went indoors, and
+five minutes later started with his convoy, telling the three prisoners
+they could go where they liked.</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XIV</H3>
+<H4>AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND</H4></CENTER>
+<P>As they left the village the Portuguese lieutenant burst into a sudden
+fit of laughter.</P>
+<P>"What is it, Lieutenant?" Terence asked.</P>
+<P>"I am laughing at the way in which you--who, as you tell me, have only
+been six months in the army--without hesitation organize what is really a
+rising against the authorities, you having already taken representatives
+of the Junta prisoners--"</P>
+<P>"Yes; but you must remember that they took upon themselves to endeavour
+to forcibly possess themselves of the treasure in my charge."</P>
+<P>"That is true enough; still, you did capture them. You treated them
+with considerable personal indignity, imprisoned them, and threatened
+their lives. Then you incite, say 2,500 ordenanças to break open
+magazines."</P>
+<P>"No, no, Lieutenant, I did not incite them. You will remember they
+expressed a desire to march under my command to fight against the French.
+I simply pointed out to them that they had no arms, and asked if they
+could get any; and hearing that there were plenty lying useless a few
+miles away, suggested that those arms would do more good in their hands
+than stowed away in magazines. Upon their agreeing with me on this head, I
+advised them to proceed in a quiet and orderly way, and to have no rioting
+or disturbance of any sort. I said that if they, after arming themselves,
+came to me and still wished to follow me, I would undertake to command
+them. You see, everything depends upon the manner in which the thing is
+put."</P>
+<P>"But you must remember, señor, that the Junta will naturally view the
+matter in the light in which their representatives will place it before
+them."</P>
+<P>"I think it unlikely," Terence replied, "that they will have any
+opportunity of doing so. I took care that they were removed from the
+window before I met the deputies of the men. They will consequently be
+unaware of the arrangements made, and will, perhaps, go out as soon as we
+have left and try to persuade the men to follow and attack us. As it was
+possible that they might take this course, I took the precaution of
+sending out one of the muleteers, with instructions to mention casually to
+the men that I was leaving the three fellows behind me, and that it might
+be as well for them to confine them under a guard so as to prevent their
+going to Oporto at present and making mischief."</P>
+<P>"I agree with you, señor, that they are certainly not likely to make
+any report as to the proceedings here."</P>
+<P>"I fancy not; in fact I should not be at all surprised if at the
+present moment they are hanging from the windows of the house of the man
+they caused to be murdered. They will most richly deserve their fate, and
+it may save us some trouble. No doubt the Junta will hear some day that
+the ordenanças here rose, killed the three members of their committee,
+obtained arms at Castro, and marched into the mountains. The Junta will
+care nothing whatever for the killing of its three agents; plenty of men
+of the same kind can be found to do their work. That the mutineers
+afterwards fell in with a British officer, and placed themselves under his
+command, will not concern the Junta one way or the other, and they will
+certainly be a great deal more useful in that way than they would be in
+remaining unarmed here. They may even, when the French once get in motion,
+come to regard the affair altogether as satisfactory. If all the new
+levies were to act in exactly the same way, Portugal would be very
+materially benefited."</P>
+<P>"But how are you going to feed them?"</P>
+<P>"That is rather a serious question. I suppose they will have to be fed
+in the same way as other irregular bands. However, I shall consider myself
+fully justified in devoting a fifth of the money I am carrying to that
+purpose. I obtained from Villiers £5,000 to enable Romana to support the
+levies he is raising. Those levies will be for the most part unarmed, and
+therefore practically useless; and as these Portuguese will be at any rate
+fairly armed, and are likely to be of very much greater service than a
+horde of Galician peasants, a portion at least of the money can be very
+much more usefully employed in feeding them than were it all given to
+Romana, I have no doubt whatever that when I explain the circumstances to
+General Cradock, he will entirely approve of my appropriating a small
+portion of the money that Villiers has chosen to throw away on Romana.
+When you return I shall get you to carry a report from me to the general,
+stating what I have done. I have no doubt he will warmly approve of
+it."</P>
+<P>On approaching Castro they made a detour to avoid the town.</P>
+<P>"There may be more representatives of the Junta there," Terence said,
+"and we may have even more trouble with them than we had with the last. I
+don't want any more bother, especially as I have much greater interest in
+the money now than I had before. I have not a shadow of belief in those
+bands of Portuguese peasants, but I do think that, with the aid of my two
+troopers, I shall be able to lick these fellows into some sort of shape,
+and to annoy Soult, if I cannot stop him. I hope they will find a good
+supply of powder, besides the muskets and ammunition at Castro; we shall
+want it for blowing up bridges and work of that sort."</P>
+<P>"I wish I could go with you," Herrara said.</P>
+<P>"I really don't see why you should not. I would take the blame on my
+own shoulders. One of your troopers could carry my report to the general,
+and I will say that under the circumstances I have taken upon myself to
+retain you with me in order to assist me in drilling and organizing this
+band, conceiving that your services with me would be very much more useful
+than with your regiment. You see, you were placed under my orders, so that
+no blame can fall upon you for obeying them, and at any rate you certainly
+will be doing vastly better service to the country than if you were
+stationed at Lisbon, with no prospect of an advance for a long time to
+come. Still, of course, I will not retain you against your will."</P>
+<P>"I should like it of all things," Herrara said; "but do you really
+think that the general would approve?"</P>
+<P>"I have not the least doubt that he would, and at any rate if he did
+not he would only blame me, and not you. Your help would certainly be
+invaluable to me, and so would that of your men. They are all picked
+soldiers, and if we divided the force up into twelve companies, they would
+very soon teach them as much drill as is necessary for work like this.
+Each trooper would command one of the companies, my two orderlies would
+act as field officers; you would be colonel, and I should be political
+officer in command."</P>
+<P>Herrara burst into a fit of laughter.</P>
+<P>"You are the strangest fellow I ever met, señor. Here is a very serious
+business, and you take it as easily as if it were a game of play. However,
+it does seem to me that we might do some good service. At any rate I am
+quite willing to obey your orders. It would be an adventure to talk of all
+one's life."</P>
+<P>"That is right," Terence said; "and there will be some credit to be
+gained, too. Indeed, we can safely say that our band will be very much
+better organized than nineteen out of twenty of the irregular bands."</P>
+<P>The track they followed was a very bad one, and the point at which they
+regained the main road was eight miles north of Castro. There was a small
+village here, and they at once halted. Although they had travelled slowly
+they knew that the men could not come along for some time, as they were
+not to start until an hour after them, and would be detained for some
+considerable time at Castro. It was indeed nearly three hours before a
+column marching in good order was seen coming along the road.</P>
+<P>"That is a good sign," Terence said; "they have obeyed orders strictly;
+whether they have got the arms I cannot tell yet. The men at the head of
+the column have certainly muskets, but as the armed men were to go in
+front that is no proof."</P>
+<P>However, as the column approached, it could be seen that at any rate a
+very considerable number were armed.</P>
+<P>"We had better form them up as they come, Herrara. If the head of the
+column stops it will stop them all, and then there will be confusion."</P>
+<P>The road through the village was wide. When a hundred ranks had passed
+they were halted, faced round, and marched forward, and so they continued
+until the village was filled with a dense mass of men, twenty deep.
+Terence observed with satisfaction that they had with them six bullock
+carts filled with ammunition-cases, spare muskets, and powder-barrels. The
+men who had first spoken to Terence had headed the column, and these had
+stopped by his side as the others marched in.</P>
+<P>"You have succeeded, I see," he said. "I hope that you were enabled to
+accomplish it without violence."</P>
+<P>"They were too much surprised to offer much resistance. Five fellows,
+who said they were the committee appointed by the Junta, came to us and
+told us that unless we dispersed at once we should be severely punished.
+We told them that we had come out of our homes at the orders of the Junta,
+but that as the Junta had not supplied us with arms we had come for them,
+as we were not going to fight the French with nothing but sticks. They
+then threatened us again, and we told them that if they hindered us from
+defending the country we should hang them at once; and as they saw we
+meant it, they went quietly off to their houses. Then we broke down the
+door of the magazine. We found four thousand muskets there. Each man took
+one, and we left the remainder and enough ammunition for them, and have
+brought the rest here, together with a hundred spare muskets.</P>
+<P>"We have observed excellent order, and no one was hurt or alarmed. The
+only men who left the ranks were a score who went round to the bakers'
+shops by my orders, and bought up all the bread in the place. We found a
+bag with a thousand dollars at the quarters of Cortingos."</P>
+<P>"What became of him and his two associates?"</P>
+<P>"They had the impudence to come out and harangue us when you had gone;
+but we tied them up to the branch of a tree, so there is an end of
+them."</P>
+<P>"And a very fitting end, too," Terence said. "What have you done with
+the money?"</P>
+<P>"The bag is in that cart, señor."</P>
+<P>"You had better appoint four of your number as treasurers. I would
+rather not touch it. You must be as careful as you can, and spend it only
+on the barest necessaries of life. We shall have few opportunities of
+buying things in the mountains, but when we do come upon them they must be
+paid for. Of course, we shall go no farther to-night. How many men have
+you?"</P>
+<P>"About two thousand five hundred, señor."</P>
+<P>"They must be told off into twelve companies. That will be two hundred
+and ten to each company. I shall appoint one of these soldiers to each
+company to drill and command it. I propose that each company shall elect
+its other officers. Lieutenant Herrara will, under my orders, command the
+regiment. The two English soldiers with me will each take command of six
+companies. The first thing to be done is to tell off the men into
+companies.</P>
+<P>"This we will at once do. After that they can be marched just outside
+the village, and each company will then fall out and elect its officers.
+When that is done the men will be quartered in the village. I have set
+apart one room in each house for the inhabitants, and the men must pack as
+tightly as they can into the others; and of course the sheds and stables
+must also be utilized."</P>
+<P>With the assistance of the troopers the work of dividing the force up
+into companies was accomplished in an hour. Herrara then called his men to
+him.</P>
+<P>"You will each take the command of a company," he said, "and drill them
+and teach them the use of their arms. This force is now under the command
+of this British officer. Acting under his orders, I take the command of
+the force under him. So long as we are out you will each act as captains
+of your companies, and your British comrades will act as field officers,
+each taking the command of six companies. We are going to hinder the
+advance of the French, and to cut their communications with Spain. It will
+be a glorious and most honourable duty, and I rely most implicitly on your
+doing your best to make the men under your command fit to meet the enemy.
+Captain Juan Sanches, you will take the first company;" and so he allotted
+to each his command.</P>
+<P>The soldiers saluted gravely, but with an air of delight.</P>
+<P>"You will, in the first place, march your men to various spots around
+the village; they will then fall out and select six officers each. You
+will see that each man knows the number of his company, so that they can
+fall in without hesitation as soon as the order is given. While you are
+away we shall examine the houses and allot so many to each company."</P>
+<P>In the meantime Terence had been similarly instructing the two
+orderlies. Although standing at attention, a broad grin of amusement stole
+over their faces as he went on:</P>
+<P>"I did not expect this any more than you did," he said; "but my orders
+were open ones, and were to assist General Romana in hindering the advance
+of the French, and I think that I cannot do so better than by augmenting
+his forces by 2,500 well-armed men. I rely greatly upon you to assist me
+in the work. You will, as you see, each occupy the position of field
+officers, while the Portuguese troopers will each have the command of a
+company. In order to support your authority I shall address you each as
+major, and you can consider that you hold that rank as long as we are out
+with this force. I have seen enough of you both to know that you will do
+your duty well. You will understand that this is going to be no child's
+play; it will be a dangerous service. I shall spare neither myself nor any
+under my command. There will be lots of fighting and opportunities for you
+to distinguish yourselves, and I hope that I shall be able to speak in
+high terms of you when I send in my report to General Cradock."</P>
+<P>"We will do our best, sir," Andrew Macwitty said. "How are we to
+address you?"</P>
+<P>"I shall keep to Mr. O'Connor, and shall consider myself a political
+officer with supreme military authority. Your titles are simply for local
+purposes, and to give you authority among the Portuguese."</P>
+<P>"We don't know enough of the lingo to give the words of command, sir,"
+William Bull said.</P>
+<P>"That will not matter. The Portuguese dragoons will teach them as much
+drill as it is necessary for them to know. If you have to post them in a
+position you can do that well enough by signs; but at the same time it is
+most desirable that you should both set to work in earnest and try to pick
+up a little of the language. You both know enough to make a start with,
+and if you ride every day with one or other of the captains of companies,
+and when they are drilling the men stand by and listen to them, you will
+soon learn enough to give the men the necessary orders. As a rule, the two
+wings will act as separate regiments; each of them is rather stronger than
+that of a line regiment at its full war strength, and it will be more
+convenient to treat them as separate regiments, and, until we get to the
+frontier, march them a few miles apart.</P>
+<P>"In this way they can occupy different villages, and obtain better
+accommodation than if they were all together. They have money enough to
+buy bread and wine for some time. You and the captains under you had
+better each form a sort of mess. You will, of course, draw rations of
+bread and wine, and I will provide you with money to buy a sheep
+occasionally or some fowls, to keep you in meat."</P>
+<P>The two troopers walked gravely away, but as soon as they were at a
+little distance they turned round the corner of a house and burst into a
+shout of laughter.</P>
+<P>"How are you finding yourself to-day, Major Macwitty?"</P>
+<P>"Just first-rate; and how is yoursel', Major Bull?" and they again went
+off into another shout of laughter.</P>
+<P>"This is a rum start, and no mistake, Macwitty."</P>
+<P>"Ay, but it is no' an unpleasant one, I reckon. Mr. O'Connor knows what
+he is about, though he is little more than a laddie. The orderly who
+brought our orders to go with him, said he had heard from one of the
+general's mess waiters that the general and the other officers were saying
+the young officer had done something quite out of the way, and were paying
+him compliments on it, and the general had put him on his own staff in
+consequence, and was saying something about his having saved a wing of his
+regiment from being captured by the French. The man had not heard it all;
+but just scraps as he went in and out of the room with wine, but he said
+it seemed something out of the way, and mighty creditable. And now what do
+you think of this affair, Bull?"</P>
+<P>"There is one thing, and that is that there is like to be, as he said,
+plenty of fighting, for I should say that he is just the sort of fellow to
+give us the chance of it, and I do think that these Portuguese fellows
+really mean to fight."</P>
+<P>"I think that mysel', but there is no answering for these brown-skin
+chaps. Still, maybe it is the fault of the officers as well as the
+men."</P>
+<P>"It will be a rare game anyhow, Macwitty. At any rate I will do my best
+to get the fellows into order. He is a fine young officer, and a thorough
+gentleman, and no mistake. He goes about it all as if he had been
+accustomed to command two regiments all his life, and these Portuguese
+fellows seem to have taken to him wonderfully. At any rate it will be a
+thing for us to talk about all our lives--how we were majors for a bit,
+and fought the French on our own account."</P>
+<P>"Yes, if we get home to tell about it," Macwitty said, cautiously. "I
+dinna think we can reckon much on that yet. It is a desperate sort of a
+business, and he is ower young to command."</P>
+<P>"I would rather have a young officer than an old one," Bull said,
+carelessly; "and though he is Irish, I feel sure that he has got his head
+screwed on the right way. Look how well he managed last night. Why, an old
+general could not have done better. If he hadn't caught those three
+fellows in a trap, I doubt whether we should have got out of the scrape.
+Sixteen or seventeen men against over two thousand is pretty long odds. We
+should have accounted for a lot of them, but they would have done for us
+in the end."</P>
+<P>"You are right there, Bull. I thought mysel' that it was an awkward
+fix, and certainly he managed those Portuguese fellows well, and turned
+the lot round his little finger. Ay, ay; he knows what he is doing
+perfectly well, young as he is."</P>
+<P>"Well, we had best be off to look after our commands,"</P>
+<P>Bull laughed. "I suppose they will call mine the first regiment, as I
+have the right wing."</P>
+<P>While the men were away, Terence and Herrara, with the head man of the
+village, went round to all the houses, and marked on pieces of paper the
+number of men who could manage to lie down on the floors and passages,
+with the number of the company, and fixed them on the doors; they also
+made an arrangement with the proprietor of a neighbouring vineyard to
+supply as much wine as was required, at the rate of a pint to each man.
+When the men returned four men were told off from each company to fetch
+the rations of bread, and another four to carry the wine. They were
+accompanied by one of the newly elected sergeants to check the quantity,
+and see that all was done in order. To prevent confusion the companies
+were kept drawn up until the rations had been distributed; then they were
+taken into their quarters, filling every room, attic and cellar, barn,
+granary, and stable in the village. Then Terence and Herrara in one room,
+and the troopers in another of the little inn, sat down to a meal Terence
+had ordered as soon as they arrived.</P>
+<P>The next morning at daybreak they marched off. Terence rode at their
+head, Herrara at the rear of the regiment, and each captain at the head of
+his company. From time to time Terence rode up and down the line, and
+ordered the men to keep step.</P>
+<P>"It is just as easy," he said to the captains, "for the men to do so as
+to walk along anyhow, and they will find that the sound of all the
+footfalls together helps them to march steadily and lessens fatigue. Never
+mind about the slope of their muskets; you must not harass them about
+little things, else they will get sulky; it will all come gradually."</P>
+<P>Four marches of twenty miles each took them over the mountains in four
+days. The Portuguese marched well, and not a single man fell out from the
+ranks, while at the end of the day they were still fresh enough to allow
+of an hour's drill. Even in that short time there was a very appreciable
+difference in their appearance. They had already learned to keep their
+distances on the march, to slope their muskets more evenly on their
+shoulders, and to carry themselves with a more erect bearing. The first
+two drills had been devoted to teaching them how to load and aim, the
+other two to changes of formation, from column into line and back
+again.</P>
+<P>"They would make fine soldiers, sir," Bull said, on the fourth evening,
+"after they have had six months' drill."</P>
+<P>"No doubt they would move more regularly," Terence agreed, "but in
+mountain warfare that makes little difference; as soon as they have
+learned to shoot straight, and to have confidence in themselves, they will
+do just as well holding a defile or the head of a bridge as if they had
+been drilled for months. We must get hold of some horns of some sort, and
+they must learn a few simple calls, such as the advance, retire, form
+square, and things of that sort. With such large companies the voice would
+never be heard in the din of a battle. I hope that we shall get at least a
+week to practise skirmishing over rough ground and to fall back in good
+order, taking advantage of every rock and shelter, before we get under
+fire. Do you know anything about blowing up bridges?"</P>
+<P>"Not me, sir. That is engineers' business."</P>
+<P>"It is a thing that troopers ought to know something about too, Bull;
+for if you were far in advance without an engineer near you, you might do
+good service by blowing up a bridge and checking the advance of an enemy.
+However, I dare say we shall soon find out how it is best done. Now, to-morrow morning we will have three hours of skirmishing work on these
+hillsides. By that time the other regiment will have come up, and then we
+will march together to join Romana."</P>
+<P>The Spanish general was much surprised at the arrival of Terence at the
+head of two well-armed regiments. His force had swelled considerably in
+point of numbers, for he had sent messengers all over the country to the
+priests, and these, having a horror of the French, had stirred up the
+peasants by threats of eternal perdition if they came back; while Romana
+issued proclamations threatening death to all who did not take up arms.
+Thus he had some 8,000 men collected, of whom fully half were his own
+dispersed soldiers. He received Terence with effusion.</P>
+<P>"Have you brought me arms?" was his first question.</P>
+<P>"No, sir; no transport could be obtained in Lisbon, and it was found
+impossible to despatch any muskets to you. I have, however, four thousand
+pounds, in dollars, to hand over. At starting I had five thousand, but of
+these I have, in the exercise of my discretion, retained a thousand for
+the purchase of provisions and necessaries for these two Portuguese
+regiments which are under my command, and with which I hope to do good
+service by co-operating with your force. Have you not found great
+difficulty in victualling your men?"</P>
+<P>"No, I have had no trouble on that score," the marquis said. "I found
+that a magazine of provisions had been collected for the use of General
+Moore's army at Montrui, three miles from here, and have been supporting
+my troops on the contents. The money will be most useful, however,
+directly we move. Fully half of my men have guns, for the Galician
+peasants are accustomed to the use of arms. I wish that it had been more,
+but four thousand pounds will be very welcome. Do you propose to join my
+force with your regiments?"</P>
+<P>"Not exactly to join them, General; my orders are to give you such
+assistance as I can, and I think that I can do more by co-operating with
+you independently. In the first place, I do not think that my Portuguese
+would like to be commanded by a Spanish general; in the second place, it
+would be extremely difficult to feed so large a body of troops in these
+mountains, and the smaller the number the more easily can they move about.
+Besides, in these defiles a large force of undisciplined men could not act
+efficiently, and in case of a reverse would fall rapidly into confusion. I
+propose to use my force as a sort of flying column, co-operating with
+yours. Thus, if you attack the head of a column, I will fall on their
+flank or rear, will harass their line of communication, blow up bridges
+and destroy roads, and so render their movements slow and difficult. By
+such means I should certainly render you more efficient service than if my
+regiments were to form a part of your force."</P>
+<P>"Perhaps that would be best," Romana said. "Could you supply me with
+any ammunition? For although the peasants have guns, very few have more
+than a few rounds of ammunition, and even this is not made up into
+cartridges."</P>
+<P>"That I can do, sir. I can give you 20,000 rounds of ammunition and ten
+barrels of powder. I have no lead, but you may perhaps be able to obtain
+that."</P>
+<P>"Yes. The priests, in fact, have sent in a considerable amount. They
+have stripped the roofs off their churches. That will be a most welcome
+supply indeed, and I am heartily obliged to you."</P>
+<P>The gift of the ammunition had the effect of doing away with any
+discontent the Spaniard may have felt on finding that Terence was going to
+act independently of him. It had indeed already flashed across his mind
+that it might be unpleasant always to have a British officer with him,
+from whose opinion he might frequently differ, and who might endeavour to
+control his movements. He had hardly expected that, with so much on their
+hands, and the claims that would be made from Oporto for assistance, they
+would have sent any money; and the sixteen thousand dollars were therefore
+most welcome, while the ammunition would be invaluable to him.</P>
+<P>Terence had taken out his share of the money, and the cart with the
+remainder for Romana was now at the door. The sacks were brought in,
+Romana called in four or five officers, the dollars were counted out and a
+receipt given to Terence for them.</P>
+<P>"I will send the ammunition up in half an hour, Marquis."</P>
+<P>"I thank you greatly, señor. I will at once order a number of men to
+set to work casting bullets and preparing cartridge-cases. In the
+meantime, please let me hear what are your general's plans for the defence
+of Portugal."</P>
+<P>Terence told him that he was unaware what were the intentions of the
+British general, but that, from what he learned during the few hours that
+he was at Lisbon, he thought it improbable in the extreme that Sir John
+Cradock would be able to send any force to check the advance of the French
+upon Oporto.</P>
+<P>"In the first place," he said, "he is absolutely without transport; and
+in the second Victor has a large army, and now that Saragossa has fallen,
+there is nothing to prevent his marching direct upon Lisbon. Lapisse is at
+Salamanca and can enter Portugal from the east. The whole country is in
+confusion; with the exception of a force gathering under Lord Beresford
+there is no army whatever. Lisbon is almost at the mercy of the mob, who,
+supported by the government, march about with British muskets and pikes,
+killing all they suspect of being favourable to the French, and even
+attacking British soldiers and officers in the streets.</P>
+<P>"Were the general to march north, he would not get news of Victor's
+advance in time to get back to save Lisbon, therefore I fear that it is
+absolutely impossible for him to attempt to check the French until they
+cross the Douro, perhaps not until they cross the Mondego. The levies of
+the northern province are ordered to assemble at Villa Real, and I
+believe, from what I gathered on the march, that some thousands of men are
+there, but I doubt very greatly whether they are in a state to offer any
+determined resistance to Soult."</P>
+<P>"That is a bad look-out," the general said, gloomily; "still, we must
+hope for the best, as Spain will soon raise fresh armies, and so occupy
+the attention of the enemy that Soult will have to fall back. I am in
+communication with General Silveira, who will advance to Chaves; he has
+four thousand men. He has written to me that the bishop had collected
+50,000 peasants at Oporto."</P>
+<P>"Where they will probably do more harm than good," Terence said,
+scornfully. "I would rather have half a regiment of British troops than
+the whole lot of them. It is not men that are wanted, it is discipline,
+and 50,000 peasants will be even more unmanageable and useless than 5,000
+would be. By the way, General, I have now to inform you that General
+Cradock has done me the honour of placing me on his personal staff."</P>
+<P>"I am glad to hear it," the marquis said, courteously; "it will
+certainly increase your authority greatly."</P>
+<P>Terence, leaving Romana, marched his troops to within a mile of
+Monterey, choosing a spot where there was a wood which would afford some
+shelter to the troops, and would give them a supply of firewood. At
+Monterey he would be able to purchase provisions, and he wished to keep
+them apart from Romana's men, whose undisciplined habits and general
+insubordination would counteract his efforts with his own men.</P>
+<P>The next ten days were spent in almost incessant drilling, and in
+practising shooting. Bread and wine were obtained from Monterey, and he
+purchased a large flock of sheep at a very low price, the peasants, in
+their fear of the French, being very anxious to turn their flocks and
+herds into money, which could be hid away securely until the tide of
+invasion had passed. Laborious and frugal in their habits, these peasants
+seldom touch meat, and the troops were highly gratified at the rations
+supplied to them, and worked hard and cheerfully at their drill.</P>
+<P>Among so many men there were naturally a few who were inclined to be
+insubordinate. These were speedily weeded out. The offenders were promptly
+seized, flogged, and expelled from the force, their places being supplied
+from among the peasants, many of whom were desirous of enlisting. Terence
+sent these off, save a few he selected, to Silveira, as his own force was
+quite as large as could properly be handled. With improved food and
+incessant drill the men rapidly developed into soldiers. Each carried a
+rough native blanket rolled up like a scarf over one shoulder. This was
+indeed the only point of regular equipment. They had no regular uniform,
+but they were all in their peasant dresses. There was no communication
+between them and Romana's forces, for the animosity between the two
+peoples amounted to hatred. The Portuguese would indeed have marched to
+attack them as willingly as they would have received the order to move
+against the French.</P>
+<P>During this week of waiting, Silveira with 4,000 men arrived at Chaves,
+and a meeting took place between him and Romana. Both had plans equally
+wild and impracticable, neither would give way, and as they were well
+aware that their forces would never act together, they decided to act
+independently against the French. At the end of eight days the news came
+that Soult, having made all his preparations, had left Orense on his march
+southward.</P>
+<P>Terence had bought a quantity of rough canvas, and the men, as they sat
+round the fires after their day's work was over, made haversacks in which
+they could carry rations for four or five days. As soon as the news was
+received that Soult was advancing, Terence ordered sufficient bread to
+supply them for that time, from the bakehouses of Monterey. A hundred
+rounds of ball-cartridge were served round to each. A light cart
+containing eight barrels of powder, a bag with 1,000 dollars, and the
+tent, was the only vehicle taken, and the rest of the ammunition and
+powder was buried deep in the wood, and the bulk of the money privately
+hidden in another spot by Terence and Herrara. Twelve horns had been
+obtained; several of the men were able to blow them, and these, attached
+one to each company, had learned a few calls. Terence and Herrara took
+their post at the edge of the wood to watch the two regiments march
+past.</P>
+<P>"I think they will do," Terence said; "they have picked up marvellously
+since they have been here; and though I should not like to trust them in
+the plain with Franceschi's cavalry sweeping down upon them, I think that
+in mountain work they can be trusted to make a stand."</P>
+<P>"I think so," Herrara agreed. "They have certainly improved
+wonderfully. Our peasants are very docile and easily led when they have
+confidence in their commander, and are not stirred up by agitators, but
+they are given to sudden fury, as is shown by the frightful disorders at
+Lisbon and Oporto. However, they certainly have confidence in you, and if
+they are successful in the first skirmish or two they can be trusted to
+fight stoutly afterwards."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XV</H3>
+<H4>THE FIRST SKIRMISH</H4></CENTER>
+<P>Soult had spent a month in making his preparations for the invasion of
+Portugal. The time, however, had not been wasted by him. Vigo, Tuy, and
+Guardia had all been occupied without opposition. Salvatierra on the Minho
+had been taken possession of, and thus three roads were open to him by
+which to cross low down on the river, namely, at Guardia, Tuy, and
+Salvatierra. These roads afforded the shortest and easiest line to Oporto.
+Romana and Silveira had both been of opinion that he would march south
+from Orense, through Monterey, and up the valley of the Tamega, and their
+plans were all made with a view of opposing his advance in that direction.
+The night before Terence marched he called upon Romana.</P>
+<P>"It seems to me probable, Marquis, as it does to you, that the French
+will advance by this line, but it is possible that they may follow the
+north bank of the Minho and cross at Salvatierra or Tuy. By that route
+they would have several rivers to cross but no mountains or defiles. Were
+they to throw troops across there they would meet with no opposition until
+they arrived at Oporto. It seems to me that my best plan would be to march
+west and endeavour to prevent such a passage being made. If I could do so
+it would prevent your position being turned. There are no bridges marked
+on my map, and if I could secure the boats we should, at any rate, cause
+Soult much difficulty and delay. No doubt there are some local levies
+there, and we should be able to watch a considerable extent of the river;
+indeed, so far as I can see, they must cross, if they cross at all there,
+at one of the three towns on the north side, for it is only by the roads
+running through these that they could carry their artillery and
+baggage."</P>
+<P>"I think that will be an excellent plan," Romana said, "for although I
+believe that they will come this way, I have been very uneasy at the
+thought that they might possibly cross lower down, and so turn our
+position altogether. But you will have to watch not only the three places
+through which the roads pass, but other parts of the river, for they may
+throw a few hundred men across in boats at any point, and these falling
+suddenly upon your parties on the bank, might drive them away and enable
+the main body to cross without resistance."</P>
+<P>"I will keep as sharp a look-out as I can, Marquis." Marching north
+from Monterey the troops moved through Villa Real and Gingo, and then,
+turning west, crossed the river Lima, there a small stream, and then
+following the valley of that river for some distance, turned off and
+struck the Minho opposite Salvatierra, having covered fifty miles in two
+days. Here a considerable number of armed peasants and ordenanças were
+gathered. They were delighted at the arrival of two well-armed regiments;
+and hearing from Herrara that Terence was a staff-officer of the British
+general, and was sent by him to direct the defence of the river, they at
+once placed themselves under his orders.</P>
+<P>Terence found, to his satisfaction, that on the approach of the French
+most of the boats had been removed to the south side of the river and
+hauled up the bank. His first order was that anyone acquainted with the
+position of any boats on the other side of the river should at once inform
+him of it. It was not long before he heard of some twenty or thirty that
+had been hidden by their owners on the other side, in order that they
+might have the means of crossing to escape the French exactions. At
+nightfall several boats were launched, and parties of men, directed by
+those who had given information, started to cross the river and bring
+those boats over. The Minho was at this time in flood and was running with
+great rapidity, and Terence felt confident that in its present state none
+of the enemy's cavalry would attempt to cross it by swimming.</P>
+<P>He decided on placing the largest part of his force opposite Tuy, as
+the principal road south passed through this town, and he would here be
+supported by the guns of the fortress of Valenca. He stationed his first
+battalion here, with orders to line the river for six miles above and
+below this spot. Half of the second battalion he left under Macwitty, and
+with the other half determined to march down towards the mouth of the
+river. The next morning all the boats returned, bringing those for which
+they had been searching, and after closely questioning the guides he felt
+assured that there could be so few remaining that the French would hardly
+attempt to cross the river in the face of the crowd of peasants--whom they
+could not but see--lining the southern bank.</P>
+<P>As soon as the boats had returned he marched with the three companies.
+When half-way between Valenca and Caminha he met a peasant, who had
+crossed from the northern bank in a boat that had escaped the search of
+the French. He reported that some days before some 10,000 of the French
+had arrived in the neighbourhood of the village Campo Sancos, and that a
+division had been hard at work since their arrival transporting some large
+fishing-boats and heavy guns from the harbour of Guardia to Campo Sancos.
+The guns had been placed in a battery on a height, and the boats launched
+in a little river that ran into the Minho village. Terence learned that
+the work was now nearly completed, and the peasant had risked his life in
+coming across to give information.</P>
+<P>Terence at once sent off a mounted man to Valenca to request Herrara to
+march down with the first battalion and to send on to Macwitty to leave
+one company to assist the ordenanças to guard the river between
+Salvatierra and Valenca, and to take post with the other two in front of
+the latter town. At nightfall he was joined by Herrara.</P>
+<P>After explaining the situation to him, Terence said:</P>
+<P>"It will not be necessary to watch the river above Campo Sancos, for it
+would be impossible to row heavy fishing-boats against this stream, so
+they must land somewhere between that place and the mouth of the river.
+Thus we have only some eight miles to guard, and as we have eighteen
+hundred men, besides the peasants, we ought to be able to do that
+thoroughly. I expect they will endeavour to make the passage to-night, and
+they will certainly cross, as nearly as they can, opposite the village.
+The battery is about a mile below it, and is no doubt intended to cover
+their landing. I shall post myself with two companies of the first
+battalion there, and extend another company from that point up to Campos
+Sancos. You, with the other three companies and the three companies of the
+second battalion, will watch the river below.</P>
+<P>"It is unlucky that there is no moon at present. I do not expect,
+however, that the attack will take place till morning, for, in the first
+place, the peasant said that although the guns had been got up to the
+height they had not yet been placed in position, and as we have noticed no
+movement there all day, nor seen a French soldier anywhere near the river,
+they will only be beginning work now, and can hardly have finished it
+until well on in the night. Besides, when the first party who crossed have
+obtained a footing here, the boats will have to go backwards and forwards.
+No doubt the cavalry will be among the first to cross, and they would
+hardly get the horses on board in the dark. It is of vital importance to
+repel this attack, for if the French got across they would be at Vianna
+to-morrow evening, and at Oporto three days later. I don't suppose that
+place will resist for a day; and if, as is probable, Victor moves up from
+the south, he and Soult may be in front of Lisbon in ten days' time.</P>
+<P>"You had better tell your captains this, in order that they may
+understand how vital it is to prevent the passage. From what I hear from
+the peasants, the boats will not be able to carry more than three or four
+hundred men, and wherever they land we ought to be able to crush them
+before the boats can cross again and bring over reinforcements."</P>
+<P>"Well, Bull, I think we are likely to have fighting tonight," Terence
+said, as Herrara marched off with his men.</P>
+<P>"I hope so, sir. I don't think they will be able to cross in our face,
+and it will do the men a lot of good to win the first fight."</P>
+<P>"If Romana's troops were worth anything, Soult would find himself in an
+awkward position. He has got his whole army jammed up in the corner here,
+and if he cannot cross there is nothing for him to do but to march along
+the river to Orense, and then come down by the road through Monterey.
+There are several streams to cross as he marches up the bank. Romana is
+sure to have heard of his concentrating somewhere down near the mouth of
+the river, and I should think that by this time he will have crossed near
+Orense, and will arrive in time to dispute the passage of these streams.
+He told me that the Galician peasants have been so enraged by their cattle
+being carried off for the use of the French army that they will rise in
+insurrection the instant the French march, and if that is the case, they
+and Romana ought to be able to give Soult a lot of trouble before he
+reaches Orense."</P>
+<P>"I don't think those fellows with Romana are likely to do much, sir.
+The French will just sweep them before them."</P>
+<P>"I am afraid so, Bull; still, if we can prevent the French from
+crossing here and compel them to follow the long road through Monterey, we
+shall have done good service. It would give Portugal another seven or
+eight days to prepare, and will send the enemy through a country where
+undisciplined troops ought to be able to make a stand even against
+soldiers like the French."</P>
+<P>All through the night Terence and his major patrolled the bank from the
+point facing Campo Sancos to a mile below that on which the French were
+placing their guns. Everything went on quietly, sentries at intervals kept
+watch, and the men, wrapped in their blankets, lay down in parties of
+fifty at short intervals.</P>
+<P>"The day is beginning to break," Terence said, as he met Bull coming
+back from the lower end of the line. "I am not afraid now, for if we can
+but see them coming we can gather two or three hundred men at any point
+they may be making for. Besides, our shooting would be very wild in the
+dark."</P>
+<P>"That it would, sir; not one shot in fifty would hit the boats, let
+alone the men; and when the Portuguese saw the boats come on without pause
+in spite of their fire, they would be likely to lose heart and to get
+unsteady."</P>
+<P>"We may as well stop here, Bull. It will be light enough to see across
+the river in another quarter of an hour, and if there are no boats coming
+then, I think it is pretty certain that they will not begin until to-morrow night. The peasant said that they have only got 10,000 troops there
+as yet, and we know that Soult has more than double that, and he may wait
+another day for them all to come up."</P>
+<P>Ten minutes later one of the sentries close to them shouted out that he
+could see boats. Terence ran up to him.</P>
+<P>"Where are they, my man?"</P>
+<P>"Nearly opposite, sir."</P>
+<P>Terence gazed fixedly for a moment, and then said: "I see them; they
+are heading straight across." Then he gave the order to the man who always
+accompanied him with a horn, to blow the alarm.</P>
+<P>At the sound, the troops sprang to their feet, and some hundreds of
+peasants, who were lying down a short distance behind, ran up. The horn
+was evidently heard on the other side of the river, for immediately the
+guns of the battery opposite opened fire, and their shot whizzed overhead.
+The boats plied their oars vigorously, and the French soldiers cheered;
+they were but some three hundred yards away when first discovered. The
+Portuguese were coming rapidly up at the double. Terence shouted that not
+a shot was to be fired until he gave the order. He was obeyed by his own
+men, but the peasants at once began a wild fire at the boats. By the time
+these were within fifty yards of the shore Terence saw with satisfaction
+that fully a company had come up. The men stood firmly, although the balls
+from the French battery ploughed up the ground around them.</P>
+<P>"Wait until the first boat grounds," Terence shouted again. Another
+minute and the first fishing-boat touched the shore. Then the horn
+sounded, and the front line of the Portuguese poured a terrible volley
+into it. A few of the French soldiers only succeeded in gaining the land,
+and these were at once shot down. Then the troops opened a rolling fire
+upon the other boats. The French replied with their musketry, but their
+fire was feeble. They had expected to have effected a landing with but
+slight opposition, and the concentrated fire of the troops and the
+peasantry convinced them that, even should they gain the shore, they would
+be greatly outnumbered, and would be shot down before they could gather in
+any regular formation. Many of the rowers, who were Spanish peasants
+forced into the work, had fallen. Most of their comrades left the oars and
+threw themselves into the bottom of the boats, and the craft drifted down
+the stream.</P>
+<P>Shouts of triumph rose from the Portuguese, who obeyed the signal to
+form fours, and marched along parallel with the boats, forming line
+occasionally and firing heavy volleys. The French soldiers now seized the
+oars and rowed the craft into the middle of the river, and then slowly and
+painfully made their way to Campo Sancos, having lost more than half of
+the three hundred men who had left there. The French battery ceased to
+fire, and the din of battle was succeeded by a dead silence. Once
+convinced that the French had abandoned the attempt to land, the
+Portuguese broke into loud shouts of triumph, which were only checked when
+Terence ordered them to form up in close order. When they did so he
+addressed a few words to them, complimenting them upon the steadiness that
+they had shown, and upon their obeying his order to reserve their fire
+till the French were close at hand.</P>
+<P>"I was convinced that you would behave well," he said, "and in future I
+shall have no hesitation in meeting a body of French equal in numbers to
+yourselves."</P>
+<P>Messengers were at once despatched to order up all the troops that had
+been posted below, and in two hours the whole force, with the exception of
+the three companies, between them and Salvatierra, were assembled.</P>
+<P>"The question is, Herrara," Terence said, when he and his colonel had
+exchanged congratulations on the repulse of the French, "what will Soult
+do next?</P>
+<P>"That is a question upon which everything depends. I don't think he
+will try again here. He has been eight days in preparing those boats to
+cross, and now that he knows there is a very strong force here, and that
+even if he got three or four times as many boats he would scarcely be able
+to force a passage, my idea is that he will abandon the attack and march
+at once for Orense. In that case the question is, shall we wait until we
+have assured ourselves that he has gone, and then follow and harass his
+rear? or shall we march up the river and then cross to help Romana to bar
+his passage?"</P>
+<P>"I think the latter will be the best plan. You see, we should not be
+cutting his communication were we to march now, because when he has
+crossed the river Avia he will have direct communication with Ney, and
+will of course draw all his supplies from the north, so I think that we
+had better lose no time in pushing up along the river."</P>
+<P>The troops were ordered to light fires and cook their breakfast. While
+this was going on Terence assembled the peasant bands, and told them that
+he thought the French would not make another attempt to cross, but that
+they must remain in a state of watchfulness until they received certain
+news from the other side that they had marched for Orense.</P>
+<P>As soon as breakfast was over and the cooking-pots packed in the cart,
+the two regiments started on their march. They were in high spirits, and
+laughed and sang as they tramped along. They had lost but two killed by
+the French musketry fire, and there were but five so severely wounded as
+to be unable to take their places in the ranks. These Terence ordered to
+be taken in a country cart to Pontelima, and he provided them with money
+for their support there until cured.</P>
+<P>The men having been on foot all night, Terence halted them after doing
+fifteen miles. On the following morning, soon after they had started, they
+saw a large body of French cavalry following the road by the river. These
+were La Houssaye's, who had been quartered at Salvatierra. The river here
+was narrower than it had been below, and halting the troops and forming
+them in line, two or three volleys were fired across the river. These did
+some execution, and caused much confusion in the French ranks. The
+horsemen, however, galloped rapidly up the river, and were soon out of
+range.</P>
+<P>"That settles the question, Herrara. The French are retracing their
+steps, and bound for Orense. Soult has not let the grass grow under his
+feet, and the cavalry are evidently sent on to clear out any bands of
+peasants that may be gathering at the rivers."</P>
+<P>La Houssaye, indeed, twice in the course of the day broke up irregular
+bands, and burned two villages. The infantry and artillery, after passing
+through Salvatierra, moved by the main road. This, however, was found to
+be so bad that the artillery were, with ten of the sixteen light guns, and
+six howitzers, left behind at Tuy, with a great ammunition and baggage
+train, together with 900 sick. A garrison of 500 men were left in the
+fort. Orders were given that all stragglers were to be retained at that
+place.</P>
+<P> [Illustration: "THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT
+WERE MET WITH HEAVY VOLLEYS"]</P>
+<P> The march of the French was not unopposed. When they arrived at the
+river Morenta they found 800 Spaniards had barricaded the bridges and
+repulsed the advance parties of cavalry. On the 17th, at daybreak, the
+leading division attacked them fiercely, carried the bridge, and pursued
+them hotly, until at a short distance from Ribadavia the Spaniards rallied
+upon some 10,000 irregulars arrayed in order of battle in a strong
+position covering the town. The rest of the division and a brigade of
+cavalry came up, and, directed by Soult himself, attacked the Spaniards,
+drove them through the town and across the Avia with great loss. Twenty
+priests were found among the slain. The next day three or four thousand
+other irregulars from the valley of Avia were attacked and scattered, and
+on the 18th the French cavalry, with three brigades of infantry, entered
+Orense.</P>
+<P>An hour earlier Terence had arrived on the other side of the river, and
+had at once made preparations for blowing up the bridge. The men had been
+but a short time at work when numbers of the townsmen streamed across the
+bridge and reported that a great body of the French were entering the
+town. Terence had a hasty consultation with Herrara, and both agreed that
+they could not hope to hold the bridge long against the whole French army,
+especially as they had learned two hours before from a peasant who had
+ridden up, that strong bodies of French troops had crossed the river by
+the ferries at Ribadavia and Barbibante, and that they might shortly be
+attacked in flank. The powder-barrels were therefore hastily repacked, and
+the troops marched off towards the hills on their left.</P>
+<P>They were but half-way across the plain when a regiment of French
+cavalry were seen riding in pursuit. The regiments were at once formed
+into squares within fifty yards of each other, and Terence and Bull in the
+centre of one square, and Herrara and Macwitty in the other, exhorted the
+men to stand steady, assuring them there was nothing whatever to be feared
+from the cavalry if they did so. The French rode up towards the squares,
+but were met by heavy volleys, and after riding round them drew off,
+having suffered considerable loss, being greatly surprised at finding that
+instead of a mob of armed men, such as they had met at Avia, they were
+encountered by soldiers possessing the steadiness of trained troops.</P>
+<P>The regiments resumed their march until far up the hill, where they
+proceeded to cut down trees and brushwood and to form an encampment, as
+their leader had decided to stay here and await events until Soult's
+intentions were clearly shown. There were two courses open to the French
+general. He might advance to Allaritz and then march along the Lima, be
+joined by his artillery and train from Tuy, and then move direct upon
+Oporto, or he might follow the valley of the Tamega to Chaves, whence he
+would have the choice of routes, and take either that over the Sierra de
+Cabrera to Braga, or continue his course down the valley until he reached
+the Douro.</P>
+<P>It was not until the 4th of March that the French again moved forward.
+In the meantime Terence was forced to remain quiet, except that each day
+he marched his men farther among the hills and drilled them for some hours
+perseveringly. The affair on the Minho and the repulse of the French
+cavalry had given them great confidence in themselves and their leader,
+and had shown them the value of steadiness, and of maintaining order and
+discipline in the ranks. They therefore devoted themselves even more
+willingly and zealously than before to their military exercises, and the
+ten days taken by Soult in preparing for the advance were well spent in
+accustoming the Portuguese to rapid movements among the mountains, and to
+attaining a fair knowledge of what would be required of them in mountain
+warfare. Two companies always remained in the camp, and these had several
+skirmishes with bodies of French marauders, and small parties of cavalry
+making across the country to ascertain the position and strength of the
+Portuguese.</P>
+<P>The advance of the French was rapid, and on the 5th the cavalry and a
+portion of the infantry reached Villa Real, where, on the evening of the
+same day, two divisions of infantry arrived. That night Terence with his
+men having on the 4th marched along the hills parallel to the road, made a
+forced march, crossed the road and took up a position on the spur of the
+mountains between Montalegre and the river. Even yet it was doubtful which
+route Soult intended to follow, as the division at Villa Real might be
+intended only to prevent Romana and Silveira falling upon his flank. As he
+marched down the valley of the Lima, he had learned from Romana that he
+and Silveira had decided to fall back to Chaves, and that he agreed with
+Terence's opinion that he had better remain in the rear of the French, and
+intercept their communications with Orense.</P>
+<P>On the following morning the French advanced in force to Monterey.
+Romana abandoned the position as they advanced, drew off to Verin, and
+then retired along the road towards Sanabria. He thus left it open to
+himself either to follow the road to Chaves, as agreed upon, or to retire
+into Spain through the mountains. Franceschi's cavalry and a battalion of
+French infantry overtook between two and three thousand men forming the
+rear of Romana's column. The latter drew up in a great square. Franceschi
+attacked the rear face with his infantry, passed with his cavalry round
+the sides of the square, and placed himself between it and the rest of the
+retiring column. He had with him four regiments of cavalry, and now hurled
+a regiment at each side of the square.</P>
+<P>The Spaniards were at once seized with dismay, broke their formation,
+and in a moment the French cavalry were upon them, cutting and trampling
+them down. Twelve hundred were killed and the rest made prisoners. As soon
+as Romana heard of the disaster that had befallen his rearguard, he broke
+his engagement with Silveira and led his force over the mountains into
+Spain, where the news of his defeat caused the Spanish insurgent bands to
+disperse rapidly to their homes, where they delivered up their arms; and
+even the priests, who had been the main promoters of the rising, seeing
+the failure of all their plans, advised them to maintain a peaceable
+attitude in future.</P>
+<P>Silveira was not more fortunate, for two thousand of his troops with
+some guns, issuing from the mountains just as Franceschi returned from the
+annihilation of Romana's rearguard, the French cavalry charged and
+captured the Portuguese guns, and drove Silveira down the valley.</P>
+<P>Soult paused two days at Monterey, the baggage and hospital train, and
+a great convoy of provisions being brought up from Orense, under the guard
+of a whole division. This rendered it evident that he intended to cut
+himself off altogether from Spain, and to subsist entirely upon the
+country. It was clear then that it was useless to attempt to fall upon his
+rear, and by a long march through the mountains Terence took his force
+down to Chaves.</P>
+<P>Here he found that Silveira, deserted by Romana and beaten by
+Franceschi, had fallen back to a mountain immediately behind Chaves.
+Terence continued his march until he joined him. He found a great tumult
+going on among his troops; always insubordinate, they were now in a state
+of mutiny. Many of the officers openly advocated that they should desist
+from a struggle in which success was altogether hopeless, and should go
+over and join the French. The troops, however, not only spurned the
+advice, but fell upon and killed several of those who offered it, and
+demanded from Silveira that he should lead them down to defend Chaves.
+This he refused to do, saying that the fortifications were old and
+useless, the guns worn out, and that were they to shut themselves up
+there, they would be surrounded and forced to surrender.</P>
+<P>This refusal excited the mutineers to the highest pitch, and when
+Terence arrived they were clamouring for his death. A small party of
+soldiers who remained faithful to him surrounded him, but they would
+speedily have been overpowered had it not been for the arrival of
+Terence's command. As soon as he understood what was happening, he formed
+his men into a solid body, marched through the excited crowd, and formed
+up in hollow square round the general. The firm appearance of the force
+and the fact that they possessed more arms than the whole of Silveira's
+army, had its effect. The mutineers, however, to the number of 3,500,
+determined to carry out their intentions, and at once marched away to
+Chaves. Silveira remained with but a few hundred men, as the 2,000 routed
+by Franceschi had not rejoined him.</P>
+<P>"I owe you my life, señor," he said to Terence, "for those mad fools
+would certainly have murdered me."</P>
+<P>"It is not surprising," Terence said. "A mob of men who are not
+soldiers cannot be expected to observe discipline, especially when
+insubordination and anarchy have been absolutely fomented by the
+authorities, crimes of all sorts perpetrated by their orders, and no
+efforts whatever made to punish ill-doers."</P>
+<P>"Your men seem to be disciplined and obedient," Silveira said.</P>
+<P>"They have been taught to be so, General, and I believe that I can rely
+upon them absolutely. If you had but officers and discipline, I am certain
+that your soldiers would be excellent; but as it is, with a few
+exceptions, your officers are worse than useless. They are appointed as a
+reward for their support of the Junta; they are ignorant of their duties,
+and many of them favour the French; they regard their soldiers as raised,
+not for the defense of Portugal, but for the support of the Junta. I have
+seen enough to know that the peasants are brave, hardy, and ready to
+fight. But what can they do when they are but half-armed, and no attempt
+whatever is made to discipline them? Have you heard, since these troubles
+began, of a single man being shot for insubordination, or of a single
+officer being punished even for the grossest neglect of orders? It is
+nothing short of murder to put a mob of half-armed peasants to stand
+against French troops."</P>
+<P>"All that is quite true," Silveira said, heartily. "However, I shall do
+my best, and shall, I doubt not, soon have another force collected, for
+now that the French have fairly entered Portugal, and are marching towards
+the capital, every man will take up arms. And you, señor, what do you mean
+to do?"</P>
+<P>"I shall harass the French as I see an opportunity, but I shall not
+subject my men to certain disaster by joining any of the new levies. I
+know what my men can do, and what I can do with them; but if mixed up with
+thousands of raw peasants they would be swept away by the latter and share
+in any misfortune that might befall them. What I have seen of your troops
+to-day, and what I saw of Romana's, is quite enough to show me that to
+lead peasants into the field is simply to bring misfortune and death upon
+them. Far better that each leader should collect two or three hundred men
+and teach them discipline and a little drill instead of taking a mob
+thousands strong out to battle. Those men that have marched down into
+Chaves will, you will see, offer no resistance, and will simply be killed
+or made prisoners to a man. Now, may I ask if you have any stores here,
+General? We have had great difficulty in buying food up in the mountains,
+and as it will be useless to you, and certainly cannot be carried off, I
+should be glad to fill the men's haversacks before we go farther."</P>
+<P>"Certainly. I had enough meat and bread for my whole force for a week,
+and you are welcome to take as much as you require. Which way do you
+propose marching?"</P>
+<P>"I am waiting to see which way the French go after leaving Chaves.
+Whether they go down the valley or across the mountains to Braga, I shall
+endeavour to get ahead of them; and as my men are splendid marchers, I
+have no doubt that I shall succeed in doing so, even if the French have a
+few hours' start. If I can do nothing else, I can at least make their
+cavalry keep together instead of riding in small parties all over the
+country to sweep in food."</P>
+<P>Fires were soon lighted, some bullocks killed and cut up, and a hearty
+meal eaten. They had already made a very long march, and were ordered to
+lie down until nightfall. Silveira marched away with his men, and Terence
+and Herrara sat and watched the road, down which bodies of French troops
+could already be seen advancing from Monterey towards Chaves. As they
+approached the town, gun after gun was fired. The advance-guard halted and
+waited until the whole division had come up.</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XVI</H3>
+<H4>IN THE PASSES</H4></CENTER>
+<P>On the following day the French cavalry, with a division of infantry,
+took up their position beyond the town, so as to cut off the retreat of
+the garrison, who were then summoned to surrender. No reply was made, but
+for the next twenty-four hours the defenders, although in no way attacked,
+kept up a random fire from the guns on the walls, and with musketry, to
+which no reply whatever was made by the French.</P>
+<P>On the following day, the whole army having now come up, the town was
+again summoned, and at once surrendered, when Soult, who did not wish to
+be hampered with a mob of prisoners, contemptuously allowed them to depart
+to their homes.</P>
+<P>After bringing up his sick from Chaves, and discovering that the passes
+through the mountains were unoccupied, and that the Portuguese army was at
+Braga, Soult, on the 14th, began to move in that direction, both for the
+purpose of crushing Friere and getting into communication with Tuy, and
+being joined by his artillery from there. As soon as this movement was
+seen from the hill where Terence's regiments had been for three days
+resting, preparations were made for marching, and with haversacks well
+filled with bread and meat, the troops started in good spirits. Terence
+procured the services of a peasant well acquainted with the mountains, and
+was led by paths used by shepherds across the hills, and after a twelve
+hours' toilsome journey came down into the defiles that the French were
+following. There he learned from peasants, that, with the exception of a
+small scouting party two days before, there were no signs of any hostile
+force.</P>
+<P>The men were at once set to work to destroy a bridge across a torrent
+at the mouth of a defile. It was built of stone, but was old and in bad
+repair, and the men had little difficulty in prising the stones of the
+side walls from their places, and throwing them down into the stream.
+Another party made a hole over the key of an arch. A barrel of powder was
+placed here, and a train having been laid, was covered up by a pile of
+rocks. A third party formed a barricade six feet high, across the end of
+the bridge, and also two breastworks, each fifty yards away on either
+side, so as to flank the approaches to the other end and the bridge. The
+troops were extended along the hillsides, one battalion on each side of
+the defile, under the shelter of the rocks and brush.</P>
+<P>While these preparations were being made, the horses were taken up to
+the top of the hills by some paths known to the peasants of a little
+village near the mouth of the defile, the women and children following
+them. Terence and Herrara had a consultation, and then the former called
+Bull and Macwitty to him.</P>
+<P>"Now," he said, "you understand that while we will defend this defile
+as long as we can, we will run no risk of a defeat that might end in a
+rout. We shall inflict heavy loss upon them before they can repair the
+bridge, and can certainly force their cavalry to remain quiet until they
+bring up their infantry. Colonel Herrara, you, with one company of the
+second battalion, will hold the village, and we shall sweep the column
+advancing along the bottom of the defile with a fire from each flank,
+while they will also be exposed to your fire in front. When they succeed
+in making their way up to within charging distance you will evacuate the
+village and join Macwitty on the hill.</P>
+<P>"They must attack us there on both sides, for no troops could march
+through until the hillsides are cleared. It is probable that they may do
+this before they attempt to attack the village, but in any case you must
+keep up a steady fire until they get within fifty yards of you, then
+retire up the hill, but leave a party to keep them in check until the rest
+have gained the crest and formed up in good order. By the time you do this
+they will have driven in your rear-guard. The French will be breathless
+with their exertions when they reach you. Wait till a considerable number
+have gained the crest, then, before they have time to form, pour a heavy
+volley into them and charge, and then sweep them with your fire until they
+reach the bottom. The next time they will no doubt attack in much greater
+force; in that case we will move quietly off without waiting for them, and
+will reunite at the village of Romar, five miles in the rear. If we find,
+as we near it, that the French are in possession, we will halt, and I will
+send orders to the second regiment as to what is to be done. If the force
+is not too great we will attack them at night."</P>
+<P>"How will you know where we shall be, sir?" Macwitty said.</P>
+<P>"I have arranged with Colonel Herrara that when you halt you shall
+light two fires a short distance from each other. I will reply by lighting
+one, and the fires are then to be extinguished."</P>
+<P>This being arranged, Terence went down and applied a match to the
+train, and then retired at a run. Three minutes later there was a heavy
+explosion, rocks flew high in the air, and when the smoke cleared away, a
+cheer from the hillside told that the explosion had been successful.
+Terence returned to the bridge; a considerable portion of the arch had
+been blown away, and putting fifty men to work, the gap was soon carried
+across the road and widened, so that there was a chasm twelve feet across.
+The parties who were to man the breastworks were now posted. Terence
+himself took the command here. The defenders consisted of a company of
+Bull's battalion.</P>
+<P>Half an hour later a deep sound was heard, and as it grew louder the
+head of a column of cavalry was seen approaching. The whole of the force
+on the hillsides were hidden behind rocks or brushwood; not a head was
+shown above the breastworks. The cavalry, however, halted, and an officer
+with four men rode forward. When within fifty yards of the bridge a volley
+of twenty muskets flashed out from the work behind it. The officer and
+three men fell, the other galloped back to the main body. He had seen
+nothing beyond the fact that there was a breastwork across the road, and
+Franceschi, thinking that he had but a small force of peasants in front of
+him, ordered a squadron to charge, and clear the obstacle.</P>
+<P>As before, they were allowed to approach to within fifty yards of the
+bridge, when from the breastwork in front, and the two side redoubts a
+storm of musketry was poured into them. The effect was terrible; the head
+of the squadron was swept away, but a few men charged forward until close
+to the break in the bridge. Most of these fell, but a few galloped back,
+and the remains of the squadron then trotted off in good order.</P>
+<P>No further movement took place for an hour, and then a body of
+infantry, some two thousand strong, appeared. As they passed the cavalry,
+the first two companies were thrown out in skirmishing order, and were
+soon swarming down towards the stream. The banks of this, although very
+steep, were not impassable by infantry, and the defenders of the two side
+redoubts spread themselves out along the bank, and, as the skirmishers
+approached, opened fire.</P>
+<P>For a time the rattle of firearms was incessant. When the main body of
+French infantry had, as their commander thought, ascertained the strength
+of the defenders, they advanced in solid order until near the bridge, and
+then wheeled off on either flank and advanced with loud shouts. A horn was
+sounded, and from the hillsides near a scattering fire of musketry opened
+at once. The French, however, pushed forward without a pause. Terence's
+horn sounded again, the men fell back from the bank, and the whole company
+ran at full speed across the narrow valley, and took their place with
+their comrades on the hillside.</P>
+<P>The French crossed the stream under a heavy fire, and, dividing into
+two portions, prepared to assault both hills simultaneously. The combat
+was obstinate, the French suffered heavily, but pushed their way up
+unflinchingly. The Portuguese, encouraged by the shouts of their officers,
+held their ground obstinately, retreating only at the sound of their
+horns, and renewing the combat a short distance higher up. Being sheltered
+by the rocks behind which they lay, their loss was but trifling in
+comparison to that of the French, who were forced to expose themselves as
+they advanced, and whose numbers dwindled so rapidly that when half-way up
+they were on both sides brought to a stand-still, and then, taking shelter
+behind the rocks, they maintained the contest on more equal terms.</P>
+<P>But by this time a column of 4,000 men was marching down to the stream,
+and, dividing like the first, climbed the hills. The Portuguese now fell
+back more rapidly, their fire slackened, and the French, with loud shouts,
+pressed up the hill. Presently the resistance ceased altogether, and,
+firing as they advanced at the flying figures, of whom they caught an
+occasional glimpse, the French pressed forward as rapidly as the nature of
+the ground would permit, cheering loudly. At last they reached the top of
+the hill, and the leaders paused in doubt as they saw before them some
+eleven or twelve hundred men drawn up in line four deep at a distance of
+fifty yards. Every moment added to the number of the French, and as they
+arrived their officers tried to form them into order. When their numbers
+about equalled those of the Portuguese, two heavy volleys were poured into
+them, and then, with loud shouts, the Portuguese rushed at them with
+levelled bayonets.</P>
+<P>The charge was irresistible. The French were hurled over the crest and
+went down the hill, carrying confusion and dismay among those climbing up.
+The Portuguese pressed them hotly, giving them no time to rally, and
+forcing them down to the bottom of the hill without a check. Then at the
+signal they fell back to the post that they had held at the beginning of
+the fight. The success was equal on both hillsides, and the regiments
+cheered each other's victory with shouts which rose high above the roar of
+musketry. With their usual discipline, the French speedily rallied, in
+spite of the heavy fire that from both sides swept their ranks, and they
+prepared, when joined by another regiment which was approaching at the
+double to their assistance, to renew the assault.</P>
+<P>Terence saw that, this time, the odds would be too great to withstand.
+His horn sounded the retreat, and the Portuguese turned to make their way
+up the hill just as a French battery opened fire. Sheltered among the
+rocks, the infantry below were unconscious of the movement, for on either
+side a company had been left to continue their fire until the main body
+gained the top of the hill, when they too were summoned by the horns to
+fall back. The wounded had been all taken up the hill, and were laid in
+blankets and carried off by their comrades. As the two regiments marched
+away from the crest of the defile the soldiers were in the highest
+spirits. They had repulsed with heavy loss a French force of three times
+their own strength, and they greeted Terence and Bull, as they rode
+together along the column, with enthusiastic cheers.</P>
+<P>The wounded, which in the first battalion numbered forty-three, were
+despatched with a party a hundred strong to a village four miles away
+among the mountains, and the regiment marched on until it reached the
+point agreed upon.</P>
+<P>Two men were sent forward to reconnoitre the village, and returned with
+the report that it had already been occupied by a very strong force of
+French cavalry. Half an hour later two wreaths of smoke rose on the
+opposite hill. Sticks had been gathered in readiness, and the answering
+signal was at once made. Two minutes later the smoke ceased to rise on
+either side. Terence now received the reports of the captains of the six
+companies, and found that fifteen men had been killed, and that his
+strength was thus reduced by fifty-eight. The men were now told that they
+could lie down, the companies keeping together so as to be ready for
+instant action.</P>
+<P>Trifling wounds, of which there were some two or three and twenty, were
+then attended to and bandaged. Some of these were quite serious enough to
+have warranted the men falling out, but the delight and pride they felt at
+their success had been so great that they had refused to be taken off with
+their disabled comrades. Terence made a round of the troops and addressed
+a few words to each company, praising their conduct, and thanking them for
+the readiness and quickness with which they had obeyed his orders.</P>
+<P>"You see, my lads," he said, "what can be done by discipline. Had it
+not been for the steady drill you have had ever since we marched, we could
+not have hoped to oppose the French, and I should not have ventured to
+have done so. Now, you see, you have proved that you are as brave as the
+enemy, and not only have you beaten them with heavy loss, but the effect
+of this fight will be to render them more cautious in future and slower in
+their movements, and the news of the blow you have struck will inspirit
+your countrymen everywhere."</P>
+<P>Having nothing else to do until after darkness fell, Terence, after
+finishing his round, sat down and added an account of the fight to the
+report he had written up at their last halting-place. This was written in
+duplicate, one copy being intended for General Cradock, and the other for
+the Portuguese authorities at Oporto. Outposts had been thrown out towards
+the village as soon as they halted, and after opening their haversacks,
+eating a meal, and quenching their thirst at a little rivulet that ran
+down to the village, the men lay down to sleep, tired with their long
+night's march and the excitement of the battle.</P>
+<P>Terence was no exception to the general rule, for although he had had
+his horse, yet for the greater part of the distance he had marched on
+foot, as the ruggedness of the ground traversed had in most places been
+too great to travel in safety on horseback in the dark. When night fell
+all were on their feet again, refreshed by a long sleep. Two men were now
+sent down to reconnoitre the village again. They reported that it was
+still occupied by the cavalry. The infantry, as they could see by the
+fires along the road, had bivouacked there, and one regiment at least had
+passed through the village and had occupied the road ahead.</P>
+<P>Terence had already written out his instructions to Herrara in
+triplicate, and three men were despatched with these. They were warned to
+be extremely careful, for the men who had first been sent, had reported
+that the French had posted sentries out on their flanks. One of the
+messengers was to make a long detour to cross the road half a mile ahead
+of the French, and then to make his way along on the opposite hillside to
+the spot where Herrara was posted. The other two were to make their way as
+best they could through the village. The pieces of paper they carried were
+rolled up into little balls, and they were ordered that, if noticed and an
+alarm given, these were at once to be swallowed.</P>
+<P>Soon after ten o'clock the regiment formed up. Terence had given
+detailed orders to the captain of each company. These were instructed to
+call up their men twenty at a time, and to explain their orders to them,
+so that every man should know exactly what to do. No sound had been heard
+in the village, and Terence felt sure that Herrara must have received his
+orders, and at a quarter past ten he with one company moved slowly down
+towards the village; Bull, with the main body of the force, marching
+westward along the hills. Six men had volunteered for the service of
+silencing the French outposts, and these, leaving their muskets behind,
+stole forward in advance of the company, which halted at some little
+distance from the French centre.</P>
+<P>In a quarter of an hour they returned. Eight French sentries had been
+surprised and killed, the Portuguese crawling up to them until near enough
+to spring upon and stab them without the slightest alarm being given. The
+company now moved silently forward again until within a hundred yards of
+the village, when they halted until the church clock struck eleven. Then
+they rushed down into the village. As they entered it shots were fired,
+and an outcry rose from the other side, showing that Herrara had managed
+matters as well as they had. The surprise was complete; the street was
+full of horses, while the soldiers had taken shelter in the houses. A
+scene of the wildest confusion ensued. The horses were shot, for it was
+most important to cripple this most formidable arm of the French service,
+and the men were attacked as they poured out of the houses.</P>
+<P>Bull, with a hundred men, made his way straight to the upper end of the
+village and repelled the desperate attempts of a squadron of horse that
+were posted beyond it in readiness for action, to break through to the
+assistance of their comrades, while Terence and Herrara, each with a
+hundred men, held the road at the lower end of the village to check an
+infantry attack there. It was not long before it was delivered. The French
+infantry, disciplined veterans, accustomed to surprises, had sprung to
+their feet when the first shot was fired, and forming instantly into
+column, came on at a run, led by their officers. Terence, with fifty men,
+four deep, barred the way across the road; the rest of his men were
+stationed along the high ground flanking it on one side, while Herrara
+with his hundred flanked the opposite side.</P>
+<P>As the French came on the Portuguese on the high ground remained silent
+and unnoticed, but when a flash of fire ran across the road and a deadly
+volley was poured in upon the enemy, those on the flanks at once opened
+fire. For a moment the column paused in surprise, and then opened fire at
+their unseen assailants, whose fire was causing such gaps in the ranks.
+The colonel and several other officers who had been at its head had
+fallen; in the din no orders could be heard, and for some minutes the head
+of the column wasted away under the rain of bullets. Then a general
+officer dashed up, and another body of Frenchmen came along at a run.
+Terence's horn rang out loudly; the signal was repeated in the village,
+the fire instantly ceased, and when the French column rushed into the
+place not a foe was to be seen, but the street was choked up by dead
+horses and men.</P>
+<P>These reinforcements did not pause, but making their way over the
+obstacles pressed on to where a roar of fire in front showed how hotly the
+advance-guard was engaged. Here the surprise had been rather less
+complete. Some of the outposts had given the alarm, and the French were on
+their feet before, after pouring terrible volleys into them, a thousand
+men fell upon them on either side. Great numbers of the French fell under
+the fire, and the long line was broken up into sections by the impetuous
+rush of the Portuguese. Nevertheless, the French soldiers hung together,
+and the combat raged desperately until the head of the relieving column
+came up. Then, as suddenly as before, the attack ceased. Not a gun was
+fired, and, as if by magic, their assailants stole away into the darkness,
+while the French opened a random fire after them.</P>
+<P>An hour later the two Portuguese regiments united on the road two miles
+in advance of the village. Their loss had been eighty-four killed and a
+hundred and fifty wounded, of which seventy were serious cases. These
+were, as before, sent off to be cared for in the mountain villages. The
+French loss, as Terence afterward heard, had been very heavy; three
+hundred of the cavalry had been killed, and upwards of four hundred
+infantry. Great was the enthusiasm when the two regiments met, and after a
+short halt marched away together into the hills and encamped in a wood two
+miles from the road.</P>
+<P>"What next, Generalissimo?" Herrara, whose left arm had been broken by
+a bullet, asked.</P>
+<P>"I think that we have done enough for the present," Terence said. "We
+will leave it to the rest of the army to do a little fighting now. We have
+lost, in killed and wounded, some two hundred men, and I don't wish to see
+the whole force dwindle away. I propose that we do not go near Braga. I
+have no idea of putting myself under the command of Friere; I have seen
+enough of him already. So we will travel by by-roads till we get near
+Oporto, then we will find out how matters stand there. My own idea is that
+when the French army approaches, the Junta's courage will ooze out of its
+finger ends, and that the 50,000 peasants, which it calls an army, will
+bolt at the first attack of the French. So, as I don't mean to be trapped
+there, we will rest on our laurels until we see how matters go."</P>
+<P>It was well for the corps that Terence abstained from joining the army
+at Braga. As the French entered the pass of Benda Nova, the peasants
+rushed furiously down upon them. Many broke into the French columns, and
+fighting desperately, were slain. The survivors made their way up the
+hillside, and then making a detour, fell upon the rear of the column,
+killed fifty stragglers and plundered the baggage. This spontaneous action
+of the peasants was the only attempt made to bar the advance of the
+French, and Friere permitted them to pass through defile after defile
+without firing a shot. His conduct aroused the fury of his troops, and the
+feeling was fanned by agents of the bishop, who had now become jealous of
+him, and his men rushing upon him dragged him from a house in which he had
+taken refuge, and slew him--a fit end to the career of a man who had
+proved himself as unpatriotic as he was incapable.</P>
+<P>On the 18th Soult arrived near Braga, and the Portuguese, who were now
+commanded by Eben, a German officer in the British service, drew up to
+meet him. The French began their advance on the 20th, and half an hour
+later the Portuguese army was a mob of fugitives. The vanquished army lost
+4,000 men and all their guns, 400 only being taken prisoners; the rest
+dispersed in all directions, carrying tales of the invincibility of the
+French. Had it not been for the stout resistance offered by 3,000 men,
+placed on a position in the rear commanding the road, which checked the
+pursuit of the cavalry and enabled the fugitives to make off, scarce a man
+of the Portuguese would have escaped to tell the tale.</P>
+<P>Terence had approached Oporto, and encamped in a large wood, when the
+fugitives brought him news of the crushing defeat that they had suffered.
+The soldiers were so furious when they heard of the disgraceful rout, that
+Terence and Herrara had difficulty in preventing them from killing the
+fugitives. The result strengthened his position. The troops on arriving at
+their present camping-place were eager to be led into Oporto. Terence and
+Herrara had talked the matter over several times, and agreed that such a
+step might be fatal. Standing, as this town did, on the north side of the
+river, the only means of leaving it was the bridge of boats, and if
+anything happened to this all retreat would be cut off.</P>
+<P>The defeat at Braga at once confirmed their opinion that the army of
+peasants that the bishop had gathered round Oporto would be able to make
+but little resistance to the French attack.</P>
+<P>"It would be terrible," Herrara said; "50,000 fugitives, and a great
+portion of the inhabitants of the town, all struggling to cross the
+bridge, with the French cavalry pressing on their rear, and the French
+artillery playing upon them. It is not to be thought of."</P>
+<P>The troops, however, had been full of confidence in the valour of their
+countrymen, and from their own success against the French believed that
+the army at Braga would certainly defeat Soult, and there had been some
+dissatisfaction that they had not been permitted to take part in the
+victory. The news brought by the fugitives at once dissipated the hopes
+that they had entertained. They saw that their commander had acted wisely
+in refusing to join the army there, and their feeling of contempt for the
+undisciplined ordenanças and peasants equalled the confidence they had
+before reposed in them. Terence ordered the two regiments to form into a
+hollow square and addressed them.</P>
+<P>"Soldiers," he said, "I know that it was a disappointment to you that I
+did not take you to Braga. Had I done so, not one of you would have
+escaped, for when the rest fled like a flock of sheep you could not alone
+have withstood the attack of the whole French army. I know that you wish
+to enter Oporto. I have withstood that wish, and now you must see that I
+was right in doing so. The peasants gathered in its defence are even less
+disciplined than those at Braga, and Soult will, after two or three
+minutes' fighting, capture the place. Were you there you could not prevent
+such a result. You might hold the spot at which you were stationed, but if
+the French broke in at any other point you would be surrounded and killed
+to a man. What use would that be to Portugal? You can do more good by
+living and fighting another day.</P>
+<P>"Even if you should fall back with the other fugitives, what chance of
+safety would there be? You know that there is but one bridge of boats
+across the river, and that will soon be blocked by a panic-stricken crowd,
+and your chance of crossing would be slight indeed. The men who fought at
+Braga, those men who will fight before Oporto, are no more cowards than
+you are, and had they gained as much discipline as you have, I would march
+down with you at once and join in the defence. But a mob cannot withstand
+disciplined troops. When the Portuguese have learned to be soldiers, they
+may fight with a hope of success; until then it is taking them to
+slaughter to set them in line of battle against the French. Soult may be
+here in twenty-four hours, therefore I propose to march you down to the
+river above Oporto. We are sure to find boats there, and we will cross at
+once to the other side and encamp near the suburb at the south end of the
+bridge, and when the fugitives pour over we will take our station there,
+cover their retreat, and prevent the French from crossing in pursuit."</P>
+<P>A murmur of satisfaction broke from the soldiers and swelled into a
+shout. Soon after evening fell the corps marched from the wood, and two
+hours later came down on the bank of the Douro. As Terence anticipated,
+there were plenty of fishermen's boats hauled up, and the regiments passed
+over by companies. By three in the morning all were across, and by five
+they encamped in a wood beyond the steep hill rising behind the Villa Nova
+suburb, on the left bank of the river. As soon as he had seen the soldiers
+settled Terence borrowed the clothes of one of the men, and putting these
+on instead of his uniform, he sent for Bull and Macwitty, and the two
+soldiers soon arrived. They looked in astonishment at their officer.</P>
+<P>"I am going into the town," he said, "partly to judge for myself of the
+state of things there, and partly on a little private business of my own.
+It is possible that I may get into trouble. I hope that I shall not do so,
+but it is as well to be prepared for any emergency that might happen. If,
+then, I do not return, you are to look to Colonel Herrara for orders. When
+the French enter Oporto, which I am certain they will do as soon as they
+attack it, you may gather your men at this end of the bridge, cover the
+retreat, and repulse all efforts of the French to cross. As soon as those
+attempts have ceased, you will march with the two regiments for Coimbra,
+and report yourselves to the officer commanding there. Here are my
+despatches to the general, in which I have done full justice to your
+bravery and your conduct. Here is also a note to the officer commanding at
+Coimbra. I have spoken to him about your conduct, and have asked him to
+allow you to continue with the Portuguese until an order is received from
+Sir John Cradock. I have given Colonel Herrara a duplicate of my
+despatches and official orders, in case you should be killed."</P>
+<P>"Cannot we go with you, sir?" Bull asked.</P>
+<P>"I don't think so, Bull. Dress as you might, you could hardly be taken
+for anything but an Englishman. Your walk and your complexion, to say
+nothing of your hair, would betray you both at once. The first person who
+happened to address you would discover that you were not natives, and the
+chances are he would denounce you, and that you would be torn to pieces
+before you could offer any explanation. Now, I think that I can pass
+readily enough. The wind and rough weather have brought me to nearly the
+right colour, and I know how to speak Portuguese well enough to ask any
+question without exciting suspicion."</P>
+<P>"But why not take two of the men with you?" Macwitty said. "They could
+do any talking that was necessary; and should anyone suggest that you are
+not a native, they could declare that you were a comrade from their own
+village."</P>
+<P>Bull strongly approved of the suggestion, and Terence, though in some
+respects he would rather have been alone, at last agreed to it.</P>
+<P>"They may as well take their arms; not for use, but to give them the
+appearance of two men from the camp who had come down to make purchases in
+the city."</P>
+<P>Daylight was just breaking as the three crossed the bridge of boats
+into the town, and passed through it up the hill to the great camp that
+had been established there. It covered a large extent of ground, and
+contained tents sufficient for the whole of the 50,000 men assembled. A
+short distance away was the line of intrenchments on which the peasants
+had been for some weeks engaged. They consisted of forts crowning a
+succession of rounded hills, and connected by earthen ramparts, loopholed
+houses, ditches, and an abattis of felled trees. No less than two hundred
+guns were in place on the forts. It was a position that two thousand good
+troops should have been able to hold against an army.</P>
+<P>"It is a strong position," Terence said to the two men with him.</P>
+<P>"Yes, the French can never pass that," one of them said,
+exultingly.</P>
+<P>"That we shall see. They ought not to, certainly, but whether they will
+or not is another matter."</P>
+<P>They wandered about for a couple of hours. Once one of the Portuguese
+joined a group of peasants, and learned from them something of the state
+of things in the town, representing that they had but just arrived.</P>
+<P>"You are lucky. You will see how we shall destroy the French army. Our
+guns will sweep them away. Every man in the town is full of confidence,
+and the traitors are all trembling in their houses. When the news of the
+business at Braga came yesterday, and we learned the treachery of our
+generals, the people rose, dragged fifteen suspected men of rank from the
+prison and killed them. There is not a day that some of these traitors are
+not rooted out."</P>
+<P>"That is well," the other said; "it is traitors that have brought us to
+this pass."</P>
+<P>"You will see how we shall fight when the French come. The bishop
+himself has promised to come out in his robes to give us his blessing, and
+to call down the wrath of heaven on the French infidels."</P>
+<P>After having finished his survey of the line, Terence returned to the
+city, and following the instructions that he had received as to the
+situation of the convent at Santa Maria, he was not long in finding it. It
+was a massive building; the windows of the two lower stories were closely
+barred. He could not see any way of opening communications with his
+cousin, or of devising any way of escape. He, however, thought that it
+might possibly be managed if he could send in a rope to her and a pulley,
+with means of fixing it; in that way he could lower her to the ground. But
+all this would be very difficult to manage, even if he had ample time at
+his disposal, and in the present circumstances it was altogether
+impossible. He stared at the house for a long time in silence, but no idea
+came to him, and it was with a feeling of hopelessness that he recrossed
+the bridge and rejoined the troops.</P>
+<P>"I am glad to see you back, sir," Bull said, heartily. "I have been in
+a funk all this morning that something might happen to you."</P>
+<P>"It has all gone off quietly. I will now tell you and Macwitty what my
+business here is. I may need your help, and it is a matter in which none
+of the Portuguese would dare to offer me any assistance."</P>
+<P>"I think they would do maist anything for you, sir," Mac-witty said.
+"They have that confidence in you, they would go through fire and water if
+you were to lead them."</P>
+<P>"They would do almost anything but what I want done now. I have a
+cousin, a young lady, who is an heiress to a large fortune. Her father is
+dead, and her mother, a wealthy land-owner, has had her shut up in a
+convent, where they are trying to force her, against her will, to become a
+nun. She is kept a prisoner, on bread and water, until she consents to
+sign a paper surrendering all her rights. Now, what I want to do is to get
+her out. It cannot be done by force; that is out of the question. It is a
+strong building, and even if the men would consent to attack a convent,
+which they would not do, all the town would be up, and we should have the
+whole populace on us. So that force is out of the question. Now, the
+French are sure to take the place. When they do, there will be an awful
+scene. They will be furious at the resistance they have met with, and at
+the losses that they have suffered. They will be maddened, and reasonably,
+by the frightful tortures inflicted upon prisoners who have fallen into
+the hands of the Portuguese, and you may be sure that for some time no
+quarter will be given. The soldiers will be let loose upon the city, and
+there will be no more respect for a convent than a dwelling-house. You may
+imagine how frightfully anxious I am. If it had not been for the French I
+would have let the matter stand until our army entered Oporto, but as it
+is, I must try and do something; and, as far as I can see, the only chance
+will be in the frightful confusion that will take place when the French
+enter the town."</P>
+<P>"We will stand by you, Mr. O'Connor, you may be sure. You have only got
+to tell us what to do, and you may trust us to do it."</P>
+<P>Macwitty, who was a man of few words, nodded. "Mr. O'Connor knows
+that," he said.</P>
+<P>"Thank you both," Terence said, heartily. "I must think out my plan,
+and when I have decided upon it I will let you know."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XVII</H3>
+<H4>AN ESCAPE</H4></CENTER>
+<P>During his visit to the other side of the river Terence had seen, with
+great satisfaction, that a powerful battery, mounting fifty guns, had been
+erected on the heights of Villa Nova, and its fire, he thought, should
+effectually bar any attempt of the French to cross the bridge.</P>
+<P>It would indeed be madness for them to attempt such an operation, as
+the boats supporting the bridge could be instantly sunk by the
+concentrated fire of the battery. He said nothing of this on his return to
+camp, as it might have given rise to fresh agitation among the men, were
+they to be aware that their presence was not really required for the
+defence of the bridge. After a short stay in camp he again went down into
+the town, with the idea that he was more likely to hit upon some plan of
+action there than he would be in the camp.</P>
+<P>The two men again went with him. Another prolonged stare at the convent
+failed to inspire him with any scheme that was in the slightest degree
+practicable. He fell back upon the conclusion he had mentioned to the two
+troopers, that the only chance would be to take advantage of the wild
+confusion that would prevail upon the entry of the French. The difficulty
+that presented itself to him was, that the nuns would be so appalled by
+the approach of the French that it would be unlikely that they would think
+of leaving the protection--such as it was--of the convent, and would
+shrink from encountering the wild turmoil in the streets. Even if they did
+so, it would be too late for them to have any chance of getting across the
+bridge, which would be thronged to a point of suffocation by the mob of
+fugitives, and might readily be destroyed by one or two of the boats being
+sunk by the French artillery.</P>
+<P>The one thing evident was, that he must arrange to get a boat and to
+station it at the end of some street going down to the river from the
+neighbourhood of the convent. That part of the city being some distance
+from the bridge, the streets would soon be deserted, and there would not
+be a wild rush of fugitives to the boat, which would be the case were it
+to be lying alongside anywhere near the bridge. Upon the other hand, it
+would be less likely that the nuns would leave the convent if all was
+comparatively quiet in that neighbourhood, and did they do so it would be
+difficult in the extreme to carry off his cousin from their midst,
+ignorant, too, as he was of her appearance. After looking for some time at
+the convent, he returned to the more busy part of the town. Presently he
+heard a great shouting; every window opened, and he saw a crowd coming
+along the street. By the candles, banners, crucifixes, and canopies it was
+evident that it was a religious procession. He was about to turn off into
+a side street when the thought struck him that possibly it was the bishop
+himself on his way up to the camp; therefore he remained in his place,
+doffed his hat, and, like all around him, went down on one knee.</P>
+<P>The procession was a long and stately one, and in the midst, walking
+beneath a canopy, came the bishop himself. Terence gazed at him fixedly in
+order to impress on his mind the features of the man whose ambition had
+cost Portugal so dearly, and at whose instigation so much blood of the
+most honest and capable men of the province had been shed. The face fully
+justified the idea that he had formed of the man. The bishop was of
+commanding presence, and walked with the air of one who was accustomed to
+see all bow before him; but on the other hand, the face bore traces of his
+violent character. There was a set smile on his lips, but his brow was
+heavy and frowning, while his receding chin contradicted the strength of
+the upper part of his face. There was, too, a look of anxiety and
+restlessness betrayed by a nervous twitching of the lips.</P>
+<P>"The scoundrel is a coward," Terence said to himself. "He may profess
+absolute confidence, but I don't think he feels it, and I will bet odds
+that he won't be in the front when the time for fighting comes."</P>
+<P>Terence walked away after the procession had passed.</P>
+<P>"If one could get hold of the bishop," he said to himself, "one might
+get an order on the superior of the convent to hand over Mary O'Connor to
+the bearer, but I don't see how that can possibly be managed. Of course,
+he is surrounded by priests and officials all day, and his palace will be
+guarded by any number of soldiers, for he must have many enemies. There
+must be scores of relatives of men who have been killed by his orders, who
+would assassinate him, bishop though he is, had they the chance. And even
+if I got an order--and it seems to me impossible to do so--it would not be
+made out in the name of Mary O'Connor. I know that they change their names
+when they go into nunneries, and she may be Sister Angela or Cecilia, or
+anything else, and I should not know in the slightest degree whether the
+name he put down was the one that she really goes by. No, that idea is out
+of the question."</P>
+<P>Returning to the camp, he held counsel with Herrara. The latter, he
+knew, had none of the bigotry so general among his countrymen. He had
+before told him about his cousin being shut up against her will, and of
+the letter that she had thrown out, but had hitherto said nothing of his
+intention to bring about her escape if possible.</P>
+<P>"I had an idea that that was what was in your mind when you went off so
+early this morning, O'Connor. I have a high respect for the Church, but I
+have no respect for its abuses. And the shutting up of a young lady, and
+forcing her to take the veil in order to rob her of her property, is as
+hateful to me as it can be to you, so that I should have no hesitation in
+aiding you in your endeavour to bring about her escape. Have you formed
+any plan?"</P>
+<P>"No; I have thought it over again and again, but cannot think of any
+scheme."</P>
+<P>"If that is the case, O'Connor, I fear that it is useless for me to try
+to do so; you are so full of ideas always, that if you cannot see your way
+out of the difficulty, it is hopeless to expect that I could do so. If you
+can contrive any plan I will promise to aid you in any way you can point
+out, but as to inventing one, I should never do so if I racked my brain
+ever so much."</P>
+<P>"There must be some way," Terence said. "I used to get into all sorts
+of scrapes when I was a boy, but found there was always some way out of
+them, if one could but hit upon it. The only thing that I can think of, is
+to carry her off in the confusion when the French enter the town."</P>
+<P>"I should say that the nuns would never think of leaving their convent,
+O'Connor; it is their best hope of safety to remain there."</P>
+<P>"No doubt it is, but the French don't always respect the convents--very
+much the contrary, indeed. No, I don't think that they would go out merely
+to rush into the street; but they might go out if they thought they could
+get over the bridge before the French arrived."</P>
+<P>"They might do that, certainly; indeed, it would be the best thing they
+could do."</P>
+<P>"Do you think that if one were to dress up as a priest, or as one of
+the bishop's attendants, and to go as from him with an order to the lady
+superior to take the nuns at once across the bridge to the convent on the
+other side, she would obey it?"</P>
+<P>"Not without some written order," Herrara said. "The bishop would
+naturally send someone who would be known to her, or if he did send a
+stranger he would give him a letter or some token she would recognize;
+otherwise, she could not know that it was his order."</P>
+<P>"That is what I was afraid of, Herrara, but it is what I shall try, if
+I can see no other way. Indeed, I see only one chance of getting over the
+difficulty. The bishop is a tyrant of the worst kind. Now, as far as I can
+remember, tyrants of his sort--that is to say, tyrants who rule by working
+on the passions of the mob--are always cowards. I watched the bishop
+closely when I saw him to-day, and I am convinced he is one also. Even in
+that kneeling crowd he could not conceal it. There was a nervous twitching
+about his lips which, to my mind, showed that he was in a state of intense
+anxiety, and that under all his swagger and show of confidence he was,
+nevertheless, in a horrible state of alarm. That being so, it seems to me
+extremely likely that when the fighting begins he will make a bolt of it.
+He won't wait for the French to enter, for he would know well enough that
+in their fury at their defeat, the fugitives, if they came upon him, would
+be likely to tear him limb from limb, just as they have murdered dozens of
+infinitely better men; so I think that he will make off beforehand. I
+imagine that he will go secretly, and with only two or three
+attendants."</P>
+<P>"But you could never carry him off without an alarm being raised, if
+that is what you are thinking of, O' Connor."</P>
+<P>"No, I am not thinking of that; but if I could, say with Bull and
+Macwitty, suddenly attack him like three robbers, we might carry off
+something that would serve as a sort of passport to the lady abbess. For
+instance, he had a tremendously big ring on. I noticed it as he held up
+his hands, as if on purpose to show it off."</P>
+<P>"That was his episcopal ring," Herrara laughed. "Yes, if you could get
+hold of that, it would be a key that would open the door of any
+convent."</P>
+<P>"Do you think she would hand my cousin over to me if I showed it to her
+and gave her a message as from the bishop?"</P>
+<P>"Yes, if you knew the name. You see, from the day she was made a nun
+she lost her former name altogether; and certainly the bishop would send
+for her under her convent name."</P>
+<P>"That is what I was thinking myself. Then I must get them all out."</P>
+<P>"You have got to get the ring first," Herrara said with a smile.</P>
+<P>"Yes, yes, I mean if I get it."</P>
+<P>"But if the French have entered the town you can never get them across
+the bridge."</P>
+<P>"No, I know that. I mean to get a boat and have it lying off the end of
+some quiet street. I could put a couple of our men into that, for they
+would only regard it, when I had got her on board, as an effort on my part
+to save one of the nuns from the French. One thing to do would be to get
+the robe of a priest, or the dress of one of the bishop's officials."</P>
+<P>Herrara thought for some time. "I think that I could do that for you,
+O'Connor. Of course I have a good many acquaintances in Oporto, among them
+some ladies. I was intending to go across this evening and see some of
+them, and implore them to leave the town before it is too late. One of
+these friends of mine might buy some robes for me; a woman can do that
+sort of thing when a man cannot. She can pretend that she wants to buy the
+robe as a present for the parish priest, or her father confessor, or
+something of that sort. At any rate, it is worth trying."</P>
+<P>"It is, indeed, Herrara, and if you could manage it I should be greatly
+obliged to you."</P>
+<P>"I will go across at once. I expect Soult will be close up to-morrow
+morning, or at any rate the next day. It may be another couple of days
+before he gets his whole force concentrated, but in four days anyhow his
+shot will be rattling down into the town. I will go and see what I can do.
+You had better get one of my troopers to get the boat for you."</P>
+<P>Herrara did not return until early on the following morning.</P>
+<P>"I have managed it," he said, as Terence, who was getting very anxious
+about him, ran forward to meet him.</P>
+<P>"There is one family in Oporto whose eldest son is a brother officer of
+mine, and I have visited them here with him, and have met them several
+times at Lisbon. Indeed, I may tell you frankly that had it not been for
+the troubles, his sister would, ere this time, have been affianced to me.
+I had hoped that they had left the town before this, but they told me that
+any movement of that sort might bring disaster on them. Two of her
+brothers are in the army, and the bishop could not, therefore, pretend
+that the father was a traitor to the country; being an elderly man, the
+latter has in fact held aloof altogether from politics; but he is
+certainly not of the bishop's party, and the bishop considers that all who
+are not with him are against him. Had they attempted to leave the town
+there is no doubt he would have made it a pretext for arresting the
+father, and would certainly do so on the first opportunity. However, they
+quite believed that the great force that there is here would be sufficient
+to defend the fortifications, and were completely taken aback when I told
+them that I was absolutely convinced that the place would fall at the
+first attack of the French.</P>
+<P>"They agreed to make all preparations for leaving at once. Their horses
+have been seized, nominally that they should be used on the
+fortifications, but really, I have no doubt, to prevent their leaving. Of
+course I told them all about what we had been doing, in which they were
+intensely interested. For aught they know, their house may be watched; so
+they will come out in some of their servants' clothes. I told them that
+they must leave on the night before Soult made his attack. Of course he
+will summon the town, and the bishop will, of course, refuse to surrender,
+and you may be sure the French will attack on the following day. They left
+me alone with Lorenza for a time, and I took that opportunity of telling
+her about your plan, and what you wanted, and she promised to procure you
+the dress of an ecclesiastic to-morrow. I told her that you were about my
+size and height.</P>
+<P>"She knew your cousin personally, and was very fond of her, and
+therefore entered all the more readily into our plans to get her out. She
+said that she disappeared suddenly some months ago, and that her mother
+had given out that she had been suddenly seized with the determination to
+enter a convent, much against her own wishes. Lorenza felt sure that this
+was not true, for she knew that your cousin had heard from her father much
+about the Reformed religion, and was in her heart disposed that way. The
+mother is engaged to be married to a nobleman who is one of the bishop's
+warmest supporters, and the general idea was that Mary O'Connor had been
+forced into a nunnery against her will. I sat talking with them until late
+last night, and they would not hear of my leaving, especially as they said
+that the town was full of bands of ruffians, who traversed the streets,
+attacking and robbing anyone of respectable appearance. As I had rather a
+fancy to try what a comfortable bed was like again, I did not need much
+pressing."</P>
+<P>"Thank you greatly, Herrara, I am indeed obliged to you; things seem to
+look really hopeful. I have arranged with Bull and Macwitty that on the
+evening before the attack is likely to take place we will watch all night
+at this end of the bridge. The bishop won't leave until the last thing,
+but I would wager any money he will do so that night. He won't go farther
+than Villa Nova, so as to be ready to cross again at once if the news
+comes that the French have been beaten off. No doubt he will make the
+excuse that as an ecclesiastic he could take no active part in the
+defence, but had been engaged in prayer, which had done more towards
+gaining the victory than his presence could possibly have done."</P>
+<P>"I should not be surprised if that should be his course," Herrara said,
+smiling. "At any rate, for your sake I hope that it will be. Have you seen
+about a boat?"</P>
+<P>"Yes, I spoke to Francesco Nortis yesterday evening, and told him that
+I wanted to hire a boat with two boatmen for the next week. They were to
+be at his service night and day. He was to tell them that he would not
+want it for fishing, but that, in case, by any possibility, the French
+took the town, he should be able to go across and bring some friends over.
+When I told him that money was no object, he said that there would be no
+difficulty about it. They will be glad enough to get a good week's pay and
+next to nothing to do for it."</P>
+<P>Two days passed quietly. On the first day the news arrived that
+Silveira had invested Chaves on the day of the battle of Braga, and had
+forced the garrison, which consisted of but a hundred fighting men, with
+twelve hundred sick, to capitulate.</P>
+<P>Day after day news came of the advance of the French. They had moved in
+three columns. Each had met with a stout resistance, but had carried the
+passes and bridges after severe loss. One of the columns had been held for
+some time in check at the Ponte D'Ave, but had carried it at last,
+whereupon the Portuguese had murdered their general and dispersed.</P>
+<P>On the 26th, six days after the battle of Braga, Franceschi's cavalry
+were seen approaching the position in front of Oporto. The alarm bells
+rung, the troops hurried to their positions, but the day passed off
+quietly, the confidence of the people being still further raised by the
+arrival of 2,000 regular troops sent by Beresford to their assistance. As
+there were already seven or eight thousand regular troops in the camp, it
+seemed to all that as Soult had but 20,000 men fit for action, the
+defences ought to be held against him for any length of time. The
+majority, indeed, believed that he would not even venture to attack the
+town when upon his arrival he perceived its strength, especially when they
+knew that he had but a few guns with him, his park of artillery being
+still at Tuy, which was closely invested by the Spaniards.</P>
+<P>On the following day the whole French army settled down in front of the
+Portuguese works, and a wild and purposeless fire was now opened by the
+defenders, although the French were far beyond musket-range.</P>
+<P>Soult sent in a message to the bishop urging him to surrender. He
+assured him that resistance was hopeless, and that it was his earnest
+desire to save so great a city from the horrors of a storm. The message
+was sent by a prisoner, who was seized by the mob in spite of the flag of
+truce that he carried, and would have been murdered had he not assured the
+people that he came with a message from Soult, to the effect that, seeing
+the hopelessness of attacking the town or of marching back to the frontier
+in safety, he wished to negotiate for a surrender for himself and his
+army.</P>
+<P>At one point the Portuguese displayed a white flag, and shouted that
+they wished to surrender. A French general advanced with another officer,
+but when they reached the lines the Portuguese fell upon him, killed his
+companion, and carried the general a prisoner into the town. The
+negotiations were prolonged until evening, but the bishop declined all
+Soult's overtures, and the fire from the intrenchments continued. In the
+course of the evening Merle's division, in order to divert attention from
+the points Soult had fixed upon for the attack, moved towards the
+Portuguese left, when a tremendous fire of artillery and musketry opened
+upon it. The division made its way forward, and occupied some hollow
+ground which shielded it from fire, within a very short distance of the
+intrenchments. Feeling that the crisis was at hand, Terence had everything
+prepared. The boatmen were told that they might be required that night,
+and that they were to have the boat in readiness to start at any moment.
+Herrara had warned his friends, and went to their house with six of his
+men, as soon as it became dusk, to escort them over. Terence with his two
+troopers, clad in the dresses of two of the tallest of the men and wrapped
+in cloaks, with their broad hats pressed low down upon their foreheads,
+went down to the end of the bridge as soon as it became quite dark. The
+river was three hundred yards broad, but the sound of the confusion and
+alarm that prevailed in the city could be plainly heard, although the
+evening had set in rough and tempestuous. The shouts of the excited mob
+mingled with the clanging of the church bells.</P>
+<P>"That does not sound like confidence in victory," Terence remarked.</P>
+<P>"Quite the other way, sir. I should say that after all their bragging
+every man in the place is in a blue funk."</P>
+<P>A great many people, especially women with children, were making their
+way across the bridge. About nine o'clock a little knot of five or six
+men, following a tall figure, passed them.</P>
+<P>"That is the bishop," Terence whispered, and in pursuance of the orders
+that he had previously given them, the two men followed him as he fell in
+at a short distance behind the group. These turned off from the main road
+and took one that led up to the Serra Convent, standing on the crest of a
+rugged hill. As soon as they had passed beyond the houses at the foot of
+the hill, and the road was altogether deserted, Terence said to the
+men:</P>
+<P>"Now is our time. Do you take the attendants; I will manage the
+bishop."</P>
+<P>They moved forward quickly and silently until they were close to the
+group, then they dashed forward. As the startled attendants turned round
+the troopers fell upon them, and with heavy blows from their fists knocked
+them to the ground like nine-pins. The bishop turned round and
+shouted:</P>
+<P>"Villains, I am the bishop!"</P>
+<P>"I know that!" Terence exclaimed, and sprang at him.</P>
+<P>The prelate reeled and fell. Terence threw himself upon him, and
+seizing his hand wrested from it the episcopal ring. Then, upon seeing
+that the bishop had fainted, probably from fright, Terence leapt to his
+feet. The five attendants were lying on the ground.</P>
+<P>"All right, lads," he said, "we have got what we wanted, but just strip
+off one of these fellows' clothes. Take this one, he is a priest."</P>
+<P>It took but a minute for the two troopers to strip off the garment and
+pick up the three-cornered hat.</P>
+<P>"Now, come along, men."</P>
+<P>They reached the houses again without hearing so much as a cry from the
+astounded Portuguese, who as yet had but a vague idea of what had happened
+to them. The capture of the clothes had been rendered necessary by
+Herrara's report, two days before, that the young lady had failed to get
+the clothes, for the shopman had asked so many questions concerning them
+that she had said carelessly that it made no matter. She had intended to
+give them as a present and a surprise, but as there seemed a difficulty
+about it she would give money instead, and let the priest choose his own
+clothes. She had purposely entered a shop in the opposite end of the town
+from that in which her father lived, so that there would be less chance of
+her being recognized.</P>
+<P>Herrara said that she would try elsewhere, but Terence at once begged
+him to tell her not to do so.</P>
+<P>"The bishop is sure to have some of his priests with him," he said,
+"and if I rob him of his ring, I might just as well rob one of them of his
+clothes."</P>
+<P>On returning to the camp Terence found that his comrade had already
+arrived with a gentleman and three ladies. The tent had been given up for
+the use of the latter. Herrara had warned him not to say a word to the old
+gentleman of his adventure.</P>
+<P>"He and the others know nothing about it," he said, "and it is just as
+well that they shouldn't, for he is somewhat rigid in his notions, and
+might be rather horrified at your assaulting a bishop, however great a
+scoundrel he might be, and would be specially so at the borrowing of his
+ring."</P>
+<P>At twelve o'clock heavy peals of thunder were heard, followed by a
+tremendous outbreak of firing from the intrenchments, two hundred guns and
+a terrific musketry fire opening suddenly.</P>
+<P>"The French are attacking!" Herrara exclaimed.</P>
+<P>"I don't think so," Terence replied. "It is more likely to be a false
+alarm. The troops may have thought that the thunder was the roar of French
+guns. Soult would hardly make an attack at night, or, not knowing the
+nature of the ground behind the intrenchments, his men would be falling
+into confusion, and perhaps fire into each other."</P>
+<P>As, after a quarter of an hour of prodigious din, the fire slackened
+and presently ceased altogether, it was evident that this supposition was
+a correct one. The morning broke bright and still, and an hour later the
+cannonade began again. Terence at once, after telling Herrara to form the
+troops up and march them down to the end of the bridge, left the camp, and
+after proceeding a short distance took off his uniform and donned the
+attire of the ecclesiastic, and then hurried down into the town. He was
+accompanied by the two troopers in their peasant dress. These left him at
+the bridge. The din was now tremendous, every church bell was ringing
+furiously, and frightened women were already crowding down towards the
+bridge.</P>
+<P>Their point of crossing had already been decided upon--it was at the
+end of a street close to the convent, and when Terence reached the convent
+the two men were already standing at the end of the street, awaiting
+him.</P>
+<P>"Now, you do your part of the business and I will do mine," Terence
+said, and he moved forward to the door of the convent, where he would be
+unseen should anyone look out.</P>
+<P>The two troopers went to the middle of the street, opposite the window
+which the officer had described to Terence, and both shouted in a
+stentorian voice:</P>
+<P>"Mary O'Connor!"</P>
+<P>The shout was heard above the tumult of the battle and the din in the
+city, and a head appeared at the window and looked down with a bewildered
+expression.</P>
+<P>"Mary O'Connor," Bull shouted again, "a friend is here to rescue you.
+You will leave the convent directly with the rest. Look out for us."</P>
+<P>Then they walked on, and passed Terence.</P>
+<P>"Have you seen her face?"</P>
+<P>"We have, sir. We shall know her again, never fear."</P>
+<P>Terence now seized the bell and rung it vigorously. The door opened,
+and a terrified face appeared at the window.</P>
+<P>"I have a message from the bishop to the lady superior."</P>
+<P>The door was opened, and was at once closed and barred behind him. He
+was led along some passages to the room where the lady superior, pale and
+agitated, was awaiting him.</P>
+<P>"Have the French entered the intrenchments?" she asked.</P>
+<P>"I trust they have not entered yet, but they may do so at any moment.
+The bishop is at the Serra Convent, and from there has a view over the
+town to the intrenchments. He begs you to instantly bring the nuns across,
+for they will be in safety there, whereas no one can say what may happen
+in the town. Here is his episcopal ring in proof that I am the bearer of
+his orders. I pray you to hasten, sister, for a crowd of fugitives are
+already pouring over the bridge, and there is not a moment to be
+lost."</P>
+<P>"The nuns are just coming down to prayer in the chapel, and we will
+start instantly."</P>
+<P>In two minutes upward of a hundred frightened women were gathered in
+the courtyard.</P>
+<P>"Are all here?" Terence asked the lady superior.</P>
+<P>"All of them."</P>
+<P>"I asked because I know that he is specially anxious that one, who is a
+sort of prisoner, should not fall into the hands of the French, as that
+might cause serious trouble."</P>
+<P>"I know whom you mean," and she called out "Sister Theresa!" There was
+no answer.</P>
+<P> [Illustration: "MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH
+HIS PISTOLS"]</P>
+<P> "It is well you asked," she said. "They have forgotten her." She gave
+orders to one of the sisters, who at once entered the house, and returned
+in a minute with a young nun. The door was now opened, and they moved out
+in procession. Terence could hear regular volleys amidst the roar of guns
+and the incessant crack of muskets.</P>
+<P>"I fear that they have entered the intrenchments," he said. "Hasten,
+sister, or we shall be too late."</P>
+<P>With hurried steps they passed along the deserted streets. As they
+neared the bridge a crowd of fugitives were hastening in that direction,
+and when they approached its head they found it blocked by a struggling
+mass.</P>
+<P>"What is to be done?" the lady superior asked in consternation.</P>
+<P>"We must wait a minute or two; they may clear off."</P>
+<P>But every second the crowd increased, and was soon thick behind them.
+Already the line of nuns was broken up by the pressure. Terence had kept
+his eyes on the two tall figures who had followed, at first behind them,
+and had then quickened their footsteps until abreast of the centre of the
+line, and to his satisfaction saw that they had one of the nuns between
+them, and were forcing their way with her through the crowd behind. At
+this moment a terrible cry arose from the crowd. A troop of Portuguese
+dragoons rode furiously down the street leading to the bridge, and dashed
+into the crowd, trampling down all in their way in their reckless terror,
+until they gained the end of the bridge. As they rode on to it, two of the
+boats, already low in the water from the weight upon them, gave a surge
+and sank, carrying with them hundreds of people. The crowd recoiled with a
+cry of horror.</P>
+<P>"There is no escape now, sister," Terence said; "go back to the
+convent."</P>
+<P>"Home, sisters!" she cried in a loud, shrill voice, that made itself
+heard even over the screams of the drowning people and the wails and cries
+of the mob.</P>
+<P>Terence placed himself before the lady superior, and by main force made
+a way through the crowd; which was the more easy as, seeing their only
+escape cut off, numbers were now beginning to disperse to their homes. The
+movement was converted into a wild rush when a troop of French cavalry
+came thundering down to the bridge. In a moment all was mad confusion and
+fright. The nuns followed their superior, and all thought of decorum being
+now lost, fled with her like a flock of frightened sheep along the street
+leading to the convent. Terence paused a moment. He saw that the French
+troopers threw themselves from their horses, and, all animosity being for
+the moment forgotten in the horror of the scene, set to work to endeavour
+to save the drowning wretches, regardless of the fire which, as soon as
+the French appeared, was opened by the battery on the height of Villa
+Nova.</P>
+<P>Then he sped away after the nuns, whom he soon passed. He turned down
+the street next to the convent, and, on reaching the end, saw the two
+troopers with a nun in a boat ten yards away. Macwitty was standing
+covering the two boatmen with his pistols.</P>
+<P>"Row back to the shore again," he roared out in English, "and take off
+that gentleman there." The men did not understand his words, but they
+understood his gestures, and a stroke or two took them alongside. Terence
+leapt in and told the men to row across the river.</P>
+<P>"This is an unexpected meeting, cousin," he said to the girl.</P>
+<P>"They have been telling me who you are, and how you have effected my
+rescue," she said, bursting into tears. "How can I thank you?"</P>
+<P>"Well, this is hardly a time for thanks," he said, "and I am as glad as
+you are that it has all turned out well. I will tell you all about it as
+soon as we are across."</P>
+<P>They were nearly over when he exclaimed to the troopers:</P>
+<P>"The French have repaired the bridge with planks. See, they are
+crossing!"</P>
+<P>They sprang out on reaching the opposite shore. A moment later a rattle
+of musketry broke out.</P>
+<P>"Macwitty," he said, "I will give this young lady into your charge.
+Take her straight up to the camp. There are three ladies there," he said
+to his cousin, "and in the tent they have some clothes for you to change
+into. It will not be long before I shall rejoin you. But I must join my
+regiment now; they are engaged with the enemy."</P>
+<P>As he hurried along with Bull, he could hear above the sound of the
+musketry the sharp crack of the field-guns from the opposite side of the
+river.</P>
+<P>"They are covering the passage, Bull."</P>
+<P>As he came up he found that Herrara had taken possession of the houses
+near the end of the bridge. A part of his troops filled the windows, while
+the main body lined the quay. The French were recoiling, but a mass of
+their troops could be seen at the further end of the bridge, and two field
+batteries were keeping up an incessant fire. Herrara was posted with a
+company at the end of the bridge.</P>
+<P>"We had better fall back, Herrara, before they form a fresh column of
+attack. We might repulse them again, but they will be able to cross by
+boats elsewhere, and we shall be taken in front and rear. Let us draw off
+in good order. The infantry will be sure to march straight against the
+battery on the hill behind, and it will be half an hour before the cavalry
+can cross, and by that time we shall be well on our way; whereas, if we
+stop here until we are taken in flank and rear, we shall be cut to
+pieces."</P>
+<P>"I quite agree with you," Herrara said, and ordered the man with the
+horn standing beside him to sound the retreat.</P>
+<P>The men near at once formed up and got in motion, those in the houses
+poured out, and in two minutes the whole force were going up the hill at a
+trot, but still preserving their order. Five minutes later the head of the
+French column poured over the bridge. Just as the troops reached the place
+of encampment the fire of the battery ceased suddenly.</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XVIII</H3>
+<H4>MARY O'CONNOR</H4></CENTER>
+<P>Never was a large force of men driven from a very strong position,
+carefully prepared and defended by a vast number of guns, so quickly and
+easily as were the Portuguese before Oporto. The bishop, after rejecting
+Soult's summons and disregarding his prayers to save the city from ruin,
+suddenly lost heart, and after all his boasting, slipped away after dark
+to the Serra Convent, leaving the command to the generals of the army. The
+feint which Soult had made with Merle's division the night before against
+the Portuguese left succeeded perfectly, the Portuguese massing their
+forces on that side to resist the expected attack.</P>
+<P>Soult's real intentions, however, were to break through the centre of
+the line and then to drive the Portuguese right and left away from the
+town, while he pushed a body of troops straight through the city to seize
+the bridge and thus cut off all retreat. Accordingly he commenced the
+attack on both wings. The Portuguese weakened their centre to meet these,
+and then the central division of the French rushed forward, burst through
+the intrenchments, and carried at once the two principal forts. Then two
+battalions marched into the town and made for the bridge, while the rest
+fell on the Portuguese rear. The French right carried in succession a
+number of forts, took fifty pieces of artillery, and drove off a great
+mass of the Portuguese from the town, while Merle met with equal success
+on the other flank. Half the Portuguese, therefore, were driven up the
+valley of the Douro, and the other half down towards the sea.</P>
+<P>Maddened by terror, some of them strove to swim across, others to get
+over in small boats. Lima, their general, shouted to them that the river
+was too wide to swim, and that those who took to boats would be shot down
+by the pursuing French. Whereupon his own troops turned upon him and
+murdered him, although the French were but a couple of hundred yards away;
+they then renewed their attempt to cross, and many perished. Similar
+scenes took place in the valley above the town, but here the French
+cavalry interposed between the panic-stricken fugitives and the river, and
+so prevented them throwing away their lives in the hopeless attempt to
+swim across. In the meantime incessant firing was going on in the city.
+The French column arriving at the bridge, after doing their best to rescue
+the drowning people, sacrificed to the heartless cowardice of the
+Portuguese cavalry, speedily repaired the break caused by the sinking
+boats and prepared to cross the river, while others scattered through the
+town.</P>
+<P>The inhabitants fired upon them from the roofs and windows, and two
+hundred men defended the bishop's palace to the last. Every house was the
+scene of conflict. The French on entering one of the principal squares
+found a number of their comrades, who had been taken prisoners and sent to
+the town, still alive but horribly mutilated, some of them having been
+blinded, others having legs cut off, and all mutilated in various ways.
+This terrible sight naturally goaded them to such a state of fury that
+Soult in vain endeavoured to stop the work of slaughter and pillage. This
+continued for several hours, and altogether the number of Portuguese who
+perished by drowning and slaughter in the streets was estimated at ten
+thousand, of which the number killed in the defence of the works formed
+but an insignificant portion.</P>
+<P>Terence on his arrival at the camp in the wood resumed his uniform.
+Herrara had, on the previous day, purchased a light waggon and two horses
+for the use of the ladies, and as soon as the men had strapped on the
+cloaks and blankets which they had left behind them when they advanced to
+the defence of the bridge, the retreat began. Not until he had seen the
+column fairly on its way did Terence ride up to speak to the occupants of
+the waggon. He had not been introduced by Herrara to his friends, for on
+his return from his encounter with the bishop the ladies had already
+retired to their tent.</P>
+<P>"I must introduce myself to you, Don Jose. I am Terence O' Connor, an
+ensign in his Britannic Majesty's regiment of Mayo Fusiliers and an aide-de-camp of General Cradock, a very humble personage, though at present in
+command of these troops--irregular regiments of the Portuguese army."</P>
+<P>"Lieutenant Herrara has told us so much about you, Señor O'Connor, that
+we have been looking forward with much pleasure to meeting you. Allow me
+to present you to my wife and daughters, who have been as anxious as
+myself to meet an officer who has done such good services to the cause,
+and to whom it is due at the present moment that we are here, instead of
+being in the midst of the terrible scenes that are no doubt at this moment
+being enacted in Oporto."</P>
+<P>Terence bowed deeply to the ladies, and then said to his cousin:</P>
+<P>"I almost require introducing to you, for I caught but a glimpse of you
+as we crossed the river, and you look so different now that you have got
+rid of that hideous attire that I don't think that I should have known
+you."</P>
+<P>"You have changed greatly, too, Señor O'Connor."</P>
+<P>Terence burst into a laugh.</P>
+<P>"My dear cousin, it is evident that you know very little of English
+customs, though you speak English so well. We don't call our cousins Mr.
+and Miss; you will have to call me Terence and I shall certainly call you
+Mary. Macwitty brought you back to camp all right?"</P>
+<P>"Yes; but it was terrible to hear all that firing, and I was wondering
+all the time whether you were being hurt."</P>
+<P>"There is a great deal of powder fired away to every one that gets
+hit."</P>
+<P>"Do you know what has happened in the town?" Don Jose asked.</P>
+<P>"I know no more than what my cousin has no doubt told you of that
+terrible scene at the bridge. It is evident that the French burst through
+the lines without any difficulty, as we saw no soldiers, except those
+cowardly cavalrymen, before the French arrived. It is probable that the
+intrenchments were carried in the centre, and Soult evidently sent a body
+of soldiers straight through the town to secure the bridge. I think he
+must have cut off the main body of the defenders of the intrenchments from
+entering the town and must either have captured them or driven them off.
+The fire of cannon had ceased over there before we retired, and it is
+clear from that that the whole of the intrenchments must have been
+captured. There was, however, a heavy rattle of musketry in the town, and
+I suppose that the houses, and perhaps some barricades, were being
+defended. It was a mad thing to do, for it would only excite the fury of
+the French troops, and get them out of hand altogether. If there had been
+no resistance the columns might have marched in in good order; but even
+then I fear there might have been trouble, for unfortunately, your
+peasants have behaved with such merciless cruelty to all stragglers who
+fell into their hands, that the thirst for vengeance would in any case
+have been irrepressible. Still, the officers might possibly have preserved
+order had there been no resistance."</P>
+<P>"Shall we be pursued, do you think, señor?" Don Jose's wife asked.</P>
+<P>"I do not think so. Possibly parties of horse may scour the country for
+some distance round, to see if there is a body of troops here, but we are
+too strong to be attacked by any but a very numerous body of horse; and if
+they should attempt it, you may be sure that we can render a very good
+account of ourselves. We have beaten off the French horse once, and, as
+since then we have had some stiff fighting, I have no fear of the men
+being unsteady, even if all Franceschi's cavalry came down upon us. Of
+that, however, there will be little chance; the French have their hands
+full for some days, and a few scouting parties are all that they are
+likely to send out."</P>
+<P>"You speak Portuguese very well, Terence," Mary O'Connor said, in that
+language, hesitating a little before she used his Christian name.</P>
+<P>"I have been nearly nine months in the country, during most of which I
+have been on the staff, and have had to communicate with peasants and
+others, and for the past two months I have spoken nothing else; necessity
+is a good teacher. Besides which, Lieutenant Herrara has been good enough
+to take great pains in correcting my mistakes and teaching me the proper
+idioms; another six months of this work and I have no doubt I shall be
+able to pass as a native."</P>
+<P>After marching fifteen miles the column halted, Terence feeling assured
+that the French would not push out their scouting parties more than three
+or four miles from Villa Nova. They halted at the edge of a forest, and a
+party under one of the officers was at once despatched to a village two
+miles away, and returned in an hour with a drove of pigs that had been
+bought there, and a cart laden with bread and wine. Fires had already been
+lighted, and after seeing that the rations were divided among the various
+companies, Terence went to the tent. Herrara was chatting with his
+friends, and Mary O'Connor came out at once and joined him.</P>
+<P>"That is right, Mary; we will take a stroll in the wood and have a talk
+together. Now tell me how you have got on. I had expected to find you
+quite thin and almost starving."</P>
+<P>"No, I have had plenty of bread to eat," she laughed; "the sisters kept
+me well supplied. I am sure that most of them were sorry for me, and they
+used to hide away some of their own bread and bring it to me when they had
+a chance. The lady superior was very hard, and if I had had to depend
+entirely on what she sent me up I should have done very badly. I always
+ate as much as I could, as I wanted to keep up my strength; for I knew
+that if I got weak I might give way and do what they wanted, and I was
+quite determined that I would not, if I could help it."</P>
+<P>"Macwitty told you, I suppose, how I came to hear where you were
+imprisoned?"</P>
+<P>"Yes; he said that the officer had given you the letter that I dropped
+to him; yet how did he come to know that you were my cousin?"</P>
+<P>"It was quite an accident; just the similarity of name. We were
+chatting, and he said, casually, 'I suppose that you have no relatives at
+Oporto,' and I at once said I had, for fortunately my father had been
+telling me about your father and you, the last time I saw him, that is
+four months ago. He was badly wounded at Vimiera and invalided home. Then
+Captain Travers told me about getting your letter and what was in it, and
+I felt sure that it was you, and of course made up my mind to do what I
+could to get you out, though at the time I did not think that I should be
+in Oporto until I entered with the British army."</P>
+<P>"But I cannot think how you got us all to start, and walked along with
+the lady superior as if you were a friend of hers. Macwitty had not time
+to tell me that. I was so frightened and bewildered with the dreadful
+noise and the strangeness of it all that I could not ask him many
+questions."</P>
+<P>"It was by virtue of this ring," he said, holding up his hand.</P>
+<P>"Why," she exclaimed in surprise, "that is the bishop's! I noticed it
+on his finger when he came one day to me and scolded me, and said that I
+should remain a prisoner if it was for years until my obstinate spirit was
+broken. But how did you get it?"</P>
+<P>"Not with the bishop's good-will, you may be sure, Mary," Terence
+laughed; and he then told her how he had become possessed of it.</P>
+<P>The girl looked quite scared.</P>
+<P>"It sounds dreadful, doesn't it, Mary, to think that I should have laid
+hands upon a bishop, and such a bishop, a man who regards himself as the
+greatest in Portugal. However, there was no other way of getting the ring,
+and I could not see how, without it, I could persuade the lady superior to
+leave her convent with you all; and to tell you the truth, I would rather
+have got it that way than any other. The bishop is, in my opinion, a man
+who deserves no respect. He has terrorized all the north of Portugal, has
+caused scores of better men than himself to be imprisoned or put to death,
+and has now by his folly and ignorance cost the lives of no one knows how
+many thousand men, and brought about the sack of Oporto."</P>
+<P>"Did you hear anything of my mother?" the girl asked.</P>
+<P>"No; my Portuguese was not good enough for me to ask questions without
+risking being detected as a foreigner at once. She has behaved shamefully
+to you, Mary."</P>
+<P>"She never liked me," the girl said, simply. "She and father never got
+on well together, and I think her dislike began by his taking to me, and
+my liking to be with him and getting to talk English. There was a terrible
+quarrel between them once because she accused him of teaching me to be a
+Protestant, although he never did so. He did give me a Bible, and I used
+to ask him questions and he answered them, that was all; but as it did
+seem to me that he was much wiser in all things than she was, I thought
+that he might be wiser in religion too. I would have given up the property
+directly they wanted me to, if they would have let me go away to England;
+but when they took me to the convent and cut off my hair, and forced me to
+become a nun, I would not give way to them. I never took the vows,
+Terence; I would not open my lips, but they went on with the service just
+the same. I was determined that I would not yield. I thought that the
+English would come some day, and that I might be freed then."</P>
+<P>"What would you have done in England if you had gone there, Mary?"</P>
+<P>"I should have found your father out, and gone to him. Father told me
+that your father was his greatest friend, and just before he died he told
+me that he had privately sent over all his own money to a bank at Cork,
+and ordered it to be put in your father's name. It was a good deal of
+money, for he would not give up the business when he married my mother,
+though she wanted him to; but he said that he could not live in idleness
+on her money, and that he must be doing something. And I know that he kept
+up the house in Oporto, while she kept up her place in the country. He
+told me that the sum he had sent over was £20,000. That will be enough to
+live on, won't it?"</P>
+<P>"Plenty," Terence laughed. "I had no idea that I was rescuing such an
+heiress. I was sure that there was no chance of your getting your mother's
+money, at any rate, as long as the bishop was leader of Oporto. However
+just your claim, no judge would decide in your favour."</P>
+<P>"Now tell me about yourself, Terence, and your home in Ireland, and all
+about it."</P>
+<P>"My home has been the regiment, Mary. My father has a few hundred acres
+in County Mayo, and a tumble-down house; that is to say, it was a tumble-down house when I saw it four years ago, but it had been shut up for a
+good many years, and I should not be surprised if it has quite tumbled
+down now. However, my father was always talking of going to live there
+when he left the army. The land is not worth much, I think. There are five
+hundred acres, and they let for about a hundred a year. However, my father
+has been in the regiment now for about eighteen years; and as I was born
+in barracks I have only been three or four times to Ballinagra, and then
+only because father took a fancy to have a look at the old house. My
+mother died when I was ten years old, and I ran almost wild until I got my
+commission last June."</P>
+<P>"And how did you come to be a staff-officer of the English general?"
+she asked.</P>
+<P>"I have had awfully good luck," Terence replied. "It happened in all
+sorts of ways."</P>
+<P>"Please tell me everything," she said. "I want to know all about
+you."</P>
+<P>"It is a long story, Mary."</P>
+<P>"So much the better," she said. "I know nothing of what has passed for
+the last year, and I dare say I shall learn about it from your story. You
+don't know how happy I am feeling to be out in the sun and in the air
+again, and to see the country after being shut up in one room for a year.
+Suppose we sit down here and you tell me the whole story."</P>
+<P>Terence accordingly related the history of his adventures since he had
+left England. The girl asked a great many questions, and specially
+insisted upon hearing his own adventures very fully.</P>
+<P>"It is no use your keeping on saying that it is all luck," she said
+when he had finished. "Your colonel could not have thought that it was
+luck when he wrote the report about that adventure at sea, and your
+general could not have thought so, either, or he would not have praised
+you in his despatch. Then, you know, General Fane must have thought that
+it was quite out of the way or he would not have chosen you to be on his
+staff. Then afterwards the other general must have been pleased with you,
+or he would not have put you on his staff and sent you off on a mission to
+General Romana. It is quite certain that these things could not have been
+all luck, Terence. And anyhow, you cannot pretend that it was luck that
+this regiment of yours fought so well against the French, while none of
+the others seem to have fought at all. I suppose that you will say next
+that it was all luck that you got me out of the convent."</P>
+<P>"There was a great deal of luck in it, Mary. If that cowardly bishop
+hadn't left Oporto secretly, after declaring that he would defend it until
+the last, I could never have got his ring."</P>
+<P>"You would have got me out some other way if he hadn't," the girl said,
+with confidence. "No, Terence, you can say what you like, but I shall
+always consider that you have been wonderfully brave and clever."</P>
+<P>"Then you will always think quite wrong," Terence said, bluntly.</P>
+<P>"I shall begin to think that you are a tyrant, like the Bishop of
+Oporto, if you speak in that positive way. How old are you, sir?"</P>
+<P>"I was sixteen six months ago."</P>
+<P>"And I was sixteen three days ago," she said. "Fancy your commanding
+two thousand soldiers and only six months older than I am."</P>
+<P>"It is not I, it is the uniform," Terence said. "They obey me when they
+won't obey their own officers, because I am on the English general's
+staff. They know that we have thrashed the French, and that their own
+officers know nothing at all about fighting, and they have no respect
+whatever for them. More than that, they despise them because they know
+that they are always intriguing, and that really, although they may be
+called generals, they are but politicians. You will see, when they get
+English officers to discipline them, they will turn out capital soldiers;
+but they think so little of their own, that if anything goes wrong their
+first idea is that their officers must be traitors, and so fall upon them
+and murder them.</P>
+<P>"You look older than I do, Mary. You seem to me quite a woman, while,
+in spite of my uniform and my command, and all that, I am really only a
+boy."</P>
+<P>"I suppose I am almost a woman, Terence, but I don't feel so. You see
+out here girls often marry at sixteen. I know father said once that he
+hoped I shouldn't marry until I was eighteen, and that he wanted to keep
+me young. I never thought about getting almost a woman until the bishop
+told me one day that if I chose to marry a señor that he would choose for
+me, he would get me absolution from my vows, and that I need not then
+resign my property."</P>
+<P>"The old blackguard!" Terence exclaimed, angrily. "And what did you say
+to him?"</P>
+<P>"I said that, in the first place, I had never thought of marrying; that
+in the second place, I had not taken any vows; and in the third place that
+when I did marry I would choose for myself. He got into a terrible rage,
+and said that I was an obstinate heretic, and that some day when I was
+tired of my prison I would think better of it."</P>
+<P>"I would have hit the bishop hard if I had known about that," Terence
+grumbled. "If ever I fall in with him again I will pay him out for it.
+Well, anyhow, I may as well take off his ring; it might lead to awkward
+questions if anyone noticed it."</P>
+<P>"I think that you had certainly better do so, Terence; it might cost
+you your life. The bishop is a bad man, and he is a very dangerous enemy.
+If he heard that an English officer was wearing an episcopal ring, and
+upon inquiring found that that officer had been in Oporto at its capture,
+he would know at once that it was you who assaulted him, and he would
+never rest until he had your life. You had better throw it away."</P>
+<P>"All right, here goes!" Terence said, carelessly, and he threw the ring
+into a clump of bushes. "Now, Mary, it is getting dark, and I should think
+supper must be waiting for us."</P>
+<P>"Yes, it is late; we have been a long while, indeed," the girl said,
+getting up hastily. "I forgot all about time."</P>
+<P>"We are in plenty of time," Terence said, looking at his watch. "As we
+all had some cold meat for lunch as soon as we arrived, I ordered dinner
+at six o'clock, and it wants twenty minutes of that time now."</P>
+<P>"It is shocking, according to our Portuguese ideas," she said,
+demurely, "for a young lady and gentleman to be talking together for
+nearly three hours without anyone to look after them."</P>
+<P>"It is not at all shocking, according to Irish ideas," Terence said,
+laughing, "especially when the young lady and gentleman happen to be
+cousins."</P>
+<P>They walked a short time in silence, then she said:</P>
+<P>"I have obeyed you, Terence, and haven't uttered a word of thanks for
+what you have done for me."</P>
+<P>"That shows that you are a good girl," Terence laughed.</P>
+<P>"Good girls always do as they are told; at least they are supposed to,
+though as to the fact I never had any experience, for I have no sisters,
+and there were no girls in barracks; still, I am glad that you kept your
+promise, and hope that you will always do so. Being a cousin, of course it
+was natural that I should try to rescue you."</P>
+<P>"And you would not if I hadn't been a cousin?"</P>
+<P>"No, I don't say that. I dare say I should have tried the same if I had
+heard that any English or Irish girl was shut up here. I am sure I should
+if I had seen you beforehand."</P>
+<P>She coloured a little at the compliment, and said, lightly: "Father
+told me once that Irishmen were great hands at compliments. He told me
+that there was some stone that people went to an old castle to kiss--I
+think that he called it the Blarney Stone--and after that they were able
+to say all sorts of absurd things."</P>
+<P>"I have never kissed the Blarney Stone," Terence said, laughing. "If I
+wanted to kiss anything, it would be something a good deal softer than
+that."</P>
+<P>They were now entering the camp, and in a few minutes they arrived at
+the tent.</P>
+<P>"I began to think that you were lost, O'Connor," Herrara said, as they
+came up.</P>
+<P>"We had a lot to talk about," Terence replied. "My cousin has been
+insisting upon my telling her my whole history, and all about what has
+passed here since she was shut up a year ago, and, as you may imagine, it
+was rather a long story."</P>
+<P>A few minutes later they sat down on the ground to a meal in which
+roast pork was the leading feature.</P>
+<P>"This is what we call in England a picnic, señora," Terence said to Don
+Jose's wife.</P>
+<P>"A picnic," she repeated; "what does that mean? It is a funny
+word."</P>
+<P>"I have no idea why it should be called so," Terence said. "It means an
+open-air party. The ladies are supposed to bring the provisions, and the
+gentlemen the wine. Sometimes it is a boating party; at other times they
+drive in carriages to the spot agreed upon. It is always very jolly, and
+much better than a formal meal indoors, and you can play all sorts of
+tricks."</P>
+<P>"What sort of tricks, señor?"</P>
+<P>"Oh, there are lots of them. I was always having fun before I became an
+officer. My father was one of the captains of the regiment, and I was
+generally in for any amusement that there was. Once at a picnic, I
+remember that I got hold of the salt-cellars and mustard-pots beforehand,
+and I filled up one with powdered Epsom salts, which are horribly nasty,
+you know, and I mixed the mustard with cayenne pepper. Nobody could make
+out what had happened to the food. They soon suspected the mustard, but
+nobody thought of the salt for a long time. The colonel was furious over
+it, but fortunately they could not prove that I had any hand in the
+matter, though I know that they suspected me, for I did not get an
+invitation to a picnic for a long time afterwards."</P>
+<P>The three girls laughed, but Don Jose said, seriously: "But you would
+have got into terrible trouble if you had been found out, would you
+not?"</P>
+<P>"I should have got a licking, no doubt, señor; but I was pretty
+accustomed to that, and it did not trouble me in any way. At any rate, it
+did not cure me of my love for mischief. I am afraid I never shall be
+cured of that. I used to have no end of fun in the regiment, and I think
+that it did us all good. It takes some thinking to work out a bit of
+mischief properly, and I suppose if one can think one thing out well, one
+can think out another."</P>
+<P>"It seems to have succeeded well in your case, anyhow," Herrara
+laughed. "Perhaps if it had not been for your playing that trick at the
+picnic you would never have taken command of that mob, and we should never
+have gone to Oporto, and my friends and your cousin would be there now--
+that is, if they had not been killed."</P>
+<P>"It may have had something to do with it," Terence admitted.</P>
+<P>"And now, señor," Don Jose said, "which way are you going to take
+us?"</P>
+<P>"We shall go straight on to Coimbra," Terence said, "unless we come
+upon a British force before that. Two long days' march will take us there.
+After that I must do as I am ordered; my independent command will come to
+an end there. I hope that I shall soon hear that my regiment has returned
+from England."</P>
+<P>"And what is to become of me? I have not thought of asking," Mary
+O'Connor said.</P>
+<P>"That must depend upon circumstances, Mary. If I go down to Lisbon, I
+hope that we shall all travel together, and I can then put you on board a
+transport returning to England. I am sure to find letters from my father
+there, telling me where he is and whether he is coming back with the
+regiment."</P>
+<P>"We shall be very happy, señor," Don Jose said, courteously, "to take
+charge of the señora, until there is an opportunity for sending her to
+England. I have, of course, many friends in Lisbon, and shall take a house
+there the instant I arrive, and Donna O'Connor will be as one of my own
+family."</P>
+<P>"I am extremely obliged to you, Don Jose. I have been wondering all day
+as I rode along what I should do with my cousin if, as is probable, I am
+obliged to stay at Coimbra until I receive orders from Lisbon. Your kind
+offer relieves me of a great anxiety. I think that it will be prudent for
+her to take another name while she is at Lisbon. There will certainly be
+no inquiries after her, for the lady superior of her convent will, of
+course, conclude that she was accidentally separated from the others in
+the crush, and that she was trampled on, or killed; and, indeed, there
+will be such confusion in Oporto that the loss of a nun more or less would
+fail to attract attention. At any rate, it is likely to be a long time
+before any report the lady superior will make to the bishop will reach
+him--months, perhaps, for she is not likely to take any particular pains
+to tell him news that would certainly anger him.</P>
+<P>"Still, if he goes to Lisbon, as no doubt he will, and by any chance
+happens to hear that Miss O'Connor was one of those who had escaped from
+the sack of Oporto, he might make inquiries, and then all sorts of trouble
+might arise, even if he did not have her carried off by force, which would
+be easy enough in a place so disturbed as Lisbon at present is."</P>
+<P>"I think that you are right, señor," Don Jose said, gravely. "At any
+rate it would be as well to avoid any risk. What name shall we call
+her?"</P>
+<P>"You can call her Miss Dillon, señor, that is the name of an officer in
+our regiment."</P>
+<P>"But the bishop might meet her in the street by chance; what then?"</P>
+<P>"I don't think that he would know me," Mary O'Connor put in. "I have
+seen him, but I don't suppose that he ever noticed me until he saw me in
+my nun's dress, and, of course, I look very different now. Still, he is
+very sharp, and I will take good care never to go out without a veil."</P>
+<P>"That will be the safest plan, Mary," Terence said, "though I don't
+think anyone would recognize you. Of course, he supposes that you are
+still snugly shut up in the convent; still, it is just as well not to run
+the slightest risk."</P>
+<P>They made two long marches and reached Coimbra early on the third
+morning, bringing the first news that had been received there of the
+storming of Oporto. Terence at once reported himself to the commanding
+officer.</P>
+<P>"I was wondering where these two regiments came from, Mr. O'Connor,"
+the colonel said. "I watched them march in, and thought that they were the
+most orderly body that I have seen since we came out here. Whose corps are
+they?"</P>
+<P>"Well, Colonel, they are my corps. I will tell you about it presently;
+it is a long story."</P>
+<P>"How strong are they?"</P>
+<P>"The field state this morning made them two thousand three hundred and
+fifty-five. They were two thousand five hundred to begin with; the rest
+are either killed or wounded."</P>
+<P>"Oh, you have had some fighting then."</P>
+<P>"We have had our share, at any rate, Colonel, and I think I can venture
+to say that no other Portuguese corps shows so good a record."</P>
+<P>"We have a large number of tents in store, and I will order a
+sufficient number to be served out to put all your men under canvas, with
+the understanding that if the army advances this way the tents must be
+handed back to us. There are quantities of uniforms also. There have been
+ship-loads sent over for the use of the Portuguese militia, who were to
+turn out in their hundreds of thousands, but who have yet to be
+discovered. Would you like some of them?"</P>
+<P>"Very much, indeed, Colonel. It would add very greatly to their
+appearance; though, as far as fighting goes, I am bound to say that I
+could wish nothing better."</P>
+<P>"Really! Then all I can say is you have made a very valuable discovery.
+Hitherto the fighting powers of the Portuguese have been invisible to the
+naked eye. But if you have found that they really will fight under some
+circumstances, we may hope that, now Lord Beresford has come out to take
+command of the Portuguese army, and is going to have a certain number of
+British officers to train and command them, they will be of some utility,
+instead of being simply a scourge to the country and a constant drain on
+our purse."</P>
+<P>"Have you heard that Oporto is captured, sir?"</P>
+<P>"No, you don't say so!"</P>
+<P>"Captured in less than an hour from the time that the first gun was
+fired."</P>
+<P>"Just what I expected. When you have political bishops who not only
+pretend to govern a country, but also assume the command of armies, how
+can it be otherwise? However, you shall tell me about it presently. I will
+go down with you at once to the stores and order the issue of the tents
+and uniforms. My orders were that the uniforms were to be served out to
+militia and ordenanças; under which head do your men come?"</P>
+<P>"The latter, sir; that is what they really were, but they hung the
+three men the Junta sent to command them, and placed themselves in my
+hands, and I have done the best I could with them, with the assistance of
+Lieutenant Herrara--who, as you may remember, accompanied me in charge of
+the escort--and my own two troopers and his men, and between us we have
+really done much in the way of disciplining them."</P>
+<P>Two hours later the tents were pitched on a spot half a mile distant
+from the town. By the time that this was done the carts with the uniforms
+came up, to the great delight of the men.</P>
+<P>"I have to go to the commandant again now, Herrara; let the uniforms be
+served out to the men at once. Tell the captains to see to their fitting
+as well as possible. I have no doubt that the colonel will come down to
+inspect them this afternoon, and will probably bring a good many officers
+with him, so we must make as good a show as possible."</P>
+<P>Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor had, on arriving at Coimbra, hired
+rooms, as Don Jose had determined to stay for a few days before going on,
+because his wife had been much shaken by the events that had taken place,
+and his eldest daughter was naturally anxious to wait until she knew
+whether Herrara would be able to return to Lisbon, or would remain with
+the corps. By the time Terence returned to the colonel's quarters it was
+lunch time.</P>
+<P>"You must come across to mess, Mr. O'Connor," the commandant said.
+"Everyone is anxious to hear your news, and it will save your going over
+it twice if you will tell it after lunch. I fancy every officer in the
+camp will be there."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XIX</H3>
+<H4>CONFIRMED IN COMMAND</H4></CENTER>
+<P>Terence, after lunch was over, first related to the officers all that
+he knew of the siege of Oporto, explaining why he did not choose to
+sacrifice the men under him by joining the undisciplined rabble in the
+intrenchments, but determined to keep the head of the bridge. They
+listened with breathless interest to his narrative of the attack and
+capture of Oporto.</P>
+<P>"But how was it that that fifty-gun battery did not knock the bridge to
+pieces when the French tried to cross?"</P>
+<P>"That is more than I can say, Colonel. I should fancy that they were so
+terrified at the utter rout on the other side, which they could see well
+enough, for they had a view right over the town to the intrenchments, that
+they simply fired wildly. I don't believe a single ball hit the bridge,
+though, of course, they ought to have sunk a dozen boats in a couple of
+minutes. My men could have held it for days, though they were suffering
+somewhat from the fire of two of the French field batteries; but I found
+that no steps whatever had been taken to remove the boats from the other
+side. There were great numbers of them all along the bank, and the enemy
+could have crossed a mile higher up, at the spot where I took my men over,
+and so fallen on our rear, therefore I withdrew to save them from being
+cut up or captured uselessly."</P>
+<P>"Now tell us about those troops of yours, O'Connor."</P>
+<P>Terence gave a somewhat detailed account of the manner in which he took
+the command and of the subsequent operations, being desirous of doing
+justice to Herrara and his troopers, and to his own two orderlies. There
+was much laughter among the officers at his assumption of command, and at
+the subsequent steps he took to form his mob of men into an orderly body;
+but interest took the place of amusement as he told how they had prevented
+the French from crossing at the mouth of the Minho, and caused Soult to
+take the circuitous and difficult route by Orense. His subsequent defence
+of the defile and the night attack upon the French, surprised them much,
+and when he brought his story to a conclusion there were warm expressions
+of approval among his hearers.</P>
+<P>"I must congratulate you most heartily, Mr. O'Connor," the colonel
+said. "What seemed at first a very wild and hare-brained enterprise, if
+you don't mind my saying so, certainly turned out a singular success. It
+would have seemed almost impossible that you, a young ensign, should be
+able to exercise any authority over a great body of mere peasants, who
+have everywhere shown themselves utterly insubordinate and useless under
+their native officers. It is nothing short of astonishing; and it is most
+gratifying to find that the Portuguese should, under an English officer,
+develop fighting powers far beyond anything with which they have been
+hitherto credited. What are you going to do now?"</P>
+<P>"I was intending to send my despatches on to Sir John Cradock, and wait
+here for orders."</P>
+<P>"I think that you had better take your despatches on yourself, Mr. O'
+Connor. I do not suppose that they are anything like so full as the story
+you have told us, which, I am sure, would be of as much interest to the
+general as it has been to us."</P>
+<P>"I will do so, sir, and will start this evening. My horse had three
+days' rest at Villa Nova, and is quite fit to travel."</P>
+<P>"You must be feeling terribly anxious about your cousin," the officer
+who had first told him about her remarked; "there is no saying what may
+have happened in Oporto after it was stormed."</P>
+<P>"I should indeed be, if she were there," Terence replied; "but I am
+happy to say that she is at present in Coimbra, having travelled with us
+under the charge of some Portuguese ladies, friends of Herrara."</P>
+<P>"You don't mean to say that you persuaded the bishop to let her out of
+the convent?"</P>
+<P>"Scarcely," Terence laughed, "though the bishop did unwittingly aid
+me."</P>
+<P>"I congratulate you on getting her out," the colonel said.</P>
+<P>"Travers was telling us the day after you left what a curious
+coincidence it was that the nun who threw him out a letter should turn out
+to be a cousin of yours. Will you tell us how you managed it?"</P>
+<P>"I don't mind telling it, sir, if all here will promise not to repeat
+it. The Bishop of Oporto is a somewhat formidable person, and were he to
+lodge a complaint against me he might get me into serious trouble, and is
+perfectly capable of having me stabbed some dark night in the streets of
+Lisbon; therefore, I think it would be as well to omit any details of the
+share he played in the matter. Without that the story is simple enough.
+Having got a boat with two men in it at the end of the street in which
+stood the convent, I went there in the dress of an ecclesiastic, just as
+the French burst into the town. The bishop had fled on the night before to
+the Serra Convent on the other side of the river, and I was able to
+produce an authority from him which satisfied the lady superior that I was
+the bearer of his order for her and the nuns to make for the bridge, and
+to cross the river at once.</P>
+<P>"Of course, I accompanied them. The crowd was great and they naturally
+got separated. In the confusion my orderlies managed to get my cousin out
+of the crowd, and took her straight to the boat. As soon as I saw that
+they had gone, I persuaded the lady superior to take the rest of the nuns
+back to the convent at once, as the bridge was by this time broken, and
+the French had made their appearance. She got the nuns together and made
+off with them as fast as they could run, and after seeing that they were
+all nearly back to their convent without any signs of the French being
+near, I joined the others in the boat, and we rowed across the river. It
+was a simple business altogether, though at first it seemed very
+hopeless."</P>
+<P>"Especially to get the authority of the bishop," the colonel said, with
+a smile.</P>
+<P>"That certainly seemed the most hopeless part of the business," Terence
+replied; "but happily I was able to manage it somehow."</P>
+<P>"Well, you certainly have had a most remarkable series of adventures,
+Mr. O'Connor. Now we will go and inspect your corps. Of course they will
+be rationed while they are here, and will be under my general orders until
+I hear from Cradock."</P>
+<P>"Quite so, Colonel; I am sure they will be proud of being inspected by
+you. Of course, they are unable to do any complicated manoeuvres, but
+those they do know they know pretty thoroughly, and can do them in a rough
+and ready way that for actual work is, I think, just as good as a parade-ground performance. I will go on ahead, sir, and form them up."</P>
+<P>"I would rather, if you don't mind, that they should have no warning,"
+the colonel said; "we will just go down quietly, and see how quickly they
+can turn out."</P>
+<P>"Very well, sir."</P>
+<P>All there expressed their wish to go, and as all were provided with
+horses or ponies of some kind, in ten minutes they rode off in a body. His
+officers had been very busy all the time that Terence had been away,
+serving out the uniforms and seeing that they were properly put on. The
+work was just over, and the men were sauntering about round their tents
+when the party arrived. Herrara came up and saluted. He was known to the
+colonel, as he had dined with Terence at the mess on their way
+through.</P>
+<P>After a few words, Terence said to Herrara:</P>
+<P>"Have the assembly blown, and let the men fall in."</P>
+<P>Herrara walked back to the tents, and a moment later a horn blew. It
+had an uncouth sound, and bore no resemblance to the ordinary call, but it
+was promptly obeyed. The men snatched their muskets from the piles in
+front of the tents, and in a wonderfully short time the whole were formed
+up in their ranks, stiff and immovable.</P>
+<P>"Excellently done!" the colonel said; "no British regiment could have
+fallen in more smartly."</P>
+<P>Accompanied by Terence, and followed by the rest of the officers, he
+rode along the line. The evening before Terence had impressed upon the
+captains of companies the necessity for having the rifles perfectly clean,
+as they were about to join a British camp, so that the pieces were all in
+perfect order. When the inspection was over the mounted group drew off a
+little.</P>
+<P>"The troops will form up in columns of companies," Terence said, and
+Bull and Macwitty, who were at the head of their respective regiments,
+gave the orders. The movements were well executed. The men, proud of their
+uniform, and on their mettle at being inspected by British officers, did
+their best, and that best left little to be desired. After marching past,
+they formed into company squares to resist cavalry, then retired by
+alternate companies, and then formed into line.</P>
+<P>"Excellently done!" said the colonel. "Indeed, I can hardly believe it
+possible that a party of peasants have in a month's time been formed into
+a body of good soldiers. I should like the officers to come up."</P>
+<P>"Call the officers."</P>
+<P>There was an officers' call, and this now sounded, and the twelve
+captains with their two majors rode to the front and saluted. "Mr.
+Herrara," the colonel said, "I have seen with surprise and the greatest
+satisfaction the movements of the men under you; they do you the greatest
+credit, and I shall have pleasure in sending in a most favourable report
+to the general, the result of my inspection of the regiments. I hear from
+Mr. O'Connor that your men have shown themselves capable of holding their
+own against the French, and I can say that I should feel perfectly
+confident in going into action with my regiment supported by such brave
+and capable troops. Would that instead of 2,000 we had 100,000 Portuguese
+troops equally to be trusted, we should very speedily turn the French out
+of Portugal and drive them from the Peninsula."</P>
+<P>The officers bowed and rode off. The troops had not learned the salute,
+and when the horn sounded they were at once dismissed drill.</P>
+<P>"Well, Mr. O'Connor, I must congratulate you most heartily on what you
+have done. If nothing else, you have added to our army a couple of strong
+regiments of capable soldiers. If I had not seen it myself I should have
+thought it impossible that over 2,000 men could be converted into soldiers
+in so short a time, and that without experienced non-commissioned officers
+to work them up."</P>
+<P>Returning to Coimbra with the colonel, Terence rode to the house where
+Herrara's friends had taken rooms, and told them that he was going to
+leave them. Don Jose at once wrote several letters of introduction to
+influential friends at Lisbon, telling them that he and his daughters had
+escaped from the sack of Oporto, and asking them to show every kindness to
+the officer, to whom they chiefly owed their safety.</P>
+<P>Terence meanwhile returned to camp, arranged with Herrara and the two
+majors that everything was to go on as usual during his absence, urging
+them to work hard at their drill, and to impress upon the men the
+necessity, now that they were in uniform, of carrying themselves as
+soldiers, and doing credit to their corps.</P>
+<P>Five days later he arrived at Lisbon, taking with him a report from the
+commandant of his inspection of the corps.</P>
+<P>"I had begun to be afraid that you had been killed or taken prisoner,
+Mr. O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, as Terence presented himself, "or
+that you must have fallen back with Romana into Spain. He seems to have
+behaved very badly, for, as I hear, although he had 10,000 men with him,
+half of them regular troops, he retired without a shot being fired--except
+by two regiments who were mauled by the French cavalry--and left Silveira
+in the lurch."</P>
+<P>"I was on other business, General, and I fear that you will think that
+I exceeded my orders; but I hope that you will consider that the result
+has justified my doing so. Will you kindly first run your eye over this
+report by the officer commanding at Coimbra?"</P>
+<P>Sir John Cradock read the report with a puzzled expression of face,
+then he said: "But what regiments are these that Colonel Wilberforce
+speaks of in such high terms? Were they part of Romana's force? He speaks
+of them as a corps under your command, and as being 2,300 strong."</P>
+<P>"They were not Romana's men, sir, but a body of ordenanças, of whom, as
+my report will inform you, I came by a combination of circumstances to
+take the command, appointing Lieutenant Herrara, who commanded my escort,
+colonel, my two orderlies as majors, and the Portuguese troopers of my
+escort as captains of companies. We have been several times engaged with
+the French, and I cannot speak too highly of the behaviour of officers and
+men."</P>
+<P>Sir John Cradock burst into a laugh. "You certainly are a cool hand,
+Mr. O'Connor. Assuredly I did not contemplate when I sent you off that you
+would return as colonel of two regiments."</P>
+<P>"Nor did I, sir. But, you see, you gave me general instructions to
+concert measures with Romana for the defence of the frontier. I saw at
+once that Romana was hopeless, and was therefore myself driven to take
+these measures. As Oporto has fallen I cannot say they were successful,
+but at least I may say that we gave Oporto fourteen days' extra time to
+prepare her defence, and if she did not take advantage of the time it was
+not my fault."</P>
+<P>The look of amusement on the general's face turned to one of
+interest.</P>
+<P>"How did you do that, sir?"</P>
+<P>"My corps prevented Soult from crossing at the mouth of the Minho,
+General, killing some two hundred of his men and driving his boats back
+across the river. When the French general saw that he could not cross in
+face of such opposition, he was obliged to march his army round by Orense
+and down by the passes, which ought to have been successfully defended by
+the Portuguese."</P>
+<P>"That was good service, indeed, Mr. O'Connor. I received despatches
+from our agents at Oporto, saying that Soult's landing had been repulsed
+by armed peasants."</P>
+<P>"My men were little more than armed peasants then, sir, though they had
+had a few days' hard drill; still, a British officer would scarcely have
+called them soldiers."</P>
+<P>"Well, I think that Wilberforce's report shows that they have a right
+to that title now. Take a seat, Mr. O' Connor, and a newspaper--there are
+some that arrived two days ago--while I look over your report."</P>
+<P>Terence had written in much greater detail than is usual in official
+reports, as he wished the general to see how well the men and their
+officers had behaved. It was twenty minutes before the general finished
+it.</P>
+<P>"A very remarkable report, Mr. O'Connor; very remarkable. You must dine
+with me this evening. I have many questions to ask you about it, and also
+about the storming of Oporto, of which we have, as yet, received no
+details, although a messenger from the bishop brought us the news some
+days ago. He seems to have made a terrible mess of it."</P>
+<P>"He ought to be hung, sir!" Terence said, indignantly. "After getting
+all those unfortunate peasants together he sneaked off and hid himself in
+a convent on the other side of the river, on the very night before the
+French attacked."</P>
+<P>"Unfortunately, Mr. O'Connor, we cannot give all men their deserts, or
+we should want all the rope on board the ships in the harbour for the
+purpose. The bishop is a firebrand of the most dangerous kind; and I
+suppose we shall have him here in a day or two, for he said in his letter
+that he was on his way. There is one comfort: he will be too busy in
+quarrelling with the authorities to have any time to spend on his quarrels
+with us. Then I shall see you in an hour's time. Please ask Captain Nelson
+to come in here; I have some notes for him to write."</P>
+<P>Terence bowed and retired.</P>
+<P>"What a nuisance!" Captain Nelson said. "I was wanting to hear all that
+you had been doing."</P>
+<P>"I am to dine with the general," Terence said. "Perhaps I shall meet
+you there."</P>
+<P>Captain Nelson found that he was wanted to write notes of invitation to
+such of the officers who were still at Lisbon as had dined there when
+Terence was last the general's guest; and as the general's invitations
+overrode all other engagements, most of them were present when Terence
+returned.</P>
+<P>"Mr. O'Connor has another story for you, gentlemen," the general said,
+when the cloth was removed and the wine put upon the table. "I am not sure
+whether I am right in calling him Mr. O' Connor, for he has been
+performing the duties of a colonel, commanding two regiments in the
+Portuguese service. I will preface his story by reading the report of
+Colonel Wilberforce, commanding at Coimbra, of the state of efficiency of
+his command."</P>
+<P>There was a look of surprise at the general's remarks, and that
+surprise was greatly heightened on the reading of Colonel Wilberforce's
+report.</P>
+<P>"Now, Mr. O'Connor," the general said, when he had finished, "I am sure
+that we shall all be obliged by your giving us a detailed statement of the
+manner in which you raised those regiments, and of the operations that you
+undertook with them; and the more details you give us the better, for it
+is well that we should understand how the Portuguese can be best handled.
+I may say at once that, personally, we are greatly indebted to you for
+having proved that, when even partially disciplined and well led, they are
+capable of doing very good service, a fact of which, I own, I have been
+hitherto very doubtful."</P>
+<P>Smiles were exchanged among the auditors when Terence described the
+manner in which he came to command the body of undisciplined ordenanças.
+When he spoke of the state in which he found Romana's army, and the reason
+for his determination to keep his column intact, they listened more
+attentively, and exchanged looks of surprise when he described his rapid
+march to the mouth of the Minho, and the repulse of Soult's attempt to
+cross from Tuy. He then described how he had joined Silveira, and the
+mutiny of that general's troops. Still more surprise was manifested when
+he related the action in the defile and the bravery with which his troops
+had behaved, and the manner in which they had been handled by the troopers
+that he had appointed as their officers. The night attack on the cavalry
+and infantry of the head of Soult's column was equally well received. His
+reasons for not joining the army at Braga, and of keeping aloof from the
+mob of peasants at Oporto were as much approved as was the holding of the
+bridge for a while, and his reasons for withdrawing.</P>
+<P>"Well, gentlemen," the general said, when Terence had finished, "I
+think you will allow that my aide-de-camp, Mr. O'Connor, has given a good
+account of himself, and that if he went outside my orders, his doing so
+has been most amply justified."</P>
+<P>"It has, indeed, General," one of the senior officers said, warmly. "I
+can answer for myself, that I should have been proud to have been able to
+tell such a story."</P>
+<P>A murmur of approval ran round the table.</P>
+<P>"It is difficult to say whether Mr. O'Connor's readiness to accept
+responsibility, or the manner in which, in the short space of a month, he
+turned a mob of peasants into regular soldiers, or the quickness with
+which he marched to the spot threatened by Soult, and so compelled him to
+entirely change the plan of his campaign, or his conduct in the defence of
+the defile, and in his night attack, are most remarkable."</P>
+<P>"I should wish to say, General, that in telling this story I have been
+chiefly anxious to do justice to the hearty co-operation of Lieutenant
+Herrara, and the services rendered by my own two orderlies and his
+troopers. By myself, I could have done absolutely nothing. Their work was
+hard and incessant, and the drill and discipline of the troops was wholly
+due to them."</P>
+<P>"I understand, Mr. O'Connor; it is quite right for you to say so, and I
+thoroughly recognize that they must have done good service; but it is to
+the man that plans, organizes, and infuses his own spirit into those under
+his command, that everything is due. Now, Mr. O'Connor, I think I will ask
+you to leave us for a few minutes; the case is rather an exceptional one,
+and I shall be glad to chat the matter over with the officers present.
+Well, gentlemen, what do you think that we are to do with Mr. O'Connor?"
+he went on, with a smile, as the door closed behind Terence.</P>
+<P>"My experience affords me no guide, General," another of the senior
+officers said. "It is simply amazing that a lad of seventeen--I suppose he
+is not much over that--should have conceived and carried out such a plan.
+It sounds like a piece of old knight-errantry. Clive did as much, but
+Clive was some years older when he first became a thorn in the side of the
+French. What is your opinion, sir?"</P>
+<P>"He is already a lieutenant," the general said. "I sent home a strong
+recommendation that he should be promoted, when he was last here, and
+received an intimation three days ago that he had been gazetted lieutenant
+and transferred to my staff. This time I shall simply, send home a copy of
+the report he has furnished me with, and that of Colonel Wilberforce, and
+say that I leave the reports to speak for themselves, but that in my
+opinion it is a case altogether exceptional. That is all I can do now. The
+question of course is, whether he shall return to staff service again, or
+shall continue in command of the corps with which he has done so much. If
+he does the latter he must have local rank, otherwise he would be liable
+to be overruled by any Portuguese officer of superior rank. I think that
+the best way would be to send a copy of the reports to Lord Beresford,
+saying that my opinion is very strong that Lieutenant O'Connor should be
+allowed to retain an independent command of the corps that he has raised
+and disciplined; and that I will either myself bestow local rank upon him,
+and treat the corps as forming a part of the British army, like that of
+Trant, or that he should give him local rank as its colonel, in which case
+he would operate still independently, but in connection with Beresford's
+own force."</P>
+<P>"I should almost think that the first step would be best, General, if I
+might say so. In the first place, Beresford will have any number of
+irregular parties operating with him, while such a corps would be
+invaluable to us. They are capable of taking long marches, they know the
+mountains and forests, and would keep us supplied with news, while they
+harassed the enemy. As an officer on your staff, O'Connor would have a
+much greater power among the Portuguese population than he would have on
+his own account in their own army, and he would be very much less likely
+to be interfered with by the leaders of other parties and corps."</P>
+<P>"Perhaps that would be the best way, Colonel. I will send the reports
+to Beresford, and say that I have appointed Lieutenant O'Connor to remain
+in command of this corps, which I shall attach to my own command; and
+saying that I shall be obliged if he will have a commission made out for
+him, giving him the local rank of colonel in the Portuguese army.
+Beresford is himself a gallant soldier, and will appreciate, as you do,
+the work that O'Connor has done; and as he knows nothing of the lad's age
+he will comply, as a matter of course, with my request. I shall, in
+writing home, strongly recommend his two cavalrymen for commissions. As to
+Herrara, I shall ask Beresford to give him the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
+I shall suggest to Beresford that his troopers should all receive
+commissions in his army. They have all earned them, which is more than I
+can say of any other Portuguese soldiers, so far as I have heard."</P>
+<P>Terence was then called in again.</P>
+<P>"In the first place, I have a pleasant piece of news to give you, Mr.
+O' Connor, namely, that I have received from home an official letter, that
+on my recommendation you have been gazetted to the rank of lieutenant and
+transferred to my staff; in the second place, I have decided, that while
+still retaining you on my staff, you will be continued in your present
+command; I shall obtain for you a commission as colonel in the Portuguese
+service, but your corps will form part of my command, and act with the
+British army. I shall request Lord Beresford to appoint Mr. Herrara to the
+rank of lieutenant-colonel, and shall recommend that commissions be given
+to his troopers. The two orderlies, of whose services you spoke so highly,
+I shall recommend for commissions in our army, and shall request Lord
+Beresford to give them local rank as majors."</P>
+<P>Terence coloured with pleasure and confusion.</P>
+<P>"I am greatly obliged to you, General," he said; "but I do not at all
+feel that the services that I have tried to perform----"</P>
+<P>"That is for me to judge," the general said, kindly. "All the officers
+here quite agree with me, that those services have been very marked and
+exceptional and are at one with me as to how they should be recognized.
+Moreover, in obtaining for you the rank of colonel in the Portuguese army,
+I am not only recognizing those services, but am adding to the power that
+you will have of rendering further services to the army. Although attached
+to our forces, you will receive your colonel's commission from Lord
+Beresford, who is now the general appointed by the Portuguese government
+to command their army."</P>
+<P>It was now late, and the party rose. All of them shook hands warmly
+with Terence, who retired with his friend Captain Nelson. The latter told
+him before they went in to dinner that he had had a bed put up for him in
+his own room.</P>
+<P>"Well, Colonel O'Connor," Nelson laughed, "you must allow me to be the
+first to salute you as my superior officer."</P>
+<P>"It is absurd altogether," Terence said, almost ruefully. "Still,
+Captain Nelson, though I may hold a superior rank in the Portuguese army,
+that goes for very little. I have seen enough of Portuguese officers to
+know that even their own soldiers have not got any respect for them, and
+in our own army I am only a lieutenant."</P>
+<P>"That is so, lad; however, there was never promotion more deserved. And
+as you hung, or rather left to be hung, a Portuguese colonel, it is only
+right that you should supply the deficiency."</P>
+<P>"I hope I shall not have to wear a Portuguese uniform," Terence said,
+earnestly.</P>
+<P>"I should think not, O'Connor, but I will ask the general in the
+morning. Of course, you will not wear your present uniform, because you
+are now gazetted into the staff and out of your own regiment. Now we will
+smoke a quiet cigar before we turn in. Have you any other story to tell me
+that you have not already related?"</P>
+<P>"Well, yes, I have one, but it is only of a personal interest;" and he
+then gave an account of his discovery of his cousin in the convent at
+Oporto, and how he had managed to rescue her, ending by saying: "I have
+told you the story, Nelson, so that if by any unexpected accident it is
+found out that she is an escaped nun, and her friends appeal to the
+general for protection, you may be aware of the circumstances, and
+help."</P>
+<P>"Certainly I will do so," Captain Nelson said, warmly. "You certainly
+have a wonderful head for devising plans."</P>
+<P>"I began it early," Terence laughed. "I was always in mischief before I
+got my commission, and I suppose that helps me; but you see I had
+wonderful luck."</P>
+<P>"I don't say anything against your luck; but good luck is of no use
+unless a fellow knows how to take advantage of it, and that is just what
+you have done. I suppose that you will stay here for a day or two."</P>
+<P>"My horse wants a couple of days' rest, and I have my uniform to get. I
+suppose I can get one made in a couple of days, whether it is a Portuguese
+or an English one."</P>
+<P>"Yes, I dare say you will be able to manage that."</P>
+<P>The next morning, to his great satisfaction, Terence learned that the
+general said he had better wear staff uniform, and he accordingly went
+with Captain Nelson and was measured.</P>
+<P>"Your Portuguese seems to have improved amazingly in the two months you
+have been away," the latter said, as they came out from the shop; "you
+seem to jabber away quite fluently."</P>
+<P>"I have been talking nothing else, and Herrara has acted as my
+instructor, so I get on very fairly now."</P>
+<P>At this moment a carriage drove past them.</P>
+<P>"That is the Bishop of Oporto," said Terence; "I suppose he has just
+arrived."</P>
+<P>"It is a good thing that he does not know you as well as you know him,"
+Captain Nelson said, dryly; "if he did, your adventures would be likely to
+be cut short by a knife between your shoulders some dark night."</P>
+<P>"He does not know me at all," Terence laughed; "the advantages are all
+on my side in the present case."</P>
+<P>"It is an advantage," Captain Nelson laughed. "When I think that you
+have raised your hand against that venerable but somewhat truculent
+prelate, I shudder at your boldness. I only caught a glimpse of him as he
+passed, but I could see that he looks rather scared."</P>
+<P>"Perhaps he hasn't recovered yet from the fright I gave him," laughed
+Terence; "I have seen and heard enough of his doings, and paid him a very
+small instalment of the debt due to him."</P>
+<P>The uniforms were promised for the next evening, and Terence felt when
+he put them on that they were a considerable improvement upon his late
+one, stained and discoloured as it was by wet, mud, and travel. After
+paying a visit to the general to say good-bye, Terence mounted and started
+for Coimbra.</P>
+<P>Upon his arrival there four days later he at once reported himself to
+the commandant.</P>
+<P>"I received a copy of the general order of last Tuesday," the latter
+said, "and congratulate you warmly on being confirmed in your rank. I
+thought that it would be so, for one could not reckon that, had another
+taken your place, your corps would have maintained its present state of
+efficiency."</P>
+<P>"You are very good to say so, Colonel, but any British officer
+appointed to command it would do as well or better than I should."</P>
+<P>"I don't think that he would in any way; but certainly he would not be
+followed with the same confidence by his men as they would follow you, and
+with troops like these everything depends upon their confidence in their
+commander."</P>
+<P>"The corps is now attached to our army, Colonel; you were good enough
+to order them to be rationed before, but I have now an order from the
+general for them to draw pay and rations the same as the British
+troops."</P>
+<P>"That is all right," the colonel said, examining the document; "I will
+take a copy of it, but as it is a general order you must keep the original
+yourself. I see that you have now adopted the uniform of the staff. It is
+certainly a great improvement upon that of an infantry officer, and
+appearances go for a good deal among these Portuguese. I see, by the way,
+that you have got your step in our army."</P>
+<P>"Yes, Colonel, the general was good enough to recommend me. Of course I
+am glad in one way, but I am sorry that it has put me out of the regiment
+that I have been brought up with. But, of course, it was necessary, for I
+could not have gone over other men's heads in it."</P>
+<P>"No, when a man gets special promotion it is always into another
+regiment for that reason. You will be glad to hear that your men have been
+behaving extremely well in your absence, and that I have not heard of a
+single case of drunkenness or misconduct among them. I have been down
+there several times, and always found them hard at work drilling; they
+seem to me to improve every time I see them."</P>
+<P>On leaving the colonel's quarters Terence rode to his cousin's. Mary
+rose with an exclamation of surprise as he entered.</P>
+<P>"What a handsome uniform, Terence! How is it that you have changed
+it?"</P>
+<P>"I am now regularly on the general's staff, Mary, and this is the
+uniform."</P>
+<P>"You look very well in it," she said; "don't you think so,
+Lorenza?"</P>
+<P>"I do, indeed," her friend agreed; "it does make a difference."</P>
+<P>"Well, to begin with, it is clean and new," Terence laughed; "and
+though the other was not old, it had seen its best days. But I have more
+news, Mary; you have now to address your cousin as colonel."</P>
+<P>Mary clapped her hands, and Don Jose and his family uttered
+exclamations of pleasure.</P>
+<P>"It is quite right," Mary said; "it is ridiculous that Señor Herrara
+should be colonel and you only Mr. O'Connor."</P>
+<P>"It does not matter much about a name," he said. "I commanded before
+and I shall do so now, but I have got Portuguese rank."</P>
+<P>"Why did not they make you an English colonel?" Mary asked, rather
+indignantly.</P>
+<P>Terence laughed. "I shall be lucky if I get that in another twenty
+years, Mary. I am a lieutenant now--I have got the step since you saw me
+last--but I am to rank as a colonel in the Portuguese army as long as I
+command this corps, which I am glad to say is now to form a part of the
+British army. Herrara is to have the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Bull and
+Macwitty will, I hope, get their commissions as ensigns in the British
+army, with local rank of majors. The general will recommend that Herrara's
+troopers all get commissions in the Portuguese army."</P>
+<P>"Ah, well! I am pleased that your services are appreciated, Terence. We
+are very glad that you have come back, Lorenza especially so, as, now you
+have returned, she thinks she will see more of Señor Herrara."</P>
+<P>"The bishop is in Lisbon, Mary."</P>
+<P>"That is not such good news, Terence. I will be very careful to keep
+out of his way."</P>
+<P>"Do," he said. "I have spoken to Captain Nelson, one of the general's
+staff, about you, and if by any chance you should be recognized as an
+escaped nun, I hope that Don Jose will go to him at once and ask him to
+obtain the general's protection for you, which will, I am sure, be given.
+Your father was an Irishman. You are a British subject, and have a right
+to protection. You won't forget the name, Don Jose--Captain Nelson?"</P>
+<P>"I will write it down at once," the Portuguese said, "but as Donna Mary
+will pass under the name of Dillon, and her dress has so changed her
+appearance, I do not think that there is the smallest fear of her being
+recognized. Indeed, no one could know her except the bishop himself."</P>
+<P>"You may be sure that I shall not go out much in Lisbon," Mary said,
+"and if I do I will keep my promise to be always closely veiled."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XX</H3>
+<H4>WITH THE MAYOS</H4></CENTER>
+<P>The news that Terence brought to the regiment gave great and general
+satisfaction. Herrara was delighted to hear that he was to be made a
+lieutenant-colonel in his army. Bull and Macwitty were overjoyed on
+hearing that they had both been recommended for commissions, and Herrara's
+troopers were equally pleased. The rank and file felt no less
+gratification, both at the honour of being attached to the British army,
+and at the substantial improvement in their condition that this would
+entail.</P>
+<P>On the following day Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor left for
+Lisbon, and the latter astonished Terence by bursting into tears as she
+said good-bye to him.</P>
+<P>"I have said nothing yet of the gratitude that I feel to you, Terence,
+for all that you have done for me, for you have always stopped me whenever
+I have tried to, but I shall always feel it, always; and shall think of
+you and love you dearly."</P>
+<P>"It has been just as fortunate for me as it has been good for you,
+Mary," he said. "I have never had a sister, and I seem to have found one
+now."</P>
+<P>The girl looked up, pouting. "I don't think," she said, "I should
+particularly care about being a sister; I think that I would rather remain
+a cousin."</P>
+<P>Terence looked surprised and a little hurt.</P>
+<P>"You are only a silly boy," she laughed, "but will understand better
+some day. Well, good-bye, Terence," and the smile faded from her face.</P>
+<P> [Illustration: TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY
+O'CONNOR.]</P>
+<P> "Good-bye, dear. Take great care of yourself in Lisbon, and be sure
+that you look out to see if the Mayo Fusiliers arrive while you are there.
+I heard that they were about to embark again with a force that General
+Hill is bringing out, but my father won't be with them, I am afraid. I
+have not heard from him, but I should hardly think that he will be fit for
+hard service again; yet, if he should be, he will tell you where to go to
+till we get back. At any rate, don't start for England until the regiment
+comes. I fancy that it will be at Lisbon before you are, and Don Jose can
+easily find out for you whether father is with it. If he is not, go to
+Ballinagra. I have written instructions how you are to travel, but you had
+better write to him there directly you land, and I have no doubt that he
+will come over and fetch you. I don't know anything about London, but you
+had better see Captain Nelson at Lisbon. Here is a note I have written to
+him, asking him where you had better go, and what you had better do when
+you get to London."</P>
+<P>The day after the party had left, Terence marched with his corps north,
+and established himself at Carvalho, where the road from Oporto passed
+over the spurs of the Serra de Caramula, in order to check the incursions
+of French cavalry from Oporto. In the course of the next fortnight he had
+several sharp engagements with them. In the last of these, when making a
+reconnaissance with both regiments, he was met by the whole of
+Franceschi's cavalry. They charged down on all four sides of the square
+into which he formed his force, expecting that, as upon two previous
+occasions, the Portuguese would at once break up at their approach. They
+stood, however, perfectly firm, and received the cavalry with such
+withering volleys that Franceschi speedily drew off, leaving upwards of
+two hundred dead behind him.</P>
+<P>The day after this fight Terence received a letter from Mary, saying
+that General Hill had arrived before they reached Lisbon, and that Don
+Jose had learned that Major O'Connor had retired on half-pay. Also that
+Captain Nelson had obtained a passage for her in one of the returning
+transports, and had given her a letter to his mother, who resided in
+London, asking her to receive her until she heard from the major.</P>
+<P>A few days afterwards he learned from Colonel Wilberforce that the
+English army had marched for Leirya. General Hill's force of five thousand
+men and three hundred horses for the artillery arrived at an opportune
+moment. The storming of Oporto, the approach of Victor to Badajos, after
+totally defeating Cuesta's Spanish army, killing three-fifths of his men,
+and capturing thousands of prisoners, while Lapisse was advancing from the
+east, had created a terrible panic in Portugal. Beresford's orders were
+disobeyed, many of his regiments abandoned their posts, and the populace
+in Lisbon were in a state of furious turmoil. Hill's arrival to some
+extent restored confidence, the disorders were repressed, and Sir John
+Cradock now felt himself strong enough to advance.</P>
+<P>Terence's report of the repulse of Franceschi's cavalry was answered by
+a letter from Cradock himself, expressing warm approval at the conduct of
+the corps.</P>
+<P>"There is but little fear of an advance by Soult at present," he said.
+"He must know that we have received reinforcements, and he will not
+venture to march on Lisbon, as the force now gathering at Leirya could
+operate upon his flank and rear. I shall be glad, therefore, if you would
+march with your command to the latter town. The example of your troops
+cannot but have a good effect upon the raw Portuguese levies, and, in the
+event of our advancing to the relief of Ciudad-Rodrigo, could render good
+service by clearing the passes, driving in the French outposts, and
+keeping me well informed of the state of the roads, the accommodation
+available for the troops, and the existence of supplies."</P>
+<P>Immediately on receipt of this Terence marched for Leirya, where the
+British army was under canvas. On the way down they halted for a night at
+Coimbra.</P>
+<P>"An official letter came for you last night, O'Connor," Colonel
+Wilberforce said. "I kept it until I should have an opportunity of
+forwarding it to you. Here it is, duly addressed, Colonel O'Connor, the
+Minho Regiment."</P>
+<P>This was the name Sir John Cradock suggested to Terence, as a memorial
+of the service they had rendered in repulsing Soult at that river. It was
+the first time Terence had seen his name with the prefix of colonel.</P>
+<P>"It looks like a farce," he said, as he broke the seal.</P>
+<P>Inside was an official document, signed by Lord Beresford, to the
+effect that as a recognition of the very great services rendered by
+Lieutenant O'Connor, an officer on the staff of Sir John Cradock, when in
+command of the two battalions of the Minho Regiment, and in accordance
+with the strong recommendation of the British general, Lieutenant Terence
+O'Connor is hereby appointed to the rank of colonel in the Portuguese
+service, with the pay and allowances of his rank. Colonel O' Connor is to
+continue in command of the regiments, which will be attached to the
+British army, under the command of Sir John Cradock.</P>
+<P>"Here is also a letter for your friend Herrara, and a much more bulky
+one; will you hand it to him?"</P>
+<P>Herrara's letter contained his promotion to lieutenant-colonel, with an
+order to remain under Terence's command; also fourteen commissions, two
+giving Bull and Macwitty the Portuguese rank of major, the remaining being
+captain's commissions for the twelve troopers.</P>
+<P>Two days later they reached Leirya. The April sun rendered shelter
+unnecessary for the Portuguese, and after establishing them, for the
+present, a quarter of a mile away from the British camp, he went and
+reported his arrival to the officer in command, and was told that he could
+not do better than bivouac on the ground he had selected. Leaving the
+headquarters he soon found where the Mayo regiment was encamped, and made
+his way to the officers' marquee. They were just sitting down to lunch
+when, at the entry of an officer on the general's staff, the colonel at
+once rose gravely. O'Grady was the first to recognize the newcomer.</P>
+<P>"Be jabers," he shouted, "but it is Terence O' Connor himself!" There
+was a general rush to shake hands with him, and a din of voices and a
+confusion of questions and greetings.</P>
+<P>"And what in the world have you got that uniform on for, Terence?"
+O'Grady asked, when the din somewhat subsided. "We saw that the general
+had appointed you as one of his aides-de-camp when you got here after
+Corunna, but you would wear your own uniform all the same."</P>
+<P>"What matters about his uniform, O'Grady?" the others exclaimed. "What
+we want to know is how he saved his life at Corunna, when we all thought
+that he was either killed or taken prisoner."</P>
+<P>"Wait till the lad has got something to eat and drink," the colonel
+said, peremptorily. "Pray take your seats, gentlemen. You take this chair
+by me, O'Connor; and now, while you are waiting for your plate, tell us in
+a few words how you escaped. Everyone made sure that you were killed. We
+heard that Fane had sent you to carry an order, that you had delivered it,
+and then started to rejoin him; from that time nobody saw you alive or
+dead."</P>
+<P>"The matter was very simple, Colonel. My horse was hit in the head with
+a round shot. I went a frightful cropper on some stones in the middle of a
+clump of bushes. I lay there insensible all night, and coming-to in the
+morning, saw that the French had advanced, and the firing on the hill over
+the town told me that the troops had got safely on board ship. I lay quiet
+all day, and at night made off, sheltered for a couple of days with some
+peasants on the other side of the hill, joined Romana, went to the
+Portuguese frontier with him, and then rode to Lisbon, where Sir John
+Cradock was good enough to put me on his staff."</P>
+<P>"We heard you had turned up safely at Lisbon, and glad we were, as you
+may be sure, and a good jollification we had over it. As for O'Grady, it
+has served as an excuse for an extra tumbler ever since."</P>
+<P>"Bad excuses are better than none," Terence laughed, "and if it hadn't
+been that, it would have been something else."</P>
+<P>"Shut up, you young scamp," O'Grady said. "How is it that you have not
+answered my question? Why are you wearing staff-officer's uniform instead
+of your own?"</P>
+<P>"Have you not heard, Colonel," Terence said, "that I no longer belong
+to the regiment?"</P>
+<P>There was a chorus of expressions of regret round the table.</P>
+<P>"And how has that happened, Terence?" the colonel asked. "That is bad
+news for us all, anyway."</P>
+<P>"I was gazetted lieutenant a month ago, Colonel. I suppose you had
+sailed from England before the <i>Gazette</i> came out."</P>
+<P>"I suppose so, lad. Well, you richly deserved your promotion, if it was
+only for that affair on board the <i>Sea-horse</i>, and you ought to have
+had it long ago."</P>
+<P>"I am awfully sorry to leave the regiment. It has been my home as long
+as I can remember, and wherever I may be, I shall always regard it in that
+light."</P>
+<P>"And so you remain on the staff at present, O'Connor?"</P>
+<P>"Well, sir, I am on the staff still, but for the present I am on
+detached duty."</P>
+<P>"What sort of duty, Terence?"</P>
+<P>"I have the honour to command two Portuguese regiments that marched in
+an hour ago."</P>
+<P>A shout of laughter followed the announcement.</P>
+<P>"Bedad, Terence," O'Grady said, "that crack on your head hasn't changed
+your nature, thanks to your thick skull. I suppose it is poking fun at us
+that you are. But you won't take us in this time."</P>
+<P>"I saw the regiments pass at a distance," the colonel said, "and they
+marched in good order, too, which is more than I have seen any other
+Portuguese troops do. Now you mention it, I did see an officer, in what
+looked like a British uniform, riding with the men, but it was too far off
+to see what branch of the service he belonged to. That was you, was
+it?"</P>
+<P>"That was me, sure enough, Colonel."</P>
+<P>"And what were you doing there? Tell us, like a good boy."</P>
+<P>"Absurd as it may appear, and, indeed, absurd as it is, I am in command
+of those two regiments."</P>
+<P>Again a burst of incredulous laughter arose. Terence took out his
+commission and handed it to the colonel.</P>
+<P>"Perhaps, Colonel, if you will be kind enough to read that out loud, my
+assurance will be believed."</P>
+<P>"Faith, it was not your assurance that we doubted, Terence, me boy!"
+O'Grady exclaimed. "You have plenty of assurance, and to spare; it is the
+statement that we were doubting."</P>
+<P>The colonel glanced down the document, and his face assumed an
+expression of extreme surprise.</P>
+<P>"Gentlemen," he said, rising, "if you will endeavour to keep silence
+for a minute, I will read this document."</P>
+<P>The surprise on his own face was repeated on the faces of all those
+present, as he proceeded with his reading. O'Grady was the first to break
+the silence.</P>
+<P>"In the name of St. Peter," he said, "what does it all mean? Are you
+sure that it is a genuine document, Colonel? Terence is capable of
+anything by way of a joke."</P>
+<P>"It is undoubtedly genuine, O'Grady. It is dated from Lord Beresford's
+quarters, and signed by his lordship himself as commander-in-chief of the
+Portuguese army. How it comes about beats me as much as it does you. But
+before we ask any questions we will drink a toast. Gentlemen, fill your
+glasses; here is to the health of Colonel Terence O'Connor."</P>
+<P>The toast was drank with much enthusiasm, mingled with laughter, for
+many of them had still a suspicion that the whole matter was somehow an
+elaborate trick played by Terence.</P>
+<P>"Now, Colonel O'Connor, will you please to favour us with an account of
+how General Cradock and Lord Beresford have both united in giving you so
+big a step up."</P>
+<P>"It is a long story, Colonel."</P>
+<P>"So much the better," the colonel replied. "We have nothing to do, and
+it will keep us all awake."</P>
+<P>Terence's account of his interview with the colonel of the ordenanças,
+the demand by Cortingos that he should hand over the money he was
+escorting, and the subsequent gathering to attack the house, and the
+manner in which the leaders were captured, the rioters appeased and
+subsequently advised to direct their efforts to obtain arms and
+ammunition, excited exclamations of approval; but the belief that the
+story was a pure romance still prevailed in the minds of many, and Terence
+saw Captain O'Grady and Dick Ryan exchanging winks. It was not until
+Terence spoke of his rapid march to the mouth of the Minho, as soon as he
+heard that the French were concentrating there, that he began to be
+seriously listened to; and when he told how Soult's attempt to cross had
+been defeated, and the French general obliged to change the whole plan of
+the campaign, and to march round by Orense, the conviction that all this
+was true was forced upon them.</P>
+<P>"By the powers, Terence!" the colonel exclaimed, bringing his hand down
+on his shoulder, "you are a credit to the ould country. I am proud of you,
+me boy, and it is little I thought when O'Flaherty and myself conspired to
+get ye into the regiment that you were going to be such a credit to it.
+Gentlemen, before Colonel O'Connor goes further, we will drink his health
+again."</P>
+<P>This time there was no laughter mixed with the cheers. Many of the
+officers left their seats and came round to shake his hand warmly, O'Grady
+foremost among them.</P>
+<P>"Sure I thought at first that it was blathering you were, Terence; but,
+begorra, I see now that it's gospel truth you are telling, and I am proud
+of you. Faith, I am as proud as if I were your own father, for haven't I
+brought you up in mischief of all kinds? Be the poker, I would have given
+me other arm to have been with you."</P>
+<P>The rest of the story was listened to without interruption. When it was
+concluded, Colonel Corcoran again rose.</P>
+<P>"Gentlemen, we will for the third time drink to the health of Colonel
+O'Connor, and I think that you will agree with me that if ever a man
+deserved to be made a colonel it's himself."</P>
+<P>This time O'Grady and three others rushed to where Terence was sitting,
+seized him, and before he knew what they were going to do, hoisted him
+onto the shoulders of two of them, and carried him in triumph round the
+table. When at length quiet was restored, and Terence had resumed his
+seat, the colonel said:</P>
+<P>"By the way, Terence, there was a little old gentleman called on me
+three days after we landed to ask if Major O'Connor was with the regiment.
+I told him that he was not, having gone on half-pay for the present on
+account of a wound. He seemed rather pleased than otherwise, I thought,
+and I asked him pretty bluntly what he wanted to know for. He brought an
+interpreter with him, and said through him that he hoped that I would not
+press that question, especially as a lady was concerned in the matter. It
+bothered me entirely. Why, from the time we landed at the Mondego till
+your father was hit at Vimiera I don't believe we ever had the chance to
+speak to a woman. It may be that it was some lady that nursed him there
+after we had marched away, and who had taken a fancy to him. The ould man
+may have been her father, and was perhaps mighty glad to hear that the
+major was not coming back again."</P>
+<P>Terence burst into a shout of laughter.</P>
+<P>"My dear Colonel," he said, "the respectable old gentleman did not call
+on behalf of his daughter, but on behalf of a cousin of mine, who was
+wanting to find my father; and Don Jose, who was in charge of her, was
+glad to hear that he was going to remain in England."</P>
+<P>"A cousin!" O'Grady exclaimed. "Why how in the name of fortune does a
+lady cousin of yours come to be cruising about in such an outlandish place
+as this?"</P>
+<P>"That is another story, Colonel, and I have talked until I am hoarse
+now, so that that must keep until another sitting. It is quite time that I
+was off to see how my men are getting on."</P>
+<P>"Of course you will dine with us?"</P>
+<P>"Not to-night, Colonel; this has been a long sitting, and I would
+rather not begin a fresh one."</P>
+<P>"Well, we will come and have a look at your regiments."</P>
+<P>"I would rather you did not come until to-morrow, Colonel. The men have
+marched five-and-twenty miles a day for the last five days, and they want
+rest, so I should not like to parade them again. If you will come over,
+say at twelve o'clock to-morrow, I shall be proud to show them."</P>
+<P>The corps now possessed five tents, Terence having obtained four more
+at Coimbra. Herrara and himself occupied one, while two were allotted to
+the officers of each regiment. Bull and Macwitty had both by this time
+picked up sufficient Portuguese to be able to get on comfortably, and had
+agreed with Terence that although they would like to remain together, it
+was better that each should stay with the officers of his own
+regiment.</P>
+<P>At twelve o'clock next day Colonel Corcoran came over with nearly the
+whole of the officers of the Mayo regiment, and was accompanied by many
+others, as they had the night before given many of their acquaintances an
+outline of Terence's story.</P>
+<P>The men had been on foot from an early hour after breakfast. There had
+been a parade. Every man's firelock, accoutrements, and uniform had been
+very closely inspected, and when they fell in again at a quarter to twelve
+a most rigid inspection would have failed to find any fault with their
+appearance. Terence joined the colonel as soon as he came on the
+ground.</P>
+<P>"So your officers are all mounted, I see, Terence?"</P>
+<P>"Yes, Colonel; you see the companies are over two hundred strong, for
+the losses we had have been filled up since, and one officer to each corps
+could do but little unless he were mounted."</P>
+<P>"The men looked uncommonly well, Terence, uncommonly well. I should
+like to walk along the line before you move them."</P>
+<P>"By all means, Colonel. Their uniforms do not fit as well as I should
+like, but I had to take them as they were served out, and have had no
+opportunity of getting them altered."</P>
+<P>Since the inspection at Coimbra the men had been taught the salute, and
+as Terence shouted:</P>
+<P>"Attention! General salute! Present arms!" the men executed the order
+with a sharpness and precision that would have done no discredit to a
+British line regiment. Then the colonel and officers walked along the
+line, after which the troops were put through their manoeuvres for an
+hour, and then dismissed.</P>
+<P>"Upon my word, it is wonderful," Colonel Corcoran said. "Why, if the
+beggars had been at it six months they could not have done it better."</P>
+<P>There was a chorus of agreement from all the officers round.</P>
+<P>"We could not have done some of those movements better ourselves, could
+we, O'Driscol?"</P>
+<P>"That we could not," the major said, heartily. "Another three months'
+work and these two regiments would be equal to our best; and I can
+understand now how they stood up against the charge of Franceschi's
+cavalry regiments."</P>
+<P>"Now, Colonel, I cannot ask you all to a meal," Terence said; "my
+arrangements are not sufficiently advanced for that yet; but I managed to
+get hold of some very good wine this morning, and I hope that you will
+take a glass all round before you go back to camp."</P>
+<P>"That we will, and with pleasure, for the dust has well-nigh choked me.
+It is a different thing drilling on this sandy ground from drilling on a
+stretch of good turf. Of course, you will come back and lunch with us, and
+bring your friend Herrara."</P>
+<P>Herrara, however, excused himself. He did not know a word of English,
+and felt that until he could make himself understood he would feel
+uncomfortable at a gathering of English officers. After lunch Terence was
+called upon to tell the story about his cousin. Among his friends of the
+regiment he had no fear of his adventure with the bishop getting abroad,
+and he therefore related the whole story as it happened.</P>
+<P>"By my sowl," O'Grady said to him, afterwards, "Terence O'Connor, you
+take me breath away altogether. To think that a year ago you were just a
+gossoon, and here ye are a colonel--a Portuguese colonel, I grant, but
+still a colonel--fighting Soult, and houlding defiles, and making night
+attacks, and thrashing the French cavalry, and carrying off a nun from a
+convent, and outwitting a bishop, and playing all sorts of divarsions. It
+bates me entirely. There is Dicky Ryan, who, as I tould him yesterday, had
+just the same chances as you have had, just Dicky Ryan still. I tould him
+he ought to blush down to his boots."</P>
+<P>"And what did he say, O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"The young spalpeen had the impudence to say that there was I, Captain
+O'Grady, just the same as when he first joined, and, barring the loss of
+an arm, divil a bit the better. And the worst of it is, it was true
+entirely. If I could but find a pretty cousin shut up in a convent you
+would see that I would not be backward in doing what had to be done; but
+no such luck comes to me at all, at all."</P>
+<P>"Quite so, O' Grady; I have had tremendous luck. And it has all come
+about owing to my happening to think it would be a good thing to take
+possession of that French lugger."</P>
+<P>"Don't you think it, me boy," O'Grady said, seriously. "No doubt a man
+may have a turn of luck, though it is not everyone who takes advantage of
+it when it comes. But when you see a man always succeeding, always doing
+something that other fellows don't do, and making his way up step by step,
+you may put it down that luck has very little to do with the matter, and
+that he has got something in him that other men haven't got. You may have
+had some luck to start with--enough, perhaps, to have got you your
+lieutenancy, though I don't say that it was luck; but you cannot put the
+rest of it down to that."</P>
+<P>At this moment Dick Ryan came and joined them.</P>
+<P>"Well, Dicky," Terence said, "have you had no fun lately in the
+regiment?"</P>
+<P>"Not a scrap," Ryan said, dismally. "There was not much chance of fun
+on that long march; on board ship there was a storm all the way; then we
+were kept on board the transport at Cork nearly three months. Everyone was
+out of temper, and a mouse would not have dared squeak on board the ship.
+I have had a bad time of it since the day we lost you."</P>
+<P>"Oh, well, you will have plenty of chances yet, Dicky."</P>
+<P>"It has not been the same thing since you have gone, Terence," he
+grumbled. "Of course we could not always be having fun; but you know that
+we were always putting our heads together and talking over what might be
+done. It was good fun, even if we could not carry it out. I tried to stir
+up the others of our lot, but they don't seem to have it in them. I wish
+you could get me transferred to your regiment. I know that we should have
+plenty of fun there."</P>
+<P>"I am afraid that it could not be done, Dicky, though I should like it
+immensely. But you see you have not learned a word of Portuguese, and you
+would be of no use in the world."</P>
+<P>"There it is, you see," O'Grady said. "That is one of the points which
+had no luck in it, Terence. You were always trying to talk away with the
+peasants; and, riding about as you did as Fane's aide-de-camp, you had
+opportunities of doing so and made the most of them. Now there are not
+three other fellows in the regiment who can ask a simple question. I can
+shout <i>Carajo!</i> at a mule-driver who loiters behind, and can add two
+or three other strong Portuguese words, but there is an end of it. Cradock
+would never have sent you that errand to Romana if you could not have
+talked enough to have made yourself understood. You could never have jawed
+those mutineers and put them up to getting hold of the arms. If Dicky Ryan
+and I had been sent on that mission we should just have been as helpless
+as babies, and should, like enough, have been murdered by that mob. There
+was no luck about that, you see; it was just because you had done your
+best to pick up the language, and nobody else had taken the trouble to
+learn a word of it."</P>
+<P>"I see that, O'Grady," Ryan said, dolefully. "I don't envy Terence a
+bit. I know that he has quite deserved what he has got, and that if I had
+had his start, I should never have got any farther. Still, I wish I could
+go with him. I know that he has always been the one who invented our
+plans. Still, I have had a good idea sometimes."</P>
+<P>"Certainly you have, Dicky; and if I have generally started an idea,
+you have always worked it up with me. Well, if you will get up Portuguese
+a bit, and I see a chance of asking for another English officer, say as
+adjutant, I will see if I cannot get you; but I could not ask for you
+without being able to give as a reason that you could speak Portuguese
+well."</P>
+<P>"I will try, Terence; upon my honour, I will try hard," Ryan said. "I
+will get hold of a fellow and begin to-day."</P>
+<P>"Quite right, Dicky," O'Grady said. "Faith, I would do it meself, if it
+wasn't in the first place that I am too old to learn, and in the second
+place that I niver could learn anything when I was a boy. I used to get
+thrashed every day regularly, but divil a bit of difference did it make. I
+got to read and write, and there I stuck. As for the ancients, I was
+always mixing them up together; and whether it was Alexander or Caesar who
+marched over the Alps and burnt Jerusalem, divil a bit do I know, and I
+don't see that if I did know it would do me a hap'orth of good."</P>
+<P>"I don't think that particular piece of knowledge would, O'Grady,"
+Terence agreed, with a hearty laugh; "still, even if you did learn
+Portuguese, I couldn't ask for you. I don't mind Dicky, because he is only
+a year senior to me; but if they made me commander-in-chief of the
+Portuguese army, I could never have the cheek to give you an order."</P>
+<P>Three weeks later came the startling news that Sir Arthur Wellesley had
+arrived at Lisbon, and was to assume the command of the army. Sir John
+Cradock was to command at Gibraltar. There was general satisfaction at the
+news, for the events of the last campaign had given all who served under
+him an implicit confidence in Sir Arthur; but it was felt that Sir John
+Cradock had been very hardly treated. In the first place, he was a good
+way senior to Sir Arthur, and in the second place, he had battled against
+innumerable difficulties, and the time was now approaching when he would
+reap the benefit of his labours. To Terence the news came almost as a
+blow, for he felt that it was probable he might be at once appointed to a
+British regiment.</P>
+<P>Personally he would not have cared so much, but he would have regretted
+it greatly for the sake of the men who had followed him. It was true that
+they might obey Herrara as willingly as they did himself, but he knew that
+the native officers did not possess anything like the same influence with
+the Portuguese that the English did, and that there might be a rapid
+deterioration in their discipline and morale. He remained in a state of
+uncertainty for a week, at the end of which time he received a letter from
+Captain Nelson, and tearing it open, read as follows:--</P>
+<DIV class="QUOTE">
+<i>My Dear O' Connor,<br><br>
+
+I dare say you have been feeling somewhat doubtful as to your position
+since you heard that Sir Arthur has superseded Sir John Cradock. I may
+tell you at once that he has taken over the whole of Sir John's staff,
+yourself, of course, included. I ventured to suggest to Sir John that he
+should mention your case to Sir Arthur, and he told me that he had
+intended to take the opportunity of the first informal talk he had with
+him to do so. The opportunity came yesterday, and Sir John went fully into
+your case, showed him the reports, and mentioned how he came to appoint
+you because of the clear and lucid description you gave of the movements
+of every division of Moore's army.<br><br>
+
+
+Sir Arthur remembered your name at once, and the circumstances under
+which he had mentioned you in general orders for your conduct on board the
+transport coming out. Sir John told me that he said, 'There is no doubt
+that O'Connor is a singularly promising young officer, Sir John. The check
+he gave Soult on the Minho might have completely reversed the success of
+the Frenchman's campaign had he had any but Spaniards and Portuguese to
+oppose him. The report shows that O'Connor has done wonders with those two
+regiments of his, and I shall not think of removing him from their
+command. A trustworthy native corps of that description would be of the
+greatest advantage, and will act, like Trant and Wilson's commands, as the
+eyes of the army. I am much obliged to you for your having brought the
+case before my notice, for otherwise, not knowing the circumstances, I
+might very well have considered that the position of a lieutenant on my
+staff as the commander of two native regiments was an anomalous one. I
+should, no doubt, have inquired how it occurred before I thought of
+superseding an officer you had selected, but your explanation more than
+justifies his appointment.' So you see, Terence, the change will make no
+difference in your position. And as I fancy Sir Arthur will not let the
+grass grow under his feet, you are likely to have a lively time of it
+before long. By the way, a Gazette has arrived, and it contains the
+appointment of your two men to commissions.</i><br><br>
+</DIV>
+<P>While waiting at Leirya, Terence had ordered uniforms for all the
+officers. He had, after consultation with Herrara, decided upon one
+approximating rather to the cavalry than to infantry dress, as being more
+convenient for mounted officers. It consisted of tight-fitting green
+patrol jacket, breeches of the same colour, and half-high boots and a
+gold-embroidered belt and slings. The two English officers wore a yellow
+band round their caps, and Herrara a gold one.</P>
+<P>"I am sure, Colonel O'Connor," Bull said, when Terence told Macwitty
+and him that they had been gazetted to commissions, "we cannot thank you
+enough. Macwitty and I have done our best, but it has been nothing more
+than teaching drill to a lot of recruits."</P>
+<P>"We had two or three hard fights, too, Bull; and I have very good
+reason for thinking most highly of you, for I should never have got the
+corps into an efficient state without your assistance. And, indeed, I
+doubt whether I should have ventured upon the task at all if I had not
+been sure that I should be well seconded by you."</P>
+<P>"It is good of you to say so, Colonel," Macwitty said; "but at any
+rate, it has been a rare bit of luck for us, and little did we think when
+we were ordered to accompany you it was going to lead to our getting
+commissions. Well, we will do our best to deserve them."</P>
+<P>"That I am sure you will, Macwitty; and now that the campaign is going
+to commence in earnest, and we may have two or three years' hard fighting,
+you may have opportunities of getting another step before you go
+home."</P>
+<P>Three days later an order came to Terence to march north again with his
+corps, and to place himself in some defensible position north of the
+Mondego, and to co-operate, if necessary, with Trant and Silveira, also
+ordered to take post beyond the river. Cuesta, the Portuguese general, had
+gathered a fresh army of six thousand cavalry and thirty thousand
+infantry. The greater portion were in a position in front of Victor's
+outposts. Between the Tagus and the Mondego were 16,000 Portuguese troops
+of the line, under Lord Beresford, that had been drilled and organized to
+some extent by British officers. The British and German troops numbered
+22,000 fighting men.</P>
+<P>Sir Arthur Wellesley, at Lisbon, had the choice of either falling upon
+Victor or Soult. The former would be the most advantageous operation, but,
+upon the other hand, the Portuguese were most anxious to recover Oporto,
+their second city, with the fertile country round it.</P>
+<P>Another fact which influenced the decision was that Cuesta was alike
+incapable and obstinate, and was wholly indisposed to co-operate warmly
+with the British. The British commander, therefore, decided in the first
+place to attack Soult, and the force at Leirya was ordered to march to
+Coimbra. Five British battalions and two regiments of cavalry, with 7,000
+Portuguese troops, were ordered to Abrantes and Santarem to check Victor,
+should he endeavour to make a rapid march upon Lisbon. Four Portuguese
+battalions were incorporated in each British brigade at Coimbra, Beresford
+retaining 6,000 under his personal command. On the 2d of May Sir Arthur
+reached Coimbra and reviewed the force, 25,000 strong, 9,000 being
+Portuguese, 3,000 Germans, and 13,000 British.</P>
+<P>Soult was badly informed of the storm that was gathering about him, or
+many of his officers were disaffected, and were engaged in a plot to have
+him supplanted; consequently, they kept back the information they received
+of the movements of the British.</P>
+<P> [Illustration: "WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR
+ARTHUR]</P>
+<P></P>
+<P><CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XXI</H3>
+<H4>PORTUGAL FREED</H4></CENTER>
+<P>On the 9th of May Terence was directing the movements of his men, who
+were practising skirmishing among some rough ground at the bottom of the
+hill upon which he had taken up his position, to defend, if necessary, the
+road that crossed it. His men had thrown up several lines of breast-works
+along the face of the hill to a point where steep ravines protected the
+flank of his position. Presently he saw a party of horsemen riding down
+the hill behind him. They reined up suddenly when half-way down the hill
+and paused to watch what was being done; then they came on again. As they
+approached, Terence recognized the erect figure of the officer who rode at
+the head of the party. He cantered up and saluted.</P>
+<P>"Who are you, sir, and what troops are these?" Sir Arthur asked,
+sharply.</P>
+<P>"My name is O'Connor, sir. These men constitute the corps that I have
+the honour to command."</P>
+<P>"Form them up in line," the general said, briefly.</P>
+<P>Terence rode away at a gallop, and as soon as he reached the spot where
+his bugler was standing--for bugles had now taken the place of the horns
+that had before served the purpose--the latter at once blew the assembly,
+and then the order to form line. The men dashed down at the top of their
+speed, and in a very short time formed up in a long line with their
+officers in front.</P>
+<P>"Break them into columns of companies," the general, who had now ridden
+with the staff to the front, said.</P>
+<P>The manoeuvre was performed steadily and well.</P>
+<P>"Send out the alternate companies as skirmishers, while the other
+companies form line and move forward in support." When this had been done
+the order came: "Skirmishers, form into company squares to resist enemy's
+cavalry."</P>
+<P>This had been so frequently practised that in a few seconds the six
+squares were formed up in an attitude to receive cavalry.</P>
+<P>"That is very well done, Colonel O'Connor," Sir Arthur said, with more
+warmth than was usual with him. "Your men are well in hand and know their
+business. It is a very creditable display, indeed; you have proved your
+capacity for command. I have not forgotten what I have heard of you, sir,
+and it will not be long before your services are utilized."</P>
+<P>So saying he rode on. Captain Nelson lingered behind for a moment to
+shake hands with Terence.</P>
+<P>"You may feel proud of that, O'Connor," he said; "Sir Arthur is not
+given to praise, I can assure you. Good-bye, I must catch them up;" and,
+turning, he soon overtook the general's staff.</P>
+<P>That the general was well satisfied was proved by the fact that three
+days later the following appeared in general orders:</P>
+<DIV class="QUOTE">
+<P><i>"The officer commanding-in-chief on Thursday inspected the corps
+under the command of Lieutenant (with the rank of colonel in the
+Portuguese army) O'Connor. He was much pleased with the discipline and
+quickness with which the corps went through certain movements ordered by
+him. This corps has already greatly distinguished itself, and Sir Arthur
+would point to it as an example to be imitated by all officers having
+command of Portuguese troops."</i></P>
+</DIV>
+<P>Soult's position had now become very dangerous. The Spanish and
+Portuguese insurgents were upon the Lima, and the principal portion of his
+own force was south of the Douro.</P>
+<P>Franceschi's cavalry, supported by infantry and artillery, and by
+Mermet's division, occupied the country between that river and the Vouga,
+and was without communication with the centre at Oporto, except by the
+bridge of boats.</P>
+<P>Although aware that there was a considerable force gathering at
+Coimbra, the French general had no idea that the whole of the British army
+was assembling there. Confident that success would attend his operations,
+Sir Arthur directed the Portuguese corps to be in readiness to harass
+Soult's retreat through the mountain denies and up the valley of the
+Tamega, and so to force him to march north instead of making for
+Salamanca, where he could unite with the French army there.</P>
+<P>A mounted officer brought similar orders to Terence. Half an hour after
+receiving them the corps was on the march. The instructions were brief and
+simple:</P>
+<DIV class="QUOTE">
+<P><i>"You will endeavour to harass Soult as he retreats across the Tras-os-Montes, and try to head him off to the north. Act as circumstances may
+dictate."</i></P>
+</DIV>
+<P>The service was a dangerous one, and Terence felt that it was a high
+honour that the general should have appointed him to undertake it, for he
+assuredly would not have sent the corps on such a mission had he not
+considered that they could be relied upon to take care of themselves. They
+would be wholly unsupported save by parties of peasants and ordenanças;
+they would have to operate against an army broken, doubtless, by defeat,
+but all the more determined to push on, as delay might mean total
+loss.</P>
+<P>He followed the line of the Vouga to the point where it emerged from
+the hills, crossed these, and came down upon the Douro some ten miles
+above San Joao, at nearly the same spot where he had before made the
+passage when on his way to join Romana.</P>
+<P>He was now well beyond the district held by the French south of the
+Douro, and, obtaining a number of boats, crossed the river, and then made
+for Mirandella on the river Tua, and halted some distance from the town,
+having made a march of over seventy miles in two days. Learning from the
+peasants that there were no French troops west of the Tamega, he marched
+the next day to the crest looking down into the valley, and here halted
+until he could learn that Soult was retreating, and what road he was
+following. He had not long to wait for news, for, on the night of the 9th,
+while he was on his march by the Vouga, the British force had moved
+forward to Aveiro. Hill's division had there taken boats, and proceeding
+up the lake to Ovar, had landed at sunrise on the 10th, and placed himself
+on Franceschi's right.</P>
+<P>In the meantime Paget's division had marched to Albergaria, while
+Cotton's division and Trant's command moved to turn Franceschi's position
+on its right. The darkness and their ignorance of the roads prevented the
+movement being attended with the hoped-for success. Had the operation been
+carried out without a hitch, Franceschi and Mermet would both have been
+driven off the line of retreat to the bridge of Oporto, and must have been
+captured or destroyed. As it was, Franceschi fell back fighting, joined
+Mermet's division at Crijo, a day's march in the rear, and although the
+whole were driven on the following day from this position, they retired in
+good order, and that night effected their retreat across the bridge of
+boats, which was then destroyed.</P>
+<P>As Franceschi's report informed Soult that the whole force of the
+allies was now upon him, he at once sent off his heavy artillery and
+baggage by the road to Amarante. Mermet was posted at Valongo, with orders
+to patrol the river and to seize every boat. Those at Oporto were also
+secured. On the morning of the 12th the British force was concentrated
+behind the hill of Villa Nova, and Sir Arthur took his place on the top of
+the Serra Convent, from whence he commanded a view of the city and
+opposite bank. He saw that the French force was stationed for the most
+part below Oporto. Franceschi's report had led Soult to believe that
+Hill's division had come by sea, and he expected that the transports would
+go up to the mouth of the Douro, and that the British would attempt to
+effect a landing there.</P>
+<P>The river took a sharp turn round the Serra Convent, and Sir Arthur saw
+that another large convent on the opposite bank, known as the Seminary,
+was concealed by the hill from Soult's position, and that it might be
+occupied without attracting the attention of the French. After much search
+a little boat was found; in this a few men crossed and brought back two
+large boats from the opposite side of the river. In these the troops at
+once began to cross, and two companies had taken possession of the convent
+before Soult was aware of what was going on. Then a prodigious din arose.
+Troops were hurried through the town, the bugles and trumpets sounded the
+alarm, while the populace thronged to the roofs of their houses wildly
+cheering and waving handkerchiefs and scarves, and the church bells added
+to the clamour.</P>
+<P>Three batteries of artillery had been brought up close to the Serra
+Convent, and now that there was no longer need of concealment these were
+brought forward, and--as the French issued from the town and hurried
+towards the post held by the two companies that had crossed--opened a
+heavy fire upon them. The French pushed on gallantly in spite of this fire
+and the musketry of the soldiers, but the wall of the convent was strong,
+more boats had been obtained, and every minute added to the number of the
+defenders. The attack was, nevertheless, obstinately continued. The French
+artillery endeavoured to blow in the gate, and for a time the position of
+the defenders was serious, but the enemy's troops were now evacuating the
+lower part of the town, and immediately they did so the inhabitants
+brought boats over, and a brigade under Sherwood crossed there.</P>
+<P>In the meantime General Murray had been sent with the German division
+to effect a passage of the river two miles farther up. Soult's orders to
+take possession of all the boats had been neglected, and it was not long
+before Murray crossed with his force. The confusion in the French line of
+retreat was now terrible. A battery of artillery, who brought up the rear,
+were smitten by the fire of Sherwood's men; many were killed, and the rest
+cut their traces and galloped on to join the retreating army. Sherwood's
+men pressed these in the rear, the infantry on the roof of the Seminary
+poured their fire on the retiring masses, and the guns on the Serra rock
+swept the long line.</P>
+<P>Had Murray now fallen upon the disordered crowd their discomfiture
+would have been complete, but he held his force inactive, afraid that the
+French might turn upon him and drive him into the river. General Stewart
+and Major Harvey, furious at his inactivity, charged the French at the
+head of two squadrons of cavalry only, dashed through the enemy's column,
+unhorsed General Laborde and wounded General Foy. Receiving, however, no
+support whatever from Murray, the gallant little band of cavalry were
+forced to fight their way back with loss. Thus, as Franceschi had been
+saved from destruction from an error as to the road, Soult was saved the
+loss of this army by Murray's timidity, and in both cases Sir Arthur's
+masterly plans failed in attaining the complete success they deserved.</P>
+<P>Terence had engaged several peasants to watch the roads leading from
+Oporto, and as soon as he learned that a long train of baggage and heavy
+guns was leaving the city by the road to Amarante, he crossed the valley,
+took up a position on the Catalena hill flanking the road, and as the
+waggons came along opened a sudden and heavy fire upon them. Although
+protected by a strong guard the convoy fell into confusion, many of the
+horses being killed by the first volley. Some of the drivers leapt from
+their seats and deserted their charges, others flogged their horses, and
+tried to push through the struggling mass. An incessant fire was kept up,
+but just as Terence was about to order the whole corps to charge down and
+complete the work, a large body of cavalry, followed by a heavy body of
+infantry, appeared on the scene.</P>
+<P>This was Merle's division, that had hastened up from Valonga on hearing
+the firing. The advance of the cavalry was checked by the musketry fire,
+but Merle at once ordered his infantry to mount the hill and drive the
+Portuguese off. The latter stood their ground gallantly for some time,
+inflicting heavy loss upon their assailants. Terence saw, however, that he
+could not hope to withstand long the attack of a whole French division,
+and leaving two companies behind to check the enemy's advance, he marched
+along the crest of the hill until he came upon the road crossing from
+Amarante to the Ave river.</P>
+<P>By this time he had been joined by the rear-guard, who had retired in
+time to make their escape before the French reached the top of the hill.
+Merle posted a brigade along the crest of the ridge to prevent a
+repetition of the attack, and to cover Soult's line of retreat, if he were
+forced to fall back; while Terence took up his position near Pombeiro,
+whence he presently saw the convoy enter Amarante. He had the
+satisfaction, however, of noticing that it was greatly diminished in
+length, a great many of the waggons having been left behind owing to the
+number of horses that had been killed. His attack had had another
+advantage of which he was unaware, for it had so occupied Merle's
+attention that he had neglected to have all the boats taken across the
+river, which enabled Murray's command to cross the next day, an error
+which, had Murray been possessed of any dash and energy, would have proved
+fatal to the French army.</P>
+<P>The next day Terence heard the sound of the guns on the Serra height,
+but the distance was too great for the crack of musketry to reach him, and
+he had no idea that the British were crossing the river until he saw the
+French marching across the mouth of the valley towards Amarante. Among
+such veteran troops discipline was speedly recovered, and they encamped in
+good order in the valley. That town was, however, in the hands of the
+Portuguese, Loison, either from treachery or incapacity, having disobeyed
+Soult's orders and retired before the advance of the Portuguese force
+under Lord Beresford, and, evacuating Amarante, taken the road to
+Guimaraens, passing by Pombeiro.</P>
+<P>He had sent no news to Soult, and the latter general was altogether
+ignorant that he had left Amarante. Upon receiving the news from the head
+of the column he at once saw that the position had now become a desperate
+one. Beresford, he learned at the same time, had marched up the Tamega
+valley to take post at Chaves, where Silveira had joined him. A retreat in
+that direction, therefore, was impossible, and he at once destroyed his
+baggage, spiked his guns, and at nightfall, guided by a peasant, ascended
+a path up the Serra Catalena, and, marching all night, rejoined Loison at
+Guimaraens, passing on his way through Pombeiro. Terence had left the
+place a few hours before, believing that Soult must return up the valley
+of the Tamega, and, ignorant that Beresford and Silveira barred the way,
+he marched after nightfall towards Chaves and took up a position where he
+could arrest, for a time, the retreat of the French army.</P>
+<P>He had left two of his men at Pombeiro, and had halted but a short time
+after completing his long and arduous march when his two men came up with
+the news that Soult had passed by the very place he had a few hours before
+left. As there was more than one route open to Soult, Terence was unable
+to decide which he had best take. His men had already performed a very
+long march, and it was absolutely necessary to give them a rest; he
+therefore allowed them to sleep during the day. Towards evening he crossed
+the Serra de Cabrierra and came down upon Salamende, and sent out scouts
+for news. Destroying the guns, ammunition, and baggage of Loison's
+division, Soult reached the Carvalho on the evening of the 14th, drew up
+his army on the position that he had occupied two months before at the
+battle of Braga, reorganized his forces, and ordering Loison to lead the
+advance, while he himself took command of the rear, continued his march.
+The next day Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had been obliged to halt at Oporto
+until the whole army, with its artillery and train, had passed the river,
+reached Braga, having marched by a much shorter road.</P>
+<P>Terence's scouts brought news that the whole of the French army were
+marching towards Salamende. Wholly unsupported as he was, ignorant of the
+position of Beresford and Silveira, and knowing nothing of Sir Arthur's
+march towards Braga, he decided not to attempt with his force to bar the
+way to Soult's twenty thousand men, but to hold Salamende for a time and
+then fall back up the mountains. Before doing so he sent a party to blow
+up the bridge at Ponte Nova across the Cavado, and also sent his second
+regiment to defend the passage at Riuvaens.</P>
+<P>Thinking it likely that Soult would again cross the mountains to
+Chaves, he sent Herrara in command of the force at the bridge, while he
+himself remained at Salamende. Here he had the houses facing the road by
+which the enemy would approach, loopholed and the road itself barricaded.
+Late in the afternoon the French cavalry were seen approaching, and a
+heavy fire was at once opened upon them. The rapidity of the discharges
+showed Franceschi that the place was held by more than a mere party of
+peasants, and he drew off his cavalry and allowed the infantry to pass
+him. For half an hour the Portuguese held their ground and repulsed three
+determined assaults; then, seeing a strong body of troops ascending the
+hillside to take the position in flank, Terence ordered his troops to fall
+back. This they did in good order, and took up a position high up on the
+hill.</P>
+<P>The French made but a short pause; a small body of cavalry that Soult
+had left near Braga brought him the news that the British army was
+entering that town. Scouts were sent forward at once, and their report
+that the bridge of Riuvaens was destroyed, and that 1,200 Portuguese
+regular troops were on the opposite bank, decided him to take the road by
+the Ponte Nova. The night was a terrible one; the rain had for two days
+been continuous, and the troops were drenched to the skin and impatient at
+the hardship that they had suffered. The scouts reported that the bridge
+here had also been destroyed, but that one of the parapets was still
+unbroken, and that the force on the other side consisted only of peasants.
+Soult ordered Major Doulong, an officer celebrated for his courage, to
+take a hundred grenadiers and secure the passage.</P>
+<P>A violent storm was now raging, and their footsteps being deadened by
+the roar of the wind, the French crept up, killed the Portuguese sentry on
+their side of the bridge before he could give the alarm, and then crawled
+across the narrow line of masonry. Then they rushed up the opposite
+heights, shouting and firing, and the peasantry, believing that the whole
+French army were upon them, fled at once. The bridge was hastily repaired,
+and at four o'clock in the morning the whole of the French army had
+crossed. Their retreat was opposed at a bridge of a single arch over a
+torrent, by a party of Portuguese peasantry, but after two repulses the
+French, led by Major Doulong, carried it.</P>
+<P>They were just in time, for in the afternoon the British came upon a
+strong rear-guard left at Salamende. Some light troops at once turned
+their flank, while Sherwood attacked them in front, and they fled in
+confusion to the Ponte Nova. As the general imagined that Soult would take
+the other road, their retreat in this direction was for some time
+unperceived, but just as they were crossing, the British artillery opened
+fire upon the bridge with terrible effect, very many of the enemy being
+killed before they could effect a passage. Their further retreat was
+performed without molestation. The British troops had made very long
+marches in the hopes of cutting Soult's line of retreat, and as the
+French, unlike the British, carried no provisions for their march, there
+was now little hope of overtaking them, especially as their main body was
+far ahead.</P>
+<P>Sir Arthur halted for a day at Riuvaens, where Terence's corps was now
+concentrated, he having marched there the night he was driven out of
+Salamende. As soon as the British entered the place, the general inquired
+what corps was holding it, and at once sent for Terence.</P>
+<P>"Let me hear what you have been doing, Colonel O'Connor."</P>
+<P>Terence had, as soon as he heard that the army had arrived at
+Salamende, written out a report of his movements from the time that he had
+marched from Vouga. He now presented it. The general waved it aside.</P>
+<P>"Tell me yourself," he said.</P>
+<P>Terence related as briefly as possible the course he had followed, and
+the reasons of his movements.</P>
+<P>"Good!" the general said, when he had finished. "Your calculations were
+all well founded; but, of course, you could not calculate on Soult's night
+march across the Catalena hills, and, as you knew nothing of the
+whereabouts of Beresford and Silveira, you had good reason to suppose that
+Soult would continue his march up the valley of the Tamega to Chaves. That
+was the only mistake you committed, and an older soldier might well have
+fallen into the same error. When you had found out your mistake, you acted
+promptly, and could not have done better than to proceed to Salamende. You
+did well to destroy both bridges, and to place half your force to defend
+the passage here, for you naturally supposed, as I supposed myself, that
+Soult would follow this road down to Chaves.</P>
+<P>"You were again deceived, but were in no way to blame. Your position
+was most judiciously chosen on the Catalena hills on Soult's natural line
+of retreat, and I heard that the enemy's baggage train had been very
+severely mauled, and was only saved from destruction by Merle deploying
+his whole division against the force attacking it. Again I see you made a
+stout defence at Salamende. We saw a large number of French dead there as
+we marched in. If everyone else had done as well as you have done, young
+sir, Soult's army would never have escaped me."</P>
+<P>Terence bowed, and retired deeply gratified, for he had been doubtful
+what his reception would be. He knew that he had done his best, but twice
+he had been mistaken, and each time the mistake had allowed Soult to pass
+unmolested; and he was, therefore, all the more pleased on learning that
+so skilful a general had declared that these mistakes, although
+unfortunate, were yet natural.</P>
+<P>Soult reached Orense on the 20th, without guns, stores, ammunition, or
+baggage, his men exhausted with fatigue and misery, most of them shoeless,
+and some without muskets. He had left Orense seventy-six days before with
+22,000 men, and had lately been joined by 3,500 from Tuy. He returned with
+19,500, having lost 6,000 by sword, sickness, assassination, and capture.
+Of these 3,600 were taken in the hospitals at Oporto, Chaves, Vianna, and
+Braga. One thousand were killed in the advance, and the remainder captured
+or killed within the last eight days.</P>
+<P>A day later the news arrived that Victor was at last advancing and a
+considerable number of the troops assembled at Salamende, among them
+Terence's corps, were ordered to march to join the force opposed to him.
+Terence started two hours before the bulk of the force got into motion,
+and traversing the ground at a high rate of speed, struck the road from
+Lisbon a day in advance of the British troops. There was, however, no
+occasion for action, for Victor, who had taken Abrantes, had, on receiving
+news of the fall of Oporto, at once evacuated that town and fallen back,
+and for a time all operations ceased on that side.</P>
+<P>The British army had suffered but slight loss in battle, but the long
+marches, the terribly wet weather, and the effect of climate told heavily
+upon them, and upwards of 4,000 men were, in a short time, in
+hospital.</P>
+<P>Fortunately, however, a reinforcement of equal strength arrived from
+England, and the fighting strength of the army was therefore maintained.
+There was still, however, a great want of transport animals; the
+commissariat were, for the most part, new to their duties, and ignorant of
+the language. Sir Arthur Wellesley was engaged in the endeavour to get
+Cuesta to co-operate with him, but the obstinate old man refused to do so
+unless his plans were adopted; and these were of so wild and impracticable
+a character that Sir Arthur preferred to act alone, especially as Cuesta's
+army had already been repeatedly beaten by the French, and the utter
+worthlessness of his soldiers demonstrated.</P>
+<P>The pause of operations in Spain, entailed by the concentration of the
+commands of Soult, Ney, Victor, and Lapisse on the frontier, had given
+breathing time to Spain. Large armies had again been raised, and the same
+confident ideas, the same jealousy between generals, and the same quarrels
+between the Juntas had been prevalent. Once again Spain was confident that
+she could alone, and unaided, drive the French across the frontier
+altogether, forgetful of the easy and crushing defeats that had before
+been inflicted upon her. Like Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley was to some
+extent deceived by these boastings, and believed that he should obtain
+material assistance in the way of transports and provisions, and that at
+least valuable diversions might be made by the Spanish army.</P>
+<P>He accepted, too, to some extent, the estimate of the Spaniards as to
+the strength of the French, and believed that their fighting force in the
+Peninsula did not exceed 130,000 men, whereas in reality it amounted to
+over 250,000. The greatest impediment to the advance was the want of
+money, for while the British government continued to pour vast sums into
+Cadiz and Seville, for the use of the Spaniards, they were unable to find
+money for the advance of their own army. The soldiers consequently were
+unpaid, badly fed, almost in rags, and a large proportion of them
+shoeless; and to meet the most urgent wants, the general was forced to
+raise loans at exorbitant rates at Lisbon. And yet, while a great general
+and a victorious army were nearly starving in Portugal, the British
+government had landed 12,000 troops in Italy and had despatched one of the
+finest expeditions that ever sailed from England, consisting of 40,000
+troops and as many seamen and marines of the fleet, to Walcheren, where no
+small proportion of them died of fever, and the rest returned home broken
+in health and unfit for active service, without having performed a single
+action worthy of merit.</P>
+<P>The Mayo Fusiliers were among the regiments stationed at Abrantes, and
+Terence received orders to take up a position four miles ahead of that
+town, and hold it unless Victor again advanced in overwhelming strength,
+and then to fall back on Abrantes. This exactly suited his own wishes. It
+was pleasant to him to be within a short ride of his old regiment, while
+at the same time his corps were not encamped with a British division, for
+his own position was an anomalous one, and among the officers who did not
+know him he was regarded as a young staff-officer. He could not explain
+the position he held without constantly repeating the manner in which he
+had gained a commission as colonel in the Portuguese service.</P>
+<P>During the month that had passed without movement, he continued his
+efforts to improve his corps, and borrowed a dozen non-commissioned
+officers from Colonel Corcoran to instruct his sergeants in their duty,
+and thus enable them to train others and relieve the officers of some of
+their work. He had in his first report stated that he had kept back £1,000
+of the money he carried to Romana for the use of his corps, and as he had
+never received any comment or instructions as to the portion that had not
+been expended, he had still some money in hand. This he spent in
+supplementing the scanty rations served out. Frequently he rode into
+Abrantes and spent the evening with the Mayo Fusiliers. The first time he
+did so he requested the officers always to call him, as before, Terence
+O'Connor.</P>
+<P>"It is absurd being addressed as colonel when I am only a lieutenant in
+the service. Of course when I am with the corps it is a different thing; I
+am its colonel, and must be called so; but it is really very annoying to
+be called so here."</P>
+<P>"You must be feeling quite rusty," Colonel Corcoran said to him,
+"sitting here doing nothing, after nine months of incessant moving
+about."</P>
+<P>"I am not rusting, Colonel, I am hard at work sharpening my blade; that
+is, improving my corps. Your men drill my sergeants four hours a day, and
+for the other eight each of them is repeating the instructions that he has
+received to three others. So that by the time we are in movement again I
+hope to have a sergeant who knows something of his duty to each fifty men.
+I can assure you that in addition to the great need for such men when the
+troops are out skirmishing, or otherwise detached in small parties, I felt
+that their appearance on parade was greatly marred by the fact that the
+non-commissioned officers did not know their proper places or their proper
+work, which neither Bull nor Macwitty, nor indeed the company officers,
+could instruct them in, all being cavalrymen."</P>
+<P>"Yes, I noticed that when I saw them at Leirya," the colonel said. "Of
+course it was of no consequence at all as far as their efficiency went,
+but to the eye of an English officer, naturally, something seemed
+wanting."</P>
+<P>"I should be glad of at least four more officers to each company, and
+at one time thought of writing to Lord Beresford to ask him to supply me
+with some, but I came to the conclusion that we had better leave matters
+as they were. In the first place young officers would know nothing of
+their work, and nothing of me; and in the second place, if they were men
+of good family they would not like serving under officers who have been
+raised from the ranks; and lastly, if they became discontented, they might
+render the men so. We have done very fairly at present, and we had better
+go on as we are; and when I get a sufficient number of trained men to
+furnish a full supply of non-commissioned officers, I shall do better than
+with commissioned ones, for the men are of course carefully selected, and
+I know them to be trustworthy, whereas those they sent me might be idle,
+or worse than useless."</P>
+<P>"You spake like King Solomon, Terence," O'Grady said; "not that he can
+have known anything whatever about military matters."</P>
+<P>A roar of laughter greeted this very doubtful compliment.</P>
+<P>"Thank you, O'Grady," Terence said. "That is one of the prettiest
+speeches I have heard for a long time. I shall know where to come for a
+character."</P>
+<P>"You are right there, Terence; but you may live a good many years
+before you get a chance of calling a whole British army under arms, as you
+did at Salamanca."</P>
+<P>Terence was at once assailed with a storm of questions, for with the
+exception of O'Grady, no one had suspected the share that he and Dicky
+Ryan had had in that affair. Terence knew that the latter had kept the
+secret, for he had asked him only two or three days before, and he
+therefore assumed an expression of innocence.</P>
+<P>"What on earth do you mean, O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"What do I mane? Why, that somehow or other you were at the bottom of
+that shindy when all the troops were turned out on a false alarm."</P>
+<P>"Really, O'Grady, that is too bad. You know that every trick that was
+played at Athlone was your suggestion, and as we never could find out how
+that alarm originated, of course you put it down to me, whereas it is just
+as likely to have been your own work. Colonel Corcoran knows that Dicky
+and I were in the mess-room at the convent at the time when the alarm
+broke out."</P>
+<P>"That was so," the colonel agreed, "for I know that you were talking to
+me when Hoolan ran in and told us that there was a row in the town. On
+what do you base your suspicions, O'Grady?"</P>
+<P>"Just upon me knowledge of the two lads, Colonel. Faith, there never
+was a piece of mischief afloat that they were not mixed up with."</P>
+<P>"If that is all you have to say, O'Grady," Terence replied, "I should
+advise you not to go hunting for mares' nests again. I know that you can
+see as far into a brick wall as most people, but you cannot see what is
+going on on the other side."</P>
+<P>"All the same, Terence," O'Grady said, doggedly, "to the end of me life
+I will always believe that you had a hand in the matter. There is no one
+else that I know of except you and Ryan who would have had the cheek to do
+such a thing, and I don't believe that you can deny it yourself."</P>
+<P>"I shall not trouble myself to plead not guilty, except before a
+regularly constituted court," Terence laughed. "At any rate, as when the
+march begins we shall go on first as scouts, it may be that I shall send
+in news which will turn out a British army again."</P>
+<P>"I will forgive you if you do, for it is likely that we should have
+some divarsion after turning out, instead of marching out and back again
+like a regiment of omadhouns."</P>
+<CENTER><H3>CHAPTER XXII</H3>
+<H4>NEWS FROM HOME</H4></CENTER>
+<P>A week after arriving at Abrantes, seeing that there was no probability
+whatever of fighting for a time, Terence had suggested to Herrara that it
+would be a good opportunity for him to run down to Lisbon for a few days
+to see his fiancée and his friends in the town.</P>
+<P>"I don't know who you really ought to apply to for leave," he said,
+"but as we are a sort of half-independent corps, it seems the simplest way
+for me to take the responsibility. Nobody is ever likely to ask any
+questions about it; and now that it will simply be a matter of hard drill
+till the army moves again, you can be very well spared. If it is company
+work, it is the captain's business. If the two regiments are manoeuvring
+together, they will of course be under Bull and Macwitty, and I should be
+acting as brigadier."</P>
+<P>"I should like to go very much," Herrara said. "I have not yet had the
+pleasure of introducing myself to my family and friends as a lieutenant-colonel. Of course, I wrote to my people when I received the commission
+from Lord Beresford; but it would be really fun to surprise some of my
+school-fellows and comrades, so if you think that it will not be
+inconvenient I should like very much to go."</P>
+<P>"Then if I were you I should start at once. I will give you a sort of
+formal letter of leave in case you are questioned as you go down. You can
+get to Santarem to-night and to Lisbon to-morrow afternoon."</P>
+<P>"Is there anything that I can do for you?"</P>
+<P>"Yes; I wish you would ask Don Jose if he will, through his friends at
+Oporto, find out whether my cousin's mother was there at the time the
+French entered, and if she was, whether she got through that horrible
+business unhurt. I have been hearing about it from my friends, who were a
+couple of days there before the force marched to Braga. They tell me that,
+by all accounts, the business was even worse than we feared. The French
+came upon some of their comrades tied to posts in the great square,
+horribly mutilated, some of them with their eyes put out, still living,
+and after that they spared no one; and upon my word, I can hardly blame
+them, and in fact don't blame them at all, so long as they only  their
+vengeance on men. The people made it worse for themselves by keeping up a
+desultory fire from windows and housetops when resistance had long ceased
+to be of any use; and, of course, seeing their comrades shot down in this
+way infuriated the troops still further.</P>
+<P>"I don't suppose it will make the slightest difference in the world to
+my cousin whether her mother is dead or not, for I fancy from what Mary
+said that her mother never cared for her in the slightest. Possibly she
+was jealous that the child had the first place in the father's affections.
+However that may be, there was certainly no great love between them, and
+of course her subsequent treatment of my cousin destroyed any affection
+that might have existed. That either by some deed executed at the time of
+marriage, or by Portuguese law, Mary has a right to the estate at her
+mother's death, is clear from the efforts they made to get her to renounce
+that right. Still, there is no more chance of her ever inheriting it than
+there would be of her flying. As a nun she would naturally have to
+renounce all property, and no doubt the law of this priest-ridden country
+would decide that she had done so. She tells me--and I am sure, truly--
+that she refused to open her lips to say a single word when she was forced
+to go through the ceremony; but as, no doubt, a score of witnesses would
+be brought forward to swear that she answered all the usual questions and
+renounced all worldly possessions, that denial would go for nothing."</P>
+<P>"Besides," Herrara said, "it would never do for her to set foot in
+Portugal. She would be seized as an escaped nun immediately, and would
+never be heard of again."</P>
+<P>"I have no doubt that that would be so, Herrara; and as she has a nice
+fortune from her father, you may be sure that she will not trouble about
+the estates here, and her mother would be welcome to do as she likes with
+them, which is, after all, not unreasonable, as they are her property and
+descended to her from her father. Still, I should be glad to learn, if it
+does not give any great trouble, whether if, as is almost certain--for the
+people from all the country round took refuge there long before the French
+arrived--she was in Oporto, and if so, whether she got through the sack of
+the town unharmed. No doubt Mary would be glad to hear."</P>
+<P>"I am sure Don Jose would be able to find out for you without any
+difficulty," Herrara said; "indeed I expect he will soon be going back
+there himself. Now that there is a British garrison in the town, that the
+bishop must be utterly discredited there, and a good many of his Junta
+must have been killed, while the rabble of the town has been thoroughly
+discomfited, the place will be more comfortable to live in than it has
+been for a long time past. Is there anything else I can do for you?"</P>
+<P>"Nothing whatever."</P>
+<P>A quarter of an hour later Herrara left for Lisbon, bearing many
+messages of kind regards on Terence's part to Don Jose and his family.
+Terence's last words were:</P>
+<P>"By the way, Herrara, if you should be able to find at any store in
+Lisbon some Irish whisky, I wish you would get six dozen cases for me, or
+what would be more handy, a sixteen or eighteen gallon keg, and could get
+it sent on by some cart coming here, I should be very much obliged. It had
+better be sent to me, care of Colonel Corcoran, Mayo Fusiliers, Abrantes.
+I should like to be able to give a glass to my friends when they ride out
+to see me. But have the barrel or cases sewn up in canvas before the
+address is put on; I would not trust it to the escort of any British guard
+if they were aware of the nature of the contents. Wine would be safe with
+them, for they can get that anywhere, but it would be too much for the
+honesty of any Irishman if he were to see a cask labelled Irish
+whisky."</P>
+<P>A week later Colonel Corcoran said when Terence rode in:</P>
+<P>"By the bye, O'Connor, there is a cask of wine for you at my quarters;
+it was brought up by an ammunition train this morning. The officer said
+that a Portuguese colonel had begged him so earnestly to bring it up that
+he could not refuse."</P>
+<P> "It was Herrara, no doubt, Colonel; he has gone down to Lisbon for a
+week."</P>
+<P>"Ah! I suppose he sent you a keg of choice wine."</P>
+<P>"You shall taste it next time you come out, Colonel. I have been
+wishing that I had something better than the ordinary wine of the country
+to offer when you come over to see me. I will send over a couple of men
+with a cart in the morning to bring it out to me."</P>
+<P>On leaving that evening Terence invited all the officers who could get
+away from duty to come over to lunch the next day.</P>
+<P>"Bring your knives and forks with you," he said; "and I think you had
+better bring your plates, too; I fancy four are all I can muster."</P>
+<P>Early next morning Terence told Bull and Macwitty that he expected a
+dozen officers out to lunch with him. "And I want you to lunch with me
+too. I know that Captain O'Grady and others have asked you several times
+to go in and dine at mess, and that you have not gone. I hope to-day you
+will meet them at luncheon. I can understand that you feel a little
+uncomfortable at this first meeting with a lot of officers as officers
+yourselves; but, of course, you must do it sooner or later, and it would
+be much better doing so at once.</P>
+<P>"The next thing is, what can I give them to eat? I should be glad if
+you will send out a dozen foraging parties in different directions; there
+must be little villages scattered among the hills that have so far escaped
+French and English plunderers. Let each party take four or five dollars
+with them. I want anything that can be got, but my idea is a couple of
+young kids, three or four ducks, or a couple of geese, as many chickens,
+and of course any vegetables that you can get hold of. My man Sancho is a
+capital cook, and he will get fires ready and two or three assistants.
+They will be here by one o'clock, so the foraging parties had better
+return by ten."</P>
+<P>"If there is anything to be brought you shall have it, Colonel," Bull
+said; "Macwitty and I will both go ourselves, and we will get half a dozen
+of the captains to go too; between us it is hard if we don't manage to get
+enough."</P>
+<P>By ten o'clock the officers rode in, almost every one of them having
+some sort of bird or beast hanging from his saddle-bow; there were two
+kids, a sucking pig, two hares, half a dozen chickens, three geese, and
+five ducks, while the nets which they carried for forage for their horses
+were filled with vegetables. Half a dozen fires had already been lighted,
+and Sancho had obtained as many assistants, so that by the time the
+colonel and fifteen officers rode up lunch was ready.</P>
+<P>After chatting for a few minutes with them, Terence led the way to a
+rough table that was placed under the shade of a tree. Ammunition boxes
+were arranged along for seats. Although but a portion of what had been
+brought in had been cooked, the effect of the table was imposing.</P>
+<P>"Why, O'Connor," the colonel said, "have you got one of the genii, like
+Aladdin, and ordered him to bring up a banquet for you? I have not seen a
+winged thing since we marched from Coimbra, and here you have got all the
+luxuries of the season. No wonder you like independent action, if this is
+what comes of it; there have we been feeding on tough ration beef, and
+here are the contents of a whole farmyard."</P>
+<P>Almost all the officers had been out before, and Bull and Macwitty had
+been introduced to them. They now all sat down to the meal.</P>
+<P>"I am sorry Major O'Driscol is not here," Terence said.</P>
+<P>"He could not get away," the colonel said, from the other end of the
+table. "If the general had come round and there hadn't been a field-officer left to meet him there would have been a row over it. I have
+brought pretty nearly all the officers with me, and I dared not stretch it
+further."</P>
+<P>"O'Grady," Terence said, "I wish you would carve this hare for me, I
+have no idea how it ought to be cut. I can manage a chicken, or a duck,
+but this is beyond me altogether."</P>
+<P>"I will do it gladly, Terence; faith, it is a comfort to find that
+there is something you can't do." And so, with much laughter and fun, the
+meal was eaten.</P>
+<P>"You have not told us yet where you got all these provisions,
+O'Connor," the colonel said; "it is too bad to keep all the good things to
+yourself."</P>
+<P>"It has been the work of eight officers, Colonel; they rode off this
+morning in different directions among the hills, and there was not one of
+them who returned empty-handed."</P>
+<P>"The wine is fairly good," the colonel said, as he set down his tin mug
+after a long draught, "but it was scarce worth sending all the way up from
+Lisbon."</P>
+<P>"That has to follow, Colonel; I thought you would appreciate it better
+after you had done eating."</P>
+<P>"I have not had such a male since we left Athlone," O'Grady said, when
+at last he reluctantly laid down his knife and fork. "Be jabers, it would
+be all up with me if the French were to put in an appearance now, for
+faith I don't think I could run a yard to save me life."</P>
+<P>The tin mugs were all taken away and washed when the table was
+cleared.</P>
+<P>"You are mighty particular, O'Connor," the colonel said.</P>
+<P>"One mug is good enough for us. If we liquored-up a dozen times--which,
+by the way, we never do--one of these wines is pretty well like another,
+and if there was a slight difference it would not matter."</P>
+<P>When the board was cleared a large jug was placed before Terence, and
+some water-bottles at various points of the table.</P>
+<P>"I thought, Colonel, that you might prefer spirits even to the wine,"
+Terence said.</P>
+<P>"And you are right, O'Connor. A good glass of wine after a good dinner
+is no bad thing, but after such a meal as we have eaten I think that even
+this bastely spirit of theirs--which, after all, is not so bad when you
+get accustomed to it--is better than wine; it settles matters a bit."</P>
+<P>Terence poured some of the spirit from a jug into his tin and filled it
+up with water. "Help yourself," he said, passing the jug to O'Grady, who
+sat next to him.</P>
+<P>O'Grady was about to do so when he suddenly set the jug down.</P>
+<P>"By the powers," he exclaimed, in astonishment, "but it is the real
+cratur!"</P>
+<P>"Go on, O'Grady, go on, the others are all waiting while you are
+looking at it. If you feel too surprised to take it, pass the jug on."</P>
+<P>O'Grady grasped it. "I will defind it wid me life!" he exclaimed. In
+the meantime the colonel had filled his mug.</P>
+<P>"Gentlemen," he said, solemnly, after raising it to his lips, "O'Grady
+is right; it is Irish whisky, and good at that."</P>
+<P>"It is a cruel trick you've played on us," O'Grady said, with a sigh,
+as he replaced the empty mug upon the table. "I had almost forgotten the
+taste, and had come to take kindly to the stuff here. Now I shall have to
+go through it all again. It is like holding the cup to the lips of that
+old heathen Tartarus, and taking it away again."</P>
+<P>"Tantalus, O'Grady."</P>
+<P>"Och, what does it matter, when he has been dead and buried thousands
+of years, how he spilt his name. Where did you get it from, Terence?"</P>
+<P>"I asked Herrara to try and find some for me at Lisbon; I thought it
+was most likely that some English merchant there would have laid in a
+stock, and it seems that he has found one."</P>
+<P>"Do you hear that, Colonel? There is whisky to be had at Lisbon, and us
+not know it."</P>
+<P>"Well, Captain O'Grady, all I can say is that I shall at dinner this
+evening move a vote of censure upon you as mess president for not having
+discovered the fact before."</P>
+<P>"Don't talk of dinner, Colonel; there is not one of us could think of
+sitting down to ration beef after such a male as we have had--and with
+whisky here, too! I move, Colonel, that no further mintion be made of
+dinner. I have no doubt that Terence will give us some divilled bones--
+there is as much left on the table as we have eaten--before we start home
+to-night."</P>
+<P>"I will do that with pleasure. In fact, it is exactly what I reckoned
+upon," Terence replied.</P>
+<P>"I think, O'Grady, we must send to Lisbon for some of this."</P>
+<P>"Is it only think, Colonel? Faith, I would go down for it myself, if I
+had to walk with pays in my boots and to carry it back on me shoulders.
+Can I find Herrara there?" he asked.</P>
+<P>"Yes, I can give you the address where he will be found."</P>
+<P>"Anyhow, Colonel," O'Flaherty said, "I must--and I'm sure all present
+will join me in the matter--protest against Captain O'Grady going down to
+Lisbon to fetch whisky for the mess. You must know, sir, as well as I do,
+that he would never return again, and we should probably hear some day
+that his body had been found by the side of the road with three or four
+empty kegs beside him."</P>
+<P>There was a general burst of agreement.</P>
+<P>"Perhaps, Doctor O'Flaherty," O'Grady said, in a tone of withering
+sarcasm, "it's yourself who would like to be the messenger."</P>
+<P>"There might be a worse one," O'Flaherty said, calmly; "but as I
+believe that Captain Hall is going down on a week's leave to-morrow, I
+propose that he, being an Englishman, and therefore more trustworthy than
+any Irish member of the mess would be on such a mission, be requested to
+purchase some for the use of the mess, and to escort it back again. How
+much shall I say, Colonel?"</P>
+<P>"That is a grave matter, and not to be answered hastily, Doctor. Let me
+see, there are thirty-two officers with the regiment. Now, what would you
+say would be a fair allowance per day for each man?"</P>
+<P>"I should say half a bottle, Colonel. There are some of them won't take
+as much, but O'Grady will square matters up."</P>
+<P>"I protest against the insinuation," O'Grady said, rising; "and,
+moreover, I would observe, that it is mighty little would be left for me
+after each man had taken his whack."</P>
+<P>"That is sixteen bottles a day. For a continuance I should consider
+that too much; but seeing that we have been out of dacent liquor for a
+month, and may have but a fortnight after it arrives to make up for lost
+time, we will say sixteen bottles."</P>
+<P>"Make it three gallons," O'Grady said, persuasively; "we shall be
+having lots of men drop in when it gets known that we have got a
+supply."</P>
+<P>"There is something in that, O'Grady. Well, we will say three gallons--
+that is, forty-two gallons for a fortnight. We will commission Captain
+Hall to bring back that quantity."</P>
+<P>"If you say forty-five, Colonel, it will give us a drop in our flasks
+to start with, and we are as likely to be fifteen days as fourteen,
+anyway."</P>
+<P>"Let it be forty-five then," the colonel assented. "Will you undertake
+that, Captain Hall?"</P>
+<P>"Willingly, Colonel. I will get the whisky emptied into wine casks, and
+as I know one of the chief commissaries at Lisbon, I can get it brought up
+with the wine for the troops."</P>
+<P>After sitting for a couple of hours, the colonel proposed that they
+should all go for a walk, while those who preferred it should take a nap
+in the shade.</P>
+<P>"I move, O'Connor," he said, "that this meeting be adjourned until
+sunset."</P>
+<P>"I think that will be a very good plan, Colonel."</P>
+<P>The proposal was carried out. O'Grady and a few others declared that
+they should prefer a nap. The rest started on foot, and sauntered about in
+the shade of the wood for a couple of hours, then all gathered at the
+table again. At eight o'clock grilled joints of fowls and ducks were put
+upon the table, and at nine all mounted and rode back to Abrantes.</P>
+<P>"How many of those quart jugs have been filled, Sancho?"</P>
+<P>"Eight, sir."</P>
+<P>"That is not so bad," Terence said to Macwitty. "That is twelve
+bottles; and as there were sixteen and our three selves, that is only
+about two bottles between three men."</P>
+<P>"I call that vera moderate under the circumstances, Colonel," Macwitty
+said, gravely. "I have drank more myself many a time."</P>
+<P>"They were a good many hours over it too," Terence added; "you may say
+it was two sittings. You will see that we shall have a great many callers
+from the camp for the next few days."</P>
+<P>A fortnight later Terence received a letter from Don Jose, saying that
+he had heard from his friend at Oporto, and that they informed him that
+the Señora Johanna O'Connor had been killed at the sack of Oporto. She had
+left her own house and taken refuge at the bishop's. That place had been
+defended to the last, and when the infuriated French broke in, all within
+its walls had been killed.</P>
+<P>Terence was not altogether sorry to hear the news. The woman had been a
+party to the cruel imprisonment of Mary. No doubt his cousin would feel
+her death, but her grief could not be very deep; and it was, he thought,
+just as well for her that her connection with Portugal should be
+altogether severed. Her mother might have endeavoured to tempt her to
+return there; and although he felt sure that she would not succeed in
+this, she might at least have caused some trouble, and it was better that
+there should be an end of it. As to the woman herself, she had been in
+agreement with the bishop, had been mixed up in his intrigues, and her
+death was caused by her misplaced confidence in him. Of course she had not
+known that he had left the town, and thought that under his protection she
+would be safe in the palace.</P>
+<P>"She must have been a bad lot," he said to himself.</P>
+<P>"Evidently she did not make her husband happy, and persecuted her
+daughter, and I regret her death no more than any other of the ten
+thousand people who fell in Oporto."</P>
+<P>A few days later he received letters both from his father and Mary.
+Being under eighteen he opened the former first.</P>
+<DIV class="QUOTE">
+<i>My Dear Terence,<br><br>
+
+I have heard all about you and your doings from Mary, and I am proud of
+you. It is grand satisfaction that you should have won your lieutenancy,
+and that you should be on the general's staff; as to your being a colonel,
+although only a Portuguese one, it is simply astounding. I don't care so
+much about the rank, for the Portuguese officers are poor creatures, not
+one in fifty of them knows anything of his duty; but what I do value is
+your independent command. That will give you opportunities for
+distinguishing yourself that can never fall in the way of a subaltern of
+the line, and I fancy, now that you have got Wellesley at the head, there
+will be plenty of such opportunities.<br><br>
+
+I was delighted, as you may guess, when I got Mary's letter from
+London. I had just settled at the old house, and mighty lonely I felt with
+no one to speak to, and the wind whistling in at the broken windows, and
+the whole place in confusion. So putting aside Mary, I was glad enough to
+have some excuse for running away. I took the next coach for Dublin;
+found, by good luck, a packet just sailing for London; and got there a
+week later. She is a nice girl and a pretty one; but I suppose I need not
+tell you that. I told her it was a poor place I was going to take her to,
+but she would be as welcome as the flowers in May; but she only laughed
+and said, that after being shut up for a year in a single room, and having
+nothing but bread and water, it would not matter a pin to her what it was
+like.<br><br>
+
+She was in a grand house, and Mrs. Nelson insisted on my putting up
+there. We stopped three days and then we took ship to Cork. We had to
+prove that the money lying there belonged to me; that is to say, that I
+was the person in whose name it had been put. I had all sort of
+botheration about it, but luckily I knew the colonel of the regiment
+there, and he went to the bank with me and testified. Then we came down
+here, and Mary hadn't been here a day before she began to spend money. I
+said I would not allow it; and she said I could not help it, the money was
+her own, and she could spend it as she liked, which was true enough; and
+at present the place is more topsy-turvy than ever.<br><br>
+
+I won't have anything to do with giving orders, but she has got a score
+of masons and carpenters over from Athlone, and she is turning the old
+place upside down. I sha'n't know it myself when she has done with it.
+There is not a place fit to sit down in, and we are living for the time at
+the inn at Kilnally, three miles away, and drive backwards and forwards to
+the house. Except that we quarrel over that, we get on first-rate
+together. She is never tired of talking about you, and when I hinted one
+day that it was ridiculous your being made a colonel, she spurred up like
+a young bantam, and more than hinted that if you had been appointed
+commander-in-chief instead of Sir Arthur it would not have been beyond
+your deserts.<br><br>
+
+My wound hurts me a bit sometimes, but I am able to get about all
+right, and the surgeon says in a few months I shall be able to walk as
+straight as anyone. And so, good-bye. I don't think I ever wrote such a
+long letter before, and as Mary will be telling you everything, I don't
+suppose I shall ever write such a long one again.</i><br><br>
+</DIV>
+<P>Terence laughed as he put the letter down and opened one from his
+cousin.</P>
+<DIV class="QUOTE">
+<i>Dear Cousin Terence,<br><br>
+
+Here I am with your father as happy as a bird, and as free. I sing
+about the place all day, my heart is so light, and should be perfectly
+happy were it not that I am afraid that you will be fighting again soon,
+and then I shall be very anxious about you. Your father is just what I
+thought he would be from what I know of you. He is as kind as if he was my
+own father, and reminds me of him. You told me it was a tumbledown old
+place, and it is. When we came it was only fit for owls to live in, so, of
+course, I set to work at once. Your father was very foolish about it, but,
+of course, I had my way. What is the use of having money and living in an
+owl's nest? So I have set a lot of men to work.<br><br>
+
+Your father won't interfere with it one way or the other. I had a
+builder down, he shook his head over it and said that it would be cheaper
+to pull it down and build a new one; but as it was an old family house I
+could not do that. However, between ourselves, I don't think there will be
+much of the old one left by the time we have finished. It looks awful at
+present. I am building a new wall against the old one, so that it will
+look just the same, only it will be new. The windows are going to be made
+bigger, and there will be a new roof put on. Inside it will all have to
+come down, all the woodwork was so rotten that it was dangerous to walk
+upstairs. It is great fun looking after the workmen. And though your
+father does keep on grumbling and saying that I am destroying the old
+place, I don't think he really minds.<br><br>
+
+As I tell him, one could live in a house without windows nine months in
+the year in Portugal, but it is not so in Ireland. One wants comfort,
+Terence; and, as I have plenty of money, I don't see why we should not
+have it. You can sleep on the ground, and go from morning till night in
+wet clothes, when you are on a campaign, but that is no reason why you
+should do it at other times. The weather is fine here now, at least your
+father says it is fine, and I want to get everything pushed on and
+finished before it changes to what even he will admit is wet. The people
+here seem all very nice and pleasant. They are delighted at having your
+father back again. I drive about with him a great deal, and we call upon
+the neighbours, who all seem very pleased that the house is going to be
+occupied again.<br><br>
+
+The poor people seem very poor. I don't know that they are poorer than
+they are in Portugal, but I think they look poorer; but they don't seem to
+mind much. I have made great friends with most of the children already,
+and always go about with a large bag of sweetmeats in what your father
+calls "the trap." I think of you very often, Terence, and your father and
+I generally talk about you all the evening. By what he says you must have
+been a very naughty boy, indeed, before you became a soldier. Do take care
+of yourself. We shall be very, very anxious about you as soon as we hear
+that fighting has begun again. I hope you think very often of your very
+loving cousin,                        MARY O'CONNOR.</i><br><br>
+</DIV>
+<P>"She will do a world of good to my father," Terence said to himself as
+he put down the letters. "After being so long in the regiment he would
+have felt being alone in that old place horribly, especially as it has, of
+course, been a terrible trial to him to be laid aside just as a big
+campaign is beginning. She will keep him alive, and he won't have any time
+to mope. Even if for no other reason, it is a lucky thing indeed that I
+was able to get Mary out. I sha'n't feel a bit anxious about him now."</P>
+<CENTER><P>THE END.</P></CENTER>
+<BR>
+<BR>
+<BR>
+<BR>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
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+</body>
+</html>
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+++ b/8651.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,13692 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of With Moore at Corunna, by G. A. Henty
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
+
+
+Title: With Moore at Corunna
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Posting Date: June 2, 2012 [EBook #8651]
+Release Date: August, 2005
+First Posted: July 29, 2003
+[Last updated: October 6, 2013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ted Garvin, S.R.Ellison, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
+
+BY
+
+G. A. HENTY
+
+Author of "With Cochrane the Dauntless," "A Knight of the White Cross,"
+"In Freedom's Cause," "St. Bartholomew's Eve," "Wulf the Saxon," etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE FINDS THAT THE _SEA-HORSE_ HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED
+BETWEEN-DECKS.]
+
+
+
+
+WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS BY WAL PAGET
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+From the termination of the campaigns of Marlborough--at which time the
+British army won for itself a reputation rivalled by that of no other in
+Europe--to the year when the despatch of a small army under Sir Arthur
+Wellesley marked the beginning of another series of British victories as
+brilliant and as unbroken as those of that great commander, the opinion
+had gained ground in Europe that the British had lost their military
+virtues, and that, although undoubtedly powerful at sea, they could have
+henceforth but little influence in European affairs. It is singular that
+the revival of Britain's activity began under a Government which was one
+of the most incapable that ever controlled the affairs of the country. Had
+their deliberate purpose been to render nugatory the expedition
+which--after innumerable vacillations and changes of purpose--they
+despatched to Portugal, they could hardly have acted otherwise than they
+did.
+
+Their agents in the Peninsula were men singularly unfitted for the
+position. Then the Government divided the commands among their generals
+and admirals, sending to each absolutely contradictory orders, and when at
+last they brought themselves to appoint one to the supreme command, they
+changed that commander six times in the course of a year. While lavishing
+enormous sums of money, arms, clothing, and materials of war upon the
+Spaniards, who wasted or pocketed them, they kept their own army
+unsupplied with money, transport, or clothes. Unsupported by the home
+authorities, the British commanders had yet to struggle with the
+faithlessness, mendacity, and inertness of the Portuguese and Spanish
+authorities, and were hampered with obstacles such as never beset a
+British commander before. Still, in spite of this, British genius and
+valour triumphed over all difficulties, and Wellesley delivered Lisbon and
+compelled the French army to surrender.
+
+Then again, Moore, by his marvellous march, checked the course of victory
+of Napoleon and saved Spain for a time. Cradock organized an army, and
+Wellesley hurled back Soult's invasion of the north, and drove his army, a
+dispirited and worn-out mass of fugitives, across the frontier, and in
+less than a year from the commencement of the campaign carried the war
+into Spain. So far I have endeavoured to sketch the course of these events
+in the present volume. But the whole course of the Peninsular War was far
+too long to be condensed in a single book, except in the form of history
+pure and simple; therefore, I have been obliged to divide it into two
+volumes; and I propose next year to follow up the adventures of my present
+hero, who had the good fortune, with Trant, Wilson, and other British
+officers, to attain the command of a body of native irregulars, acting in
+connection with the movements of the British army.
+
+Yours sincerely,
+
+G. A. HENTY.
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAP.
+
+    I. THE MAYO FUSILIERS
+
+   II. TWO DANGERS
+
+  III. DISEMBARKED
+
+   IV. UNDER CANVAS
+
+    V. ROLICA AND VIMIERA
+
+   VI. A PAUSE
+
+  VII. THE ADVANCE
+
+ VIII. A FALSE ALARM
+
+   IX. THE RETREAT
+
+    X. CORUNNA
+
+   XI. AN ESCAPE
+
+  XII. A DANGEROUS MISSION
+
+ XIII. AN AWKWARD POSITION
+
+  XIV. AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND
+
+   XV. THE FIRST SKIRMISH
+
+  XVI. IN THE PASSES
+
+ XVII. AN ESCAPE
+
+XVIII. MARY O'CONNOR
+
+  XIX. CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
+
+   XX. WITH THE MAYOS
+
+  XXI. PORTUGAL FREED
+
+ XXII. NEWS FROM HOME
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+TERENCE FINDS THAT THE _SEA-HORSE_ HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED BETWEEN-DECKS
+
+TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE _SEA-HORSE_
+
+"I SHOULD NOT HAVE MINDED BEING HIT, FATHER, IF YOU HAD ESCAPED"
+
+"I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL"
+
+"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE?... WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM OUT OF THEIR
+BOOTS IN NO TIME"
+
+"POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM AT TORRES
+VEDRAS"
+
+TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN CRADOCK
+
+"IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION," SAID CORTINGOS
+
+"THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE MET WITH HEAVY
+VOLLEYS"
+
+"MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH HIS PISTOLS"
+
+TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR
+
+"WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR ASKED, SHARPLY
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Sketch Map of NORTHERN PORTUGAL.]
+
+
+
+WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE MAYO FUSILIERS
+
+"What am I to do with you, Terence? It bothers me entirely; there is not a
+soul who will take you, and if anyone would do so, you would wear out his
+patience before a week's end; there is not a dog in the regiment that does
+not put his tail between his legs and run for his bare life if he sees
+you; and as for the colonel, he told me only the other day that he had so
+many complaints against you, that he was fairly worn out with them."
+
+"That was only his way, father; the colonel likes a joke as well as any of
+them."
+
+"Yes, when it is not played on himself; but you haven't even the sense to
+respect persons, and it is well for you that he could not prove that it
+was you who fastened the sparrow to the plume of feathers on his shako the
+other day, and no one noticed it till the little baste began to flutter
+just as he came on to parade, and nigh choked us all with trying to hold
+in our laughter, while the colonel was nearly suffocated with passion. It
+was lucky you were able to prove that you had gone off at daylight
+fishing, and that no one had seen you anywhere near his quarters. By my
+faith, if he could have proved it was you he would have had you turned out
+of the barrack gate, and word given to the sentries that you were not to
+be allowed to pass in again."
+
+"I could have got over the wall, father," the boy said, calmly; "but mind,
+I never said that it was I who fastened the sparrow in his shako."
+
+"Because I never asked you, Terence; but it does not need the asking. What
+I am to do with you I don't know. Your Uncle Tim would not take you if I
+were to go down upon my knees to him. You were always in his bad books,
+and you finished it when you fired off that blunderbuss in his garden as
+he was passing along in the twilight, and yelled out 'Death to the
+Protestants!'"
+
+The boy burst into a fit of laughter. "How could I tell that he was going
+to fall flat upon the ground and shout a million murders, when I fired
+straight into the air?"
+
+"Well, you did for yourself there, Terence. Not that the old man would
+ever have taken to you, for he never forgave my marriage with his niece;
+still, he might have left you some money some day, seeing that there is no
+one nearer to him, and it would have come in mighty useful, for you are
+not likely to get much from me. But we are no nearer the point yet. What
+am I to do with you at all? Here is the regiment ordered on foreign
+service and likely to have sharp work, and not a place where I can stow
+you. It beats me altogether!"
+
+"Why not take me with you, father?"
+
+"I have thought of that, but you are too young entirely."
+
+"I am nearly sixteen, father. I am sure I am as tall as many boys of
+seventeen, and as strong too. Why should I not go? I am certain I could
+stand roughing it as well as Dick Ryan, who is a good bit over sixteen.
+Could I not go as a volunteer? Or I might enlist; the doctor would pass me
+quick enough."
+
+"O'Flaherty would pass you if you were a baby in arms; he is as full of
+mischief as you are, and has not much more discretion; but you could not
+carry a musket, full cartridge-box, and kit for a long day's march."
+
+"I can carry a gun through a long day's shooting, dad; but you might make
+me your soldier servant."
+
+"Bedad, I should fare mighty badly, Terence; still as I don't see anything
+else for you, I must try and take you somehow, even if you have to go as a
+drummer. I will talk it over with the colonel, though I doubt whether he
+has forgotten that sparrow yet."
+
+"He would not bear malice, dad, even if he were sure that it was me--which
+he cannot be."
+
+The speaker was Captain O'Connor of his Majesty's regiment of Mayo
+Fusiliers, now under orders to proceed to Portugal to form part of the
+force that was being despatched under Sir Arthur Wellesley to assist the
+Portuguese in resisting the advance of the French. He was a widower, and
+Terence was his only child. The boy had been brought up in the regiment.
+His mother had died when he was nine years old, and Terence had been
+allowed by his father to run pretty nearly wild. He picked up a certain
+amount of education, for he was as sharp at lessons as at most other
+things. His mother had taught him to read and write, and the officers and
+their wives were always ready to lend him books; and as, during the hours
+when drill and exercise were going on, he had plenty of time to himself,
+he had got through a very large amount of desultory reading, and, having a
+retentive memory, knew quite as much as most lads of his age, although the
+knowledge was of a much more irregular kind.
+
+He was a general favourite among the officers and men of the regiment,
+though his tricks got him into frequent scrapes, and more than one
+prophesied that his eventual fate was likely to be hanging. He was great
+at making acquaintances among the country people, and knew the exact spot
+where the best fishing could be had for miles round; he had also been
+given leave to shoot on many of the estates in the neighbourhood.
+
+His father had, from the first, absolutely forbidden him to associate with
+the drummer boys.
+
+"I don't mind your going into the men's quarters," he said, "you will come
+to no harm there, but among the boys you might get into bad habits; some
+of them are thorough young scamps. With the men you would always be one of
+their officers' sons, while with the boys you would soon become a mere
+playmate."
+
+As he grew older, Terence, being a son of one of the senior officers,
+became a companion of the ensigns, and one or other of them generally
+accompanied him on his fishing excursions, and were not unfrequently
+participators in his escapades, several of which were directed against the
+tranquillity of the inhabitants of Athlone. One night the bells of the
+three churches had been rung simultaneously and violently, and the idea
+that either the town was in flames, or that the French had landed, or that
+the whole country was up in arms, brought all the inhabitants to their
+doors in a state of violent excitement and scanty attire. No clew was ever
+obtained as to the author of this outrage, nor was anyone able to discover
+the origin of the rumour that circulated through the town, that a large
+amount of gunpowder had been stored in some house or other in the
+market-place, and that on a certain night half the town would be blown
+into the air.
+
+So circumstantial were the details that a deputation waited on Colonel
+Corcoran, and a strong search-party was sent down to examine the cellars
+of all the houses in the market-place and for some distance round. These
+and some similar occurrences had much alarmed the good people of Athlone,
+and it was certain that more than one person must have been concerned in
+them.
+
+"I have come, Colonel," Captain O'Connor said, when he called upon his
+commanding officer, "to speak to you about Terence."
+
+The colonel smiled grimly. "It is a comfort to think that we are going to
+get rid of him, O'Connor; he is enough to demoralize a whole brigade, to
+say nothing of a battalion, and the worst of it is he respects no one. I
+am as convinced as can be that it was he who fastened that baste of a bird
+in my shako the other day, and made me the laughing stock of the whole
+regiment on parade. Faith, I could not for the life of me make out what
+was the matter, there was a tugging and a jumping and a fluttering
+overhead, and I thought the shako was going to fly away. It fairly gave me
+a scare, for I thought the shako had gone mad, and that the divil was in
+it. I have often overlooked his tricks for your sake, but when it comes to
+his commanding officer, it is too serious altogether."
+
+"Well, you see, Colonel, the lad proved clearly enough that he was out of
+the way at the time; and besides, you know he has given you many a hearty
+laugh."
+
+"He has that," the colonel admitted.
+
+"And, moreover," Captain O'Connor went on, "even if he did do this, which
+I don't know, for I never asked him" ("Trust you for that," the colonel
+muttered), "you are not his commanding officer, though you are mine, and
+that is the matter that I came to speak to you about. You see there is no
+one in whose charge I can leave him, and the lad wants to go with us; he
+would enlist as a drummer, if he could go no other way, and when he got
+out there I should get the adjutant to tell him off as my soldier
+servant."
+
+"It would not do, O'Connor," the colonel laughed.
+
+"Then I thought, Colonel, that possibly he might go as a volunteer--most
+regiments take out one or two young fellows, who have not interest enough
+to obtain a commission."
+
+"He is too young, O'Connor; besides, the boy is enough to corrupt a whole
+regiment; he has made half the lads as wild as he is himself. Sure you can
+never be after asking me to saddle the regiment with him, now that there
+is a good chance of getting quit of him altogether."
+
+"I think that he would not be so bad when we are out there, Colonel; it is
+just because he has nothing to do that he gets into mischief. With plenty
+of hard work and other things to think of I don't believe that he would be
+any trouble."
+
+"Do you think that you can answer for him, O'Connor?"
+
+"Indeed and I cannot," the captain laughed; "but I will answer for it that
+he will not joke with you, Colonel. The lad is really steady enough, and I
+am sure that if he were in the regiment he would not dream of playing
+tricks with his commanding officer, whatever else he might do."
+
+"That goes a long way towards removing my objection," the colonel said,
+with a twinkle in his eye; "but he is too young for a volunteer--a
+volunteer is the sort of man to be the first to climb a breach, or to risk
+his life in some desperate enterprise, so as to win a commission. But
+there is another way. I had a letter yesterday from the Horse Guards,
+saying that as I am two ensigns short, they had appointed one who will
+join us at Cork, and that they gave me the right of nominating another. I
+own that Terence occurred to me, but sixteen is the youngest limit of age,
+and he must be certified and all that by the doctor. Now Daly is away on
+leave, and is to join us at Cork; but O'Flaherty would do; still, I don't
+know how he would get over the difficulty about the age."
+
+"Trust him for that. I am indeed obliged to you, Colonel."
+
+"Don't say anything about it, O'Connor; if we had been going to stay at
+home I don't think that I could have brought myself to take him into the
+regiment, but as we are going on service he won't have much opportunity
+for mischief, and even if he does let out a little--not at my expense, you
+know--a laugh does the men good when they are wet through and their
+stomachs are empty." He rang a bell. "Orderly, tell the adjutant and
+Doctor O'Flaherty that I wish to see them. Mr. Cleary," he went on, as
+soon as the former entered, "I have been requested by the Horse Guards to
+nominate an ensign, so as to fill up our ranks before starting, and I have
+determined to give the appointment to Terence O'Connor."
+
+"Very well, sir, I am glad to hear it; he is a favourite with us all, but
+I am afraid that he is under age."
+
+"Is there any regular form to be filled up?"
+
+"None that I know of in the case of officers, sir. I fancy they pass some
+sort of medical examination at the Horse Guards, but, of course, in this
+case it would be impossible. Still, I should say that, in writing to state
+that you have nominated him, it would be better to send a medical
+certificate, and certainly it ought to be mentioned that he is of the
+right age."
+
+At this moment the assistant-surgeon entered. "Doctor O'Flaherty," the
+colonel said, "I wish you to write a certificate to the effect that
+Terence O'Connor is physically fit to take part in a campaign as an
+officer."
+
+"I can do that, Colonel, without difficulty; he is as fit as a fiddle, and
+can march half the regiment off their legs."
+
+"Yes, I know that, but there is one difficulty, Doctor, he is under the
+regulation age."
+
+O'Flaherty thought for a moment and then sat down at the table, and taking
+a sheet of paper, be began:
+
+_I certify that Terence O' Connor is going on for seventeen years of
+age, he is five feet eight in height, thirty-four inches round the
+chest, is active, and fully capable of the performance of his duties
+as an officer either at home or abroad._
+
+Then he added another line and signed his name.
+
+"As a member of a learned profession, Colonel," he said, gravely, "I would
+scorn to tell a lie even for the son of Captain O'Connor;" and he passed
+the paper across to him.
+
+The colonel looked grave, and Captain O'Connor disappointed. He was
+reassured, however, when his commanding officer broke into a laugh.
+
+"That will do well, O'Flaherty," he said; "I thought that you would find
+some way of getting us out of the difficulty."
+
+"I have told the strict truth, Colonel," the doctor said, gravely. "I have
+certified that Terence O'Connor is going on for seventeen; I defy any man
+to say that he is not. He will get there one of these days, if a French
+bullet does not stop him on the way, a contingency that it is needless for
+me to mention."
+
+"I suppose that it is not strictly regular to omit the date of his birth,"
+the colonel said; "but just at present I expect they are not very
+particular. I suppose that that will do, Mr. Cleary?"
+
+"I think that you can countersign that, Colonel," the adjutant said, with
+a laugh. "The Horse Guards do not move very rapidly, and by the time that
+letter gets to London we may be on board ship, and they would hardly
+bother to send a letter for further particulars to us in Spain, but will
+no doubt gazette him at once. The fact, too--which of course you will
+mention--that he is the son of the senior captain of your regiment, will
+in itself render them less likely to bother about the matter."
+
+"Well, just write out the letter of nomination, Cleary; I am a mighty bad
+hand at doing things neatly."
+
+The adjutant drew a sheet of foolscap to him and wrote:--
+
+_To the Adjutant-general, Horse Guards,_
+
+_Sir, I have the honour to inform you that, in accordance with the
+privilege granted to me in your communication of--_
+
+and he looked at the colonel.
+
+"The 14th inst.," the latter said, after consulting the letter.
+
+_--I beg to nominate as an ensign in this regiment, Terence O'
+Connor, the son of Captain Lawrence O' Connor, its senior captain. I
+inclose certificate of Assistant-surgeon O' Flaherty,--the surgeon
+being at present absent on leave--certifying to his physical fitness
+for a commission in his Majesty's service. Mr. O' Connor having been
+brought up from childhood in the regiment is already perfectly
+acquainted with the work, and will therefore be able to take up his
+duties without difficulty. This fact has had some influence in my
+choice, as a young officer who had to be taught all his duties would
+have been of no use for service in the field for a considerable time
+after landing in Portugal. Relying on the nomination being approved
+by the commander-in-chief, I shall at once put him on the staff of
+the regiment for foreign service, as there will be no time to wait
+your reply._
+
+_I have the honour to be_
+
+_Your humble, obedient servant,_
+
+Then he left a space, and added:
+
+_Colonel Mayo Fusiliers._
+
+"Now, if you will sign it, Colonel, the matter will be complete, and I
+will send it off with O'Flaherty's certificate today."
+
+"That is a good stroke, Cleary," the colonel said, as he read it aloud.
+"They will see that it is too late to raise any questions, and the 'going
+on for seventeen' will be accepted as sufficient."
+
+He touched a bell.
+
+"Orderly, tell Mr. Terence O'Connor that I wish to see him."
+
+Terence was sitting in a state of suppressed excitement at his father's
+quarters. He had a strong belief that the matter would be managed somehow,
+for he knew that the colonel had no malice in his disposition, and would
+not let the episode of the bird--for which he was now heartily
+sorry--stand in the way. On receiving the message he at once went across
+to the colonel's quarters. The latter rose and held out his hand to him as
+he entered.
+
+"Terence O'Connor," he said, "I am pleased to be able to inform you that
+from the present moment you are to consider yourself an officer in his
+Majesty's Mayo Fusiliers. The Horse Guards have given me the privilege of
+nominating a gentleman to the vacant ensigncy, and I have had great
+pleasure in nominating your father's son. Now, lad," he said, in different
+tone of voice, "I feel sure that you will do credit my nomination, and
+that you will keep your love of fun and mischief within reasonable
+bounds."
+
+"I will try to do so, Colonel," the lad said, in a low voice, "and I am
+grateful indeed for the kindness that you have shown me. I have always
+hoped that some day I might obtain a commission in your regiment, but
+never even hoped that it would be until after I had done something to
+deserve it. Indeed I did not think that it was even possible that I could
+obtain a commission until----"
+
+"Tut, tut, lad, don't say a word about age! Doctor O'Flaherty had
+certified that you are going on for seventeen, which is quite sufficient
+for me, and at any rate you will see that boyish tricks are out of place
+in the case of an officer going on for seventeen. Now, your father had
+best take you down into the town and get you measured for your uniforms at
+once. You must make them hurry on with his undress clothes, O'Connor. I
+should not bother about full-dress till we get back again; it is not
+likely to be wanted, and the lad will soon grow out of them. If there
+should happen to be full-dress parade in Portugal, Cleary will put him on
+as officer of the day, or give him some duties that will keep him from
+parade. We may get the route any day, and the sooner he gets his uniform
+the better."
+
+Two days later Terence took his place on parade as an officer of the
+regiment. He had witnessed such numberless drills that he had picked up
+every word of command, knew his proper place in every formation, and fell
+into the work as readily as if he had been at it for years. He had been
+heartily congratulated by the officers of the regiment.
+
+"I am awfully glad that you are one of us, Terence," Dick Ryan said. "I
+don't know what we should have done without you. I expect we shall have
+tremendous fun in Portugal."
+
+"I expect we shall, Dick; but we shall have to be careful. We shall be on
+active service, you see, and from what they say of him I don't think Sir
+Arthur Wellesley is the sort of man to appreciate jokes."
+
+"No, I should say not. Of course, we shall have to draw in a bit. It would
+not do to set the bells of Lisbon ringing."
+
+"I should think not, Dick. Still, I dare say we shall have plenty of fun,
+and at any rate we are likely, from what they say, to have plenty of
+fighting. I don't expect the Portuguese will be much good, and as there
+are forty or fifty thousand Frenchmen in Portugal, we shall have all our
+work to do, unless they send out a much bigger force than is collecting at
+Cork. It is a pity that the 10,000 men who have been sent out to Sweden on
+what my father says is a fool's errand are not going with us instead. We
+might make a good stand-up fight of it then, whereas I don't see that with
+only 6,000 or 7,000 we can do much good against Junot's 40,000."
+
+"Oh, I dare say we shall get on somehow!" Dick said, carelessly. "Sir
+Arthur knows what he is about, and it is our turn to do something now. The
+navy has had it all its own way so far, and it is quite fair that we
+should do our share. I have a brother in the navy, and the fellows are
+getting too cheeky altogether. They seem to think that no one can fight
+but themselves. Except in Egypt we have never had a chance at all of
+showing we can lick the French just as easily on land as we can at sea."
+
+"I hope we shall, Dick. They have certainly had a great deal more practice
+at it than we have."
+
+"Now I think we ought to do something here that they will remember us for
+before we start, Terence."
+
+"Well, if you do, I am not with you this time, Dick. I am not going to
+begin by getting in the colonel's bad books after he has been kind enough
+to nominate me for a commission. I promised him that I would try and not
+get into any scrapes, and I am not going to break my word. When we once
+get out there I shall be game to join in anything that is not likely to
+make a great row, but I have done with it for the present."
+
+"I should like to have one more good bit of fun," Ryan said; "but I expect
+you are right, Terence, in what you say about yourself, and it is no use
+our thinking to humbug Athlone again if you are not in it with us;
+besides, they are getting too sharp. They did not half turn out last time,
+and, indeed, we had a narrow escape of being caught. Well, I shall be very
+glad when we are off; it is stupid work waiting for the route, with all
+leave stopped, and we not even allowed to go out for a day's fishing."
+
+Three days later the expected order arrived. As the baggage had all been
+packed up, that which was to be left behind being handed over to the care
+of the barrack-master, and a considerable portion of the heavy baggage
+sent on by cart, there was no delay. Officers and men were alike delighted
+that the period of waiting had come to an end, and there was loud cheering
+in the barrack-yard as soon as the news came. At daybreak next morning the
+rest of the baggage started under a guard, and three hours later the Mayo
+Fusiliers marched through the town with their band playing at their head,
+and amid the cheers of the populace.
+
+As yet the martial spirit that was roused by the struggle in the Peninsula
+had scarcely begun to show itself, but there was a strong animosity to
+France throughout England, and a desire to aid the people of Spain and
+Portugal in their efforts for freedom. In Ireland, for the most part,
+there was no such feeling. Since the battle of the Boyne and the siege of
+Limerick, France had been regarded by the greater portion of the
+peasantry, and a section of the population of the towns, as the  natural
+ally of Ireland, and there was a hope that when Napoleon had all Europe
+prostrate under his feet he would come as the deliverer of Ireland from
+the English yoke. Consequently, although the townspeople of Athlone
+cheered the regiment as it marched away, the country people held aloof
+from it as it passed along the road. Scowling looks from the women greeted
+it in the villages, while the men ostentatiously continued their work in
+the fields without turning to cast a glance at them.
+
+Terence was not posted to his father's company, but was in that of Captain
+O'Driscol, although the lad himself would have preferred to be with
+Captain O'Grady, with whom he was a great favourite. The latter was one of
+the captains whose companies were unprovided with an ensign, and he had
+asked the adjutant to let him have the lad instead of the ensign who was
+to join at Cork.
+
+"The matter has been settled the other way, O'Grady; in the colonel's
+opinion he will be much better with O'Driscol, who is more likely to keep
+him in order than you are."
+
+O'Grady was one of the most original characters in the regiment. He was
+rather under middle height, and had a smooth face, a guileless and
+innocent expression, and a habit of opening his light-blue eyes as in
+wonder. His hair was short, and stuck up aggressively; his brogue was the
+strongest in the regiment; his blunders were innumerable, and his look of
+amazement at the laughter they called forth was admirably feigned, save
+that the twinkle of his eye induced a suspicion that he himself enjoyed
+the joke as well as anyone. His good-humour was imperturbable, and he was
+immensely popular both among men and officers.
+
+"O'Driscol!" he repeated, in mild astonishment. "Do you mean to say that
+O'Driscol will keep him in better order than meself? If there is one man
+in this regiment more than another who would get on well with the lad it
+is meself, barring none."
+
+"You would get on well enough with him, O'Grady, I have no doubt, but it
+would be by letting him have his own way, and in encouraging him in
+mischief of all kinds."
+
+O'Grady's eyebrows were elevated, and his eyes expressed hopeless
+bewilderment.
+
+"You are wrong entirely, Cleary; nature intended me for a schoolmaster,
+and it is just an accident that I have taken to soldiering. I flatter
+meself that no one looks after his subalterns more sharply than I do. My
+only fear is that I am too severe with them. I may be mild in my manners,
+but they know me well enough to tremble if I speak sternly to them."
+
+"The trembling would be with amusement," the adjutant grumbled. "Well, the
+colonel has settled the matter, and Terence will be in Orders to-morrow as
+appointed to O'Driscol's company, and the other to yours."
+
+"Thank you for nothing, Cleary," O'Grady said, with dignity. "You would
+have seen that under my tuition the lad would have turned out one of the
+smartest officers in the regiment."
+
+"You have heard of the Spartan way of teaching their sons to avoid
+drunkenness, Captain O'Grady?"
+
+"Divil a word, Cleary; but I reckon that the best way with the haythens
+was to keep them from touching whisky. It is what I always recommend to
+the men of my company when I come across one of them the worse for
+liquor."
+
+The adjutant laughed. "That was not the Spartan way, O'Grady; but the
+advice, if taken, would doubtless have the same effect."
+
+"And who were the Spartans at all?"
+
+"I have not time to tell you now, O'Grady; I have no end of business on my
+hands."
+
+"Thin what do you keep me talking here for? haven't I a lot of work on me
+hands too. I came in to ask a simple question, and instead of giving me a
+civil answer you kape me wasting my time wid your O'Driscols and your
+Spartans and all kinds of rigmarole. That is the worst of being in an
+Irish regiment, nothing can be done widout ever so much blather;" and
+Captain O'Grady stalked out of the orderly-room.
+
+On the march Terence had no difficulty in obtaining leave from his captain
+to drop behind and march with his friend Dick Ryan. The marches were long
+ones, and they halted only at Parsonstown, Templemore, Tipperary, and
+Fermoy, as the colonel had received orders to use all speed. At each place
+a portion of the regiment was accommodated in the barracks, while the rest
+were quartered in the town. Late in the evening of the fifth day's march
+they arrived at Cork, and the next day went on board the two transports
+provided for them, and joined the fleet assembled in the Cove. Some of the
+ships had been lying there for nearly a month waiting orders, and the
+troops on board were heartily weary of their confinement. The news,
+however, that Sir Arthur Wellesley had been at last appointed to command
+them, and that they were to sail for Portugal, had caused great delight,
+for it had been feared that they might, like other bodies of troops, be
+shipped off to some distant spot, only to remain there for months and then
+to be brought home again.
+
+Nothing, indeed, could exceed the vacillation and confusion that reigned
+in the English cabinet at that time. The forces of England were frittered
+away in small and objectless expeditions, the plans of action were changed
+with every report sent either by the interested leaders of insurrectionary
+movements in Spain, or by the signally incompetent men who had been sent
+out to represent England, and who distributed broadcast British money and
+British arms to the most unworthy applicants. By their lavishness and
+subservience to the Spaniards our representatives increased the natural
+arrogance of these people, and caused them to regard England as a power
+which was honoured by being permitted to share in the Spanish efforts
+against the French generals. General Spencer with 5,000 men was kept for
+months sailing up and down the coast of Spain and Portugal, receiving
+contradictory orders from home, and endeavouring in vain to co-operate
+with the Spanish generals, each of whom had his own private purposes, and
+was bent on gratifying personal ambitions and of thwarting the schemes of
+his rivals, rather than on opposing the common enemy.
+
+Not only were the English ministry incapable of devising any plan of
+action, but they were constantly changing the naval and military officers
+of the forces. At one moment one general or admiral seemed to possess
+their confidence, while soon afterwards, without the slightest reason, two
+or three others with greater political influence were placed over his
+head; and when at last Sir Arthur Wellesley, whose services in India
+marked him as our greatest soldier, was sent out with supreme military
+power, they gave him no definite plan of action. General Spencer was
+nominally placed under his orders by one set of instructions, while
+another authorized him to commence operations in the south, without
+reference to Sir Arthur Wellesley. Admiral Purvis, who was junior to
+Admiral Collingwood, was authorized to control the operations of Sir
+Arthur, while Wellesley himself had scarcely sailed when Sir Hew Dalrymple
+was appointed to the chief command of the forces, Sir Harry Burrard was
+appointed second in command, and Sir Arthur Wellesley was reduced to the
+fourth rank in the army that he had been sent out to command, two of the
+men placed above him being almost unknown, they never having commanded any
+military force in the field.
+
+The 9,000 men assembled in the Cove of Cork knew nothing of these things;
+they were going out under the command of the victor of Assaye to measure
+their strength against that of the French, and they had no fear of the
+result.
+
+"I hope," Captain O'Grady said, as the officers of the wing of the
+regiment to which he belonged sat down to dinner for the first time on
+board the transport, "that we shall not have to keep together in going
+out."
+
+"Why so, O'Grady?" another captain asked.
+
+"Because there is no doubt at all that our ship is the fastest in the
+fleet, and that we shall get there in time to have a little brush with the
+French all to ourselves before the others arrive."
+
+"What makes you think that she is the fastest ship here, O'Grady?"
+
+"Anyone can see it with half an eye, O'Driscol. Look at her lines; she is
+a flyer, and if we are not obliged to keep with the others we shall be out
+of sight of the rest of them before we have sailed six hours."
+
+"I don't pretend to know anything about her lines, O'Grady, but she looks
+to me a regular old tub."
+
+"She is old," O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "but give her plenty of wind
+and you will see how she can walk along."
+
+There was a laugh all round the table; O'Grady's absolute confidence in
+anything in which he was interested was known to them all. His horse had
+been notoriously the most worthless animal in the regiment, but although
+continually last in the hunting field, O'Grady's opinion of her speed was
+never shaken. There was always an excuse ready; the horse had been badly
+shod, or it was out of sorts and had not had its feed before starting, or
+the going was heavy and it did not like heavy ground, or the country was
+too hilly or too flat for it. It was the same with his company, with his
+non-commissioned officers, with his soldier servant, a notoriously drunken
+rascal, and with his quarters.
+
+O'Grady looked round in mild expostulation at the laugh.
+
+"You will see," he said, confidently, "there can be no mistake about it."
+
+Two days later a ship-of-war entered the harbour, the usual salutes were
+exchanged, then a signal was run up to one of her mast-heads, and again
+the guns of the forts pealed out a salute, and word ran through the
+transports that Sir Arthur Wellesley was on board. On the following day
+the fleet got under way, the transports being escorted by a line-of-battle
+ship and four frigates, which were to join Lord Collingwood's squadron as
+soon as they had seen their charge safe into the Tagus.
+
+Before evening the _Sea-horse_ was a mile astern of the rearmost ship of
+the convoy, and one of the frigates sailing back fired a gun as a signal
+to her to close up.
+
+"Well, O'Grady, we have left the fleet, you see, though not in the way you
+predicted."
+
+"Whist, man! don't you see that the captain is out of temper because they
+have all got to keep together, instead of letting him go ahead?"
+
+Every rag of sail was now piled on to the ship, and as many of the others
+were showing nothing above their topgallant sails she rejoined the rest
+just as darkness fell.
+
+"There, you see!" O'Grady said, triumphantly, "look what she can do when
+she likes."
+
+"We do see, O'Grady. With twice as much sail up as anything else, she has
+in three hours picked up the mile she had lost."
+
+"Wait until we get some wind."
+
+"I hope we sha'n't get anything of the sort--at least no strong winds; the
+old tub would open every seam if we did, and we might think ourselves
+lucky if we got through it at all."
+
+O'Grady smiled pleasantly, and said it was useless to argue with so
+obstinate a man.
+
+"I am afraid O'Grady is wrong as usual," Dick Ryan said to Terence, who
+was sitting next to him. "When once he has taken an idea into his head
+nothing will persuade him that he is wrong; there is no doubt the
+_Sea-horse_ is as slow as she can be. I suppose her owners have some
+interest with the government, or they would surely never have taken up
+such an old tub as a troop-ship."
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+TWO DANGERS
+
+The next day, in spite of the sail she carried, the _Sea-horse_ lagged
+behind, and one of the frigates sailed back to her, and the captain
+shouted angry orders to the master to keep his place in the convoy.
+
+"If we get any wind," O'Grady said, as the frigate bore up on her course
+again, "it will take all your time to keep up with her, my fine fellow.
+You see," he explained to Terence, "no vessel is perfect in all points;
+some like a good deal of wind, some are best in a calm. Now this ship
+wants wind."
+
+"I think she does, Captain O'Grady," Terence replied, gravely. "At any
+rate her strong point is not sailing in a light wind."
+
+"No," O'Grady admitted, regretfully; "but it is not the ship's fault. I
+have no doubt at all that her bottom is foul, and that she has a lot of
+barnacles and weeds twice as long as your body. That is the reason why she
+is a little sluggish."
+
+"That may be it," Terence agreed; "but I should have thought that they
+would have seen to that before they sent her to Cork."
+
+"It is like enough that her owners are well-wishers of Napoleon, Terence,
+and that it is out of spite that they have done it. There is no doubt that
+she is a wonderful craft."
+
+"I am quite inclined to agree with you, Captain O'Grady, for as I have
+never seen a ship except when the regiment came back from India ten years
+ago, I am no judge of one."
+
+"It is the eye, Terence. I can't say that I have been much at sea myself,
+except on that voyage out and home; but I have an eye for ships, and can
+see their good points at a glance. You can take it from me that she is a
+wonderful vessel."
+
+"She would look all the better if her sails were a bit cleaner, and not so
+patched," Terence said, looking up.
+
+"She might look better to the eye, lad, but no doubt the owners know what
+they are doing, and consider that she goes better with sails that fit her
+than she would with new ones."
+
+Terence burst into a roar of laughter. O'Grady, as usual, looked at him in
+mild surprise.
+
+"What are you laughing at, you young spalpeen?"
+
+"I am thinking, Captain O'Grady," the lad said, recovering himself, "that
+it is a great pity you could not have obtained the situation of Devil's
+Advocate. I have read that years ago someone was appointed to defend Old
+Nick when the others were pitching into him, and to show that he was not
+as black as he was painted, but was a respectable gentleman who had been
+maligned by the world."
+
+"No doubt there is a good deal to be said for him," O'Grady said,
+seriously. "Give a dog a bad name, you know, and you may hang him; and I
+have no doubt the Old One has been held responsible for lots of things he
+never had as much as the tip of his finger in at all, at all."
+
+Seeing that his captain was about to pursue the matter much further,
+Terence, making the excuse that it was time he went down to see if the
+men's breakfast was all right, slipped off, and he and Dick Ryan had a
+hearty laugh over O'Grady's peculiarities.
+
+"I think, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said, two days later, "we are going
+to have our opportunity, for unless I am mistaken there is going to be a
+change of weather. Those clouds banking up ahead look like a gale from the
+southwest."
+
+Before night the wind was blowing furiously, and the _Sea-horse_ taking
+green sea over her bows and wallowing gunwale under in the waves. At
+daylight, when they went on deck, gray masses of cloud were hurrying
+overhead and an angry sea alone met the eye. Not a sail was in sight, and
+the whole convoy had vanished.
+
+"We are out of sight of the fleet, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said,
+grimly.
+
+"I felt sure we should be," O'Grady said, triumphantly. "Sorra one of them
+could keep foot with us."
+
+"They are ahead of us, man," O'Driscol said, angrily; "miles and miles
+ahead."
+
+"Ahead, is it? You must know better, O'Driscol; though it is little enough
+you know of ships. You see we are close-hauled, and there is no doubt that
+that is the vessel's strong point. Why, we have dropped the rest of them
+like hot potatoes, and if this little breeze keeps on, maybe we shall be
+in the Tagus days and days before them."
+
+O'Driscol was too exasperated to argue.
+
+"O'Driscol is a good fellow," O'Grady said, turning to Terence, "but it is
+a misfortune that he is so prejudiced. Now, what is your own opinion?"
+
+"I have no opinion about it, Captain O'Grady. I have a very strong opinion
+that I am not going to enjoy my breakfast, and that this motion does not
+agree with me at all. I have been ill half the night. Dick Ryan is awfully
+bad, and by the sounds I heard I should say a good many of the others are
+the same way. On the main deck it is awful; they have got the hatches
+battened down. I just took a peep in and bolted, for it seemed to me that
+everyone was ill."
+
+"The best plan, lad, is to make up your mind that you are quite well. If
+you once do that you will be all right directly."
+
+Terence could not for the moment reply, having made a sudden rush to the
+side.
+
+"I don't see how I can persuade myself that I am quite well," he said,
+when he returned, "when I feel terribly ill."
+
+"Yes, it wants resolution, Terence, and I am afraid that you are deficient
+in that. It must not be half-and-half. You have got to say to yourself,
+'This is glorious; I never enjoyed myself so well in my life,' and when
+you have said that and feel that it is quite true, the whole thing will be
+over."
+
+"I don't doubt it in the least," Terence said; "but I can't say it without
+telling a prodigious lie, and worse still, I could not believe the lie
+when I had told it."
+
+"Then I am afraid that you must submit to be ill, Terence. I know once
+that I had a drame, and the drame was that I was at sea and horribly
+sea-sick, and I woke up and said to myself, 'This is all nonsense, I am as
+well as ever I was;' and, faith, so I was."
+
+Ill as Terence was, he burst into a fit of laughter.
+
+"That was just a dream, Captain O'Grady; but mine is a reality, you know.
+I don't think that you are looking quite well yourself."
+
+"I am perfectly well as far as the sea goes, Terence; never was better in
+my life; but that pork we had for dinner yesterday was worse than usual,
+and I think perhaps I ought to have taken another glass or two to correct
+it."
+
+"It must have been the pork," Terence said, as seriously as O'Grady
+himself; "and it is unfortunate that you are such an abstemious man, or,
+as you say, its effects might have been corrected."
+
+"It's me opinion, Terence, my boy, that you are a humbug."
+
+"Then, Captain O'Grady, it is clear that evil communications must have
+corrupted my good manners."
+
+"It must have been in your infancy then, Terence, for divil a bit of
+manners good or bad have I ever seen in you; you have not even the good
+manners to take a glass of the cratur when you are asked."
+
+"That is true enough," Terence laughed. "Having been brought up in the
+regiment, I have learned, at least, that the best thing to do with whisky
+is to leave it alone."
+
+"I am afraid you will never be a credit to us, Terence."
+
+"Not in the way of being able to make a heavy night of it and then turn
+out as fresh as paint in the morning," Terence retorted; "but you see,
+Captain O'Grady, even my abstinence has its advantages, for at least there
+will always be one officer in the corps able to go the round of the
+sentries at night."
+
+At this moment the vessel gave such a heavy lurch that they were both
+thrown off their feet and rolled into the lee-scuppers, while, at the same
+moment, a rush of water swept over them. Amidst shouts of laughter from
+the other officers the two scrambled to their feet.
+
+
+[Illustration: TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE _SEA-HORSE_]
+
+
+"Holy Moses!" O'Grady exclaimed, "I am drowned entirely, and I sha'n't get
+the taste of the salt water out of me mouth for a week."
+
+"There is one comfort," Terence said; "it might have been worse."
+
+"How could it have been worse?" O'Grady asked, angrily.
+
+"Why, if we hadn't been in the steadiest ship in the whole fleet we might
+have been washed overboard."
+
+There was another shout of laughter. O'Grady made a dash at Terence, but
+the latter easily avoided him and went down below to change his clothes.
+
+The gale increased in strength, and the whole vessel strained so heavily
+that her seams began to open, and by one o'clock the captain requested
+Major Harrison, who was in command, to put some of the soldiers at the
+pumps. For three days and nights relays of men kept the pumps going. Had
+it not been for the 400 troops on board, the _Sea-horse_ would long
+before have gone to the bottom; but with such powerful aid the water was
+kept under, and on the morning of the fourth day the storm began to abate,
+and by evening more canvas was got on her. The next morning two vessels
+were seen astern at a distance of four or five miles. After examining them
+through his glass, the captain sent down a message to Major Harrison
+asking him to come up. In three or four minutes that officer appeared.
+
+"There are two strange craft over there, Major; from their appearance I
+have not the least doubt that they are French privateers. I thought I
+should like your advice as to what had best be done."
+
+"I don't know. You see, your guns might just as well be thrown overboard
+for any good they would be," the major said. "The things would not be safe
+to fire a salute with blank cartridge."
+
+"No, they can hardly be called serviceable," the master agreed. "I spoke
+to the owner about it, but he said that as we were going to sail with a
+convoy it did not matter, and that we should have some others for the next
+voyage."
+
+"I should like to see your owner dangling from the yardarm," the major
+said, wrathfully. "However, just at present the question is what had best
+be done. Of course they could not take the ship from us, but they would
+have very little difficulty in sinking her."
+
+"The first thing is to put on every stitch of sail."
+
+"That would avail us nothing; they can sail two feet to our one."
+
+"Quite so, Major; I should not hope to get away, but they would think that
+I was trying to do so. My idea is that we should press on as fast as we
+can till they open fire at us; we could hold on for a bit, and then haul
+up into the wind and lower our top-sails, which they will take for a proof
+of surrender."
+
+"You won't strike the flag, Captain; we cannot do anything treacherous."
+
+"No, no, I am not thinking of doing that. You see, the flag is not hoisted
+yet, and we won't hoist it at all till they get close alongside, then we
+can haul it up, and sweep their decks with musketry. Of course your men
+will keep below until the last moment."
+
+"That plan will do very well," the major agreed, "that is, if they venture
+to come boldly alongside."
+
+"One is pretty sure to do so, though the other may lay herself ahead or
+astern of us, with her guns pointed to rake us in case we make any
+resistance; but seeing what we are, and that we carry only four small guns
+each side, they are hardly likely to suspect anything wrong. I am not at
+all afraid of beating them off; my only fear is that after they have
+sheared away they will open upon us from a distance."
+
+"Yes, that would be awkward. However, if they do, we must keep the men
+below, and in the meantime you had better get your carpenter to cut up
+some spars and make a lot of plugs in readiness to stop up any holes they
+make near the water-line. I don't think they are likely to make very
+ragged holes, the wood is so rotten the shot would go through the side as
+if it were brown paper; still, you might get a lot of squares of canvas
+ready, with hammers and nails."
+
+The strange craft were already heading towards the _Sea-horse._ No time
+was lost in setting every stitch of canvas that she could carry; the wind
+was light now, but the vessel was rolling heavily in a long swell. The
+major examined the guns closely and found that they were even worse than
+he had anticipated, the rust holes eaten in the iron having been filled up
+with putty, and the whole painted. He was turning away, with an
+exclamation of disgust, when Terence, who was standing near, said to him:
+
+"I beg your pardon, Major, but don't you think that if we were to wind
+some thin rope very tightly round them three or four inches thick, they
+might stand a charge or two of grape to give them at close quarters; we
+needn't put in a very heavy charge of powder. Even if they did burst, I
+should think that the rope would prevent the splinters from flying about."
+
+"The idea is not a bad one at all, Terence. I will see if the captain has
+got a coil or two of thin rope on board."
+
+Fortunately the ship was fairly well supplied in this respect, and a few
+of the sailors who were accustomed to serving rope, with a dozen soldiers
+to help them, were told off to the work. The rope was wound round as
+tightly as the strength of a dozen men could pull it, the process being
+repeated five or six times, until each gun was surrounded by as many
+layers of rope. A thin rod had been inserted in the touch-hole. The cannon
+was then loaded with half the usual charge of powder, and filled to the
+muzzle with bullets. The rod was then drawn out, and powder poured in
+until it reached the surface.
+
+While this was being done, all the soldiers not engaged in the work went
+below, and the officers sat down under shelter of the bulwarks. The two
+privateers, a large lugger and a brig, had been coming up rapidly, and by
+the time the guns were ready for action they were but a mile away.
+Presently a puff of smoke burst out from the bows of the lugger, and a
+round shot struck the water a short distance ahead of the _Sea-horse_.
+She held on her course without taking any notice of it, and for a few
+minutes the privateer was silent; then, when they were but half a mile
+away the brig opened fire, and two or three shots hulled the vessel.
+
+"That will do, Captain," the major said. "You may as well lay-to now."
+
+The _Sea-horse_ rapidly flew up into the wind, the sheets were thrown
+off, and the upper sails were lowered, one after the other, the job being
+executed slowly, as if by a weak crew. The two privateers, which had been
+sailing within a short distance of each other, now exchanged signals, and
+the lugger ran on, straight towards the _Sea-horse_, while the brig took
+a course which would lay her across the stern of the barque, and enable
+them to rake her with her broadside. Word was passed below, and the
+soldiers poured up on deck, stooping as they reached it, and taking their
+places under the bulwarks. The major had already asked for volunteers
+among the officers, to fire the guns. All had at once offered to do so.
+
+"As it was your proposal, Terence," the major said, "you shall have the
+honour of firing one; Ryan, you take another; Lieutenant Marks and Mr.
+Haines, you take the other two, and then England and Ireland will be
+equally represented."
+
+The deck of the lugger was crowded with men, and the course she was
+steering brought her within a length of the _Sea-horse_. Some of the men
+were preparing to lower her boats, when suddenly a thick line of red coats
+appeared above the bulwarks, two hundred muskets poured in their fire,
+while the contents of the four guns swept her deck. The effect of the fire
+was tremendous. The deck was in a moment covered with dead and dying men;
+half a minute later another volley, fired by the remaining companies,
+completed the work of destruction. The halliards of one of the lugger's
+sails had been cut by the grape, and the sail now came down with a run to
+the deck.
+
+"Down below, all of you," the major shouted, "the fellow behind will rake
+us in a minute."
+
+The soldiers ran down to the hold again. A minute later the brig, sailing
+across the stern, poured in the fire of her guns one by one. Standing much
+lower in the water than her opponent, none of her shot traversed the deck
+of the _Sea-horse_, but they carried destruction among the cabins and
+fittings of the deck below. As this, however, was entirely deserted, no
+one was injured by the shot or flying fragments. The brig then took up her
+position three or four hundred yards away, on the quarter of the
+_Sea-horse_, and opened a steady fire against her.
+
+To this the barque could make no reply, the fire of the muskets being
+wholly ineffective at that distance. The lugger lay helpless alongside the
+_Sea-horse_; the survivors of her crew had run below, and dared not
+return on deck to work their guns, as they would have been swept by the
+musketry of the _Sea-horse_.
+
+Half an hour later Terence was ordered to go below to see how they were
+getting on in the hold.
+
+Terence did so. Some lanterns had been lighted there, and he found that
+four men had been killed and a dozen or so wounded by the enemy's shot,
+the greater portion of which, however, had gone over their heads. The
+carpenter, assisted by some of the non-commissioned officers, was busy
+plugging holes that had been made in her between wind and water, and had
+fairly succeeded, as but four or five shots had struck so low, the enemy's
+object being not to sink, but to capture the vessel. As he passed up
+through the main deck to report, Terence saw that the destruction here was
+great indeed. The woodwork of the cabins had been knocked into fragments,
+there was a great gaping hole in the stern, and it seemed to him that
+before long the vessel would be knocked to pieces. He returned to the
+deck, and reported the state of things.
+
+"It looks bad," the major said to O'Driscol. "This is but half an hour's
+work, and when the fellows come to the conclusion that they cannot make us
+strike, they will aim lower, and there will be nothing to do but to choose
+between sinking and hauling down our flag."
+
+After delivering his report, Terence went to the side of the ship and
+looked down on the lugger. The attraction of the ship had drawn her closer
+to it, and she was but a few feet away. A thought struck him, and he went
+to O'Grady.
+
+"Look here, O'Grady," he said, "that fellow will smash us up altogether if
+we don't do something."
+
+"You must be a bright boy to see that, Terence; faith, I have been
+thinking so for the last ten minutes. But what are we to do? The muskets
+won't carry so far, at least not to do any good. The cannon are next to
+useless. Two of that lot you fired burst, though the ropes prevented any
+damage being done."
+
+"Quite so, but there are plenty of guns alongside. Now, if you go to the
+major and volunteer to take your company and gain possession of the
+lugger, with one of the mates and half a dozen sailors to work her, we can
+get up the main-sail and engage the brig."
+
+"By the powers, Terence, you are a broth of a boy," and he hurried away to
+the major.
+
+"Major," he said, "if you will give me leave, I will have up my company
+and take possession of the lugger; we shall want one of the ship's
+officers and half a dozen men to work the sails, and then we will go out
+and give that brig pepper."
+
+"It is a splendid idea, O'Grady."
+
+"It is not my idea at all, at all; it is Terence O'Connor who suggested it
+to me. I suppose I can take the lad with me?"
+
+"By all means, get your company up at once."
+
+O'Grady hurried away, and in a minute the men of his company poured up
+onto the deck.
+
+"You can come with me, Terence; I have the major's leave," he said to the
+lad.
+
+At this moment there was a slight shock, as the lugger came in contact
+with the ship.
+
+"Come on, lads," O'Grady said, as he set the example of clambering down
+onto the deck of the lugger. He was followed by his men, the first mate
+and six sailors also springing on board. The hatches were first put on to
+keep the remnant of the crew below. The sailors knotted the halliards of
+the main-sail, the soldiers tailed on to the rope, and the sail was
+rapidly run up. The mate put two of his men at the tiller, and the
+soldiers ran to the guns, which were already loaded.
+
+"Haul that sheet to windward," the mate shouted, and the four sailors,
+aided by some of the soldiers, did so. Her head soon payed off, and amid a
+cheer from the officers on deck the lugger swept round. She mounted twelve
+guns. O'Grady divided the officers and non-commissioned officers among
+them, himself taking charge of a long pivot-gun in the bow.
+
+"Take stiddy aim, boys, and fire as your guns bear on her; you ought not
+to throw away a shot at this distance."
+
+As the lugger came out from behind the Sea-horse, gun after gun was fired,
+and the white splinters on the side of the brig showed that most, if not
+all, of the shots had taken effect. O'Grady's gun was the last to speak
+out, and the shot struck the brig just above the water-line.
+
+"Take her round," he shouted to the mate; "give the boys on the other side
+a chance." The lugger put about and her starboard guns poured in their
+contents.
+
+"That is the way," he shouted, as he laboured away with the men with him
+to load the pivot-gun again; "we will give him two or three more rounds,
+and then we will get alongside and ask for his health."
+
+The brig, however, showed no inclination to await the attack. Some shots
+had been hastily fired when the lugger's first gun told them that she was
+now an enemy, and she at once put down her helm and made off before the
+wind, which was now very light.
+
+"Load your guns and then out with the oars," Captain O'Grady shouted. "Be
+jabers, we will have that fellow. Let no man attend to the _Sea-horse_;
+it's from me that you are to take your orders. Besides," he said to
+Terence, "there is no signal-book on board, and they may hoist as many
+flags as they like."
+
+The twelve sweeps on board the lugger were at once got out, and each
+manned by three soldiers. O'Grady himself continued to direct the fire of
+the pivot-gun, and sent shot after shot into the brig's stern. The latter
+had but some four hundred yards' start, and although she also hurriedly
+got out some sweeps, the lugger gained upon her. Her crew clustered on
+their taffrail, and kept up a musketry fire upon the party working the
+pivot-gun. Two of these had been killed and four wounded, when O'Grady
+said to the others:
+
+"Lave the gun alone, boys; we shall be alongside of her in a few minutes;
+it is no use throwing away lives by working it. Run all the guns over to
+the other side; we will give them a warming, and then go at her."
+
+The _Sea-horse_ had hoisted signals directly those on board perceived
+that the lugger was starting in pursuit of the brig. Terence had informed
+his commanding officer of this, but O'Grady replied:
+
+"I know nothing about them, Terence; most likely they mane 'Good-luck to
+you! Chase the blackguard, and capture him.' Don't let Woods come near me,
+whatever you do; I don't want to hear his idea of what the signals may
+mane."
+
+Terence had just time to stop the mate as he was coming forward.
+
+"The ship is signalling," he said.
+
+"I have told Captain O'Grady, sir," Terence replied. "He does not know
+what the signal means, but has no doubt that it is instructions to capture
+the brig, and he means to do so."
+
+The officer laughed.
+
+"I think myself that it would be a pity not to," he said; "we shall be
+alongside in ten minutes. But I think it my duty to tell you what the
+signal is."
+
+"You can tell me what it is," Terence said, "and it is possible that in
+the heat of action I may forget to report it to Captain O'Grady."
+
+"That is right enough, sir. I think it is the recall."
+
+"Well, I will attend to it presently," Terence laughed.
+
+When within a hundred yards of the brig the troops opened a heavy musketry
+fire, many of the men making their way up the ratlines and so commanding
+the brig's deck. They were answered with a brisk fire, but the French
+shooting was wild, and by the shouting of orders and the confusion that
+prevailed on board it was evident that the privateersmen were disorganized
+by the sight of the troops and the capture of their consort. The brig's
+guns were hastily fired, as they could be brought to bear on the lugger,
+as she forged alongside. The sweeps had already been got in, and the
+lugger's eight guns poured their contents simultaneously into the brig,
+then a withering volley was fired, and, headed by O'Grady, the soldiers
+sprang on board the brig.
+
+As they did so, however, the French flag fluttered down from the peak, and
+the privateersmen threw down their arms. The English broadside and volley
+fired at close quarters had taken terrible effect. Of the crew of eighty
+men thirty were killed and a large proportion of the rest wounded. The
+soldiers gave three hearty cheers as the flag came down.
+
+The privateersmen were at once ordered below.
+
+"Lieutenant Hunter," O'Grady said, "do you go on board the lugger with the
+left wing of the company. Mr. Woods, I think you had better stay here,
+there are a good many more sails to manage than there are in the lugger.
+One man here will be enough to steer her; we will pull at the ropes for
+you. Put the others on board the lugger."
+
+"By the by, Mr. Woods," he said, "I see that the ship has hoisted a
+signal; what does it mean?"
+
+"I believe that to be the recall, sir; I told Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"You ought to have reported that same to me," O'Grady said, severely;
+"however, we will obey it at once."
+
+The _Sea-horse_ was lying head to wind a mile and a half away, and the
+two prizes ran rapidly up to her. They were received with a tremendous
+cheer from the men closely packed along her bulwarks. O'Grady at once
+lowered a boat and was rowed to the _Sea-horse_, taking Terence with him.
+
+"You have done extremely well, Captain O'Grady," Major Harrison said, as
+he reached the deck, "and I congratulate you heartily. You should,
+however, have obeyed the order of recall; the brig might have proved too
+strong for you, and, bound on service as we are, we have no right to risk
+valuable lives except in self-defence."
+
+"Sure I knew nothing about the signal," O'Grady said, with an air of
+innocence; "I thought it just meant 'More power to ye! give it 'em hot!'
+or something of that kind. It was not until after I had taken the brig
+that I was told that it was an order of recall. As soon as I learned that,
+we came along as fast as we could to you."
+
+"But Mr. Woods must surely have known."
+
+"Mr. Woods did tell me, Major," Terence put in, "but somehow I forgot to
+mention it to Captain O'Grady."
+
+There was a laugh among the officers standing round.
+
+"You ought to have informed him at once, Mr. O'Connor," the major said,
+with an attempt at gravity. "However," he went on, with a change of voice,
+"we all owe so much to you that I must overlook it, as there can be very
+little doubt that had it not been for your happy idea of taking possession
+of the lugger we should have been obliged to surrender, for I should not
+have been justified in holding out until the ship sank under us. I shall
+not fail, in reporting the matter, to do you full credit for your share in
+it. Now, what is your loss, Captain O'Grady?"
+
+"Three men killed and eleven wounded, sir."
+
+"And what is that of the enemy?"
+
+"Thirty-two killed and about the same number of wounded, more or less. We
+had not time to count them before we sent them down, and I had not time
+afterwards, for I was occupied in obeying the order of recall. I am sorry
+that we have killed so many of the poor beggars, but if they had hauled
+down their flag when we got up with them there would have been no occasion
+for it. I should have told their captain that I looked upon him as an
+obstinate pig, but as he and his first officer were both killed, there was
+no use in my spaking to him."
+
+"Well, it has been a very satisfactory operation," the major said, "and we
+are very well out of a very nasty fix. Now, you will go back to the brig,
+Captain O'Grady, and prepare to send the prisoners on board. We will send
+our boats for them. Doctor Daly and Doctor O'Flaherty will go on board
+with you and see to the wounded French and English. Doctor Daly will bring
+the worst cases on board here, and will leave O'Flaherty on the brig to
+look after the others. They will be better there than in this crowded
+ship. The first officer will remain there with you with five men, and you
+will retain fifty men of your own company. The second officer, with five
+men, will take charge of the lugger. He will have with him fifty men of
+Captain O'Driscol's company, under that officer. That will give us a
+little more room on board here. How many prisoners are there?"
+
+"Counting the wounded, Major, there are about fifty of them; her crew was
+eighty strong to begin with. There are only some thirty, including the
+slightly wounded, to look after."
+
+"If the brig's hold is clear, I think that you had better take charge of
+them. At present you will both lie-to beside us here till we have
+completed our repairs, and when we make sail you are both to follow us,
+and keep as close as possible; and on no account, Captain O'Grady, are you
+to undertake any cruises on your own account."
+
+"I will bear it in mind, Major; and we will do all we can to keep up with
+you."
+
+A laugh ran round the circle of officers at O'Grady's obstinacy in
+considering the _Sea-horse_ to be a fast vessel, in spite of the evidence
+that they had had to the contrary. The major said, gravely:
+
+"You will have to go under the easiest sail possible. The brig can go two
+feet to this craft's one, and you will only want your lower sails. If you
+put on more you will be running ahead and losing us at night. We shall
+show a light over our stern, and on no account are you to allow yourselves
+to lose sight of it."
+
+A party of men were already at work nailing battens over the shattered
+stern of the _Sea-horse_. When this was done, sail-cloth was nailed over
+them, and a coat of pitch given to it. The operation took four hours, by
+which time all the other arrangements had been completed. The holds of the
+two privateers were found to be empty, and they learned from the French
+crews that the two craft had sailed from Bordeaux in company but four days
+previously, and that the _Sea-horse_ was the first English ship that they
+had come across.
+
+"You will remember, Captain O'Grady," the major said, as that officer
+prepared to go on board, "that Mr. Woods is in command of the vessel, and
+that he is not to be interfered with in any way with regard to making or
+taking in sail. He has received precise instructions as to keeping near
+us, and your duties will be confined to keeping guard over the prisoners,
+and rendering such assistance to the sailors as they may require."
+
+"I understand, Major; but I suppose that in case you are attacked we may
+take a share in any divarsion that is going on?"
+
+"I don't think that there is much chance of our being attacked, O'Grady;
+but if we are, instructions will be signalled to you. French privateers
+are not likely to interfere with us, seeing that we are together, and if
+by any ill-luck a French frigate should fall in with us, you will have
+instructions to sheer off at once, and for each of you to make your way to
+Lisbon as quickly as you can. You see, we have transferred four guns from
+each of your craft to take the place of the rotten cannon on board here,
+but our united forces would be of no avail at all against a frigate, which
+would send us to the bottom with a single broadside. We can neither run
+nor fight in this wretched old tub. If we do see a French frigate coming,
+I shall transfer the rest of the troops to the prizes and send them off at
+once, and leave the _Sea-horse_ to her fate. Of course we should be very
+crowded on board the privateers, but that would not matter for a few days.
+So you see the importance of keeping quite close to us, in readiness to
+come alongside at once if signalled to. We shall separate as soon as we
+leave the ship, so as to ensure at least half our force reaching its
+destination."
+
+Captain O'Driscol took Terence with him on board the lugger, leaving his
+lieutenant in charge of the wing that remained on board the ship.
+
+"You have done credit to the company, and to my choice of you, Terence,"
+he said, warmly, as they stood together on the deck of the lugger. "I did
+not see anything for it but a French prison, and it would have broken my
+heart to be tied up there while the rest of our lads were fighting the
+French in Portugal. I thought that you would make a good officer some day
+in spite of your love of devilment, but I did not think that before you
+had been three weeks in the service you would have saved half the regiment
+from a French prison."
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+DISEMBARKED
+
+As soon as the vessels were under way again it was found that the lugger
+was obliged to lower her main-sail to keep in her position astern of the
+_Sea-horse_, while the brig was forced to take in sail after sail until
+the whole of the upper sails had been furled.
+
+"It is tedious work going along like this," O'Driscol said; "but it does
+not so much matter, because as yet we do not know where we are going to
+land. Sir Arthur has gone on in a fast ship to Corunna to see the Spanish
+Junta there, and find out what assistance we are likely to get from
+Northern Spain. That will be little enough. I expect they will take our
+money and arms and give us plenty of fine promises in return, and do
+nothing; that is the game they have been playing in the south, and if
+there were a grain of sense among our ministers they would see that it is
+not of the slightest use to reckon on Spain. As to Portugal, we know very
+little at present, but I expect there is not a pin to choose between them
+and the Spaniards."
+
+"Then we are not going to Lisbon?" Terence said, in surprise.
+
+"I expect not. Sir Arthur won't determine anything until he joins us after
+his visit to Corunna, but I don't think that it will be at Lisbon, anyhow.
+There are strong forts guarding the mouth of the river, and ten or twelve
+thousand troops in the city, and a Russian fleet anchored in the port. I
+don't know where it will be, but I don't think that it will be Lisbon. I
+expect that we shall slip into some little port, land, and wait for Junot
+to attack us; we shall be joined, I expect, by Stewart's force, that have
+been fooling about for two or three months waiting for the Spaniards to
+make up their minds whether they will admit them into Cadiz or not. You
+see, at present there are only 9,000 of us, and they say that Junot has at
+least 50,000 in Portugal; but of course they are scattered about, and it
+is hardly likely that he would venture to withdraw all his garrisons from
+the large towns, so that the odds may not be as heavy as they look, when
+we meet him in the field. And I suppose that at any rate some of the
+Portuguese will join us. From what I hear, the peasantry are brave enough,
+only they have never had a chance yet of making a fight for it, owing to
+their miserable government, which never can make up its mind to do
+anything. I hope that Sir Arthur has orders, as soon as he takes Lisbon,
+to assume the entire control of the country and ignore the native
+government altogether. Even if they are worth anything, which they are
+sure not to be, it is better to have one head than two, and as we shall
+have to do all the fighting, it's just as well that we should have the
+whole control of things too."
+
+For four days they sailed along quietly. On the morning of the fifth the
+signal was run up from the _Sea-horse_ for the prizes to close up to her.
+Mr. Woods, the mate on board the brig, at once sent a sailor up to the
+mast-head.
+
+"There is a large ship away to the south-west, sir," he shouted down.
+
+"What does she look like?"
+
+"I can only see her royals and top-sails yet, but by their square cut I
+think that she is a ship-of-war."
+
+"Do you think she is French or English?"
+
+"I cannot say for certain yet, sir, but it looks to me as if she is
+French. I don't think that the sails are English cut anyhow."
+
+Such was evidently the opinion on board the _Sea-horse_, for as the
+prizes came up within a hundred yards of her they were hailed by the major
+through a speaking-trumpet, and ordered to keep at a distance for the
+present, but to be in readiness to come up alongside directly orders were
+given to that effect.
+
+In another half-hour the look-out reported that he could now see the lower
+sails of the stranger, and had very little doubt but that it was a large
+French frigate. Scarcely had he done so before the two prizes were ordered
+to close up to the _Sea-horse_. The sea was very calm and they were able
+to lie alongside, and as soon as they did so the troops began to be
+transferred to them. In a quarter of an hour the operation was completed,
+Major Harrison taking his place on board the lugger; half the men were
+ordered below, and the prize sheered off from the _Sea-horse_.
+
+"The Frenchman is bearing down straight for us," he said to O'Driscol;
+"she is bringing a breeze down with her, and in an hour she will be
+alongside. I shall wait another half-hour, and then we must leave the
+_Sea-horse_ to her fate; except for our stores she is worthless. Well,
+Terence, have you any suggestion to offer? You got us out of the last
+scrape, and though this is not quite so bad as that, it is unpleasant
+enough. The frigate when she comes near will see that the _Sea-horse_ is
+a slow sailer, and will probably leave her to be picked up at her leisure,
+and will go off in chase either of the brig or us. The brig is to make for
+the north-west and we shall steer south-east, so that she will have to
+make a choice between us. When we get the breeze we shall either of us
+give her a good dance before she catches us--that is, if the breeze is not
+too strong; if it is, her weight would soon bring her up to us."
+
+"Yes, Major, but perhaps she may not trouble about us at all. She would
+see at once that the lugger and brig are French, and if they were both to
+hoist French colours, and the _Sea-horse_ were to fly French colours over
+English, she would naturally suppose that she had been captured by us, and
+would go straight on her course without troubling herself further about
+it."
+
+"So she might, Terence. At any rate the scheme is worth trying. If they
+have anything like good glasses on board they could make out our colours
+miles away. If she held on towards us after that, there would be plenty of
+time for us to run, but if we saw her change her course we should know
+that we were safe. Your head is good for other things besides mischief,
+lad."
+
+The lugger sailed up near the ship again, and the major gave the captain
+instructions to hoist a French ensign over an English one, and then,
+sailing near the brig, told them to hoist French colours.
+
+"Keep all your men down below the line of the bulwarks, O'Grady. Mr.
+Woods, you had better get your boat down and row alongside of the ship,
+and ask the captain to get the slings at work and hoist some of our stores
+into her; we will do the same on the other side. Tell the captain to lower
+a couple of his boats; also take twenty soldiers on board with you without
+their jackets; we will do the same, so that it may be seen that we have a
+strong party on board getting out the cargo."
+
+In a few minutes the orders were carried out, and forty soldiers were at
+work on the deck of the Sea-horse, slinging up tents from below, and
+lowering them into the boats alongside. The approach of the frigate was
+anxiously watched from the decks of the prizes. The upper sails of the
+_Sea-horse_ had been furled, and the privateers, under the smallest
+possible canvas, kept abreast of her at a distance of a couple of lengths.
+The hull of the French frigate was now visible. "She is very fast," the
+mate said to the major, "and she is safe to catch one of us if the breeze
+she has got holds."
+
+As she came nearer the feeling of anxiety heightened.
+
+"They ought to make out our colours now, sir."
+
+Almost immediately afterwards the frigate was seen to change her course.
+Her head was turned more to the east. A suppressed cheer broke from the
+troops.
+
+"It is all right now, sir," the mate said; "she is making for Brest. We
+have fooled her nicely."
+
+The boats passed and repassed between the _Sea-horse_ and the prizes, and
+the frigate crossed a little more than a mile ahead.
+
+"Five-and-twenty guns a-side," the major said. "By Jove! she would have
+made short work of us."
+
+As it was not advisable to make any change in the position until the
+frigate was far on her way, the boats continued to pass to and fro,
+carrying back to the _Sea-horse_ the stores that had just been removed,
+until the Frenchman was five or six miles away.
+
+"Don't you think that we might make sail again, Captain?" the major then
+hailed.
+
+"I think that we had better give him another hour, sir. Were she to see us
+making sail with the prize to the south it would excite suspicion at once,
+and the captain might take it into his head to come back again to inquire
+into it."
+
+"Half an hour will surely be sufficient," the major said. "She is
+travelling at eight or nine knots an hour, and she is evidently bound for
+port. It would be unlikely in the extreme that her commander would beat
+back ten miles on what, after all, might be a fool's errand."
+
+"That is true enough, sir. Then in half an hour we shall be ready to sail
+again."
+
+The major was rowed to the _Sea-horse_. "We may as well transfer the men
+at once," he said. "We have had a very narrow escape of it, Captain, and
+there is no doubt that we owe our safety entirely to the sharpness of that
+young ensign. We should have been sunk or taken if he had not suggested
+our manning the lugger in the first place, and of pretending that the ship
+had been captured by French privateers in the second."
+
+"You are right, Major. Another half-hour and the craft would have
+foundered under us; and the frigate would certainly have captured the
+_Sea-horse_ and one of the prizes if the Frenchman had not, as he
+thought, seen two privateers at work emptying our hold. He is a sharp
+young fellow, that."
+
+"That he is," the major agreed. "He has been brought up with the regiment,
+and has always been up to pranks of all kinds; but he has used his wits to
+good purpose this time, and I have no doubt will turn out an excellent
+officer."
+
+Before sail was made the major summoned the officers on board the
+_Sea-horse_. The troops from the lugger and brig were drawn up on deck,
+and the major, standing on the poop, said in a voice that could be heard
+from end to end of the ship:
+
+"Officers and men, we have had a narrow escape from a French prison, and
+as it is possible that before we arrive at our destination we may fall in
+with an enemy again and not be so lucky, I think it right to take this
+occasion at once of thanking Mr. O' Connor, before you all, in my own
+name, and in yours, for to his intelligence and quickness of wit it is
+entirely due that we escaped being captured when the brig was pounding us
+with its shot, without our being able to make any return, and it was
+certain that in a short time we should have had to haul down our flag or
+be sunk. It was he who suggested that we should take possession of the
+lugger, and with her guns drive off the brig. As the result of that
+suggestion this craft was saved from being sunk, and the brig was also
+captured.
+
+"In the second place, when that French frigate was bearing down upon us
+and our capture seemed certain, it was he who suggested to me, that by
+hoisting the French flag and appearing to be engaged in transferring the
+cargo of the ship to the privateers, we might throw dust into the eyes of
+the Frenchmen. As you saw, the ruse succeeded perfectly. I therefore, Mr.
+O'Connor, thank you most heartily in my own name, and in that of your
+fellow-officers, also in the name of the four hundred men of the regiment,
+and of the ship's company, for the manner in which you have, by your
+quickness and good sense, saved us all from a French prison, and saved his
+Majesty from the loss of the wing of a fine regiment."
+
+As he concluded the men broke into loud cheering, and the officers
+gathered around Terence and thanked and congratulated him most heartily on
+the service that he had rendered them.
+
+"You are a broth of a boy, Terence," Captain O'Grady said. "I knew that it
+was in you all along. I would not give a brass farthing for a lad who had
+not a spice of divil-ment in him. It shows that he has got his wits about
+him, and that when he steddys down he will be hard to bate."
+
+Terence was so much overpowered at the praise he had received that, beyond
+protesting that it was quite undeserved, he had no reply to make to the
+congratulations that he received from the captain. O'Driscol, seeing that
+he was on the verge of breaking down, at once called upon him to take his
+place in the boat, and rowed with him to the lugger.
+
+A few minutes later all sail was set on the _Sea-horse_, and with her
+yards braced tautly aft she laid her course south, close-hauled; a fresh
+breeze was now blowing, and she ploughed her way through the water at a
+rate that almost justified O'Grady's panegyrics upon her. In another three
+days she entered the port of Vigo, where the convoy was to rendezvous, and
+all were glad to find that the whole fleet were still there. On anchoring,
+the major went on board the _Dauphin_, which had brought the
+headquarters, and the other wing of the regiment. He was heartily greeted
+by the colonel.
+
+"We were getting very uneasy about you, Harrison," he said. "The last ship
+of the convoy came in three days ago, and we began to fear that you must
+have been either dismasted or sunk in the gale. I saw the senior naval
+officer this morning, and he said that if you did not come in during the
+day he would send a frigate out in search of you; but I could see by his
+manner that he thought it most likely that you had gone down. So you may
+imagine how pleased we were when we made out your number, though we could
+not for the life of us make out what those two craft flying the English
+colours over the French, that came in after you, were. But of course they
+had nothing to do with you. I suppose they were two privateers that had
+been captured by one of our frigates, and sent in here with prize crews to
+refit before going home. They have both of them been knocked about a bit."
+
+"I will tell you about them directly, Colonel; it is rather a long story.
+We have had a narrow squeak of it. We got through the storm pretty well,
+but we had a bad time of it afterwards, and we owe it entirely to young
+O'Connor that we are not, all of us, in a prison at Brest at present."
+
+"You don't say so! Wait a moment, I will call his father here; he will be
+glad to hear that the young scamp has behaved well. I may as well call
+them all up; they will like to hear the story."
+
+Turning to the group of officers who were standing on the quarter-deck a
+short distance away, waiting to hear the news when the major had given his
+report, he said: "You may as well come now and hear Major Harrison's
+story; it will save his telling it twice. You will be glad to hear,
+O'Connor, that Terence has been distinguishing himself in some way, though
+I know not yet in what; the major says that if it had not been for him the
+whole wing of the regiment would have now been in a French prison."
+
+"Terence was always good at getting out of scrapes, Colonel, though I
+don't say he was not equally good in getting into them; but I am glad to
+hear that this time he has done something useful."
+
+The major then gave a full account of their adventure with the privateers,
+and of the subsequent escape from the French frigate.
+
+"Faith, O'Connor," the colonel said, warmly, holding out his hand to him,
+"I congratulate you most heartily, which is more than I ever thought to do
+on Terence's account. I had some misgivings when I recommended him for a
+commission, but I may congratulate myself as well as you that I did so. I
+was sure the lad had plenty in him, but I was afraid that it was more
+likely to come out the wrong way than the right; and now it turns out that
+he has saved half the regiment, for there is no doubt from what Harrison
+says that he has done so."
+
+"Thank you, Colonel; I am glad indeed that the boy has done credit to your
+kindness. It was a mighty bad scrape this time, and he got out of it
+well."
+
+"Of course, Major, you will give a full report in writing of this, and
+will send it in to Sir Arthur; he arrived this morning. I will go on board
+the flag-ship at once and report as to the prizes. Who they belong to I
+have not the least idea. I never heard of a transport capturing a couple
+of privateers before; but, I suppose, as she is taken up for the king's
+service and the prizes were captured by his Majesty's troops, they will
+rank as if taken by the navy, that is, a certain amount of their value
+will go to the admiral. Anyhow, the bulk of it will go, I should think, to
+the troops--the crew and officers of the ship, of course, sharing."
+
+"It won't come to much a head, Colonel, anyhow. You see, they were both
+empty, and there is simply the value of the ships themselves, which I
+don't suppose would fetch above five or six hundred apiece."
+
+"Still, the thing must be done in a regular way, and I must leave it in
+the admiral's hands. I will take your boat, Major, and go to him at once.
+You will find pen and ink in my cabin, and I should be glad if you would
+write your report by the time that I return; then I will go off at once to
+Sir Arthur."
+
+"I have it already written, Colonel," the major said, producing the
+document.
+
+"That looks to me rather long, Harrison, and busy as Sir Arthur must be,
+he might not take the trouble to read it. I wish you would write out
+another, as concise as you can make it, of the actual affair, saying at
+the end that you beg to report especially the conduct of Ensign O'Connor,
+to whose suggestions the escape of the ship both from the privateers and
+French frigate were due. I will hand that in as the official report, and
+with it the other, saying that it gives further details of the affair. Of
+course, with them I must give in an official letter from myself, inclosing
+your two reports. But first I will go and see the admiral."
+
+In a little over half an hour he returned. "The admiral knows no more than
+I do whether the navy have anything to do with the prizes or not. Being so
+small in value he does not want to trouble himself about it. He says that
+the matter would entail no end of correspondence and bother, and that the
+crafts might rot at their anchors before the matter was decided. He thinks
+the best thing that I can do will be to sell the two vessels for what they
+will fetch, and divide the money according to prize rules, and say nothing
+about it. In that way there is not likely ever to be any question about
+it, while if the Admiralty and Horse Guards once get into a correspondence
+over the matter, there is no saying what bother I might have; and that he
+should advise me, if I do not adopt that plan, to simply scuttle them
+both, and report that they have sunk. Now I will just write my official
+letter and take it to head-quarters."
+
+In two hours he was back again.
+
+"I have not seen the chief," he said, "but I gave the reports to his
+adjutant-general. General Fane was with him; he is an old friend of mine,
+and I told him the story of your voyage, and the adjutant-general joined
+in the conversation. Fane was waiting to go in to Sir Arthur, who was
+dictating some despatches to England, and he said that if he had a chance
+he would mention the affair to Sir Arthur; and, at any rate, the other
+officer said that he would lay the reports before him, with such mention
+that Sir Arthur would doubtless look through them both. I find that there
+is a bit of insurrection going on in Portugal, but that no one thinks much
+will come of it, as bands of unarmed peasants can have no chance with the
+French. Nothing is determined as yet about our landing. Lisbon and the
+Tagus are completely in the hands of the French.
+
+"Sir Arthur is going down to Oporto to-morrow, where it is likely that he
+will learn more about the situation than he did at Corunna. Fane says that
+he hopes we shall soon be ashore, as the general is not the man to let the
+grass grow under his feet."
+
+After holding counsel with his officers the colonel determined to adopt
+the advice he had received, and to sell the two craft for what they would
+fetch, the officers all agreeing to refund their shares if any questions
+were ever asked on the subject. The captain of the _Sea-horse_ agreed to
+accept the share of a captain in the line, and his mates those of first
+and second lieutenant. The colonel put himself in communication with some
+merchants on shore, and the two craft were sold for twelve hundred pounds.
+
+"This gave something over a pound a head to the 400 soldiers and the crew,
+twice that amount to the non-commissioned officers, and sums varying from
+ten pounds apiece to the ensigns to fifty pounds to the major. The admiral
+was asked to approve of the transaction, and said, 'I have no right
+formally to sanction it, since, so far as I know, it is not a strictly
+naval matter; but I will give you a letter, Colonel, saying that you have
+informed me of the course that you have adopted, and that I consider that
+under the peculiar circumstances of the capture, and the fact that there
+are no men available for sending the prizes to England, the course was the
+best and most convenient that could possibly be adopted, though, had the
+craft been of any great value, it would, of course, have been necessary to
+refer the matter home.'"
+
+A week passed without movement. The expedition had left England on the
+12th of July, 1808, and Sir Arthur rejoined it towards the end of the
+month. He had learned at Oporto from Colonel Brown, our agent there, that,
+contrary to what he had been told at Corunna, there were no Spanish troops
+in the north of Portugal, but that a body of some 8,000 Portuguese
+irregulars and militia, half-armed and but slightly disciplined, were
+assembled on the river Mondego. After a consultation with Admiral Sir
+Charles Cotton, Sir Arthur had concluded that an attack at the mouth of
+the Tagus was impracticable, owing to the strength of the French there,
+the position of the forts that commanded the entrance of the river, and
+the heavy surf that broke in all the undefended creeks and bays near.
+There was then the choice of landing far enough north of Lisbon to ensure
+a disembarkation undisputed by the French, or else to sail south, join
+Spencer, and act against the French army under Dupont.
+
+Sir Arthur finally determined that the Mondego River was the most
+practicable for the enterprise. The fort of Figueira at its mouth was
+already occupied by British marines, and the Portuguese force was at least
+sufficient to deter any small body of troops approaching the
+neighbourhood. Therefore, to the great joy of the troops, the order was
+given that the fleet should sail on the following morning; two days later
+they anchored off the mouth of the Mondego. Just before starting a vessel
+arrived with despatches from Spencer, saying that he was at St. Mary's and
+was free to act with Sir Arthur, and a fast vessel was despatched with
+orders to him to sail to the Mondego.
+
+On arriving there Sir Arthur received the mortifying intelligence that Sir
+Hew Dalrymple had been appointed over his head, nevertheless he continued
+to push on his own plans with vigour, pending the arrival of that general.
+With this bad news came the information that the French general, Dupont,
+had been defeated. This set free a small force under General Anstruther,
+and some fast-sailing craft were at once despatched to find his command,
+and order it to sail at once to the Mondego. Without further delay,
+however, the landing of the troops began on the 1st of August, and the
+9,000 men, their guns and stores, were ashore by the 5th.
+
+On that day Spencer fortunately arrived with 3,300 men. He had not
+received Sir Arthur's orders, but the moment that Dupont surrendered he
+had sailed for the Tagus, and had learned from Sir C. Cotton, who
+commanded the fleet at the entrance to the river, where Sir Arthur was,
+and at once sailed to join him. While the troops were disembarking Sir
+Arthur had gone over to the Portuguese head-quarters, two miles distant,
+to confer with Bernardin Friere, the Portuguese commander-in-chief. The
+visit was a disappointing one. He found that the Portuguese troops were
+almost unarmed, and that their commander was full of inflated ideas. He
+proposed that the forces should unite, that they should relinquish the
+coast, and march into the interior and commence an offensive campaign, and
+was lavish in his promises to provide ample stores of provisions. The
+English general saw, however, that no effectual assistance could be hoped
+for from the Portuguese troops, and as little from the promises of their
+commander. He gave Friere 5,000 muskets for his troops, but absolutely
+declined to adopt the proposed plan, his own intention being to keep near
+the coast, where he could receive his supplies from the ships and be
+joined by reinforcements.
+
+As soon as they had landed the Mayo regiment was marched to a village two
+miles inland, and, with two others of the same brigade, encamped near it.
+All idea of keeping up a regimental officers' mess had been abandoned, and
+as soon as the tents were pitched and the troops had settled down in them,
+O'Grady said to Terence:
+
+"We will go into the village and see if we can find a suitable place for
+taking our meals. It may be that in time our fellows will learn how to
+cook for us, but, by jabers! we will live dacent as long as we can. My
+servant, Tim Hoolan, has gone on ahead to look for such a place, and he is
+the boy to find one if there is one anyhow to be got. As our companies are
+number 1 and 2, it is reasonable that we should stick together, and though
+O'Driscol's a quare stick, with all sorts of ridiculous notions, he is a
+good fellow at heart, and I will put up with him for the sake of having
+you with me."
+
+As they entered the village the servant came up. "I have managed it,
+Captain; we have got hold of the best quarters in the village; it is a
+room over the only shebeen here. The ould scoundrel of a landlord wanted
+to keep it as a general room, but I brought the Church to bear on him, and
+I managed it finally."
+
+"How did you work it, Tim?"
+
+"Sure, your honour, I went to the praste, and by good luck his house is in
+front of the church. I went into the church, and I crossed myself before
+the altar and said a prayer or two. As I did so who should come out of the
+vestry but the father himself. He waited until I had done and then came up
+to me, and to my surprise said in good Irish:
+
+"'So it's a Catholic you are, my man?'
+
+"'That am I, your riverence,' said I, 'and most all of the rigiment are;
+sure, we were raised in the ould country, and belong, most of us, to
+County Mayo, and glad we were to come out here to fight for those of the
+true religion against these Frenchmen, who they say have no religion at
+all, at all. And how is it you spake the language, your riverence, if I
+may be so bold as to ask?'"
+
+"Then he told me that he had been at college at Lisbon, where the sons of
+many Catholic Irish gentlemen were sent to be educated, and that he had
+learned it from them.
+
+"'And how is it that you are not with your regiment, my man?'
+
+"'I am here to hire rooms for the officers, your riverence, just a place
+where they can ate a dacent meal in peace and quietness. I have been to
+the inn, but I cannot for the life of me make the landlord understand. He
+has got a room that would be just suitable, so I thought I would come to
+your riverence to explain to you that the rigiment are not heretics, but
+true sons of the Church. I thought that, being a learned man, I might make
+shift to make you understand, and that you would maybe go wid me and
+explain the matter to him.'
+
+"'That will I,' says he; and he wint and jabbered away with the innkeeper,
+and at last turned to me and said: 'He will let you have a room, seeing
+that it is for the service of good Catholics and not heretics.'"
+
+"But, you rascal, you know that we are not Catholics."
+
+"Sure, your honour, didn't I say that most all the rigiment were
+Catholics; I did not say all of them."
+
+"I must go and explain the matter to him, Hoolan. If he calls upon us, as
+like he may do, he would find out at once that you have desaved him."
+
+"Sure, your honour, if you think that it is necessary, of course it must
+be done; but would it not be as well to go to the shebeen first and to
+take possession of the room, and to get comfortably settled down in it
+before ye gives me away?"
+
+"I think it might be worth while, Tim," O'Grady said, gravely. "What do
+you say, Terence?"
+
+"I think the matter will keep for a few hours," Terence said, laughing,
+"and when we are once settled there it will be very hard to turn us out."
+
+The room was found to be larger than they had expected, and O'Grady
+proposed that they should admit the whole officers of their wing to share
+it with them, to which Terence at once agreed heartily. "I think that with
+a little squeezing the place would hold the officers of the five
+companies, and the major and O'Flaherty. The more of us there are, the
+merrier, and the less fear of our being turned out."
+
+"That is so. We had better put the names up on the door. You go down and
+try and make that black-browed landlord understand that you want some
+paper and pen and ink."
+
+With some difficulty and much gesticulation Terence succeeded. The names
+of the officers were written down on a paper and it was then fastened on
+the door.
+
+"Now, Terence, I will go and fetch the boys; you and Hoolan make the
+landlord understand that we want food and wine for fifteen or sixteen
+officers. Of course they won't all be able to get away at once. We must
+contint ourselves with anything we can get now; afterwards we will send up
+our rations, and with plenty of good wine and a ham (there are lots of
+them hanging from the ceiling down below), we shall do pretty well, with
+what you can forage outside."
+
+Terence left this part of the work to Hoolan, who, by bringing up a number
+of plates and ranging them on the table, getting down a ham and cutting it
+into slices, and by pointing to the wine-skins, managed to acquaint the
+landlord with what was required. In this he was a good deal aided by the
+man's two nieces, who acted as his assistants, and who were much quicker
+in catching his meaning than was the landlord himself. Very soon the room
+below was crowded with officers from other regiments, and Hoolan went up
+to Terence:
+
+"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that it would be a good job if you were to go down
+and buy a dozen of them hams. A lot of them have been sold already, and it
+won't be long before the last has gone, though I reckon that there are
+three or four dozen of them still there."
+
+"That is a very good idea, Tim. You come down with me and bring them
+straight up here, and we will drive some nails into those rafters. I
+expect before nightfall the place will be cleared out of everything that
+is eatable."
+
+The bargain was speedily concluded. The landlord was now in a better
+temper. At first he had been very doubtful of the intentions of the
+new-comers. Now that he saw that they were ready to pay for everything,
+and that at prices much higher than he could before have obtained, his
+face shone with good-humour. He and the two girls were already busy
+drawing wine and selling it to the customers.
+
+"I will get some wood, your honour, and light a fire here, or it is mighty
+little dinner that you will be getting. The soldiers will soon be dropping
+in, that is, if they don't keep this place for officers only, for there
+are two other places where they sell wine in the village. When I came up
+two officers had a slice of ham each on the points of their swords over
+the fire."
+
+"That will be a very good plan, Tim; you had better set to work about it
+at once, and at the same time I will try and get some bread."
+
+By the time that O'Grady returned with seven or eight other officers the
+fire was blazing. Terence had managed to get a sufficient number of knives
+and forks; there was, however, no table-cloth in the house. He and Terence
+were cooking slices of ham on a gridiron over the fire.
+
+"This is first-rate, O'Grady," Major Harrison said; "the place is crowded
+down below, and we should have fared very badly if you had not managed to
+get hold of this room."
+
+"If some of the boys will see to the cooking, Major, I will go down with
+Hoolan and get a barrel of wine and bring it up here; then we shall do
+first-rate."
+
+"How about the rations, Major?" Terence asked.
+
+"They have just been served out. I sent my man down to draw the rations
+for the whole wing at once, and told him to bring them up here."
+
+"And I have told mine," Captain O'Driscol said, "to go round the village
+and buy up two or three dozen chickens, if he can find them, and as many
+eggs as he can collect. I think that we had better tell off two of the men
+as cooks. I don't think it is likely that they will be able to get much
+done that way below. Hoolan and another will do."
+
+"I should think it best to keep Hoolan as forager; he is rather a genius
+in that capacity. I think he has got round those two girls, whether by his
+red hair or his insinuating manners I cannot say, but they seem ready to
+do anything for him, and we shall want lots of things in the way of pots
+and pans and so on."
+
+"Very well, Terence, then we will leave him free and put two others on."
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+UNDER CANVAS
+
+In a short time O'Grady returned, followed by Hoolan, carrying a small
+barrel of wine.
+
+"It is good, I hope," the major said, as the barrel was set down in one
+corner of the room.
+
+"I think that it is the best they have; one of the girls went down with
+Tim into the cellar and pointed it out to him. I told him to ask her for
+_bueno vino_. I don't know whether it was right or not, but I think she
+understood."
+
+"How much does it hold, O'Grady?"
+
+"I cannot say; five or six gallons, I should think; anyhow, I paid three
+dollars for it."
+
+"You must put down all the outgoings, O'Grady, and we will square up when
+we leave here."
+
+"I will put them down, Major. How long do you think we shall stop here?"
+
+"That is more than anyone can say; we have to wait for Anstruther and
+Spencer. It may be three or four days; it may be a fortnight."
+
+Dick Ryan assisted Terence in the cooking, while Tim went down to get
+something to drink out of. He returned with three mugs and two horns.
+
+"Divil a thing else is there that can be found, yer honour," he said, as
+he placed them on the table; "every mortial thing is in use."
+
+"That will do to begin with," the major said; "we will get our own things
+up this afternoon. We must manage as best we can for this meal; it is
+better than I expected by a long way."
+
+Tim now relieved the two young officers at the gridiron, and sitting down
+at the benches along the table the meal was eaten with much laughter and
+fun.
+
+"After all, there is nothing like getting things straight from the
+gridiron," the major said.
+
+O'Grady had got the bung out of the barrel and filled the five drinking
+vessels, and the wine was pronounced to be very fair. One by one the other
+officers dropped in, and Hoolan was for an hour kept busy. The major, who
+spoke a little Spanish, went down and returned with a dozen bottles of
+spirits, two or three of which were opened and the contents consumed.
+
+"It is poor stuff by the side of whisky," O'Grady said, as he swallowed a
+stiff glass of it; "still, I will not be denying that it is warming and
+comforting, and if we can get enough of it we can hold on till we get home
+again. Here is success to the campaign. I will trouble you for that
+bottle, O'Driscol."
+
+"Here it is. I shall stick to wine; I don't care for that fiery stuff.
+Here is success to the campaign, and may we meet the French before long!
+
+"We are pretty sure to do that," he went on, as he set his horn down on
+the table. "If Junot knows his business he won't lose a day before
+marching against us directly he hears of our landing. He will know well
+enough that unless he crushes us at once he will have all Portugal up in
+arms. Here, Terence, you can have this horn."
+
+The difficulty of drinking had to some extent been solved by Hoolan, who
+had gone downstairs, and returned with a tin pot capable of holding about
+a couple of quarts. This he had cleaned by rubbing it with sand and water,
+and it went round as a loving-cup among those unprovided with mugs or
+horns. When all had finished, the two soldier servants, who had now
+arrived with the rations, were left in charge. O'Driscol's servant had
+brought in a dozen fowls and a large basket full of eggs, and, ordering
+supper to be ready at eight, the officers returned to their camp. They
+found that their comrades had done fairly well. Several rooms had been
+obtained in the village, and hams, black sausages, and other provisions
+purchased, and cooked in a rough way on a gridiron.
+
+"I am afraid that it is too good to last," the colonel said, as the
+officers gathered around him as the bugle sounded for parade; "a week of
+this and the last scrap of provisions here will have been eaten, and we
+shall have nothing but our rations to fall back upon. There is one thing,
+however, that is not likely to give out, that is wine. They grow it about
+here, and I hear that the commissariat have bought up large quantities
+without difficulty to serve out to the troops."
+
+The regiment had a long afternoon's drill to get them out of the slackness
+occasioned by their enforced idleness on the voyage. When it was over they
+were formed up, and the colonel addressed a few words to the men.
+
+"Men of the Mayo regiment," he said, "I trust that, now we are fairly
+embarked upon the campaign, you will so behave as to do credit to
+yourselves and to Ireland. Perhaps some of you think that, now that you
+are on a campaign, you can do just as you like. Those who think so are
+wrong; it is just the other way. When you were at home I did not think it
+necessary that I should be severe with you; and as long as a man was able,
+when he came into barracks, to walk to his quarters, I did not trouble
+about him. But it is different here; any breach of duty will be most
+severely punished, and any man who is found drunk will be flogged. Any man
+plundering or ill-treating the people of the country will be handed over
+to the provost-marshal, and, unless I am mistaken, he is likely to be
+shot.
+
+"Sir Arthur Wellesley is not the man to stand nonsense. There must be no
+straggling; you must keep within the bounds of the camps, and no one must
+go into the village without a permit from the captain of his company. As
+to your fighting--well, I have no fear of that; we will say nothing about
+it. Before the enemy I know that you will all do your duty, and it is just
+as necessary that you should do your duty and be a credit to your regiment
+at other times. There are blackguards in the regiment, as there are in
+every other, but I tell them that a sharp eye will be kept upon them, and
+that no mercy will be shown them if they misbehave while they are in
+Portugal. That is all I have to say to you."
+
+"That was the sort of thing, I think, Major," he said, as, after the men
+were dismissed, he walked back to his tent with Major Harrison.
+
+"Just the sort of thing, Colonel," the other said, smiling; "and said in
+the sort of way that they will understand. I am afraid that we shall have
+trouble with some of them. Wine and spirits are cheap, and it will be very
+difficult to keep them from it altogether. Still, if we make an example of
+the first fellow who is caught drunk it will be a useful lesson to the
+whole. A few floggings at the start may save some hanging afterwards. I
+know you are averse to flogging--there have only been four men flogged in
+the last six months--but this is a case where punishment must be dealt out
+sharply if discipline is to be maintained, and the credit of the regiment
+be kept up."
+
+O'Grady and one of the other officers called upon the priest to thank him
+for his good offices in obtaining the room for them.
+
+"I am afraid from what my man tells me that he did not state the case
+quite fairly to you. Our regiment was, as he said, raised in Ireland, and
+the greater portion of the men are naturally of your faith, Father, but we
+really have no claim to your services whatever."
+
+The priest smiled.
+
+"I am, nevertheless, glad to have been of service to you, gentlemen," he
+said, courteously; "at least you are Irishmen, and I have many good
+friends countrymen of yours. And you have still another claim upon us all,
+for are you not here to aid us to shake off this French domination? I hope
+that you are comfortable, but judging from what I see and hear when
+passing I fear that your lodging is a somewhat noisy one."
+
+"You may well say that, Father; and we do our full share towards making it
+so; but having the room makes all the difference to us. They have no time
+to cook downstairs, and it is done by our own servants; but it is handy to
+have the wine and other things within call, and if we always do as well,
+we shall have good cause to feel mighty contented; for barring that we are
+rather crowded, we are just as well off here as we were at home, saving
+only in the quality of the spirits. Now, Father, we cannot ask you up
+there, seeing that it is your own village, but if you would like to take a
+walk through the camps we should be glad to show you what there is to be
+seen, and can give you a little of the real cratur. It is not much of it
+that we have been able to bring ashore, for the general is mighty stiff in
+the matter of baggage, but I doubt whether there is one of us who did not
+manage to smuggle a bottle or two of the real stuff hidden in his kit."
+
+The priest accepted the invitation, and was taken through the brigade
+camp, staying some time in that of the Mayos, and astonishing some of the
+soldiers by chatting to them in English, and with a brogue almost as
+strong as their own. He then spent half an hour in O'Grady's tent, and
+sampled the whisky, which he pronounced excellent, and of which his
+entertainer insisted upon his taking a bottle away with him.
+
+Three days later it was known in camp that two French divisions had been
+set in motion against them, the one from Abrantes to the east under
+Loison, the other from the south under Laborde. Junot himself remained at
+Lisbon. The rising in the south, and the news of the British landing
+caused an intense feeling among the population, and the French general
+feared that at any moment an insurrection might break out. The natural
+point of junction of these two columns would be at Leirya. That night
+orders were issued for the tents of the division to which the Mayo
+regiment belonged to be struck before daylight, and the troops were to be
+under arms and ready to march at six o'clock.
+
+"Good news!" O'Grady said, as he entered the mess-room at four o'clock in
+the afternoon, after having learned from the colonel the orders for the
+next morning; "our brigade is to form the advanced guard, and we are to
+march at six tomorrow."
+
+A general exclamation of pleasure broke from the five or six officers
+present. "We shall have the first of the fun, boys; hand me that horn,
+Terence. Here is to Sir Arthur; good-luck to him, and bad cess to the
+French!"
+
+The toast was drunk with some laughter. "Now we are going to campaign in
+earnest," he went on; "no more wine swilling, no more devilled ham----"
+
+"No more spirits, O'Grady," one of the group cut in; "and as for the wine,
+you have drunk your share, besides twice your share of the spirits."
+
+"Whin there is nothing to do, Debenham, I can take me liquor in
+moderation."
+
+"I have never remarked that, O'Grady," one of the others put in.
+
+"In great moderation," O'Grady said, gravely, but he was again interrupted
+by a shout of laughter.
+
+"Ye had to be helped home last night, O'Grady, and it took Hoolan a
+quarter of an hour to wake you this morning. I heard him say, 'Now, master
+dear, the bugle will sound in a minute or two; it's wake you must, or
+there will be a divil of botheration over it.' I looked in, and there you
+were. Hoolan was standing by the side of you shaking his head gravely, as
+if it was a hopeless job that he had in hand, and if I had not emptied a
+water-bottle over you, you would never have been on parade in time."
+
+"Oh! it was you, was it?" O'Grady said, wrathfully. "Hoolan swore by all
+the saints that he had not seen who it was. Never mind, me boy, I will be
+even wid ye yet; the O'Grady is not to be waked in that fashion; mind I
+owe you one, though I am not saying that I should have been on parade in
+time if you had not done it; I only just saved my bacon."
+
+"And hardly that," Terence laughed, "for the adjutant was down upon you
+pretty sharply; your coatee was all buttoned up wrong; your hair had not
+been brushed, and stuck up all ways below your shako; your sword-belt was
+all awry, and you looked worse than you did when I brought you home."
+
+"Well, it is a poor heart that never rejoices, Terence. We must make a
+night of it, boys; if the tents are to be struck before daylight it will
+be mighty little use your turning in."
+
+"You won't catch me sitting up all night," Terence said, "with perhaps a
+twenty-mile march in the morning, and maybe a fight at the end of it. If
+it is to Leirya we are going it will be nearer thirty miles than twenty,
+and even you, seasoned vessel as you are, will find it a long walk after
+being up all night, and having had pretty hard work to-day."
+
+"I cannot hold wid the general there," O'Grady said, gravely; "he has been
+kapeing us all at it from daybreak till night, ivery day since we landed,
+and marching the men's feet off. It is all very well to march when we have
+got to march, but to keep us tramping fifteen or twenty miles a day when
+there is no occasion for it is out of all reason."
+
+"We shall march all the better for it to-morrow, O'Grady. It has been hard
+work, certainly, but not harder than it was marching down to Cork; and we
+should have a good many stragglers to-morrow if it had not been for the
+last week's work. We have got half a dozen footsore men in my company
+alone, and you would have fifty to-morrow night if the men had not had all
+this marching to get them fit."
+
+"It is all very well for you, Terence, who have been tramping all over the
+hills round Athlone since you were a gossoon; but I am sure that if I had
+not had that day off duty when I showed the priest round the camp I should
+have been kilt."
+
+"Here is the general order of the day," the adjutant said, as he came in
+with Captain O'Connor. "The general says that now the army is about to
+take the field he shall expect the strictest discipline to be maintained,
+and that all stragglers from the ranks will at once be handed over to the
+provost-marshal, and all offences against the peasantry or their property
+will be severely punished. Then there are two or three orders that do not
+concern us particularly, and then there is one that concerns you, Terence.
+The general has received a report from Colonel Corcoran of the Mayo
+Fusiliers stating that 'the transport carrying the left wing of that
+regiment was attacked by two French privateers, and would have been
+compelled to surrender, she being practically unarmed, had it not been for
+the coolness and quick wit of Ensign Terence O'Connor. Having read the
+report the general commanding fully concurs, and expresses his high
+satisfaction at the conduct of Ensign O'Connor, which undoubtedly saved
+from capture the wing of the regiment.'
+
+"There, Terence, that is a feather in your cap. Sir Arthur is not given to
+praise unduly, and it is seldom that an ensign gets into general orders.
+It will do you good some day, perhaps when you least expect it."
+
+"I am heartily pleased, my lad," Captain O'Connor said, as he laid his
+hand upon Terence's shoulder. "I am proud of you. I have never seen my own
+name in general orders, but I am heartily glad to see yours. Bedad, when I
+think that a couple of months ago you were running wild and getting into
+all sorts of mischief, it seems hard to believe that you should not only
+be one of us, but have got your name into general orders."
+
+"And all for nothing, father," Terence said. "I call it a beastly shame
+that just because I thought of using that lugger I should be cracked up
+more than the others."
+
+"It was not only that, though, Terence; those guns that crippled the
+lugger could not have been fired if you had not thought of putting rope
+round them, and that French frigate would never have left you alone had
+not you suggested to the major how to throw dust into their eyes. No, my
+lad, you thoroughly deserve the credit that you have got, and I am sure
+that there is not a man in the regiment who would not say the same."
+
+"Gintlemen," Captain O'Grady said, solemnly, "we will drink to the health
+of Ensign Terence O'Connor; more power to his elbow!" And the toast was
+duly honoured.
+
+"It is mighty good of me to propose it," O'Grady went on, after Terence
+had said a few words of thanks, "because I have a strong idea that in
+another two or three minutes I should have made just the same suggestion
+that you did, me lad. I knew at the time that there was a plan I wanted to
+propose, but sorra a word came to me lips. I was just brimful with it when
+you came up and took the words out of me mouth. If I had spoken first it
+is a brevet majority I had got, sure enough."
+
+"You must be quicker next time, O'Grady," the adjutant said, when the
+laughter had subsided; "as you say, you have missed a good thing by your
+slowness. I am afraid your brain was still a little muddled by your
+indulgence the night before."
+
+"Just the contrary, me boy; I feel that if I had taken just one glass more
+of the cratur me brain would have been clearer and I should have been to
+the fore. But I bear you no malice, Terence. Maybe the ideas would not
+have managed to straighten themselves out until after we had had to haul
+down the flag, and then it would have been too late to have been any good.
+It has happened to me more than once before that I have just thought of a
+good thing when it was too late."
+
+"It has occurred to most of us, O'Grady," Captain O'Connor said, laughing.
+"Terence, you see, doesn't care for whisky, and perhaps that has something
+to do with his ideas coming faster than ours. Well, so we are off
+to-morrow; though, of course, no one knows which way we are going to
+march, it must be either to Leirya or along the coast road. It is a good
+thing Spencer has come up in time, for there is no saying how strong the
+French may be; though I fancy they are all so scattered about that, after
+leaving a garrison to keep Lisbon in order, and holding other points,
+Junot will hardly be able at such short notice to gather a force much
+superior to ours. But from what I hear there are some mighty strong
+positions between this and Lisbon, and if he sticks himself up on the top
+of a hill we shall have all our work to turn him off again."
+
+"I fancy it will be to Leirya," the adjutant said; "the Portuguese report
+that one French division is at Candieros and another coming from Abrantes,
+and Sir Arthur is likely to endeavour to prevent them from uniting."
+
+That evening there was a grand feast at the mess-room. The colonel had
+been specially invited, and every effort was made to do honour to the
+occasion. Tim Hoolan had been very successful in a foraging expedition,
+and had brought in a goose and four ducks, and had persuaded the
+landlord's nieces to let him and the cook have sole possession of the
+kitchen. The banquet was a great success, but the majority of those
+present did not sit very long afterwards. The colonel set the example of
+rising early.
+
+"I should advise you, gentlemen, to turn in soon," he said. "I do not say
+where we are to march to-morrow, but I can tell you at least that the
+march is a very long one, and that it were best to get as much sleep as
+possible, for I can assure you that it will be no child's play; and I
+think that it is quite probable we shall smell powder before the day is
+over."
+
+Accordingly, all the young officers and several of the seniors left with
+him, but O'Grady and several of the hard drinkers kept it up until
+midnight, observing, however, more moderation than usual in their
+potations.
+
+There was none of the grumbling common when men are turned out of their
+beds before dawn; all were in high spirits that the time for action had
+arrived; the men were as eager to meet the enemy as were their officers;
+and the tents were all down and placed in the waggons before daylight. The
+regimental cooks had already been at work, and the officers went round and
+saw that all had had breakfast before they fell in. At six o'clock the
+whole were under arms and in their place as the central regiment in the
+brigade. They tramped on without a halt until eleven; then the bugle
+sounded, and they fell out for half an hour.
+
+The men made a meal from bread and the meat that had been cooked the night
+before, each man carrying three days' rations in his haversack. There was
+another halt, and a longer one, at two o'clock, when the brigade rested
+for an hour in the shade of a grove.
+
+"It is mighty pleasant to rest," O'Grady said, as the officers threw
+themselves down on the grass, "but it is the starting that bates one. I
+feel that my feet have swollen so that every step I take I expect my boots
+to burst with an explosion. Faith, if it comes to fighting I shall take
+them off altogether, and swing them at my belt. How can I run after the
+French when I am a cripple?"
+
+"You had better take your boots off now, O'Grady," one of the others
+suggested.
+
+"It is not aisy to get them off, and how should I get them on again? No;
+they have got there, and there they have got to stop, bad cess to them! I
+told Hoolan to rub grease into them for an hour last night, but the rascal
+was as drunk as an owl."
+
+There was no more talking, for every man felt that an hour's sleep would
+do wonders for him; soon absolute quiet reigned in the grove, and
+continued until the bugle again called them to their feet. All knew now
+that it was Leirya they were making for, and that another ten miles still
+remained to be accomplished. A small body of cavalry which accompanied
+them now pushed on ahead, and when half the distance had been traversed a
+trooper brought back the news that the enemy had not yet reached the town.
+It was just six o'clock when the brigade marched in amid the cheers and
+wild excitement of the inhabitants. The waggons were not yet up, and the
+troops were quartered in the town, tired, and many of them foot-sore, but
+proud of the march they had accomplished, and that it had enabled them to
+forestall the French.
+
+Laborde, indeed, arrived the same night at Batalha, eight miles distant,
+but on receiving the news in the morning that the British had already
+occupied Leirya, he advanced no farther. His position was an exceedingly
+difficult one; his orders were to cover the march of Loison from Abrantes,
+and to form a junction with that general; but to do so now would be to
+leave open the road through Alcobaca and Obidos to the commanding position
+at Torres Vedras. Batalha offered no position that he could hope to defend
+until the arrival of Loison; therefore, sending word to that general to
+move from Torras Novas, as soon as he reached that town, to Santarem, and
+then to march to join him at Rolica, he fell back to Alcobaca and then to
+Obidos, a town with a Moorish castle, built on a gentle eminence in the
+middle of a valley.
+
+Leaving a detachment here, he retired to Rolica, six miles to the south of
+it. At this point several roads met, and he at once covered all the
+approaches to Torres Vedras, and the important port of Peniche, and could
+be joined by Loison marching down from Santarem.
+
+The advanced brigade of the British force remained in quiet possession of
+Leirya during the next day, and on the following, the 11th of August, the
+main body of the army arrived, having taken two days on the march. The
+Portuguese force also came in under Friere. That general at once took
+possession of the magazines there, and although he had promised the
+English general that their contents should be entirely devoted to the
+maintenance of the English army, he divided them among his own force.
+ Disgusted as the British commander was at this barefaced dishonesty, he
+was not in a position to quarrel with the Portuguese. It was essential to
+him that they should accompany him, not for the sake of the assistance
+that they would give, for he knew that none was to be expected from them,
+but from a political point of view. It was most important that the people
+at large should feel that their own troops were acting with the British,
+and that no feelings of jealousy or suspicion of the latter should arise.
+Friere was acting under the orders of the Bishop and Junta of Oporto,
+whose great object was to keep the Portuguese army together and not to
+risk a defeat, as they desired to keep this body intact in order that, if
+the British were defeated, they should be able to make favourable terms
+for themselves. Consequently, even after appropriating the whole of the
+stores and provisions found at Leirya, Friere continued to make exorbitant
+demands, and to offer a vigorous opposition to any further advance.
+
+So far did he carry this that the British general, finding that in no
+other way could he get the Portuguese to advance with him, proposed that
+they should follow behind him and wait the result of the battle, to which
+Friere at last consented. The Portuguese, in fact, had no belief whatever
+that the British troops would be able to withstand the onslaught of the
+French, whom they regarded as invincible. Colonel Trant, however, one of
+our military agents, succeeded in inducing Friere to place 1,400 infantry
+and 250 cavalry under the command of Sir Arthur.
+
+The addition of the cavalry was a very useful one, for the English had
+with them only 180 mounted men; the country was entirely new to them,
+scarcely an officer could speak the language, and there was no means,
+therefore, of obtaining information as to the movements of the enemy.
+Moving forward through Batalha, and regaining the coast road at Alcobaca,
+the British forces arrived at Caldas on the 15th; and on the same day
+Junot quitted Lisbon with a force of 2,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and
+ten pieces of artillery, leaving 7,000 to garrison the forts and keep down
+the population of the city. His force was conveyed to Villa Franca by
+water, and the general then pushed forward to Santarem, where he found
+Loison, and took command of his division.
+
+The British advanced guard, after arriving at Caldas, pushed forward,
+drove the French pickets out of Brilos, and then from Obidos. Here,
+however, a slight reverse took place. Some companies of the 95th and 60th
+Rifles pressed forward three miles farther in pursuit, when they were
+suddenly attacked in flank by a greatly superior force, and had it not
+been that General Spencer, whose division was but a short distance behind,
+pressed forward to their assistance, they would have suffered heavily; as
+it was they escaped with the loss of two officers and twenty-seven men
+killed and wounded. Their rashness, however, led to the discovery that
+Laborde's force had taken up a strong position in front of the village of
+Rolica, and that he apparently intended to give battle there.
+
+The next day was spent in reconnoitring the French position. It was a very
+strong one. Rolica stood on a table-land rising in a valley, affording a
+view of the road as far as Obidos. The various points of defence there,
+and on the flank, were held by strong parties of the enemy. A mile in the
+rear was a steep and lofty ridge that afforded a strong second line of
+defence. By the side of this ridge the road passed through a deep defile,
+and then mounted over a pass through the range of hills extending from the
+sea to the Tagus, and occupying the intermediate ground until close to
+Lisbon. Laborde's position was an embarrassing one. If he retired upon
+Torres Vedras his line of communication with Loison would be lost, if he
+moved to meet Loison he would leave open the direct road to Lisbon, while
+if he remained at Rolica he had to encounter a force almost three times
+his own strength.
+
+Trusting in the advantages of his position, and confident in the valour of
+his troops, he chose the last alternative. Very anxiously, during the day,
+the British officers watched the French line of defence, fearful lest the
+enemy would again retreat. By sunset they came to the conclusion that
+Laborde intended to stay where he was, and to meet them. The French,
+indeed, had been so accustomed to beat the Spanish and Portuguese, that
+they had not woke up to the fact that they had troops of a very different
+material facing them.
+
+"We ought to have easy work," Major Harrison said, as the officers
+gathered round the fire that had been built in front of the colonel's
+tent; "the people here all declare that Laborde has not above 5,000 troops
+with him, while, counting Trant's Portuguese, we have nearly 14,000."
+
+"There will be no credit in thrashing them with such odds as that," Dick
+Ryan grumbled.
+
+"I suppose, Ryan," Major Harrison said, "if you had been in Sir Arthur's
+place you would have preferred remaining at Leirya until Junot could have
+gathered all his forces, and obtained a reinforcement of some fifty
+thousand or so from Spain, then you would have issued a general order
+saying, that as the enemy had now a hundred thousand troops ready, the
+army would advance and smite them."
+
+"Not so bad as that, Major," the young ensign said, colouring, as there
+was a general laugh from the rest; "but there does not seem much
+satisfaction in thrashing an enemy when we are three to one against him."
+
+"But that is just the art of war, Ryan. Of course, it is glorious to
+defeat a greatly superior army and to lose half your own in doing so; that
+may be heroic, but it is not modern war. The object of a general is, if
+possible, to defeat an enemy in detail, and to so manoeuvre that he is
+always superior in strength to the force that is immediately in front of
+him, and so to ensure victory after victory until the enemy are destroyed.
+That is what the general is doing by his skilful manoeuvring; he has
+prevented Junot from massing the whole of the army of Portugal against us.
+
+"To-morrow we shall defeat Laborde, and doubtless a day or two later we
+shall fight Loison; then I suppose we shall advance against Lisbon, Junot
+will collect his beaten troops and his garrison, there will be another
+battle, and then we shall capture Lisbon, and the French will have to
+evacuate Portugal. Whereas, if all the French were at Rolica they would
+probably smash us into a cocked hat, in spite of any valour we might show;
+and as we have no cavalry to cover a retreat, as the miserable horses can
+scarcely drag the few guns that we have got, and the carriages are so
+rickety that the artillery officers are afraid that as soon as they fire
+them they will shake to pieces, it is not probable that a single man would
+regain our ships."
+
+"Please say no more, Major; I see I was a fool."
+
+"Still," Captain O'Connor said, "you must own, Major, that one does like
+to win against odds."
+
+"Quite so, O'Connor; individuals who may survive such a battle no doubt
+would be glad that it was a superior force that they had beaten, but then
+you see battles are not fought for the satisfaction of individuals.
+Moreover, you must remember that the proportion of loss is much heavier
+when the numbers are pretty equally matched, for in that case they must
+meet to a certain extent face to face. Skill on the part of the general
+may do a great deal, but in the end it must come to sheer hard fighting.
+Now, I expect that to-morrow, although there may be hard fighting, it is
+not upon that that Sir Arthur will principally rely for turning the French
+out of those strong positions.
+
+"He will, no doubt, advance directly against them with perhaps half his
+force, but the rest will move along on the top of the heights, and so
+threaten to cut the French line of retreat altogether. Laborde is, they
+say, a good general, and therefore won't wait until he is caught in a
+trap, but will fall back as soon as he sees that the line of retreat is
+seriously menaced. I fancy, too, that he must expect Loison up some time
+tomorrow, or he would hardly make a stand, and if Loison does come up,
+Ryan's wish will be gratified and we shall be having the odds against us.
+
+"Then you must remember that our army is a very raw one. A large
+proportion of it is newly raised, and though there may be a few men here
+who fought in Egypt, the great bulk have never seen a shot fired in
+earnest; while, on the other hand, the French have been fighting all over
+Europe. They are accustomed to victory, and are confident in their own
+valour and discipline. Our officers are as raw as our men, and we must
+expect that all sorts of blunders will be made at first. I can tell you
+that I am very well satisfied that our first battle is going to be fought
+with the odds greatly on our side. In six months I should feel pretty
+confident, even if the French had the same odds on their side."
+
+"The major gave it you rather hotly, Dick," Terence said to his friend, as
+they sauntered off together from the group. "I am glad that you spoke
+first, for I had it on the tip of my tongue to say just what you did, and
+I expect that a good many of the others felt just the same."
+
+"Yes, I put my foot in it badly, Terence. I have no doubt the major was
+right; anyhow, I have nothing to say against it. But for all that I wish
+that either we were not so strong or that they were stronger. What credit
+is there, I should like to know, in thrashing them when we are three to
+one? Anyhow, I hope that we shall have some share in the scrimmage. We
+shall get an idea when the orders are published to-night, and shall see
+where Fane's brigade is to be put."
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+ROLICA AND VIMIERA
+
+At nine o'clock in the evening it became known that the general plan of
+attack predicted by Major Harrison was to be carried out. Some five
+thousand men under General Ferguson were to ascend the hills on the left
+of the valley, while Trant, with a thousand Portuguese infantry and some
+Portuguese horse, were to move on the hills on the right; the centre, nine
+thousand strong, and commanded by Sir Arthur himself, were to march
+straight up the valley.
+
+Early in the morning the British troops marched out from Obidos.
+Ferguson's command at once turned to the left and ascended the hills,
+while Trant's moved to the west.
+
+After proceeding a short distance, Fane's brigade moved off from the road
+and marched along the valley, equidistant from the main body and from
+Ferguson, forming a connecting link between them; and on reaching the
+village of St. Mamed, three-quarters of a mile from the French position,
+Hill's brigade turned off to the right. From their elevated position the
+French opened fire with their artillery, and this was answered by the
+twelve guns in the valley and from Ferguson's six guns on the heights.
+Fane's brigade, extended to its left, was the first in action, and drove
+back the French skirmishers and connected Ferguson with the centre. They
+then turned to attack the right of the French position; while Ferguson,
+seeing no signs of Loison's force, descended from the high ground to the
+rear of Fane, while the Portuguese pressed forward at the foot of the
+hills on the other side of the valley and threatened the enemy's left
+flank.
+
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF ROLICA map.]
+
+
+Seeing that his position was absolutely untenable, Laborde did not wait
+the assault, but fell back, covered by his cavalry, to the far stronger
+position in his rear. A momentary pause ensued before the British
+continued their advance. The new position of the French was of great
+natural strength, and could be approached only by narrow paths winding up
+through deep ravines on its face. Ferguson and Fane received orders to
+keep to the left, and so turn the enemy's right. Trant similarly was to
+push forward and threaten his left flank, while Hill and Nightingale
+advanced against the front.
+
+The battle commenced by a storm of skirmishers from these brigades running
+forward. These soon reached the foot of the precipitous hill and plunged
+into the passes. Neither the fire of the enemy nor the difficulties of the
+ascent checked them. Spreading right and left from the paths they made
+their way up, and taking advantage of the shelter afforded by great
+boulders, broken masses of rock, and the stumps of trees, climbed up
+wherever they could find a foothold. The supporting columns experienced
+much greater difficulty; the paths were too narrow, and the ground too
+broken for them to retain their formation, and they made their way forward
+as best they could in necessary disorder.
+
+The din of battle was prodigious, for the rattle of musketry was echoed
+and re-echoed from the rocks. The progress of the skirmishers could only
+be noted by the light smoke rising through the foliage and by the shouts
+of the soldiers, which were echoed by the still louder ones of the French,
+gathered strongly on the hill above them. As the British made their way
+up, Laborde, who was still anxiously looking for the expected coming of
+Loison, withdrew a portion of his troops from the left and strengthened
+his right, in order to hold on as long as possible on the side from which
+aid was expected. The ardour of the British to get to close quarters
+favoured this movement.
+
+It had been intended that the 9th and 29th Regiments should take the
+right-hand path where the track they were following up the pass forked,
+and so join Trant's Portuguese at the top of the hill and fall upon the
+French left. The left-hand path, however, was the one that would take them
+direct to the enemy, and the 29th, which was leading, took this, and the
+9th followed them. So rapidly did they press up the hill that they arrived
+at the crest before Ferguson and Fane, on the left, and Trant on the
+right, had got far enough to menace the line of retreat, and so shake the
+enemy's position. The consequence was, that as the right wing of the 29th
+arrived at the top of the path it was met by a very heavy fire before it
+could form, and some companies of a French regiment, who had been cut off
+from the main body by its sudden appearance, charged through the
+disordered troops and carried with them a major and fifty or sixty other
+prisoners.
+
+The rest of the wing, thus exposed to the full fire of the French, fell
+back over the crest, and there rallied on the left wing; and being joined
+by the 9th, pushed forward again and obtained a footing on the plateau.
+Laborde in vain endeavoured to hurl them back again. They maintained their
+footing, but suffered heavily, both the colonels being killed, with many
+officers and men. But the 5th Regiment were now up, and at other points
+the British were gathering thickly at the edge of the plateau. Ferguson
+and Trant were pushing on fast past the French flanks, and Laborde, seeing
+that further resistance would lead to great disaster, gave the order to
+retire to a third position, still farther in the rear. The movement was
+conducted in splendid order. The French steadily fell back by alternate
+masses, their guns thundering on their flanks, while their cavalry covered
+the rear by repeated charges.
+
+Gaining the third position, Laborde held it for a time, and so enabled
+isolated bodies of his force to join him. Then, finding himself unable to
+resist the impetuosity of the British attack, he retired, still disputing
+every foot of ground, and took to the narrow pass of Runa. He then marched
+all night to the strong position of Montechique, thereby securing his
+junction with Loison, but leaving the road to Torres Vedras open to the
+British. The loss of the French in this fight was 600 killed and wounded,
+and three guns. Laborde himself was among the wounded. The British lost
+nearly 500 killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. The number of the
+combatants actually engaged on either side was about 4,000, and the loss
+sustained showed the obstinacy of the fighting. Sir Arthur believed that
+the French had, as they retreated, been joined by Loison, and therefore
+prepared to march at once by the coast-line to seize the heights of Torres
+Vedras before the French could throw themselves in his way.
+
+Great was the disappointment among officers and men of the Mayo Fusiliers
+that they had taken no part whatever in the actual fighting, beyond
+driving in the French skirmishers at the beginning of the operations.
+
+"Divil a man killed or wounded!" Captain O'Grady remarked, mournfully, as
+the regiment halted at the conclusion of the fight. "Faith, it is too bad,
+entirely; there we are left out in the cold, and scarce a shot has been
+fired!"
+
+"There are plenty of others in the same case," Captain O'Driscol said.
+"None of our three brigades on the left have had anything to do with the
+matter, as far as fighting went. I don't think more than four thousand of
+our troops were in action; but you see if it had not been for our advance,
+Hill and Nightingale might not have succeeded in driving Laborde off the
+hill. There is no doubt that the French fought well, but it's our advance
+that forced him to retire, not the troops in front of him; so that, even
+if we have not had any killed or wounded, O'Grady, we have at least the
+satisfaction of having contributed to the victory."
+
+"Oh, bother your tactics! We have come here to fight, and no fighting have
+we had at all, at all. When we marched out this morning it looked as if we
+were going to have our share in the divarshon, and we have been fairly
+chated out of it."
+
+"Well, O'Grady, you should not grumble," Terence said, "for we had some
+fighting on the way out, which is more than any of the other troops had."
+
+"That was a mere skirmish, Terence. First of all we were shot at, and
+could not shoot back again; and thin we shot at the enemy, and they could
+not shoot back at us. And as for the boarding affair, faith, it did not
+last a minute. The others have had two hours of steady fighting,
+clambering up the hill, and banging away at the enemy, and shouting and
+cheering, and all sorts of fun; and there were we, tramping along among
+those bastely stones and rocks, and no one as much as took the trouble to
+fire a shot at us!"
+
+"Well, if we had been there, O'Grady, we should have lost about a hundred
+and twenty men and officers--if we had suffered in the same proportion as
+the others--and we should now be mourning their loss--perhaps you among
+them. We might have been saying: 'There is O'Grady gone; he was a beggar
+to talk, but he meant well. Faith, the drink bill of the regiment will
+fall off.'"
+
+"Well, it might have been so," O'Grady said, in a more contented voice;
+"and if I had been killed going up the hill, without even as much as
+catching a glimpse of the Frenchies, I would niver have forgiven
+them--niver!"
+
+There was a roar of laughter at the bull.
+
+"Phwat is it have I said?" he asked, in surprise.
+
+"Nothing, O'Grady; but it would be an awful thing for the French to know
+that after your death you would have gone on hating them for ever."
+
+"Did I say that? But you know my maneing, and as long as you know that,
+what does it matter which way I put it? Well, now, I suppose Sir Arthur is
+going to take us tramping along again. Ah, it is a weary thing being a
+soldier!"
+
+"Why, you were saying yesterday, O'Grady, that your feet were getting all
+right," Terence said.
+
+"All right in a manner, Terence. And it is a bad habit that you have got
+of picking up your supayrior officer's words and throwing them into his
+teeth. You will come to a bad end if you don't break yourself of it; and
+the worst of it is, you are corrupting the other lads, and the young
+officers are losing all respect for their seniors. I am surprised, Major,
+that you and the colonel don't take the matter in hand before the
+discipline of the regiment is destroyed entirely."
+
+"You draw it upon yourself, O'Grady, and it is good for us all to have a
+laugh sometimes. We should all have missed you sorely had you gone down on
+that hill over there--as many a good fellow has done. I hear that both the
+9th and 29th have lost their colonels."
+
+"The Lord presarve us from such a misfortune, Major! It would give us a
+step all through the regiment; but then, you see--" And he stopped.
+
+"You mean I should be colonel, O'Grady," the major said, with a laugh;
+"and you know I should not take things as quietly as he does. Well, you
+see, there are consolations all round."
+
+The firing had ceased at four o'clock, and until late that night a large
+portion of the force were occupied in searching the ground that had been
+traversed, burying the dead, and carrying the wounded of both
+nationalities down into the hospital that had been established at Rolica.
+Sir Arthur determined to march at daybreak, so as to secure the passes
+through Torres Vedras; but in the evening a messenger arrived with the
+news that Anstruther and Acland's division, with a large fleet of
+store-ships, were off the coast. The dangerous nature of the coast, and
+the certainty that, should a gale spring up, a large proportion of the
+ships would be wrecked, rendered it absolutely necessary to secure the
+disembarkation of the troops at once. The next morning, therefore, he only
+marched ten miles to Lourinha, and thence advanced to Vimiera, eight miles
+farther, where he covered the disembarkation of the troops.
+
+The next day Anstruther's brigade were with difficulty, and some loss,
+landed on an open sandy beach, and on the night of the 20th Acland's
+brigade were disembarked at Maciera Bay. The reinforcements were most
+opportune, for already the British had proof that Junot was preparing a
+heavy blow. That general had, indeed, lost no time in taking steps to
+bring on a decisive battle. While the British were marching to Lourinha,
+he had, with Loison's division, crossed the line of Laborde's retreat, and
+on the same evening reached Torres Vedras, where the next day he was
+joined by Laborde, and on the 20th by his reserve. In the meantime he sent
+forward his cavalry, which scoured the country round the rear of the
+British camp, and prevented the general from obtaining any information
+whatever as to his position or intentions.
+
+The arrival of Acland's brigade on the night of the 20th increased the
+fighting strength of the army to 16,000 men, with eighteen guns, exclusive
+of Trant's Portuguese, while Sir Arthur judged that Junot could not put
+more than 14,000 in the field. Previous to leaving Mondego he had sent to
+Sir Harry Burrard notice of his plan of campaign, advising him to let Sir
+John Moore, on his arrival with 5,000 men, disembark there and march on
+Santarem, where he would protect the left of the army in its advance,
+block the line of the Tagus, and menace the French line of communication
+between Lisbon and the important fortress of Elvas. The ground at Santarem
+was suited for defence, and Moore could be joined with Friere, who was
+still, with his 5,000 men, at Leirya.
+
+The general intended to make a forced march, keeping by the sea-road. A
+strong advance guard would press forward and occupy the formidable
+position of Mathia in the rear of the hills. With the main body he
+intended to seize some heights a few miles behind Torres Vedras, and to
+cut the road between that place and Montechique, on the direct road to
+Lisbon, and so interpose between Junot and the capital. At twelve o'clock
+that night Sir Arthur was roused by a messenger, who reported that Junot,
+with 20,000 men, was advancing to attack him, and was but an hour's march
+distant. He disbelieved the account of the force of the enemy, and had no
+doubt but that the messenger's fears had exaggerated the closeness of his
+approach. He therefore contented himself with sending orders to the
+pickets to use redoubled vigilance, and at daylight the whole British
+force was, as usual, under arms.
+
+Nothing could have suited the British commander better than that Junot
+should attack him, for the position of Vimiera was strong. The town was
+situated in a valley, through which the little river Maciera flows. In
+this were placed the commissariat stores, while the cavalry and Portuguese
+were on a small plain behind the village. In front of Vimiera was a steep
+hill with a flat top, commanding the ground to the south and east for a
+considerable distance. Fane's and Anstruther's infantry, with six guns,
+were posted here. Fane's left rested on a churchyard, blocking a road
+which led round the declivity of the hill to the town. Behind this
+position, and separated by the river and road, was a hill extending in a
+half-moon to the sea.
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF VIMIERA. map]
+
+Five brigades of infantry, forming the British right, occupied this
+mountain. On the other side of the ravine formed by the river, just beyond
+Vimiera, was another strong and narrow range of heights. There was no
+water to be found on this ridge, and only the 40th Regiment and some
+pickets were stationed here. It was vastly better to be attacked in such a
+position than to be compelled to storm the heights of Torres Vedras, held
+by a strong French army. The advance of the French was fortunate in
+another respect. On the 20th Sir Harry Burrard arrived in the bay on board
+a frigate, and Sir Arthur, thus superseded, went on board to report the
+position of affairs, renewing his recommendation that Sir John Moore
+should land at Mondego and march to Santarem. Sir Harry Burrard, however,
+had already determined that his force should land at Maciera, and he
+refused to permit Sir Arthur's plan of advance to be carried out, and
+ordered that no offensive step should be undertaken until Sir John Moore
+had landed.
+
+The advance of Junot, happily, left Wellesley at liberty to act; and
+disposing his force in order of battle, he awaited the appearance of the
+enemy. It was not until seven o'clock that a cloud of dust was seen rising
+above the opposite ridge, and an hour later a body of cavalry crowned the
+height and sent out a swarm of scouts in every direction. Almost
+immediately afterwards a body of cavalry and infantry were seen marching
+along the road from Torres Vedras to Lourinha, threatening to turn the
+left of the British position. As the British right was not menaced, four
+of the brigades on the hill on that flank were ordered to cross the valley
+and to take post with the 40th Regiment for the defence of the ridge.
+
+This movement, being covered by the Vimiera heights, was unseen by the
+enemy; the 5th brigade and the Portuguese were on a second ridge behind
+the other, and thus assisted to cover the English left and protect its
+rear. The ground between the crest on which the French were first seen and
+our position was so thickly covered with wood, that after the enemy had
+descended into it no correct view of their movements could be obtained.
+
+Junot had intended to fall upon the English army at daybreak, but the
+defiles through which the force had to pass had delayed the march, as had
+the fatigue of the troops, who had been marching all night. From the
+height from which he obtained a view of the British position it seemed to
+him that the British centre and right were held in great strength, and
+that the left was almost unguarded. He therefore determined to attack upon
+that flank, which, indeed, was in any case the most favourable, as, were
+he successful there, he would cut the line of the British retreat and pen
+them up on the sea-shore.
+
+The march of the four brigades through Vimiera to take post on the British
+left was hidden from him, and he divided his force into two heavy columns,
+one of which was to attack the British left, and having, mounted the
+height to sweep all before it into the town; the other was to attack
+Vimiera Hill, held by Anstruther and Fane.
+
+Brennier commanded the attack against the left, Laborde against the
+centre, Loison followed at a short distance. Kellermann commanded the
+reserve of Grenadiers. Unfortunately for the success of Junot's plan, he
+was unaware of the fact that along the foot of the ridge on the British
+left ran a deep ravine, that rendered it very difficult to attack except
+at the extreme end of the position.
+
+"We are going to have our share of the fun to-day," O'Grady said, as he
+stood with a group of officers, watching the wooded plain and the head of
+Laborde's column debouching from among the trees, and moving towards the
+hill.
+
+There was a general murmur of satisfaction from the officers, for although
+they had all laughed at O'Grady's exaggerated regrets at their not being
+engaged at Rolica, all were somewhat sore at the regiment having had no
+opportunity of distinguishing itself on that occasion. No sooner had the
+column cleared the wood than the six guns posted with Fane's and
+Anstruther's brigade at once opened fire upon it. It had been intended
+that Brennier's attack should begin at the same time as Laborde's, but
+that advance had been stopped by the defile, which was so steep and so
+encumbered with rocks, brushwood, and trees, that his troops had the most
+extreme difficulty in making their way across. This enabled Acland, whose
+brigade was in the act of mounting the heights from the town, to turn his
+battery against Laborde's column, which was thus smitten with a shower of
+grape both in front and flank, and to this was added a heavy musketry fire
+from the three brigades.
+
+"Take it easy, lads, take it easy," the colonel said, as he walked up and
+down the ranks. "They are hardly in range yet, and you had better keep
+your ammunition until they get to the foot of the hill, then you can blaze
+away as hard as you like."
+
+Junot, receiving news of the arrest of Brennier's column and the obstacles
+that he had encountered, and seeing that the whole British fire was now
+directed against Laborde, ordered Loison to support that general with one
+brigade, and directed Solignac to turn the ravine in which Brennier was
+entangled and to fall upon the left extremity of the enemy's line.
+
+Fane had been given discretionary power to call up the reserve artillery
+posted in the village behind him, and seeing so strong an attack against
+his position about to be made called it up to the top of the hill.
+
+Loison and Laborde now formed their troops into three columns of attack.
+One advanced against that part of the hill held by Anstruther's brigade,
+another endeavoured to penetrate by the road past the church on Fane's
+extreme left, while the main column, represented by a large number of the
+best troops, advanced against the centre of the position. The reserve
+artillery, and the battery originally there, opened a terrible fire, which
+was aided by the musketry of the infantry. But with loud shouts the French
+pressed forward, and although already shaken by the terrible fire of the
+artillery, and breathless from their exertions, they gained the crest of
+the hill. Before they could re-form a tremendous volley was poured into
+them, and with a wild yell the Mayo Fusiliers and the 50th charged them in
+front and flank and hurled them down the hill.
+
+In the meantime, Anstruther, having repulsed the less serious attack made
+on him, detached the 43d to check the enemy's column moving through the
+churchyard, and prevented their advance until Kellermann brought up a
+force of Grenadiers, who, running forward with loud shouts, drove back the
+advanced companies of the 43d. The guns on the heights were turned upon
+them with great effect, and those of Acland's and Bowe's brigades on the
+left of the ridge took them in flank and brought them almost to a
+stand-still; then the 43d, in one mass, charged furiously down on the
+column, and after a fierce struggle drove them back in confusion.
+
+The French attacks on this side had now completely failed, and Colonel
+Taylor, riding out with his little body of cavalry, dashed out into the
+confused mass, slaying and scattering it. Margaron, who commanded a
+superior force of French cavalry, led them down through their infantry,
+and falling upon the British force killed Taylor and cut half his squadron
+to pieces. Kellermann took post with his reserve of Grenadiers in a
+pine-wood in advance of the wooded country through which they had
+advanced, while Margaron's horsemen maintained a position covering the
+retreat of the fugitives into the wood. At this moment Solignac reached
+his assigned position and encountered Ferguson's brigade, which was on the
+extreme left of the division, and was taken by surprise on finding a force
+equal to his own where he had expected to find the hill untenanted.
+Ferguson was drawn up in three lines on a steep declivity. A heavy
+artillery fire opened upon the French as soon as they were seen, while the
+5th brigade and the Portuguese marched along the next ridge and threatened
+the enemy's rear.
+
+Ferguson did not wait to be attacked, but marched his brigade against the
+French, who, falling fast under the musketry and artillery fire which had
+swept their lines, fell back fighting to the farthest edge of the ridge.
+Solignac was carried off severely wounded, and his brigade was cut off
+from its line of retreat and driven into a low valley, in which stood the
+village of Peranza, leaving six guns behind them. Ferguson left two
+regiments to guard these guns, and with the rest of his force pressed hard
+upon the French; but at this moment Brennier, who had at last surmounted
+the difficulties that had detained him, fell upon the two regiments
+suddenly, and retook the guns.
+
+The 82d and 71st, speedily recovered from their surprise, rallied on some
+higher ground, and then, after pouring in a tremendous volley of musketry,
+charged with a mighty shout and overthrew the French brigade and recovered
+the guns. Brennier himself was wounded and taken prisoner, and Ferguson
+having completely broken up the brigade opposed to him would have forced
+the greater part of Solignac's troops to surrender, if he had not been
+required to halt by an unexpected order. The French veterans speedily
+rallied, and in admirable order, protected by their cavalry, marched off
+to join their comrades who had been defeated in their attack upon the
+British centre.
+
+It was now twelve o'clock; the victory was complete; thirteen guns had
+been captured. Neither the 1st, 5th, nor Portuguese brigades had fired a
+shot, and the 4th and 8th had suffered very little, therefore Sir Arthur
+resolved with these five brigades to push Junot closely, while Hill,
+Anstruther, and Fane were to march forward as far as Torres Vedras, and,
+pushing on to Montechique, cut him off from Lisbon. Had this operation
+been executed Junot would probably have lost all his artillery, and seven
+thousand stragglers would have been driven to seek shelter under the guns
+of Elvas, from which fortress, however, he would have been cut off had
+Moore landed as Sir Arthur wished at Mondego. Unhappily, however, the
+latter was no longer commander-in-chief. Sir Harry Burrard, who had been
+present at the action, had not interfered with the arrangements, but as
+soon as victory was won he assumed command, sent an order arresting
+Ferguson's career of victory, and forbade all further offensive operations
+until the arrival of Sir John Moore.
+
+The adjutant-general and quartermaster supported his views, and Sir
+Arthur's earnest representations were disregarded. Sir Arthur's plan would
+probably have been crowned with success, but it was not without peril. The
+French had rallied with extraordinary rapidity under the protection of
+their cavalry. The British artillery-carriages were so shaken as to be
+almost unfit for service, the horses insufficient in number and wretched
+in quality, the commissariat waggons in the greatest confusion, and the
+hired Portuguese vehicles had made off in every direction. The British
+cavalry were totally destroyed, and two French regiments had just made
+their appearance on the ridge behind the wood where Junot's troops were
+reforming.
+
+Sir Harry Burrard, with a caution characteristic of age, refused to adopt
+Wellesley's bold plan. A great success had been gained, and that would
+have been imperilled by Junot's falling with all his force upon one or
+other of the British columns. Sir Arthur himself, at a later period, when
+a commission was appointed by Parliament to inquire into the
+circumstances, admitted that, though he still believed that success would
+have attended his own plan, he considered that Sir Harry Burrard's
+decision was fully justified on military grounds.
+
+Junot took full advantage of the unexpected cessation of hostilities. He
+re-formed his broken army on the arrival of the two regiments, which
+brought it up to its original strength; and then, covered by his cavalry,
+marched in good order until darkness fell. He had regained the command of
+the passes of Torres Vedras, and the two armies occupied precisely the
+same positions that they had done on the previous evening.
+
+One general, thirteen guns, and several hundred prisoners fell into the
+hands of the British, and Junot's total loss far exceeded that of the
+British, which was comparatively small. At the commencement of the fight
+the British force was more than two thousand larger than that of the
+French, but of these only a half had taken an active part in the battle,
+while every man in Junot's army had been sent forward to the attack.
+
+Sir Harry Burrard's command was a short one, for on the following morning
+Sir Hew Dalrymple superseded him. Thus in twenty-four hours a battle had
+been fought and the command of the army had been three times changed, a
+striking proof of the abject folly and incapacity of the British ministry
+of the day.
+
+Two of these three commanders arrived fresh on the scene without any
+previous knowledge of the situation, and all three differed from each
+other in their views regarding the general plan of the campaign; the last
+two were men without any previous experience in the handling of large
+bodies of troops, and without any high military reputation; while the man
+displaced had already shown the most brilliant capacity in India, and was
+universally regarded as the best general in the British service. Dalrymple
+adopted neither the energetic action advised by Sir Arthur nor the
+inactivity supported by Burrard, but, taking a middle course, decided to
+advance on the following morning, but not to go far until Sir John Moore
+landed at Maciera.
+
+Sir Arthur was strongly opposed to this policy. He pointed out that there
+were at present on shore but seven or eight days' provisions for the force
+at Vimiera. No further supplies could be obtained in the country, and at
+any moment a gale might arise and scatter or destroy the fleet, from which
+alone they could draw supplies during their advance. The debate on the
+subject was continuing when the French general, Kellermann, bearing a flag
+of truce and escorted by a strong body of cavalry, arrived at the outposts
+and desired a conference. The news was surprising, indeed. Junot's force
+was practically unshaken. He possessed all the strong places in Portugal,
+and could have received support in a short time from the French forces in
+Spain.
+
+Upon the other hand, the position of the British, even after winning a
+victory, was by no means a satisfactory one; they had already learnt that
+it was useless to rely in the slightest degree upon Portuguese promises or
+Portuguese assistance, and that, even in the matter of provisions and
+carriage, their commander-in-chief expected to be maintained by those who
+had come to aid in freeing the country of the French, instead of these
+receiving any help from him. In carriage the British army was wholly
+deficient; of cavalry they had none. When Sir John Moore landed there
+would be but four days' provisions on-shore for the army, and were the
+fleet driven off by a gale, starvation would at once threaten them.
+
+The gallantry with which the French had fought in both engagements, the
+skill with which they had been handled, and above all, the quickness and
+steadiness with which, after defeat, they had closed up their ranks and
+drawn off in excellent order, showed that the task of expelling such
+troops from the country would, even if all went well in other respects, be
+a very formidable one, and the offer of a conference was therefore at once
+embraced by Sir Hew Dalrymple.
+
+Kellermann was admitted to the camp. His mission was to demand a cessation
+of arms in order that Junot might, under certain conditions, evacuate
+Portugal. The advantage of freeing the country from the French without
+further fighting was so evident that Sir Hew at once agreed to discuss the
+terms, and took Sir Arthur Wellesley into his counsels. The latter quite
+agreed with the policy by which a strong French army would be quietly got
+out of the country, in which it held all the military posts and strong
+positions. A great moral effect would be produced, and the whole resources
+of Portugal would then be available for operations in Spain.
+
+By the afternoon the main points of the convention had been generally
+agreed upon. The French were to evacuate Portugal, and were to be conveyed
+in the English vessels to France with their property, public or private.
+There was to be no persecution of persons who had been the adherents of
+France during the occupation; the only serious difference that arose was
+as to the Russian fleet in the Tagus. Kellermann proposed to have it
+guaranteed from capture, with leave to return to the Baltic. This,
+however, was refused, and the question was referred to Admiral Cotton,
+who, as chief representative of England, would have to approve of the
+treaty before it could be signed.
+
+Kellermann returned to Lisbon with Colonel Murray, the
+quartermaster-general, and after three days' negotiations the treaty was
+finally concluded, the Russian difficulty being settled by their vessels
+being handed over to the British, and the crew transported in English
+ships to the Baltic. The convention was, under the circumstances,
+unquestionably a most advantageous one. It would have cost long and severe
+fighting and the siege of several very strong fortresses before the French
+could have been turned out of Portugal. Heavy siege-guns would have been
+necessary for these operations. At the very shortest calculation a year
+would have been wasted, very heavy loss of life incurred, and an immense
+expenditure of money before the result, now obtained so suddenly and
+unexpectedly, had been arrived at.
+
+Nevertheless, the news of the convention was received with a burst of
+popular indignation in England, where the public, wholly ignorant of the
+difficulty of the situation, had formed the most extravagant hopes,
+founded on the two successes obtained by their troops. The result was that
+a commission was appointed to investigate the whole matter. The three
+English generals were summoned to England to attend before it, and so
+gross were the misrepresentations and lies by which the public had been
+deceived by the agents of the unscrupulous and ambitious Bishop of Oporto
+and his confederates, that it was even proposed to bring the generals to
+trial who had in so short a time and with such insufficient means freed
+Portugal from the French. Sir John Moore remained in command of the troops
+in Portugal.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A PAUSE
+
+The Mayo Fusiliers had suffered their full proportion of losses at the
+battle of Vimiera. Major Harrison had been killed, Captain O'Connor had
+been severely wounded, as his company had been thrown forward as
+skirmishers on the face of the hill, and a third of their number had
+fallen when Laborde's great column had driven them in as it charged up the
+ascent. Terence's father had been brought to the ground by a ball that
+struck him near the hip; had been trampled on by the French as they passed
+up over him, and again on their retreat; and he was insensible when, as
+soon as the enemy retired, a party was sent down to bring up the wounded.
+By the death of the major, O'Connor, as senior captain, now attained that
+rank, but the doctor pronounced that it would be a long time before he
+would be able to take up his duties. Another captain and three subalterns
+had been killed, and several other officers had been wounded. Among these
+was O'Grady, whose left arm had been carried away below the elbow by a
+round shot. As Terence was in the other wing of the regiment he did not
+hear of his father's wounds until after the battle was over, and on the
+order being given that there was to be no pursuit the regiment fell out of
+its ranks. As soon as the news reached him he obtained permission to go
+down to Vimiera, where the church and other buildings had been turned into
+temporary hospitals, to which the seriously wounded had been carried as
+soon as the French retired. Hurrying down, he soon learned where the
+wounded of General Fane's brigade had been taken. He found the two
+regimental doctors hard at work. O'Flaherty came up to Terence as soon as
+he saw him enter the barn that had been hastily converted into a hospital
+by covering the floor deeply with straw.
+
+
+[Illustration: 'I should not have minded being hit, Father, if you had
+escaped.']
+
+
+"I think your father will do, Terence, my boy," he said, cheeringly; "we
+have just got the bullet out of his leg, and we hope that it has not
+touched the bone, though we cannot be altogether sure. We shall know more
+about that when we have got through the rough of our work. Still, we have
+every hope that he will do well. He is next the door at the further end;
+we put him there to let him get as much fresh air as possible, for, by the
+powers, this place is like a furnace!"
+
+Captain O'Connor was lying on his back, the straw having been arranged so
+as to raise his shoulders and head. He smiled when Terence came up to him.
+
+"Thank God you have got safely through it, lad!"
+
+"I should not have minded being hit, father, if you had escaped," Terence
+said, with difficulty suppressing a sob, while in spite of his efforts the
+tears rolled down his cheeks.
+
+"The doctors say I shall pull through all right. I hear poor Harrison is
+killed; he was a good fellow. Though it has given me my step, I am
+heartily sorry. So we have thrashed them, lad; that is a comfort. I was
+afraid when they went up the hill that they might be too much for us, and
+I was delighted when I heard them coming tearing down again, though I had
+not much time to think about it. They had stepped over me pretty much as
+they went up, but they had no time to pick their way as they came back
+again, and after one or two had jumped on me, I remembered no more about
+it until I found myself here with O'Flaherty probing the wound and hurting
+me horribly. I am bruised all over, and I wonder some of my ribs are not
+broken; at present they hurt me a good deal more than this wound in the
+hip. Still, that is only an affair of a day or two. Who have been killed
+besides the major?"
+
+"Dorman, Phillips, and Henderson are killed. O'Grady is wounded, I hear,
+and so are Saunders, Byrne, and Sullivan; there have been some others hit,
+but not seriously; they did not have to fall out."
+
+"O'Grady is over on the other side somewhere, Terence; I heard his voice
+just now. Go and see where he is hurt."
+
+O'Grady was sitting up with his back to the wall; the sleeves of his
+jacket and shirt had been cut off, and a tourniquet was on his arm just
+above the elbow.
+
+"Well, Terence," he said, cheerfully, "I am in luck, you see."
+
+"I can't see any luck about it, O'Grady."
+
+"Why, man, it might have been my right arm, and where should I have been
+then? As to the left arm, one can do without it very well. Then, again, it
+is lucky that the ball hit me below the elbow and not above it. O'Flaherty
+says they will be able to make a dacent job of it, and that after a bit
+they will be able to fit a wooden arm on, so that I can screw a fork into
+it. The worst of it at present is, that I have a terrible thirst on me,
+and nothing but water have they given me, a thing that I have not drunk
+for years. They have tied up the arteries, and they are going presently to
+touch up the loose ends with hot pitch to stop the bleeding altogether. It
+is not a pleasant job; they have done it to three or four of the men
+already. One of them stood it well, but the others cried a thousand
+murders. O'Flaherty has promised me a drink of whisky and water before
+they do it, and just at present I feel as if I would let them burn all my
+limbs at the same price. It is sorry I am, Terence, to hear that your
+father is hit so hard, but O'Flaherty says he will get through it all
+right. Well, he will get his majority, though I am mightily sorry that
+Harrison is killed; he was a good boy, though he was an Englishman. Ah,
+Terence, my heart's sore when I think what I said that evening after the
+fight at Rolica! I did not mean it altogether, but the words come home to
+me now. It is not for meself but for the poor boys that have gone. It was
+just thoughtlessness, but I would give me other arm not to have said those
+words."
+
+"I know that you did not mean it, O'Grady, and we were all feeling sorry
+that the regiment had not had a chance to be in the thick of it."
+
+"Here they are, coming this way with the pitch kettle. You had better get
+away, lad, before they begin."
+
+Terence was glad to follow the advice, and hurried out of the barn and
+walked three or four hundred yards away. He was very fond of O'Grady, who
+had always been very kind to him, and who was thoroughly warm-hearted and
+a good fellow, in spite of his eccentricities. In a quarter of an hour he
+returned. Just as he was entering, O'Flaherty came out of the door.
+
+"I must have a breath of fresh air, Terence," he said. "The heat is
+stifling in there, and though we are working in our shirt-sleeves we are
+just as damp as if we had been thrown into a pond."
+
+"Has O'Grady's arm been seared?"
+
+"Yes, and he stood it well; not a word did he say until it was over. Then
+he said, 'Give me another drink, O'Flaherty; it's wake-like I feel.'
+Before I could get the cup to his lips he went off in a faint. He has come
+round now and has had a drink of weak whisky and water, and is lying quiet
+and composed. It is better that you should not go near him at present. I
+hope that he will drop off to sleep presently. I have just given a glance
+at your father, and he is nearly, if not quite, asleep too, so you had
+better leave them now and look in again this evening. Now that the affair
+is over, and there is time to go round, they will clear out some houses
+and get things more comfortable. The principal medical officer was round
+here half an hour ago. He said they would fit up rooms for the officers at
+once, and I will have your father, O'Grady, and Saunders carried up on
+stretchers and put into a room together. If they can bear the moving it
+will be all in their favour, for it will be cooler there than in this oven
+of a place. I hear the church has been requisitioned, and that the worst
+cases among our men will be taken there."
+
+In comparison with the loss of the French that of the British had been
+very small. From their position on commanding heights they had suffered
+but little from the fire of the French artillery, and the casualties were
+almost confined to Fane's brigade, the 43d Regiment, Anstruther's, and the
+two regiments of Ferguson's brigade that had been attacked by Brennier,
+and before nightfall the whole of the wounded had been brought in and
+attended to, the hospitals arranged, and the men far more comfortably
+bestowed than in the temporary quarters taken up during the heat of the
+conflict. As there was no prospect of an immediate movement, the soldier
+servants of the wounded officers had been excused from military duty and
+told off to attend to them, and when Terence went down in the evening he
+found his father, O'Grady, and Saunders--the latter a young
+lieutenant--comfortably lodged in a large room in which three hospital
+beds had been placed. O'Grady had quite recovered his usual good spirits.
+
+"Don't draw such along face, Terence," he said, as the lad entered; "we
+are all going on well. Your father has been bandaged all over the chest
+and body, and is able to breathe more comfortably; as for me, except that
+I feel as if somebody were twisting a red-hot needle about in my arm, I am
+as right as possible, and Saunders is doing first-rate. The doctors
+thought at first that he had got a ball through his body; after they got
+him here they had time to examine him carefully, and they find that it has
+just run along the ribs and gone out behind, and that he will soon be
+about again. If it wasn't that the doctors say I must drink nothing but
+water with lemon-juice squeezed into it, I would have nothing to complain
+of. We have got our servants. Hoolan came in blubbering like a calf, the
+omadhoun, and I had to threaten to send him back to the regiment before he
+would be sensible. He has sworn off spirits until I am well enough to take
+to them, which is a comfort, for I am sorry to say he is one of those men
+who never know when they have had enough."
+
+"Like master, like man, O'Grady."
+
+"Terence, when I get well you will repint of your impudence to your
+supayrior officer, when he is not able to defend himself."
+
+Terence went across to his father's bed.
+
+"Do you really feel easier, father?"
+
+"A great deal, lad. I was so bruised that every breath I took hurt me;
+since I have been tightly bandaged I am better, ever so much. Daly says
+that in a few days I shall be all right again as to that, but that the
+other business will keep me on my back for a long time. He has examined my
+wound again, and says he won't touch it for a few days; but I can see that
+he is rather afraid that the bone has been grazed if not splintered. You
+have not heard what is going to be done, have you?"
+
+"No, father; the talk is that no move will be made anyhow until Sir John
+Moore lands with his troops; after that I suppose we shall go forward."
+
+"It is a pity we did not push forward to-day, lad, if, as I hear, half the
+force were never engaged at all. Junot would not have carried off a gun if
+our fellows had been launched against them while they were in disorder. As
+it is, I hear they have marched away over that ridge in as good order as
+they came, and so we shall have all the work of thrashing them to do over
+again."
+
+"They say that is what Sir Arthur wanted to do, father, but Burrard
+overruled him."
+
+"Did any man ever hear of such nonsense as a general who knows nothing at
+all about the matter coming and taking over the command from a general who
+has just won a battle, and who has all the ins and outs of the matter at
+his finger-ends!"
+
+"Now, my dear O'Connor," O'Grady broke in, "you know what Daly said, the
+quieter you lie and the less you talk the better. He did not say so to
+meself; in the first place, because he knew it would be of no use, and in
+the second, because there is no raison on earth why, because a man has
+lost a bit of his arm, his tongue should not wag. And what does the
+colonel say, Terence; is he not delighted with the regiment?"
+
+"He is that, and he has a right to be," Terence said. "The way they went
+at the French, and tumbled them over the crest and down the hill was
+splendid. The tears rolled down his cheeks when he heard that the major
+and the others were killed, but he said that a man could not die more
+gloriously. He shook hands with all the officers after it was over, and
+sent a party down to the town to buy and bring up some barrels of wine,
+and served out a good allowance to each man. As soon as the firing ceased
+I heard him tell O'Driscol that he was proud to have commanded the
+regiment."
+
+"That is good, Terence; and now, do you think that you could bring me up
+just a taste of the cratur?"
+
+"The divil a drop, O'Grady; if Daly and O'Flaherty both say that you are
+not to have it, it is certain that it is bad for you. But I'll tell you
+what I will do; I have one bottle of whisky left, and I will promise you
+that it sha'n't be touched till you are well enough to drink it, and if we
+are marched away, as I suppose we shall be, I will hand it over to
+O'Flaherty to give you when you are fit to take it. He tells me that he
+will be left to look after the wounded when we move."
+
+"I could not trust him, Terence; I would hand over a bag of gold uncounted
+to him, but as for whisky, the temptation would be too great for an
+Irishman to resist. Look here, you put it into a wooden box and nail it up
+securely, and write on it 'O'Grady's arm,' and hand it over to him
+solemnly, and tell him that I have a fancy for burying the contents
+myself, which will be true enough, though it is me throat I mean to bury
+it in."
+
+Knowing that it was best they should be left in quiet, Terence soon left
+them and returned to the regiment.
+
+"Well, Dick, what did you think of a battle?" he asked his chum.
+
+"I don't quite know what I did think. It does not seem to me that I
+thought much about it at all, what with the noise of the firing and the
+shouting of the men, and the whistle overhead of the French round shot,
+and the men cheering, the French shouting and the excitement, there was no
+time for thinking at all. From the time the skirmishers came running up
+the hill to the time when we rolled the French down it, I seem to have
+been in a dream. It's lucky that I had no words of command to give, for I
+am sure I should not have given them. I don't think I was frightened at
+all; somehow I did not seem to think of the danger. It was just a horrible
+confusion."
+
+"I felt very much like that, too. It was not a bit like what it was when
+we took that brig; I felt cool enough when we jumped on to her deck. But
+then there was no noise to speak of, while the row this morning was
+tremendous. I tried to cheer when the men did, but I could not hear my own
+voice, and I don't know whether I made any sound or not."
+
+A delay of some weeks took place after the battle of Vimiera. The Mayo
+Fusiliers were not among the troops who entered Lisbon in order to overawe
+the populace and prevent attacks both upon French soldiers and officers,
+and Portuguese suspected of leaning towards the French cause. Throughout
+the country everything was in confusion. A strong party, at whose head
+were the Bishop of Oporto and Friere, denounced the convention with the
+French--against whom they themselves had done nothing--as gross treachery
+on the part of the English to Portugal. They endeavoured in every way to
+excite the feelings of the population, both in the country and the
+capital, against the British; but in this they failed altogether, for the
+people were too thankful to get rid of the oppression and exactions of the
+invaders to feel aught but satisfaction at their being compelled to leave
+the country.
+
+The Junta at Oporto, at whose head was the bishop, desired to grasp the
+entire power throughout the country, and were furious at being thwarted in
+their endeavours to prevent a central Junta being established at Lisbon.
+Throughout Spain also chaos reigned. Each provincial Junta refused
+co-operation with others, and instead of concerting measures for
+resistance against the great force that Napoleon was assembling on the
+frontier, thought only of satisfying the ambitions and greed of its
+members. The generals disregarded alike the orders from the central Junta
+at Madrid and those of the provincial Juntas, quarrelled among themselves
+to a point that sometimes approached open hostility, and each acted only
+for his private ends. Arms had been sent in vast numbers from England;
+yet, while the money so lavishly bestowed by British agents went into the
+pockets of individuals, the arms were retained by the Juntas of Seville,
+Cadiz, and the maritime ports, and the armies of Spain were left almost
+unarmed.
+
+The term army is indeed absurd, as applied to the gatherings of peasants
+without, an idea of discipline, with scarcely any instruction in drill,
+and in the majority of, cases, as the result proved, altogether deficient
+in courage; and yet, while neglecting all military precautions and ready
+to crumble to pieces at the first approach of the French, the arrogance
+and insolence of the authorities, civil and military alike, were
+absolutely unbounded. They disregarded wholly the advice of the British
+officers and agents, and treated the men who alone could save them from
+the consequences of their folly with open contempt.
+
+After a fortnight's halt at Vimiera the Mayo Fusiliers were marched, with
+four other regiments, to Torres Vedras, where they took up their quarters.
+In the middle of October O'Grady and Saunders rejoined, and Terence
+obtained a few days' leave to visit his father.
+
+The latter's progress had been slow; the wound was unhealed, pieces of
+bone working their way out, and the doctors had decided that he must be
+invalided home, as it was desirable to clear out the hospitals altogether
+before the army marched into Spain.
+
+"They think the change of air will do me good," Major O'Connor said to
+Terence, as they were chatting together after the latter arrived, "and I
+think so myself. It is evident that I cannot take part in the next
+campaign, but I hope to rejoin again in the spring. Of course it is hard,
+but I must not grumble; if the bullet had been half an inch more to the
+right it would have smashed the bone altogether, then I should have had
+small chance indeed, for taking off the leg at the hip is an operation
+that not one man in twenty survives. O'Flaherty says he thinks that all
+the bits of bone have worked out now, and that I may not be permanently
+lame; but if it is to be so, lad, it is of no use kicking against fate. I
+have got my majority, and if permanently disabled by my wounds, can retire
+on a pension on which I can live comfortably.
+
+"So I hear that Sir John Moore is going to march into Spain. By the way,
+you have got some cousins in Oporto or the neighbourhood, though I don't
+suppose you are likely to run against them."
+
+"I never heard you say anything about them before, father."
+
+"No; I don't think that I ever did mention it. A first cousin of mine went
+over, just about the time that I was married, to Oporto, and established
+himself there as a wine merchant. He had been out there before for a firm
+in Dublin, and when Clancy's father died, and he came into some money he
+went out, as I said, and started for himself. He was a sharp fellow and
+did well, and married the daughter of a big land-owner. We used to hear
+from him occasionally. He died about a year ago, and left a girl behind
+him; she had been brought up in her mother's religion. He never said much
+about his wife, but I fancy she was a very strong Roman Catholic, and that
+they did not quite agree about the girl, who, as I gathered, had a
+hankering after her father's religion. However, after Clancy died we never
+heard any more of them.
+
+"There was a letter from their man of business announcing the death, and
+stating that Clancy had left his own property, that is to say, the money
+he had made in business, to the girl. What has become of her since I do
+not know. It was no business of mine, though I believe that I was his
+nearest relation--at least my uncle had no other children, and there were
+neither brothers nor sisters except him and my father. Still, as he left a
+widow who had a good big property on her own account, and was connected
+with a lot of grandee families, there was no occasion for me to mix myself
+up in the affair; and, indeed, it never entered my head to do so. Yet,
+Clancy and I were great friends, and I should be glad to know what has
+become of his girl. I fancy that she is about your age, and if Moore
+should take you up north you might make some inquiries there. The mother's
+family name was Montarlies, and I fancy, from what Clancy said, her
+father's property was somewhere to the north of Oporto, so I expect that
+at that town you would be likely to hear something of them."
+
+"All right, father; if we go there I will be sure to make some inquiries."
+
+On the fourth day after Terence's arrival the hospital was broken up, the
+convalescents marched for Torres Vedras, and Major O'Connor, with four
+other officers and forty men, were put on board a ship to be taken to
+England.
+
+"Your visit has done your father good, Terence," O'Flaherty said, as,
+after seeing the party safely on board ship, he returned to the town
+whence they were to march with the convalescents, sixty in number, among
+whom were five officers. "He has brightened up a deal the last four days,
+and his wound looks distinctly more healthy. I have a strong hope that all
+those splinters have worked out now, and your being here has given him a
+fillip, so that he is altogether better and more cheerful. I hope by the
+spring he will be able to rejoin us. I can tell you I am mighty glad to be
+off again myself. It has been pretty hard work here, for I have had, for
+the last fortnight, a hundred and twenty men on my hands. At first there
+were three of us here, but two went off with the last batch of
+convalescents, and I have been alone since. Luckily Major Peters has been
+well enough to look after things in general, and help the commissariat
+man; still, with forty bad cases, I have not had much time on my hands. Of
+course I knew him and all the other officers, but they all belonged to
+other regiments, and it was not like being among the Mayos. And when do
+you think we will be starting again?"
+
+"I have no idea. I have heard that Moore is doing everything he can to
+hurry on things, but that he is awfully hampered for want of money. It is
+scandalous. Here are our agents supplied with immense sums for the use of
+these blackguard Spaniards, yet they keep their own army without funds."
+
+"If the general has no funds, Terence, he had better be stopping where he
+is. There is no getting anything in Portugal without paying ten times the
+proper price for it, and from what I hear of the Spaniards they will
+charge twenty times, put the money in their pockets, and then not even
+give you what you paid for. As to their being any good to us as allies, it
+is not to be hoped for; they will take our arms and our money, expect us
+to feed their troops, and will then run away at the sight of a French
+soldier; you will see if they don't."
+
+"I hear that the Junta of Corunna says that all the north will rise as
+soon as we enter their country."
+
+"They may rise and flock round us until they have got arms and money, and
+then they will go off to their homes again. That is the sort of assistance
+that is to be had from them. We should do a deal better if there was not a
+Spaniard in the country, and it was left to us to fight it out with the
+French."
+
+"In that case, O'Flaherty, we should never cross the frontier at all. They
+say that Napoleon is gathering a great army, and against such a force,
+with the French troops already in Spain, our twenty or twenty-five
+thousand men would fare very badly, especially as they say that the
+emperor is coming himself."
+
+"That is worse news than the other, Terence. It is only because the French
+generals have always been quarrelling among themselves that the whole
+Peninsula has not been conquered; but with Napoleon at the head of affairs
+it would be a different matter altogether, and my humble opinion is that
+we had better stay where we are until he has wiped out the Spaniards
+altogether."
+
+Terence laughed.
+
+"You don't take a sanguine view of things."
+
+"You have been with the regiment, Terence, and have had very little to do
+with the natives. I have not seen very much of them either, thank
+goodness; but I have seen quite enough to know that though perhaps the
+peasants would make good soldiers, if officered by Englishmen, there is
+mighty little feeling of patriotism among the classes above them. Reading
+and writing may be good for some countries, but as far as I see here,
+reading and writing spoil them here, for every man one comes across who
+can sign his name is intent either on filling his pocket, or on working
+some scheme or other for his own advantage. If I were Sir John Moore I
+would send up a division to Oporto, hang the bishop and every member of
+the Junta, shoot Friere and a dozen of his principal officers, and if the
+people of Oporto gave them the chance clear the streets with grape-shot.
+Why, if it hadn't been for a small guard of our fellows with the French
+garrisons that were marched down there to embark, the Portuguese would
+have murdered every man-jack of them. They did murder a good many, and
+robbed them all of their baggage; and if it had not been that our men
+loaded and would have fired on them if they had gone further, not a
+Frenchman would have got off alive. If this had been done in Lisbon, where
+the French had been masters, there might have been some sort of excuse for
+it; but they had never been near Oporto at all, and therefore the people
+there had no scores to settle with them."
+
+"I am afraid, O'Flaherty, that an army worked on your principles would
+never get far from the coast, for we should have the whole country against
+us."
+
+"So much the better if we never got far from the coast. How much help have
+we had from them? There is not a single horse or waggon for transport
+except those we have hired at exorbitant prices; not a single ounce of
+food. They would not even divide with us the magazines at Leirya, which
+they had no share in capturing. The rabble they call an army has never
+fired a shot or marched a yard with us, except Trant's small command, and
+they were kept so far out of it in both fights, that I doubt whether they
+fired a shot; and yet they take upon themselves to throw every obstacle in
+our way, to dictate to our generals, and to upset every plan as soon as it
+is formed.
+
+"Well, I shall be glad to be back with the regiment again, Terence. There
+is some fun going on there anyhow, and I have not had a hearty laugh since
+O'Grady went off ten days ago."
+
+"We were all heartily glad to see him back again," Terence said. "He does
+not seem a bit the worse for having lost his hand."
+
+"No, he has got through it a deal better than I had expected, considering
+that he is not what might be called a very temperate man."
+
+"Not by any means. It is not very often that he takes more liquor than he
+can carry, but he generally goes very close to the mark."
+
+"I kept him very short here," O'Flaherty laughed, "and told him that if he
+did not obey orders I would have him invalided home; I have got him to
+promise that he will draw in a bit in future, and have good hopes of his
+keeping it, seeing that when the army starts again you won't get much
+chance of indulging."
+
+"It will be a good thing for others as well as O'Grady," Terence said,
+quietly. "I suppose in Ireland the whisky does not do much harm, seeing
+that it is a wet country; but here I notice that they cannot drink half as
+much as they were accustomed to without feeling it."
+
+"That is true for you, Terence. Half a bottle here goes as far as a bottle
+in the old country; and I find with the wounded, spirits have a very bad
+effect, even in very small quantities. There is one thing, when the troops
+are on the march they not only get small chance of getting drink, but
+mighty little time to think of it. When you have been doing your twenty
+miles a day, with halts and stoppages on these beastly roads and defiles,
+and are on your feet from daylight until late in the evening, and then,
+perhaps, a turn at the outposts, a man hasn't got much time for divarshon;
+and even if there is liquor to be had, he is glad enough when he has had a
+glass or so to wrap himself in his cloak and lie down to sleep. I have
+nearly sworn off myself, for I found that my head troubled me in the
+morning after a glass or two, more than it did after an all-night's
+sitting at Athlone. Ah, Terence, it is lucky for you that you have no
+fancy for it!"
+
+"I hope I never shall have, O'Flaherty. If one has got thoroughly wet
+through in a long day's fishing, it may be that a glass of punch may keep
+away a cold, though even that I doubt. But I am sure that I am better
+without it at any other time; and I hope some day the fashion will change,
+and instead of it being considered almost as a matter of course after a
+dinner that half the men should be under the table, it will then be looked
+upon as disgraceful for a man to get drunk, as it is now for a woman to do
+so."
+
+O'Flaherty looked at his companion with amused surprise. "Faith, Terence,
+that would be a change indeed, and you might as well say that you hope the
+time will come when you can whip off a fellow's leg without his feeling
+pain."
+
+"Perhaps that may come too," Terence laughed; "there is no saying."
+
+The next morning the detachment started at daybreak and marched to Torres
+Vedras, where they heard that a general movement was expected to begin.
+The regiment had now a comfortable mess, and the situation was freely
+discussed as scraps of news arrived from Lisbon. Could the English
+ministry have heard the comments on their imbecility passed by the
+officers of the British army, even they might have doubted the perfect
+wisdom of their plan. On the 6th of October, Moore had received a despatch
+stating that 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry were to be employed in the
+north of Spain. Ten thousand of these were to be sent out direct from
+England, the remainder were to be composed of regiments from the army in
+Portugal. Moore had the choice of taking the troops round in ships or of
+marching them direct. He decided upon the latter course, for arrangements
+had been made by Sir Hew Dalrymple to enter Spain by Almeida, and,
+moreover, he thought that the resources of the sea-coast of Galicia would
+not be more than sufficient to supply transport and food for the 10,000
+men who were to land there under the command of Sir David Baird.
+
+The English general's difficulties were indeed overwhelming. He had
+soldiers who, although but recently raised, had shown themselves good
+fighters; but he was altogether without even transport sufficient for the
+officers. With an ample supply of money, an experienced staff, and a
+well-organized commissariat, the difficulties might have been overcome,
+but Sir John Moore was practically without money. His staff had no
+experience whatever, and the commissariat and transport officers were
+alike ignorant of the work they were called upon to perform. He was
+unacquainted with the views of the Spanish government, and uninformed as
+to the numbers, composition, and situation of the Spanish armies with whom
+he was to act, or with those of the enemy. He had a winter march of 300
+miles before he could join Sir David Baird, who would have 200 miles to
+march from Corunna to join him, and there was then a distance of another
+300 miles to be traversed before he reached the Ebro, which was designated
+as the centre of his operations.
+
+And all this had to be done while a great French army was already pouring
+in through the passes of the Pyrenees. No more tremendous, or, it may be
+said, impossible, task was ever assigned to an English commander; and to
+add to the absurdity of their scheme, the British government sent off Sir
+David Baird without instructions, and even without money. The Duke of York
+had vainly protested against the plan of the ministry, and had pointed out
+that nothing short of an army of 60,000 men, fully equipped with all
+necessaries for war--money, transport, and artillery--could achieve
+success of any kind.
+
+Upon the day Terence rejoined, news came from the engineers in advance
+that the assurances Sir John Moore had received that the road by which the
+army was to travel was perfectly practicable for artillery and
+baggage-waggons, were wholly false, and it was probable that the artillery
+and cavalry would have to make a long circuit to the south.
+
+It was too late now to change the route for the rest of the army. Nearly
+half the force had already started on the road to Almeida, and the
+supplies for their subsistence had been collected at that town. Therefore
+it was necessary that the main body of the infantry should travel by that
+road, while three thousand were to act as a guard for the artillery and
+cavalry on the other route.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE ADVANCE
+
+"It is enough to drive Sir John out of his senses," the colonel said, as
+the news was discussed after mess. "These people must be the champion
+liars of the world. Not content with doing nothing themselves, they seem
+to delight in inventing lies to prevent our doing anything for them. Who
+ever heard of an army marching, without artillery and cavalry, one way,
+while these arms travelled by a different road entirely, and that not for
+a march of twenty miles, but for a march of three hundred? One battery is
+to go with us. But what will be the use of six guns against an enemy with
+sixty? Every day the baggage is being cut down owing to these blackguard
+Portuguese breaking their engagements to furnish waggons, and we shall
+have to march pretty nearly as we stand, and to take with us nothing
+beyond one change of clothes."
+
+Loud exclamations of discontent ran round the table. It was bad enough
+that in the midst of a campaign waggons should break down and baggage be
+left behind, but that troops should start upon a campaign with scarcely
+the necessaries of life had caused general anger in the army; and no order
+would have been more willingly obeyed than one to march upon Lisbon, shoot
+every public official, establish a state of siege, and rule by martial
+law, seizing for the use of the army every draught animal, waggon, and
+carriage that could be found in the city, or swept in from the country
+round. The colonel had not exaggerated matters. The number of tents to be
+taken were altogether insufficient for the regiment, even with the utmost
+crowding possible. The officers' baggage had been cut down to twenty
+pounds a head--an amount scarcely sufficient for a single change of
+clothes and boots. Even the amount of ammunition to be taken would be
+insufficient to refill the soldiers' pouches after the supply they carried
+was exhausted.
+
+The paucity of baggage would not have mattered so much had the march begun
+at the commencement of summer, instead of just as winter was setting in.
+In the former case, men could have slept in the open air, and a solitary
+blanket and one change of clothes would have sufficed; but with the wet
+season at hand, to be followed by winter cold, the grievance was a very
+serious one. Terence had already learned that the brigade was to march in
+two days, and that the great bulk of the baggage was to be stored at
+Torres Vedras, which was to be occupied on their leaving by some of the
+troops that would remain in Portugal.
+
+"Faith, it is an evil look-out, Terence," O'Grady, who was sitting next to
+him, said, pathetically. "Sorra a drop of whisky is there in the camp, and
+now we sha'n't be able to have even a drink of their bastely spirits,
+onless we can buy it at the towns; and as Anstruther's division has gone
+on ahead of us, it is likely that every drop has been drunk up."
+
+"It will be all the better for you, O'Grady. Daly tells me that your arm
+is not fully healed yet. I know that you would not like to be left behind
+when we have once started."
+
+"That is true enough, but a drop of the cratur hurts no one."
+
+"I beg your pardon, O'Grady, it is very bad for anything like a wound. The
+doctor told me, when I was chatting with him before dinner, that he really
+did not think that you could go, for you would not obey his orders to give
+up spirits altogether."
+
+"Well, I own that it has been smarting a good deal the last few days,"
+O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "though I have not said as much to the
+doctor. I don't know that you are not about right, Terence; but faith,
+after being kept upon bastely slops by O'Flaherty, it was not in human
+nature to drink nothing but water when one gets a chance. At any rate, I
+am not likely to find any great temptation after we have started."
+
+"Well, you had better begin to-night, O'Grady. I am going to get away as
+soon as I can, and if you will take my advice you will come too."
+
+"What! and us to march in two days? It is not to be thought of. You mane
+well, Terence, but a lad like you must not take to lecturing your
+supayrior officer. Shure, and don't I know what to do for meself better
+than any other?"
+
+Terence saw that it was useless to endeavour to persuade him to move, and
+presently went round to Dr. Daly and said, quietly:
+
+"Doctor, O'Grady tells me that his arm has been hurting him a good deal
+more during the last two days. I expect they will make a night of it this
+evening, and again to-morrow, and if he once begins, nothing will stop him
+until they break up. Could not you do anything?"
+
+"I will talk to him like a father, Terence. You are a good boy to have
+told me; I might have gone away without thinking of it."
+
+"Don't mention my name, Doctor."
+
+The doctor nodded, and Terence went away and took a vacant seat at some
+distance from him. Presently the doctor got up and went round to O'Grady.
+The supply of claret had just been finished, and bottles of spirits had
+been placed upon the table. O'Grady stretched out his hand to one near
+him, but the doctor quietly removed it.
+
+"Not for you, O'Grady," he said; "you have had more than sufficient wine
+already. I have been doubting whether you are fit to go on with the
+regiment; and, by the powers, if you touch spirits to-night or to-morrow,
+I will put your name down in the list of those who are to be left behind
+as unfit for service!"
+
+"Sure you are joking, Doctor?"
+
+"Never was more earnest in my life, O'Grady. You don't want to be left
+behind, I suppose, in some filthy Portuguese town, while we march on, and
+that is what it will come to if your wound inflames. I told you this
+morning that it was not doing as well as it ought to, and that you must
+cut off liquor altogether. I have had my eye upon you, and you have taken
+down more than a bottle of wine already. I don't think I ought to let you
+go with us, even as it is; but, by the piper that played before Moses, if
+you don't go off to your quarters, without touching a drop more, I will
+have you left behind!"
+
+"You are mighty hard on a poor fellow, and must have a heart of stone to
+treat a man, who has lost his arm and wants a bit of comfort, in such
+fashion. Faith, I would not do it to a dog."
+
+"There would be no occasion, O'Grady; a dog has got sense."
+
+"And I haven't? Thank ye for the compliment. I will appeal to the colonel.
+Colonel, the doctor says if I drink a drop of spirits to-night or
+to-morrow he will put me down in the black list. Now, I ask you, do the
+regulations justify his using such a threat as that?"
+
+"I think they do," the colonel said, with a laugh. "I think that his order
+is good and sensible, and I endorse it. You know yourself that spirits are
+bad for you, with an arm only just healed up. Now, behave like a
+raisonable fellow, and go off to your quarters. You know well enough that
+if you stop here you won't be able to keep from it."
+
+"Faith, if the two of you are against me I have nothing more to say. It is
+mighty hard that after having lost an arm in the service of my country I
+should be treated like a child and sent off to bed."
+
+"I am going, too, O'Grady," Terence, who had gone back to his original
+place, now said. "There is no occasion to go to bed. I have a box of good
+cigars in my tent, and we can sit there and chat as long as you like."
+
+But O'Grady's dignity was ruffled.
+
+"Thank you, Mr O'Connor," he said, stiffly; "but with your lave I will do
+as I said."
+
+"That is the best thing," the doctor said. "You have not had a long
+night's rest since you rejoined. I am going myself, and I see that some of
+the others are getting up, too, and it would be a good thing if all would
+do so, for, with such work as we have got before us, the more sleep we
+get, while we can, the better."
+
+As nearly half the officers now rose from their seats, O'Grady was
+mollified, and as he went out he said:
+
+"I think, after all, Terence, I will try one of those cigars of yours."
+
+On the 14th of October Fane's brigade left Torres Vedras.
+
+
+[Illustration: 'I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL.']
+
+
+A number of the troops had been stationed along the line of route to be
+followed, and these had started simultaneously with the departure of
+Fane's brigade from Torres Vedras. The discontent as to the reduction of
+baggage ceased as soon as the troops were in motion. They were going to
+invade Spain, and ignorant as the soldiers were of the real state of
+affairs, none doubted but that success would attend them there. Among the
+officers better acquainted with the state of things there was no such
+feeling of confidence, but they hoped that they should at least give as
+good an account of themselves as before, against any French force of
+anything like equal strength they might encounter. O'Grady, influenced by
+the doctor's threats, which he knew the latter would be firm enough to
+carry out, had obeyed his orders, and had confided to Terence, when the
+regiment formed up at daybreak for the march, that his arm felt much
+better.
+
+"I don't say that the doctor may not have been right, Terence, but he need
+not have threatened me in that way, at all, at all."
+
+"I don't know," Terence replied. "I feel pretty sure that if he hadn't,
+you would not have knocked off spirits. Well, it is a glorious morning for
+starting, but I am afraid the fine weather won't last long. Everyone says
+that the rains generally begin about this time."
+
+As Terence fell in with his company the adjutant rode up.
+
+"Mr. O'Connor, you are to report yourself to the brigadier."
+
+Wondering much at the message, Terence hurried to the house occupied by
+General Fane. He and several officers were standing in front of it.
+
+"I am told that you wish to speak to me, General," he said, saluting.
+
+"Oh, you are Mr. O'Connor! Can you ride?"
+
+"Yes, sir," Terence replied; for he had often had a scamper across the
+hills around Athlone on half-broken ponies, and occasionally on the horses
+of some of his friends in the regiment.
+
+"I have a vacancy on my staff. Lieutenant Andrews was thrown when riding
+out from Lisbon with a despatch last night, and broke a leg. I was on
+board the flag-ship when your colonel brought his report about the fight
+between the transport and the two privateers. I read it, and was so much
+struck with the quickness and intelligence you displayed, that I made a
+note at the time that if I should have a vacancy on my staff I would
+appoint you."
+
+"I am very much obliged, General," Terence said, "but I have no horse."
+
+"I have arranged that. Lieutenant Andrews will not be fit for service for
+a long time. It is a compound fracture, and he will, the doctor says,
+probably be sent back to England by the first ship that arrives after he
+reaches Lisbon. His horse is therefore useless to him, and as it is only a
+native animal and would not fetch a ten-pound note, he agreed at once to
+hand it over to his successor, and in fact was rather glad to get it off
+his hands. He has an English saddle, bridle, and holsters; he will take
+five pounds for them. If you happen to be short of cash the paymaster will
+settle it for you."
+
+"Thank you, sir; I have the money about me, and I am very much obliged to
+you for making the arrangement."
+
+Terence was indeed in funds, for in addition to the ten pounds that had
+fallen to him as his share of the prize money, his pay had been almost
+untouched from the day he left England, and his father had, on embarking,
+added ten pounds to his store.
+
+"I won't want it, Terence," he said; "I have got another twenty pounds by
+me, and by the time I get to England I shall have another month's pay to
+draw, and shall no doubt be put in a military hospital, where I shall have
+no occasion for money till I am out again."
+
+"But I sha'n't want it either, father."
+
+"There is never any saying, lad; it is always useful to have money on a
+campaign. You may be in places where the commissariat breaks down
+altogether, and you have to depend on what you buy; you may be left behind
+wounded, or may be taken prisoner, one never can tell. I shall feel more
+comfortable about you if I know that you are well provided with cash,
+whatever may happen. My advice is, Terence, get fifteen or twenty pounds
+in gold sewn up in your boot; have an extra sole put on, and the money
+sewn inside. If it is your bad luck to be taken prisoner, you will find
+the money mighty useful in a great many ways."
+
+Terence had followed this advice and had fifteen pounds hidden away,
+besides ten that he carried in his pockets; he therefore hurried to the
+hut where Lieutenant Andrews was lying. He was slightly acquainted with
+him, as he had been Fane's aide-de-camp from the time of landing. The
+young lieutenant's servant was standing at the door with a horse ready
+saddled and bridled.
+
+"I am very sorry to hear of your injury," he said to the young officer.
+
+"Yes, it is a horrible nuisance," the other replied; "and just as we were
+starting, too. There is an end of my campaigning for the present. I should
+not have minded if it had been a French ball, but to be merely thrown from
+a horse is disgusting."
+
+"I am extremely obliged to you for the horse, Andrews, but I would rather
+pay you for it; it is not fair that I should get it for nothing."
+
+"Oh, that is all right! It would be a bother taking it down, and I should
+not know what to do with it when I got to Lisbon; it would be a nuisance
+altogether, and I am glad to get rid of it. The money is of no consequence
+to me one way or the other. I wish you better luck with it than I have
+had."
+
+"At any rate here are five pounds for the saddle and bridle," and he put
+the money down on the table by the bed.
+
+"That is all right," the other said, without looking at it; "they are well
+off my hands, too. I hope the authorities will send me straight on board
+ship when I get to Lisbon; my servant will go down with me. If I am kept
+there, he will of course stay with me until I sail; if not, he will rejoin
+as soon as he has seen me on board. He is a good servant, and I can
+recommend him to you; he is rather fond of the bottle, but that is his
+only fault as far as I know. He is a countryman of yours, and you will be
+able to make allowances for his failing," he added, with a laugh.
+
+There was no time to be lost--the bugles were sounding--so, with a brief
+adieu, Terence went out, mounted the horse and rode after the general, who
+had just left with his staff, and taken his place at the head of the
+column. As he passed his regiment, he stopped for a moment to speak to the
+colonel.
+
+"I heard that you were wanted by the general, Terence," the latter said,
+"and I congratulate you on your appointment. I am sorry that you are
+leaving us, but, as you will be with the brigade, we shall often see you.
+O'Driscol is as savage as a bull at the loss of one of his subalterns.
+Well, it is your own luck that you have and another's; drop in this
+evening, if you can, and tell us how it was that Fane came to pick you
+out."
+
+"It was thanks to you, Colonel. If you remember, you told us at Vigo that
+Fane was on board when you went to make your report, and that he and Sir
+Arthur's adjutant-general read it over together, and asked you a good many
+questions. It was owing to that affair that he thought of me."
+
+"That is good, lad. I thought at the time that more might come of it than
+just being mentioned in orders, and I am very glad that it was for that
+you got it. At any rate, come in this evening; I want to hear where you
+have stolen that horse from, and all about it."
+
+Terence rode off and took his place with his fellow aide-de-camp behind
+the two other officers of the staff. He scarcely knew whether to be glad
+or sorry, at present, at the change that had so suddenly taken place. It
+was gratifying to have been selected as he had been. It was certainly more
+pleasant to ride through a campaign than to march; and there would be a
+good many more chances of distinguishing himself than there could be as a
+regimental officer; while, on the other hand, he would be away from the
+circle of his friends and comrades, and should greatly miss the fun and
+jollity of the life with them.
+
+"An unfortunate affair this of Andrews," Lieutenant Trevor, his fellow
+aide-de-camp, said.
+
+"Most unfortunate. I little thought when you and he lunched with us two
+days since that to-day he would be down with a broken leg and I riding in
+his place. Just at present I certainly do not feel very delighted at the
+change. You see, from my father being a captain in the regiment, I have
+been brought up with it, and to be taken so suddenly away from them seems
+a tremendous wrench."
+
+"Yes, I can understand that," the other said. "In my case it is different.
+My regiment was not coming out, and of course I was greatly pleased when
+the general gave me a chance of going with him. Still, you see, as your
+regiment is in the brigade you will still be able to be with it when off
+duty, and when the end of the campaign comes you will return to it.
+Besides, there are compensations--you will at least get a roof to sleep
+under, at any rate nine times out of ten. I don't know how you feel it,
+but to me it is no small comfort being on horseback instead of tramping
+along these heavy roads on foot. The brigadier is a capital fellow; and
+though he does keep us hard at work, at any rate he works hard himself,
+and does not send us galloping about with all sorts of trivial messages
+that might as well be unsent. Besides, he is always thoughtful and
+considerate. Is he related to you in any way?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"Then I suppose you had good interest in some way, or else how did he come
+to pick you out?"
+
+"It was just a piece of luck," Terence said; "it was because he had heard
+my name in connection with a fight the transport I came over in had with
+two French privateers."
+
+"Oh, yes, I remember now," the other said; "I had forgotten that the name
+was O'Connor. I remember all about it now. He told us the story at Vigo,
+and you were put in general orders by Sir Arthur. I know the chief spoke
+very highly about your conduct in that affair. It is just like him to
+remember it, and to pick you out to take Andrews' place. Well, you fairly
+won it, which is more than one can say for most staff appointments, which
+are in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the result of pure favouritism
+or interest.
+
+"Well, O'Connor, I am very glad to have you on the staff. You see, it
+makes a lot of difference, when there are only two of us, that we should
+like each other. I own I have not done anything as yet to get any credit,
+for at Vimiera it was just stand up and beat them back, and I had not a
+single message to carry, and, of course, at Rolica our brigade was not in
+it; but I hope I shall get a turn some day. Then it was your father who
+was badly wounded?"
+
+"Yes; I saw him off to England four days ago. I hope that he will be able
+to rejoin before long, but it is not certain yet that the wound won't
+bring on permanent lameness. I am very anxious about it, especially as he
+has now got his step, and it would be awfully hard on him to leave the
+service just as he has got field-officer's rank."
+
+"Yes, it would be hard. However, I hope that the sea-voyage and English
+air will set him up again."
+
+Presently one of the officers who were in front turned and said: "The
+general wishes you to ride back along the line, Mr. Trevor, and report
+whether the intervals between the regiments are properly kept, and also as
+to how the baggage-waggons are going on."
+
+As Trevor turned to ride back the general cantered on, followed by the
+three officers and the four troopers who served as orderlies. Two miles
+ahead they came to a bridge across a torrent. The road, always a bad one,
+had been completely cut up by the passage of the provision and ammunition
+carts going to the front, and was now almost impassable.
+
+"Will you please to ride back, Mr. O'Connor, and request the colonel of
+the leading regiment to send on the pioneers and a company of men at the
+double to clear the road and make it passable for the waggons."
+
+The work was quickly done. While some men filled up the deep ruts, others
+cut down shrubs and bushes growing by the river bank, tied them into
+bundles, and put them across the narrow road, and threw earth and stones
+upon them, and in half an hour from the order being given the bugle
+sounded the advance. The head of the column had been halted just before it
+reached the bridge, and the men fell out, many of them running down to the
+stream to refill their water-bottles. As the bugle sounded they at once
+fell in again, and the column got into motion. General Fane and his staff
+remained at the bridge until the waggons had all crossed it.
+
+"It is not much of a job," Fane said. "Of course the four regiments
+passing over it flattened the earth well down, but the waggons have cut it
+all up again. The first heavy shower will wash all the earth away, and in
+a couple of days it will be as bad as before. There are plenty of stones
+down in the river, but we have no means of breaking up the large ones, or
+of carrying any quantity of small ones. A few hundred sappers and
+engineers, with proper tools, would soon go a long way towards making the
+road fairly fit for traffic, but nothing can be done without tools and
+wheel-barrows, or at least hand-barrows for carrying stones. You see, the
+men wanted to use their blankets, but the poor fellows will want them
+badly enough before long, and those contractors' goods would go all to
+pieces by the time they had carried half a dozen loads of stones. At any
+rate, we will content ourselves with making the road passable for our own
+waggons, and the troops who come after us must do the same. By the way,
+Mr. O'Connor, you have not got your kit yet."
+
+"No, sir; but I have no doubt that it is with the regimental baggage, and
+I will get it when we halt to-night."
+
+"Do so," the general said. "Of course it can be carried with ours, but I
+should advise you always to take a change of clothes in your valise, and a
+blanket strapped on with your greatcoat."
+
+"I have Mr. Andrews' blanket, sir. It was strapped on when I mounted, and
+I did not notice it."
+
+"That is all right. The store blankets are very little use for keeping off
+rain, but we all provided ourselves with good thick horse-cloths before
+leaving England. They are a great deal warmer than blankets, and are
+practically water-proof. I have no doubt that Mr. Andrews told his servant
+to strap it on as usual."
+
+Many and many a time during the campaign had Terence good reason for
+thinking with gratitude of Andrews' kindly thought. His greatcoat, which
+like those of all the officers of the regiment, had been made at Athlone,
+of good Irish frieze lined with flannel, would stand almost any amount of
+rain, but it was not long enough to protect his legs while lying down. But
+by rolling himself in the horse-cloth he was able to sleep warm and dry,
+when without it he would have been half-frozen, or soaked through with
+rain from above and moisture from the ground below. He found that the
+brigadier and his staff carried the same amount of baggage as other
+officers, the only difference being that the general had a tent for
+himself, his assistant-adjutant and quartermaster one between them, while
+a third was used as an office-tent in the day, and was occupied by the two
+aides-de-camp at night.
+
+The baggage-waggon allotted to them carried the three tents, their scanty
+kits, and a box of stationery and official forms, but was mainly laden
+with musketry ammunition for the use of the brigade. After marching
+eighteen miles the column halted at a small village. The tents were
+speedily pitched, rations served out, and fires lighted. The general took
+possession of the principal house in the village for the use of himself
+and his staff, and the quartermaster-general apportioned the rest of the
+houses between the officers of the four battalions. The two aides-de-camp
+accompanied the general in his tour of inspection through the camp.
+
+"It will be an hour before dinner is ready," Trevor said, as they returned
+to the house, "and you won't be wanted before that. I shall be about if
+the chief has any orders to send out. I don't think it is likely that he
+will have; he is not given, as some brigadiers are, to worrying; and,
+besides, there are the orderlies here to take any routine orders out, so
+you can be off if you like."
+
+Terence at once went down to the camp of the Mayo Fusiliers. The officers
+were all there, their quartermaster having gone into the village to fix
+their respective quarters.
+
+"Hooray, Terence, me boy!" O'Grady shouted, as he came up, "we all
+congratulate you. Faith, it is a comfort to see that for once merit has
+been recognized. I am sure that there is not a man in the regiment but
+would have liked to have given you a cheer as you rode along this morning
+just before we started. We shall miss you, but as you will be up and down
+all day and can look in of an evening, it won't be as if you had been put
+on the staff of another brigade. As to Dicky Ryan, he is altogether down
+in the mouth, whether it is regret for your loss or whether it is from
+jealousy at seeing you capering about on horseback, while he is tramping
+along on foot, is more than I know."
+
+"If you were not my superior officer, Captain O'Grady, I should make a
+personal onslaught on you," Ryan laughed. "You will have to mind how you
+behave now, Terence; the brigadier is an awfully good fellow, but he is
+pretty strict in matters of discipline."
+
+"I will take care of meself, Dicky, and now that you will have nobody to
+help you out of your scrapes, you will have to mind yourself too."
+
+"I am glad that you have got a lift, Terence," Captain O'Driscol said;
+"but it is rather hard on me losing a subaltern just as the campaign is
+beginning in earnest."
+
+"Menzies likes doing all the work," Terence said, "so it won't make so
+much difference to you."
+
+"It would not matter if I was always with my company, Terence, but now,
+you see, that I am acting as field-officer to the left wing till your
+father rejoins, it makes it awkward."
+
+"I intend to attach Parsons to your company, O'Driscol," the colonel said.
+"Terence went off so suddenly this morning that I had no time to think of
+it before we marched, but he shall march with your company to-morrow. You
+will not mind, I hope, Captain Holland?"
+
+"I shall mind, of course, Colonel; but, as O'Driscol's company has now
+really only one officer, of course it cannot be helped, and as Menzies is
+the senior lieutenant, I have no doubt that he can manage very well with
+Parsons, who is very well up in his work."
+
+"Thank you, Captain Holland; it is the first compliment that you ever paid
+me; it is abuse that I am most accustomed to."
+
+"It is thanks to that that you are a decent officer, Parsons," Captain
+Holland laughed. "You were the awkwardest young beggar I ever saw when you
+first joined, and you have given me no end of trouble in licking you into
+shape. How do you think you will like your work, Terence?"
+
+"I think I shall like it very much," the lad replied. "The other
+aide-de-camp, Trevor, is a very nice fellow, and every one likes Fane; as
+to Major Dowdeswell and Major Errington, I haven't exchanged a word with
+either of them, and you know as much about them as I do."
+
+"Errington is a very good fellow, but the other man is very unpopular. He
+is always talking about the regulations, as if anyone cared a hang about
+the regulations when one is on service."
+
+"I expect that if Fane were not such a good fellow Dowdeswell would make
+himself a baste of a nuisance, and be bothering us about pipe-clay and
+buttons, and all sorts of rigmarole," O'Grady said; "as if a man would
+fight any the better for having his belt white as snow!"
+
+"He would not fight any the better, O'Grady, but the regiment would do
+so," the colonel put in. "All these little matters are nothing in
+themselves, but still they have a good deal to do with the discipline of
+the regiment; there is no doubt that we are not as smart in appearance as
+we ought to be, and that the other regiments in the brigade show up better
+than we do. It is a matter that must be seen to. I shall inspect the
+regiment very carefully before we march to-morrow."
+
+There was a little silence among the group, but a smile stole over several
+of the faces. As a rule, the colonel was very lax in small matters of this
+kind, but occasionally he thought it necessary to put on an air of
+severity, and to insist upon the most rigid accuracy in this respect; but
+the fit seldom lasted beyond twenty-four hours, after which things went on
+pleasantly again. Some of the officers presently sauntered off to warn the
+colour-sergeants that the colonel himself intended to inspect the regiment
+closely before marching the next morning, and that the men must be warned
+to have their uniforms, belts, and firearms in perfect order.
+
+Terence remained for some little time longer chatting, and then got
+possession of his kit, which was carried by Tim Hoolan across to his
+quarters.
+
+"We are all sorry you've left us, yer honour," that worthy said, as he
+walked a short distance behind Terence; "the rigiment won't be like itself
+widout you. Not that it has been quite the same since you joined us
+reg'lar, and have taken to behaving yourself."
+
+"What do you mean, you impudent rascal?" Terence said, with a pretence at
+indignation.
+
+"No offence, yer honour, but faith the games that you and Mr. Ryan and
+some of the others used to play, kept the boys alive, and gave mighty
+contintment to the regiment."
+
+"I was only a lad then, Hoolan."
+
+"That was so, yer honour, and now you are a man and an officer, it is
+natural it should be different."
+
+"Tim Hoolan, you are a humbug," Terence said, laughing.
+
+"Sorra a bit of one, yer honour. I am not saying that you won't grow a bit
+more; everyone says what a fine man you will make. But sure ye saved our
+wing from being captured, and you would not have us admit that, if it had
+not been for a boy, a wing of the Mayo Fusiliers would have been captured
+by the French. No, your honour, when we tell that story we spake of one of
+our officers who had the idea that saved the _Sea-horse_, and brought
+thim two privateer vessels into Vigo."
+
+"Well, Tim, it is only three months since I joined, and I don't suppose I
+have changed much in that time; but of course I cannot play tricks now as
+I used to do, before I got my commission."
+
+"That is so, yer honour; the rigiment misses your tricks, though they did
+bother us a bit. Three times were we turned out at night, under arms, when
+we were at Athlone, once on a wet night too, and stood there for two hours
+till the colonel found out it was a false alarm, and there was me and Mr.
+Ryan, and two or three others as was in the secret, nigh choking ourselves
+with laughter, to hear the men cursing and swearing at being called out of
+bed. That was a foine time, yer honour."
+
+"Attention, Tim!" Terence said, sharply.
+
+They had now entered the village, and the burst of laughter in which
+Hoolan indulged at the thought of the regiment being turned out on a false
+alarm was unseemly, as he was accompanying an officer. So Tim straightened
+himself up, and then followed in Terence's footsteps with military
+precision and stiffness.
+
+"There is a time for all things, Tim," the latter said, as he took the
+little portmanteau from him. "It won't do to be laughing like that in
+sight of head-quarters. I can't ask you to have a drink now; there is no
+drink to be had, but the first time we get a chance I will make it up to
+you."
+
+"All right, yer honour! I was wrong entirely, but I could not have helped
+it if the commander-in-chief had been standing there."
+
+Terence went up to the attic that he and Trevor shared. There was no
+changing for dinner, but after a wash he went below again.
+
+"You are just in time," Trevor said, "and we are in luck. The head man of
+the village sent the general a couple of ducks, and they will help out our
+rations. I have been foraging, and have got hold of half a dozen bottles
+of good wine from the priest.
+
+"We always try to get the best of things in the village, if they will but
+part with them. That is an essential part of our duties. To-morrow it will
+be your turn."
+
+"But our servants always did that sort of thing," Terence said, in some
+surprise.
+
+"I dare say, O'Connor, but it would not do for the general's servant to be
+going about picking up things. No matter what he paid, we should have
+tales going about in no time of the shameful extortion practised by our
+servants, who under threats compelled the peasantry to sell provisions for
+the use of their masters at nominal prices."
+
+"I did not think of that," Terence laughed. "Yes, as the Portuguese have
+circulated scores of calumnious lies on less foundation, one cannot be too
+particular. I will see what I can do to-morrow."
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+A FALSE ALARM
+
+The march was continued until the brigade arrived at Almeida, which they
+reached on the 7th of November, and Sir John Moore and the head-quarters
+staff came up on the following day. All the troops were now assembled at
+that place; for Anstruther, by some misconception of orders, had halted
+the leading division, instead of, as intended by the general, continuing
+his march to Salamanca. The condition of the troops was excellent.
+Discipline, which had been somewhat relaxed during the period of
+inactivity, was now thoroughly restored. The weather had continued fine,
+and the steady exercise had well prepared them for the campaign which was
+beginning. Things, however, were in other respects going on unfavourably.
+
+The Junta of Corunna had given the most solemn promises that transport and
+everything necessary for the advance of Sir David Baird's force should be
+ready by the time that officer arrived. Yet nothing whatever had been
+done, and so conscious were the Junta of their shortcomings, that when the
+fleet with the troops arrived off the port they refused to allow them to
+enter without an order from the central Junta, and fifteen days were
+wasted before the troops could disembark. Then it was found that neither
+provisions nor transport had been provided, and that nothing whatever was
+to be hoped for from the Spanish authorities. Baird was entirely
+unprovided with money, and was supplied with L8,000 from Moore's scanty
+military chest, while at the very time the British agent, Mr. Frere, was
+in Corunna with two millions of dollars for the use of the Spaniards,
+which he was squandering, like the other British agents, right and left
+among the men who refused to put themselves to the slightest trouble to
+further the expedition.
+
+Spain was at this time boasting of the enthusiasm of its armies, and of
+the immense force that it had in the field, and succeeded in persuading
+the English cabinet and the English people that with the help of a little
+money they could alone and unaided drive the French right across the
+frontier. The emptiness of this braggadocio, and the utter incapacity of
+the Spanish authorities and generals was now speedily exposed, for
+Napoleon's newly arrived armies scattered the Spaniards before them like
+sheep, and it was only on one or two occasions that anything like severe
+fighting took place. Within the space of three weeks there remained of the
+great armies of Spain but a few thousand fugitives hanging together
+without arms or discipline. Madrid, the centre of this pretended
+enthusiasm and patriotism, surrendered after a day's pretence at
+resistance, and the whole of the eastern provinces fell, practically
+without a blow, into the hands of the invaders.
+
+At present, however, Moore still hoped for some assistance from the
+Spaniards. He, like Baird, was crippled for want of money, but determined
+not to delay his march, and sent agents to Madrid and other places to make
+contracts and raise money; thus while the ministers at home squandered
+huge sums on the Spaniards, they left it to their own military commanders
+to raise money by means of loans to enable them to march. Never in the
+course of the military history of England were her operations so crippled
+and foiled by the utter incapacity of her government as in the opening
+campaigns of the Peninsular War.
+
+While Baird was vainly trying to obtain transport at Corunna, a
+reinforcement of some five thousand Spanish troops under General Romana
+landed at San Andero, and, being equipped from the British stores, joined
+the Spanish general, Blake, in Biscay. These troops had been raised for
+the French service at the time Napoleon's brother Joseph was undisputed
+King of Spain. They were stationed in Holland, and when the insurrection
+at home broke out, the news of the rising was sent to them, and in
+pursuance of a plan agreed upon they suddenly rose, marched down to a port
+and embarked in English ships sent to receive them, and were in these
+transported to the northern coast of Spain.
+
+Sir David Baird was a man of great energy, and, having succeeded in
+borrowing a little more money from Mr. Frere, he started on his march to
+join General Moore. He had with great difficulty hired some country carts
+at an exorbitant rate, but the number was so small that he was obliged to
+send up his force in half-battalions, and so was able to proceed but very
+slowly.
+
+Sir John Moore was still in utter ignorance of the situation in Spain. The
+jealousy among the generals, and the disinclination of the central Junta
+to appoint any one person to a post that might enable him to interfere
+with their intrigues, had combined to prevent the appointment of a
+commander-in-chief, and there was no one therefore with whom Sir John
+could open negotiations and learn what plans, if any, had been decided
+upon for general operations against the advancing enemy.
+
+On the day that Moore arrived at Almeida, Blake was in full flight,
+pursued by a French army 50,000 strong, and Napoleon was at Vittoria with
+170,000 troops.
+
+Of these facts he was ignorant, but the letters that he received from Lord
+William Bentinck and Colonel Graham, exposing the folly of the Spanish
+generals, reached him. On the 11th he crossed the frontier of Spain,
+marching to Ciudad-Rodrigo. On that day Blake was finally defeated, and
+one of the other armies completely crushed and dispersed. These events
+left a large French army free to act against the British. Sir John Moore,
+however, did not hear of this until a week later. He knew, however, that
+the situation was serious; and after all the reports of Spanish
+enthusiasm, he was astonished to find that complete apathy prevailed, that
+no effort was made to enroll the population, or even to distribute the
+vast quantity of British muskets stored up in the magazines of the cities.
+
+The general arrived at Salamanca with 4,000 British infantry. The French
+cavalry were at Valladolid, but three marches distant. On the 18th more
+troops had arrived, and on the 23d 12,000 infantry and six guns were at
+Salamanca. But Moore now knew of the defeat of Blake, and that the French
+army that had crushed him was free to advance against Salamanca. But he
+did not yet know of the utter dispersal of the Asturian army, or that the
+two armies of Castanos and Palafox were also defeated and scattered beyond
+any attempt at rallying, and that their conquerors were also free to march
+against him. Although ignorant of the force with which Napoleon had
+entered Spain, and having no idea of its enormous strength, he knew that
+it could not be less than 80,000 men, and that it could be joined by at
+least 30,000 more.
+
+His position was indeed a desperate one. Baird was still twenty marches
+distant, his cavalry and artillery still far away. It would require
+another five days to bring the rear of his own army to Salamanca, as only
+a small portion could come forward each day, owing to want of transport;
+and yet, while in this position of imminent danger, the Spanish
+authorities, through Mr. Frere and other agents, were violently urging an
+advance to Madrid.
+
+General Moore was indeed in a position of imminent danger; but the lying
+reports as to the strength of the Spanish army induced him for a moment to
+make preparations for such a movement. When, however, he learned the utter
+overthrow and dispersal of the whole of the Spanish armies, he saw that
+nothing remained but to fall back, if possible, upon Portugal.
+
+It was necessary, however, that he should remain at Salamanca until Hope
+should arrive with the guns, and the army be in a position to show a front
+to the enemy. Instructions had been previously sent to Hope to march to
+the Escurial. Hope had endeavoured to find a road across the mountains of
+Ciudad-Rodrigo, but the road was so bad that he dared not venture upon it,
+as the number of horses was barely sufficient to drag the guns and
+ammunition waggons along a good road. He therefore kept on his way until
+he reached the Escurial; but after advancing three days farther towards
+Madrid, he heard of the utter defeat of the Spaniards and the flight of
+their armies. His cavalry outposts brought in word that more than 4,000
+cavalry were but twelve miles away, and that other French troops were at
+Segovia and other places. The prospect of his making his way to join Sir
+John Moore seemed well-nigh hopeless; but, with admirable skill and
+resolution, Hope succeeded in eluding some of his foes, in checking others
+by destroying or defending bridges, and finally joined the main force
+without the loss of any of the important convoy of guns and ammunition
+that he was escorting.
+
+The satisfaction of the troops at the arrival of the force that had been
+regarded as lost was unbounded. Hitherto, unprovided as they were with
+artillery and cavalry, they could have fought only under such
+disadvantages as would render defeat almost inevitable, for an enemy could
+have pounded them with artillery from a distance beyond their musket
+range, and they could have made no effectual reply whatever. His cavalry
+could have circled round them, cut their communications, and charged down
+on their lines in flank and rear while engaged with his infantry. Now
+every man felt that once again he formed part of an army, and that that
+army could be relied upon to beat any other of equal numbers.
+
+Terence had enjoyed the march to Salamanca. The fine weather had broken
+up, and heavy rains had often fallen, but his thick coat kept him dry
+except in the steadiest downpours; while on one or two occasions only the
+general and his staff had failed to find quarters available. As they
+proceeded they gradually closed up with the troops forming a part of the
+same division, and at Almeida came under the command of General Fraser,
+whose division was made complete by their arrival. Up to this point the
+young aide-de-camp's duties had been confined solely to the work of the
+brigade--to seeing that the regiments kept their proper distances, that
+none of the waggons loitered behind, and that the roads were repaired,
+where absolutely necessary, for the baggage to pass.
+
+In the afternoon he generally rode forward with Major Errington, the
+quartermaster-general of the brigade, to examine the place fixed upon for
+the halt, to apportion the ground between the regiments, and ascertain the
+accommodation to be obtained in the village. Two orderlies accompanied
+them, each carrying a bundle of light rods. With these the ground was
+marked off, a card with the name of the regiment being inserted in a slit
+at the end of the rod; the village was then divided in four quarters for
+the accommodation of the officers. But beyond fixing the name of each
+regiment to the part assigned to it, no attempt was made to allot any
+special quarters to individual officers, this being left for the
+regimental quartermaster to do on the arrival of the troops.
+
+When the column came up Terence led each regiment to the spot marked off,
+and directed the baggage-waggons to their respective places. While he was
+doing this, Trevor, with the orderlies, saw the head-quarters baggage
+carried to the house chosen for the general's use, and that the place was
+made as comfortable as might be, and then endeavoured to add to the
+rations by purchases in the village. Fane himself always remained with the
+troops until the tents were erected, and they were under cover, the
+rations distributed, and the fires lighted. The latter operation was often
+delayed by the necessity of fetching wood from a distance, the wood in the
+immediate neighbourhood having been cut down and burned either by the
+French on their advance, or by the British regiments ahead.
+
+He then went to his quarters, where he received the reports of the
+medical, commissariat, and transport officers, wrote a report of the state
+of the road and the obstacles that he had encountered, and sent it back by
+an orderly to the officer commanding the six guns which were following a
+day's march behind him. These had been brought along with great labour, it
+being often necessary to take them off their carriages and carry them up
+or down difficult places, while the men were frequently compelled to
+harness themselves to ropes and aid the horses to drag the guns and
+waggons through the deep mud. Between the arrival of the troops and dinner
+Terence had his time to himself, and generally spent it with his regiment.
+
+"Never did I see such a country, Terence," O'Grady complained to him one
+day. "Go where you will in ould Oirland, you can always get a jugful of
+poteen, a potful of 'taties, and a rasher of bacon; and if it is a
+village, a fowl and eggs. Here there are not even spirits or wine; as for
+a chicken, I have not seen the feather of one since we started, and I
+don't believe the peasants would know an egg if they saw it."
+
+"Nonsense, O'Grady! If we were to go off the main road we should be able
+to buy all these things, barring the poteen, and maybe the potatoes, but
+you could get plenty of onions instead. You must remember that the French
+army came along here, and I expect they must have eaten nearly everything
+up on their way, and you may be sure that Anstruther's brigade gleaned all
+they left. As we marched from the Mondego we found the villagers well
+supplied--better a good deal than places of the same size would be in
+Ireland--except at our first halting-place."
+
+"I own that, although Hoolan sometimes fails to add to our rations, we
+have not been so badly off, Terence. He goes out with two or three more of
+the boys directly we halt, laving the other servants to get the tents
+ready, and he generally brings us half a dozen fish, sometimes a dozen,
+that he has got out of the stream.
+
+"He is an old hand, is Tim, and if he can't get them for dinner he gets
+them for breakfast. He catches them with night-lines and snares, and all
+sorts of poaching tricks. I know he bought a bag with four or five pounds
+of lime at Torres Vedras, and managed to smuggle it away in the regimental
+baggage. I asked him what it was for, and the rascal tipped me a wink, as
+much as to say, Don't ask no questions, master; and I believe that he
+drops a handful into a likely pool when he comes across one. I have never
+dared to ask him, for my conscience would not let me countenance such an
+unsportsmanlike way of getting round the fish."
+
+"I don't think that there is much harm in it under the present
+circumstances," Terence laughed. "It is not sport, but it is food. I am
+afraid, Tim, that you must have been poaching a good deal at home or you
+would never have thought of buying lime before starting on this march."
+
+"I would scorn to take in an Oirish fish, yer honour!" Hoolan said,
+indignantly. "But it seems to  me that as the people here are trating us
+in just as blackguardly a manner as they can, shure it is the least we can
+do to catch their fish any way we can, just to pay them off."
+
+"Well, looking at it in that light, Tim, I will say no more against the
+practice. I don't think I could bring myself to lime even Portuguese
+water, but my conscience would not trouble me at eating fish that had been
+caught by somebody else."
+
+"I will bear it in mind, yer honour, and next time we come on a good pool
+a dish of fine fish shall be left at your quarters, but yer honour must
+not mintion to the gineral where you got them from. Maybe his conscience
+in the matter of ateing limed fish would be more tender than your own, and
+it might get me into trouble."
+
+"I will take care about that, Tim; at any rate, I will try and manufacture
+two or three hooks, and when we halt for a day will try and do a little
+fishing on my own account."
+
+"I will make you two or three, Mr. O'Connor. I made a couple for Mr. Ryan,
+and he caught two beauties yesterday evening."
+
+"Thank you, Hoolan. Fond as I am of fishing, I wonder it did not strike me
+before. I can make a line by plaiting some office string, with twisted
+horse-hair instead of gut."
+
+"I expect that that is just what Mr. Ryan did, yer honour. I heard the
+adjutant using powerful language this morning because he could not find a
+ball of twine."
+
+After this Terence generally managed to get an hour's fishing before the
+evening twilight had quite faded away; and by the aid of a long rod cut on
+the river bank, a line manufactured by himself, and Hoolan's hook baited
+with worms, he generally contrived to catch enough fish to supplement the
+ordinary fare at the following morning's breakfast.
+
+"This is a welcome surprise, Trevor," the brigadier said the first time
+the fish appeared at table. "I thought I smelt fish frying, but I felt
+sure I must be mistaken. Where on earth did you get them from?"
+
+"It is not my doing, General, but O'Connor's. I was as much surprised as
+yourself when I saw Burke squatting over the fire frying three fine fish.
+I asked him where he had stolen them. He told me that Mr. O'Connor brought
+them in at eight o'clock yesterday evening."
+
+"Where did you get them from, O'Connor?"
+
+"I caught them in the stream that we crossed half a mile back, sir. I
+found a likely pool a few hundred yards down it, and an hour's work there
+gave me those three fish. They stopped biting as soon as it got dark."
+
+"What did you catch them with?"
+
+Terence explained the nature of his tackle.
+
+"Capital! You have certainly given us a very pleasant change of food, and
+I hope that you will continue the practice whenever there is a chance."
+
+"There ought often to be one, General. We cross half a dozen little
+mountain streams every day, and the villages are generally built close to
+one. I don't suppose I should have thought of it, if I had not found that
+some of the men of my regiment have been supplying the mess with them. I
+hope to do better in future, for going over the ground where some of the
+troops in front of us have bivouacked I came upon some white feathers
+blowing about, and I shall try to tie a fly. That ought to be a good deal
+more killing than a worm when the light begins to fade."
+
+"You have been a fisherman, then, at home?"
+
+"Yes, sir; I did a good deal of fishing round Athlone, and was taught to
+tie my own flies. I wish I had a packet of hooks--the two one of our
+fellows made for me are well enough for worms, but they are rather clumsy
+for flies."
+
+"I used to be fond of fishing myself," Fane said; "but I have always
+bought my tackle, and I doubt whether I should make much hand at it, if
+left to my own devices. We are not likely to be able to get any hooks till
+we get to Almeida, but I should think you would find some there."
+
+"I shall be able to get some wire to make them with, no doubt, sir."
+
+"I fancy after we have left Almeida you won't find many opportunities of
+fishing, O'Connor. We shall have other work on hand then, and shall, I
+hope, be able to buy what we want; at any rate, we shall have as good a
+chance of doing so as others, while along this road there is nothing to be
+had for love or money, and the peasants would no doubt be glad to sell us
+anything they have, but they are living on black bread themselves; and,
+indeed, the greater part have moved away to less-frequented places. No
+doubt they will come back again as soon as we have all passed, but how
+long they will be allowed to live in peace and quietness is more than I
+can say. As long as it is only our troops who come along they have nothing
+much to complain of, for they can sell everything they have to dispose of
+at prices they never dreamt of before; but they complain bitterly of the
+French, who ate their fruit and drank their wine, killed their pigs and
+fowls, appropriated their cattle and horses, and they thought themselves
+lucky to escape with their lives. You see there are very few men about
+here; they have all gone off to join one or other of the Portuguese
+bands."
+
+"I fancy these Portuguese fellows will turn out useful some day, General,"
+Major Errington said. "They are stout fellows, and though I don't think
+the townspeople would be of any good, the peasantry ought to make good
+soldiers if they were well drilled and led."
+
+"That is a very large if," Fane laughed. "I see no signs of any leader,
+and unless we could lend them a few hundred non-commissioned officers I
+don't see where their drill instructors are to come from. Still, I have
+more hope of them than I have of the Spaniards. Those men under Trant were
+never tried much under fire, but they certainly improved in discipline
+very much in the short time they were with us. If we could but get rid of
+all the Portuguese authorities and take the people in hand ourselves, we
+ought to be able to turn out fifty thousand good fighting troops in the
+course of a few months, but so long as things go on as they are I see no
+hope of any efficient aid from them."
+
+At Almeida Terence managed to procure some hooks. They were clumsily made,
+but greatly superior to anything that he could turn out himself. He was
+also able to procure some strong lines, but the use of flies seemed to be
+altogether unknown. However, during his stay he made half a dozen
+different patterns, and with these in a small tin box and a coil of line
+stowed away at the bottom of one of his holsters, he felt that if
+opportunity should occur he ought to be able to have fair sport. He had
+suffered a good deal during the heavy rains, which came on occasionally,
+from the fact that his infantry cloak was not ample enough to cover his
+legs when riding. He was fortunate enough here to be able to buy a pair of
+long riding-boots, and with these and a pair of thick canvas trousers,
+made by one of the regimental tailors, and coming down just below the
+knee, he felt that in future he could defy the rain.
+
+At Salamanca there were far better opportunities of the officers
+supplementing their outfits. Landing on the Mondego early in August, they
+had made provision against the heat, but had brought no outfit at all
+suited for wear in winter, and all seized the opportunity of providing
+themselves with warm under-garments, had linings sewn into greatcoats, and
+otherwise prepared for the cold which would shortly set in. The greater
+part of the troops were here quartered in the convents and other extensive
+buildings, and as Fane's brigade was one of the first to arrive they
+enjoyed a short period of well-earned rest. Terence had by this time
+picked up a good deal of Portuguese, and was able to make himself pretty
+well understood by the Spanish shopkeepers. He, as well as the other
+officers, was astonished and disgusted at the lethargy that prevailed
+when, as all now knew, the great Spanish armies were scattered to the
+winds, and large bodies of French troops were advancing in all directions
+to crush out the last spark of resistance.
+
+The officers of the Mayo Fusiliers had established a mess, and Terence
+often dined there. He was always eagerly questioned as to what was going
+to be done.
+
+"I can assure you, O'Grady," he said, one day, "that aides-de-camp are not
+admitted to the confidence of the officer commanding-in-chief. I know no
+more as to Sir John's intentions than the youngest drummer-boy. I suppose
+that everything will depend upon the weather, and whether General Hope,
+with the artillery and cavalry, manages to join us. If he does, I suppose
+we shall fight a battle before we fall back. If he does not, I suppose we
+shall have to fall back without fighting, if the French will let us."
+
+"I wish, Terence, you would give these lazy Spaniards a good fright, just
+as you gave the people at Athlone. Faith, I would give a couple of months'
+pay to see them regularly scared."
+
+"If I were not on the staff I might try it, O'Grady, but it would never do
+for me to try such a thing now."
+
+Dick Ryan, who was standing by, winked significantly, and in a short time
+he and Terence were talking eagerly together in a corner of the room.
+
+"Who is to know you are a staff-officer, Terence?" the latter urged.
+"Isn't it an infantry uniform that you are wearing? and ain't there
+hundreds of infantry officers here? It was good fun at Athlone, but I
+don't think that many of them believed there was any real danger. It would
+be altogether different here; they are scared enough as it is, though they
+walk about with their cloaks wrapped round them and pretend to be mighty
+confident."
+
+"Let us come and talk it over outside, Dick. It did not much matter before
+if it had been discovered we had a hand in it. Of course the colonel would
+have given us a wigging, but at heart he would have been as pleased at the
+joke as any of us. But it is a different affair here."
+
+Going out, they continued their talk and arranged their plans. Late the
+following night two English officers rushed suddenly into a drinking-shop
+close to the gate through which the road to Valladolid passed.
+
+"The French! the French!" one exclaimed. "Run for your lives and give the
+alarm!"
+
+The men all leapt to their feet, rushed out tumultuously, and scattered
+through the streets, shouting at the top of their voices: "The French are
+coming! the French are coming! Get up, or you will all be murdered in your
+beds!"
+
+The alarm spread like wildfire, and Terence and Ryan made their way back,
+by the shortest line, to the room where most of the officers were still
+sitting, smoking and chatting.
+
+"Any news, O'Connor?" the colonel asked.
+
+"Nothing that I have heard of, Colonel. I thought I would drop in for a
+cigar before turning in."
+
+A few minutes later Tim Hoolan entered.
+
+"There is a shindy in the town, your honour," he said to the colonel.
+"Meself does not know what it is about; but they are hallooing and bawling
+fit to kill themselves."
+
+One of the officers went to the window and threw it up.
+
+"Hoolan is right, Colonel; there is something the matter. There--" he
+broke off as a church bell pealed out with loud and rapid strokes.
+
+"That is the alarm, sure enough!" the colonel exclaimed. "Be off at once,
+gentlemen, and get the men up and under arms."
+
+"I must be off to the general's quarters!" Terence exclaimed, hastily
+putting on his greatcoat again.
+
+"The divil fly away with them," O'Grady grumbled, as he hastily finished
+the glass before him; "sorrow a bit of peace can I get at all, at all, in
+this bastely country."
+
+Terence hurried away to his quarters. A score of church bells were now
+pealing out the alarm. From every house men and women rushed out
+panic-stricken, and eagerly questioned each other. All sorts of wild
+reports were circulated.
+
+"The British outposts have been driven in; the Valladolid gate has been
+captured; Napoleon himself, with his whole army, is pouring into the
+town."
+
+The shrieks of frightened women added to the din, above which the British
+bugles calling the troops to arms could be heard in various quarters of
+the city.
+
+"Oh, here you are, Mr. O'Connor!" General Fane exclaimed, as he hurried
+in. "Mr. Trevor has just started for the convent; he may be intercepted,
+and therefore do you carry the same message; the brigade is to get under
+arms at once, and to remain in readiness for action until I arrive. From
+what I can gather from these frightened fools, the French have already
+entered the town. If the convent is attacked, it is to be defended until
+the last. I am going to head-quarters for orders."
+
+A good deal alarmed at the consequences of the tumult that he and Dick
+Ryan had excited, Terence made his way through the streets at a run; his
+progress, however, was impeded by the crowd, many of whom seized him as he
+passed and implored him to tell them the news. He observed that not a
+weapon was to be seen among the crowd; evidently resistance was absolutely
+unthought of. Trevor had reached the convent before him. The four
+regiments had already gathered there under arms.
+
+"Have you any orders, Mr. O'Connor?" Colonel Corcoran asked, eagerly, for
+the Mayo Fusiliers happened to be formed up next the gate of the convent.
+
+"No, sir; only to repeat those brought by Mr. Trevor, as the general
+thought that he might be intercepted on the way. The troops are to remain
+here in readiness until he arrives. If attacked, they are to hold the
+convent until the last."
+
+"Have you seen any signs of the French?"
+
+"None, whatever, Colonel."
+
+"Did you hear any firing?"
+
+"No, sir; but there was such an uproar--what with the church bells,
+everyone shouting, and the women screaming--that I don't suppose I should
+have heard it unless it had been quite close."
+
+"We thought we heard musketry," the colonel replied, "but it might have
+been only fancy. There is such a hullabaloo in the city that we might not
+have heard the fire of small-arms, but I think that we must have heard
+artillery."
+
+In ten minutes Fane with his staff galloped in. "The brigade will march
+down towards the Valladolid gate," he said. "If you encounter any enemies,
+Colonel Corcoran you will at once occupy the houses on both sides of the
+street and open fire upon them from the windows and roofs; the other
+regiments will charge them. At present," he went on, as the colonel gave
+the order for the regiment to march, "we can obtain no information as to
+the cause of this uproar. An officer rode in, just as I was starting, from
+Anstruther's force, encamped outside the walls, asking for orders, and
+reporting that his outposts have seen no signs of the enemy. I believe it
+is a false alarm after all, and we are marching rather to reassure the
+populace than with any idea of meeting the enemy."
+
+The troops marched rapidly through the streets, making their way without
+ceremony through the terrified crowd. They had gone but a short distance
+when the bells of the churches one by one ceased their clamour, and a hush
+succeeded the din that had before prevailed. When the head of the column
+reached the gate, they saw Sir John Moore and his staff sitting there on
+horseback. Fane rode up to him for orders.
+
+"It is, as I fancied, wholly a false alarm," the general said. "How it
+could have started I have no idea. I have had another report from
+Anstruther; all is quiet at the outposts, and there is no sign whatever of
+the enemy. There is nothing to do but to march the troops back to
+barracks. However, I am not sorry, for possibly the scare may wake the
+authorities up to the necessity of taking some steps for the protection of
+the town."
+
+Terence rode back with General Fane to his quarters.
+
+"I cannot make out," Trevor said, as they went, "how the scare can have
+begun; everything was quiet enough. I was just thinking of turning in when
+we heard a shouting in the streets. In three minutes the whole town seemed
+to have gone mad, and I made sure that the French must be upon us; but I
+could not make out how they could have done so without our outposts giving
+the alarm. Where were you when it began?"
+
+"I was in the mess-room of the Mayos, when one of the servants ran in to
+say that there was a row. Directly afterwards the alarm-bells began to
+ring, the colonel at once gave orders for the regiment to be got under
+arms, and I ran back to the general for orders; and I must have passed you
+somewhere on the road. Did you ever see such cowards as these Spaniards?
+Though there are arms enough in the town for every man to bear a
+musket--and certainly the greater portion of them have weapons of some
+sort or other--I did not see a man with arms of any kind in his hand."
+
+
+"I noticed the same thing," Trevor said. "It is disgusting. It was evident
+that the sole thought that possessed them was as to their own wretched
+lives. I have no doubt that, if they could have had their will, they would
+have disarmed all our troops, in order that no resistance whatever should
+be offered. And yet only yesterday the fellows were all bragging about
+their patriotism, and the bravery that would be shown should the French
+make their appearance. It makes one sick to be fighting for such people."
+
+The following afternoon Terence went up to the convent.
+
+"Well, O'Connor, have you heard how it all began?" the colonel asked, as
+he went into the mess-room.
+
+"No one seems to know at all, Colonel. The authorities are making
+inquiries, but, as far as I have heard, nothing has taken place to account
+for it."
+
+"It reminds me," the colonel said, shutting one eye and looking fixedly at
+Terence, "of a certain affair that took place at Athlone."
+
+"I was thinking the same myself," Terence replied, quietly, "only the
+scare was a good deal greater here than it was there; besides, a good many
+of the townspeople in Athlone did turn out with guns in their hands,
+whereas here, I believe every man in the town hid his gun in his bed
+before running out."
+
+"I always suspected you of having a hand in that matter, Terence."
+
+"Did you, Colonel?" Terence said, in a tone of surprise. "Well, as,
+fortunately, I was sitting here when this row began, you cannot suspect me
+this time."
+
+"I don't know; you and Ryan came in together, which was suspicious in
+itself, and it was not two minutes after you had come in that the rumpus
+began. Just give me a wink, lad, if you had a finger in the matter. You
+know you are safe with me; besides, ain't you a staff-officer now, and
+outside my jurisdiction altogether?"
+
+"Well, Colonel, a wink does not cost anything," Terence said, "so here is
+to ye."
+
+He exchanged a wink with the colonel, who burst into a fit of laughter so
+loud that he startled all the other officers, who at once came up to hear
+the joke.
+
+"It is just a little story that Terence has been telling me," the colonel
+said, when he had recovered his breath, "about the scare last night, and
+how a young woman, with next to nothing on her, threw her arms round his
+neck and begged him to save her. The poor young fellow blushed up to his
+eyelids with the shame of it in the public streets!"
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE RETREAT
+
+O'Grady asked no questions, but presently whispered to Terence: "Faith, ye
+did it well, me boy."
+
+"Did what well, O'Grady?"
+
+"You need not tell me about it, Terence. I was expecting it. Didn't I
+spake to ye the day before about it, and didn't I feel sure that something
+would come of it? When that row began last night, I looked at you hard and
+saw you wink at that young spalpeen, Dicky Ryan; and sure all the time
+that we were standing there, formed up, I well-nigh burst the buttons off
+me coatee in holding in me laughter, when everyone else was full of
+excitement.
+
+"'Are you ill, O'Grady?' the colonel said, for I had to sit meself down on
+some steps and rock meself to and fro to aise meself. 'Is it sick ye are?'
+'A sudden pain has saised me, Colonel,' says I, 'but I will be all right
+in a minute.' 'Take a dram out of me flask,' says he; something must have
+gone wrong wid ye.' I took a drink--"
+
+"That I may be sure you did," Terence interrupted.
+
+"--And thin told him that I felt better; but as we marched down through
+the crowd and saw the fright of the men, and the women screaming in their
+night-gowns at the windows, faith, I well-nigh choked."
+
+"Have you spoken to Ryan about this absurd suspicion, O'Grady?"
+
+"I spoke to him, but I might as well have spoke to a brick wall. Divil a
+thing could I get out of him. How did you manage it at all, lad?"
+
+"How could I manage it?" Terence said, indignantly. "No, no, O'Grady; I
+know you did make some remark about that scare at Athlone, and said it
+would be fun to have one here. I was a little shocked at hearing such a
+thing from, as you often say, a superior officer, and it certainly appears
+to me that it was you who first broached the idea. So I have much more
+right to feel a suspicion that you had a hand in the carrying of it out
+than for you to suspect me."
+
+"Well, Terence," O'Grady said, in an insinuating way, "I won't ask you any
+questions now, and maybe some day when you have marched away from this
+place, you will tell me the ins and outs of the business."
+
+"Maybe, O'Grady, and perhaps you will also confess to me how you managed
+to bring the scare about."
+
+"Go along wid you, Terence, it is yourself knows better than anyone else
+that I had nothing to do with it, and I will never forgive you until you
+make a clean breast of it to me."
+
+"We shall see about it," Terence laughed. "Anyhow, if you allude to the
+subject again, I shall feel it my duty to inform the colonel of my reasons
+for suspecting that you were concerned in spreading those false reports
+last night."
+
+"It was first-rate, wasn't it?" Dick Ryan said, as he joined Terence, when
+the latter left the mess-room.
+
+"It was good fun, Dicky; but I tell you, for a time I was quite as much
+scared as anyone else. I never thought that it would have gone quite so
+far. When it came to all the troops turning out, and Sir John and
+everyone, I felt that there would be an awful row if we were ever found
+out."
+
+"It was splendid, Terence. I knew that we could not be found out when we
+had not told a soul. Did you ever see such a funk as the Spaniards were
+all in, and after all their bragging and the airs that they had given
+themselves. Our men were so savage at their cowardice, that I believe they
+would have liked nothing better than an order to pitch into them. And
+didn't the women yell and howl? It is the best lark we have ever had."
+
+"It is good fun to look back at, Dicky, but I shall be glad when we are
+out of this. The Spanish authorities are making all sorts of inquiries,
+and I have no doubt that they will get hold of some of the men in that
+wine-shop, and it will come out that two British officers started the
+alarm."
+
+"What if it did?" Ryan said. "There were only two wretched candles burning
+in the place, and they could not have got a fair sight at us, and indeed
+they all jumped up and bolted the moment we spoke. I will bet that there
+is not one among them who would be able to swear to us though we were
+standing before him; and I have no doubt if they were questioned every man
+would give a different account of what we were like. I have no fear that
+they will ever find us out. Still, I shall be glad when we are out of this
+old place. Not because I am afraid about our share in that business being
+discovered, but we have been here nearly a fortnight now, and as we know
+there is a strong French force within ten miles of us, I think that it is
+about time that the fun began. You don't think that we are going to
+retreat, do you?"
+
+"I don't know any more about it than you do, Dicky; but I feel absolutely
+sure that we shall retreat. I don't see anything else for us to do. Every
+day fresh news comes in about the strength of the French, and as the
+Spanish resistance is now pretty well over, and Madrid has fallen, they
+will all be free to march against us; and even when Hope has joined us we
+shall only be about 20,000 strong, and they have, at the least, ten times
+that force. I thing we shall be mighty lucky if we get back across the
+frontier into Portugal before they are all on us."
+
+Sir John Moore, however, was not disposed to retire without doing
+something for the cause of Spain. The French armies had not yet penetrated
+into the southern provinces, and he nobly resolved to make a movement that
+would draw the whole strength of the French towards him, and give time for
+the Spaniards in the south to gather the remains of their armies together
+and organize a resistance to the French advance. In view of the number and
+strength of the enemy, no more heroic resolution was ever taken by a
+military commander, and it was all the more to be admired, inasmuch as he
+could hope to win no victory that would cover himself and his army with
+glory, no success that would satisfy the public at home, and at best he
+could but hope, after long, fatiguing, and dangerous marches, to effect
+his retreat from the overwhelming forces that would be hurled against him.
+
+While remaining at Salamanca, Sir John, foreseeing that a retreat into
+Portugal must be finally carried out, took steps to have magazines
+established on two of the principal routes to the coast, that a choice
+might be left open to him by which to retire when he had accomplished his
+main object of diverting the great French wave of invasion from the south.
+
+On the 11th of December the march began, and for the next ten days the
+army advanced farther and farther into the country. So far Moore had only
+Soult's army opposing his advance towards Burgos, and it might be possible
+to strike a heavy blow at that general before Napoleon, who was convinced
+that the British must fall back into Portugal if they had not already
+begun to do so, should come up. He had been solemnly assured that he
+should be joined by Romana with 14,000 picked men, but that general had
+with him but 5,000 peasants, who were in such a miserable condition that
+when the British reached the spot where the junction was to be effected,
+he was ashamed to show them, and marched away into Leon.
+
+The British, in order to obtain forage, were obliged to move along several
+lines of route. Sir David Baird's division joined them as they advanced,
+and when they reached the Carrion their effective force amounted to 23,583
+men, with sixty pieces of artillery. On the French side, Soult had--on
+hearing of the British advance to the north-east, by which, if successful,
+they would cut the French lines of communication between Madrid and the
+frontier--called up all his detached troops, and wrote to the governor of
+Burgos to divert to his assistance all troops coming along the road from
+France, whatever their destination might be.
+
+On the 21st Lord Paget, with the 10th and 15th Hussars, surprised a French
+cavalry force at Sahagun, and ordered the 15th to turn their position and
+endeavour to cut them off. When with the 10th Hussars Lord Paget arrived
+in the rear of the village, he found six hundred French dragoons drawn up
+and ready to attack him. He at once charged and broke them and pursued
+them for some distance. Twenty were killed, thirteen officers and 154 men
+taken prisoners. On the 23d, Soult had concentrated his forces at the town
+of Carrion, and that night the British troops were got in motion to attack
+them, the two forces being about even in numbers; but scarcely had he
+moved forward when reports, both from Romana and his own spies, reached
+Sir John Moore to the effect that his march had achieved the object with
+which it was undertaken. Orders had been sent by Napoleon for the whole of
+the French armies to move at once against the British, while he himself,
+with the troops at Madrid, 70,000 strong, had started by forced marches to
+fall upon him.
+
+The instant Moore received this information he arrested the forward
+movement of his troops. His object had been attained. The French invasion
+of the south was arrested, and time given to the Spaniards. There was
+nothing now but to fall back with all speed. It was well indeed that he
+did not carry out his intention of attacking Soult. The latter had that
+day received orders from the emperor not to give battle, but to fall back,
+and so tempt Moore to pursue, in which case his line of retreat would have
+been intercepted and his army irretrievably lost.
+
+The order to retreat was an unwelcome one indeed to the troops. For twelve
+days they had marched through deep snow and suffered fatigues, privations,
+and hardships. That evening they had expected to be repaid for their
+exertions by a battle and a victory on the following morning, and the
+order to retreat, coming at such a moment, was a bitter disappointment
+indeed.
+
+They were, of course, ignorant of the reasons for this sudden change, and
+the officers shared the discontent of the troops, a feeling that largely
+accounted for the disorders and losses that took place during the retreat.
+
+Napoleon led his troops north with his usual impetuosity. The deep snow
+choked the passes through the mountains. The generals, after twelve hours
+of labour, reported the roads impracticable, but Napoleon placed himself
+at the head of the column, and, amidst a storm of snow and driving hail,
+led them over the mountain. With tremendous efforts he reached Desillas on
+the 26th; while Houssaye entered Valladolid on the same day, and Ney, with
+the 6th corps, arrived at Rio Seco.
+
+Full of hope that he had caught the British, the emperor pushed on towards
+Barras, only to find that he was twelve hours too late. Moore had, the
+instant he received the news, sent back the heavy baggage with the main
+body of infantry, himself following more slowly with the light brigade and
+cavalry, the latter at times pushing parties up to the enemy's line and
+skirmishing with his outposts to prevent Soult from suspecting that the
+army had retreated. On the 26th the whole army, moving by different
+routes, approached the river Esla, which they crossed in a thick fog,
+which greatly hindered the operation. A brigade remained on the left bank
+to protect the passage, for the enemy's cavalry were already close at
+hand, and Soult was hotly pressing in pursuit.
+
+A strong body of horse belonging to the emperor's army intercepted Lord
+Paget near Mayorga, but two squadrons of the 10th Hussars charged up the
+rising ground on which they had posted themselves, and, notwithstanding
+their disadvantage in numbers and position, killed twenty and took a
+hundred prisoners. Moore made but a short pause on the Esla, for that
+position could be turned by the forces advancing from the south. He
+waited, therefore, only until he could clear out his magazines, collect
+his stragglers, and send forward his baggage. He ordered the bridge by
+which the army had crossed to be broken down, and left Crawford to perform
+this duty.
+
+Short as the retreat had been, it had already sufficed to damage most
+seriously the morale of the army. The splendid discipline and order that
+had been shown during the advance was now gone; many of the regimental
+officers altogether neglected their duties, and the troops were
+insubordinate. Great numbers straggled, plundered the villages, and
+committed excesses of all sorts, and already the general had been forced
+to issue an order reproaching the army for its conduct, and appealing to
+the honour of the soldiers to second his efforts. Valiant in battle,
+capable of the greatest efforts on the march, hardy in enduring fatigue
+and the inclemency of weather, the British soldier always deteriorates
+rapidly when his back is turned to the enemy. Confident in his bravery,
+regarding victory as assured, he is unable to understand the necessity for
+retreat, and considers himself degraded by being ordered to retire, and
+regards prudence on the part of his general as equivalent to cowardice.
+
+The armies of Wellington deteriorated with the same rapidity as this
+force, when upon two occasions it was necessary to retreat when threatened
+by overwhelming forces; and yet, however disorganized, the British soldier
+recovers his discipline the instant he is attacked, and fiercely turns
+upon his pursuers. At the bridge across the Esla two privates of the 3d
+gave an example of splendid courage and determination. It was night. Some
+of the baggage was still on the farther bank, and the two men were posted
+as sentries beyond the bridge, their orders being that if an enemy
+appeared, one should fire and then run back to the bridge and shout to
+warn the guard whether the enemy were in force or not. The other was to
+maintain his post as long as possible.
+
+
+[Illustration: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE? WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM OUT
+OF THEIR BOOTS IN NO TIME]
+
+
+During the night the light cavalry of the imperial guard rode down.
+Jackson, one of the sentries, fired and ran back to give the alarm. He was
+overtaken, and received over a dozen sabre cuts; nevertheless he staggered
+on until he reached the bridge, and gave the signal. Walton, the other
+sentry, with equal resolution stood his ground and wounded several of his
+assailants, who, as they drew off, left him unhurt, although his cap,
+knapsack, belt, and musket were cut in over twenty places, and his bayonet
+bent double.
+
+Terence O'Connor's duties had been light enough during the advance, but
+during the three days of the retreat to the Esla he had been incessantly
+occupied. He and Trevor had both been directed to ride backwards and
+forwards along the line of the brigade to see that there was no straggling
+in the ranks, and that the baggage carts in the rear kept close up. The
+task was no easy one, and was unpleasant as well as hard. Many of the
+officers plodded sulkily along, paying no attention whatever to their men,
+allowing them to straggle as they chose; and they were obliged to report
+several of the worst cases to the brigadier. With the Mayo Fusiliers they
+had less trouble than with others. Terence had, when he joined them at
+their first halt after the retreat began, found them as angry and
+discontented as the rest at the unexpected order, and was at once assailed
+with questions and complaints.
+
+He listened to them quietly, and then said:
+
+"Of course, if you all prefer a French prison to a few days' hard
+marching, you have good reason to grumble at being baulked in your wishes;
+that is all I have to say about it."
+
+"What do you mean, Terence?" O'Grady asked, angrily. "Soult's force was
+not stronger than ours, at least so we heard; and if it had been it would
+make no difference, we would have thrashed them out of their boots in no
+time."
+
+"I dare say we should, O'Grady, and what then?"
+
+"Well, I don't know what then," O'Grady said, after a moment's silence;
+"that would have been the general's business."
+
+"Quite so; and so is this. There you would have been with perhaps a couple
+of thousand wounded and as many French prisoners, and Napoleon with 60,000
+men or so, and Ney with as many more, and Houssaye with his cavalry
+division, all in your rear cutting you off from the sea. What would have
+been your course then?"
+
+A general silence fell upon the officers.
+
+"Is that so?" the colonel asked at last.
+
+"That is so," Terence said, gravely. "All these and other troops are
+marching night and day to intercept us. It is no question of fighting now.
+Victory over Soult, so far from being of any use, would only have burdened
+us with wounded and prisoners, and even a day's delay would be absolutely
+fatal. As it is, it is a question whether we shall have time to get back
+to the coast before they are all posted in our front. Every hour is of the
+greatest importance. You all know that we have talked over lots of times
+how dangerous our position is. General Fane told us, when the orders to
+retreat were issued, that he believed the peril to be even more imminent
+than we thought. We all know when we marched north from Salamanca, that,
+without a single Spaniard to back us, all that could be hoped for was to
+aid Saragossa and Seville and Cadiz to gather the levies in the south and
+prepare for defence, and that erelong we should have any number of enemies
+upon us. That is what has precisely happened, and now there is grumbling
+because the object has been attained, and that you are not allowed to
+fight a battle that, whether won or lost, would equally ruin us."
+
+"Sure ye are right," O'Grady said, warmly, "and we are a set of omadhouns.
+You have sense in your head, Terence, and there is no gainsaying you. I
+was grumbling more than the rest of them, but I won't grumble any more.
+Still, I suppose that there is no harm in hoping we shall have just a bit
+of fighting before we get back to Portugal."
+
+"We shall be lucky if we don't have a good deal of fighting, O'Grady, and
+against odds that will satisfy even you. As to Portugal, there is no
+chance of our getting there. Ney will certainly cut that road, and the
+emperor will, most likely, also do so, as you can see for yourself on the
+map."
+
+"Divil a map have I ever looked at since I was at school," O'Grady said.
+"Then if we can't get back to Portugal, where shall we get to?"
+
+"To one of the northern seaports; of course, I don't know which has been
+decided upon; I don't suppose the general himself has settled that yet. It
+must depend upon the roads and the movements of the enemy, and whether
+there is a defensible position near the port that we can hold in case the
+fleet and transports cannot be got there by the time we arrive."
+
+"Faith, Terence, ye're a walking encyclopeydia. You have got the matter at
+your finger ends."
+
+"I don't pretend to know any more than anyone else," Terence said, with a
+laugh. "But of course I hear matters talked over at the brigade mess. I
+don't think that Fane knows more of the general's absolute plans than you
+do. I dare say the divisional generals know, but it would not go further.
+Still, as Fane and Errington and Dowdeswell know something about war
+besides the absolute fighting, they can form some idea as to the plans
+that will be adopted."
+
+"Well, Terence," the colonel said, "I didn't think the time was coming so
+soon when I was going to be instructed by your father's son, but I will
+own that you have made me feel that I have begun campaigning too late in
+life, and that you have given me a lesson."
+
+"I did not mean to do that, Colonel," Terence said, a good deal abashed.
+"It was O'Grady I was chiefly speaking to."
+
+"Your supeyrior officer!" O'Grady murmured.
+
+"My superior officer, certainly," Terence went on, with a smile; "but who,
+having, as he says, never looked at a map since he left school--while I
+have naturally studied one every evening since we started from Torres
+Vedras--can therefore know no more about the situation than does Tim
+Hoolan. But I certainly never intended my remarks to apply to you,
+Colonel."
+
+"They hit the mark all the same, lad, and the shame is mine and not yours.
+I think you have done us all good. One doesn't care when one is retreating
+for a good reason, but when one marches for twelve days to meet an enemy,
+and then, when just close to him, one turns one's back and runs away, it
+is enough to disgust an Englishman, let alone an Irishman. Well, boys, now
+we see it is all right, we will do our duty as well on the retreat as we
+did on the advance, and divil a grumble shall there be in my hearing."
+
+From that moment, therefore, the Mayo Fusiliers were an example to the
+brigade. Any grumble in the ranks was met with a cheerful "Whist, boys! do
+you think that you know the general's business better than he does
+himself? It is plenty of fighting you are likely to get before you have
+done, never fear. Now is the time, boys, to get the regiment a good name.
+The general knows that we can fight. Now let him see that we can wait
+patiently till we get another chance. Remember, the better temper you are
+in, the less you will feel the cold."
+
+So, laughing and joking, and occasionally breaking into a song, the Mayo
+Fusiliers pushed steadily forward, and the colonel that evening
+congratulated the men that not one had fallen out.
+
+"Keep that up, boys," he said. "It will be a proud day for me when we get
+to our journey's end, wherever that may be, to be able to say to the
+brigadier: 'Except those who have been killed by the enemy, here is my
+regiment just as it was when it started from the Carrion--not a man has
+fallen out, not a man has straggled away, not a man has made a baste of
+himself and was unfit to fall in the next morning.' I know them," he said
+to O'Driscol, as the regiment was dismissed from parade. "They will not
+fall out, they will not straggle, but if they come to a place where wine's
+in plenty, they will make bastes of themselves; and after all," he added,
+"after the work they have gone through, who is to blame them?"
+
+At the halt the next evening at Bembibre the colonel's forebodings that
+the men could not be trusted where liquor was plentiful were happily not
+verified. There were immense wine-vaults in the town. These were broken
+open, and were speedily crowded by disbanded Spaniards, soldiers,
+camp-followers, muleteers, women and children--the latter taking refuge
+there from the terrible cold. The rear-guard, to which the Mayo regiment
+had been attached the evening before, found that Baird's division had gone
+on, but that vast numbers of drunken soldiers had been left behind.
+General Moore was himself with the rear-guard, and the utmost efforts were
+made to induce the drunkards to rejoin their regiments. He himself
+appealed to the troops, instructing the commanders of the different
+regiments to say that he relied implicitly upon the soldiers to do their
+duty. The French might at any moment be up, and every man must be in his
+ranks. No men were to fall out or to enter any wine-house or cellar, but
+each should have at once a pint of wine served out to him, and as much
+more before they marched in the morning.
+
+After the colonel read out this order, he supplemented it by saying, "Now,
+boys, the credit of the regiment is at stake. It is a big honour that has
+been paid you in choosing you to join the rear-guard, and you have got to
+show that you deserve it. As soon as it can be drawn, you will have your
+pint of wine each, which will be enough to warm your fingers and toes.
+Wait here in the ranks till you have drunk your wine and eaten some of the
+bread in your haversacks, and by that time I will see what I can do for
+you. You will have another pint before starting; but mind, though I hope
+there isn't a mother's son who would bring discredit on the regiment, I
+warn you that I shall give the officers instructions to shoot down any man
+who wanders from the ranks in search of liquor. The French may be here in
+half an hour after we have started, and it is better to be shot than to be
+sabred by a French dragoon, which will happen surely enough to every baste
+who has drunk too much to go on with the troops."
+
+Only a few murmurs were heard at the conclusion of the speech.
+
+"Now, gentlemen," the colonel said, "will half a dozen of you see to the
+wine. Get hold of some of those fellows loafing about there and make them
+roll out as many barrels as will supply a pint to every man in the
+regiment, ourselves as well as the men. O'Grady, take Lieutenant Horton
+and Mr. Haldane and two sergeants with you. Here is my purse. Go through
+the town and get some bread and anything else in the way of food that you
+can lay your hands upon. And, if you can, above all things get some
+tobacco."
+
+O'Grady's search was for a time unsuccessful, as the soldiers and
+camp-followers had already broken into the shops and stores. In an
+unfrequented street, however, they came across a large building. He
+knocked at the door with the hilt of his sword. It was opened after a time
+by an old man.
+
+"What house is this?"
+
+"It is a tobacco factory," he replied.
+
+"Be jabers, we have come to the right place. I want about half a ton of
+it. We are not robbers, and I will pay for what we take." Then another
+idea struck him. "Wait a moment, I will be back again in no time. Horton,
+do you stay here and take charge of the men. I am going back to the
+colonel."
+
+He found on reaching the regiment that the men were already drinking their
+wine and eating their bread.
+
+"I am afraid I shall never keep them, O'Grady," the colonel said,
+mournfully. "It is scarcely in human nature to see men straggling about as
+full as they can hold, and know that there is liquor to be had for taking
+it and not to go for it."
+
+"It is all right, Colonel. I know that we can never keep the men if we
+turn them into the houses to sleep; but I have found a big building that
+will hold the whole regiment, and the best of it is that it is a tobacco
+factory. I expect it is run by the authorities of the place, and as we are
+doing what we can for them, they need not grudge us what we take; and
+faith, the boys will be quiet and contented enough, so that they do but
+get enough to keep their pipes going, and know that they will march in the
+morning with a bit in their knapsacks."
+
+"The very thing, O'Grady! Pass the word for the regiment to fall in the
+instant they have finished their meal."
+
+It was not long before they were ready, and in a few minutes, guided by
+O'Grady, the head of the regiment reached the building.
+
+"Who is the owner of this place?" the colonel asked the old man, who, with
+a lantern in his hand, was still standing at the door.
+
+"The Central Junta of the Province has of late taken it, your Excellency."
+
+"Good! Then we will be the guests of the Central Junta of the Province for
+the night." Then he raised his voice, "Boys, here is a warm lodging for
+you for the night, and tobacco galore for your pipes; and, for those who
+haven't got them, cigars. Just wait until I have got some lights, and then
+file inside in good order."
+
+There was no difficulty about this, for the factory was in winter worked
+long after dark set in. In a very few minutes the place was lighted up
+from end to end. The troops were then marched in and divided amongst the
+various rooms.
+
+"Now, boys, tell the men to smoke a couple of pipes, and then to lie down
+to sleep. In the morning each man can put as much tobacco into his
+knapsack and pockets as they will hold, and when we halt they can give
+some of it away to regiments that have not been as lucky as themselves."
+
+The men sat down in the highest state of satisfaction. Boxes of cigars
+were broken open, and in a couple of minutes almost every man and officer
+in the regiment had one alight in his mouth. There were few, however, who
+got beyond one cigar; the warmth of the place after their long march in
+the snow speedily had its effect, and in half an hour silence reigned in
+the factory, save for a murmur of voices in one of the lower rooms where
+the officers were located.
+
+"O'Grady, you are a broth of a boy," the colonel said. "The men have
+scarce had a smoke for the last week, and it will do them a world of good.
+We have got them all under one roof, and there is no fear that anyone will
+want to get out, and they will fall in in the morning as fresh as paint.
+Half an hour before bugle-call three or four of you had best turn out with
+a dozen men, and roll up enough barrels from the vaults to give them the
+drink promised to them, before starting. Who will volunteer?"
+
+Half a dozen officers at once offered to go, and a captain and three
+lieutenants were told off for the work.
+
+"They know how to make cigars, if they don't know anything else," Captain
+O'Driscol said; "this is a first-rate weed."
+
+"So it ought to be by the brand," another officer said. "I took the two
+boxes from a cupboard that was locked up. There are a dozen more like
+them, and I thought it was as well to take them out; they are at present
+under the table. I have no doubt that they are real Havannas, and have
+probably been got for some grandee or other."
+
+"He will have to do without them," O'Grady said, calmly, as he lighted his
+second cigar; "they are too good for any Spaniard under the sun. And,
+moreover, if we did not take them you may be sure that the French would
+have them to-morrow, and I should say that the Central Junta of the
+Province will be mighty pleased to know that the tobacco was smoked by
+their allies instead of by the French."
+
+"I don't suppose that they will care much about it one way or another,"
+O'Driscol remarked; "their pockets are so full of English gold that the
+loss of a few tons of tobacco won't affect them much. I enjoy my cigar
+immensely, and have the satisfaction of knowing that for once I have got
+something out of a Spaniard--it is the first thing since I landed."
+
+"Well, boys, we had better be off to sleep," the colonel said. "I am so
+sleepy that I can hardly keep my eyes open, and you ought to be worse, for
+you have tramped well-nigh forty miles to-day. See that the sentry at the
+door keeps awake, Captain Humphrey; you are officer of the day; upon my
+word I am sorry for you. Tell him he can light up if he likes, but if he
+sees an officer coming round he must get rid of it. Mind the sentries are
+changed regularly, for I expect that we shall sleep so soundly that if all
+the bugles in the place were sounding an alarm we should not hear them."
+
+"All right, Colonel! I have got Sergeant Jackson in charge of the reliefs
+in the passage outside, and I think that I can depend upon him, but I will
+tell him to wake me up whenever he changes the sentries. I don't say I
+shall turn out myself, but as long as he calls me I shall know that he is
+awake, and that it is all right. I had better tell him to call you half an
+hour before bugle-call, Sullivan, so that you can wake the others and get
+the wine here; he mustn't be a minute after the half-hour. Thank goodness,
+we don't have to furnish the outposts to-night."
+
+In ten minutes all were asleep on the floor, wrapped in their greatcoats,
+the officer of the day taking his place next the door so that he could be
+roused easily. Every hour one or other of the two non-commissioned
+officers in charge of the guard in the passage opened the door a few
+inches and said softly, "I am relieving the sentries, sir;" and each time
+the officer murmured assent.
+
+Sullivan was called at the appointed time, got up, and stretched himself,
+grumbling:
+
+"I don't believe that I have been asleep ten minutes."
+
+On going out into the passage, however, where a light was burning, his
+watch told him that it was indeed time to be moving. He woke the others,
+and with the men went down to the cellars. Here the scene of confusion was
+great; drunken men lay thickly about the floor, others sat, cup in hand,
+talking, or singing snatches of song, Spanish or English. Hastily picking
+out enough unbroken casks for the purpose, he set the men to carry them up
+to the street, and they were then rolled along to the factory. Just as
+they reached the door the bugle-call sounded; the men were soon on their
+feet, refreshed by a good night's sleep. The casks were broached, and the
+wine served out.
+
+"It is awful, Colonel," Sullivan said. "There will be hundreds of men left
+behind. There must have been over that number in the cellar I went into,
+and there are a dozen others in the town. I never saw such a disgusting
+scene."
+
+Scarcely had they finished when the assemble sounded, and the regiment at
+once fell-in outside the factory, every man with knapsack and haversack
+bulging out with tobacco. They then joined the rest of the troops in the
+main street. General Moore had made a vain attempt to rouse the besotted
+men. A few of those least overcome joined the rear-guard, but the greater
+number were too drunk to listen to orders, or even to the warning that the
+French would be into the town as soon as the troops marched out.
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CORUNNA
+
+As the confusion in the streets increased from the pouring out from the
+houses and cellars of the camp-followers--women and children, together
+with men less drunk than their comrades, but still unable to walk
+steadily--who filled the air with shouts and drunken execrations, Colonel
+Corcoran rode along the line.
+
+"Just look at that, boys," he said. "Isn't it better for you to be
+standing here like dacent men, ready to do your duty, than to be rolling
+about in a state like those drunken blackguards, for the sake of half an
+hour's pleasure? Sure it is enough to make every mother's son of you swear
+off liquor till ye get home again. When the French get inside the town
+there is not one of the drunken bastes that won't be either killed or
+marched away a thousand miles to a French prison, and all for half an
+hour's drink."
+
+The lesson was indeed a striking one, and careless as many of the men
+were, it brought home to them with greater force than ever before in their
+lives, not only the folly but the degradation of drunkenness. A few
+minutes later, General Moore, who was riding up and down the line,
+inspecting the condition of the men in each regiment, came along.
+
+"Your men look very well, Colonel," he said, as he reached the Fusiliers.
+"How many are you short of your number?"
+
+"Not a man, General; I am happy to say that there was not a single one
+that did not answer when his name was called."
+
+"That is good, indeed," the general said, warmly. "I am happy to say that
+all the regiments of the rear-guard have turned out well, and shown
+themselves worthy of the trust reposed in them; none, however, can give so
+good a report as you have done. I selected your regiment to strengthen
+this division from the excellent order that I observed you kept along the
+line of march, and I am glad indeed that it has shown itself so worthy of
+the honour. March your regiment across to the side of the street, let the
+others pass you, and fall in at the rear of the column. I shall give the
+Mayo Fusiliers the post of honour, as a mark of my warm approbation for
+the manner in which they have turned out."
+
+Scarcely had the troops left the town when the French cavalry poured in.
+Now that it was too late, the sense of danger penetrated the brains of the
+revellers, and the mob of disbanded Spanish and British soldiers and
+camp-followers poured out from the cellars. Few of the soldiers had the
+sense even to bring up their muskets. Most of those who did so were too
+drunk to use them, and the French troopers rode through the mob, sabring
+them right and left, and trampling them under foot, and then, riding
+forward without a pause, set out in pursuit of the retiring columns. As
+they came clattering along the road the colonel ordered the last two
+companies to halt, and when the head of the squadron was within fifty
+yards of them, and the troopers were beginning to check their horses, a
+heavy volley was poured in, which sent them to the right-about as fast as
+they had come, and emptied a score of saddles. Then the two companies
+formed fours again, and went on at the double until they reached the rear
+of the column.
+
+All day the French cavalry menaced the retreat, until Lord Paget came back
+with a regiment of hussars and drove them back in confusion, pursuing them
+a couple of miles, with the view of discovering whether they were followed
+by infantry. Such, however, was not the case, and the column was not
+further molested until they reached Cacabolos, where they were halted. The
+rest of the army had moved on, the troops committing excesses similar to
+those that had taken place at Bembibre, and plundering the shops and
+houses.
+
+The division marched over a deep stream crossed by a stone bridge, and
+took up their ground on a lofty ridge, the ascent being broken by
+vineyards and stone walls. Four hundred men of the rifles and as many
+cavalry were posted on a hill two miles beyond the river to watch the
+roads. They had scarcely taken their post when the enemy were seen
+approaching, preceded by six or eight squadrons of cavalry. The rifles
+were at once withdrawn, and the cavalry, believing that the whole French
+army was advancing, presently followed them, and, riding fast, came up to
+the infantry just as they were crossing the bridge.
+
+Before all the infantry were over the French cavalry came down at a
+furious gallop, and for a time all was confusion. Then the rifles,
+throwing themselves among the vineyards and behind the walls, opened a
+heavy fire. The French general in command of the cavalry was killed, with
+a number of his troops, and the rest of the cavalry fell back. A regiment
+of light infantry had followed them across the bridge, and two companies
+of the 52d and as many of the Mayo regiment went down the hill and
+reinforced the rifles. A sharp fight ensued until the main body of the
+French infantry approached the bridge. A battery of artillery opened upon
+them, and seeing the strength of the British division, and believing that
+the whole army was before him, Soult called back his troops. The
+voltigeurs retired across the bridge again, and the fight came to an end.
+Between two and three hundred men had been killed or wounded.
+
+As soon as night came on the British force resumed its march, leaving two
+companies of the rifles as piquets at the bridge. The French crossed again
+in the night, but after some fighting, fell back again without having been
+able to ascertain whether the main body of the defenders of the position
+were still there. Later on the rifles fell back, and at daybreak rejoined
+the main body of the rear-guard, which had reached Becerrea, eighteen
+miles away. Here General Moore received the report from the engineers he
+had sent to examine the harbours, and they reported in favour of Corunna,
+which possessed facilities for defence which were lacking at Vigo.
+Accordingly he sent off orders to the fleet, which was lying at the latter
+port, to sail at once for Corunna, and directed the various divisions of
+the army to move on that town.
+
+The rear-guard passed the day without moving, enjoying a welcome rest
+after the thirty-six miles they had covered the day before. By this march
+they had gained a long start of the enemy and had in the evening reached
+the town the division before them had quitted that morning. The scene as
+they marched along was a painful one. Every day added to the numbers of
+the stragglers. The excesses in drink exhausted the strength of the troops
+far more than did the fatigue of the marches. Their shoes were worn out;
+many of them limped along with rags tied round their feet. Even more
+painful than the sight of these dejected and worn-out men was that of the
+camp-followers. These, in addition to their terrible hardships and
+fatigue, were worn out with hunger, and almost famished. Numbers of them
+died by the roadside, others still crawled on in silent misery.
+
+Nothing could be done to aid these poor creatures. The troops themselves
+were insufficiently fed, for the evil conduct of the soldiers who first
+marched through the towns defeated all the efforts of the commissariat;
+for they had broken into the bakers' shops and so maltreated the
+inhabitants that the people fled in terror, and no bread could be obtained
+for the use of the divisions in the rear. Towards evening the next day the
+reserve approached Constantina. The French were now close upon their rear.
+A bridge over a river had to be crossed to reach the town, and as there
+was a hill within a pistol-shot of the river, from which the French
+artillery could sweep the bridge, Sir John Moore placed the riflemen and
+artillery on it. The enemy, believing that he intended to give battle,
+halted, and before their preparations could be made the troops were across
+the bridge, and were joined by the artillery, which had retired at full
+speed.
+
+The French advanced and endeavoured to take the bridge. General Paget,
+however, held the post with two regiments of cavalry, and then fell back
+to Lugo, where the whole army was now assembled. The next day Sir John
+Moore issued an order strongly condemning the conduct of the troops, and
+stating that he intended to give battle to the enemy. The news effected an
+instant transformation. The stragglers who had left their regiments and
+entered the town by twos and threes at once rejoined their corps. Fifteen
+hundred men had been lost during the retreat, of whom the number killed
+formed but a small proportion. But the army still amounted to its former
+strength, as it was here joined by two fresh battalions, who had been left
+at Lugo by General Baird on his march from the coast. The force therefore
+numbered 19,000 men; for it had been weakened by some 4,000 of the light
+troops having, early in the retreat, been directed towards other ports, in
+order to lessen as far as possible the strain on the commissariat.
+
+The position was a strong one, and when Soult at mid-day came up at the
+head of 12,000 men he saw at once that until his whole force arrived he
+could not venture to attack it. Like the British, his troops had suffered
+severely from the long marches, and many had dropped behind altogether.
+Uncertain whether he had the whole of the British before him, he sent a
+battery of artillery and some cavalry forward; when the former opened
+fire, they were immediately silenced by a reply from fifteen pieces. Then
+he made an attack upon the right, but was sharply repulsed with a loss of
+from three to four hundred men; and, convinced now that Moore was ready to
+give battle with his whole force, he drew off.
+
+The next day both armies remained in their positions. Soult had been
+joined by Laborde's division, and had 17,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and
+50 guns; the English had 16,000 infantry, 1,800 cavalry, and 40 guns. The
+French made no movement to attack, and the British troops were furious at
+the delay. Soult, however, was waiting until Ney, who was advancing by
+another road, should threaten the British flank or cut the line of
+retreat. Moore, finding that Soult would not fight alone, and knowing that
+Ney was approaching, gave the order for the army to leave its position
+after nightfall and march for Corunna. He exhorted them to keep good
+order, and to make the effort which would be the last demanded from them.
+It was indeed impossible for him to remain at Lugo, even if Ney had not
+been close at hand, for there was not another day's supply of bread in the
+town.
+
+He took every precaution for securing that no errors should take place as
+to the route to be followed in the dark, for the ground behind the
+position was intersected by stone walls and a number of intricate lanes.
+To mark the right tracks, bundles of straw were placed at intervals along
+the line, and officers appointed to guide the columns. All these
+precautions, however, were brought to naught by the ill-fortune that had
+dogged the general along the whole line of retreat. A tremendous storm of
+wind and rain set in, the night was pitch dark, the bundles of straw were
+whirled away by the wind, and when the army silently left their post at
+ten o'clock at night, the task before them was a difficult one indeed. All
+the columns lost their way, and one division alone recovered the main
+road; the other two wandered about all night, buffeted by the wind,
+drenched by the rain, disheartened and weary.
+
+Some regiments entered what shelters they could find, the men soon
+scattered to plunder, stragglers fell out in hundreds, and at daybreak the
+remnants of the two divisions were still in Lugo. The moment the light
+afforded means of recovering their position, the columns resumed their
+march, the road behind them being thickly dotted by stragglers. The
+rearguard, commanded by the general himself, covered the rear, but
+fortunately the enemy did not come up until evening; but so numerous were
+the stragglers that when the French cavalry charged, they mustered in
+sufficient force to repel their attack, a proof that it was not so much
+fatigue as insubordination that caused them to lag behind. The rear-guard
+halted a few miles short of Friol and passed the night there, which
+enabled the disorganized army to rest and re-form. The loss during this
+unfortunate march was greater than that of all the former part of the
+retreat, added to all the losses in action and during the advance.
+
+The next day the army halted, as the French had not come up in sufficient
+numbers to give battle, and on the following day marched in good order
+into Corunna, where, to the bitter disappointment of the general, the
+fleet had not yet arrived. At the time, Sir John Moore was blamed by the
+ignorant for having worn out his troops by the length of the marches; but
+the accusation was altogether unfounded, as is proved by the fact that the
+rear-guard--upon whom the full brunt of the fighting had fallen, who had
+frequently been under arms all night in the snow, had always to throw out
+very strong outposts to prevent surprises, and had marched eighty miles in
+two days, had suffered far more than the other troops, owing to the fact
+that the food supply intended for all had been several times wasted and
+destroyed by the excesses of those who had preceded them--yet who, when
+they reached Corunna, had a much smaller number missing from their ranks
+than was the case with the three other divisions.
+
+After all the exertions that had been made, and the extraordinary success
+with which the general had carried his force through a host of enemies,
+all his calculations were baffled by the contrary winds that delayed the
+arrival of the fleet, and it remained but to surrender or fight a battle,
+which, if won, might yet enable the army to embark. Sir John did not even
+for a moment contemplate the former alternative. The troops on arriving
+were at once quartered in the town. The inhabitants here, who had so
+sullenly held aloof from Baird's force on its arrival, and had refused to
+give him the slightest aid, now evinced a spirit of patriotism seldom
+exhibited by the Spaniards, save in their defence of Saragossa, and on a
+few other occasions.
+
+Although aware that the army intended, if possible, to embark, and that
+the French on entering might punish them for any aid given to it, they
+cheerfully aided the troops in removing the cannon from the sea-face and
+in strengthening the defences on the land side. Provisions in ample
+quantity were forthcoming, and in twenty-four hours the army, knowing that
+at last they were to engage the foe who had for the last fortnight hunted
+them so perseveringly, recovered its confidence and discipline. This was
+aided by the fact that Corunna had large magazines of arms and ammunition,
+which had been sent out fifteen months before, from England, and were
+still lying there, although Spain was clamouring for arms for its newly
+raised levies.
+
+To the soldiers this supply was invaluable. Their muskets were so rusted
+with the almost constant downfall of rain and snow of the past month as to
+be almost unserviceable, and these were at once exchanged for new arms.
+The cartridge-boxes were re-filled with fresh ammunition, an abundant
+store served out for the guns, and, after all this, two magazines
+containing four thousand barrels of powder remained. These had been
+erected on a hill, three miles from the town, and were blown up so that
+they should not fall into the hands of the enemy. The explosion was a
+terrible one, and was felt for many miles round. The water in the harbour
+was so agitated that the shipping rolled as if in a storm, and many
+persons who had gone out to witness the explosion were killed by falling
+fragments.
+
+The ground on which the battle was to take place was unfit for the
+operations of cavalry. The greater portion of the horses were hopelessly
+foundered, partly from the effects of fatigue, partly from want of shoes;
+for although a supply of these had been issued on starting, no hammers or
+nails had been sent, and the shoes were therefore useless. It would in any
+case have been impossible to ship all these animals, and accordingly, as a
+measure of mercy, the greater portion of them were shot. Three days were
+permitted Moore to make his arrangements, for it took that time for Soult
+to bring up his weary troops and place them in a position to give battle.
+Their position was a lofty ridge which commanded that upon which Sir John
+Moore now placed his troops, covering the town. On the right of the French
+ridge there was another eminence upon which Soult had placed eleven heavy
+guns.
+
+On the evening of the 14th there was an exchange of artillery fire, but it
+led to nothing. That afternoon the sails of the long-expected fleet were
+made out, and just at nightfall it entered the harbour. The dismounted
+cavalry, the sick, the remaining horses, and fifty guns were embarked,
+nine guns only being kept on shore for action. On the 15th Soult occupied
+himself in completing his preparations. Getting his great guns on to the
+rocks on his left, he attacked and drove from an advanced position some
+companies of the 5th Regiment, and posted his mass of cavalry so as to
+threaten the British right, and even menace its retreat to the town from
+the position it held. Had the battle been delayed another day, Sir John
+Moore had made every preparation for embarking the rest of his troops
+rather than await a battle in which even victory would be worthless, for
+Ney's corps would soon be up. The French, however, did not afford him an
+opportunity of thus retiring.
+
+Terence O'Connor speedily paid a visit to his regiment at Corunna, for he
+had, of course, accompanied Fane's brigade during the retreat. He was
+delighted to find that there had been only a few trifling casualties among
+the officers, and that the regiment itself, although it had lost some men
+in the fighting that had taken place, had not left a single straggler
+behind, a circumstance that was mentioned with the warmest commendation by
+General Paget in his report of the doings of the rear-guard.
+
+"I was awfully afraid that it would have been quite the other way,"
+Terence said. "I know how all the three other divisions suffered, though
+they were never pressed by the enemy, and had not a shadow of excuse for
+their conduct."
+
+"You did not know us, me boy," O'Grady said. "I tell ye, the men were
+splendid. I expect if we had been with the others we should have behaved
+just as badly; but being chosen for the rear-guard put our boys all on
+their mettle, and every man felt that the honour of the regiment depended
+on his good conduct. Then, too, we were lucky in lighting on a big store
+of tobacco, and tobacco is as good as food and drink. The men gave a lot
+away to the other regiments, and yet had enough to last them until we got
+here."
+
+"Then they were not above doing a little plundering," Terence laughed.
+
+"Plunder is it!" O'Grady repeated, indignantly. "It was a righteous
+action, for the factory belonged to the Central Junta of the Province, and
+it was just stripping the French of their booty to carry it away. Faith,
+it was the most meritorious action of the campaign."
+
+"Have you got a good cigar left, O'Grady?"
+
+"Oh, you have taken to smoking, have you?"
+
+"I was obliged to, to keep my nose warm. On the march, Fane and the major
+and Errington all smoked, and they looked so comfortable and contented
+that I felt it was my duty to keep them company."
+
+"I have just two left, Terence, so we will smoke them together, and I have
+got a bottle of dacent spirits. Think of that, me boy; thirty-two days
+without spirits! They will never believe me when I go home and tell 'em I
+went without it for thirty-two mortal days."
+
+"Well, you have had wine, O'Grady."
+
+"It's poor stuff by the side of the cratur, still I am not saying that it
+wasn't a help. But it was cold comfort, Terence, a mighty cold comfort."
+
+"You are looking well on it, anyhow. And how is the wound?"
+
+"Och, I have nigh forgot I ever had one, save when it comes to ateing. Tim
+has to cut my food up for me, and I never sit down to a male without
+wishing bad cess to the French. When we get back I will have a patent
+machine for holding a fork fixed on somehow. It goes against me grain to
+have me food cut up as if I was a baby; if it wasn't for that I should not
+miss my hand one way or the other. In fact, on the march it has been a
+comfort that I have only had five fingers to freeze, instead of ten. There
+is a compensation in all things. So we are going to fight them at last?
+There is no chance of the fleet coming to take us off before that, I
+hope?" he asked, anxiously, "for we should all break our hearts if we were
+obliged to go without a fight."
+
+"I don't think there is any chance of that, O'Grady, though I should be
+very glad if there were. I am not afraid of the fighting, but we certainly
+sha'n't win without heavy loss, and every life will be thrown away, seeing
+that we shall, after all, have to embark when the battle is over. Ney,
+with 50,000 men, is only two or three marches away.
+
+"Well, Dicky, how do you do?" he asked, as Ryan came up.
+
+"I am well enough, Mr. Staff Officer. I needn't ask after yourself, for
+you have been riding comfortably about, while we have been marched right
+off our legs. Forty miles a day, Terence, and over such roads as they have
+in this country; it is just cruelty to animals."
+
+"I would rather have been with you, Dicky, than see to the horrible
+confusion that has been going on. Why, as soon as the day's march was over
+we had to set to work to go about trying to keep order. A dozen times I
+have been nearly shot by drunken rascals whom I was trying to get to
+return to their corps. Worse still, it was heartrending to see the misery
+of the starving women and camp-followers. I would rather have been on
+outpost duty, with Soult's cavalry hovering round, ready to charge at any
+moment."
+
+"It is all very well to say that, Terence!" O'Grady exclaimed. "But wait
+until you try it a bit, my boy. I had five nights of it, and that widout a
+drop of whisky to cheer me. It was enough to have made Samson weep, let
+alone a man with only one hand, and a sword to hold in it, and a bad could
+in his head. It was enough to take the heart out of any man entoirely, and
+if it hadn't been for the credit of the regiment, I could often have sat
+down on a stone and blubbered. It is mighty hard for a man to keep up his
+spirits when he feels the mortal heat in him oozing out all over, and his
+fingers so cold that it is only by looking that one knows one has got a
+sword in them, and you don't know whether you are standing on your feet or
+on your knee-bones, and feel as if your legs don't belong to you, but are
+the property of some poor chap who has been kilt twenty-four hours before.
+Och, it was a terrible time! and a captain's pay is too small for it, if
+it was not for the divarsion of a scrimmage now and then!"
+
+"How about an ensign's pay?" Ryan laughed. "I think that on such work as
+we have had, O'Grady, the pay of all the officers, from the colonel down,
+ought to be put together and equally divided."
+
+"I cannot say whether I should approve the plan, Ryan, until I have made
+an intricate calculation, which, now I am comfortable at last, would be a
+sin and a shame to ask me brain to go through; but as my present idea is
+that I should be a loser, I may say that your scheme is a bad one, and not
+to say grossly disrespectful to the colonel, to put his value down as only
+equal to that of a slip of a lad like yourself. Boys nowadays have no
+respect for their supeyrior officers. There is Terence, who is not sixteen
+yet--"
+
+"Sixteen three months back, O'Grady," Terence put in.
+
+"Yes, I remember now, but a week or two one way or the other makes no
+difference. Here is Terence, just sixteen, who ought to be at school
+trying to get a little learning into his head, laying down the law to his
+supeyrior officers, just because he has had the luck to get onto the
+brigadier's staff. I think sometimes that the world is coming to an end."
+
+"At any rate, O'Grady," Terence laughed, "I am half a head taller than you
+are, and could walk you off your legs any day."
+
+"There! And he says this to a man who has gone through all the fatigues of
+the rear-guard, while he has been riding about the country like a
+gentleman at aise."
+
+"Well, I cannot stop any longer," Terence said. "I am on my way up to see
+how they are getting on with the earthworks, and the general may want me
+at any moment."
+
+"I would not trouble about that," O'Grady said, sarcastically; "perhaps he
+might make a shift to do widout you, widout detriment to the service."
+
+Terence made no reply, but, mounting, rode off up the hill behind the
+town. At two o'clock on the 16th a general movement of the French line was
+observed, and the British infantry, 14,500 strong, drew up in order of
+battle along the position marked for them. The British were fighting under
+a serious disadvantage, for not only had Soult over 20,000 infantry, with
+very powerful artillery and great strength in cavalry, but owing to their
+position on the crest running somewhat obliquely to the higher one
+occupied by the French, the heavy battery on the rocks to their right
+raked the whole line of battle. Hope's division was on the British left,
+Baird's on the right. Fraser's division was on another ridge some distance
+from the others, and immediately covering the town of Corunna; and Paget,
+with his division to which the Mayo regiment was still attached, was
+posted at the village of Airis, on the height between Hope's division and
+the harbour, and looking down the valley between the main position and the
+ridge held by Fraser.
+
+From here he could either reinforce Hope and Baird, or advance down the
+valley to repel any attack of the French cavalry, and cover the retreat of
+the main body if forced to fall back. The battle commenced by the French
+opening fire with their field-guns, which were distributed along the front
+of their position, and by the heavy battery on their left, while their
+infantry descended the mountain in three heavy columns, covered by clouds
+of skirmishers. The British piquets were at once driven in, and the
+village of Elvina, held by a portion of the 50th, carried. The French
+column on this side then divided into two portions; one endeavoured to
+turn Baird's right and enter the valley behind the British position, while
+the other climbed the hill to attack him in front. The second column moved
+against the British centre, and the third attacked Hope's left, which
+rested on the village of Palavia Abaxo.
+
+The nine English guns were altogether overmatched by those of Soult's
+heavy battery. Moore, seeing that the half-column advancing by Baird's
+flank made no movement to penetrate beyond his right, directed him to
+throw back one regiment and take the French in flank. Paget was ordered to
+advance up the valley, to drive back the French column, and menace the
+French battery, uniting himself with a battalion previously posted on a
+hill to keep the threatening masses of French cavalry in check. He also
+sent word to Fraser to advance at once and support Paget. Baird launched
+the 50th and 42d Regiments to meet the enemy issuing from Elvina. The
+ground round the village was broken by stone walls and hollow roads, but
+the French were forced back, and the 50th, entering the village with the
+fleeing enemy, drove them, after a struggle, beyond the houses.
+
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Battle of Corunna.]
+
+
+The 42d, misunderstanding orders, retired towards the hill, and the
+French, being reinforced, again attacked Elvina, which the 50th held
+stubbornly until again joined by the 42d, which had been sent forward by
+Moore himself. Paget was now engaged in the valley, the advance of the
+enemy was arrested, and they suffered very heavily from the fire of the
+regiments on the height above their flank, while Paget steadily gained
+ground. The centre and left were now hotly engaged, but held their ground
+against all the attacks of the enemy, and on the extreme left advanced and
+drove the French out of the village of Palavia Abaxo, which they had
+occupied. Elvina was now firmly held, while Paget carried all before him
+on the right, and, with Fraser's division behind him, menaced the great
+French battery.
+
+Had this been carried, the two divisions could have swept along the French
+position, crumpling up the forces as they went, and driving them down
+towards the river Moro, in which case they would have been lost. Owing,
+however, to the battle having been begun at so late an hour, darkness now
+fell. The general himself, while watching the contest at Elvina, had been
+struck by a cannon-ball and mortally wounded. General Baird had also been
+struck down. This loss of commanders combined with the darkness to arrest
+the progress of the victorious troops, and permitted the French, who were
+already falling back in great confusion, to recover themselves and
+maintain their position.
+
+The object for which the battle had been fought was gained. Night, which
+had saved the French from total defeat, afforded the British the
+opportunity of extricating themselves from their position, and General
+Hope, who now assumed the command, ordered the troops to abandon their
+positions and to march down to the port, leaving strong piquets with fires
+burning to deceive the enemy. All the arrangements for embarkation had
+been carefully arranged by Sir John Moore, and without the least hitch or
+confusion the troops marched down to the port, and before morning were all
+on board with the exception of a rear-guard, under General Beresford,
+which occupied the citadel.
+
+At daybreak the piquets were withdrawn and also embarked, and a force
+under General Hill, that had been stationed on the ramparts to cover the
+movement, then marched down to the citadel, and there took boats for the
+ships. By this time, however, the French, having discovered that the
+British position was abandoned, had planted a battery on the heights of
+San Lucia and opened fire on the shipping. This caused much confusion
+among the transports. Several of the masters cut their cables, and four
+vessels ran ashore. The troops, however, were taken on board of other
+transports by the boats of the men-of-war. The stranded ships were fired,
+and the fleet got safely out of harbour.
+
+The noble commander, by whose energy, resolution, and talent this
+wonderful march had been achieved, lived only long enough to know that his
+soldiers were victorious, and was buried the same night on the ramparts.
+His memory was for a time assailed with floods of abuse by that portion of
+the press and public that had all along vilified the action of the British
+general, had swallowed eagerly every lie promulgated by the Junta of
+Oporto, and by the whole of the Spanish authorities; but in time his
+extraordinary merits came to be recognized to their full value, and his
+name will long live as one of the noblest men and best generals Great
+Britain has ever produced.
+
+Beresford held the citadel until the 18th, and then embarked with his
+troops and all the wounded; the people of Corunna, remaining true to their
+promises, manned the ramparts of the town until the last British soldier
+was on board.
+
+The British loss in the battle was estimated at 800 men; that of the
+French was put down at 3,000. Their greater loss was due to the fact that
+they assumed the offensive, and were much more exposed than the defenders;
+that the nine little guns of the latter were enabled to sweep them with
+grape, while the British were so far away from the French batteries that
+the latter were obliged to fire round shot; and lastly that the new
+muskets and fresh ammunition gave a great advantage to the British over
+the rusty muskets and often damaged powder of the French. Paget's division
+had suffered but slightly, the main loss of the English having occurred in
+and around Elvina, and from the shot of the heavy battery that swept the
+crest held by them. Two officers killed and four wounded were the only
+casualties in that division, while but thirty of the rank and file were
+put out of action.
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+AN ESCAPE
+
+While the battle was at its height Terence was despatched by the brigadier
+to carry an order to one of the regiments that had pushed too far forward
+in its ardour. Scrambling over rough ground, and occasionally leaping a
+wall, he reached the colonel. "The general requests you to fall back a
+little, sir; you are farther forward than the regiment on your flank. The
+enemy are pushing a force down the hill in your direction, and as there is
+no support that can be sent to you at present, he wishes your extreme
+right to be in touch with the left of the regiment holding Elvina."
+
+"Very good. Tell General Fane that I will carry out his instructions.
+Where is he now?"
+
+"He is in the village, sir." Terence turned his horse to ride back. The
+din of battle was almost bewildering. A desperate conflict was going on in
+front of the village, where every wall was obstinately contested, the
+regiment being hotly engaged with a French force that was rapidly
+increasing in strength. The great French battery was sending its missiles
+far overhead against the British position on the hill, the British guns
+were playing on the French troops beyond the village, and the French light
+field-pieces were pouring their fire into Elvina. Terence made his way
+across the broken ground near the village. Galloping at a low stone wall,
+the horse was in the act of rising to clear it when it was struck in the
+head by a round shot. Terence was thrown far ahead over the wall, and fell
+heavily head-foremost on a pile of stones covered by some low shrubs.
+
+The shock was a terrible one, and for many hours he lay insensible. When
+he recovered consciousness, he remained for some time wondering vaguely
+where he was. Above him was a canopy of foliage, through which the rays of
+the sun were streaming. A dead silence had succeeded the roar of battle.
+He put his hand to his head, which was aching intolerably, and found that
+his hair was thick with clotted blood.
+
+"Yes, of course," he said to himself at last; "I was carrying a message to
+Fane. I was just going to jump a wall and there was a sudden crash. I
+remember--I flew out of the saddle--that is all I do remember. I have been
+stunned, I suppose. How is it so quiet? I suppose the battle is over."
+
+Then he sat suddenly upright.
+
+"The sun is shining," he said. "It was getting dusk when I was riding back
+to the village. I must have lain here all night."
+
+Suddenly he heard a gun fired; it was quickly followed by others. He rose
+on his knees and looked cautiously over the bushes.
+
+"It is away there," he said, "on those heights above the harbour. The army
+must have embarked, and the French are firing at the ships."
+
+
+[Illustration: "POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM
+AT TORRES VEDRAS."]
+
+
+His conjecture was speedily verified, for, looking along the crest which
+the British had held during the fight, he saw a large body of French
+troops just reaching the top of the rise. He stood up now and looked
+round. No one could be seen moving in the orchards and vineyards round. He
+peered over the wall; his horse lay there in a huddled-up heap.
+
+"A round shot in the head!" he exclaimed; "that accounts for it. Poor old
+Jack! he has carried me well ever since I got him at Torres Vedras."
+
+He climbed down and got what he was in search of--a large flask full of
+brandy-and-water, which he carried in one of the holsters. He took a long
+drink, and felt better at once.
+
+"I may as well take the pistols," he said, and, putting them into his
+belt, climbed over the wall again, and lay down among the bushes.
+
+He was now able to think clearly. Should he get up and surrender himself
+as a prisoner to the first body of French troops that he came across? or
+should he lie where he was until nightfall, and then try to get away? If
+he surrendered, there was before him a march of seven or eight hundred
+miles to a French prison; if he tried to get away, no doubt there were
+many hardships and dangers, but at least a possibility of rejoining sooner
+or later. At any rate, he would be no worse off than the many hundreds who
+had straggled during the march, for it was probable that the great
+majority of these were spread over the country, as the French, pressing
+forward in pursuit, would not have troubled themselves to hunt down
+fugitives, who, if caught, would only be an encumbrance to them.
+
+He was better off than they were, for at any rate he could make himself
+understood, which was more than the majority of the soldiers could do; and
+at least he would not provoke the animosity of the peasants by the rough
+measures they would be likely to take to satisfy their wants. The worst of
+it was that he had no money. Then suddenly he sat up again and looked at
+his feet.
+
+"This is luck!" he exclaimed; "I had never given the thing a thought
+before."
+
+On his arrival at Corunna he had thrown away the riding-boots he had
+bought at Salamanca. The constant rains had so shrunk them that he could
+no longer wear them without pain, and he had taken again to the boots that
+he carried in his valise.
+
+From the time when, at his father's suggestion, he had had extra soles
+placed on them, above which were hidden fifteen guineas, the fact of the
+money being there had never once occurred to him. He had had sufficient
+cash about him to pay for purchases at Salamanca and on the road, and,
+indeed, had five guineas still in his pocket, though he had drawn no pay
+from the time of leaving Torres Vedras.
+
+This discovery decided him. With twenty guineas he could pay his way for
+months, and he determined to make the attempt to escape.
+
+The firing continued for some time and then ceased.
+
+"The fleet must have got out," he said to himself. "It is certain that the
+French have not taken Corunna. We were getting the best of it up to the
+time I was hurt, and it would be dark in another half-hour, and there
+could be no fighting on such ground as this, after that. Besides, Corunna
+is a strong fortress, and we could have held out there for weeks, for
+Soult can have no battering train with him; besides, everything was ready
+for embarkation, and I know that it was intended, whether we won or lost,
+that the troops should go on board in the night."
+
+As he lay there he could occasionally hear the sound of drums and trumpets
+as the troops marched from their positions of the night before, to take up
+others nearer to the town. At times he heard voices, and knew that they
+were searching for wounded over the ground that had been so desperately
+contested; but the spot where he was lying lay between the village and the
+ground where the regiment he had gone to order back had been engaged with
+the enemy, and as no fighting had taken place there, it was unlikely that
+the search-parties would go over it. This, indeed, proved to be the case,
+and after a time he fell off to sleep, and did not wake until night was
+closing in. He was hungry now, and again crossing the wall he took half a
+chicken and a piece of bread that his servant had thrust into his wallet
+just before starting, and made a hearty meal. He unbuckled his sword and
+left it behind him; he had his pistols, and a sword would be only an
+encumbrance.
+
+As soon as it became quite dark he made his way cautiously down the
+valley, passed the spot where the French column had suffered so heavily,
+and then, turning to the left, traversed the narrow plain that divided the
+position on which the French heavy battery had been placed and the plateau
+on which their cavalry had been massed. Numerous fires blazed in the wide
+valley behind, where the reserve had been stationed on the previous
+morning, and he doubted not that the French cavalry were there, especially
+as he found no signs of life on the plateau above. Coming presently on a
+small stream he bathed his head for a considerable time, and then
+proceeded on his way, feeling much brighter and fresher than he had done
+before.
+
+The ground began to ascend more steeply, and after an hour's walking he
+stood on the crest of the hill and looked down on the position that the
+French had held, and beyond it on Corunna and the sea. The cold was
+extreme. He had brought with him his greatcoat and blanket, and, wrapping
+himself in these, lay down in a sheltered position and slept again till
+morning broke. His head was now better, and he was able to think more
+clearly than he could the day before. The first thing was to decide as to
+his course. It would be dangerous to make direct for the frontier of
+Portugal. Now that the British army had embarked, Soult would be free to
+undertake operations in that country, and would doubtless shortly put his
+troops in motion in that direction, and his cavalry would be scattering
+all over the province collecting provisions. Moreover, there would be the
+terrible range of the Tras-os-Montes to pass, and no certainty whatever of
+being well received by the Portuguese peasants north of Oporto.
+
+His constant study of the staff maps was now of great assistance to him.
+He determined to turn west until he reached the river Minho some distance
+below Lugo, which he could do by skirting the top of the hills. He would
+therefore strike it somewhere about the point where the river Sil joined
+it, and, following this, would find himself at the foot of the Cantabrian
+Hills, dividing the Asturias from Leon. Then he could be guided by
+circumstances, and could either cross these mountains and make for a
+seaport, or could journey down through Leon to Ciudad-Rodrigo, which was
+still held by a Spanish garrison, and from there make his way through
+Portugal to Lisbon.
+
+He questioned whether it would be wise for him to attempt to get the dress
+of a Spanish peasant instead of his uniform, but he finally decided that
+until he was beyond any risk of being captured by parties from either
+Soult or Ney's armies, it would be better to continue in uniform. If taken
+in that dress it would be seen that he was a straggler from Moore's army,
+and he would be simply treated as a prisoner of war; while, if taken in
+the dress of a peasant, he would be liable to be treated as a spy and
+shot. Having made up his mind, he started at once, and in three hours was
+at the foot of the hills on the other side of which ran the road from Lugo
+to Corunna, which proved so disastrous to the army. He presently arrived
+at a small hamlet, and the children in the streets ran shrieking away as
+they saw him. Women appeared at the doors and looked out anxiously; they
+had not before seen a British uniform, and at once supposed that he was
+French. Seeing that he was alone, several men armed with clubs and picks
+came out.
+
+"I am an English officer," he said, "and I desire food and shelter for a
+few hours. I have money to pay for it."
+
+The peasants at once came round him. Confused accounts had reached them of
+the doings on the other side of the hills. They knew that an English army
+had marched from Lugo to Corunna, hotly pursued by the French, but they
+had heard nothing of what had happened afterwards. They eagerly asked for
+news. Terence told them that there had been a great battle outside
+Corunna, that the French had been repulsed with much loss, and that the
+English had embarked on board ships to take them round to Lisbon, there to
+march east to meet the French again.
+
+Nothing could be kinder than the treatment he received. They told him that
+Ney's army was between the Sil and Lugo, but that no French troops had
+crossed the Minho as yet.
+
+They were eager to know why the English, if they had beaten the French,
+sailed away. But when he said that Soult would have been joined by Ney in
+a couple of days, and would then be well-nigh double the strength of the
+British, who would be so hotly pressed that they would be unable to
+embark, the peasants saw that what they considered their desertion could
+not have been avoided. The news of the terrible defeats that had, a month
+before, been inflicted upon their armies had not reached them, and Terence
+did not think it necessary to enlighten them. He told them that the march
+north of the English had been intended to bring all the French forces in
+that direction, and so to enable the Spanish armies to operate
+successfully, and that not only Soult and Ney, but Napoleon himself, had
+been drawn off from the south in pursuit of them.
+
+They were filled with satisfaction, and he was at once taken into one of
+the cottages. A good meal was shortly placed before him, his head was
+carefully bandaged, and he was then asked how it was that he had not
+embarked with the rest of the army. He related how he had been left
+behind, and then asked them their opinion as to his best course, telling
+them the plan he himself had formed. They agreed at once that this was the
+wisest one, but that it would be dangerous to try it until Ney's force had
+moved from its present position. They knew that he had a division at
+Orense on the Minho, and that parties of his cavalry had scoured the plain
+as far as the river Ulla, and urged upon him to remain with them until
+some news was obtained of the movements of the French army.
+
+He gladly accepted the invitation, and for a couple of days remained at
+the little hamlet. One of the peasants came in at the end of that time,
+saying that the French in Corunna had crossed the mountains and had
+arrived at Santiago, twenty miles distant, and that their cavalry were
+scouring the country. They also brought news that Romana was at Toabado,
+and that he had but two or three thousand men with him, the rest having
+been routed and cut up by the French cavalry. Terence at once determined
+to join him.
+
+The fact that he still had some troops with him had no influence in
+causing him to form this resolution. Romana had been so often defeated
+that he knew that his men would, after their recent misfortunes, scatter
+at once before even the weakest French detachment. But Romana himself knew
+the country well, was a man of great resource and activity, and was likely
+to evade all efforts to capture him. He thought then that by joining him
+and sharing his fortunes he was more likely to have some opportunity of
+making his way to Lisbon than he would have if left to his own resources,
+especially as he had no doubt that Soult would at once prepare to invade
+Portugal by occupying all the passes, and thus render it next to
+impossible to journey thither alone and on foot. One of the peasants
+offered to guide him across the hills to Toabado. They started at once,
+and at daybreak next morning reached the village.
+
+As Romana had been several times in personal communication with Sir John
+Moore, Terence was acquainted with his appearance, and seeing him standing
+at the door of the principal house of the village, went up to him and
+saluted him. The latter looked upon him with great surprise.
+
+"How have you managed to pass through the French?" he asked.
+
+"I have seen none of them, Marquis. I was wounded in the battle of
+Corunna, and after lying insensible all that night, found, when I
+recovered in the morning, that the French had advanced and that I was in
+their rear. I heard their guns from the heights above the town, and knew
+that our army had gained their transports. I lay concealed all day and
+then crossed the mountains, and have been resting for two days at a
+village on the other side of the hills. The news came that you were here,
+and I decided to join you at once. I was on the staff of General Fane,
+and, knowing the duties of an aide-de-camp, thought I might make myself
+useful to you until there was an opportunity of my rejoining a British
+force."
+
+"You are welcome, sir," Romana said, courteously. "It was only this
+morning that we learned from a prisoner that my men took that you had
+driven back Soult before Corunna and had embarked safely. I was in great
+fear that your army would have been captured. I see that you have been
+wounded on the head."
+
+"It can scarcely be called a wound, Marquis. I was carrying a message on
+the battle-field; when I was taking a wall my horse was struck with a
+round shot. I was thrown over his head onto a heap of rough stones, and it
+was a marvel to me that I was not killed."
+
+"I am just going to breakfast, senor, and shall be glad if you will join
+me. I have no doubt that you will do justice to it."
+
+Romana, who had commanded the Spanish troops which had escaped from
+Holland, was the most energetic of the Spanish generals. Defeated often,
+he was speedily at the head of fresh gatherings, and ready to take the
+field again. As a partisan chief he was excellent, but possessed no
+military talent, and was, like the Spaniards generally, full of grand but
+utterly impracticable schemes, and in spite of his experience to the
+contrary, confident that the Spaniards would overthrow the French.
+
+"I have been unfortunate," he said, in reply to the inquiry as to how many
+troops he had with him. "At your English general's request I took a
+different course with my army to that which he was pursuing, in order that
+his magazines should be untouched. I crossed his line of retreat, but
+unfortunately Franceschi's cavalry come down upon us, cut up my artillery
+and infantry, and scattered my force entirely. However, some three
+thousand have rejoined, and I expect in a short time to be at the head of
+20,000. I ought to have more, but these Galician peasants are stubborn
+fellows. They know nothing of the affairs of Spain, and although they will
+fight in defence of their own villages, they have no interest in anything
+beyond, and hang back from joining an army that might operate outside
+their province. You see, until now it has been untouched by war. They have
+suffered in no way from French extortions and outrages. As soon as they
+feel the smart themselves, I doubt not they will be as full of hatred of
+the invaders as people are elsewhere, and as ready to take up arms against
+them."
+
+Romana's troops were but a motley gathering. The force that he had brought
+with him from Holland had been landed at Santander, marched to Bilbao, and
+joined Blake's army, and had shared in the crushing defeat suffered by
+that general at Espinosa, where most of them were taken prisoners. They
+were again incorporated in the French army, and afterwards took part in
+the Russian campaign, and in the retreat no less than four thousand of
+them were taken prisoners by the Russians and handed over by them to
+British transports sent to Cronstadt to fetch them. Romana himself had
+escaped from the battle-field, and afterward raised a fresh force. This
+had dwindled away from 15,000 to 5,000 when he joined Moore on his
+advance, and now amounted to barely 2,000, of whom the greater portion had
+thrown away their arms in their flight.
+
+On the following day Romana, with a small body of cavalry, left Toabado,
+crossed the Minho, descended into the valley of the Tamega, and took
+refuge close to the Portuguese frontier line. Here he was, for a time,
+safe from the pursuit of the French, the insignificance of his force being
+his best protection. Soult lost no time. As soon as the English army had
+left, Corunna opened its gates to him, as did Ferrol, although neither of
+these towns could have been taken without a siege, and Soult must have
+been delayed until a battering-train was brought from Madrid.
+
+The magazines of British powder and stores that had been lying for months
+in Ferrol were invaluable to him.
+
+The soldiers were set to work to make fresh cartridges, and then, after
+six days' halt to give rest to his weary and footsore men, he began to
+prepare to carry out Napoleon's orders to invade Portugal. Ney, with
+20,000 men, was to maintain Galicia, and, reinforced by a fresh division,
+Soult was to march direct upon Oporto with 25,000 men, leaving 12,000 in
+hospital, and 8,000 to keep up the line of communication with Ney. It took
+some time to complete all the arrangements and to gather the force at St.
+Jago Compostella, and it was not until the first of February that he was
+able to move.
+
+On the day of his arrival on the frontier, Romana despatched Terence to
+Sir John Cradock, who now commanded the British troops in Portugal, which
+had been augmented by fresh arrivals from England until their numbers
+almost equalled that of the force with which Sir John Moore marched into
+Spain.
+
+Romana asked that arms and money should be sent to him, promising to
+harass the French advance, and cut their communications from the rear.
+Terence gladly consented to carry his despatch; he was furnished with one
+of the best horses in the troop, and at once started on his journey. It
+was a long and harassing one; many ranges of mountains and hills had to be
+crossed, by roads difficult in the extreme at the best of times, but
+almost impassable in winter. Three times he was seized by parties of
+Portuguese militia and raw levies, but was released on convincing their
+leaders that he was the bearer of a communication to the English general.
+
+The distance to be travelled was, in a direct line, over two hundred and
+thirty miles. This was greatly increased by the circuitous nature of the
+route through the mountainous country, so that it took nine days, and
+would have much exceeded this time, had Terence not found a British force
+at Coimbra, and there exchanged his worn-out animal for a fresh one,
+placed at his disposal by the officer in command.
+
+Cradock was experiencing exactly the same difficulties that Moore had
+done. The Spanish and Portuguese authorities united in pressing him to
+advance, the former urging upon him that his presence would be the signal
+for the Spanish armies in the south to unite and entirely overthrow the
+French, while the latter were desirous that he should march to
+Ciudad-Rodrigo, defeat the French at Salamanca, and so protect Portugal
+from invasion from that side.
+
+That Portugal might be attacked from the north and south simultaneously by
+Soult and Victor did not enter into their calculations, but while urging
+an advance, the Junta would take no steps whatever to enable the army to
+move; they would neither afford him facilities for collecting transport,
+nor order the roads that he would have to traverse to be put in order, and
+thwarted all his efforts to raise a strong force among the Portuguese.
+
+There was, indeed, some improvement in the latter respect. At their own
+request, Lord Beresford had been sent out from England to take the command
+of the Portuguese armies, and as he had brought many British officers with
+him, some 20,000 men had been armed and drilled, and could be reckoned
+upon to do some service, if employed with British troops to give them
+backbone. The Portuguese peasantry were strong and robust, and by nature
+courageous, and needed only the discipline--that they could not receive
+from their own officers--to turn them into valuable troops. According to
+the law of the country every man was liable for service, and had the
+corrupt Junta been dismissed, and full power been given to the British, an
+army of 250,000 men might have been placed in the field for the defence of
+the country, with a proper supply of arms and money.
+
+But so far from assisting, the Junta threw every possible impediment in
+the way. They feared that any real national effort, if successful, would
+get altogether beyond their control, and that they would lose the power
+that enabled them to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. Not
+only that, but they were engaged in a struggle for supremacy with the
+Junta of Oporto, which was striving by every means to render itself the
+supreme authority of the whole of Portugal.
+
+Terence had hoped that when he arrived at Lisbon he should meet the army
+he had left at Corunna, for Sir John Moore's instructions had been precise
+that the fleet was to go thither. These instructions, however, had been
+disobeyed, and the fleet had sailed direct for England. It had on the way
+encountered a great storm, which had scattered it in all directions.
+Several of the ships were wrecked on the coast of England, and the army
+which would have been of inestimable service at Lisbon, now served only,
+by the tattered garments and emaciated frames of the soldiers, to excite a
+burst of misplaced indignation against the memory of the general whose
+genius had saved it from destruction.
+
+On arriving at head-quarters and stating his errand, Terence was at once
+admitted to the room where Sir John Cradock was at work.
+
+"I am told, sir, that you are the bearer of a despatch from the Spanish
+general, Romana. Before I open it, will you explain how it was that you
+came to be with him?"
+
+Terence gave a brief account of the manner in which, after being left
+behind on the field of Corunna, he had succeeded in joining Romana.
+
+The general's face, which had at first been severe, softened as he
+proceeded.
+
+"That is altogether satisfactory, Mr. O'Connor," he said. "I feared that
+you might have been one of the stragglers, among whom I hear were many
+officers, as well as thousands of men belonging to Sir John Moore's army.
+We received news of his glorious fight at Corunna and the embarkation of
+his army, by a ship that arrived here but three days since from that port.
+Have you heard of the death of that noble soldier himself?"
+
+"No, sir," Terence replied, much shocked at the news. "That is a terrible
+loss, indeed. He was greatly loved by the army. He saw into every matter
+himself, was with the rearguard all through the retreat, and laboured
+night and day to maintain order and discipline, and it was assuredly no
+fault of his if he failed."
+
+"Was your own regiment in the rear-guard?"
+
+"Yes, sir. It had the honour of being specially chosen by Sir John Moore
+for its steadiness and good conduct. I was not with it, but was one of
+Brigadier-general Fane's aides-de-camp. It was while carrying a message to
+him that my horse was killed and I myself stunned by being thrown onto a
+heap of stones."
+
+Sir John Cradock nodded, and then opened Romana's despatch. He raised his
+eyebrows slightly. He had been accustomed to such appeals for arms and
+money, and knew how valueless were the promises that accompanied them.
+
+"What force has General Romana with him?"
+
+"Some two hundred cavalry and three or four thousand peasants, about a
+quarter of whom only are armed."
+
+"He says that he expects to be joined by twenty thousand men in a few
+days. Have you any means of judging whether this statement is well
+founded?"
+
+"That I cannot say. General Romana seems to me to be a man of greater
+energy than any Spaniard I have hitherto met, and I know that he has
+already sent messages to the priests throughout that part of Galicia
+urging upon them the necessity of using their influence among the
+peasantry. He got a force together in a very short time, after the
+complete defeat and capture of his own command by the French, at the time
+of Blake's defeat, and I think that he might do so again, though whether
+they would be of any use whatever in the field I cannot say; but should
+Soult advance into Portugal, I should think that bands of this sort might
+very much harass him."
+
+"No doubt they might do so. I will see, at any rate, if I can obtain some
+money from the political agents. I have next to nothing in my military
+chest, and our forces are at a standstill for the want of it. But that
+does not seem to matter. While our troops are ill-fed, ragged, almost
+shoeless, and unpaid, every Spanish or Portuguese rascal who holds out his
+hand can get it filled with gold. As to arms, they are in the first place
+wanted for the purpose of the Portuguese militia, who are likely to be a
+good deal more useful than these irregular bands; and in the second place,
+there are no means whatever of conveying even a hundred muskets, let alone
+the ten thousand that Romana is good enough to ask for. By the way, are
+you aware whether Sir John Moore intended the army to sail to England?"
+
+"Certainly not, sir. I know that up to the moment the battle began the
+preparation for the embarkation went on unceasingly, and General Fane told
+me the night before that we were to be taken here. Whether Sir John may,
+at the last moment, have countermanded that order I am unable to say."
+
+"Yes, I know that it was his intention, for I received a letter from him,
+written after his arrival at Corunna, saying that the embarkation could
+not be effected without a battle, and that if he beat Soult he should at
+once embark and bring the troops round here, as Ney's approaching force
+would render Corunna untenable. Just at present the arrival of 20,000
+tried troops would be invaluable. General Baird will, of course, have
+succeeded Sir John Moore?"
+
+"General Baird was severely wounded, sir. He had just ridden up to General
+Fane when he was struck. General Hope would therefore be in command after
+Sir John Moore was killed."
+
+"I have heard no particulars of the battle," Sir John said, "beyond that
+it has been fought and Soult has been driven back, that Sir John Moore is
+killed, and that the army has embarked safely. And do I understand you
+that it was towards the end of the battle that you were hurt?"
+
+"It was getting dusk at the time, General, but I cannot say how long
+fighting went on afterwards."
+
+"Will you please to sit down at that table and give me, as nearly as you
+can, a sketch of the position of our troops and those of the French, and
+then explain to me, as far as you may have seen or know, the movements of
+the corps and the course of events."
+
+As Terence had, the evening before the battle, seen a sketch-map on which
+General Fane had written the names and positions of the British force and
+those of the French, he was able to draw one closely approximating to it.
+In ten minutes he got up and handed the sketch to Sir John Cradock.
+
+"I am afraid it is very rough, sir," he said, "but I think that it may
+give you an idea of the position of the town and the neighbouring heights,
+and the position occupied by our troops."
+
+"Excellent, Mr. O'Connor!"
+
+"I had the advantage of seeing a sketch-map that the brigadier drew out,
+sir."
+
+"Well, benefited from it. Now point out to me the various movements. It
+seems to me that this large French battery must have galled the whole line
+terribly; but, on the other hand, it is itself very exposed."
+
+"General Fane said, sir, that he thought Soult was likely to be
+over-confident. Our army was in frightful confusion on the retreat from
+Lugo, and the number of stragglers was enormous. Although many came in
+next day, the field-state showed that over 2,000 were still absent from
+the colours. The brigadier was observing that there was one advantage in
+this, namely, that Soult would suppose that the whole army was
+disorganized, and might, therefore, take more liberties than he would
+otherwise have done; and that, at any rate, he was likely to rely upon his
+great force of cavalry on this plateau to cover the battery hill from any
+attack on its left flank. It was for that purpose that General Paget
+posted one of the regiments on this eminence on the right of the valley,
+which had the effect of completely checking the French cavalry."
+
+He then related the incidents of the battle as far as they had come under
+his notice.
+
+"A very ably fought battle," Sir John Cradock said, as he followed on the
+map Terence's account of the movements. "Soult evidently miscalculated Sir
+John's strength and the fighting powers of his troops. He hurled his whole
+force directly against the position, specially endeavouring to turn our
+right, but the force he employed there was altogether insufficient for the
+purpose. From his position I gather that he could not have known of the
+existence of Paget's reserve up the valley, but he must have seen Fraser's
+division on the hill above Coranto. I suppose he reckoned that this
+turning movement would shake the British position, throw them into
+confusion, and enable his direct attack to be successful before Fraser
+could come to their support. I am much obliged to you for your
+description, Mr. O'Connor; it is very clear and lucid. I will write a
+note, which you shall take to Mr. Villiers, and it is possible that you
+may get help from him for Romana. I shall be glad if you will dine with me
+here at six o'clock."
+
+"I am much obliged to you, General, but I have nothing but the uniform in
+which I stand, which is, as you see, almost in rags, and stained with mire
+and blood."
+
+"I think it is probable that you will have no difficulty in buying a fresh
+uniform in the city; so many officers have come out here with exaggerated
+ideas of the amount of transport, that they have had to cut down their
+wardrobes to a very large extent."
+
+He touched the bell. "Will you ask Captain Nelson to step in," he said to
+the clerk who answered. "Captain Nelson," he said, as one of his staff
+entered, "I want you to take Mr. O'Connor under your charge. He has just
+arrived from the north, and was present at the battle of Corunna. He was
+on Brigadier Fane's staff. As at present he is unattached, I shall put him
+down in orders to-morrow as an extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He will be
+leaving to-morrow for the northern frontier. I wish you to see if you
+cannot get him an undress uniform. He belongs to the infantry. I will give
+you an order on the paymaster, Mr. O'Connor, to honour your draft for any
+amount that you may need. I dare say you are in arrears of pay."
+
+"Yes, Sir John. I have drawn nothing since we marched from Torres Vedras
+in October."
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A DANGEROUS MISSION
+
+Captain Nelson at once took Terence under his charge.
+
+"You certainly look as if you wanted a new uniform," he said. "You must
+have had an awfully rough time of it. If only for the sake of policy, we
+ought to get you into a new one as soon as possible, for the very sight of
+yours would be likely to demoralize the whole division by affording a
+painful example of what they might expect on a campaign."
+
+Terence laughed. "I know I look a perfect scarecrow. Do you think that you
+can find me something? I really don't know what I should have done if I
+had not had my greatcoat, for I could never have ventured to walk through
+the street from the little inn where I put up my horse, if I could not
+have hidden myself in it."
+
+"I can, fortunately, put you in the right way without difficulty. There is
+a man here who has made a business of buying up uniforms. I believe he
+sends most of them to England, where they would certainly fetch a good
+deal more than he gave for them; but I know that he keeps a stock by him,
+for there is a constant demand. The work out in the country here does for
+a uniform in no time, and many men who, before marching for the frontier,
+parted with all their extra kit for a song, are glad enough to write to
+him for a fresh outfit at three times the price he gave them two or three
+months before."
+
+"I wonder they don't send their surplus outfit back to England direct,"
+Terence said.
+
+"Well, you see, there is the risk of the things being lost or stolen on
+the way home, or being ruined by damp before they are wanted again.
+Besides, a man thinks there is no saying whether he shall ever want them
+again, or how long the war will last, and is glad to take anything he can
+get to save himself any further bother about them."
+
+Terence was fortunate in being able to buy an undress uniform, with
+facings similar to those of his own regiment, and to lay in a stock of
+underclothes at a very much lower price than he could have purchased them
+for even at home. Before leaving the shop he put on his new uniform and
+left the old one to be thrown away.
+
+"Now," Captain Nelson said, when they left the shop, "it is just our lunch
+time. You must come with me and tell us all about your wonderful march and
+the fight at the end of it."
+
+"I was going down to see about my horse."
+
+"Oh, that is all right! I sent down an orderly to bring him up to our
+stables. There, this is where we mess," he said, stopping before a hotel.
+"We find it much more comfortable than having it in a room at
+head-quarters. Besides, one gets away from duty here. Of course, the chief
+knows where we are, and can send for us if we are wanted; but one gets off
+being set to do a lot of office work in the evening, and we find ourselves
+much more free and comfortable when we haven't got two or three of the
+big-wigs of the staff. So they have a little mess of their own there, and
+we have a room kept for ourselves here."
+
+There were more than a dozen officers assembled when the two entered the
+room, where a meal was laid; for Captain Nelson had looked into the hotel
+for a moment on their way to the tailor's, to tell his companions who
+Terence was, and to say that he should bring him in to lunch. They had
+told some of their acquaintances. Terence was introduced all round, and as
+soon as the first course was taken off the table he was asked many
+questions as to the march and battle; and by the time when, an hour later,
+the party broke up, they had learned the leading incidents of the
+campaign.
+
+"You may guess how anxious we were here," one of them said, "when Moore's
+last despatch from Salamanca arrived, saying that he intended to advance,
+and stating his reasons. Then there was a long silence; all sorts of
+rumours reached us. Some said that, aided by a great Spanish army, he had
+overthrown Napoleon, and had entered Madrid; others, again, stated that
+his army had been crushed, and he, with the survivors, were prisoners, and
+were on their way to the frontier--in fact, we had no certain news until
+three days ago, when we heard of the battle, his death, and the
+embarkation of the army, and its sailing for England. The last was a
+terrible blunder."
+
+"Only a temporary one, I should think," Captain Nelson said. "From Mr.
+O'Connor's account of the state of the army, I should think that it is
+just as well that they should have gone home to obtain an entirely new
+rig-out; there would be no means of fitting them out here. A fortnight
+ought to be enough to set them up in all respects, and as we certainly
+shall not be able to march for another month--"
+
+"For another three months, you mean, Nelson."
+
+"Well, perhaps for another three months, the delay will not matter
+materially."
+
+"It won't matter at all, if the French oblige us by keeping perfectly
+quiet, but if Soult menaces Portugal with invasion from the north, Lapisse
+from the centre, and Victor from the south, we may have to defend
+ourselves here in Lisbon before six weeks are out."
+
+"Personally, I should not be sorry," another said, "if Soult does invade
+the north and captures Oporto, hangs the bishop, and all the Junta. It
+would be worth ten thousand men to us, for they are continually at
+mischief. They do nothing themselves, and thwart all our efforts. They are
+worse than the Junta here--if that is possible--and they have excited the
+peasants so much against us that they desert in thousands as fast as they
+are collected, while the population here hate us, I believe, quite as much
+as they hate the French. But why they should do so Heaven knows, when we
+have spent more money in Portugal than the whole country contained before
+we came here."
+
+After the party had broken up, Captain Nelson took Terence to Mr.
+Villiers, who, on reading the general's letter and hearing from Terence
+how Romana was situated, at once said that he would hand over to him
+20,000 dollars to take to the Spanish general.
+
+"How am I to carry it, sir? It will be of considerable weight, if it is in
+silver."
+
+"I will obtain for you four good mules," Mr. Villiers said, "and an escort
+of twelve Portuguese cavalry under an officer."
+
+"May I ask, sir, that the money shall be packed in ammunition-boxes, and
+that no one except the officer shall know that these contain anything but
+ammunition?"
+
+"You have no great faith in Portuguese honesty, Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"As to their honesty as a general thing, sir, I express no opinion,"
+Terence said, bluntly; "as to the honesty of their political partisans, I
+have not a shadow of belief. Moreover, there is no love lost between them
+and the Spaniards, and though possibly money for any of the Portuguese
+leaders might be allowed to pass untouched by others--and even of this I
+have great doubt--I feel convinced that none of them would allow it to go
+out of the country for the use of the Spaniards if they could lay hold of
+it by the way."
+
+"Those being your sentiments, sir, I think that it is a pity the duty is
+not intrusted to some officer of broader views."
+
+"I doubt whether you would find one, sir; especially if he has, like
+myself, been three or four months in the country. I have simply accepted
+the duty, and not sought it, and should gladly be relieved of it. General
+Romana sent me here with a despatch, and it is my duty, unless General
+Cradock chooses another messenger, to carry back the reply, and anything
+else with which I may be intrusted. I have for the past three months been
+incessantly engaged on arduous and fatiguing duty. I have ridden for the
+last nine days by some of the worst roads to be found in any part of the
+world, I should say, and have before me the same journey. Besides, if I
+receive the general's orders to that effect, I may have to stay with the
+Spanish general, and in that case shall, I am sure, be constantly upon the
+move, and that among wild mountains. If this treasure is handed over to me
+I shall certainly do my best to take it safely and to defend it, if
+necessary, with my life; but it is assuredly a duty of which I would
+gladly be relieved. But that, sir, it seems to me, is a question solely
+for the commander-in-chief."
+
+Mr. Villiers gazed in angry surprise at the young ensign; then thinking,
+perhaps, that he would put himself in the wrong, and as his interferences
+in military matters with Sir John Cradock had not met with the success he
+desired for them, he checked the words that rose to his lips, and said,
+shortly: "The convoy will be ready to start from the treasury at daybreak
+to-morrow."
+
+"I shall be there--if so commanded by General Cradock."
+
+As soon as they had left the house Captain Nelson burst into shout of
+laughter.
+
+"What is it?" Terence asked, in surprise.
+
+"I would not have missed that for twenty pounds, O'Connor; it is the first
+bit of real amusement I have had since I landed. To see Villiers--who
+regards himself as the greatest man in the country, who not only thinks
+that he regulates every political intrigue in Spain and Portugal, but
+assumes to give the direction of every military movement also, and tries
+to dictate to the general on purely military matters--quietly cheeked by
+an ensign, is the best thing I ever saw."
+
+"But he has nothing to do with military matters, has he?"
+
+"No more than that mule-driver there, but he thinks he has; and yet, even
+in his own political line, he is the most ill-informed and gullible of
+fools, even among the mass of incompetent agents who have done their
+utmost to ruin every plan that has been formed. I doubt whether he has
+ever been correct in a single statement that he has made, and am quite
+sure that every prophecy he has ventured upon has been falsified, every
+negotiation he has entered into has failed, and every report sent home to
+government is useful only if it is assumed to be wrong in every
+particular; and yet the man is so puffed up with pride and arrogance that
+he is well-nigh insupportable. The Spaniards have fooled him to the top of
+his bent; it has paid them to do so. Through his representations the
+ministry at home have distributed millions among them. Arms enough have
+been sent to furnish nearly every able-bodied man in Spain, and harm
+rather than good has come of it. Still, he is a very great man, and our
+generals are obliged to treat him with the greatest civility, and to
+pretend to give grave consideration to the plans that, if they emanated
+from any other man, would be considered as proofs that he was only fit for
+a mad-house. And to see you looking calmly in his face and announcing your
+views of the Spanish and Portuguese was delightful." And Captain Nelson
+again burst into laughter at the recollection.
+
+Terence joined in the laugh. "I had no intention of offending him," he
+said. "Of course I have often heard how he was pressing General Moore to
+march into Spain, and promising that he should be met by immense armies
+that were eager and ready to drive the French out of that country, and
+were only waiting for his coming to set about doing so. I know that the
+brigadier and his staff used to talk about what they called Villiers'
+phantom armies, but as I only said what everyone says who has been in
+Spain, it never struck me that I was likely to give him serious offence."
+
+"And if you had thought so, I don't suppose it would have made any
+difference, O'Connor."
+
+"I don't suppose it would," Terence admitted; "and perhaps it will do him
+good to hear a straightforward opinion for once."
+
+"It will certainly do him no harm. Now, you had better tell the chief that
+you are to have the money. I should think that he will probably send a
+trooper with you as your orderly. Certainly, he has no reason to have a
+higher opinion of the Portuguese than you have."
+
+"I will go back with you, Captain Nelson; but as you were present, will
+you kindly tell the general? I don't like bothering him."
+
+"Certainly, if you wish it."
+
+On arriving at head-quarters Terence sat down in the anteroom and took up
+an English paper, as he had heard no home news for the last three months.
+Presently Captain Nelson came out from the general's room and beckoned to
+him. He followed him in. Four or five officers of rank were with the
+general, and all were looking greatly amused when he entered.
+
+"So you have succeeded in obtaining money for Romana," the general said.
+
+"Yes, sir, there was no difficulty about it. Mr. Villiers asked me a few
+questions as to the situation on the frontier, and at once said that I
+should have L5,000 to take him."
+
+"Captain Nelson tells us that you were unwise enough to express an opinion
+as to the honesty of the Portuguese escort that he proposed to send with
+you."
+
+"I said what I thought, General, and had no idea that Mr. Villiers would
+take it as an offence, as he seemed to."
+
+"Well, he has his own notions on these things, you see," the general said,
+dryly, "and they do not exactly coincide with our experience; but then Mr.
+Villiers claims to understand these people more thoroughly than we can
+do."
+
+Terence was silent for a moment. "I only went by what I have seen, you
+know," he said, after a pause, "and certainly had no intention of angering
+Mr. Villiers. But it seemed to me that, as I was responsible for taking
+this money to Romana, it was my duty to suggest a precaution that appeared
+to me necessary."
+
+"Quite right, quite right; and it is just as well, perhaps, that Mr.
+Villiers should occasionally hear the opinions of officers of the army
+frankly expressed. Certainly, I think that the precaution you suggested
+was a wise one, and if Mr. Villiers does not do so, I will see that it is
+carried out.
+
+"I have asked Captain Nelson to go with you, taking the treasure, to the
+barracks and see that the money is taken out of the cases and repacked in
+ammunition-boxes. It would be unwise in the extreme to tempt the cupidity
+of any wandering parties that you might fall in with by the sight of
+treasure-cases. Your suggestion quite justifies the opinion that I had
+formed of you from the brief narrative that you gave me of the battle of
+Corunna. For the present, gentlemen, I have appointed Mr. O'Connor as an
+extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He served in that capacity with
+Brigadier-general Fane from the time that the troops marched from here,
+which is in itself a guarantee that he must, in the opinion of that
+general, be thoroughly fit for the work.
+
+"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that, going as you will as an officer on my staff,
+it is best that you should be accompanied by a couple of troopers, and I
+have just spoken to Colonel Gibbons, who will detach two of his best men
+for that service. In addition to your being in charge of the treasure, you
+will also carry a despatch from myself to General Romana, with suggestions
+as to his co-operation in harassing the advance of the French. I will not
+detain you further now. Don't forget the dinner hour."
+
+A large party sat down to table. There were the officers Terence had seen
+there in the afternoon, and several colonels and heads of departments of
+the army, and Terence, although not shy by nature, felt a good deal
+embarrassed when, as soon as the meal was concluded, several maps were, by
+the general's orders, placed upon the table, and he was asked to give as
+full an account as he was able of the events that had happened from the
+time General Moore marched with his army from Salamanca, and so cut
+himself off from all communication.
+
+It was well that Terence had paid great attention to the conversations
+between General Fane and the officers of the brigade staff, had studied
+the maps, and had made himself, as far as he could, master of the details
+of the movements of the various divisions, and had gathered from Fane's
+remarks fair knowledge of General Moore's objects and intentions.
+Therefore, when he had overcome his first embarrassment, he was able to
+give a clear and lucid account of the campaign, and of the difficulties
+that Moore had encountered and overcome in the course of his retreat. The
+officers followed his account upon the maps, asked occasional questions,
+and showed great interest in his description of the battle.
+
+When he had done, Sir John Cradock said: "I am sure, gentlemen, that you
+all agree with me that Mr. O'Connor has given us a singularly clear and
+lucid account of the operations of the army, and that it is most
+creditable that so young an officer should have posted himself up so
+thoroughly, not only in the details of the work of his own brigade, but in
+the general plans of the campaign and the movements of the various
+divisions of the army."
+
+There were also hearty compliments from all the officers as they rose from
+the table.
+
+"I doubt, indeed, Sir John," one of them said, "whether we should ever
+have got so clear an account as that he has given from the official
+despatches. I own that I, for one, have never fully understood what seemed
+a hopeless incursion into the enemy's country, and I cannot too much
+admire the daring of its conception. As to the success which has attended
+it, there can be no doubt, for it completely paralysed the march of the
+French armies, and has given ample time to the southern provinces of Spain
+to place themselves in a position of defence. If they have not taken
+advantage of the breathing time so given them, it is their fault, and in
+no way detracts from the chivalrous enterprise of Moore."
+
+"No, indeed," Sir John agreed; "the conception was truly an heroic one,
+and one that required no less self-sacrifice than daring. There are few
+generals who would venture on an advance when certain that it must be
+followed by a retreat, and that at best he could but hope to escape from a
+terrible disaster. It is true that he gained a victory which, under the
+circumstances, was a most glorious one, but this was the effect of
+accident rather than design. Had the fleet been in Corunna when he
+arrived, he would have embarked at once, and in that case he would have
+been attacked with ferocity by politicians at home, and would have been
+accused of sacrificing a portion of his army on an enterprise that
+everyone could have seen was ordained to be a failure before it
+commenced."
+
+"Did you know General Fane personally before you were appointed to his
+staff?"
+
+"No, General; he commanded the brigade of which my regiment formed part,
+and of course I knew him by sight, but I had never had the honour of
+exchanging a word with him."
+
+"Then, may I ask why you were appointed to his staff, Mr. O'Connor?"
+
+Terence hesitated. There was nothing he disliked more than talking of what
+he himself had done. "It was a sort of accident, General."
+
+"How an accident, Mr. O'Connor? Your conduct must have attracted his
+attention in some way."
+
+"It was an accident, sir," Terence said, reluctantly, "that General Fane
+happened to be on board Sir Arthur Wellesley's ship at Vigo when my
+colonel went there to make a report of some circumstances that occurred on
+the voyage."
+
+"Well, what were these circumstances?" the general asked. "You have shown
+us that you have the details of a campaign at your finger ends, surely you
+must be able to tell what those circumstances were that so interested
+General Fane that he selected you to fill a vacancy on his staff."
+
+Terence felt that there was no escape, and related as briefly as he could
+the account of the engagement with the two privateers, and of their narrow
+escape from being captured by a French frigate.
+
+"That is a capital account, Mr. O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, smiling,
+as he brought it to a conclusion. "But, so far, I fail to see your
+particular share in the matter."
+
+"My share was very small, sir."
+
+"I think I can fill up the facts that Mr. O'Connor's modesty has prevented
+him from stating," one of the officers said.
+
+"It happened that before we sailed from Ireland six weeks ago, an officer
+of the Mayo Fusiliers, who had been invalided home in consequence of a
+wound, dined at our mess, and he told the story very much as Mr. O'Connor
+has told it, but he added the details that Mr. O'Connor has omitted.
+Restated that really the escape of the wing of the regiment was entirely
+due to an ensign who had recently joined--a son of one of the captains of
+the regiment. He said that, in the first place, when the cannon were found
+to be so honeycombed with rust that it would have been madness to attempt
+to fire them, this young officer suggested that they should be bound round
+with rope just like the handle of a cricket bat. This suggestion was
+adopted, and they were therefore able to pour in the broadside that
+crippled the lugger and brought her sails down, leaving her helpless under
+the musketry fire of the troops. In the second place, when the ship was
+being pounded by the other privateer without being able to make any reply,
+and must shortly have either sunk or surrendered, this young officer
+suggested to one of the captains that the lugger, lying helpless
+alongside, should be boarded, and her guns turned on the brig, a
+suggestion that led not only to the saving of the ship, but the capture of
+the brig itself.
+
+"Lastly, when the French frigate hove in sight, the troops were
+transferred to the two prizes, and were about to make off, in which case
+one of them would almost certainly have been captured. He suggested that
+they should hoist French colours, and that both should be set to work to
+transfer some of the stores from the ship to the privateers. This
+suggestion was adopted, with the result that on the frigate approaching,
+and seeing, as was supposed, two French privateers engaged in rifling a
+prize, she continued on her way without troubling herself further about
+them. Sir Arthur Wellesley issued a most laudatory notice of Mr.
+O'Connor's conduct in general orders."
+
+Most of those present remembered seeing the order, now that it was
+mentioned, and the general, turning to Terence, who was colouring scarlet
+with embarrassment and confusion, said, kindly:
+
+"You see, we have got at it after all, Mr. O'Connor. I am glad that it
+came from another source, for I do not suppose that we should have got all
+the facts from you, even by cross-questioning. You may think, and I have
+no doubt that you do think, that you received more credit than you
+deserved for what you consider were merely ideas that struck you at the
+moment; but such is not my opinion, nor that, I am sure, of the other
+officers present. The story which we have just heard of you, and the
+account that you have given of the campaign, afford great promise, I may
+almost say a certainty, of your attaining, if you are spared, high
+eminence in your profession.
+
+"Your narrative showed that you are painstaking, accurate, and
+intelligent. The facts that we have just heard prove you to be
+exceptionally quick in conceiving ideas, cool in action, and able to think
+of the right thing at the right time--all qualities that are requisite for
+a great commander. I warmly congratulate you, that at the very
+commencement of your career you should have had the opportunity afforded
+you for showing that you possess these qualities, and of gaining the warm
+approbation of men very much older than yourself, and all of wide
+experience in their profession. I am sorry now that you are starting
+to-morrow on what I cannot but consider a useless, as well as a somewhat
+dangerous, undertaking. I should have been glad to have utilized your
+services at once, and only hope that you will erelong rejoin us."
+
+So saying, he rose. The hour was late, for Terence's description of the
+campaign and battle had necessarily been a very long one, and the party at
+once broke up, all the officers present shaking the lad warmly by the
+hand.
+
+"You are a lucky fellow, O'Connor," Captain Nelson said, as he accompanied
+him to his room, in which a second bed had been set up for the young
+ensign's accommodation. "You will certainly get on after this. There were
+a dozen colonels and two generals of brigade among the party, and I fancy
+that there is not one of them that will not bear you in mind and say a
+good word for you, if opportunity occurs, and Sir John himself is sure to
+push you on. I should say that not an officer of your rank in the army has
+such good chances, and you look such a lad, too. You did not show it so
+much when you first arrived; of course you were fagged and travel-stained
+then, but now I should not take you for more than seventeen. Indeed, I
+suppose you are not, as you only joined the service six months ago."
+
+"No; I am not more than seventeen," Terence said, quietly, not thinking it
+necessary to state that he wanted a good many months yet to that age, for
+to do so would provoke questions as to how he obtained his commission
+before he was sixteen. "But, you see, I have had a good many advantages. I
+was brought up in barracks, and I suppose that sharpens one's wits a bit.
+When I was quite a young boy I used to be a good deal with the junior
+officers; of course, that made me older in my ideas than I should have
+been if I had always associated with boys of my own age. Still, it has
+been all luck, and though Sir John was kind enough to speak very warmly
+about it, I really can't see that I have done anything out of the way."
+
+"Luck comes to a good many fellows, O'Connor, but it is not every one who
+has the quickness to make the most of the opportunity. You may say that
+they are only ideas; but you see you had three valuable ideas, and none of
+your brother officers had them, and you cannot deny that your brains
+worked more quickly than those of the others.
+
+"Well, we may as well turn in at once, as we have all got to be up before
+daylight. I am very glad that Sir John has given you a couple of troopers.
+It will make you feel a good deal more comfortable anyhow, even if you
+don't get into any adventure where their aid may be of vital importance."
+
+"It will indeed; alone I should have very little influence with the
+Portuguese guard. These might be perfectly honest themselves, but they
+might not be at all disposed to risk their lives by offering any
+opposition to any band that might demand the ammunition they would believe
+were in the cases. I was twice stopped by bands of scantily armed peasants
+on my way down, and although they released me on seeing the letter that I
+carried to the general, it was evident that they felt but little good-will
+towards us, and had I had anything about me worth taking, my chance of
+reaching Lisbon would have been small."
+
+"The Junta of Oporto has spared no pains in spreading all sorts of
+atrocious lies against us ever since the escort of the French prisoners
+interfered to save them from the fury of the populace, though perhaps the
+peasants in this part of the country still feel grateful to us for having
+delivered them from the exactions of the French.
+
+"In the north, where no French soldier has set foot, they have been taught
+to regard us as enemies to be dreaded as much as the French. Up to the
+present time all the orders for the raising of levies have been
+disregarded north of the Douro, and though great quantities of arms have
+been sent up to Oporto, I doubt whether a single musket has been
+distributed by the Junta. That fellow Friere, the general of what they
+call their army, is as bad as any of them. I hope that if Soult comes down
+through the passes he will teach the fellow and his patrons a wholesome
+lesson."
+
+"And do you think that the troops here will march north to defend Oporto?"
+
+"I should hardly think that there is a chance of it. Were our force to do
+so, Lisbon would be at the mercy of Victor and of the army corps at
+Salamanca. Cuesta is, what he calls, watching Victor. He is one of the
+most obstinate and pigheaded of all the generals. Victor will crush him
+without difficulty, and could be at Lisbon long before we could get back
+from Oporto. No, Lisbon is the key of the situation; there are very strong
+positions on the range of hills between the river and the sea at Torres
+Vedras, which could be held against greatly superior forces. The town
+itself is protected by strong forts, which have been greatly strengthened
+since we came. The men-of-war can come up to the town, aid in its defence,
+and bring reinforcements; and provisions can be landed at all times.
+
+"The loss of Lisbon would be a death-blow to Portuguese independence, and
+you may be sure that the ministry at home would eagerly seize the
+opportunity of abandoning the struggle here altogether. Do you know that
+at the present moment, while urging Sir John Cradock to take the offensive
+with only 15,000 men against the whole army of France in the Peninsula,
+they have had the folly to send a splendid expedition of from thirty to
+forty thousand good troops to Holland, where they will be powerless to do
+any good, while their presence here would be simply invaluable. Well, we
+will not enter upon that subject to-night; the folly and the incapacity of
+Mr. Canning and his crew is a subject that, once begun, would keep one
+talking until morning."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+AN AWKWARD POSITION
+
+When Captain Nelson and Terence went out, just as the morning was
+breaking, they found the two troopers waiting in the street. Each held a
+spare horse; the one was that upon which Terence had ridden from Coimbra,
+the other was a fine English horse.
+
+"What horse is this?" Terence asked.
+
+"It is a present to you from Sir John Cradock," Captain Nelson said. "He
+told me last night that the troopers had been ordered to ask for it when
+they took your horse this morning, and that his men were ordered to hand
+it over to them. He wished me to tell you that he had pleasure in
+presenting the horse to you as a mark of his great satisfaction at the
+manner in which you had mastered the military details of Sir John Moore's
+expedition, and the clearness with which you had explained them."
+
+"I am indeed greatly obliged to the general; it is most kind of him,"
+Terence said. "Will you please express my thanks to him in a proper way,
+Captain Nelson."
+
+They rode to the Treasury, where they found the Portuguese escort, with
+the mules, waiting them. The officer in charge of the Treasury was already
+there, and admitted the two officers.
+
+"I have packed the money in ammunition-boxes," he said. "I received
+instructions from Mr. Villiers to do so."
+
+"It is evident that your words had some effect, Mr. O'Connor," Captain
+Nelson said aside to Terence. "I suppose that when he thought it over he
+came to the conclusion that, after all, your suggestions, were prudent
+ones, and that it would add to the chance of the money reaching Romana
+were he to adopt it."
+
+"I am glad that he did so, for had the money been placed in the ordinary
+chests and then brought to the barracks to be packed in ammunition-cases,
+the Portuguese troopers would all have been sure of the nature of the
+contents; whereas now, whatever they may suspect, they cannot be sure
+about it, because there is a large amount of ammunition stored in the same
+building."
+
+Some of the guard stationed in the Treasury carried the chests out, and
+assisted the muleteers to lash them in their places.
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN
+CRADOCK]
+
+
+"I cannot thank you too warmly, Captain Nelson, for the kindness that you
+have shown me," Terence said.
+
+"Not at all," that officer replied; "I simply carried out the general's
+orders, and the duty has been a very pleasant one. No, I don't think I
+would mount that horse if I were you," he went on, as Terence walked
+towards his acquisition. "I would have him led as far as Coimbra, while
+you ride the horse you borrowed there, then he will be fresh for the
+further journey."
+
+"That would be the best way, no doubt, though our stages must all be
+comparatively short ones, owing to our having mules with us."
+
+"I should not press them if I were you. I don't suppose that it will make
+much difference whether Romana gets the money a few days sooner or later."
+
+"None whatever, I should say," Terence laughed, as he mounted his horse.
+"Still, I do think that he will be able to gather a mob of peasants. Of
+course, being almost without arms, they will be of no use whatever for
+fighting, but still they may harass Soult's communications, cut off
+stragglers, and compel him to move slowly and cautiously."
+
+Terence now saluted the Portuguese officer, who said, as he returned the
+salute:
+
+"My name, senor, is Juan Herrara."
+
+"And mine is Terence O'Connor, senor. Our journey will be a somewhat long
+one together, and I hope that we shall meet with no adventures or
+accidents by the way."
+
+"I hope not, senor. My instructions are simple; I am to place myself under
+your orders, and to convey eight cases of ammunition to the northern
+frontier, and to follow the routes that you may point out. I was ordered
+also to pick the men who are to form the escort. I have done so, and I
+think I can answer that they can be relied upon to do their duty under all
+circumstances."
+
+Terence now turned, and with a hearty farewell to Captain Nelson, rode on
+by the side of Lieutenant Herrara. The two British troopers followed them,
+the four mules with their two muleteers kept close behind, and the twelve
+Portuguese troopers brought up the rear.
+
+"It is a strong escort for four mules carrying ammunition," the Portuguese
+officer said, with a smile.
+
+"It may seem so," Terence laughed, "but you see the country, especially
+north of the Douro, is greatly disturbed."
+
+"Very much so, and I think that the precaution that has been taken is a
+very wise one. I have been informed what is really in the cases. Were I
+going by myself with a sergeant and twelve men, I should say that to put
+the money in ammunition-cases was not only absolutely useless but
+dangerous, the disproportion between the force and the value of the
+ammunition would be so great that it would attract attention at once, but
+as you are with us it is more likely to pass without observation. You are
+an officer on the staff of the English general. You have your own two
+orderlies, and, as you are carrying despatches, it is considered necessary
+that you should have an escort of our people. The cases in that event
+would seem to be of little importance, but to be simply travelling with us
+to have the advantage of the protection of our escort."
+
+"You are quite right, Senior Herrara, and it would have been vastly better
+had the money been stowed in sacks filled up with grain; then they could
+follow a short distance behind us, and it would seem that they were simply
+carrying forage for our use on the road."
+
+"That would have been very much better, senior. You might have it done at
+Torres Vedras."
+
+"The money is in bags, each containing two hundred dollars. There will be
+no trouble in transferring them to sacks filled with plenty of forage. Two
+of your soldiers have behind them a bundle or two of faggots, a basket of
+fowls, and other matters; these can be piled on the top of the sacks, so
+that the fact that the principal load was forage would hardly be noticed.
+You might mention to the muleteers that I thought that it would be a
+considerable saving of weight if we used sacks instead of those heavy
+cases, and that the ammunition would travel just as well in the one as the
+other. We must arrange so that the muleteers do not suspect anything."
+
+"As a rule," Herrara said, "they are very trustworthy. There is scarcely a
+case known in which they have stolen goods intrusted to them, however
+valuable; but it would be easy to place a few packets of ammunition in the
+mouth of each sack, and call them in to cord them up firmly. The sight of
+the ammunition would go far to lessen any suspicions they might have."
+
+They reached Torres Vedras that night. Terence spoke to the officer in
+command there, and was furnished with the sacks he required, and enough
+forage to fill them. The boxes were put into a room in the barracks, and
+here Terence, with his two orderlies, opened the cases and transferred the
+bags of money to the centre of the sacks. Two or three dozen packets of
+ammunition were obtained, and a few put into the mouths of the sacks.
+These were left open, and the room locked up, two of the Portuguese
+soldiers being placed on guard before it. Terence and Lieutenant Herrara
+were invited to dine at mess and had quarters assigned to them, and
+Terence, after dinner, again, but much more briefly than before, gave the
+officers at the station a sketch of the retreat and battle.
+
+The next morning the muleteers were called in to fasten up the sacks. At
+the suggestion of the officer in command, a tent was also taken.
+
+"You may want it badly before you are done," he said. "If I were you I
+should always have it pitched, except when you are at a village, for you
+can have the sacks in as beds, and so keep them under your eye; and if, as
+you tell me, you are giving out that they contain ammunition, it would
+seem but a natural step, as you are so able to keep it dry."
+
+The mules looked more heavily laden than upon the preceding day, but they
+were carrying no heavier burden, for the weight of the tent, its poles,
+the basket of fowls, Terence's valise, and other articles, were
+considerably less than those of the eight heavy cases that had been left
+behind. The two officers now rode at the head of the detachment, and two
+only of the Portuguese soldiers kept in rear of the mules, which now
+followed at a distance of thirty or forty yards behind them. They stopped
+that night at Rolica and the next at Leirya. This was a long march, and a
+short one the next day brought them to Pombal, and the following afternoon
+they arrived at Coimbra. Here they spent another pleasant evening with the
+regiment stationed in the town.
+
+"By the way, O'Connor," one of the officers said, after the dinner was
+over and cigars lighted, "I suppose you don't happen to have any relations
+at Oporto?"
+
+"Well, I do happen to have some," Terence answered, in some surprise. "Why
+do you ask?"
+
+"Well, that is singular," the officer said; "I will tell you how it
+happened. I was with the party that escorted the French prisoners down to
+Oporto. Just as we had got into the town--it was before the row began, and
+being early in the morning, there were very few people about--a head
+appeared at a window on the second floor of a big convent standing on the
+left side of the road. I remember the name was carved over the door-it was
+the Convent of Santa Maria. I happened to catch sight of the nun, and she
+at once dropped a little letter, which fell close to me. I picked it up
+and stuck it into my glove, and thought no more about it for a time, for
+the mob soon began to gather, to yell and threaten the prisoners, and my
+hands were too full, till we had got them safely on board a ship, to think
+any more of the matter. When I took off my glove the letter fell out. It
+was simply addressed 'to an English officer.'
+
+"'_I, an English girl, am detained here, a prisoner, principally because
+my Spanish relations wish to seize my property. I have been made a nun by
+force, though my father was a Protestant, and taught me his religion. I
+pray you to endeavour to obtain my freedom. I am made most miserable here,
+and am kept in solitary confinement. I have nothing to eat but bread and
+water, because I will not sign a renunciation of my property. The Bishop
+of Oporto has himself threatened me, and it is useless to appeal to him.
+Nothing but an English army being stationed here can save me. Have pity
+upon me, and aid me_.'
+
+"It was signed '_Mary O'Connor_.' Of course no British troops have been
+there since, but if we are sent there I had made up my mind to bring the
+matter before the general, and ask him to interfere on the poor girl's
+behalf; though I know that it would be an awkward matter. For if there is
+one thing that the Portuguese are more touchy about than another, it is
+any interference in religious matters, and the bishop, who is a most
+intolerant rascal, would be the last man who would give way on such a
+subject."
+
+"I have not the least doubt in the world but that it is a cousin of mine,"
+Terence said. "Her father went out to join a firm of wine merchants in
+Oporto. I know that he married a very rich Portuguese heiress, and that
+they had one daughter. My father told me that he gathered from his
+cousin's letters that he and his wife did not get on very well together.
+He died two years ago, and it is quite possible that the mother, who may
+perhaps want to marry again, has shut the girl up in a convent to get rid
+of her altogether, and to make her sign a document renouncing her right to
+the property in favour of herself, or possibly, as the bishop seems to
+have meddled in the affair, partly of the Church.
+
+"I quite see that nothing can be done now, but if we do occupy Oporto,
+some day, which is likely enough, I will speak to the general, and if he
+says that it is a matter that he cannot entertain, I will see what I can
+do to get her out."
+
+"It is awkward work, O'Connor, fooling with a nunnery either here or in
+Spain. The Portuguese are not so bigoted as the Spaniards across the
+frontier, but there is not much difference, and if anyone is caught
+meddling with a nunnery they would tear him to pieces, especially in
+Oporto, where men who are even suspected of hostility to the bishop are
+murdered every day."
+
+"I don't want to run the risk of being torn to pieces, certainly, but
+after what you have told me of her letter, I will not let my little cousin
+be imprisoned all her life in a nunnery, and robbed of her property,
+without making some strong effort to save her."
+
+"I will give you the letter presently, O'Connor; I have it in a
+pocket-book at my quarters. By the by, how old is your cousin?"
+
+"About my own age, or a little younger."
+
+The subject of the conversation was then changed, and half an hour later
+the officer left the room and returned with the letter.
+
+"At any rate," he said, "if we do go to Oporto you will have more
+opportunity for getting the general to move than I should."
+
+Terence had handed over the horse he had borrowed, with many thanks for
+its use, and received his own again, which was in good condition after its
+rest of seven or eight days. It was by no means a valuable animal, but he
+thought it as well to take it on with him in case any of the other horses
+should meet with an accident or break down during the journey through the
+mountains.
+
+Coimbra was the last British station through which they would pass, and
+the real difficulties of the journey would now begin. Terence had, before
+starting, received a sum of money for the maintenance of himself and his
+escort upon the way, and he had done all in his power to see that the
+troopers were comfortable at their various halting-places.
+
+The journey as far as the Douro passed without any adventure. They
+encountered on the road several bands of peasants armed with pikes, clubs,
+hoes, and a few guns. These were for the most part ordenancas or levies,
+called out when a larger force than the regular troops and militia was
+required. They were on their way to join the forces assembling under the
+edicts, and beyond pausing to stare at the British officer with the two
+dragoons behind him and an escort of their own troops, they paid no
+attention to the party.
+
+They crossed the Douro at St. Joa de Pesquiera, and on stopping at a large
+village some ten miles beyond, found it occupied by a rabble of some two
+thousand men, absolutely useless for service in the field, but capable of
+offering an obstinate defence to the passage of a river, or of impeding an
+enemy's advance through a mountain defile. As they stopped before the
+principal inn a man, dressed in some attempt at a uniform, came out from a
+door.
+
+"You are a British officer, sir?" he asked Terence, raising his broad hat
+courteously.
+
+"I am an officer on the English general's staff, and am proceeding on a
+mission from him to the northern frontier to ascertain the best means of
+defence, and the route that the enemy are most likely to move by if they
+attempt to invade Portugal from that direction."
+
+"The French general would hardly venture to do that," the officer said,
+disdainfully, "when there will be 50,000 Portuguese to bar his way."
+
+"He may be in ignorance of the force that will gather to meet him,"
+Terence said, gravely, and with difficulty restraining a smile at the
+confident tone of this leader of an armed mob. "However, I have my orders
+to carry out. Do you not think," he said, turning to Herrara, "that it
+will be better for us to go on to the next hamlet, if there is one within
+two or three miles. I fear there is little chance of obtaining any
+accommodation for our men here."
+
+"There is no need for that," the Portuguese colonel broke in. "There is a
+large house at the end of the village that is at present vacant; the
+proprietor, who was a disturber of the peace, and who belonged to the
+French faction, was killed last week in the course of a disturbance
+created by him. I, as Commissioner of the Junta here, had the house closed
+up, but it is quite at your service."
+
+As the march had already been a long one, Terence thought it best to
+accept the offer. The colonel called a man, who presently brought a key,
+and accompanied them to the house in question. It showed signs at once of
+mob violence. The snow in the garden was trampled down, the windows
+broken, and one of the lower ones smashed in as if an entry had been
+effected here. The door was riddled with bullet holes. Upon this being
+opened the destruction within was seen to be complete, rooms being strewn
+with broken furniture and litter of all sorts.
+
+"At any rate there is plenty of firewood," the lieutenant said, as he
+ordered his men to clear out one of the rooms. "There has been dastardly
+work here," he went on, as the man who had brought the key left the place.
+
+"Yes, I have no doubt the proprietor, whoever he was, has been foully
+murdered, and as likely as not by the orders of that fellow we met, who
+says he is Commissioner of the Junta. I should not be surprised if we have
+trouble with him before we have done. I should think, Herrara, you had
+better send off a couple of men to get what they can in the way of
+provisions and a skin of wine. This is a cheerless-looking place, and
+these broken windows are not of much use for keeping out the cold. Bull,
+you had better see if you can find something among all this rubbish to
+hang up in front of the window, for in its present state it merely creates
+a draught."
+
+The orderly went out, and returned with two torn curtains.
+
+"There has been some bad work going on here, sir," he said. "There are
+pools of blood in three of the rooms upstairs, and it is evident that
+there has been a desperate struggle. One of the doors is broken in, and
+there are several shot-holes through it."
+
+"I am afraid there has been bad work. I suppose the man here was obnoxious
+to somebody, so they murdered him. However, it is not our business."
+
+Some of the horses were stabled in a large shed, the others in the lower
+rooms of the house, the soldiers and muleteers taking possession of the
+large kitchen, where they soon had a huge fire burning. The windows on
+this side of the house were unbroken. The two orderlies soon fastened up
+the curtains across the windows of the officers' room, and when the fire
+was lighted it had a more cheerful aspect. The burdens of the mules were
+brought into the room opposite, where there was a key in the door and bars
+across the windows. Presently the soldiers returned with some meat, a
+couple of fowls, bread, and some wine, together with a bunch of candles.
+The fowls were soon plucked, cut in two, and grilled over the fire, and in
+a quarter of an hour after the men's return the two officers sat down to
+supper. The meal was just finished when there was a knock at the outer
+door, and the soldier acting as sentry came in and said that Colonel
+Cortingos desired to speak to them.
+
+"I suppose that is the fellow we saw in the town," Terence said; "show him
+in."
+
+The supposition was a correct one, for the man entered, accompanied by two
+others. Terence had no doubt that this fellow was the author of the attack
+upon the house, and the murderer of the proprietor and others. He did not
+feel disposed to be exceptionally civil to him, but as he had a couple of
+thousand men under his command and had certainly put the only available
+place in the village at their disposal, he rose as he entered.
+
+"These two gentlemen," the colonel began, "form, with myself, the
+committee appointed by the Junta of Oporto to organize the national
+resistance here and in the surrounding neighbourhood, to keep our eye upon
+persons suspected of being favourable to the enemy, and to arrest and send
+them to Oporto for trial. We are also enjoined to make close inquiries
+into the business of all persons who may pass through here."
+
+"I have already told you," Terence said, quietly, "that I am an officer on
+the staff of the English general, and that I have a mission from him to
+see what are the best means of defending the northern passes, and, I may
+add, to enter into such arrangements as I may think proper with the
+leaders of any bands who may be gathered for the purpose of defending
+them. As I am acting under the direct orders of the general, I in no way
+recognize the right of any local authority to interfere with me in any
+way."
+
+"And I, Lieutenant Herrara, have been ordered by the colonel of my
+regiment to command the escort of Portuguese cavalry told off to accompany
+this British officer, and also feel myself free from any interference or
+examination by civilians."
+
+"I am a colonel!" Cortingos said, angrily.
+
+"By whom appointed, if I may ask?"
+
+"By the Junta of Oporto."
+
+"I was not aware that they possessed the right of granting high
+commissions," Herrara said, "although, of course, they can grant temporary
+rank to those who command irregular forces. This British officer has
+assured you as to the object of his journey, and unless that object has
+had the approval of the military authorities at Lisbon he would not have
+been furnished with an escort by them."
+
+"I have only his word and yours as to that," Cortingos said, insolently.
+"I am acting under the orders of the supreme authority of this province."
+
+"You are doing your duty, no doubt," the lieutenant said, "in making these
+inquiries. This officer has answered them, and I will answer any further
+questions if I consider them to be reasonable."
+
+"We wish, in the first place," Cortingos said, "to examine any official
+passes you may have received."
+
+"Our official passes are our uniforms," Herrara replied, haughtily.
+
+"Uniforms have been useful for purposes of disguise before now," Cortingos
+replied. "I again ask you to show me your authority."
+
+"Here is an authority," Terence broke in. "Here is a despatch from General
+Sir John Cradock to General Romana."
+
+"Ah, ah, a Spaniard."
+
+"A Spanish general, a marquis and grandee of Spain, who has been fighting
+the French, and who is now with a portion of his army preparing to defend
+the passes into Portugal."
+
+Cortingos held out his hand for the paper, but Terence put it back again
+into the breast-pocket of his uniform.
+
+"No, sir," he said; "this communication is for the Marquis of Romana, and
+for him only. No one else touches it so long as I am alive to defend it."
+
+The colonel whispered to his two associates.
+
+"We will let that pass for the present," he replied, and turning to
+Terence again, said, "In the next place we wish to know the nature of the
+contents of the sacks that are being carried by the mules that accompany
+you."
+
+"They contain ammunition, and forage for our horses," Lieutenant Herrara
+said. "You can, if you choose, question the muleteers, who fastened up the
+sacks and had an opportunity of seeing the ammunition."
+
+"In the name of the Junta I demand that ammunition!" Cortingos said, with
+an air of authority. "It is monstrous that ammunition should be taken to
+Spaniards, who have already shown that they are incapable of using it with
+any effect, while here we have loyal men ready to die in their country's
+defence, but altogether unprovided with ammunition."
+
+"For that, sir, you must apply to your Junta. Since they give you orders,
+let them give you ammunition; there is enough in Oporto to supply the
+whole population, had they arms; and you may be assured that I and my men
+will see that the convoy intrusted to our charge reaches its destination."
+
+
+[Illustration: "IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA, I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION,"]
+
+
+"I believe that there is not only ammunition, but money in those sacks,"
+said Cortingos. "It would be an act of treachery to allow it to pass,
+when, even if not taken to them directly, it might fall into the hands of
+the French. It is needed here; my men lack shoes and clothes, and as you
+say the object of your mission is to see to the defence of our frontier,
+any money you may have cannot be better applied than to satisfy the
+necessities of my soldiers. However, we do not wish to take steps that
+might appear unfriendly. And, therefore, if you will allow us to inspect
+the contents of those sacks, we will let you pass on if we find that they
+contain no money--confiscating only the ammunition for the use of the
+troops of the province."
+
+"I refuse absolutely," Herrara said, "to allow anything confided to my
+charge to be touched."
+
+"That is your final decision," the man said, with a sneer.
+
+"Final and absolute."
+
+"I also shall do my duty;" and then, without another word, the colonel
+with his two associates left the house.
+
+"We shall have trouble with that fellow," Herrara said.
+
+"So much the better," Terence replied. "We have evidence here that the
+scoundrel is a murderer. No doubt he had some private enmity against the
+owner of this establishment, and so denounced him to the Junta, and then
+attacked the place, murdered him, and perhaps some of his servants, and
+sacked the house. They won't find it so easy a job as it was last time;
+all the windows are barred, and there are only three on this floor to
+defend. The shutters of two of them are uninjured, so it is only the one
+where they broke in before that they can attack, while our men at the
+windows upstairs will make it hot for them as they approach. But I should
+hardly think that the men he calls soldiers will venture to attack a party
+of regular troops."
+
+The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"He will tell them some lies, probably assert that we are French agents in
+disguise taking money to the French army. Indeed, there is neither order
+nor discipline among these bands, and, roused to a pitch of fury, they
+would murder their own leaders as readily as anyone else. The Junta acts
+as if the province were altogether independent, and numbers of men of
+position have been butchered on the pretence of their being adherents of
+the French, when their sole crime was that they disapproved of the doings
+of the bishop and his tools. You will see that the night will not pass off
+without something happening. Of course, I shall be sorry to have to order
+the men to fire. In the first place it would render it very difficult for
+us to resume our journey; and in the second, if we succeed in getting out
+alive, they will send a lying account of the affair to Lisbon, and there
+will be all sorts of trouble. Still, of course, if they attack the house
+we shall defend ourselves."
+
+The two officers then made a tour of the house and carefully examined the
+means of defence. The broken shutters were replaced in their position in
+the window, and were backed with a pile of the fragments of furniture. The
+horses were all brought in from the shed outside, the soldiers were warned
+that the mob in the place were likely to attack them, and four of them
+were placed as sentries at the upper windows; and, by the looks of the men
+when the lieutenant made the communication to them, Terence saw that they
+could be relied upon.
+
+"I have no doubt that we shall be able to defend the place successfully,"
+Terence said to the two British troopers; "but if the worst comes to the
+worst we will all mount inside the house, throw open the door behind, and
+then go right at them. But I hope that we shall avoid a fight, for if we
+have one, it will be very difficult for us to make our way to the north,
+or to get back across the Douro."
+
+In an hour one of the sentries at the upper window brought news that a
+large number of men were approaching. Terence at once gave some orders
+that he and the lieutenant had agreed upon to the two soldiers, and four
+of the Portuguese troopers, and then went up with the lieutenant to the
+window over the door. He threw it open just as a crowd of men poured into
+the garden in front.
+
+"What is it?" he asked. "What do you want?"
+
+"I demand entrance to this house in the name of the Junta of Oporto," a
+voice which he recognized as that of Cortingos replied. "If that is
+refused I shall denounce you as traitors to Portugal, and your blood will
+be on your own heads."
+
+"We respect the orders of the Junta," Herrara replied, "and are ready to
+open the door as you demand; but I must first be assured that it is really
+the committee appointed by the Junta that demand it."
+
+Several of the men had torches, and these were brought forward, and they
+saw the man and his two associates standing in front.
+
+"Good, I will open the door," the lieutenant said, and he and Terence went
+down. The bars were removed and the door thrown open, the two officers
+walked a few paces outside, and then halted.
+
+Followed closely by their armed followers, the three men approached,
+confident in the strength of their following.
+
+"Enter, gentlemen," Terence said. "I protest against this invasion, by
+force, but I cannot oppose it."
+
+The three men entered the door, the two officers standing aside and
+allowing them to pass. The instant the three Portuguese had entered
+Terence and the lieutenant threw themselves suddenly upon those following
+them. Two or three rolled over with the suddenness of the assault, and the
+rest recoiled a step or two. Before they could recover themselves Herrara
+and Terence dashed through the door, which was slammed to and barred by
+the two English troopers. Meanwhile, the three men had been seized by the
+Portuguese troopers, their coats torn off them, and their hands tied
+behind their backs, and then they were hurried upstairs.
+
+Yells of fury filled the air outside, shots were fired at the windows, and
+men began to beat the door and shutters with bludgeons and hatchets.
+Suddenly a light appeared from a window above, and Cortingos and his two
+friends were seen standing there. By the side of each stood a trooper,
+holding a rope with a noose round the prisoners' necks. For a moment there
+was a silence of stupefaction outside, followed by a yell of fury from the
+mob. Herrara went to the window and shouted: "My friends." Again there was
+a moment of silence, as each wanted to hear what he said. "My friends, at
+the first shot that is fired, or the first blow that is struck at the
+doors of this house, these three men will be hung out of the window. They
+have deceived you grossly. I am an officer of the National Army, these
+troopers are men of the 2d Portuguese Dragoons. We have been appointed by
+the military authorities of Lisbon to escort this British officer, who is
+on the staff of the British general, and whose commission is to make
+arrangements with the Spanish general, Romana to harass the rear of the
+French, and attack their convoys should they attempt to enter the northern
+passes.
+
+"These three scoundrels have deceived you, in order, as they hoped, to
+obtain some money that they believed us to be escorting. As loyal
+Portuguese, I warn you against attempting to aid the fellows in a deed
+which would bring disgrace upon the national name, and would result in the
+British general refusing to assist in the defence of your country. You are
+brave men, but you see these three cowards are trembling like children. We
+advise you to appoint fresh officers among yourselves, and to remain
+faithful to your duty, which is to march when ordered to the defence of
+the defiles. These three fellows we shall take with us, and will see that
+they do not further deceive you. Already they have done harm enough by
+goading you to theft, and to murder a man whose only fault was that he was
+more patriotic than they are. Be assured that in no case would you be able
+to carry this house. It is defended by sixteen well-armed men, and
+hundreds of you would throw away your lives in the attempt. Therefore, I
+advise you to go back to your quarters, and in the morning assemble and
+choose your officers."
+
+The crowd stood irresolute.
+
+"Tell them to go, you cur," Herrara said to Cortingos, standing back from
+the window and giving him a kick that almost sent him on his face. "Tell
+them to disperse at once, if you don't want to be dangling from the end of
+this rope."
+
+Cortingos stepped forward, and in a quavering voice told the men to
+disperse to their quarters.
+
+"We have made a mistake," he said. "I am now convinced that these officers
+are what they appear to be. I beseech you do not cause trouble, and
+disperse at once--quietly."
+
+Hoots of derision and scorn rose from the peasants.
+
+"I have a good mind to fire a shot before I go," one of the peasants
+shouted, "just for the pleasure of seeing three such cowards hung."
+
+Another yell of disgust and anger arose, and then the crowd melted away.
+
+"Keep these three fellows at the window. Remove the ropes from their
+necks, and take your place behind them; you will be relieved every hour.
+If they move, bayonet them at once."
+
+"We shall die of cold," one of the men whimpered.
+
+"That would be a more honourable death than you are likely to meet,"
+Terence said, scornfully. "I fancy if I don't hang you, those men in the
+village will do so if they can lay hands on you."
+
+"How about the sentries, sir?" the corporal of the escort asked Herrara as
+they went downstairs. "They can all be removed except the one keeping
+guard over these men--he is to be relieved every hour--and one inside the
+door, he can be relieved every two hours."
+
+The night passed quietly. Just as they were preparing to start next
+morning, the soldier on guard over the prisoners shouted, "There is a
+crowd of men coming!"
+
+"Get your arms ready," Herrara said to the escort; "but I don't think
+there will be any occasion to use them."
+
+Terence went to the door. "Bull, do you and Macwitty keep close behind;
+but whatever happens don't use your weapons, unless I order you to do so."
+
+The crowd stopped at the gate, two of them only coming forward.
+
+"We are ready to fight, sir," one said, addressing Terence, "but we have
+no officers; none of us know anything about drill. We will follow you, if
+you will command us, and you will find that we won't turn our backs to the
+enemy. We know that English officers will fight."
+
+"Wait a minute or two," Terence said, after a moment's hesitation, "I will
+then give you my answer."
+
+Herrara had followed him out and heard the offer.
+
+"I don't know what to do, Herrara," Terence said, as he re-entered the
+house. "My instructions are to join Romana, and to remain with him for a
+time, sending word to Lisbon as to the state of things, and aiding him in
+any way in my power. Here are between two and three thousand stout,
+healthy fellows, evidently disposed to fight. If they were armed I would
+not hesitate a moment, but I don't suppose that there are a hundred
+muskets among them, and certainly Romana has none to give them. Still, in
+the defiles we might give a good deal of trouble to the French by rolling
+stones down, breaking up bridges, and that sort of thing."
+
+"It would be good fun," Herrara laughed. "As for myself," he said, "I have
+orders to return as soon as I have seen the treasure safely in Romana's
+camp. If it hadn't been for that I should have liked nothing better,
+though there would not have been much chance for cavalry work in these
+defiles."
+
+"I will talk to them again," Terence said. "It is not often that one gets
+the chance of an independent command. It is just the sort of work I should
+like."
+
+He went out again. "I should like to command a number of brave fellows,"
+he said, "but the question is about arms. There have been any quantity
+sent out by England for your use; but instead of being served out, the
+Juntas keep them all hidden up in magazines. Even now, when the French are
+going to invade your country, they still keep them locked up, and send you
+out with only pikes and staves to fight against a well-armed army. It is
+nothing short of murder."
+
+"Down with the Juntas!" cried half a dozen of the men standing near enough
+to hear what was said.
+
+"I don't say 'Down with the Juntas!'" Terence replied; "but I do say take
+arms if you can get them. Are there any magazines near here?"
+
+"There is one at Castro, ten miles away," the man said. "I know that there
+are waggon-loads of arms there."
+
+"Well, my friends, the matter stands thus: I, as a British officer, cannot
+lead you to break open magazines; but I say this, if you choose to go in a
+body to Castro and do it yourselves, and arm yourselves with all the
+muskets that you can find there, and bring with you a good store of
+ammunition in carts that you could take with you from here, and then come
+to me at a spot where I will halt to-night five or six miles beyond
+Castro, I will take command of you. But mind, if I command, I command. I
+must have absolute obedience. It is only by obeying my orders without
+question that you can hope to do any good. The first man who disobeys me I
+shall shoot on the spot, and if others are disposed to support him I shall
+leave you at once."
+
+"I will consult the others," the man said. "Many of us, I know, will be
+glad to fight under an English officer, and agree to obey him implicitly."
+
+"Very well, I will give you a quarter of an hour to decide."
+
+Before that time had elapsed a dozen men came to the door with the
+principal spokesman.
+
+"We have made up our minds, senor. We will follow you, and we will arm
+ourselves at Castro. It is a sin that the arms should be lying there idle
+with so many hands ready to use them."
+
+"That is good," Terence said. "Now, my first order is that you wait until
+I have been gone an hour; then, that you form up in military order, four
+abreast; the men with guns in front, the others after them. You must go as
+soldiers, and not as a mob. You must march into Castro peacefully and
+quietly, not a man must straggle from the ranks. You must go to the
+authorities and demand the arms and ammunition; if they refuse to give
+them to you, march--always in regular order--to the magazine and burst it
+open; then distribute the muskets and a hundred rounds of ammunition to
+each man having one, take the rest of the stores in carts, and then march
+away along the road north until you come to the place where we are halted.
+
+"Observe the most perfect order in Castro. If any man plunders or meddles
+in any way with the inhabitants and is reported to me, I shall know how to
+punish him. From the moment that you leave this place remember that you
+are soldiers of Portugal, and you must behave so as to be an honour to it
+as well as a defence. Now let us all shout 'Viva Portugal!'"
+
+A great shout followed the words, and then Terence went indoors, and five
+minutes later started with his convoy, telling the three prisoners they
+could go where they liked.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND
+
+As they left the village the Portuguese lieutenant burst into a sudden fit
+of laughter.
+
+"What is it, Lieutenant?" Terence asked.
+
+"I am laughing at the way in which you--who, as you tell me, have only
+been six months in the army--without hesitation organize what is really a
+rising against the authorities, you having already taken representatives
+of the Junta prisoners--"
+
+"Yes; but you must remember that they took upon themselves to endeavour to
+forcibly possess themselves of the treasure in my charge."
+
+"That is true enough; still, you did capture them. You treated them with
+considerable personal indignity, imprisoned them, and threatened their
+lives. Then you incite, say 2,500 ordenancas to break open magazines."
+
+"No, no, Lieutenant, I did not incite them. You will remember they
+expressed a desire to march under my command to fight against the French.
+I simply pointed out to them that they had no arms, and asked if they
+could get any; and hearing that there were plenty lying useless a few
+miles away, suggested that those arms would do more good in their hands
+than stowed away in magazines. Upon their agreeing with me on this head, I
+advised them to proceed in a quiet and orderly way, and to have no rioting
+or disturbance of any sort. I said that if they, after arming themselves,
+came to me and still wished to follow me, I would undertake to command
+them. You see, everything depends upon the manner in which the thing is
+put."
+
+"But you must remember, senor, that the Junta will naturally view the
+matter in the light in which their representatives will place it before
+them."
+
+"I think it unlikely," Terence replied, "that they will have any
+opportunity of doing so. I took care that they were removed from the
+window before I met the deputies of the men. They will consequently be
+unaware of the arrangements made, and will, perhaps, go out as soon as we
+have left and try to persuade the men to follow and attack us. As it was
+possible that they might take this course, I took the precaution of
+sending out one of the muleteers, with instructions to mention casually to
+the men that I was leaving the three fellows behind me, and that it might
+be as well for them to confine them under a guard so as to prevent their
+going to Oporto at present and making mischief."
+
+"I agree with you, senor, that they are certainly not likely to make any
+report as to the proceedings here."
+
+"I fancy not; in fact I should not be at all surprised if at the present
+moment they are hanging from the windows of the house of the man they
+caused to be murdered. They will most richly deserve their fate, and it
+may save us some trouble. No doubt the Junta will hear some day that the
+ordenancas here rose, killed the three members of their committee,
+obtained arms at Castro, and marched into the mountains. The Junta will
+care nothing whatever for the killing of its three agents; plenty of men
+of the same kind can be found to do their work. That the mutineers
+afterwards fell in with a British officer, and placed themselves under his
+command, will not concern the Junta one way or the other, and they will
+certainly be a great deal more useful in that way than they would be in
+remaining unarmed here. They may even, when the French once get in motion,
+come to regard the affair altogether as satisfactory. If all the new
+levies were to act in exactly the same way, Portugal would be very
+materially benefited."
+
+"But how are you going to feed them?"
+
+"That is rather a serious question. I suppose they will have to be fed in
+the same way as other irregular bands. However, I shall consider myself
+fully justified in devoting a fifth of the money I am carrying to that
+purpose. I obtained from Villiers L5,000 to enable Romana to support the
+levies he is raising. Those levies will be for the most part unarmed, and
+therefore practically useless; and as these Portuguese will be at any rate
+fairly armed, and are likely to be of very much greater service than a
+horde of Galician peasants, a portion at least of the money can be very
+much more usefully employed in feeding them than were it all given to
+Romana, I have no doubt whatever that when I explain the circumstances to
+General Cradock, he will entirely approve of my appropriating a small
+portion of the money that Villiers has chosen to throw away on Romana.
+When you return I shall get you to carry a report from me to the general,
+stating what I have done. I have no doubt he will warmly approve of it."
+
+On approaching Castro they made a detour to avoid the town.
+
+"There may be more representatives of the Junta there," Terence said, "and
+we may have even more trouble with them than we had with the last. I don't
+want any more bother, especially as I have much greater interest in the
+money now than I had before. I have not a shadow of belief in those bands
+of Portuguese peasants, but I do think that, with the aid of my two
+troopers, I shall be able to lick these fellows into some sort of shape,
+and to annoy Soult, if I cannot stop him. I hope they will find a good
+supply of powder, besides the muskets and ammunition at Castro; we shall
+want it for blowing up bridges and work of that sort."
+
+"I wish I could go with you," Herrara said.
+
+"I really don't see why you should not. I would take the blame on my own
+shoulders. One of your troopers could carry my report to the general, and
+I will say that under the circumstances I have taken upon myself to retain
+you with me in order to assist me in drilling and organizing this band,
+conceiving that your services with me would be very much more useful than
+with your regiment. You see, you were placed under my orders, so that no
+blame can fall upon you for obeying them, and at any rate you certainly
+will be doing vastly better service to the country than if you were
+stationed at Lisbon, with no prospect of an advance for a long time to
+come. Still, of course, I will not retain you against your will."
+
+"I should like it of all things," Herrara said; "but do you really think
+that the general would approve?"
+
+"I have not the least doubt that he would, and at any rate if he did not
+he would only blame me, and not you. Your help would certainly be
+invaluable to me, and so would that of your men. They are all picked
+soldiers, and if we divided the force up into twelve companies, they would
+very soon teach them as much drill as is necessary for work like this.
+Each trooper would command one of the companies, my two orderlies would
+act as field officers; you would be colonel, and I should be political
+officer in command."
+
+Herrara burst into a fit of laughter.
+
+"You are the strangest fellow I ever met, senor. Here is a very serious
+business, and you take it as easily as if it were a game of play. However,
+it does seem to me that we might do some good service. At any rate I am
+quite willing to obey your orders. It would be an adventure to talk of all
+one's life."
+
+"That is right," Terence said; "and there will be some credit to be
+gained, too. Indeed, we can safely say that our band will be very much
+better organized than nineteen out of twenty of the irregular bands."
+
+The track they followed was a very bad one, and the point at which they
+regained the main road was eight miles north of Castro. There was a small
+village here, and they at once halted. Although they had travelled slowly
+they knew that the men could not come along for some time, as they were
+not to start until an hour after them, and would be detained for some
+considerable time at Castro. It was indeed nearly three hours before a
+column marching in good order was seen coming along the road.
+
+"That is a good sign," Terence said; "they have obeyed orders strictly;
+whether they have got the arms I cannot tell yet. The men at the head of
+the column have certainly muskets, but as the armed men were to go in
+front that is no proof."
+
+However, as the column approached, it could be seen that at any rate a
+very considerable number were armed.
+
+"We had better form them up as they come, Herrara. If the head of the
+column stops it will stop them all, and then there will be confusion."
+
+The road through the village was wide. When a hundred ranks had passed
+they were halted, faced round, and marched forward, and so they continued
+until the village was filled with a dense mass of men, twenty deep.
+Terence observed with satisfaction that they had with them six bullock
+carts filled with ammunition-cases, spare muskets, and powder-barrels. The
+men who had first spoken to Terence had headed the column, and these had
+stopped by his side as the others marched in.
+
+"You have succeeded, I see," he said. "I hope that you were enabled to
+accomplish it without violence."
+
+"They were too much surprised to offer much resistance. Five fellows, who
+said they were the committee appointed by the Junta, came to us and told
+us that unless we dispersed at once we should be severely punished. We
+told them that we had come out of our homes at the orders of the Junta,
+but that as the Junta had not supplied us with arms we had come for them,
+as we were not going to fight the French with nothing but sticks. They
+then threatened us again, and we told them that if they hindered us from
+defending the country we should hang them at once; and as they saw we
+meant it, they went quietly off to their houses. Then we broke down the
+door of the magazine. We found four thousand muskets there. Each man took
+one, and we left the remainder and enough ammunition for them, and have
+brought the rest here, together with a hundred spare muskets.
+
+"We have observed excellent order, and no one was hurt or alarmed. The
+only men who left the ranks were a score who went round to the bakers'
+shops by my orders, and bought up all the bread in the place. We found a
+bag with a thousand dollars at the quarters of Cortingos."
+
+"What became of him and his two associates?"
+
+"They had the impudence to come out and harangue us when you had gone; but
+we tied them up to the branch of a tree, so there is an end of them."
+
+"And a very fitting end, too," Terence said. "What have you done with the
+money?"
+
+"The bag is in that cart, senor."
+
+"You had better appoint four of your number as treasurers. I would rather
+not touch it. You must be as careful as you can, and spend it only on the
+barest necessaries of life. We shall have few opportunities of buying
+things in the mountains, but when we do come upon them they must be paid
+for. Of course, we shall go no farther to-night. How many men have you?"
+
+"About two thousand five hundred, senor."
+
+"They must be told off into twelve companies. That will be two hundred and
+ten to each company. I shall appoint one of these soldiers to each company
+to drill and command it. I propose that each company shall elect its other
+officers. Lieutenant Herrara will, under my orders, command the regiment.
+The two English soldiers with me will each take command of six companies.
+The first thing to be done is to tell off the men into companies.
+
+"This we will at once do. After that they can be marched just outside the
+village, and each company will then fall out and elect its officers. When
+that is done the men will be quartered in the village. I have set apart
+one room in each house for the inhabitants, and the men must pack as
+tightly as they can into the others; and of course the sheds and stables
+must also be utilized."
+
+With the assistance of the troopers the work of dividing the force up into
+companies was accomplished in an hour. Herrara then called his men to him.
+
+"You will each take the command of a company," he said, "and drill them
+and teach them the use of their arms. This force is now under the command
+of this British officer. Acting under his orders, I take the command of
+the force under him. So long as we are out you will each act as captains
+of your companies, and your British comrades will act as field officers,
+each taking the command of six companies. We are going to hinder the
+advance of the French, and to cut their communications with Spain. It will
+be a glorious and most honourable duty, and I rely most implicitly on your
+doing your best to make the men under your command fit to meet the enemy.
+Captain Juan Sanches, you will take the first company;" and so he allotted
+to each his command.
+
+The soldiers saluted gravely, but with an air of delight.
+
+"You will, in the first place, march your men to various spots around the
+village; they will then fall out and select six officers each. You will
+see that each man knows the number of his company, so that they can fall
+in without hesitation as soon as the order is given. While you are away we
+shall examine the houses and allot so many to each company."
+
+In the meantime Terence had been similarly instructing the two orderlies.
+Although standing at attention, a broad grin of amusement stole over their
+faces as he went on:
+
+"I did not expect this any more than you did," he said; "but my orders
+were open ones, and were to assist General Romana in hindering the advance
+of the French, and I think that I cannot do so better than by augmenting
+his forces by 2,500 well-armed men. I rely greatly upon you to assist me
+in the work. You will, as you see, each occupy the position of field
+officers, while the Portuguese troopers will each have the command of a
+company. In order to support your authority I shall address you each as
+major, and you can consider that you hold that rank as long as we are out
+with this force. I have seen enough of you both to know that you will do
+your duty well. You will understand that this is going to be no child's
+play; it will be a dangerous service. I shall spare neither myself nor any
+under my command. There will be lots of fighting and opportunities for you
+to distinguish yourselves, and I hope that I shall be able to speak in
+high terms of you when I send in my report to General Cradock."
+
+"We will do our best, sir," Andrew Macwitty said. "How are we to address
+you?"
+
+"I shall keep to Mr. O'Connor, and shall consider myself a political
+officer with supreme military authority. Your titles are simply for local
+purposes, and to give you authority among the Portuguese."
+
+"We don't know enough of the lingo to give the words of command, sir,"
+William Bull said.
+
+"That will not matter. The Portuguese dragoons will teach them as much
+drill as it is necessary for them to know. If you have to post them in a
+position you can do that well enough by signs; but at the same time it is
+most desirable that you should both set to work in earnest and try to pick
+up a little of the language. You both know enough to make a start with,
+and if you ride every day with one or other of the captains of companies,
+and when they are drilling the men stand by and listen to them, you will
+soon learn enough to give the men the necessary orders. As a rule, the two
+wings will act as separate regiments; each of them is rather stronger than
+that of a line regiment at its full war strength, and it will be more
+convenient to treat them as separate regiments, and, until we get to the
+frontier, march them a few miles apart.
+
+"In this way they can occupy different villages, and obtain better
+accommodation than if they were all together. They have money enough to
+buy bread and wine for some time. You and the captains under you had
+better each form a sort of mess. You will, of course, draw rations of
+bread and wine, and I will provide you with money to buy a sheep
+occasionally or some fowls, to keep you in meat."
+
+The two troopers walked gravely away, but as soon as they were at a little
+distance they turned round the corner of a house and burst into a shout of
+laughter.
+
+"How are you finding yourself to-day, Major Macwitty?"
+
+"Just first-rate; and how is yoursel', Major Bull?" and they again went
+off into another shout of laughter.
+
+"This is a rum start, and no mistake, Macwitty."
+
+"Ay, but it is no' an unpleasant one, I reckon. Mr. O'Connor knows what he
+is about, though he is little more than a laddie. The orderly who brought
+our orders to go with him, said he had heard from one of the general's
+mess waiters that the general and the other officers were saying the young
+officer had done something quite out of the way, and were paying him
+compliments on it, and the general had put him on his own staff in
+consequence, and was saying something about his having saved a wing of his
+regiment from being captured by the French. The man had not heard it all;
+but just scraps as he went in and out of the room with wine, but he said
+it seemed something out of the way, and mighty creditable. And now what do
+you think of this affair, Bull?"
+
+"There is one thing, and that is that there is like to be, as he said,
+plenty of fighting, for I should say that he is just the sort of fellow to
+give us the chance of it, and I do think that these Portuguese fellows
+really mean to fight."
+
+"I think that mysel', but there is no answering for these brown-skin
+chaps. Still, maybe it is the fault of the officers as well as the men."
+
+"It will be a rare game anyhow, Macwitty. At any rate I will do my best to
+get the fellows into order. He is a fine young officer, and a thorough
+gentleman, and no mistake. He goes about it all as if he had been
+accustomed to command two regiments all his life, and these Portuguese
+fellows seem to have taken to him wonderfully. At any rate it will be a
+thing for us to talk about all our lives--how we were majors for a bit,
+and fought the French on our own account."
+
+"Yes, if we get home to tell about it," Macwitty said, cautiously. "I
+dinna think we can reckon much on that yet. It is a desperate sort of a
+business, and he is ower young to command."
+
+"I would rather have a young officer than an old one," Bull said,
+carelessly; "and though he is Irish, I feel sure that he has got his head
+screwed on the right way. Look how well he managed last night. Why, an old
+general could not have done better. If he hadn't caught those three
+fellows in a trap, I doubt whether we should have got out of the scrape.
+Sixteen or seventeen men against over two thousand is pretty long odds. We
+should have accounted for a lot of them, but they would have done for us
+in the end."
+
+"You are right there, Bull. I thought mysel' that it was an awkward fix,
+and certainly he managed those Portuguese fellows well, and turned the lot
+round his little finger. Ay, ay; he knows what he is doing perfectly well,
+young as he is."
+
+"Well, we had best be off to look after our commands,"
+
+Bull laughed. "I suppose they will call mine the first regiment, as I have
+the right wing."
+
+While the men were away, Terence and Herrara, with the head man of the
+village, went round to all the houses, and marked on pieces of paper the
+number of men who could manage to lie down on the floors and passages,
+with the number of the company, and fixed them on the doors; they also
+made an arrangement with the proprietor of a neighbouring vineyard to
+supply as much wine as was required, at the rate of a pint to each man.
+When the men returned four men were told off from each company to fetch
+the rations of bread, and another four to carry the wine. They were
+accompanied by one of the newly elected sergeants to check the quantity,
+and see that all was done in order. To prevent confusion the companies
+were kept drawn up until the rations had been distributed; then they were
+taken into their quarters, filling every room, attic and cellar, barn,
+granary, and stable in the village. Then Terence and Herrara in one room,
+and the troopers in another of the little inn, sat down to a meal Terence
+had ordered as soon as they arrived.
+
+The next morning at daybreak they marched off. Terence rode at their head,
+Herrara at the rear of the regiment, and each captain at the head of his
+company. From time to time Terence rode up and down the line, and ordered
+the men to keep step.
+
+"It is just as easy," he said to the captains, "for the men to do so as to
+walk along anyhow, and they will find that the sound of all the footfalls
+together helps them to march steadily and lessens fatigue. Never mind
+about the slope of their muskets; you must not harass them about little
+things, else they will get sulky; it will all come gradually."
+
+Four marches of twenty miles each took them over the mountains in four
+days. The Portuguese marched well, and not a single man fell out from the
+ranks, while at the end of the day they were still fresh enough to allow
+of an hour's drill. Even in that short time there was a very appreciable
+difference in their appearance. They had already learned to keep their
+distances on the march, to slope their muskets more evenly on their
+shoulders, and to carry themselves with a more erect bearing. The first
+two drills had been devoted to teaching them how to load and aim, the
+other two to changes of formation, from column into line and back again.
+
+"They would make fine soldiers, sir," Bull said, on the fourth evening,
+"after they have had six months' drill."
+
+"No doubt they would move more regularly," Terence agreed, "but in
+mountain warfare that makes little difference; as soon as they have
+learned to shoot straight, and to have confidence in themselves, they will
+do just as well holding a defile or the head of a bridge as if they had
+been drilled for months. We must get hold of some horns of some sort, and
+they must learn a few simple calls, such as the advance, retire, form
+square, and things of that sort. With such large companies the voice would
+never be heard in the din of a battle. I hope that we shall get at least a
+week to practise skirmishing over rough ground and to fall back in good
+order, taking advantage of every rock and shelter, before we get under
+fire. Do you know anything about blowing up bridges?"
+
+"Not me, sir. That is engineers' business."
+
+"It is a thing that troopers ought to know something about too, Bull; for
+if you were far in advance without an engineer near you, you might do good
+service by blowing up a bridge and checking the advance of an enemy.
+However, I dare say we shall soon find out how it is best done. Now,
+to-morrow morning we will have three hours of skirmishing work on these
+hillsides. By that time the other regiment will have come up, and then we
+will march together to join Romana."
+
+The Spanish general was much surprised at the arrival of Terence at the
+head of two well-armed regiments. His force had swelled considerably in
+point of numbers, for he had sent messengers all over the country to the
+priests, and these, having a horror of the French, had stirred up the
+peasants by threats of eternal perdition if they came back; while Romana
+issued proclamations threatening death to all who did not take up arms.
+Thus he had some 8,000 men collected, of whom fully half were his own
+dispersed soldiers. He received Terence with effusion.
+
+"Have you brought me arms?" was his first question.
+
+"No, sir; no transport could be obtained in Lisbon, and it was found
+impossible to despatch any muskets to you. I have, however, four thousand
+pounds, in dollars, to hand over. At starting I had five thousand, but of
+these I have, in the exercise of my discretion, retained a thousand for
+the purchase of provisions and necessaries for these two Portuguese
+regiments which are under my command, and with which I hope to do good
+service by co-operating with your force. Have you not found great
+difficulty in victualling your men?"
+
+"No, I have had no trouble on that score," the marquis said. "I found that
+a magazine of provisions had been collected for the use of General Moore's
+army at Montrui, three miles from here, and have been supporting my troops
+on the contents. The money will be most useful, however, directly we move.
+Fully half of my men have guns, for the Galician peasants are accustomed
+to the use of arms. I wish that it had been more, but four thousand pounds
+will be very welcome. Do you propose to join my force with your
+regiments?"
+
+"Not exactly to join them, General; my orders are to give you such
+assistance as I can, and I think that I can do more by co-operating with
+you independently. In the first place, I do not think that my Portuguese
+would like to be commanded by a Spanish general; in the second place, it
+would be extremely difficult to feed so large a body of troops in these
+mountains, and the smaller the number the more easily can they move about.
+Besides, in these defiles a large force of undisciplined men could not act
+efficiently, and in case of a reverse would fall rapidly into confusion. I
+propose to use my force as a sort of flying column, co-operating with
+yours. Thus, if you attack the head of a column, I will fall on their
+flank or rear, will harass their line of communication, blow up bridges
+and destroy roads, and so render their movements slow and difficult. By
+such means I should certainly render you more efficient service than if my
+regiments were to form a part of your force."
+
+"Perhaps that would be best," Romana said. "Could you supply me with any
+ammunition? For although the peasants have guns, very few have more than a
+few rounds of ammunition, and even this is not made up into cartridges."
+
+"That I can do, sir. I can give you 20,000 rounds of ammunition and ten
+barrels of powder. I have no lead, but you may perhaps be able to obtain
+that."
+
+"Yes. The priests, in fact, have sent in a considerable amount. They have
+stripped the roofs off their churches. That will be a most welcome supply
+indeed, and I am heartily obliged to you."
+
+The gift of the ammunition had the effect of doing away with any
+discontent the Spaniard may have felt on finding that Terence was going to
+act independently of him. It had indeed already flashed across his mind
+that it might be unpleasant always to have a British officer with him,
+from whose opinion he might frequently differ, and who might endeavour to
+control his movements. He had hardly expected that, with so much on their
+hands, and the claims that would be made from Oporto for assistance, they
+would have sent any money; and the sixteen thousand dollars were therefore
+most welcome, while the ammunition would be invaluable to him.
+
+Terence had taken out his share of the money, and the cart with the
+remainder for Romana was now at the door. The sacks were brought in,
+Romana called in four or five officers, the dollars were counted out and a
+receipt given to Terence for them.
+
+"I will send the ammunition up in half an hour, Marquis."
+
+"I thank you greatly, senor. I will at once order a number of men to set
+to work casting bullets and preparing cartridge-cases. In the meantime,
+please let me hear what are your general's plans for the defence of
+Portugal."
+
+Terence told him that he was unaware what were the intentions of the
+British general, but that, from what he learned during the few hours that
+he was at Lisbon, he thought it improbable in the extreme that Sir John
+Cradock would be able to send any force to check the advance of the French
+upon Oporto.
+
+"In the first place," he said, "he is absolutely without transport; and in
+the second Victor has a large army, and now that Saragossa has fallen,
+there is nothing to prevent his marching direct upon Lisbon. Lapisse is at
+Salamanca and can enter Portugal from the east. The whole country is in
+confusion; with the exception of a force gathering under Lord Beresford
+there is no army whatever. Lisbon is almost at the mercy of the mob, who,
+supported by the government, march about with British muskets and pikes,
+killing all they suspect of being favourable to the French, and even
+attacking British soldiers and officers in the streets.
+
+"Were the general to march north, he would not get news of Victor's
+advance in time to get back to save Lisbon, therefore I fear that it is
+absolutely impossible for him to attempt to check the French until they
+cross the Douro, perhaps not until they cross the Mondego. The levies of
+the northern province are ordered to assemble at Villa Real, and I
+believe, from what I gathered on the march, that some thousands of men are
+there, but I doubt very greatly whether they are in a state to offer any
+determined resistance to Soult."
+
+"That is a bad look-out," the general said, gloomily; "still, we must hope
+for the best, as Spain will soon raise fresh armies, and so occupy the
+attention of the enemy that Soult will have to fall back. I am in
+communication with General Silveira, who will advance to Chaves; he has
+four thousand men. He has written to me that the bishop had collected
+50,000 peasants at Oporto."
+
+"Where they will probably do more harm than good," Terence said,
+scornfully. "I would rather have half a regiment of British troops than
+the whole lot of them. It is not men that are wanted, it is discipline,
+and 50,000 peasants will be even more unmanageable and useless than 5,000
+would be. By the way, General, I have now to inform you that General
+Cradock has done me the honour of placing me on his personal staff."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," the marquis said, courteously; "it will certainly
+increase your authority greatly."
+
+Terence, leaving Romana, marched his troops to within a mile of Monterey,
+choosing a spot where there was a wood which would afford some shelter to
+the troops, and would give them a supply of firewood. At Monterey he would
+be able to purchase provisions, and he wished to keep them apart from
+Romana's men, whose undisciplined habits and general insubordination would
+counteract his efforts with his own men.
+
+The next ten days were spent in almost incessant drilling, and in
+practising shooting. Bread and wine were obtained from Monterey, and he
+purchased a large flock of sheep at a very low price, the peasants, in
+their fear of the French, being very anxious to turn their flocks and
+herds into money, which could be hid away securely until the tide of
+invasion had passed. Laborious and frugal in their habits, these peasants
+seldom touch meat, and the troops were highly gratified at the rations
+supplied to them, and worked hard and cheerfully at their drill.
+
+Among so many men there were naturally a few who were inclined to be
+insubordinate. These were speedily weeded out. The offenders were promptly
+seized, flogged, and expelled from the force, their places being supplied
+from among the peasants, many of whom were desirous of enlisting. Terence
+sent these off, save a few he selected, to Silveira, as his own force was
+quite as large as could properly be handled. With improved food and
+incessant drill the men rapidly developed into soldiers. Each carried a
+rough native blanket rolled up like a scarf over one shoulder. This was
+indeed the only point of regular equipment. They had no regular uniform,
+but they were all in their peasant dresses. There was no communication
+between them and Romana's forces, for the animosity between the two
+peoples amounted to hatred. The Portuguese would indeed have marched to
+attack them as willingly as they would have received the order to move
+against the French.
+
+During this week of waiting, Silveira with 4,000 men arrived at Chaves,
+and a meeting took place between him and Romana. Both had plans equally
+wild and impracticable, neither would give way, and as they were well
+aware that their forces would never act together, they decided to act
+independently against the French. At the end of eight days the news came
+that Soult, having made all his preparations, had left Orense on his march
+southward.
+
+Terence had bought a quantity of rough canvas, and the men, as they sat
+round the fires after their day's work was over, made haversacks in which
+they could carry rations for four or five days. As soon as the news was
+received that Soult was advancing, Terence ordered sufficient bread to
+supply them for that time, from the bakehouses of Monterey. A hundred
+rounds of ball-cartridge were served round to each. A light cart
+containing eight barrels of powder, a bag with 1,000 dollars, and the
+tent, was the only vehicle taken, and the rest of the ammunition and
+powder was buried deep in the wood, and the bulk of the money privately
+hidden in another spot by Terence and Herrara. Twelve horns had been
+obtained; several of the men were able to blow them, and these, attached
+one to each company, had learned a few calls. Terence and Herrara took
+their post at the edge of the wood to watch the two regiments march past.
+
+"I think they will do," Terence said; "they have picked up marvellously
+since they have been here; and though I should not like to trust them in
+the plain with Franceschi's cavalry sweeping down upon them, I think that
+in mountain work they can be trusted to make a stand."
+
+"I think so," Herrara agreed. "They have certainly improved wonderfully.
+Our peasants are very docile and easily led when they have confidence in
+their commander, and are not stirred up by agitators, but they are given
+to sudden fury, as is shown by the frightful disorders at Lisbon and
+Oporto. However, they certainly have confidence in you, and if they are
+successful in the first skirmish or two they can be trusted to fight
+stoutly afterwards."
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE FIRST SKIRMISH
+
+Soult had spent a month in making his preparations for the invasion of
+Portugal. The time, however, had not been wasted by him. Vigo, Tuy, and
+Guardia had all been occupied without opposition. Salvatierra on the Minho
+had been taken possession of, and thus three roads were open to him by
+which to cross low down on the river, namely, at Guardia, Tuy, and
+Salvatierra. These roads afforded the shortest and easiest line to Oporto.
+Romana and Silveira had both been of opinion that he would march south
+from Orense, through Monterey, and up the valley of the Tamega, and their
+plans were all made with a view of opposing his advance in that direction.
+The night before Terence marched he called upon Romana.
+
+"It seems to me probable, Marquis, as it does to you, that the French will
+advance by this line, but it is possible that they may follow the north
+bank of the Minho and cross at Salvatierra or Tuy. By that route they
+would have several rivers to cross but no mountains or defiles. Were they
+to throw troops across there they would meet with no opposition until they
+arrived at Oporto. It seems to me that my best plan would be to march west
+and endeavour to prevent such a passage being made. If I could do so it
+would prevent your position being turned. There are no bridges marked on
+my map, and if I could secure the boats we should, at any rate, cause
+Soult much difficulty and delay. No doubt there are some local levies
+there, and we should be able to watch a considerable extent of the river;
+indeed, so far as I can see, they must cross, if they cross at all there,
+at one of the three towns on the north side, for it is only by the roads
+running through these that they could carry their artillery and baggage."
+
+"I think that will be an excellent plan," Romana said, "for although I
+believe that they will come this way, I have been very uneasy at the
+thought that they might possibly cross lower down, and so turn our
+position altogether. But you will have to watch not only the three places
+through which the roads pass, but other parts of the river, for they may
+throw a few hundred men across in boats at any point, and these falling
+suddenly upon your parties on the bank, might drive them away and enable
+the main body to cross without resistance."
+
+"I will keep as sharp a look-out as I can, Marquis." Marching north from
+Monterey the troops moved through Villa Real and Gingo, and then, turning
+west, crossed the river Lima, there a small stream, and then following the
+valley of that river for some distance, turned off and struck the Minho
+opposite Salvatierra, having covered fifty miles in two days. Here a
+considerable number of armed peasants and ordenancas were gathered. They
+were delighted at the arrival of two well-armed regiments; and hearing
+from Herrara that Terence was a staff-officer of the British general, and
+was sent by him to direct the defence of the river, they at once placed
+themselves under his orders.
+
+Terence found, to his satisfaction, that on the approach of the French
+most of the boats had been removed to the south side of the river and
+hauled up the bank. His first order was that anyone acquainted with the
+position of any boats on the other side of the river should at once inform
+him of it. It was not long before he heard of some twenty or thirty that
+had been hidden by their owners on the other side, in order that they
+might have the means of crossing to escape the French exactions. At
+nightfall several boats were launched, and parties of men, directed by
+those who had given information, started to cross the river and bring
+those boats over. The Minho was at this time in flood and was running with
+great rapidity, and Terence felt confident that in its present state none
+of the enemy's cavalry would attempt to cross it by swimming.
+
+He decided on placing the largest part of his force opposite Tuy, as the
+principal road south passed through this town, and he would here be
+supported by the guns of the fortress of Valenca. He stationed his first
+battalion here, with orders to line the river for six miles above and
+below this spot. Half of the second battalion he left under Macwitty, and
+with the other half determined to march down towards the mouth of the
+river. The next morning all the boats returned, bringing those for which
+they had been searching, and after closely questioning the guides he felt
+assured that there could be so few remaining that the French would hardly
+attempt to cross the river in the face of the crowd of peasants--whom they
+could not but see--lining the southern bank.
+
+As soon as the boats had returned he marched with the three companies.
+When half-way between Valenca and Caminha he met a peasant, who had
+crossed from the northern bank in a boat that had escaped the search of
+the French. He reported that some days before some 10,000 of the French
+had arrived in the neighbourhood of the village Campo Sancos, and that a
+division had been hard at work since their arrival transporting some large
+fishing-boats and heavy guns from the harbour of Guardia to Campo Sancos.
+The guns had been placed in a battery on a height, and the boats launched
+in a little river that ran into the Minho village. Terence learned that
+the work was now nearly completed, and the peasant had risked his life in
+coming across to give information.
+
+Terence at once sent off a mounted man to Valenca to request Herrara to
+march down with the first battalion and to send on to Macwitty to leave
+one company to assist the ordenancas to guard the river between
+Salvatierra and Valenca, and to take post with the other two in front of
+the latter town. At nightfall he was joined by Herrara.
+
+After explaining the situation to him, Terence said:
+
+"It will not be necessary to watch the river above Campo Sancos, for it
+would be impossible to row heavy fishing-boats against this stream, so
+they must land somewhere between that place and the mouth of the river.
+Thus we have only some eight miles to guard, and as we have eighteen
+hundred men, besides the peasants, we ought to be able to do that
+thoroughly. I expect they will endeavour to make the passage to-night, and
+they will certainly cross, as nearly as they can, opposite the village.
+The battery is about a mile below it, and is no doubt intended to cover
+their landing. I shall post myself with two companies of the first
+battalion there, and extend another company from that point up to Campos
+Sancos. You, with the other three companies and the three companies of the
+second battalion, will watch the river below.
+
+"It is unlucky that there is no moon at present. I do not expect, however,
+that the attack will take place till morning, for, in the first place, the
+peasant said that although the guns had been got up to the height they had
+not yet been placed in position, and as we have noticed no movement there
+all day, nor seen a French soldier anywhere near the river, they will only
+be beginning work now, and can hardly have finished it until well on in
+the night. Besides, when the first party who crossed have obtained a
+footing here, the boats will have to go backwards and forwards. No doubt
+the cavalry will be among the first to cross, and they would hardly get
+the horses on board in the dark. It is of vital importance to repel this
+attack, for if the French got across they would be at Vianna to-morrow
+evening, and at Oporto three days later. I don't suppose that place will
+resist for a day; and if, as is probable, Victor moves up from the south,
+he and Soult may be in front of Lisbon in ten days' time.
+
+"You had better tell your captains this, in order that they may understand
+how vital it is to prevent the passage. From what I hear from the
+peasants, the boats will not be able to carry more than three or four
+hundred men, and wherever they land we ought to be able to crush them
+before the boats can cross again and bring over reinforcements."
+
+"Well, Bull, I think we are likely to have fighting tonight," Terence
+said, as Herrara marched off with his men.
+
+"I hope so, sir. I don't think they will be able to cross in our face, and
+it will do the men a lot of good to win the first fight."
+
+"If Romana's troops were worth anything, Soult would find himself in an
+awkward position. He has got his whole army jammed up in the corner here,
+and if he cannot cross there is nothing for him to do but to march along
+the river to Orense, and then come down by the road through Monterey.
+There are several streams to cross as he marches up the bank. Romana is
+sure to have heard of his concentrating somewhere down near the mouth of
+the river, and I should think that by this time he will have crossed near
+Orense, and will arrive in time to dispute the passage of these streams.
+He told me that the Galician peasants have been so enraged by their cattle
+being carried off for the use of the French army that they will rise in
+insurrection the instant the French march, and if that is the case, they
+and Romana ought to be able to give Soult a lot of trouble before he
+reaches Orense."
+
+"I don't think those fellows with Romana are likely to do much, sir. The
+French will just sweep them before them."
+
+"I am afraid so, Bull; still, if we can prevent the French from crossing
+here and compel them to follow the long road through Monterey, we shall
+have done good service. It would give Portugal another seven or eight days
+to prepare, and will send the enemy through a country where undisciplined
+troops ought to be able to make a stand even against soldiers like the
+French."
+
+All through the night Terence and his major patrolled the bank from the
+point facing Campo Sancos to a mile below that on which the French were
+placing their guns. Everything went on quietly, sentries at intervals kept
+watch, and the men, wrapped in their blankets, lay down in parties of
+fifty at short intervals.
+
+"The day is beginning to break," Terence said, as he met Bull coming back
+from the lower end of the line. "I am not afraid now, for if we can but
+see them coming we can gather two or three hundred men at any point they
+may be making for. Besides, our shooting would be very wild in the dark."
+
+"That it would, sir; not one shot in fifty would hit the boats, let alone
+the men; and when the Portuguese saw the boats come on without pause in
+spite of their fire, they would be likely to lose heart and to get
+unsteady."
+
+"We may as well stop here, Bull. It will be light enough to see across the
+river in another quarter of an hour, and if there are no boats coming
+then, I think it is pretty certain that they will not begin until
+to-morrow night. The peasant said that they have only got 10,000 troops
+there as yet, and we know that Soult has more than double that, and he may
+wait another day for them all to come up."
+
+Ten minutes later one of the sentries close to them shouted out that he
+could see boats. Terence ran up to him.
+
+"Where are they, my man?"
+
+"Nearly opposite, sir."
+
+Terence gazed fixedly for a moment, and then said: "I see them; they are
+heading straight across." Then he gave the order to the man who always
+accompanied him with a horn, to blow the alarm.
+
+At the sound, the troops sprang to their feet, and some hundreds of
+peasants, who were lying down a short distance behind, ran up. The horn
+was evidently heard on the other side of the river, for immediately the
+guns of the battery opposite opened fire, and their shot whizzed overhead.
+The boats plied their oars vigorously, and the French soldiers cheered;
+they were but some three hundred yards away when first discovered. The
+Portuguese were coming rapidly up at the double. Terence shouted that not
+a shot was to be fired until he gave the order. He was obeyed by his own
+men, but the peasants at once began a wild fire at the boats. By the time
+these were within fifty yards of the shore Terence saw with satisfaction
+that fully a company had come up. The men stood firmly, although the balls
+from the French battery ploughed up the ground around them.
+
+"Wait until the first boat grounds," Terence shouted again. Another minute
+and the first fishing-boat touched the shore. Then the horn sounded, and
+the front line of the Portuguese poured a terrible volley into it. A few
+of the French soldiers only succeeded in gaining the land, and these were
+at once shot down. Then the troops opened a rolling fire upon the other
+boats. The French replied with their musketry, but their fire was feeble.
+They had expected to have effected a landing with but slight opposition,
+and the concentrated fire of the troops and the peasantry convinced them
+that, even should they gain the shore, they would be greatly outnumbered,
+and would be shot down before they could gather in any regular formation.
+Many of the rowers, who were Spanish peasants forced into the work, had
+fallen. Most of their comrades left the oars and threw themselves into the
+bottom of the boats, and the craft drifted down the stream.
+
+Shouts of triumph rose from the Portuguese, who obeyed the signal to form
+fours, and marched along parallel with the boats, forming line
+occasionally and firing heavy volleys. The French soldiers now seized the
+oars and rowed the craft into the middle of the river, and then slowly and
+painfully made their way to Campo Sancos, having lost more than half of
+the three hundred men who had left there. The French battery ceased to
+fire, and the din of battle was succeeded by a dead silence. Once
+convinced that the French had abandoned the attempt to land, the
+Portuguese broke into loud shouts of triumph, which were only checked when
+Terence ordered them to form up in close order. When they did so he
+addressed a few words to them, complimenting them upon the steadiness that
+they had shown, and upon their obeying his order to reserve their fire
+till the French were close at hand.
+
+"I was convinced that you would behave well," he said, "and in future I
+shall have no hesitation in meeting a body of French equal in numbers to
+yourselves."
+
+Messengers were at once despatched to order up all the troops that had
+been posted below, and in two hours the whole force, with the exception of
+the three companies, between them and Salvatierra, were assembled.
+
+"The question is, Herrara," Terence said, when he and his colonel had
+exchanged congratulations on the repulse of the French, "what will Soult
+do next?
+
+"That is a question upon which everything depends. I don't think he will
+try again here. He has been eight days in preparing those boats to cross,
+and now that he knows there is a very strong force here, and that even if
+he got three or four times as many boats he would scarcely be able to
+force a passage, my idea is that he will abandon the attack and march at
+once for Orense. In that case the question is, shall we wait until we have
+assured ourselves that he has gone, and then follow and harass his rear?
+or shall we march up the river and then cross to help Romana to bar his
+passage?"
+
+"I think the latter will be the best plan. You see, we should not be
+cutting his communication were we to march now, because when he has
+crossed the river Avia he will have direct communication with Ney, and
+will of course draw all his supplies from the north, so I think that we
+had better lose no time in pushing up along the river."
+
+The troops were ordered to light fires and cook their breakfast. While
+this was going on Terence assembled the peasant bands, and told them that
+he thought the French would not make another attempt to cross, but that
+they must remain in a state of watchfulness until they received certain
+news from the other side that they had marched for Orense.
+
+As soon as breakfast was over and the cooking-pots packed in the cart, the
+two regiments started on their march. They were in high spirits, and
+laughed and sang as they tramped along. They had lost but two killed by
+the French musketry fire, and there were but five so severely wounded as
+to be unable to take their places in the ranks. These Terence ordered to
+be taken in a country cart to Pontelima, and he provided them with money
+for their support there until cured.
+
+The men having been on foot all night, Terence halted them after doing
+fifteen miles. On the following morning, soon after they had started, they
+saw a large body of French cavalry following the road by the river. These
+were La Houssaye's, who had been quartered at Salvatierra. The river here
+was narrower than it had been below, and halting the troops and forming
+them in line, two or three volleys were fired across the river. These did
+some execution, and caused much confusion in the French ranks. The
+horsemen, however, galloped rapidly up the river, and were soon out of
+range.
+
+"That settles the question, Herrara. The French are retracing their steps,
+and bound for Orense. Soult has not let the grass grow under his feet, and
+the cavalry are evidently sent on to clear out any bands of peasants that
+may be gathering at the rivers."
+
+La Houssaye, indeed, twice in the course of the day broke up irregular
+bands, and burned two villages. The infantry and artillery, after passing
+through Salvatierra, moved by the main road. This, however, was found to
+be so bad that the artillery were, with ten of the sixteen light guns, and
+six howitzers, left behind at Tuy, with a great ammunition and baggage
+train, together with 900 sick. A garrison of 500 men were left in the
+fort. Orders were given that all stragglers were to be retained at that
+place.
+
+
+[Illustration: "THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE
+MET WITH HEAVY VOLLEYS"]
+
+
+The march of the French was not unopposed. When they arrived at the river
+Morenta they found 800 Spaniards had barricaded the bridges and repulsed
+the advance parties of cavalry. On the 17th, at daybreak, the leading
+division attacked them fiercely, carried the bridge, and pursued them
+hotly, until at a short distance from Ribadavia the Spaniards rallied upon
+some 10,000 irregulars arrayed in order of battle in a strong position
+covering the town. The rest of the division and a brigade of cavalry came
+up, and, directed by Soult himself, attacked the Spaniards, drove them
+through the town and across the Avia with great loss. Twenty priests were
+found among the slain. The next day three or four thousand other
+irregulars from the valley of Avia were attacked and scattered, and on the
+18th the French cavalry, with three brigades of infantry, entered Orense.
+
+An hour earlier Terence had arrived on the other side of the river, and
+had at once made preparations for blowing up the bridge. The men had been
+but a short time at work when numbers of the townsmen streamed across the
+bridge and reported that a great body of the French were entering the
+town. Terence had a hasty consultation with Herrara, and both agreed that
+they could not hope to hold the bridge long against the whole French army,
+especially as they had learned two hours before from a peasant who had
+ridden up, that strong bodies of French troops had crossed the river by
+the ferries at Ribadavia and Barbibante, and that they might shortly be
+attacked in flank. The powder-barrels were therefore hastily repacked, and
+the troops marched off towards the hills on their left.
+
+They were but half-way across the plain when a regiment of French cavalry
+were seen riding in pursuit. The regiments were at once formed into
+squares within fifty yards of each other, and Terence and Bull in the
+centre of one square, and Herrara and Macwitty in the other, exhorted the
+men to stand steady, assuring them there was nothing whatever to be feared
+from the cavalry if they did so. The French rode up towards the squares,
+but were met by heavy volleys, and after riding round them drew off,
+having suffered considerable loss, being greatly surprised at finding that
+instead of a mob of armed men, such as they had met at Avia, they were
+encountered by soldiers possessing the steadiness of trained troops.
+
+The regiments resumed their march until far up the hill, where they
+proceeded to cut down trees and brushwood and to form an encampment, as
+their leader had decided to stay here and await events until Soult's
+intentions were clearly shown. There were two courses open to the French
+general. He might advance to Allaritz and then march along the Lima, be
+joined by his artillery and train from Tuy, and then move direct upon
+Oporto, or he might follow the valley of the Tamega to Chaves, whence he
+would have the choice of routes, and take either that over the Sierra de
+Cabrera to Braga, or continue his course down the valley until he reached
+the Douro.
+
+It was not until the 4th of March that the French again moved forward. In
+the meantime Terence was forced to remain quiet, except that each day he
+marched his men farther among the hills and drilled them for some hours
+perseveringly. The affair on the Minho and the repulse of the French
+cavalry had given them great confidence in themselves and their leader,
+and had shown them the value of steadiness, and of maintaining order and
+discipline in the ranks. They therefore devoted themselves even more
+willingly and zealously than before to their military exercises, and the
+ten days taken by Soult in preparing for the advance were well spent in
+accustoming the Portuguese to rapid movements among the mountains, and to
+attaining a fair knowledge of what would be required of them in mountain
+warfare. Two companies always remained in the camp, and these had several
+skirmishes with bodies of French marauders, and small parties of cavalry
+making across the country to ascertain the position and strength of the
+Portuguese.
+
+The advance of the French was rapid, and on the 5th the cavalry and a
+portion of the infantry reached Villa Real, where, on the evening of the
+same day, two divisions of infantry arrived. That night Terence with his
+men having on the 4th marched along the hills parallel to the road, made a
+forced march, crossed the road and took up a position on the spur of the
+mountains between Montalegre and the river. Even yet it was doubtful which
+route Soult intended to follow, as the division at Villa Real might be
+intended only to prevent Romana and Silveira falling upon his flank. As he
+marched down the valley of the Lima, he had learned from Romana that he
+and Silveira had decided to fall back to Chaves, and that he agreed with
+Terence's opinion that he had better remain in the rear of the French, and
+intercept their communications with Orense.
+
+On the following morning the French advanced in force to Monterey. Romana
+abandoned the position as they advanced, drew off to Verin, and then
+retired along the road towards Sanabria. He thus left it open to himself
+either to follow the road to Chaves, as agreed upon, or to retire into
+Spain through the mountains. Franceschi's cavalry and a battalion of
+French infantry overtook between two and three thousand men forming the
+rear of Romana's column. The latter drew up in a great square. Franceschi
+attacked the rear face with his infantry, passed with his cavalry round
+the sides of the square, and placed himself between it and the rest of the
+retiring column. He had with him four regiments of cavalry, and now hurled
+a regiment at each side of the square.
+
+The Spaniards were at once seized with dismay, broke their formation, and
+in a moment the French cavalry were upon them, cutting and trampling them
+down. Twelve hundred were killed and the rest made prisoners. As soon as
+Romana heard of the disaster that had befallen his rearguard, he broke his
+engagement with Silveira and led his force over the mountains into Spain,
+where the news of his defeat caused the Spanish insurgent bands to
+disperse rapidly to their homes, where they delivered up their arms; and
+even the priests, who had been the main promoters of the rising, seeing
+the failure of all their plans, advised them to maintain a peaceable
+attitude in future.
+
+Silveira was not more fortunate, for two thousand of his troops with some
+guns, issuing from the mountains just as Franceschi returned from the
+annihilation of Romana's rearguard, the French cavalry charged and
+captured the Portuguese guns, and drove Silveira down the valley.
+
+Soult paused two days at Monterey, the baggage and hospital train, and a
+great convoy of provisions being brought up from Orense, under the guard
+of a whole division. This rendered it evident that he intended to cut
+himself off altogether from Spain, and to subsist entirely upon the
+country. It was clear then that it was useless to attempt to fall upon his
+rear, and by a long march through the mountains Terence took his force
+down to Chaves.
+
+Here he found that Silveira, deserted by Romana and beaten by Franceschi,
+had fallen back to a mountain immediately behind Chaves. Terence continued
+his march until he joined him. He found a great tumult going on among his
+troops; always insubordinate, they were now in a state of mutiny. Many of
+the officers openly advocated that they should desist from a struggle in
+which success was altogether hopeless, and should go over and join the
+French. The troops, however, not only spurned the advice, but fell upon
+and killed several of those who offered it, and demanded from Silveira
+that he should lead them down to defend Chaves. This he refused to do,
+saying that the fortifications were old and useless, the guns worn out,
+and that were they to shut themselves up there, they would be surrounded
+and forced to surrender.
+
+This refusal excited the mutineers to the highest pitch, and when Terence
+arrived they were clamouring for his death. A small party of soldiers who
+remained faithful to him surrounded him, but they would speedily have been
+overpowered had it not been for the arrival of Terence's command. As soon
+as he understood what was happening, he formed his men into a solid body,
+marched through the excited crowd, and formed up in hollow square round
+the general. The firm appearance of the force and the fact that they
+possessed more arms than the whole of Silveira's army, had its effect. The
+mutineers, however, to the number of 3,500, determined to carry out their
+intentions, and at once marched away to Chaves. Silveira remained with but
+a few hundred men, as the 2,000 routed by Franceschi had not rejoined him.
+
+"I owe you my life, senor," he said to Terence, "for those mad fools would
+certainly have murdered me."
+
+"It is not surprising," Terence said. "A mob of men who are not soldiers
+cannot be expected to observe discipline, especially when insubordination
+and anarchy have been absolutely fomented by the authorities, crimes of
+all sorts perpetrated by their orders, and no efforts whatever made to
+punish ill-doers."
+
+"Your men seem to be disciplined and obedient," Silveira said.
+
+"They have been taught to be so, General, and I believe that I can rely
+upon them absolutely. If you had but officers and discipline, I am certain
+that your soldiers would be excellent; but as it is, with a few
+exceptions, your officers are worse than useless. They are appointed as a
+reward for their support of the Junta; they are ignorant of their duties,
+and many of them favour the French; they regard their soldiers as raised,
+not for the defense of Portugal, but for the support of the Junta. I have
+seen enough to know that the peasants are brave, hardy, and ready to
+fight. But what can they do when they are but half-armed, and no attempt
+whatever is made to discipline them? Have you heard, since these troubles
+began, of a single man being shot for insubordination, or of a single
+officer being punished even for the grossest neglect of orders? It is
+nothing short of murder to put a mob of half-armed peasants to stand
+against French troops."
+
+"All that is quite true," Silveira said, heartily. "However, I shall do my
+best, and shall, I doubt not, soon have another force collected, for now
+that the French have fairly entered Portugal, and are marching towards the
+capital, every man will take up arms. And you, senor, what do you mean to
+do?"
+
+"I shall harass the French as I see an opportunity, but I shall not
+subject my men to certain disaster by joining any of the new levies. I
+know what my men can do, and what I can do with them; but if mixed up with
+thousands of raw peasants they would be swept away by the latter and share
+in any misfortune that might befall them. What I have seen of your troops
+to-day, and what I saw of Romana's, is quite enough to show me that to
+lead peasants into the field is simply to bring misfortune and death upon
+them. Far better that each leader should collect two or three hundred men
+and teach them discipline and a little drill instead of taking a mob
+thousands strong out to battle. Those men that have marched down into
+Chaves will, you will see, offer no resistance, and will simply be killed
+or made prisoners to a man. Now, may I ask if you have any stores here,
+General? We have had great difficulty in buying food up in the mountains,
+and as it will be useless to you, and certainly cannot be carried off, I
+should be glad to fill the men's haversacks before we go farther."
+
+"Certainly. I had enough meat and bread for my whole force for a week, and
+you are welcome to take as much as you require. Which way do you propose
+marching?"
+
+"I am waiting to see which way the French go after leaving Chaves. Whether
+they go down the valley or across the mountains to Braga, I shall
+endeavour to get ahead of them; and as my men are splendid marchers, I
+have no doubt that I shall succeed in doing so, even if the French have a
+few hours' start. If I can do nothing else, I can at least make their
+cavalry keep together instead of riding in small parties all over the
+country to sweep in food."
+
+Fires were soon lighted, some bullocks killed and cut up, and a hearty
+meal eaten. They had already made a very long march, and were ordered to
+lie down until nightfall. Silveira marched away with his men, and Terence
+and Herrara sat and watched the road, down which bodies of French troops
+could already be seen advancing from Monterey towards Chaves. As they
+approached the town, gun after gun was fired. The advance-guard halted and
+waited until the whole division had come up.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+IN THE PASSES
+
+On the following day the French cavalry, with a division of infantry, took
+up their position beyond the town, so as to cut off the retreat of the
+garrison, who were then summoned to surrender. No reply was made, but for
+the next twenty-four hours the defenders, although in no way attacked,
+kept up a random fire from the guns on the walls, and with musketry, to
+which no reply whatever was made by the French.
+
+On the following day, the whole army having now come up, the town was
+again summoned, and at once surrendered, when Soult, who did not wish to
+be hampered with a mob of prisoners, contemptuously allowed them to depart
+to their homes.
+
+After bringing up his sick from Chaves, and discovering that the passes
+through the mountains were unoccupied, and that the Portuguese army was at
+Braga, Soult, on the 14th, began to move in that direction, both for the
+purpose of crushing Friere and getting into communication with Tuy, and
+being joined by his artillery from there. As soon as this movement was
+seen from the hill where Terence's regiments had been for three days
+resting, preparations were made for marching, and with haversacks well
+filled with bread and meat, the troops started in good spirits. Terence
+procured the services of a peasant well acquainted with the mountains, and
+was led by paths used by shepherds across the hills, and after a twelve
+hours' toilsome journey came down into the defiles that the French were
+following. There he learned from peasants, that, with the exception of a
+small scouting party two days before, there were no signs of any hostile
+force.
+
+The men were at once set to work to destroy a bridge across a torrent at
+the mouth of a defile. It was built of stone, but was old and in bad
+repair, and the men had little difficulty in prising the stones of the
+side walls from their places, and throwing them down into the stream.
+Another party made a hole over the key of an arch. A barrel of powder was
+placed here, and a train having been laid, was covered up by a pile of
+rocks. A third party formed a barricade six feet high, across the end of
+the bridge, and also two breastworks, each fifty yards away on either
+side, so as to flank the approaches to the other end and the bridge. The
+troops were extended along the hillsides, one battalion on each side of
+the defile, under the shelter of the rocks and brush.
+
+While these preparations were being made, the horses were taken up to the
+top of the hills by some paths known to the peasants of a little village
+near the mouth of the defile, the women and children following them.
+Terence and Herrara had a consultation, and then the former called Bull
+and Macwitty to him.
+
+"Now," he said, "you understand that while we will defend this defile as
+long as we can, we will run no risk of a defeat that might end in a rout.
+We shall inflict heavy loss upon them before they can repair the bridge,
+and can certainly force their cavalry to remain quiet until they bring up
+their infantry. Colonel Herrara, you, with one company of the second
+battalion, will hold the village, and we shall sweep the column advancing
+along the bottom of the defile with a fire from each flank, while they
+will also be exposed to your fire in front. When they succeed in making
+their way up to within charging distance you will evacuate the village and
+join Macwitty on the hill.
+
+"They must attack us there on both sides, for no troops could march
+through until the hillsides are cleared. It is probable that they may do
+this before they attempt to attack the village, but in any case you must
+keep up a steady fire until they get within fifty yards of you, then
+retire up the hill, but leave a party to keep them in check until the rest
+have gained the crest and formed up in good order. By the time you do this
+they will have driven in your rear-guard. The French will be breathless
+with their exertions when they reach you. Wait till a considerable number
+have gained the crest, then, before they have time to form, pour a heavy
+volley into them and charge, and then sweep them with your fire until they
+reach the bottom. The next time they will no doubt attack in much greater
+force; in that case we will move quietly off without waiting for them, and
+will reunite at the village of Romar, five miles in the rear. If we find,
+as we near it, that the French are in possession, we will halt, and I will
+send orders to the second regiment as to what is to be done. If the force
+is not too great we will attack them at night."
+
+"How will you know where we shall be, sir?" Macwitty said.
+
+"I have arranged with Colonel Herrara that when you halt you shall light
+two fires a short distance from each other. I will reply by lighting one,
+and the fires are then to be extinguished."
+
+This being arranged, Terence went down and applied a match to the train,
+and then retired at a run. Three minutes later there was a heavy
+explosion, rocks flew high in the air, and when the smoke cleared away, a
+cheer from the hillside told that the explosion had been successful.
+Terence returned to the bridge; a considerable portion of the arch had
+been blown away, and putting fifty men to work, the gap was soon carried
+across the road and widened, so that there was a chasm twelve feet across.
+The parties who were to man the breastworks were now posted. Terence
+himself took the command here. The defenders consisted of a company of
+Bull's battalion.
+
+Half an hour later a deep sound was heard, and as it grew louder the head
+of a column of cavalry was seen approaching. The whole of the force on the
+hillsides were hidden behind rocks or brushwood; not a head was shown
+above the breastworks. The cavalry, however, halted, and an officer with
+four men rode forward. When within fifty yards of the bridge a volley of
+twenty muskets flashed out from the work behind it. The officer and three
+men fell, the other galloped back to the main body. He had seen nothing
+beyond the fact that there was a breastwork across the road, and
+Franceschi, thinking that he had but a small force of peasants in front of
+him, ordered a squadron to charge, and clear the obstacle.
+
+As before, they were allowed to approach to within fifty yards of the
+bridge, when from the breastwork in front, and the two side redoubts a
+storm of musketry was poured into them. The effect was terrible; the head
+of the squadron was swept away, but a few men charged forward until close
+to the break in the bridge. Most of these fell, but a few galloped back,
+and the remains of the squadron then trotted off in good order.
+
+No further movement took place for an hour, and then a body of infantry,
+some two thousand strong, appeared. As they passed the cavalry, the first
+two companies were thrown out in skirmishing order, and were soon swarming
+down towards the stream. The banks of this, although very steep, were not
+impassable by infantry, and the defenders of the two side redoubts spread
+themselves out along the bank, and, as the skirmishers approached, opened
+fire.
+
+For a time the rattle of firearms was incessant. When the main body of
+French infantry had, as their commander thought, ascertained the strength
+of the defenders, they advanced in solid order until near the bridge, and
+then wheeled off on either flank and advanced with loud shouts. A horn was
+sounded, and from the hillsides near a scattering fire of musketry opened
+at once. The French, however, pushed forward without a pause. Terence's
+horn sounded again, the men fell back from the bank, and the whole company
+ran at full speed across the narrow valley, and took their place with
+their comrades on the hillside.
+
+The French crossed the stream under a heavy fire, and, dividing into two
+portions, prepared to assault both hills simultaneously. The combat was
+obstinate, the French suffered heavily, but pushed their way up
+unflinchingly. The Portuguese, encouraged by the shouts of their officers,
+held their ground obstinately, retreating only at the sound of their
+horns, and renewing the combat a short distance higher up. Being sheltered
+by the rocks behind which they lay, their loss was but trifling in
+comparison to that of the French, who were forced to expose themselves as
+they advanced, and whose numbers dwindled so rapidly that when half-way up
+they were on both sides brought to a stand-still, and then, taking shelter
+behind the rocks, they maintained the contest on more equal terms.
+
+But by this time a column of 4,000 men was marching down to the stream,
+and, dividing like the first, climbed the hills. The Portuguese now fell
+back more rapidly, their fire slackened, and the French, with loud shouts,
+pressed up the hill. Presently the resistance ceased altogether, and,
+firing as they advanced at the flying figures, of whom they caught an
+occasional glimpse, the French pressed forward as rapidly as the nature of
+the ground would permit, cheering loudly. At last they reached the top of
+the hill, and the leaders paused in doubt as they saw before them some
+eleven or twelve hundred men drawn up in line four deep at a distance of
+fifty yards. Every moment added to the number of the French, and as they
+arrived their officers tried to form them into order. When their numbers
+about equalled those of the Portuguese, two heavy volleys were poured into
+them, and then, with loud shouts, the Portuguese rushed at them with
+levelled bayonets.
+
+The charge was irresistible. The French were hurled over the crest and
+went down the hill, carrying confusion and dismay among those climbing up.
+The Portuguese pressed them hotly, giving them no time to rally, and
+forcing them down to the bottom of the hill without a check. Then at the
+signal they fell back to the post that they had held at the beginning of
+the fight. The success was equal on both hillsides, and the regiments
+cheered each other's victory with shouts which rose high above the roar of
+musketry. With their usual discipline, the French speedily rallied, in
+spite of the heavy fire that from both sides swept their ranks, and they
+prepared, when joined by another regiment which was approaching at the
+double to their assistance, to renew the assault.
+
+Terence saw that, this time, the odds would be too great to withstand. His
+horn sounded the retreat, and the Portuguese turned to make their way up
+the hill just as a French battery opened fire. Sheltered among the rocks,
+the infantry below were unconscious of the movement, for on either side a
+company had been left to continue their fire until the main body gained
+the top of the hill, when they too were summoned by the horns to fall
+back. The wounded had been all taken up the hill, and were laid in
+blankets and carried off by their comrades. As the two regiments marched
+away from the crest of the defile the soldiers were in the highest
+spirits. They had repulsed with heavy loss a French force of three times
+their own strength, and they greeted Terence and Bull, as they rode
+together along the column, with enthusiastic cheers.
+
+The wounded, which in the first battalion numbered forty-three, were
+despatched with a party a hundred strong to a village four miles away
+among the mountains, and the regiment marched on until it reached the
+point agreed upon.
+
+Two men were sent forward to reconnoitre the village, and returned with
+the report that it had already been occupied by a very strong force of
+French cavalry. Half an hour later two wreaths of smoke rose on the
+opposite hill. Sticks had been gathered in readiness, and the answering
+signal was at once made. Two minutes later the smoke ceased to rise on
+either side. Terence now received the reports of the captains of the six
+companies, and found that fifteen men had been killed, and that his
+strength was thus reduced by fifty-eight. The men were now told that they
+could lie down, the companies keeping together so as to be ready for
+instant action.
+
+Trifling wounds, of which there were some two or three and twenty, were
+then attended to and bandaged. Some of these were quite serious enough to
+have warranted the men falling out, but the delight and pride they felt at
+their success had been so great that they had refused to be taken off with
+their disabled comrades. Terence made a round of the troops and addressed
+a few words to each company, praising their conduct, and thanking them for
+the readiness and quickness with which they had obeyed his orders.
+
+"You see, my lads," he said, "what can be done by discipline. Had it not
+been for the steady drill you have had ever since we marched, we could not
+have hoped to oppose the French, and I should not have ventured to have
+done so. Now, you see, you have proved that you are as brave as the enemy,
+and not only have you beaten them with heavy loss, but the effect of this
+fight will be to render them more cautious in future and slower in their
+movements, and the news of the blow you have struck will inspirit your
+countrymen everywhere."
+
+Having nothing else to do until after darkness fell, Terence, after
+finishing his round, sat down and added an account of the fight to the
+report he had written up at their last halting-place. This was written in
+duplicate, one copy being intended for General Cradock, and the other for
+the Portuguese authorities at Oporto. Outposts had been thrown out towards
+the village as soon as they halted, and after opening their haversacks,
+eating a meal, and quenching their thirst at a little rivulet that ran
+down to the village, the men lay down to sleep, tired with their long
+night's march and the excitement of the battle.
+
+Terence was no exception to the general rule, for although he had had his
+horse, yet for the greater part of the distance he had marched on foot, as
+the ruggedness of the ground traversed had in most places been too great
+to travel in safety on horseback in the dark. When night fell all were on
+their feet again, refreshed by a long sleep. Two men were now sent down to
+reconnoitre the village again. They reported that it was still occupied by
+the cavalry. The infantry, as they could see by the fires along the road,
+had bivouacked there, and one regiment at least had passed through the
+village and had occupied the road ahead.
+
+Terence had already written out his instructions to Herrara in triplicate,
+and three men were despatched with these. They were warned to be extremely
+careful, for the men who had first been sent, had reported that the French
+had posted sentries out on their flanks. One of the messengers was to make
+a long detour to cross the road half a mile ahead of the French, and then
+to make his way along on the opposite hillside to the spot where Herrara
+was posted. The other two were to make their way as best they could
+through the village. The pieces of paper they carried were rolled up into
+little balls, and they were ordered that, if noticed and an alarm given,
+these were at once to be swallowed.
+
+Soon after ten o'clock the regiment formed up. Terence had given detailed
+orders to the captain of each company. These were instructed to call up
+their men twenty at a time, and to explain their orders to them, so that
+every man should know exactly what to do. No sound had been heard in the
+village, and Terence felt sure that Herrara must have received his orders,
+and at a quarter past ten he with one company moved slowly down towards
+the village; Bull, with the main body of the force, marching westward
+along the hills. Six men had volunteered for the service of silencing the
+French outposts, and these, leaving their muskets behind, stole forward in
+advance of the company, which halted at some little distance from the
+French centre.
+
+In a quarter of an hour they returned. Eight French sentries had been
+surprised and killed, the Portuguese crawling up to them until near enough
+to spring upon and stab them without the slightest alarm being given. The
+company now moved silently forward again until within a hundred yards of
+the village, when they halted until the church clock struck eleven. Then
+they rushed down into the village. As they entered it shots were fired,
+and an outcry rose from the other side, showing that Herrara had managed
+matters as well as they had. The surprise was complete; the street was
+full of horses, while the soldiers had taken shelter in the houses. A
+scene of the wildest confusion ensued. The horses were shot, for it was
+most important to cripple this most formidable arm of the French service,
+and the men were attacked as they poured out of the houses.
+
+Bull, with a hundred men, made his way straight to the upper end of the
+village and repelled the desperate attempts of a squadron of horse that
+were posted beyond it in readiness for action, to break through to the
+assistance of their comrades, while Terence and Herrara, each with a
+hundred men, held the road at the lower end of the village to check an
+infantry attack there. It was not long before it was delivered. The French
+infantry, disciplined veterans, accustomed to surprises, had sprung to
+their feet when the first shot was fired, and forming instantly into
+column, came on at a run, led by their officers. Terence, with fifty men,
+four deep, barred the way across the road; the rest of his men were
+stationed along the high ground flanking it on one side, while Herrara
+with his hundred flanked the opposite side.
+
+As the French came on the Portuguese on the high ground remained silent
+and unnoticed, but when a flash of fire ran across the road and a deadly
+volley was poured in upon the enemy, those on the flanks at once opened
+fire. For a moment the column paused in surprise, and then opened fire at
+their unseen assailants, whose fire was causing such gaps in the ranks.
+The colonel and several other officers who had been at its head had
+fallen; in the din no orders could be heard, and for some minutes the head
+of the column wasted away under the rain of bullets. Then a general
+officer dashed up, and another body of Frenchmen came along at a run.
+Terence's horn rang out loudly; the signal was repeated in the village,
+the fire instantly ceased, and when the French column rushed into the
+place not a foe was to be seen, but the street was choked up by dead
+horses and men.
+
+These reinforcements did not pause, but making their way over the
+obstacles pressed on to where a roar of fire in front showed how hotly the
+advance-guard was engaged. Here the surprise had been rather less
+complete. Some of the outposts had given the alarm, and the French were on
+their feet before, after pouring terrible volleys into them, a thousand
+men fell upon them on either side. Great numbers of the French fell under
+the fire, and the long line was broken up into sections by the impetuous
+rush of the Portuguese. Nevertheless, the French soldiers hung together,
+and the combat raged desperately until the head of the relieving column
+came up. Then, as suddenly as before, the attack ceased. Not a gun was
+fired, and, as if by magic, their assailants stole away into the darkness,
+while the French opened a random fire after them.
+
+An hour later the two Portuguese regiments united on the road two miles in
+advance of the village. Their loss had been eighty-four killed and a
+hundred and fifty wounded, of which seventy were serious cases. These
+were, as before, sent off to be cared for in the mountain villages. The
+French loss, as Terence afterward heard, had been very heavy; three
+hundred of the cavalry had been killed, and upwards of four hundred
+infantry. Great was the enthusiasm when the two regiments met, and after a
+short halt marched away together into the hills and encamped in a wood two
+miles from the road.
+
+"What next, Generalissimo?" Herrara, whose left arm had been broken by a
+bullet, asked.
+
+"I think that we have done enough for the present," Terence said. "We will
+leave it to the rest of the army to do a little fighting now. We have
+lost, in killed and wounded, some two hundred men, and I don't wish to see
+the whole force dwindle away. I propose that we do not go near Braga. I
+have no idea of putting myself under the command of Friere; I have seen
+enough of him already. So we will travel by by-roads till we get near
+Oporto, then we will find out how matters stand there. My own idea is that
+when the French army approaches, the Junta's courage will ooze out of its
+finger ends, and that the 50,000 peasants, which it calls an army, will
+bolt at the first attack of the French. So, as I don't mean to be trapped
+there, we will rest on our laurels until we see how matters go."
+
+It was well for the corps that Terence abstained from joining the army at
+Braga. As the French entered the pass of Benda Nova, the peasants rushed
+furiously down upon them. Many broke into the French columns, and fighting
+desperately, were slain. The survivors made their way up the hillside, and
+then making a detour, fell upon the rear of the column, killed fifty
+stragglers and plundered the baggage. This spontaneous action of the
+peasants was the only attempt made to bar the advance of the French, and
+Friere permitted them to pass through defile after defile without firing a
+shot. His conduct aroused the fury of his troops, and the feeling was
+fanned by agents of the bishop, who had now become jealous of him, and his
+men rushing upon him dragged him from a house in which he had taken
+refuge, and slew him--a fit end to the career of a man who had proved
+himself as unpatriotic as he was incapable.
+
+On the 18th Soult arrived near Braga, and the Portuguese, who were now
+commanded by Eben, a German officer in the British service, drew up to
+meet him. The French began their advance on the 20th, and half an hour
+later the Portuguese army was a mob of fugitives. The vanquished army lost
+4,000 men and all their guns, 400 only being taken prisoners; the rest
+dispersed in all directions, carrying tales of the invincibility of the
+French. Had it not been for the stout resistance offered by 3,000 men,
+placed on a position in the rear commanding the road, which checked the
+pursuit of the cavalry and enabled the fugitives to make off, scarce a man
+of the Portuguese would have escaped to tell the tale.
+
+Terence had approached Oporto, and encamped in a large wood, when the
+fugitives brought him news of the crushing defeat that they had suffered.
+The soldiers were so furious when they heard of the disgraceful rout, that
+Terence and Herrara had difficulty in preventing them from killing the
+fugitives. The result strengthened his position. The troops on arriving at
+their present camping-place were eager to be led into Oporto. Terence and
+Herrara had talked the matter over several times, and agreed that such a
+step might be fatal. Standing, as this town did, on the north side of the
+river, the only means of leaving it was the bridge of boats, and if
+anything happened to this all retreat would be cut off.
+
+The defeat at Braga at once confirmed their opinion that the army of
+peasants that the bishop had gathered round Oporto would be able to make
+but little resistance to the French attack.
+
+"It would be terrible," Herrara said; "50,000 fugitives, and a great
+portion of the inhabitants of the town, all struggling to cross the
+bridge, with the French cavalry pressing on their rear, and the French
+artillery playing upon them. It is not to be thought of."
+
+The troops, however, had been full of confidence in the valour of their
+countrymen, and from their own success against the French believed that
+the army at Braga would certainly defeat Soult, and there had been some
+dissatisfaction that they had not been permitted to take part in the
+victory. The news brought by the fugitives at once dissipated the hopes
+that they had entertained. They saw that their commander had acted wisely
+in refusing to join the army there, and their feeling of contempt for the
+undisciplined ordenancas and peasants equalled the confidence they had
+before reposed in them. Terence ordered the two regiments to form into a
+hollow square and addressed them.
+
+"Soldiers," he said, "I know that it was a disappointment to you that I
+did not take you to Braga. Had I done so, not one of you would have
+escaped, for when the rest fled like a flock of sheep you could not alone
+have withstood the attack of the whole French army. I know that you wish
+to enter Oporto. I have withstood that wish, and now you must see that I
+was right in doing so. The peasants gathered in its defence are even less
+disciplined than those at Braga, and Soult will, after two or three
+minutes' fighting, capture the place. Were you there you could not prevent
+such a result. You might hold the spot at which you were stationed, but if
+the French broke in at any other point you would be surrounded and killed
+to a man. What use would that be to Portugal? You can do more good by
+living and fighting another day.
+
+"Even if you should fall back with the other fugitives, what chance of
+safety would there be? You know that there is but one bridge of boats
+across the river, and that will soon be blocked by a panic-stricken crowd,
+and your chance of crossing would be slight indeed. The men who fought at
+Braga, those men who will fight before Oporto, are no more cowards than
+you are, and had they gained as much discipline as you have, I would march
+down with you at once and join in the defence. But a mob cannot withstand
+disciplined troops. When the Portuguese have learned to be soldiers, they
+may fight with a hope of success; until then it is taking them to
+slaughter to set them in line of battle against the French. Soult may be
+here in twenty-four hours, therefore I propose to march you down to the
+river above Oporto. We are sure to find boats there, and we will cross at
+once to the other side and encamp near the suburb at the south end of the
+bridge, and when the fugitives pour over we will take our station there,
+cover their retreat, and prevent the French from crossing in pursuit."
+
+A murmur of satisfaction broke from the soldiers and swelled into a shout.
+Soon after evening fell the corps marched from the wood, and two hours
+later came down on the bank of the Douro. As Terence anticipated, there
+were plenty of fishermen's boats hauled up, and the regiments passed over
+by companies. By three in the morning all were across, and by five they
+encamped in a wood beyond the steep hill rising behind the Villa Nova
+suburb, on the left bank of the river. As soon as he had seen the soldiers
+settled Terence borrowed the clothes of one of the men, and putting these
+on instead of his uniform, he sent for Bull and Macwitty, and the two
+soldiers soon arrived. They looked in astonishment at their officer.
+
+"I am going into the town," he said, "partly to judge for myself of the
+state of things there, and partly on a little private business of my own.
+It is possible that I may get into trouble. I hope that I shall not do so,
+but it is as well to be prepared for any emergency that might happen. If,
+then, I do not return, you are to look to Colonel Herrara for orders. When
+the French enter Oporto, which I am certain they will do as soon as they
+attack it, you may gather your men at this end of the bridge, cover the
+retreat, and repulse all efforts of the French to cross. As soon as those
+attempts have ceased, you will march with the two regiments for Coimbra,
+and report yourselves to the officer commanding there. Here are my
+despatches to the general, in which I have done full justice to your
+bravery and your conduct. Here is also a note to the officer commanding at
+Coimbra. I have spoken to him about your conduct, and have asked him to
+allow you to continue with the Portuguese until an order is received from
+Sir John Cradock. I have given Colonel Herrara a duplicate of my
+despatches and official orders, in case you should be killed."
+
+"Cannot we go with you, sir?" Bull asked.
+
+"I don't think so, Bull. Dress as you might, you could hardly be taken for
+anything but an Englishman. Your walk and your complexion, to say nothing
+of your hair, would betray you both at once. The first person who happened
+to address you would discover that you were not natives, and the chances
+are he would denounce you, and that you would be torn to pieces before you
+could offer any explanation. Now, I think that I can pass readily enough.
+The wind and rough weather have brought me to nearly the right colour, and
+I know how to speak Portuguese well enough to ask any question without
+exciting suspicion."
+
+"But why not take two of the men with you?" Macwitty said. "They could do
+any talking that was necessary; and should anyone suggest that you are not
+a native, they could declare that you were a comrade from their own
+village."
+
+Bull strongly approved of the suggestion, and Terence, though in some
+respects he would rather have been alone, at last agreed to it.
+
+"They may as well take their arms; not for use, but to give them the
+appearance of two men from the camp who had come down to make purchases in
+the city."
+
+Daylight was just breaking as the three crossed the bridge of boats into
+the town, and passed through it up the hill to the great camp that had
+been established there. It covered a large extent of ground, and contained
+tents sufficient for the whole of the 50,000 men assembled. A short
+distance away was the line of intrenchments on which the peasants had been
+for some weeks engaged. They consisted of forts crowning a succession of
+rounded hills, and connected by earthen ramparts, loopholed houses,
+ditches, and an abattis of felled trees. No less than two hundred guns
+were in place on the forts. It was a position that two thousand good
+troops should have been able to hold against an army.
+
+"It is a strong position," Terence said to the two men with him.
+
+"Yes, the French can never pass that," one of them said, exultingly.
+
+"That we shall see. They ought not to, certainly, but whether they will or
+not is another matter."
+
+They wandered about for a couple of hours. Once one of the Portuguese
+joined a group of peasants, and learned from them something of the state
+of things in the town, representing that they had but just arrived.
+
+"You are lucky. You will see how we shall destroy the French army. Our
+guns will sweep them away. Every man in the town is full of confidence,
+and the traitors are all trembling in their houses. When the news of the
+business at Braga came yesterday, and we learned the treachery of our
+generals, the people rose, dragged fifteen suspected men of rank from the
+prison and killed them. There is not a day that some of these traitors are
+not rooted out."
+
+"That is well," the other said; "it is traitors that have brought us to
+this pass."
+
+"You will see how we shall fight when the French come. The bishop himself
+has promised to come out in his robes to give us his blessing, and to call
+down the wrath of heaven on the French infidels."
+
+After having finished his survey of the line, Terence returned to the
+city, and following the instructions that he had received as to the
+situation of the convent at Santa Maria, he was not long in finding it. It
+was a massive building; the windows of the two lower stories were closely
+barred. He could not see any way of opening communications with his
+cousin, or of devising any way of escape. He, however, thought that it
+might possibly be managed if he could send in a rope to her and a pulley,
+with means of fixing it; in that way he could lower her to the ground. But
+all this would be very difficult to manage, even if he had ample time at
+his disposal, and in the present circumstances it was altogether
+impossible. He stared at the house for a long time in silence, but no idea
+came to him, and it was with a feeling of hopelessness that he recrossed
+the bridge and rejoined the troops.
+
+"I am glad to see you back, sir," Bull said, heartily. "I have been in a
+funk all this morning that something might happen to you."
+
+"It has all gone off quietly. I will now tell you and Macwitty what my
+business here is. I may need your help, and it is a matter in which none
+of the Portuguese would dare to offer me any assistance."
+
+"I think they would do maist anything for you, sir," Mac-witty said. "They
+have that confidence in you, they would go through fire and water if you
+were to lead them."
+
+"They would do almost anything but what I want done now. I have a cousin,
+a young lady, who is an heiress to a large fortune. Her father is dead,
+and her mother, a wealthy land-owner, has had her shut up in a convent,
+where they are trying to force her, against her will, to become a nun. She
+is kept a prisoner, on bread and water, until she consents to sign a paper
+surrendering all her rights. Now, what I want to do is to get her out. It
+cannot be done by force; that is out of the question. It is a strong
+building, and even if the men would consent to attack a convent, which
+they would not do, all the town would be up, and we should have the whole
+populace on us. So that force is out of the question. Now, the French are
+sure to take the place. When they do, there will be an awful scene. They
+will be furious at the resistance they have met with, and at the losses
+that they have suffered. They will be maddened, and reasonably, by the
+frightful tortures inflicted upon prisoners who have fallen into the hands
+of the Portuguese, and you may be sure that for some time no quarter will
+be given. The soldiers will be let loose upon the city, and there will be
+no more respect for a convent than a dwelling-house. You may imagine how
+frightfully anxious I am. If it had not been for the French I would have
+let the matter stand until our army entered Oporto, but as it is, I must
+try and do something; and, as far as I can see, the only chance will be in
+the frightful confusion that will take place when the French enter the
+town."
+
+"We will stand by you, Mr. O'Connor, you may be sure. You have only got to
+tell us what to do, and you may trust us to do it."
+
+Macwitty, who was a man of few words, nodded. "Mr. O'Connor knows that,"
+he said.
+
+"Thank you both," Terence said, heartily. "I must think out my plan, and
+when I have decided upon it I will let you know."
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+AN ESCAPE
+
+During his visit to the other side of the river Terence had seen, with
+great satisfaction, that a powerful battery, mounting fifty guns, had been
+erected on the heights of Villa Nova, and its fire, he thought, should
+effectually bar any attempt of the French to cross the bridge.
+
+It would indeed be madness for them to attempt such an operation, as the
+boats supporting the bridge could be instantly sunk by the concentrated
+fire of the battery. He said nothing of this on his return to camp, as it
+might have given rise to fresh agitation among the men, were they to be
+aware that their presence was not really required for the defence of the
+bridge. After a short stay in camp he again went down into the town, with
+the idea that he was more likely to hit upon some plan of action there
+than he would be in the camp.
+
+The two men again went with him. Another prolonged stare at the convent
+failed to inspire him with any scheme that was in the slightest degree
+practicable. He fell back upon the conclusion he had mentioned to the two
+troopers, that the only chance would be to take advantage of the wild
+confusion that would prevail upon the entry of the French. The difficulty
+that presented itself to him was, that the nuns would be so appalled by
+the approach of the French that it would be unlikely that they would think
+of leaving the protection--such as it was--of the convent, and would
+shrink from encountering the wild turmoil in the streets. Even if they did
+so, it would be too late for them to have any chance of getting across the
+bridge, which would be thronged to a point of suffocation by the mob of
+fugitives, and might readily be destroyed by one or two of the boats being
+sunk by the French artillery.
+
+The one thing evident was, that he must arrange to get a boat and to
+station it at the end of some street going down to the river from the
+neighbourhood of the convent. That part of the city being some distance
+from the bridge, the streets would soon be deserted, and there would not
+be a wild rush of fugitives to the boat, which would be the case were it
+to be lying alongside anywhere near the bridge. Upon the other hand, it
+would be less likely that the nuns would leave the convent if all was
+comparatively quiet in that neighbourhood, and did they do so it would be
+difficult in the extreme to carry off his cousin from their midst,
+ignorant, too, as he was of her appearance. After looking for some time at
+the convent, he returned to the more busy part of the town. Presently he
+heard a great shouting; every window opened, and he saw a crowd coming
+along the street. By the candles, banners, crucifixes, and canopies it was
+evident that it was a religious procession. He was about to turn off into
+a side street when the thought struck him that possibly it was the bishop
+himself on his way up to the camp; therefore he remained in his place,
+doffed his hat, and, like all around him, went down on one knee.
+
+The procession was a long and stately one, and in the midst, walking
+beneath a canopy, came the bishop himself. Terence gazed at him fixedly in
+order to impress on his mind the features of the man whose ambition had
+cost Portugal so dearly, and at whose instigation so much blood of the
+most honest and capable men of the province had been shed. The face fully
+justified the idea that he had formed of the man. The bishop was of
+commanding presence, and walked with the air of one who was accustomed to
+see all bow before him; but on the other hand, the face bore traces of his
+violent character. There was a set smile on his lips, but his brow was
+heavy and frowning, while his receding chin contradicted the strength of
+the upper part of his face. There was, too, a look of anxiety and
+restlessness betrayed by a nervous twitching of the lips.
+
+"The scoundrel is a coward," Terence said to himself. "He may profess
+absolute confidence, but I don't think he feels it, and I will bet odds
+that he won't be in the front when the time for fighting comes."
+
+Terence walked away after the procession had passed.
+
+"If one could get hold of the bishop," he said to himself, "one might get
+an order on the superior of the convent to hand over Mary O'Connor to the
+bearer, but I don't see how that can possibly be managed. Of course, he is
+surrounded by priests and officials all day, and his palace will be
+guarded by any number of soldiers, for he must have many enemies. There
+must be scores of relatives of men who have been killed by his orders, who
+would assassinate him, bishop though he is, had they the chance. And even
+if I got an order--and it seems to me impossible to do so--it would not be
+made out in the name of Mary O'Connor. I know that they change their names
+when they go into nunneries, and she may be Sister Angela or Cecilia, or
+anything else, and I should not know in the slightest degree whether the
+name he put down was the one that she really goes by. No, that idea is out
+of the question."
+
+Returning to the camp, he held counsel with Herrara. The latter, he knew,
+had none of the bigotry so general among his countrymen. He had before
+told him about his cousin being shut up against her will, and of the
+letter that she had thrown out, but had hitherto said nothing of his
+intention to bring about her escape if possible.
+
+"I had an idea that that was what was in your mind when you went off so
+early this morning, O'Connor. I have a high respect for the Church, but I
+have no respect for its abuses. And the shutting up of a young lady, and
+forcing her to take the veil in order to rob her of her property, is as
+hateful to me as it can be to you, so that I should have no hesitation in
+aiding you in your endeavour to bring about her escape. Have you formed
+any plan?"
+
+"No; I have thought it over again and again, but cannot think of any
+scheme."
+
+"If that is the case, O'Connor, I fear that it is useless for me to try to
+do so; you are so full of ideas always, that if you cannot see your way
+out of the difficulty, it is hopeless to expect that I could do so. If you
+can contrive any plan I will promise to aid you in any way you can point
+out, but as to inventing one, I should never do so if I racked my brain
+ever so much."
+
+"There must be some way," Terence said. "I used to get into all sorts of
+scrapes when I was a boy, but found there was always some way out of them,
+if one could but hit upon it. The only thing that I can think of, is to
+carry her off in the confusion when the French enter the town."
+
+"I should say that the nuns would never think of leaving their convent,
+O'Connor; it is their best hope of safety to remain there."
+
+"No doubt it is, but the French don't always respect the convents--very
+much the contrary, indeed. No, I don't think that they would go out merely
+to rush into the street; but they might go out if they thought they could
+get over the bridge before the French arrived."
+
+"They might do that, certainly; indeed, it would be the best thing they
+could do."
+
+"Do you think that if one were to dress up as a priest, or as one of the
+bishop's attendants, and to go as from him with an order to the lady
+superior to take the nuns at once across the bridge to the convent on the
+other side, she would obey it?"
+
+"Not without some written order," Herrara said. "The bishop would
+naturally send someone who would be known to her, or if he did send a
+stranger he would give him a letter or some token she would recognize;
+otherwise, she could not know that it was his order."
+
+"That is what I was afraid of, Herrara, but it is what I shall try, if I
+can see no other way. Indeed, I see only one chance of getting over the
+difficulty. The bishop is a tyrant of the worst kind. Now, as far as I can
+remember, tyrants of his sort--that is to say, tyrants who rule by working
+on the passions of the mob--are always cowards. I watched the bishop
+closely when I saw him to-day, and I am convinced he is one also. Even in
+that kneeling crowd he could not conceal it. There was a nervous twitching
+about his lips which, to my mind, showed that he was in a state of intense
+anxiety, and that under all his swagger and show of confidence he was,
+nevertheless, in a horrible state of alarm. That being so, it seems to me
+extremely likely that when the fighting begins he will make a bolt of it.
+He won't wait for the French to enter, for he would know well enough that
+in their fury at their defeat, the fugitives, if they came upon him, would
+be likely to tear him limb from limb, just as they have murdered dozens of
+infinitely better men; so I think that he will make off beforehand. I
+imagine that he will go secretly, and with only two or three attendants."
+
+"But you could never carry him off without an alarm being raised, if that
+is what you are thinking of, O' Connor."
+
+"No, I am not thinking of that; but if I could, say with Bull and
+Macwitty, suddenly attack him like three robbers, we might carry off
+something that would serve as a sort of passport to the lady abbess. For
+instance, he had a tremendously big ring on. I noticed it as he held up
+his hands, as if on purpose to show it off."
+
+"That was his episcopal ring," Herrara laughed. "Yes, if you could get
+hold of that, it would be a key that would open the door of any convent."
+
+"Do you think she would hand my cousin over to me if I showed it to her
+and gave her a message as from the bishop?"
+
+"Yes, if you knew the name. You see, from the day she was made a nun she
+lost her former name altogether; and certainly the bishop would send for
+her under her convent name."
+
+"That is what I was thinking myself. Then I must get them all out."
+
+"You have got to get the ring first," Herrara said with a smile.
+
+"Yes, yes, I mean if I get it."
+
+"But if the French have entered the town you can never get them across the
+bridge."
+
+"No, I know that. I mean to get a boat and have it lying off the end of
+some quiet street. I could put a couple of our men into that, for they
+would only regard it, when I had got her on board, as an effort on my part
+to save one of the nuns from the French. One thing to do would be to get
+the robe of a priest, or the dress of one of the bishop's officials."
+
+Herrara thought for some time. "I think that I could do that for you,
+O'Connor. Of course I have a good many acquaintances in Oporto, among them
+some ladies. I was intending to go across this evening and see some of
+them, and implore them to leave the town before it is too late. One of
+these friends of mine might buy some robes for me; a woman can do that
+sort of thing when a man cannot. She can pretend that she wants to buy the
+robe as a present for the parish priest, or her father confessor, or
+something of that sort. At any rate, it is worth trying."
+
+"It is, indeed, Herrara, and if you could manage it I should be greatly
+obliged to you."
+
+"I will go across at once. I expect Soult will be close up to-morrow
+morning, or at any rate the next day. It may be another couple of days
+before he gets his whole force concentrated, but in four days anyhow his
+shot will be rattling down into the town. I will go and see what I can do.
+You had better get one of my troopers to get the boat for you."
+
+Herrara did not return until early on the following morning.
+
+"I have managed it," he said, as Terence, who was getting very anxious
+about him, ran forward to meet him.
+
+"There is one family in Oporto whose eldest son is a brother officer of
+mine, and I have visited them here with him, and have met them several
+times at Lisbon. Indeed, I may tell you frankly that had it not been for
+the troubles, his sister would, ere this time, have been affianced to me.
+I had hoped that they had left the town before this, but they told me that
+any movement of that sort might bring disaster on them. Two of her
+brothers are in the army, and the bishop could not, therefore, pretend
+that the father was a traitor to the country; being an elderly man, the
+latter has in fact held aloof altogether from politics; but he is
+certainly not of the bishop's party, and the bishop considers that all who
+are not with him are against him. Had they attempted to leave the town
+there is no doubt he would have made it a pretext for arresting the
+father, and would certainly do so on the first opportunity. However, they
+quite believed that the great force that there is here would be sufficient
+to defend the fortifications, and were completely taken aback when I told
+them that I was absolutely convinced that the place would fall at the
+first attack of the French.
+
+"They agreed to make all preparations for leaving at once. Their horses
+have been seized, nominally that they should be used on the
+fortifications, but really, I have no doubt, to prevent their leaving. Of
+course I told them all about what we had been doing, in which they were
+intensely interested. For aught they know, their house may be watched; so
+they will come out in some of their servants' clothes. I told them that
+they must leave on the night before Soult made his attack. Of course he
+will summon the town, and the bishop will, of course, refuse to surrender,
+and you may be sure the French will attack on the following day. They left
+me alone with Lorenza for a time, and I took that opportunity of telling
+her about your plan, and what you wanted, and she promised to procure you
+the dress of an ecclesiastic to-morrow. I told her that you were about my
+size and height.
+
+"She knew your cousin personally, and was very fond of her, and therefore
+entered all the more readily into our plans to get her out. She said that
+she disappeared suddenly some months ago, and that her mother had given
+out that she had been suddenly seized with the determination to enter a
+convent, much against her own wishes. Lorenza felt sure that this was not
+true, for she knew that your cousin had heard from her father much about
+the Reformed religion, and was in her heart disposed that way. The mother
+is engaged to be married to a nobleman who is one of the bishop's warmest
+supporters, and the general idea was that Mary O'Connor had been forced
+into a nunnery against her will. I sat talking with them until late last
+night, and they would not hear of my leaving, especially as they said that
+the town was full of bands of ruffians, who traversed the streets,
+attacking and robbing anyone of respectable appearance. As I had rather a
+fancy to try what a comfortable bed was like again, I did not need much
+pressing."
+
+"Thank you greatly, Herrara, I am indeed obliged to you; things seem to
+look really hopeful. I have arranged with Bull and Macwitty that on the
+evening before the attack is likely to take place we will watch all night
+at this end of the bridge. The bishop won't leave until the last thing,
+but I would wager any money he will do so that night. He won't go farther
+than Villa Nova, so as to be ready to cross again at once if the news
+comes that the French have been beaten off. No doubt he will make the
+excuse that as an ecclesiastic he could take no active part in the
+defence, but had been engaged in prayer, which had done more towards
+gaining the victory than his presence could possibly have done."
+
+"I should not be surprised if that should be his course," Herrara said,
+smiling. "At any rate, for your sake I hope that it will be. Have you seen
+about a boat?"
+
+"Yes, I spoke to Francesco Nortis yesterday evening, and told him that I
+wanted to hire a boat with two boatmen for the next week. They were to be
+at his service night and day. He was to tell them that he would not want
+it for fishing, but that, in case, by any possibility, the French took the
+town, he should be able to go across and bring some friends over. When I
+told him that money was no object, he said that there would be no
+difficulty about it. They will be glad enough to get a good week's pay and
+next to nothing to do for it."
+
+Two days passed quietly. On the first day the news arrived that Silveira
+had invested Chaves on the day of the battle of Braga, and had forced the
+garrison, which consisted of but a hundred fighting men, with twelve
+hundred sick, to capitulate.
+
+Day after day news came of the advance of the French. They had moved in
+three columns. Each had met with a stout resistance, but had carried the
+passes and bridges after severe loss. One of the columns had been held for
+some time in check at the Ponte D'Ave, but had carried it at last,
+whereupon the Portuguese had murdered their general and dispersed.
+
+On the 26th, six days after the battle of Braga, Franceschi's cavalry were
+seen approaching the position in front of Oporto. The alarm bells rung,
+the troops hurried to their positions, but the day passed off quietly, the
+confidence of the people being still further raised by the arrival of
+2,000 regular troops sent by Beresford to their assistance. As there were
+already seven or eight thousand regular troops in the camp, it seemed to
+all that as Soult had but 20,000 men fit for action, the defences ought to
+be held against him for any length of time. The majority, indeed, believed
+that he would not even venture to attack the town when upon his arrival he
+perceived its strength, especially when they knew that he had but a few
+guns with him, his park of artillery being still at Tuy, which was closely
+invested by the Spaniards.
+
+On the following day the whole French army settled down in front of the
+Portuguese works, and a wild and purposeless fire was now opened by the
+defenders, although the French were far beyond musket-range.
+
+Soult sent in a message to the bishop urging him to surrender. He assured
+him that resistance was hopeless, and that it was his earnest desire to
+save so great a city from the horrors of a storm. The message was sent by
+a prisoner, who was seized by the mob in spite of the flag of truce that
+he carried, and would have been murdered had he not assured the people
+that he came with a message from Soult, to the effect that, seeing the
+hopelessness of attacking the town or of marching back to the frontier in
+safety, he wished to negotiate for a surrender for himself and his army.
+
+At one point the Portuguese displayed a white flag, and shouted that they
+wished to surrender. A French general advanced with another officer, but
+when they reached the lines the Portuguese fell upon him, killed his
+companion, and carried the general a prisoner into the town. The
+negotiations were prolonged until evening, but the bishop declined all
+Soult's overtures, and the fire from the intrenchments continued. In the
+course of the evening Merle's division, in order to divert attention from
+the points Soult had fixed upon for the attack, moved towards the
+Portuguese left, when a tremendous fire of artillery and musketry opened
+upon it. The division made its way forward, and occupied some hollow
+ground which shielded it from fire, within a very short distance of the
+intrenchments. Feeling that the crisis was at hand, Terence had everything
+prepared. The boatmen were told that they might be required that night,
+and that they were to have the boat in readiness to start at any moment.
+Herrara had warned his friends, and went to their house with six of his
+men, as soon as it became dusk, to escort them over. Terence with his two
+troopers, clad in the dresses of two of the tallest of the men and wrapped
+in cloaks, with their broad hats pressed low down upon their foreheads,
+went down to the end of the bridge as soon as it became quite dark. The
+river was three hundred yards broad, but the sound of the confusion and
+alarm that prevailed in the city could be plainly heard, although the
+evening had set in rough and tempestuous. The shouts of the excited mob
+mingled with the clanging of the church bells.
+
+"That does not sound like confidence in victory," Terence remarked.
+
+"Quite the other way, sir. I should say that after all their bragging
+every man in the place is in a blue funk."
+
+A great many people, especially women with children, were making their way
+across the bridge. About nine o'clock a little knot of five or six men,
+following a tall figure, passed them.
+
+"That is the bishop," Terence whispered, and in pursuance of the orders
+that he had previously given them, the two men followed him as he fell in
+at a short distance behind the group. These turned off from the main road
+and took one that led up to the Serra Convent, standing on the crest of a
+rugged hill. As soon as they had passed beyond the houses at the foot of
+the hill, and the road was altogether deserted, Terence said to the men:
+
+"Now is our time. Do you take the attendants; I will manage the bishop."
+
+They moved forward quickly and silently until they were close to the
+group, then they dashed forward. As the startled attendants turned round
+the troopers fell upon them, and with heavy blows from their fists knocked
+them to the ground like nine-pins. The bishop turned round and shouted:
+
+"Villains, I am the bishop!"
+
+"I know that!" Terence exclaimed, and sprang at him.
+
+The prelate reeled and fell. Terence threw himself upon him, and seizing
+his hand wrested from it the episcopal ring. Then, upon seeing that the
+bishop had fainted, probably from fright, Terence leapt to his feet. The
+five attendants were lying on the ground.
+
+"All right, lads," he said, "we have got what we wanted, but just strip
+off one of these fellows' clothes. Take this one, he is a priest."
+
+It took but a minute for the two troopers to strip off the garment and
+pick up the three-cornered hat.
+
+"Now, come along, men."
+
+They reached the houses again without hearing so much as a cry from the
+astounded Portuguese, who as yet had but a vague idea of what had happened
+to them. The capture of the clothes had been rendered necessary by
+Herrara's report, two days before, that the young lady had failed to get
+the clothes, for the shopman had asked so many questions concerning them
+that she had said carelessly that it made no matter. She had intended to
+give them as a present and a surprise, but as there seemed a difficulty
+about it she would give money instead, and let the priest choose his own
+clothes. She had purposely entered a shop in the opposite end of the town
+from that in which her father lived, so that there would be less chance of
+her being recognized.
+
+Herrara said that she would try elsewhere, but Terence at once begged him
+to tell her not to do so.
+
+"The bishop is sure to have some of his priests with him," he said, "and
+if I rob him of his ring, I might just as well rob one of them of his
+clothes."
+
+On returning to the camp Terence found that his comrade had already
+arrived with a gentleman and three ladies. The tent had been given up for
+the use of the latter. Herrara had warned him not to say a word to the old
+gentleman of his adventure.
+
+"He and the others know nothing about it," he said, "and it is just as
+well that they shouldn't, for he is somewhat rigid in his notions, and
+might be rather horrified at your assaulting a bishop, however great a
+scoundrel he might be, and would be specially so at the borrowing of his
+ring."
+
+At twelve o'clock heavy peals of thunder were heard, followed by a
+tremendous outbreak of firing from the intrenchments, two hundred guns and
+a terrific musketry fire opening suddenly.
+
+"The French are attacking!" Herrara exclaimed.
+
+"I don't think so," Terence replied. "It is more likely to be a false
+alarm. The troops may have thought that the thunder was the roar of French
+guns. Soult would hardly make an attack at night, or, not knowing the
+nature of the ground behind the intrenchments, his men would be falling
+into confusion, and perhaps fire into each other."
+
+As, after a quarter of an hour of prodigious din, the fire slackened and
+presently ceased altogether, it was evident that this supposition was a
+correct one. The morning broke bright and still, and an hour later the
+cannonade began again. Terence at once, after telling Herrara to form the
+troops up and march them down to the end of the bridge, left the camp, and
+after proceeding a short distance took off his uniform and donned the
+attire of the ecclesiastic, and then hurried down into the town. He was
+accompanied by the two troopers in their peasant dress. These left him at
+the bridge. The din was now tremendous, every church bell was ringing
+furiously, and frightened women were already crowding down towards the
+bridge.
+
+Their point of crossing had already been decided upon--it was at the end
+of a street close to the convent, and when Terence reached the convent the
+two men were already standing at the end of the street, awaiting him.
+
+"Now, you do your part of the business and I will do mine," Terence said,
+and he moved forward to the door of the convent, where he would be unseen
+should anyone look out.
+
+The two troopers went to the middle of the street, opposite the window
+which the officer had described to Terence, and both shouted in a
+stentorian voice:
+
+"Mary O'Connor!"
+
+The shout was heard above the tumult of the battle and the din in the
+city, and a head appeared at the window and looked down with a bewildered
+expression.
+
+"Mary O'Connor," Bull shouted again, "a friend is here to rescue you. You
+will leave the convent directly with the rest. Look out for us."
+
+Then they walked on, and passed Terence.
+
+"Have you seen her face?"
+
+"We have, sir. We shall know her again, never fear."
+
+Terence now seized the bell and rung it vigorously. The door opened, and a
+terrified face appeared at the window.
+
+"I have a message from the bishop to the lady superior."
+
+The door was opened, and was at once closed and barred behind him. He was
+led along some passages to the room where the lady superior, pale and
+agitated, was awaiting him.
+
+"Have the French entered the intrenchments?" she asked.
+
+"I trust they have not entered yet, but they may do so at any moment. The
+bishop is at the Serra Convent, and from there has a view over the town to
+the intrenchments. He begs you to instantly bring the nuns across, for
+they will be in safety there, whereas no one can say what may happen in
+the town. Here is his episcopal ring in proof that I am the bearer of his
+orders. I pray you to hasten, sister, for a crowd of fugitives are already
+pouring over the bridge, and there is not a moment to be lost."
+
+"The nuns are just coming down to prayer in the chapel, and we will start
+instantly."
+
+In two minutes upward of a hundred frightened women were gathered in the
+courtyard.
+
+"Are all here?" Terence asked the lady superior.
+
+"All of them."
+
+"I asked because I know that he is specially anxious that one, who is a
+sort of prisoner, should not fall into the hands of the French, as that
+might cause serious trouble."
+
+"I know whom you mean," and she called out "Sister Theresa!" There was no
+answer.
+
+
+[Illustration: "MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH HIS
+PISTOLS"]
+
+
+"It is well you asked," she said. "They have forgotten her." She gave
+orders to one of the sisters, who at once entered the house, and returned
+in a minute with a young nun. The door was now opened, and they moved out
+in procession. Terence could hear regular volleys amidst the roar of guns
+and the incessant crack of muskets.
+
+"I fear that they have entered the intrenchments," he said. "Hasten,
+sister, or we shall be too late."
+
+With hurried steps they passed along the deserted streets. As they neared
+the bridge a crowd of fugitives were hastening in that direction, and when
+they approached its head they found it blocked by a struggling mass.
+
+"What is to be done?" the lady superior asked in consternation.
+
+"We must wait a minute or two; they may clear off."
+
+But every second the crowd increased, and was soon thick behind them.
+Already the line of nuns was broken up by the pressure. Terence had kept
+his eyes on the two tall figures who had followed, at first behind them,
+and had then quickened their footsteps until abreast of the centre of the
+line, and to his satisfaction saw that they had one of the nuns between
+them, and were forcing their way with her through the crowd behind. At
+this moment a terrible cry arose from the crowd. A troop of Portuguese
+dragoons rode furiously down the street leading to the bridge, and dashed
+into the crowd, trampling down all in their way in their reckless terror,
+until they gained the end of the bridge. As they rode on to it, two of the
+boats, already low in the water from the weight upon them, gave a surge
+and sank, carrying with them hundreds of people. The crowd recoiled with a
+cry of horror.
+
+"There is no escape now, sister," Terence said; "go back to the convent."
+
+"Home, sisters!" she cried in a loud, shrill voice, that made itself heard
+even over the screams of the drowning people and the wails and cries of
+the mob.
+
+Terence placed himself before the lady superior, and by main force made a
+way through the crowd; which was the more easy as, seeing their only
+escape cut off, numbers were now beginning to disperse to their homes. The
+movement was converted into a wild rush when a troop of French cavalry
+came thundering down to the bridge. In a moment all was mad confusion and
+fright. The nuns followed their superior, and all thought of decorum being
+now lost, fled with her like a flock of frightened sheep along the street
+leading to the convent. Terence paused a moment. He saw that the French
+troopers threw themselves from their horses, and, all animosity being for
+the moment forgotten in the horror of the scene, set to work to endeavour
+to save the drowning wretches, regardless of the fire which, as soon as
+the French appeared, was opened by the battery on the height of Villa
+Nova.
+
+Then he sped away after the nuns, whom he soon passed. He turned down the
+street next to the convent, and, on reaching the end, saw the two troopers
+with a nun in a boat ten yards away. Macwitty was standing covering the
+two boatmen with his pistols.
+
+"Row back to the shore again," he roared out in English, "and take off
+that gentleman there." The men did not understand his words, but they
+understood his gestures, and a stroke or two took them alongside. Terence
+leapt in and told the men to row across the river.
+
+"This is an unexpected meeting, cousin," he said to the girl.
+
+"They have been telling me who you are, and how you have effected my
+rescue," she said, bursting into tears. "How can I thank you?"
+
+"Well, this is hardly a time for thanks," he said, "and I am as glad as
+you are that it has all turned out well. I will tell you all about it as
+soon as we are across."
+
+They were nearly over when he exclaimed to the troopers:
+
+"The French have repaired the bridge with planks. See, they are crossing!"
+
+They sprang out on reaching the opposite shore. A moment later a rattle of
+musketry broke out.
+
+"Macwitty," he said, "I will give this young lady into your charge. Take
+her straight up to the camp. There are three ladies there," he said to his
+cousin, "and in the tent they have some clothes for you to change into. It
+will not be long before I shall rejoin you. But I must join my regiment
+now; they are engaged with the enemy."
+
+As he hurried along with Bull, he could hear above the sound of the
+musketry the sharp crack of the field-guns from the opposite side of the
+river.
+
+"They are covering the passage, Bull."
+
+As he came up he found that Herrara had taken possession of the houses
+near the end of the bridge. A part of his troops filled the windows, while
+the main body lined the quay. The French were recoiling, but a mass of
+their troops could be seen at the further end of the bridge, and two field
+batteries were keeping up an incessant fire. Herrara was posted with a
+company at the end of the bridge.
+
+"We had better fall back, Herrara, before they form a fresh column of
+attack. We might repulse them again, but they will be able to cross by
+boats elsewhere, and we shall be taken in front and rear. Let us draw off
+in good order. The infantry will be sure to march straight against the
+battery on the hill behind, and it will be half an hour before the cavalry
+can cross, and by that time we shall be well on our way; whereas, if we
+stop here until we are taken in flank and rear, we shall be cut to
+pieces."
+
+"I quite agree with you," Herrara said, and ordered the man with the horn
+standing beside him to sound the retreat.
+
+The men near at once formed up and got in motion, those in the houses
+poured out, and in two minutes the whole force were going up the hill at a
+trot, but still preserving their order. Five minutes later the head of the
+French column poured over the bridge. Just as the troops reached the place
+of encampment the fire of the battery ceased suddenly.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+MARY O'CONNOR
+
+Never was a large force of men driven from a very strong position,
+carefully prepared and defended by a vast number of guns, so quickly and
+easily as were the Portuguese before Oporto. The bishop, after rejecting
+Soult's summons and disregarding his prayers to save the city from ruin,
+suddenly lost heart, and after all his boasting, slipped away after dark
+to the Serra Convent, leaving the command to the generals of the army. The
+feint which Soult had made with Merle's division the night before against
+the Portuguese left succeeded perfectly, the Portuguese massing their
+forces on that side to resist the expected attack.
+
+Soult's real intentions, however, were to break through the centre of the
+line and then to drive the Portuguese right and left away from the town,
+while he pushed a body of troops straight through the city to seize the
+bridge and thus cut off all retreat. Accordingly he commenced the attack
+on both wings. The Portuguese weakened their centre to meet these, and
+then the central division of the French rushed forward, burst through the
+intrenchments, and carried at once the two principal forts. Then two
+battalions marched into the town and made for the bridge, while the rest
+fell on the Portuguese rear. The French right carried in succession a
+number of forts, took fifty pieces of artillery, and drove off a great
+mass of the Portuguese from the town, while Merle met with equal success
+on the other flank. Half the Portuguese, therefore, were driven up the
+valley of the Douro, and the other half down towards the sea.
+
+Maddened by terror, some of them strove to swim across, others to get over
+in small boats. Lima, their general, shouted to them that the river was
+too wide to swim, and that those who took to boats would be shot down by
+the pursuing French. Whereupon his own troops turned upon him and murdered
+him, although the French were but a couple of hundred yards away; they
+then renewed their attempt to cross, and many perished. Similar scenes
+took place in the valley above the town, but here the French cavalry
+interposed between the panic-stricken fugitives and the river, and so
+prevented them throwing away their lives in the hopeless attempt to swim
+across. In the meantime incessant firing was going on in the city. The
+French column arriving at the bridge, after doing their best to rescue the
+drowning people, sacrificed to the heartless cowardice of the Portuguese
+cavalry, speedily repaired the break caused by the sinking boats and
+prepared to cross the river, while others scattered through the town.
+
+The inhabitants fired upon them from the roofs and windows, and two
+hundred men defended the bishop's palace to the last. Every house was the
+scene of conflict. The French on entering one of the principal squares
+found a number of their comrades, who had been taken prisoners and sent to
+the town, still alive but horribly mutilated, some of them having been
+blinded, others having legs cut off, and all mutilated in various ways.
+This terrible sight naturally goaded them to such a state of fury that
+Soult in vain endeavoured to stop the work of slaughter and pillage. This
+continued for several hours, and altogether the number of Portuguese who
+perished by drowning and slaughter in the streets was estimated at ten
+thousand, of which the number killed in the defence of the works formed
+but an insignificant portion.
+
+Terence on his arrival at the camp in the wood resumed his uniform.
+Herrara had, on the previous day, purchased a light waggon and two horses
+for the use of the ladies, and as soon as the men had strapped on the
+cloaks and blankets which they had left behind them when they advanced to
+the defence of the bridge, the retreat began. Not until he had seen the
+column fairly on its way did Terence ride up to speak to the occupants of
+the waggon. He had not been introduced by Herrara to his friends, for on
+his return from his encounter with the bishop the ladies had already
+retired to their tent.
+
+"I must introduce myself to you, Don Jose. I am Terence O' Connor, an
+ensign in his Britannic Majesty's regiment of Mayo Fusiliers and an
+aide-de-camp of General Cradock, a very humble personage, though at
+present in command of these troops--irregular regiments of the Portuguese
+army."
+
+"Lieutenant Herrara has told us so much about you, Senor O'Connor, that we
+have been looking forward with much pleasure to meeting you. Allow me to
+present you to my wife and daughters, who have been as anxious as myself
+to meet an officer who has done such good services to the cause, and to
+whom it is due at the present moment that we are here, instead of being in
+the midst of the terrible scenes that are no doubt at this moment being
+enacted in Oporto."
+
+Terence bowed deeply to the ladies, and then said to his cousin:
+
+"I almost require introducing to you, for I caught but a glimpse of you as
+we crossed the river, and you look so different now that you have got rid
+of that hideous attire that I don't think that I should have known you."
+
+"You have changed greatly, too, Senor O'Connor."
+
+Terence burst into a laugh.
+
+"My dear cousin, it is evident that you know very little of English
+customs, though you speak English so well. We don't call our cousins Mr.
+and Miss; you will have to call me Terence and I shall certainly call you
+Mary. Macwitty brought you back to camp all right?"
+
+"Yes; but it was terrible to hear all that firing, and I was wondering all
+the time whether you were being hurt."
+
+"There is a great deal of powder fired away to every one that gets hit."
+
+"Do you know what has happened in the town?" Don Jose asked.
+
+"I know no more than what my cousin has no doubt told you of that terrible
+scene at the bridge. It is evident that the French burst through the lines
+without any difficulty, as we saw no soldiers, except those cowardly
+cavalrymen, before the French arrived. It is probable that the
+intrenchments were carried in the centre, and Soult evidently sent a body
+of soldiers straight through the town to secure the bridge. I think he
+must have cut off the main body of the defenders of the intrenchments from
+entering the town and must either have captured them or driven them off.
+The fire of cannon had ceased over there before we retired, and it is
+clear from that that the whole of the intrenchments must have been
+captured. There was, however, a heavy rattle of musketry in the town, and
+I suppose that the houses, and perhaps some barricades, were being
+defended. It was a mad thing to do, for it would only excite the fury of
+the French troops, and get them out of hand altogether. If there had been
+no resistance the columns might have marched in in good order; but even
+then I fear there might have been trouble, for unfortunately, your
+peasants have behaved with such merciless cruelty to all stragglers who
+fell into their hands, that the thirst for vengeance would in any case
+have been irrepressible. Still, the officers might possibly have preserved
+order had there been no resistance."
+
+"Shall we be pursued, do you think, senor?" Don Jose's wife asked.
+
+"I do not think so. Possibly parties of horse may scour the country for
+some distance round, to see if there is a body of troops here, but we are
+too strong to be attacked by any but a very numerous body of horse; and if
+they should attempt it, you may be sure that we can render a very good
+account of ourselves. We have beaten off the French horse once, and, as
+since then we have had some stiff fighting, I have no fear of the men
+being unsteady, even if all Franceschi's cavalry came down upon us. Of
+that, however, there will be little chance; the French have their hands
+full for some days, and a few scouting parties are all that they are
+likely to send out."
+
+"You speak Portuguese very well, Terence," Mary O'Connor said, in that
+language, hesitating a little before she used his Christian name.
+
+"I have been nearly nine months in the country, during most of which I
+have been on the staff, and have had to communicate with peasants and
+others, and for the past two months I have spoken nothing else; necessity
+is a good teacher. Besides which, Lieutenant Herrara has been good enough
+to take great pains in correcting my mistakes and teaching me the proper
+idioms; another six months of this work and I have no doubt I shall be
+able to pass as a native."
+
+After marching fifteen miles the column halted, Terence feeling assured
+that the French would not push out their scouting parties more than three
+or four miles from Villa Nova. They halted at the edge of a forest, and a
+party under one of the officers was at once despatched to a village two
+miles away, and returned in an hour with a drove of pigs that had been
+bought there, and a cart laden with bread and wine. Fires had already been
+lighted, and after seeing that the rations were divided among the various
+companies, Terence went to the tent. Herrara was chatting with his
+friends, and Mary O'Connor came out at once and joined him.
+
+"That is right, Mary; we will take a stroll in the wood and have a talk
+together. Now tell me how you have got on. I had expected to find you
+quite thin and almost starving."
+
+"No, I have had plenty of bread to eat," she laughed; "the sisters kept me
+well supplied. I am sure that most of them were sorry for me, and they
+used to hide away some of their own bread and bring it to me when they had
+a chance. The lady superior was very hard, and if I had had to depend
+entirely on what she sent me up I should have done very badly. I always
+ate as much as I could, as I wanted to keep up my strength; for I knew
+that if I got weak I might give way and do what they wanted, and I was
+quite determined that I would not, if I could help it."
+
+"Macwitty told you, I suppose, how I came to hear where you were
+imprisoned?"
+
+"Yes; he said that the officer had given you the letter that I dropped to
+him; yet how did he come to know that you were my cousin?"
+
+"It was quite an accident; just the similarity of name. We were chatting,
+and he said, casually, 'I suppose that you have no relatives at Oporto,'
+and I at once said I had, for fortunately my father had been telling me
+about your father and you, the last time I saw him, that is four months
+ago. He was badly wounded at Vimiera and invalided home. Then Captain
+Travers told me about getting your letter and what was in it, and I felt
+sure that it was you, and of course made up my mind to do what I could to
+get you out, though at the time I did not think that I should be in Oporto
+until I entered with the British army."
+
+"But I cannot think how you got us all to start, and walked along with the
+lady superior as if you were a friend of hers. Macwitty had not time to
+tell me that. I was so frightened and bewildered with the dreadful noise
+and the strangeness of it all that I could not ask him many questions."
+
+"It was by virtue of this ring," he said, holding up his hand.
+
+"Why," she exclaimed in surprise, "that is the bishop's! I noticed it on
+his finger when he came one day to me and scolded me, and said that I
+should remain a prisoner if it was for years until my obstinate spirit was
+broken. But how did you get it?"
+
+"Not with the bishop's good-will, you may be sure, Mary," Terence laughed;
+and he then told her how he had become possessed of it.
+
+The girl looked quite scared.
+
+"It sounds dreadful, doesn't it, Mary, to think that I should have laid
+hands upon a bishop, and such a bishop, a man who regards himself as the
+greatest in Portugal. However, there was no other way of getting the ring,
+and I could not see how, without it, I could persuade the lady superior to
+leave her convent with you all; and to tell you the truth, I would rather
+have got it that way than any other. The bishop is, in my opinion, a man
+who deserves no respect. He has terrorized all the north of Portugal, has
+caused scores of better men than himself to be imprisoned or put to death,
+and has now by his folly and ignorance cost the lives of no one knows how
+many thousand men, and brought about the sack of Oporto."
+
+"Did you hear anything of my mother?" the girl asked.
+
+"No; my Portuguese was not good enough for me to ask questions without
+risking being detected as a foreigner at once. She has behaved shamefully
+to you, Mary."
+
+"She never liked me," the girl said, simply. "She and father never got on
+well together, and I think her dislike began by his taking to me, and my
+liking to be with him and getting to talk English. There was a terrible
+quarrel between them once because she accused him of teaching me to be a
+Protestant, although he never did so. He did give me a Bible, and I used
+to ask him questions and he answered them, that was all; but as it did
+seem to me that he was much wiser in all things than she was, I thought
+that he might be wiser in religion too. I would have given up the property
+directly they wanted me to, if they would have let me go away to England;
+but when they took me to the convent and cut off my hair, and forced me to
+become a nun, I would not give way to them. I never took the vows,
+Terence; I would not open my lips, but they went on with the service just
+the same. I was determined that I would not yield. I thought that the
+English would come some day, and that I might be freed then."
+
+"What would you have done in England if you had gone there, Mary?"
+
+"I should have found your father out, and gone to him. Father told me that
+your father was his greatest friend, and just before he died he told me
+that he had privately sent over all his own money to a bank at Cork, and
+ordered it to be put in your father's name. It was a good deal of money,
+for he would not give up the business when he married my mother, though
+she wanted him to; but he said that he could not live in idleness on her
+money, and that he must be doing something. And I know that he kept up the
+house in Oporto, while she kept up her place in the country. He told me
+that the sum he had sent over was L20,000. That will be enough to live on,
+won't it?"
+
+"Plenty," Terence laughed. "I had no idea that I was rescuing such an
+heiress. I was sure that there was no chance of your getting your mother's
+money, at any rate, as long as the bishop was leader of Oporto. However
+just your claim, no judge would decide in your favour."
+
+"Now tell me about yourself, Terence, and your home in Ireland, and all
+about it."
+
+"My home has been the regiment, Mary. My father has a few hundred acres in
+County Mayo, and a tumble-down house; that is to say, it was a tumble-down
+house when I saw it four years ago, but it had been shut up for a good
+many years, and I should not be surprised if it has quite tumbled down
+now. However, my father was always talking of going to live there when he
+left the army. The land is not worth much, I think. There are five hundred
+acres, and they let for about a hundred a year. However, my father has
+been in the regiment now for about eighteen years; and as I was born in
+barracks I have only been three or four times to Ballinagra, and then only
+because father took a fancy to have a look at the old house. My mother
+died when I was ten years old, and I ran almost wild until I got my
+commission last June."
+
+"And how did you come to be a staff-officer of the English general?" she
+asked.
+
+"I have had awfully good luck," Terence replied. "It happened in all sorts
+of ways."
+
+"Please tell me everything," she said. "I want to know all about you."
+
+"It is a long story, Mary."
+
+"So much the better," she said. "I know nothing of what has passed for the
+last year, and I dare say I shall learn about it from your story. You
+don't know how happy I am feeling to be out in the sun and in the air
+again, and to see the country after being shut up in one room for a year.
+Suppose we sit down here and you tell me the whole story."
+
+Terence accordingly related the history of his adventures since he had
+left England. The girl asked a great many questions, and specially
+insisted upon hearing his own adventures very fully.
+
+"It is no use your keeping on saying that it is all luck," she said when
+he had finished. "Your colonel could not have thought that it was luck
+when he wrote the report about that adventure at sea, and your general
+could not have thought so, either, or he would not have praised you in his
+despatch. Then, you know, General Fane must have thought that it was quite
+out of the way or he would not have chosen you to be on his staff. Then
+afterwards the other general must have been pleased with you, or he would
+not have put you on his staff and sent you off on a mission to General
+Romana. It is quite certain that these things could not have been all
+luck, Terence. And anyhow, you cannot pretend that it was luck that this
+regiment of yours fought so well against the French, while none of the
+others seem to have fought at all. I suppose that you will say next that
+it was all luck that you got me out of the convent."
+
+"There was a great deal of luck in it, Mary. If that cowardly bishop
+hadn't left Oporto secretly, after declaring that he would defend it until
+the last, I could never have got his ring."
+
+"You would have got me out some other way if he hadn't," the girl said,
+with confidence. "No, Terence, you can say what you like, but I shall
+always consider that you have been wonderfully brave and clever."
+
+"Then you will always think quite wrong," Terence said, bluntly.
+
+"I shall begin to think that you are a tyrant, like the Bishop of Oporto,
+if you speak in that positive way. How old are you, sir?"
+
+"I was sixteen six months ago."
+
+"And I was sixteen three days ago," she said. "Fancy your commanding two
+thousand soldiers and only six months older than I am."
+
+"It is not I, it is the uniform," Terence said. "They obey me when they
+won't obey their own officers, because I am on the English general's
+staff. They know that we have thrashed the French, and that their own
+officers know nothing at all about fighting, and they have no respect
+whatever for them. More than that, they despise them because they know
+that they are always intriguing, and that really, although they may be
+called generals, they are but politicians. You will see, when they get
+English officers to discipline them, they will turn out capital soldiers;
+but they think so little of their own, that if anything goes wrong their
+first idea is that their officers must be traitors, and so fall upon them
+and murder them.
+
+"You look older than I do, Mary. You seem to me quite a woman, while, in
+spite of my uniform and my command, and all that, I am really only a boy."
+
+"I suppose I am almost a woman, Terence, but I don't feel so. You see out
+here girls often marry at sixteen. I know father said once that he hoped I
+shouldn't marry until I was eighteen, and that he wanted to keep me young.
+I never thought about getting almost a woman until the bishop told me one
+day that if I chose to marry a senor that he would choose for me, he would
+get me absolution from my vows, and that I need not then resign my
+property."
+
+"The old blackguard!" Terence exclaimed, angrily. "And what did you say to
+him?"
+
+"I said that, in the first place, I had never thought of marrying; that in
+the second place, I had not taken any vows; and in the third place that
+when I did marry I would choose for myself. He got into a terrible rage,
+and said that I was an obstinate heretic, and that some day when I was
+tired of my prison I would think better of it."
+
+"I would have hit the bishop hard if I had known about that," Terence
+grumbled. "If ever I fall in with him again I will pay him out for it.
+Well, anyhow, I may as well take off his ring; it might lead to awkward
+questions if anyone noticed it."
+
+"I think that you had certainly better do so, Terence; it might cost you
+your life. The bishop is a bad man, and he is a very dangerous enemy. If
+he heard that an English officer was wearing an episcopal ring, and upon
+inquiring found that that officer had been in Oporto at its capture, he
+would know at once that it was you who assaulted him, and he would never
+rest until he had your life. You had better throw it away."
+
+"All right, here goes!" Terence said, carelessly, and he threw the ring
+into a clump of bushes. "Now, Mary, it is getting dark, and I should think
+supper must be waiting for us."
+
+"Yes, it is late; we have been a long while, indeed," the girl said,
+getting up hastily. "I forgot all about time."
+
+"We are in plenty of time," Terence said, looking at his watch. "As we all
+had some cold meat for lunch as soon as we arrived, I ordered dinner at
+six o'clock, and it wants twenty minutes of that time now."
+
+"It is shocking, according to our Portuguese ideas," she said, demurely,
+"for a young lady and gentleman to be talking together for nearly three
+hours without anyone to look after them."
+
+"It is not at all shocking, according to Irish ideas," Terence said,
+laughing, "especially when the young lady and gentleman happen to be
+cousins."
+
+They walked a short time in silence, then she said:
+
+"I have obeyed you, Terence, and haven't uttered a word of thanks for what
+you have done for me."
+
+"That shows that you are a good girl," Terence laughed.
+
+"Good girls always do as they are told; at least they are supposed to,
+though as to the fact I never had any experience, for I have no sisters,
+and there were no girls in barracks; still, I am glad that you kept your
+promise, and hope that you will always do so. Being a cousin, of course it
+was natural that I should try to rescue you."
+
+"And you would not if I hadn't been a cousin?"
+
+"No, I don't say that. I dare say I should have tried the same if I had
+heard that any English or Irish girl was shut up here. I am sure I should
+if I had seen you beforehand."
+
+She coloured a little at the compliment, and said, lightly: "Father told
+me once that Irishmen were great hands at compliments. He told me that
+there was some stone that people went to an old castle to kiss--I think
+that he called it the Blarney Stone--and after that they were able to say
+all sorts of absurd things."
+
+"I have never kissed the Blarney Stone," Terence said, laughing. "If I
+wanted to kiss anything, it would be something a good deal softer than
+that."
+
+They were now entering the camp, and in a few minutes they arrived at the
+tent.
+
+"I began to think that you were lost, O'Connor," Herrara said, as they
+came up.
+
+"We had a lot to talk about," Terence replied. "My cousin has been
+insisting upon my telling her my whole history, and all about what has
+passed here since she was shut up a year ago, and, as you may imagine, it
+was rather a long story."
+
+A few minutes later they sat down on the ground to a meal in which roast
+pork was the leading feature.
+
+"This is what we call in England a picnic, senora," Terence said to Don
+Jose's wife.
+
+"A picnic," she repeated; "what does that mean? It is a funny word."
+
+"I have no idea why it should be called so," Terence said. "It means an
+open-air party. The ladies are supposed to bring the provisions, and the
+gentlemen the wine. Sometimes it is a boating party; at other times they
+drive in carriages to the spot agreed upon. It is always very jolly, and
+much better than a formal meal indoors, and you can play all sorts of
+tricks."
+
+"What sort of tricks, senor?"
+
+"Oh, there are lots of them. I was always having fun before I became an
+officer. My father was one of the captains of the regiment, and I was
+generally in for any amusement that there was. Once at a picnic, I
+remember that I got hold of the salt-cellars and mustard-pots beforehand,
+and I filled up one with powdered Epsom salts, which are horribly nasty,
+you know, and I mixed the mustard with cayenne pepper. Nobody could make
+out what had happened to the food. They soon suspected the mustard, but
+nobody thought of the salt for a long time. The colonel was furious over
+it, but fortunately they could not prove that I had any hand in the
+matter, though I know that they suspected me, for I did not get an
+invitation to a picnic for a long time afterwards."
+
+The three girls laughed, but Don Jose said, seriously: "But you would have
+got into terrible trouble if you had been found out, would you not?"
+
+"I should have got a licking, no doubt, senor; but I was pretty accustomed
+to that, and it did not trouble me in any way. At any rate, it did not
+cure me of my love for mischief. I am afraid I never shall be cured of
+that. I used to have no end of fun in the regiment, and I think that it
+did us all good. It takes some thinking to work out a bit of mischief
+properly, and I suppose if one can think one thing out well, one can think
+out another."
+
+"It seems to have succeeded well in your case, anyhow," Herrara laughed.
+"Perhaps if it had not been for your playing that trick at the picnic you
+would never have taken command of that mob, and we should never have gone
+to Oporto, and my friends and your cousin would be there now--that is, if
+they had not been killed."
+
+"It may have had something to do with it," Terence admitted.
+
+"And now, senor," Don Jose said, "which way are you going to take us?"
+
+"We shall go straight on to Coimbra," Terence said, "unless we come upon a
+British force before that. Two long days' march will take us there. After
+that I must do as I am ordered; my independent command will come to an end
+there. I hope that I shall soon hear that my regiment has returned from
+England."
+
+"And what is to become of me? I have not thought of asking," Mary O'Connor
+said.
+
+"That must depend upon circumstances, Mary. If I go down to Lisbon, I hope
+that we shall all travel together, and I can then put you on board a
+transport returning to England. I am sure to find letters from my father
+there, telling me where he is and whether he is coming back with the
+regiment."
+
+"We shall be very happy, senor," Don Jose said, courteously, "to take
+charge of the senora, until there is an opportunity for sending her to
+England. I have, of course, many friends in Lisbon, and shall take a house
+there the instant I arrive, and Donna O'Connor will be as one of my own
+family."
+
+"I am extremely obliged to you, Don Jose. I have been wondering all day as
+I rode along what I should do with my cousin if, as is probable, I am
+obliged to stay at Coimbra until I receive orders from Lisbon. Your kind
+offer relieves me of a great anxiety. I think that it will be prudent for
+her to take another name while she is at Lisbon. There will certainly be
+no inquiries after her, for the lady superior of her convent will, of
+course, conclude that she was accidentally separated from the others in
+the crush, and that she was trampled on, or killed; and, indeed, there
+will be such confusion in Oporto that the loss of a nun more or less would
+fail to attract attention. At any rate, it is likely to be a long time
+before any report the lady superior will make to the bishop will reach
+him--months, perhaps, for she is not likely to take any particular pains
+to tell him news that would certainly anger him.
+
+"Still, if he goes to Lisbon, as no doubt he will, and by any chance
+happens to hear that Miss O'Connor was one of those who had escaped from
+the sack of Oporto, he might make inquiries, and then all sorts of trouble
+might arise, even if he did not have her carried off by force, which would
+be easy enough in a place so disturbed as Lisbon at present is."
+
+"I think that you are right, senor," Don Jose said, gravely. "At any rate
+it would be as well to avoid any risk. What name shall we call her?"
+
+"You can call her Miss Dillon, senor, that is the name of an officer in
+our regiment."
+
+"But the bishop might meet her in the street by chance; what then?"
+
+"I don't think that he would know me," Mary O'Connor put in. "I have seen
+him, but I don't suppose that he ever noticed me until he saw me in my
+nun's dress, and, of course, I look very different now. Still, he is very
+sharp, and I will take good care never to go out without a veil."
+
+"That will be the safest plan, Mary," Terence said, "though I don't think
+anyone would recognize you. Of course, he supposes that you are still
+snugly shut up in the convent; still, it is just as well not to run the
+slightest risk."
+
+They made two long marches and reached Coimbra early on the third morning,
+bringing the first news that had been received there of the storming of
+Oporto. Terence at once reported himself to the commanding officer.
+
+"I was wondering where these two regiments came from, Mr. O'Connor," the
+colonel said. "I watched them march in, and thought that they were the
+most orderly body that I have seen since we came out here. Whose corps are
+they?"
+
+"Well, Colonel, they are my corps. I will tell you about it presently; it
+is a long story."
+
+"How strong are they?"
+
+"The field state this morning made them two thousand three hundred and
+fifty-five. They were two thousand five hundred to begin with; the rest
+are either killed or wounded."
+
+"Oh, you have had some fighting then."
+
+"We have had our share, at any rate, Colonel, and I think I can venture to
+say that no other Portuguese corps shows so good a record."
+
+"We have a large number of tents in store, and I will order a sufficient
+number to be served out to put all your men under canvas, with the
+understanding that if the army advances this way the tents must be handed
+back to us. There are quantities of uniforms also. There have been
+ship-loads sent over for the use of the Portuguese militia, who were to
+turn out in their hundreds of thousands, but who have yet to be
+discovered. Would you like some of them?"
+
+"Very much, indeed, Colonel. It would add very greatly to their
+appearance; though, as far as fighting goes, I am bound to say that I
+could wish nothing better."
+
+"Really! Then all I can say is you have made a very valuable discovery.
+Hitherto the fighting powers of the Portuguese have been invisible to the
+naked eye. But if you have found that they really will fight under some
+circumstances, we may hope that, now Lord Beresford has come out to take
+command of the Portuguese army, and is going to have a certain number of
+British officers to train and command them, they will be of some utility,
+instead of being simply a scourge to the country and a constant drain on
+our purse."
+
+"Have you heard that Oporto is captured, sir?"
+
+"No, you don't say so!"
+
+"Captured in less than an hour from the time that the first gun was
+fired."
+
+"Just what I expected. When you have political bishops who not only
+pretend to govern a country, but also assume the command of armies, how
+can it be otherwise? However, you shall tell me about it presently. I will
+go down with you at once to the stores and order the issue of the tents
+and uniforms. My orders were that the uniforms were to be served out to
+militia and ordenancas; under which head do your men come?"
+
+"The latter, sir; that is what they really were, but they hung the three
+men the Junta sent to command them, and placed themselves in my hands, and
+I have done the best I could with them, with the assistance of Lieutenant
+Herrara--who, as you may remember, accompanied me in charge of the
+escort--and my own two troopers and his men, and between us we have really
+done much in the way of disciplining them."
+
+Two hours later the tents were pitched on a spot half a mile distant from
+the town. By the time that this was done the carts with the uniforms came
+up, to the great delight of the men.
+
+"I have to go to the commandant again now, Herrara; let the uniforms be
+served out to the men at once. Tell the captains to see to their fitting
+as well as possible. I have no doubt that the colonel will come down to
+inspect them this afternoon, and will probably bring a good many officers
+with him, so we must make as good a show as possible."
+
+Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor had, on arriving at Coimbra, hired
+rooms, as Don Jose had determined to stay for a few days before going on,
+because his wife had been much shaken by the events that had taken place,
+and his eldest daughter was naturally anxious to wait until she knew
+whether Herrara would be able to return to Lisbon, or would remain with
+the corps. By the time Terence returned to the colonel's quarters it was
+lunch time.
+
+"You must come across to mess, Mr. O'Connor," the commandant said.
+"Everyone is anxious to hear your news, and it will save your going over
+it twice if you will tell it after lunch. I fancy every officer in the
+camp will be there."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
+
+Terence, after lunch was over, first related to the officers all that he
+knew of the siege of Oporto, explaining why he did not choose to sacrifice
+the men under him by joining the undisciplined rabble in the
+intrenchments, but determined to keep the head of the bridge. They
+listened with breathless interest to his narrative of the attack and
+capture of Oporto.
+
+"But how was it that that fifty-gun battery did not knock the bridge to
+pieces when the French tried to cross?"
+
+"That is more than I can say, Colonel. I should fancy that they were so
+terrified at the utter rout on the other side, which they could see well
+enough, for they had a view right over the town to the intrenchments, that
+they simply fired wildly. I don't believe a single ball hit the bridge,
+though, of course, they ought to have sunk a dozen boats in a couple of
+minutes. My men could have held it for days, though they were suffering
+somewhat from the fire of two of the French field batteries; but I found
+that no steps whatever had been taken to remove the boats from the other
+side. There were great numbers of them all along the bank, and the enemy
+could have crossed a mile higher up, at the spot where I took my men over,
+and so fallen on our rear, therefore I withdrew to save them from being
+cut up or captured uselessly."
+
+"Now tell us about those troops of yours, O'Connor."
+
+Terence gave a somewhat detailed account of the manner in which he took
+the command and of the subsequent operations, being desirous of doing
+justice to Herrara and his troopers, and to his own two orderlies. There
+was much laughter among the officers at his assumption of command, and at
+the subsequent steps he took to form his mob of men into an orderly body;
+but interest took the place of amusement as he told how they had prevented
+the French from crossing at the mouth of the Minho, and caused Soult to
+take the circuitous and difficult route by Orense. His subsequent defence
+of the defile and the night attack upon the French, surprised them much,
+and when he brought his story to a conclusion there were warm expressions
+of approval among his hearers.
+
+"I must congratulate you most heartily, Mr. O'Connor," the colonel said.
+"What seemed at first a very wild and hare-brained enterprise, if you
+don't mind my saying so, certainly turned out a singular success. It would
+have seemed almost impossible that you, a young ensign, should be able to
+exercise any authority over a great body of mere peasants, who have
+everywhere shown themselves utterly insubordinate and useless under their
+native officers. It is nothing short of astonishing; and it is most
+gratifying to find that the Portuguese should, under an English officer,
+develop fighting powers far beyond anything with which they have been
+hitherto credited. What are you going to do now?"
+
+"I was intending to send my despatches on to Sir John Cradock, and wait
+here for orders."
+
+"I think that you had better take your despatches on yourself, Mr. O'
+Connor. I do not suppose that they are anything like so full as the story
+you have told us, which, I am sure, would be of as much interest to the
+general as it has been to us."
+
+"I will do so, sir, and will start this evening. My horse had three days'
+rest at Villa Nova, and is quite fit to travel."
+
+"You must be feeling terribly anxious about your cousin," the officer who
+had first told him about her remarked; "there is no saying what may have
+happened in Oporto after it was stormed."
+
+"I should indeed be, if she were there," Terence replied; "but I am happy
+to say that she is at present in Coimbra, having travelled with us under
+the charge of some Portuguese ladies, friends of Herrara."
+
+"You don't mean to say that you persuaded the bishop to let her out of the
+convent?"
+
+"Scarcely," Terence laughed, "though the bishop did unwittingly aid me."
+
+"I congratulate you on getting her out," the colonel said.
+
+"Travers was telling us the day after you left what a curious coincidence
+it was that the nun who threw him out a letter should turn out to be a
+cousin of yours. Will you tell us how you managed it?"
+
+"I don't mind telling it, sir, if all here will promise not to repeat it.
+The Bishop of Oporto is a somewhat formidable person, and were he to lodge
+a complaint against me he might get me into serious trouble, and is
+perfectly capable of having me stabbed some dark night in the streets of
+Lisbon; therefore, I think it would be as well to omit any details of the
+share he played in the matter. Without that the story is simple enough.
+Having got a boat with two men in it at the end of the street in which
+stood the convent, I went there in the dress of an ecclesiastic, just as
+the French burst into the town. The bishop had fled on the night before to
+the Serra Convent on the other side of the river, and I was able to
+produce an authority from him which satisfied the lady superior that I was
+the bearer of his order for her and the nuns to make for the bridge, and
+to cross the river at once.
+
+"Of course, I accompanied them. The crowd was great and they naturally got
+separated. In the confusion my orderlies managed to get my cousin out of
+the crowd, and took her straight to the boat. As soon as I saw that they
+had gone, I persuaded the lady superior to take the rest of the nuns back
+to the convent at once, as the bridge was by this time broken, and the
+French had made their appearance. She got the nuns together and made off
+with them as fast as they could run, and after seeing that they were all
+nearly back to their convent without any signs of the French being near, I
+joined the others in the boat, and we rowed across the river. It was a
+simple business altogether, though at first it seemed very hopeless."
+
+"Especially to get the authority of the bishop," the colonel said, with a
+smile.
+
+"That certainly seemed the most hopeless part of the business," Terence
+replied; "but happily I was able to manage it somehow."
+
+"Well, you certainly have had a most remarkable series of adventures, Mr.
+O'Connor. Now we will go and inspect your corps. Of course they will be
+rationed while they are here, and will be under my general orders until I
+hear from Cradock."
+
+"Quite so, Colonel; I am sure they will be proud of being inspected by
+you. Of course, they are unable to do any complicated manoeuvres, but
+those they do know they know pretty thoroughly, and can do them in a rough
+and ready way that for actual work is, I think, just as good as a
+parade-ground performance. I will go on ahead, sir, and form them up."
+
+"I would rather, if you don't mind, that they should have no warning," the
+colonel said; "we will just go down quietly, and see how quickly they can
+turn out."
+
+"Very well, sir."
+
+All there expressed their wish to go, and as all were provided with horses
+or ponies of some kind, in ten minutes they rode off in a body. His
+officers had been very busy all the time that Terence had been away,
+serving out the uniforms and seeing that they were properly put on. The
+work was just over, and the men were sauntering about round their tents
+when the party arrived. Herrara came up and saluted. He was known to the
+colonel, as he had dined with Terence at the mess on their way through.
+
+After a few words, Terence said to Herrara:
+
+"Have the assembly blown, and let the men fall in."
+
+Herrara walked back to the tents, and a moment later a horn blew. It had
+an uncouth sound, and bore no resemblance to the ordinary call, but it was
+promptly obeyed. The men snatched their muskets from the piles in front of
+the tents, and in a wonderfully short time the whole were formed up in
+their ranks, stiff and immovable.
+
+"Excellently done!" the colonel said; "no British regiment could have
+fallen in more smartly."
+
+Accompanied by Terence, and followed by the rest of the officers, he rode
+along the line. The evening before Terence had impressed upon the captains
+of companies the necessity for having the rifles perfectly clean, as they
+were about to join a British camp, so that the pieces were all in perfect
+order. When the inspection was over the mounted group drew off a little.
+
+"The troops will form up in columns of companies," Terence said, and Bull
+and Macwitty, who were at the head of their respective regiments, gave the
+orders. The movements were well executed. The men, proud of their uniform,
+and on their mettle at being inspected by British officers, did their
+best, and that best left little to be desired. After marching past, they
+formed into company squares to resist cavalry, then retired by alternate
+companies, and then formed into line.
+
+"Excellently done!" said the colonel. "Indeed, I can hardly believe it
+possible that a party of peasants have in a month's time been formed into
+a body of good soldiers. I should like the officers to come up."
+
+"Call the officers."
+
+There was an officers' call, and this now sounded, and the twelve captains
+with their two majors rode to the front and saluted. "Mr. Herrara," the
+colonel said, "I have seen with surprise and the greatest satisfaction the
+movements of the men under you; they do you the greatest credit, and I
+shall have pleasure in sending in a most favourable report to the general,
+the result of my inspection of the regiments. I hear from Mr. O'Connor
+that your men have shown themselves capable of holding their own against
+the French, and I can say that I should feel perfectly confident in going
+into action with my regiment supported by such brave and capable troops.
+Would that instead of 2,000 we had 100,000 Portuguese troops equally to be
+trusted, we should very speedily turn the French out of Portugal and drive
+them from the Peninsula."
+
+The officers bowed and rode off. The troops had not learned the salute,
+and when the horn sounded they were at once dismissed drill.
+
+"Well, Mr. O'Connor, I must congratulate you most heartily on what you
+have done. If nothing else, you have added to our army a couple of strong
+regiments of capable soldiers. If I had not seen it myself I should have
+thought it impossible that over 2,000 men could be converted into soldiers
+in so short a time, and that without experienced non-commissioned officers
+to work them up."
+
+Returning to Coimbra with the colonel, Terence rode to the house where
+Herrara's friends had taken rooms, and told them that he was going to
+leave them. Don Jose at once wrote several letters of introduction to
+influential friends at Lisbon, telling them that he and his daughters had
+escaped from the sack of Oporto, and asking them to show every kindness to
+the officer, to whom they chiefly owed their safety.
+
+Terence meanwhile returned to camp, arranged with Herrara and the two
+majors that everything was to go on as usual during his absence, urging
+them to work hard at their drill, and to impress upon the men the
+necessity, now that they were in uniform, of carrying themselves as
+soldiers, and doing credit to their corps.
+
+Five days later he arrived at Lisbon, taking with him a report from the
+commandant of his inspection of the corps.
+
+"I had begun to be afraid that you had been killed or taken prisoner, Mr.
+O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, as Terence presented himself, "or that
+you must have fallen back with Romana into Spain. He seems to have behaved
+very badly, for, as I hear, although he had 10,000 men with him, half of
+them regular troops, he retired without a shot being fired--except by two
+regiments who were mauled by the French cavalry--and left Silveira in the
+lurch."
+
+"I was on other business, General, and I fear that you will think that I
+exceeded my orders; but I hope that you will consider that the result has
+justified my doing so. Will you kindly first run your eye over this report
+by the officer commanding at Coimbra?"
+
+Sir John Cradock read the report with a puzzled expression of face, then
+he said: "But what regiments are these that Colonel Wilberforce speaks of
+in such high terms? Were they part of Romana's force? He speaks of them as
+a corps under your command, and as being 2,300 strong."
+
+"They were not Romana's men, sir, but a body of ordenancas, of whom, as my
+report will inform you, I came by a combination of circumstances to take
+the command, appointing Lieutenant Herrara, who commanded my escort,
+colonel, my two orderlies as majors, and the Portuguese troopers of my
+escort as captains of companies. We have been several times engaged with
+the French, and I cannot speak too highly of the behaviour of officers and
+men."
+
+Sir John Cradock burst into a laugh. "You certainly are a cool hand, Mr.
+O'Connor. Assuredly I did not contemplate when I sent you off that you
+would return as colonel of two regiments."
+
+"Nor did I, sir. But, you see, you gave me general instructions to concert
+measures with Romana for the defence of the frontier. I saw at once that
+Romana was hopeless, and was therefore myself driven to take these
+measures. As Oporto has fallen I cannot say they were successful, but at
+least I may say that we gave Oporto fourteen days' extra time to prepare
+her defence, and if she did not take advantage of the time it was not my
+fault."
+
+The look of amusement on the general's face turned to one of interest.
+
+"How did you do that, sir?"
+
+"My corps prevented Soult from crossing at the mouth of the Minho,
+General, killing some two hundred of his men and driving his boats back
+across the river. When the French general saw that he could not cross in
+face of such opposition, he was obliged to march his army round by Orense
+and down by the passes, which ought to have been successfully defended by
+the Portuguese."
+
+"That was good service, indeed, Mr. O'Connor. I received despatches from
+our agents at Oporto, saying that Soult's landing had been repulsed by
+armed peasants."
+
+"My men were little more than armed peasants then, sir, though they had
+had a few days' hard drill; still, a British officer would scarcely have
+called them soldiers."
+
+"Well, I think that Wilberforce's report shows that they have a right to
+that title now. Take a seat, Mr. O' Connor, and a newspaper--there are
+some that arrived two days ago--while I look over your report."
+
+Terence had written in much greater detail than is usual in official
+reports, as he wished the general to see how well the men and their
+officers had behaved. It was twenty minutes before the general finished
+it.
+
+"A very remarkable report, Mr. O'Connor; very remarkable. You must dine
+with me this evening. I have many questions to ask you about it, and also
+about the storming of Oporto, of which we have, as yet, received no
+details, although a messenger from the bishop brought us the news some
+days ago. He seems to have made a terrible mess of it."
+
+"He ought to be hung, sir!" Terence said, indignantly. "After getting all
+those unfortunate peasants together he sneaked off and hid himself in a
+convent on the other side of the river, on the very night before the
+French attacked."
+
+"Unfortunately, Mr. O'Connor, we cannot give all men their deserts, or we
+should want all the rope on board the ships in the harbour for the
+purpose. The bishop is a firebrand of the most dangerous kind; and I
+suppose we shall have him here in a day or two, for he said in his letter
+that he was on his way. There is one comfort: he will be too busy in
+quarrelling with the authorities to have any time to spend on his quarrels
+with us. Then I shall see you in an hour's time. Please ask Captain Nelson
+to come in here; I have some notes for him to write."
+
+Terence bowed and retired.
+
+"What a nuisance!" Captain Nelson said. "I was wanting to hear all that
+you had been doing."
+
+"I am to dine with the general," Terence said. "Perhaps I shall meet you
+there."
+
+Captain Nelson found that he was wanted to write notes of invitation to
+such of the officers who were still at Lisbon as had dined there when
+Terence was last the general's guest; and as the general's invitations
+overrode all other engagements, most of them were present when Terence
+returned.
+
+"Mr. O'Connor has another story for you, gentlemen," the general said,
+when the cloth was removed and the wine put upon the table. "I am not sure
+whether I am right in calling him Mr. O' Connor, for he has been
+performing the duties of a colonel, commanding two regiments in the
+Portuguese service. I will preface his story by reading the report of
+Colonel Wilberforce, commanding at Coimbra, of the state of efficiency of
+his command."
+
+There was a look of surprise at the general's remarks, and that surprise
+was greatly heightened on the reading of Colonel Wilberforce's report.
+
+"Now, Mr. O'Connor," the general said, when he had finished, "I am sure
+that we shall all be obliged by your giving us a detailed statement of the
+manner in which you raised those regiments, and of the operations that you
+undertook with them; and the more details you give us the better, for it
+is well that we should understand how the Portuguese can be best handled.
+I may say at once that, personally, we are greatly indebted to you for
+having proved that, when even partially disciplined and well led, they are
+capable of doing very good service, a fact of which, I own, I have been
+hitherto very doubtful."
+
+Smiles were exchanged among the auditors when Terence described the manner
+in which he came to command the body of undisciplined ordenancas. When he
+spoke of the state in which he found Romana's army, and the reason for his
+determination to keep his column intact, they listened more attentively,
+and exchanged looks of surprise when he described his rapid march to the
+mouth of the Minho, and the repulse of Soult's attempt to cross from Tuy.
+He then described how he had joined Silveira, and the mutiny of that
+general's troops. Still more surprise was manifested when he related the
+action in the defile and the bravery with which his troops had behaved,
+and the manner in which they had been handled by the troopers that he had
+appointed as their officers. The night attack on the cavalry and infantry
+of the head of Soult's column was equally well received. His reasons for
+not joining the army at Braga, and of keeping aloof from the mob of
+peasants at Oporto were as much approved as was the holding of the bridge
+for a while, and his reasons for withdrawing.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," the general said, when Terence had finished, "I think
+you will allow that my aide-de-camp, Mr. O'Connor, has given a good
+account of himself, and that if he went outside my orders, his doing so
+has been most amply justified."
+
+"It has, indeed, General," one of the senior officers said, warmly. "I can
+answer for myself, that I should have been proud to have been able to tell
+such a story."
+
+A murmur of approval ran round the table.
+
+"It is difficult to say whether Mr. O'Connor's readiness to accept
+responsibility, or the manner in which, in the short space of a month, he
+turned a mob of peasants into regular soldiers, or the quickness with
+which he marched to the spot threatened by Soult, and so compelled him to
+entirely change the plan of his campaign, or his conduct in the defence of
+the defile, and in his night attack, are most remarkable."
+
+"I should wish to say, General, that in telling this story I have been
+chiefly anxious to do justice to the hearty co-operation of Lieutenant
+Herrara, and the services rendered by my own two orderlies and his
+troopers. By myself, I could have done absolutely nothing. Their work was
+hard and incessant, and the drill and discipline of the troops was wholly
+due to them."
+
+"I understand, Mr. O'Connor; it is quite right for you to say so, and I
+thoroughly recognize that they must have done good service; but it is to
+the man that plans, organizes, and infuses his own spirit into those under
+his command, that everything is due. Now, Mr. O'Connor, I think I will ask
+you to leave us for a few minutes; the case is rather an exceptional one,
+and I shall be glad to chat the matter over with the officers present.
+Well, gentlemen, what do you think that we are to do with Mr. O'Connor?"
+he went on, with a smile, as the door closed behind Terence.
+
+"My experience affords me no guide, General," another of the senior
+officers said. "It is simply amazing that a lad of seventeen--I suppose he
+is not much over that--should have conceived and carried out such a plan.
+It sounds like a piece of old knight-errantry. Clive did as much, but
+Clive was some years older when he first became a thorn in the side of the
+French. What is your opinion, sir?"
+
+"He is already a lieutenant," the general said. "I sent home a strong
+recommendation that he should be promoted, when he was last here, and
+received an intimation three days ago that he had been gazetted lieutenant
+and transferred to my staff. This time I shall simply, send home a copy of
+the report he has furnished me with, and that of Colonel Wilberforce, and
+say that I leave the reports to speak for themselves, but that in my
+opinion it is a case altogether exceptional. That is all I can do now. The
+question of course is, whether he shall return to staff service again, or
+shall continue in command of the corps with which he has done so much. If
+he does the latter he must have local rank, otherwise he would be liable
+to be overruled by any Portuguese officer of superior rank. I think that
+the best way would be to send a copy of the reports to Lord Beresford,
+saying that my opinion is very strong that Lieutenant O'Connor should be
+allowed to retain an independent command of the corps that he has raised
+and disciplined; and that I will either myself bestow local rank upon him,
+and treat the corps as forming a part of the British army, like that of
+Trant, or that he should give him local rank as its colonel, in which case
+he would operate still independently, but in connection with Beresford's
+own force."
+
+"I should almost think that the first step would be best, General, if I
+might say so. In the first place, Beresford will have any number of
+irregular parties operating with him, while such a corps would be
+invaluable to us. They are capable of taking long marches, they know the
+mountains and forests, and would keep us supplied with news, while they
+harassed the enemy. As an officer on your staff, O'Connor would have a
+much greater power among the Portuguese population than he would have on
+his own account in their own army, and he would be very much less likely
+to be interfered with by the leaders of other parties and corps."
+
+"Perhaps that would be the best way, Colonel. I will send the reports to
+Beresford, and say that I have appointed Lieutenant O'Connor to remain in
+command of this corps, which I shall attach to my own command; and saying
+that I shall be obliged if he will have a commission made out for him,
+giving him the local rank of colonel in the Portuguese army. Beresford is
+himself a gallant soldier, and will appreciate, as you do, the work that
+O'Connor has done; and as he knows nothing of the lad's age he will
+comply, as a matter of course, with my request. I shall, in writing home,
+strongly recommend his two cavalrymen for commissions. As to Herrara, I
+shall ask Beresford to give him the rank of lieutenant-colonel. I shall
+suggest to Beresford that his troopers should all receive commissions in
+his army. They have all earned them, which is more than I can say of any
+other Portuguese soldiers, so far as I have heard."
+
+Terence was then called in again.
+
+"In the first place, I have a pleasant piece of news to give you, Mr. O'
+Connor, namely, that I have received from home an official letter, that on
+my recommendation you have been gazetted to the rank of lieutenant and
+transferred to my staff; in the second place, I have decided, that while
+still retaining you on my staff, you will be continued in your present
+command; I shall obtain for you a commission as colonel in the Portuguese
+service, but your corps will form part of my command, and act with the
+British army. I shall request Lord Beresford to appoint Mr. Herrara to the
+rank of lieutenant-colonel, and shall recommend that commissions be given
+to his troopers. The two orderlies, of whose services you spoke so highly,
+I shall recommend for commissions in our army, and shall request Lord
+Beresford to give them local rank as majors."
+
+Terence coloured with pleasure and confusion.
+
+"I am greatly obliged to you, General," he said; "but I do not at all feel
+that the services that I have tried to perform----"
+
+"That is for me to judge," the general said, kindly. "All the officers
+here quite agree with me, that those services have been very marked and
+exceptional and are at one with me as to how they should be recognized.
+Moreover, in obtaining for you the rank of colonel in the Portuguese army,
+I am not only recognizing those services, but am adding to the power that
+you will have of rendering further services to the army. Although attached
+to our forces, you will receive your colonel's commission from Lord
+Beresford, who is now the general appointed by the Portuguese government
+to command their army."
+
+It was now late, and the party rose. All of them shook hands warmly with
+Terence, who retired with his friend Captain Nelson. The latter told him
+before they went in to dinner that he had had a bed put up for him in his
+own room.
+
+"Well, Colonel O'Connor," Nelson laughed, "you must allow me to be the
+first to salute you as my superior officer."
+
+"It is absurd altogether," Terence said, almost ruefully. "Still, Captain
+Nelson, though I may hold a superior rank in the Portuguese army, that
+goes for very little. I have seen enough of Portuguese officers to know
+that even their own soldiers have not got any respect for them, and in our
+own army I am only a lieutenant."
+
+"That is so, lad; however, there was never promotion more deserved. And as
+you hung, or rather left to be hung, a Portuguese colonel, it is only
+right that you should supply the deficiency."
+
+"I hope I shall not have to wear a Portuguese uniform," Terence said,
+earnestly.
+
+"I should think not, O'Connor, but I will ask the general in the morning.
+Of course, you will not wear your present uniform, because you are now
+gazetted into the staff and out of your own regiment. Now we will smoke a
+quiet cigar before we turn in. Have you any other story to tell me that
+you have not already related?"
+
+"Well, yes, I have one, but it is only of a personal interest;" and he
+then gave an account of his discovery of his cousin in the convent at
+Oporto, and how he had managed to rescue her, ending by saying: "I have
+told you the story, Nelson, so that if by any unexpected accident it is
+found out that she is an escaped nun, and her friends appeal to the
+general for protection, you may be aware of the circumstances, and help."
+
+"Certainly I will do so," Captain Nelson said, warmly. "You certainly have
+a wonderful head for devising plans."
+
+"I began it early," Terence laughed. "I was always in mischief before I
+got my commission, and I suppose that helps me; but you see I had
+wonderful luck."
+
+"I don't say anything against your luck; but good luck is of no use unless
+a fellow knows how to take advantage of it, and that is just what you have
+done. I suppose that you will stay here for a day or two."
+
+"My horse wants a couple of days' rest, and I have my uniform to get. I
+suppose I can get one made in a couple of days, whether it is a Portuguese
+or an English one."
+
+"Yes, I dare say you will be able to manage that."
+
+The next morning, to his great satisfaction, Terence learned that the
+general said he had better wear staff uniform, and he accordingly went
+with Captain Nelson and was measured.
+
+"Your Portuguese seems to have improved amazingly in the two months you
+have been away," the latter said, as they came out from the shop; "you
+seem to jabber away quite fluently."
+
+"I have been talking nothing else, and Herrara has acted as my instructor,
+so I get on very fairly now."
+
+At this moment a carriage drove past them.
+
+"That is the Bishop of Oporto," said Terence; "I suppose he has just
+arrived."
+
+"It is a good thing that he does not know you as well as you know him,"
+Captain Nelson said, dryly; "if he did, your adventures would be likely to
+be cut short by a knife between your shoulders some dark night."
+
+"He does not know me at all," Terence laughed; "the advantages are all on
+my side in the present case."
+
+"It is an advantage," Captain Nelson laughed. "When I think that you have
+raised your hand against that venerable but somewhat truculent prelate, I
+shudder at your boldness. I only caught a glimpse of him as he passed, but
+I could see that he looks rather scared."
+
+"Perhaps he hasn't recovered yet from the fright I gave him," laughed
+Terence; "I have seen and heard enough of his doings, and paid him a very
+small instalment of the debt due to him."
+
+The uniforms were promised for the next evening, and Terence felt when he
+put them on that they were a considerable improvement upon his late one,
+stained and discoloured as it was by wet, mud, and travel. After paying a
+visit to the general to say good-bye, Terence mounted and started for
+Coimbra.
+
+Upon his arrival there four days later he at once reported himself to the
+commandant.
+
+"I received a copy of the general order of last Tuesday," the latter said,
+"and congratulate you warmly on being confirmed in your rank. I thought
+that it would be so, for one could not reckon that, had another taken your
+place, your corps would have maintained its present state of efficiency."
+
+"You are very good to say so, Colonel, but any British officer appointed
+to command it would do as well or better than I should."
+
+"I don't think that he would in any way; but certainly he would not be
+followed with the same confidence by his men as they would follow you, and
+with troops like these everything depends upon their confidence in their
+commander."
+
+"The corps is now attached to our army, Colonel; you were good enough to
+order them to be rationed before, but I have now an order from the general
+for them to draw pay and rations the same as the British troops."
+
+"That is all right," the colonel said, examining the document; "I will
+take a copy of it, but as it is a general order you must keep the original
+yourself. I see that you have now adopted the uniform of the staff. It is
+certainly a great improvement upon that of an infantry officer, and
+appearances go for a good deal among these Portuguese. I see, by the way,
+that you have got your step in our army."
+
+"Yes, Colonel, the general was good enough to recommend me. Of course I am
+glad in one way, but I am sorry that it has put me out of the regiment
+that I have been brought up with. But, of course, it was necessary, for I
+could not have gone over other men's heads in it."
+
+"No, when a man gets special promotion it is always into another regiment
+for that reason. You will be glad to hear that your men have been behaving
+extremely well in your absence, and that I have not heard of a single case
+of drunkenness or misconduct among them. I have been down there several
+times, and always found them hard at work drilling; they seem to me to
+improve every time I see them."
+
+On leaving the colonel's quarters Terence rode to his cousin's. Mary rose
+with an exclamation of surprise as he entered.
+
+"What a handsome uniform, Terence! How is it that you have changed it?"
+
+"I am now regularly on the general's staff, Mary, and this is the
+uniform."
+
+"You look very well in it," she said; "don't you think so, Lorenza?"
+
+"I do, indeed," her friend agreed; "it does make a difference."
+
+"Well, to begin with, it is clean and new," Terence laughed; "and though
+the other was not old, it had seen its best days. But I have more news,
+Mary; you have now to address your cousin as colonel."
+
+Mary clapped her hands, and Don Jose and his family uttered exclamations
+of pleasure.
+
+"It is quite right," Mary said; "it is ridiculous that Senor Herrara
+should be colonel and you only Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"It does not matter much about a name," he said. "I commanded before and I
+shall do so now, but I have got Portuguese rank."
+
+"Why did not they make you an English colonel?" Mary asked, rather
+indignantly.
+
+Terence laughed. "I shall be lucky if I get that in another twenty years,
+Mary. I am a lieutenant now--I have got the step since you saw me
+last--but I am to rank as a colonel in the Portuguese army as long as I
+command this corps, which I am glad to say is now to form a part of the
+British army. Herrara is to have the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Bull and
+Macwitty will, I hope, get their commissions as ensigns in the British
+army, with local rank of majors. The general will recommend that Herrara's
+troopers all get commissions in the Portuguese army."
+
+"Ah, well! I am pleased that your services are appreciated, Terence. We
+are very glad that you have come back, Lorenza especially so, as, now you
+have returned, she thinks she will see more of Senor Herrara."
+
+"The bishop is in Lisbon, Mary."
+
+"That is not such good news, Terence. I will be very careful to keep out
+of his way."
+
+"Do," he said. "I have spoken to Captain Nelson, one of the general's
+staff, about you, and if by any chance you should be recognized as an
+escaped nun, I hope that Don Jose will go to him at once and ask him to
+obtain the general's protection for you, which will, I am sure, be given.
+Your father was an Irishman. You are a British subject, and have a right
+to protection. You won't forget the name, Don Jose--Captain Nelson?"
+
+"I will write it down at once," the Portuguese said, "but as Donna Mary
+will pass under the name of Dillon, and her dress has so changed her
+appearance, I do not think that there is the smallest fear of her being
+recognized. Indeed, no one could know her except the bishop himself."
+
+"You may be sure that I shall not go out much in Lisbon," Mary said, "and
+if I do I will keep my promise to be always closely veiled."
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+WITH THE MAYOS
+
+The news that Terence brought to the regiment gave great and general
+satisfaction. Herrara was delighted to hear that he was to be made a
+lieutenant-colonel in his army. Bull and Macwitty were overjoyed on
+hearing that they had both been recommended for commissions, and Herrara's
+troopers were equally pleased. The rank and file felt no less
+gratification, both at the honour of being attached to the British army,
+and at the substantial improvement in their condition that this would
+entail.
+
+On the following day Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor left for Lisbon,
+and the latter astonished Terence by bursting into tears as she said
+good-bye to him.
+
+"I have said nothing yet of the gratitude that I feel to you, Terence, for
+all that you have done for me, for you have always stopped me whenever I
+have tried to, but I shall always feel it, always; and shall think of you
+and love you dearly."
+
+"It has been just as fortunate for me as it has been good for you, Mary,"
+he said. "I have never had a sister, and I seem to have found one now."
+
+The girl looked up, pouting. "I don't think," she said, "I should
+particularly care about being a sister; I think that I would rather remain
+a cousin."
+
+Terence looked surprised and a little hurt.
+
+"You are only a silly boy," she laughed, "but will understand better some
+day. Well, good-bye, Terence," and the smile faded from her face.
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR.]
+
+
+"Good-bye, dear. Take great care of yourself in Lisbon, and be sure that
+you look out to see if the Mayo Fusiliers arrive while you are there. I
+heard that they were about to embark again with a force that General Hill
+is bringing out, but my father won't be with them, I am afraid. I have not
+heard from him, but I should hardly think that he will be fit for hard
+service again; yet, if he should be, he will tell you where to go to till
+we get back. At any rate, don't start for England until the regiment
+comes. I fancy that it will be at Lisbon before you are, and Don Jose can
+easily find out for you whether father is with it. If he is not, go to
+Ballinagra. I have written instructions how you are to travel, but you had
+better write to him there directly you land, and I have no doubt that he
+will come over and fetch you. I don't know anything about London, but you
+had better see Captain Nelson at Lisbon. Here is a note I have written to
+him, asking him where you had better go, and what you had better do when
+you get to London."
+
+The day after the party had left, Terence marched with his corps north,
+and established himself at Carvalho, where the road from Oporto passed
+over the spurs of the Serra de Caramula, in order to check the incursions
+of French cavalry from Oporto. In the course of the next fortnight he had
+several sharp engagements with them. In the last of these, when making a
+reconnaissance with both regiments, he was met by the whole of
+Franceschi's cavalry. They charged down on all four sides of the square
+into which he formed his force, expecting that, as upon two previous
+occasions, the Portuguese would at once break up at their approach. They
+stood, however, perfectly firm, and received the cavalry with such
+withering volleys that Franceschi speedily drew off, leaving upwards of
+two hundred dead behind him.
+
+The day after this fight Terence received a letter from Mary, saying that
+General Hill had arrived before they reached Lisbon, and that Don Jose had
+learned that Major O'Connor had retired on half-pay. Also that Captain
+Nelson had obtained a passage for her in one of the returning transports,
+and had given her a letter to his mother, who resided in London, asking
+her to receive her until she heard from the major.
+
+A few days afterwards he learned from Colonel Wilberforce that the English
+army had marched for Leirya. General Hill's force of five thousand men and
+three hundred horses for the artillery arrived at an opportune moment. The
+storming of Oporto, the approach of Victor to Badajos, after totally
+defeating Cuesta's Spanish army, killing three-fifths of his men, and
+capturing thousands of prisoners, while Lapisse was advancing from the
+east, had created a terrible panic in Portugal. Beresford's orders were
+disobeyed, many of his regiments abandoned their posts, and the populace
+in Lisbon were in a state of furious turmoil. Hill's arrival to some
+extent restored confidence, the disorders were repressed, and Sir John
+Cradock now felt himself strong enough to advance.
+
+Terence's report of the repulse of Franceschi's cavalry was answered by a
+letter from Cradock himself, expressing warm approval at the conduct of
+the corps.
+
+"There is but little fear of an advance by Soult at present," he said. "He
+must know that we have received reinforcements, and he will not venture to
+march on Lisbon, as the force now gathering at Leirya could operate upon
+his flank and rear. I shall be glad, therefore, if you would march with
+your command to the latter town. The example of your troops cannot but
+have a good effect upon the raw Portuguese levies, and, in the event of
+our advancing to the relief of Ciudad-Rodrigo, could render good service
+by clearing the passes, driving in the French outposts, and keeping me
+well informed of the state of the roads, the accommodation available for
+the troops, and the existence of supplies."
+
+Immediately on receipt of this Terence marched for Leirya, where the
+British army was under canvas. On the way down they halted for a night at
+Coimbra.
+
+"An official letter came for you last night, O'Connor," Colonel
+Wilberforce said. "I kept it until I should have an opportunity of
+forwarding it to you. Here it is, duly addressed, Colonel O'Connor, the
+Minho Regiment."
+
+This was the name Sir John Cradock suggested to Terence, as a memorial of
+the service they had rendered in repulsing Soult at that river. It was the
+first time Terence had seen his name with the prefix of colonel.
+
+"It looks like a farce," he said, as he broke the seal.
+
+Inside was an official document, signed by Lord Beresford, to the effect
+that as a recognition of the very great services rendered by Lieutenant
+O'Connor, an officer on the staff of Sir John Cradock, when in command of
+the two battalions of the Minho Regiment, and in accordance with the
+strong recommendation of the British general, Lieutenant Terence O'Connor
+is hereby appointed to the rank of colonel in the Portuguese service, with
+the pay and allowances of his rank. Colonel O' Connor is to continue in
+command of the regiments, which will be attached to the British army,
+under the command of Sir John Cradock.
+
+"Here is also a letter for your friend Herrara, and a much more bulky one;
+will you hand it to him?"
+
+Herrara's letter contained his promotion to lieutenant-colonel, with an
+order to remain under Terence's command; also fourteen commissions, two
+giving Bull and Macwitty the Portuguese rank of major, the remaining being
+captain's commissions for the twelve troopers.
+
+Two days later they reached Leirya. The April sun rendered shelter
+unnecessary for the Portuguese, and after establishing them, for the
+present, a quarter of a mile away from the British camp, he went and
+reported his arrival to the officer in command, and was told that he could
+not do better than bivouac on the ground he had selected. Leaving the
+headquarters he soon found where the Mayo regiment was encamped, and made
+his way to the officers' marquee. They were just sitting down to lunch
+when, at the entry of an officer on the general's staff, the colonel at
+once rose gravely. O'Grady was the first to recognize the newcomer.
+
+"Be jabers," he shouted, "but it is Terence O' Connor himself!" There was
+a general rush to shake hands with him, and a din of voices and a
+confusion of questions and greetings.
+
+"And what in the world have you got that uniform on for, Terence?" O'Grady
+asked, when the din somewhat subsided. "We saw that the general had
+appointed you as one of his aides-de-camp when you got here after Corunna,
+but you would wear your own uniform all the same."
+
+"What matters about his uniform, O'Grady?" the others exclaimed. "What we
+want to know is how he saved his life at Corunna, when we all thought that
+he was either killed or taken prisoner."
+
+"Wait till the lad has got something to eat and drink," the colonel said,
+peremptorily. "Pray take your seats, gentlemen. You take this chair by me,
+O'Connor; and now, while you are waiting for your plate, tell us in a few
+words how you escaped. Everyone made sure that you were killed. We heard
+that Fane had sent you to carry an order, that you had delivered it, and
+then started to rejoin him; from that time nobody saw you alive or dead."
+
+"The matter was very simple, Colonel. My horse was hit in the head with a
+round shot. I went a frightful cropper on some stones in the middle of a
+clump of bushes. I lay there insensible all night, and coming-to in the
+morning, saw that the French had advanced, and the firing on the hill over
+the town told me that the troops had got safely on board ship. I lay quiet
+all day, and at night made off, sheltered for a couple of days with some
+peasants on the other side of the hill, joined Romana, went to the
+Portuguese frontier with him, and then rode to Lisbon, where Sir John
+Cradock was good enough to put me on his staff."
+
+"We heard you had turned up safely at Lisbon, and glad we were, as you may
+be sure, and a good jollification we had over it. As for O'Grady, it has
+served as an excuse for an extra tumbler ever since."
+
+"Bad excuses are better than none," Terence laughed, "and if it hadn't
+been that, it would have been something else."
+
+"Shut up, you young scamp," O'Grady said. "How is it that you have not
+answered my question? Why are you wearing staff-officer's uniform instead
+of your own?"
+
+"Have you not heard, Colonel," Terence said, "that I no longer belong to
+the regiment?"
+
+There was a chorus of expressions of regret round the table.
+
+"And how has that happened, Terence?" the colonel asked. "That is bad news
+for us all, anyway."
+
+"I was gazetted lieutenant a month ago, Colonel. I suppose you had sailed
+from England before the _Gazette_ came out."
+
+"I suppose so, lad. Well, you richly deserved your promotion, if it was
+only for that affair on board the _Sea-horse_, and you ought to have had
+it long ago."
+
+"I am awfully sorry to leave the regiment. It has been my home as long as
+I can remember, and wherever I may be, I shall always regard it in that
+light."
+
+"And so you remain on the staff at present, O'Connor?"
+
+"Well, sir, I am on the staff still, but for the present I am on detached
+duty."
+
+"What sort of duty, Terence?"
+
+"I have the honour to command two Portuguese regiments that marched in an
+hour ago."
+
+A shout of laughter followed the announcement.
+
+"Bedad, Terence," O'Grady said, "that crack on your head hasn't changed
+your nature, thanks to your thick skull. I suppose it is poking fun at us
+that you are. But you won't take us in this time."
+
+"I saw the regiments pass at a distance," the colonel said, "and they
+marched in good order, too, which is more than I have seen any other
+Portuguese troops do. Now you mention it, I did see an officer, in what
+looked like a British uniform, riding with the men, but it was too far off
+to see what branch of the service he belonged to. That was you, was it?"
+
+"That was me, sure enough, Colonel."
+
+"And what were you doing there? Tell us, like a good boy."
+
+"Absurd as it may appear, and, indeed, absurd as it is, I am in command of
+those two regiments."
+
+Again a burst of incredulous laughter arose. Terence took out his
+commission and handed it to the colonel.
+
+"Perhaps, Colonel, if you will be kind enough to read that out loud, my
+assurance will be believed."
+
+"Faith, it was not your assurance that we doubted, Terence, me boy!"
+O'Grady exclaimed. "You have plenty of assurance, and to spare; it is the
+statement that we were doubting."
+
+The colonel glanced down the document, and his face assumed an expression
+of extreme surprise.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, rising, "if you will endeavour to keep silence for a
+minute, I will read this document."
+
+The surprise on his own face was repeated on the faces of all those
+present, as he proceeded with his reading. O'Grady was the first to break
+the silence.
+
+"In the name of St. Peter," he said, "what does it all mean? Are you sure
+that it is a genuine document, Colonel? Terence is capable of anything by
+way of a joke."
+
+"It is undoubtedly genuine, O'Grady. It is dated from Lord Beresford's
+quarters, and signed by his lordship himself as commander-in-chief of the
+Portuguese army. How it comes about beats me as much as it does you. But
+before we ask any questions we will drink a toast. Gentlemen, fill your
+glasses; here is to the health of Colonel Terence O'Connor."
+
+The toast was drank with much enthusiasm, mingled with laughter, for many
+of them had still a suspicion that the whole matter was somehow an
+elaborate trick played by Terence.
+
+"Now, Colonel O'Connor, will you please to favour us with an account of
+how General Cradock and Lord Beresford have both united in giving you so
+big a step up."
+
+"It is a long story, Colonel."
+
+"So much the better," the colonel replied. "We have nothing to do, and it
+will keep us all awake."
+
+Terence's account of his interview with the colonel of the ordenancas, the
+demand by Cortingos that he should hand over the money he was escorting,
+and the subsequent gathering to attack the house, and the manner in which
+the leaders were captured, the rioters appeased and subsequently advised
+to direct their efforts to obtain arms and ammunition, excited
+exclamations of approval; but the belief that the story was a pure romance
+still prevailed in the minds of many, and Terence saw Captain O'Grady and
+Dick Ryan exchanging winks. It was not until Terence spoke of his rapid
+march to the mouth of the Minho, as soon as he heard that the French were
+concentrating there, that he began to be seriously listened to; and when
+he told how Soult's attempt to cross had been defeated, and the French
+general obliged to change the whole plan of the campaign, and to march
+round by Orense, the conviction that all this was true was forced upon
+them.
+
+"By the powers, Terence!" the colonel exclaimed, bringing his hand down on
+his shoulder, "you are a credit to the ould country. I am proud of you, me
+boy, and it is little I thought when O'Flaherty and myself conspired to
+get ye into the regiment that you were going to be such a credit to it.
+Gentlemen, before Colonel O'Connor goes further, we will drink his health
+again."
+
+This time there was no laughter mixed with the cheers. Many of the
+officers left their seats and came round to shake his hand warmly, O'Grady
+foremost among them.
+
+"Sure I thought at first that it was blathering you were, Terence; but,
+begorra, I see now that it's gospel truth you are telling, and I am proud
+of you. Faith, I am as proud as if I were your own father, for haven't I
+brought you up in mischief of all kinds? Be the poker, I would have given
+me other arm to have been with you."
+
+The rest of the story was listened to without interruption. When it was
+concluded, Colonel Corcoran again rose.
+
+"Gentlemen, we will for the third time drink to the health of Colonel
+O'Connor, and I think that you will agree with me that if ever a man
+deserved to be made a colonel it's himself."
+
+This time O'Grady and three others rushed to where Terence was sitting,
+seized him, and before he knew what they were going to do, hoisted him
+onto the shoulders of two of them, and carried him in triumph round the
+table. When at length quiet was restored, and Terence had resumed his
+seat, the colonel said:
+
+"By the way, Terence, there was a little old gentleman called on me three
+days after we landed to ask if Major O'Connor was with the regiment. I
+told him that he was not, having gone on half-pay for the present on
+account of a wound. He seemed rather pleased than otherwise, I thought,
+and I asked him pretty bluntly what he wanted to know for. He brought an
+interpreter with him, and said through him that he hoped that I would not
+press that question, especially as a lady was concerned in the matter. It
+bothered me entirely. Why, from the time we landed at the Mondego till
+your father was hit at Vimiera I don't believe we ever had the chance to
+speak to a woman. It may be that it was some lady that nursed him there
+after we had marched away, and who had taken a fancy to him. The ould man
+may have been her father, and was perhaps mighty glad to hear that the
+major was not coming back again."
+
+Terence burst into a shout of laughter.
+
+"My dear Colonel," he said, "the respectable old gentleman did not call on
+behalf of his daughter, but on behalf of a cousin of mine, who was wanting
+to find my father; and Don Jose, who was in charge of her, was glad to
+hear that he was going to remain in England."
+
+"A cousin!" O'Grady exclaimed. "Why how in the name of fortune does a lady
+cousin of yours come to be cruising about in such an outlandish place as
+this?"
+
+"That is another story, Colonel, and I have talked until I am hoarse now,
+so that that must keep until another sitting. It is quite time that I was
+off to see how my men are getting on."
+
+"Of course you will dine with us?"
+
+"Not to-night, Colonel; this has been a long sitting, and I would rather
+not begin a fresh one."
+
+"Well, we will come and have a look at your regiments."
+
+"I would rather you did not come until to-morrow, Colonel. The men have
+marched five-and-twenty miles a day for the last five days, and they want
+rest, so I should not like to parade them again. If you will come over,
+say at twelve o'clock to-morrow, I shall be proud to show them."
+
+The corps now possessed five tents, Terence having obtained four more at
+Coimbra. Herrara and himself occupied one, while two were allotted to the
+officers of each regiment. Bull and Macwitty had both by this time picked
+up sufficient Portuguese to be able to get on comfortably, and had agreed
+with Terence that although they would like to remain together, it was
+better that each should stay with the officers of his own regiment.
+
+At twelve o'clock next day Colonel Corcoran came over with nearly the
+whole of the officers of the Mayo regiment, and was accompanied by many
+others, as they had the night before given many of their acquaintances an
+outline of Terence's story.
+
+The men had been on foot from an early hour after breakfast. There had
+been a parade. Every man's firelock, accoutrements, and uniform had been
+very closely inspected, and when they fell in again at a quarter to twelve
+a most rigid inspection would have failed to find any fault with their
+appearance. Terence joined the colonel as soon as he came on the ground.
+
+"So your officers are all mounted, I see, Terence?"
+
+"Yes, Colonel; you see the companies are over two hundred strong, for the
+losses we had have been filled up since, and one officer to each corps
+could do but little unless he were mounted."
+
+"The men looked uncommonly well, Terence, uncommonly well. I should like
+to walk along the line before you move them."
+
+"By all means, Colonel. Their uniforms do not fit as well as I should
+like, but I had to take them as they were served out, and have had no
+opportunity of getting them altered."
+
+Since the inspection at Coimbra the men had been taught the salute, and as
+Terence shouted:
+
+"Attention! General salute! Present arms!" the men executed the order with
+a sharpness and precision that would have done no discredit to a British
+line regiment. Then the colonel and officers walked along the line, after
+which the troops were put through their manoeuvres for an hour, and then
+dismissed.
+
+"Upon my word, it is wonderful," Colonel Corcoran said. "Why, if the
+beggars had been at it six months they could not have done it better."
+
+There was a chorus of agreement from all the officers round.
+
+"We could not have done some of those movements better ourselves, could
+we, O'Driscol?"
+
+"That we could not," the major said, heartily. "Another three months' work
+and these two regiments would be equal to our best; and I can understand
+now how they stood up against the charge of Franceschi's cavalry
+regiments."
+
+"Now, Colonel, I cannot ask you all to a meal," Terence said; "my
+arrangements are not sufficiently advanced for that yet; but I managed to
+get hold of some very good wine this morning, and I hope that you will
+take a glass all round before you go back to camp."
+
+"That we will, and with pleasure, for the dust has well-nigh choked me. It
+is a different thing drilling on this sandy ground from drilling on a
+stretch of good turf. Of course, you will come back and lunch with us, and
+bring your friend Herrara."
+
+Herrara, however, excused himself. He did not know a word of English, and
+felt that until he could make himself understood he would feel
+uncomfortable at a gathering of English officers. After lunch Terence was
+called upon to tell the story about his cousin. Among his friends of the
+regiment he had no fear of his adventure with the bishop getting abroad,
+and he therefore related the whole story as it happened.
+
+"By my sowl," O'Grady said to him, afterwards, "Terence O'Connor, you take
+me breath away altogether. To think that a year ago you were just a
+gossoon, and here ye are a colonel--a Portuguese colonel, I grant, but
+still a colonel--fighting Soult, and houlding defiles, and making night
+attacks, and thrashing the French cavalry, and carrying off a nun from a
+convent, and outwitting a bishop, and playing all sorts of divarsions. It
+bates me entirely. There is Dicky Ryan, who, as I tould him yesterday, had
+just the same chances as you have had, just Dicky Ryan still. I tould him
+he ought to blush down to his boots."
+
+"And what did he say, O'Grady?"
+
+"The young spalpeen had the impudence to say that there was I, Captain
+O'Grady, just the same as when he first joined, and, barring the loss of
+an arm, divil a bit the better. And the worst of it is, it was true
+entirely. If I could but find a pretty cousin shut up in a convent you
+would see that I would not be backward in doing what had to be done; but
+no such luck comes to me at all, at all."
+
+"Quite so, O' Grady; I have had tremendous luck. And it has all come about
+owing to my happening to think it would be a good thing to take possession
+of that French lugger."
+
+"Don't you think it, me boy," O'Grady said, seriously. "No doubt a man may
+have a turn of luck, though it is not everyone who takes advantage of it
+when it comes. But when you see a man always succeeding, always doing
+something that other fellows don't do, and making his way up step by step,
+you may put it down that luck has very little to do with the matter, and
+that he has got something in him that other men haven't got. You may have
+had some luck to start with--enough, perhaps, to have got you your
+lieutenancy, though I don't say that it was luck; but you cannot put the
+rest of it down to that."
+
+At this moment Dick Ryan came and joined them.
+
+"Well, Dicky," Terence said, "have you had no fun lately in the regiment?"
+
+"Not a scrap," Ryan said, dismally. "There was not much chance of fun on
+that long march; on board ship there was a storm all the way; then we were
+kept on board the transport at Cork nearly three months. Everyone was out
+of temper, and a mouse would not have dared squeak on board the ship. I
+have had a bad time of it since the day we lost you."
+
+"Oh, well, you will have plenty of chances yet, Dicky."
+
+"It has not been the same thing since you have gone, Terence," he
+grumbled. "Of course we could not always be having fun; but you know that
+we were always putting our heads together and talking over what might be
+done. It was good fun, even if we could not carry it out. I tried to stir
+up the others of our lot, but they don't seem to have it in them. I wish
+you could get me transferred to your regiment. I know that we should have
+plenty of fun there."
+
+"I am afraid that it could not be done, Dicky, though I should like it
+immensely. But you see you have not learned a word of Portuguese, and you
+would be of no use in the world."
+
+"There it is, you see," O'Grady said. "That is one of the points which had
+no luck in it, Terence. You were always trying to talk away with the
+peasants; and, riding about as you did as Fane's aide-de-camp, you had
+opportunities of doing so and made the most of them. Now there are not
+three other fellows in the regiment who can ask a simple question. I can
+shout _Carajo!_ at a mule-driver who loiters behind, and can add two or
+three other strong Portuguese words, but there is an end of it. Cradock
+would never have sent you that errand to Romana if you could not have
+talked enough to have made yourself understood. You could never have jawed
+those mutineers and put them up to getting hold of the arms. If Dicky Ryan
+and I had been sent on that mission we should just have been as helpless
+as babies, and should, like enough, have been murdered by that mob. There
+was no luck about that, you see; it was just because you had done your
+best to pick up the language, and nobody else had taken the trouble to
+learn a word of it."
+
+"I see that, O'Grady," Ryan said, dolefully. "I don't envy Terence a bit.
+I know that he has quite deserved what he has got, and that if I had had
+his start, I should never have got any farther. Still, I wish I could go
+with him. I know that he has always been the one who invented our plans.
+Still, I have had a good idea sometimes."
+
+"Certainly you have, Dicky; and if I have generally started an idea, you
+have always worked it up with me. Well, if you will get up Portuguese a
+bit, and I see a chance of asking for another English officer, say as
+adjutant, I will see if I cannot get you; but I could not ask for you
+without being able to give as a reason that you could speak Portuguese
+well."
+
+"I will try, Terence; upon my honour, I will try hard," Ryan said. "I will
+get hold of a fellow and begin to-day."
+
+"Quite right, Dicky," O'Grady said. "Faith, I would do it meself, if it
+wasn't in the first place that I am too old to learn, and in the second
+place that I niver could learn anything when I was a boy. I used to get
+thrashed every day regularly, but divil a bit of difference did it make. I
+got to read and write, and there I stuck. As for the ancients, I was
+always mixing them up together; and whether it was Alexander or Caesar who
+marched over the Alps and burnt Jerusalem, divil a bit do I know, and I
+don't see that if I did know it would do me a hap'orth of good."
+
+"I don't think that particular piece of knowledge would, O'Grady," Terence
+agreed, with a hearty laugh; "still, even if you did learn Portuguese, I
+couldn't ask for you. I don't mind Dicky, because he is only a year senior
+to me; but if they made me commander-in-chief of the Portuguese army, I
+could never have the cheek to give you an order."
+
+Three weeks later came the startling news that Sir Arthur Wellesley had
+arrived at Lisbon, and was to assume the command of the army. Sir John
+Cradock was to command at Gibraltar. There was general satisfaction at the
+news, for the events of the last campaign had given all who served under
+him an implicit confidence in Sir Arthur; but it was felt that Sir John
+Cradock had been very hardly treated. In the first place, he was a good
+way senior to Sir Arthur, and in the second place, he had battled against
+innumerable difficulties, and the time was now approaching when he would
+reap the benefit of his labours. To Terence the news came almost as a
+blow, for he felt that it was probable he might be at once appointed to a
+British regiment.
+
+Personally he would not have cared so much, but he would have regretted it
+greatly for the sake of the men who had followed him. It was true that
+they might obey Herrara as willingly as they did himself, but he knew that
+the native officers did not possess anything like the same influence with
+the Portuguese that the English did, and that there might be a rapid
+deterioration in their discipline and morale. He remained in a state of
+uncertainty for a week, at the end of which time he received a letter from
+Captain Nelson, and tearing it open, read as follows:--
+
+_My Dear O' Connor,_
+
+_I dare say you have been feeling somewhat doubtful as to your position
+since you heard that Sir Arthur has superseded Sir John Cradock. I may
+tell you at once that he has taken over the whole of Sir John's staff,
+yourself, of course, included. I ventured to suggest to Sir John that he
+should mention your case to Sir Arthur, and he told me that he had
+intended to take the opportunity of the first informal talk he had with
+him to do so. The opportunity came yesterday, and Sir John went fully into
+your case, showed him the reports, and mentioned how he came to appoint
+you because of the clear and lucid description you gave of the movements
+of every division of Moore's army._
+
+_Sir Arthur remembered your name at once, and the circumstances under which
+he had mentioned you in general orders for your conduct on board the
+transport coming out. Sir John told me that he said, 'There is no doubt
+that O'Connor is a singularly promising young officer, Sir John. The check
+he gave Soult on the Minho might have completely reversed the success of
+the Frenchman's campaign had he had any but Spaniards and Portuguese to
+oppose him. The report shows that O'Connor has done wonders with those two
+regiments of his, and I shall not think of removing him from their
+command. A trustworthy native corps of that description would be of the
+greatest advantage, and will act, like Trant and Wilson's commands, as the
+eyes of the army. I am much obliged to you for your having brought the
+case before my notice, for otherwise, not knowing the circumstances, I
+might very well have considered that the position of a lieutenant on my
+staff as the commander of two native regiments was an anomalous one. I
+should, no doubt, have inquired how it occurred before I thought of
+superseding an officer you had selected, but your explanation more than
+justifies his appointment.' So you see, Terence, the change will make no
+difference in your position. And as I fancy Sir Arthur will not let the
+grass grow under his feet, you are likely to have a lively time of it
+before long. By the way, a Gazette has arrived, and it contains the
+appointment of your two men to commissions._
+
+While waiting at Leirya, Terence had ordered uniforms for all the
+officers. He had, after consultation with Herrara, decided upon one
+approximating rather to the cavalry than to infantry dress, as being more
+convenient for mounted officers. It consisted of tight-fitting green
+patrol jacket, breeches of the same colour, and half-high boots and a
+gold-embroidered belt and slings. The two English officers wore a yellow
+band round their caps, and Herrara a gold one.
+
+"I am sure, Colonel O'Connor," Bull said, when Terence told Macwitty and
+him that they had been gazetted to commissions, "we cannot thank you
+enough. Macwitty and I have done our best, but it has been nothing more
+than teaching drill to a lot of recruits."
+
+"We had two or three hard fights, too, Bull; and I have very good reason
+for thinking most highly of you, for I should never have got the corps
+into an efficient state without your assistance. And, indeed, I doubt
+whether I should have ventured upon the task at all if I had not been sure
+that I should be well seconded by you."
+
+"It is good of you to say so, Colonel," Macwitty said; "but at any rate,
+it has been a rare bit of luck for us, and little did we think when we
+were ordered to accompany you it was going to lead to our getting
+commissions. Well, we will do our best to deserve them."
+
+"That I am sure you will, Macwitty; and now that the campaign is going to
+commence in earnest, and we may have two or three years' hard fighting,
+you may have opportunities of getting another step before you go home."
+
+Three days later an order came to Terence to march north again with his
+corps, and to place himself in some defensible position north of the
+Mondego, and to co-operate, if necessary, with Trant and Silveira, also
+ordered to take post beyond the river. Cuesta, the Portuguese general, had
+gathered a fresh army of six thousand cavalry and thirty thousand
+infantry. The greater portion were in a position in front of Victor's
+outposts. Between the Tagus and the Mondego were 16,000 Portuguese troops
+of the line, under Lord Beresford, that had been drilled and organized to
+some extent by British officers. The British and German troops numbered
+22,000 fighting men.
+
+Sir Arthur Wellesley, at Lisbon, had the choice of either falling upon
+Victor or Soult. The former would be the most advantageous operation, but,
+upon the other hand, the Portuguese were most anxious to recover Oporto,
+their second city, with the fertile country round it.
+
+Another fact which influenced the decision was that Cuesta was alike
+incapable and obstinate, and was wholly indisposed to co-operate warmly
+with the British. The British commander, therefore, decided in the first
+place to attack Soult, and the force at Leirya was ordered to march to
+Coimbra. Five British battalions and two regiments of cavalry, with 7,000
+Portuguese troops, were ordered to Abrantes and Santarem to check Victor,
+should he endeavour to make a rapid march upon Lisbon. Four Portuguese
+battalions were incorporated in each British brigade at Coimbra, Beresford
+retaining 6,000 under his personal command. On the 2d of May Sir Arthur
+reached Coimbra and reviewed the force, 25,000 strong, 9,000 being
+Portuguese, 3,000 Germans, and 13,000 British.
+
+Soult was badly informed of the storm that was gathering about him, or
+many of his officers were disaffected, and were engaged in a plot to have
+him supplanted; consequently, they kept back the information they received
+of the movements of the British.
+
+
+[Illustration: "WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+PORTUGAL FREED
+
+On the 9th of May Terence was directing the movements of his men, who were
+practising skirmishing among some rough ground at the bottom of the hill
+upon which he had taken up his position, to defend, if necessary, the road
+that crossed it. His men had thrown up several lines of breast-works along
+the face of the hill to a point where steep ravines protected the flank of
+his position. Presently he saw a party of horsemen riding down the hill
+behind him. They reined up suddenly when half-way down the hill and paused
+to watch what was being done; then they came on again. As they approached,
+Terence recognized the erect figure of the officer who rode at the head of
+the party. He cantered up and saluted.
+
+"Who are you, sir, and what troops are these?" Sir Arthur asked, sharply.
+
+"My name is O'Connor, sir. These men constitute the corps that I have the
+honour to command."
+
+"Form them up in line," the general said, briefly.
+
+Terence rode away at a gallop, and as soon as he reached the spot where
+his bugler was standing--for bugles had now taken the place of the horns
+that had before served the purpose--the latter at once blew the assembly,
+and then the order to form line. The men dashed down at the top of their
+speed, and in a very short time formed up in a long line with their
+officers in front.
+
+"Break them into columns of companies," the general, who had now ridden
+with the staff to the front, said.
+
+The manoeuvre was performed steadily and well.
+
+"Send out the alternate companies as skirmishers, while the other
+companies form line and move forward in support." When this had been done
+the order came: "Skirmishers, form into company squares to resist enemy's
+cavalry."
+
+This had been so frequently practised that in a few seconds the six
+squares were formed up in an attitude to receive cavalry.
+
+"That is very well done, Colonel O'Connor," Sir Arthur said, with more
+warmth than was usual with him. "Your men are well in hand and know their
+business. It is a very creditable display, indeed; you have proved your
+capacity for command. I have not forgotten what I have heard of you, sir,
+and it will not be long before your services are utilized."
+
+So saying he rode on. Captain Nelson lingered behind for a moment to shake
+hands with Terence.
+
+"You may feel proud of that, O'Connor," he said; "Sir Arthur is not given
+to praise, I can assure you. Good-bye, I must catch them up;" and,
+turning, he soon overtook the general's staff.
+
+That the general was well satisfied was proved by the fact that three days
+later the following appeared in general orders:
+
+_"The officer commanding-in-chief on Thursday inspected the corps under
+the command of Lieutenant (with the rank of colonel in the Portuguese
+army) O'Connor. He was much pleased with the discipline and quickness with
+which the corps went through certain movements ordered by him. This corps
+has already greatly distinguished itself, and Sir Arthur would point to it
+as an example to be imitated by all officers having command of Portuguese
+troops."_
+
+Soult's position had now become very dangerous. The Spanish and Portuguese
+insurgents were upon the Lima, and the principal portion of his own force
+was south of the Douro.
+
+Franceschi's cavalry, supported by infantry and artillery, and by Mermet's
+division, occupied the country between that river and the Vouga, and was
+without communication with the centre at Oporto, except by the bridge of
+boats.
+
+Although aware that there was a considerable force gathering at Coimbra,
+the French general had no idea that the whole of the British army was
+assembling there. Confident that success would attend his operations, Sir
+Arthur directed the Portuguese corps to be in readiness to harass Soult's
+retreat through the mountain denies and up the valley of the Tamega, and
+so to force him to march north instead of making for Salamanca, where he
+could unite with the French army there.
+
+A mounted officer brought similar orders to Terence. Half an hour after
+receiving them the corps was on the march. The instructions were brief and
+simple:
+
+_"You will endeavour to harass Soult as he retreats across the
+Tras-os-Montes, and try to head him off to the north. Act as circumstances
+may dictate."_
+
+The service was a dangerous one, and Terence felt that it was a high
+honour that the general should have appointed him to undertake it, for he
+assuredly would not have sent the corps on such a mission had he not
+considered that they could be relied upon to take care of themselves. They
+would be wholly unsupported save by parties of peasants and ordenancas;
+they would have to operate against an army broken, doubtless, by defeat,
+but all the more determined to push on, as delay might mean total loss.
+
+He followed the line of the Vouga to the point where it emerged from the
+hills, crossed these, and came down upon the Douro some ten miles above
+San Joao, at nearly the same spot where he had before made the passage
+when on his way to join Romana.
+
+He was now well beyond the district held by the French south of the Douro,
+and, obtaining a number of boats, crossed the river, and then made for
+Mirandella on the river Tua, and halted some distance from the town,
+having made a march of over seventy miles in two days. Learning from the
+peasants that there were no French troops west of the Tamega, he marched
+the next day to the crest looking down into the valley, and here halted
+until he could learn that Soult was retreating, and what road he was
+following. He had not long to wait for news, for, on the night of the 9th,
+while he was on his march by the Vouga, the British force had moved
+forward to Aveiro. Hill's division had there taken boats, and proceeding
+up the lake to Ovar, had landed at sunrise on the 10th, and placed himself
+on Franceschi's right.
+
+In the meantime Paget's division had marched to Albergaria, while Cotton's
+division and Trant's command moved to turn Franceschi's position on its
+right. The darkness and their ignorance of the roads prevented the
+movement being attended with the hoped-for success. Had the operation been
+carried out without a hitch, Franceschi and Mermet would both have been
+driven off the line of retreat to the bridge of Oporto, and must have been
+captured or destroyed. As it was, Franceschi fell back fighting, joined
+Mermet's division at Crijo, a day's march in the rear, and although the
+whole were driven on the following day from this position, they retired in
+good order, and that night effected their retreat across the bridge of
+boats, which was then destroyed.
+
+As Franceschi's report informed Soult that the whole force of the allies
+was now upon him, he at once sent off his heavy artillery and baggage by
+the road to Amarante. Mermet was posted at Valongo, with orders to patrol
+the river and to seize every boat. Those at Oporto were also secured. On
+the morning of the 12th the British force was concentrated behind the hill
+of Villa Nova, and Sir Arthur took his place on the top of the Serra
+Convent, from whence he commanded a view of the city and opposite bank. He
+saw that the French force was stationed for the most part below Oporto.
+Franceschi's report had led Soult to believe that Hill's division had come
+by sea, and he expected that the transports would go up to the mouth of
+the Douro, and that the British would attempt to effect a landing there.
+
+The river took a sharp turn round the Serra Convent, and Sir Arthur saw
+that another large convent on the opposite bank, known as the Seminary,
+was concealed by the hill from Soult's position, and that it might be
+occupied without attracting the attention of the French. After much search
+a little boat was found; in this a few men crossed and brought back two
+large boats from the opposite side of the river. In these the troops at
+once began to cross, and two companies had taken possession of the convent
+before Soult was aware of what was going on. Then a prodigious din arose.
+Troops were hurried through the town, the bugles and trumpets sounded the
+alarm, while the populace thronged to the roofs of their houses wildly
+cheering and waving handkerchiefs and scarves, and the church bells added
+to the clamour.
+
+Three batteries of artillery had been brought up close to the Serra
+Convent, and now that there was no longer need of concealment these were
+brought forward, and--as the French issued from the town and hurried
+towards the post held by the two companies that had crossed--opened a
+heavy fire upon them. The French pushed on gallantly in spite of this fire
+and the musketry of the soldiers, but the wall of the convent was strong,
+more boats had been obtained, and every minute added to the number of the
+defenders. The attack was, nevertheless, obstinately continued. The French
+artillery endeavoured to blow in the gate, and for a time the position of
+the defenders was serious, but the enemy's troops were now evacuating the
+lower part of the town, and immediately they did so the inhabitants
+brought boats over, and a brigade under Sherwood crossed there.
+
+In the meantime General Murray had been sent with the German division to
+effect a passage of the river two miles farther up. Soult's orders to take
+possession of all the boats had been neglected, and it was not long before
+Murray crossed with his force. The confusion in the French line of retreat
+was now terrible. A battery of artillery, who brought up the rear, were
+smitten by the fire of Sherwood's men; many were killed, and the rest cut
+their traces and galloped on to join the retreating army. Sherwood's men
+pressed these in the rear, the infantry on the roof of the Seminary poured
+their fire on the retiring masses, and the guns on the Serra rock swept
+the long line.
+
+Had Murray now fallen upon the disordered crowd their discomfiture would
+have been complete, but he held his force inactive, afraid that the French
+might turn upon him and drive him into the river. General Stewart and
+Major Harvey, furious at his inactivity, charged the French at the head of
+two squadrons of cavalry only, dashed through the enemy's column, unhorsed
+General Laborde and wounded General Foy. Receiving, however, no support
+whatever from Murray, the gallant little band of cavalry were forced to
+fight their way back with loss. Thus, as Franceschi had been saved from
+destruction from an error as to the road, Soult was saved the loss of this
+army by Murray's timidity, and in both cases Sir Arthur's masterly plans
+failed in attaining the complete success they deserved.
+
+Terence had engaged several peasants to watch the roads leading from
+Oporto, and as soon as he learned that a long train of baggage and heavy
+guns was leaving the city by the road to Amarante, he crossed the valley,
+took up a position on the Catalena hill flanking the road, and as the
+waggons came along opened a sudden and heavy fire upon them. Although
+protected by a strong guard the convoy fell into confusion, many of the
+horses being killed by the first volley. Some of the drivers leapt from
+their seats and deserted their charges, others flogged their horses, and
+tried to push through the struggling mass. An incessant fire was kept up,
+but just as Terence was about to order the whole corps to charge down and
+complete the work, a large body of cavalry, followed by a heavy body of
+infantry, appeared on the scene.
+
+This was Merle's division, that had hastened up from Valonga on hearing
+the firing. The advance of the cavalry was checked by the musketry fire,
+but Merle at once ordered his infantry to mount the hill and drive the
+Portuguese off. The latter stood their ground gallantly for some time,
+inflicting heavy loss upon their assailants. Terence saw, however, that he
+could not hope to withstand long the attack of a whole French division,
+and leaving two companies behind to check the enemy's advance, he marched
+along the crest of the hill until he came upon the road crossing from
+Amarante to the Ave river.
+
+By this time he had been joined by the rear-guard, who had retired in time
+to make their escape before the French reached the top of the hill. Merle
+posted a brigade along the crest of the ridge to prevent a repetition of
+the attack, and to cover Soult's line of retreat, if he were forced to
+fall back; while Terence took up his position near Pombeiro, whence he
+presently saw the convoy enter Amarante. He had the satisfaction, however,
+of noticing that it was greatly diminished in length, a great many of the
+waggons having been left behind owing to the number of horses that had
+been killed. His attack had had another advantage of which he was unaware,
+for it had so occupied Merle's attention that he had neglected to have all
+the boats taken across the river, which enabled Murray's command to cross
+the next day, an error which, had Murray been possessed of any dash and
+energy, would have proved fatal to the French army.
+
+The next day Terence heard the sound of the guns on the Serra height, but
+the distance was too great for the crack of musketry to reach him, and he
+had no idea that the British were crossing the river until he saw the
+French marching across the mouth of the valley towards Amarante. Among
+such veteran troops discipline was speedly recovered, and they encamped in
+good order in the valley. That town was, however, in the hands of the
+Portuguese, Loison, either from treachery or incapacity, having disobeyed
+Soult's orders and retired before the advance of the Portuguese force
+under Lord Beresford, and, evacuating Amarante, taken the road to
+Guimaraens, passing by Pombeiro.
+
+He had sent no news to Soult, and the latter general was altogether
+ignorant that he had left Amarante. Upon receiving the news from the head
+of the column he at once saw that the position had now become a desperate
+one. Beresford, he learned at the same time, had marched up the Tamega
+valley to take post at Chaves, where Silveira had joined him. A retreat in
+that direction, therefore, was impossible, and he at once destroyed his
+baggage, spiked his guns, and at nightfall, guided by a peasant, ascended
+a path up the Serra Catalena, and, marching all night, rejoined Loison at
+Guimaraens, passing on his way through Pombeiro. Terence had left the
+place a few hours before, believing that Soult must return up the valley
+of the Tamega, and, ignorant that Beresford and Silveira barred the way,
+he marched after nightfall towards Chaves and took up a position where he
+could arrest, for a time, the retreat of the French army.
+
+He had left two of his men at Pombeiro, and had halted but a short time
+after completing his long and arduous march when his two men came up with
+the news that Soult had passed by the very place he had a few hours before
+left. As there was more than one route open to Soult, Terence was unable
+to decide which he had best take. His men had already performed a very
+long march, and it was absolutely necessary to give them a rest; he
+therefore allowed them to sleep during the day. Towards evening he crossed
+the Serra de Cabrierra and came down upon Salamende, and sent out scouts
+for news. Destroying the guns, ammunition, and baggage of Loison's
+division, Soult reached the Carvalho on the evening of the 14th, drew up
+his army on the position that he had occupied two months before at the
+battle of Braga, reorganized his forces, and ordering Loison to lead the
+advance, while he himself took command of the rear, continued his march.
+The next day Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had been obliged to halt at Oporto
+until the whole army, with its artillery and train, had passed the river,
+reached Braga, having marched by a much shorter road.
+
+Terence's scouts brought news that the whole of the French army were
+marching towards Salamende. Wholly unsupported as he was, ignorant of the
+position of Beresford and Silveira, and knowing nothing of Sir Arthur's
+march towards Braga, he decided not to attempt with his force to bar the
+way to Soult's twenty thousand men, but to hold Salamende for a time and
+then fall back up the mountains. Before doing so he sent a party to blow
+up the bridge at Ponte Nova across the Cavado, and also sent his second
+regiment to defend the passage at Riuvaens.
+
+Thinking it likely that Soult would again cross the mountains to Chaves,
+he sent Herrara in command of the force at the bridge, while he himself
+remained at Salamende. Here he had the houses facing the road by which the
+enemy would approach, loopholed and the road itself barricaded. Late in
+the afternoon the French cavalry were seen approaching, and a heavy fire
+was at once opened upon them. The rapidity of the discharges showed
+Franceschi that the place was held by more than a mere party of peasants,
+and he drew off his cavalry and allowed the infantry to pass him. For half
+an hour the Portuguese held their ground and repulsed three determined
+assaults; then, seeing a strong body of troops ascending the hillside to
+take the position in flank, Terence ordered his troops to fall back. This
+they did in good order, and took up a position high up on the hill.
+
+The French made but a short pause; a small body of cavalry that Soult had
+left near Braga brought him the news that the British army was entering
+that town. Scouts were sent forward at once, and their report that the
+bridge of Riuvaens was destroyed, and that 1,200 Portuguese regular troops
+were on the opposite bank, decided him to take the road by the Ponte Nova.
+The night was a terrible one; the rain had for two days been continuous,
+and the troops were drenched to the skin and impatient at the hardship
+that they had suffered. The scouts reported that the bridge here had also
+been destroyed, but that one of the parapets was still unbroken, and that
+the force on the other side consisted only of peasants. Soult ordered
+Major Doulong, an officer celebrated for his courage, to take a hundred
+grenadiers and secure the passage.
+
+A violent storm was now raging, and their footsteps being deadened by the
+roar of the wind, the French crept up, killed the Portuguese sentry on
+their side of the bridge before he could give the alarm, and then crawled
+across the narrow line of masonry. Then they rushed up the opposite
+heights, shouting and firing, and the peasantry, believing that the whole
+French army were upon them, fled at once. The bridge was hastily repaired,
+and at four o'clock in the morning the whole of the French army had
+crossed. Their retreat was opposed at a bridge of a single arch over a
+torrent, by a party of Portuguese peasantry, but after two repulses the
+French, led by Major Doulong, carried it.
+
+They were just in time, for in the afternoon the British came upon a
+strong rear-guard left at Salamende. Some light troops at once turned
+their flank, while Sherwood attacked them in front, and they fled in
+confusion to the Ponte Nova. As the general imagined that Soult would take
+the other road, their retreat in this direction was for some time
+unperceived, but just as they were crossing, the British artillery opened
+fire upon the bridge with terrible effect, very many of the enemy being
+killed before they could effect a passage. Their further retreat was
+performed without molestation. The British troops had made very long
+marches in the hopes of cutting Soult's line of retreat, and as the
+French, unlike the British, carried no provisions for their march, there
+was now little hope of overtaking them, especially as their main body was
+far ahead.
+
+Sir Arthur halted for a day at Riuvaens, where Terence's corps was now
+concentrated, he having marched there the night he was driven out of
+Salamende. As soon as the British entered the place, the general inquired
+what corps was holding it, and at once sent for Terence.
+
+"Let me hear what you have been doing, Colonel O'Connor."
+
+Terence had, as soon as he heard that the army had arrived at Salamende,
+written out a report of his movements from the time that he had marched
+from Vouga. He now presented it. The general waved it aside.
+
+"Tell me yourself," he said.
+
+Terence related as briefly as possible the course he had followed, and the
+reasons of his movements.
+
+"Good!" the general said, when he had finished. "Your calculations were
+all well founded; but, of course, you could not calculate on Soult's night
+march across the Catalena hills, and, as you knew nothing of the
+whereabouts of Beresford and Silveira, you had good reason to suppose that
+Soult would continue his march up the valley of the Tamega to Chaves. That
+was the only mistake you committed, and an older soldier might well have
+fallen into the same error. When you had found out your mistake, you acted
+promptly, and could not have done better than to proceed to Salamende. You
+did well to destroy both bridges, and to place half your force to defend
+the passage here, for you naturally supposed, as I supposed myself, that
+Soult would follow this road down to Chaves.
+
+"You were again deceived, but were in no way to blame. Your position was
+most judiciously chosen on the Catalena hills on Soult's natural line of
+retreat, and I heard that the enemy's baggage train had been very severely
+mauled, and was only saved from destruction by Merle deploying his whole
+division against the force attacking it. Again I see you made a stout
+defence at Salamende. We saw a large number of French dead there as we
+marched in. If everyone else had done as well as you have done, young sir,
+Soult's army would never have escaped me."
+
+Terence bowed, and retired deeply gratified, for he had been doubtful what
+his reception would be. He knew that he had done his best, but twice he
+had been mistaken, and each time the mistake had allowed Soult to pass
+unmolested; and he was, therefore, all the more pleased on learning that
+so skilful a general had declared that these mistakes, although
+unfortunate, were yet natural.
+
+Soult reached Orense on the 20th, without guns, stores, ammunition, or
+baggage, his men exhausted with fatigue and misery, most of them shoeless,
+and some without muskets. He had left Orense seventy-six days before with
+22,000 men, and had lately been joined by 3,500 from Tuy. He returned with
+19,500, having lost 6,000 by sword, sickness, assassination, and capture.
+Of these 3,600 were taken in the hospitals at Oporto, Chaves, Vianna, and
+Braga. One thousand were killed in the advance, and the remainder captured
+or killed within the last eight days.
+
+A day later the news arrived that Victor was at last advancing and a
+considerable number of the troops assembled at Salamende, among them
+Terence's corps, were ordered to march to join the force opposed to him.
+Terence started two hours before the bulk of the force got into motion,
+and traversing the ground at a high rate of speed, struck the road from
+Lisbon a day in advance of the British troops. There was, however, no
+occasion for action, for Victor, who had taken Abrantes, had, on receiving
+news of the fall of Oporto, at once evacuated that town and fallen back,
+and for a time all operations ceased on that side.
+
+The British army had suffered but slight loss in battle, but the long
+marches, the terribly wet weather, and the effect of climate told heavily
+upon them, and upwards of 4,000 men were, in a short time, in hospital.
+
+Fortunately, however, a reinforcement of equal strength arrived from
+England, and the fighting strength of the army was therefore maintained.
+There was still, however, a great want of transport animals; the
+commissariat were, for the most part, new to their duties, and ignorant of
+the language. Sir Arthur Wellesley was engaged in the endeavour to get
+Cuesta to co-operate with him, but the obstinate old man refused to do so
+unless his plans were adopted; and these were of so wild and impracticable
+a character that Sir Arthur preferred to act alone, especially as Cuesta's
+army had already been repeatedly beaten by the French, and the utter
+worthlessness of his soldiers demonstrated.
+
+The pause of operations in Spain, entailed by the concentration of the
+commands of Soult, Ney, Victor, and Lapisse on the frontier, had given
+breathing time to Spain. Large armies had again been raised, and the same
+confident ideas, the same jealousy between generals, and the same quarrels
+between the Juntas had been prevalent. Once again Spain was confident that
+she could alone, and unaided, drive the French across the frontier
+altogether, forgetful of the easy and crushing defeats that had before
+been inflicted upon her. Like Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley was to some
+extent deceived by these boastings, and believed that he should obtain
+material assistance in the way of transports and provisions, and that at
+least valuable diversions might be made by the Spanish army.
+
+He accepted, too, to some extent, the estimate of the Spaniards as to the
+strength of the French, and believed that their fighting force in the
+Peninsula did not exceed 130,000 men, whereas in reality it amounted to
+over 250,000. The greatest impediment to the advance was the want of
+money, for while the British government continued to pour vast sums into
+Cadiz and Seville, for the use of the Spaniards, they were unable to find
+money for the advance of their own army. The soldiers consequently were
+unpaid, badly fed, almost in rags, and a large proportion of them
+shoeless; and to meet the most urgent wants, the general was forced to
+raise loans at exorbitant rates at Lisbon. And yet, while a great general
+and a victorious army were nearly starving in Portugal, the British
+government had landed 12,000 troops in Italy and had despatched one of the
+finest expeditions that ever sailed from England, consisting of 40,000
+troops and as many seamen and marines of the fleet, to Walcheren, where no
+small proportion of them died of fever, and the rest returned home broken
+in health and unfit for active service, without having performed a single
+action worthy of merit.
+
+The Mayo Fusiliers were among the regiments stationed at Abrantes, and
+Terence received orders to take up a position four miles ahead of that
+town, and hold it unless Victor again advanced in overwhelming strength,
+and then to fall back on Abrantes. This exactly suited his own wishes. It
+was pleasant to him to be within a short ride of his old regiment, while
+at the same time his corps were not encamped with a British division, for
+his own position was an anomalous one, and among the officers who did not
+know him he was regarded as a young staff-officer. He could not explain
+the position he held without constantly repeating the manner in which he
+had gained a commission as colonel in the Portuguese service.
+
+During the month that had passed without movement, he continued his
+efforts to improve his corps, and borrowed a dozen non-commissioned
+officers from Colonel Corcoran to instruct his sergeants in their duty,
+and thus enable them to train others and relieve the officers of some of
+their work. He had in his first report stated that he had kept back L1,000
+of the money he carried to Romana for the use of his corps, and as he had
+never received any comment or instructions as to the portion that had not
+been expended, he had still some money in hand. This he spent in
+supplementing the scanty rations served out. Frequently he rode into
+Abrantes and spent the evening with the Mayo Fusiliers. The first time he
+did so he requested the officers always to call him, as before, Terence
+O'Connor.
+
+"It is absurd being addressed as colonel when I am only a lieutenant in
+the service. Of course when I am with the corps it is a different thing; I
+am its colonel, and must be called so; but it is really very annoying to
+be called so here."
+
+"You must be feeling quite rusty," Colonel Corcoran said to him, "sitting
+here doing nothing, after nine months of incessant moving about."
+
+"I am not rusting, Colonel, I am hard at work sharpening my blade; that
+is, improving my corps. Your men drill my sergeants four hours a day, and
+for the other eight each of them is repeating the instructions that he has
+received to three others. So that by the time we are in movement again I
+hope to have a sergeant who knows something of his duty to each fifty men.
+I can assure you that in addition to the great need for such men when the
+troops are out skirmishing, or otherwise detached in small parties, I felt
+that their appearance on parade was greatly marred by the fact that the
+non-commissioned officers did not know their proper places or their proper
+work, which neither Bull nor Macwitty, nor indeed the company officers,
+could instruct them in, all being cavalrymen."
+
+"Yes, I noticed that when I saw them at Leirya," the colonel said. "Of
+course it was of no consequence at all as far as their efficiency went,
+but to the eye of an English officer, naturally, something seemed
+wanting."
+
+"I should be glad of at least four more officers to each company, and at
+one time thought of writing to Lord Beresford to ask him to supply me with
+some, but I came to the conclusion that we had better leave matters as
+they were. In the first place young officers would know nothing of their
+work, and nothing of me; and in the second place, if they were men of good
+family they would not like serving under officers who have been raised
+from the ranks; and lastly, if they became discontented, they might render
+the men so. We have done very fairly at present, and we had better go on
+as we are; and when I get a sufficient number of trained men to furnish a
+full supply of non-commissioned officers, I shall do better than with
+commissioned ones, for the men are of course carefully selected, and I
+know them to be trustworthy, whereas those they sent me might be idle, or
+worse than useless."
+
+"You spake like King Solomon, Terence," O'Grady said; "not that he can
+have known anything whatever about military matters."
+
+A roar of laughter greeted this very doubtful compliment.
+
+"Thank you, O'Grady," Terence said. "That is one of the prettiest speeches
+I have heard for a long time. I shall know where to come for a character."
+
+"You are right there, Terence; but you may live a good many years before
+you get a chance of calling a whole British army under arms, as you did at
+Salamanca."
+
+Terence was at once assailed with a storm of questions, for with the
+exception of O'Grady, no one had suspected the share that he and Dicky
+Ryan had had in that affair. Terence knew that the latter had kept the
+secret, for he had asked him only two or three days before, and he
+therefore assumed an expression of innocence.
+
+"What on earth do you mean, O'Grady?"
+
+"What do I mane? Why, that somehow or other you were at the bottom of that
+shindy when all the troops were turned out on a false alarm."
+
+"Really, O'Grady, that is too bad. You know that every trick that was
+played at Athlone was your suggestion, and as we never could find out how
+that alarm originated, of course you put it down to me, whereas it is just
+as likely to have been your own work. Colonel Corcoran knows that Dicky
+and I were in the mess-room at the convent at the time when the alarm
+broke out."
+
+"That was so," the colonel agreed, "for I know that you were talking to me
+when Hoolan ran in and told us that there was a row in the town. On what
+do you base your suspicions, O'Grady?"
+
+"Just upon me knowledge of the two lads, Colonel. Faith, there never was a
+piece of mischief afloat that they were not mixed up with."
+
+"If that is all you have to say, O'Grady," Terence replied, "I should
+advise you not to go hunting for mares' nests again. I know that you can
+see as far into a brick wall as most people, but you cannot see what is
+going on on the other side."
+
+"All the same, Terence," O'Grady said, doggedly, "to the end of me life I
+will always believe that you had a hand in the matter. There is no one
+else that I know of except you and Ryan who would have had the cheek to do
+such a thing, and I don't believe that you can deny it yourself."
+
+"I shall not trouble myself to plead not guilty, except before a regularly
+constituted court," Terence laughed. "At any rate, as when the march
+begins we shall go on first as scouts, it may be that I shall send in news
+which will turn out a British army again."
+
+"I will forgive you if you do, for it is likely that we should have some
+divarsion after turning out, instead of marching out and back again like a
+regiment of omadhouns."
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+NEWS FROM HOME
+
+A week after arriving at Abrantes, seeing that there was no probability
+whatever of fighting for a time, Terence had suggested to Herrara that it
+would be a good opportunity for him to run down to Lisbon for a few days
+to see his fiancee and his friends in the town.
+
+"I don't know who you really ought to apply to for leave," he said, "but
+as we are a sort of half-independent corps, it seems the simplest way for
+me to take the responsibility. Nobody is ever likely to ask any questions
+about it; and now that it will simply be a matter of hard drill till the
+army moves again, you can be very well spared. If it is company work, it
+is the captain's business. If the two regiments are manoeuvring together,
+they will of course be under Bull and Macwitty, and I should be acting as
+brigadier."
+
+"I should like to go very much," Herrara said. "I have not yet had the
+pleasure of introducing myself to my family and friends as a
+lieutenant-colonel. Of course, I wrote to my people when I received the
+commission from Lord Beresford; but it would be really fun to surprise
+some of my school-fellows and comrades, so if you think that it will not
+be inconvenient I should like very much to go."
+
+"Then if I were you I should start at once. I will give you a sort of
+formal letter of leave in case you are questioned as you go down. You can
+get to Santarem to-night and to Lisbon to-morrow afternoon."
+
+"Is there anything that I can do for you?"
+
+"Yes; I wish you would ask Don Jose if he will, through his friends at
+Oporto, find out whether my cousin's mother was there at the time the
+French entered, and if she was, whether she got through that horrible
+business unhurt. I have been hearing about it from my friends, who were a
+couple of days there before the force marched to Braga. They tell me that,
+by all accounts, the business was even worse than we feared. The French
+came upon some of their comrades tied to posts in the great square,
+horribly mutilated, some of them with their eyes put out, still living,
+and after that they spared no one; and upon my word, I can hardly blame
+them, and in fact don't blame them at all, so long as they only  their
+vengeance on men. The people made it worse for themselves by keeping up a
+desultory fire from windows and housetops when resistance had long ceased
+to be of any use; and, of course, seeing their comrades shot down in this
+way infuriated the troops still further.
+
+"I don't suppose it will make the slightest difference in the world to my
+cousin whether her mother is dead or not, for I fancy from what Mary said
+that her mother never cared for her in the slightest. Possibly she was
+jealous that the child had the first place in the father's affections.
+However that may be, there was certainly no great love between them, and
+of course her subsequent treatment of my cousin destroyed any affection
+that might have existed. That either by some deed executed at the time of
+marriage, or by Portuguese law, Mary has a right to the estate at her
+mother's death, is clear from the efforts they made to get her to renounce
+that right. Still, there is no more chance of her ever inheriting it than
+there would be of her flying. As a nun she would naturally have to
+renounce all property, and no doubt the law of this priest-ridden country
+would decide that she had done so. She tells me--and I am sure,
+truly--that she refused to open her lips to say a single word when she was
+forced to go through the ceremony; but as, no doubt, a score of witnesses
+would be brought forward to swear that she answered all the usual
+questions and renounced all worldly possessions, that denial would go for
+nothing."
+
+"Besides," Herrara said, "it would never do for her to set foot in
+Portugal. She would be seized as an escaped nun immediately, and would
+never be heard of again."
+
+"I have no doubt that that would be so, Herrara; and as she has a nice
+fortune from her father, you may be sure that she will not trouble about
+the estates here, and her mother would be welcome to do as she likes with
+them, which is, after all, not unreasonable, as they are her property and
+descended to her from her father. Still, I should be glad to learn, if it
+does not give any great trouble, whether if, as is almost certain--for the
+people from all the country round took refuge there long before the French
+arrived--she was in Oporto, and if so, whether she got through the sack of
+the town unharmed. No doubt Mary would be glad to hear."
+
+"I am sure Don Jose would be able to find out for you without any
+difficulty," Herrara said; "indeed I expect he will soon be going back
+there himself. Now that there is a British garrison in the town, that the
+bishop must be utterly discredited there, and a good many of his Junta
+must have been killed, while the rabble of the town has been thoroughly
+discomfited, the place will be more comfortable to live in than it has
+been for a long time past. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
+
+"Nothing whatever."
+
+A quarter of an hour later Herrara left for Lisbon, bearing many messages
+of kind regards on Terence's part to Don Jose and his family. Terence's
+last words were:
+
+"By the way, Herrara, if you should be able to find at any store in Lisbon
+some Irish whisky, I wish you would get six dozen cases for me, or what
+would be more handy, a sixteen or eighteen gallon keg, and could get it
+sent on by some cart coming here, I should be very much obliged. It had
+better be sent to me, care of Colonel Corcoran, Mayo Fusiliers, Abrantes.
+I should like to be able to give a glass to my friends when they ride out
+to see me. But have the barrel or cases sewn up in canvas before the
+address is put on; I would not trust it to the escort of any British guard
+if they were aware of the nature of the contents. Wine would be safe with
+them, for they can get that anywhere, but it would be too much for the
+honesty of any Irishman if he were to see a cask labelled Irish whisky."
+
+A week later Colonel Corcoran said when Terence rode in:
+
+"By the bye, O'Connor, there is a cask of wine for you at my quarters; it
+was brought up by an ammunition train this morning. The officer said that
+a Portuguese colonel had begged him so earnestly to bring it up that he
+could not refuse."
+
+ "It was Herrara, no doubt, Colonel; he has gone down to Lisbon for a
+week."
+
+"Ah! I suppose he sent you a keg of choice wine."
+
+"You shall taste it next time you come out, Colonel. I have been wishing
+that I had something better than the ordinary wine of the country to offer
+when you come over to see me. I will send over a couple of men with a cart
+in the morning to bring it out to me."
+
+On leaving that evening Terence invited all the officers who could get
+away from duty to come over to lunch the next day.
+
+"Bring your knives and forks with you," he said; "and I think you had
+better bring your plates, too; I fancy four are all I can muster."
+
+Early next morning Terence told Bull and Macwitty that he expected a dozen
+officers out to lunch with him. "And I want you to lunch with me too. I
+know that Captain O'Grady and others have asked you several times to go in
+and dine at mess, and that you have not gone. I hope to-day you will meet
+them at luncheon. I can understand that you feel a little uncomfortable at
+this first meeting with a lot of officers as officers yourselves; but, of
+course, you must do it sooner or later, and it would be much better doing
+so at once.
+
+"The next thing is, what can I give them to eat? I should be glad if you
+will send out a dozen foraging parties in different directions; there must
+be little villages scattered among the hills that have so far escaped
+French and English plunderers. Let each party take four or five dollars
+with them. I want anything that can be got, but my idea is a couple of
+young kids, three or four ducks, or a couple of geese, as many chickens,
+and of course any vegetables that you can get hold of. My man Sancho is a
+capital cook, and he will get fires ready and two or three assistants.
+They will be here by one o'clock, so the foraging parties had better
+return by ten."
+
+"If there is anything to be brought you shall have it, Colonel," Bull
+said; "Macwitty and I will both go ourselves, and we will get half a dozen
+of the captains to go too; between us it is hard if we don't manage to get
+enough."
+
+By ten o'clock the officers rode in, almost every one of them having some
+sort of bird or beast hanging from his saddle-bow; there were two kids, a
+sucking pig, two hares, half a dozen chickens, three geese, and five
+ducks, while the nets which they carried for forage for their horses were
+filled with vegetables. Half a dozen fires had already been lighted, and
+Sancho had obtained as many assistants, so that by the time the colonel
+and fifteen officers rode up lunch was ready.
+
+After chatting for a few minutes with them, Terence led the way to a rough
+table that was placed under the shade of a tree. Ammunition boxes were
+arranged along for seats. Although but a portion of what had been brought
+in had been cooked, the effect of the table was imposing.
+
+"Why, O'Connor," the colonel said, "have you got one of the genii, like
+Aladdin, and ordered him to bring up a banquet for you? I have not seen a
+winged thing since we marched from Coimbra, and here you have got all the
+luxuries of the season. No wonder you like independent action, if this is
+what comes of it; there have we been feeding on tough ration beef, and
+here are the contents of a whole farmyard."
+
+Almost all the officers had been out before, and Bull and Macwitty had
+been introduced to them. They now all sat down to the meal.
+
+"I am sorry Major O'Driscol is not here," Terence said.
+
+"He could not get away," the colonel said, from the other end of the
+table. "If the general had come round and there hadn't been a
+field-officer left to meet him there would have been a row over it. I have
+brought pretty nearly all the officers with me, and I dared not stretch it
+further."
+
+"O'Grady," Terence said, "I wish you would carve this hare for me, I have
+no idea how it ought to be cut. I can manage a chicken, or a duck, but
+this is beyond me altogether."
+
+"I will do it gladly, Terence; faith, it is a comfort to find that there
+is something you can't do." And so, with much laughter and fun, the meal
+was eaten.
+
+"You have not told us yet where you got all these provisions, O'Connor,"
+the colonel said; "it is too bad to keep all the good things to yourself."
+
+"It has been the work of eight officers, Colonel; they rode off this
+morning in different directions among the hills, and there was not one of
+them who returned empty-handed."
+
+"The wine is fairly good," the colonel said, as he set down his tin mug
+after a long draught, "but it was scarce worth sending all the way up from
+Lisbon."
+
+"That has to follow, Colonel; I thought you would appreciate it better
+after you had done eating."
+
+"I have not had such a male since we left Athlone," O'Grady said, when at
+last he reluctantly laid down his knife and fork. "Be jabers, it would be
+all up with me if the French were to put in an appearance now, for faith I
+don't think I could run a yard to save me life."
+
+The tin mugs were all taken away and washed when the table was cleared.
+
+"You are mighty particular, O'Connor," the colonel said.
+
+"One mug is good enough for us. If we liquored-up a dozen times--which, by
+the way, we never do--one of these wines is pretty well like another, and
+if there was a slight difference it would not matter."
+
+When the board was cleared a large jug was placed before Terence, and some
+water-bottles at various points of the table.
+
+"I thought, Colonel, that you might prefer spirits even to the wine,"
+Terence said.
+
+"And you are right, O'Connor. A good glass of wine after a good dinner is
+no bad thing, but after such a meal as we have eaten I think that even
+this bastely spirit of theirs--which, after all, is not so bad when you
+get accustomed to it--is better than wine; it settles matters a bit."
+
+Terence poured some of the spirit from a jug into his tin and filled it up
+with water. "Help yourself," he said, passing the jug to O'Grady, who sat
+next to him.
+
+O'Grady was about to do so when he suddenly set the jug down.
+
+"By the powers," he exclaimed, in astonishment, "but it is the real
+cratur!"
+
+"Go on, O'Grady, go on, the others are all waiting while you are looking
+at it. If you feel too surprised to take it, pass the jug on."
+
+O'Grady grasped it. "I will defind it wid me life!" he exclaimed. In the
+meantime the colonel had filled his mug.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, solemnly, after raising it to his lips, "O'Grady is
+right; it is Irish whisky, and good at that."
+
+"It is a cruel trick you've played on us," O'Grady said, with a sigh, as
+he replaced the empty mug upon the table. "I had almost forgotten the
+taste, and had come to take kindly to the stuff here. Now I shall have to
+go through it all again. It is like holding the cup to the lips of that
+old heathen Tartarus, and taking it away again."
+
+"Tantalus, O'Grady."
+
+"Och, what does it matter, when he has been dead and buried thousands of
+years, how he spilt his name. Where did you get it from, Terence?"
+
+"I asked Herrara to try and find some for me at Lisbon; I thought it was
+most likely that some English merchant there would have laid in a stock,
+and it seems that he has found one."
+
+"Do you hear that, Colonel? There is whisky to be had at Lisbon, and us
+not know it."
+
+"Well, Captain O'Grady, all I can say is that I shall at dinner this
+evening move a vote of censure upon you as mess president for not having
+discovered the fact before."
+
+"Don't talk of dinner, Colonel; there is not one of us could think of
+sitting down to ration beef after such a male as we have had--and with
+whisky here, too! I move, Colonel, that no further mintion be made of
+dinner. I have no doubt that Terence will give us some divilled
+bones--there is as much left on the table as we have eaten--before we
+start home to-night."
+
+"I will do that with pleasure. In fact, it is exactly what I reckoned
+upon," Terence replied.
+
+"I think, O'Grady, we must send to Lisbon for some of this."
+
+"Is it only think, Colonel? Faith, I would go down for it myself, if I had
+to walk with pays in my boots and to carry it back on me shoulders. Can I
+find Herrara there?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, I can give you the address where he will be found."
+
+"Anyhow, Colonel," O'Flaherty said, "I must--and I'm sure all present will
+join me in the matter--protest against Captain O'Grady going down to
+Lisbon to fetch whisky for the mess. You must know, sir, as well as I do,
+that he would never return again, and we should probably hear some day
+that his body had been found by the side of the road with three or four
+empty kegs beside him."
+
+There was a general burst of agreement.
+
+"Perhaps, Doctor O'Flaherty," O'Grady said, in a tone of withering
+sarcasm, "it's yourself who would like to be the messenger."
+
+"There might be a worse one," O'Flaherty said, calmly; "but as I believe
+that Captain Hall is going down on a week's leave to-morrow, I propose
+that he, being an Englishman, and therefore more trustworthy than any
+Irish member of the mess would be on such a mission, be requested to
+purchase some for the use of the mess, and to escort it back again. How
+much shall I say, Colonel?"
+
+"That is a grave matter, and not to be answered hastily, Doctor. Let me
+see, there are thirty-two officers with the regiment. Now, what would you
+say would be a fair allowance per day for each man?"
+
+"I should say half a bottle, Colonel. There are some of them won't take as
+much, but O'Grady will square matters up."
+
+"I protest against the insinuation," O'Grady said, rising; "and, moreover,
+I would observe, that it is mighty little would be left for me after each
+man had taken his whack."
+
+"That is sixteen bottles a day. For a continuance I should consider that
+too much; but seeing that we have been out of dacent liquor for a month,
+and may have but a fortnight after it arrives to make up for lost time, we
+will say sixteen bottles."
+
+"Make it three gallons," O'Grady said, persuasively; "we shall be having
+lots of men drop in when it gets known that we have got a supply."
+
+"There is something in that, O'Grady. Well, we will say three
+gallons--that is, forty-two gallons for a fortnight. We will commission
+Captain Hall to bring back that quantity."
+
+"If you say forty-five, Colonel, it will give us a drop in our flasks to
+start with, and we are as likely to be fifteen days as fourteen, anyway."
+
+"Let it be forty-five then," the colonel assented. "Will you undertake
+that, Captain Hall?"
+
+"Willingly, Colonel. I will get the whisky emptied into wine casks, and as
+I know one of the chief commissaries at Lisbon, I can get it brought up
+with the wine for the troops."
+
+After sitting for a couple of hours, the colonel proposed that they should
+all go for a walk, while those who preferred it should take a nap in the
+shade.
+
+"I move, O'Connor," he said, "that this meeting be adjourned until
+sunset."
+
+"I think that will be a very good plan, Colonel."
+
+The proposal was carried out. O'Grady and a few others declared that they
+should prefer a nap. The rest started on foot, and sauntered about in the
+shade of the wood for a couple of hours, then all gathered at the table
+again. At eight o'clock grilled joints of fowls and ducks were put upon
+the table, and at nine all mounted and rode back to Abrantes.
+
+"How many of those quart jugs have been filled, Sancho?"
+
+"Eight, sir."
+
+"That is not so bad," Terence said to Macwitty. "That is twelve bottles;
+and as there were sixteen and our three selves, that is only about two
+bottles between three men."
+
+"I call that vera moderate under the circumstances, Colonel," Macwitty
+said, gravely. "I have drank more myself many a time."
+
+"They were a good many hours over it too," Terence added; "you may say it
+was two sittings. You will see that we shall have a great many callers
+from the camp for the next few days."
+
+A fortnight later Terence received a letter from Don Jose, saying that he
+had heard from his friend at Oporto, and that they informed him that the
+Senora Johanna O'Connor had been killed at the sack of Oporto. She had
+left her own house and taken refuge at the bishop's. That place had been
+defended to the last, and when the infuriated French broke in, all within
+its walls had been killed.
+
+Terence was not altogether sorry to hear the news. The woman had been a
+party to the cruel imprisonment of Mary. No doubt his cousin would feel
+her death, but her grief could not be very deep; and it was, he thought,
+just as well for her that her connection with Portugal should be
+altogether severed. Her mother might have endeavoured to tempt her to
+return there; and although he felt sure that she would not succeed in
+this, she might at least have caused some trouble, and it was better that
+there should be an end of it. As to the woman herself, she had been in
+agreement with the bishop, had been mixed up in his intrigues, and her
+death was caused by her misplaced confidence in him. Of course she had not
+known that he had left the town, and thought that under his protection she
+would be safe in the palace.
+
+"She must have been a bad lot," he said to himself.
+
+"Evidently she did not make her husband happy, and persecuted her
+daughter, and I regret her death no more than any other of the ten
+thousand people who fell in Oporto."
+
+A few days later he received letters both from his father and Mary. Being
+under eighteen he opened the former first.
+
+_My Dear Terence,_
+
+_I have heard all about you and your doings from Mary, and I am proud of
+you. It is grand satisfaction that you should have won your lieutenancy,
+and that you should be on the general's staff; as to your being a colonel,
+although only a Portuguese one, it is simply astounding. I don't care so
+much about the rank, for the Portuguese officers are poor creatures, not
+one in fifty of them knows anything of his duty; but what I do value is
+your independent command. That will give you opportunities for
+distinguishing yourself that can never fall in the way of a subaltern of
+the line, and I fancy, now that you have got Wellesley at the head, there
+will be plenty of such opportunities._
+
+_I was delighted, as you may guess, when I got Mary's letter from London. I
+had just settled at the old house, and mighty lonely I felt with no one to
+speak to, and the wind whistling in at the broken windows, and the whole
+place in confusion. So putting aside Mary, I was glad enough to have some
+excuse for running away. I took the next coach for Dublin; found, by good
+luck, a packet just sailing for London; and got there a week later. She is
+a nice girl and a pretty one; but I suppose I need not tell you that. I
+told her it was a poor place I was going to take her to, but she would be
+as welcome as the flowers in May; but she only laughed and said, that
+after being shut up for a year in a single room, and having nothing but
+bread and water, it would not matter a pin to her what it was like._
+
+_She was in a grand house, and Mrs. Nelson insisted on my putting up there.
+We stopped three days and then we took ship to Cork. We had to prove that
+the money lying there belonged to me; that is to say, that I was the
+person in whose name it had been put. I had all sort of botheration about
+it, but luckily I knew the colonel of the regiment there, and he went to
+the bank with me and testified. Then we came down here, and Mary hadn't
+been here a day before she began to spend money. I said I would not allow
+it; and she said I could not help it, the money was her own, and she could
+spend it as she liked, which was true enough; and at present the place is
+more topsy-turvy than ever._
+
+_I won't have anything to do with giving orders, but she has got a score of
+masons and carpenters over from Athlone, and she is turning the old place
+upside down. I sha'n't know it myself when she has done with it. There is
+not a place fit to sit down in, and we are living for the time at the inn
+at Kilnally, three miles away, and drive backwards and forwards to the
+house. Except that we quarrel over that, we get on first-rate together.
+She is never tired of talking about you, and when I hinted one day that it
+was ridiculous your being made a colonel, she spurred up like a young
+bantam, and more than hinted that if you had been appointed
+commander-in-chief instead of Sir Arthur it would not have been beyond
+your deserts._
+
+_My wound hurts me a bit sometimes, but I am able to get about all right,
+and the surgeon says in a few months I shall be able to walk as straight
+as anyone. And so, good-bye. I don't think I ever wrote such a long letter
+before, and as Mary will be telling you everything, I don't suppose I
+shall ever write such a long one again._
+
+Terence laughed as he put the letter down and opened one from his cousin.
+
+_Dear Cousin Terence,_
+
+_Here I am with your father as happy as a bird, and as free. I sing about
+the place all day, my heart is so light, and should be perfectly happy
+were it not that I am afraid that you will be fighting again soon, and
+then I shall be very anxious about you. Your father is just what I thought
+he would be from what I know of you. He is as kind as if he was my own
+father, and reminds me of him. You told me it was a tumbledown old place,
+and it is. When we came it was only fit for owls to live in, so, of
+course, I set to work at once. Your father was very foolish about it, but,
+of course, I had my way. What is the use of having money and living in an
+owl's nest? So I have set a lot of men to work._
+
+_Your father won't interfere with it one way or the other. I had a builder
+down, he shook his head over it and said that it would be cheaper to pull
+it down and build a new one; but as it was an old family house I could not
+do that. However, between ourselves, I don't think there will be much of
+the old one left by the time we have finished. It looks awful at present.
+I am building a new wall against the old one, so that it will look just
+the same, only it will be new. The windows are going to be made bigger,
+and there will be a new roof put on. Inside it will all have to come down,
+all the woodwork was so rotten that it was dangerous to walk upstairs. It
+is great fun looking after the workmen. And though your father does keep
+on grumbling and saying that I am destroying the old place, I don't think
+he really minds._
+
+_As I tell him, one could live in a house without windows nine months in
+the year in Portugal, but it is not so in Ireland. One wants comfort,
+Terence; and, as I have plenty of money, I don't see why we should not
+have it. You can sleep on the ground, and go from morning till night in
+wet clothes, when you are on a campaign, but that is no reason why you
+should do it at other times. The weather is fine here now, at least your
+father says it is fine, and I want to get everything pushed on and
+finished before it changes to what even he will admit is wet. The people
+here seem all very nice and pleasant. They are delighted at having your
+father back again. I drive about with him a great deal, and we call upon
+the neighbours, who all seem very pleased that the house is going to be
+occupied again._
+
+_The poor people seem very poor. I don't know that they are poorer than
+they are in Portugal, but I think they look poorer; but they don't seem to
+mind much. I have made great friends with most of the children already,
+and always go about with a large bag of sweetmeats in what your father
+calls "the trap." I think of you very often, Terence, and your father and
+I generally talk about you all the evening. By what he says you must have
+been a very naughty boy, indeed, before you became a soldier. Do take care
+of yourself. We shall be very, very anxious about you as soon as we hear
+that fighting has begun again. I hope you think very often of your very
+loving cousin,                        MARY O'CONNOR._
+
+"She will do a world of good to my father," Terence said to himself as he
+put down the letters. "After being so long in the regiment he would have
+felt being alone in that old place horribly, especially as it has, of
+course, been a terrible trial to him to be laid aside just as a big
+campaign is beginning. She will keep him alive, and he won't have any time
+to mope. Even if for no other reason, it is a lucky thing indeed that I
+was able to get Mary out. I sha'n't feel a bit anxious about him now."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of With Moore at Corunna, by G. A. Henty
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of With Moore At Corunna, by G. A. Henty
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
+copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
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+
+Title: With Moore At Corunna
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Release Date: August, 2005  [EBook #8651]
+[This file was first posted on July 29, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA ***
+
+
+
+
+E-text prepared by Ted Garvin, S.R.Ellison, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
+
+BY
+
+G. A. HENTY
+
+Author of "With Cochrane the Dauntless," "A Knight of the White Cross,"
+"In Freedom's Cause," "St. Bartholomew's Eve," "Wulf the Saxon," etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE FINDS THAT THE _SEA-HORSE__ HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED
+BETWEEN-DECKS.]
+
+
+
+
+WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS BY WAL PAGET
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+From the termination of the campaigns of Marlborough--at which time the
+British army won for itself a reputation rivalled by that of no other in
+Europe--to the year when the despatch of a small army under Sir Arthur
+Wellesley marked the beginning of another series of British victories as
+brilliant and as unbroken as those of that great commander, the opinion
+had gained ground in Europe that the British had lost their military
+virtues, and that, although undoubtedly powerful at sea, they could have
+henceforth but little influence in European affairs. It is singular that
+the revival of Britain's activity began under a Government which was one
+of the most incapable that ever controlled the affairs of the country. Had
+their deliberate purpose been to render nugatory the expedition
+which--after innumerable vacillations and changes of purpose--they
+despatched to Portugal, they could hardly have acted otherwise than they
+did.
+
+Their agents in the Peninsula were men singularly unfitted for the
+position. Then the Government divided the commands among their generals
+and admirals, sending to each absolutely contradictory orders, and when at
+last they brought themselves to appoint one to the supreme command, they
+changed that commander six times in the course of a year. While lavishing
+enormous sums of money, arms, clothing, and materials of war upon the
+Spaniards, who wasted or pocketed them, they kept their own army
+unsupplied with money, transport, or clothes. Unsupported by the home
+authorities, the British commanders had yet to struggle with the
+faithlessness, mendacity, and inertness of the Portuguese and Spanish
+authorities, and were hampered with obstacles such as never beset a
+British commander before. Still, in spite of this, British genius and
+valour triumphed over all difficulties, and Wellesley delivered Lisbon and
+compelled the French army to surrender.
+
+Then again, Moore, by his marvellous march, checked the course of victory
+of Napoleon and saved Spain for a time. Cradock organized an army, and
+Wellesley hurled back Soult's invasion of the north, and drove his army, a
+dispirited and worn-out mass of fugitives, across the frontier, and in
+less than a year from the commencement of the campaign carried the war
+into Spain. So far I have endeavoured to sketch the course of these events
+in the present volume. But the whole course of the Peninsular War was far
+too long to be condensed in a single book, except in the form of history
+pure and simple; therefore, I have been obliged to divide it into two
+volumes; and I propose next year to follow up the adventures of my present
+hero, who had the good fortune, with Trant, Wilson, and other British
+officers, to attain the command of a body of native irregulars, acting in
+connection with the movements of the British army.
+
+Yours sincerely,
+
+G. A. HENTY.
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAP.
+
+    I. THE MAYO FUSILIERS
+
+   II. TWO DANGERS
+
+  III. DISEMBARKED
+
+   IV. UNDER CANVAS
+
+    V. ROLICA AND VIMIERA
+
+   VI. A PAUSE
+
+  VII. THE ADVANCE
+
+ VIII. A FALSE ALARM
+
+   IX. THE RETREAT
+
+    X. CORUNNA
+
+   XI. AN ESCAPE
+
+  XII. A DANGEROUS MISSION
+
+ XIII. AN AWKWARD POSITION
+
+  XIV. AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND
+
+   XV. THE FIRST SKIRMISH
+
+  XVI. IN THE PASSES
+
+ XVII. AN ESCAPE
+
+XVIII. MARY O'CONNOR
+
+  XIX. CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
+
+   XX. WITH THE MAYOS
+
+  XXI. PORTUGAL FREED
+
+ XXII. NEWS FROM HOME
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+TERENCE FINDS THAT THE _SEA-HORSE__ HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED BETWEEN-DECKS
+
+TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE _SEA-HORSE__
+
+"I SHOULD NOT HAVE MINDED BEING HIT, FATHER, IF YOU HAD ESCAPED"
+
+"I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL"
+
+"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE?... WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM OUT OF THEIR
+BOOTS IN NO TIME"
+
+"POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM AT TORRES
+VEDRAS"
+
+TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN CRADOCK
+
+"IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION," SAID CORTINGOS
+
+"THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE MET WITH HEAVY
+VOLLEYS"
+
+"MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH HIS PISTOLS"
+
+TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR
+
+"WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR ASKED, SHARPLY
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Sketch Map of NORTHERN PORTUGAL.]
+
+
+
+WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE MAYO FUSILIERS
+
+"What am I to do with you, Terence? It bothers me entirely; there is not a
+soul who will take you, and if anyone would do so, you would wear out his
+patience before a week's end; there is not a dog in the regiment that does
+not put his tail between his legs and run for his bare life if he sees
+you; and as for the colonel, he told me only the other day that he had so
+many complaints against you, that he was fairly worn out with them."
+
+"That was only his way, father; the colonel likes a joke as well as any of
+them."
+
+"Yes, when it is not played on himself; but you haven't even the sense to
+respect persons, and it is well for you that he could not prove that it
+was you who fastened the sparrow to the plume of feathers on his shako the
+other day, and no one noticed it till the little baste began to flutter
+just as he came on to parade, and nigh choked us all with trying to hold
+in our laughter, while the colonel was nearly suffocated with passion. It
+was lucky you were able to prove that you had gone off at daylight
+fishing, and that no one had seen you anywhere near his quarters. By my
+faith, if he could have proved it was you he would have had you turned out
+of the barrack gate, and word given to the sentries that you were not to
+be allowed to pass in again."
+
+"I could have got over the wall, father," the boy said, calmly; "but mind,
+I never said that it was I who fastened the sparrow in his shako."
+
+"Because I never asked you, Terence; but it does not need the asking. What
+I am to do with you I don't know. Your Uncle Tim would not take you if I
+were to go down upon my knees to him. You were always in his bad books,
+and you finished it when you fired off that blunderbuss in his garden as
+he was passing along in the twilight, and yelled out 'Death to the
+Protestants!'"
+
+The boy burst into a fit of laughter. "How could I tell that he was going
+to fall flat upon the ground and shout a million murders, when I fired
+straight into the air?"
+
+"Well, you did for yourself there, Terence. Not that the old man would
+ever have taken to you, for he never forgave my marriage with his niece;
+still, he might have left you some money some day, seeing that there is no
+one nearer to him, and it would have come in mighty useful, for you are
+not likely to get much from me. But we are no nearer the point yet. What
+am I to do with you at all? Here is the regiment ordered on foreign
+service and likely to have sharp work, and not a place where I can stow
+you. It beats me altogether!"
+
+"Why not take me with you, father?"
+
+"I have thought of that, but you are too young entirely."
+
+"I am nearly sixteen, father. I am sure I am as tall as many boys of
+seventeen, and as strong too. Why should I not go? I am certain I could
+stand roughing it as well as Dick Ryan, who is a good bit over sixteen.
+Could I not go as a volunteer? Or I might enlist; the doctor would pass me
+quick enough."
+
+"O'Flaherty would pass you if you were a baby in arms; he is as full of
+mischief as you are, and has not much more discretion; but you could not
+carry a musket, full cartridge-box, and kit for a long day's march."
+
+"I can carry a gun through a long day's shooting, dad; but you might make
+me your soldier servant."
+
+"Bedad, I should fare mighty badly, Terence; still as I don't see anything
+else for you, I must try and take you somehow, even if you have to go as a
+drummer. I will talk it over with the colonel, though I doubt whether he
+has forgotten that sparrow yet."
+
+"He would not bear malice, dad, even if he were sure that it was me--which
+he cannot be."
+
+The speaker was Captain O'Connor of his Majesty's regiment of Mayo
+Fusiliers, now under orders to proceed to Portugal to form part of the
+force that was being despatched under Sir Arthur Wellesley to assist the
+Portuguese in resisting the advance of the French. He was a widower, and
+Terence was his only child. The boy had been brought up in the, regiment.
+His mother had died when he was nine years old, and Terence had been
+allowed by his father to run pretty nearly wild. He picked up a certain
+amount of education, for he was as sharp at lessons as at most other
+things. His mother had taught him to read and write, and the officers and
+their wives were always ready to lend him books; and as, during the hours
+when drill and exercise were going on, he had plenty of time to himself,
+he had got through a very large amount of desultory reading, and, having a
+retentive memory, knew quite as much as most lads of his age, although the
+knowledge was of a much more irregular kind.
+
+He was a general favourite among the officers and men of the regiment,
+though his tricks got him into frequent scrapes, and more than one
+prophesied that his eventual fate was likely to be hanging. He was great
+at making acquaintances among the country people, and knew the exact spot
+where the best fishing could be had for miles round; he had also been
+given leave to shoot on many of the estates in the neighbourhood.
+
+His father had, from the first, absolutely forbidden him to associate with
+the drummer boys.
+
+"I don't mind your going into the men's quarters," he said, "you will come
+to no harm there, but among the boys you might get into bad habits; some
+of them are thorough young scamps. With the men you would always be one of
+their officers' sons, while with the boys you would soon become a mere
+playmate."
+
+As he grew older, Terence, being a son of one of the senior officers,
+became a companion of the ensigns, and one or other of them generally
+accompanied him on his fishing excursions, and were not unfrequently
+participators in his escapades, several of which were directed against the
+tranquillity of the inhabitants of Athlone. One night the bells of the
+three churches had been rung simultaneously and violently, and the idea
+that either the town was in flames, or that the French had landed, or that
+the whole country was up in arms, brought all the inhabitants to their
+doors in a state of violent excitement and scanty attire. No clew was ever
+obtained as to the author of this outrage, nor was anyone able to discover
+the origin of the rumour that circulated through the town, that a large
+amount of gunpowder had been stored in some house or other in the
+market-place, and that on a certain night half the town would be blown
+into the air.
+
+So circumstantial were the details that a deputation waited on Colonel
+Corcoran, and a strong search-party was sent down to examine the cellars
+of all the houses in the market-place and for some distance round. These
+and some similar occurrences had much alarmed the good people of Athlone,
+and it was certain that more than one person must have been concerned in
+them.
+
+"I have come, Colonel," Captain O'Connor said, when he called upon his
+commanding officer, "to speak to you about Terence."
+
+The colonel smiled grimly. "It is a comfort to think that we are going to
+get rid of him, O'Connor; he is enough to demoralize a whole brigade, to
+say nothing of a battalion, and the worst of it is he respects no one. I
+am as convinced as can be that it was he who fastened that baste of a bird
+in my shako the other day, and made me the laughing stock of the whole
+regiment on parade. Faith, I could not for the life of me make out what
+was the matter, there was a tugging and a jumping and a fluttering
+overhead, and I thought the shako was going to fly away. It fairly gave me
+a scare, for I thought the shako had gone mad, and that the divil was in
+it. I have often overlooked his tricks for your sake, but when it comes to
+his commanding officer, it is too serious altogether."
+
+"Well, you see, Colonel, the lad proved clearly enough that he was out of
+the way at the time; and besides, you know he has given you many a hearty
+laugh."
+
+"He has that," the colonel admitted.
+
+"And, moreover," Captain O'Connor went on, "even if he did do this, which
+I don't know, for I never asked him" ("Trust you for that," the colonel
+muttered), "you are not his commanding officer, though you are mine, and
+that is the matter that I came to speak to you about. You see there is no
+one in whose charge I can leave him, and the lad wants to go with us; he
+would enlist as a drummer, if he could go no other way, and when he got
+out there I should get the adjutant to tell him off as my soldier
+servant."
+
+"It would not do, O'Connor," the colonel laughed.
+
+"Then I thought, Colonel, that possibly he might go as a volunteer--most
+regiments take out one or two young fellows, who have not interest enough
+to obtain a commission."
+
+"He is too young, O'Connor; besides, the boy is enough to corrupt a whole
+regiment; he has made half the lads as wild as he is himself. Sure you can
+never be after asking me to saddle the regiment with him, now that there
+is a good chance of getting quit of him altogether."
+
+"I think that he would not be so bad when we are out there, Colonel; it is
+just because he has nothing to do that he gets into mischief. With plenty
+of hard work and other things to think of I don't believe that he would be
+any trouble."
+
+"Do you think that you can answer for him, O'Connor?"
+
+"Indeed and I cannot," the captain laughed; "but I will answer for it that
+he will not joke with you, Colonel. The lad is really steady enough, and I
+am sure that if he were in the regiment he would not dream of playing
+tricks with his commanding officer, whatever else he might do."
+
+"That goes a long way towards removing my objection," the colonel said,
+with a twinkle in his eye; "but he is too young for a volunteer--a
+volunteer is the sort of man to be the first to climb a breach, or to risk
+his life in some desperate enterprise, so as to win a commission. But
+there is another way. I had a letter yesterday from the Horse Guards,
+saying that as I am two ensigns short, they had appointed one who will
+join us at Cork, and that they gave me the right of nominating another. I
+own that Terence occurred to me, but sixteen is the youngest limit of age,
+and he must be certified and all that by the doctor. Now Daly is away on
+leave, and is to join us at Cork; but O'Flaherty would do; still, I don't
+know how he would get over the difficulty about the age."
+
+"Trust him for that. I am indeed obliged to you, Colonel."
+
+"Don't say anything about it, O'Connor; if we had been going to stay at
+home I don't think that I could have brought myself to take him into the
+regiment, but as we are going on service he won't have much opportunity
+for mischief, and even if he does let out a little--not at my expense, you
+know--a laugh does the men good when they are wet through and their
+stomachs are empty." He rang a bell. "Orderly, tell the adjutant and
+Doctor O'Flaherty that I wish to see them. Mr. Cleary," he went on, as
+soon as the former entered, "I have been requested by the Horse Guards to
+nominate an ensign, so as to fill up our ranks before starting, and I have
+determined to give the appointment to Terence O'Connor."
+
+"Very well, sir, I am glad to hear it; he is a favourite with us all, but
+I am afraid that he is under age."
+
+"Is there any regular form to be filled up?"
+
+"None that I know of in the case of officers, sir. I fancy they pass some
+sort of medical examination at the Horse Guards, but, of course, in this
+case it would be impossible. Still, I should say that, in writing to state
+that you have nominated him, it would be better to send a medical
+certificate, and certainly it ought to be mentioned that he is of the
+right age."
+
+At this moment the assistant-surgeon entered. "Doctor O'Flaherty," the
+colonel said, "I wish you to write a certificate to the effect that
+Terence O'Connor is physically fit to take part in a campaign as an
+officer."
+
+"I can do that, Colonel, without difficulty; he is as fit as a fiddle, and
+can march half the regiment off their legs."
+
+"Yes, I know that, but there is one difficulty, Doctor, he is under the
+regulation age."
+
+O'Flaherty thought for a moment and then sat down at the table, and taking
+a sheet of paper, be began:
+
+_I certify that Terence O' Connor is going on for seventeen years of
+age, he is five feet eight in height, thirty-four inches round the
+chest, is active, and fully capable of the performance of his duties
+as an officer either at home or abroad.__
+
+Then he added another line and signed his name.
+
+"As a member of a learned profession, Colonel," he said, gravely, "I would
+scorn to tell a lie even for the son of Captain O'Connor;" and he passed
+the paper across to him.
+
+The colonel looked grave, and Captain O'Connor disappointed. He was
+reassured, however, when his commanding officer broke into a laugh.
+
+"That will do well, O'Flaherty," he said; "I thought that you would find
+some way of getting us out of the difficulty."
+
+"I have told the strict truth, Colonel," the doctor said, gravely. "I have
+certified that Terence O'Connor is going on for seventeen; I defy any man
+to say that he is not. He will get there one of these days, if a French
+bullet does not stop him on the way, a contingency that it is needless for
+me to mention."
+
+"I suppose that it is not strictly regular to omit the date of his birth,"
+the colonel said; "but just at present I expect they are not very
+particular. I suppose that that will do, Mr. Cleary?"
+
+"I think that you can countersign that, Colonel," the adjutant said, with
+a laugh. "The Horse Guards do not move very rapidly, and by the time that
+letter gets to London we may be on board ship, and they would hardly
+bother to send a letter for further particulars to us in Spain, but will
+no doubt gazette him at once. The fact, too--which of course you will
+mention--that he is the son of the senior captain of your regiment, will
+in itself render them less likely to bother about the matter."
+
+"Well, just write out the letter of nomination, Cleary; I am a mighty bad
+hand at doing things neatly."
+
+The adjutant drew a sheet of foolscap to him and wrote:--
+
+_To the Adjutant-general, Horse Guards,
+
+Sir, I have the honour to inform you that, in accordance with the
+privilege granted to me in your communication of--__
+
+and he looked at the colonel.
+
+"The 14th inst.," the latter said, after consulting the letter.
+
+_--I beg to nominate as an ensign in this regiment, Terence O'
+Connor, the son of Captain Lawrence O' Connor, its senior captain. I
+inclose certificate of Assistant-surgeon O' Flaherty,--the surgeon
+being at present absent on leave--certifying to his physical fitness
+for a commission in his Majesty's service. Mr. O' Connor having been
+brought up from childhood in the regiment is already perfectly
+acquainted with the work, and will therefore be able to take up his
+duties without difficulty. This fact has had some influence in my
+choice, as a young officer who had to be taught all his duties would
+have been of no use for service in the field for a considerable time
+after landing in Portugal. Relying on the nomination being approved
+by the commander-in-chief, I shall at once put him on the staff of
+the regiment for foreign service, as there will be no time to wait
+your reply.
+
+I have the honour to be
+
+Your humble, obedient servant,__
+
+Then he left a space, and added:
+
+_Colonel Mayo Fusiliers.__
+
+"Now, if you will sign it, Colonel, the matter will be complete, and I
+will send it off with O'Flaherty's certificate today."
+
+"That is a good stroke, Cleary," the colonel said, as he read it aloud.
+"They will see that it is too late to raise any questions, and the 'going
+on for seventeen' will be accepted as sufficient."
+
+He touched a bell.
+
+"Orderly, tell Mr. Terence O'Connor that I wish to see him."
+
+Terence was sitting in a state of suppressed excitement at his father's
+quarters. He had a strong belief that the matter would be managed somehow,
+for he knew that the colonel had no malice in his disposition, and would
+not let the episode of the bird--for which he was now heartily
+sorry--stand in the way. On receiving the message he at once went across
+to the colonel's quarters. The latter rose and held out his hand to him as
+he entered.
+
+"Terence O'Connor," he said, "I am pleased to be able to inform you that
+from the present moment you are to consider yourself an officer in his
+Majesty's Mayo Fusiliers. The Horse Guards have given me the privilege of
+nominating a gentleman to the vacant ensigncy, and I have had great
+pleasure in nominating your father's son. Now, lad," he said, in different
+tone of voice, "I feel sure that you will do credit my nomination, and
+that you will keep your love of fun and mischief within reasonable
+bounds."
+
+"I will try to do so, Colonel," the lad said, in a low voice, "and I am
+grateful indeed for the kindness that you have shown me. I have always
+hoped that some day I might obtain a commission in your regiment, but
+never even hoped that it would be until after I had done something to
+deserve it. Indeed I did not think that it was even possible that I could
+obtain a commission until----"
+
+"Tut, tut, lad, don't say a word about age! Doctor O'Flaherty had
+certified that you are going on for seventeen, which is quite sufficient
+for me, and at any rate you will see that boyish tricks are out of place
+in the case of an officer going on for seventeen. Now, your father had
+best take you down into the town and get you measured for your uniforms at
+once. You must make them hurry on with his undress clothes, O'Connor. I
+should not bother about full-dress till we get back again; it is not
+likely to be wanted, and the lad will soon grow out of them. If there
+should happen to be full-dress parade in Portugal, Cleary will put him on
+as officer of the day, or give him some duties that will keep him from
+parade. We may get the route any day, and the sooner he gets his uniform
+the better."
+
+Two days later Terence took his place on parade as an officer of the
+regiment. He had witnessed such numberless drills that he had picked up
+every word of command, knew his proper place in every formation, and fell
+into the work as readily as if he had been at it for years. He had been
+heartily congratulated by the officers of the regiment.
+
+"I am awfully glad that you are one of us, Terence," Dick Ryan said. "I
+don't know what we should have done without you. I expect we shall have
+tremendous fun in Portugal."
+
+"I expect we shall, Dick; but we shall have to be careful. We shall be on
+active service, you see, and from what they say of him I don't think Sir
+Arthur Wellesley is the sort of man to appreciate jokes."
+
+"No, I should say not. Of course, we shall have to draw in a bit. It would
+not do to set the bells of Lisbon ringing."
+
+"I should think not, Dick. Still, I dare say we shall have plenty of fun,
+and at any rate we are likely, from what they say, to have plenty of
+fighting. I don't expect the Portuguese will be much good, and as there
+are forty or fifty thousand Frenchmen in Portugal, we shall have all our
+work to do, unless they send out a much bigger force than is collecting at
+Cork. It is a pity that the 10,000 men who have been sent out to Sweden on
+what my father says is a fool's errand are not going with us instead. We
+might make a good stand-up fight of it then, whereas I don't see that with
+only 6,000 or 7,000 we can do much good against Junot's 40,000."
+
+"Oh, I dare say we shall get on somehow!" Dick said, carelessly. "Sir
+Arthur knows what he is about, and it is our turn to do something now. The
+navy has had it all its own way so far, and it is quite fair that we
+should do our share. I have a brother in the navy, and the fellows are
+getting too cheeky altogether. They seem to think that no one can fight
+but themselves. Except in Egypt we have never had a chance at all of
+showing we can lick the French just as easily on land as we can at sea."
+
+"I hope we shall, Dick. They have certainly had a great deal more practice
+at it than we have."
+
+"Now I think we ought to do something here that they will remember us for
+before we start, Terence."
+
+"Well, if you do, I am not with you this time, Dick. I am not going to
+begin by getting in the colonel's bad books after he has been kind enough
+to nominate me for a commission. I promised him that I would try and not
+get into any scrapes, and I am not going to break my word. When we once
+get out there I shall be game to join in anything that is not likely to
+make a great row, but I have done with it for the present."
+
+"I should like to have one more good bit of fun," Ryan said; "but I expect
+you are right, Terence, in what you say about yourself, and it is no use
+our thinking to humbug Athlone again if you are not in it with us;
+besides, they are getting too sharp. They did not half turn out last time,
+and, indeed, we had a narrow escape of being caught. Well, I shall be very
+glad when we are off; it is stupid work waiting for the route, with all
+leave stopped, and we not even allowed to go out for a day's fishing."
+
+Three days later the expected order arrived. As the baggage had all been
+packed up, that which was to be left behind being handed over to the care
+of the barrack-master, and a considerable portion of the heavy baggage
+sent on by cart, there was no delay. Officers and men were alike delighted
+that the period of waiting had come to an end, and there was loud cheering
+in the barrack-yard as soon as the news came. At daybreak next morning the
+rest of the baggage started under a guard, and three hours later the Mayo
+Fusiliers marched through the town with their band playing at their head,
+and amid the cheers of the populace.
+
+As yet the martial spirit that was roused by the struggle in the Peninsula
+had scarcely begun to show itself, but there was a strong animosity to
+France throughout England, and a desire to aid the people of Spain and
+Portugal in their efforts for freedom. In Ireland, for the most part,
+there was no such feeling. Since the battle of the Boyne and the siege of
+Limerick, France had been regarded by the greater portion of the
+peasantry, and a section of the population of the towns, as the  natural
+ally of Ireland, and there was a hope that when Napoleon had all Europe
+prostrate under his feet he would come as the deliverer of Ireland from
+the English yoke. Consequently, although the townspeople of Athlone
+cheered the regiment as it marched away, the country people held aloof
+from it as it passed along the road. Scowling looks from the women greeted
+it in the villages, while the men ostentatiously continued their work in
+the fields without turning to cast a glance at them.
+
+Terence was not posted to his father's company, but was in that of Captain
+O'Driscol, although the lad himself would have preferred to be with
+Captain O'Grady, with whom he was a great favourite. The latter was one of
+the captains whose companies were unprovided with an ensign, and he had
+asked the adjutant to let him have the lad instead of the ensign who was
+to join at Cork.
+
+"The matter has been settled the other way, O'Grady; in the colonel's
+opinion he will be much better with O'Driscol, who is more likely to keep
+him in order than you are."
+
+O'Grady was one of the most original characters in the regiment. He was
+rather under middle height, and had a smooth face, a guileless and
+innocent expression, and a habit of opening his light-blue eyes as in
+wonder. His hair was short, and stuck up aggressively; his brogue was the
+strongest in the regiment; his blunders were innumerable, and his look of
+amazement at the laughter they called forth was admirably feigned, save
+that the twinkle of his eye induced a suspicion that he himself enjoyed
+the joke as well as anyone. His good-humour was imperturbable, and he was
+immensely popular both among men and officers.
+
+"O'Driscol!" he repeated, in mild astonishment. "Do you mean to say that
+O'Driscol will keep him in better order than meself? If there is one man
+in this regiment more than another who would get on well with the lad it
+is meself, barring none."
+
+"You would get on well enough with him, O'Grady, I have no doubt, but it
+would be by letting him have his own way, and in encouraging him in
+mischief of all kinds."
+
+O'Grady's eyebrows were elevated, and his eyes expressed hopeless
+bewilderment.
+
+"You are wrong entirely, Cleary; nature intended me for a schoolmaster,
+and it is just an accident that I have taken to soldiering. I flatter
+meself that no one looks after his subalterns more sharply than I do. My
+only fear is that I am too severe with them. I may be mild in my manners,
+but they know me well enough to tremble if I speak sternly to them."
+
+"The trembling would be with amusement," the adjutant grumbled. "Well, the
+colonel has settled the matter, and Terence will be in Orders to-morrow as
+appointed to O'Driscol's company, and the other to yours."
+
+"Thank you for nothing, Cleary," O'Grady said, with dignity. "You would
+have seen that under my tuition the lad would have turned out one of the
+smartest officers in the regiment."
+
+"You have heard of the Spartan way of teaching their sons to avoid
+drunkenness, Captain O'Grady?"
+
+"Divil a word, Cleary; but I reckon that the best way with the haythens
+was to keep them from touching whisky. It is what I always recommend to
+the men of my company when I come across one of them the worse for
+liquor."
+
+The adjutant laughed. "That was not the Spartan way, O'Grady; but the
+advice, if taken, would doubtless have the same effect."
+
+"And who were the Spartans at all?"
+
+"I have not time to tell you now, O'Grady; I have no end of business on my
+hands."
+
+"Thin what do you keep me talking here for? haven't I a lot of work on me
+hands too. I came in to ask a simple question, and instead of giving me a
+civil answer you kape me wasting my time wid your O'Driscols and your
+Spartans and all kinds of rigmarole. That is the worst of being in an
+Irish regiment, nothing can be done widout ever so much blather;" and
+Captain O'Grady stalked out of the orderly-room.
+
+On the march Terence had no difficulty in obtaining leave from his captain
+to drop behind and march with his friend Dick Ryan. The marches were long
+ones, and they halted only at Parsonstown, Templemore, Tipperary, and
+Fermoy, as the colonel had received orders to use all speed. At each place
+a portion of the regiment was accommodated in the barracks, while the rest
+were quartered in the town. Late in the evening of the fifth day's march
+they arrived at Cork, and the next day went on board the two transports
+provided for them, and joined the fleet assembled in the Cove. Some of the
+ships had been lying there for nearly a month waiting orders, and the
+troops on board were heartily weary of their confinement. The news,
+however, that Sir Arthur Wellesley had been at last appointed to command
+them, and that they were to sail for Portugal, had caused great delight,
+for it had been feared that they might, like other bodies of troops, be
+shipped off to some distant spot, only to remain there for months and then
+to be brought home again.
+
+Nothing, indeed, could exceed the vacillation and confusion that reigned
+in the English cabinet at that time. The forces of England were frittered
+away in small and objectless expeditions, the plans of action were changed
+with every report sent either by the interested leaders of insurrectionary
+movements in Spain, or by the signally incompetent men who had been sent
+out to represent England, and who distributed broadcast British money and
+British arms to the most unworthy applicants. By their lavishness and
+subservience to the Spaniards our representatives increased the natural
+arrogance of these people, and caused them to regard England as a power
+which was honoured by being permitted to share in the Spanish efforts
+against the French generals. General Spencer with 5,000 men was kept for
+months sailing up and down the coast of Spain and Portugal, receiving
+contradictory orders from home, and endeavouring in vain to co-operate
+with the Spanish generals, each of whom had his own private purposes, and
+was bent on gratifying personal ambitions and of thwarting the schemes of
+his rivals, rather than on opposing the common enemy.
+
+Not only were the English ministry incapable of devising any plan of
+action, but they were constantly changing the naval and military officers
+of the forces. At one moment one general or admiral seemed to possess
+their confidence, while soon afterwards, without the slightest reason, two
+or three others with greater political influence were placed over his
+head; and when at last Sir Arthur Wellesley, whose services in India
+marked him as our greatest soldier, was sent out with supreme military
+power, they gave him no definite plan of action. General Spencer was
+nominally placed under his orders by one set of instructions, while
+another authorized him to commence operations in the south, without
+reference to Sir Arthur Wellesley. Admiral Purvis, who was junior to
+Admiral Collingwood, was authorized to control the operations of Sir
+Arthur, while Wellesley himself had scarcely sailed when Sir Hew Dalrymple
+was appointed to the chief command of the forces, Sir Harry Burrard was
+appointed second in command, and Sir Arthur Wellesley was reduced to the
+fourth rank in the army that he had been sent out to command, two of the
+men placed above him being almost unknown, they never having commanded any
+military force in the field.
+
+The 9,000 men assembled in the Cove of Cork knew nothing of these things;
+they were going out under the command of the victor of Assaye to measure
+their strength against that of the French, and they had no fear of the
+result.
+
+"I hope," Captain O'Grady said, as the officers of the wing of the
+regiment to which he belonged sat down to dinner for the first time on
+board the transport, "that we shall not have to keep together in going
+out."
+
+"Why so, O'Grady?" another captain asked.
+
+"Because there is no doubt at all that our ship is the fastest in the
+fleet, and that we shall get there in time to have a little brush with the
+French all to ourselves before the others arrive."
+
+"What makes you think that she is the fastest ship here, O'Grady?"
+
+"Anyone can see it with half an eye, O'Driscol. Look at her lines; she is
+a flyer, and if we are not obliged to keep with the others we shall be out
+of sight of the rest of them before we have sailed six hours."
+
+"I don't pretend to know anything about her lines, O'Grady, but she looks
+to me a regular old tub."
+
+"She is old," O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "but give her plenty of wind
+and you will see how she can walk along."
+
+There was a laugh all round the table; O'Grady's absolute confidence in
+anything in which he was interested was known to them all. His horse had
+been notoriously the most worthless animal in the regiment, but although
+continually last in the hunting field, O'Grady's opinion of her speed was
+never shaken. There was always an excuse ready; the horse had been badly
+shod, or it was out of sorts and had not had its feed before starting, or
+the going was heavy and it did not like heavy ground, or the country was
+too hilly or too flat for it. It was the same with his company, with his
+non-commissioned officers, with his soldier servant, a notoriously drunken
+rascal, and with his quarters.
+
+O'Grady looked round in mild expostulation at the laugh.
+
+"You will see," he said, confidently, "there can be no mistake about it."
+
+Two days later a ship-of-war entered the harbour, the usual salutes were
+exchanged, then a signal was run up to one of her mast-heads, and again
+the guns of the forts pealed out a salute, and word ran through the
+transports that Sir Arthur Wellesley was on board. On the following day
+the fleet got under way, the transports being escorted by a line-of-battle
+ship and four frigates, which were to join Lord Collingwood's squadron as
+soon as they had seen their charge safe into the Tagus.
+
+Before evening the _Sea-horse__ was a mile astern of the rearmost ship of
+the convoy, and one of the frigates sailing back fired a gun as a signal
+to her to close up.
+
+"Well, O'Grady, we have left the fleet, you see, though not in the way you
+predicted."
+
+"Whist, man! don't you see that the captain is out of temper because they
+have all got to keep together, instead of letting him go ahead?"
+
+Every rag of sail was now piled on to the ship, and as many of the others
+were showing nothing above their topgallant sails she rejoined the rest
+just as darkness fell.
+
+"There, you see!" O'Grady said, triumphantly, "look what she can do when
+she likes."
+
+"We do see, O'Grady. With twice as much sail up as anything else, she has
+in three hours picked up the mile she had lost."
+
+"Wait until we get some wind."
+
+"I hope we sha'n't get anything of the sort--at least no strong winds; the
+old tub would open every seam if we did, and we might think ourselves
+lucky if we got through it at all."
+
+O'Grady smiled pleasantly, and said it was useless to argue with so
+obstinate a man.
+
+"I am afraid O'Grady is wrong as usual," Dick Ryan said to Terence, who
+was sitting next to him. "When once he has taken an idea into his head
+nothing will persuade him that he is wrong; there is no doubt the
+_Sea-horse__ is as slow as she can be. I suppose her owners have some
+interest with the government, or they would surely never have taken up
+such an old tub as a troop-ship."
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+TWO DANGERS
+
+The next day, in spite of the sail she carried, the _Sea-horse__ lagged
+behind, and one of the frigates sailed back to her, and the captain
+shouted angry orders to the master to keep his place in the convoy.
+
+"If we get any wind," O'Grady said, as the frigate bore up on her course
+again, "it will take all your time to keep up with her, my fine fellow.
+You see," he explained to Terence, "no vessel is perfect in all points;
+some like a good deal of wind, some are best in a calm. Now this ship
+wants wind."
+
+"I think she does, Captain O'Grady," Terence replied, gravely. "At any
+rate her strong point is not sailing in a light wind."
+
+"No," O'Grady admitted, regretfully; "but it is not the ship's fault. I
+have no doubt at all that her bottom is foul, and that she has a lot of
+barnacles and weeds twice as long as your body. That is the reason why she
+is a little sluggish."
+
+"That may be it," Terence agreed; "but I should have thought that they
+would have seen to that before they sent her to Cork."
+
+"It is like enough that her owners are well-wishers of Napoleon, Terence,
+and that it is out of spite that they have done it. There is no doubt that
+she is a wonderful craft."
+
+"I am quite inclined to agree with you, Captain O'Grady, for as I have
+never seen a ship except when the regiment came back from India ten years
+ago, I am no judge of one."
+
+"It is the eye, Terence. I can't say that I have been much at sea myself,
+except on that voyage out and home; but I have an eye for ships, and can
+see their good points at a glance. You can take it from me that she is a
+wonderful vessel."
+
+"She would look all the better if her sails were a bit cleaner, and not so
+patched," Terence said, looking up.
+
+"She might look better to the eye, lad, but no doubt the owners know what
+they are doing, and consider that she goes better with sails that fit her
+than she would with new ones."
+
+Terence burst into a roar of laughter. O'Grady, as usual, looked at him in
+mild surprise.
+
+"What are you laughing at, you young spalpeen?"
+
+"I am thinking, Captain O'Grady," the lad said, recovering himself, "that
+it is a great pity you could not have obtained the situation of Devil's
+Advocate. I have read that years ago someone was appointed to defend Old
+Nick when the others were pitching into him, and to show that he was not
+as black as he was painted, but was a respectable gentleman who had been
+maligned by the world."
+
+"No doubt there is a good deal to be said for him," O'Grady said,
+seriously. "Give a dog a bad name, you know, and you may hang him; and I
+have no doubt the Old One has been held responsible for lots of things he
+never had as much as the tip of his finger in at all, at all."
+
+Seeing that his captain was about to pursue the matter much further,
+Terence, making the excuse that it was time he went down to see if the
+men's breakfast was all right, slipped off, and he and Dick Ryan had a
+hearty laugh over O'Grady's peculiarities.
+
+"I think, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said, two days later, "we are going
+to have our opportunity, for unless I am mistaken there is going to be a
+change of weather. Those clouds banking up ahead look like a gale from the
+southwest."
+
+Before night the wind was blowing furiously, and the _Sea-horse__ taking
+green sea over her bows and wallowing gunwale under in the waves. At
+daylight, when they went on deck, gray masses of cloud were hurrying
+overhead and an angry sea alone met the eye. Not a sail was in sight, and
+the whole convoy had vanished.
+
+"We are out of sight of the fleet, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said,
+grimly.
+
+"I felt sure we should be," O'Grady said, triumphantly. "Sorra one of them
+could keep foot with us."
+
+"They are ahead of us, man," O'Driscol said, angrily; "miles and miles
+ahead."
+
+"Ahead, is it? You must know better, O'Driscol; though it is little enough
+you know of ships. You see we are close-hauled, and there is no doubt that
+that is the vessel's strong point. Why, we have dropped the rest of them
+like hot potatoes, and if this little breeze keeps on, maybe we shall be
+in the Tagus days and days before them."
+
+O'Driscol was too exasperated to argue.
+
+"O'Driscol is a good fellow," O'Grady said, turning to Terence, "but it is
+a misfortune that he is so prejudiced. Now, what is your own opinion?"
+
+"I have no opinion about it, Captain O'Grady. I have a very strong opinion
+that I am not going to enjoy my breakfast, and that this motion does not
+agree with me at all. I have been ill half the night. Dick Ryan is awfully
+bad, and by the sounds I heard I should say a good many of the others are
+the same way. On the main deck it is awful; they have got the hatches
+battened down. I just took a peep in and bolted, for it seemed to me that
+everyone was ill."
+
+"The best plan, lad, is to make up your mind that you are quite well. If
+you once do that you will be all right directly."
+
+Terence could not for the moment reply, having made a sudden rush to the
+side.
+
+"I don't see how I can persuade myself that I am quite well," he said,
+when he returned, "when I feel terribly ill."
+
+"Yes, it wants resolution, Terence, and I am afraid that you are deficient
+in that. It must not be half-and-half. You have got to say to yourself,
+'This is glorious; I never enjoyed myself so well in my life,' and when
+you have said that and feel that it is quite true, the whole thing will be
+over."
+
+"I don't doubt it in the least," Terence said; "but I can't say it without
+telling a prodigious lie, and worse still, I could not believe the lie
+when I had told it."
+
+"Then I am afraid that you must submit to be ill, Terence. I know once
+that I had a drame, and the drame was that I was at sea and horribly
+sea-sick, and I woke up and said to myself, 'This is all nonsense, I am as
+well as ever I was;' and, faith, so I was."
+
+Ill as Terence was, he burst into a fit of laughter.
+
+"That was just a dream, Captain O'Grady; but mine is a reality, you know.
+I don't think that you are looking quite well yourself."
+
+"I am perfectly well as far as the sea goes, Terence; never was better in
+my life; but that pork we had for dinner yesterday was worse than usual,
+and I think perhaps I ought to have taken another glass or two to correct
+it."
+
+"It must have been the pork," Terence said, as seriously as O'Grady
+himself; "and it is unfortunate that you are such an abstemious man, or,
+as you say, its effects might have been corrected."
+
+"It's me opinion, Terence, my boy, that you are a humbug."
+
+"Then, Captain O'Grady, it is clear that evil communications must have
+corrupted my good manners."
+
+"It must have been in your infancy then, Terence, for divil a bit of
+manners good or bad have I ever seen in you; you have not even the good
+manners to take a glass of the cratur when you are asked."
+
+"That is true enough," Terence laughed. "Having been brought up in the
+regiment, I have learned, at least, that the best thing to do with whisky
+is to leave it alone."
+
+"I am afraid you will never be a credit to us, Terence."
+
+"Not in the way of being able to make a heavy night of it and then turn
+out as fresh as paint in the morning," Terence retorted; "but you see,
+Captain O'Grady, even my abstinence has its advantages, for at least there
+will always be one officer in the corps able to go the round of the
+sentries at night."
+
+At this moment the vessel gave such a heavy lurch that they were both
+thrown off their feet and rolled into the lee-scuppers, while, at the same
+moment, a rush of water swept over them. Amidst shouts of laughter from
+the other officers the two scrambled to their feet.
+
+
+[Illustration: TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE _SEA-HORSE__]
+
+
+"Holy Moses!" O'Grady exclaimed, "I am drowned entirely, and I sha'n't get
+the taste of the salt water out of me mouth for a week."
+
+"There is one comfort," Terence said; "it might have been worse."
+
+"How could it have been worse?" O'Grady asked, angrily.
+
+"Why, if we hadn't been in the steadiest ship in the whole fleet we might
+have been washed overboard."
+
+There was another shout of laughter. O'Grady made a dash at Terence, but
+the latter easily avoided him and went down below to change his clothes.
+
+The gale increased in strength, and the whole vessel strained so heavily
+that her seams began to open, and by one o'clock the captain requested
+Major Harrison, who was in command, to put some of the soldiers at the
+pumps. For three days and nights relays of men kept the pumps going. Had
+it not been for the 400 troops on board, the _Sea-horse__ would long
+before have gone to the bottom; but with such powerful aid the water was
+kept under, and on the morning of the fourth day the storm began to abate,
+and by evening more canvas was got on her. The next morning two vessels
+were seen astern at a distance of four or five miles. After examining them
+through his glass, the captain sent down a message to Major Harrison
+asking him to come up. In three or four minutes that officer appeared.
+
+"There are two strange craft over there, Major; from their appearance I
+have not the least doubt that they are French privateers. I thought I
+should like your advice as to what had best be done."
+
+"I don't know. You see, your guns might just as well be thrown overboard
+for any good they would be," the major said. "The things would not be safe
+to fire a salute with blank cartridge."
+
+"No, they can hardly be called serviceable," the master agreed. "I spoke
+to the owner about it, but he said that as we were going to sail with a
+convoy it did not matter, and that we should have some others for the next
+voyage."
+
+"I should like to see your owner dangling from the yardarm," the major
+said, wrathfully. "However, just at present the question is what had best
+be done. Of course they could not take the ship from us, but they would
+have very little difficulty in sinking her."
+
+"The first thing is to put on every stitch of sail."
+
+"That would avail us nothing; they can sail two feet to our one."
+
+"Quite so, Major; I should not hope to get away, but they would think that
+I was trying to do so. My idea is that we should press on as fast as we
+can till they open fire at us; we could hold on for a bit, and then haul
+up into the wind and lower our top-sails, which they will take for a proof
+of surrender."
+
+"You won't strike the flag, Captain; we cannot do anything treacherous."
+
+"No, no, I am not thinking of doing that. You see, the flag is not hoisted
+yet, and we won't hoist it at all till they get close alongside, then we
+can haul it up, and sweep their decks with musketry. Of course your men
+will keep below until the last moment."
+
+"That plan will do very well," the major agreed, "that is, if they venture
+to come boldly alongside."
+
+"One is pretty sure to do so, though the other may lay herself ahead or
+astern of us, with her guns pointed to rake us in case we make any
+resistance; but seeing what we are, and that we carry only four small guns
+each side, they are hardly likely to suspect anything wrong. I am not at
+all afraid of beating them off; my only fear is that after they have
+sheared away they will open upon us from a distance."
+
+"Yes, that would be awkward. However, if they do, we must keep the men
+below, and in the meantime you had better get your carpenter to cut up
+some spars and make a lot of plugs in readiness to stop up any holes they
+make near the water-line. I don't think they are likely to make very
+ragged holes, the wood is so rotten the shot would go through the side as
+if it were brown paper; still, you might get a lot of squares of canvas
+ready, with hammers and nails."
+
+The strange craft were already heading towards the _Sea-horse.__ No time
+was lost in setting every stitch of canvas that she could carry; the wind
+was light now, but the vessel was rolling heavily in a long swell. The
+major examined the guns closely and found that they were even worse than
+he had anticipated, the rust holes eaten in the iron having been filled up
+with putty, and the whole painted. He was turning away, with an
+exclamation of disgust, when Terence, who was standing near, said to him:
+
+"I beg your pardon, Major, but don't you think that if we were to wind
+some thin rope very tightly round them three or four inches thick, they
+might stand a charge or two of grape to give them at close quarters; we
+needn't put in a very heavy charge of powder. Even if they did burst, I
+should think that the rope would prevent the splinters from flying about."
+
+"The idea is not a bad one at all, Terence. I will see if the captain has
+got a coil or two of thin rope on board."
+
+Fortunately the ship was fairly well supplied in this respect, and a few
+of the sailors who were accustomed to serving rope, with a dozen soldiers
+to help them, were told off to the work. The rope was wound round as
+tightly as the strength of a dozen men could pull it, the process being
+repeated five or six times, until each gun was surrounded by as many
+layers of rope. A thin rod had been inserted in the touch-hole. The cannon
+was then loaded with half the usual charge of powder, and filled to the
+muzzle with bullets. The rod was then drawn out, and powder poured in
+until it reached the surface.
+
+While this was being done, all the soldiers not engaged in the work went
+below, and the officers sat down under shelter of the bulwarks. The two
+privateers, a large lugger and a brig, had been coming up rapidly, and by
+the time the guns were ready for action they were but a mile away.
+Presently a puff of smoke burst out from the bows of the lugger, and a
+round shot struck the water a short distance ahead of the _Sea-horse__.
+She held on her course without taking any notice of it, and for a few
+minutes the privateer was silent; then, when they were but half a mile
+away the brig opened fire, and two or three shots hulled the vessel.
+
+"That will do, Captain," the major said. "You may as well lay-to now."
+
+The _Sea-horse__ rapidly flew up into the wind, the sheets were thrown
+off, and the upper sails were lowered, one after the other, the job being
+executed slowly, as if by a weak crew. The two privateers, which had been
+sailing within a short distance of each other, now exchanged signals, and
+the lugger ran on, straight towards the _Sea-horse__, while the brig took
+a course which would lay her across the stern of the barque, and enable
+them to rake her with her broadside. Word was passed below, and the
+soldiers poured up on deck, stooping as they reached it, and taking their
+places under the bulwarks. The major had already asked for volunteers
+among the officers, to fire the guns. All had at once offered to do so.
+
+"As it was your proposal, Terence," the major said, "you shall have the
+honour of firing one; Ryan, you take another; Lieutenant Marks and Mr.
+Haines, you take the other two, and then England and Ireland will be
+equally represented."
+
+The deck of the lugger was crowded with men, and the course she was
+steering brought her within a length of the _Sea-horse__. Some of the men
+were preparing to lower her boats, when suddenly a thick line of red coats
+appeared above the bulwarks, two hundred muskets poured in their fire,
+while the contents of the four guns swept her deck. The effect of the fire
+was tremendous. The deck was in a moment covered with dead and dying men;
+half a minute later another volley, fired by the remaining companies,
+completed the work of destruction. The halliards of one of the lugger's
+sails had been cut by the grape, and the sail now came down with a run to
+the deck.
+
+"Down below, all of you," the major shouted, "the fellow behind will rake
+us in a minute."
+
+The soldiers ran down to the hold again. A minute later the brig, sailing
+across the stern, poured in the fire of her guns one by one. Standing much
+lower in the water than her opponent, none of her shot traversed the deck
+of the _Sea-horse__, but they carried destruction among the cabins and
+fittings of the deck below. As this, however, was entirely deserted, no
+one was injured by the shot or flying fragments. The brig then took up her
+position three or four hundred yards away, on the quarter of the
+_Sea-horse__, and opened a steady fire against her.
+
+To this the barque could make no reply, the fire of the muskets being
+wholly ineffective at that distance. The lugger lay helpless alongside the
+_Sea-horse__; the survivors of her crew had run below, and dared not
+return on deck to work their guns, as they would have been swept by the
+musketry of the _Sea-horse__.
+
+Half an hour later Terence was ordered to go below to see how they were
+getting on in the hold.
+
+Terence did so. Some lanterns had been lighted there, and he found that
+four men had been killed and a dozen or so wounded by the enemy's shot,
+the greater portion of which, however, had gone over their heads. The
+carpenter, assisted by some of the non-commissioned officers, was busy
+plugging holes that had been made in her between wind and water, and had
+fairly succeeded, as but four or five shots had struck so low, the enemy's
+object being not to sink, but to capture the vessel. As he passed up
+through the main deck to report, Terence saw that the destruction here was
+great indeed. The woodwork of the cabins had been knocked into fragments,
+there was a great gaping hole in the stern, and it seemed to him that
+before long the vessel would be knocked to pieces. He returned to the
+deck, and reported the state of things.
+
+"It looks bad," the major said to O'Driscol. "This is but half an hour's
+work, and when the fellows come to the conclusion that they cannot make us
+strike, they will aim lower, and there will be nothing to do but to choose
+between sinking and hauling down our flag."
+
+After delivering his report, Terence went to the side of the ship and
+looked down on the lugger. The attraction of the ship had drawn her closer
+to it, and she was but a few feet away. A thought struck him, and he went
+to O'Grady.
+
+"Look here, O'Grady," he said, "that fellow will smash us up altogether if
+we don't do something."
+
+"You must be a bright boy to see that, Terence; faith, I have been
+thinking so for the last ten minutes. But what are we to do? The muskets
+won't carry so far, at least not to do any good. The cannon are next to
+useless. Two of that lot you fired burst, though the ropes prevented any
+damage being done."
+
+"Quite so, but there are plenty of guns alongside. Now, if you go to the
+major and volunteer to take your company and gain possession of the
+lugger, with one of the mates and half a dozen sailors to work her, we can
+get up the main-sail and engage the brig."
+
+"By the powers, Terence, you are a broth of a boy," and he hurried away to
+the major.
+
+"Major," he said, "if you will give me leave, I will have up my company
+and take possession of the lugger; we shall want one of the ship's
+officers and half a dozen men to work the sails, and then we will go out
+and give that brig pepper."
+
+"It is a splendid idea, O'Grady."
+
+"It is not my idea at all, at all; it is Terence O'Connor who suggested it
+to me. I suppose I can take the lad with me?"
+
+"By all means, get your company up at once."
+
+O'Grady hurried away, and in a minute the men of his company poured up
+onto the deck.
+
+"You can come with me, Terence; I have the major's leave," he said to the
+lad.
+
+At this moment there was a slight shock, as the lugger came in contact
+with the ship.
+
+"Come on, lads," O'Grady said, as he set the example of clambering down
+onto the deck of the lugger. He was followed by his men, the first mate
+and six sailors also springing on board. The hatches were first put on to
+keep the remnant of the crew below. The sailors knotted the halliards of
+the main-sail, the soldiers tailed on to the rope, and the sail was
+rapidly run up. The mate put two of his men at the tiller, and the
+soldiers ran to the guns, which were already loaded.
+
+"Haul that sheet to windward," the mate shouted, and the four sailors,
+aided by some of the soldiers, did so. Her head soon payed off, and amid a
+cheer from the officers on deck the lugger swept round. She mounted twelve
+guns. O'Grady divided the officers and non-commissioned officers among
+them, himself taking charge of a long pivot-gun in the bow.
+
+"Take stiddy aim, boys, and fire as your guns bear on her; you ought not
+to throw away a shot at this distance."
+
+As the lugger came out from behind the Sea-horse, gun after gun was fired,
+and the white splinters on the side of the brig showed that most, if not
+all, of the shots had taken effect. O'Grady's gun was the last to speak
+out, and the shot struck the brig just above the water-line.
+
+"Take her round," he shouted to the mate; "give the boys on the other side
+a chance." The lugger put about and her starboard guns poured in their
+contents.
+
+"That is the way," he shouted, as he laboured away with the men with him
+to load the pivot-gun again; "we will give him two or three more rounds,
+and then we will get alongside and ask for his health."
+
+The brig, however, showed no inclination to await the attack. Some shots
+had been hastily fired when the lugger's first gun told them that she was
+now an enemy, and she at once put down her helm and made off before the
+wind, which was now very light.
+
+"Load your guns and then out with the oars," Captain O'Grady shouted. "Be
+jabers, we will have that fellow. Let no man attend to the _Sea-horse__;
+it's from me that you are to take your orders. Besides," he said to
+Terence, "there is no signal-book on board, and they may hoist as many
+flags as they like."
+
+The twelve sweeps on board the lugger were at once got out, and each
+manned by three soldiers. O'Grady himself continued to direct the fire of
+the pivot-gun, and sent shot after shot into the brig's stern. The latter
+had but some four hundred yards' start, and although she also hurriedly
+got out some sweeps, the lugger gained upon her. Her crew clustered on
+their taffrail, and kept up a musketry fire upon the party working the
+pivot-gun. Two of these had been killed and four wounded, when O'Grady
+said to the others:
+
+"Lave the gun alone, boys; we shall be alongside of her in a few minutes;
+it is no use throwing away lives by working it. Run all the guns over to
+the other side; we will give them a warming, and then go at her."
+
+The _Sea-horse__ had hoisted signals directly those on board perceived
+that the lugger was starting in pursuit of the brig. Terence had informed
+his commanding officer of this, but O'Grady replied:
+
+"I know nothing about them, Terence; most likely they mane 'Good-luck to
+you! Chase the blackguard, and capture him.' Don't let Woods come near me,
+whatever you do; I don't want to hear his idea of what the signals may
+mane."
+
+Terence had just time to stop the mate as he was coming forward.
+
+"The ship is signalling," he said.
+
+"I have told Captain O'Grady, sir," Terence replied. "He does not know
+what the signal means, but has no doubt that it is instructions to capture
+the brig, and he means to do so."
+
+The officer laughed.
+
+"I think myself that it would be a pity not to," he said; "we shall be
+alongside in ten minutes. But I think it my duty to tell you what the
+signal is."
+
+"You can tell me what it is," Terence said, "and it is possible that in
+the heat of action I may forget to report it to Captain O'Grady."
+
+"That is right enough, sir. I think it is the recall."
+
+"Well, I will attend to it presently," Terence laughed.
+
+When within a hundred yards of the brig the troops opened a heavy musketry
+fire, many of the men making their way up the ratlines and so commanding
+the brig's deck. They were answered with a brisk fire, but the French
+shooting was wild, and by the shouting of orders and the confusion that
+prevailed on board it was evident that the privateersmen were disorganized
+by the sight of the troops and the capture of their consort. The brig's
+guns were hastily fired, as they could be brought to bear on the lugger,
+as she forged alongside. The sweeps had already been got in, and the
+lugger's eight guns poured their contents simultaneously into the brig,
+then a withering volley was fired, and, headed by O'Grady, the soldiers
+sprang on board the brig.
+
+As they did so, however, the French flag fluttered down from the peak, and
+the privateersmen threw down their arms. The English broadside and volley
+fired at close quarters had taken terrible effect. Of the crew of eighty
+men thirty were killed and a large proportion of the rest wounded. The
+soldiers gave three hearty cheers as the flag came down.
+
+The privateersmen were at once ordered below.
+
+"Lieutenant Hunter," O'Grady said, "do you go on board the lugger with the
+left wing of the company. Mr. Woods, I think you had better stay here,
+there are a good many more sails to manage than there are in the lugger.
+One man here will be enough to steer her; we will pull at the ropes for
+you. Put the others on board the lugger."
+
+"By the by, Mr. Woods," he said, "I see that the ship has hoisted a
+signal; what does it mean?"
+
+"I believe that to be the recall, sir; I told Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"You ought to have reported that same to me," O'Grady said, severely;
+"however, we will obey it at once."
+
+The _Sea-horse__ was lying head to wind a mile and a half away, and the
+two prizes ran rapidly up to her. They were received with a tremendous
+cheer from the men closely packed along her bulwarks. O'Grady at once
+lowered a boat and was rowed to the _Sea-horse__, taking Terence with him.
+
+"You have done extremely well, Captain O'Grady," Major Harrison said, as
+he reached the deck, "and I congratulate you heartily. You should,
+however, have obeyed the order of recall; the brig might have proved too
+strong for you, and, bound on service as we are, we have no right to risk
+valuable lives except in self-defence."
+
+"Sure I knew nothing about the signal," O'Grady said, with an air of
+innocence; "I thought it just meant 'More power to ye! give it 'em hot!'
+or something of that kind. It was not until after I had taken the brig
+that I was told that it was an order of recall. As soon as I learned that,
+we came along as fast as we could to you."
+
+"But Mr. Woods must surely have known."
+
+"Mr. Woods did tell me, Major," Terence put in, "but somehow I forgot to
+mention it to Captain O'Grady."
+
+There was a laugh among the officers standing round.
+
+"You ought to have informed him at once, Mr. O'Connor," the major said,
+with an attempt at gravity. "However," he went on, with a change of voice,
+"we all owe so much to you that I must overlook it, as there can be very
+little doubt that had it not been for your happy idea of taking possession
+of the lugger we should have been obliged to surrender, for I should not
+have been justified in holding out until the ship sank under us. I shall
+not fail, in reporting the matter, to do you full credit for your share in
+it. Now, what is your loss, Captain O'Grady?"
+
+"Three men killed and eleven wounded, sir."
+
+"And what is that of the enemy?"
+
+"Thirty-two killed and about the same number of wounded, more or less. We
+had not time to count them before we sent them down, and I had not time
+afterwards, for I was occupied in obeying the order of recall. I am sorry
+that we have killed so many of the poor beggars, but if they had hauled
+down their flag when we got up with them there would have been no occasion
+for it. I should have told their captain that I looked upon him as an
+obstinate pig, but as he and his first officer were both killed, there was
+no use in my spaking to him."
+
+"Well, it has been a very satisfactory operation," the major said, "and we
+are very well out of a very nasty fix. Now, you will go back to the brig,
+Captain O'Grady, and prepare to send the prisoners on board. We will send
+our boats for them. Doctor Daly and Doctor O'Flaherty will go on board
+with you and see to the wounded French and English. Doctor Daly will bring
+the worst cases on board here, and will leave O'Flaherty on the brig to
+look after the others. They will be better there than in this crowded
+ship. The first officer will remain there with you with five men, and you
+will retain fifty men of your own company. The second officer, with five
+men, will take charge of the lugger. He will have with him fifty men of
+Captain O'Driscol's company, under that officer. That will give us a
+little more room on board here. How many prisoners are there?"
+
+"Counting the wounded, Major, there are about fifty of them; her crew was
+eighty strong to begin with. There are only some thirty, including the
+slightly wounded, to look after."
+
+"If the brig's hold is clear, I think that you had better take charge of
+them. At present you will both lie-to beside us here till we have
+completed our repairs, and when we make sail you are both to follow us,
+and keep as close as possible; and on no account, Captain O'Grady, are you
+to undertake any cruises on your own account."
+
+"I will bear it in mind, Major; and we will do all we can to keep up with
+you."
+
+A laugh ran round the circle of officers at O'Grady's obstinacy in
+considering the _Sea-horse__ to be a fast vessel, in spite of the evidence
+that they had had to the contrary. The major said, gravely:
+
+"You will have to go under the easiest sail possible. The brig can go two
+feet to this craft's one, and you will only want your lower sails. If you
+put on more you will be running ahead and losing us at night. We shall
+show a light over our stern, and on no account are you to allow yourselves
+to lose sight of it."
+
+A party of men were already at work nailing battens over the shattered
+stern of the _Sea-horse__. When this was done, sail-cloth was nailed over
+them, and a coat of pitch given to it. The operation took four hours, by
+which time all the other arrangements had been completed. The holds of the
+two privateers were found to be empty, and they learned from the French
+crews that the two craft had sailed from Bordeaux in company but four days
+previously, and that the _Sea-horse__ was the first English ship that they
+had come across.
+
+"You will remember, Captain O'Grady," the major said, as that officer
+prepared to go on board, "that Mr. Woods is in command of the vessel, and
+that he is not to be interfered with in any way with regard to making or
+taking in sail. He has received precise instructions as to keeping near
+us, and your duties will be confined to keeping guard over the prisoners,
+and rendering such assistance to the sailors as they may require."
+
+"I understand, Major; but I suppose that in case you are attacked we may
+take a share in any divarsion that is going on?"
+
+"I don't think that there is much chance of our being attacked, O'Grady;
+but if we are, instructions will be signalled to you. French privateers
+are not likely to interfere with us, seeing that we are together, and if
+by any ill-luck a French frigate should fall in with us, you will have
+instructions to sheer off at once, and for each of you to make your way to
+Lisbon as quickly as you can. You see, we have transferred four guns from
+each of your craft to take the place of the rotten cannon on board here,
+but our united forces would be of no avail at all against a frigate, which
+would send us to the bottom with a single broadside. We can neither run
+nor fight in this wretched old tub. If we do see a French frigate coming,
+I shall transfer the rest of the troops to the prizes and send them off at
+once, and leave the _Sea-horse__ to her fate. Of course we should be very
+crowded on board the privateers, but that would not matter for a few days.
+So you see the importance of keeping quite close to us, in readiness to
+come alongside at once if signalled to. We shall separate as soon as we
+leave the ship, so as to ensure at least half our force reaching its
+destination."
+
+Captain O'Driscol took Terence with him on board the lugger, leaving his
+lieutenant in charge of the wing that remained on board the ship.
+
+"You have done credit to the company, and to my choice of you, Terence,"
+he said, warmly, as they stood together on the deck of the lugger. "I did
+not see anything for it but a French prison, and it would have broken my
+heart to be tied up there while the rest of our lads were fighting the
+French in Portugal. I thought that you would make a good officer some day
+in spite of your love of devilment, but I did not think that before you
+had been three weeks in the service you would have saved half the regiment
+from a French prison."
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+DISEMBARKED
+
+As soon as the vessels were under way again it was found that the lugger
+was obliged to lower her main-sail to keep in her position astern of the
+_Sea-horse__, while the brig was forced to take in sail after sail until
+the whole of the upper sails had been furled.
+
+"It is tedious work going along like this," O'Driscol said; "but it does
+not so much matter, because as yet we do not know where we are going to
+land. Sir Arthur has gone on in a fast ship to Corunna to see the Spanish
+Junta there, and find out what assistance we are likely to get from
+Northern Spain. That will be little enough. I expect they will take our
+money and arms and give us plenty of fine promises in return, and do
+nothing; that is the game they have been playing in the south, and if
+there were a grain of sense among our ministers they would see that it is
+not of the slightest use to reckon on Spain. As to Portugal, we know very
+little at present, but I expect there is not a pin to choose between them
+and the Spaniards."
+
+"Then we are not going to Lisbon?" Terence said, in surprise.
+
+"I expect not. Sir Arthur won't determine anything until he joins us after
+his visit to Corunna, but I don't think that it will be at Lisbon, anyhow.
+There are strong forts guarding the mouth of the river, and ten or twelve
+thousand troops in the city, and a Russian fleet anchored in the port. I
+don't know where it will be, but I don't think that it will be Lisbon. I
+expect that we shall slip into some little port, land, and wait for Junot
+to attack us; we shall be joined, I expect, by Stewart's force, that have
+been fooling about for two or three months waiting for the Spaniards to
+make up their minds whether they will admit them into Cadiz or not. You
+see, at present there are only 9,000 of us, and they say that Junot has at
+least 50,000 in Portugal; but of course they are scattered about, and it
+is hardly likely that he would venture to withdraw all his garrisons from
+the large towns, so that the odds may not be as heavy as they look, when
+we meet him in the field. And I suppose that at any rate some of the
+Portuguese will join us. From what I hear, the peasantry are brave enough,
+only they have never had a chance yet of making a fight for it, owing to
+their miserable government, which never can make up its mind to do
+anything. I hope that Sir Arthur has orders, as soon as he takes Lisbon,
+to assume the entire control of the country and ignore the native
+government altogether. Even if they are worth anything, which they are
+sure not to be, it is better to have one head than two, and as we shall
+have to do all the fighting, it's just as well that we should have the
+whole control of things too."
+
+For four days they sailed along quietly. On the morning of the fifth the
+signal was run up from the _Sea-horse__ for the prizes to close up to her.
+Mr. Woods, the mate on board the brig, at once sent a sailor up to the
+mast-head.
+
+"There is a large ship away to the south-west, sir," he shouted down.
+
+"What does she look like?"
+
+"I can only see her royals and top-sails yet, but by their square cut I
+think that she is a ship-of-war."
+
+"Do you think she is French or English?"
+
+"I cannot say for certain yet, sir, but it looks to me as if she is
+French. I don't think that the sails are English cut anyhow."
+
+Such was evidently the opinion on board the _Sea-horse__, for as the
+prizes came up within a hundred yards of her they were hailed by the major
+through a speaking-trumpet, and ordered to keep at a distance for the
+present, but to be in readiness to come up alongside directly orders were
+given to that effect.
+
+In another half-hour the look-out reported that he could now see the lower
+sails of the stranger, and had very little doubt but that it was a large
+French frigate. Scarcely had he done so before the two prizes were ordered
+to close up to the _Sea-horse__. The sea was very calm and they were able
+to lie alongside, and as soon as they did so the troops began to be
+transferred to them. In a quarter of an hour the operation was completed,
+Major Harrison taking his place on board the lugger; half the men were
+ordered below, and the prize sheered off from the _Sea-horse__.
+
+"The Frenchman is bearing down straight for us," he said to O'Driscol;
+"she is bringing a breeze down with her, and in an hour she will be
+alongside. I shall wait another half-hour, and then we must leave the
+_Sea-horse__ to her fate; except for our stores she is worthless. Well,
+Terence, have you any suggestion to offer? You got us out of the last
+scrape, and though this is not quite so bad as that, it is unpleasant
+enough. The frigate when she comes near will see that the _Sea-horse__ is
+a slow sailer, and will probably leave her to be picked up at her leisure,
+and will go off in chase either of the brig or us. The brig is to make for
+the north-west and we shall steer south-east, so that she will have to
+make a choice between us. When we get the breeze we shall either of us
+give her a good dance before she catches us--that is, if the breeze is not
+too strong; if it is, her weight would soon bring her up to us."
+
+"Yes, Major, but perhaps she may not trouble about us at all. She would
+see at once that the lugger and brig are French, and if they were both to
+hoist French colours, and the _Sea-horse__ were to fly French colours over
+English, she would naturally suppose that she had been captured by us, and
+would go straight on her course without troubling herself further about
+it."
+
+"So she might, Terence. At any rate the scheme is worth trying. If they
+have anything like good glasses on board they could make out our colours
+miles away. If she held on towards us after that, there would be plenty of
+time for us to run, but if we saw her change her course we should know
+that we were safe. Your head is good for other things besides mischief,
+lad."
+
+The lugger sailed up near the ship again, and the major gave the captain
+instructions to hoist a French ensign over an English one, and then,
+sailing near the brig, told them to hoist French colours.
+
+"Keep all your men down below the line of the bulwarks, O'Grady. Mr.
+Woods, you had better get your boat down and row alongside of the ship,
+and ask the captain to get the slings at work and hoist some of our stores
+into her; we will do the same on the other side. Tell the captain to lower
+a couple of his boats; also take twenty soldiers on board with you without
+their jackets; we will do the same, so that it may be seen that we have a
+strong party on board getting out the cargo."
+
+In a few minutes the orders were carried out, and forty soldiers were at
+work on the deck of the Sea-horse, slinging up tents from below, and
+lowering them into the boats alongside. The approach of the frigate was
+anxiously watched from the decks of the prizes. The upper sails of the
+_Sea-horse__ had been furled, and the privateers, under the smallest
+possible canvas, kept abreast of her at a distance of a couple of lengths.
+The hull of the French frigate was now visible. "She is very fast," the
+mate said to the major, "and she is safe to catch one of us if the breeze
+she has got holds."
+
+As she came nearer the feeling of anxiety heightened.
+
+"They ought to make out our colours now, sir."
+
+Almost immediately afterwards the frigate was seen to change her course.
+Her head was turned more to the east. A suppressed cheer broke from the
+troops.
+
+"It is all right now, sir," the mate said; "she is making for Brest. We
+have fooled her nicely."
+
+The boats passed and repassed between the _Sea-horse__ and the prizes, and
+the frigate crossed a little more than a mile ahead.
+
+"Five-and-twenty guns a-side," the major said. "By Jove! she would have
+made short work of us."
+
+As it was not advisable to make any change in the position until the
+frigate was far on her way, the boats continued to pass to and fro,
+carrying back to the _Sea-horse__ the stores that had just been removed,
+until the Frenchman was five or six miles away.
+
+"Don't you think that we might make sail again, Captain?" the major then
+hailed.
+
+"I think that we had better give him another hour, sir. Were she to see us
+making sail with the prize to the south it would excite suspicion at once,
+and the captain might take it into his head to come back again to inquire
+into it."
+
+"Half an hour will surely be sufficient," the major said. "She is
+travelling at eight or nine knots an hour, and she is evidently bound for
+port. It would be unlikely in the extreme that her commander would beat
+back ten miles on what, after all, might be a fool's errand."
+
+"That is true enough, sir. Then in half an hour we shall be ready to sail
+again."
+
+The major was rowed to the _Sea-horse__. "We may as well transfer the men
+at once," he said. "We have had a very narrow escape of it, Captain, and
+there is no doubt that we owe our safety entirely to the sharpness of that
+young ensign. We should have been sunk or taken if he had not suggested
+our manning the lugger in the first place, and of pretending that the ship
+had been captured by French privateers in the second."
+
+"You are right, Major. Another half-hour and the craft would have
+foundered under us; and the frigate would certainly have captured the
+_Sea-horse__ and one of the prizes if the Frenchman had not, as he
+thought, seen two privateers at work emptying our hold. He is a sharp
+young fellow, that."
+
+"That he is," the major agreed. "He has been brought up with the regiment,
+and has always been up to pranks of all kinds; but he has used his wits to
+good purpose this time, and I have no doubt will turn out an excellent
+officer."
+
+Before sail was made the major summoned the officers on board the
+_Sea-horse__. The troops from the lugger and brig were drawn up on deck,
+and the major, standing on the poop, said in a voice that could be heard
+from end to end of the ship:
+
+"Officers and men, we have had a narrow escape from a French prison, and
+as it is possible that before we arrive at our destination we may fall in
+with an enemy again and not be so lucky, I think it right to take this
+occasion at once of thanking Mr. O' Connor, before you all, in my own
+name, and in yours, for to his intelligence and quickness of wit it is
+entirely due that we escaped being captured when the brig was pounding us
+with its shot, without our being able to make any return, and it was
+certain that in a short time we should have had to haul down our flag or
+be sunk. It was he who suggested that we should take possession of the
+lugger, and with her guns drive off the brig. As the result of that
+suggestion this craft was saved from being sunk, and the brig was also
+captured.
+
+"In the second place, when that French frigate was bearing down upon us
+and our capture seemed certain, it was he who suggested to me, that by
+hoisting the French flag and appearing to be engaged in transferring the
+cargo of the ship to the privateers, we might throw dust into the eyes of
+the Frenchmen. As you saw, the ruse succeeded perfectly. I therefore, Mr.
+O'Connor, thank you most heartily in my own name, and in that of your
+fellow-officers, also in the name of the four hundred men of the regiment,
+and of the ship's company, for the manner in which you have, by your
+quickness and good sense, saved us all from a French prison, and saved his
+Majesty from the loss of the wing of a fine regiment."
+
+As he concluded the men broke into loud cheering, and the officers
+gathered around Terence and thanked and congratulated him most heartily on
+the service that he had rendered them.
+
+"You are a broth of a boy, Terence," Captain O'Grady said. "I knew that it
+was in you all along. I would not give a brass farthing for a lad who had
+not a spice of divil-ment in him. It shows that he has got his wits about
+him, and that when he steddys down he will be hard to bate."
+
+Terence was so much overpowered at the praise he had received that, beyond
+protesting that it was quite undeserved, he had no reply to make to the
+congratulations that he received from the captain. O'Driscol, seeing that
+he was on the verge of breaking down, at once called upon him to take his
+place in the boat, and rowed with him to the lugger.
+
+A few minutes later all sail was set on the _Sea-horse__, and with her
+yards braced tautly aft she laid her course south, close-hauled; a fresh
+breeze was now blowing, and she ploughed her way through the water at a
+rate that almost justified O'Grady's panegyrics upon her. In another three
+days she entered the port of Vigo, where the convoy was to rendezvous, and
+all were glad to find that the whole fleet were still there. On anchoring,
+the major went on board the _Dauphin__, which had brought the
+headquarters, and the other wing of the regiment. He was heartily greeted
+by the colonel.
+
+"We were getting very uneasy about you, Harrison," he said. "The last ship
+of the convoy came in three days ago, and we began to fear that you must
+have been either dismasted or sunk in the gale. I saw the senior naval
+officer this morning, and he said that if you did not come in during the
+day he would send a frigate out in search of you; but I could see by his
+manner that he thought it most likely that you had gone down. So you may
+imagine how pleased we were when we made out your number, though we could
+not for the life of us make out what those two craft flying the English
+colours over the French, that came in after you, were. But of course they
+had nothing to do with you. I suppose they were two privateers that had
+been captured by one of our frigates, and sent in here with prize crews to
+refit before going home. They have both of them been knocked about a bit."
+
+"I will tell you about them directly, Colonel; it is rather a long story.
+We have had a narrow squeak of it. We got through the storm pretty well,
+but we had a bad time of it afterwards, and we owe it entirely to young
+O'Connor that we are not, all of us, in a prison at Brest at present."
+
+"You don't say so! Wait a moment, I will call his father here; he will be
+glad to hear that the young scamp has behaved well. I may as well call
+them all up; they will like to hear the story."
+
+Turning to the group of officers who were standing on the quarter-deck a
+short distance away, waiting to hear the news when the major had given his
+report, he said: "You may as well come now and hear Major Harrison's
+story; it will save his telling it twice. You will be glad to hear,
+O'Connor, that Terence has been distinguishing himself in some way, though
+I know not yet in what; the major says that if it had not been for him the
+whole wing of the regiment would have now been in a French prison."
+
+"Terence was always good at getting out of scrapes, Colonel, though I
+don't say he was not equally good in getting into them; but I am glad to
+hear that this time he has done something useful."
+
+The major then gave a full account of their adventure with the privateers,
+and of the subsequent escape from the French frigate.
+
+"Faith, O'Connor," the colonel said, warmly, holding out his hand to him,
+"I congratulate you most heartily, which is more than I ever thought to do
+on Terence's account. I had some misgivings when I recommended him for a
+commission, but I may congratulate myself as well as you that I did so. I
+was sure the lad had plenty in him, but I was afraid that it was more
+likely to come out the wrong way than the right; and now it turns out that
+he has saved half the regiment, for there is no doubt from what Harrison
+says that he has done so."
+
+"Thank you, Colonel; I am glad indeed that the boy has done credit to your
+kindness. It was a mighty bad scrape this time, and he got out of it
+well."
+
+"Of course, Major, you will give a full report in writing of this, and
+will send it in to Sir Arthur; he arrived this morning. I will go on board
+the flag-ship at once and report as to the prizes. Who they belong to I
+have not the least idea. I never heard of a transport capturing a couple
+of privateers before; but, I suppose, as she is taken up for the king's
+service and the prizes were captured by his Majesty's troops, they will
+rank as if taken by the navy, that is, a certain amount of their value
+will go to the admiral. Anyhow, the bulk of it will go, I should think, to
+the troops--the crew and officers of the ship, of course, sharing."
+
+"It won't come to much a head, Colonel, anyhow. You see, they were both
+empty, and there is simply the value of the ships themselves, which I
+don't suppose would fetch above five or six hundred apiece."
+
+"Still, the thing must be done in a regular way, and I must leave it in
+the admiral's hands. I will take your boat, Major, and go to him at once.
+You will find pen and ink in my cabin, and I should be glad if you would
+write your report by the time that I return; then I will go off at once to
+Sir Arthur."
+
+"I have it already written, Colonel," the major said, producing the
+document.
+
+"That looks to me rather long, Harrison, and busy as Sir Arthur must be,
+he might not take the trouble to read it. I wish you would write out
+another, as concise as you can make it, of the actual affair, saying at
+the end that you beg to report especially the conduct of Ensign O'Connor,
+to whose suggestions the escape of the ship both from the privateers and
+French frigate were due. I will hand that in as the official report, and
+with it the other, saying that it gives further details of the affair. Of
+course, with them I must give in an official letter from myself, inclosing
+your two reports. But first I will go and see the admiral."
+
+In a little over half an hour he returned. "The admiral knows no more than
+I do whether the navy have anything to do with the prizes or not. Being so
+small in value he does not want to trouble himself about it. He says that
+the matter would entail no end of correspondence and bother, and that the
+crafts might rot at their anchors before the matter was decided. He thinks
+the best thing that I can do will be to sell the two vessels for what they
+will fetch, and divide the money according to prize rules, and say nothing
+about it. In that way there is not likely ever to be any question about
+it, while if the Admiralty and Horse Guards once get into a correspondence
+over the matter, there is no saying what bother I might have; and that he
+should advise me, if I do not adopt that plan, to simply scuttle them
+both, and report that they have sunk. Now I will just write my official
+letter and take it to head-quarters."
+
+In two hours he was back again.
+
+"I have not seen the chief," he said, "but I gave the reports to his
+adjutant-general. General Fane was with him; he is an old friend of mine,
+and I told him the story of your voyage, and the adjutant-general joined
+in the conversation. Fane was waiting to go in to Sir Arthur, who was
+dictating some despatches to England, and he said that if he had a chance
+he would mention the affair to Sir Arthur; and, at any rate, the other
+officer said that he would lay the reports before him, with such mention
+that Sir Arthur would doubtless look through them both. I find that there
+is a bit of insurrection going on in Portugal, but that no one thinks much
+will come of it, as bands of unarmed peasants can have no chance with the
+French. Nothing is determined as yet about our landing. Lisbon and the
+Tagus are completely in the hands of the French.
+
+"Sir Arthur is going down to Oporto to-morrow, where it is likely that he
+will learn more about the situation than he did at Corunna. Fane says that
+he hopes we shall soon be ashore, as the general is not the man to let the
+grass grow under his feet."
+
+After holding counsel with his officers the colonel determined to adopt
+the advice he had received, and to sell the two craft for what they would
+fetch, the officers all agreeing to refund their shares if any questions
+were ever asked on the subject. The captain of the _Sea-horse__ agreed to
+accept the share of a captain in the line, and his mates those of first
+and second lieutenant. The colonel put himself in communication with some
+merchants on shore, and the two craft were sold for twelve hundred pounds.
+
+"This gave something over a pound a head to the 400 soldiers and the crew,
+twice that amount to the non-commissioned officers, and sums varying from
+ten pounds apiece to the ensigns to fifty pounds to the major. The admiral
+was asked to approve of the transaction, and said, 'I have no right
+formally to sanction it, since, so far as I know, it is not a strictly
+naval matter; but I will give you a letter, Colonel, saying that you have
+informed me of the course that you have adopted, and that I consider that
+under the peculiar circumstances of the capture, and the fact that there
+are no men available for sending the prizes to England, the course was the
+best and most convenient that could possibly be adopted, though, had the
+craft been of any great value, it would, of course, have been necessary to
+refer the matter home.'"
+
+A week passed without movement. The expedition had left England on the
+12th of July, 1808, and Sir Arthur rejoined it towards the end of the
+month. He had learned at Oporto from Colonel Brown, our agent there, that,
+contrary to what he had been told at Corunna, there were no Spanish troops
+in the north of Portugal, but that a body of some 8,000 Portuguese
+irregulars and militia, half-armed and but slightly disciplined, were
+assembled on the river Mondego. After a consultation with Admiral Sir
+Charles Cotton, Sir Arthur had concluded that an attack at the mouth of
+the Tagus was impracticable, owing to the strength of the French there,
+the position of the forts that commanded the entrance of the river, and
+the heavy surf that broke in all the undefended creeks and bays near.
+There was then the choice of landing far enough north of Lisbon to ensure
+a disembarkation undisputed by the French, or else to sail south, join
+Spencer, and act against the French army under Dupont.
+
+Sir Arthur finally determined that the Mondego River was the most
+practicable for the enterprise. The fort of Figueira at its mouth was
+already occupied by British marines, and the Portuguese force was at least
+sufficient to deter any small body of troops approaching the
+neighbourhood. Therefore, to the great joy of the troops, the order was
+given that the fleet should sail on the following morning; two days later
+they anchored off the mouth of the Mondego. Just before starting a vessel
+arrived with despatches from Spencer, saying that he was at St. Mary's and
+was free to act with Sir Arthur, and a fast vessel was despatched with
+orders to him to sail to the Mondego.
+
+On arriving there Sir Arthur received the mortifying intelligence that Sir
+Hew Dalrymple had been appointed over his head, nevertheless he continued
+to push on his own plans with vigour, pending the arrival of that general.
+With this bad news came the information that the French general, Dupont,
+had been defeated. This set free a small force under General Anstruther,
+and some fast-sailing craft were at once despatched to find his command,
+and order it to sail at once to the Mondego. Without further delay,
+however, the landing of the troops began on the 1st of August, and the
+9,000 men, their guns and stores, were ashore by the 5th.
+
+On that day Spencer fortunately arrived with 3,300 men. He had not
+received Sir Arthur's orders, but the moment that Dupont surrendered he
+had sailed for the Tagus, and had learned from Sir C. Cotton, who
+commanded the fleet at the entrance to the river, where Sir Arthur was,
+and at once sailed to join him. While the troops were disembarking Sir
+Arthur had gone over to the Portuguese head-quarters, two miles distant,
+to confer with Bernardin Friere, the Portuguese commander-in-chief. The
+visit was a disappointing one. He found that the Portuguese troops were
+almost unarmed, and that their commander was full of inflated ideas. He
+proposed that the forces should unite, that they should relinquish the
+coast, and march into the interior and commence an offensive campaign, and
+was lavish in his promises to provide ample stores of provisions. The
+English general saw, however, that no effectual assistance could be hoped
+for from the Portuguese troops, and as little from the promises of their
+commander. He gave Friere 5,000 muskets for his troops, but absolutely
+declined to adopt the proposed plan, his own intention being to keep near
+the coast, where he could receive his supplies from the ships and be
+joined by reinforcements.
+
+As soon as they had landed the Mayo regiment was marched to a village two
+miles inland, and, with two others of the same brigade, encamped near it.
+All idea of keeping up a regimental officers' mess had been abandoned, and
+as soon as the tents were pitched and the troops had settled down in them,
+O'Grady said to Terence:
+
+"We will go into the village and see if we can find a suitable place for
+taking our meals. It may be that in time our fellows will learn how to
+cook for us, but, by jabers! we will live dacent as long as we can. My
+servant, Tim Hoolan, has gone on ahead to look for such a place, and he is
+the boy to find one if there is one anyhow to be got. As our companies are
+number 1 and 2, it is reasonable that we should stick together, and though
+O'Driscol's a quare stick, with all sorts of ridiculous notions, he is a
+good fellow at heart, and I will put up with him for the sake of having
+you with me."
+
+As they entered the village the servant came up. "I have managed it,
+Captain; we have got hold of the best quarters in the village; it is a
+room over the only shebeen here. The ould scoundrel of a landlord wanted
+to keep it as a general room, but I brought the Church to bear on him, and
+I managed it finally."
+
+"How did you work it, Tim?"
+
+"Sure, your honour, I went to the praste, and by good luck his house is in
+front of the church. I went into the church, and I crossed myself before
+the altar and said a prayer or two. As I did so who should come out of the
+vestry but the father himself. He waited until I had done and then came up
+to me, and to my surprise said in good Irish:
+
+"'So it's a Catholic you are, my man?'
+
+"'That am I, your riverence,' said I, 'and most all of the rigiment are;
+sure, we were raised in the ould country, and belong, most of us, to
+County Mayo, and glad we were to come out here to fight for those of the
+true religion against these Frenchmen, who they say have no religion at
+all, at all. And how is it you spake the language, your riverence, if I
+may be so bold as to ask?'"
+
+"Then he told me that he had been at college at Lisbon, where the sons of
+many Catholic Irish gentlemen were sent to be educated, and that he had
+learned it from them.
+
+"'And how is it that you are not with your regiment, my man?'
+
+"'I am here to hire rooms for the officers, your riverence, just a place
+where they can ate a dacent meal in peace and quietness. I have been to
+the inn, but I cannot for the life of me make the landlord understand. He
+has got a room that would be just suitable, so I thought I would come to
+your riverence to explain to you that the rigiment are not heretics, but
+true sons of the Church. I thought that, being a learned man, I might make
+shift to make you understand, and that you would maybe go wid me and
+explain the matter to him.'
+
+"'That will I,' says he; and he wint and jabbered away with the innkeeper,
+and at last turned to me and said: 'He will let you have a room, seeing
+that it is for the service of good Catholics and not heretics.'"
+
+"But, you rascal, you know that we are not Catholics."
+
+"Sure, your honour, didn't I say that most all the rigiment were
+Catholics; I did not say all of them."
+
+"I must go and explain the matter to him, Hoolan. If he calls upon us, as
+like he may do, he would find out at once that you have desaved him."
+
+"Sure, your honour, if you think that it is necessary, of course it must
+be done; but would it not be as well to go to the shebeen first and to
+take possession of the room, and to get comfortably settled down in it
+before ye gives me away?"
+
+"I think it might be worth while, Tim," O'Grady said, gravely. "What do
+you say, Terence?"
+
+"I think the matter will keep for a few hours," Terence said, laughing,
+"and when we are once settled there it will be very hard to turn us out."
+
+The room was found to be larger than they had expected, and O'Grady
+proposed that they should admit the whole officers of their wing to share
+it with them, to which Terence at once agreed heartily. "I think that with
+a little squeezing the place would hold the officers of the five
+companies, and the major and O'Flaherty. The more of us there are, the
+merrier, and the less fear of our being turned out."
+
+"That is so. We had better put the names up on the door. You go down and
+try and make that black-browed landlord understand that you want some
+paper and pen and ink."
+
+With some difficulty and much gesticulation Terence succeeded. The names
+of the officers were written down on a paper and it was then fastened on
+the door.
+
+"Now, Terence, I will go and fetch the boys; you and Hoolan make the
+landlord understand that we want food and wine for fifteen or sixteen
+officers. Of course they won't all be able to get away at once. We must
+contint ourselves with anything we can get now; afterwards we will send up
+our rations, and with plenty of good wine and a ham (there are lots of
+them hanging from the ceiling down below), we shall do pretty well, with
+what you can forage outside."
+
+Terence left this part of the work to Hoolan, who, by bringing up a number
+of plates and ranging them on the table, getting down a ham and cutting it
+into slices, and by pointing to the wine-skins, managed to acquaint the
+landlord with what was required. In this he was a good deal aided by the
+man's two nieces, who acted as his assistants, and who were much quicker
+in catching his meaning than was the landlord himself. Very soon the room
+below was crowded with officers from other regiments, and Hoolan went up
+to Terence:
+
+"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that it would be a good job if you were to go down
+and buy a dozen of them hams. A lot of them have been sold already, and it
+won't be long before the last has gone, though I reckon that there are
+three or four dozen of them still there."
+
+"That is a very good idea, Tim. You come down with me and bring them
+straight up here, and we will drive some nails into those rafters. I
+expect before nightfall the place will be cleared out of everything that
+is eatable."
+
+The bargain was speedily concluded. The landlord was now in a better
+temper. At first he had been very doubtful of the intentions of the
+new-comers. Now that he saw that they were ready to pay for everything,
+and that at prices much higher than he could before have obtained, his
+face shone with good-humour. He and the two girls were already busy
+drawing wine and selling it to the customers.
+
+"I will get some wood, your honour, and light a fire here, or it is mighty
+little dinner that you will be getting. The soldiers will soon be dropping
+in, that is, if they don't keep this place for officers only, for there
+are two other places where they sell wine in the village. When I came up
+two officers had a slice of ham each on the points of their swords over
+the fire."
+
+"That will be a very good plan, Tim; you had better set to work about it
+at once, and at the same time I will try and get some bread."
+
+By the time that O'Grady returned with seven or eight other officers the
+fire was blazing. Terence had managed to get a sufficient number of knives
+and forks; there was, however, no table-cloth in the house. He and Terence
+were cooking slices of ham on a gridiron over the fire.
+
+"This is first-rate, O'Grady," Major Harrison said; "the place is crowded
+down below, and we should have fared very badly if you had not managed to
+get hold of this room."
+
+"If some of the boys will see to the cooking, Major, I will go down with
+Hoolan and get a barrel of wine and bring it up here; then we shall do
+first-rate."
+
+"How about the rations, Major?" Terence asked.
+
+"They have just been served out. I sent my man down to draw the rations
+for the whole wing at once, and told him to bring them up here."
+
+"And I have told mine," Captain O'Driscol said, "to go round the village
+and buy up two or three dozen chickens, if he can find them, and as many
+eggs as he can collect. I think that we had better tell off two of the men
+as cooks. I don't think it is likely that they will be able to get much
+done that way below. Hoolan and another will do."
+
+"I should think it best to keep Hoolan as forager; he is rather a genius
+in that capacity. I think he has got round those two girls, whether by his
+red hair or his insinuating manners I cannot say, but they seem ready to
+do anything for him, and we shall want lots of things in the way of pots
+and pans and so on."
+
+"Very well, Terence, then we will leave him free and put two others on."
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+UNDER CANVAS
+
+In a short time O'Grady returned, followed by Hoolan, carrying a small
+barrel of wine.
+
+"It is good, I hope," the major said, as the barrel was set down in one
+corner of the room.
+
+"I think that it is the best they have; one of the girls went down with
+Tim into the cellar and pointed it out to him. I told him to ask her for
+_bueno vino__. I don't know whether it was right or not, but I think she
+understood."
+
+"How much does it hold, O'Grady?"
+
+"I cannot say; five or six gallons, I should think; anyhow, I paid three
+dollars for it."
+
+"You must put down all the outgoings, O'Grady, and we will square up when
+we leave here."
+
+"I will put them down, Major. How long do you think we shall stop here?"
+
+"That is more than anyone can say; we have to wait for Anstruther and
+Spencer. It may be three or four days; it may be a fortnight."
+
+Dick Ryan assisted Terence in the cooking, while Tim went down to get
+something to drink out of. He returned with three mugs and two horns.
+
+"Divil a thing else is there that can be found, yer honour," he said, as
+he placed them on the table; "every mortial thing is in use."
+
+"That will do to begin with," the major said; "we will get our own things
+up this afternoon. We must manage as best we can for this meal; it is
+better than I expected by a long way."
+
+Tim now relieved the two young officers at the gridiron, and sitting down
+at the benches along the table the meal was eaten with much laughter and
+fun.
+
+"After all, there is nothing like getting things straight from the
+gridiron," the major said.
+
+O'Grady had got the bung out of the barrel and filled the five drinking
+vessels, and the wine was pronounced to be very fair. One by one the other
+officers dropped in, and Hoolan was for an hour kept busy. The major, who
+spoke a little Spanish, went down and returned with a dozen bottles of
+spirits, two or three of which were opened and the contents consumed.
+
+"It is poor stuff by the side of whisky," O'Grady said, as he swallowed a
+stiff glass of it; "still, I will not be denying that it is warming and
+comforting, and if we can get enough of it we can hold on till we get home
+again. Here is success to the campaign. I will trouble you for that
+bottle, O'Driscol."
+
+"Here it is. I shall stick to wine; I don't care for that fiery stuff.
+Here is success to the campaign, and may we meet the French before long!
+
+"We are pretty sure to do that," he went on, as he set his horn down on
+the table. "If Junot knows his business he won't lose a day before
+marching against us directly he hears of our landing. He will know well
+enough that unless he crushes us at once he will have all Portugal up in
+arms. Here, Terence, you can have this horn."
+
+The difficulty of drinking had to some extent been solved by Hoolan, who
+had gone downstairs, and returned with a tin pot capable of holding about
+a couple of quarts. This he had cleaned by rubbing it with sand and water,
+and it went round as a loving-cup among those unprovided with mugs or
+horns. When all had finished, the two soldier servants, who had now
+arrived with the rations, were left in charge. O'Driscol's servant had
+brought in a dozen fowls and a large basket full of eggs, and, ordering
+supper to be ready at eight, the officers returned to their camp. They
+found that their comrades had done fairly well. Several rooms had been
+obtained in the village, and hams, black sausages, and other provisions
+purchased, and cooked in a rough way on a gridiron.
+
+"I am afraid that it is too good to last," the colonel said, as the
+officers gathered around him as the bugle sounded for parade; "a week of
+this and the last scrap of provisions here will have been eaten, and we
+shall have nothing but our rations to fall back upon. There is one thing,
+however, that is not likely to give out, that is wine. They grow it about
+here, and I hear that the commissariat have bought up large quantities
+without difficulty to serve out to the troops."
+
+The regiment had a long afternoon's drill to get them out of the slackness
+occasioned by their enforced idleness on the voyage. When it was over they
+were formed up, and the colonel addressed a few words to the men.
+
+"Men of the Mayo regiment," he said, "I trust that, now we are fairly
+embarked upon the campaign, you will so behave as to do credit to
+yourselves and to Ireland. Perhaps some of you think that, now that you
+are on a campaign, you can do just as you like. Those who think so are
+wrong; it is just the other way. When you were at home I did not think it
+necessary that I should be severe with you; and as long as a man was able,
+when he came into barracks, to walk to his quarters, I did not trouble
+about him. But it is different here; any breach of duty will be most
+severely punished, and any man who is found drunk will be flogged. Any man
+plundering or ill-treating the people of the country will be handed over
+to the provost-marshal, and, unless I am mistaken, he is likely to be
+shot.
+
+"Sir Arthur Wellesley is not the man to stand nonsense. There must be no
+straggling; you must keep within the bounds of the camps, and no one must
+go into the village without a permit from the captain of his company. As
+to your fighting--well, I have no fear of that; we will say nothing about
+it. Before the enemy I know that you will all do your duty, and it is just
+as necessary that you should do your duty and be a credit to your regiment
+at other times. There are blackguards in the regiment, as there are in
+every other, but I tell them that a sharp eye will be kept upon them, and
+that no mercy will be shown them if they misbehave while they are in
+Portugal. That is all I have to say to you."
+
+"That was the sort of thing, I think, Major," he said, as, after the men
+were dismissed, he walked back to his tent with Major Harrison.
+
+"Just the sort of thing, Colonel," the other said, smiling; "and said in
+the sort of way that they will understand. I am afraid that we shall have
+trouble with some of them. Wine and spirits are cheap, and it will be very
+difficult to keep them from it altogether. Still, if we make an example of
+the first fellow who is caught drunk it will be a useful lesson to the
+whole. A few floggings at the start may save some hanging afterwards. I
+know you are averse to flogging--there have only been four men flogged in
+the last six months--but this is a case where punishment must be dealt out
+sharply if discipline is to be maintained, and the credit of the regiment
+be kept up."
+
+O'Grady and one of the other officers called upon the priest to thank him
+for his good offices in obtaining the room for them.
+
+"I am afraid from what my man tells me that he did not state the case
+quite fairly to you. Our regiment was, as he said, raised in Ireland, and
+the greater portion of the men are naturally of your faith, Father, but we
+really have no claim to your services whatever."
+
+The priest smiled.
+
+"I am, nevertheless, glad to have been of service to you, gentlemen," he
+said, courteously; "at least you are Irishmen, and I have many good
+friends countrymen of yours. And you have still another claim upon us all,
+for are you not here to aid us to shake off this French domination? I hope
+that you are comfortable, but judging from what I see and hear when
+passing I fear that your lodging is a somewhat noisy one."
+
+"You may well say that, Father; and we do our full share towards making it
+so; but having the room makes all the difference to us. They have no time
+to cook downstairs, and it is done by our own servants; but it is handy to
+have the wine and other things within call, and if we always do as well,
+we shall have good cause to feel mighty contented; for barring that we are
+rather crowded, we are just as well off here as we were at home, saving
+only in the quality of the spirits. Now, Father, we cannot ask you up
+there, seeing that it is your own village, but if you would like to take a
+walk through the camps we should be glad to show you what there is to be
+seen, and can give you a little of the real cratur. It is not much of it
+that we have been able to bring ashore, for the general is mighty stiff in
+the matter of baggage, but I doubt whether there is one of us who did not
+manage to smuggle a bottle or two of the real stuff hidden in his kit."
+
+The priest accepted the invitation, and was taken through the brigade
+camp, staying some time in that of the Mayos, and astonishing some of the
+soldiers by chatting to them in English, and with a brogue almost as
+strong as their own. He then spent half an hour in O'Grady's tent, and
+sampled the whisky, which he pronounced excellent, and of which his
+entertainer insisted upon his taking a bottle away with him.
+
+Three days later it was known in camp that two French divisions had been
+set in motion against them, the one from Abrantes to the east under
+Loison, the other from the south under Laborde. Junot himself remained at
+Lisbon. The rising in the south, and the news of the British landing
+caused an intense feeling among the population, and the French general
+feared that at any moment an insurrection might break out. The natural
+point of junction of these two columns would be at Leirya. That night
+orders were issued for the tents of the division to which the Mayo
+regiment belonged to be struck before daylight, and the troops were to be
+under arms and ready to march at six o'clock.
+
+"Good news!" O'Grady said, as he entered the mess-room at four o'clock in
+the afternoon, after having learned from the colonel the orders for the
+next morning; "our brigade is to form the advanced guard, and we are to
+march at six tomorrow."
+
+A general exclamation of pleasure broke from the five or six officers
+present. "We shall have the first of the fun, boys; hand me that horn,
+Terence. Here is to Sir Arthur; good-luck to him, and bad cess to the
+French!"
+
+The toast was drunk with some laughter. "Now we are going to campaign in
+earnest," he went on; "no more wine swilling, no more devilled ham----"
+
+"No more spirits, O'Grady," one of the group cut in; "and as for the wine,
+you have drunk your share, besides twice your share of the spirits."
+
+"Whin there is nothing to do, Debenham, I can take me liquor in
+moderation."
+
+"I have never remarked that, O'Grady," one of the others put in.
+
+"In great moderation," O'Grady said, gravely, but he was again interrupted
+by a shout of laughter.
+
+"Ye had to be helped home last night, O'Grady, and it took Hoolan a
+quarter of an hour to wake you this morning. I heard him say, 'Now, master
+dear, the bugle will sound in a minute or two; it's wake you must, or
+there will be a divil of botheration over it.' I looked in, and there you
+were. Hoolan was standing by the side of you shaking his head gravely, as
+if it was a hopeless job that he had in hand, and if I had not emptied a
+water-bottle over you, you would never have been on parade in time."
+
+"Oh! it was you, was it?" O'Grady said, wrathfully. "Hoolan swore by all
+the saints that he had not seen who it was. Never mind, me boy, I will be
+even wid ye yet; the O'Grady is not to be waked in that fashion; mind I
+owe you one, though I am not saying that I should have been on parade in
+time if you had not done it; I only just saved my bacon."
+
+"And hardly that," Terence laughed, "for the adjutant was down upon you
+pretty sharply; your coatee was all buttoned up wrong; your hair had not
+been brushed, and stuck up all ways below your shako; your sword-belt was
+all awry, and you looked worse than you did when I brought you home."
+
+"Well, it is a poor heart that never rejoices, Terence. We must make a
+night of it, boys; if the tents are to be struck before daylight it will
+be mighty little use your turning in."
+
+"You won't catch me sitting up all night," Terence said, "with perhaps a
+twenty-mile march in the morning, and maybe a fight at the end of it. If
+it is to Leirya we are going it will be nearer thirty miles than twenty,
+and even you, seasoned vessel as you are, will find it a long walk after
+being up all night, and having had pretty hard work to-day."
+
+"I cannot hold wid the general there," O'Grady said, gravely; "he has been
+kapeing us all at it from daybreak till night, ivery day since we landed,
+and marching the men's feet off. It is all very well to march when we have
+got to march, but to keep us tramping fifteen or twenty miles a day when
+there is no occasion for it is out of all reason."
+
+"We shall march all the better for it to-morrow, O'Grady. It has been hard
+work, certainly, but not harder than it was marching down to Cork; and we
+should have a good many stragglers to-morrow if it had not been for the
+last week's work. We have got half a dozen footsore men in my company
+alone, and you would have fifty to-morrow night if the men had not had all
+this marching to get them fit."
+
+"It is all very well for you, Terence, who have been tramping all over the
+hills round Athlone since you were a gossoon; but I am sure that if I had
+not had that day off duty when I showed the priest round the camp I should
+have been kilt."
+
+"Here is the general order of the day," the adjutant said, as he came in
+with Captain O'Connor. "The general says that now the army is about to
+take the field he shall expect the strictest discipline to be maintained,
+and that all stragglers from the ranks will at once be handed over to the
+provost-marshal, and all offences against the peasantry or their property
+will be severely punished. Then there are two or three orders that do not
+concern us particularly, and then there is one that concerns you, Terence.
+The general has received a report from Colonel Corcoran of the Mayo
+Fusiliers stating that 'the transport carrying the left wing of that
+regiment was attacked by two French privateers, and would have been
+compelled to surrender, she being practically unarmed, had it not been for
+the coolness and quick wit of Ensign Terence O'Connor. Having read the
+report the general commanding fully concurs, and expresses his high
+satisfaction at the conduct of Ensign O'Connor, which undoubtedly saved
+from capture the wing of the regiment.'
+
+"There, Terence, that is a feather in your cap. Sir Arthur is not given to
+praise unduly, and it is seldom that an ensign gets into general orders.
+It will do you good some day, perhaps when you least expect it."
+
+"I am heartily pleased, my lad," Captain O'Connor said, as he laid his
+hand upon Terence's shoulder. "I am proud of you. I have never seen my own
+name in general orders, but I am heartily glad to see yours. Bedad, when I
+think that a couple of months ago you were running wild and getting into
+all sorts of mischief, it seems hard to believe that you should not only
+be one of us, but have got your name into general orders."
+
+"And all for nothing, father," Terence said. "I call it a beastly shame
+that just because I thought of using that lugger I should be cracked up
+more than the others."
+
+"It was not only that, though, Terence; those guns that crippled the
+lugger could not have been fired if you had not thought of putting rope
+round them, and that French frigate would never have left you alone had
+not you suggested to the major how to throw dust into their eyes. No, my
+lad, you thoroughly deserve the credit that you have got, and I am sure
+that there is not a man in the regiment who would not say the same."
+
+"Gintlemen," Captain O'Grady said, solemnly, "we will drink to the health
+of Ensign Terence O'Connor; more power to his elbow!" And the toast was
+duly honoured.
+
+"It is mighty good of me to propose it," O'Grady went on, after Terence
+had said a few words of thanks, "because I have a strong idea that in
+another two or three minutes I should have made just the same suggestion
+that you did, me lad. I knew at the time that there was a plan I wanted to
+propose, but sorra a word came to me lips. I was just brimful with it when
+you came up and took the words out of me mouth. If I had spoken first it
+is a brevet majority I had got, sure enough."
+
+"You must be quicker next time, O'Grady," the adjutant said, when the
+laughter had subsided; "as you say, you have missed a good thing by your
+slowness. I am afraid your brain was still a little muddled by your
+indulgence the night before."
+
+"Just the contrary, me boy; I feel that if I had taken just one glass more
+of the cratur me brain would have been clearer and I should have been to
+the fore. But I bear you no malice, Terence. Maybe the ideas would not
+have managed to straighten themselves out until after we had had to haul
+down the flag, and then it would have been too late to have been any good.
+It has happened to me more than once before that I have just thought of a
+good thing when it was too late."
+
+"It has occurred to most of us, O'Grady," Captain O'Connor said, laughing.
+"Terence, you see, doesn't care for whisky, and perhaps that has something
+to do with his ideas coming faster than ours. Well, so we are off
+to-morrow; though, of course, no one knows which way we are going to
+march, it must be either to Leirya or along the coast road. It is a good
+thing Spencer has come up in time, for there is no saying how strong the
+French may be; though I fancy they are all so scattered about that, after
+leaving a garrison to keep Lisbon in order, and holding other points,
+Junot will hardly be able at such short notice to gather a force much
+superior to ours. But from what I hear there are some mighty strong
+positions between this and Lisbon, and if he sticks himself up on the top
+of a hill we shall have all our work to turn him off again."
+
+"I fancy it will be to Leirya," the adjutant said; "the Portuguese report
+that one French division is at Candieros and another coming from Abrantes,
+and Sir Arthur is likely to endeavour to prevent them from uniting."
+
+That evening there was a grand feast at the mess-room. The colonel had
+been specially invited, and every effort was made to do honour to the
+occasion. Tim Hoolan had been very successful in a foraging expedition,
+and had brought in a goose and four ducks, and had persuaded the
+landlord's nieces to let him and the cook have sole possession of the
+kitchen. The banquet was a great success, but the majority of those
+present did not sit very long afterwards. The colonel set the example of
+rising early.
+
+"I should advise you, gentlemen, to turn in soon," he said. "I do not say
+where we are to march to-morrow, but I can tell you at least that the
+march is a very long one, and that it were best to get as much sleep as
+possible, for I can assure you that it will be no child's play; and I
+think that it is quite probable we shall smell powder before the day is
+over."
+
+Accordingly, all the young officers and several of the seniors left with
+him, but O'Grady and several of the hard drinkers kept it up until
+midnight, observing, however, more moderation than usual in their
+potations.
+
+There was none of the grumbling common when men are turned out of their
+beds before dawn; all were in high spirits that the time for action had
+arrived; the men were as eager to meet the enemy as were their officers;
+and the tents were all down and placed in the waggons before daylight. The
+regimental cooks had already been at work, and the officers went round and
+saw that all had had breakfast before they fell in. At six o'clock the
+whole were under arms and in their place as the central regiment in the
+brigade. They tramped on without a halt until eleven; then the bugle
+sounded, and they fell out for half an hour.
+
+The men made a meal from bread and the meat that had been cooked the night
+before, each man carrying three days' rations in his haversack. There was
+another halt, and a longer one, at two o'clock, when the brigade rested
+for an hour in the shade of a grove.
+
+"It is mighty pleasant to rest," O'Grady said, as the officers threw
+themselves down on the grass, "but it is the starting that bates one. I
+feel that my feet have swollen so that every step I take I expect my boots
+to burst with an explosion. Faith, if it comes to fighting I shall take
+them off altogether, and swing them at my belt. How can I run after the
+French when I am a cripple?"
+
+"You had better take your boots off now, O'Grady," one of the others
+suggested.
+
+"It is not aisy to get them off, and how should I get them on again? No;
+they have got there, and there they have got to stop, bad cess to them! I
+told Hoolan to rub grease into them for an hour last night, but the rascal
+was as drunk as an owl."
+
+There was no more talking, for every man felt that an hour's sleep would
+do wonders for him; soon absolute quiet reigned in the grove, and
+continued until the bugle again called them to their feet. All knew now
+that it was Leirya they were making for, and that another ten miles still
+remained to be accomplished. A small body of cavalry which accompanied
+them now pushed on ahead, and when half the distance had been traversed a
+trooper brought back the news that the enemy had not yet reached the town.
+It was just six o'clock when the brigade marched in amid the cheers and
+wild excitement of the inhabitants. The waggons were not yet up, and the
+troops were quartered in the town, tired, and many of them foot-sore, but
+proud of the march they had accomplished, and that it had enabled them to
+forestall the French.
+
+Laborde, indeed, arrived the same night at Batalha, eight miles distant,
+but on receiving the news in the morning that the British had already
+occupied Leirya, he advanced no farther. His position was an exceedingly
+difficult one; his orders were to cover the march of Loison from Abrantes,
+and to form a junction with that general; but to do so now would be to
+leave open the road through Alcobaca and Obidos to the commanding position
+at Torres Vedras. Batalha offered no position that he could hope to defend
+until the arrival of Loison; therefore, sending word to that general to
+move from Torras Novas, as soon as he reached that town, to Santarem, and
+then to march to join him at Rolica, he fell back to Alcobaca and then to
+Obidos, a town with a Moorish castle, built on a gentle eminence in the
+middle of a valley.
+
+Leaving a detachment here, he retired to Rolica, six miles to the south of
+it. At this point several roads met, and he at once covered all the
+approaches to Torres Vedras, and the important port of Peniche, and could
+be joined by Loison marching down from Santarem.
+
+The advanced brigade of the British force remained in quiet possession of
+Leirya during the next day, and on the following, the 11th of August, the
+main body of the army arrived, having taken two days on the march. The
+Portuguese force also came in under Friere. That general at once took
+possession of the magazines there, and although he had promised the
+English general that their contents should be entirely devoted to the
+maintenance of the English army, he divided them among his own force.
+ Disgusted as the British commander was at this barefaced dishonesty, he
+was not in a position to quarrel with the Portuguese. It was essential to
+him that they should accompany him, not for the sake of the assistance
+that they would give, for he knew that none was to be expected from them,
+but from a political point of view. It was most important that the people
+at large should feel that their own troops were acting with the British,
+and that no feelings of jealousy or suspicion of the latter should arise.
+Friere was acting under the orders of the Bishop and Junta of Oporto,
+whose great object was to keep the Portuguese army together and not to
+risk a defeat, as they desired to keep this body intact in order that, if
+the British were defeated, they should be able to make favourable terms
+for themselves. Consequently, even after appropriating the whole of the
+stores and provisions found at Leirya, Friere continued to make exorbitant
+demands, and to offer a vigorous opposition to any further advance.
+
+So far did he carry this that the British general, finding that in no
+other way could he get the Portuguese to advance with him, proposed that
+they should follow behind him and wait the result of the battle, to which
+Friere at last consented. The Portuguese, in fact, had no belief whatever
+that the British troops would be able to withstand the onslaught of the
+French, whom they regarded as invincible. Colonel Trant, however, one of
+our military agents, succeeded in inducing Friere to place 1,400 infantry
+and 250 cavalry under the command of Sir Arthur.
+
+The addition of the cavalry was a very useful one, for the English had
+with them only 180 mounted men; the country was entirely new to them,
+scarcely an officer could speak the language, and there was no means,
+therefore, of obtaining information as to the movements of the enemy.
+Moving forward through Batalha, and regaining the coast road at Alcobaca,
+the British forces arrived at Caldas on the 15th; and on the same day
+Junot quitted Lisbon with a force of 2,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and
+ten pieces of artillery, leaving 7,000 to garrison the forts and keep down
+the population of the city. His force was conveyed to Villa Franca by
+water, and the general then pushed forward to Santarem, where he found
+Loison, and took command of his division.
+
+The British advanced guard, after arriving at Caldas, pushed forward,
+drove the French pickets out of Brilos, and then from Obidos. Here,
+however, a slight reverse took place. Some companies of the 95th and 60th
+Rifles pressed forward three miles farther in pursuit, when they were
+suddenly attacked in flank by a greatly superior force, and had it not
+been that General Spencer, whose division was but a short distance behind,
+pressed forward to their assistance, they would have suffered heavily; as
+it was they escaped with the loss of two officers and twenty-seven men
+killed and wounded. Their rashness, however, led to the discovery that
+Laborde's force had taken up a strong position in front of the village of
+Rolica, and that he apparently intended to give battle there.
+
+The next day was spent in reconnoitring the French position. It was a very
+strong one. Rolica stood on a table-land rising in a valley, affording a
+view of the road as far as Obidos. The various points of defence there,
+and on the flank, were held by strong parties of the enemy. A mile in the
+rear was a steep and lofty ridge that afforded a strong second line of
+defence. By the side of this ridge the road passed through a deep defile,
+and then mounted over a pass through the range of hills extending from the
+sea to the Tagus, and occupying the intermediate ground until close to
+Lisbon. Laborde's position was an embarrassing one. If he retired upon
+Torres Vedras his line of communication with Loison would be lost, if he
+moved to meet Loison he would leave open the direct road to Lisbon, while
+if he remained at Rolica he had to encounter a force almost three times
+his own strength.
+
+Trusting in the advantages of his position, and confident in the valour of
+his troops, he chose the last alternative. Very anxiously, during the day,
+the British officers watched the French line of defence, fearful lest the
+enemy would again retreat. By sunset they came to the conclusion that
+Laborde intended to stay where he was, and to meet them. The French,
+indeed, had been so accustomed to beat the Spanish and Portuguese, that
+they had not woke up to the fact that they had troops of a very different
+material facing them.
+
+"We ought to have easy work," Major Harrison said, as the officers
+gathered round the fire that had been built in front of the colonel's
+tent; "the people here all declare that Laborde has not above 5,000 troops
+with him, while, counting Trant's Portuguese, we have nearly 14,000."
+
+"There will be no credit in thrashing them with such odds as that," Dick
+Ryan grumbled.
+
+"I suppose, Ryan," Major Harrison said, "if you had been in Sir Arthur's
+place you would have preferred remaining at Leirya until Junot could have
+gathered all his forces, and obtained a reinforcement of some fifty
+thousand or so from Spain, then you would have issued a general order
+saying, that as the enemy had now a hundred thousand troops ready, the
+army would advance and smite them."
+
+"Not so bad as that, Major," the young ensign said, colouring, as there
+was a general laugh from the rest; "but there does not seem much
+satisfaction in thrashing an enemy when we are three to one against him."
+
+"But that is just the art of war, Ryan. Of course, it is glorious to
+defeat a greatly superior army and to lose half your own in doing so; that
+may be heroic, but it is not modern war. The object of a general is, if
+possible, to defeat an enemy in detail, and to so manoeuvre that he is
+always superior in strength to the force that is immediately in front of
+him, and so to ensure victory after victory until the enemy are destroyed.
+That is what the general is doing by his skilful manoeuvring; he has
+prevented Junot from massing the whole of the army of Portugal against us.
+
+"To-morrow we shall defeat Laborde, and doubtless a day or two later we
+shall fight Loison; then I suppose we shall advance against Lisbon, Junot
+will collect his beaten troops and his garrison, there will be another
+battle, and then we shall capture Lisbon, and the French will have to
+evacuate Portugal. Whereas, if all the French were at Rolica they would
+probably smash us into a cocked hat, in spite of any valour we might show;
+and as we have no cavalry to cover a retreat, as the miserable horses can
+scarcely drag the few guns that we have got, and the carriages are so
+rickety that the artillery officers are afraid that as soon as they fire
+them they will shake to pieces, it is not probable that a single man would
+regain our ships."
+
+"Please say no more, Major; I see I was a fool."
+
+"Still," Captain O'Connor said, "you must own, Major, that one does like
+to win against odds."
+
+"Quite so, O'Connor; individuals who may survive such a battle no doubt
+would be glad that it was a superior force that they had beaten, but then
+you see battles are not fought for the satisfaction of individuals.
+Moreover, you must remember that the proportion of loss is much heavier
+when the numbers are pretty equally matched, for in that case they must
+meet to a certain extent face to face. Skill on the part of the general
+may do a great deal, but in the end it must come to sheer hard fighting.
+Now, I expect that to-morrow, although there may be hard fighting, it is
+not upon that that Sir Arthur will principally rely for turning the French
+out of those strong positions.
+
+"He will, no doubt, advance directly against them with perhaps half his
+force, but the rest will move along on the top of the heights, and so
+threaten to cut the French line of retreat altogether. Laborde is, they
+say, a good general, and therefore won't wait until he is caught in a
+trap, but will fall back as soon as he sees that the line of retreat is
+seriously menaced. I fancy, too, that he must expect Loison up some time
+tomorrow, or he would hardly make a stand, and if Loison does come up,
+Ryan's wish will be gratified and we shall be having the odds against us.
+
+"Then you must remember that our army is a very raw one. A large
+proportion of it is newly raised, and though there may be a few men here
+who fought in Egypt, the great bulk have never seen a shot fired in
+earnest; while, on the other hand, the French have been fighting all over
+Europe. They are accustomed to victory, and are confident in their own
+valour and discipline. Our officers are as raw as our men, and we must
+expect that all sorts of blunders will be made at first. I can tell you
+that I am very well satisfied that our first battle is going to be fought
+with the odds greatly on our side. In six months I should feel pretty
+confident, even if the French had the same odds on their side."
+
+"The major gave it you rather hotly, Dick," Terence said to his friend, as
+they sauntered off together from the group. "I am glad that you spoke
+first, for I had it on the tip of my tongue to say just what you did, and
+I expect that a good many of the others felt just the same."
+
+"Yes, I put my foot in it badly, Terence. I have no doubt the major was
+right; anyhow, I have nothing to say against it. But for all that I wish
+that either we were not so strong or that they were stronger. What credit
+is there, I should like to know, in thrashing them when we are three to
+one? Anyhow, I hope that we shall have some share in the scrimmage. We
+shall get an idea when the orders are published to-night, and shall see
+where Fane's brigade is to be put."
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+ROLICA AND VIMIERA
+
+At nine o'clock in the evening it became known that the general plan of
+attack predicted by Major Harrison was to be carried out. Some five
+thousand men under General Ferguson were to ascend the hills on the left
+of the valley, while Trant, with a thousand Portuguese infantry and some
+Portuguese horse, were to move on the hills on the right; the centre, nine
+thousand strong, and commanded by Sir Arthur himself, were to march
+straight up the valley.
+
+Early in the morning the British troops marched out from Obidos.
+Ferguson's command at once turned to the left and ascended the hills,
+while Trant's moved to the west.
+
+After proceeding a short distance, Fane's brigade moved off from the road
+and marched along the valley, equidistant from the main body and from
+Ferguson, forming a connecting link between them; and on reaching the
+village of St. Mamed, three-quarters of a mile from the French position,
+Hill's brigade turned off to the right. From their elevated position the
+French opened fire with their artillery, and this was answered by the
+twelve guns in the valley and from Ferguson's six guns on the heights.
+Fane's brigade, extended to its left, was the first in action, and drove
+back the French skirmishers and connected Ferguson with the centre. They
+then turned to attack the right of the French position; while Ferguson,
+seeing no signs of Loison's force, descended from the high ground to the
+rear of Fane, while the Portuguese pressed forward at the foot of the
+hills on the other side of the valley and threatened the enemy's left
+flank.
+
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF ROLICA map.]
+
+
+Seeing that his position was absolutely untenable, Laborde did not wait
+the assault, but fell back, covered by his cavalry, to the far stronger
+position in his rear. A momentary pause ensued before the British
+continued their advance. The new position of the French was of great
+natural strength, and could be approached only by narrow paths winding up
+through deep ravines on its face. Ferguson and Fane received orders to
+keep to the left, and so turn the enemy's right. Trant similarly was to
+push forward and threaten his left flank, while Hill and Nightingale
+advanced against the front.
+
+The battle commenced by a storm of skirmishers from these brigades running
+forward. These soon reached the foot of the precipitous hill and plunged
+into the passes. Neither the fire of the enemy nor the difficulties of the
+ascent checked them. Spreading right and left from the paths they made
+their way up, and taking advantage of the shelter afforded by great
+boulders, broken masses of rock, and the stumps of trees, climbed up
+wherever they could find a foothold. The supporting columns experienced
+much greater difficulty; the paths were too narrow, and the ground too
+broken for them to retain their formation, and they made their way forward
+as best they could in necessary disorder.
+
+The din of battle was prodigious, for the rattle of musketry was echoed
+and re-echoed from the rocks. The progress of the skirmishers could only
+be noted by the light smoke rising through the foliage and by the shouts
+of the soldiers, which were echoed by the still louder ones of the French,
+gathered strongly on the hill above them. As the British made their way
+up, Laborde, who was still anxiously looking for the expected coming of
+Loison, withdrew a portion of his troops from the left and strengthened
+his right, in order to hold on as long as possible on the side from which
+aid was expected. The ardour of the British to get to close quarters
+favoured this movement.
+
+It had been intended that the 9th and 29th Regiments should take the
+right-hand path where the track they were following up the pass forked,
+and so join Trant's Portuguese at the top of the hill and fall upon the
+French left. The left-hand path, however, was the one that would take them
+direct to the enemy, and the 29th, which was leading, took this, and the
+9th followed them. So rapidly did they press up the hill that they arrived
+at the crest before Ferguson and Fane, on the left, and Trant on the
+right, had got far enough to menace the line of retreat, and so shake the
+enemy's position. The consequence was, that as the right wing of the 29th
+arrived at the top of the path it was met by a very heavy fire before it
+could form, and some companies of a French regiment, who had been cut off
+from the main body by its sudden appearance, charged through the
+disordered troops and carried with them a major and fifty or sixty other
+prisoners.
+
+The rest of the wing, thus exposed to the full fire of the French, fell
+back over the crest, and there rallied on the left wing; and being joined
+by the 9th, pushed forward again and obtained a footing on the plateau.
+Laborde in vain endeavoured to hurl them back again. They maintained their
+footing, but suffered heavily, both the colonels being killed, with many
+officers and men. But the 5th Regiment were now up, and at other points
+the British were gathering thickly at the edge of the plateau. Ferguson
+and Trant were pushing on fast past the French flanks, and Laborde, seeing
+that further resistance would lead to great disaster, gave the order to
+retire to a third position, still farther in the rear. The movement was
+conducted in splendid order. The French steadily fell back by alternate
+masses, their guns thundering on their flanks, while their cavalry covered
+the rear by repeated charges.
+
+Gaining the third position, Laborde held it for a time, and so enabled
+isolated bodies of his force to join him. Then, finding himself unable to
+resist the impetuosity of the British attack, he retired, still disputing
+every foot of ground, and took to the narrow pass of Runa. He then marched
+all night to the strong position of Montechique, thereby securing his
+junction with Loison, but leaving the road to Torres Vedras open to the
+British. The loss of the French in this fight was 600 killed and wounded,
+and three guns. Laborde himself was among the wounded. The British lost
+nearly 500 killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. The number of the
+combatants actually engaged on either side was about 4,000, and the loss
+sustained showed the obstinacy of the fighting. Sir Arthur believed that
+the French had, as they retreated, been joined by Loison, and therefore
+prepared to march at once by the coast-line to seize the heights of Torres
+Vedras before the French could throw themselves in his way.
+
+Great was the disappointment among officers and men of the Mayo Fusiliers
+that they had taken no part whatever in the actual fighting, beyond
+driving in the French skirmishers at the beginning of the operations.
+
+"Divil a man killed or wounded!" Captain O'Grady remarked, mournfully, as
+the regiment halted at the conclusion of the fight. "Faith, it is too bad,
+entirely; there we are left out in the cold, and scarce a shot has been
+fired!"
+
+"There are plenty of others in the same case," Captain O'Driscol said.
+"None of our three brigades on the left have had anything to do with the
+matter, as far as fighting went. I don't think more than four thousand of
+our troops were in action; but you see if it had not been for our advance,
+Hill and Nightingale might not have succeeded in driving Laborde off the
+hill. There is no doubt that the French fought well, but it's our advance
+that forced him to retire, not the troops in front of him; so that, even
+if we have not had any killed or wounded, O'Grady, we have at least the
+satisfaction of having contributed to the victory."
+
+"Oh, bother your tactics! We have come here to fight, and no fighting have
+we had at all, at all. When we marched out this morning it looked as if we
+were going to have our share in the divarshon, and we have been fairly
+chated out of it."
+
+"Well, O'Grady, you should not grumble," Terence said, "for we had some
+fighting on the way out, which is more than any of the other troops had."
+
+"That was a mere skirmish, Terence. First of all we were shot at, and
+could not shoot back again; and thin we shot at the enemy, and they could
+not shoot back at us. And as for the boarding affair, faith, it did not
+last a minute. The others have had two hours of steady fighting,
+clambering up the hill, and banging away at the enemy, and shouting and
+cheering, and all sorts of fun; and there were we, tramping along among
+those bastely stones and rocks, and no one as much as took the trouble to
+fire a shot at us!"
+
+"Well, if we had been there, O'Grady, we should have lost about a hundred
+and twenty men and officers--if we had suffered in the same proportion as
+the others--and we should now be mourning their loss--perhaps you among
+them. We might have been saying: 'There is O'Grady gone; he was a beggar
+to talk, but he meant well. Faith, the drink bill of the regiment will
+fall off.'"
+
+"Well, it might have been so," O'Grady said, in a more contented voice;
+"and if I had been killed going up the hill, without even as much as
+catching a glimpse of the Frenchies, I would niver have forgiven
+them--niver!"
+
+There was a roar of laughter at the bull.
+
+"Phwat is it have I said?" he asked, in surprise.
+
+"Nothing, O'Grady; but it would be an awful thing for the French to know
+that after your death you would have gone on hating them for ever."
+
+"Did I say that? But you know my maneing, and as long as you know that,
+what does it matter which way I put it? Well, now, I suppose Sir Arthur is
+going to take us tramping along again. Ah, it is a weary thing being a
+soldier!"
+
+"Why, you were saying yesterday, O'Grady, that your feet were getting all
+right," Terence said.
+
+"All right in a manner, Terence. And it is a bad habit that you have got
+of picking up your supayrior officer's words and throwing them into his
+teeth. You will come to a bad end if you don't break yourself of it; and
+the worst of it is, you are corrupting the other lads, and the young
+officers are losing all respect for their seniors. I am surprised, Major,
+that you and the colonel don't take the matter in hand before the
+discipline of the regiment is destroyed entirely."
+
+"You draw it upon yourself, O'Grady, and it is good for us all to have a
+laugh sometimes. We should all have missed you sorely had you gone down on
+that hill over there--as many a good fellow has done. I hear that both the
+9th and 29th have lost their colonels."
+
+"The Lord presarve us from such a misfortune, Major! It would give us a
+step all through the regiment; but then, you see--" And he stopped.
+
+"You mean I should be colonel, O'Grady," the major said, with a laugh;
+"and you know I should not take things as quietly as he does. Well, you
+see, there are consolations all round."
+
+The firing had ceased at four o'clock, and until late that night a large
+portion of the force were occupied in searching the ground that had been
+traversed, burying the dead, and carrying the wounded of both
+nationalities down into the hospital that had been established at Rolica.
+Sir Arthur determined to march at daybreak, so as to secure the passes
+through Torres Vedras; but in the evening a messenger arrived with the
+news that Anstruther and Acland's division, with a large fleet of
+store-ships, were off the coast. The dangerous nature of the coast, and
+the certainty that, should a gale spring up, a large proportion of the
+ships would be wrecked, rendered it absolutely necessary to secure the
+disembarkation of the troops at once. The next morning, therefore, he only
+marched ten miles to Lourinha, and thence advanced to Vimiera, eight miles
+farther, where he covered the disembarkation of the troops.
+
+The next day Anstruther's brigade were with difficulty, and some loss,
+landed on an open sandy beach, and on the night of the 20th Acland's
+brigade were disembarked at Maciera Bay. The reinforcements were most
+opportune, for already the British had proof that Junot was preparing a
+heavy blow. That general had, indeed, lost no time in taking steps to
+bring on a decisive battle. While the British were marching to Lourinha,
+he had, with Loison's division, crossed the line of Laborde's retreat, and
+on the same evening reached Torres Vedras, where the next day he was
+joined by Laborde, and on the 20th by his reserve. In the meantime he sent
+forward his cavalry, which scoured the country round the rear of the
+British camp, and prevented the general from obtaining any information
+whatever as to his position or intentions.
+
+The arrival of Acland's brigade on the night of the 20th increased the
+fighting strength of the army to 16,000 men, with eighteen guns, exclusive
+of Trant's Portuguese, while Sir Arthur judged that Junot could not put
+more than 14,000 in the field. Previous to leaving Mondego he had sent to
+Sir Harry Burrard notice of his plan of campaign, advising him to let Sir
+John Moore, on his arrival with 5,000 men, disembark there and march on
+Santarem, where he would protect the left of the army in its advance,
+block the line of the Tagus, and menace the French line of communication
+between Lisbon and the important fortress of Elvas. The ground at Santarem
+was suited for defence, and Moore could be joined with Friere, who was
+still, with his 5,000 men, at Leirya.
+
+The general intended to make a forced march, keeping by the sea-road. A
+strong advance guard would press forward and occupy the formidable
+position of Mathia in the rear of the hills. With the main body he
+intended to seize some heights a few miles behind Torres Vedras, and to
+cut the road between that place and Montechique, on the direct road to
+Lisbon, and so interpose between Junot and the capital. At twelve o'clock
+that night Sir Arthur was roused by a messenger, who reported that Junot,
+with 20,000 men, was advancing to attack him, and was but an hour's march
+distant. He disbelieved the account of the force of the enemy, and had no
+doubt but that the messenger's fears had exaggerated the closeness of his
+approach. He therefore contented himself with sending orders to the
+pickets to use redoubled vigilance, and at daylight the whole British
+force was, as usual, under arms.
+
+Nothing could have suited the British commander better than that Junot
+should attack him, for the position of Vimiera was strong. The town was
+situated in a valley, through which the little river Maciera flows. In
+this were placed the commissariat stores, while the cavalry and Portuguese
+were on a small plain behind the village. In front of Vimiera was a steep
+hill with a flat top, commanding the ground to the south and east for a
+considerable distance. Fane's and Anstruther's infantry, with six guns,
+were posted here. Fane's left rested on a churchyard, blocking a road
+which led round the declivity of the hill to the town. Behind this
+position, and separated by the river and road, was a hill extending in a
+half-moon to the sea.
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF VIMIERA. map]
+
+Five brigades of infantry, forming the British right, occupied this
+mountain. On the other side of the ravine formed by the river, just beyond
+Vimiera, was another strong and narrow range of heights. There was no
+water to be found on this ridge, and only the 40th Regiment and some
+pickets were stationed here. It was vastly better to be attacked in such a
+position than to be compelled to storm the heights of Torres Vedras, held
+by a strong French army. The advance of the French was fortunate in
+another respect. On the 20th Sir Harry Burrard arrived in the bay on board
+a frigate, and Sir Arthur, thus superseded, went on board to report the
+position of affairs, renewing his recommendation that Sir John Moore
+should land at Mondego and march to Santarem. Sir Harry Burrard, however,
+had already determined that his force should land at Maciera, and he
+refused to permit Sir Arthur's plan of advance to be carried out, and
+ordered that no offensive step should be undertaken until Sir John Moore
+had landed.
+
+The advance of Junot, happily, left Wellesley at liberty to act; and
+disposing his force in order of battle, he awaited the appearance of the
+enemy. It was not until seven o'clock that a cloud of dust was seen rising
+above the opposite ridge, and an hour later a body of cavalry crowned the
+height and sent out a swarm of scouts in every direction. Almost
+immediately afterwards a body of cavalry and infantry were seen marching
+along the road from Torres Vedras to Lourinha, threatening to turn the
+left of the British position. As the British right was not menaced, four
+of the brigades on the hill on that flank were ordered to cross the valley
+and to take post with the 40th Regiment for the defence of the ridge.
+
+This movement, being covered by the Vimiera heights, was unseen by the
+enemy; the 5th brigade and the Portuguese were on a second ridge behind
+the other, and thus assisted to cover the English left and protect its
+rear. The ground between the crest on which the French were first seen and
+our position was so thickly covered with wood, that after the enemy had
+descended into it no correct view of their movements could be obtained.
+
+Junot had intended to fall upon the English army at daybreak, but the
+defiles through which the force had to pass had delayed the march, as had
+the fatigue of the troops, who had been marching all night. From the
+height from which he obtained a view of the British position it seemed to
+him that the British centre and right were held in great strength, and
+that the left was almost unguarded. He therefore determined to attack upon
+that flank, which, indeed, was in any case the most favourable, as, were
+he successful there, he would cut the line of the British retreat and pen
+them up on the sea-shore.
+
+The march of the four brigades through Vimiera to take post on the British
+left was hidden from him, and he divided his force into two heavy columns,
+one of which was to attack the British left, and having, mounted the
+height to sweep all before it into the town; the other was to attack
+Vimiera Hill, held by Anstruther and Fane.
+
+Brennier commanded the attack against the left, Laborde against the
+centre, Loison followed at a short distance. Kellermann commanded the
+reserve of Grenadiers. Unfortunately for the success of Junot's plan, he
+was unaware of the fact that along the foot of the ridge on the British
+left ran a deep ravine, that rendered it very difficult to attack except
+at the extreme end of the position.
+
+"We are going to have our share of the fun to-day," O'Grady said, as he
+stood with a group of officers, watching the wooded plain and the head of
+Laborde's column debouching from among the trees, and moving towards the
+hill.
+
+There was a general murmur of satisfaction from the officers, for although
+they had all laughed at O'Grady's exaggerated regrets at their not being
+engaged at Rolica, all were somewhat sore at the regiment having had no
+opportunity of distinguishing itself on that occasion. No sooner had the
+column cleared the wood than the six guns posted with Fane's and
+Anstruther's brigade at once opened fire upon it. It had been intended
+that Brennier's attack should begin at the same time as Laborde's, but
+that advance had been stopped by the defile, which was so steep and so
+encumbered with rocks, brushwood, and trees, that his troops had the most
+extreme difficulty in making their way across. This enabled Acland, whose
+brigade was in the act of mounting the heights from the town, to turn his
+battery against Laborde's column, which was thus smitten with a shower of
+grape both in front and flank, and to this was added a heavy musketry fire
+from the three brigades.
+
+"Take it easy, lads, take it easy," the colonel said, as he walked up and
+down the ranks. "They are hardly in range yet, and you had better keep
+your ammunition until they get to the foot of the hill, then you can blaze
+away as hard as you like."
+
+Junot, receiving news of the arrest of Brennier's column and the obstacles
+that he had encountered, and seeing that the whole British fire was now
+directed against Laborde, ordered Loison to support that general with one
+brigade, and directed Solignac to turn the ravine in which Brennier was
+entangled and to fall upon the left extremity of the enemy's line.
+
+Fane had been given discretionary power to call up the reserve artillery
+posted in the village behind him, and seeing so strong an attack against
+his position about to be made called it up to the top of the hill.
+
+Loison and Laborde now formed their troops into three columns of attack.
+One advanced against that part of the hill held by Anstruther's brigade,
+another endeavoured to penetrate by the road past the church on Fane's
+extreme left, while the main column, represented by a large number of the
+best troops, advanced against the centre of the position. The reserve
+artillery, and the battery originally there, opened a terrible fire, which
+was aided by the musketry of the infantry. But with loud shouts the French
+pressed forward, and although already shaken by the terrible fire of the
+artillery, and breathless from their exertions, they gained the crest of
+the hill. Before they could re-form a tremendous volley was poured into
+them, and with a wild yell the Mayo Fusiliers and the 50th charged them in
+front and flank and hurled them down the hill.
+
+In the meantime, Anstruther, having repulsed the less serious attack made
+on him, detached the 43d to check the enemy's column moving through the
+churchyard, and prevented their advance until Kellermann brought up a
+force of Grenadiers, who, running forward with loud shouts, drove back the
+advanced companies of the 43d. The guns on the heights were turned upon
+them with great effect, and those of Acland's and Bowe's brigades on the
+left of the ridge took them in flank and brought them almost to a
+stand-still; then the 43d, in one mass, charged furiously down on the
+column, and after a fierce struggle drove them back in confusion.
+
+The French attacks on this side had now completely failed, and Colonel
+Taylor, riding out with his little body of cavalry, dashed out into the
+confused mass, slaying and scattering it. Margaron, who commanded a
+superior force of French cavalry, led them down through their infantry,
+and falling upon the British force killed Taylor and cut half his squadron
+to pieces. Kellermann took post with his reserve of Grenadiers in a
+pine-wood in advance of the wooded country through which they had
+advanced, while Margaron's horsemen maintained a position covering the
+retreat of the fugitives into the wood. At this moment Solignac reached
+his assigned position and encountered Ferguson's brigade, which was on the
+extreme left of the division, and was taken by surprise on finding a force
+equal to his own where he had expected to find the hill untenanted.
+Ferguson was drawn up in three lines on a steep declivity. A heavy
+artillery fire opened upon the French as soon as they were seen, while the
+5th brigade and the Portuguese marched along the next ridge and threatened
+the enemy's rear.
+
+Ferguson did not wait to be attacked, but marched his brigade against the
+French, who, falling fast under the musketry and artillery fire which had
+swept their lines, fell back fighting to the farthest edge of the ridge.
+Solignac was carried off severely wounded, and his brigade was cut off
+from its line of retreat and driven into a low valley, in which stood the
+village of Peranza, leaving six guns behind them. Ferguson left two
+regiments to guard these guns, and with the rest of his force pressed hard
+upon the French; but at this moment Brennier, who had at last surmounted
+the difficulties that had detained him, fell upon the two regiments
+suddenly, and retook the guns.
+
+The 82d and 71st, speedily recovered from their surprise, rallied on some
+higher ground, and then, after pouring in a tremendous volley of musketry,
+charged with a mighty shout and overthrew the French brigade and recovered
+the guns. Brennier himself was wounded and taken prisoner, and Ferguson
+having completely broken up the brigade opposed to him would have forced
+the greater part of Solignac's troops to surrender, if he had not been
+required to halt by an unexpected order. The French veterans speedily
+rallied, and in admirable order, protected by their cavalry, marched off
+to join their comrades who had been defeated in their attack upon the
+British centre.
+
+It was now twelve o'clock; the victory was complete; thirteen guns had
+been captured. Neither the 1st, 5th, nor Portuguese brigades had fired a
+shot, and the 4th and 8th had suffered very little, therefore Sir Arthur
+resolved with these five brigades to push Junot closely, while Hill,
+Anstruther, and Fane were to march forward as far as Torres Vedras, and,
+pushing on to Montechique, cut him off from Lisbon. Had this operation
+been executed Junot would probably have lost all his artillery, and seven
+thousand stragglers would have been driven to seek shelter under the guns
+of Elvas, from which fortress, however, he would have been cut off had
+Moore landed as Sir Arthur wished at Mondego. Unhappily, however, the
+latter was no longer commander-in-chief. Sir Harry Burrard, who had been
+present at the action, had not interfered with the arrangements, but as
+soon as victory was won he assumed command, sent an order arresting
+Ferguson's career of victory, and forbade all further offensive operations
+until the arrival of Sir John Moore.
+
+The adjutant-general and quartermaster supported his views, and Sir
+Arthur's earnest representations were disregarded. Sir Arthur's plan would
+probably have been crowned with success, but it was not without peril. The
+French had rallied with extraordinary rapidity under the protection of
+their cavalry. The British artillery-carriages were so shaken as to be
+almost unfit for service, the horses insufficient in number and wretched
+in quality, the commissariat waggons in the greatest confusion, and the
+hired Portuguese vehicles had made off in every direction. The British
+cavalry were totally destroyed, and two French regiments had just made
+their appearance on the ridge behind the wood where Junot's troops were
+reforming.
+
+Sir Harry Burrard, with a caution characteristic of age, refused to adopt
+Wellesley's bold plan. A great success had been gained, and that would
+have been imperilled by Junot's falling with all his force upon one or
+other of the British columns. Sir Arthur himself, at a later period, when
+a commission was appointed by Parliament to inquire into the
+circumstances, admitted that, though he still believed that success would
+have attended his own plan, he considered that Sir Harry Burrard's
+decision was fully justified on military grounds.
+
+Junot took full advantage of the unexpected cessation of hostilities. He
+re-formed his broken army on the arrival of the two regiments, which
+brought it up to its original strength; and then, covered by his cavalry,
+marched in good order until darkness fell. He had regained the command of
+the passes of Torres Vedras, and the two armies occupied precisely the
+same positions that they had done on the previous evening.
+
+One general, thirteen guns, and several hundred prisoners fell into the
+hands of the British, and Junot's total loss far exceeded that of the
+British, which was comparatively small. At the commencement of the fight
+the British force was more than two thousand larger than that of the
+French, but of these only a half had taken an active part in the battle,
+while every man in Junot's army had been sent forward to the attack.
+
+Sir Harry Burrard's command was a short one, for on the following morning
+Sir Hew Dalrymple superseded him. Thus in twenty-four hours a battle had
+been fought and the command of the army had been three times changed, a
+striking proof of the abject folly and incapacity of the British ministry
+of the day.
+
+Two of these three commanders arrived fresh on the scene without any
+previous knowledge of the situation, and all three differed from each
+other in their views regarding the general plan of the campaign; the last
+two were men without any previous experience in the handling of large
+bodies of troops, and without any high military reputation; while the man
+displaced had already shown the most brilliant capacity in India, and was
+universally regarded as the best general in the British service. Dalrymple
+adopted neither the energetic action advised by Sir Arthur nor the
+inactivity supported by Burrard, but, taking a middle course, decided to
+advance on the following morning, but not to go far until Sir John Moore
+landed at Maciera.
+
+Sir Arthur was strongly opposed to this policy. He pointed out that there
+were at present on shore but seven or eight days' provisions for the force
+at Vimiera. No further supplies could be obtained in the country, and at
+any moment a gale might arise and scatter or destroy the fleet, from which
+alone they could draw supplies during their advance. The debate on the
+subject was continuing when the French general, Kellermann, bearing a flag
+of truce and escorted by a strong body of cavalry, arrived at the outposts
+and desired a conference. The news was surprising, indeed. Junot's force
+was practically unshaken. He possessed all the strong places in Portugal,
+and could have received support in a short time from the French forces in
+Spain.
+
+Upon the other hand, the position of the British, even after winning a
+victory, was by no means a satisfactory one; they had already learnt that
+it was useless to rely in the slightest degree upon Portuguese promises or
+Portuguese assistance, and that, even in the matter of provisions and
+carriage, their commander-in-chief expected to be maintained by those who
+had come to aid in freeing the country of the French, instead of these
+receiving any help from him. In carriage the British army was wholly
+deficient; of cavalry they had none. When Sir John Moore landed there
+would be but four days' provisions on-shore for the army, and were the
+fleet driven off by a gale, starvation would at once threaten them.
+
+The gallantry with which the French had fought in both engagements, the
+skill with which they had been handled, and above all, the quickness and
+steadiness with which, after defeat, they had closed up their ranks and
+drawn off in excellent order, showed that the task of expelling such
+troops from the country would, even if all went well in other respects, be
+a very formidable one, and the offer of a conference was therefore at once
+embraced by Sir Hew Dalrymple.
+
+Kellermann was admitted to the camp. His mission was to demand a cessation
+of arms in order that Junot might, under certain conditions, evacuate
+Portugal. The advantage of freeing the country from the French without
+further fighting was so evident that Sir Hew at once agreed to discuss the
+terms, and took Sir Arthur Wellesley into his counsels. The latter quite
+agreed with the policy by which a strong French army would be quietly got
+out of the country, in which it held all the military posts and strong
+positions. A great moral effect would be produced, and the whole resources
+of Portugal would then be available for operations in Spain.
+
+By the afternoon the main points of the convention had been generally
+agreed upon. The French were to evacuate Portugal, and were to be conveyed
+in the English vessels to France with their property, public or private.
+There was to be no persecution of persons who had been the adherents of
+France during the occupation; the only serious difference that arose was
+as to the Russian fleet in the Tagus. Kellermann proposed to have it
+guaranteed from capture, with leave to return to the Baltic. This,
+however, was refused, and the question was referred to Admiral Cotton,
+who, as chief representative of England, would have to approve of the
+treaty before it could be signed.
+
+Kellermann returned to Lisbon with Colonel Murray, the
+quartermaster-general, and after three days' negotiations the treaty was
+finally concluded, the Russian difficulty being settled by their vessels
+being handed over to the British, and the crew transported in English
+ships to the Baltic. The convention was, under the circumstances,
+unquestionably a most advantageous one. It would have cost long and severe
+fighting and the siege of several very strong fortresses before the French
+could have been turned out of Portugal. Heavy siege-guns would have been
+necessary for these operations. At the very shortest calculation a year
+would have been wasted, very heavy loss of life incurred, and an immense
+expenditure of money before the result, now obtained so suddenly and
+unexpectedly, had been arrived at.
+
+Nevertheless, the news of the convention was received with a burst of
+popular indignation in England, where the public, wholly ignorant of the
+difficulty of the situation, had formed the most extravagant hopes,
+founded on the two successes obtained by their troops. The result was that
+a commission was appointed to investigate the whole matter. The three
+English generals were summoned to England to attend before it, and so
+gross were the misrepresentations and lies by which the public had been
+deceived by the agents of the unscrupulous and ambitious Bishop of Oporto
+and his confederates, that it was even proposed to bring the generals to
+trial who had in so short a time and with such insufficient means freed
+Portugal from the French. Sir John Moore remained in command of the troops
+in Portugal.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A PAUSE
+
+The Mayo Fusiliers had suffered their full proportion of losses at the
+battle of Vimiera. Major Harrison had been killed, Captain O'Connor had
+been severely wounded, as his company had been thrown forward as
+skirmishers on the face of the hill, and a third of their number had
+fallen when Laborde's great column had driven them in as it charged up the
+ascent. Terence's father had been brought to the ground by a ball that
+struck him near the hip; had been trampled on by the French as they passed
+up over him, and again on their retreat; and he was insensible when, as
+soon as the enemy retired, a party was sent down to bring up the wounded.
+By the death of the major, O'Connor, as senior captain, now attained that
+rank, but the doctor pronounced that it would be a long time before he
+would be able to take up his duties. Another captain and three subalterns
+had been killed, and several other officers had been wounded. Among these
+was O'Grady, whose left arm had been carried away below the elbow by a
+round shot. As Terence was in the other wing of the regiment he did not
+hear of his father's wounds until after the battle was over, and on the
+order being given that there was to be no pursuit the regiment fell out of
+its ranks. As soon as the news reached him he obtained permission to go
+down to Vimiera, where the church and other buildings had been turned into
+temporary hospitals, to which the seriously wounded had been carried as
+soon as the French retired. Hurrying down, he soon learned where the
+wounded of General Fane's brigade had been taken. He found the two
+regimental doctors hard at work. O'Flaherty came up to Terence as soon as
+he saw him enter the barn that had been hastily converted into a hospital
+by covering the floor deeply with straw.
+
+
+[Illustration: 'I should not have minded being hit, Father, if you had
+escaped.']
+
+
+"I think your father will do, Terence, my boy," he said, cheeringly; "we
+have just got the bullet out of his leg, and we hope that it has not
+touched the bone, though we cannot be altogether sure. We shall know more
+about that when we have got through the rough of our work. Still, we have
+every hope that he will do well. He is next the door at the further end;
+we put him there to let him get as much fresh air as possible, for, by the
+powers, this place is like a furnace!"
+
+Captain O'Connor was lying on his back, the straw having been arranged so
+as to raise his shoulders and head. He smiled when Terence came up to him.
+
+"Thank God you have got safely through it, lad!"
+
+"I should not have minded being hit, father, if you had escaped," Terence
+said, with difficulty suppressing a sob, while in spite of his efforts the
+tears rolled down his cheeks.
+
+"The doctors say I shall pull through all right. I hear poor Harrison is
+killed; he was a good fellow. Though it has given me my step, I am
+heartily sorry. So we have thrashed them, lad; that is a comfort. I was
+afraid when they went up the hill that they might be too much for us, and
+I was delighted when I heard them coming tearing down again, though I had
+not much time to think about it. They had stepped over me pretty much as
+they went up, but they had no time to pick their way as they came back
+again, and after one or two had jumped on me, I remembered no more about
+it until I found myself here with O'Flaherty probing the wound and hurting
+me horribly. I am bruised all over, and I wonder some of my ribs are not
+broken; at present they hurt me a good deal more than this wound in the
+hip. Still, that is only an affair of a day or two. Who have been killed
+besides the major?"
+
+"Dorman, Phillips, and Henderson are killed. O'Grady is wounded, I hear,
+and so are Saunders, Byrne, and Sullivan; there have been some others hit,
+but not seriously; they did not have to fall out."
+
+"O'Grady is over on the other side somewhere, Terence; I heard his voice
+just now. Go and see where he is hurt."
+
+O'Grady was sitting up with his back to the wall; the sleeves of his
+jacket and shirt had been cut off, and a tourniquet was on his arm just
+above the elbow.
+
+"Well, Terence," he said, cheerfully, "I am in luck, you see."
+
+"I can't see any luck about it, O'Grady."
+
+"Why, man, it might have been my right arm, and where should I have been
+then? As to the left arm, one can do without it very well. Then, again, it
+is lucky that the ball hit me below the elbow and not above it. O'Flaherty
+says they will be able to make a dacent job of it, and that after a bit
+they will be able to fit a wooden arm on, so that I can screw a fork into
+it. The worst of it at present is, that I have a terrible thirst on me,
+and nothing but water have they given me, a thing that I have not drunk
+for years. They have tied up the arteries, and they are going presently to
+touch up the loose ends with hot pitch to stop the bleeding altogether. It
+is not a pleasant job; they have done it to three or four of the men
+already. One of them stood it well, but the others cried a thousand
+murders. O'Flaherty has promised me a drink of whisky and water before
+they do it, and just at present I feel as if I would let them burn all my
+limbs at the same price. It is sorry I am, Terence, to hear that your
+father is hit so hard, but O'Flaherty says he will get through it all
+right. Well, he will get his majority, though I am mightily sorry that
+Harrison is killed; he was a good boy, though he was an Englishman. Ah,
+Terence, my heart's sore when I think what I said that evening after the
+fight at Rolica! I did not mean it altogether, but the words come home to
+me now. It is not for meself but for the poor boys that have gone. It was
+just thoughtlessness, but I would give me other arm not to have said those
+words."
+
+"I know that you did not mean it, O'Grady, and we were all feeling sorry
+that the regiment had not had a chance to be in the thick of it."
+
+"Here they are, coming this way with the pitch kettle. You had better get
+away, lad, before they begin."
+
+Terence was glad to follow the advice, and hurried out of the barn and
+walked three or four hundred yards away. He was very fond of O'Grady, who
+had always been very kind to him, and who was thoroughly warm-hearted and
+a good fellow, in spite of his eccentricities. In a quarter of an hour he
+returned. Just as he was entering, O'Flaherty came out of the door.
+
+"I must have a breath of fresh air, Terence," he said. "The heat is
+stifling in there, and though we are working in our shirt-sleeves we are
+just as damp as if we had been thrown into a pond."
+
+"Has O'Grady's arm been seared?"
+
+"Yes, and he stood it well; not a word did he say until it was over. Then
+he said, 'Give me another drink, O'Flaherty; it's wake-like I feel.'
+Before I could get the cup to his lips he went off in a faint. He has come
+round now and has had a drink of weak whisky and water, and is lying quiet
+and composed. It is better that you should not go near him at present. I
+hope that he will drop off to sleep presently. I have just given a glance
+at your father, and he is nearly, if not quite, asleep too, so you had
+better leave them now and look in again this evening. Now that the affair
+is over, and there is time to go round, they will clear out some houses
+and get things more comfortable. The principal medical officer was round
+here half an hour ago. He said they would fit up rooms for the officers at
+once, and I will have your father, O'Grady, and Saunders carried up on
+stretchers and put into a room together. If they can bear the moving it
+will be all in their favour, for it will be cooler there than in this oven
+of a place. I hear the church has been requisitioned, and that the worst
+cases among our men will be taken there."
+
+In comparison with the loss of the French that of the British had been
+very small. From their position on commanding heights they had suffered
+but little from the fire of the French artillery, and the casualties were
+almost confined to Fane's brigade, the 43d Regiment, Anstruther's, and the
+two regiments of Ferguson's brigade that had been attacked by Brennier,
+and before nightfall the whole of the wounded had been brought in and
+attended to, the hospitals arranged, and the men far more comfortably
+bestowed than in the temporary quarters taken up during the heat of the
+conflict. As there was no prospect of an immediate movement, the soldier
+servants of the wounded officers had been excused from military duty and
+told off to attend to them, and when Terence went down in the evening he
+found his father, O'Grady, and Saunders--the latter a young
+lieutenant--comfortably lodged in a large room in which three hospital
+beds had been placed. O'Grady had quite recovered his usual good spirits.
+
+"Don't draw such along face, Terence," he said, as the lad entered; "we
+are all going on well. Your father has been bandaged all over the chest
+and body, and is able to breathe more comfortably; as for me, except that
+I feel as if somebody were twisting a red-hot needle about in my arm, I am
+as right as possible, and Saunders is doing first-rate. The doctors
+thought at first that he had got a ball through his body; after they got
+him here they had time to examine him carefully, and they find that it has
+just run along the ribs and gone out behind, and that he will soon be
+about again. If it wasn't that the doctors say I must drink nothing but
+water with lemon-juice squeezed into it, I would have nothing to complain
+of. We have got our servants. Hoolan came in blubbering like a calf, the
+omadhoun, and I had to threaten to send him back to the regiment before he
+would be sensible. He has sworn off spirits until I am well enough to take
+to them, which is a comfort, for I am sorry to say he is one of those men
+who never know when they have had enough."
+
+"Like master, like man, O'Grady."
+
+"Terence, when I get well you will repint of your impudence to your
+supayrior officer, when he is not able to defend himself."
+
+Terence went across to his father's bed.
+
+"Do you really feel easier, father?"
+
+"A great deal, lad. I was so bruised that every breath I took hurt me;
+since I have been tightly bandaged I am better, ever so much. Daly says
+that in a few days I shall be all right again as to that, but that the
+other business will keep me on my back for a long time. He has examined my
+wound again, and says he won't touch it for a few days; but I can see that
+he is rather afraid that the bone has been grazed if not splintered. You
+have not heard what is going to be done, have you?"
+
+"No, father; the talk is that no move will be made anyhow until Sir John
+Moore lands with his troops; after that I suppose we shall go forward."
+
+"It is a pity we did not push forward to-day, lad, if, as I hear, half the
+force were never engaged at all. Junot would not have carried off a gun if
+our fellows had been launched against them while they were in disorder. As
+it is, I hear they have marched away over that ridge in as good order as
+they came, and so we shall have all the work of thrashing them to do over
+again."
+
+"They say that is what Sir Arthur wanted to do, father, but Burrard
+overruled him."
+
+"Did any man ever hear of such nonsense as a general who knows nothing at
+all about the matter coming and taking over the command from a general who
+has just won a battle, and who has all the ins and outs of the matter at
+his finger-ends!"
+
+"Now, my dear O'Connor," O'Grady broke in, "you know what Daly said, the
+quieter you lie and the less you talk the better. He did not say so to
+meself; in the first place, because he knew it would be of no use, and in
+the second, because there is no raison on earth why, because a man has
+lost a bit of his arm, his tongue should not wag. And what does the
+colonel say, Terence; is he not delighted with the regiment?"
+
+"He is that, and he has a right to be," Terence said. "The way they went
+at the French, and tumbled them over the crest and down the hill was
+splendid. The tears rolled down his cheeks when he heard that the major
+and the others were killed, but he said that a man could not die more
+gloriously. He shook hands with all the officers after it was over, and
+sent a party down to the town to buy and bring up some barrels of wine,
+and served out a good allowance to each man. As soon as the firing ceased
+I heard him tell O'Driscol that he was proud to have commanded the
+regiment."
+
+"That is good, Terence; and now, do you think that you could bring me up
+just a taste of the cratur?"
+
+"The divil a drop, O'Grady; if Daly and O'Flaherty both say that you are
+not to have it, it is certain that it is bad for you. But I'll tell you
+what I will do; I have one bottle of whisky left, and I will promise you
+that it sha'n't be touched till you are well enough to drink it, and if we
+are marched away, as I suppose we shall be, I will hand it over to
+O'Flaherty to give you when you are fit to take it. He tells me that he
+will be left to look after the wounded when we move."
+
+"I could not trust him, Terence; I would hand over a bag of gold uncounted
+to him, but as for whisky, the temptation would be too great for an
+Irishman to resist. Look here, you put it into a wooden box and nail it up
+securely, and write on it 'O'Grady's arm,' and hand it over to him
+solemnly, and tell him that I have a fancy for burying the contents
+myself, which will be true enough, though it is me throat I mean to bury
+it in."
+
+Knowing that it was best they should be left in quiet, Terence soon left
+them and returned to the regiment.
+
+"Well, Dick, what did you think of a battle?" he asked his chum.
+
+"I don't quite know what I did think. It does not seem to me that I
+thought much about it at all, what with the noise of the firing and the
+shouting of the men, and the whistle overhead of the French round shot,
+and the men cheering, the French shouting and the excitement, there was no
+time for thinking at all. From the time the skirmishers came running up
+the hill to the time when we rolled the French down it, I seem to have
+been in a dream. It's lucky that I had no words of command to give, for I
+am sure I should not have given them. I don't think I was frightened at
+all; somehow I did not seem to think of the danger. It was just a horrible
+confusion."
+
+"I felt very much like that, too. It was not a bit like what it was when
+we took that brig; I felt cool enough when we jumped on to her deck. But
+then there was no noise to speak of, while the row this morning was
+tremendous. I tried to cheer when the men did, but I could not hear my own
+voice, and I don't know whether I made any sound or not."
+
+A delay of some weeks took place after the battle of Vimiera. The Mayo
+Fusiliers were not among the troops who entered Lisbon in order to overawe
+the populace and prevent attacks both upon French soldiers and officers,
+and Portuguese suspected of leaning towards the French cause. Throughout
+the country everything was in confusion. A strong party, at whose head
+were the Bishop of Oporto and Friere, denounced the convention with the
+French--against whom they themselves had done nothing--as gross treachery
+on the part of the English to Portugal. They endeavoured in every way to
+excite the feelings of the population, both in the country and the
+capital, against the British; but in this they failed altogether, for the
+people were too thankful to get rid of the oppression and exactions of the
+invaders to feel aught but satisfaction at their being compelled to leave
+the country.
+
+The Junta at Oporto, at whose head was the bishop, desired to grasp the
+entire power throughout the country, and were furious at being thwarted in
+their endeavours to prevent a central Junta being established at Lisbon.
+Throughout Spain also chaos reigned. Each provincial Junta refused
+co-operation with others, and instead of concerting measures for
+resistance against the great force that Napoleon was assembling on the
+frontier, thought only of satisfying the ambitions and greed of its
+members. The generals disregarded alike the orders from the central Junta
+at Madrid and those of the provincial Juntas, quarrelled among themselves
+to a point that sometimes approached open hostility, and each acted only
+for his private ends. Arms had been sent in vast numbers from England;
+yet, while the money so lavishly bestowed by British agents went into the
+pockets of individuals, the arms were retained by the Juntas of Seville,
+Cadiz, and the maritime ports, and the armies of Spain were left almost
+unarmed.
+
+The term army is indeed absurd, as applied to the gatherings of peasants
+without, an idea of discipline, with scarcely any instruction in drill,
+and in the majority of, cases, as the result proved, altogether deficient
+in courage; and yet, while neglecting all military precautions and ready
+to crumble to pieces at the first approach of the French, the arrogance
+and insolence of the authorities, civil and military alike, were
+absolutely unbounded. They disregarded wholly the advice of the British
+officers and agents, and treated the men who alone could save them from
+the consequences of their folly with open contempt.
+
+After a fortnight's halt at Vimiera the Mayo Fusiliers were marched, with
+four other regiments, to Torres Vedras, where they took up their quarters.
+In the middle of October O'Grady and Saunders rejoined, and Terence
+obtained a few days' leave to visit his father.
+
+The latter's progress had been slow; the wound was unhealed, pieces of
+bone working their way out, and the doctors had decided that he must be
+invalided home, as it was desirable to clear out the hospitals altogether
+before the army marched into Spain.
+
+"They think the change of air will do me good," Major O'Connor said to
+Terence, as they were chatting together after the latter arrived, "and I
+think so myself. It is evident that I cannot take part in the next
+campaign, but I hope to rejoin again in the spring. Of course it is hard,
+but I must not grumble; if the bullet had been half an inch more to the
+right it would have smashed the bone altogether, then I should have had
+small chance indeed, for taking off the leg at the hip is an operation
+that not one man in twenty survives. O'Flaherty says he thinks that all
+the bits of bone have worked out now, and that I may not be permanently
+lame; but if it is to be so, lad, it is of no use kicking against fate. I
+have got my majority, and if permanently disabled by my wounds, can retire
+on a pension on which I can live comfortably."
+
+"So I hear that Sir John Moore is going to march into Spain. By the way,
+you have got some cousins in Oporto or the neighbourhood, though I don't
+suppose you are likely to run against them."
+
+"I never heard you say anything about them before, father."
+
+"No; I don't think that I ever did mention it. A first cousin of mine went
+over, just about the time that I was married, to Oporto, and established
+himself there as a wine merchant. He had been out there before for a firm
+in Dublin, and when Clancy's father died, and he came into some money he
+went out, as I said, and started for himself. He was a sharp fellow and
+did well, and married the daughter of a big land-owner. We used to hear
+from him occasionally. He died about a year ago, and left a girl behind
+him; she had been brought up in her mother's religion. He never said much
+about his wife, but I fancy she was a very strong Roman Catholic, and that
+they did not quite agree about the girl, who, as I gathered, had a
+hankering after her father's religion. However, after Clancy died we never
+heard any more of them.
+
+"There was a letter from their man of business announcing the death, and
+stating that Clancy had left his own property, that is to say, the money
+he had made in business, to the girl. What has become of her since I do
+not know. It was no business of mine, though I believe that I was his
+nearest relation--at least my uncle had no other children, and there were
+neither brothers nor sisters except him and my father. Still, as he left a
+widow who had a good big property on her own account, and was connected
+with a lot of grandee families, there was no occasion for me to mix myself
+up in the affair; and, indeed, it never entered my head to do so. Yet,
+Clancy and I were great friends, and I should be glad to know what has
+become of his girl. I fancy that she is about your age, and if Moore
+should take you up north you might make some inquiries there. The mother's
+family name was Montarlies, and I fancy, from what Clancy said, her
+father's property was somewhere to the north of Oporto, so I expect that
+at that town you would be likely to hear something of them."
+
+"All right, father; if we go there I will be sure to make some inquiries."
+
+On the fourth day after Terence's arrival the hospital was broken up, the
+convalescents marched for Torres Vedras, and Major O'Connor, with four
+other officers and forty men, were put on board a ship to be taken to
+England.
+
+"Your visit has done your father good, Terence," O'Flaherty said, as,
+after seeing the party safely on board ship, he returned to the town
+whence they were to march with the convalescents, sixty in number, among
+whom were five officers. "He has brightened up a deal the last four days,
+and his wound looks distinctly more healthy. I have a strong hope that all
+those splinters have worked out now, and your being here has given him a
+fillip, so that he is altogether better and more cheerful. I hope by the
+spring he will be able to rejoin us. I can tell you I am mighty glad to be
+off again myself. It has been pretty hard work here, for I have had, for
+the last fortnight, a hundred and twenty men on my hands. At first there
+were three of us here, but two went off with the last batch of
+convalescents, and I have been alone since. Luckily Major Peters has been
+well enough to look after things in general, and help the commissariat
+man; still, with forty bad cases, I have not had much time on my hands. Of
+course I knew him and all the other officers, but they all belonged to
+other regiments, and it was not like being among the Mayos. And when do
+you think we will be starting again?"
+
+"I have no idea. I have heard that Moore is doing everything he can to
+hurry on things, but that he is awfully hampered for want of money. It is
+scandalous. Here are our agents supplied with immense sums for the use of
+these blackguard Spaniards, yet they keep their own army without funds."
+
+"If the general has no funds, Terence, he had better be stopping where he
+is. There is no getting anything in Portugal without paying ten times the
+proper price for it, and from what I hear of the Spaniards they will
+charge twenty times, put the money in their pockets, and then not even
+give you what you paid for. As to their being any good to us as allies, it
+is not to be hoped for; they will take our arms and our money, expect us
+to feed their troops, and will then run away at the sight of a French
+soldier; you will see if they don't."
+
+"I hear that the Junta of Corunna says that all the north will rise as
+soon as we enter their country."
+
+"They may rise and flock round us until they have got arms and money, and
+then they will go off to their homes again. That is the sort of assistance
+that is to be had from them. We should do a deal better if there was not a
+Spaniard in the country, and it was left to us to fight it out with the
+French."
+
+"In that case, O'Flaherty, we should never cross the frontier at all. They
+say that Napoleon is gathering a great army, and against such a force,
+with the French troops already in Spain, our twenty or twenty-five
+thousand men would fare very badly, especially as they say that the
+emperor is coming himself."
+
+"That is worse news than the other, Terence. It is only because the French
+generals have always been quarrelling among themselves that the whole
+Peninsula has not been conquered; but with Napoleon at the head of affairs
+it would be a different matter altogether, and my humble opinion is that
+we had better stay where we are until he has wiped out the Spaniards
+altogether."
+
+Terence laughed.
+
+"You don't take a sanguine view of things."
+
+"You have been with the regiment, Terence, and have had very little to do
+with the natives. I have not seen very much of them either, thank
+goodness; but I have seen quite enough to know that though perhaps the
+peasants would make good soldiers, if officered by Englishmen, there is
+mighty little feeling of patriotism among the classes above them. Reading
+and writing may be good for some countries, but as far as I see here,
+reading and writing spoil them here, for every man one comes across who
+can sign his name is intent either on filling his pocket, or on working
+some scheme or other for his own advantage. If I were Sir John Moore I
+would send up a division to Oporto, hang the bishop and every member of
+the Junta, shoot Friere and a dozen of his principal officers, and if the
+people of Oporto gave them the chance clear the streets with grape-shot.
+Why, if it hadn't been for a small guard of our fellows with the French
+garrisons that were marched down there to embark, the Portuguese would
+have murdered every man-jack of them. They did murder a good many, and
+robbed them all of their baggage; and if it had not been that our men
+loaded and would have fired on them if they had gone further, not a
+Frenchman would have got off alive. If this had been done in Lisbon, where
+the French had been masters, there might have been some sort of excuse for
+it; but they had never been near Oporto at all, and therefore the people
+there had no scores to settle with them."
+
+"I am afraid, O'Flaherty, that an army worked on your principles would
+never get far from the coast, for we should have the whole country against
+us."
+
+"So much the better if we never got far from the coast. How much help have
+we had from them? There is not a single horse or waggon for transport
+except those we have hired at exorbitant prices; not a single ounce of
+food. They would not even divide with us the magazines at Leirya, which
+they had no share in capturing. The rabble they call an army has never
+fired a shot or marched a yard with us, except Trant's small command, and
+they were kept so far out of it in both fights, that I doubt whether they
+fired a shot; and yet they take upon themselves to throw every obstacle in
+our way, to dictate to our generals, and to upset every plan as soon as it
+is formed.
+
+"Well, I shall be glad to be back with the regiment again, Terence. There
+is some fun going on there anyhow, and I have not had a hearty laugh since
+O'Grady went off ten days ago."
+
+"We were all heartily glad to see him back again," Terence said. "He does
+not seem a bit the worse for having lost his hand."
+
+"No, he has got through it a deal better than I had expected, considering
+that he is not what might be called a very temperate man."
+
+"Not by any means. It is not very often that he takes more liquor than he
+can carry, but he generally goes very close to the mark."
+
+"I kept him very short here," O'Flaherty laughed, "and told him that if he
+did not obey orders I would have him invalided home; I have got him to
+promise that he will draw in a bit in future, and have good hopes of his
+keeping it, seeing that when the army starts again you won't get much
+chance of indulging."
+
+"It will be a good thing for others as well as O'Grady," Terence said,
+quietly. "I suppose in Ireland the whisky does not do much harm, seeing
+that it is a wet country; but here I notice that they cannot drink half as
+much as they were accustomed to without feeling it."
+
+"That is true for you, Terence. Half a bottle here goes as far as a bottle
+in the old country; and I find with the wounded, spirits have a very bad
+effect, even in very small quantities. There is one thing, when the troops
+are on the march they not only get small chance of getting drink, but
+mighty little time to think of it. When you have been doing your twenty
+miles a day, with halts and stoppages on these beastly roads and defiles,
+and are on your feet from daylight until late in the evening, and then,
+perhaps, a turn at the outposts, a man hasn't got much time for divarshon;
+and even if there is liquor to be had, he is glad enough when he has had a
+glass or so to wrap himself in his cloak and lie down to sleep. I have
+nearly sworn off myself, for I found that my head troubled me in the
+morning after a glass or two, more than it did after an all-night's
+sitting at Athlone. Ah, Terence, it is lucky for you that you have no
+fancy for it!"
+
+"I hope I never shall have, O'Flaherty. If one has got thoroughly wet
+through in a long day's fishing, it may be that a glass of punch may keep
+away a cold, though even that I doubt. But I am sure that I am better
+without it at any other time; and I hope some day the fashion will change,
+and instead of it being considered almost as a matter of course after a
+dinner that half the men should be under the table, it will then be looked
+upon as disgraceful for a man to get drunk, as it is now for a woman to do
+so."
+
+O'Flaherty looked at his companion with amused surprise. "Faith, Terence,
+that would be a change indeed, and you might as well say that you hope the
+time will come when you can whip off a fellow's leg without his feeling
+pain."
+
+"Perhaps that may come too," Terence laughed; "there is no saying."
+
+The next morning the detachment started at daybreak and marched to Torres
+Vedras, where they heard that a general movement was expected to begin.
+The regiment had now a comfortable mess, and the situation was freely
+discussed as scraps of news arrived from Lisbon. Could the English
+ministry have heard the comments on their imbecility passed by the
+officers of the British army, even they might have doubted the perfect
+wisdom of their plan. On the 6th of October, Moore had received a despatch
+stating that 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry were to be employed in the
+north of Spain. Ten thousand of these were to be sent out direct from
+England, the remainder were to be composed of regiments from the army in
+Portugal. Moore had the choice of taking the troops round in ships or of
+marching them direct. He decided upon the latter course, for arrangements
+had been made by Sir Hew Dalrymple to enter Spain by Almeida, and,
+moreover, he thought that the resources of the sea-coast of Galicia would
+not be more than sufficient to supply transport and food for the 10,000
+men who were to land there under the command of Sir David Baird.
+
+The English general's difficulties were indeed overwhelming. He had
+soldiers who, although but recently raised, had shown themselves good
+fighters; but he was altogether without even transport sufficient for the
+officers. With an ample supply of money, an experienced staff, and a
+well-organized commissariat, the difficulties might have been overcome,
+but Sir John Moore was practically without money. His staff had no
+experience whatever, and the commissariat and transport officers were
+alike ignorant of the work they were called upon to perform. He was
+unacquainted with the views of the Spanish government, and uninformed as
+to the numbers, composition, and situation of the Spanish armies with whom
+he was to act, or with those of the enemy. He had a winter march of 300
+miles before he could join Sir David Baird, who would have 200 miles to
+march from Corunna to join him, and there was then a. distance of another
+300 miles to be traversed before he reached the Ebro, which was designated
+as the centre of his operations.
+
+And all this had to be done while a great French army was already pouring
+in through the passes of the Pyrenees. No more tremendous, or, it may be
+said, impossible, task was ever assigned to an English commander; and to
+add to the absurdity of their scheme, the British government sent off Sir
+David Baird without instructions, and even without money. The Duke of York
+had vainly protested against the plan of the ministry, and had pointed out
+that nothing short of an army of 60,000 men, fully equipped with all
+necessaries for war--money, transport, and artillery--could achieve
+success of any kind.
+
+Upon the day Terence rejoined, news came from the engineers in advance
+that the assurances Sir John Moore had received that the road by which the
+army was to travel was perfectly practicable for artillery and
+baggage-waggons, were wholly false, and it was probable that the artillery
+and cavalry would have to make a long circuit to the south.
+
+It was too late now to change the route for the rest of the army. Nearly
+half the force had already started on the road to Almeida, and the
+supplies for their subsistence had been collected at that town. Therefore
+it was necessary that the main body of the infantry should travel by that
+road, while three thousand were to act as a guard for the artillery and
+cavalry on the other route.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE ADVANCE
+
+"It is enough to drive Sir John out of his senses," the colonel said, as
+the news was discussed after mess. "These people must be the champion
+liars of the world. Not content with doing nothing themselves, they seem
+to delight in inventing lies to prevent our doing anything for them. Who
+ever heard of an army marching, without artillery and cavalry, one way,
+while these arms travelled by a different road entirely, and that not for
+a march of twenty miles, but for a march of three hundred? One battery is
+to go with us. But what will be the use of six guns against an enemy with
+sixty? Every day the baggage is being cut down owing to these blackguard
+Portuguese breaking their engagements to furnish waggons, and we shall
+have to march pretty nearly as we stand, and to take with us nothing
+beyond one change of clothes."
+
+Loud exclamations of discontent ran round the table. It was bad enough
+that in the midst of a campaign waggons should break down and baggage be
+left behind, but that troops should start upon a campaign with scarcely
+the necessaries of life had caused general anger in the army; and no order
+would have been more willingly obeyed than one to march upon Lisbon, shoot
+every public official, establish a state of siege, and rule by martial
+law, seizing for the use of the army every draught animal, waggon, and
+carriage that could be found in the city, or swept in from the country
+round. The colonel had not exaggerated matters. The number of tents to be
+taken were altogether insufficient for the regiment, even with the utmost
+crowding possible. The officers' baggage had been cut down to twenty
+pounds a head--an amount scarcely sufficient for a single change of
+clothes and boots. Even the amount of ammunition to be taken would be
+insufficient to refill the soldiers' pouches after the supply they carried
+was exhausted.
+
+The paucity of baggage would not have mattered so much had the march begun
+at the commencement of summer, instead of just as winter was setting in.
+In the former case, men could have slept in the open air, and a solitary
+blanket and one change of clothes would have sufficed; but with the wet
+season at hand, to be followed by winter cold, the grievance was a very
+serious one. Terence had already learned that the brigade was to march in
+two days, and that the great bulk of the baggage was to be stored at
+Torres Vedras, which was to be occupied on their leaving by some of the
+troops that would remain in Portugal.
+
+"Faith, it is an evil look-out, Terence," O'Grady, who was sitting next to
+him, said, pathetically. "Sorra a drop of whisky is there in the camp, and
+now we sha'n't be able to have even a drink of their bastely spirits,
+onless we can buy it at the towns; and as Anstruther's division has gone
+on ahead of us, it is likely that every drop has been drunk up."
+
+"It will be all the better for you, O'Grady. Daly tells me that your arm
+is not fully healed yet. I know that you would not like to be left behind
+when we have once started."
+
+"That is true enough, but a drop of the cratur hurts no one."
+
+"I beg your pardon, O'Grady, it is very bad for anything like a wound. The
+doctor told me, when I was chatting with him before dinner, that he really
+did not think that you could go, for you would not obey his orders to give
+up spirits altogether."
+
+"Well, I own that it has been smarting a good deal the last few days,"
+O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "though I have not said as much to the
+doctor. I don't know that you are not about right, Terence; but faith,
+after being kept upon bastely slops by O'Flaherty, it was not in human
+nature to drink nothing but water when one gets a chance. At any rate, I
+am not likely to find any great temptation after we have started."
+
+"Well, you had better begin to-night, O'Grady. I am going to get away as
+soon as I can, and if you will take my advice you will come too."
+
+"What! and us to march in two days? It is not to be thought of. You mane
+well, Terence, but a lad like you must not take to lecturing your
+supayrior officer. Shure, and don't I know what to do for meself better
+than any other?"
+
+Terence saw that it was useless to endeavour to persuade him to move, and
+presently went round to Dr. Daly and said, quietly:
+
+"Doctor, O'Grady tells me that his arm has been hurting him a good deal
+more during the last two days. I expect they will make a night of it this
+evening, and again to-morrow, and if he once begins, nothing will stop him
+until they break up. Could not you do anything?"
+
+"I will talk to him like a father, Terence. You are a good boy to have
+told me; I might have gone away without thinking of it."
+
+"Don't mention my name, Doctor."
+
+The doctor nodded, and Terence went away and took a vacant seat at some
+distance from him. Presently the doctor got up and went round to O'Grady.
+The supply of claret had just been finished, and bottles of spirits had
+been placed upon the table. O'Grady stretched out his hand to one near
+him, but the doctor quietly removed it.
+
+"Not for you, O'Grady," he said; "you have had more than sufficient wine
+already. I have been doubting whether you are fit to go on with the
+regiment; and, by the powers, if you touch spirits to-night or to-morrow,
+I will put your name down in the list of those who are to be left behind
+as unfit for service!"
+
+"Sure you are joking, Doctor?"
+
+"Never was more earnest in my life, O'Grady. You don't want to be left
+behind, I suppose, in some filthy Portuguese town, while we march on, and
+that is what it will come to if your wound inflames. I told you this
+morning that it was not doing as well as it ought to, and that you must
+cut off liquor altogether. I have had my eye upon you, and you have taken
+down more than a bottle of wine already. I don't think I ought to let you
+go with us, even as it is; but, by the piper that played before Moses, if
+you don't go off to your quarters, without touching a drop more, I will
+have you left behind!"
+
+"You are mighty hard on a poor fellow, and must have a heart of stone to
+treat a man, who has lost his arm and wants a bit of comfort, in such
+fashion. Faith, I would not do it to a dog."
+
+"There would be no occasion, O'Grady; a dog has got sense."
+
+"And I haven't? Thank ye for the compliment. I will appeal to the colonel.
+Colonel, the doctor says if I drink a drop of spirits to-night or
+to-morrow he will put me down in the black list. Now, I ask you, do the
+regulations justify his using such a threat as that?"
+
+"I think they do," the colonel said, with a laugh. "I think that his order
+is good and sensible, and I endorse it. You know yourself that spirits are
+bad for you, with an arm only just healed up. Now, behave like a
+raisonable fellow, and go off to your quarters. You know well enough that
+if you stop here you won't be able to keep from it."
+
+"Faith, if the two of you are against me I have nothing more to say. It is
+mighty hard that after having lost an arm in the service of my country I
+should be treated like a child and sent off to bed."
+
+"I am going, too, O'Grady," Terence, who had gone back to his original
+place, now said. "There is no occasion to go to bed. I have a box of good
+cigars in my tent, and we can sit there and chat as long as you like."
+
+But O'Grady's dignity was ruffled.
+
+"Thank you, Mr O'Connor," he said, stiffly; "but with your lave I will do
+as I said"
+
+"That is the best thing," the doctor said. "You have not had a long
+night's rest since you rejoined. I am going myself, and I see that some of
+the others are getting up, too, and it would be a good thing if all would
+do so, for, with such work as we have got before us, the more sleep we
+get, while we can, the better."
+
+As nearly half the officers now rose from their seats, O'Grady was
+mollified, and as we went out he said:
+
+"I think, after all, Terence, I will try one of those cigars of yours."
+
+On the 14th of October Fane's brigade left Torres Vedras.
+
+
+[Illustration: 'I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL.']
+
+
+A number of the troops had been stationed along the line of route to be
+followed, and these had started simultaneously with the departure of
+Fane's brigade from Torres Vedras. The discontent as to the reduction of
+baggage ceased as soon as the troops were in motion. They were going to
+invade Spain, and ignorant as the soldiers were of the real state of
+affairs, none doubted but that success would attend them there. Among the
+officers better acquainted with the state of things there was no such
+feeling of confidence, but they hoped that they should at least give as
+good an account of themselves as before, against any French force of
+anything like equal strength they might encounter. O'Grady, influenced by
+the doctor's threats, which he knew the latter would be firm enough to
+carry out, had obeyed his orders, and had confided to Terence, when the
+regiment formed up at daybreak for the march, that his arm felt much
+better.
+
+"I don't say that the doctor may not have been right, Terence, but he need
+not have threatened me in that way, at all, at all."
+
+"I don't know," Terence replied. "I feel pretty sure that if he hadn't,
+you would not have knocked off spirits. Well, it is a glorious morning for
+starting, but I am afraid the fine weather won't last long. Everyone says
+that the rains generally begin about this time."
+
+As Terence fell in with his company the adjutant rode up.
+
+"Mr. O'Connor, you are to report yourself to the brigadier."
+
+Wondering much at the message, Terence hurried to the house occupied by
+General Fane. He and several officers were standing in front of it.
+
+"I am told that you wish to speak to me, General," he said, saluting.
+
+"Oh, you are Mr. O'Connor! Can you ride?"
+
+"Yes, sir," Terence replied; for he had often had a scamper across the
+hills around Athlone on half-broken ponies, and occasionally on the horses
+of some of his friends in the regiment.
+
+"I have a vacancy on my staff. Lieutenant Andrews was thrown when riding
+out from Lisbon with a despatch last night, and broke a leg. I was on
+board the flag-ship when your colonel brought his report about the fight
+between the transport and the two privateers. I read it, and was so much
+struck with the quickness and intelligence you displayed, that I made a
+note at the time that if I should have a vacancy on my staff I would
+appoint you."
+
+"I am very much obliged, General," Terence said, "but I have no horse."
+
+"I have arranged that. Lieutenant Andrews will not be fit for service for
+a long time. It is a compound fracture, and he will, the doctor says,
+probably be sent back to England by the first ship that arrives after he
+reaches Lisbon. His horse is therefore useless to him, and as it is only a
+native animal and would not fetch a ten-pound note, he agreed at once to
+hand it over to his successor, and in fact was rather glad to get it off
+his hands. He has an English saddle, bridle, and holsters; he will take
+five pounds for them. If you happen to be short of cash the paymaster will
+settle it for you."
+
+"Thank you, sir; I have the money about me, and I am very much obliged to
+you for making the arrangement."
+
+Terence was indeed in funds, for in addition to the ten pounds that had
+fallen to him as his share of the prize money, his pay had been almost
+untouched from the day he left England, and his father had, on embarking,
+added ten pounds to his store.
+
+"I won't want it, Terence," he said; "I have got another twenty pounds by
+me, and by the time I get to England I shall have another month's pay to
+draw, and shall no doubt be put in a military hospital, where I shall have
+no occasion for money till I am out again."
+
+"But I sha'n't want it either, father."
+
+"There is never any saying, lad; it is always useful to have money on a
+campaign. You may be in places where the commissariat breaks down
+altogether, and you have to depend on what you buy; you may be left behind
+wounded, or may be taken prisoner, one never can tell. I shall feel more
+comfortable about you if I know that you are well provided with cash,
+whatever may happen. My advice is, Terence, get fifteen or twenty pounds
+in gold sewn up in your boot; have an extra sole put on, and the money
+sewn inside. If it is your bad luck to be taken prisoner, you will find
+the money mighty useful in a great many ways."
+
+Terence had followed this advice and had fifteen pounds hidden away,
+besides ten that he carried in his pockets; he therefore hurried to the
+hut where Lieutenant Andrews was lying. He was slightly acquainted with
+him, as he had been Fane's aide-de-camp from the time of landing. The
+young lieutenant's servant was standing at the door with a horse ready
+saddled and bridled.
+
+"I am very sorry to hear of your injury," he said to the young officer.
+
+"Yes, it is a horrible nuisance," the other replied; "and just as we were
+starting, too. There is an end of my campaigning for the present. I should
+not have minded if it had been a French ball, but to be merely thrown from
+a horse is disgusting."
+
+"I am extremely obliged to you for the horse, Andrews, but I would rather
+pay you for it; it is not fair that I should get it for nothing."
+
+"Oh, that is all right! It would be a bother taking it down, and I should
+not know what to do with it when I got to Lisbon; it would be a nuisance
+altogether, and I am glad to get rid of it. The money is of no consequence
+to me one way or the other. I wish you better luck with it than I have
+had."
+
+"At any rate here are five pounds for the saddle and bridle," and he put
+the money down on the table by the bed.
+
+"That is all right," the other said, without looking at it; "they are well
+off my hands, too. I hope the authorities will send me straight on board
+ship when I get to Lisbon; my servant will go down with me. If I am kept
+there, he will of course stay with me until I sail; if not, he will rejoin
+as soon as he has seen me on board. He is a good servant, and I can
+recommend him to you; he is rather fond of the bottle, but that is his
+only fault as far as I know. He is a countryman of yours, and you will be
+able to make allowances for his failing," he added, with a laugh.
+
+There was no time to be lost--the bugles were sounding--so, with a brief
+adieu, Terence went out, mounted the horse and rode after the general, who
+had just left with his staff, and taken his place at the head of the
+column. As he passed his regiment, he stopped for a moment to speak to the
+colonel.
+
+"I heard that you were wanted by the general, Terence," the latter said,
+"and I congratulate you on your appointment. I am sorry that you are
+leaving us, but, as you will be with the brigade, we shall often see you.
+O'Driscol is as savage as a bull at the loss of one of his subalterns.
+Well, it is your own luck that you have and another's; drop in this
+evening, if you can, and tell us how it was that Fane came to pick you
+out."
+
+"It was thanks to you, Colonel. If you remember, you told us at Vigo that
+Fane was on board when you went to make your report, and that he and Sir
+Arthur's adjutant-general read it over together, and asked you a good many
+questions. It was owing to that affair that he thought of me."
+
+"That is good, lad. I thought at the time that more might come of it than
+just being mentioned in orders, and I am very glad that it was for that
+you got it. At any rate, come in this evening; I want to hear where you
+have stolen that horse from, and all about it."
+
+Terence rode off and took his place with his fellow aide-de-camp behind
+the two other officers of the staff. He scarcely knew whether to be glad
+or sorry, at present, at the change that had so suddenly taken place. It
+was gratifying to have been selected as he had been. It was certainly more
+pleasant to ride through a campaign than to march; and there would be a
+good many more chances of distinguishing himself than there could be as a
+regimental officer; while, on the other hand, he would be away from the
+circle of his friends and comrades, and should greatly miss the fun and
+jollity of the life with them.
+
+"An unfortunate affair this of Andrews," Lieutenant Trevor, his fellow
+aide-de-camp, said.
+
+"Most unfortunate. I little thought when you and he lunched with us two
+days since that to-day he would be down with a broken leg and I riding in
+his place. Just at present I certainly do not feel very delighted at the
+change. You see, from my father being a captain in the regiment, I have
+been brought up with it, and to be taken so suddenly away from them seems
+a tremendous wrench."
+
+"Yes, I can understand that," the other said. "In my case it is different.
+My regiment was not coming out, and of course I was greatly pleased when
+the general gave me a chance of going with him. Still, you see, as your
+regiment is in the brigade you will still be able to be with it when off
+duty, and when the end of the campaign comes you will return to it.
+Besides, there are compensations--you will at least get a roof to sleep
+under, at any rate nine times out of ten. I don't know how you feel it,
+but to me it is no small comfort being on horseback instead of tramping
+along these heavy roads on foot. The brigadier is a capital fellow; and
+though he does keep us hard at work, at any rate he works hard himself,
+and does not send us galloping about with all sorts of trivial messages
+that might as well be unsent. Besides, he is always thoughtful and
+considerate. Is he related to you in any way?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"Then I suppose you had good interest in some way, or else how did he come
+to pick you out?"
+
+"It was just a piece of luck," Terence said; "it was because he had heard
+my name in connection with a fight the transport I came over in had with
+two French privateers."
+
+"Oh, yes, I remember now," the other said; "I had forgotten that the name
+was O'Connor. I remember all about it now. He told us the story at Vigo,
+and you were put in general orders by Sir Arthur. I know the chief spoke
+very highly about your conduct in that affair. It is just like him to
+remember it, and to pick you out to take Andrews' place. Well, you fairly
+won it, which is more than one can say for most staff appointments, which
+are in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the result of pure favouritism
+or interest.
+
+"Well, O'Connor, I am very glad to have you on the staff. You see, it
+makes a lot of difference, when there are only two of us, that we should
+like each other. I own I have not done anything as yet to get any credit,
+for at Vimiera it was just stand up and beat them back, and I had not a
+single message to carry, and, of course, at Rolica our brigade was not in
+it; but I hope I shall get a turn some day. Then it was your father who
+was badly wounded?"
+
+"Yes; I saw him off to England four days ago. I hope that he will be able
+to rejoin before long, but it is not certain yet that the wound won't
+bring on permanent lameness. I am very anxious about it, especially as he
+has now got his step, and it would be awfully hard on him to leave the
+service just as he has got field-officer's rank."
+
+"Yes, it would be hard. However, I hope that the sea-voyage and English
+air will set him up again."
+
+Presently one of the officers who were in front turned and said: "The
+general wishes you to ride back along the line, Mr. Trevor, and report
+whether the intervals between the regiments are properly kept, and also as
+to how the baggage-waggons are going on."
+
+As Trevor turned to ride back the general cantered on, followed by the
+three officers and the four troopers who served as orderlies. Two miles
+ahead they came to a bridge across a torrent. The road, always a bad one,
+had been completely cut up by the passage of the provision and ammunition
+carts going to the front, and was now almost impassable.
+
+"Will you please to ride back, Mr. O'Connor, and request the colonel of
+the leading regiment to send on the pioneers and a company of men at the
+double to clear the road and make it passable for the waggons."
+
+The work was quickly done. While some men filled up the deep ruts, others
+cut down shrubs and bushes growing by the river bank, tied them into
+bundles, and put them across the narrow road, and threw earth and stones
+upon them, and in half an hour from the order being given the bugle
+sounded the advance. The head of the column had been halted just before it
+reached the bridge, and the men fell out, many of them running down to the
+stream to refill their water-bottles. As the bugle sounded they at once
+fell in again, and the column got into motion. General Fane and his staff
+remained at the bridge until the waggons had all crossed it.
+
+"It is not much of a job," Fane said. "Of course the four regiments
+passing over it flattened the earth well down, but the waggons have cut it
+all up again. The first heavy shower will wash all the earth away, and in
+a couple of days it will be as bad as before. There are plenty of stones
+down in the river, but we have no means of breaking up the large ones, or
+of carrying any quantity of small ones. A few hundred sappers and
+engineers, with proper tools, would soon go a long way towards making the
+road fairly fit for traffic, but nothing can be done without tools and
+wheel-barrows, or at least hand-barrows for carrying stones. You see, the
+men wanted to use their blankets, but the poor fellows will want them
+badly enough before long, and those contractors' goods would go all to
+pieces by the time they had carried half a dozen loads of stones. At any
+rate, we will content ourselves with making the road passable for our own
+waggons, and the troops who come after us must do the same. By the way,
+Mr. O'Connor, you have not got your kit yet."
+
+"No, sir; but I have no doubt that it is with the regimental baggage, and
+I will get it when we halt to-night."
+
+"Do so," the general said. "Of course it can be carried with ours, but I
+should advise you always to take a change of clothes in your valise, and a
+blanket strapped on with your greatcoat."
+
+"I have Mr. Andrews' blanket, sir. It was strapped on when I mounted, and
+I did not notice it."
+
+"That is all right. The store blankets are very little use for keeping off
+rain, but we all provided ourselves with good thick horse-cloths before
+leaving England. They are a great deal warmer than blankets, and are
+practically water-proof. I have no doubt that Mr. Andrews told his servant
+to strap it on as usual."
+
+Many and many a time during the campaign had Terence good reason for
+thinking with gratitude of Andrews' kindly thought. His greatcoat, which
+like those of all the officers of the regiment, had been made at Athlone,
+of good Irish frieze lined with flannel, would stand almost any amount of
+rain, but it was not long enough to protect his legs while lying down. But
+by rolling himself in the horse-cloth he was able to sleep warm and dry,
+when without it he would have been half-frozen, or soaked through with
+rain from above and moisture from the ground below. He found that the
+brigadier and his staff carried the same amount of baggage as other
+officers, the only difference being that the general had a tent for
+himself, his assistant-adjutant and quartermaster one between them, while
+a third was used as an office-tent in the day, and was occupied by the two
+aides-de-camp at night.
+
+The baggage-waggon allotted to them carried the three tents, their scanty
+kits, and a box of stationery and official forms, but was mainly laden
+with musketry ammunition for the use of the brigade. After marching
+eighteen miles the column halted at a small village. The tents were
+speedily pitched, rations served out, and fires lighted. The general took
+possession of the principal house in the village for the use of himself
+and his staff, and the quartermaster-general apportioned the rest of the
+houses between the officers of the four battalions. The two aides-de-camp
+accompanied the general in his tour of inspection through the camp.
+
+"It will be an hour before dinner is ready," Trevor said, as they returned
+to the house, "and you won't be wanted before that. I shall be about if
+the chief has any orders to send out. I don't think it is likely that he
+will have; he is not given, as some brigadiers are, to worrying; and,
+besides, there are the orderlies here to take any routine orders out, so
+you can be off if you like."
+
+Terence at once went down to the camp of the Mayo Fusiliers. The officers
+were all there, their quartermaster having gone into the village to fix
+their respective quarters.
+
+"Hooray, Terence, me boy!" O'Grady shouted, as he came up, "we all
+congratulate you. Faith, it is a comfort to see that for once merit has
+been recognized. I am sure that there is not a man in the regiment but
+would have liked to have given you a cheer as you rode along this morning
+just before we started. We shall miss you, but as you will be up and down
+all day and can look in of an evening, it won't be as if you had been put
+on the staff of another brigade. As to Dicky Ryan, he is altogether down
+in the mouth, whether it is regret for your loss or whether it is from
+jealousy at seeing you capering about on horseback, while he is tramping
+along on foot, is more than I know."
+
+"If you were not my superior officer, Captain O'Grady, I should make a
+personal onslaught on you," Ryan laughed. "You will have to mind how you
+behave now, Terence; the brigadier is an awfully good fellow, but he is
+pretty strict in matters of discipline."
+
+"I will take care of meself, Dicky, and now that you will have nobody to
+help you out of your scrapes, you will have to mind yourself too."
+
+"I am glad that you have got a lift, Terence," Captain O'Driscol said;
+"but it is rather hard on me losing a subaltern just as the campaign is
+beginning in earnest."
+
+"Menzies likes doing all the work," Terence said, "so it won't make so
+much difference to you."
+
+"It would not matter if I was always with my company, Terence, but now,
+you see, that I am acting as field-officer to the left wing till your
+father rejoins, it makes it awkward."
+
+"I intend to attach Parsons to your company, O'Driscol," the colonel said.
+"Terence went off so suddenly this morning that I had no time to think of
+it before we marched, but he shall march with your company to-morrow. You
+will not mind, I hope, Captain Holland?"
+
+"I shall mind, of course, Colonel; but, as O'Driscol's company has now
+really only one officer, of course it cannot be helped, and as Menzies is
+the senior lieutenant, I have no doubt that he can manage very well with
+Parsons, who is very well up in his work."
+
+"Thank you, Captain Holland; it is the first compliment that you ever paid
+me; it is abuse that I am most accustomed to."
+
+"It is thanks to that that you are a decent officer, Parsons," Captain
+Holland laughed. "You were the awkwardest young beggar I ever saw when you
+first joined, and you have given me no end of trouble in licking you into
+shape. How do you think you will like your work, Terence?"
+
+"I think I shall like it very much," the lad replied. "The other
+aide-de-camp, Trevor, is a very nice fellow, and every one likes Fane; as
+to Major Dowdeswell and Major Errington, I haven't exchanged a word with
+either of them, and you know as much about them as I do."
+
+"Errington is a very good fellow, but the other man is very unpopular. He
+is always talking about the regulations, as if anyone cared a hang about
+the regulations when one is on service."
+
+"I expect that if Fane were not such a good fellow Dowdeswell would make
+himself a baste of a nuisance, and be bothering us about pipe-clay and
+buttons, and all sorts of rigmarole," O'Grady said; "as if a man would
+fight any the better for having his belt white as snow!"
+
+"He would not fight any the better, O'Grady, but the regiment would do
+so," the colonel put in. "All these little matters are nothing in
+themselves, but still they have a good deal to do with the discipline of
+the regiment; there is no doubt that we are not as smart in appearance as
+we ought to be, and that the other regiments in the brigade show up better
+than we do. It is a matter that must be seen to. I shall inspect the
+regiment very carefully before we march to-morrow."
+
+There was a little silence among the group, but a smile stole over several
+of the faces. As a rule, the colonel was very lax in small matters of this
+kind, but occasionally he thought it necessary to put on an air of
+severity, and to insist upon the most rigid accuracy in this respect; but
+the fit seldom lasted beyond twenty-four hours, after which things went on
+pleasantly again. Some of the officers presently sauntered off to warn the
+colour-sergeants that the colonel himself intended to inspect the regiment
+closely before marching the next morning, and that the men must be warned
+to have their uniforms, belts, and firearms in perfect order.
+
+Terence remained for some little time longer chatting, and then got
+possession of his kit, which was carried by Tim Hoolan across to his
+quarters.
+
+"We are all sorry you've left us, yer honour," that worthy said, as he
+walked a short distance behind Terence; "the rigiment won't be like itself
+widout you. Not that it has been quite the same since you joined us
+reg'lar, and have taken to behaving yourself."
+
+"What do you mean, you impudent rascal?" Terence said, with a pretence at
+indignation.
+
+"No offence, yer honour, but faith the games that you and Mr. Ryan and
+some of the others used to play, kept the boys alive, and gave mighty
+contintment to the regiment."
+
+"I was only a lad then, Hoolan."
+
+"That was so, yer honour, and now you are a man and an officer, it is
+natural it should be different."
+
+"Tim Hoolan, you are a humbug," Terence said, laughing.
+
+"Sorra a bit of one, yer honour. I am not saying that you won't grow a bit
+more; everyone says what a fine man you will make. But sure ye saved our
+wing from being captured, and you would not have us admit that, if it had
+not been for a boy, a wing of the Mayo Fusiliers would have been captured
+by the French. No, your honour, when we tell that story we spake of one of
+our officers who had the idea that saved the _Sea-horse__, and brought
+thim two privateer vessels into Vigo."
+
+"Well, Tim, it is only three months since I joined, and I don't suppose I
+have changed much in that time; but of course I cannot play tricks now as
+I used to do, before I got my commission."
+
+"That is so, yer honour; the rigiment misses your tricks, though they did
+bother us a bit. Three times were we turned out at night, under arms, when
+we were at Athlone, once on a wet night too, and stood there for two hours
+till the colonel found out it was a false alarm, and there was me and Mr.
+Ryan, and two or three others as was in the secret, nigh choking ourselves
+with laughter, to hear the men cursing and swearing at being called out of
+bed. That was a foine time, yer honour."
+
+"Attention, Tim!" Terence said, sharply.
+
+They had now entered the village, and the burst of laughter in which
+Hoolan indulged at the thought of the regiment being turned out on a false
+alarm was unseemly, as he was accompanying an officer. So Tim straightened
+himself up, and then followed in Terence's footsteps with military
+precision and stiffness.
+
+"There is a time for all things, Tim," the latter said, as he took the
+little portmanteau from him. "It won't do to be laughing like that in
+sight of head-quarters. I can't ask you to have a drink now; there is no
+drink to be had, but the first time we get a chance I will make it up to
+you."
+
+"All right, yer honour! I was wrong entirely, but I could not have helped
+it if the commander-in-chief had been standing there."
+
+Terence went up to the attic that he and Trevor shared. There was no
+changing for dinner, but after a wash he went below again.
+
+"You are just in time," Trevor said, "and we are in luck. The head man of
+the village sent the general a couple of ducks, and they will help out our
+rations. I have been foraging, and have got hold of half a dozen bottles
+of good wine from the priest.
+
+"We always try to get the best of things in the village, if they will but
+part with them. That is an essential part of our duties. To-morrow it will
+be your turn."
+
+"But our servants always did that sort of thing," Terence said, in some
+surprise.
+
+"I dare say, O'Connor, but it would not do for the general's servant to be
+going about picking up things. No matter what he paid, we should have
+tales going about in no time of the shameful extortion practised by our
+servants, who under threats compelled the peasantry to sell provisions for
+the use of their masters at nominal prices."
+
+"I did not think of that," Terence laughed. "Yes, as the Portuguese have
+circulated scores of calumnious lies on less foundation, one cannot be too
+particular. I will see what I can do to-morrow."
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+A FALSE ALARM
+
+The march was continued until the brigade arrived at Almeida, which they
+reached on the 7th of November, and Sir John Moore and the head-quarters
+staff came up on the following day. All the troops were now assembled at
+that place; for Anstruther, by some misconception of orders, had halted
+the leading division, instead of, as intended by the general, continuing
+his march to Salamanca. The condition of the troops was excellent.
+Discipline, which had been somewhat relaxed during the period of
+inactivity, was now thoroughly restored. The weather had continued fine,
+and the steady exercise had well prepared them for the campaign which was
+beginning. Things, however, were in other respects going on unfavourably.
+
+The Junta of Corunna had given the most solemn promises that transport and
+everything necessary for the advance of Sir David Baird's force should be
+ready by the time that officer arrived. Yet nothing whatever had been
+done, and so conscious were the Junta of their shortcomings, that when the
+fleet with the troops arrived off the port they refused to allow them to
+enter without an order from the central Junta, and fifteen days were
+wasted before the troops could disembark. Then it was found that neither
+provisions nor transport had been provided, and that nothing whatever was
+to be hoped for from the Spanish authorities. Baird was entirely
+unprovided with money, and was supplied with L8,000 from Moore's scanty
+military chest, while at the very time the British agent, Mr. Frere, was
+in Corunna with two millions of dollars for the use of the Spaniards,
+which he was squandering, like the other British agents, right and left
+among the men who refused to put themselves to the slightest trouble to
+further the expedition.
+
+Spain was at this time boasting of the enthusiasm of its armies, and of
+the immense force that it had in the field, and succeeded in persuading
+the English cabinet and the English people that with the help of a little
+money they could alone and unaided drive the French right across the
+frontier. The emptiness of this braggadocio, and the utter incapacity of
+the Spanish authorities and generals was now speedily exposed, for
+Napoleon's newly arrived armies scattered the Spaniards before them like
+sheep, and it was only on one or two occasions that anything like severe
+fighting took place. Within the space of three weeks there remained of the
+great armies of Spain but a few thousand fugitives hanging together
+without arms or discipline. Madrid, the centre of this pretended
+enthusiasm and patriotism, surrendered after a day's pretence at
+resistance, and the whole of the eastern provinces fell, practically
+without a blow, into the hands of the invaders.
+
+At present, however, Moore still hoped for some assistance from the
+Spaniards. He, like Baird, was crippled for want of money, but determined
+not to delay his march, and sent agents to Madrid and other places to make
+contracts and raise money; thus while the ministers at home squandered
+huge sums on the Spaniards, they left it to their own military commanders
+to raise money by means of loans to enable them to march. Never in the
+course of the military history of England were her operations so crippled
+and foiled by the utter incapacity of her government as in the opening
+campaigns of the Peninsular War.
+
+While Baird was vainly trying to obtain transport at Corunna, a
+reinforcement of some five thousand Spanish troops under General Romana
+landed at San Andero, and, being equipped from the British stores, joined
+the Spanish general, Blake, in Biscay. These troops had been raised for
+the French service at the time Napoleon's brother Joseph was undisputed
+King of Spain. They were stationed in Holland, and when the insurrection
+at home broke out, the news of the rising was sent to them, and in
+pursuance of a plan agreed upon they suddenly rose, marched down to a port
+and embarked in English ships sent to receive them, and were in these
+transported to the northern coast of Spain.
+
+Sir David Baird was a man of great energy, and, having succeeded in
+borrowing a little more money from Mr. Frere, he started on his march to
+join General Moore. He had with great difficulty hired some country carts
+at an exorbitant rate, but the number was so small that he was obliged to
+send up his force in half-battalions, and so was able to proceed but very
+slowly.
+
+Sir John Moore was still in utter ignorance of the situation in Spain. The
+jealousy among the generals, and the disinclination of the central Junta
+to appoint any one person to a post that might enable him to interfere
+with their intrigues, had combined to prevent the appointment of a
+commander-in-chief, and there was no one therefore with whom Sir John
+could open negotiations and learn what plans, if any, had been decided
+upon for general operations against the advancing enemy.
+
+On the day that Moore arrived at Almeida, Blake was in full flight,
+pursued by a French army 50,000 strong, and Napoleon was at Vittoria with
+170,000 troops.
+
+Of these facts he was ignorant, but the letters that he received from Lord
+William Bentinck and Colonel Graham, exposing the folly of the Spanish
+generals, reached him. On the 11th he crossed the frontier of Spain,
+marching to Ciudad-Rodrigo. On that day Blake was finally defeated, and
+one of the other armies completely crushed and dispersed. These events
+left a large French army free to act against the British. Sir John Moore,
+however, did not hear of this until a week later. He knew, however, that
+the situation was serious; and after all the reports of Spanish
+enthusiasm, he was astonished to find that complete apathy prevailed, that
+no effort was made to enroll the population, or even to distribute the
+vast quantity of British muskets stored up in the magazines of the cities.
+
+The general arrived at Salamanca with 4,000 British infantry. The French
+cavalry were at Valladolid, but three marches distant. On the 18th more
+troops had arrived, and on the 23d 12,000 infantry and six guns were at
+Salamanca. But Moore now knew of the defeat of Blake, and that the French
+army that had crushed him was free to advance against Salamanca. But he
+did not yet know of the utter dispersal of the Asturian army, or that the
+two armies of Castanos and Palafox were also defeated and scattered beyond
+any attempt at rallying, and that their conquerors were also free to march
+against him. Although ignorant of the force with which Napoleon had
+entered Spain, and having no idea of its enormous strength, he knew that
+it could not be less than 80,000 men, and that it could be joined by at
+least 30,000 more.
+
+His position was indeed a desperate one. Baird was still twenty marches
+distant, his cavalry and artillery still far away. It would require
+another five days to bring the rear of his own army to Salamanca, as only
+a small portion could come forward each day, owing to want of transport;
+and yet, while in this position of imminent danger, the Spanish
+authorities, through Mr. Frere and other agents, were violently urging an
+advance to Madrid.
+
+General Moore was indeed in a position of imminent danger; but the lying
+reports as to the strength of the Spanish army induced him for a moment to
+make preparations for such a movement. When, however, he learned the utter
+overthrow and dispersal of the whole of the Spanish armies, he saw that
+nothing remained but to fall back, if possible, upon Portugal.
+
+It was necessary, however, that he should remain at Salamanca until Hope
+should arrive with the guns, and the army be in a position to show a front
+to the enemy. Instructions had been previously sent to Hope to march to
+the Escurial. Hope had endeavoured to find a road across the mountains of
+Ciudad-Rodrigo, but the road was so bad that he dared not venture upon it,
+as the number of horses was barely sufficient to drag the guns and
+ammunition waggons along a good road. He therefore kept on his way until
+he reached the Escurial; but after advancing three days farther towards
+Madrid, he heard of the utter defeat of the Spaniards and the flight of
+their armies. His cavalry outposts brought in word that more than 4,000
+cavalry were but twelve miles away, and that other French troops were at
+Segovia and other places. The prospect of his making his way to join Sir
+John Moore seemed well-nigh hopeless; but, with admirable skill and
+resolution, Hope succeeded in eluding some of his foes, in checking others
+by destroying or defending bridges, and finally joined the main force
+without the loss of any of the important convoy of guns and ammunition
+that he was escorting.
+
+The satisfaction of the troops at the arrival of the force that had been
+regarded as lost was unbounded. Hitherto, unprovided as they were with
+artillery and cavalry, they could have fought only under such
+disadvantages as would render defeat almost inevitable, for an enemy could
+have pounded them with artillery from a distance beyond their musket
+range, and they could have made no effectual reply whatever. His cavalry
+could have circled round them, cut their communications, and charged down
+on their lines in flank and rear while engaged with his infantry. Now
+every man felt that once again he formed part of an army, and that that
+army could be relied upon to beat any other of equal numbers.
+
+Terence had enjoyed the march to Salamanca. The fine weather had broken
+up, and heavy rains had often fallen, but his thick coat kept him dry
+except in the steadiest downpours; while on one or two occasions only the
+general and his staff had failed to find quarters available. As they
+proceeded they gradually closed up with the troops forming a part of the
+same division, and at Almeida came under the command of General Fraser,
+whose division was made complete by their arrival. Up to this point the
+young aide-de-camp's duties had been confined solely to the work of the
+brigade--to seeing that the regiments kept their proper distances, that
+none of the waggons loitered behind, and that the roads were repaired,
+where absolutely necessary, for the baggage to pass.
+
+In the afternoon he generally rode forward with Major Errington, the
+quartermaster-general of the brigade, to examine the place fixed upon for
+the halt, to apportion the ground between the regiments, and ascertain the
+accommodation to be obtained in the village. Two orderlies accompanied
+them, each carrying a bundle of light rods. With these the ground was
+marked off, a card with the name of the regiment being inserted in a slit
+at the end of the rod; the village was then divided in four quarters for
+the accommodation of the officers. But beyond fixing the name of each
+regiment to the part assigned to it, no attempt was made to allot any
+special quarters to individual officers, this being left for the
+regimental quartermaster to do on the arrival of the troops.
+
+When the column came up Terence led each regiment to the spot marked off,
+and directed the baggage-waggons to their respective places. While he was
+doing this, Trevor, with the orderlies, saw the head-quarters baggage
+carried to the house chosen for the general's use, and that the place was
+made as comfortable as might be, and then endeavoured to add to the
+rations by purchases in the village. Fane himself always remained with the
+troops until the tents were erected, and they were under cover, the
+rations distributed, and the fires lighted. The latter operation was often
+delayed by the necessity of fetching wood from a distance, the wood in the
+immediate neighbourhood having been cut down and burned either by the
+French on their advance, or by the British regiments ahead.
+
+He then went to his quarters, where he received the reports of the
+medical, commissariat, and transport officers, wrote a report of the state
+of the road and the obstacles that he had encountered, and sent it back by
+an orderly to the officer commanding the six guns which were following a
+day's march behind him. These had been brought along with great labour, it
+being often necessary to take them off their carriages and carry them up
+or down difficult places, while the men were frequently compelled to
+harness themselves to ropes and aid the horses to drag the guns and
+waggons through the deep mud. Between the arrival of the troops and dinner
+Terence had his time to himself, and generally spent it with his regiment.
+
+"Never did I see such a country, Terence," O'Grady complained to him one
+day. "Go where you will in ould Oirland, you can always get a jugful of
+poteen, a potful of 'taties, and a rasher of bacon; and if it is a
+village, a fowl and eggs. Here there are not even spirits or wine; as for
+a chicken, I have not seen the feather of one since we started, and I
+don't believe the peasants would know an egg if they saw it."
+
+"Nonsense, O'Grady! If we were to go off the main road we should be able
+to buy all these things, barring the poteen, and maybe the potatoes, but
+you could get plenty of onions instead. You must remember that the French
+army came along here, and I expect they must have eaten nearly everything
+up on their way, and you may be sure that Anstruther's brigade gleaned all
+they left. As we marched from the Mondego we found the villagers well
+supplied--better a good deal than places of the same size would be in
+Ireland--except at our first halting-place."
+
+"I own that, although Hoolan sometimes fails to add to our rations, we
+have not been so badly off, Terence. He goes out with two or three more of
+the boys directly we halt, laving the other servants to get the tents
+ready, and he generally brings us half a dozen fish, sometimes a dozen,
+that he has got out of the stream.
+
+"He is an old hand, is Tim, and if he can't get them for dinner he gets
+them for breakfast. He catches them with night-lines and snares, and all
+sorts of poaching tricks. I know he bought a bag with four or five pounds
+of lime at Torres Vedras, and managed to smuggle it away in the regimental
+baggage. I asked him what it was for, and the rascal tipped me a wink, as
+much as to say, Don't ask no questions, master; and I believe that he
+drops a handful into a likely pool when he comes across one. I have never
+dared to ask him, for my conscience would not let me countenance such an
+unsportsmanlike way of getting round the fish."
+
+"I don't think that there is much harm in it under the present
+circumstances," Terence laughed. "It is not sport, but it is food. I am
+afraid, Tim, that you must have been poaching a good deal at home or you
+would never have thought of buying lime before starting on this march."
+
+"I would scorn to take in an Oirish fish, yer honour!" Hoolan said,
+indignantly. "But it seems to  me that as the people here are trating us
+in just as blackguardly a manner as they can, shure it is the least we can
+do to catch their fish any way we can, just to pay them off."
+
+"Well, looking at it in that light, Tim, I will say no more against the
+practice. I don't think I could bring myself to lime even Portuguese
+water, but my conscience would not trouble me at eating fish that had been
+caught by somebody else."
+
+"I will bear it in mind, yer honour, and next time we come on a good pool
+a dish of fine fish shall be left at your quarters, but yer honour must
+not mintion to the gineral where you got them from. Maybe his conscience
+in the matter of ateing limed fish would be more tender than your own, and
+it might get me into trouble."
+
+"I will take care about that, Tim; at any rate, I will try and manufacture
+two or three hooks, and when we halt for a day will try and do a little
+fishing on my own account."
+
+"I will make you two or three, Mr. O'Connor. I made a couple for Mr. Ryan,
+and he caught two beauties yesterday evening."
+
+"Thank you, Hoolan. Fond as I am of fishing, I wonder it did not strike me
+before. I can make a line by plaiting some office string, with twisted
+horse-hair instead of gut."
+
+"I expect that that is just what Mr. Ryan did, yer honour. I heard the
+adjutant using powerful language this morning because he could not find a
+ball of twine."
+
+After this Terence generally managed to get an hour's fishing before the
+evening twilight had quite faded away; and by the aid of a long rod cut on
+the river bank, a line manufactured by himself, and Hoolan's hook baited
+with worms, he generally contrived to catch enough fish to supplement the
+ordinary fare at the following morning's breakfast.
+
+"This is a welcome surprise, Trevor," the brigadier said the first time
+the fish appeared at table. "I thought I smelt fish frying, but I felt
+sure I must be mistaken. Where on earth did you get them from?"
+
+"It is not my doing, General, but O'Connor's. I was as much surprised as
+yourself when I saw Burke squatting over the fire frying three fine fish.
+I asked him where he had stolen them. He told me that Mr. O'Connor brought
+them in at eight o'clock yesterday evening."
+
+"Where did you get them from, O'Connor?"
+
+"I caught them in the stream that we crossed half a mile back, sir. I
+found a likely pool a few hundred yards down it, and an hour's work there
+gave me those three fish. They stopped biting as soon as it got dark."
+
+"What did you catch them with?"
+
+Terence explained the nature of his tackle.
+
+"Capital! You have certainly given us a very pleasant change of food, and
+I hope that you will continue the practice whenever there is a chance."
+
+"There ought often to be one, General. We cross half a dozen little
+mountain streams every day, and the villages are generally built close to
+one. I don't suppose I should have thought of it, if I had not found that
+some of the men of my regiment have been supplying the mess with them. I
+hope to do better in future, for going over the ground where some of the
+troops in front of us have bivouacked I came upon some white feathers
+blowing about, and I shall try to tie a fly. That ought to be a good deal
+more killing than a worm when the light begins to fade."
+
+"You have been a fisherman, then, at home?"
+
+"Yes, sir; I did a good deal of fishing round Athlone, and was taught to
+tie my own flies. I wish I had a packet of hooks--the two one of our
+fellows made for me are well enough for worms, but they are rather clumsy
+for flies."
+
+"I used to be fond of fishing myself," Fane said; "but I have always
+bought my tackle, and I doubt whether I should make much hand at it, if
+left to my own devices. We are not likely to be able to get any hooks till
+we get to Almeida, but I should think you would find some there."
+
+"I shall be able to get some wire to make them with, no doubt, sir."
+
+"I fancy after we have left Almeida you won't find many opportunities of
+fishing, O'Connor. We shall have other work on hand then, and shall, I
+hope, be able to buy what we want; at any rate, we shall have as good a
+chance of doing so as others, while along this road there is nothing to be
+had for love or money, and the peasants would no doubt be glad to sell us
+anything they have, but they are living on black bread themselves; and,
+indeed, the greater part have moved away to less-frequented places. No
+doubt they will come back again as soon as we have all passed, but how
+long they will be allowed to live in peace and quietness is more than I
+can say. As long as it is only our troops who come along they have nothing
+much to complain of, for they can sell everything they have to dispose of
+at prices they never dreamt of before; but they complain bitterly of the
+French, who ate their fruit and drank their wine, killed their pigs and
+fowls, appropriated their cattle and horses, and they thought themselves
+lucky to escape with their lives. You see there are very few men about
+here; they have all gone off to join one or other of the Portuguese
+bands."
+
+"I fancy these Portuguese fellows will turn out useful some day, General,"
+Major Errington said. "They are stout fellows, and though I don't think
+the townspeople would be of any good, the peasantry ought to make good
+soldiers if they were well drilled and led."
+
+"That is a very large if," Fane laughed. "I see no signs of any leader,
+and unless we could lend them a few hundred non-commissioned officers I
+don't see where their drill instructors are to come from. Still, I have
+more hope of them than I have of the Spaniards. Those men under Trant were
+never tried much under fire, but they certainly improved in discipline
+very much in the short time they were with us. If we could but get rid of
+all the Portuguese authorities and take the people in hand ourselves, we
+ought to be able to turn out fifty thousand good fighting troops in the
+course of a few months, but so long as things go on as they are I see no
+hope of any efficient aid from them."
+
+At Almeida Terence managed to procure some hooks. They were clumsily made,
+but greatly superior to anything that he could turn out himself. He was
+also able to procure some strong lines, but the use of flies seemed to be
+altogether unknown. However, during his stay he made half a dozen
+different patterns, and with these in a small tin box and a coil of line
+stowed away at the bottom of one of his holsters, he felt that if
+opportunity should occur he ought to be able to have fair sport. He had
+suffered a good deal during the heavy rains, which came on occasionally,
+from the fact that his infantry cloak was not ample enough to cover his
+legs when riding. He was fortunate enough here to be able to buy a pair of
+long riding-boots, and with these and a pair of thick canvas trousers,
+made by one of the regimental tailors, and coming down just below the
+knee, he felt that in future he could defy the rain.
+
+At Salamanca there were far better opportunities of the officers
+supplementing their outfits. Landing on the Mondego early in August, they
+had made provision against the heat, but had brought no outfit at all
+suited for wear in winter, and all seized the opportunity of providing
+themselves with warm under-garments, had linings sewn into greatcoats, and
+otherwise prepared for the cold which would shortly set in. The greater
+part of the troops were here quartered in the convents and other extensive
+buildings, and as Fane's brigade was one of the first to arrive they
+enjoyed a short period of well-earned rest. Terence had by this time
+picked up a good deal of Portuguese, and was able to make himself pretty
+well understood by the Spanish shopkeepers. He, as well as the other
+officers, was astonished and disgusted at the lethargy that prevailed
+when, as all now knew, the great Spanish armies were scattered to the
+winds, and large bodies of French troops were advancing in all directions
+to crush out the last spark of resistance.
+
+The officers of the Mayo Fusiliers had established a mess, and Terence
+often dined there. He was always eagerly questioned as to what was going
+to be done.
+
+"I can assure you, O'Grady," he said, one day, "that aides-de-camp are not
+admitted to the confidence of the officer commanding-in-chief. I know no
+more as to Sir John's intentions than the youngest drummer-boy. I suppose
+that everything will depend upon the weather, and whether General Hope,
+with the artillery and cavalry, manages to join us. If he does, I suppose
+we shall fight a battle before we fall back. If he does not, I suppose we
+shall have to fall back without fighting, if the French will let us."
+
+"I wish, Terence, you would give these lazy Spaniards a good fright, just
+as you gave the people at Athlone. Faith, I would give a couple of months'
+pay to see them regularly scared."
+
+"If I were not on the staff I might try it, O'Grady, but it would never do
+for me to try such a thing now."
+
+Dick Ryan, who was standing by, winked significantly, and in a short time
+he and Terence were talking eagerly together in a corner of the room.
+
+"Who is to know you are a staff-officer, Terence?" the latter urged.
+"Isn't it an infantry uniform that you are wearing? and ain't there
+hundreds of infantry officers here? It was good fun at Athlone, but I
+don't think that many of them believed there was any real danger. It would
+be altogether different here; they are scared enough as it is, though they
+walk about with their cloaks wrapped round them and pretend to be mighty
+confident."
+
+"Let us come and talk it over outside, Dick. It did not much matter before
+if it had been discovered we had a hand in it. Of course the colonel would
+have given us a wigging, but at heart he would have been as pleased at the
+joke as any of us. But it is a different affair here."
+
+Going out, they continued their talk and arranged their plans. Late the
+following night two English officers rushed suddenly into a drinking-shop
+close to the gate through which the road to Valladolid passed.
+
+"The French! the French!" one exclaimed. "Run for your lives and give the
+alarm!"
+
+The men all leapt to their feet, rushed out tumultuously, and scattered
+through the streets, shouting at the top of their voices: "The French are
+coming! the French are coming! Get up, or you will all be murdered in your
+beds!"
+
+The alarm spread like wildfire, and Terence and Ryan made their way back,
+by the shortest line, to the room where most of the officers were still
+sitting, smoking and chatting.
+
+"Any news, O'Connor?" the colonel asked.
+
+"Nothing that I have heard of, Colonel. I thought I would drop in for a
+cigar before turning in."
+
+A few minutes later Tim Hoolan entered.
+
+"There is a shindy in the town, your honour," he said to the colonel.
+"Meself does not know what it is about; but they are hallooing and bawling
+fit to kill themselves."
+
+One of the officers went to the window and threw it up.
+
+"Hoolan is right, Colonel; there is something the matter. There--" he
+broke off as a church bell pealed out with loud and rapid strokes.
+
+"That is the alarm, sure enough!" the colonel exclaimed. "Be off at once,
+gentlemen, and get the men up and under arms."
+
+"I must be off to the general's quarters!" Terence exclaimed, hastily
+putting on his greatcoat again.
+
+"The divil fly away with them," O'Grady grumbled, as he hastily finished
+the glass before him; "sorrow a bit of peace can I get at all, at all, in
+this bastely country."
+
+Terence hurried away to his quarters. A score of church bells were now
+pealing out the alarm. From every house men and women rushed out
+panic-stricken, and eagerly questioned each other. All sorts of wild
+reports were circulated.
+
+"The British outposts have been driven in; the Valladolid gate has been
+captured; Napoleon himself, with his whole army, is pouring into the
+town."
+
+The shrieks of frightened women added to the din, above which the British
+bugles calling the troops to arms could be heard in various quarters of
+the city.
+
+"Oh, here you are, Mr. O'Connor!" General Fane exclaimed, as he hurried
+in. "Mr. Trevor has just started for the convent; he may be intercepted,
+and therefore do you carry the same message; the brigade is to get under
+arms at once, and to remain in readiness for action until I arrive. From
+what I can gather from these frightened fools, the French have already
+entered the town. If the convent is attacked, it is to be defended until
+the last. I am going to head-quarters for orders."
+
+A good deal alarmed at the consequences of the tumult that he and Dick
+Ryan had excited, Terence made his way through the streets at a run; his
+progress, however, was impeded by the crowd, many of whom seized him as he
+passed and implored him to tell them the news. He observed that not a
+weapon was to be seen among the crowd; evidently resistance was absolutely
+unthought of. Trevor had reached the convent before him. The four
+regiments had already gathered there under arms.
+
+"Have you any orders, Mr. O'Connor?" Colonel Corcoran asked, eagerly, for
+the Mayo Fusiliers happened to be formed up next the gate of the convent.
+
+"No, sir; only to repeat those brought by Mr. Trevor, as the general
+thought that he might be intercepted on the way. The troops are to remain
+here in readiness until he arrives. If attacked, they are to hold the
+convent until the last."
+
+"Have you seen any signs of the French?"
+
+"None, whatever, Colonel."
+
+"Did you hear any firing?"
+
+"No, sir; but there was such an uproar--what with the church bells,
+everyone shouting, and the women screaming--that I don't suppose I should
+have heard it unless it had been quite close."
+
+"We thought we heard musketry," the colonel replied, "but it might have
+been only fancy. There is such a hullabaloo in the city that we might not
+have heard the fire of small-arms, but I think that we must have heard
+artillery."
+
+In ten minutes Fane with his staff galloped in. "The brigade will march
+down towards the Valladolid gate," he said. "If you encounter any enemies,
+Colonel Corcoran you will at once occupy the houses on both sides of the
+street and open fire upon them from the windows and roofs; the other
+regiments will charge them. At present," he went on, as the colonel gave
+the order for the regiment to march, "we can obtain no information as to
+the cause of this uproar. An officer rode in, just as I was starting, from
+Anstruther's force, encamped outside the walls, asking for orders, and
+reporting that his outposts have seen no signs of the enemy. I believe it
+is a false alarm after all, and we are marching rather to reassure the
+populace than with any idea of meeting the enemy."
+
+The troops marched rapidly through the streets, making their way without
+ceremony through the terrified crowd. They had gone but a short distance
+when the bells of the churches one by one ceased their clamour, and a hush
+succeeded the din that had before prevailed. When the head of the column
+reached the gate, they saw Sir John Moore and his staff sitting there on
+horseback. Fane rode up to him for orders.
+
+"It is, as I fancied, wholly a false alarm," the general said. "How it
+could have started I have no idea. I have had another report from
+Anstruther; all is quiet at the outposts, and there is no sign whatever of
+the enemy. There is nothing to do but to march the troops back to
+barracks. However, I am not sorry, for possibly the scare may wake the
+authorities up to the necessity of taking some steps for the protection of
+the town."
+
+Terence rode back with General Fane to his quarters.
+
+"I cannot make out," Trevor said, as they went, "how the scare can have
+begun; everything was quiet enough. I was just thinking of turning in when
+we heard a shouting in the streets. In three minutes the whole town seemed
+to have gone mad, and I made sure that the French must be upon us; but I
+could not make out how they could have done so without our outposts giving
+the alarm. Where were you when it began?"
+
+"I was in the mess-room of the Mayos, when one of the servants ran in to
+say that there was a row. Directly afterwards the alarm-bells began to
+ring, the colonel at once gave orders for the regiment to be got under
+arms, and I ran back to the general for orders; and I must have passed you
+somewhere on the road. Did you ever see such cowards as these Spaniards?
+Though there are arms enough in the town for every man to bear a
+musket--and certainly the greater portion of them have weapons of some
+sort or other--I did not see a man with arms of any kind in his hand."
+
+
+"I noticed the same thing," Trevor said. "It is disgusting. It was evident
+that the sole thought that possessed them was as to their own wretched
+lives. I have no doubt that, if they could have had their will, they would
+have disarmed all our troops, in order that no resistance whatever should
+be offered. And yet only yesterday the fellows were all bragging about
+their patriotism, and the bravery that would be shown should the French
+make their appearance. It makes one sick to be fighting for such people."
+
+The following afternoon Terence went up to the convent.
+
+"Well, O'Connor, have you heard how it all began?" the colonel asked, as
+he went into the mess-room.
+
+"No one seems to know at all, Colonel. The authorities are making
+inquiries, but, as far as I have heard, nothing has taken place to account
+for it."
+
+"It reminds me," the colonel said, shutting one eye and looking fixedly at
+Terence, "of a certain affair that took place at Athlone."
+
+"I was thinking the same myself," Terence replied, quietly, "only the
+scare was a good deal greater here than it was there; besides, a good many
+of the townspeople in Athlone did turn out with guns in their hands,
+whereas here, I believe every man in the town hid his gun in his bed
+before running out."
+
+"I always suspected you of having a hand in that matter, Terence."
+
+"Did you, Colonel?" Terence said, in a tone of surprise. "Well, as,
+fortunately, I was sitting here when this row began, you cannot suspect me
+this time."
+
+"I don't know; you and Ryan came in together, which was suspicious in
+itself, and it was not two minutes after you had come in that the rumpus
+began. Just give me a wink, lad, if you had a finger in the matter. You
+know you are safe with me; besides, ain't you a staff-officer now, and
+outside my jurisdiction altogether?"
+
+"Well, Colonel, a wink does not cost anything," Terence said, "so here is
+to ye."
+
+He exchanged a wink with the colonel, who burst into a fit of laughter so
+loud that he startled all the other officers, who at once came up to hear
+the joke.
+
+"It is just a little story that Terence has been telling me," the colonel
+said, when he had recovered his breath, "about the scare last night, and
+how a young woman, with next to nothing on her, threw her arms round his
+neck and begged him to save her. The poor young fellow blushed up to his
+eyelids with the shame of it in the public streets!"
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE RETREAT
+
+O'Grady asked no questions, but presently whispered to Terence: "Faith, ye
+did it well, me boy."
+
+"Did what well, O'Grady?"
+
+"You need not tell me about it, Terence. I was expecting it. Didn't I
+spake to ye the day before about it, and didn't I feel sure that something
+would come of it? When that row began last night, I looked at you hard and
+saw you wink at that young spalpeen, Dicky Ryan; and sure all the time
+that we were standing there, formed up, I well-nigh burst the buttons off
+me coatee in holding in me laughter, when everyone else was full of
+excitement.
+
+"'Are you ill, O'Grady?' the colonel said, for I had to sit meself down on
+some steps and rock meself to and fro to aise meself. 'Is it sick ye are?'
+'A sudden pain has saised me, Colonel,' says I, 'but I will be all right
+in a minute.' 'Take a dram out of me flask,' says he; something must have
+gone wrong wid ye.' I took a drink--"
+
+"That I may be sure you did," Terence interrupted.
+
+"--And thin told him that I felt better; but as we marched down through
+the crowd and saw the fright of the men, and the women screaming in their
+night-gowns at the windows, faith, I well-nigh choked."
+
+"Have you spoken to Ryan about this absurd suspicion, O'Grady?"
+
+"I spoke to him, but I might as well have spoke to a brick wall. Divil a
+thing could I get out of him. How did you manage it at all, lad?"
+
+"How could I manage it?" Terence said, indignantly. "No, no, O'Grady; I
+know you did make some remark about that scare at Athlone, and said it
+would be fun to have one here. I was a little shocked at hearing such a
+thing from, as you often say, a superior officer, and it certainly appears
+to me that it was you who first broached the idea. So I have much more
+right to feel a suspicion that you had a hand in the carrying of it out
+than for you to suspect me."
+
+"Well, Terence," O'Grady said, in an insinuating way, "I won't ask you any
+questions now, and maybe some day when you have marched away from this
+place, you will tell me the ins and outs of the business."
+
+"Maybe, O'Grady, and perhaps you will also confess to me how you managed
+to bring the scare about."
+
+"Go along wid you, Terence, it is yourself knows better than anyone else
+that I had nothing to do with it, and I will never forgive you until you
+make a clean breast of it to me."
+
+"We shall see about it," Terence laughed. "Anyhow, if you allude to the
+subject again, I shall feel it my duty to inform the colonel of my reasons
+for suspecting that you were concerned in spreading those false reports
+last night."
+
+"It was first-rate, wasn't it?" Dick Ryan said, as he joined Terence, when
+the latter left the mess-room.
+
+"It was good fun, Dicky; but I tell you, for a time I was quite as much
+scared as anyone else. I never thought that it would have gone quite so
+far. When it came to all the troops turning out, and Sir John and
+everyone, I felt that there would be an awful row if we were ever found
+out."
+
+"It was splendid, Terence. I knew that we could not be found out when we
+had not told a soul. Did you ever see such a funk as the Spaniards were
+all in, and after all their bragging and the airs that they had given
+themselves. Our men were so savage at their cowardice, that I believe they
+would have liked nothing better than an order to pitch into them. And
+didn't the women yell and howl? It is the best lark we have ever had."
+
+"It is good fun to look back at, Dicky, but I shall be glad when we are
+out of this. The Spanish authorities are making all sorts of inquiries,
+and I have no doubt that they will get hold of some of the men in that
+wine-shop, and it will come out that two British officers started the
+alarm."
+
+"What if it did?" Ryan said. "There were only two wretched candles burning
+in the place, and they could not have got a fair sight at us, and indeed
+they all jumped up and bolted the moment we spoke. I will bet that there
+is not one among them who would be able to swear to us though we were
+standing before him; and I have no doubt if they were questioned every man
+would give a different account of what we were like. I have no fear that
+they will ever find us out. Still, I shall be glad when we are out of this
+old place. Not because I am afraid about our share in that business being
+discovered, but we have been here nearly a fortnight now, and as we know
+there is a strong French force within ten miles of us, I think that it is
+about time that the fun began. You don't think that we are going to
+retreat, do you?"
+
+"I don't know any more about it than you do, Dicky; but I feel absolutely
+sure that we shall retreat. I don't see anything else for us to do. Every
+day fresh news comes in about the strength of the French, and as the
+Spanish resistance is now pretty well over, and Madrid has fallen, they
+will all be free to march against us; and even when Hope has joined us we
+shall only be about 20,000 strong, and they have, at the least, ten times
+that force. I thing we shall be mighty lucky if we get back across the
+frontier into Portugal before they are all on us."
+
+Sir John Moore, however, was not disposed to retire without doing
+something for the cause of Spain. The French armies had not yet penetrated
+into the southern provinces, and he nobly resolved to make a movement that
+would draw the whole strength of the French towards him, and give time for
+the Spaniards in the south to gather the remains of their armies together
+and organize a resistance to the French advance. In view of the number and
+strength of the enemy, no more heroic resolution was ever taken by a
+military commander, and it was all the more to be admired, inasmuch as he
+could hope to win no victory that would cover himself and his army with
+glory, no success that would satisfy the public at home, and at best he
+could but hope, after long, fatiguing, and dangerous marches, to effect
+his retreat from the overwhelming forces that would be hurled against him.
+
+While remaining at Salamanca, Sir John, foreseeing that a retreat into
+Portugal must be finally carried out, took steps to have magazines
+established on two of the principal routes to the coast, that a choice
+might be left open to him by which to retire when he had accomplished his
+main object of diverting the great French wave of invasion from the south.
+
+On the 11th of December the march began, and for the next ten days the
+army advanced farther and farther into the country. So far Moore had only
+Soult's army opposing his advance towards Burgos, and it might be possible
+to strike a heavy blow at that general before Napoleon, who was convinced
+that the British must fall back into Portugal if they had not already
+begun to do so, should come up. He had been solemnly assured that he
+should be joined by Romana with 14,000 picked men, but that general had
+with him but 5,000 peasants, who were in such a miserable condition that
+when the British reached the spot where the junction was to be effected,
+he was ashamed to show them, and marched away into Leon.
+
+The British, in order to obtain forage, were obliged to move along several
+lines of route. Sir David Baird's division joined them as they advanced,
+and when they reached the Carrion their effective force amounted to 23,583
+men, with sixty pieces of artillery. On the French side, Soult had--on
+hearing of the British advance to the north-east, by which, if successful,
+they would cut the French lines of communication between Madrid and the
+frontier--called up all his detached troops, and wrote to the governor of
+Burgos to divert to his assistance all troops coming along the road from
+France, whatever their destination might be.
+
+On the 21st Lord Paget, with the 10th and 15th Hussars, surprised a French
+cavalry force at Sahagun, and ordered the 15th to turn their position and
+endeavour to cut them off. When with the 10th Hussars Lord Paget arrived
+in the rear of the village, he found six hundred French dragoons drawn up
+and ready to attack him. He at once charged and broke them and pursued
+them for some distance. Twenty were killed, thirteen officers and 154 men
+taken prisoners. On the 23d, Soult had concentrated his forces at the town
+of Carrion, and that night the British troops were got in motion to attack
+them, the two forces being about even in numbers; but scarcely had he
+moved forward when reports, both from Romana and his own spies, reached
+Sir John Moore to the effect that his march had achieved the object with
+which it was undertaken. Orders had been sent by Napoleon for the whole of
+the French armies to move at once against the British, while he himself,
+with the troops at Madrid, 70,000 strong, had started by forced marches to
+fall upon him.
+
+The instant Moore received this information he arrested the forward
+movement of his troops. His object had been attained. The French invasion
+of the south was arrested, and time given to the Spaniards. There was
+nothing now but to fall back with all speed. It was well indeed that he
+did not carry out his intention of attacking Soult. The latter had that
+day received orders from the emperor not to give battle, but to fall back,
+and so tempt Moore to pursue, in which case his line of retreat would have
+been intercepted and his army irretrievably lost.
+
+The order to retreat was an unwelcome one indeed to the troops. For twelve
+days they had marched through deep snow and suffered fatigues, privations,
+and hardships. That evening they had expected to be repaid for their
+exertions by a battle and a victory on the following morning, and the
+order to retreat, coming at such a moment, was a bitter disappointment
+indeed.
+
+They were, of course, ignorant of the reasons for this sudden change, and
+the officers shared the discontent of the troops, a feeling that largely
+accounted for the disorders and losses that took place during the retreat.
+
+Napoleon led his troops north with his usual impetuosity. The deep snow
+choked the passes through the mountains. The generals, after twelve hours
+of labour, reported the roads impracticable, but Napoleon placed himself
+at the head of the column, and, amidst a storm of snow and driving hail,
+led them over the mountain. With tremendous efforts he reached Desillas on
+the 26th; while Houssaye entered Valladolid on the same day, and Ney, with
+the 6th corps, arrived at Rio Seco.
+
+Full of hope that he had caught the British, the emperor pushed on towards
+Barras, only to find that he was twelve hours too late. Moore had, the
+instant he received the news, sent back the heavy baggage with the main
+body of infantry, himself following more slowly with the light brigade and
+cavalry, the latter at times pushing parties up to the enemy's line and
+skirmishing with his outposts to prevent Soult from suspecting that the
+army had retreated. On the 26th the whole army, moving by different
+routes, approached the river Esla, which they crossed in a thick fog,
+which greatly hindered the operation. A brigade remained on the left bank
+to protect the passage, for the enemy's cavalry were already close at
+hand, and Soult was hotly pressing in pursuit.
+
+A strong body of horse belonging to the emperor's army intercepted Lord
+Paget near Mayorga, but two squadrons of the 10th Hussars charged up the
+rising ground on which they had posted themselves, and, notwithstanding
+their disadvantage in numbers and position, killed twenty and took a
+hundred prisoners. Moore made but a short pause on the Esla, for that
+position could be turned by the forces advancing from the south. He
+waited, therefore, only until he could clear out his magazines, collect
+his stragglers, and send forward his baggage. He ordered the bridge by
+which the army had crossed to be broken down, and left Crawford to perform
+this duty.
+
+Short as the retreat had been, it had already sufficed to damage most
+seriously the morale of the army. The splendid discipline and order that
+had been shown during the advance was now gone; many of the regimental
+officers altogether neglected their duties, and the troops were
+insubordinate. Great numbers straggled, plundered the villages, and
+committed excesses of all sorts, and already the general had been forced
+to issue an order reproaching the army for its conduct, and appealing to
+the honour of the soldiers to second his efforts. Valiant in battle,
+capable of the greatest efforts on the march, hardy in enduring fatigue
+and the inclemency of weather, the British soldier always deteriorates
+rapidly when his back is turned to the enemy. Confident in his bravery,
+regarding victory as assured, he is unable to understand the necessity for
+retreat, and considers himself degraded by being ordered to retire, and
+regards prudence on the part of his general as equivalent to cowardice.
+
+The armies of Wellington deteriorated with the same rapidity as this
+force, when upon two occasions it was necessary to retreat when threatened
+by overwhelming forces; and yet, however disorganized, the British soldier
+recovers his discipline the instant he is attacked, and fiercely turns
+upon his pursuers. At the bridge across the Esla two privates of the 3d
+gave an example of splendid courage and determination. It was night. Some
+of the baggage was still on the farther bank, and the two men were posted
+as sentries beyond the bridge, their orders being that if an enemy
+appeared, one should fire and then run back to the bridge and shout to
+warn the guard whether the enemy were in force or not. The other was to
+maintain his post as long as possible.
+
+
+[Illustration: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE? WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM OUT
+OF THEIR BOOTS IN NO TIME]
+
+
+During the night the light cavalry of the imperial guard rode down.
+Jackson, one of the sentries, fired and ran back to give the alarm. He was
+overtaken, and received over a dozen sabre cuts; nevertheless he staggered
+on until he reached the bridge, and gave the signal. Walton, the other
+sentry, with equal resolution stood his ground and wounded several of his
+assailants, who, as they drew off, left him unhurt, although his cap,
+knapsack, belt, and musket were cut in over twenty places, and his bayonet
+bent double.
+
+Terence O'Connor's duties had been light enough during the advance, but
+during the three days of the retreat to the Esla he had been incessantly
+occupied. He and Trevor had both been directed to ride backwards and
+forwards along the line of the brigade to see that there was no straggling
+in the ranks, and that the baggage carts in the rear kept close up. The
+task was no easy one, and was unpleasant as well as hard. Many of the
+officers plodded sulkily along, paying no attention whatever to their men,
+allowing them to straggle as they chose; and they were obliged to report
+several of the worst cases to the brigadier. With the Mayo Fusiliers they
+had less trouble than with others. Terence had, when he joined them at
+their first halt after the retreat began, found them as angry and
+discontented as the rest at the unexpected order, and was at once assailed
+with questions and complaints.
+
+He listened to them quietly, and then said:
+
+"Of course, if you all prefer a French prison to a few days' hard
+marching, you have good reason to grumble at being baulked in your wishes;
+that is all I have to say about it."
+
+"What do you mean, Terence?" O'Grady asked, angrily. "Soult's force was
+not stronger than ours, at least so we heard; and if it had been it would
+make no difference, we would have thrashed them out of their boots in no
+time."
+
+"I dare say we should, O'Grady, and what then?"
+
+"Well, I don't know what then," O'Grady said, after a moment's silence;
+"that would have been the general's business."
+
+"Quite so; and so is this. There you would have been with perhaps a couple
+of thousand wounded and as many French prisoners, and Napoleon with 60,000
+men or so, and Ney with as many more, and Houssaye with his cavalry
+division, all in your rear cutting you off from the sea. What would have
+been your course then?"
+
+A general silence fell upon the officers.
+
+"Is that so?" the colonel asked at last.
+
+"That is so," Terence said, gravely. "All these and other troops are
+marching night and day to intercept us. It is no question of fighting now.
+Victory over Soult, so far from being of any use, would only have burdened
+us with wounded and prisoners, and even a day's delay would be absolutely
+fatal. As it is, it is a question whether we shall have time to get back
+to the coast before they are all posted in our front. Every hour is of the
+greatest importance. You all know that we have talked over lots of times
+how dangerous our position is. General Fane told us, when the orders to
+retreat were issued, that he believed the peril to be even more imminent
+than we thought. We all know when we marched north from Salamanca, that,
+without a single Spaniard to back us, all that could be hoped for was to
+aid Saragossa and Seville and Cadiz to gather the levies in the south and
+prepare for defence, and that erelong we should have any number of enemies
+upon us. That is what has precisely happened, and now there is grumbling
+because the object has been attained, and that you are not allowed to
+fight a battle that, whether won or lost, would equally ruin us."
+
+"Sure ye are right," O'Grady said, warmly, "and we are a set of omadhouns.
+You have sense in your head, Terence, and there is no gainsaying you. I
+was grumbling more than the rest of them, but I won't grumble any more.
+Still, I suppose that there is no harm in hoping we shall have just a bit
+of fighting before we get back to Portugal."
+
+"We shall be lucky if we don't have a good deal of fighting, O'Grady, and
+against odds that will satisfy even you. As to Portugal, there is no
+chance of our getting there. Ney will certainly cut that road, and the
+emperor will, most likely, also do so, as you can see for yourself on the
+map."
+
+"Divil a map have I ever looked at since I was at school," O'Grady said.
+"Then if we can't get back to Portugal, where shall we get to?"
+
+"To one of the northern seaports; of course, I don't know which has been
+decided upon; I don't suppose the general himself has settled that yet. It
+must depend upon the roads and the movements of the enemy, and whether
+there is a defensible position near the port that we can hold in case the
+fleet and transports cannot be got there by the time we arrive."
+
+"Faith, Terence, ye're a walking encyclopeydia. You have got the matter at
+your finger ends."
+
+"I don't pretend to know any more than anyone else," Terence said, with a
+laugh. "But of course I hear matters talked over at the brigade mess. I
+don't think that Fane knows more of the general's absolute plans than you
+do. I dare say the divisional generals know, but it would not go further.
+Still, as Fane and Errington and Dowdeswell know something about war
+besides the absolute fighting, they can form some idea as to the plans
+that will be adopted."
+
+"Well, Terence," the colonel said, "I didn't think the time was coming so
+soon when I was going to be instructed by your father's son, but I will
+own that you have made me feel that I have begun campaigning too late in
+life, and that you have given me a lesson."
+
+"I did not mean to do that, Colonel," Terence said, a good deal abashed.
+"It was O'Grady I was chiefly speaking to."
+
+"Your supeyrior officer!" O'Grady murmured.
+
+"My superior officer, certainly," Terence went on, with a smile; "but who,
+having, as he says, never looked at a map since he left school--while I
+have naturally studied one every evening since we started from Torres
+Vedras--can therefore know no more about the situation than does Tim
+Hoolan. But I certainly never intended my remarks to apply to you,
+Colonel."
+
+"They hit the mark all the same, lad, and the shame is mine and not yours.
+I think you have done us all good. One doesn't care when one is retreating
+for a good reason, but when one marches for twelve days to meet an enemy,
+and then, when just close to him, one turns one's back and runs away, it
+is enough to disgust an Englishman, let alone an Irishman. Well, boys, now
+we see it is all right, we will do our duty as well on the retreat as we
+did on the advance, and divil a grumble shall there be in my hearing."
+
+From that moment, therefore, the Mayo Fusiliers were an example to the
+brigade. Any grumble in the ranks was met with a cheerful "Whist, boys! do
+you think that you know the general's business better than he does
+himself? It is plenty of fighting you are likely to get before you have
+done, never fear. Now is the time, boys, to get the regiment a good name.
+The general knows that we can fight. Now let him see that we can wait
+patiently till we get another chance. Remember, the better temper you are
+in, the less you will feel the cold."
+
+So, laughing and joking, and occasionally breaking into a song, the Mayo
+Fusiliers pushed steadily forward, and the colonel that evening
+congratulated the men that not one had fallen out.
+
+"Keep that up, boys," he said. "It will be a proud day for me when we get
+to our journey's end, wherever that may be, to be able to say to the
+brigadier: 'Except those who have been killed by the enemy, here is my
+regiment just as it was when it started from the Carrion--not a man has
+fallen out, not a man has straggled away, not a man has made a baste of
+himself and was unfit to fall in the next morning.' I know them," he said
+to O'Driscol, as the regiment was dismissed from parade. "They will not
+fall out, they will not straggle, but if they come to a place where wine's
+in plenty, they will make bastes of themselves; and after all," he added,
+"after the work they have gone through, who is to blame them?"
+
+At the halt the next evening at Bembibre the colonel's forebodings that
+the men could not be trusted where liquor was plentiful were happily not
+verified. There were immense wine-vaults in the town. These were broken
+open, and were speedily crowded by disbanded Spaniards, soldiers,
+camp-followers, muleteers, women and children--the latter taking refuge
+there from the terrible cold. The rear-guard, to which the Mayo regiment
+had been attached the evening before, found that Baird's division had gone
+on, but that vast numbers of drunken soldiers had been left behind.
+General Moore was himself with the rear-guard, and the utmost efforts were
+made to induce the drunkards to rejoin their regiments. He himself
+appealed to the troops, instructing the commanders of the different
+regiments to say that he relied implicitly upon the soldiers to do their
+duty. The French might at any moment be up, and every man must be in his
+ranks. No men were to fall out or to enter any wine-house or cellar, but
+each should have at once a pint of wine served out to him, and as much
+more before they marched in the morning.
+
+After the colonel read out this order, he supplemented it by saying, "Now,
+boys, the credit of the regiment is at stake. It is a big honour that has
+been paid you in choosing you to join the rear-guard, and you have got to
+show that you deserve it. As soon as it can be drawn, you will have your
+pint of wine each, which will be enough to warm your fingers and toes.
+Wait here in the ranks till you have drunk your wine and eaten some of the
+bread in your haversacks, and by that time I will see what I can do for
+you. You will have another pint before starting; but mind, though I hope
+there isn't a mother's son who would bring discredit on the regiment, I
+warn you that I shall give the officers instructions to shoot down any man
+who wanders from the ranks in search of liquor. The French may be here in
+half an hour after we have started, and it is better to be shot than to be
+sabred by a French dragoon, which will happen surely enough to every baste
+who has drunk too much to go on with the troops."
+
+Only a few murmurs were heard at the conclusion of the speech.
+
+"Now, gentlemen," the colonel said, "will half a dozen of you see to the
+wine. Get hold of some of those fellows loafing about there and make them
+roll out as many barrels as will supply a pint to every man in the
+regiment, ourselves as well as the men. O'Grady, take Lieutenant Horton
+and Mr. Haldane and two sergeants with you. Here is my purse. Go through
+the town and get some bread and anything else in the way of food that you
+can lay your hands upon. And, if you can, above all things get some
+tobacco."
+
+O'Grady's search was for a time unsuccessful, as the soldiers and
+camp-followers had already broken into the shops and stores. In an
+unfrequented street, however, they came across a large building. He
+knocked at the door with the hilt of his sword. It was opened after a time
+by an old man.
+
+"What house is this?"
+
+"It is a tobacco factory," he replied.
+
+"Be jabers, we have come to the right place. I want about half a ton of
+it. We are not robbers, and I will pay for what we take." Then another
+idea struck him. "Wait a moment, I will be back again in no time. Horton,
+do you stay here and take charge of the men. I am going back to the
+colonel."
+
+He found on reaching the regiment that the men were already drinking their
+wine and eating their bread.
+
+"I am afraid I shall never keep them, O'Grady," the colonel said,
+mournfully. "It is scarcely in human nature to see men straggling about as
+full as they can hold, and know that there is liquor to be had for taking
+it and not to go for it."
+
+"It is all right, Colonel. I know that we can never keep the men if we
+turn them into the houses to sleep; but I have found a big building that
+will hold the whole regiment, and the best of it is that it is a tobacco
+factory. I expect it is run by the authorities of the place, and as we are
+doing what we can for them, they need not grudge us what we take; and
+faith, the boys will be quiet and contented enough, so that they do but
+get enough to keep their pipes going, and know that they will march in the
+morning with a bit in their knapsacks."
+
+"The very thing, O'Grady! Pass the word for the regiment to fall in the
+instant they have finished their meal."
+
+It was not long before they were ready, and in a few minutes, guided by
+O'Grady, the head of the regiment reached the building.
+
+"Who is the owner of this place?" the colonel asked the old man, who, with
+a lantern in his hand, was still standing at the door.
+
+"The Central Junta of the Province has of late taken it, your Excellency."
+
+"Good! Then we will be the guests of the Central Junta of the Province for
+the night." Then he raised his voice, "Boys, here is a warm lodging for
+you for the night, and tobacco galore for your pipes; and, for those who
+haven't got them, cigars. Just wait until I have got some lights, and then
+file inside in good order."
+
+There was no difficulty about this, for the factory was in winter worked
+long after dark set in. In a very few minutes the place was lighted up
+from end to end. The troops were then marched in and divided amongst the
+various rooms.
+
+"Now, boys, tell the men to smoke a couple of pipes, and then to lie down
+to sleep. In the morning each man can put as much tobacco into his
+knapsack and pockets as they will hold, and when we halt they can give
+some of it away to regiments that have not been as lucky as themselves."
+
+The men sat down in the highest state of satisfaction. Boxes of cigars
+were broken open, and in a couple of minutes almost every man and officer
+in the regiment had one alight in his mouth. There were few, however, who
+got beyond one cigar; the warmth of the place after their long march in
+the snow speedily had its effect, and in half an hour silence reigned in
+the factory, save for a murmur of voices in one of the lower rooms where
+the officers were located.
+
+"O'Grady, you are a broth of a boy," the colonel said. "The men have
+scarce had a smoke for the last week, and it will do them a world of good.
+We have got them all under one roof, and there is no fear that anyone will
+want to get out, and they will fall in in the morning as fresh as paint.
+Half an hour before bugle-call three or four of you had best turn out with
+a dozen men, and roll up enough barrels from the vaults to give them the
+drink promised to them, before starting. Who will volunteer?"
+
+Half a dozen officers at once offered to go, and a captain and three
+lieutenants were told off for the work.
+
+"They know how to make cigars, if they don't know anything else," Captain
+O'Driscol said; "this is a first-rate weed."
+
+"So it ought to be by the brand," another officer said. "I took the two
+boxes from a cupboard that was locked up. There are a dozen more like
+them, and I thought it was as well to take them out; they are at present
+under the table. I have no doubt that they are real Havannas, and have
+probably been got for some grandee or other."
+
+"He will have to do without them," O'Grady said, calmly, as he lighted his
+second cigar; "they are too good for any Spaniard under the sun. And,
+moreover, if we did not take them you may be sure that the French would
+have them to-morrow, and I should say that the Central Junta of the
+Province will be mighty pleased to know that the tobacco was smoked by
+their allies instead of by the French."
+
+"I don't suppose that they will care much about it one way or another,"
+O'Driscol remarked; "their pockets are so full of English gold that the
+loss of a few tons of tobacco won't affect them much. I enjoy my cigar
+immensely, and have the satisfaction of knowing that for once I have got
+something out of a Spaniard--it is the first thing since I landed."
+
+"Well, boys, we had better be off to sleep," the colonel said. "I am so
+sleepy that I can hardly keep my eyes open, and you ought to be worse, for
+you have tramped well-nigh forty miles to-day. See that the sentry at the
+door keeps awake, Captain Humphrey; you are officer of the day; upon my
+word I am sorry for you. Tell him he can light up if he likes, but if he
+sees an officer coming round he must get rid of it. Mind the sentries are
+changed regularly, for I expect that we shall sleep so soundly that if all
+the bugles in the place were sounding an alarm we should not hear them."
+
+"All right, Colonel! I have got Sergeant Jackson in charge of the reliefs
+in the passage outside, and I think that I can depend upon him, but I will
+tell him to wake me up whenever he changes the sentries. I don't say I
+shall turn out myself, but as long as he calls me I shall know that he is
+awake, and that it is all right. I had better tell him to call you half an
+hour before bugle-call, Sullivan, so that you can wake the others and get
+the wine here; he mustn't be a minute after the half-hour. Thank goodness,
+we don't have to furnish the outposts to-night."
+
+In ten minutes all were asleep on the floor, wrapped in their greatcoats,
+the officer of the day taking his place next the door so that he could be
+roused easily. Every hour one or other of the two non-commissioned
+officers in charge of the guard in the passage opened the door a few
+inches and said softly, "I am relieving the sentries, sir;" and each time
+the officer murmured assent.
+
+Sullivan was called at the appointed time, got up, and stretched himself,
+grumbling:
+
+"I don't believe that I have been asleep ten minutes."
+
+On going out into the passage, however, where a light was burning, his
+watch told him that it was indeed time to be moving. He woke the others,
+and with the men went down to the cellars. Here the scene of confusion was
+great; drunken men lay thickly about the floor, others sat, cup in hand,
+talking, or singing snatches of song, Spanish or English. Hastily picking
+out enough unbroken casks for the purpose, he set the men to carry them up
+to the street, and they were then rolled along to the factory. Just as
+they reached the door the bugle-call sounded; the men were soon on their
+feet, refreshed by a good night's sleep. The casks were broached, and the
+wine served out.
+
+"It is awful, Colonel," Sullivan said. "There will be hundreds of men left
+behind. There must have been over that number in the cellar I went into,
+and there are a dozen others in the town. I never saw such a disgusting
+scene."
+
+Scarcely had they finished when the assemble sounded, and the regiment at
+once fell-in outside the factory, every man with knapsack and haversack
+bulging out with tobacco. They then joined the rest of the troops in the
+main street. General Moore had made a vain attempt to rouse the besotted
+men. A few of those least overcome joined the rear-guard, but the greater
+number were too drunk to listen to orders, or even to the warning that the
+French would be into the town as soon as the troops marched out.
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CORUNNA
+
+As the confusion in the streets increased from the pouring out from the
+houses and cellars of the camp-followers--women and children, together
+with men less drunk than their comrades, but still unable to walk
+steadily--who filled the air with shouts and drunken execrations, Colonel
+Corcoran rode along the line.
+
+"Just look at that, boys," he said. "Isn't it better for you to be
+standing here like dacent men, ready to do your duty, than to be rolling
+about in a state like those drunken blackguards, for the sake of half an
+hour's pleasure? Sure it is enough to make every mother's son of you swear
+off liquor till ye get home again. When the French get inside the town
+there is not one of the drunken bastes that won't be either killed or
+marched away a thousand miles to a French prison, and all for half an
+hour's drink."
+
+The lesson was indeed a striking one, and careless as many of the men
+were, it brought home to them with greater force than ever before in their
+lives, not only the folly but the degradation of drunkenness. A few
+minutes later, General Moore, who was riding up and down the line,
+inspecting the condition of the men in each regiment, came along.
+
+"Your men look very well, Colonel," he said, as he reached the Fusiliers.
+"How many are you short of your number?"
+
+"Not a man, General; I am happy to say that there was not a single one
+that did not answer when his name was called."
+
+"That is good, indeed," the general said, warmly. "I am happy to say that
+all the regiments of the rear-guard have turned out well, and shown
+themselves worthy of the trust reposed in them; none, however, can give so
+good a report as you have done. I selected your regiment to strengthen
+this division from the excellent order that I observed you kept along the
+line of march, and I am glad indeed that it has shown itself so worthy of
+the honour. March your regiment across to the side of the street, let the
+others pass you, and fall in at the rear of the column. I shall give the
+Mayo Fusiliers the post of honour, as a mark of my warm approbation for
+the manner in which they have turned out."
+
+Scarcely had the troops left the town when the French cavalry poured in.
+Now that it was too late, the sense of danger penetrated the brains of the
+revellers, and the mob of disbanded Spanish and British soldiers and
+camp-followers poured out from the cellars. Few of the soldiers had the
+sense even to bring up their muskets. Most of those who did so were too
+drunk to use them, and the French troopers rode through the mob, sabring
+them right and left, and trampling them under foot, and then, riding
+forward without a pause, set out in pursuit of the retiring columns. As
+they came clattering along the road the colonel ordered the last two
+companies to halt, and when the head of the squadron was within fifty
+yards of them, and the troopers were beginning to check their horses, a
+heavy volley was poured in, which sent them to the right-about as fast as
+they had come, and emptied a score of saddles. Then the two companies
+formed fours again, and went on at the double until they reached the rear
+of the column.
+
+All day the French cavalry menaced the retreat, until Lord Paget came back
+with a regiment of hussars and drove them back in confusion, pursuing them
+a couple of miles, with the view of discovering whether they were followed
+by infantry. Such, however, was not the case, and the column was not
+further molested until they reached Cacabolos, where they were halted. The
+rest of the army had moved on, the troops committing excesses similar to
+those that had taken place at Bembibre, and plundering the shops and
+houses.
+
+The division marched over a deep stream crossed by a stone bridge, and
+took up their ground on a lofty ridge, the ascent being broken by
+vineyards and stone walls. Four hundred men of the rifles and as many
+cavalry were posted on a hill two miles beyond the river to watch the
+roads. They had scarcely taken their post when the enemy were seen
+approaching, preceded by six or eight squadrons of cavalry. The rifles
+were at once withdrawn, and the cavalry, believing that the whole French
+army was advancing, presently followed them, and, riding fast, came up to
+the infantry just as they were crossing the bridge.
+
+Before all the infantry were over the French cavalry came down at a
+furious gallop, and for a time all was confusion. Then the rifles,
+throwing themselves among the vineyards and behind the walls, opened a
+heavy fire. The French general in command of the cavalry was killed, with
+a number of his troops, and the rest of the cavalry fell back. A regiment
+of light infantry had followed them across the bridge, and two companies
+of the 52d and as many of the Mayo regiment went down the hill and
+reinforced the rifles. A sharp fight ensued until the main body of the
+French infantry approached the bridge. A battery of artillery opened upon
+them, and seeing the strength of the British division, and believing that
+the whole army was before him, Soult called back his troops. The
+voltigeurs retired across the bridge again, and the fight came to an end.
+Between two and three hundred men had been killed or wounded.
+
+As soon as night came on the British force resumed its march, leaving two
+companies of the rifles as piquets at the bridge. The French crossed again
+in the night, but after some fighting, fell back again without having been
+able to ascertain whether the main body of the defenders of the position
+were still there. Later on the rifles fell back, and at daybreak rejoined
+the main body of the rear-guard, which had reached Becerrea, eighteen
+miles away. Here General Moore received the report from the engineers he
+had sent to examine the harbours, and they reported in favour of Corunna,
+which possessed facilities for defence which were lacking at Vigo.
+Accordingly he sent off orders to the fleet, which was lying at the latter
+port, to sail at once for Corunna, and directed the various divisions of
+the army to move on that town.
+
+The rear-guard passed the day without moving, enjoying a welcome rest
+after the thirty-six miles they had covered the day before. By this march
+they had gained a long start of the enemy and had in the evening reached
+the town the division before them had quitted that morning. The scene as
+they marched along was a painful one. Every day added to the numbers of
+the stragglers. The excesses in drink exhausted the strength of the troops
+far more than did the fatigue of the marches. Their shoes were worn out;
+many of them limped along with rags tied round their feet. Even more
+painful than the sight of these dejected and worn-out men was that of the
+camp-followers. These, in addition to their terrible hardships and
+fatigue, were worn out with hunger, and almost famished. Numbers of them
+died by the roadside, others still crawled on in silent misery.
+
+Nothing could be done to aid these poor creatures. The troops themselves
+were insufficiently fed, for the evil conduct of the soldiers who first
+marched through the towns defeated all the efforts of the commissariat;
+for they had broken into the bakers' shops and so maltreated the
+inhabitants that the people fled in terror, and no bread could be obtained
+for the use of the divisions in the rear. Towards evening the next day the
+reserve approached Constantina. The French were now close upon their rear.
+A bridge over a river had to be crossed to reach the town, and as there
+was a hill within a pistol-shot of the river, from which the French
+artillery could sweep the bridge, Sir John Moore placed the riflemen and
+artillery on it. The enemy, believing that he intended to give battle,
+halted, and before their preparations could be made the troops were across
+the bridge, and were joined by the artillery, which had retired at full
+speed.
+
+The French advanced and endeavoured to take the bridge. General Paget,
+however, held the post with two regiments of cavalry, and then fell back
+to Lugo, where the whole army was now assembled. The next day Sir John
+Moore issued an order strongly condemning the conduct of the troops, and
+stating that he intended to give battle to the enemy. The news effected an
+instant transformation. The stragglers who had left their regiments and
+entered the town by twos and threes at once rejoined their corps. Fifteen
+hundred men had been lost during the retreat, of whom the number killed
+formed but a small proportion. But the army still amounted to its former
+strength, as it was here joined by two fresh battalions, who had been left
+at Lugo by General Baird on his march from the coast. The force therefore
+numbered 19,000 men; for it had been weakened by some 4,000 of the light
+troops having, early in the retreat, been directed towards other ports, in
+order to lessen as far as possible the strain on the commissariat.
+
+The position was a strong one, and when Soult at mid-day came up at the
+head of 12,000 men he saw at once that until his whole force arrived he
+could not venture to attack it. Like the British, his troops had suffered
+severely from the long marches, and many had dropped behind altogether.
+Uncertain whether he had the whole of the British before him, he sent a
+battery of artillery and some cavalry forward; when the former opened
+fire, they were immediately silenced by a reply from fifteen pieces. Then
+he made an attack upon the right, but was sharply repulsed with a loss of
+from three to four hundred men; and, convinced now that Moore was ready to
+give battle with his whole force, he drew off.
+
+The next day both armies remained in their positions. Soult had been
+joined by Laborde's division, and had 17,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and
+50 guns; the English had 16,000 infantry, 1,800 cavalry, and 40 guns. The
+French made no movement to attack, and the British troops were furious at
+the delay. Soult, however, was waiting until Ney, who was advancing by
+another road, should threaten the British flank or cut the line of
+retreat. Moore, finding that Soult would not fight alone, and knowing that
+Ney was approaching, gave the order for the army to leave its position
+after nightfall and march for Corunna. He exhorted them to keep good
+order, and to make the effort which would be the last demanded from them.
+It was indeed impossible for him to remain at Lugo, even if Ney had not
+been close at hand, for there was not another day's supply of bread in the
+town.
+
+He took every precaution for securing that no errors should take place as
+to the route to be followed in the dark, for the ground behind the
+position was intersected by stone walls and a number of intricate lanes.
+To mark the right tracks, bundles of straw were placed at intervals along
+the line, and officers appointed to guide the columns. All these
+precautions, however, were brought to naught by the ill-fortune that had
+dogged the general along the whole line of retreat. A tremendous storm of
+wind and rain set in, the night was pitch dark, the bundles of straw were
+whirled away by the wind, and when the army silently left their post at
+ten o'clock at night, the task before them was a difficult one indeed. All
+the columns lost their way, and one division alone recovered the main
+road; the other two wandered about all night, buffeted by the wind,
+drenched by the rain, disheartened and weary.
+
+Some regiments entered what shelters they could find, the men soon
+scattered to plunder, stragglers fell out in hundreds, and at daybreak the
+remnants of the two divisions were still in Lugo. The moment the light
+afforded means of recovering their position, the columns resumed their
+march, the road behind them being thickly dotted by stragglers. The
+rearguard, commanded by the general himself, covered the rear, but
+fortunately the enemy did not come up until evening; but so numerous were
+the stragglers that when the French cavalry charged, they mustered in
+sufficient force to repel their attack, a proof that it was not so much
+fatigue as insubordination that caused them to lag behind. The rear-guard
+halted a few miles short of Friol and passed the night there, which
+enabled the disorganized army to rest and re-form. The loss during this
+unfortunate march was greater than that of all the former part of the
+retreat, added to all the losses in action and during the advance.
+
+The next day the army halted, as the French had not come up in sufficient
+numbers to give battle, and on the following day marched in good order
+into Corunna, where, to the bitter disappointment of the general, the
+fleet had not yet arrived. At the time, Sir John Moore was blamed by the
+ignorant for having worn out his troops by the length of the marches; but
+the accusation was altogether unfounded, as is proved by the fact that the
+rear-guard--upon whom the full brunt of the fighting had fallen, who had
+frequently been under arms all night in the snow, had always to throw out
+very strong outposts to prevent surprises, and had marched eighty miles in
+two days, had suffered far more than the other troops, owing to the fact
+that the food supply intended for all had been several times wasted and
+destroyed by the excesses of those who had preceded them--yet who, when
+they reached Corunna, had a much smaller number missing from their ranks
+than was the case with the three other divisions.
+
+After all the exertions that had been made, and the extraordinary success
+with which the general had carried his force through a host of enemies,
+all his calculations were baffled by the contrary winds that delayed the
+arrival of the fleet, and it remained but to surrender or fight a battle,
+which, if won, might yet enable the army to embark. Sir John did not even
+for a moment contemplate the former alternative. The troops on arriving
+were at once quartered in the town. The inhabitants here, who had so
+sullenly held aloof from Baird's force on its arrival, and had refused to
+give him the slightest aid, now evinced a spirit of patriotism seldom
+exhibited by the Spaniards, save in their defence of Saragossa, and on a
+few other occasions.
+
+Although aware that the army intended, if possible, to embark, and that
+the French on entering might punish them for any aid given to it, they
+cheerfully aided the troops in removing the cannon from the sea-face and
+in strengthening the defences on the land side. Provisions in ample
+quantity were forthcoming, and in twenty-four hours the army, knowing that
+at last they were to engage the foe who had for the last fortnight hunted
+them so perseveringly, recovered its confidence and discipline. This was
+aided by the fact that Corunna had large magazines of arms and ammunition,
+which had been sent out fifteen months before, from England, and were
+still lying there, although Spain was clamouring for arms for its newly
+raised levies.
+
+To the soldiers this supply was invaluable. Their muskets were so rusted
+with the almost constant downfall of rain and snow of the past month as to
+be almost unserviceable, and these were at once exchanged for new arms.
+The cartridge-boxes were re-filled with fresh ammunition, an abundant
+store served out for the guns, and, after all this, two magazines
+containing four thousand barrels of powder remained. These had been
+erected on a hill, three miles from the town, and were blown up so that
+they should not fall into the hands of the enemy. The explosion was a
+terrible one, and was felt for many miles round. The water in the harbour
+was so agitated that the shipping rolled as if in a storm, and many
+persons who had gone out to witness the explosion were killed by falling
+fragments.
+
+The ground on which the battle was to take place was unfit for the
+operations of cavalry. The greater portion of the horses were hopelessly
+foundered, partly from the effects of fatigue, partly from want of shoes;
+for although a supply of these had been issued on starting, no hammers or
+nails had been sent, and the shoes were therefore useless. It would in any
+case have been impossible to ship all these animals, and accordingly, as a
+measure of mercy, the greater portion of them were shot. Three days were
+permitted Moore to make his arrangements, for it took that time for Soult
+to bring up his weary troops and place them in a position to give battle.
+Their position was a lofty ridge which commanded that upon which Sir John
+Moore now placed his troops, covering the town. On the right of the French
+ridge there was another eminence upon which Soult had placed eleven heavy
+guns.
+
+On the evening of the 14th there was an exchange of artillery fire, but it
+led to nothing. That afternoon the sails of the long-expected fleet were
+made out, and just at nightfall it entered the harbour. The dismounted
+cavalry, the sick, the remaining horses, and fifty guns were embarked,
+nine guns only being kept on shore for action. On the 15th Soult occupied
+himself in completing his preparations. Getting his great guns on to the
+rocks on his left, he attacked and drove from an advanced position some
+companies of the 5th Regiment, and posted his mass of cavalry so as to
+threaten the British right, and even menace its retreat to the town from
+the position it held. Had the battle been delayed another day, Sir John
+Moore had made every preparation for embarking the rest of his troops
+rather than await a battle in which even victory would be worthless, for
+Ney's corps would soon be up. The French, however, did not afford him an
+opportunity of thus retiring.
+
+Terence O'Connor speedily paid a visit to his regiment at Corunna, for he
+had, of course, accompanied Fane's brigade during the retreat. He was
+delighted to find that there had been only a few trifling casualties among
+the officers, and that the regiment itself, although it had lost some men
+in the fighting that had taken place, had not left a single straggler
+behind, a circumstance that was mentioned with the warmest commendation by
+General Paget in his report of the doings of the rear-guard.
+
+"I was awfully afraid that it would have been quite the other way,"
+Terence said. "I know how all the three other divisions suffered, though
+they were never pressed by the enemy, and had not a shadow of excuse for
+their conduct."
+
+"You did not know us, me boy," O'Grady said. "I tell ye, the men were
+splendid. I expect if we had been with the others we should have behaved
+just as badly; but being chosen for the rear-guard put our boys all on
+their mettle, and every man felt that the honour of the regiment depended
+on his good conduct. Then, too, we were lucky in lighting on a big store
+of tobacco, and tobacco is as good as food and drink. The men gave a lot
+away to the other regiments, and yet had enough to last them until we got
+here."
+
+"Then they were not above doing a little plundering," Terence laughed.
+
+"Plunder is it!" O'Grady repeated, indignantly. "It was a righteous
+action, for the factory belonged to the Central Junta of the Province, and
+it was just stripping the French of their booty to carry it away. Faith,
+it was the most meritorious action of the campaign."
+
+"Have you got a good cigar left, O'Grady?"
+
+"Oh, you have taken to smoking, have you?"
+
+"I was obliged to, to keep my nose warm. On the march, Fane and the major
+and Errington all smoked, and they looked so comfortable and contented
+that I felt it was my duty to keep them company."
+
+"I have just two left, Terence, so we will smoke them together, and I have
+got a bottle of dacent spirits. Think of that, me boy; thirty-two days
+without spirits! They will never believe me when I go home and tell 'em I
+went without it for thirty-two mortal days."
+
+"Well, you have had wine, O'Grady."
+
+"It's poor stuff by the side of the cratur, still I am not saying that it
+wasn't a help. But it was cold comfort, Terence, a mighty cold comfort."
+
+"You are looking well on it, anyhow. And how is the wound?"
+
+"Och, I have nigh forgot I ever had one, save when it comes to ateing. Tim
+has to cut my food up for me, and I never sit down to a male without
+wishing bad cess to the French. When we get back I will have a patent
+machine for holding a fork fixed on somehow. It goes against me grain to
+have me food cut up as if I was a baby; if it wasn't for that I should not
+miss my hand one way or the other. In fact, on the march it has been a
+comfort that I have only had five fingers to freeze, instead of ten. There
+is a compensation in all things. So we are going to fight them at last?
+There is no chance of the fleet coming to take us off before that, I
+hope?" he asked, anxiously, "for we should all break our hearts if we were
+obliged to go without a fight."
+
+"I don't think there is any chance of that, O'Grady, though I should be
+very glad if there were. I am not afraid of the fighting, but we certainly
+sha'n't win without heavy loss, and every life will be thrown away, seeing
+that we shall, after all, have to embark when the battle is over. Ney,
+with 50,000 men, is only two or three marches away.
+
+"Well, Dicky, how do you do?" he asked, as Ryan came up.
+
+"I am well enough, Mr. Staff Officer. I needn't ask after yourself, for
+you have been riding comfortably about, while we have been marched right
+off our legs. Forty miles a day, Terence, and over such roads as they have
+in this country; it is just cruelty to animals."
+
+"I would rather have been with you, Dicky, than see to the horrible
+confusion that has been going on. Why, as soon as the day's march was over
+we had to set to work to go about trying to keep order. A dozen times I
+have been nearly shot by drunken rascals whom I was trying to get to
+return to their corps. Worse still, it was heartrending to see the misery
+of the starving women and camp-followers. I would rather have been on
+outpost duty, with Soult's cavalry hovering round, ready to charge at any
+moment."
+
+"It is all very well to say that, Terence!" O'Grady exclaimed. "But wait
+until you try it a bit, my boy. I had five nights of it, and that widout a
+drop of whisky to cheer me. It was enough to have made Samson weep, let
+alone a man with only one hand, and a sword to hold in it, and a bad could
+in his head. It was enough to take the heart out of any man entoirely, and
+if it hadn't been for the credit of the regiment, I could often have sat
+down on a stone and blubbered. It is mighty hard for a man to keep up his
+spirits when he feels the mortal heat in him oozing out all over, and his
+fingers so cold that it is only by looking that one knows one has got a
+sword in them, and you don't know whether you are standing on your feet or
+on your knee-bones, and feel as if your legs don't belong to you, but are
+the property of some poor chap who has been kilt twenty-four hours before.
+Och, it was a terrible time! and a captain's pay is too small for it, if
+it was not for the divarsion of a scrimmage now and then!"
+
+"How about an ensign's pay?" Ryan laughed. "I think that on such work as
+we have had, O'Grady, the pay of all the officers, from the colonel down,
+ought to be put together and equally divided."
+
+"I cannot say whether I should approve the plan, Ryan, until I have made
+an intricate calculation, which, now I am comfortable at last, would be a
+sin and a shame to ask me brain to go through; but as my present idea is
+that I should be a loser, I may say that your scheme is a bad one, and not
+to say grossly disrespectful to the colonel, to put his value down as only
+equal to that of a slip of a lad like yourself. Boys nowadays have no
+respect for their supeyrior officers. There is Terence, who is not sixteen
+yet--"
+
+"Sixteen three months back, O'Grady," Terence put in.
+
+"Yes, I remember now, but a week or two one way or the other makes no
+difference. Here is Terence, just sixteen, who ought to be at school
+trying to get a little learning into his head, laying down the law to his
+supeyrior officers, just because he has had the luck to get onto the
+brigadier's staff. I think sometimes that the world is coming to an end."
+
+"At any rate, O'Grady," Terence laughed, "I am half a head taller than you
+are, and could walk you off your legs any day."
+
+"There! And he says this to a man who has gone through all the fatigues of
+the rear-guard, while he has been riding about the country like a
+gentleman at aise."
+
+"Well, I cannot stop any longer," Terence said. "I am on my way up to see
+how they are getting on with the earthworks, and the general may want me
+at any moment."
+
+"I would not trouble about that," O'Grady said, sarcastically; "perhaps he
+might make a shift to do widout you, widout detriment to the service."
+
+Terence made no reply, but, mounting, rode off up the hill behind the
+town. At two o'clock on the 16th a general movement of the French line was
+observed, and the British infantry, 14,500 strong, drew up in order of
+battle along the position marked for them. The British were fighting under
+a serious disadvantage, for not only had Soult over 20,000 infantry, with
+very powerful artillery and great strength in cavalry, but owing to their
+position on the crest running somewhat obliquely to the higher one
+occupied by the French, the heavy battery on the rocks to their right
+raked the whole line of battle. Hope's division was on the British left,
+Baird's on the right. Fraser's division was on another ridge some distance
+from the others, and immediately covering the town of Corunna; and Paget,
+with his division to which the Mayo regiment was still attached, was
+posted at the village of Airis, on the height between Hope's division and
+the harbour, and looking down the valley between the main position and the
+ridge held by Fraser.
+
+From here he could either reinforce Hope and Baird, or advance down the
+valley to repel any attack of the French cavalry, and cover the retreat of
+the main body if forced to fall back. The battle commenced by the French
+opening fire with their field-guns, which were distributed along the front
+of their position, and by the heavy battery on their left, while their
+infantry descended the mountain in three heavy columns, covered by clouds
+of skirmishers. The British piquets were at once driven in, and the
+village of Elvina, held by a portion of the 50th, carried. The French
+column on this side then divided into two portions; one endeavoured to
+turn Baird's right and enter the valley behind the British position, while
+the other climbed the hill to attack him in front. The second column moved
+against the British centre, and the third attacked Hope's left, which
+rested on the village of Palavia Abaxo.
+
+The nine English guns were altogether overmatched by those of Soult's
+heavy battery. Moore, seeing that the half-column advancing by Baird's
+flank made no movement to penetrate beyond his right, directed him to
+throw back one regiment and take the French in flank. Paget was ordered to
+advance up the valley, to drive back the French column, and menace the
+French battery, uniting himself with a battalion previously posted on a
+hill to keep the threatening masses of French cavalry in check. He also
+sent word to Fraser to advance at once and support Paget. Baird launched
+the 50th and 42d Regiments to meet the enemy issuing from Elvina. The
+ground round the village was broken by stone walls and hollow roads, but
+the French were forced back, and the 50th, entering the village with the
+fleeing enemy, drove them, after a struggle, beyond the houses.
+
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Battle of Corunna.]
+
+
+The 42d, misunderstanding orders, retired towards the hill, and the
+French, being reinforced, again attacked Elvina, which the 50th held
+stubbornly until again joined by the 42d, which had been sent forward by
+Moore himself. Paget was now engaged in the valley, the advance of the
+enemy was arrested, and they suffered very heavily from the fire of the
+regiments on the height above their flank, while Paget steadily gained
+ground. The centre and left were now hotly engaged, but held their ground
+against all the attacks of the enemy, and on the extreme left advanced and
+drove the French out of the village of Palavia Abaxo, which they had
+occupied. Elvina was now firmly held, while Paget carried all before him
+on the right, and, with Fraser's division behind him, menaced the great
+French battery.
+
+Had this been carried, the two divisions could have swept along the French
+position, crumpling up the forces as they went, and driving them down
+towards the river Moro, in which case they would have been lost. Owing,
+however, to the battle having been begun at so late an hour, darkness now
+fell. The general himself, while watching the contest at Elvina, had been
+struck by a cannon-ball and mortally wounded. General Baird had also been
+struck down. This loss of commanders combined with the darkness to arrest
+the progress of the victorious troops, and permitted the French, who were
+already falling back in great confusion, to recover themselves and
+maintain their position.
+
+The object for which the battle had been fought was gained. Night, which
+had saved the French from total defeat, afforded the British the
+opportunity of extricating themselves from their position, and General
+Hope, who now assumed the command, ordered the troops to abandon their
+positions and to march down to the port, leaving strong piquets with fires
+burning to deceive the enemy. All the arrangements for embarkation had
+been carefully arranged by Sir John Moore, and without the least hitch or
+confusion the troops marched down to the port, and before morning were all
+on board with the exception of a rear-guard, under General Beresford,
+which occupied the citadel.
+
+At daybreak the piquets were withdrawn and also embarked, and a force
+under General Hill, that had been stationed on the ramparts to cover the
+movement, then marched down to the citadel, and there took boats for the
+ships. By this time, however, the French, having discovered that the
+British position was abandoned, had planted a battery on the heights of
+San Lucia and opened fire on the shipping. This caused much confusion
+among the transports. Several of the masters cut their cables, and four
+vessels ran ashore. The troops, however, were taken on board of other
+transports by the boats of the men-of-war. The stranded ships were fired,
+and the fleet got safely out of harbour.
+
+The noble commander, by whose energy, resolution, and talent this
+wonderful march had been achieved, lived only long enough to know that his
+soldiers were victorious, and was buried the same night on the ramparts.
+His memory was for a time assailed with floods of abuse by that portion of
+the press and public that had all along vilified the action of the British
+general, had swallowed eagerly every lie promulgated by the Junta of
+Oporto, and by the whole of the Spanish authorities; but in time his
+extraordinary merits came to be recognized to their full value, and his
+name will long live as one of the noblest men and best generals Great
+Britain has ever produced.
+
+Beresford held the citadel until the 18th, and then embarked with his
+troops and all the wounded; the people of Corunna, remaining true to their
+promises, manned the ramparts of the town until the last British soldier
+was on board.
+
+The British loss in the battle was estimated at 800 men; that of the
+French was put down at 3,000. Their greater loss was due to the fact that
+they assumed the offensive, and were much more exposed than the defenders;
+that the nine little guns of the latter were enabled to sweep them with
+grape, while the British were so far away from the French batteries that
+the latter were obliged to fire round shot; and lastly that the new
+muskets and fresh ammunition gave a great advantage to the British over
+the rusty muskets and often damaged powder of the French. Paget's division
+had suffered but slightly, the main loss of the English having occurred in
+and around Elvina, and from the shot of the heavy battery that swept the
+crest held by them. Two officers killed and four wounded were the only
+casualties in that division, while but thirty of the rank and file were
+put out of action.
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+AN ESCAPE
+
+While the battle was at its height Terence was despatched by the brigadier
+to carry an order to one of the regiments that had pushed too far forward
+in its ardour. Scrambling over rough ground, and occasionally leaping a
+wall, he reached the colonel. "The general requests you to fall back a
+little, sir; you are farther forward than the regiment on your flank. The
+enemy are pushing a force down the hill in your direction, and as there is
+no support that can be sent to you at present, he wishes your extreme
+right to be in touch with the left of the regiment holding Elvina."
+
+"Very good. Tell General Fane that I will carry out his instructions.
+Where is he now?"
+
+"He is in the village, sir." Terence turned his horse to ride back. The
+din of battle was almost bewildering. A desperate conflict was going on in
+front of the village, where every wall was obstinately contested, the
+regiment being hotly engaged with a French force that was rapidly
+increasing in strength. The great French battery was sending its missiles
+far overhead against the British position on the hill, the British guns
+were playing on the French troops beyond the village, and the French light
+field-pieces were pouring their fire into Elvina. Terence made his way
+across the broken ground near the village. Galloping at a low stone wall,
+the horse was in the act of rising to clear it when it was struck in the
+head by a round shot. Terence was thrown far ahead over the wall, and fell
+heavily head-foremost on a pile of stones covered by some low shrubs.
+
+The shock was a terrible one, and for many hours he lay insensible. When
+he recovered consciousness, he remained for some time wondering vaguely
+where he was. Above him was a canopy of foliage, through which the rays of
+the sun were streaming. A dead silence had succeeded the roar of battle.
+He put his hand to his head, which was aching intolerably, and found that
+his hair was thick with clotted blood.
+
+"Yes, of course," he said to himself at last; "I was carrying a message to
+Fane. I was just going to jump a wall and there was a sudden crash. I
+remember--I flew out of the saddle--that is all I do remember. I have been
+stunned, I suppose. How is it so quiet? I suppose the battle is over."
+
+Then he sat suddenly upright.
+
+"The sun is shining," he said. "It was getting dusk when I was riding back
+to the village. I must have lain here all night."
+
+Suddenly he heard a gun fired; it was quickly followed by others. He rose
+on his knees and looked cautiously over the bushes.
+
+"It is away there," he said, "on those heights above the harbour. The army
+must have embarked, and the French are firing at the ships."
+
+
+[Illustration: "POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM
+AT TORRES VEDRAS."]
+
+
+His conjecture was speedily verified, for, looking along the crest which
+the British had held during the fight, he saw a large body of French
+troops just reaching the top of the rise. He stood up now and looked
+round. No one could be seen moving in the orchards and vineyards round. He
+peered over the wall; his horse lay there in a huddled-up heap.
+
+"A round shot in the head!" he exclaimed; "that accounts for it. Poor old
+Jack! he has carried me well ever since I got him at Torres Vedras."
+
+He climbed down and got what he was in search of--a large flask full of
+brandy-and-water, which he carried in one of the holsters. He took a long
+drink, and felt better at once.
+
+"I may as well take the pistols," he said, and, putting them into his
+belt, climbed over the wall again, and lay down among the bushes.
+
+He was now able to think clearly. Should he get up and surrender himself
+as a prisoner to the first body of French troops that he came across? or
+should he lie where he was until nightfall, and then try to get away? If
+he surrendered, there was before him a march of seven or eight hundred
+miles to a French prison; if he tried to get away, no doubt there were
+many hardships and dangers, but at least a possibility of rejoining sooner
+or later. At any rate, he would be no worse off than the many hundreds who
+had straggled during the march, for it was probable that the great
+majority of these were spread over the country, as the French, pressing
+forward in pursuit, would not have troubled themselves to hunt down
+fugitives, who, if caught, would only be an encumbrance to them.
+
+He was better off than they were, for at any rate he could make himself
+understood, which was more than the majority of the soldiers could do; and
+at least he would not provoke the animosity of the peasants by the rough
+measures they would be likely to take to satisfy their wants. The worst of
+it was that he had no money. Then suddenly he sat up again and looked at
+his feet.
+
+"This is luck!" he exclaimed; "I had never given the thing a thought
+before."
+
+On his arrival at Corunna he had thrown away the riding-boots he had
+bought at Salamanca. The constant rains had so shrunk them that he could
+no longer wear them without pain, and he had taken again to the boots that
+he carried in his valise.
+
+From the time when, at his father's suggestion, he had had extra soles
+placed on them, above which were hidden fifteen guineas, the fact of the
+money being there had never once occurred to him. He had had sufficient
+cash about him to pay for purchases at Salamanca and on the road, and,
+indeed, had five guineas still in his pocket, though he had drawn no pay
+from the time of leaving Torres Vedras.
+
+This discovery decided him. With twenty guineas he could pay his way for
+months, and he determined to make the attempt to escape.
+
+The firing continued for some time and then ceased.
+
+"The fleet must have got out," he said to himself. "It is certain that the
+French have not taken Corunna. We were getting the best of it up to the
+time I was hurt, and it would be dark in another half-hour, and there
+could be no fighting on such ground as this, after that. Besides, Corunna
+is a strong fortress, and we could have held out there for weeks, for
+Soult can have no battering train with him; besides, everything was ready
+for embarkation, and I know that it was intended, whether we won or lost,
+that the troops should go on board in the night."
+
+As he lay there he could occasionally hear the sound of drums and trumpets
+as the troops marched from their positions of the night before, to take up
+others nearer to the town. At times he heard voices, and knew that they
+were searching for wounded over the ground that had been so desperately
+contested; but the spot where he was lying lay between the village and the
+ground where the regiment he had gone to order back had been engaged with
+the enemy, and as no fighting had taken place there, it was unlikely that
+the search-parties would go over it. This, indeed, proved to be the case,
+and after a time he fell off to sleep, and did not wake until night was
+closing in. He was hungry now, and again crossing the wall he took half a
+chicken and a piece of bread that his servant had thrust into his wallet
+just before starting, and made a hearty meal. He unbuckled his sword and
+left it behind him; he had his pistols, and a sword would be only an
+encumbrance.
+
+As soon as it became quite dark he made his way cautiously down the
+valley, passed the spot where the French column had suffered so heavily,
+and then, turning to the left, traversed the narrow plain that divided the
+position on which the French heavy battery had been placed and the plateau
+on which their cavalry had been massed. Numerous fires blazed in the wide
+valley behind, where the reserve had been stationed on the previous
+morning, and he doubted not that the French cavalry were there, especially
+as he found no signs of life on the plateau above. Coming presently on a
+small stream he bathed his head for a considerable time, and then
+proceeded on his way, feeling much brighter and fresher than he had done
+before.
+
+The ground began to ascend more steeply, and after an hour's walking he
+stood on the crest of the hill and looked down on the position that the
+French had held, and beyond it on Corunna and the sea. The cold was
+extreme. He had brought with him his greatcoat and blanket, and, wrapping
+himself in these, lay down in a sheltered position and slept again till
+morning broke. His head was now better, and he was able to think more
+clearly than he could the day before. The first thing was to decide as to
+his course. It would be dangerous to make direct for the frontier of
+Portugal. Now that the British army had embarked, Soult would be free to
+undertake operations in that country, and would doubtless shortly put his
+troops in motion in that direction, and his cavalry would be scattering
+all over the province collecting provisions. Moreover, there would be the
+terrible range of the Tras-os-Montes to pass, and no certainty whatever of
+being well received by the Portuguese peasants north of Oporto.
+
+His constant study of the staff maps was now of great assistance to him.
+He determined to turn west until he reached the river Minho some distance
+below Lugo, which he could do by skirting the top of the hills. He would
+therefore strike it somewhere about the point where the river Sil joined
+it, and, following this, would find himself at the foot of the Cantabrian
+Hills, dividing the Asturias from Leon. Then he could be guided by
+circumstances, and could either cross these mountains and make for a
+seaport, or could journey down through Leon to Ciudad-Rodrigo, which was
+still held by a Spanish garrison, and from there make his way through
+Portugal to Lisbon.
+
+He questioned whether it would be wise for him to attempt to get the dress
+of a Spanish peasant instead of his uniform, but he finally decided that
+until he was beyond any risk of being captured by parties from either
+Soult or Ney's armies, it would be better to continue in uniform. If taken
+in that dress it would be seen that he was a straggler from Moore's army,
+and he would be simply treated as a prisoner of war; while, if taken in
+the dress of a peasant, he would be liable to be treated as a spy and
+shot. Having made up his mind, he started at once, and in three hours was
+at the foot of the hills on the other side of which ran the road from Lugo
+to Corunna, which proved so disastrous to the army. He presently arrived
+at a small hamlet, and the children in the streets ran shrieking away as
+they saw him. Women appeared at the doors and looked out anxiously; they
+had not before seen a British uniform, and at once supposed that he was
+French. Seeing that he was alone, several men armed with clubs and picks
+came out.
+
+"I am an English officer," he said, "and I desire food and shelter for a
+few hours. I have money to pay for it."
+
+The peasants at once came round him. Confused accounts had reached them of
+the doings on the other side of the hills. They knew that an English army
+had marched from Lugo to Corunna, hotly pursued by the French, but they
+had heard nothing of what had happened afterwards. They eagerly asked for
+news. Terence told them that there had been a great battle outside
+Corunna, that the French had been repulsed with much loss, and that the
+English had embarked on board ships to take them round to Lisbon, there to
+march east to meet the French again.
+
+Nothing could be kinder than the treatment he received. They told him that
+Ney's army was between the Sil and Lugo, but that no French troops had
+crossed the Minho as yet.
+
+They were eager to know why the English, if they had beaten the French,
+sailed away. But when he said that Soult would have been joined by Ney in
+a couple of days, and would then be well-nigh double the strength of the
+British, who would be so hotly pressed that they would be unable to
+embark, the peasants saw that what they considered their desertion could
+not have been avoided. The news of the terrible defeats that had, a month
+before, been inflicted upon their armies had not reached them, and Terence
+did not think it necessary to enlighten them. He told them that the march
+north of the English had been intended to bring all the French forces in
+that direction, and so to enable the Spanish armies to operate
+successfully, and that not only Soult and Ney, but Napoleon himself, had
+been drawn off from the south in pursuit of them.
+
+They were filled with satisfaction, and he was at once taken into one of
+the cottages. A good meal was shortly placed before him, his head was
+carefully bandaged, and he was then asked how it was that he had not
+embarked with the rest of the army. He related how he had been left
+behind, and then asked them their opinion as to his best course, telling
+them the plan he himself had formed. They agreed at once that this was the
+wisest one, but that it would be dangerous to try it until Ney's force had
+moved from its present position. They knew that he had a division at
+Orense on the Minho, and that parties of his cavalry had scoured the plain
+as far as the river Ulla, and urged upon him to remain with them until
+some news was obtained of the movements of the French army.
+
+He gladly accepted the invitation, and for a couple of days remained at
+the little hamlet. One of the peasants came in at the end of that time,
+saying that the French in Corunna had crossed the mountains and had
+arrived at Santiago, twenty miles distant, and that their cavalry were
+scouring the country. They also brought news that Romana was at Toabado,
+and that he had but two or three thousand men with him, the rest having
+been routed and cut up by the French cavalry. Terence at once determined
+to join him.
+
+The fact that he still had some troops with him had no influence in
+causing him to form this resolution. Romana had been so often defeated
+that he knew that his men would, after their recent misfortunes, scatter
+at once before even the weakest French detachment. But Romana himself knew
+the country well, was a man of great resource and activity, and was likely
+to evade all efforts to capture him. He thought then that by joining him
+and sharing his fortunes he was more likely to have some opportunity of
+making his way to Lisbon than he would have if left to his own resources,
+especially as he had no doubt that Soult would at once prepare to invade
+Portugal by occupying all the passes, and thus render it next to
+impossible to journey thither alone and on foot. One of the peasants
+offered to guide him across the hills to Toabado. They started at once,
+and at daybreak next morning reached the village.
+
+As Romana had been several times in personal communication with Sir John
+Moore, Terence was acquainted with his appearance, and seeing him standing
+at the door of the principal house of the village, went up to him and
+saluted him. The latter looked upon him with great surprise.
+
+"How have you managed to pass through the French?" he asked.
+
+"I have seen none of them, Marquis. I was wounded in the battle of
+Corunna, and after lying insensible all that night, found, when I
+recovered in the morning, that the French had advanced and that I was in
+their rear. I heard their guns from the heights above the town, and knew
+that our army had gained their transports. I lay concealed all day and
+then crossed the mountains, and have been resting for two days at a
+village on the other side of the hills. The news came that you were here,
+and I decided to join you at once. I was on the staff of General Fane,
+and, knowing the duties of an aide-de-camp, thought I might make myself
+useful to you until there was an opportunity of my rejoining a British
+force."
+
+"You are welcome, sir," Romana said, courteously. "It was only this
+morning that we learned from a prisoner that my men took that you had
+driven back Soult before Corunna and had embarked safely. I was in great
+fear that your army would have been captured. I see that you have been
+wounded on the head."
+
+"It can scarcely be called a wound, Marquis. I was carrying a message on
+the battle-field; when I was taking a wall my horse was struck with a
+round shot. I was thrown over his head onto a heap of rough stones, and it
+was a marvel to me that I was not killed."
+
+"I am just going to breakfast, senor, and shall be glad if you will join
+me. I have no doubt that you will do justice to it."
+
+Romana, who had commanded the Spanish troops which had escaped from
+Holland, was the most energetic of the Spanish generals. Defeated often,
+he was speedily at the head of fresh gatherings, and ready to take the
+field again. As a partisan chief he was excellent, but possessed no
+military talent, and was, like the Spaniards generally, full of grand but
+utterly impracticable schemes, and in spite of his experience to the
+contrary, confident that the Spaniards would overthrow the French.
+
+"I have been unfortunate," he said, in reply to the inquiry as to how many
+troops he had with him. "At your English general's request I took a
+different course with my army to that which he was pursuing, in order that
+his magazines should be untouched. I crossed his line of retreat, but
+unfortunately Franceschi's cavalry come down upon us, cut up my artillery
+and infantry, and scattered my force entirely. However, some three
+thousand have rejoined, and I expect in a short time to be at the head of
+20,000. I ought to have more, but these Galician peasants are stubborn
+fellows. They know nothing of the affairs of Spain, and although they will
+fight in defence of their own villages, they have no interest in anything
+beyond, and hang back from joining an army that might operate outside
+their province. You see, until now it has been untouched by war. They have
+suffered in no way from French extortions and outrages. As soon as they
+feel the smart themselves, I doubt not they will be as full of hatred of
+the invaders as people are elsewhere, and as ready to take up arms against
+them."
+
+Romana's troops were but a motley gathering. The force that he had brought
+with him from Holland had been landed at Santander, marched to Bilbao, and
+joined Blake's army, and had shared in the crushing defeat suffered by
+that general at Espinosa, where most of them were taken prisoners. They
+were again incorporated in the French army, and afterwards took part in
+the Russian campaign, and in the retreat no less than four thousand of
+them were taken prisoners by the Russians and handed over by them to
+British transports sent to Cronstadt to fetch them. Romana himself had
+escaped from the battle-field, and afterward raised a fresh force. This
+had dwindled away from 15,000 to 5,000 when he joined Moore on his
+advance, and now amounted to barely 2,000, of whom the greater portion had
+thrown away their arms in their flight.
+
+On the following day Romana, with a small body of cavalry, left Toabado,
+crossed the Minho, descended into the valley of the Tamega, and took
+refuge close to the Portuguese frontier line. Here he was, for a time,
+safe from the pursuit of the French, the insignificance of his force being
+his best protection. Soult lost no time. As soon as the English army had
+left, Corunna opened its gates to him, as did Ferrol, although neither of
+these towns could have been taken without a siege, and Soult must have
+been delayed until a battering-train was brought from Madrid.
+
+The magazines of British powder and stores that had been lying for months
+in Ferrol were invaluable to him.
+
+The soldiers were set to work to make fresh cartridges, and then, after
+six days' halt to give rest to his weary and footsore men, he began to
+prepare to carry out Napoleon's orders to invade Portugal. Ney, with
+20,000 men, was to maintain Galicia, and, reinforced by a fresh division,
+Soult was to march direct upon Oporto with 25,000 men, leaving 12,000 in
+hospital, and 8,000 to keep up the line of communication with Ney. It took
+some time to complete all the arrangements and to gather the force at St.
+Jago Compostella, and it was not until the first of February that he was
+able to move.
+
+On the day of his arrival on the frontier, Romana despatched Terence to
+Sir John Cradock, who now commanded the British troops in Portugal, which
+had been augmented by fresh arrivals from England until their numbers
+almost equalled that of the force with which Sir John Moore marched into
+Spain.
+
+Romana asked that arms and money should be sent to him, promising to
+harass the French advance, and cut their communications from the rear.
+Terence gladly consented to carry his despatch; he was furnished with one
+of the best horses in the troop, and at once started on his journey. It
+was a long and harassing one; many ranges of mountains and hills had to be
+crossed, by roads difficult in the extreme at the best of times, but
+almost impassable in winter. Three times he was seized by parties of
+Portuguese militia and raw levies, but was released on convincing their
+leaders that he was the bearer of a communication to the English general.
+
+The distance to be travelled was, in a direct line, over two hundred and
+thirty miles. This was greatly increased by the circuitous nature of the
+route through the mountainous country, so that it took nine days, and
+would have much exceeded this time, had Terence not found a British force
+at Coimbra, and there exchanged his worn-out animal for a fresh one,
+placed at his disposal by the officer in command.
+
+Cradock was experiencing exactly the same difficulties that Moore had
+done. The Spanish and Portuguese authorities united in pressing him to
+advance, the former urging upon him that his presence would be the signal
+for the Spanish armies in the south to unite and entirely overthrow the
+French, while the latter were desirous that he should march to
+Ciudad-Rodrigo, defeat the French at Salamanca, and so protect Portugal
+from invasion from that side.
+
+That Portugal might be attacked from the north and south simultaneously by
+Soult and Victor did not enter into their calculations, but while urging
+an advance, the Junta would take no steps whatever to enable the army to
+move; they would neither afford him facilities for collecting transport,
+nor order the roads that he would have to traverse to be put in order, and
+thwarted all his efforts to raise a strong force among the Portuguese.
+
+There was, indeed, some improvement in the latter respect. At their own
+request, Lord Beresford had been sent out from England to take the command
+of the Portuguese armies, and as he had brought many British officers with
+him, some 20,000 men had been armed and drilled, and could be reckoned
+upon to do some service, if employed with British troops to give them
+backbone. The Portuguese peasantry were strong and robust, and by nature
+courageous, and needed only the discipline--that they could not receive
+from their own officers--to turn them into valuable troops. According to
+the law of the country every man was liable for service, and had the
+corrupt Junta been dismissed, and full power been given to the British, an
+army of 250,000 men might have been placed in the field for the defence of
+the country, with a proper supply of arms and money.
+
+But so far from assisting, the Junta threw every possible impediment in
+the way. They feared that any real national effort, if successful, would
+get altogether beyond their control, and that they would lose the power
+that enabled them to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. Not
+only that, but they were engaged in a struggle for supremacy with the
+Junta of Oporto, which was striving by every means to render itself the
+supreme authority of the whole of Portugal.
+
+Terence had hoped that when he arrived at Lisbon he should meet the army
+he had left at Corunna, for Sir John Moore's instructions had been precise
+that the fleet was to go thither. These instructions, however, had been
+disobeyed, and the fleet had sailed direct for England. It had on the way
+encountered a great storm, which had scattered it in all directions.
+Several of the ships were wrecked on the coast of England, and the army
+which would have been of inestimable service at Lisbon, now served only,
+by the tattered garments and emaciated frames of the soldiers, to excite a
+burst of misplaced indignation against the memory of the general whose
+genius had saved it from destruction.
+
+On arriving at head-quarters and stating his errand, Terence was at once
+admitted to the room where Sir John Cradock was at work.
+
+"I am told, sir, that you are the bearer of a despatch from the Spanish
+general, Romana. Before I open it, will you explain how it was that you
+came to be with him?"
+
+Terence gave a brief account of the manner in which, after being left
+behind on the field of Corunna, he had succeeded in joining Romana.
+
+The general's face, which had at first been severe, softened as he
+proceeded.
+
+"That is altogether satisfactory, Mr. O'Connor," he said. "I feared that
+you might have been one of the stragglers, among whom I hear were many
+officers, as well as thousands of men belonging to Sir John Moore's army.
+We received news of his glorious fight at Corunna and the embarkation of
+his army, by a ship that arrived here but three days since from that port.
+Have you heard of the death of that noble soldier himself?"
+
+"No, sir," Terence replied, much shocked at the news. "That is a terrible
+loss, indeed. He was greatly loved by the army. He saw into every matter
+himself, was with the rearguard all through the retreat, and laboured
+night and day to maintain order and discipline, and it was assuredly no
+fault of his if he failed."
+
+"Was your own regiment in the rear-guard?"
+
+"Yes, sir. It had the honour of being specially chosen by Sir John Moore
+for its steadiness and good conduct. I was not with it, but was one of
+Brigadier-general Fane's aides-de-camp. It was while carrying a message to
+him that my horse was killed and I myself stunned by being thrown onto a
+heap of stones."
+
+Sir John Cradock nodded, and then opened Romana's despatch. He raised his
+eyebrows slightly. He had been accustomed to such appeals for arms and
+money, and knew how valueless were the promises that accompanied them.
+
+"What force has General Romana with him?"
+
+"Some two hundred cavalry and three or four thousand peasants, about a
+quarter of whom only are armed."
+
+"He says that he expects to be joined by twenty thousand men in a few
+days. Have you any means of judging whether this statement is well
+founded?"
+
+"That I cannot say. General Romana seems to me to be a man of greater
+energy than any Spaniard I have hitherto met, and I know that he has
+already sent messages to the priests throughout that part of Galicia
+urging upon them the necessity of using their influence among the
+peasantry. He got a force together in a very short time, after the
+complete defeat and capture of his own command by the French, at the time
+of Blake's defeat, and I think that he might do so again, though whether
+they would be of any use whatever in the field I cannot say; but should
+Soult advance into Portugal, I should think that bands of this sort might
+very much harass him."
+
+"No doubt they might do so. I will see, at any rate, if I can obtain some
+money from the political agents. I have next to nothing in my military
+chest, and our forces are at a standstill for the want of it. But that
+does not seem to matter. While our troops are ill-fed, ragged, almost
+shoeless, and unpaid, every Spanish or Portuguese rascal who holds out his
+hand can get it filled with gold. As to arms, they are in the first place
+wanted for the purpose of the Portuguese militia, who are likely to be a
+good deal more useful than these irregular bands; and in the second place,
+there are no means whatever of conveying even a hundred muskets, let alone
+the ten thousand that Romana is good enough to ask for. By the way, are
+you aware whether Sir John Moore intended the army to sail to England?"
+
+"Certainly not, sir. I know that up to the moment the battle began the
+preparation for the embarkation went on unceasingly, and General Fane told
+me the night before that we were to be taken here. Whether Sir John may,
+at the last moment, have countermanded that order I am unable to say."
+
+"Yes, I know that it was his intention, for I received a letter from him,
+written after his arrival at Corunna, saying that the embarkation could
+not be effected without a battle, and that if he beat Soult he should at
+once embark and bring the troops round here, as Ney's approaching force
+would render Corunna untenable. Just at present the arrival of 20,000
+tried troops would be invaluable. General Baird will, of course, have
+succeeded Sir John Moore?"
+
+"General Baird was severely wounded, sir. He had just ridden up to General
+Fane when he was struck. General Hope would therefore be in command after
+Sir John Moore was killed."
+
+"I have heard no particulars of the battle," Sir John said, "beyond that
+it has been fought and Soult has been driven back, that Sir John Moore is
+killed, and that the army has embarked safely. And do I understand you
+that it was towards the end of the battle that you were hurt?"
+
+"It was getting dusk at the time, General, but I cannot say how long
+fighting went on afterwards."
+
+"Will you please to sit down at that table and give me, as nearly as you
+can, a sketch of the position of our troops and those of the French, and
+then explain to me, as far as you may have seen or know, the movements of
+the corps and the course of events."
+
+As Terence had, the evening before the battle, seen a sketch-map on which
+General Fane had written the names and positions of the British force and
+those of the French, he was able to draw one closely approximating to it.
+In ten minutes he got up and handed the sketch to Sir John Cradock.
+
+"I am afraid it is very rough, sir," he said, "but I think that it may
+give you an idea of the position of the town and the neighbouring heights,
+and the position occupied by our troops."
+
+"Excellent, Mr. O'Connor!"
+
+"I had the advantage of seeing a sketch-map that the brigadier drew out,
+sir."
+
+"Well, benefited from it. Now point out to me the various movements. It
+seems to me that this large French battery must have galled the whole line
+terribly; but, on the other hand, it is itself very exposed."
+
+"General Fane said, sir, that he thought Soult was likely to be
+over-confident. Our army was in frightful confusion on the retreat from
+Lugo, and the number of stragglers was enormous. Although many came in
+next day, the field-state showed that over 2,000 were still absent from
+the colours. The brigadier was observing that there was one advantage in
+this, namely, that Soult would suppose that the whole army was
+disorganized, and might, therefore, take more liberties than he would
+otherwise have done; and that, at any rate, he was likely to rely upon his
+great force of cavalry on this plateau to cover the battery hill from any
+attack on its left flank. It was for that purpose that General Paget
+posted one of the regiments on this eminence on the right of the valley,
+which had the effect of completely checking the French cavalry."
+
+He then related the incidents of the battle as far as they had come under
+his notice.
+
+"A very ably fought battle," Sir John Cradock said, as he followed on the
+map Terence's account of the movements. "Soult evidently miscalculated Sir
+John's strength and the fighting powers of his troops. He hurled his whole
+force directly against the position, specially endeavouring to turn our
+right, but the force he employed there was altogether insufficient for the
+purpose. From his position I gather that he could not have known of the
+existence of Paget's reserve up the valley, but he must have seen Fraser's
+division on the hill above Coranto. I suppose he reckoned that this
+turning movement would shake the British position, throw them into
+confusion, and enable his direct attack to be successful before Fraser
+could come to their support. I am much obliged to you for your
+description, Mr. O'Connor; it is very clear and lucid. I will write a
+note, which you shall take to Mr. Villiers, and it is possible that you
+may get help from him for Romana. I shall be glad if you will dine with me
+here at six o'clock."
+
+"I am much obliged to you, General, but I have nothing but the uniform in
+which I stand, which is, as you see, almost in rags, and stained with mire
+and blood."
+
+"I think it is probable that you will have no difficulty in buying a fresh
+uniform in the city; so many officers have come out here with exaggerated
+ideas of the amount of transport, that they have had to cut down their
+wardrobes to a very large extent."
+
+He touched the bell. "Will you ask Captain Nelson to step in," he said to
+the clerk who answered. "Captain Nelson," he said, as one of his staff
+entered, "I want you to take Mr. O'Connor under your charge. He has just
+arrived from the north, and was present at the battle of Corunna. He was
+on Brigadier Fane's staff. As at present he is unattached, I shall put him
+down in orders to-morrow as an extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He will be
+leaving to-morrow for the northern frontier. I wish you to see if you
+cannot get him an undress uniform. He belongs to the infantry. I will give
+you an order on the paymaster, Mr. O'Connor, to honour your draft for any
+amount that you may need. I dare say you are in arrears of pay."
+
+"Yes, Sir John. I have drawn nothing since we marched from Torres Vedras
+in October."
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A DANGEROUS MISSION
+
+Captain Nelson at once took Terence under his charge.
+
+"You certainly look as if you wanted a new uniform," he said. "You must
+have had an awfully rough time of it. If only for the sake of policy, we
+ought to get you into a new one as soon as possible, for the very sight of
+yours would be likely to demoralize the whole division by affording a
+painful example of what they might expect on a campaign."
+
+Terence laughed. "I know I look a perfect scarecrow. Do you think that you
+can find me something? I really don't know what I should have done if I
+had not had my greatcoat, for I could never have ventured to walk through
+the street from the little inn where I put up my horse, if I could not
+have hidden myself in it."
+
+"I can, fortunately, put you in the right way without difficulty. There is
+a man here who has made a business of buying up uniforms. I believe he
+sends most of them to England, where they would certainly fetch a good
+deal more than he gave for them; but I know that he keeps a stock by him,
+for there is a constant demand. The work out in the country here does for
+a uniform in no time, and many men who, before marching for the frontier,
+parted with all their extra kit for a song, are glad enough to write to
+him for a fresh outfit at three times the price he gave them two or three
+months before."
+
+"I wonder they don't send their surplus outfit back to England direct,"
+Terence said.
+
+"Well, you see, there is the risk of the things being lost or stolen on
+the way home, or being ruined by damp before they are wanted again.
+Besides, a man thinks there is no saying whether he shall ever want them
+again, or how long the war will last, and is glad to take anything he can
+get to save himself any further bother about them."
+
+Terence was fortunate in being able to buy an undress uniform, with
+facings similar to those of his own regiment, and to lay in a stock of
+underclothes at a very much lower price than he could have purchased them
+for even at home. Before leaving the shop he put on his new uniform and
+left the old one to be thrown away.
+
+"Now," Captain Nelson said, when they left the shop, "it is just our lunch
+time. You must come with me and tell us all about your wonderful march and
+the fight at the end of it."
+
+"I was going down to see about my horse."
+
+"Oh, that is all right! I sent down an orderly to bring him up to our
+stables. There, this is where we mess," he said, stopping before a hotel.
+"We find it much more comfortable than having it in a room at
+head-quarters. Besides, one gets away from duty here. Of course, the chief
+knows where we are, and can send for us if we are wanted; but one gets off
+being set to do a lot of office work in the evening, and we find ourselves
+much more free and comfortable when we haven't got two or three of the
+big-wigs of the staff. So they have a little mess of their own there, and
+we have a room kept for ourselves here."
+
+There were more than a dozen officers assembled when the two entered the
+room, where a meal was laid; for Captain Nelson had looked into the hotel
+for a moment on their way to the tailor's, to tell his companions who
+Terence was, and to say that he should bring him in to lunch. They had
+told some of their acquaintances. Terence was introduced all round, and as
+soon as the first course was taken off the table he was asked many
+questions as to the march and battle; and by the time when, an hour later,
+the party broke up, they had learned the leading incidents of the
+campaign.
+
+"You may guess how anxious we were here," one of them said, "when Moore's
+last despatch from Salamanca arrived, saying that he intended to advance,
+and stating his reasons. Then there was a long silence; all sorts of
+rumours reached us. Some said that, aided by a great Spanish army, he had
+overthrown Napoleon, and had entered Madrid; others, again, stated that
+his army had been crushed, and he, with the survivors, were prisoners, and
+were on their way to the frontier--in fact, we had no certain news until
+three days ago, when we heard of the battle, his death, and the
+embarkation of the army, and its sailing for England. The last was a
+terrible blunder."
+
+"Only a temporary one, I should think," Captain Nelson said. "From Mr.
+O'Connor's account of the state of the army, I should think that it is
+just as well that they should have gone home to obtain an entirely new
+rig-out; there would be no means of fitting them out here. A fortnight
+ought to be enough to set them up in all respects, and as we certainly
+shall not be able to march for another month--"
+
+"For another three months, you mean, Nelson."
+
+"Well, perhaps for another three months, the delay will not matter
+materially."
+
+"It won't matter at all, if the French oblige us by keeping perfectly
+quiet, but if Soult menaces Portugal with invasion from the north, Lapisse
+from the centre, and Victor from the south, we may have to defend
+ourselves here in Lisbon before six weeks are out."
+
+"Personally, I should not be sorry," another said, "if Soult does invade
+the north and captures Oporto, hangs the bishop, and all the Junta. It
+would be worth ten thousand men to us, for they are continually at
+mischief. They do nothing themselves, and thwart all our efforts. They are
+worse than the Junta here--if that is possible--and they have excited the
+peasants so much against us that they desert in thousands as fast as they
+are collected, while the population here hate us, I believe, quite as much
+as they hate the French. But why they should do so Heaven knows, when we
+have spent more money in Portugal than the whole country contained before
+we came here."
+
+After the party had broken up, Captain Nelson took Terence to Mr.
+Villiers, who, on reading the general's letter and hearing from Terence
+how Romana was situated, at once said that he would hand over to him
+20,000 dollars to take to the Spanish general.
+
+"How am I to carry it, sir? It will be of considerable weight, if it is in
+silver."
+
+"I will obtain for you four good mules," Mr. Villiers said, "and an escort
+of twelve Portuguese cavalry under an officer."
+
+"May I ask, sir, that the money shall be packed in ammunition-boxes, and
+that no one except the officer shall know that these contain anything but
+ammunition?"
+
+"You have no great faith in Portuguese honesty, Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"As to their honesty as a general thing, sir, I express no opinion,"
+Terence said, bluntly; "as to the honesty of their political partisans, I
+have not a shadow of belief. Moreover, there is no love lost between them
+and the Spaniards, and though possibly money for any of the Portuguese
+leaders might be allowed to pass untouched by others--and even of this I
+have great doubt--I feel convinced that none of them would allow it to go
+out of the country for the use of the Spaniards if they could lay hold of
+it by the way."
+
+"Those being your sentiments, sir, I think that it is a pity the duty is
+not intrusted to some officer of broader views."
+
+"I doubt whether you would find one, sir; especially if he has, like
+myself, been three or four months in the country. I have simply accepted
+the duty, and not sought it, and should gladly be relieved of it. General
+Romana sent me here with a despatch, and it is my duty, unless General
+Cradock chooses another messenger, to carry back the reply, and anything
+else with which I may be intrusted. I have for the past three months been
+incessantly engaged on arduous and fatiguing duty. I have ridden for the
+last nine days by some of the worst roads to be found in any part of the
+world, I should say, and have before me the same journey. Besides, if I
+receive the general's orders to that effect, I may have to stay with the
+Spanish general, and in that case shall, I am sure, be constantly upon the
+move, and that among wild mountains. If this treasure is handed over to me
+I shall certainly do my best to take it safely and to defend it, if
+necessary, with my life; but it is assuredly a duty of which I would
+gladly be relieved. But that, sir, it seems to me, is a question solely
+for the commander-in-chief."
+
+Mr. Villiers gazed in angry surprise at the young ensign; then thinking,
+perhaps, that he would put himself in the wrong, and as his interferences
+in military matters with Sir John Cradock had not met with the success he
+desired for them, he checked the words that rose to his lips, and said,
+shortly: "The convoy will be ready to start from the treasury at daybreak
+to-morrow."
+
+"I shall be there--if so commanded by General Cradock."
+
+As soon as they had left the house Captain Nelson burst into shout of
+laughter.
+
+"What is it?" Terence asked, in surprise.
+
+"I would not have missed that for twenty pounds, O'Connor; it is the first
+bit of real amusement I have had since I landed. To see Villiers--who
+regards himself as the greatest man in the country, who not only thinks
+that he regulates every political intrigue in Spain and Portugal, but
+assumes to give the direction of every military movement also, and tries
+to dictate to the general on purely military matters--quietly cheeked by
+an ensign, is the best thing I ever saw."
+
+"But he has nothing to do with military matters, has he?"
+
+"No more than that mule-driver there, but he thinks he has; and yet, even
+in his own political line, he is the most ill-informed and gullible of
+fools, even among the mass of incompetent agents who have done their
+utmost to ruin every plan that has been formed. I doubt whether he has
+ever been correct in a single statement that he has made, and am quite
+sure that every prophecy he has ventured upon has been falsified, every
+negotiation he has entered into has failed, and every report sent home to
+government is useful only if it is assumed to be wrong in every
+particular; and yet the man is so puffed up with pride and arrogance that
+he is well-nigh insupportable. The Spaniards have fooled him to the top of
+his bent; it has paid them to do so. Through his representations the
+ministry at home have distributed millions among them. Arms enough have
+been sent to furnish nearly every able-bodied man in Spain, and harm
+rather than good has come of it. Still, he is a very great man, and our
+generals are obliged to treat him with the greatest civility, and to
+pretend to give grave consideration to the plans that, if they emanated
+from any other man, would be considered as proofs that he was only fit for
+a mad-house. And to see you looking calmly in his face and announcing your
+views of the Spanish and Portuguese was delightful." And Captain Nelson
+again burst into laughter at the recollection.
+
+Terence joined in the laugh. "I had no intention of offending him," he
+said. "Of course I have often heard how he was pressing General Moore to
+march into Spain, and promising that he should be met by immense armies
+that were eager and ready to drive the French out of that country, and
+were only waiting for his coming to set about doing so. I know that the
+brigadier and his staff used to talk about what they called Villiers'
+phantom armies, but as I only said what everyone says who has been in
+Spain, it never struck me that I was likely to give him serious offence."
+
+"And if you had thought so, I don't suppose it would have made any
+difference, O'Connor."
+
+"I don't suppose it would," Terence admitted; "and perhaps it will do him
+good to hear a straightforward opinion for once."
+
+"It will certainly do him no harm. Now, you had better tell the chief that
+you are to have the money. I should think that he will probably send a
+trooper with you as your orderly. Certainly, he has no reason to have a
+higher opinion of the Portuguese than you have."
+
+"I will go back with you, Captain Nelson; but as you were present, will
+you kindly tell the general? I don't like bothering him."
+
+"Certainly, if you wish it."
+
+On arriving at head-quarters Terence sat down in the anteroom and took up
+an English paper, as he had heard no home news for the last three months.
+Presently Captain Nelson came out from the general's room and beckoned to
+him. He followed him in. Four or five officers of rank were with the
+general, and all were looking greatly amused when he entered.
+
+"So you have succeeded in obtaining money for Romana," the general said.
+
+"Yes, sir, there was no difficulty about it. Mr. Villiers asked me a few
+questions as to the situation on the frontier, and at once said that I
+should have L5,000 to take him."
+
+"Captain Nelson tells us that you were unwise enough to express an opinion
+as to the honesty of the Portuguese escort that he proposed to send with
+you."
+
+"I said what I thought, General, and had no idea that Mr. Villiers would
+take it as an offence, as he seemed to."
+
+"Well, he has his own notions on these things, you see," he general said,
+dryly, "and they do not exactly coincide with our experience; but then Mr.
+Villiers claims to understand these people more thoroughly than we can
+do."
+
+Terence was silent for a moment. "I only went by what I have seen, you
+know," he said, after a pause, "and certainly had no intention of angering
+Mr. Villiers. But it seemed to me that, as I was responsible for taking
+this money to Romana, it was my duty to suggest a precaution that appeared
+to me necessary."
+
+"Quite right, quite right; and it is just as well, perhaps, that Mr.
+Villiers should occasionally hear the opinions of officers of the army
+frankly expressed. Certainly, I think that the precaution you suggested
+was a wise one, and if Mr. Villiers does not do so, I will see that it is
+carried out.
+
+"I have asked Captain Nelson to go with you, taking the treasure, to the
+barracks and see that the money is taken out of the cases and repacked in
+ammunition-boxes. It would be unwise in the extreme to tempt the cupidity
+of any wandering parties that you might fall in with by the sight of
+treasure-cases. Your suggestion quite justifies the opinion that I had
+formed of you from the brief narrative that you gave me of the battle of
+Corunna. For the present, gentlemen, I have appointed Mr. O'Connor as an
+extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He served in that capacity with
+Brigadier-general Fane from the time that the troops marched from here,
+which is in itself a guarantee that he must, in the opinion of that
+general, be thoroughly fit for the work.
+
+"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that, going as you will as an officer on my staff,
+it is best that you should be accompanied by a couple of troopers, and I
+have just spoken to Colonel Gibbons, who will detach two of his best men
+for that service. In addition to your being in charge of the treasure, you
+will also carry a despatch from myself to General Romana, with suggestions
+as to his co-operation in harassing the advance of the French. I will not
+detain you further now. Don't forget the dinner hour."
+
+A large party sat down to table. There were the officers Terence had seen
+there in the afternoon, and several colonels and heads of departments of
+the army, and Terence, although not shy by nature, felt a good deal
+embarrassed when, as soon as the meal was concluded, several maps were, by
+the general's orders, placed upon the table, and he was asked to give as
+full an account as he was able of the events that had happened from the
+time General Moore marched with his army from Salamanca, and so cut
+himself off from all communication.
+
+It was well that Terence had paid great attention to the conversations
+between General Fane and the officers of the brigade staff, had studied
+the maps, and had made himself, as far as he could, master of the details
+of the movements of the various divisions, and had gathered from Fane's
+remarks fair knowledge of General Moore's objects and intentions.
+Therefore, when he had overcome his first embarrassment, he was able to
+give a clear and lucid account of the campaign, and of the difficulties
+that Moore had encountered and overcome in the course of his retreat. The
+officers followed his account upon the maps, asked occasional questions,
+and showed great interest in his description of the battle.
+
+When he had done, Sir John Cradock said: "I am sure, gentlemen, that you
+all agree with me that Mr. O'Connor has given us a singularly clear and
+lucid account of the operations of the army, and that it is most
+creditable that so young an officer should have posted himself up so
+thoroughly, not only in the details of the work of his own brigade, but in
+the general plans of the campaign and the movements of the various
+divisions of the army."
+
+There were also hearty compliments from all the officers as they rose from
+the table.
+
+"I doubt, indeed, Sir John," one of them said, "whether we should ever
+have got so clear an account as that he has given from the official
+despatches. I own that I, for one, have never fully understood what seemed
+a hopeless incursion into the enemy's country, and I cannot too much
+admire the daring of its conception. As to the success which has attended
+it, there can be no doubt, for it completely paralysed the march of the
+French armies, and has given ample time to the southern provinces of Spain
+to place themselves in a position of defence. If they have not taken
+advantage of the breathing time so given them, it is their fault, and in
+no way detracts from the chivalrous enterprise of Moore."
+
+"No, indeed," Sir John agreed; "the conception was truly an heroic one,
+and one that required no less self-sacrifice than daring. There are few
+generals who would venture on an advance when certain that it must be
+followed by a retreat, and that at best he could but hope to escape from a
+terrible disaster. It is true that he gained a victory which, under the
+circumstances, was a most glorious one, but this was the effect of
+accident rather than design. Had the fleet been in Corunna when he
+arrived, he would have embarked at once, and in that case he would have
+been attacked with ferocity by politicians at home, and would have been
+accused of sacrificing a portion of his army on an enterprise that
+everyone could have seen was ordained to be a failure before it
+commenced."
+
+"Did you know General Fane personally before you were appointed to his
+staff?"
+
+"No, General; he commanded the brigade of which my regiment formed part,
+and of course I knew him by sight, but I had never had the honour of
+exchanging a word with him."
+
+"Then, may I ask why you were appointed to his staff, Mr. O'Connor?"
+
+Terence hesitated. There was nothing he disliked more than talking of what
+he himself had done. "It was a sort of accident, General."
+
+"How an accident, Mr. O'Connor? Your conduct must have attracted his
+attention in some way."
+
+"It was an accident, sir," Terence said, reluctantly, "that General Fane
+happened to be on board Sir Arthur Wellesley's ship at Vigo when my
+colonel went there to make a report of some circumstances that occurred on
+the voyage."
+
+"Well, what were these circumstances?" the general asked. "You have shown
+us that you have the details of a campaign at your finger ends, surely you
+must be able to tell what those circumstances were that so interested
+General Fane that he selected you to fill a vacancy on his staff."
+
+Terence felt that there was no escape, and related as briefly as he could
+the account of the engagement with the two privateers, and of their narrow
+escape from being captured by a French frigate.
+
+"That is a capital account, Mr. O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, smiling,
+as he brought it to a conclusion. "But, so far, I fail to see your
+particular share in the matter."
+
+"My share was very small, sir."
+
+"I think I can fill up the facts that Mr. O'Connor's modesty has prevented
+him from stating," one of the officers said.
+
+"It happened that before we sailed from Ireland six weeks ago, an officer
+of the Mayo Fusiliers, who had been invalided home in consequence of a
+wound, dined at our mess, and he told the story very much as Mr. O'Connor
+has told it, but he added the details that Mr. O'Connor has omitted.
+Restated that really the escape of the wing of the regiment was entirely
+due to an ensign who had recently joined--a son of one of the captains of
+the regiment. He said that, in the first place, when the cannon were found
+to be so honeycombed with rust that it would have been madness to attempt
+to fire them, this young officer suggested that they should be bound round
+with rope just like the handle of a cricket bat. This suggestion was
+adopted, and they were therefore able to pour in the broadside that
+crippled the lugger and brought her sails down, leaving her helpless under
+the musketry fire of the troops. In the second place, when the ship was
+being pounded by the other privateer without being able to make any reply,
+and must shortly have either sunk or surrendered, this young officer
+suggested to one of the captains that the lugger, lying helpless
+alongside, should be boarded, and her guns turned on the brig, a
+suggestion that led not only to the saving of the ship, but the capture of
+the brig itself.
+
+"Lastly, when the French frigate hove in sight, the troops were
+transferred to the two prizes, and were about to make off, in which case
+one of them would almost certainly have been captured. He suggested that
+they should hoist French colours, and that both should be set to work to
+transfer some of the stores from the ship to the privateers. This
+suggestion was adopted, with the result that on the frigate approaching,
+and seeing, as was supposed, two French privateers engaged in rifling a
+prize, she continued on her way without troubling herself further about
+them. Sir Arthur Wellesley issued a most laudatory notice of Mr.
+O'Connor's conduct in general orders."
+
+Most of those present remembered seeing the order, now that it was
+mentioned, and the general, turning to Terence, who was colouring scarlet
+with embarrassment and confusion, said, kindly:
+
+"You see, we have got at it after all, Mr. O'Connor. I am glad that it
+came from another source, for I do not suppose that we should have got all
+the facts from you, even by cross-questioning. You may think, and I have
+no doubt that you do think, that you received more credit than you
+deserved for what you consider were merely ideas that struck you at the
+moment; but such is not my opinion, nor that, I am sure, of the other
+officers present. The story which we have just heard of you, and the
+account that you have given of the campaign, afford great promise, I may
+almost say a certainty, of your attaining, if you are spared, high
+eminence in your profession.
+
+"Your narrative showed that you are painstaking, accurate, and
+intelligent. The facts that we have just heard prove you to be
+exceptionally quick in conceiving ideas, cool in action, and able to think
+of the right thing at the right time--all qualities that are requisite for
+a great commander. I warmly congratulate you, that at the very
+commencement of your career you should have had the opportunity afforded
+you for showing that you possess these qualities, and of gaining the warm
+approbation of men very much older than yourself, and all of wide
+experience in their profession. I am sorry now that you are starting
+to-morrow on what I cannot but consider a useless, as well as a somewhat
+dangerous, undertaking. I should have been glad to have utilized your
+services at once, and only hope that you will erelong rejoin us."
+
+So saying, he rose. The hour was late, for Terence's description of the
+campaign and battle had necessarily been a very long one, and the party at
+once broke up, all the officers present shaking the lad warmly by the
+hand.
+
+"You are a lucky fellow, O'Connor," Captain Nelson said, as he accompanied
+him to his room, in which a second bed had been set up for the young
+ensign's accommodation. "You will certainly get on after this. There were
+a dozen colonels and two generals of brigade among the party, and I fancy
+that there is not one of them that will not bear you in mind and say a
+good word for you, if opportunity occurs, and Sir John himself is sure to
+push you on. I should say that not an officer of your rank in the army has
+such good chances, and you look such a lad, too. You did not show it so
+much when you first arrived; of course you were fagged and travel-stained
+then, but now I should not take you for more than seventeen. Indeed, I
+suppose you are not, as you only joined the service six months ago."
+
+"No; I am not more than seventeen," Terence said, quietly, not thinking it
+necessary to state that he wanted a good many months yet to that age, for
+to do so would provoke questions as to how he obtained his commission
+before he was sixteen. "But, you see, I have had a good many advantages. I
+was brought up in barracks, and I suppose that sharpens one's wits a bit.
+When I was quite a young boy I used to be a good deal with the junior
+officers; of course, that made me older in my ideas than I should have
+been if I had always associated with boys of my own age. Still, it has
+been all luck, and though Sir John was kind enough to speak very warmly
+about it, I really can't see that I have done anything out of the way."
+
+"Luck comes to a good many fellows, O'Connor, but it is not every one who
+has the quickness to make the most of the opportunity. You may say that
+they are only ideas; but you see you had three valuable ideas, and none of
+your brother officers had them, and you cannot deny that your brains
+worked more quickly than those of the others.
+
+"Well, we may as well turn in at once, as we have all got to be up before
+daylight. I am very glad that Sir John has given you a couple of troopers.
+It will make you feel a good deal more comfortable anyhow, even if you
+don't get into any adventure where their aid may be of vital importance."
+
+"It will indeed; alone I should have very little influence with the
+Portuguese guard. These might be perfectly honest themselves, but they
+might not be at all disposed to risk their lives by offering any
+opposition to any band that might demand the ammunition they would believe
+were in the cases. I was twice stopped by bands of scantily armed peasants
+on my way down, and although they released me on seeing the letter that I
+carried to the general, it was evident that they felt but little good-will
+towards us, and had I had anything about me worth taking, my chance of
+reaching Lisbon would have been small."
+
+"The Junta of Oporto has spared no pains in spreading all sorts of
+atrocious lies against us ever since the escort of the French prisoners
+interfered to save them from the fury of the populace, though perhaps the
+peasants in this part of the country still feel grateful to us for having
+delivered them from the exactions of the French.
+
+"In the north, where no French soldier has set foot, they have been taught
+to regard us as enemies to be dreaded as much as the French. Up to the
+present time all the orders for the raising of levies have been
+disregarded north of the Douro, and though great quantities of arms have
+been sent up to Oporto, I doubt whether a single musket has been
+distributed by the Junta. That fellow Friere, the general of what they
+call their army, is as bad as any of them. I hope that if Soult comes down
+through the passes he will teach the fellow and his patrons a wholesome
+lesson."
+
+"And do you think that the troops here will march north to defend Oporto?"
+
+"I should hardly think that there is a chance of it. Were our force to do
+so, Lisbon would be at the mercy of Victor and of the army corps at
+Salamanca. Cuesta is, what he calls, watching Victor. He is one of the
+most obstinate and pigheaded of all the generals. Victor will crush him
+without difficulty, and could be at Lisbon long before we could get back
+from Oporto. No, Lisbon is the key of the situation; there are very strong
+positions on the range of hills between the river and the sea at Torres
+Vedras, which could be held against greatly superior forces. The town
+itself is protected by strong forts, which have been greatly strengthened
+since we came. The men-of-war can come up to the town, aid in its defence,
+and bring reinforcements; and provisions can be landed at all times.
+
+"The loss of Lisbon would be a death-blow to Portuguese independence, and
+you may be sure that the ministry at home would eagerly seize the
+opportunity of abandoning the struggle here altogether. Do you know that
+at the present moment, while urging Sir John Cradock to take the offensive
+with only 15,000 men against the whole army of France in the Peninsula,
+they have had the folly to send a splendid expedition of from thirty to
+forty thousand good troops to Holland, where they will be powerless to do
+any good, while their presence here would be simply invaluable. Well, we
+will not enter upon that subject to-night; the folly and the incapacity of
+Mr. Canning and his crew is a subject that, once begun, would keep one
+talking until morning."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+AN AWKWARD POSITION
+
+When Captain Nelson and Terence went out, just as the morning was
+breaking, they found the two troopers waiting in the street. Each held a
+spare horse; the one was that upon which Terence had ridden from Coimbra,
+the other was a fine English horse.
+
+"What horse is this?" Terence asked.
+
+"It is a present to you from Sir John Cradock," Captain Nelson said. "He
+told me last night that the troopers had been ordered to ask for it when
+they took your horse this morning, and that his men were ordered to hand
+it over to them. He wished me to tell you that he had pleasure in
+presenting the horse to you as a mark of his great satisfaction at the
+manner in which you had mastered the military details of Sir John Moore's
+expedition, and the clearness with which you had explained them."
+
+"I am indeed greatly obliged to the general; it is most kind of him,"
+Terence said. "Will you please express my thanks to him in a proper way,
+Captain Nelson."
+
+They rode to the Treasury, where they found the Portuguese escort, with
+the mules, waiting them. The officer in charge of the Treasury was already
+there, and admitted the two officers.
+
+"I have packed the money in ammunition-boxes," he said. "I received
+instructions from Mr. Villiers to do so."
+
+"It is evident that your words had some effect, Mr. O'Connor," Captain
+Nelson said aside to Terence. "I suppose that when he thought it over he
+came to the conclusion that, after all, your suggestions, were prudent
+ones, and that it would add to the chance of the money reaching Romana
+were he to adopt it."
+
+"I am glad that he did so, for had the money been placed in the ordinary
+chests and then brought to the barracks to be packed in ammunition-cases,
+the Portuguese troopers would all have been sure of the nature of the
+contents; whereas now, whatever they may suspect, they cannot be sure
+about it, because there is a large amount of ammunition stored in the same
+building."
+
+Some of the guard stationed in the Treasury carried the chests out, and
+assisted the muleteers to lash them in their places.
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN
+CRADOCK]
+
+
+"I cannot thank you too warmly, Captain Nelson, for the kindness that you
+have shown me," Terence said.
+
+"Not at all," that officer replied; "I simply carried out the general's
+orders, and the duty has been a very pleasant one. No, I don't think I
+would mount that horse if I were you," he went on, as Terence walked
+towards his acquisition. "I would have him led as far as Coimbra, while
+you ride the horse you borrowed there, then he will be fresh for the
+further journey."
+
+"That would be the best way, no doubt, though our stages must all be
+comparatively short ones, owing to our having mules with us."
+
+"I should not press them if I were you. I don't suppose that it will make
+much difference whether Romana gets the money a few days sooner or later."
+
+"None whatever, I should say," Terence laughed, as he mounted his horse.
+"Still, I do think that he will be able to gather a mob of peasants. Of
+course, being almost without arms, they will be of no use whatever for
+fighting, but still they may harass Soult's communications, cut off
+stragglers, and compel him to move slowly and cautiously."
+
+Terence now saluted the Portuguese officer, who said, as he returned the
+salute:
+
+"My name, senor, is Juan Herrara."
+
+"And mine is Terence O'Connor, senor. Our journey will be a somewhat long
+one together, and I hope that we shall meet with no adventures or
+accidents by the way."
+
+"I hope not, senor. My instructions are simple; I am to place myself under
+your orders, and to convey eight cases of ammunition to the northern
+frontier, and to follow the routes that you may point out. I was ordered
+also to pick the men who are to form the escort. I have done so, and I
+think I can answer that they can be relied upon to do their duty under all
+circumstances."
+
+Terence now turned, and with a hearty farewell to Captain Nelson, rode on
+by the side of Lieutenant Herrara. The two British troopers followed them,
+the four mules with their two muleteers kept close behind, and the twelve
+Portuguese troopers brought up the rear.
+
+"It is a strong escort for four mules carrying ammunition," the Portuguese
+officer said, with a smile.
+
+"It may seem so," Terence laughed, "but you see the country, especially
+north of the Douro, is greatly disturbed."
+
+"Very much so, and I think that the precaution that has been taken is a
+very wise one. I have been informed what is really in the cases. Were I
+going by myself with a sergeant and twelve men, I should say that to put
+the money in ammunition-cases was not only absolutely useless but
+dangerous, the disproportion between the force and the value of the
+ammunition would be so great that it would attract attention at once, but
+as you are with us it is more likely to pass without observation. You are
+an officer on the staff of the English general. You have your own two
+orderlies, and, as you are carrying despatches, it is considered necessary
+that you should have an escort of our people. The cases in that event
+would seem to be of little importance, but to be simply travelling with us
+to have the advantage of the protection of our escort."
+
+"You are quite right, Senior Herrara, and it would have been vastly better
+had the money been stowed in sacks filled up with grain; then they could
+follow a short distance behind us, and it would seem that they were simply
+carrying forage for our use on the road."
+
+"That would have been very much better, senior. You might have it done at
+Torres Vedras."
+
+"The money is in bags, each containing two hundred dollars. There will be
+no trouble in transferring them to sacks filled with plenty of forage. Two
+of your soldiers have behind them a bundle or two of faggots, a basket of
+fowls, and other matters; these can be piled on the top of the sacks, so
+that the fact that the principal load was forage would hardly be noticed.
+You might mention to the muleteers that I thought that it would be a
+considerable saving of weight if we used sacks instead of those heavy
+cases, and that the ammunition would travel just as well in the one as the
+other. We must arrange so that the muleteers do not suspect anything."
+
+"As a rule," Herrara said, "they are very trustworthy. There is scarcely a
+case known in which they have stolen goods intrusted to them, however
+valuable; but it would be easy to place a few packets of ammunition in the
+mouth of each sack, and call them in to cord them up firmly. The sight of
+the ammunition would go far to lessen any suspicions they might have."
+
+They reached Torres Vedras that night. Terence spoke to the officer in
+command there, and was furnished with the sacks he required, and enough
+forage to fill them. The boxes were put into a room in the barracks, and
+here Terence, with his two orderlies, opened the cases and transferred the
+bags of money to the centre of the sacks. Two or three dozen packets of
+ammunition were obtained, and a few put into the mouths of the sacks.
+These were left open, and the room locked up, two of the Portuguese
+soldiers being placed on guard before it. Terence and Lieutenant Herrara
+were invited to dine at mess and had quarters assigned to them, and
+Terence, after dinner, again, but much more briefly than before, gave the
+officers at the station a sketch of the retreat and battle.
+
+The next morning the muleteers were called in to fasten up the sacks. At
+the suggestion of the officer in command, a tent was also taken.
+
+"You may want it badly before you are done," he said. "If I were you I
+should always have it pitched, except when you are at a village, for you
+can have the sacks in as beds, and so keep them under your eye; and if, as
+you tell me, you are giving out that they contain ammunition, it would
+seem but a natural step, as you are so able to keep it dry."
+
+The mules looked more heavily laden than upon the preceding day, but they
+were carrying no heavier burden, for the weight of the tent, its poles,
+the basket of fowls, Terence's valise, and other articles, were
+considerably less than those of the eight heavy cases that had been left
+behind. The two officers now rode at the head of the detachment, and two
+only of the Portuguese soldiers kept in rear of the mules, which now
+followed at a distance of thirty or forty yards behind them. They stopped
+that night at Rolica and the next at Leirya. This was a long march, and a
+short one the next day brought them to Pombal, and the following afternoon
+they arrived at Coimbra. Here they spent another pleasant evening with the
+regiment stationed in the town.
+
+"By the way, O'Connor," one of the officers said, after the dinner was
+over and cigars lighted, "I suppose you don't happen to have any relations
+at Oporto?"
+
+"Well, I do happen to have some," Terence answered, in some surprise. "Why
+do you ask?"
+
+"Well, that is singular," the officer said; "I will tell you how it
+happened. I was with the party that escorted the French prisoners down to
+Oporto. Just as we had got into the town--it was before the row began, and
+being early in the morning, there were very few people about--a head
+appeared at a window on the second floor of a big convent standing on the
+left side of the road. I remember the name was carved over the door-it was
+the Convent of Santa Maria. I happened to catch sight of the nun, and she
+at once dropped a little letter, which fell close to me. I picked it up
+and stuck it into my glove, and thought no more about it for a time, for
+the mob soon began to gather, to yell and threaten the prisoners, and my
+hands were too full, till we had got them safely on board a ship, to think
+any more of the matter. When I took off my glove the letter fell out. It
+was simply addressed 'to an English officer.'
+
+"'_I, an English girl, am detained here, a prisoner, principally because
+my Spanish relations wish to seize my property. I have been made a nun by
+force, though my father was a Protestant, and taught me his religion. I
+pray you to endeavour to obtain my freedom. I am made most miserable here,
+and am kept in solitary confinement. I have nothing to eat but bread and
+water, because I will not sign a renunciation of my property. The Bishop
+of Oporto has himself threatened me, and it is useless to appeal to him.
+Nothing but an English army being stationed here can save me. Have pity
+upon me, and aid me__.'
+
+"It was signed '_Mary O'Connor__.' Of course no British troops have been
+there since, but if we are sent there I had made up my mind to bring the
+matter before the general, and ask him to interfere on the poor girl's
+behalf; though I know that it would be an awkward matter. For if there is
+one thing that the Portuguese are more touchy about than another, it is
+any interference in religious matters, and the bishop, who is a most
+intolerant rascal, would be the last man who would give way on such a
+subject."
+
+"I have not the least doubt in the world but that it is a cousin of mine,"
+Terence said. "Her father went out to join a firm of wine merchants in
+Oporto. I know that he married a very rich Portuguese heiress, and that
+they had one daughter. My father told me that he gathered from his
+cousin's letters that he and his wife did not get on very well together.
+He died two years ago, and it is quite possible that the mother, who may
+perhaps want to marry again, has shut the girl up in a convent to get rid
+of her altogether, and to make her sign a document renouncing her right to
+the property in favour of herself, or possibly, as the bishop seems to
+have meddled in the affair, partly of the Church.
+
+"I quite see that nothing can be done now, but if we do occupy Oporto,
+some day, which is likely enough, I will speak to the general, and if he
+says that it is a matter that he cannot entertain, I will see what I can
+do to get her out."
+
+"It is awkward work, O'Connor, fooling with a nunnery either here or in
+Spain. The Portuguese are not so bigoted as the Spaniards across the
+frontier, but there is not much difference, and if anyone is caught
+meddling with a nunnery they would tear him to pieces, especially in
+Oporto, where men who are even suspected of hostility to the bishop are
+murdered every day."
+
+"I don't want to run the risk of being torn to pieces, certainly, but
+after what you have told me of her letter, I will not let my little cousin
+be imprisoned all her life in a nunnery, and robbed of her property,
+without making some strong effort to save her."
+
+"I will give you the letter presently, O'Connor; I have it in a
+pocket-book at my quarters. By the by, how old is your cousin?"
+
+"About my own age, or a little younger."
+
+The subject of the conversation was then changed, and half an hour later
+the officer left the room and returned with the letter.
+
+"At any rate," he said, "if we do go to Oporto you will have more
+opportunity for getting the general to move than I should."
+
+Terence had handed over the horse he had borrowed, with many thanks for
+its use, and received his own again, which was in good condition after its
+rest of seven or eight days. It was by no means a valuable animal, but he
+thought it as well to take it on with him in case any of the other horses
+should meet with an accident or break down during the journey through the
+mountains.
+
+Coimbra was the last British station through which they would pass, and
+the real difficulties of the journey would now begin. Terence had, before
+starting, received a sum of money for the maintenance of himself and his
+escort upon the way, and he had done all in his power to see that the
+troopers were comfortable at their various halting-places.
+
+The journey as far as the Douro passed without any adventure. They
+encountered on the road several bands of peasants armed with pikes, clubs,
+hoes, and a few guns. These were for the most part ordenancas or levies,
+called out when a larger force than the regular troops and militia was
+required. They were on their way to join the forces assembling under the
+edicts, and beyond pausing to stare at the British officer with the two
+dragoons behind him and an escort of their own troops, they paid no
+attention to the party.
+
+They crossed the Douro at St. Joa de Pesquiera, and on stopping at a large
+village some ten miles beyond, found it occupied by a rabble of some two
+thousand men, absolutely useless for service in the field, but capable of
+offering an obstinate defence to the passage of a river, or of impeding an
+enemy's advance through a mountain defile. As they stopped before the
+principal inn a man, dressed in some attempt at a uniform, came out from a
+door.
+
+"You are a British officer, sir?" he asked Terence, raising his broad hat
+courteously.
+
+"I am an officer on the English general's staff, and am proceeding on a
+mission from him to the northern frontier to ascertain the best means of
+defence, and the route that the enemy are most likely to move by if they
+attempt to invade Portugal from that direction."
+
+"The French general would hardly venture to do that," the officer said,
+disdainfully, "when there will be 50,000 Portuguese to bar his way."
+
+"He may be in ignorance of the force that will gather to meet him,"
+Terence said, gravely, and with difficulty restraining a smile at the
+confident tone of this leader of an armed mob. "However, I have my orders
+to carry out. Do you not think," he said, turning to Herrara, "that it
+will be better for us to go on to the next hamlet, if there is one within
+two or three miles. I fear there is little chance of obtaining any
+accommodation for our men here."
+
+"There is no need for that," the Portuguese colonel broke in. "There is a
+large house at the end of the village that is at present vacant; the
+proprietor, who was a disturber of the peace, and who belonged to the
+French faction, was killed last week in the course of a disturbance
+created by him. I, as Commissioner of the Junta here, had the house closed
+up, but it is quite at your service."
+
+As the march had already been a long one, Terence thought it best to
+accept the offer. The colonel called a man, who presently brought a key,
+and accompanied them to the house in question. It showed signs at once of
+mob violence. The snow in the garden was trampled down, the windows
+broken, and one of the lower ones smashed in as if an entry had been
+effected here. The door was riddled with bullet holes. Upon this being
+opened the destruction within was seen to be complete, rooms being strewn
+with broken furniture and litter of all sorts.
+
+"At any rate there is plenty of firewood," the lieutenant said, as he
+ordered his men to clear out one of the rooms. "There has been dastardly
+work here," he went on, as the man who had brought the key left the place.
+
+"Yes, I have no doubt the proprietor, whoever he was, has been foully
+murdered, and as likely as not by the orders of that fellow we met, who
+says he is Commissioner of the Junta. I should not be surprised if we have
+trouble with him before we have done. I should think, Herrara, you had
+better send off a couple of men to get what they can in the way of
+provisions and a skin of wine. This is a cheerless-looking place, and
+these broken windows are not of much use for keeping out the cold. Bull,
+you had better see if you can find something among all this rubbish to
+hang up in front of the window, for in its present state it merely creates
+a draught."
+
+The orderly went out, and returned with two torn curtains.
+
+"There has been some bad work going on here, sir," he said. "There are
+pools of blood in three of the rooms upstairs, and it is evident that
+there has been a desperate struggle. One of the doors is broken in, and
+there are several shot-holes through it."
+
+"I am afraid there has been bad work. I suppose the man here was obnoxious
+to somebody, so they murdered him. However, it is not our business."
+
+Some of the horses were stabled in a large shed, the others in the lower
+rooms of the house, the soldiers and muleteers taking possession of the
+large kitchen, where they soon had a huge fire burning. The windows on
+this side of the house were unbroken. The two orderlies soon fastened up
+the curtains across the windows of the officers' room, and when the fire
+was lighted it had a more cheerful aspect. The burdens of the mules were
+brought into the room opposite, where there was a key in the door and bars
+across the windows. Presently the soldiers returned with some meat, a
+couple of fowls, bread, and some wine, together with a bunch of candles.
+The fowls were soon plucked, cut in two, and grilled over the fire, and in
+a quarter of an hour after the men's return the two officers sat down to
+supper. The meal was just finished when there was a knock at the outer
+door, and the soldier acting as sentry came in and said that Colonel
+Cortingos desired to speak to them.
+
+"I suppose that is the fellow we saw in the town," Terence said; "show him
+in."
+
+The supposition was a correct one, for the man entered, accompanied by two
+others. Terence had no doubt that this fellow was the author of the attack
+upon the house, and the murderer of the proprietor and others. He did not
+feel disposed to be exceptionally civil to him, but as he had a couple of
+thousand men under his command and had certainly put the only available
+place in the village at their disposal, he rose as he entered.
+
+"These two gentlemen," the colonel began, "form, with myself, the
+committee appointed by the Junta of Oporto to organize the national
+resistance here and in the surrounding neighbourhood, to keep our eye upon
+persons suspected of being favourable to the enemy, and to arrest and send
+them to Oporto for trial. We are also enjoined to make close inquiries
+into the business of all persons who may pass through here."
+
+"I have already told you," Terence said, quietly, "that I am an officer on
+the staff of the English general, and that I have a mission from him to
+see what are the best means of defending the northern passes, and, I may
+add, to enter into such arrangements as I may think proper with the
+leaders of any bands who may be gathered for the purpose of defending
+them. As I am acting under the direct orders of the general, I in no way
+recognize the right of any local authority to interfere with me in any
+way."
+
+"And I, Lieutenant Herrara, have been ordered by the colonel of my
+regiment to command the escort of Portuguese cavalry told off to accompany
+this British officer, and also feel myself free from any interference or
+examination by civilians."
+
+"I am a colonel!" Cortingos said, angrily.
+
+"By whom appointed, if I may ask?"
+
+"By the Junta of Oporto."
+
+"I was not aware that they possessed the right of granting high
+commissions," Herrara said, "although, of course, they can grant temporary
+rank to those who command irregular forces. This British officer has
+assured you as to the object of his journey, and unless that object has
+had the approval of the military authorities at Lisbon he would not have
+been furnished with an escort by them."
+
+"I have only his word and yours as to that," Cortingos said, insolently.
+"I am acting under the orders of the supreme authority of this province."
+
+"You are doing your duty, no doubt," the lieutenant said, "in making these
+inquiries. This officer has answered them, and I will answer any further
+questions if I consider them to be reasonable."
+
+"We wish, in the first place," Cortingos said, "to examine any official
+passes you may have received."
+
+"Our official passes are our uniforms," Herrara replied, haughtily.
+
+"Uniforms have been useful for purposes of disguise before now," Cortingos
+replied. "I again ask you to show me your authority."
+
+"Here is an authority," Terence broke in. "Here is a despatch from General
+Sir John Cradock to General Romana."
+
+"Ah, ah, a Spaniard."
+
+"A Spanish general, a marquis and grandee of Spain, who has been fighting
+the French, and who is now with a portion of his army preparing to defend
+the passes into Portugal."
+
+Cortingos held out his hand for the paper, but Terence put it back again
+into the breast-pocket of his uniform.
+
+"No, sir," he said; "this communication is for the Marquis of Romana, and
+for him only. No one else touches it so long as I am alive to defend it."
+
+The colonel whispered to his two associates.
+
+"We will let that pass for the present," he replied, and turning to
+Terence again, said, "In the next place we wish to know the nature of the
+contents of the sacks that are being carried by the mules that accompany
+you."
+
+"They contain ammunition, and forage for our horses," Lieutenant Herrara
+said. "You can, if you choose, question the muleteers, who fastened up the
+sacks and had an opportunity of seeing the ammunition."
+
+"In the name of the Junta I demand that ammunition!" Cortingos said, with
+an air of authority. "It is monstrous that ammunition should be taken to
+Spaniards, who have already shown that they are incapable of using it with
+any effect, while here we have loyal men ready to die in their country's
+defence, but altogether unprovided with ammunition."
+
+"For that, sir, you must apply to your Junta. Since they give you orders,
+let them give you ammunition; there is enough in Oporto to supply the
+whole population, had they arms; and you may be assured that I and my men
+will see that the convoy intrusted to our charge reaches its destination."
+
+
+[Illustration: "IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA, I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION,"]
+
+
+"I believe that there is not only ammunition, but money in those sacks,"
+said Cortingos. "It would be an act of treachery to allow it to pass,
+when, even if not taken to them directly, it might fall into the hands of
+the French. It is needed here; my men lack shoes and clothes, and as you
+say the object of your mission is to see to the defence of our frontier,
+any money you may have cannot be better applied than to satisfy the
+necessities of my soldiers. However, we do not wish to take steps that
+might appear unfriendly. And, therefore, if you will allow us to inspect
+the contents of those sacks, we will let you pass on if we find that they
+contain no money--confiscating only the ammunition for the use of the
+troops of the province."
+
+"I refuse absolutely," Herrara said, "to allow anything confided to my
+charge to be touched."
+
+"That is your final decision," the man said, with a sneer.
+
+"Final and absolute."
+
+"I also shall do my duty;" and then, without another word, the colonel
+with his two associates left the house.
+
+"We shall have trouble with that fellow," Herrara said.
+
+"So much the better," Terence replied. "We have evidence here that the
+scoundrel is a murderer. No doubt he had some private enmity against the
+owner of this establishment, and so denounced him to the Junta, and then
+attacked the place, murdered him, and perhaps some of his servants, and
+sacked the house. They won't find it so easy a job as it was last time;
+all the windows are barred, and there are only three on this floor to
+defend. The shutters of two of them are uninjured, so it is only the one
+where they broke in before that they can attack, while our men at the
+windows upstairs will make it hot for them as they approach. But I should
+hardly think that the men he calls soldiers will venture to attack a party
+of regular troops."
+
+The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"He will tell them some lies, probably assert that we are French agents in
+disguise taking money to the French army. Indeed, there is neither order
+nor discipline among these bands, and, roused to a pitch of fury, they
+would murder their own leaders as readily as anyone else. The Junta acts
+as if the province were altogether independent, and numbers of men of
+position have been butchered on the pretence of their being adherents of
+the French, when their sole crime was that they disapproved of the doings
+of the bishop and his tools. You will see that the night will not pass off
+without something happening. Of course, I shall be sorry to have to order
+the men to fire. In the first place it would render it very difficult for
+us to resume our journey; and in the second, if we succeed in getting out
+alive, they will send a lying account of the affair to Lisbon, and there
+will be all sorts of trouble. Still, of course, if they attack the house
+we shall defend ourselves."
+
+The two officers then made a tour of the house and carefully examined the
+means of defence. The broken shutters were replaced in their position in
+the window, and were backed with a pile of the fragments of furniture. The
+horses were all brought in from the shed outside, the soldiers were warned
+that the mob in the place were likely to attack them, and four of them
+were placed as sentries at the upper windows; and, by the looks of the men
+when the lieutenant made the communication to them, Terence saw that they
+could be relied upon.
+
+"I have no doubt that we shall be able to defend the place successfully,"
+Terence said to the two British troopers; "but if the worst comes to the
+worst we will all mount inside the house, throw open the door behind, and
+then go right at them. But I hope that we shall avoid a fight, for if we
+have one, it will be very difficult for us to make our way to the north,
+or to get back across the Douro."
+
+In an hour one of the sentries at the upper window brought news that a
+large number of men were approaching. Terence at once gave some orders
+that he and the lieutenant had agreed upon to the two soldiers, and four
+of the Portuguese troopers, and then went up with the lieutenant to the
+window over the door. He threw it open just as a crowd of men poured into
+the garden in front.
+
+"What is it?" he asked. "What do you want?"
+
+"I demand entrance to this house in the name of the Junta of Oporto," a
+voice which he recognized as that of Cortingos replied. "If that is
+refused I shall denounce you as traitors to Portugal, and your blood will
+be on your own heads."
+
+"We respect the orders of the Junta," Herrara replied, "and are ready to
+open the door as you demand; but I must first be assured that it is really
+the committee appointed by the Junta that demand it."
+
+Several of the men had torches, and these were brought forward, and they
+saw the man and his two associates standing in front.
+
+"Good, I will open the door," the lieutenant said, and he and Terence went
+down. The bars were removed and the door thrown open, the two officers
+walked a few paces outside, and then halted.
+
+Followed closely by their armed followers, the three men approached,
+confident in the strength of their following.
+
+"Enter, gentlemen," Terence said. "I protest against this invasion, by
+force, but I cannot oppose it."
+
+The three men entered the door, the two officers standing aside and
+allowing them to pass. The instant the three Portuguese had entered
+Terence and the lieutenant threw themselves suddenly upon those following
+them. Two or three rolled over with the suddenness of the assault, and the
+rest recoiled a step or two. Before they could recover themselves Herrara
+and Terence dashed through the door, which was slammed to and barred by
+the two English troopers. Meanwhile, the three men had been seized by the
+Portuguese troopers, their coats torn off them, and their hands tied
+behind their backs, and then they were hurried upstairs.
+
+Yells of fury filled the air outside, shots were fired at the windows, and
+men began to beat the door and shutters with bludgeons and hatchets.
+Suddenly a light appeared from a window above, and Cortingos and his two
+friends were seen standing there. By the side of each stood a trooper,
+holding a rope with a noose round the prisoners' necks. For a moment there
+was a silence of stupefaction outside, followed by a yell of fury from the
+mob. Herrara went to the window and shouted: "My friends." Again there was
+a moment of silence, as each wanted to hear what he said. "My friends, at
+the first shot that is fired, or the first blow that is struck at the
+doors of this house, these three men will be hung out of the window. They
+have deceived you grossly. I am an officer of the National Army, these
+troopers are men of the 2d Portuguese Dragoons. We have been appointed by
+the military authorities of Lisbon to escort this British officer, who is
+on the staff of the British general, and whose commission is to make
+arrangements with the Spanish general, Romana to harass the rear of the
+French, and attack their convoys should they attempt to enter the northern
+passes.
+
+"These three scoundrels have deceived you, in order, as they hoped, to
+obtain some money that they believed us to be escorting. As loyal
+Portuguese, I warn you against attempting to aid the fellows in a deed
+which would bring disgrace upon the national name, and would result in the
+British general refusing to assist in the defence of your country. You are
+brave men, but you see these three cowards are trembling like children. We
+advise you to appoint fresh officers among yourselves, and to remain
+faithful to your duty, which is to march when ordered to the defence of
+the defiles. These three fellows we shall take with us, and will see that
+they do not further deceive you. Already they have done harm enough by
+goading you to theft, and to murder a man whose only fault was that he was
+more patriotic than they are. Be assured that in no case would you be able
+to carry this house. It is defended by sixteen well-armed men, and
+hundreds of you would throw away your lives in the attempt. Therefore, I
+advise you to go back to your quarters, and in the morning assemble and
+choose your officers."
+
+The crowd stood irresolute.
+
+"Tell them to go, you cur," Herrara said to Cortingos, standing back from
+the window and giving him a kick that almost sent him on his face. "Tell
+them to disperse at once, if you don't want to be dangling from the end of
+this rope."
+
+Cortingos stepped forward, and in a quavering voice told the men to
+disperse to their quarters.
+
+"We have made a mistake," he said. "I am now convinced that these officers
+are what they appear to be. I beseech you do not cause trouble, and
+disperse at once--quietly."
+
+Hoots of derision and scorn rose from the peasants.
+
+"I have a good mind to fire a shot before I go," one of the peasants
+shouted, "just for the pleasure of seeing three such cowards hung."
+
+Another yell of disgust and anger arose, and then the crowd melted away.
+
+"Keep these three fellows at the window. Remove the ropes from their
+necks, and take your place behind them; you will be relieved every hour.
+If they move, bayonet them at once."
+
+"We shall die of cold," one of the men whimpered.
+
+"That would be a more honourable death than you are likely to meet,"
+Terence said, scornfully. "I fancy if I don't hang you, those men in the
+village will do so if they can lay hands on you."
+
+"How about the sentries, sir?" the corporal of the escort asked Herrara as
+they went downstairs. "They can all be removed except the one keeping
+guard over these men--he is to be relieved every hour--and one inside the
+door, he can be relieved every two hours."
+
+The night passed quietly. Just as they were preparing to start next
+morning, the soldier on guard over the prisoners shouted, "There is a
+crowd of men coming!"
+
+"Get your arms ready," Herrara said to the escort; "but I don't think
+there will be any occasion to use them."
+
+Terence went to the door. "Bull, do you and Macwitty keep close behind;
+but whatever happens don't use your weapons, unless I order you to do so."
+
+The crowd stopped at the gate, two of them only coming forward.
+
+"We are ready to fight, sir," one said, addressing Terence, "but we have
+no officers; none of us know anything about drill. We will follow you, if
+you will command us, and you will find that we won't turn our backs to the
+enemy. We know that English officers will fight."
+
+"Wait a minute or two," Terence said, after a moment's hesitation, "I will
+then give you my answer."
+
+Herrara had followed him out and heard the offer.
+
+"I don't know what to do, Herrara," Terence said, as he re-entered the
+house. "My instructions are to join Romana, and to remain with him for a
+time, sending word to Lisbon as to the state of things, and aiding him in
+any way in my power. Here are between two and three thousand stout,
+healthy fellows, evidently disposed to fight. If they were armed I would
+not hesitate a moment, but I don't suppose that there are a hundred
+muskets among them, and certainly Romana has none to give them. Still, in
+the defiles we might give a good deal of trouble to the French by rolling
+stones down, breaking up bridges, and that sort of thing."
+
+"It would be good fun," Herrara laughed. "As for myself," he said, "I have
+orders to return as soon as I have seen the treasure safely in Romana's
+camp. If it hadn't been for that I should have liked nothing better,
+though there would not have been much chance for cavalry work in these
+defiles."
+
+"I will talk to them again," Terence said. "It is not often that one gets
+the chance of an independent command. It is just the sort of work I should
+like."
+
+He went out again. "I should like to command a number of brave fellows,"
+he said, "but the question is about arms. There have been any quantity
+sent out by England for your use; but instead of being served out, the
+Juntas keep them all hidden up in magazines. Even now, when the French are
+going to invade your country, they still keep them locked up, and send you
+out with only pikes and staves to fight against a well-armed army. It is
+nothing short of murder."
+
+"Down with the Juntas!" cried half a dozen of the men standing near enough
+to hear what was said.
+
+"I don't say 'Down with the Juntas!'" Terence replied; "but I do say take
+arms if you can get them. Are there any magazines near here?"
+
+"There is one at Castro, ten miles away," the man said. "I know that there
+are waggon-loads of arms there."
+
+"Well, my friends, the matter stands thus: I, as a British officer, cannot
+lead you to break open magazines; but I say this, if you choose to go in a
+body to Castro and do it yourselves, and arm yourselves with all the
+muskets that you can find there, and bring with you a good store of
+ammunition in carts that you could take with you from here, and then come
+to me at a spot where I will halt to-night five or six miles beyond
+Castro, I will take command of you. But mind, if I command, I command. I
+must have absolute obedience. It is only by obeying my orders without
+question that you can hope to do any good. The first man who disobeys me I
+shall shoot on the spot, and if others are disposed to support him I shall
+leave you at once."
+
+"I will consult the others," the man said. "Many of us, I know, will be
+glad to fight under an English officer, and agree to obey him implicitly."
+
+"Very well, I will give you a quarter of an hour to decide."
+
+Before that time had elapsed a dozen men came to the door with the
+principal spokesman.
+
+"We have made up our minds, senor. We will follow you, and we will arm
+ourselves at Castro. It is a sin that the arms should be lying there idle
+with so many hands ready to use them."
+
+"That is good," Terence said. "Now, my first order is that you wait until
+I have been gone an hour; then, that you form up in military order, four
+abreast; the men with guns in front, the others after them. You must go as
+soldiers, and not as a mob. You must march into Castro peacefully and
+quietly, not a man must straggle from the ranks. You must go to the
+authorities and demand the arms and ammunition; if they refuse to give
+them to you, march--always in regular order--to the magazine and burst it
+open; then distribute the muskets and a hundred rounds of ammunition to
+each man having one, take the rest of the stores in carts, and then march
+away along the road north until you come to the place where we are halted.
+
+"Observe the most perfect order in Castro. If any man plunders or meddles
+in any way with the inhabitants and is reported to me, I shall know how to
+punish him. From the moment that you leave this place remember that you
+are soldiers of Portugal, and you must behave so as to be an honour to it
+as well as a defence. Now let us all shout 'Viva Portugal!'"
+
+A great shout followed the words, and then Terence went indoors, and five
+minutes later started with his convoy, telling the three prisoners they
+could go where they liked.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND
+
+As they left the village the Portuguese lieutenant burst into a sudden fit
+of laughter.
+
+"What is it, Lieutenant?" Terence asked.
+
+"I am laughing at the way in which you--who, as you tell me, have only
+been six months in the army--without hesitation organize what is really a
+rising against the authorities, you having already taken representatives
+of the Junta prisoners--"
+
+"Yes; but you must remember that they took upon themselves to endeavour to
+forcibly possess themselves of the treasure in my charge."
+
+"That is true enough; still, you did capture them. You treated them with
+considerable personal indignity, imprisoned them, and threatened their
+lives. Then you incite, say 2,500 ordenancas to break open magazines."
+
+"No, no, Lieutenant, I did not incite them. You will remember they
+expressed a desire to march under my command to fight against the French.
+I simply pointed out to them that they had no arms, and asked if they
+could get any; and hearing that there were plenty lying useless a few
+miles away, suggested that those arms would do more good in their hands
+than stowed away in magazines. Upon their agreeing with me on this head, I
+advised them to proceed in a quiet and orderly way, and to have no rioting
+or disturbance of any sort. I said that if they, after arming themselves,
+came to me and still wished to follow me, I would undertake to command
+them. You see, everything depends upon the manner in which the thing is
+put."
+
+"But you must remember, senor, that the Junta will naturally view the
+matter in the light in which their representatives will place it before
+them."
+
+"I think it unlikely," Terence replied, "that they will have any
+opportunity of doing so. I took care that they were removed from the
+window before I met the deputies of the men. They will consequently be
+unaware of the arrangements made, and will, perhaps, go out as soon as we
+have left and try to persuade the men to follow and attack us. As it was
+possible that they might take this course, I took the precaution of
+sending out one of the muleteers, with instructions to mention casually to
+the men that I was leaving the three fellows behind me, and that it might
+be as well for them to confine them under a guard so as to prevent their
+going to Oporto at present and making mischief."
+
+"I agree with you, senor, that they are certainly not likely to make any
+report as to the proceedings here."
+
+"I fancy not; in fact I should not be at all surprised if at the present
+moment they are hanging from the windows of the house of the man they
+caused to be murdered. They will most richly deserve their fate, and it
+may save us some trouble. No doubt the Junta will hear some day that the
+ordenancas here rose, killed the three members of their committee,
+obtained arms at Castro, and marched into the mountains. The Junta will
+care nothing whatever for the killing of its three agents; plenty of men
+of the same kind can be found to do their work. That the mutineers
+afterwards fell in with a British officer, and placed themselves under his
+command, will not concern the Junta one way or the other, and they will
+certainly be a great deal more useful in that way than they would be in
+remaining unarmed here. They may even, when the French once get in motion,
+come to regard the affair altogether as satisfactory. If all the new
+levies were to act in exactly the same way, Portugal would be very
+materially benefited."
+
+"But how are you going to feed them?"
+
+"That is rather a serious question. I suppose they will have to be fed in
+the same way as other irregular bands. However, I shall consider myself
+fully justified in devoting a fifth of the money I am carrying to that
+purpose. I obtained from Villiers L5,000 to enable Romana to support the
+levies he is raising. Those levies will be for the most part unarmed, and
+therefore practically useless; and as these Portuguese will be at any rate
+fairly armed, and are likely to be of very much greater service than a
+horde of Galician peasants, a portion at least of the money can be very
+much more usefully employed in feeding them than were it all given to
+Romana, I have no doubt whatever that when I explain the circumstances to
+General Cradock, he will entirely approve of my appropriating a small
+portion of the money that Villiers has chosen to throw away on Romana.
+When you return I shall get you to carry a report from me to the general,
+stating what I have done. I have no doubt he will warmly approve of it."
+
+On approaching Castro they made a detour to avoid the town.
+
+"There may be more representatives of the Junta there," Terence said, "and
+we may have even more trouble with them than we had with the last. I don't
+want any more bother, especially as I have much greater interest in the
+money now than I had before. I have not a shadow of belief in those bands
+of Portuguese peasants, but I do think that, with the aid of my two
+troopers, I shall be able to lick these fellows into some sort of shape,
+and to annoy Soult, if I cannot stop him. I hope they will find a good
+supply of powder, besides the muskets and ammunition at Castro; we shall
+want it for blowing up bridges and work of that sort."
+
+"I wish I could go with you," Herrara said.
+
+"I really don't see why you should not. I would take the blame on my own
+shoulders. One of your troopers could carry my report to the general, and
+I will say that under the circumstances I have taken upon myself to retain
+you with me in order to assist me in drilling and organizing this band,
+conceiving that your services with me would be very much more useful than
+with your regiment. You see, you were placed under my orders, so that no
+blame can fall upon you for obeying them, and at any rate you certainly
+will be doing vastly better service to the country than if you were
+stationed at Lisbon, with no prospect of an advance for a long time to
+come. Still, of course, I will not retain you against your will."
+
+"I should like it of all things," Herrara said; "but do you really think
+that the general would approve?"
+
+"I have not the least doubt that he would, and at any rate if he did not
+he would only blame me, and not you. Your help would certainly be
+invaluable to me, and so would that of your men. They are all picked
+soldiers, and if we divided the force up into twelve companies, they would
+very soon teach them as much drill as is necessary for work like this.
+Each trooper would command one of the companies, my two orderlies would
+act as field officers; you would be colonel, and I should be political
+officer in command."
+
+Herrara burst into a fit of laughter.
+
+"You are the strangest fellow I ever met, senor. Here is a very serious
+business, and you take it as easily as if it were a game of play. However,
+it does seem to me that we might do some good service. At any rate I am
+quite willing to obey your orders. It would be an adventure to talk of all
+one's life."
+
+"That is right," Terence said; "and there will be some credit to be
+gained, too. Indeed, we can safely say that our band will be very much
+better organized than nineteen out of twenty of the irregular bands."
+
+The track they followed was a very bad one, and the point at which they
+regained the main road was eight miles north of Castro. There was a small
+village here, and they at once halted. Although they had travelled slowly
+they knew that the men could not come along for some time, as they were
+not to start until an hour after them, and would be detained for some
+considerable time at Castro. It was indeed nearly three hours before a
+column marching in good order was seen coming along the road.
+
+"That is a good sign," Terence said; "they have obeyed orders strictly;
+whether they have got the arms I cannot tell yet. The men at the head of
+the column have certainly muskets, but as the armed men were to go in
+front that is no proof."
+
+However, as the column approached, it could be seen that at any rate a
+very considerable number were armed.
+
+"We had better form them up as they come, Herrara. If the head of the
+column stops it will stop them all, and then there will be confusion."
+
+The road through the village was wide. When a hundred ranks had passed
+they were halted, faced round, and marched forward, and so they continued
+until the village was filled with a dense mass of men, twenty deep.
+Terence observed with satisfaction that they had with them six bullock
+carts filled with ammunition-cases, spare muskets, and powder-barrels. The
+men who had first spoken to Terence had headed the column, and these had
+stopped by his side as the others marched in.
+
+"You have succeeded, I see," he said. "I hope that you were enabled to
+accomplish it without violence."
+
+"They were too much surprised to offer much resistance. Five fellows, who
+said they were the committee appointed by the Junta, came to us and told
+us that unless we dispersed at once we should be severely punished. We
+told them that we had come out of our homes at the orders of the Junta,
+but that as the Junta had not supplied us with arms we had come for them,
+as we were not going to fight the French with nothing but sticks. They
+then threatened us again, and we told them that if they hindered us from
+defending the country we should hang them at once; and as they saw we
+meant it, they went quietly off to their houses. Then we broke down the
+door of the magazine. We found four thousand muskets there. Each man took
+one, and we left the remainder and enough ammunition for them, and have
+brought the rest here, together with a hundred spare muskets.
+
+"We have observed excellent order, and no one was hurt or alarmed. The
+only men who left the ranks were a score who went round to the bakers'
+shops by my orders, and bought up all the bread in the place. We found a
+bag with a thousand dollars at the quarters of Cortingos."
+
+"What became of him and his two associates?"
+
+"They had the impudence to come out and harangue us when you had gone; but
+we tied them up to the branch of a tree, so there is an end of them."
+
+"And a very fitting end, too," Terence said. "What have you done with the
+money?"
+
+"The bag is in that cart, senor."
+
+"You had better appoint four of your number as treasurers. I would rather
+not touch it. You must be as careful as you can, and spend it only on the
+barest necessaries of life. We shall have few opportunities of buying
+things in the mountains, but when we do come upon them they must be paid
+for. Of course, we shall go no farther to-night. How many men have you?"
+
+"About two thousand five hundred, senor."
+
+"They must be told off into twelve companies. That will be two hundred and
+ten to each company. I shall appoint one of these soldiers to each company
+to drill and command it. I propose that each company shall elect its other
+officers. Lieutenant Herrara will, under my orders, command the regiment.
+The two English soldiers with me will each take command of six companies.
+The first thing to be done is to tell off the men into companies."
+
+"This we will at once do. After that they can be marched just outside the
+village, and each company will then fall out and elect its officers. When
+that is done the men will be quartered in the village. I have set apart
+one room in each house for the inhabitants, and the men must pack as
+tightly as they can into the others; and of course the sheds and stables
+must also be utilized."
+
+With the assistance of the troopers the work of dividing the force up into
+companies was accomplished in an hour. Herrara then called his men to him.
+
+"You will each take the command of a company," he said, "and drill them
+and teach them the use of their arms. This force is now under the command
+of this British officer. Acting under his orders, I take the command of
+the force under him. So long as we are out you will each act as captains
+of your companies, and your British comrades will act as field officers,
+each taking the command of six companies. We are going to hinder the
+advance of the French, and to cut their communications with Spain. It will
+be a glorious and most honourable duty, and I rely most implicitly on your
+doing your best to make the men under your command fit to meet the enemy.
+Captain Juan Sanches, you will take the first company;" and so he allotted
+to each his command.
+
+The soldiers saluted gravely, but with an air of delight.
+
+"You will, in the first place, march your men to various spots around the
+village; they will then fall out and select six officers each. You will
+see that each man knows the number of his company, so that they can fall
+in without hesitation as soon as the order is given. While you are away we
+shall examine the houses and allot so many to each company."
+
+In the meantime Terence had been similarly instructing the two orderlies.
+Although standing at attention, a broad grin of amusement stole over their
+faces as he went on:
+
+"I did not expect this any more than you did," he said; "but my orders
+were open ones, and were to assist General Romana in hindering the advance
+of the French, and I think that I cannot do so better than by augmenting
+his forces by 2,500 well-armed men. I rely greatly upon you to assist me
+in the work. You will, as you see, each occupy the position of field
+officers, while the Portuguese troopers will each have the command of a
+company. In order to support your authority I shall address you each as
+major, and you can consider that you hold that rank as long as we are out
+with this force. I have seen enough of you both to know that you will do
+your duty well. You will understand that this is going to be no child's
+play; it will be a dangerous service. I shall spare neither myself nor any
+under my command. There will be lots of fighting and opportunities for you
+to distinguish yourselves, and I hope that I shall be able to speak in
+high terms of you when I send in my report to General Cradock."
+
+"We will do our best, sir," Andrew Macwitty said. "How are we to address
+you?"
+
+"I shall keep to Mr. O'Connor, and shall consider myself a political
+officer with supreme military authority. Your titles are simply for local
+purposes, and to give you authority among the Portuguese."
+
+"We don't know enough of the lingo to give the words of command, sir,"
+William Bull said.
+
+"That will not matter. The Portuguese dragoons will teach them as much
+drill as it is necessary for them to know. If you have to post them in a
+position you can do that well enough by signs; but at the same time it is
+most desirable that you should both set to work in earnest and try to pick
+up a little of the language. You both know enough to make a start with,
+and if you ride every day with one or other of the captains of companies,
+and when they are drilling the men stand by and listen to them, you will
+soon learn enough to give the men the necessary orders. As a rule, the two
+wings will act as separate regiments; each of them is rather stronger than
+that of a line regiment at its full war strength, and it will be more
+convenient to treat them as separate regiments, and, until we get to the
+frontier, march them a few miles apart.
+
+"In this way they can occupy different villages, and obtain better
+accommodation than if they were all together. They have money enough to
+buy bread and wine for some time. You and the captains under you had
+better each form a sort of mess. You will, of course, draw rations of
+bread and wine, and I will provide you with money to buy a sheep
+occasionally or some fowls, to keep you in meat."
+
+The two troopers walked gravely away, but as soon as they were at a little
+distance they turned round the corner of a house and burst into a shout of
+laughter.
+
+"How are you finding yourself to-day, Major Macwitty?"
+
+"Just first-rate; and how is yoursel', Major Bull?" and they again went
+off into another shout of laughter.
+
+"This is a rum start, and no mistake, Macwitty."
+
+"Ay, but it is no' an unpleasant one, I reckon. Mr. O'Connor knows what he
+is about, though he is little more than a laddie. The orderly who brought
+our orders to go with him, said he had heard from one of the general's
+mess waiters that the general and the other officers were saying the young
+officer had done something quite out of the way, and were paying him
+compliments on it, and the general had put him on his own staff in
+consequence, and was saying something about his having saved a wing of his
+regiment from being captured by the French. The man had not heard it all;
+but just scraps as he went in and out of the room with wine, but he said
+it seemed something out of the way, and mighty creditable. And now what do
+you think of this affair, Bull?"
+
+"There is one thing, and that is that there is like to be, as he said,
+plenty of fighting, for I should say that he is just the sort of fellow to
+give us the chance of it, and I do think that these Portuguese fellows
+really mean to fight."
+
+"I think that mysel', but there is no answering for these brown-skin
+chaps. Still, maybe it is the fault of the officers as well as the men."
+
+"It will be a rare game anyhow, Macwitty. At any rate I will do my best to
+get the fellows into order. He is a fine young officer, and a thorough
+gentleman, and no mistake. He goes about it all as if he had been
+accustomed to command two regiments all his life, and these Portuguese
+fellows seem to have taken to him wonderfully. At any rate it will be a
+thing for us to talk about all our lives--how we were majors for a bit,
+and fought the French on our own account."
+
+"Yes, if we get home to tell about it," Macwitty said, cautiously. "I
+dinna think we can reckon much on that yet. It is a desperate sort of a
+business, and he is ower young to command."
+
+"I would rather have a young officer than an old one," Bull said,
+carelessly; "and though he is Irish, I feel sure that he has got his head
+screwed on the right way. Look how well he managed last night. Why, an old
+general could not have done better. If he hadn't caught those three
+fellows in a trap, I doubt whether we should have got out of the scrape.
+Sixteen or seventeen men against over two thousand is pretty long odds. We
+should have accounted for a lot of them, but they would have done for us
+in the end."
+
+"You are right there, Bull. I thought mysel' that it was an awkward fix,
+and certainly he managed those Portuguese fellows well, and turned the lot
+round his little finger. Ay, ay; he knows what he is doing perfectly well,
+young as he is."
+
+"Well, we had best be off to look after our commands,"
+
+Bull laughed. "I suppose they will call mine the first regiment, as I have
+the right wing."
+
+While the men were away, Terence and Herrara, with the head man of the
+village, went round to all the houses, and marked on pieces of paper the
+number of men who could manage to lie down on the floors and passages,
+with the number of the company, and fixed them on the doors; they also
+made an arrangement with the proprietor of a neighbouring vineyard to
+supply as much wine as was required, at the rate of a pint to each man.
+When the men returned four men were told off from each company to fetch
+the rations of bread, and another four to carry the wine. They were
+accompanied by one of the newly elected sergeants to check the quantity,
+and see that all was done in order. To prevent confusion the companies
+were kept drawn up until the rations had been distributed; then they were
+taken into their quarters, filling every room, attic and cellar, barn,
+granary, and stable in the village. Then Terence and Herrara in one room,
+and the troopers in another of the little inn, sat down to a meal Terence
+had ordered as soon as they arrived.
+
+The next morning at daybreak they marched off. Terence rode at their head,
+Herrara at the rear of the regiment, and each captain at the head of his
+company. From time to time Terence rode up and down the line, and ordered
+the men to keep step.
+
+"It is just as easy," he said to the captains, "for the men to do so as to
+walk along anyhow, and they will find that the sound of all the footfalls
+together helps them to march steadily and lessens fatigue. Never mind
+about the slope of their muskets; you must not harass them about little
+things, else they will get sulky; it will all come gradually."
+
+Four marches of twenty miles each took them over the mountains in four
+days. The Portuguese marched well, and not a single man fell out from the
+ranks, while at the end of the day they were still fresh enough to allow
+of an hour's drill. Even in that short time there was a very appreciable
+difference in their appearance. They had already learned to keep their
+distances on the march, to slope their muskets more evenly on their
+shoulders, and to carry themselves with a more erect bearing. The first
+two drills had been devoted to teaching them how to load and aim, the
+other two to changes of formation, from column into line and back again.
+
+"They would make fine soldiers, sir," Bull said, on the fourth evening,
+"after they have had six months' drill."
+
+"No doubt they would move more regularly," Terence agreed, "but in
+mountain warfare that makes little difference; as soon as they have
+learned to shoot straight, and to have confidence in themselves, they will
+do just as well holding a defile or the head of a bridge as if they had
+been drilled for months. We must get hold of some horns of some sort, and
+they must learn a few simple calls, such as the advance, retire, form
+square, and things of that sort. With such large companies the voice would
+never be heard in the din of a battle. I hope that we shall get at least a
+week to practise skirmishing over rough ground and to fall back in good
+order, taking advantage of every rock and shelter, before we get under
+fire. Do you know anything about blowing up bridges?"
+
+"Not me, sir. That is engineers' business."
+
+"It is a thing that troopers ought to know something about too, Bull; for
+if you were far in advance without an engineer near you, you might do good
+service by blowing up a bridge and checking the advance of an enemy.
+However, I dare say we shall soon find out how it is best done. Now,
+to-morrow morning we will have three hours of skirmishing work on these
+hillsides. By that time the other regiment will have come up, and then we
+will march together to join Romana."
+
+The Spanish general was much surprised at the arrival of Terence at the
+head of two well-armed regiments. His force had swelled considerably in
+point of numbers, for he had sent messengers all over the country to the
+priests, and these, having a horror of the French, had stirred up the
+peasants by threats of eternal perdition if they came back; while Romana
+issued proclamations threatening death to all who did not take up arms.
+Thus he had some 8,000 men collected, of whom fully half were his own
+dispersed soldiers. He received Terence with effusion.
+
+"Have you brought me arms?" was his first question.
+
+"No, sir; no transport could be obtained in Lisbon, and it was found
+impossible to despatch any muskets to you. I have, however, four thousand
+pounds, in dollars, to hand over. At starting I had five thousand, but of
+these I have, in the exercise of my discretion, retained a thousand for
+the purchase of provisions and necessaries for these two Portuguese
+regiments which are under my command, and with which I hope to do good
+service by co-operating with your force. Have you not found great
+difficulty in victualling your men?"
+
+"No, I have had no trouble on that score," the marquis said. "I found that
+a magazine of provisions had been collected for the use of General Moore's
+army at Montrui, three miles from here, and have been supporting my troops
+on the contents. The money will be most useful, however, directly we move.
+Fully half of my men have guns, for the Galician peasants are accustomed
+to the use of arms. I wish that it had been more, but four thousand pounds
+will be very welcome. Do you propose to join my force with your
+regiments?"
+
+"Not exactly to join them, General; my orders are to give you such
+assistance as I can, and I think that I can do more by co-operating with
+you independently. In the first place, I do not think that my Portuguese
+would like to be commanded by a Spanish general; in the second place, it
+would be extremely difficult to feed so large a body of troops in these
+mountains, and the smaller the number the more easily can they move about.
+Besides, in these defiles a large force of undisciplined men could not act
+efficiently, and in case of a reverse would fall rapidly into confusion. I
+propose to use my force as a sort of flying column, co-operating with
+yours. Thus, if you attack the head of a column, I will fall on their
+flank or rear, will harass their line of communication, blow up bridges
+and destroy roads, and so render their movements slow and difficult. By
+such means I should certainly render you more efficient service than if my
+regiments were to form a part of your force."
+
+"Perhaps that would be best," Romana said. "Could you supply me with any
+ammunition? For although the peasants have guns, very few have more than a
+few rounds of ammunition, and even this is not made up into cartridges."
+
+"That I can do, sir. I can give you 20,000 rounds of ammunition and ten
+barrels of powder. I have no lead, but you may perhaps be able to obtain
+that."
+
+"Yes. The priests, in fact, have sent in a considerable amount. They have
+stripped the roofs off their churches. That will be a most welcome supply
+indeed, and I am heartily obliged to you."
+
+The gift of the ammunition had the effect of doing away with any
+discontent the Spaniard may have felt on finding that Terence was going to
+act independently of him. It had indeed already flashed across his mind
+that it might be unpleasant always to have a British officer with him,
+from whose opinion he might frequently differ, and who might endeavour to
+control his movements. He had hardly expected that, with so much on their
+hands, and the claims that would be made from Oporto for assistance, they
+would have sent any money; and the sixteen thousand dollars were therefore
+most welcome, while the ammunition would be invaluable to him.
+
+Terence had taken out his share of the money, and the cart with the
+remainder for Romana was now at the door. The sacks were brought in,
+Romana called in four or five officers, the dollars were counted out and a
+receipt given to Terence for them.
+
+"I will send the ammunition up in half an hour, Marquis."
+
+"I thank you greatly, senor. I will at once order a number of men to set
+to work casting bullets and preparing cartridge-cases. In the meantime,
+please let me hear what are your general's plans for the defence of
+Portugal."
+
+Terence told him that he was unaware what were the intentions of the
+British general, but that, from what he learned during the few hours that
+he was at Lisbon, he thought it improbable in the extreme that Sir John
+Cradock would be able to send any force to check the advance of the French
+upon Oporto.
+
+"In the first place," he said, "he is absolutely without transport; and in
+the second Victor has a large army, and now that Saragossa has fallen,
+there is nothing to prevent his marching direct upon Lisbon. Lapisse is at
+Salamanca and can enter Portugal from the east. The whole country is in
+confusion; with the exception of a force gathering under Lord Beresford
+there is no army whatever. Lisbon is almost at the mercy of the mob, who,
+supported by the government, march about with British muskets and pikes,
+killing all they suspect of being favourable to the French, and even
+attacking British soldiers and officers in the streets.
+
+"Were the general to march north, he would not get news of Victor's
+advance in time to get back to save Lisbon, therefore I fear that it is
+absolutely impossible for him to attempt to check the French until they
+cross the Douro, perhaps not until they cross the Mondego. The levies of
+the northern province are ordered to assemble at Villa Real, and I
+believe, from what I gathered on the march, that some thousands of men are
+there, but I doubt very greatly whether they are in a state to offer any
+determined resistance to Soult."
+
+"That is a bad look-out," the general said, gloomily; "still, we must hope
+for the best, as Spain will soon raise fresh armies, and so occupy the
+attention of the enemy that Soult will have to fall back. I am in
+communication with General Silveira, who will advance to Chaves; he has
+four thousand men. He has written to me that the bishop had collected
+50,000 peasants at Oporto."
+
+"Where they will probably do more harm than good," Terence said,
+scornfully. "I would rather have half a regiment of British troops than
+the whole lot of them. It is not men that are wanted, it is discipline,
+and 50,000 peasants will be even more unmanageable and useless than 5,000
+would be. By the way, General, I have now to inform you that General
+Cradock has done me the honour of placing me on his personal staff."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," the marquis said, courteously; "it will certainly
+increase your authority greatly."
+
+Terence, leaving Romana, marched his troops to within a mile of Monterey,
+choosing a spot where there was a wood which would afford some shelter to
+the troops, and would give them a supply of firewood. At Monterey he would
+be able to purchase provisions, and he wished to keep them apart from
+Romana's men, whose undisciplined habits and general insubordination would
+counteract his efforts with his own men.
+
+The next ten days were spent in almost incessant drilling, and in
+practising shooting. Bread and wine were obtained from Monterey, and he
+purchased a large flock of sheep at a very low price, the peasants, in
+their fear of the French, being very anxious to turn their flocks and
+herds into money, which could be hid away securely until the tide of
+invasion had passed. Laborious and frugal in their habits, these peasants
+seldom touch meat, and the troops were highly gratified at the rations
+supplied to them, and worked hard and cheerfully at their drill.
+
+Among so many men there were naturally a few who were inclined to be
+insubordinate. These were speedily weeded out. The offenders were promptly
+seized, flogged, and expelled from the force, their places being supplied
+from among the peasants, many of whom were desirous of enlisting. Terence
+sent these off, save a few he selected, to Silveira, as his own force was
+quite as large as could properly be handled. With improved food and
+incessant drill the men rapidly developed into soldiers. Each carried a
+rough native blanket rolled up like a scarf over one shoulder. This was
+indeed the only point of regular equipment. They had no regular uniform,
+but they were all in their peasant dresses. There was no communication
+between them and Romana's forces, for the animosity between the two
+peoples amounted to hatred. The Portuguese would indeed have marched to
+attack them as willingly as they would have received the order to move
+against the French.
+
+During this week of waiting, Silveira with 4,000 men arrived at Chaves,
+and a meeting took place between him and Romana. Both had plans equally
+wild and impracticable, neither would give way, and as they were well
+aware that their forces would never act together, they decided to act
+independently against the French. At the end of eight days the news came
+that Soult, having made all his preparations, had left Orense on his march
+southward.
+
+Terence had bought a quantity of rough canvas, and the men, as they sat
+round the fires after their day's work was over, made haversacks in which
+they could carry rations for four or five days. As soon as the news was
+received that Soult was advancing, Terence ordered sufficient bread to
+supply them for that time, from the bakehouses of Monterey. A hundred
+rounds of ball-cartridge were served round to each. A light cart
+containing eight barrels of powder, a bag with 1,000 dollars, and the
+tent, was the only vehicle taken, and the rest of the ammunition and
+powder was buried deep in the wood, and the bulk of the money privately
+hidden in another spot by Terence and Herrara. Twelve horns had been
+obtained; several of the men were able to blow them, and these, attached
+one to each company, had learned a few calls. Terence and Herrara took
+their post at the edge of the wood to watch the two regiments march past.
+
+"I think they will do," Terence said; "they have picked up marvellously
+since they have been here; and though I should not like to trust them in
+the plain with Franceschi's cavalry sweeping down upon them, I think that
+in mountain work they can be trusted to make a stand."
+
+"I think so," Herrara agreed. "They have certainly improved wonderfully.
+Our peasants are very docile and easily led when they have confidence in
+their commander, and are not stirred up by agitators, but they are given
+to sudden fury, as is shown by the frightful disorders at Lisbon and
+Oporto. However, they certainly have confidence in you, and if they are
+successful in the first skirmish or two they can be trusted to fight
+stoutly afterwards."
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE FIRST SKIRMISH
+
+Soult had spent a month in making his preparations for the invasion of
+Portugal. The time, however, had not been wasted by him. Vigo, Tuy, and
+Guardia had all been occupied without opposition. Salvatierra on the Minho
+had been taken possession of, and thus three roads were open to him by
+which to cross low down on the river, namely, at Guardia, Tuy, and
+Salvatierra. These roads afforded the shortest and easiest line to Oporto.
+Romana and Silveira had both been of opinion that he would march south
+from Orense, through Monterey, and up the valley of the Tamega, and their
+plans were all made with a view of opposing his advance in that direction.
+The night before Terence marched he called upon Romana.
+
+"It seems to me probable, Marquis, as it does to you, that the French will
+advance by this line, but it is possible that they may follow the north
+bank of the Minho and cross at Salvatierra or Tuy. By that route they
+would have several rivers to cross but no mountains or defiles. Were they
+to throw troops across there they would meet with no opposition until they
+arrived at Oporto. It seems to me that my best plan would be to march west
+and endeavour to prevent such a passage being made. If I could do so it
+would prevent your position being turned. There are no bridges marked on
+my map, and if I could secure the boats we should, at any rate, cause
+Soult much difficulty and delay. No doubt there are some local levies
+there, and we should be able to watch a considerable extent of the river;
+indeed, so far as I can see, they must cross, if they cross at all there,
+at one of the three towns on the north side, for it is only by the roads
+running through these that they could carry their artillery and baggage."
+
+"I think that will be an excellent plan," Romana said, "for although I
+believe that they will come this way, I have been very uneasy at the
+thought that they might possibly cross lower down, and so turn our
+position altogether. But you will have to watch not only the three places
+through which the roads pass, but other parts of the river, for they may
+throw a few hundred men across in boats at any point, and these falling
+suddenly upon your parties on the bank, might drive them away and enable
+the main body to cross without resistance."
+
+"I will keep as sharp a look-out as I can, Marquis." Marching north from
+Monterey the troops moved through Villa Real and Gingo, and then, turning
+west, crossed the river Lima, there a small stream, and then following the
+valley of that river for some distance, turned off and struck the Minho
+opposite Salvatierra, having covered fifty miles in two days. Here a
+considerable number of armed peasants and ordenancas were gathered. They
+were delighted at the arrival of two well-armed regiments; and hearing
+from Herrara that Terence was a staff-officer of the British general, and
+was sent by him to direct the defence of the river, they at once placed
+themselves under his orders.
+
+Terence found, to his satisfaction, that on the approach of the French
+most of the boats had been removed to the south side of the river and
+hauled up the bank. His first order was that anyone acquainted with the
+position of any boats on the other side of the river should at once inform
+him of it. It was not long before he heard of some twenty or thirty that
+had been hidden by their owners on the other side, in order that they
+might have the means of crossing to escape the French exactions. At
+nightfall several boats were launched, and parties of men, directed by
+those who had given information, started to cross the river and bring
+those boats over. The Minho was at this time in flood and was running with
+great rapidity, and Terence felt confident that in its present state none
+of the enemy's cavalry would attempt to cross it by swimming.
+
+He decided on placing the largest part of his force opposite Tuy, as the
+principal road south passed through this town, and he would here be
+supported by the guns of the fortress of Valenca. He stationed his first
+battalion here, with orders to line the river for six miles above and
+below this spot. Half of the second battalion he left under Macwitty, and
+with the other half determined to march down towards the mouth of the
+river. The next morning all the boats returned, bringing those for which
+they had been searching, and after closely questioning the guides he felt
+assured that there could be so few remaining that the French would hardly
+attempt to cross the river in the face of the crowd of peasants--whom they
+could not but see--lining the southern bank.
+
+As soon as the boats had returned he marched with the three companies.
+When half-way between Valenca and Caminha he met a peasant, who had
+crossed from the northern bank in a boat that had escaped the search of
+the French. He reported that some days before some 10,000 of the French
+had arrived in the neighbourhood of the village Campo Sancos, and that a
+division had been hard at work since their arrival transporting some large
+fishing-boats and heavy guns from the harbour of Guardia to Campo Sancos.
+The guns had been placed in a battery on a height, and the boats launched
+in a little river that ran into the Minho village. Terence learned that
+the work was now nearly completed, and the peasant had risked his life in
+coming across to give information.
+
+Terence at once sent off a mounted man to Valenca to request Herrara to
+march down with the first battalion and to send on to Macwitty to leave
+one company to assist the ordenancas to guard the river between
+Salvatierra and Valenca, and to take post with the other two in front of
+the latter town. At nightfall he was joined by Herrara.
+
+After explaining the situation to him, Terence said:
+
+"It will not be necessary to watch the river above Campo Sancos, for it
+would be impossible to row heavy fishing-boats against this stream, so
+they must land somewhere between that place and the mouth of the river.
+Thus we have only some eight miles to guard, and as we have eighteen
+hundred men, besides the peasants, we ought to be able to do that
+thoroughly. I expect they will endeavour to make the passage to-night, and
+they will certainly cross, as nearly as they can, opposite the village.
+The battery is about a mile below it, and is no doubt intended to cover
+their landing. I shall post myself with two companies of the first
+battalion there, and extend another company from that point up to Campos
+Sancos. You, with the other three companies and the three companies of the
+second battalion, will watch the river below.
+
+"It is unlucky that there is no moon at present. I do not expect, however,
+that the attack will take place till morning, for, in the first place, the
+peasant said that although the guns had been got up to the height they had
+not yet been placed in position, and as we have noticed no movement there
+all day, nor seen a French soldier anywhere near the river, they will only
+be beginning work now, and can hardly have finished it until well on in
+the night. Besides, when the first party who crossed have obtained a
+footing here, the boats will have to go backwards and forwards. No doubt
+the cavalry will be among the first to cross, and they would hardly get
+the horses on board in the dark. It is of vital importance to repel this
+attack, for if the French got across they would be at Vianna to-morrow
+evening, and at Oporto three days later. I don't suppose that place will
+resist for a day; and if, as is probable, Victor moves up from the south,
+he and Soult may be in front of Lisbon in ten days' time.
+
+"You had better tell your captains this, in order that they may understand
+how vital it is to prevent the passage. From what I hear from the
+peasants, the boats will not be able to carry more than three or four
+hundred men, and wherever they land we ought to be able to crush them
+before the boats can cross again and bring over reinforcements."
+
+"Well, Bull, I think we are likely to have fighting tonight," Terence
+said, as Herrara marched off with his men.
+
+"I hope so, sir. I don't think they will be able to cross in our face, and
+it will do the men a lot of good to win the first fight."
+
+"If Romana's troops were worth anything, Soult would find himself in an
+awkward position. He has got his whole army jammed up in the corner here,
+and if he cannot cross there is nothing for him to do but to march along
+the river to Orense, and then come down by the road through Monterey.
+There are several streams to cross as he marches up the bank. Romana is
+sure to have heard of his concentrating somewhere down near the mouth of
+the river, and I should think that by this time he will have crossed near
+Orense, and will arrive in time to dispute the passage of these streams.
+He told me that the Galician peasants have been so enraged by their cattle
+being carried off for the use of the French army that they will rise in
+insurrection the instant the French march, and if that is the case, they
+and Romana ought to be able to give Soult a lot of trouble before he
+reaches Orense."
+
+"I don't think those fellows with Romana are likely to do much, sir. The
+French will just sweep them before them."
+
+"I am afraid so, Bull; still, if we can prevent the French from crossing
+here and compel them to follow the long road through Monterey, we shall
+have done good service. It would give Portugal another seven or eight days
+to prepare, and will send the enemy through a country where undisciplined
+troops ought to be able to make a stand even against soldiers like the
+French."
+
+All through the night Terence and his major patrolled the bank from the
+point facing Campo Sancos to a mile below that on which the French were
+placing their guns. Everything went on quietly, sentries at intervals kept
+watch, and the men, wrapped in their blankets, lay down in parties of
+fifty at short intervals.
+
+"The day is beginning to break," Terence said, as he met Bull coming back
+from the lower end of the line. "I am not afraid now, for if we can but
+see them coming we can gather two or three hundred men at any point they
+may be making for. Besides, our shooting would be very wild in the dark."
+
+"That it would, sir; not one shot in fifty would hit the boats, let alone
+the men; and when the Portuguese saw the boats come on without pause in
+spite of their fire, they would be likely to lose heart and to get
+unsteady."
+
+"We may as well stop here, Bull. It will be light enough to see across the
+river in another quarter of an hour, and if there are no boats coming
+then, I think it is pretty certain that they will not begin until
+to-morrow night. The peasant said that they have only got 10,000 troops
+there as yet, and we know that Soult has more than double that, and he may
+wait another day for them all to come up."
+
+Ten minutes later one of the sentries close to them shouted out that he
+could see boats. Terence ran up to him.
+
+"Where are they, my man?"
+
+"Nearly opposite, sir."
+
+Terence gazed fixedly for a moment, and then said: "I see them; they are
+heading straight across." Then he gave the order to the man who always
+accompanied him with a horn, to blow the alarm.
+
+At the sound, the troops sprang to their feet, and some hundreds of
+peasants, who were lying down a short distance behind, ran up. The horn
+was evidently heard on the other side of the river, for immediately the
+guns of the battery opposite opened fire, and their shot whizzed overhead.
+The boats plied their oars vigorously, and the French soldiers cheered;
+they were but some three hundred yards away when first discovered. The
+Portuguese were coming rapidly up at the double. Terence shouted that not
+a shot was to be fired until he gave the order. He was obeyed by his own
+men, but the peasants at once began a wild fire at the boats. By the time
+these were within fifty yards of the shore Terence saw with satisfaction
+that fully a company had come up. The men stood firmly, although the balls
+from the French battery ploughed up the ground around them.
+
+"Wait until the first boat grounds," Terence shouted again. Another minute
+and the first fishing-boat touched the shore. Then the horn sounded, and
+the front line of the Portuguese poured a terrible volley into it. A few
+of the French soldiers only succeeded in gaining the land, and these were
+at once shot down. Then the troops opened a rolling fire upon the other
+boats. The French replied with their musketry, but their fire was feeble.
+They had expected to have effected a landing with but slight opposition,
+and the concentrated fire of the troops and the peasantry convinced them
+that, even should they gain the shore, they would be greatly outnumbered,
+and would be shot down before they could gather in any regular formation.
+Many of the rowers, who were Spanish peasants forced into the work, had
+fallen. Most of their comrades left the oars and threw themselves into the
+bottom of the boats, and the craft drifted down the stream.
+
+Shouts of triumph rose from the Portuguese, who obeyed the signal to form
+fours, and marched along parallel with the boats, forming line
+occasionally and firing heavy volleys. The French soldiers now seized the
+oars and rowed the craft into the middle of the river, and then slowly and
+painfully made their way to Campo Sancos, having lost more than half of
+the three hundred men who had left there. The French battery ceased to
+fire, and the din of battle was succeeded by a dead silence. Once
+convinced that the French had abandoned the attempt to land, the
+Portuguese broke into loud shouts of triumph, which were only checked when
+Terence ordered them to form up in close order. When they did so he
+addressed a few words to them, complimenting them upon the steadiness that
+they had shown, and upon their obeying his order to reserve their fire
+till the French were close at hand.
+
+"I was convinced that you would behave well," he said, "and in future I
+shall have no hesitation in meeting a body of French equal in numbers to
+yourselves."
+
+Messengers were at once despatched to order up all the troops that had
+been posted below, and in two hours the whole force, with the exception of
+the three companies, between them and Salvatierra, were assembled.
+
+"The question is, Herrara," Terence said, when he and his colonel had
+exchanged congratulations on the repulse of the French, "what will Soult
+do next?
+
+"That is a question upon which everything depends. I don't think he will
+try again here. He has been eight days in preparing those boats to cross,
+and now that he knows there is a very strong force here, and that even if
+he got three or four times as many boats he would scarcely be able to
+force a passage, my idea is that he will abandon the attack and march at
+once for Orense. In that case the question is, shall we wait until we have
+assured ourselves that he has gone, and then follow and harass his rear?
+or shall we march up the river and then cross to help Romana to bar his
+passage?"
+
+"I think the latter will be the best plan. You see, we should not be
+cutting his communication were we to march now, because when he has
+crossed the river Avia he will have direct communication with Ney, and
+will of course draw all his supplies from the north, so I think that we
+had better lose no time in pushing up along the river."
+
+The troops were ordered to light fires and cook their breakfast. While
+this was going on Terence assembled the peasant bands, and told them that
+he thought the French would not make another attempt to cross, but that
+they must remain in a state of watchfulness until they received certain
+news from the other side that they had marched for Orense.
+
+As soon as breakfast was over and the cooking-pots packed in the cart, the
+two regiments started on their march. They were in high spirits, and
+laughed and sang as they tramped along. They had lost but two killed by
+the French musketry fire, and there were but five so severely wounded as
+to be unable to take their places in the ranks. These Terence ordered to
+be taken in a country cart to Pontelima, and he provided them with money
+for their support there until cured.
+
+The men having been on foot all night, Terence halted them after doing
+fifteen miles. On the following morning, soon after they had started, they
+saw a large body of French cavalry following the road by the river. These
+were La Houssaye's, who had been quartered at Salvatierra, The river here
+was narrower than it had been below, and halting the troops and forming
+them in line, two or three volleys were fired across the river. These did
+some execution, and caused much confusion in the French ranks. The
+horsemen, however, galloped rapidly up the river, and were soon out of
+range.
+
+"That settles the question, Herrara. The French are retracing their steps,
+and bound for Orense. Soult has not let the grass grow under his feet, and
+the cavalry are evidently sent on to clear out any bands of peasants that
+may be gathering at the rivers."
+
+La Houssaye, indeed, twice in the course of the day broke up irregular
+bands, and burned two villages. The infantry and artillery, after passing
+through Salvatierra, moved by the main road. This, however, was found to
+be so bad that the artillery were, with ten of the sixteen light guns, and
+six howitzers, left behind at Tuy, with a great ammunition and baggage
+train, together with 900 sick. A garrison of 500 men were left in the
+fort. Orders were given that all stragglers were to be retained at that
+place.
+
+
+[Illustration: "THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE
+MET WITH HEAVY VOLLEYS"]
+
+
+The march of the French was not unopposed. When they arrived at the river
+Morenta they found 800 Spaniards had barricaded the bridges and repulsed
+the advance parties of cavalry. On the 17th, at daybreak, the leading
+division attacked them fiercely, carried the bridge, and pursued them
+hotly, until at a short distance from Ribadavia the Spaniards rallied upon
+some 10,000 irregulars arrayed in order of battle in a strong position
+covering the town. The rest of the division and a brigade of cavalry came
+up, and, directed by Soult himself, attacked the Spaniards, drove them
+through the town and across the Avia with great loss. Twenty priests were
+found among the slain. The next day three or four thousand other
+irregulars from the valley of Avia were attacked and scattered, and on the
+18th the French cavalry, with three brigades of infantry, entered Orense.
+
+An hour earlier Terence had arrived on the other side of the river, and
+had at once made preparations for blowing up the bridge. The men had been
+but a short time at work when numbers of the townsmen streamed across the
+bridge and reported that a great body of the French were entering the
+town. Terence had a hasty consultation with Herrara, and both agreed that
+they could not hope to hold the bridge long against the whole French army,
+especially as they had learned two hours before from a peasant who had
+ridden up, that strong bodies of French troops had crossed the river by
+the ferries at Ribadavia and Barbibante, and that they might shortly be
+attacked in flank. The powder-barrels were therefore hastily repacked, and
+the troops marched off towards the hills on their left.
+
+They were but half-way across the plain when a regiment of French cavalry
+were seen riding in pursuit. The regiments were at once formed into
+squares within fifty yards of each other, and Terence and Bull in the
+centre of one square, and Herrara and Macwitty in the other, exhorted the
+men to stand steady, assuring them there was nothing whatever to be feared
+from the cavalry if they did so. The French rode up towards the squares,
+but were met by heavy volleys, and after riding round them drew off,
+having suffered considerable loss, being greatly surprised at finding that
+instead of a mob of armed men, such as they had met at Avia, they were
+encountered by soldiers possessing the steadiness of trained troops.
+
+The regiments resumed their march until far up the hill, where they
+proceeded to cut down trees and brushwood and to form an encampment, as
+their leader had decided to stay here and await events until Soult's
+intentions were clearly shown. There were two courses open to the French
+general. He might advance to Allaritz and then march along the Lima, be
+joined by his artillery and train from Tuy, and then move direct upon
+Oporto, or he might follow the valley of the Tamega to Chaves, whence he
+would have the choice of routes, and take either that over the Sierra de
+Cabrera to Braga, or continue his course down the valley until he reached
+the Douro.
+
+It was not until the 4th of March that the French again moved forward. In
+the meantime Terence was forced to remain quiet, except that each day he
+marched his men farther among the hills and drilled them for some hours
+perseveringly. The affair on the Minho and the repulse of the French
+cavalry had given them great confidence in themselves and their leader,
+and had shown them the value of steadiness, and of maintaining order and
+discipline in the ranks. They therefore devoted themselves even more
+willingly and zealously than before to their military exercises, and the
+ten days taken by Soult in preparing for the advance were well spent in
+accustoming the Portuguese to rapid movements among the mountains, and to
+attaining a fair knowledge of what would be required of them in mountain
+warfare. Two companies always remained in the camp, and these had several
+skirmishes with bodies of French marauders, and small parties of cavalry
+making across the country to ascertain the position and strength of the
+Portuguese.
+
+The advance of the French was rapid, and on the 5th the cavalry and a
+portion of the infantry reached Villa Real, where, on the evening of the
+same day, two divisions of infantry arrived. That night Terence with his
+men having on the 4th marched along the hills parallel to the road, made a
+forced march, crossed the road and took up a position on the spur of the
+mountains between Montalegre and the river. Even yet it was doubtful which
+route Soult intended to follow, as the division at Villa Real might be
+intended only to prevent Romana and Silveira falling upon his flank. As he
+marched down the valley of the Lima, he had learned from Romana that he
+and Silveira had decided to fall back to Chaves, and that he agreed with
+Terence's opinion that he had better remain in the rear of the French, and
+intercept their communications with Orense.
+
+On the following morning the French advanced in force to Monterey. Romana
+abandoned the position as they advanced, drew off to Verin, and then
+retired along the road towards Sanabria. He thus left it open to himself
+either to follow the road to Chaves, as agreed upon, or to retire into
+Spain through the mountains. Franceschi's cavalry and a battalion of
+French infantry overtook between two and three thousand men forming the
+rear of Romana's column. The latter drew up in a great square. Franceschi
+attacked the rear face with his infantry, passed with his cavalry round
+the sides of the square, and placed himself between it and the rest of the
+retiring column. He had with him four regiments of cavalry, and now hurled
+a regiment at each side of the square.
+
+The Spaniards were at once seized with dismay, broke their formation, and
+in a moment the French cavalry were upon them, cutting and trampling them
+down. Twelve hundred were killed and the rest made prisoners. As soon as
+Romana heard of the disaster that had befallen his rearguard, he broke his
+engagement with Silveira and led his force over the mountains into Spain,
+where the news of his defeat caused the Spanish insurgent bands to
+disperse rapidly to their homes, where they delivered up their arms; and
+even the priests, who had been the main promoters of the rising, seeing
+the failure of all their plans, advised them to maintain a peaceable
+attitude in future.
+
+Silveira was not more fortunate, for two thousand of his troops with some
+guns, issuing from the mountains just as Franceschi returned from the
+annihilation of Romana's rearguard, the French cavalry charged and
+captured the Portuguese guns, and drove Silveira down the valley.
+
+Soult paused two days at Monterey, the baggage and hospital train, and a
+great convoy of provisions being brought up from Orense, under the guard
+of a whole division. This rendered it evident that he intended to cut
+himself off altogether from Spain, and to subsist entirely upon the
+country. It was clear then that it was useless to attempt to fall upon his
+rear, and by a long march through the mountains Terence took his force
+down to Chaves.
+
+Here he found that Silveira, deserted by Romana and beaten by Franceschi,
+had fallen back to a mountain immediately behind Chaves. Terence continued
+his march until he joined him. He found a great tumult going on among his
+troops; always insubordinate, they were now in a state of mutiny. Many of
+the officers openly advocated that they should desist from a struggle in
+which success was altogether hopeless, and should go over and join the
+French. The troops, however, not only spurned the advice, but fell upon
+and killed several of those who offered it, and demanded from Silveira
+that he should lead them down to defend Chaves. This he refused to do,
+saying that the fortifications were old and useless, the guns worn out,
+and that were they to shut themselves up there, they would be surrounded
+and forced to surrender.
+
+This refusal excited the mutineers to the highest pitch, and when Terence
+arrived they were clamouring for his death. A small party of soldiers who
+remained faithful to him surrounded him, but they would speedily have been
+overpowered had it not been for the arrival of Terence's command. As soon
+as he understood what was happening, he formed his men into a solid body,
+marched through the excited crowd, and formed up in hollow square round
+the general. The firm appearance of the force and the fact that they
+possessed more arms than the whole of Silveira's army, had its effect. The
+mutineers, however, to the number of 3,500, determined to carry out their
+intentions, and at once marched away to Chaves. Silveira remained with but
+a few hundred men, as the 2,000 routed by Franceschi had not rejoined him.
+
+"I owe you my life, senor," he said to Terence, "for those mad fools would
+certainly have murdered me."
+
+"It is not surprising," Terence said. "A mob of men who are not soldiers
+cannot be expected to observe discipline, especially when insubordination
+and anarchy have been absolutely fomented by the authorities, crimes of
+all sorts perpetrated by their orders, and no efforts whatever made to
+punish ill-doers."
+
+"Your men seem to be disciplined and obedient," Silveira said.
+
+"They have been taught to be so, General, and I believe that I can rely
+upon them absolutely. If you had but officers and discipline, I am certain
+that your soldiers would be excellent; but as it is, with a few
+exceptions, your officers are worse than useless. They are appointed as a
+reward for their support of the Junta; they are ignorant of their duties,
+and many of them favour the French; they regard their soldiers as raised,
+not for the defense of Portugal, but for the support of the Junta. I have
+seen enough to know that the peasants are brave, hardy, and ready to
+fight. But what can they do when they are but half-armed, and no attempt
+whatever is made to discipline them? Have you heard, since these troubles
+began, of a single man being shot for insubordination, or of a single
+officer being punished even for the grossest neglect of orders? It is
+nothing short of murder to put a mob of half-armed peasants to stand
+against French troops."
+
+"All that is quite true," Silveira said, heartily. "However, I shall do my
+best, and shall, I doubt not, soon have another force collected, for now
+that the French have fairly entered Portugal, and are marching towards the
+capital, every man will take up arms. And you, senor, what do you mean to
+do?"
+
+"I shall harass the French as I see an opportunity, but I shall not
+subject my men to certain disaster by joining any of the new levies. I
+know what my men can do, and what I can do with them; but if mixed up with
+thousands of raw peasants they would be swept away by the latter and share
+in any misfortune that might befall them. What I have seen of your troops
+to-day, and what I saw of Romana's, is quite enough to show me that to
+lead peasants into the field is simply to bring misfortune and death upon
+them. Far better that each leader should collect two or three hundred men
+and teach them discipline and a little drill instead of taking a mob
+thousands strong out to battle. Those men that have marched down into
+Chaves will, you will see, offer no resistance, and will simply be killed
+or made prisoners to a man. Now, may I ask if you have any stores here,
+General? We have had great difficulty in buying food up in the mountains,
+and as it will be useless to you, and certainly cannot be carried off, I
+should be glad to fill the men's haversacks before we go farther."
+
+"Certainly. I had enough meat and bread for my whole force for a week, and
+you are welcome to take as much as you require. Which way do you propose
+marching?"
+
+"I am waiting to see which way the French go after leaving Chaves. Whether
+they go down the valley or across the mountains to Braga, I shall
+endeavour to get ahead of them; and as my men are splendid marchers, I
+have no doubt that I shall succeed in doing so, even if the French have a
+few hours' start. If I can do nothing else, I can at least make their
+cavalry keep together instead of riding in small parties all over the
+country to sweep in food."
+
+Fires were soon lighted, some bullocks killed and cut up, and a hearty
+meal eaten. They had already made a very long march, and were ordered to
+lie down until nightfall. Silveira marched away with his men, and Terence
+and Herrara sat and watched the road, down which bodies of French troops
+could already be seen advancing from Monterey towards Chaves. As they
+approached the town, gun after gun was fired. The advance-guard halted and
+waited until the whole division had come up.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+IN THE PASSES
+
+On the following day the French cavalry, with a division of infantry, took
+up their position beyond the town, so as to cut off the retreat of the
+garrison, who were then summoned to surrender. No reply was made, but for
+the next twenty-four hours the defenders, although in no way attacked,
+kept up a random fire from the guns on the walls, and with musketry, to
+which no reply whatever was made by the French.
+
+On the following day, the whole army having now come up, the town was
+again summoned, and at once surrendered, when Soult, who did not wish to
+be hampered with a mob of prisoners, contemptuously allowed them to depart
+to their homes.
+
+After bringing up his sick from Chaves, and discovering that the passes
+through the mountains were unoccupied, and that the Portuguese army was at
+Braga, Soult, on the 14th, began to move in that direction, both for the
+purpose of crushing Friere and getting into communication with Tuy, and
+being joined by his artillery from there. As soon as this movement was
+seen from the hill where Terence's regiments had been for three days
+resting, preparations were made for marching, and with haversacks well
+filled with bread and meat, the troops started in good spirits. Terence
+procured the services of a peasant well acquainted with the mountains, and
+was led by paths used by shepherds across the hills, and after a twelve
+hours' toilsome journey came down into the defiles that the French were
+following. There he learned from peasants, that, with the exception of a
+small scouting party two days before, there were no signs of any hostile
+force.
+
+The men were at once set to work to destroy a bridge across a torrent at
+the mouth of a defile. It was built of stone, but was old and in bad
+repair, and the men had little difficulty in prising the stones of the
+side walls from their places, and throwing them down into the stream.
+Another party made a hole over the key of an arch. A barrel of powder was
+placed here, and a train having been laid, was covered up by a pile of
+rocks. A third party formed a barricade six feet high, across the end of
+the bridge, and also two breastworks, each fifty yards away on either
+side, so as to flank the approaches to the other end and the bridge. The
+troops were extended along the hillsides, one battalion on each side of
+the defile, under the shelter of the rocks and brush.
+
+While these preparations were being made, the horses were taken up to the
+top of the hills by some paths known to the peasants of a little village
+near the mouth of the defile, the women and children following them.
+Terence and Herrara had a consultation, and then the former called Bull
+and Macwitty to him.
+
+"Now," he said, "you understand that while we will defend this defile as
+long as we can, we will run no risk of a defeat that might end in a rout.
+We shall inflict heavy loss upon them before they can repair the bridge,
+and can certainly force their cavalry to remain quiet until they bring up
+their infantry. Colonel Herrara, you, with one company of the second
+battalion, will hold the village, and we shall sweep the column advancing
+along the bottom of the defile with a fire from each flank, while they
+will also be exposed to your fire in front. When they succeed in making
+their way up to within charging distance you will evacuate the village and
+join Macwitty on the hill.
+
+"They must attack us there on both sides, for no troops could march
+through until the hillsides are cleared. It is probable that they may do
+this before they attempt to attack the village, but in any case you must
+keep up a steady fire until they get within fifty yards of you, then
+retire up the hill, but leave a party to keep them in check until the rest
+have gained the crest and formed up in good order. By the time you do this
+they will have driven in your rear-guard. The French will be breathless
+with their exertions when they reach you. Wait till a considerable number
+have gained the crest, then, before they have time to form, pour a heavy
+volley into them and charge, and then sweep them with your fire until they
+reach the bottom. The next time they will no doubt attack in much greater
+force; in that case we will move quietly off without waiting for them, and
+will reunite at the village of Romar, five miles in the rear. If we find,
+as we near it, that the French are in possession, we will halt, and I will
+send orders to the second regiment as to what is to be done. If the force
+is not too great we will attack them at night."
+
+"How will you know where we shall be, sir?" Macwitty said.
+
+"I have arranged with Colonel Herrara that when you halt you shall light
+two fires a short distance from each other. I will reply by lighting one,
+and the fires are then to be extinguished."
+
+This being arranged, Terence went down and applied a match to the train,
+and then retired at a run. Three minutes later there was a heavy
+explosion, rocks flew high in the air, and when the smoke cleared away, a
+cheer from the hillside told that the explosion had been successful.
+Terence returned to the bridge; a considerable portion of the arch had
+been blown away, and putting fifty men to work, the gap was soon carried
+across the road and widened, so that there was a chasm twelve feet across.
+The parties who were to man the breastworks were now posted. Terence
+himself took the command here. The defenders consisted of a company of
+Bull's battalion.
+
+Half an hour later a deep sound was heard, and as it grew louder the head
+of a column of cavalry was seen approaching. The whole of the force on the
+hillsides were hidden behind rocks or brushwood; not a head was shown
+above the breastworks. The cavalry, however, halted, and an officer with
+four men rode forward. When within fifty yards of the bridge a volley of
+twenty muskets flashed out from the work behind it. The officer and three
+men fell, the other galloped back to the main body. He had seen nothing
+beyond the fact that there was a breastwork across the road, and
+Franceschi, thinking that he had but a small force of peasants in front of
+him, ordered a squadron to charge, and clear the obstacle.
+
+As before, they were allowed to approach to within fifty yards of the
+bridge, when from the breastwork in front, and the two side redoubts a
+storm of musketry was poured into them. The effect was terrible; the head
+of the squadron was swept away, but a few men charged forward until close
+to the break in the bridge. Most of these fell, but a few galloped back,
+and the remains of the squadron then trotted off in good order.
+
+No further movement took place for an hour, and then a body of infantry,
+some two thousand strong, appeared. As they passed the cavalry, the first
+two companies were thrown out in skirmishing order, and were soon swarming
+down towards the stream. The banks of this, although very steep, were not
+impassable by infantry, and the defenders of the two side redoubts spread
+themselves out along the bank, and, as the skirmishers approached, opened
+fire.
+
+For a time the rattle of firearms was incessant. When the main body of
+French infantry had, as their commander thought, ascertained the strength
+of the defenders, they advanced in solid order until near the bridge, and
+then wheeled off on either flank and advanced with loud shouts. A horn was
+sounded, and from the hillsides near a scattering fire of musketry opened
+at once. The French, however, pushed forward without a pause. Terence's
+horn sounded again, the men fell back from the bank, and the whole company
+ran at full speed across the narrow valley, and took their place with
+their comrades on the hillside.
+
+The French crossed the stream under a heavy fire, and, dividing into two
+portions, prepared to assault both hills simultaneously. The combat was
+obstinate, the French suffered heavily, but pushed their way up
+unflinchingly. The Portuguese, encouraged by the shouts of their officers,
+held their ground obstinately, retreating only at the sound of their
+horns, and renewing the combat a short distance higher up. Being sheltered
+by the rocks behind which they lay, their loss was but trifling in
+comparison to that of the French, who were forced to expose themselves as
+they advanced, and whose numbers dwindled so rapidly that when half-way up
+they were on both sides brought to a stand-still, and then, taking shelter
+behind the rocks, they maintained the contest on more equal terms.
+
+But by this time a column of 4,000 men was marching down to the stream,
+and, dividing like the first, climbed the hills. The Portuguese now fell
+back more rapidly, their fire slackened, and the French, with loud shouts,
+pressed up the hill. Presently the resistance ceased altogether, and,
+firing as they advanced at the flying figures, of whom they caught an
+occasional glimpse, the French pressed forward as rapidly as the nature of
+the ground would permit, cheering loudly. At last they reached the top of
+the hill, and the leaders paused in doubt as they saw before them some
+eleven or twelve hundred men drawn up in line four deep at a distance of
+fifty yards. Every moment added to the number of the French, and as they
+arrived their officers tried to form them into order. When their numbers
+about equalled those of the Portuguese, two heavy volleys were poured into
+them, and then, with loud shouts, the Portuguese rushed at them with
+levelled bayonets.
+
+The charge was irresistible. The French were hurled over the crest and
+went down the hill, carrying confusion and dismay among those climbing up.
+The Portuguese pressed them hotly, giving them no time to rally, and
+forcing them down to the bottom of the hill without a check. Then at the
+signal they fell back to the post that they had held at the beginning of
+the fight. The success was equal on both hillsides, and the regiments
+cheered each other's victory with shouts which rose high above the roar of
+musketry. With their usual discipline, the French speedily rallied, in
+spite of the heavy fire that from both sides swept their ranks, and they
+prepared, when joined by another regiment which was approaching at the
+double to their assistance, to renew the assault.
+
+Terence saw that, this time, the odds would be too great to withstand. His
+horn sounded the retreat, and the Portuguese turned to make their way up
+the hill just as a French battery opened fire. Sheltered among the rocks,
+the infantry below were unconscious of the movement, for on either side a
+company had been left to continue their fire until the main body gained
+the top of the hill, when they too were summoned by the horns to fall
+back. The wounded had been all taken up the hill, and were laid in
+blankets and carried off by their comrades. As the two regiments marched
+away from the crest of the defile the soldiers were in the highest
+spirits. They had repulsed with heavy loss a French force of three times
+their own strength, and they greeted Terence and Bull, as they rode
+together along the column, with enthusiastic cheers.
+
+The wounded, which in the first battalion numbered forty-three, were
+despatched with a party a hundred strong to a village four miles away
+among the mountains, and the regiment marched on until it reached the
+point agreed upon.
+
+Two men were sent forward to reconnoitre the village, and returned with
+the report that it had already been occupied by a very strong force of
+French cavalry. Half an hour later two wreaths of smoke rose on the
+opposite hill. Sticks had been gathered in readiness, and the answering
+signal was at once made. Two minutes later the smoke ceased to rise on
+either side. Terence now received the reports of the captains of the six
+companies, and found that fifteen men had been killed, and that his
+strength was thus reduced by fifty-eight. The men were now told that they
+could lie down, the companies keeping together so as to be ready for
+instant action.
+
+Trifling wounds, of which there were some two or three and twenty, were
+then attended to and bandaged. Some of these were quite serious enough to
+have warranted the men falling out, but the delight and pride they felt at
+their success had been so great that they had refused to be taken off with
+their disabled comrades. Terence made a round of the troops and addressed
+a few words to each company, praising their conduct, and thanking them for
+the readiness and quickness with which they had obeyed his orders.
+
+"You see, my lads," he said, "what can be done by discipline. Had it not
+been for the steady drill you have had ever since we marched, we could not
+have hoped to oppose the French, and I should not have ventured to have
+done so. Now, you see, you have proved that you are as brave as the enemy,
+and not only have you beaten them with heavy loss, but the effect of this
+fight will be to render them more cautious in future and slower in their
+movements, and the news of the blow you have struck will inspirit your
+countrymen everywhere."
+
+Having nothing else to do until after darkness fell, Terence, after
+finishing his round, sat down and added an account of the fight to the
+report he had written up at their last halting-place. This was written in
+duplicate, one copy being intended for General Cradock, and the other for
+the Portuguese authorities at Oporto. Outposts had been thrown out towards
+the village as soon as they halted, and after opening their haversacks,
+eating a meal, and quenching their thirst at a little rivulet that ran
+down to the village, the men lay down to sleep, tired with their long
+night's march and the excitement of the battle.
+
+Terence was no exception to the general rule, for although he had had his
+horse, yet for the greater part of the distance he had marched on foot, as
+the ruggedness of the ground traversed had in most places been too great
+to travel in safety on horseback in the dark. When night fell all were on
+their feet again, refreshed by a long sleep. Two men were now sent down to
+reconnoitre the village again. They reported that it was still occupied by
+the cavalry. The infantry, as they could see by the fires along the road,
+had bivouacked there, and one regiment at least had passed through the
+village and had occupied the road ahead.
+
+Terence had already written out his instructions to Herrara in triplicate,
+and three men were despatched with these. They were warned to be extremely
+careful, for the men who had first been sent, had reported that the French
+had posted sentries out on their flanks. One of the messengers was to make
+a long detour to cross the road half a mile ahead of the French, and then
+to make his way along on the opposite hillside to the spot where Herrara
+was posted. The other two were to make their way as best they could
+through the village. The pieces of paper they carried were rolled up into
+little balls, and they were ordered that, if noticed and an alarm given,
+these were at once to be swallowed.
+
+Soon after ten o'clock the regiment formed up. Terence had given detailed
+orders to the captain of each company. These were instructed to call up
+their men twenty at a time, and to explain their orders to them, so that
+every man should know exactly what to do. No sound had been heard in the
+village, and Terence felt sure that Herrara must have received his orders,
+and at a quarter past ten he with one company moved slowly down towards
+the village; Bull, with the main body of the force, marching westward
+along the hills. Six men had volunteered for the service of silencing the
+French outposts, and these, leaving their muskets behind, stole forward in
+advance of the company, which halted at some little distance from the
+French centre.
+
+In a quarter of an hour they returned. Eight French sentries had been
+surprised and killed, the Portuguese crawling up to them until near enough
+to spring upon and stab them without the slightest alarm being given. The
+company now moved silently forward again until within a hundred yards of
+the village, when they halted until the church clock struck eleven. Then
+they rushed down into the village. As they entered it shots were fired,
+and an outcry rose from the other side, showing that Herrara had managed
+matters as well as they had. The surprise was complete; the street was
+full of horses, while the soldiers had taken shelter in the houses. A
+scene of the wildest confusion ensued. The horses were shot, for it was
+most important to cripple this most formidable arm of the French service,
+and the men were attacked as they poured out of the houses.
+
+Bull, with a hundred men, made his way straight to the upper end of the
+village and repelled the desperate attempts of a squadron of horse that
+were posted beyond it in readiness for action, to break through to the
+assistance of their comrades, while Terence and Herrara, each with a
+hundred men, held the road at the lower end of the village to check an
+infantry attack there. It was not long before it was delivered. The French
+infantry, disciplined veterans, accustomed to surprises, had sprung to
+their feet when the first shot was fired, and forming instantly into
+column, came on at a run, led by their officers. Terence, with fifty men,
+four deep, barred the way across the road; the rest of his men were
+stationed along the high ground flanking it on one side, while Herrara
+with his hundred flanked the opposite side.
+
+As the French came on the Portuguese on the high ground remained silent
+and unnoticed, but when a flash of fire ran across the road and a deadly
+volley was poured in upon the enemy, those on the flanks at once opened
+fire. For a moment the column paused in surprise, and then opened fire at
+their unseen assailants, whose fire was causing such gaps in the ranks.
+The colonel and several other officers who had been at its head had
+fallen; in the din no orders could be heard, and for some minutes the head
+of the column wasted away under the rain of bullets. Then a general
+officer dashed up, and another body of Frenchmen came along at a run.
+Terence's horn rang out loudly; the signal was repeated in the village,
+the fire instantly ceased, and when the French column rushed into the
+place not a foe was to be seen, but the street was choked up by dead
+horses and men.
+
+These reinforcements did not pause, but making their way over the
+obstacles pressed on to where a roar of fire in front showed how hotly the
+advance-guard was engaged. Here the surprise had been rather less
+complete. Some of the outposts had given the alarm, and the French were on
+their feet before, after pouring terrible volleys into them, a thousand
+men fell upon them on either side. Great numbers of the French fell under
+the fire, and the long line was broken up into sections by the impetuous
+rush of the Portuguese. Nevertheless, the French soldiers hung together,
+and the combat raged desperately until the head of the relieving column
+came up. Then, as suddenly as before, the attack ceased. Not a gun was
+fired, and, as if by magic, their assailants stole away into the darkness,
+while the French opened a random fire after them.
+
+An hour later the two Portuguese regiments united on the road two miles in
+advance of the village. Their loss had been eighty-four killed and a
+hundred and fifty wounded, of which seventy were serious cases. These
+were, as before, sent off to be cared for in the mountain villages. The
+French loss, as Terence afterward heard, had been very heavy; three
+hundred of the cavalry had been killed, and upwards of four hundred
+infantry. Great was the enthusiasm when the two regiments met, and after a
+short halt marched away together into the hills and encamped in a wood two
+miles from the road.
+
+"What next, Generalissimo?" Herrara, whose left arm had been broken by a
+bullet, asked.
+
+"I think that we have done enough for the present," Terence said. "We will
+leave it to the rest of the army to do a little fighting now. We have
+lost, in killed and wounded, some two hundred men, and I don't wish to see
+the whole force dwindle away. I propose that we do not go near Braga. I
+have no idea of putting myself under the command of Friere; I have seen
+enough of him already. So we will travel by by-roads till we get near
+Oporto, then we will find out how matters stand there. My own idea is that
+when the French army approaches, the Junta's courage will ooze out of its
+finger ends, and that the 50,000 peasants, which it calls an army, will
+bolt at the first attack of the French. So, as I don't mean to be trapped
+there, we will rest on our laurels until we see how matters go."
+
+It was well for the corps that Terence abstained from joining the army at
+Braga. As the French entered the pass of Benda Nova, the peasants rushed
+furiously down upon them. Many broke into the French columns, and fighting
+desperately, were slain. The survivors made their way up the hillside, and
+then making a detour, fell upon the rear of the column, killed fifty
+stragglers and plundered the baggage. This spontaneous action of the
+peasants was the only attempt made to bar the advance of the French, and
+Friere permitted them to pass through defile after defile without firing a
+shot. His conduct aroused the fury of his troops, and the feeling was
+fanned by agents of the bishop, who had now become jealous of him, and his
+men rushing upon him dragged him from a house in which he had taken
+refuge, and slew him--a fit end to the career of a man who had proved
+himself as unpatriotic as he was incapable.
+
+On the 18th Soult arrived near Braga, and the Portuguese, who were now
+commanded by Eben, a German officer in the British service, drew up to
+meet him. The French began their advance on the 20th, and half an hour
+later the Portuguese army was a mob of fugitives. The vanquished army lost
+4,000 men and all their guns, 400 only being taken prisoners; the rest
+dispersed in all directions, carrying tales of the invincibility of the
+French. Had it not been for the stout resistance offered by 3,000 men,
+placed on a position in the rear commanding the road, which checked the
+pursuit of the cavalry and enabled the fugitives to make off, scarce a man
+of the Portuguese would have escaped to tell the tale.
+
+Terence had approached Oporto, and encamped in a large wood, when the
+fugitives brought him news of the crushing defeat that they had suffered.
+The soldiers were so furious when they heard of the disgraceful rout, that
+Terence and Herrara had difficulty in preventing them from killing the
+fugitives. The result strengthened his position. The troops on arriving at
+their present camping-place were eager to be led into Oporto. Terence and
+Herrara had talked the matter over several times, and agreed that such a
+step might be fatal. Standing, as this town did, on the north side of the
+river, the only means of leaving it was the bridge of boats, and if
+anything happened to this all retreat would be cut off.
+
+The defeat at Braga at once confirmed their opinion that the army of
+peasants that the bishop had gathered round Oporto would be able to make
+but little resistance to the French attack.
+
+"It would be terrible," Herrara said; "50,000 fugitives, and a great
+portion of the inhabitants of the town, all struggling to cross the
+bridge, with the French cavalry pressing on their rear, and the French
+artillery playing upon them. It is not to be thought of."
+
+The troops, however, had been full of confidence in the valour of their
+countrymen, and from their own success against the French believed that
+the army at Braga would certainly defeat Soult, and there had been some
+dissatisfaction that they had not been permitted to take part in the
+victory. The news brought by the fugitives at once dissipated the hopes
+that they had entertained. They saw that their commander had acted wisely
+in refusing to join the army there, and their feeling of contempt for the
+undisciplined ordenancas and peasants equalled the confidence they had
+before reposed in them. Terence ordered the two regiments to form into a
+hollow square and addressed them.
+
+"Soldiers," he said, "I know that it was a disappointment to you that I
+did not take you to Braga. Had I done so, not one of you would have
+escaped, for when the rest fled like a flock of sheep you could not alone
+have withstood the attack of the whole French army. I know that you wish
+to enter Oporto. I have withstood that wish, and now you must see that I
+was right in doing so. The peasants gathered in its defence are even less
+disciplined than those at Braga, and Soult will, after two or three
+minutes' fighting, capture the place. Were you there you could not prevent
+such a result. You might hold the spot at which you were stationed, but if
+the French broke in at any other point you would be surrounded and killed
+to a man. What use would that be to Portugal? You can do more good by
+living and fighting another day.
+
+"Even if you should fall back with the other fugitives, what chance of
+safety would there be? You know that there is but one bridge of boats
+across the river, and that will soon be blocked by a panic-stricken crowd,
+and your chance of crossing would be slight indeed. The men who fought at
+Braga, those men who will fight before Oporto, are no more cowards than
+you are, and had they gained as much discipline as you have, I would march
+down with you at once and join in the defence. But a mob cannot withstand
+disciplined troops. When the Portuguese have learned to be soldiers, they
+may fight with a hope of success; until then it is taking them to
+slaughter to set them in line of battle against the French. Soult may be
+here in twenty-four hours, therefore I propose to march you down to the
+river above Oporto. We are sure to find boats there, and we will cross at
+once to the other side and encamp near the suburb at the south end of the
+bridge, and when the fugitives pour over we will take our station there,
+cover their retreat, and prevent the French from crossing in pursuit."
+
+A murmur of satisfaction broke from the soldiers and swelled into a shout.
+Soon after evening fell the corps marched from the wood, and two hours
+later came down on the bank of the Douro. As Terence anticipated, there
+were plenty of fishermen's boats hauled up, and the regiments passed over
+by companies. By three in the morning all were across, and by five they
+encamped in a wood beyond the steep hill rising behind the Villa Nova
+suburb, on the left bank of the river. As soon as he had seen the soldiers
+settled Terence borrowed the clothes of one of the men, and putting these
+on instead of his uniform, he sent for Bull and Macwitty, and the two
+soldiers soon arrived. They looked in astonishment at their officer.
+
+"I am going into the town," he said, "partly to judge for myself of the
+state of things there, and partly on a little private business of my own.
+It is possible that I may get into trouble. I hope that I shall not do so,
+but it is as well to be prepared for any emergency that might happen. If,
+then, I do not return, you are to look to Colonel Herrara for orders. When
+the French enter Oporto, which I am certain they will do as soon as they
+attack it, you may gather your men at this end of the bridge, cover the
+retreat, and repulse all efforts of the French to cross. As soon as those
+attempts have ceased, you will march with the two regiments for Coimbra,
+and report yourselves to the officer commanding there. Here are my
+despatches to the general, in which I have done full justice to your
+bravery and your conduct. Here is also a note to the officer commanding at
+Coimbra. I have spoken to him about your conduct, and have asked him to
+allow you to continue with the Portuguese until an order is received from
+Sir John Cradock. I have given Colonel Herrara a duplicate of my
+despatches and official orders, in case you should be killed."
+
+"Cannot we go with you, sir?" Bull asked.
+
+"I don't think so, Bull. Dress as you might, you could hardly be taken for
+anything but an Englishman. Your walk and your complexion, to say nothing
+of your hair, would betray you both at once. The first person who happened
+to address you would discover that you were not natives, and the chances
+are he would denounce you, and that you would be torn to pieces before you
+could offer any explanation. Now, I think that I can pass readily enough.
+The wind and rough weather have brought me to nearly the right colour, and
+I know how to speak Portuguese well enough to ask any question without
+exciting suspicion."
+
+"But why not take two of the men with you?" Macwitty said. "They could do
+any talking that was necessary; and should anyone suggest that you are not
+a native, they could declare that you were a comrade from their own
+village."
+
+Bull strongly approved of the suggestion, and Terence, though in some
+respects he would rather have been alone, at last agreed to it.
+
+"They may as well take their arms; not for use, but to give them the
+appearance of two men from the camp who had come down to make purchases in
+the city."
+
+Daylight was just breaking as the three crossed the bridge of boats into
+the town, and passed through it up the hill to the great camp that had
+been established there. It covered a large extent of ground, and contained
+tents sufficient for the whole of the 50,000 men assembled. A short
+distance away was the line of intrenchments on which the peasants had been
+for some weeks engaged. They consisted of forts crowning a succession of
+rounded hills, and connected by earthen ramparts, loopholed houses,
+ditches, and an abattis of felled trees. No less than two hundred guns
+were in place on the forts. It was a position that two thousand good
+troops should have been able to hold against an army.
+
+"It is a strong position," Terence said to the two men with him.
+
+"Yes, the French can never pass that," one of them said, exultingly.
+
+"That we shall see. They ought not to, certainly, but whether they will or
+not is another matter."
+
+They wandered about for a couple of hours. Once one of the Portuguese
+joined a group of peasants, and learned from them something of the state
+of things in the town, representing that they had but just arrived.
+
+"You are lucky. You will see how we shall destroy the French army. Our
+guns will sweep them away. Every man in the town is full of confidence,
+and the traitors are all trembling in their houses. When the news of the
+business at Braga came yesterday, and we learned the treachery of our
+generals, the people rose, dragged fifteen suspected men of rank from the
+prison and killed them. There is not a day that some of these traitors are
+not rooted out."
+
+"That is well," the other said; "it is traitors that have brought us to
+this pass."
+
+"You will see how we shall fight when the French come. The bishop himself
+has promised to come out in his robes to give us his blessing, and to call
+down the wrath of heaven on the French infidels."
+
+After having finished his survey of the line, Terence returned to the
+city, and following the instructions that he had received as to the
+situation of the convent at Santa Maria, he was not long in finding it. It
+was a massive building; the windows of the two lower stories were closely
+barred. He could not see any way of opening communications with his
+cousin, or of devising any way of escape. He, however, thought that it
+might possibly be managed if he could send in a rope to her and a pulley,
+with means of fixing it; in that way he could lower her to the ground. But
+all this would be very difficult to manage, even if he had ample time at
+his disposal, and in the present circumstances it was altogether
+impossible. He stared at the house for a long time in silence, but no idea
+came to him, and it was with a feeling of hopelessness that he recrossed
+the bridge and rejoined the troops.
+
+"I am glad to see you back, sir," Bull said, heartily. "I have been in a
+funk all this morning that something might happen to you."
+
+"It has all gone off quietly. I will now tell you and Macwitty what my
+business here is. I may need your help, and it is a matter in which none
+of the Portuguese would dare to offer me any assistance."
+
+"I think they would do maist anything for you, sir," Mac-witty said. "They
+have that confidence in you, they would go through fire and water if you
+were to lead them."
+
+"They would do almost anything but what I want done now. I have a cousin,
+a young lady, who is an heiress to a large fortune. Her father is dead,
+and her mother, a wealthy land-owner, has had her shut up in a convent,
+where they are trying to force her, against her will, to become a nun. She
+is kept a prisoner, on bread and water, until she consents to sign a paper
+surrendering all her rights. Now, what I want to do is to get her out. It
+cannot be done by force; that is out of the question. It is a strong
+building, and even if the men would consent to attack a convent, which
+they would not do, all the town would be up, and we should have the whole
+populace on us. So that force is out of the question. Now, the French are
+sure to take the place. When they do, there will be an awful scene. They
+will be furious at the resistance they have met with, and at the losses
+that they have suffered. They will be maddened, and reasonably, by the
+frightful tortures inflicted upon prisoners who have fallen into the hands
+of the Portuguese, and you may be sure that for some time no quarter will
+be given. The soldiers will be let loose upon the city, and there will be
+no more respect for a convent than a dwelling-house. You may imagine how
+frightfully anxious I am. If it had not been for the French I would have
+let the matter stand until our army entered Oporto, but as it is, I must
+try and do something; and, as far as I can see, the only chance will be in
+the frightful confusion that will take place when the French enter the
+town."
+
+"We will stand by you, Mr. O'Connor, you may be sure. You have only got to
+tell us what to do, and you may trust us to do it."
+
+Macwitty, who was a man of few words, nodded. "Mr. O'Connor knows that,"
+he said.
+
+"Thank you both," Terence said, heartily. "I must think out my plan, and
+when I have decided upon it I will let you know."
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+AN ESCAPE
+
+During his visit to the other side of the river Terence had seen, with
+great satisfaction, that a powerful battery, mounting fifty guns, had been
+erected on the heights of Villa Nova, and its fire, he thought, should
+effectually bar any attempt of the French to cross the bridge.
+
+It would indeed be madness for them to attempt such an operation, as the
+boats supporting the bridge could be instantly sunk by the concentrated
+fire of the battery. He said nothing of this on his return to camp, as it
+might have given rise to fresh agitation among the men, were they to be
+aware that their presence was not really required for the defence of the
+bridge. After a short stay in camp he again went down into the town, with
+the idea that he was more likely to hit upon some plan of action there
+than he would be in the camp.
+
+The two men again went with him. Another prolonged stare at the convent
+failed to inspire him with any scheme that was in the slightest degree
+practicable. He fell back upon the conclusion he had mentioned to the two
+troopers, that the only chance would be to take advantage of the wild
+confusion that would prevail upon the entry of the French. The difficulty
+that presented itself to him was, that the nuns would be so appalled by
+the approach of the French that it would be unlikely that they would think
+of leaving the protection--such as it was--of the convent, and would
+shrink from encountering the wild turmoil in the streets. Even if they did
+so, it would be too late for them to have any chance of getting across the
+bridge, which would be thronged to a point of suffocation by the mob of
+fugitives, and might readily be destroyed by one or two of the boats being
+sunk by the French artillery.
+
+The one thing evident was, that he must arrange to get a boat and to
+station it at the end of some street going down to the river from the
+neighbourhood of the convent. That part of the city being some distance
+from the bridge, the streets would soon be deserted, and there would not
+be a wild rush of fugitives to the boat, which would be the case were it
+to be lying alongside anywhere near the bridge. Upon the other hand, it
+would be less likely that the nuns would leave the convent if all was
+comparatively quiet in that neighbourhood, and did they do so it would be
+difficult in the extreme to carry off his cousin from their midst,
+ignorant, too, as he was of her appearance. After looking for some time at
+the convent, he returned to the more busy part of the town. Presently he
+heard a great shouting; every window opened, and he saw a crowd coming
+along the street. By the candles, banners, crucifixes, and canopies it was
+evident that it was a religious procession. He was about to turn off into
+a side street when the thought struck him that possibly it was the bishop
+himself on his way up to the camp; therefore he remained in his place,
+doffed his hat, and, like all around him, went down on one knee.
+
+The procession was a long and stately one, and in the midst, walking
+beneath a canopy, came the bishop himself. Terence gazed at him fixedly in
+order to impress on his mind the features of the man whose ambition had
+cost Portugal so dearly, and at whose instigation so much blood of the
+most honest and capable men of the province had been shed. The face fully
+justified the idea that he had formed of the man. The bishop was of
+commanding presence, and walked with the air of one who was accustomed to
+see all bow before him; but on the other hand, the face bore traces of his
+violent character. There was a set smile on his lips, but his brow was
+heavy and frowning, while his receding chin contradicted the strength of
+the upper part of his face. There was, too, a look of anxiety and
+restlessness betrayed by a nervous twitching of the lips.
+
+"The scoundrel is a coward," Terence said to himself. "He may profess
+absolute confidence, but I don't think he feels it, and I will bet odds
+that he won't be in the front when the time for fighting comes."
+
+Terence walked away after the procession had passed.
+
+"If one could get hold of the bishop," he said to himself, "one might get
+an order on the superior of the convent to hand over Mary O'Connor to the
+bearer, but I don't see how that can possibly be managed. Of course, he is
+surrounded by priests and officials all day, and his palace will be
+guarded by any number of soldiers, for he must have many enemies. There
+must be scores of relatives of men who have been killed by his orders, who
+would assassinate him, bishop though he is, had they the chance. And even
+if I got an order--and it seems to me impossible to do so--it would not be
+made out in the name of Mary O'Connor. I know that they change their names
+when they go into nunneries, and she may be Sister Angela or Cecilia, or
+anything else, and I should not know in the slightest degree whether the
+name he put down was the one that she really goes by. No, that idea is out
+of the question."
+
+Returning to the camp, he held counsel with Herrara. The latter, he knew,
+had none of the bigotry so general among his countrymen. He had before
+told him about his cousin being shut up against her will, and of the
+letter that she had thrown out, but had hitherto said nothing of his
+intention to bring about her escape if possible.
+
+"I had an idea that that was what was in your mind when you went off so
+early this morning, O'Connor. I have a high respect for the Church, but I
+have no respect for its abuses. And the shutting up of a young lady, and
+forcing her to take the veil in order to rob her of her property, is as
+hateful to me as it can be to you, so that I should have no hesitation in
+aiding you in your endeavour to bring about her escape. Have you formed
+any plan?"
+
+"No; I have thought it over again and again, but cannot think of any
+scheme."
+
+"If that is the case, O'Connor, I fear that it is useless for me to try to
+do so; you are so full of ideas always, that if you cannot see your way
+out of the difficulty, it is hopeless to expect that I could do so. If you
+can contrive any plan I will promise to aid you in any way you can point
+out, but as to inventing one, I should never do so if I racked my brain
+ever so much."
+
+"There must be some way," Terence said. "I used to get into all sorts of
+scrapes when I was a boy, but found there was always some way out of them,
+if one could but hit upon it. The only thing that I can think of, is to
+carry her off in the confusion when the French enter the town."
+
+"I should say that the nuns would never think of leaving their convent,
+O'Connor; it is their best hope of safety to remain there."
+
+"No doubt it is, but the French don't always respect the convents--very
+much the contrary, indeed. No, I don't think that they would go out merely
+to rush into the street; but they might go out if they thought they could
+get over the bridge before the French arrived."
+
+"They might do that, certainly; indeed, it would be the best thing they
+could do."
+
+"Do you think that if one were to dress up as a priest, or as one of the
+bishop's attendants, and to go as from him with an order to the lady
+superior to take the nuns at once across the bridge to the convent on the
+other side, she would obey it?"
+
+"Not without some written order," Herrara said. "The bishop would
+naturally send someone who would be known to her, or if he did send a
+stranger he would give him a letter or some token she would recognize;
+otherwise, she could not know that it was his order."
+
+"That is what I was afraid of, Herrara, but it is what I shall try, if I
+can see no other way. Indeed, I see only one chance of getting over the
+difficulty. The bishop is a tyrant of the worst kind. Now, as far as I can
+remember, tyrants of his sort--that is to say, tyrants who rule by working
+on the passions of the mob--are always cowards. I watched the bishop
+closely when I saw him to-day, and I am convinced he is one also. Even in
+that kneeling crowd he could not conceal it. There was a nervous twitching
+about his lips which, to my mind, showed that he was in a state of intense
+anxiety, and that under all his swagger and show of confidence he was,
+nevertheless, in a horrible state of alarm. That being so, it seems to me
+extremely likely that when the fighting begins he will make a bolt of it.
+He won't wait for the French to enter, for he would know well enough that
+in their fury at their defeat, the fugitives, if they came upon him, would
+be likely to tear him limb from limb, just as they have murdered dozens of
+infinitely better men; so I think that he will make off beforehand. I
+imagine that he will go secretly, and with only two or three attendants."
+
+"But you could never carry him off without an alarm being raised, if that
+is what you are thinking of, O' Connor."
+
+"No, I am not thinking of that; but if I could, say with Bull and
+Macwitty, suddenly attack him like three robbers, we might carry off
+something that would serve as a sort of passport to the lady abbess. For
+instance, he had a tremendously big ring on. I noticed it as he held up
+his hands, as if on purpose to show it off."
+
+"That was his episcopal ring," Herrara laughed. "Yes, if you could get
+hold of that, it would be a key that would open the door of any convent."
+
+"Do you think she would hand my cousin over to me if I showed it to her
+and gave her a message as from the bishop?"
+
+"Yes, if you knew the name. You see, from the day she was made a nun she
+lost her former name altogether; and certainly the bishop would send for
+her under her convent name."
+
+"That is what I was thinking myself. Then I must get them all out."
+
+"You have got to get the ring first," Herrara said with a smile.
+
+"Yes, yes, I mean if I get it."
+
+"But if the French have entered the town you can never get them across the
+bridge."
+
+"No, I know that. I mean to get a boat and have it lying off the end of
+some quiet street. I could put a couple of our men into that, for they
+would only regard it, when I had got her on board, as an effort on my part
+to save one of the nuns from the French. One thing to do would be to get
+the robe of a priest, or the dress of one of the bishop's officials."
+
+Herrara thought for some time. "I think that I could do that for you,
+O'Connor. Of course I have a good many acquaintances in Oporto, among them
+some ladies. I was intending to go across this evening and see some of
+them, and implore them to leave the town before it is too late. One of
+these friends of mine might buy some robes for me; a woman can do that
+sort of thing when a man cannot. She can pretend that she wants to buy the
+robe as a present for the parish priest, or her father confessor, or
+something of that sort. At any rate, it is worth trying."
+
+"It is, indeed, Herrara, and if you could manage it I should be greatly
+obliged to you."
+
+"I will go across at once. I expect Soult will be close up to-morrow
+morning, or at any rate the next day. It may be another couple of days
+before he gets his whole force concentrated, but in four days anyhow his
+shot will be rattling down into the town. I will go and see what I can do.
+You had better get one of my troopers to get the boat for you."
+
+Herrara did not return until early on the following morning.
+
+"I have managed it," he said, as Terence, who was getting very anxious
+about him, ran forward to meet him.
+
+"There is one family in Oporto whose eldest son is a brother officer of
+mine, and I have visited them here with him, and have met them several
+times at Lisbon. Indeed, I may tell you frankly that had it not been for
+the troubles, his sister would, ere this time, have been affianced to me.
+I had hoped that they had left the town before this, but they told me that
+any movement of that sort might bring disaster on them. Two of her
+brothers are in the army, and the bishop could not, therefore, pretend
+that the father was a traitor to the country; being an elderly man, the
+latter has in fact held aloof altogether from politics; but he is
+certainly not of the bishop's party, and the bishop considers that all who
+are not with him are against him. Had they attempted to leave the town
+there is no doubt he would have made it a pretext for arresting the
+father, and would certainly do so on the first opportunity. However, they
+quite believed that the great force that there is here would be sufficient
+to defend the fortifications, and were completely taken aback when I told
+them that I was absolutely convinced that the place would fall at the
+first attack of the French.
+
+"They agreed to make all preparations for leaving at once. Their horses
+have been seized, nominally that they should be used on the
+fortifications, but really, I have no doubt, to prevent their leaving. Of
+course I told them all about what we had been doing, in which they were
+intensely interested. For aught they know, their house may be watched; so
+they will come out in some of their servants' clothes. I told them that
+they must leave on the night before Soult made his attack. Of course he
+will summon the town, and the bishop will, of course, refuse to surrender,
+and you may be sure the French will attack on the following day. They left
+me alone with Lorenza for a time, and I took that opportunity of telling
+her about your plan, and what you wanted, and she promised to procure you
+the dress of an ecclesiastic to-morrow. I told her that you were about my
+size and height.
+
+"She knew your cousin personally, and was very fond of her, and therefore
+entered all the more readily into our plans to get her out. She said that
+she disappeared suddenly some months ago, and that her mother had given
+out that she had been suddenly seized with the determination to enter a
+convent, much against her own wishes. Lorenza felt sure that this was not
+true, for she knew that your cousin had heard from her father much about
+the Reformed religion, and was in her heart disposed that way. The mother
+is engaged to be married to a nobleman who is one of the bishop's warmest
+supporters, and the general idea was that Mary O'Connor had been forced
+into a nunnery against her will. I sat talking with them until late last
+night, and they would not hear of my leaving, especially as they said that
+the town was full of bands of ruffians, who traversed the streets,
+attacking and robbing anyone of respectable appearance. As I had rather a
+fancy to try what a comfortable bed was like again, I did not need much
+pressing."
+
+"Thank you greatly, Herrara, I am indeed obliged to you; things seem to
+look really hopeful. I have arranged with Bull and Macwitty that on the
+evening before the attack is likely to take place we will watch all night
+at this end of the bridge. The bishop won't leave until the last thing,
+but I would wager any money he will do so that night. He won't go farther
+than Villa Nova, so as to be ready to cross again at once if the news
+comes that the French have been beaten off. No doubt he will make the
+excuse that as an ecclesiastic he could take no active part in the
+defence, but had been engaged in prayer, which had done more towards
+gaining the victory than his presence could possibly have done."
+
+"I should not be surprised if that should be his course," Herrara said,
+smiling. "At any rate, for your sake I hope that it will be. Have you seen
+about a boat?"
+
+"Yes, I spoke to Francesco Nortis yesterday evening, and told him that I
+wanted to hire a boat with two boatmen for the next week. They were to be
+at his service night and day. He was to tell them that he would not want
+it for fishing, but that, in case, by any possibility, the French took the
+town, he should be able to go across and bring some friends over. When I
+told him that money was no object, he said that there would be no
+difficulty about it. They will be glad enough to get a good week's pay and
+next to nothing to do for it."
+
+Two days passed quietly. On the first day the news arrived that Silveira
+had invested Chaves on the day of the battle of Braga, and had forced the
+garrison, which consisted of but a hundred fighting men, with twelve
+hundred sick, to capitulate.
+
+Day after day news came of the advance of the French. They had moved in
+three columns. Each had met with a stout resistance, but had carried the
+passes and bridges after severe loss. One of the columns had been held for
+some time in check at the Ponte D'Ave, but had carried it at last,
+whereupon the Portuguese had murdered their general and dispersed.
+
+On the 26th, six days after the battle of Braga, Franceschi's cavalry were
+seen approaching the position in front of Oporto. The alarm bells rung,
+the troops hurried to their positions, but the day passed off quietly, the
+confidence of the people being still further raised by the arrival of
+2,000 regular troops sent by Beresford to their assistance. As there were
+already seven or eight thousand regular troops in the camp, it seemed to
+all that as Soult had but 20,000 men fit for action, the defences ought to
+be held against him for any length of time. The majority, indeed, believed
+that he would not even venture to attack the town when upon his arrival he
+perceived its strength, especially when they knew that he had but a few
+guns with him, his park of artillery being still at Tuy, which was closely
+invested by the Spaniards.
+
+On the following day the whole French army settled down in front of the
+Portuguese works, and a wild and purposeless fire was now opened by the
+defenders, although the French were far beyond musket-range.
+
+Soult sent in a message to the bishop urging him to surrender. He assured
+him that resistance was hopeless, and that it was his earnest desire to
+save so great a city from the horrors of a storm. The message was sent by
+a prisoner, who was seized by the mob in spite of the flag of truce that
+he carried, and would have been murdered had he not assured the people
+that he came with a message from Soult, to the effect that, seeing the
+hopelessness of attacking the town or of marching back to the frontier in
+safety, he wished to negotiate for a surrender for himself and his army.
+
+At one point the Portuguese displayed a white flag, and shouted that they
+wished to surrender. A French general advanced with another officer, but
+when they reached the lines the Portuguese fell upon him, killed his
+companion, and carried the general a prisoner into the town. The
+negotiations were prolonged until evening, but the bishop declined all
+Soult's overtures, and the fire from the intrenchments continued. In the
+course of the evening Merle's division, in order to divert attention from
+the points Soult had fixed upon for the attack, moved towards the
+Portuguese left, when a tremendous fire of artillery and musketry opened
+upon it. The division made its way forward, and occupied some hollow
+ground which shielded it from fire, within a very short distance of the
+intrenchments. Feeling that the crisis was at hand, Terence had everything
+prepared. The boatmen were told that they might be required that night,
+and that they were to have the boat in readiness to start at any moment.
+Herrara had warned his friends, and went to their house with six of his
+men, as soon as it became dusk, to escort them over. Terence with his two
+troopers, clad in the dresses of two of the tallest of the men and wrapped
+in cloaks, with their broad hats pressed low down upon their foreheads,
+went down to the end of the bridge as soon as it became quite dark. The
+river was three hundred yards broad, but the sound of the confusion and
+alarm that prevailed in the city could be plainly heard, although the
+evening had set in rough and tempestuous. The shouts of the excited mob
+mingled with the clanging of the church bells.
+
+"That does not sound like confidence in victory," Terence remarked.
+
+"Quite the other way, sir. I should say that after all their bragging
+every man in the place is in a blue funk."
+
+A great many people, especially women with children, were making their way
+across the bridge. About nine o'clock a little knot of five or six men,
+following a tall figure, passed them.
+
+"That is the bishop," Terence whispered, and in pursuance of the orders
+that he had previously given them, the two men followed him as he fell in
+at a short distance behind the group. These turned off from the main road
+and took one that led up to the Serra Convent, standing on the crest of a
+rugged hill. As soon as they had passed beyond the houses at the foot of
+the hill, and the road was altogether deserted, Terence said to the men:
+
+"Now is our time. Do you take the attendants; I will manage the bishop."
+
+They moved forward quickly and silently until they were close to the
+group, then they dashed forward. As the startled attendants turned round
+the troopers fell upon them, and with heavy blows from their fists knocked
+them to the ground like nine-pins. The bishop turned round and shouted:
+
+"Villains, I am the bishop!"
+
+"I know that!" Terence exclaimed, and sprang at him.
+
+The prelate reeled and fell. Terence threw himself upon him, and seizing
+his hand wrested from it the episcopal ring. Then, upon seeing that the
+bishop had fainted, probably from fright, Terence leapt to his feet. The
+five attendants were lying on the ground.
+
+"All right, lads," he said, "we have got what we wanted, but just strip
+off one of these fellows' clothes. Take this one, he is a priest."
+
+It took but a minute for the two troopers to strip off the garment and
+pick up the three-cornered hat.
+
+"Now, come along, men."
+
+They reached the houses again without hearing so much as a cry from the
+astounded Portuguese, who as yet had but a vague idea of what had happened
+to them. The capture of the clothes had been rendered necessary by
+Herrara's report, two days before, that the young lady had failed to get
+the clothes, for the shopman had asked so many questions concerning them
+that she had said carelessly that it made no matter. She had intended to
+give them as a present and a surprise, but as there seemed a difficulty
+about it she would give money instead, and let the priest choose his own
+clothes. She had purposely entered a shop in the opposite end of the town
+from that in which her father lived, so that there would be less chance of
+her being recognized.
+
+Herrara said that she would try elsewhere, but Terence at once begged him
+to tell her not to do so.
+
+"The bishop is sure to have some of his priests with him," he said, "and
+if I rob him of his ring, I might just as well rob one of them of his
+clothes."
+
+On returning to the camp Terence found that his comrade had already
+arrived with a gentleman and three ladies. The tent had been given up for
+the use of the latter. Herrara had warned him not to say a word to the old
+gentleman of his adventure.
+
+"He and the others know nothing about it," he said, "and it is just as
+well that they shouldn't, for he is somewhat rigid in his notions, and
+might be rather horrified at your assaulting a bishop, however great a
+scoundrel he might be, and would be specially so at the borrowing of his
+ring."
+
+At twelve o'clock heavy peals of thunder were heard, followed by a
+tremendous outbreak of firing from the intrenchments, two hundred guns and
+a terrific musketry fire opening suddenly.
+
+"The French are attacking!" Herrara exclaimed.
+
+"I don't think so," Terence replied. "It is more likely to be a false
+alarm. The troops may have thought that the thunder was the roar of French
+guns. Soult would hardly make an attack at night, or, not knowing the
+nature of the ground behind the intrenchments, his men would be falling
+into confusion, and perhaps fire into each other."
+
+As, after a quarter of an hour of prodigious din, the fire slackened and
+presently ceased altogether, it was evident that this supposition was a
+correct one. The morning broke bright and still, and an hour later the
+cannonade began again. Terence at once, after telling Herrara to form the
+troops up and march them down to the end of the bridge, left the camp, and
+after proceeding a short distance took off his uniform and donned the
+attire of the ecclesiastic, and then hurried down into the town. He was
+accompanied by the two troopers in their peasant dress. These left him at
+the bridge. The din was now tremendous, every church bell was ringing
+furiously, and frightened women were already crowding down towards the
+bridge.
+
+Their point of crossing had already been decided upon--it was at the end
+of a street close to the convent, and when Terence reached the convent the
+two men were already standing at the end of the street, awaiting him.
+
+"Now, you do your part of the business and I will do mine," Terence said,
+and he moved forward to the door of the convent, where he would be unseen
+should anyone look out.
+
+The two troopers went to the middle of the street, opposite the window
+which the officer had described to Terence, and both shouted in a
+stentorian voice:
+
+"Mary O'Connor!"
+
+The shout was heard above the tumult of the battle and the din in the
+city, and a head appeared at the window and looked down with a bewildered
+expression.
+
+"Mary O'Connor," Bull shouted again, "a friend is here to rescue you. You
+will leave the convent directly with the rest. Look out for us."
+
+Then they walked on, and passed Terence.
+
+"Have you seen her face?"
+
+"We have, sir. We shall know her again, never fear."
+
+Terence now seized the bell and rung it vigorously. The door opened, and a
+terrified face appeared at the window.
+
+"I have a message from the bishop to the lady superior."
+
+The door was opened, and was at once closed and barred behind him. He was
+led along some passages to the room where the lady superior, pale and
+agitated, was awaiting him.
+
+"Have the French entered the intrenchments?" she asked.
+
+"I trust they have not entered yet, but they may do so at any moment. The
+bishop is at the Serra Convent, and from there has a view over the town to
+the intrenchments. He begs you to instantly bring the nuns across, for
+they will be in safety there, whereas no one can say what may happen in
+the town. Here is his episcopal ring in proof that I am the bearer of his
+orders I pray you to hasten, sister, for a crowd of fugitives are already
+pouring over the bridge, and there is not a moment to be lost."
+
+"The nuns are just coming down to prayer in the chapel, and we will start
+instantly."
+
+In two minutes upward of a hundred frightened women were gathered in the
+courtyard.
+
+"Are all here?" Terence asked the lady superior.
+
+"All of them."
+
+"I asked because I know that he is specially anxious that one, who is a
+sort of prisoner, should not fall into the hands of the French, as that
+might cause serious trouble."
+
+"I know whom you mean," and she called out "Sister Theresa!" There was no
+answer.
+
+
+[Illustration: "MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH HIS
+PISTOLS"]
+
+
+"It is well you asked," she said. "They have forgotten her." She gave
+orders to one of the sisters, who at once entered the house, and returned
+in a minute with a young nun. The door was now opened, and they moved out
+in procession. Terence could hear regular volleys amidst the roar of guns
+and the incessant crack of muskets.
+
+"I fear that they have entered the intrenchments," he said. "Hasten,
+sister, or we shall be too late."
+
+With hurried steps they passed along the deserted streets. As they neared
+the bridge a crowd of fugitives were hastening in that direction, and when
+they approached its head they found it blocked by a struggling mass.
+
+"What is to be done?" the lady superior asked in consternation.
+
+"We must wait a minute or two; they may clear off."
+
+But every second the crowd increased, and was soon thick behind them.
+Already the line of nuns was broken up by the pressure. Terence had kept
+his eyes on the two tall figures who had followed, at first behind them,
+and had then quickened their footsteps until abreast of the centre of the
+line, and to his satisfaction saw that they had one of the nuns between
+them, and were forcing their way with her through the crowd behind. At
+this moment a terrible cry arose from the crowd. A troop of Portuguese
+dragoons rode furiously down the street leading to the bridge, and dashed
+into the crowd, trampling down all in their way in their reckless terror,
+until they gained the end of the bridge. As they rode on to it, two of the
+boats, already low in the water from the weight upon them, gave a surge
+and sank, carrying with them hundreds of people. The crowd recoiled with a
+cry of horror.
+
+"There is no escape now, sister," Terence said; "go back to the convent."
+
+"Home, sisters!" she cried in a loud, shrill voice, that made itself heard
+even over the screams of the drowning people and the wails and cries of
+the mob.
+
+Terence placed himself before the lady superior, and by main force made a
+way through the crowd; which was the more easy as, seeing their only
+escape cut off, numbers were now beginning to disperse to their homes. The
+movement was converted into a wild rush when a troop of French cavalry
+came thundering down to the bridge. In a moment all was mad confusion and
+fright. The nuns followed their superior, and all thought of decorum being
+now lost, fled with her like a flock of frightened sheep along the street
+leading to the convent. Terence paused a moment. He saw that the French
+troopers threw themselves from their horses, and, all animosity being for
+the moment forgotten in the horror of the scene, set to work to endeavour
+to save the drowning wretches, regardless of the fire which, as soon as
+the French appeared, was opened by the battery on the height of Villa
+Nova.
+
+Then he sped away after the nuns, whom he soon passed. He turned down the
+street next to the convent, and, on reaching the end, saw the two troopers
+with a nun in a boat ten yards away. Macwitty was standing covering the
+two boatmen with his pistols.
+
+"Row back to the shore again," he roared out in English, "and take off
+that gentleman there." The men did not understand his words, but they
+understood his gestures, and a stroke or two took them alongside. Terence
+leapt in and told the men to row across the river.
+
+"This is an unexpected meeting, cousin," he said to the girl.
+
+"They have been telling me who you are, and how you have effected my
+rescue," she said, bursting into tears. "How can I thank you?"
+
+"Well, this is hardly a time for thanks," he said, "and I am as glad as
+you are that it has all turned out well. I will tell you all about it as
+soon as we are across."
+
+They were nearly over when he exclaimed to the troopers:
+
+"The French have repaired the bridge with planks. See, they are crossing!"
+
+They sprang out on reaching the opposite shore. A moment later a rattle of
+musketry broke out.
+
+"Macwitty," he said, "I will give this young lady into your charge. Take
+her straight up to the camp. There are three ladies there," he said to his
+cousin, "and in the tent they have some clothes for you to change into. It
+will not be long before I shall rejoin you. But I must join my regiment
+now; they are engaged with the enemy."
+
+As he hurried along with Bull, he could hear above the sound of the
+musketry the sharp crack of the field-guns from the opposite side of the
+river.
+
+"They are covering the passage, Bull."
+
+As he came up he found that Herrara had taken possession of the houses
+near the end of the bridge. A part of his troops filled the windows, while
+the main body lined the quay. The French were recoiling, but a mass of
+their troops could be seen at the further end of the bridge, and two field
+batteries were keeping up an incessant fire. Herrara was posted with a
+company at the end of the bridge.
+
+"We had better fall back, Herrara, before they form a fresh column of
+attack. We might repulse them again, but they will be able to cross by
+boats elsewhere, and we shall be taken in front and rear. Let us draw off
+in good order. The infantry will be sure to march straight against the
+battery on the hill behind, and it will be half an hour before the cavalry
+can cross, and by that time we shall be well on our way; whereas, if we
+stop here until we are taken in flank and rear, we shall be cut to
+pieces."
+
+"I quite agree with you," Herrara said, and ordered the man with the horn
+standing beside him to sound the retreat.
+
+The men near at once formed up and got in motion, those in the houses
+poured out, and in two minutes the whole force were going up the hill at a
+trot, but still preserving their order. Five minutes later the head of the
+French column poured over the bridge. Just as the troops reached the place
+of encampment the fire of the battery ceased suddenly.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+MARY O'CONNOR
+
+Never was a large force of men driven from a very strong position,
+carefully prepared and defended by a vast number of guns, so quickly and
+easily as were the Portuguese before Oporto. The bishop, after rejecting
+Soult's summons and disregarding his prayers to save the city from ruin,
+suddenly lost heart, and after all his boasting, slipped away after dark
+to the Serra Convent, leaving the command to the generals of the army. The
+feint which Soult had made with Merle's division the night before against
+the Portuguese left succeeded perfectly, the Portuguese massing their
+forces on that side to resist the expected attack.
+
+Soult's real intentions, however, were to break through the centre of the
+line and then to drive the Portuguese right and left away from the town,
+while he pushed a body of troops straight through the city to seize the
+bridge and thus cut off all retreat. Accordingly he commenced the attack
+on both wings. The Portuguese weakened their centre to meet these, and
+then the central division of the French rushed forward, burst through the
+intrenchments, and carried at once the two principal forts. Then two
+battalions marched into the town and made for the bridge, while the rest
+fell on the Portuguese rear. The French right carried in succession a
+number of forts, took fifty pieces of artillery, and drove off a great
+mass of the Portuguese from the town, while Merle met with equal success
+on the other flank. Half the Portuguese, therefore, were driven up the
+valley of the Douro, and the other half down towards the sea.
+
+Maddened by terror, some of them strove to swim across, others to get over
+in small boats. Lima, their general, shouted to them that the river was
+too wide to swim, and that those who took to boats would be shot down by
+the pursuing French. Whereupon his own troops turned upon him and murdered
+him, although the French were but a couple of hundred yards away; they
+then renewed their attempt to cross, and many perished. Similar scenes
+took place in the valley above the town, but here the French cavalry
+interposed between the panic-stricken fugitives and the river, and so
+prevented them throwing away their lives in the hopeless attempt to swim
+across. In the meantime incessant firing was going on in the city. The
+French column arriving at the bridge, after doing their best to rescue the
+drowning people, sacrificed to the heartless cowardice of the Portuguese
+cavalry, speedily repaired the break caused by the sinking boats and
+prepared to cross the river, while others scattered through the town.
+
+The inhabitants fired upon them from the roofs and windows, and two
+hundred men defended the bishop's palace to the last. Every house was the
+scene of conflict. The French on entering one of the principal squares
+found a number of their comrades, who had been taken prisoners and sent to
+the town, still alive but horribly mutilated, some of them having been
+blinded, others having legs cut off, and all mutilated in various ways.
+This terrible sight naturally goaded them to such a state of fury that
+Soult in vain endeavoured to stop the work of slaughter and pillage. This
+continued for several hours, and altogether the number of Portuguese who
+perished by drowning and slaughter in the streets was estimated at ten
+thousand, of which the number killed in the defence of the works formed
+but an insignificant portion.
+
+Terence on his arrival at the camp in the wood resumed his uniform.
+Herrara had, on the previous day, purchased a light waggon and two horses
+for the use of the ladies, and as soon as the men had strapped on the
+cloaks and blankets which they had left behind them when they advanced to
+the defence of the bridge, the retreat began. Not until he had seen the
+column fairly on its way did Terence ride up to speak to the occupants of
+the waggon. He had not been introduced by Herrara to his friends, for on
+his return from his encounter with the bishop the ladies had already
+retired to their tent.
+
+"I must introduce myself to you, Don Jose. I am Terence O' Connor, an
+ensign in his Britannic Majesty's regiment of Mayo Fusiliers and an
+aide-de-camp of General Cradock, a very humble personage, though at
+present in command of these troops--irregular regiments of the Portuguese
+army."
+
+"Lieutenant Herrara has told us so much about you, Senor O'Connor, that we
+have been looking forward with much pleasure to meeting you. Allow me to
+present you to my wife and daughters, who have been as anxious as myself
+to meet an officer who has done such good services to the cause, and to
+whom it is due at the present moment that we are here, instead of being in
+the midst of the terrible scenes that are no doubt at this moment being
+enacted in Oporto."
+
+Terence bowed deeply to the ladies, and then said to his cousin:
+
+"I almost require introducing to you, for I caught but a glimpse of you as
+we crossed the river, and you look so different now that you have got rid
+of that hideous attire that I don't think that I should have known you."
+
+"You have changed greatly, too, Senor O'Connor."
+
+Terence burst into a laugh.
+
+"My dear cousin, it is evident that you know very little of English
+customs, though you speak English so well. We don't call our cousins Mr.
+and Miss; you will have to call me Terence and I shall certainly call you
+Mary. Macwitty brought you back to camp all right?"
+
+"Yes; but it was terrible to hear all that firing, and I was wondering all
+the time whether you were being hurt."
+
+"There is a great deal of powder fired away to every one that gets hit."
+
+"Do you know what has happened in the town?" Don Jose asked.
+
+"I know no more than what my cousin has no doubt told you of that terrible
+scene at the bridge. It is evident that the French burst through the lines
+without any difficulty, as we saw no soldiers, except those cowardly
+cavalrymen, before the French arrived. It is probable that the
+intrenchments were carried in the centre, and Soult evidently sent a body
+of soldiers straight through the town to secure the bridge. I think he
+must have cut off the main body of the defenders of the intrenchments from
+entering the town and must either have captured them or driven them off.
+The fire of cannon had ceased over there before we retired, and it is
+clear from that that the whole of the intrenchments must have been
+captured. There was, however, a heavy rattle of musketry in the town, and
+I suppose that the houses, and perhaps some barricades, were being
+defended. It was a mad thing to do, for it would only excite the fury of
+the French troops, and get them out of hand altogether. If there had been
+no resistance the columns might have marched in in good order; but even
+then I fear there might have been trouble, for unfortunately, your
+peasants have behaved with such merciless cruelty to all stragglers who
+fell into their hands, that the thirst for vengeance would in any case
+have been irrepressible. Still, the officers might possibly have preserved
+order had there been no resistance."
+
+"Shall we be pursued, do you think, senor?" Don Jose's wife asked.
+
+"I do not think so. Possibly parties of horse may scour the country for
+some distance round, to see if there is a body of troops here, but we are
+too strong to be attacked by any but a very numerous body of horse; and if
+they should attempt it, you may be sure that we can render a very good
+account of ourselves. We have beaten off the French horse once, and, as
+since then we have had some stiff fighting, I have no fear of the men
+being unsteady, even if all Franceschi's cavalry came down upon us. Of
+that, however, there will be little chance; the French have their hands
+full for some days, and a few scouting parties are all that they are
+likely to send out."
+
+"You speak Portuguese very well, Terence," Mary O'Connor said, in that
+language, hesitating a little before she used his Christian name.
+
+"I have been nearly nine months in the country, during most of which I
+have been on the staff, and have had to communicate with peasants and
+others, and for the past two months I have spoken nothing else; necessity
+is a good teacher. Besides which, Lieutenant Herrara has been good enough
+to take great pains in correcting my mistakes and teaching me the proper
+idioms; another six months of this work and I have no doubt I shall be
+able to pass as a native."
+
+After marching fifteen miles the column halted, Terence feeling assured
+that the French would not push out their scouting parties more than three
+or four miles from Villa Nova. They halted at the edge of a forest, and a
+party under one of the officers was at once despatched to a village two
+miles away, and returned in an hour with a drove of pigs that had been
+bought there, and a cart laden with bread and wine. Fires had already been
+lighted, and after seeing that the rations were divided among the various
+companies, Terence went to the tent. Herrara was chatting with his
+friends, and Mary O'Connor came out at once and joined him.
+
+"That is right, Mary; we will take a stroll in the wood and have a talk
+together. Now tell me how you have got on. I had expected to find you
+quite thin and almost starving."
+
+"No, I have had plenty of bread to eat," she laughed; "the sisters kept me
+well supplied. I am sure that most of them were sorry for me, and they
+used to hide away some of their own bread and bring it to me when they had
+a chance. The lady superior was very hard, and if I had had to depend
+entirely on what she sent me up I should have done very badly. I always
+ate as much as I could, as I wanted to keep up my strength; for I knew
+that if I got weak I might give way and do what they wanted, and I was
+quite determined that I would not, if I could help it."
+
+"Macwitty told you, I suppose, how I came to hear where you were
+imprisoned?"
+
+"Yes; he said that the officer had given you the letter that I dropped to
+him; yet how did he come to know that you were my cousin?"
+
+"It was quite an accident; just the similarity of name. We were chatting,
+and he said, casually, 'I suppose that you have no relatives at Oporto,'
+and I at once said I had, for fortunately my father had been telling me
+about your father and you, the last time I saw him, that is four months
+ago. He was badly wounded at Vimiera and invalided home. Then Captain
+Travers told me about getting your letter and what was in it, and I felt
+sure that it was you, and of course made up my mind to do what I could to
+get you out, though at the time I did not think that I should be in Oporto
+until I entered with the British army."
+
+"But I cannot think how you got us all to start, and walked along with the
+lady superior as if you were a friend of hers. Macwitty had not time to
+tell me that. I was so frightened and bewildered with the dreadful noise
+and the strangeness of it all that I could not ask him many questions."
+
+"It was by virtue of this ring," he said, holding up his hand.
+
+"Why," she exclaimed in surprise, "that is the bishop's! I noticed it on
+his finger when he came one day to me and scolded me, and said that I
+should remain a prisoner if it was for years until my obstinate spirit was
+broken. But how did you get it?"
+
+"Not with the bishop's good-will, you may be sure, Mary," Terence laughed;
+and he then told her how he had become possessed of it.
+
+The girl looked quite scared.
+
+"It sounds dreadful, doesn't it, Mary, to think that I should have laid
+hands upon a bishop, and such a bishop, a man who regards himself as the
+greatest in Portugal. However, there was no other way of getting the ring,
+and I could not see how, without it, I could persuade the lady superior to
+leave her convent with you all; and to tell you the truth, I would rather
+have got it that way than any other. The bishop is, in my opinion, a man
+who deserves no respect. He has terrorized all the north of Portugal, has
+caused scores of better men than himself to be imprisoned or put to death,
+and has now by his folly and ignorance cost the lives of no one knows how
+many thousand men, and brought about the sack of Oporto."
+
+"Did you hear anything of my mother?" the girl asked.
+
+"No; my Portuguese was not good enough for me to ask questions without
+risking being detected as a foreigner at once. She has behaved shamefully
+to you, Mary."
+
+"She never liked me," the girl said, simply. "She and father never got on
+well together, and I think her dislike began by his taking to me, and my
+liking to be with him and getting to talk English. There was a terrible
+quarrel between them once because she accused him of teaching me to be a
+Protestant, although he never did so. He did give me a Bible, and I used
+to ask him questions and he answered them, that was all; but as it did
+seem to me that he was much wiser in all things than she was, I thought
+that he might be wiser in religion too. I would have given up the property
+directly they wanted me to, if they would have let me go away to England;
+but when they took me to the convent and cut off my hair, and forced me to
+become a nun, I would not give way to them. I never took the vows,
+Terence; I would not open my lips, but they went on with the service just
+the same. I was determined that I would not yield. I thought that the
+English would come some day, and that I might be freed then."
+
+"What would you have done in England if you had gone there, Mary?"
+
+"I should have found your father out, and gone to him. Father told me that
+your father was his greatest friend, and just before he died he told me
+that he had privately sent over all his own money to a bank at Cork, and
+ordered it to be put in your father's name. It was a good deal of money,
+for he would not give up the business when he married my mother, though
+she wanted him to; but he said that he could not live in idleness on her
+money, and that he must be doing something. And I know that he kept up the
+house in Oporto, while she kept up her place in the country. He told me
+that the sum he had sent over was L20,000. That will be enough to live on,
+won't it?"
+
+"Plenty," Terence laughed. "I had no idea that I was rescuing such an
+heiress. I was sure that there was no chance of your getting your mother's
+money, at any rate, as long as the bishop was leader of Oporto. However
+just your claim, no judge would decide in your favour."
+
+"Now tell me about yourself, Terence, and your home in Ireland, and all
+about it."
+
+"My home has been the regiment, Mary. My father has a few hundred acres in
+County Mayo, and a tumble-down house; that is to say, it was a tumble-down
+house when I saw it four years ago, but it had been shut up for a good
+many years, and I should not be surprised if it has quite tumbled down
+now. However, my father was always talking of going to live there when he
+left the army. The land is not worth much, I think. There are five hundred
+acres, and they let for about a hundred a year. However, my father has
+been in the regiment now for about eighteen years; and as I was born in
+barracks I have only been three or four times to Ballinagra, and then only
+because father took a fancy to have a look at the old house. My mother
+died when I was ten years old, and I ran almost wild until I got my
+commission last June."
+
+"And how did you come to be a staff-officer of the English general?" she
+asked.
+
+"I have had awfully good luck," Terence replied. "It happened in all sorts
+of ways."
+
+"Please tell me everything," she said. "I want to know all about you."
+
+"It is a long story, Mary."
+
+"So much the better," she said. "I know nothing of what has passed for the
+last year, and I dare say I shall learn about it from your story. You
+don't know how happy I am feeling to be out in the sun and in the air
+again, and to see the country after being shut up in one room for a year.
+Suppose we sit down here and you tell me the whole story."
+
+Terence accordingly related the history of his adventures since he had
+left England. The girl asked a great many questions, and specially
+insisted upon hearing his own adventures very fully.
+
+"It is no use your keeping on saying that it is all luck," she said when
+he had finished. "Your colonel could not have thought that it was luck
+when he wrote the report about that adventure at sea, and your general
+could not have thought so, either, or he would not have praised you in his
+despatch. Then, you know, General Fane must have thought that it was quite
+out of the way or he would not have chosen you to be on his staff. Then
+afterwards the other general must have been pleased with you, or he would
+not have put you on his staff and sent you off on a mission to General
+Romana. It is quite certain that these things could not have been all
+luck, Terence. And anyhow, you cannot pretend that it was luck that this
+regiment of yours fought so well against the French, while none of the
+others seem to have fought at all. I suppose that you will say next that
+it was all luck that you got me out of the convent."
+
+"There was a great deal of luck in it, Mary. If that cowardly bishop
+hadn't left Oporto secretly, after declaring that he would defend it until
+the last, I could never have got his ring."
+
+"You would have got me out some other way if he hadn't," the girl said,
+with confidence. "No, Terence, you can say what you like, but I shall
+always consider that you have been wonderfully brave and clever."
+
+"Then you will always think quite wrong," Terence said, bluntly.
+
+"I shall begin to think that you are a tyrant, like the Bishop of Oporto,
+if you speak in that positive way. How old are you, sir?"
+
+"I was sixteen six months ago."
+
+"And I was sixteen three days ago," she said. "Fancy your commanding two
+thousand soldiers and only six months older than I am."
+
+"It is not I, it is the uniform," Terence said. "They obey me when they
+won't obey their own officers, because I am on the English general's
+staff. They know that we have thrashed the French, and that their own
+officers know nothing at all about fighting, and they have no respect
+whatever for them. More than that, they despise them because they know
+that they are always intriguing, and that really, although they may be
+called generals, they are but politicians. You will see, when they get
+English officers to discipline them, they will turn out capital soldiers;
+but they think so little of their own, that if anything goes wrong their
+first idea is that their officers must be traitors, and so fall upon them
+and murder them.
+
+"You look older than I do, Mary. You seem to me quite a woman, while, in
+spite of my uniform and my command, and all that, I am really only a boy."
+
+"I suppose I am almost a woman, Terence, but I don't feel so. You see out
+here girls often marry at sixteen. I know father said once that he hoped I
+shouldn't marry until I was eighteen, and that he wanted to keep me young.
+I never thought about getting almost a woman until the bishop told me one
+day that if I chose to marry a senor that he would choose for me, he would
+get me absolution from my vows, and that I need not then resign my
+property."
+
+"The old blackguard!" Terence exclaimed, angrily. "And what did you say to
+him?"
+
+"I said that, in the first place, I had never thought of marrying; that in
+the second place, I had not taken any vows; and in the third place that
+when I did marry I would choose for myself. He got into a terrible rage,
+and said that I was an obstinate heretic, and that some day when I was
+tired of my prison I would think better of it."
+
+"I would have hit the bishop hard if I had known about that," Terence
+grumbled. "If ever I fall in with him again I will pay him out for it.
+Well, anyhow, I may as well take off his ring; it might lead to awkward
+questions if anyone noticed it."
+
+"I think that you had certainly better do so, Terence; it might cost you
+your life. The bishop is a bad man, and he is a very dangerous enemy. If
+he heard that an English officer was wearing an episcopal ring, and upon
+inquiring found that that officer had been in Oporto at its capture, he
+would know at once that it was you who assaulted him, and he would never
+rest until he had your life. You had better throw it away."
+
+"All right, here goes!" Terence said, carelessly, and he threw the ring
+into a clump of bushes. "Now, Mary, it is getting dark, and I should think
+supper must be waiting for us."
+
+"Yes, it is late; we have been a long while, indeed," the girl said,
+getting up hastily. "I forgot all about time."
+
+"We are in plenty of time," Terence said, looking at his watch. "As we all
+had some cold meat for lunch as soon as we arrived, I ordered dinner at
+six o'clock, and it wants twenty minutes of that time now."
+
+"It is shocking, according to our Portuguese ideas," she said, demurely,
+"for a young lady and gentleman to be talking together for nearly three
+hours without anyone to look after them."
+
+"It is not at all shocking, according to Irish ideas," Terence said,
+laughing, "especially when the young lady and gentleman happen to be
+cousins."
+
+They walked a short time in silence, then she said:
+
+"I have obeyed you, Terence, and haven't uttered a word of thanks for what
+you have done for me."
+
+"That shows that you are a good girl," Terence laughed.
+
+"Good girls always do as they are told; at least they are supposed to,
+though as to the fact I never had any experience, for I have no sisters,
+and there were no girls in barracks; still, I am glad that you kept your
+promise, and hope that you will always do so. Being a cousin, of course it
+was natural that I should try to rescue you."
+
+"And you would not if I hadn't been a cousin?"
+
+"No, I don't say that. I dare say I should have tried the same if I had
+heard that any English or Irish girl was shut up here. I am sure I should
+if I had seen you beforehand."
+
+She coloured a little at the compliment, and said, lightly: "Father told
+me once that Irishmen were great hands at compliments. He told me that
+there was some stone that people went to an old castle to kiss--I think
+that he called it the Blarney Stone--and after that they were able to say
+all sorts of absurd things."
+
+"I have never kissed the Blarney Stone," Terence said, laughing. "If I
+wanted to kiss anything, it would be something a good deal softer than
+that."
+
+They were now entering the camp, and in a few minutes they arrived at the
+tent.
+
+"I began to think that you were lost, O'Connor," Herrara said, as they
+came up.
+
+"We had a lot to talk about," Terence replied. "My cousin has been
+insisting upon my telling her my whole history, and all about what has
+passed here since she was shut up a year ago, and, as you may imagine, it
+was rather a long story."
+
+A few minutes later they sat down on the ground to a meal in which roast
+pork was the leading feature.
+
+"This is what we call in England a picnic, senora," Terence said to Don
+Jose's wife.
+
+"A picnic," she repeated; "what does that mean? It is a funny word."
+
+"I have no idea why it should be called so," Terence said. "It means an
+open-air party. The ladies are supposed to bring the provisions, and the
+gentlemen the wine. Sometimes it is a boating party; at other times they
+drive in carriages to the spot agreed upon. It is always very jolly, and
+much better than a formal meal indoors, and you can play all sorts of
+tricks."
+
+"What sort of tricks, senor?"
+
+"Oh, there are lots of them. I was always having fun before I became an
+officer. My father was one of the captains of the regiment, and I was
+generally in for any amusement that there was. Once at a picnic, I
+remember that I got hold of the salt-cellars and mustard-pots beforehand,
+and I filled up one with powdered Epsom salts, which are horribly nasty,
+you know, and I mixed the mustard with cayenne pepper. Nobody could make
+out what had happened to the food. They soon suspected the mustard, but
+nobody thought of the salt for a long time. The colonel was furious over
+it, but fortunately they could not prove that I had any hand in the
+matter, though I know that they suspected me, for I did not get an
+invitation to a picnic for a long time afterwards."
+
+The three girls laughed, but Don Jose said, seriously: "But you would have
+got into terrible trouble if you had been found out, would you not?"
+
+"I should have got a licking, no doubt, senor; but I was pretty accustomed
+to that, and it did not trouble me in any way. At any rate, it did not
+cure me of my love for mischief. I am afraid I never shall be cured of
+that. I used to have no end of fun in the regiment, and I think that it
+did us all good. It takes some thinking to work out a bit of mischief
+properly, and I suppose if one can think one thing out well, one can think
+out another."
+
+"It seems to have succeeded well in your case, anyhow," Herrara laughed.
+"Perhaps if it had not been for your playing that trick at the picnic you
+would never have taken command of that mob, and we should never have gone
+to Oporto, and my friends and your cousin would be there now--that is, if
+they had not been killed."
+
+"It may have had something to do with it," Terence admitted.
+
+"And now, senor," Don Jose said, "which way are you going to take us?"
+
+"We shall go straight on to Coimbra," Terence said, "unless we come upon a
+British force before that. Two long days' march will take us there. After
+that I must do as I am ordered; my independent command will come to an end
+there. I hope that I shall soon hear that my regiment has returned from
+England."
+
+"And what is to become of me? I have not thought of asking," Mary O'Connor
+said.
+
+"That must depend upon circumstances, Mary. If I go down to Lisbon, I hope
+that we shall all travel together, and I can then put you on board a
+transport returning to England. I am sure to find letters from my father
+there, telling me where he is and whether he is coming back with the
+regiment."
+
+"We shall be very happy, senor," Don Jose said, courteously, "to take
+charge of the senora, until there is an opportunity for sending her to
+England. I have, of course, many friends in Lisbon, and shall take a house
+there the instant I arrive, and Donna O'Connor will be as one of my own
+family."
+
+"I am extremely obliged to you, Don Jose. I have been wondering all day as
+I rode along what I should do with my cousin if, as is probable, I am
+obliged to stay at Coimbra until I receive orders from Lisbon. Your kind
+offer relieves me of a great anxiety. I think that it will be prudent for
+her to take another name while she is at Lisbon. There will certainly be
+no inquiries after her, for the lady superior of her convent will, of
+course, conclude that she was accidentally separated from the others in
+the crush, and that she was trampled on, or killed; and, indeed, there
+will be such confusion in Oporto that the loss of a nun more or less would
+fail to attract attention. At any rate, it is likely to be a long time
+before any report the lady superior will make to the bishop will reach
+him--months, perhaps, for she is not likely to take any particular pains
+to tell him news that would certainly anger him.
+
+"Still, if he goes to Lisbon, as no doubt he will, and by any chance
+happens to hear that Miss O'Connor was one of those who had escaped from
+the sack of Oporto, he might make inquiries, and then all sorts of trouble
+might arise, even if he did not have her carried off by force, which would
+be easy enough in a place so disturbed as Lisbon at present is."
+
+"I think that you are right, senor," Don Jose said, gravely. "At any rate
+it would be as well to avoid any risk. What name shall we call her?"
+
+"You can call her Miss Dillon, senor, that is the name of an officer in
+our regiment."
+
+"But the bishop might meet her in the street by chance; what then?"
+
+"I don't think that he would know me," Mary O'Connor put in. "I have seen
+him, but I don't suppose that he ever noticed me until he saw me in my
+nun's dress, and, of course, I look very different now. Still, he is very
+sharp, and I will take good care never to go out without a veil."
+
+"That will be the safest plan, Mary," Terence said, "though I don't think
+anyone would recognize you. Of course, he supposes that you are still
+snugly shut up in the convent; still, it is just as well not to run the
+slightest risk."
+
+They made two long marches and reached Coimbra early on the third morning,
+bringing the first news that had been received there of the storming of
+Oporto. Terence at once reported himself to the commanding officer.
+
+"I was wondering where these two regiments came from, Mr. O'Connor," the
+colonel said. "I watched them march in, and thought that they were the
+most orderly body that I have seen since we came out here. Whose corps are
+they?"
+
+"Well, Colonel, they are my corps. I will tell you about it presently; it
+is a long story."
+
+"How strong are they?"
+
+"The field state this morning made them two thousand three hundred and
+fifty-five. They were two thousand five hundred to begin with; the rest
+are either killed or wounded."
+
+"Oh, you have had some fighting then."
+
+"We have had our share, at any rate, Colonel, and I think I can venture to
+say that no other Portuguese corps shows so good a record."
+
+"We have a large number of tents in store, and I will order a sufficient
+number to be served out to put all your men under canvas, with the
+understanding that if the army advances this way the tents must be handed
+back to us. There are quantities of uniforms also. There have been
+ship-loads sent over for the use of the Portuguese militia, who were to
+turn out in their hundreds of thousands, but who have yet to be
+discovered. Would you like some of them?"
+
+"Very much, indeed, Colonel. It would add very greatly to their
+appearance; though, as far as fighting goes, I am bound to say that I
+could wish nothing better."
+
+"Really! Then all I can say is you have made a very valuable discovery.
+Hitherto the fighting powers of the Portuguese have been invisible to the
+naked eye. But if you have found that they really will fight under some
+circumstances, we may hope that, now Lord Beresford has come out to take
+command of the Portuguese army, and is going to have a certain number of
+British officers to train and command them, they will be of some utility,
+instead of being simply a scourge to the country and a constant drain on
+our purse."
+
+"Have you heard that Oporto is captured, sir?"
+
+"No, you don't say so!"
+
+"Captured in less than an hour from the time that the first gun was
+fired."
+
+"Just what I expected. When you have political bishops who not only
+pretend to govern a country, but also assume the command of armies, how
+can it be otherwise? However, you shall tell me about it presently. I will
+go down with you at once to the stores and order the issue of the tents
+and uniforms. My orders were that the uniforms were to be served out to
+militia and ordenancas; under which head do your men come?"
+
+"The latter, sir; that is what they really were, but they hung the three
+men the Junta sent to command them, and placed themselves in my hands, and
+I have done the best I could with them, with the assistance of Lieutenant
+Herrara--who, as you may remember, accompanied me in charge of the
+escort--and my own two troopers and his men, and between us we have really
+done much in the way of disciplining them."
+
+Two hours later the tents were pitched on a spot half a mile distant from
+the town. By the time that this was done the carts with the uniforms came
+up, to the great delight of the men.
+
+"I have to go to the commandant again now, Herrara; let the uniforms be
+served out to the men at once. Tell the captains to see to their fitting
+as well as possible. I have no doubt that the colonel will come down to
+inspect them this afternoon, and will probably bring a good many officers
+with him, so we must make as good a show as possible."
+
+Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor had, on arriving at Coimbra, hired
+rooms, as Don Jose had determined to stay for a few days before going on,
+because his wife had been much shaken by the events that had taken place,
+and his eldest daughter was naturally anxious to wait until she knew
+whether Herrara would be able to return to Lisbon, or would remain with
+the corps. By the time Terence returned to the colonel's quarters it was
+lunch time.
+
+"You must come across to mess, Mr. O'Connor," the commandant said.
+"Everyone is anxious to hear your news, and it will save your going over
+it twice if you will tell it after lunch. I fancy every officer in the
+camp will be there."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
+
+Terence, after lunch was over, first related to the officers all that he
+knew of the siege of Oporto, explaining why he did not choose to sacrifice
+the men under him by joining the undisciplined rabble in the
+intrenchments, but determined to keep the head of the bridge. They
+listened with breathless interest to his narrative of the attack and
+capture of Oporto.
+
+"But how was it that that fifty-gun battery did not knock the bridge to
+pieces when the French tried to cross?"
+
+"That is more than I can say, Colonel. I should fancy that they were so
+terrified at the utter rout on the other side, which they could see well
+enough, for they had a view right over the town to the intrenchments, that
+they simply fired wildly. I don't believe a single ball hit the bridge,
+though, of course, they ought to have sunk a dozen boats in a couple of
+minutes. My men could have held it for days, though they were suffering
+somewhat from the fire of two of the French field batteries; but I found
+that no steps whatever had been taken to remove the boats from the other
+side. There were great numbers of them all along the bank, and the enemy
+could have crossed a mile higher up, at the spot where I took my men over,
+and so fallen on our rear, therefore I withdrew to save them from being
+cut up or captured uselessly."
+
+"Now tell us about those troops of yours, O'Connor."
+
+Terence gave a somewhat detailed account of the manner in which he took
+the command and of the subsequent operations, being desirous of doing
+justice to Herrara and his troopers, and to his own two orderlies. There
+was much laughter among the officers at his assumption of command, and at
+the subsequent steps he took to form his mob of men into an orderly body;
+but interest took the place of amusement as he told how they had prevented
+the French from crossing at the mouth of the Minho, and caused Soult to
+take the circuitous and difficult route by Orense. His subsequent defence
+of the defile and the night attack upon the French, surprised them much,
+and when he brought his story to a conclusion there were warm expressions
+of approval among his hearers.
+
+"I must congratulate you most heartily, Mr. O'Connor," the colonel said.
+"What seemed at first a very wild and hare-brained enterprise, if you
+don't mind my saying so, certainly turned out a singular success. It would
+have seemed almost impossible that you, a young ensign, should be able to
+exercise any authority over a great body of mere peasants, who have
+everywhere shown themselves utterly insubordinate and useless under their
+native officers. It is nothing short of astonishing; and it is most
+gratifying to find that the Portuguese should, under an English officer,
+develop fighting powers far beyond anything with which they have been
+hitherto credited. What are you going to do now?"
+
+"I was intending to send my despatches on to Sir John Cradock, and wait
+here for orders."
+
+"I think that you had better take your despatches on yourself, Mr. O'
+Connor. I do not suppose that they are anything like so full as the story
+you have told us, which, I am sure, would be of as much interest to the
+general as it has been to us."
+
+"I will do so, sir, and will start this evening. My horse had three days'
+rest at Villa Nova, and is quite fit to travel."
+
+"You must be feeling terribly anxious about your cousin," the officer who
+had first told him about her remarked; "there is no saying what may have
+happened in Oporto after it was stormed."
+
+"I should indeed be, if she were there," Terence replied; "but I am happy
+to say that she is at present in Coimbra, having travelled with us under
+the charge of some Portuguese ladies, friends of Herrara."
+
+"You don't mean to say that you persuaded the bishop to let her out of the
+convent?"
+
+"Scarcely," Terence laughed, "though the bishop did unwittingly aid me."
+
+"I congratulate you on getting her out," the colonel said.
+
+"Travers was telling us the day after you left what a curious coincidence
+it was that the nun who threw him out a letter should turn out to be a
+cousin of yours. Will you tell us how you managed it?"
+
+"I don't mind telling it, sir, if all here will promise not to repeat it.
+The Bishop of Oporto is a somewhat formidable person, and were he to lodge
+a complaint against me he might get me into serious trouble, and is
+perfectly capable of having me stabbed some dark night in the streets of
+Lisbon; therefore, I think it would be as well to omit any details of the
+share he played in the matter. Without that the story is simple enough.
+Having got a boat with two men in it at the end of the street in which
+stood the convent, I went there in the dress of an ecclesiastic, just as
+the French burst into the town. The bishop had fled on the night before to
+the Serra Convent on the other side of the river, and I was able to
+produce an authority from him which satisfied the lady superior that I was
+the bearer of his order for her and the nuns to make for the bridge, and
+to cross the river at once.
+
+"Of course, I accompanied them. The crowd was great and they naturally got
+separated. In the confusion my orderlies managed to get my cousin out of
+the crowd, and took her straight to the boat. As soon as I saw that they
+had gone, I persuaded the lady superior to take the rest of the nuns back
+to the convent at once, as the bridge was by this time broken, and the
+French had made their appearance. She got the nuns together and made off
+with them as fast as they could run, and after seeing that they were all
+nearly back to their convent without any signs of the French being near, I
+joined the others in the boat, and we rowed across the river. It was a
+simple business altogether, though at first it seemed very hopeless."
+
+"Especially to get the authority of the bishop," the colonel said, with a
+smile.
+
+"That certainly seemed the most hopeless part of the business," Terence
+replied; "but happily I was able to manage it somehow."
+
+"Well, you certainly have had a most remarkable series of adventures, Mr.
+O'Connor. Now we will go and inspect your corps. Of course they will be
+rationed while they are here, and will be under my general orders until I
+hear from Cradock."
+
+"Quite so, Colonel; I am sure they will be proud of being inspected by
+you. Of course, they are unable to do any complicated manoeuvres, but
+those they do know they know pretty thoroughly, and can do them in a rough
+and ready way that for actual work is, I think, just as good as a
+parade-ground performance. I will go on ahead, sir, and form them up."
+
+"I would rather, if you don't mind, that they should have no warning," the
+colonel said; "we will just go down quietly, and see how quickly they can
+turn out."
+
+"Very well, sir."
+
+All there expressed their wish to go, and as all were provided with horses
+or ponies of some kind, in ten minutes they rode off in a body. His
+officers had been very busy all the time that Terence had been away,
+serving out the uniforms and seeing that they were properly put on. The
+work was just over, and the men were sauntering about round their tents
+when the party arrived. Herrara came up and saluted. He was known to the
+colonel, as he had dined with Terence at the mess on their way through.
+
+After a few words, Terence said to Herrara:
+
+"Have the assembly blown, and let the men fall in."
+
+Herrara walked back to the tents, and a moment later a horn blew. It had
+an uncouth sound, and bore no resemblance to the ordinary call, but it was
+promptly obeyed. The men snatched their muskets from the piles in front of
+the tents, and in a wonderfully short time the whole were formed up in
+their ranks, stiff and immovable.
+
+"Excellently done!" the colonel said; "no British regiment could have
+fallen in more smartly."
+
+Accompanied by Terence, and followed by the rest of the officers, he rode
+along the line. The evening before Terence had impressed upon the captains
+of companies the necessity for having the rifles perfectly clean, as they
+were about to join a British camp, so that the pieces were all in perfect
+order. When the inspection was over the mounted group drew off a little.
+
+"The troops will form up in columns of companies," Terence said, and Bull
+and Macwitty, who were at the head of their respective regiments, gave the
+orders. The movements were well executed. The men, proud of their uniform,
+and on their mettle at being inspected by British officers, did their
+best, and that best left little to be desired. After marching past, they
+formed into company squares to resist cavalry, then retired by alternate
+companies, and then formed into line.
+
+"Excellently done!" said the colonel. "Indeed, I can hardly believe it
+possible that a party of peasants have in a month's time been formed into
+a body of good soldiers. I should like the officers to come up."
+
+"Call the officers."
+
+There was an officers' call, and this now sounded, and the twelve captains
+with their two majors rode to the front and saluted. "Mr. Herrara," the
+colonel said, "I have seen with surprise and the greatest satisfaction the
+movements of the men under you; they do you the greatest credit, and I
+shall have pleasure in sending in a most favourable report to the general,
+the result of my inspection of the regiments. I hear from Mr. O'Connor
+that your men have shown themselves capable of holding their own against
+the French, and I can say that I should feel perfectly confident in going
+into action with my regiment supported by such brave and capable troops.
+Would that instead of 2,000 we had 100,000 Portuguese troops equally to be
+trusted, we should very speedily turn the French out of Portugal and drive
+them from the Peninsula."
+
+The officers bowed and rode off. The troops had not learned the salute,
+and when the horn sounded they were at once dismissed drill.
+
+"Well, Mr. O'Connor, I must congratulate you most heartily on what you
+have done. If nothing else, you have added to our army a couple of strong
+regiments of capable soldiers. If I had not seen it myself I should have
+thought it impossible that over 2,000 men could be converted into soldiers
+in so short a time, and that without experienced non-commissioned officers
+to work them up."
+
+Returning to Coimbra with the colonel, Terence rode to the house where
+Herrara's friends had taken rooms, and told them that he was going to
+leave them. Don Jose at once wrote several letters of introduction to
+influential friends at Lisbon, telling them that he and his daughters had
+escaped from the sack of Oporto, and asking them to show every kindness to
+the officer, to whom they chiefly owed their safety.
+
+Terence meanwhile returned to camp, arranged with Herrara and the two
+majors that everything was to go on as usual during his absence, urging
+them to work hard at their drill, and to impress upon the men the
+necessity, now that they were in uniform, of carrying themselves as
+soldiers, and doing credit to their corps.
+
+Five days later he arrived at Lisbon, taking with him a report from the
+commandant of his inspection of the corps.
+
+"I had begun to be afraid that you had been killed or taken prisoner, Mr.
+O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, as Terence presented himself, "or that
+you must have fallen back with Romana into Spain. He seems to have behaved
+very badly, for, as I hear, although he had 10,000 men with him, half of
+them regular troops, he retired without a shot being fired--except by two
+regiments who were mauled by the French cavalry--and left Silveira in the
+lurch."
+
+"I was on other business, General, and I fear that you will think that I
+exceeded my orders; but I hope that you will consider that the result has
+justified my doing so. Will you kindly first run your eye over this report
+by the officer commanding at Coimbra?"
+
+Sir John Cradock read the report with a puzzled expression of face, then
+he said: "But what regiments are these that Colonel Wilberforce speaks of
+in such high terms? Were they part of Romana's force? He speaks of them as
+a corps under your command, and as being 2,300 strong."
+
+"They were not Romana's men, sir, but a body of ordenancas, of whom, as my
+report will inform you, I came by a combination of circumstances to take
+the command, appointing Lieutenant Herrara, who commanded my escort,
+colonel, my two orderlies as majors, and the Portuguese troopers of my
+escort as captains of companies. We have been several times engaged with
+the French, and I cannot speak too highly of the behaviour of officers and
+men."
+
+Sir John Cradock burst into a laugh. "You certainly are a cool hand, Mr.
+O'Connor. Assuredly I did not contemplate when I sent you off that you
+would return as colonel of two regiments."
+
+"Nor did I, sir. But, you see, you gave me general instructions to concert
+measures with Romana for the defence of the frontier. I saw at once that
+Romana was hopeless, and was therefore myself driven to take these
+measures. As Oporto has fallen I cannot say they were successful, but at
+least I may say that we gave Oporto fourteen days' extra time to prepare
+her defence, and if she did not take advantage of the time it was not my
+fault."
+
+The look of amusement on the general's face turned to one of interest.
+
+"How did you do that, sir?"
+
+"My corps prevented Soult from crossing at the mouth of the Minho,
+General, killing some two hundred of his men and driving his boats back
+across the river. When the French general saw that he could not cross in
+face of such opposition, he was obliged to march his army round by Orense
+and down by the passes, which ought to have been successfully defended by
+the Portuguese."
+
+"That was good service, indeed, Mr. O'Connor. I received despatches from
+our agents at Oporto, saying that Soult's landing had been repulsed by
+armed peasants."
+
+"My men were little more than armed peasants then, sir, though they had
+had a few days' hard drill; still, a British officer would scarcely have
+called them soldiers."
+
+"Well, I think that Wilberforce's report shows that they have a right to
+that title now. Take a seat, Mr. O' Connor, and a newspaper--there are
+some that arrived two days ago--while I look over your report."
+
+Terence had written in much greater detail than is usual in official
+reports, as he wished the general to see how well the men and their
+officers had behaved. It was twenty minutes before the general finished
+it.
+
+"A very remarkable report, Mr. O'Connor; very remarkable. You must dine
+with me this evening. I have many questions to ask you about it, and also
+about the storming of Oporto, of which we have, as yet, received no
+details, although a messenger from the bishop brought us the news some
+days ago. He seems to have made a terrible mess of it."
+
+"He ought to be hung, sir!" Terence said, indignantly. "After getting all
+those unfortunate peasants together he sneaked off and hid himself in a
+convent on the other side of the river, on the very night before the
+French attacked."
+
+"Unfortunately, Mr. O'Connor, we cannot give all men their deserts, or we
+should want all the rope on board the ships in the harbour for the
+purpose. The bishop is a firebrand of the most dangerous kind; and I
+suppose we shall have him here in a day or two, for he said in his letter
+that he was on his way. There is one comfort: he will be too busy in
+quarrelling with the authorities to have any time to spend on his quarrels
+with us. Then I shall see you in an hour's time. Please ask Captain Nelson
+to come in here; I have some notes for him to write."
+
+Terence bowed and retired.
+
+"What a nuisance!" Captain Nelson said. "I was wanting to hear all that
+you had been doing."
+
+"I am to dine with the general," Terence said. "Perhaps I shall meet you
+there."
+
+Captain Nelson found that he was wanted to write notes of invitation to
+such of the officers who were still at Lisbon as had dined there when
+Terence was last the general's guest; and as the general's invitations
+overrode all other engagements, most of them were present when Terence
+returned.
+
+"Mr. O'Connor has another story for you, gentlemen," the general said,
+when the cloth was removed and the wine put upon the table. "I am not sure
+whether I am right in calling him Mr. O' Connor, for he has been
+performing the duties of a colonel, commanding two regiments in the
+Portuguese service. I will preface his story by reading the report of
+Colonel Wilberforce, commanding at Coimbra, of the state of efficiency of
+his command."
+
+There was a look of surprise at the general's remarks, and that surprise
+was greatly heightened on the reading of Colonel Wilberforce's report.
+
+"Now, Mr. O'Connor," the general said, when he had finished, "I am sure
+that we shall all be obliged by your giving us a detailed statement of the
+manner in which you raised those regiments, and of the operations that you
+undertook with them; and the more details you give us the better, for it
+is well that we should understand how the Portuguese can be best handled.
+I may say at once that, personally, we are greatly indebted to you for
+having proved that, when even partially disciplined and well led, they are
+capable of doing very good service, a fact of which, I own, I have been
+hitherto very doubtful."
+
+Smiles were exchanged among the auditors when Terence described the manner
+in which he came to command the body of undisciplined ordenancas. When he
+spoke of the state in which he found Romana's army, and the reason for his
+determination to keep his column intact, they listened more attentively,
+and exchanged looks of surprise when he described his rapid march to the
+mouth of the Minho, and the repulse of Soult's attempt to cross from Tuy.
+He then described how he had joined Silveira, and the mutiny of that
+general's troops. Still more surprise was manifested when he related the
+action in the defile and the bravery with which his troops had behaved,
+and the manner in which they had been handled by the troopers that he had
+appointed as their officers. The night attack on the cavalry and infantry
+of the head of Soult's column was equally well received. His reasons for
+not joining the army at Braga, and of keeping aloof from the mob of
+peasants at Oporto were as much approved as was the holding of the bridge
+for a while, and his reasons for withdrawing.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," the general said, when Terence had finished, "I think
+you will allow that my aide-de-camp, Mr. O'Connor, has given a good
+account of himself, and that if he went outside my orders, his doing so
+has been most amply justified."
+
+"It has, indeed, General," one of the senior officers said, warmly. "I can
+answer for myself, that I should have been proud to have been able to tell
+such a story."
+
+A murmur of approval ran round the table.
+
+"It is difficult to say whether Mr. O'Connor's readiness to accept
+responsibility, or the manner in which, in the short space of a month, he
+turned a mob of peasants into regular soldiers, or the quickness with
+which he marched to the spot threatened by Soult, and so compelled him to
+entirely change the plan of his campaign, or his conduct in the defence of
+the defile, and in his night attack, are most remarkable."
+
+"I should wish to say, General, that in telling this story I have been
+chiefly anxious to do justice to the hearty co-operation of Lieutenant
+Herrara, and the services rendered by my own two orderlies and his
+troopers. By myself, I could have done absolutely nothing. Their work was
+hard and incessant, and the drill and discipline of the troops was wholly
+due to them."
+
+"I understand, Mr. O'Connor; it is quite right for you to say so, and I
+thoroughly recognize that they must have done good service; but it is to
+the man that plans, organizes, and infuses his own spirit into those under
+his command, that everything is due. Now, Mr. O'Connor, I think I will ask
+you to leave us for a few minutes; the case is rather an exceptional one,
+and I shall be glad to chat the matter over with the officers present.
+Well, gentlemen, what do you think that we are to do with Mr. O'Connor?"
+he went on, with a smile, as the door closed behind Terence.
+
+"My experience affords me no guide, General," another of the senior
+officers said. "It is simply amazing that a lad of seventeen--I suppose he
+is not much over that--should have conceived and carried out such a plan.
+It sounds like a piece of old knight-errantry. Clive did as much, but
+Clive was some years older when he first became a thorn in the side of the
+French. What is your opinion, sir?"
+
+"He is already a lieutenant," the general said. "I sent home a strong
+recommendation that he should be promoted, when he was last here, and
+received an intimation three days ago that he had been gazetted lieutenant
+and transferred to my staff. This time I shall simply, send home a copy of
+the report he has furnished me with, and that of Colonel Wilberforce, and
+say that I leave the reports to speak for themselves, but that in my
+opinion it is a case altogether exceptional. That is all I can do now. The
+question of course is, whether he shall return to staff service again, or
+shall continue in command of the corps with which he has done so much. If
+he does the latter he must have local rank, otherwise he would be liable
+to be overruled by any Portuguese officer of superior rank. I think that
+the best way would be to send a copy of the reports to Lord Beresford,
+saying that my opinion is very strong that Lieutenant O'Connor should be
+allowed to retain an independent command of the corps that he has raised
+and disciplined; and that I will either myself bestow local rank upon him,
+and treat the corps as forming a part of the British army, like that of
+Trant, or that he should give him local rank as its colonel, in which case
+he would operate still independently, but in connection with Beresford's
+own force."
+
+"I should almost think that the first step would be best, General, if I
+might say so. In the first place, Beresford will have any number of
+irregular parties operating with him, while such a corps would be
+invaluable to us. They are capable of taking long marches, they know the
+mountains and forests, and would keep us supplied with news, while they
+harassed the enemy. As an officer on your staff, O'Connor would have a
+much greater power among the Portuguese population than he would have on
+his own account in their own army, and he would be very much less likely
+to be interfered with by the leaders of other parties and corps."
+
+"Perhaps that would be the best way, Colonel. I will send the reports to
+Beresford, and say that I have appointed Lieutenant O'Connor to remain in
+command of this corps, which I shall attach to my own command; and saying
+that I shall be obliged if he will have a commission made out for him,
+giving him the local rank of colonel in the Portuguese army. Beresford is
+himself a gallant soldier, and will appreciate, as you do, the work that
+O'Connor has done; and as he knows nothing of the lad's age he will
+comply, as a matter of course, with my request. I shall, in writing home,
+strongly recommend his two cavalrymen for commissions. As to Herrara, I
+shall ask Beresford to give him the rank of lieutenant-colonel. I shall
+suggest to Beresford that his troopers should all receive commissions in
+his army. They have all earned them, which is more than I can say of any
+other Portuguese soldiers, so far as I have heard."
+
+Terence was then called in again.
+
+"In the first place, I have a pleasant piece of news to give you, Mr. O'
+Connor, namely, that I have received from home an official letter, that on
+my recommendation you have been gazetted to the rank of lieutenant and
+transferred to my staff; in the second place, I have decided, that while
+still retaining you on my staff, you will be continued in your present
+command; I shall obtain for you a commission as colonel in the Portuguese
+service, but your corps will form part of my command, and act with the
+British army. I shall request Lord Beresford to appoint Mr. Herrara to the
+rank of lieutenant-colonel, and shall recommend that commissions be given
+to his troopers. The two orderlies, of whose services you spoke so highly,
+I shall recommend for commissions in our army, and shall request Lord
+Beresford to give them local rank as majors."
+
+Terence coloured with pleasure and confusion.
+
+"I am greatly obliged to you, General," he said; "but I do not at all feel
+that the services that I have tried to perform----"
+
+"That is for me to judge," the general said, kindly. "All the officers
+here quite agree with me, that those services have been very marked and
+exceptional and are at one with me as to how they should be recognized.
+Moreover, in obtaining for you the rank of colonel in the Portuguese army,
+I am not only recognizing those services, but am adding to the power that
+you will have of rendering further services to the army. Although attached
+to our forces, you will receive your colonel's commission from Lord
+Beresford, who is now the general appointed by the Portuguese government
+to command their army."
+
+It was now late, and the party rose. All of them shook hands warmly with
+Terence, who retired with his friend Captain Nelson. The latter told him
+before they went in to dinner that he had had a bed put up for him in his
+own room.
+
+"Well, Colonel O'Connor," Nelson laughed, "you must allow me to be the
+first to salute you as my superior officer."
+
+"It is absurd altogether," Terence said, almost ruefully. "Still, Captain
+Nelson, though I may hold a superior rank in the Portuguese army, that
+goes for very little. I have seen enough of Portuguese officers to know
+that even their own soldiers have not got any respect for them, and in our
+own army I am only a lieutenant."
+
+"That is so, lad; however, there was never promotion more deserved. And as
+you hung, or rather left to be hung, a Portuguese colonel, it is only
+right that you should supply the deficiency."
+
+"I hope I shall not have to wear a Portuguese uniform," Terence said,
+earnestly.
+
+"I should think not, O'Connor, but I will ask the general in the morning.
+Of course, you will not wear your present uniform, because you are now
+gazetted into the staff and out of your own regiment. Now we will smoke a
+quiet cigar before we turn in. Have you any other story to tell me that
+you have not already related?"
+
+"Well, yes, I have one, but it is only of a personal interest;" and he
+then gave an account of his discovery of his cousin in the convent at
+Oporto, and how he had managed to rescue her, ending by saying: "I have
+told you the story, Nelson, so that if by any unexpected accident it is
+found out that she is an escaped nun, and her friends appeal to the
+general for protection, you may be aware of the circumstances, and help."
+
+"Certainly I will do so," Captain Nelson said, warmly. "You certainly have
+a wonderful head for devising plans."
+
+"I began it early," Terence laughed. "I was always in mischief before I
+got my commission, and I suppose that helps me; but you see I had
+wonderful luck."
+
+"I don't say anything against your luck; but good luck is of no use unless
+a fellow knows how to take advantage of it, and that is just what you have
+done. I suppose that you will stay here for a day or two."
+
+"My horse wants a couple of days' rest, and I have my uniform to get. I
+suppose I can get one made in a couple of days, whether it is a Portuguese
+or an English one."
+
+"Yes, I dare say you will be able to manage that."
+
+The next morning, to his great satisfaction, Terence learned that the
+general said he had better wear staff uniform, and he accordingly went
+with Captain Nelson and was measured.
+
+"Your Portuguese seems to have improved amazingly in the two months you
+have been away," the latter said, as they came out from the shop; "you
+seem to jabber away quite fluently."
+
+"I have been talking nothing else, and Herrara has acted as my instructor,
+so I get on very fairly now."
+
+At this moment a carriage drove past them.
+
+"That is the Bishop of Oporto," said Terence; "I suppose he has just
+arrived."
+
+"It is a good thing that he does not know you as well as you know him,"
+Captain Nelson said, dryly; "if he did, your adventures would be likely to
+be cut short by a knife between your shoulders some dark night."
+
+"He does not know me at all," Terence laughed; "the advantages are all on
+my side in the present case."
+
+"It is an advantage," Captain Nelson laughed. "When I think that you have
+raised your hand against that venerable but somewhat truculent prelate, I
+shudder at your boldness. I only caught a glimpse of him as he passed, but
+I could see that he looks rather scared."
+
+"Perhaps he hasn't recovered yet from the fright I gave him," laughed
+Terence; "I have seen and heard enough of his doings, and paid him a very
+small instalment of the debt due to him."
+
+The uniforms were promised for the next evening, and Terence felt when he
+put them on that they were a considerable improvement upon his late one,
+stained and discoloured as it was by wet, mud, and travel. After paying a
+visit to the general to say good-bye, Terence mounted and started for
+Coimbra.
+
+Upon his arrival there four days later he at once reported himself to the
+commandant.
+
+"I received a copy of the general order of last Tuesday," the latter said,
+"and congratulate you warmly on being confirmed in your rank. I thought
+that it would be so, for one could not reckon that, had another taken your
+place, your corps would have maintained its present state of efficiency."
+
+"You are very good to say so, Colonel, but any British officer appointed
+to command it would do as well or better than I should."
+
+"I don't think that he would in any way; but certainly he would not be
+followed with the same confidence by his men as they would follow you, and
+with troops like these everything depends upon their confidence in their
+commander."
+
+"The corps is now attached to our army, Colonel; you were good enough to
+order them to be rationed before, but I have now an order from the general
+for them to draw pay and rations the same as the British troops."
+
+"That is all right," the colonel said, examining the document; "I will
+take a copy of it, but as it is a general order you must keep the original
+yourself. I see that you have now adopted the uniform of the staff. It is
+certainly a great improvement upon that of an infantry officer, and
+appearances go for a good deal among these Portuguese. I see, by the way,
+that you have got your step in our army."
+
+"Yes, Colonel, the general was good enough to recommend me. Of course I am
+glad in one way, but I am sorry that it has put me out of the regiment
+that I have been brought up with. But, of course, it was necessary, for I
+could not have gone over other men's heads in it."
+
+"No, when a man gets special promotion it is always into another regiment
+for that reason. You will be glad to hear that your men have been behaving
+extremely well in your absence, and that I have not heard of a single case
+of drunkenness or misconduct among them. I have been down there several
+times, and always found them hard at work drilling; they seem to me to
+improve every time I see them."
+
+On leaving the colonel's quarters Terence rode to his cousin's. Mary rose
+with an exclamation of surprise as he entered.
+
+"What a handsome uniform, Terence! How is it that you have changed it?"
+
+"I am now regularly on the general's staff, Mary, and this is the
+uniform."
+
+"You look very well in it," she said; "don't you think so, Lorenza?"
+
+"I do, indeed," her friend agreed; "it does make a difference."
+
+"Well, to begin with, it is clean and new," Terence laughed; "and though
+the other was not old, it had seen its best days. But I have more news,
+Mary; you have now to address your cousin as colonel."
+
+Mary clapped her hands, and Don Jose and his family uttered exclamations
+of pleasure.
+
+"It is quite right," Mary said; "it is ridiculous that Senor Herrara
+should be colonel and you only Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"It does not matter much about a name," he said. "I commanded before and I
+shall do so now, but I have got Portuguese rank."
+
+"Why did not they make you an English colonel?" Mary asked, rather
+indignantly.
+
+Terence laughed. "I shall be lucky if I get that in another twenty years,
+Mary. I am a lieutenant now--I have got the step since you saw me
+last--but I am to rank as a colonel in the Portuguese army as long as I
+command this corps, which I am glad to say is now to form a part of the
+British army. Herrara is to have the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Bull and
+Macwitty will, I hope, get their commissions as ensigns in the British
+army, with local rank of majors. The general will recommend that Herrara's
+troopers all get commissions in the Portuguese army."
+
+"Ah, well! I am pleased that your services are appreciated, Terence. We
+are very glad that you have come back, Lorenza especially so, as, now you
+have returned, she thinks she will see more of Senor Herrara."
+
+"The bishop is in Lisbon, Mary."
+
+"That is not such good news, Terence. I will be very careful to keep out
+of his way."
+
+"Do," he said. "I have spoken to Captain Nelson, one of the general's
+staff, about you, and if by any chance you should be recognized as an
+escaped nun, I hope that Don Jose will go to him at once and ask him to
+obtain the general's protection for you, which will, I am sure, be given.
+Your father was an Irishman. You are a British subject, and have a right
+to protection. You won't forget the name, Don Jose--Captain Nelson?"
+
+"I will write it down at once," the Portuguese said, "but as Donna Mary
+will pass under the name of Dillon, and her dress has so changed her
+appearance, I do not think that there is the smallest fear of her being
+recognized. Indeed, no one could know her except the bishop himself."
+
+"You may be sure that I shall not go out much in Lisbon," Mary said, "and
+if I do I will keep my promise to be always closely veiled."
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+WITH THE MAYOS
+
+The news that Terence brought to the regiment gave great and general
+satisfaction. Herrara was delighted to hear that he was to be made a
+lieutenant-colonel in his army. Bull and Macwitty were overjoyed on
+hearing that they had both been recommended for commissions, and Herrara's
+troopers were equally pleased. The rank and file felt no less
+gratification, both at the honour of being attached to the British army,
+and at the substantial improvement in their condition that this would
+entail.
+
+On the following day Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor left for Lisbon,
+and the latter astonished Terence by bursting into tears as she said
+good-bye to him.
+
+"I have said nothing yet of the gratitude that I feel to you, Terence, for
+all that you have done for me, for you have always stopped me whenever I
+have tried to, but I shall always feel it, always; and shall think of you
+and love you dearly."
+
+"It has been just as fortunate for me as it has been good for you, Mary,"
+he said. "I have never had a sister, and I seem to have found one now."
+
+The girl looked up, pouting. "I don't think," she said, "I should
+particularly care about being a sister; I think that I would rather remain
+a cousin."
+
+Terence looked surprised and a little hurt.
+
+"You are only a silly boy," she laughed, "but will understand better some
+day. Well, good-bye, Terence," and the smile faded from her face.
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR.]
+
+
+"Good-bye, dear. Take great care of yourself in Lisbon, and be sure that
+you look out to see if the Mayo Fusiliers arrive while you are there. I
+heard that they were about to embark again with a force that General Hill
+is bringing out, but my father won't be with them, I am afraid. I have not
+heard from him, but I should hardly think that he will be fit for hard
+service again; yet, if he should be, he will tell you where to go to till
+we get back. At any rate, don't start for England until the regiment
+comes. I fancy that it will be at Lisbon before you are, and Don Jose can
+easily find out for you whether father is with it. If he is not, go to
+Ballinagra. I have written instructions how you are to travel, but you had
+better write to him there directly you land, and I have no doubt that he
+will come over and fetch you. I don't know anything about London, but you
+had better see Captain Nelson at Lisbon. Here is a note I have written to
+him, asking him where you had better go, and what you had better do when
+you get to London."
+
+The day after the party had left, Terence marched with his corps north,
+and established himself at Carvalho, where the road from Oporto passed
+over the spurs of the Serra de Caramula, in order to check the incursions
+of French cavalry from Oporto. In the course of the next fortnight he had
+several sharp engagements with them. In the last of these, when making a
+reconnaissance with both regiments, he was met by the whole of
+Franceschi's cavalry. They charged down on all four sides of the square
+into which he formed his force, expecting that, as upon two previous
+occasions, the Portuguese would at once break up at their approach. They
+stood, however, perfectly firm, and received the cavalry with such
+withering volleys that Franceschi speedily drew off, leaving upwards of
+two hundred dead behind him.
+
+The day after this fight Terence received a letter from Mary, saying that
+General Hill had arrived before they reached Lisbon, and that Don Jose had
+learned that Major O'Connor had retired on half-pay. Also that Captain
+Nelson had obtained a passage for her in one of the returning transports,
+and had given her a letter to his mother, who resided in London, asking
+her to receive her until she heard from the major.
+
+A few days afterwards he learned from Colonel Wilberforce that the English
+army had marched for Leirya. General Hill's force of five thousand men and
+three hundred horses for the artillery arrived at an opportune moment. The
+storming of Oporto, the approach of Victor to Badajos, after totally
+defeating Cuesta's Spanish army, killing three-fifths of his men, and
+capturing thousands of prisoners, while Lapisse was advancing from the
+east, had created a terrible panic in Portugal. Beresford's orders were
+disobeyed, many of his regiments abandoned their posts, and the populace
+in Lisbon were in a state of furious turmoil. Hill's arrival to some
+extent restored confidence, the disorders were repressed, and Sir John
+Cradock now felt himself strong enough to advance.
+
+Terence's report of the repulse of Franceschi's cavalry was answered by a
+letter from Cradock himself, expressing warm approval at the conduct of
+the corps.
+
+"There is but little fear of an advance by Soult at present," he said. "He
+must know that we have received reinforcements, and he will not venture to
+march on Lisbon, as the force now gathering at Leirya could operate upon
+his flank and rear. I shall be glad, therefore, if you would march with
+your command to the latter town. The example of your troops cannot but
+have a good effect upon the raw Portuguese levies, and, in the event of
+our advancing to the relief of Ciudad-Rodrigo, could render good service
+by clearing the passes, driving in the French outposts, and keeping me
+well informed of the state of the roads, the accommodation available for
+the troops, and the existence of supplies."
+
+Immediately on receipt of this Terence marched for Leirya, where the
+British army was under canvas. On the way down they halted for a night at
+Coimbra.
+
+"An official letter came for you last night, O'Connor," Colonel
+Wilberforce said. "I kept it until I should have an opportunity of
+forwarding it to you. Here it is, duly addressed, Colonel O'Connor, the
+Minho Regiment."
+
+This was the name Sir John Cradock suggested to Terence, as a memorial of
+the service they had rendered in repulsing Soult at that river. It was the
+first time Terence had seen his name with the prefix of colonel.
+
+"It looks like a farce," he said, as he broke the seal.
+
+Inside was an official document, signed by Lord Beresford, to the effect
+that as a recognition of the very great services rendered by Lieutenant
+O'Connor, an officer on the staff of Sir John Cradock, when in command of
+the two battalions of the Minho Regiment, and in accordance with the
+strong recommendation of the British general, Lieutenant Terence O'Connor
+is hereby appointed to the rank of colonel in the Portuguese service, with
+the pay and allowances of his rank. Colonel O' Connor is to continue in
+command of the regiments, which will be attached to the British army,
+under the command of Sir John Cradock.
+
+"Here is also a letter for your friend Herrara, and a much more bulky one;
+will you hand it to him?"
+
+Herrara's letter contained his promotion to lieutenant-colonel, with an
+order to remain under Terence's command; also fourteen commissions, two
+giving Bull and Macwitty the Portuguese rank of major, the remaining being
+captain's commissions for the twelve troopers.
+
+Two days later they reached Leirya. The April sun rendered shelter
+unnecessary for the Portuguese, and after establishing them, for the
+present, a quarter of a mile away from the British camp, he went and
+reported his arrival to the officer in command, and was told that he could
+not do better than bivouac on the ground he had selected. Leaving the
+headquarters he soon found where the Mayo regiment was encamped, and made
+his way to the officers' marquee. They were just sitting down to lunch
+when, at the entry of an officer on the general's staff, the colonel at
+once rose gravely. O'Grady was the first to recognize the newcomer.
+
+"Be jabers," he shouted, "but it is Terence O' Connor himself!" There was
+a general rush to shake hands with him, and a din of voices and a
+confusion of questions and greetings.
+
+"And what in the world have you got that uniform on for, Terence?" O'Grady
+asked, when the din somewhat subsided. "We saw that the general had
+appointed you as one of his aides-de-camp when you got here after Corunna,
+but you would wear your own uniform all the same."
+
+"What matters about his uniform, O'Grady?" the others exclaimed. "What we
+want to know is how he saved his life at Corunna, when we all thought that
+he was either killed or taken prisoner."
+
+"Wait till the lad has got something to eat and drink," the colonel said,
+peremptorily. "Pray take your seats, gentlemen. You take this chair by me,
+O'Connor; and now, while you are waiting for your plate, tell us in a few
+words how you escaped. Everyone made sure that you were killed. We heard
+that Fane had sent you to carry an order, that you had delivered it, and
+then started to rejoin him; from that time nobody saw you alive or dead."
+
+"The matter was very simple, Colonel. My horse was hit in the head with a
+round shot. I went a frightful cropper on some stones in the middle of a
+clump of bushes. I lay there insensible all night, and coming-to in the
+morning, saw that the French had advanced, and the firing on the hill over
+the town told me that the troops had got safely on board ship. I lay quiet
+all day, and at night made off, sheltered for a couple of days with some
+peasants on the other side of the hill, joined Romana, went to the
+Portuguese frontier with him, and then rode to Lisbon, where Sir John
+Cradock was good enough to put me on his staff."
+
+"We heard you had turned up safely at Lisbon, and glad we were, as you may
+be sure, and a good jollification we had over it. As for O'Grady, it has
+served as an excuse for an extra tumbler ever since."
+
+"Bad excuses are better than none," Terence laughed, "and if it hadn't
+been that, it would have been something else."
+
+"Shut up, you young scamp," O'Grady said. "How is it that you have not
+answered my question? Why are you wearing staff-officer's uniform instead
+of your own?"
+
+"Have you not heard, Colonel," Terence said, "that I no longer belong to
+the regiment?"
+
+There was a chorus of expressions of regret round the table.
+
+"And how has that happened, Terence?" the colonel asked. "That is bad news
+for us all, anyway."
+
+"I was gazetted lieutenant a month ago, Colonel. I suppose you had sailed
+from England before the _Gazette__ came out."
+
+"I suppose so, lad. Well, you richly deserved your promotion, if it was
+only for that affair on board the _Sea-horse__, and you ought to have had
+it long ago."
+
+"I am awfully sorry to leave the regiment. It has been my home as long as
+I can remember, and wherever I may be, I shall always regard it in that
+light."
+
+"And so you remain on the staff at present, O'Connor?"
+
+"Well, sir, I am on the staff still, but for the present I am on detached
+duty."
+
+"What sort of duty, Terence?"
+
+"I have the honour to command two Portuguese regiments that marched in an
+hour ago."
+
+A shout of laughter followed the announcement.
+
+"Bedad, Terence," O'Grady said, "that crack on your head hasn't changed
+your nature, thanks to your thick skull. I suppose it is poking fun at us
+that you are. But you won't take us in this time."
+
+"I saw the regiments pass at a distance," the colonel said, "and they
+marched in good order, too, which is more than I have seen any other
+Portuguese troops do. Now you mention it, I did see an officer, in what
+looked like a British uniform, riding with the men, but it was too far off
+to see what branch of the service he belonged to. That was you, was it?"
+
+"That was me, sure enough, Colonel."
+
+"And what were you doing there? Tell us, like a good boy."
+
+"Absurd as it may appear, and, indeed, absurd as it is, I am in command of
+those two regiments."
+
+Again a burst of incredulous laughter arose. Terence took out his
+commission and handed it to the colonel.
+
+"Perhaps, Colonel, if you will be kind enough to read that out loud, my
+assurance will be believed."
+
+"Faith, it was not your assurance that we doubted, Terence, me boy!"
+O'Grady exclaimed. "You have plenty of assurance, and to spare; it is the
+statement that we were doubting."
+
+The colonel glanced down the document, and his face assumed an expression
+of extreme surprise.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, rising, "if you will endeavour to keep silence for a
+minute, I will read this document."
+
+The surprise on his own face was repeated on the faces of all those
+present, as he proceeded with his reading. O'Grady was the first to break
+the silence.
+
+"In the name of St. Peter," he said, "what does it all mean? Are you sure
+that it is a genuine document, Colonel? Terence is capable of anything by
+way of a joke."
+
+"It is undoubtedly genuine, O'Grady. It is dated from Lord Beresford's
+quarters, and signed by his lordship himself as commander-in-chief of the
+Portuguese army. How it comes about beats me as much as it does you. But
+before we ask any questions we will drink a toast. Gentlemen, fill your
+glasses; here is to the health of Colonel Terence O'Connor."
+
+The toast was drank with much enthusiasm, mingled with laughter, for many
+of them had still a suspicion that the whole matter was somehow an
+elaborate trick played by Terence.
+
+"Now, Colonel O'Connor, will you please to favour us with an account of
+how General Cradock and Lord Beresford have both united in giving you so
+big a step up."
+
+"It is a long story, Colonel."
+
+"So much the better," the colonel replied. "We have nothing to do, and it
+will keep us all awake."
+
+Terence's account of his interview with the colonel of the ordenancas, the
+demand by Cortingos that he should hand over the money he was escorting,
+and the subsequent gathering to attack the house, and the manner in which
+the leaders were captured, the rioters appeased and subsequently advised
+to direct their efforts to obtain arms and ammunition, excited
+exclamations of approval; but the belief that the story was a pure romance
+still prevailed in the minds of many, and Terence saw Captain O'Grady and
+Dick Ryan exchanging winks. It was not until Terence spoke of his rapid
+march to the mouth of the Minho, as soon as he heard that the French were
+concentrating there, that he began to be seriously listened to; and when
+he told how Soult's attempt to cross had been defeated, and the French
+general obliged to change the whole plan of the campaign, and to march
+round by Orense, the conviction that all this was true was forced upon
+them.
+
+"By the powers, Terence!" the colonel exclaimed, bringing his hand down on
+his shoulder, "you are a credit to the ould country. I am proud of you, me
+boy, and it is little I thought when O'Flaherty and myself conspired to
+get ye into the regiment that you were going to be such a credit to it.
+Gentlemen, before Colonel O'Connor goes further, we will drink his health
+again."
+
+This time there was no laughter mixed with the cheers. Many of the
+officers left their seats and came round to shake his hand warmly, O'Grady
+foremost among them.
+
+"Sure I thought at first that it was blathering you were, Terence; but,
+begorra, I see now that it's gospel truth you are telling, and I am proud
+of you. Faith, I am as proud as if I were your own father, for haven't I
+brought you up in mischief of all kinds? Be the poker, I would have given
+me other arm to have been with you."
+
+The rest of the story was listened to without interruption. When it was
+concluded, Colonel Corcoran again rose.
+
+"Gentlemen, we will for the third time drink to the health of Colonel
+O'Connor, and I think that you will agree with me that if ever a man
+deserved to be made a colonel it's himself."
+
+This time O'Grady and three others rushed to where Terence was sitting,
+seized him, and before he knew what they were going to do, hoisted him
+onto the shoulders of two of them, and carried him in triumph round the
+table. When at length quiet was restored, and Terence had resumed his
+seat, the colonel said:
+
+"By the way, Terence, there was a little old gentleman called on me three
+days after we landed to ask if Major O'Connor was with the regiment. I
+told him that he was not, having gone on half-pay for the present on
+account of a wound. He seemed rather pleased than otherwise, I thought,
+and I asked him pretty bluntly what he wanted to know for. He brought an
+interpreter with him, and said through him that he hoped that I would not
+press that question, especially as a lady was concerned in the matter. It
+bothered me entirely. Why, from the time we landed at the Mondego till
+your father was hit at Vimiera I don't believe we ever had the chance to
+speak to a woman. It may be that it was some lady that nursed him there
+after we had marched away, and who had taken a fancy to him. The ould man
+may have been her father, and was perhaps mighty glad to hear that the
+major was not coming back again."
+
+Terence burst into a shout of laughter.
+
+"My dear Colonel," he said, "the respectable old gentleman did not call on
+behalf of his daughter, but on behalf of a cousin of mine, who was wanting
+to find my father; and Don Jose, who was in charge of her, was glad to
+hear that he was going to remain in England."
+
+"A cousin!" O'Grady exclaimed. "Why how in the name of fortune does a lady
+cousin of yours come to be cruising about in such an outlandish place as
+this?"
+
+"That is another story, Colonel, and I have talked until I am hoarse now,
+so that that must keep until another sitting. It is quite time that I was
+off to see how my men are getting on."
+
+"Of course you will dine with us?"
+
+"Not to-night, Colonel; this has been a long sitting, and I would rather
+not begin a fresh one."
+
+"Well, we will come and have a look at your regiments."
+
+"I would rather you did not come until to-morrow, Colonel. The men have
+marched five-and-twenty miles a day for the last five days, and they want
+rest, so I should not like to parade them again. If you will come over,
+say at twelve o'clock to-morrow, I shall be proud to show them."
+
+The corps now possessed five tents, Terence having obtained four more at
+Coimbra. Herrara and himself occupied one, while two were allotted to the
+officers of each regiment. Bull and Macwitty had both by this time picked
+up sufficient Portuguese to be able to get on comfortably, and had agreed
+with Terence that although they would like to remain together, it was
+better that each should stay with the officers of his own regiment.
+
+At twelve o'clock next day Colonel Corcoran came over with nearly the
+whole of the officers of the Mayo regiment, and was accompanied by many
+others, as they had the night before given many of their acquaintances an
+outline of Terence's story.
+
+The men had been on foot from an early hour after breakfast. There had
+been a parade. Every man's firelock, accoutrements, and uniform had been
+very closely inspected, and when they fell in again at a quarter to twelve
+a most rigid inspection would have failed to find any fault with their
+appearance. Terence joined the colonel as soon as he came on the ground.
+
+"So your officers are all mounted, I see, Terence?"
+
+"Yes, Colonel; you see the companies are over two hundred strong, for the
+losses we had have been filled up since, and one officer to each corps
+could do but little unless he were mounted."
+
+"The men looked uncommonly well, Terence, uncommonly well. I should like
+to walk along the line before you move them."
+
+"By all means, Colonel. Their uniforms do not fit as well as I should
+like, but I had to take them as they were served out, and have had no
+opportunity of getting them altered."
+
+Since the inspection at Coimbra the men had been taught the salute, and as
+Terence shouted:
+
+"Attention! General salute! Present arms!" the men executed the order with
+a sharpness and precision that would have done no discredit to a British
+line regiment. Then the colonel and officers walked along the line, after
+which the troops were put through their manoeuvres for an hour, and then
+dismissed.
+
+"Upon my word, it is wonderful," Colonel Corcoran said. "Why, if the
+beggars had been at it six months they could not have done it better."
+
+There was a chorus of agreement from all the officers round.
+
+"We could not have done some of those movements better ourselves, could
+we, O'Driscol?"
+
+"That we could not," the major said, heartily. "Another three months' work
+and these two regiments would be equal to our best; and I can understand
+now how they stood up against the charge of Franceschi's cavalry
+regiments."
+
+"Now, Colonel, I cannot ask you all to a meal," Terence said; "my
+arrangements are not sufficiently advanced for that yet; but I managed to
+get hold of some very good wine this morning, and I hope that you will
+take a glass all round before you go back to camp."
+
+"That we will, and with pleasure, for the dust has well-nigh choked me. It
+is a different thing drilling on this sandy ground from drilling on a
+stretch of good turf. Of course, you will come back and lunch with us, and
+bring your friend Herrara."
+
+Herrara, however, excused himself. He did not know a word of English, and
+felt that until he could make himself understood he would feel
+uncomfortable at a gathering of English officers. After lunch Terence was
+called upon to tell the story about his cousin. Among his friends of the
+regiment he had no fear of his adventure with the bishop getting abroad,
+and he therefore related the whole story as it happened.
+
+"By my sowl," O'Grady said to him, afterwards, "Terence O'Connor, you take
+me breath away altogether. To think that a year ago you were just a
+gossoon, and here ye are a colonel--a Portuguese colonel, I grant, but
+still a colonel--fighting Soult, and houlding defiles, and making night
+attacks, and thrashing the French cavalry, and carrying off a nun from a
+convent, and outwitting a bishop, and playing all Sorts of divarsions. It
+bates me entirely. There is Dicky Ryan, who, as I tould him yesterday, had
+just the same chances as you have had, just Dicky Ryan still. I tould him
+he ought to blush down to his boots."
+
+"And what did he say, O'Grady?"
+
+"The young spalpeen had the impudence to say that there was I, Captain
+O'Grady, just the same as when he first joined, and, barring the loss of
+an arm, divil a bit the better. And the worst of it is, it was true
+entirely. If I could but find a pretty cousin shut up in a convent you
+would see that I would not be backward in doing what had to be done; but
+no such luck comes to me at all, at all."
+
+"Quite so, O' Grady; I have had tremendous luck. And it has all come about
+owing to my happening to think it would be a good thing to take possession
+of that French lugger."
+
+"Don't you think it, me boy," O'Grady said, seriously. "No doubt a man may
+have a turn of luck, though it is not everyone who takes advantage of it
+when it comes. But when you see a man always succeeding, always doing
+something that other fellows don't do, and making his way up step by step,
+you may put it down that luck has very little to do with the matter, and
+that he has got something in him that other men haven't got. You may have
+had some luck to start with--enough, perhaps, to have got you your
+lieutenancy, though I don't say that it was luck; but you cannot put the
+rest of it down to that."
+
+At this moment Dick Ryan came and joined them.
+
+"Well, Dicky," Terence said, "have you had no fun lately in the regiment?"
+
+"Not a scrap," Ryan said, dismally. "There was not much chance of fun on
+that long march; on board ship there was a storm all the way; then we were
+kept on board the transport at Cork nearly three months. Everyone was out
+of temper, and a mouse would not have dared squeak on board the ship. I
+have had a bad time of it since the day we lost you."
+
+"Oh, well, you will have plenty of chances yet, Dicky."
+
+"It has not been the same thing since you have gone, Terence," he
+grumbled. "Of course we could not always be having fun; but you know that
+we were always putting our heads together and talking over what might be
+done. It was good fun, even if we could not carry it out. I tried to stir
+up the others of our lot, but they don't seem to have it in them. I wish
+you could get me transferred to your regiment. I know that we should have
+plenty of fun there."
+
+"I am afraid that it could not be done, Dicky, though I should like it
+immensely. But you see you have not learned a word of Portuguese, and you
+would be of no use in the world."
+
+"There it is, you see," O'Grady said. "That is one of the points which had
+no luck in it, Terence. You were always trying to talk away with the
+peasants; and, riding about as you did as Fane's aide-de-camp, you had
+opportunities of doing so and made the most of them. Now there are not
+three other fellows in the regiment who can ask a simple question. I can
+shout _Carajo!__ at a mule-driver who loiters behind, and can add two or
+three other strong Portuguese words, but there is an end of it. Cradock
+would never have sent you that errand to Romana if you could not have
+talked enough to have made yourself understood. You could never have jawed
+those mutineers and put them up to getting hold of the arms. If Dicky Ryan
+and I had been sent on that mission we should just have been as helpless
+as babies, and should, like enough, have been murdered by that mob. There
+was no luck about that, you see; it was just because you had done your
+best to pick up the language, and nobody else had taken the trouble to
+learn a word of it."
+
+"I see that, O'Grady," Ryan said, dolefully. "I don't envy Terence a bit.
+I know that he has quite deserved what he has got, and that if I had had
+his start, I should never have got any farther. Still, I wish I could go
+with him. I know that he has always been the one who invented our plans.
+Still, I have had a good idea sometimes."
+
+"Certainly you have, Dicky; and if I have generally started an idea, you
+have always worked it up with me. Well, if you will get up Portuguese a
+bit, and I see a chance of asking for another English officer, say as
+adjutant, I will see if I cannot get you; but I could not ask for you
+without being able to give as a reason that you could speak Portuguese
+well."
+
+"I will try, Terence; upon my honour, I will try hard," Ryan said. "I will
+get hold of a fellow and begin to-day."
+
+"Quite right, Dicky," O'Grady said. "Faith, I would do it meself, if it
+wasn't in the first place that I am too old to learn, and in the second
+place that I niver could learn anything when I was a boy. I used to get
+thrashed every day regularly, but divil a bit of difference did it make. I
+got to read and write, and there I stuck. As for the ancients, I was
+always mixing them up together; and whether it was Alexander or Caesar who
+marched over the Alps and burnt Jerusalem, divil a bit do I know, and I
+don't see that if I did know it would do me a hap'orth of good."
+
+"I don't think that particular piece of knowledge would, O'Grady," Terence
+agreed, with a hearty laugh; "still, even if you did learn Portuguese, I
+couldn't ask for you. I don't mind Dicky, because he is only a year senior
+to me; but if they made me commander-in-chief of the Portuguese army, I
+could never have the cheek to give you an order."
+
+Three weeks later came the startling news that Sir Arthur Wellesley had
+arrived at Lisbon, and was to assume the command of the army. Sir John
+Cradock was to command at Gibraltar. There was general satisfaction at the
+news, for the events of the last campaign had given all who served under
+him an implicit confidence in Sir Arthur; but it was felt that Sir John
+Cradock had been very hardly treated. In the first place, he was a good
+way senior to Sir Arthur, and in the second place, he had battled against
+innumerable difficulties, and the time was now approaching when he would
+reap the benefit of his labours. To Terence the news came almost as a
+blow, for he felt that it was probable he might be at once appointed to a
+British regiment.
+
+Personally he would not have cared so much, but he would have regretted it
+greatly for the sake of the men who had followed him. It was true that
+they might obey Herrara as willingly as they did himself, but he knew that
+the native officers did not possess anything like the same influence with
+the Portuguese that the English did, and that there might be a rapid
+deterioration in their discipline and morale. He remained in a state of
+uncertainty for a week, at the end of which time he received a letter from
+Captain Nelson, and tearing it open, read as follows:--
+
+_My Dear O' Connor,
+
+I dare say you have been feeling somewhat doubtful as to your position
+since you heard that Sir Arthur has superseded Sir John Cradock. I may
+tell you at once that he has taken over the whole of Sir John's staff,
+yourself, of course, included. I ventured to suggest to Sir John that he
+should mention your case to Sir Arthur, and he told me that he had
+intended to take the opportunity of the first informal talk he had with
+him to do so. The opportunity came yesterday, and Sir John went fully into
+your case, showed him the reports, and mentioned how he came to appoint
+you because of the clear and lucid description you gave of the movements
+of every division of Moore's army.
+
+Sir Arthur remembered your name at once, and the circumstances under which
+he had mentioned you in general orders for your conduct on board the
+transport coming out. Sir John told me that he said, 'There is no doubt
+that O'Connor is a singularly promising young officer, Sir John. The check
+he gave Soult on the Minho might have completely reversed the success of
+the Frenchman's campaign had he had any but Spaniards and Portuguese to
+oppose him. The report shows that O'Connor has done wonders with those two
+regiments of his, and I shall not think of removing him from their
+command. A trustworthy native corps of that description would be of the
+greatest advantage, and will act, like Trant and Wilson's commands, as the
+eyes of the army. I am much obliged to you for your having brought the
+case before my notice, for otherwise, not knowing the circumstances, I
+might very well have considered that the position of a lieutenant on my
+staff as the commander of two native regiments was an anomalous one. I
+should, no doubt, have inquired how it occurred before I thought of
+superseding an officer you had selected, but your explanation more than
+justifies his appointment.' So you see, Terence, the change will make no
+difference in your position. And as I fancy Sir Arthur will not let the
+grass grow under his feet, you are likely to have a lively time of it
+before long. By the way, a Gazette has arrived, and it contains the
+appointment of your two men to commissions.__
+
+While waiting at Leirya, Terence had ordered uniforms for all the
+officers. He had, after consultation with Herrara, decided upon one
+approximating rather to the cavalry than to infantry dress, as being more
+convenient for mounted officers. It consisted of tight-fitting green
+patrol jacket, breeches of the same colour, and half-high boots and a
+gold-embroidered belt and slings. The two English officers wore a yellow
+band round their caps, and Herrara a gold one.
+
+"I am sure, Colonel O'Connor," Bull said, when Terence told Macwitty and
+him that they had been gazetted to commissions, "we cannot thank you
+enough. Macwitty and I have done our best, but it has been nothing more
+than teaching drill to a lot of recruits."
+
+"We had two or three hard fights, too, Bull; and I have very good reason
+for thinking most highly of you, for I should never have got the corps
+into an efficient state without your assistance. And, indeed, I doubt
+whether I should have ventured upon the task at all if I had not been sure
+that I should be well seconded by you."
+
+"It is good of you to say so, Colonel," Macwitty said; "but at any rate,
+it has been a rare bit of luck for us, and little did we think when we
+were ordered to accompany you it was going to lead to our getting
+commissions. Well, we will do our best to deserve them."
+
+"That I am sure you will, Macwitty; and now that the campaign is going to
+commence in earnest, and we may have two or three years' hard fighting,
+you may have opportunities of getting another step before you go home."
+
+Three days later an order came to Terence to march north again with his
+corps, and to place himself in some defensible position north of the
+Mondego, and to co-operate, if necessary, with Trant and Silveira, also
+ordered to take post beyond the river. Cuesta, the Portuguese general, had
+gathered a fresh army of six thousand cavalry and thirty thousand
+infantry. The greater portion were in a position in front of Victor's
+outposts. Between the Tagus and the Mondego were 16,000 Portuguese troops
+of the line, under Lord Beresford, that had been drilled and organized to
+some extent by British officers. The British and German troops numbered
+22,000 fighting men.
+
+Sir Arthur Wellesley, at Lisbon, had the choice of either falling upon
+Victor or Soult. The former would be the most advantageous operation, but,
+upon the other hand, the Portuguese were most anxious to recover Oporto,
+their second city, with the fertile country round it.
+
+Another fact which influenced the decision was that Cuesta was alike
+incapable and obstinate, and was wholly indisposed to co-operate warmly
+with the British. The British commander, therefore, decided in the first
+place to attack Soult, and the force at Leirya was ordered to march to
+Coimbra. Five British battalions and two regiments of cavalry, with 7,000
+Portuguese troops, were ordered to Abrantes and Santarem to check Victor,
+should he endeavour to make a rapid march upon Lisbon. Four Portuguese
+battalions were incorporated in each British brigade at Coimbra, Beresford
+retaining 6,000 under his personal command. On the 2d of May Sir Arthur
+reached Coimbra and reviewed the force, 25,000 strong, 9,000 being
+Portuguese, 3,000 Germans, and 13,000 British.
+
+Soult was badly informed of the storm that was gathering about him, or
+many of his officers were disaffected, and were engaged in a plot to have
+him supplanted; consequently, they kept back the information they received
+of the movements of the British.
+
+
+[Illustration: "WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+PORTUGAL FREED
+
+On the 9th of May Terence was directing the movements of his men, who were
+practising skirmishing among some rough ground at the bottom of the hill
+upon which he had taken up his position, to defend, if necessary, the road
+that crossed if. His men had thrown up several lines of breast-works along
+the face of the hill to a point where steep ravines protected the flank of
+his position. Presently he saw a party of horsemen riding down the hill
+behind him. They reined up suddenly when half-way down the hill and paused
+to watch what was being done; then they came on again. As they approached,
+Terence recognized the erect figure of the officer who rode at the head of
+the party. He cantered up and saluted.
+
+"Who are you, sir, and what troops are these?" Sir Arthur asked, sharply.
+
+"My name is O'Connor, sir. These men constitute the corps that I have the
+honour to command."
+
+"Form them up in line," the general said, briefly.
+
+Terence rode away at a gallop, and as soon as he reached the spot where
+his bugler was standing--for bugles had now taken the place of the horns
+that had before served the purpose--the latter at once blew the assembly,
+and then the order to form line. The men dashed down at the top of their
+speed, and in a very short time formed up in a long line with their
+officers in front.
+
+"Break them into columns of companies," the general, who had now ridden
+with the staff to the front, said.
+
+The manoeuvre was performed steadily and well.
+
+"Send out the alternate companies as skirmishers, while the other
+companies form line and move forward in support." When this had been done
+the order came: "Skirmishers, form into company squares to resist enemy's
+cavalry."
+
+This had been so frequently practised that in a few seconds the six
+squares were formed up in an attitude to receive cavalry.
+
+"That is very well done, Colonel O'Connor," Sir Arthur said, with more
+warmth than was usual with him. "Your men are well in hand and know their
+business. It is a very creditable display, indeed; you have proved your
+capacity for command. I have not forgotten what I have heard of you, sir,
+and it will not be long before your services are utilized."
+
+So saying he rode on. Captain Nelson lingered behind for a moment to shake
+hands with Terence.
+
+"You may feel proud of that, O'Connor," he said; "Sir Arthur is not given
+to praise, I can assure you. Good-bye, I must catch them up;" and,
+turning, he soon overtook the general's staff.
+
+That the general was well satisfied was proved by the fact that three days
+later the following appeared in general orders:
+
+_"The officer commanding-in-chief on Thursday inspected the corps under
+the command of Lieutenant (with the rank of colonel in the Portuguese
+army) O'Connor. He was much pleased with the discipline and quickness with
+which the corps went through certain movements ordered by him. This corps
+has already greatly distinguished itself, and Sir Arthur would point to it
+as an example to be imitated by all officers having command of Portuguese
+troops."__
+
+Soult's position had now become very dangerous. The Spanish and Portuguese
+insurgents were upon the Lima, and the principal portion of his own force
+was south of the Douro.
+
+Franceschi's cavalry, supported by infantry and artillery, and by Mermet's
+division, occupied the country between that river and the Vouga, and was
+without communication with the centre at Oporto, except by the bridge of
+boats.
+
+Although aware that there was a considerable force gathering at Coimbra,
+the French general had no idea that the whole of the British army was
+assembling there. Confident that success would attend his operations, Sir
+Arthur directed the Portuguese corps to be in readiness to harass Soult's
+retreat through the mountain denies and up the valley of the Tamega, and
+so to force him to march north instead of making for Salamanca, where he
+could unite with the French army there.
+
+A mounted officer brought similar orders to Terence. Half an hour after
+receiving them the corps was on the march. The instructions were brief and
+simple:
+
+_"You will endeavour to harass Soult as he retreats across the
+Tras-os-Montes, and try to head him off to the north. Act as circumstances
+may dictate."__
+
+The service was a dangerous one, and Terence felt that it was a high
+honour that the general should have appointed him to undertake it, for he
+assuredly would not have sent the corps on such a mission had he not
+considered that they could be relied upon to take care of themselves. They
+would be wholly unsupported save by parties of peasants and ordenancas;
+they would have to operate against an army broken, doubtless, by defeat,
+but all the more determined to push on, as delay might mean total loss.
+
+He followed the line of the Vouga to the point where it emerged from the
+hills, crossed these, and came down upon the Douro some ten miles above
+San Joao, at nearly the same spot where he had before made the passage
+when on his way to join Romana.
+
+He was now well beyond the district held by the French south of the Douro,
+and, obtaining a number of boats, crossed the river, and then made for
+Mirandella on the river Tua, and halted some distance from the town,
+having made a march of over seventy miles in two days. Learning from the
+peasants that there were no French troops west of the Tamega, he marched
+the next day to the crest looking down into the valley, and here halted
+until he could learn that Soult was retreating, and what road he was
+following. He had not long to wait for news, for, on the night of the 9th,
+while he was on his march by the Vouga, the British force had moved
+forward to Aveiro. Hill's division had there taken boats, and proceeding
+up the lake to Ovar, had landed at sunrise on the 10th, and placed himself
+on Franceschi's right.
+
+In the meantime Paget's division had marched to Albergaria, while Cotton's
+division and Trant's command moved to turn Franceschi's position on its
+right. The darkness and their ignorance of the roads prevented the
+movement being attended with the hoped-for success. Had the operation been
+carried out without a hitch, Franceschi and Mermet would both have been
+driven off the line of retreat to the bridge of Oporto, and must have been
+captured or destroyed. As it was, Franceschi fell back fighting, joined
+Mermet's division at Crijo, a day's march in the rear, and although the
+whole were driven on the following day from this position, they retired in
+good order, and that night effected their retreat across the bridge of
+boats, which was then destroyed.
+
+As Franceschi's report informed Soult that the whole force of the allies
+was now upon him, he at once sent off his heavy artillery and baggage by
+the road to Amarante. Mermet was posted at Valongo, with orders to patrol
+the river and to seize every boat. Those at Oporto were also secured. On
+the morning of the 12th the British force was concentrated behind the hill
+of Villa Nova, and Sir Arthur took his place on the top of the Serra
+Convent, from whence he commanded a view of the city and opposite bank. He
+saw that the French force was stationed for the most part below Oporto.
+Franceschi's report had led Soult to believe that Hill's division had come
+by sea, and he expected that the transports would go up to the mouth of
+the Douro, and that the British would attempt to effect a landing there.
+
+The river took a sharp turn round the Serra Convent, and Sir Arthur saw
+that another large convent on the opposite bank, known as the Seminary,
+was concealed by the hill from Soult's position, and that it might be
+occupied without attracting the attention of the French. After much search
+a little boat was found; in this a few men crossed and brought back two
+large boats from the opposite side of the river. In these the troops at
+once began to cross, and two companies had taken possession of the convent
+before Soult was aware of what was going on. Then a prodigious din arose.
+Troops were hurried through the town, the bugles and trumpets sounded the
+alarm, while the populace thronged to the roofs of their houses wildly
+cheering and waving handkerchiefs and scarves, and the church bells added
+to the clamour.
+
+Three batteries of artillery had been brought up close to the Serra
+Convent, and now that there was no longer need of concealment these were
+brought forward, and--as the French issued from the town and hurried
+towards the post held by the two companies that had crossed--opened a
+heavy fire upon them. The French pushed on gallantly in spite of this fire
+and the musketry of the soldiers, but the wall of the convent was strong,
+more boats had been obtained, and every minute added to the number of the
+defenders. The attack was, nevertheless, obstinately continued. The French
+artillery endeavoured to blow in the gate, and for a time the position of
+the defenders was serious, but the enemy's troops were now evacuating the
+lower part of the town, and immediately they did so the inhabitants
+brought boats over, and a brigade under Sherwood crossed there.
+
+In the meantime General Murray had been sent with the German division to
+effect a passage of the river two miles farther up. Soult's orders to take
+possession of all the boats had been neglected, and it was not long before
+Murray crossed with his force. The confusion in the French line of retreat
+was now terrible. A battery of artillery, who brought up the rear, were
+smitten by the fire of Sherwood's men; many were killed, and the rest cut
+their traces and galloped on to join the retreating army. Sherwood's men
+pressed these in the rear, the infantry on the roof of the Seminary poured
+their fire on the retiring masses, and the guns on the Serra rock swept
+the long line.
+
+Had Murray now fallen upon the disordered crowd their discomfiture would
+have been complete, but he held his force inactive, afraid that the French
+might turn upon him and drive him into the river. General Stewart and
+Major Harvey, furious at his inactivity, charged the French at the head of
+two squadrons of cavalry only, dashed through the enemy's column, unhorsed
+General Laborde and wounded General Foy. Receiving, however, no support
+whatever from Murray, the gallant little band of cavalry were forced to
+fight their way back with loss. Thus, as Franceschi had been saved from
+destruction from an error as to the road, Soult was saved the loss of this
+army by Murray's timidity, and in both cases Sir Arthur's masterly plans
+failed in attaining the complete success they deserved.
+
+Terence had engaged several peasants to watch the roads leading from
+Oporto, and as soon as he learned that a long train of baggage and heavy
+guns was leaving the city by the road to Amarante, he crossed the valley,
+took up a position on the Catalena hill flanking the road, and as the
+waggons came along opened a sudden and heavy fire upon them. Although
+protected by a strong guard the convoy fell into confusion, many of the
+horses being killed by the first volley. Some of the drivers leapt from
+their seats and deserted their charges, others flogged their horses, and
+tried to push through the struggling mass. An incessant fire was kept up,
+but just as Terence was about to order the whole corps to charge down and
+complete the work, a large body of cavalry, followed by a heavy body of
+infantry, appeared on the scene.
+
+This was Merle's division, that had hastened up from Valonga on hearing
+the firing. The advance of the cavalry was checked by the musketry fire,
+but Merle at once ordered his infantry to mount the hill and drive the
+Portuguese off. The latter stood their ground gallantly for some time,
+inflicting heavy loss upon their assailants. Terence saw, however, that he
+could not hope to withstand long the attack of a whole French division,
+and leaving two companies behind to check the enemy's advance, he marched
+along the crest of the hill until he came upon the road crossing from
+Amarante to the Ave river.
+
+By this time he had been joined by the rear-guard, who had retired in time
+to make their escape before the French reached the top of the hill. Merle
+posted a brigade along the crest of the ridge to prevent a repetition of
+the attack, and to cover Soult's line of retreat, if he were forced to
+fall back; while Terence took up his position near Pombeiro, whence he
+presently saw the convoy enter Amarante. He had the satisfaction, however,
+of noticing that it was greatly diminished in length, a great many of the
+waggons having been left behind owing to the number of horses that had
+been killed. His attack had had another advantage of which he was unaware,
+for it had so occupied Merle's attention that he had neglected to have all
+the boats taken across the river, which enabled Murray's command to cross
+the next day, an error which, had Murray been possessed of any dash and
+energy, would have proved fatal to the French army.
+
+The next day Terence heard the sound of the guns on the Serra height, but
+the distance was too great for the crack of musketry to reach him, and he
+had no idea that the British were crossing the river until he saw the
+French marching across the mouth of the valley towards Amarante. Among
+such veteran troops discipline was speedly recovered, and they encamped in
+good order in the valley. That town was, however, in the hands of the
+Portuguese, Loison, either from treachery or incapacity, having disobeyed
+Soult's orders and retired before the advance of the Portuguese force
+under Lord Beresford, and, evacuating Amarante, taken the road to
+Guimaraens, passing by Pombeiro.
+
+He had sent no news to Soult, and the latter general was altogether
+ignorant that he had left Amarante. Upon receiving the news from the head
+of the column he at once saw that the position had now become a desperate
+one. Beresford, he learned at the same time, had marched up the Tamega
+valley to take post at Chaves, where Silveira had joined him. A retreat in
+that direction, therefore, was impossible, and he at once destroyed his
+baggage, spiked his guns, and at nightfall, guided by a peasant, ascended
+a path up the Serra Catalena, and, marching all night, rejoined Loison at
+Guimaraens, passing on his way through Pombeiro. Terence had left the
+place a few hours before, believing that Soult must return up the valley
+of the Tamega, and, ignorant that Beresford and Silveira barred the way,
+he marched after nightfall towards Chaves and took up a position where he
+could arrest, for a time, the retreat of the French army.
+
+He had left two of his men at Pombeiro, and had halted but a short time
+after completing his long and arduous march when his two men came up with
+the news that Soult had passed by the very place he had a few hours before
+left. As there was more than one route open to Soult, Terence was unable
+to decide which he had best take. His men had already performed a very
+long march, and it was absolutely necessary to give them a rest; he
+therefore allowed them to sleep during the day. Towards evening he crossed
+the Serra de Cabrierra and came down upon Salamende, and sent out scouts
+for news. Destroying the guns, ammunition, and baggage of Loison's
+division, Soult reached the Carvalho on the evening of the 14th, drew up
+his army on the position that he had occupied two months before at the
+battle of Braga, reorganized his forces, and ordering Loison to lead the
+advance, while he himself took command of the rear, continued his march.
+The next day Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had been obliged to halt at Oporto
+until the whole army, with its artillery and train, had passed the river,
+reached Braga, having marched by a much shorter road.
+
+Terence's scouts brought news that the whole of the French army were
+marching towards Salamende. Wholly unsupported as he was, ignorant of the
+position of Beresford and Silveira, and knowing nothing of Sir Arthur's
+march towards Braga, he decided not to attempt with his force to bar the
+way to Soult's twenty thousand men, but to hold Salamende for a time and
+then fall back up the mountains. Before doing so he sent a party to blow
+up the bridge at Ponte Nova across the Cavado, and also sent his second
+regiment to defend the passage at Riuvaens.
+
+Thinking it likely that Soult would again cross the mountains to Chaves,
+he sent Herrara in command of the force at the bridge, while he himself
+remained at Salamende. Here he had the houses facing the road by which the
+enemy would approach, loopholed and the road itself barricaded. Late in
+the afternoon the French cavalry were seen approaching, and a heavy fire
+was at once opened upon them. The rapidity of the discharges showed
+Franceschi that the place was held by more than a mere party of peasants,
+and he drew off his cavalry and allowed the infantry to pass him. For half
+an hour the Portuguese held their ground and repulsed three determined
+assaults; then, seeing a strong body of troops ascending the hillside to
+take the position in flank, Terence ordered his troops to fall back. This
+they did in good order, and took up a position high up on the hill.
+
+The French made but a short pause; a small body of cavalry that Soult had
+left near Braga brought him the news that the British army was entering
+that town. Scouts were sent forward at once, and their report that the
+bridge of Riuvaens was destroyed, and that 1,200 Portuguese regular troops
+were on the opposite bank, decided him to take the road by the Ponte Nova.
+The night was a terrible one; the rain had for two days been continuous,
+and the troops were drenched to the skin and impatient at the hardship
+that they had suffered. The scouts reported that the bridge here had also
+been destroyed, but that one of the parapets was still unbroken, and that
+the force on the other side consisted only of peasants. Soult ordered
+Major Doulong, an officer celebrated for his courage, to take a hundred
+grenadiers and secure the passage.
+
+A violent storm was now raging, and their footsteps being deadened by the
+roar of the wind, the French crept up, killed the Portuguese sentry on
+their side of the bridge before he could give the alarm, and then crawled
+across the narrow line of masonry. Then they rushed up the opposite
+heights, shouting and firing, and the peasantry, believing that the whole
+French army were upon them, fled at once. The bridge was hastily repaired,
+and at four o'clock in the morning the whole of the French army had
+crossed. Their retreat was opposed at a bridge of a single arch over a
+torrent, by a party of Portuguese peasantry, but after two repulses the
+French, led by Major Doulong, carried it.
+
+They were just in time, for in the afternoon the British came upon a
+strong rear-guard left at Salamende. Some light troops at once turned
+their flank, while Sherwood attacked them in front, and they fled in
+confusion to the Ponte Nova. As the general imagined that Soult would take
+the other road, their retreat in this direction was for some time
+unperceived, but just as they were crossing, the British artillery opened
+fire upon the bridge with terrible effect, very many of the enemy being
+killed before they could effect a passage. Their further retreat was
+performed without molestation. The British troops had made very long
+marches in the hopes of cutting Soult's line of retreat, and as the
+French, unlike the British, carried no provisions for their march, there
+was now little hope of overtaking them, especially as their main body was
+far ahead.
+
+Sir Arthur halted for a day at Riuvaens, where Terence's corps was now
+concentrated, he having marched there the night he was driven out of
+Salamende. As soon as the British entered the place, the general inquired
+what corps was holding it, and at once sent for Terence.
+
+"Let me hear what you have been doing, Colonel O'Connor."
+
+Terence had, as soon as he heard that the army had arrived at Salamende,
+written out a report of his movements from the time that he had marched
+from Vouga. He now presented it. The general waved it aside.
+
+"Tell me yourself," he said.
+
+Terence related as briefly as possible the course he had followed, and the
+reasons of his movements.
+
+"Good!" the general said, when he had finished. "Your calculations were
+all well founded; but, of course, you could not calculate on Soult's night
+march across the Catalena hills, and, as you knew nothing of the
+whereabouts of Beresford and Silveira, you had good reason to suppose that
+Soult would continue his march up the valley of the Tamega to Chaves. That
+was the only mistake you committed, and an older soldier might well have
+fallen into the same error. When you had found out your mistake, you acted
+promptly, and could not have done better than to proceed to Salamende. You
+did well to destroy both bridges, and to place half your force to defend
+the passage here, for you naturally supposed, as I supposed myself, that
+Soult would follow this road down to Chaves.
+
+"You were again deceived, but were in no way to blame. Your position was
+most judiciously chosen on the Catalena hills on Soult's natural line of
+retreat, and I heard that the enemy's baggage train had been very severely
+mauled, and was only saved from destruction by Merle deploying his whole
+division against the force attacking it. Again I see you made a stout
+defence at Salamende. We saw a large number of French dead there as we
+marched in. If everyone else had done as well as you have done, young sir,
+Soult's army would never have escaped me."
+
+Terence bowed, and retired deeply gratified, for he had been doubtful what
+his reception would be. He knew that he had done his best, but twice he
+had been mistaken, and each time the mistake had allowed Soult to pass
+unmolested; and he was, therefore, all the more pleased on learning that
+so skilful a general had declared that these mistakes, although
+unfortunate, were yet natural.
+
+Soult reached Orense on the 20th, without guns, stores, ammunition, or
+baggage, his men exhausted with fatigue and misery, most of them shoeless,
+and some without muskets. He had left Orense seventy-six days before with
+22,000 men, and had lately been joined by 3,500 from Tuy. He returned with
+19,500, having lost 6,000 by sword, sickness, assassination, and capture.
+Of these 3,600 were taken in the hospitals at Oporto, Chaves, Vianna, and
+Braga. One thousand were killed in the advance, and the remainder captured
+or killed within the last eight days.
+
+A day later the news arrived that Victor was at last advancing and a
+considerable number of the troops assembled at Salamende, among them
+Terence's corps, were ordered to march to join the force opposed to him.
+Terence started two hours before the bulk of the force got into motion,
+and traversing the ground at a high rate of speed, struck the road from
+Lisbon a day in advance of the British troops. There was, however, no
+occasion for action, for Victor, who had taken Abrantes, had, on receiving
+news of the fall of Oporto, at once evacuated that town and fallen back,
+and for a time all operations ceased on that side.
+
+The British army had suffered but slight loss in battle, but the long
+marches, the terribly wet weather, and the effect of climate told heavily
+upon them, and upwards of 4,000 men were, in a short time, in hospital.
+
+Fortunately, however, a reinforcement of equal strength arrived from
+England, and the fighting strength of the army was therefore maintained.
+There was still, however, a great want of transport animals; the
+commissariat were, for the most part, new to their duties, and ignorant of
+the language. Sir Arthur Wellesley was engaged in the endeavour to get
+Cuesta to co-operate with him, but the obstinate old man refused to do so
+unless his plans were adopted; and these were of so wild and impracticable
+a character that Sir Arthur preferred to act alone, especially as Cuesta's
+army had already been repeatedly beaten by the French, and the utter
+worthlessness of his soldiers demonstrated.
+
+The pause of operations in Spain, entailed by the concentration of the
+commands of Soult, Ney, Victor, and Lapisse on the frontier, had given
+breathing time to Spain. Large armies had again been raised, and the same
+confident ideas, the same jealousy between generals, and the same quarrels
+between the Juntas had been prevalent. Once again Spain was confident that
+she could alone, and unaided, drive the French across the frontier
+altogether, forgetful of the easy and crushing defeats that had before
+been inflicted upon her. Like Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley was to some
+extent deceived by these boastings, and believed that he should obtain
+material assistance in the way of transports and provisions, and that at
+least valuable diversions might be made by the Spanish army.
+
+He accepted, too, to some extent, the estimate of the Spaniards as to the
+strength of the French, and believed that their fighting force in the
+Peninsula did not exceed 130,000 men, whereas in reality it amounted to
+over 250,000. The greatest impediment to the advance was the want of
+money, for while the British government continued to pour vast sums into
+Cadiz and Seville, for the use of the Spaniards, they were unable to find
+money for the advance of their own army. The soldiers consequently were
+unpaid, badly fed, almost in rags, and a large proportion of them
+shoeless; and to meet the most urgent wants, the general was forced to
+raise loans at exorbitant rates at Lisbon. And yet, while a great general
+and a victorious army were nearly starving in Portugal, the British
+government had landed 12,000 troops in Italy and had despatched one of the
+finest expeditions that ever sailed from England, consisting of 40,000
+troops and as many seamen and marines of the fleet, to Walcheren, where no
+small proportion of them died of fever, and the rest returned home broken
+in health and unfit for active service, without having performed a single
+action worthy of merit.
+
+The Mayo Fusiliers were among the regiments stationed at Abrantes, and
+Terence received orders to take up a position four miles ahead of that
+town, and hold it unless Victor again advanced in overwhelming strength,
+and then to fall back on Abrantes. This exactly suited his own wishes. It
+was pleasant to him to be within a short ride of his old regiment, while
+at the same time his corps were not encamped with a British division, for
+his own position was an anomalous one, and among the officers who did not
+know him he was regarded as a young staff-officer. He could not explain
+the position he held without constantly repeating the manner in which he
+had gained a commission as colonel in the Portuguese service.
+
+During the month that had passed without movement, he continued his
+efforts to improve his corps, and borrowed a dozen non-commissioned
+officers from Colonel Corcoran to instruct his sergeants in their duty,
+and thus enable them to train others and relieve the officers of some of
+their work. He had in his first report stated that he had kept back L1,000
+of the money he carried to Romana for the use of his corps, and as he had
+never received any comment or instructions as to the portion that had not
+been expended, he had still some money in hand. This he spent in
+supplementing the scanty rations served out. Frequently he rode into
+Abrantes and spent the evening with the Mayo Fusiliers. The first time he
+did so he requested the officers always to call him, as before, Terence
+O'Connor.
+
+"It is absurd being addressed as colonel when I am only a lieutenant in
+the service. Of course when I am with the corps it is a different thing; I
+am its colonel, and must be called so; but it is really very annoying to
+be called so here."
+
+"You must be feeling quite rusty," Colonel Corcoran said to him, "sitting
+here doing nothing, after nine months of incessant moving about."
+
+"I am not rusting, Colonel, I am hard at work sharpening my blade; that
+is, improving my corps. Your men drill my sergeants four hours a day, and
+for the other eight each of them is repeating the instructions that he has
+received to three others. So that by the time we are in movement again I
+hope to have a sergeant who knows something of his duty to each fifty men.
+I can assure you that in addition to the great need for such men when the
+troops are out skirmishing, or otherwise detached in small parties, I felt
+that their appearance on parade was greatly marred by the fact that the
+non-commissioned officers did not know their proper places or their proper
+work, which neither Bull nor Macwitty, nor indeed the company officers,
+could instruct them in, all being cavalrymen."
+
+"Yes, I noticed that when I saw them at Leirya," the colonel said. "Of
+course it was of no consequence at all as far as their efficiency went,
+but to the eye of an English officer, naturally, something seemed
+wanting."
+
+"I should be glad of at least four more officers to each company, and at
+one time thought of writing to Lord Beresford to ask him to supply me with
+some, but I came to the conclusion that we had better leave matters as
+they were. In the first place young officers would know nothing of their
+work, and nothing of me; and in the second place, if they were men of good
+family they would not like serving under officers who have been raised
+from the ranks; and lastly, if they became discontented, they might render
+the men so. We have done very fairly at present, and we had better go on
+as we are; and when I get a sufficient number of trained men to furnish a
+full supply of non-commissioned officers, I shall do better than with
+commissioned ones, for the men are of course carefully selected, and I
+know them to be trustworthy, whereas those they sent me might be idle, or
+worse than useless."
+
+"You spake like King Solomon, Terence," O'Grady said; "not that he can
+have known anything whatever about military matters."
+
+A roar of laughter greeted this very doubtful compliment.
+
+"Thank you, O'Grady," Terence said. "That is one of the prettiest speeches
+I have heard for a long time. I shall know where to come for a character."
+
+"You are right there, Terence; but you may live a good many years before
+you get a chance of calling a whole British army under arms, as you did at
+Salamanca."
+
+Terence was at once assailed with a storm of questions, for with the
+exception of O'Grady, no one had suspected the share that he and Dicky
+Ryan had had in that affair. Terence knew that the latter had kept the
+secret, for he had asked him only two or three days before, and he
+therefore assumed an expression of innocence.
+
+"What on earth do you mean, O'Grady?"
+
+"What do I mane? Why, that somehow or other you were at the bottom of that
+shindy when all the troops were turned out on a false alarm."
+
+"Really, O'Grady, that is too bad. You know that every trick that was
+played at Athlone was your suggestion, and as we never could find out how
+that alarm originated, of course you put it down to me, whereas it is just
+as likely to have been your own work. Colonel Corcoran knows that Dicky
+and I were in the mess-room at the convent at the time when the alarm
+broke out."
+
+"That was so," the colonel agreed, "for I know that you were talking to me
+when Hoolan ran in and told us that there was a row in the town. On what
+do you base your suspicions, O'Grady?"
+
+"Just upon me knowledge of the two lads, Colonel. Faith, there never was a
+piece of mischief afloat that they were not mixed up with."
+
+"If that is all you have to say, O'Grady," Terence replied, "I should
+advise you not to go hunting for mares' nests again. I know that you can
+see as far into a brick wall as most people, but you cannot see what is
+going on on the other side."
+
+"All the same, Terence," O'Grady said, doggedly, "to the end of me life I
+will always believe that you had a hand in the matter. There is no one
+else that I know of except you and Ryan who would have had the cheek to do
+such a thing, and I don't believe that you can deny it yourself."
+
+"I shall not trouble myself to plead not guilty, except before a regularly
+constituted court," Terence laughed. "At any rate, as when the march
+begins we shall go on first as scouts, it may be that I shall send in news
+which will turn out a British army again."
+
+"I will forgive you if you do, for it is likely that we should have some
+divarsion after turning out, instead of marching out and back again like a
+regiment of omadhouns."
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+NEWS FROM HOME
+
+A week after arriving at Abrantes, seeing that there was no probability
+whatever of fighting for a time, Terence had suggested to Herrara that it
+would be a good opportunity for him to run down to Lisbon for a few days
+to see his fiancee and his friends in the town.
+
+"I don't know who you really ought to apply to for leave," he said, "but
+as we are a sort of half-independent corps, it seems the simplest way for
+me to take the responsibility. Nobody is ever likely to ask any questions
+about it; and now that it will simply be a matter of hard drill till the
+army moves again, you can be very well spared. If it is company work, it
+is the captain's business. If the two regiments are manoeuvring together,
+they will of course be under Bull and Macwitty, and I should be acting as
+brigadier."
+
+"I should like to go very much," Herrara said. "I have not yet had the
+pleasure of introducing myself to my family and friends as a
+lieutenant-colonel. Of course, I wrote to my people when I received the
+commission from Lord Beresford; but it would be really fun to surprise
+some of my school-fellows and comrades, so if you think that it will not
+be inconvenient I should like very much to go."
+
+"Then if I were you I should start at once. I will give you a sort of
+formal letter of leave in case you are questioned as you go down. You can
+get to Santarem to-night and to Lisbon to-morrow afternoon."
+
+"Is there anything that I can do for you?"
+
+"Yes; I wish you would ask Don Jose if he will, through his friends at
+Oporto, find out whether my cousin's mother was there at the time the
+French entered, and if she was, whether she got through that horrible
+business unhurt. I have been hearing about it from my friends, who were a
+couple of days there before the force marched to Braga. They tell me that,
+by all accounts, the business was even worse than we feared. The French
+came upon some of their comrades tied to posts in the great square,
+horribly mutilated, some of them with their eyes put out, still living,
+and after that they spared no one; and upon my word, I can hardly blame
+them, and in fact don't blame them at all, so long as they only  their
+vengeance on men. The people made it worse for themselves by keeping up a
+desultory fire from windows and housetops when resistance had long ceased
+to be of any use; and, of course, seeing their comrades shot down in this
+way infuriated the troops still further.
+
+"I don't suppose it will make the slightest difference in the world to my
+cousin whether her mother is dead or not, for I fancy from what Mary said
+that her mother never cared for her in the slightest. Possibly she was
+jealous that the child had the first place in the father's affections.
+However that may be, there was certainly no great love between them, and
+of course her subsequent treatment of my cousin destroyed any affection
+that might have existed. That either by some deed executed at the time of
+marriage, or by Portuguese law, Mary has a right to the estate at her
+mother's death, is clear from the efforts they made to get her to renounce
+that right. Still, there is no more chance of her ever inheriting it than
+there would be of her flying. As a nun she would naturally have to
+renounce all property, and no doubt the law of this priest-ridden country
+would decide that she had done so. She tells me--and I am sure,
+truly--that she refused to open her lips to say a single word when she was
+forced to go through the ceremony; but as, no doubt, a score of witnesses
+would be brought forward to swear that she answered all the usual
+questions and renounced all worldly possessions, that denial would go for
+nothing."
+
+"Besides," Herrara said, "it would never do for her to set foot in
+Portugal. She would be seized as an escaped nun immediately, and would
+never be heard of again."
+
+"I have no doubt that that would be so, Herrara; and as she has a nice
+fortune from her father, you may be sure that she will not trouble about
+the estates here, and her mother would be welcome to do as she likes with
+them, which is, after all, not unreasonable, as they are her property and
+descended to her from her father. Still, I should be glad to learn, if it
+does not give any great trouble, whether if, as is almost certain--for the
+people from all the country round took refuge there long before the French
+arrived--she was in Oporto, and if so, whether she got through the sack of
+the town unharmed. No doubt Mary would be glad to hear."
+
+"I am sure Don Jose would be able to find out for you without any
+difficulty," Herrara said; "indeed I expect he will soon be going back
+there himself. Now that there is a British garrison in the town, that the
+bishop must be utterly discredited there, and a good many of his Junta
+must have been killed, while the rabble of the town has been thoroughly
+discomfited, the place will be more comfortable to live in than it has
+been for a long time past. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
+
+"Nothing whatever."
+
+A quarter of an hour later Herrara left for Lisbon, bearing many messages
+of kind regards on Terence's part to Don Jose and his family. Terence's
+last words were:
+
+"By the way, Herrara, if you should be able to find at any store in Lisbon
+some Irish whisky, I wish you would get six dozen cases for me, or what
+would be more handy, a sixteen or eighteen gallon keg, and could get it
+sent on by some cart coming here, I should be very much obliged. It had
+better be sent to me, care of Colonel Corcoran, Mayo Fusiliers, Abrantes.
+I should like to be able to give a glass to my friends when they ride out
+to see me. But have the barrel or cases sewn up in canvas before the
+address is put on; I would not trust it to the escort of any British guard
+if they were aware of the nature of the contents. Wine would be safe with
+them, for they can get that anywhere, but it would be too much for the
+honesty of any Irishman if he were to see a cask labelled Irish whisky."
+
+A week later Colonel Corcoran said when Terence rode in:
+
+"By the bye, O'Connor, there is a cask of wine for you at my quarters; it
+was brought up by an ammunition train this morning. The officer said that
+a Portuguese colonel had begged him so earnestly to bring it up that he
+could not refuse."
+
+ "It was Herrara, no doubt, Colonel; he has gone down to Lisbon for a
+week."
+
+"Ah! I suppose he sent you a keg of choice wine."
+
+"You shall taste it next time you come out, Colonel. I have been wishing
+that I had something better than the ordinary wine of the country to offer
+when you come over to see me. I will send over a couple of men with a cart
+in the morning to bring it out to me."
+
+On leaving that evening Terence invited all the officers who could get
+away from duty to come over to lunch the next day.
+
+"Bring your knives and forks with you," he said; "and I think you had
+better bring your plates, too; I fancy four are all I can muster."
+
+Early next morning Terence told Bull and Macwitty that he expected a dozen
+officers out to lunch with him. "And I want you to lunch with me too. I
+know that Captain O'Grady and others have asked you several times to go in
+and dine at mess, and that you have not gone. I hope to-day you will meet
+them at luncheon. I can understand that you feel a little uncomfortable at
+this first meeting with a lot of officers as officers yourselves; but, of
+course, you must do it sooner or later, and it would be much better doing
+so at once.
+
+"The next thing is, what can I give them to eat? I should be glad if you
+will send out a dozen foraging parties in different directions; there must
+be little villages scattered among the hills that have so far escaped
+French and English plunderers. Let each party take four or five dollars
+with them. I want anything that can be got, but my idea is a couple of
+young kids, three or four ducks, or a couple of geese, as many chickens,
+and of course any vegetables that you can get hold of. My man Sancho is a
+capital cook, and he will get fires ready and two or three assistants.
+They will be here by one o'clock, so the foraging parties had better
+return by ten."
+
+"If there is anything to be brought you shall have it, Colonel," Bull
+said; "Macwitty and I will both go ourselves, and we will get half a dozen
+of the captains to go too; between us it is hard if we don't manage to get
+enough."
+
+By ten o'clock the officers rode in, almost every one of them having some
+sort of bird or beast hanging from his saddle-bow; there were two kids, a
+sucking pig, two hares, half a dozen chickens, three geese, and five
+ducks, while the nets which they carried for forage for their horses were
+filled with vegetables. Half a dozen fires had already been lighted, and
+Sancho had obtained as many assistants, so that by the time the colonel
+and fifteen officers rode up lunch was ready.
+
+After chatting for a few minutes with them, Terence led the way to a rough
+table that was placed under the shade of a tree. Ammunition boxes were
+arranged along for seats. Although but a portion of what had been brought
+in had been cooked, the effect of the table was imposing.
+
+"Why, O'Connor," the colonel said, "have you got one of the genii, like
+Aladdin, and ordered him to bring up a banquet for you? I have not seen a
+winged thing since we marched from Coimbra, and here you have got all the
+luxuries of the season. No wonder you like independent action, if this is
+what comes of it; there have we been feeding on tough ration beef, and
+here are the contents of a whole farmyard."
+
+Almost all the officers had been out before, and Bull and Macwitty had
+been introduced to them. They now all sat down to the meal.
+
+"I am sorry Major O'Driscol is not here," Terence said.
+
+"He could not get away," the colonel said, from the other end of the
+table. "If the general had come round and there hadn't been a
+field-officer left to meet him there would have been a row over it. I have
+brought pretty nearly all the officers with me, and I dared not stretch it
+further."
+
+"O'Grady," Terence said, "I wish you would carve this hare for me, I have
+no idea how it ought to be cut. I can manage a chicken, or a duck, but
+this is beyond me altogether."
+
+"I will do it gladly, Terence; faith, it is a comfort to find that there
+is something you can't do." And so, with much laughter and fun, the meal
+was eaten.
+
+"You have not told us yet where you got all these provisions, O'Connor,"
+the colonel said; "it is too bad to keep all the good things to yourself."
+
+"It has been the work of eight officers, Colonel; they rode off this
+morning in different directions among the hills, and there was not one of
+them who returned empty-handed."
+
+"The wine is fairly good," the colonel said, as he set down his tin mug
+after a long draught, "but it was scarce worth sending all the way up from
+Lisbon."
+
+"That has to follow, Colonel; I thought you would appreciate it better
+after you had done eating."
+
+"I have not had such a male since we left Athlone," O'Grady said, when at
+last he reluctantly laid down his knife and fork. "Be jabers, it would be
+all up with me if the French were to put in an appearance now, for faith I
+don't think I could run a yard to save me life."
+
+The tin mugs were all taken away and washed when the table was cleared.
+
+"You are mighty particular, O'Connor," the colonel said.
+
+"One mug is good enough for us. If we liquored-up a dozen times--which, by
+the way, we never do--one of these wines is pretty well like another, and
+if there was a slight difference it would not matter."
+
+When the board was cleared a large jug was placed before Terence, and some
+water-bottles at various points of the table.
+
+"I thought, Colonel, that you might prefer spirits even to the wine,"
+Terence said.
+
+"And you are right, O'Connor. A good glass of wine after a good dinner is
+no bad thing, but after such a meal as we have eaten I think that even
+this bastely spirit of theirs--which, after all, is not so bad when you
+get accustomed to it--is better than wine; it settles matters a bit."
+
+Terence poured some of the spirit from a jug into his tin and filled it up
+with water. "Help yourself," he said, passing the jug to O'Grady, who sat
+next to him.
+
+O'Grady was about to do so when he suddenly set the jug down.
+
+"By the powers," he exclaimed, in astonishment, "but it is the real
+cratur!"
+
+"Go on, O'Grady, go on, the others are all waiting while you are looking
+at it. If you feel too surprised to take it, pass the jug on."
+
+O'Grady grasped it. "I will defind it wid me life!" he exclaimed. In the
+meantime the colonel had filled his mug.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, solemnly, after raising it to his lips, "O'Grady is
+right; it is Irish whisky, and good at that."
+
+"It is a cruel trick you've played on us," O'Grady said, with a sigh, as
+he replaced the empty mug upon the table. "I had almost forgotten the
+taste, and had come to take kindly to the stuff here. Now I shall have to
+go through it all again. It is like holding the cup to the lips of that
+old heathen Tartarus, and taking it away again."
+
+"Tantalus, O'Grady."
+
+"Och, what does it matter, when he has been dead and buried thousands of
+years, how he spilt his name. Where did you get it from, Terence?"
+
+"I asked Herrara to try and find some for me at Lisbon; I thought it was
+most likely that some English merchant there would have laid in a stock,
+and it seems that he has found one."
+
+"Do you hear that, Colonel? There is whisky to be had at Lisbon, and us
+not know it."
+
+"Well, Captain O'Grady, all I can say is that I shall at dinner this
+evening move a vote of censure upon you as mess president for not having
+discovered the fact before."
+
+"Don't talk of dinner, Colonel; there is not one of us could think of
+sitting down to ration beef after such a male as we have had--and with
+whisky here, too! I move, Colonel, that no further mintion be made of
+dinner. I have no doubt that Terence will give us some divilled
+bones--there is as much left on the table as we have eaten--before we
+start home to-night."
+
+"I will do that with pleasure. In fact, it is exactly what I reckoned
+upon," Terence replied.
+
+"I think, O'Grady, we must send to Lisbon for some of this."
+
+"Is it only think, Colonel? Faith, I would go down for it myself, if I had
+to walk with pays in my boots and to carry it back on me shoulders. Can I
+find Herrara there?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, I can give you the address where he will be found."
+
+"Anyhow, Colonel," O'Flaherty said, "I must--and I'm sure all present will
+join me in the matter--protest against Captain O'Grady going down to
+Lisbon to fetch whisky for the mess. You must know, sir, as well as I do,
+that he would never return again, and we should probably hear some day
+that his body had been found by the side of the road with three or four
+empty kegs beside him."
+
+There was a general burst of agreement.
+
+"Perhaps, Doctor O'Flaherty," O'Grady said, in a tone of withering
+sarcasm, "it's yourself who would like to be the messenger."
+
+"There might be a worse one," O'Flaherty said, calmly; "but as I believe
+that Captain Hall is going down on a week's leave to-morrow, I propose
+that he, being an Englishman, and therefore more trustworthy than any
+Irish member of the mess would be on such a mission, be requested to
+purchase some for the use of the mess, and to escort it back again. How
+much shall I say, Colonel?"
+
+"That is a grave matter, and not to be answered hastily, Doctor. Let me
+see, there are thirty-two officers with the regiment. Now, what would you
+say would be a fair allowance per day for each man?"
+
+"I should say half a bottle, Colonel. There are some of them won't take as
+much, but O'Grady will square matters up."
+
+"I protest against the insinuation," O'Grady said, rising; "and, moreover,
+I would observe, that it is mighty little would be left for me after each
+man had taken his whack."
+
+"That is sixteen bottles a day. For a continuance I should consider that
+too much; but seeing that we have been out of dacent liquor for a month,
+and may have but a fortnight after it arrives to make up for lost time, we
+will say sixteen bottles."
+
+"Make it three gallons," O'Grady said, persuasively; "we shall be having
+lots of men drop in when it gets known that we have got a supply."
+
+"There is something in that, O'Grady. Well, we will say three
+gallons--that is, forty-two gallons for a fortnight. We will commission
+Captain Hall to bring back that quantity."
+
+"If you say forty-five, Colonel, it will give us a drop in our flasks to
+start with, and we are as likely to be fifteen days as fourteen, anyway."
+
+"Let it be forty-five then," the colonel assented. "Will you undertake
+that, Captain Hall?"
+
+"Willingly, Colonel. I will get the whisky emptied into wine casks, and as
+I know one of the chief commissaries at Lisbon, I can get it brought up
+with the wine for the troops."
+
+After sitting for a couple of hours, the colonel proposed that they should
+all go for a walk, while those who preferred it should take a nap in the
+shade.
+
+"I move, O'Connor," he said, "that this meeting be adjourned until
+sunset."
+
+"I think that will be a very good plan, Colonel."
+
+The proposal was carried out. O'Grady and a few others declared that they
+should prefer a nap. The rest started on foot, and sauntered about in the
+shade of the wood for a couple of hours, then all gathered at the table
+again. At eight o'clock grilled joints of fowls and ducks were put upon
+the table, and at nine all mounted and rode back to Abrantes.
+
+"How many of those quart jugs have been filled, Sancho?"
+
+"Eight, sir."
+
+"That is not so bad," Terence said to Macwitty. "That is twelve bottles;
+and as there were sixteen and our three selves, that is only about two
+bottles between three men."
+
+"I call that vera moderate under the circumstances, Colonel," Macwitty
+said, gravely. "I have drank more myself many a time."
+
+"They were a good many hours over it too," Terence added; "you may say it
+was two sittings. You will see that we shall have a great many callers
+from the camp for the next few days."
+
+A fortnight later Terence received a letter from Don Jose, saying that he
+had heard from his friend at Oporto, and that they informed him that the
+Senora Johanna O'Connor had been killed at the sack of Oporto. She had
+left her own house and taken refuge at the bishop's. That place had been
+defended to the last, and when the infuriated French broke in, all within
+its walls had been killed.
+
+Terence was not altogether sorry to hear the news. The woman had been a
+party to the cruel imprisonment of Mary. No doubt his cousin would feel
+her death, but her grief could not be very deep; and it was, he thought,
+just as well for her that her connection with Portugal should be
+altogether severed. Her mother might have endeavoured to tempt her to
+return there; and although he felt sure that she would not succeed in
+this, she might at least have caused some trouble, and it was better that
+there should be an end of it. As to the woman herself, she had been in
+agreement with the bishop, had been mixed up in his intrigues, and her
+death was caused by her misplaced confidence in him. Of course she had not
+known that he had left the town, and thought that under his protection she
+would be safe in the palace.
+
+"She must have been a bad lot," he said to himself.
+
+"Evidently she did not make her husband happy, and persecuted her
+daughter, and I regret her death no more than any other of the ten
+thousand people who fell in Oporto."
+
+A few days later he received letters both from his father and Mary. Being
+under eighteen he opened the former first.
+
+_My Dear Terence,
+
+I have heard all about you and your doings from Mary, and I am proud of
+you. It is grand satisfaction that you should have won your lieutenancy,
+and that you should be on the general's staff; as to your being a colonel,
+although only a Portuguese one, it is simply astounding. I don't care so
+much about the rank, for the Portuguese officers are poor creatures, not
+one in fifty of them knows anything of his duty; but what I do value is
+your independent command. That will give you opportunities for
+distinguishing yourself that can never fall in the way of a subaltern of
+the line, and I fancy, now that you have got Wellesley at the head, there
+will be plenty of such opportunities.
+
+I was delighted, as you may guess, when I got Mary's letter from London. I
+had just settled at the old house, and mighty lonely I felt with no one to
+speak to, and the wind whistling in at the broken windows, and the whole
+place in confusion. So putting aside Mary, I was glad enough to have some
+excuse for running away. I took the next coach for Dublin; found, by good
+luck, a packet just sailing for London; and got there a week later. She is
+a nice girl and a pretty one; but I suppose I need not tell you that. I
+told her it was a poor place I was going to take her to, but she would be
+as welcome as the flowers in May; but she only laughed and said, that
+after being shut up for a year in a single room, and having nothing but
+bread and water, it would not matter a pin to her what it was like.
+
+She was in a grand house, and Mrs. Nelson insisted on my putting up there.
+We stopped three days and then we took ship to Cork. We had to prove that
+the money lying there belonged to me; that is to say, that I was the
+person in whose name it had been put. I had all sort of botheration about
+it, but luckily I knew the colonel of the regiment there, and he went to
+the bank with me and testified. Then we came down here, and Mary hadn't
+been here a day before she began to spend money. I said I would not allow
+it; and she said I could not help it, the money was her own, and she could
+spend it as she liked, which was true enough; and at present the place is
+more topsy-turvy than ever.
+
+I won't have anything to do with giving orders, but she has got a score of
+masons and carpenters over from Athlone, and she is turning the old place
+upside down. I sha'n't know it myself when she has done with it. There is
+not a place fit to sit down in, and we are living for the time at the inn
+at Kilnally, three miles away, and drive backwards and forwards to the
+house. Except that we quarrel over that, we get on first-rate together.
+She is never tired of talking about you, and when I hinted one day that it
+was ridiculous your being made a colonel, she spurred up like a young
+bantam, and more than hinted that if you had been appointed
+commander-in-chief instead of Sir Arthur it would not have been beyond
+your deserts.
+
+My wound hurts me a bit sometimes, but I am able to get about all right,
+and the surgeon says in a few months I shall be able to walk as straight
+as anyone. And so, good-bye. I don't think I ever wrote such a long letter
+before, and as Mary will be telling you everything, I don't suppose I
+shall ever write such a long one again.__
+
+Terence laughed as he put the letter down and opened one from his cousin.
+
+_Dear Cousin Terence,
+
+Here I am with your father as happy as a bird, and as free. I sing about
+the place all day, my heart is so light, and should be perfectly happy
+were it not that I am afraid that you will be fighting again soon, and
+then I shall be very anxious about you. Your father is just what I thought
+he would be from what I know of you. He is as kind as if he was my own
+father, and reminds me of him. You told me it was a tumbledown old place,
+and it is. When we came it was only fit for owls to live in, so, of
+course, I set to work at once. Your father was very foolish about it, but,
+of course, I had my way. What is the use of having money and living in an
+owl's nest? So I have set a lot of men to work.
+
+Your father won't interfere with it one way or the other. I had a builder
+down, he shook his head over it and said that it would be cheaper to pull
+it down and build a new one; but as it was an old family house I could not
+do that. However, between ourselves, I don't think there will be much of
+the old one left by the time we have finished. It looks awful at present.
+I am building a new wall against the old one, so that it will look just
+the same, only it will be new. The windows are going to be made bigger,
+and there will be a new roof put on. Inside it will all have to come down,
+all the woodwork was so rotten that it was dangerous to walk upstairs. It
+is great fun looking after the workmen. And though your father does keep
+on grumbling and saying that I am destroying the old place, I don't think
+he really minds.
+
+As I tell him, one could live in a house without windows nine months in
+the year in Portugal, but it is not so in Ireland. One wants comfort,
+Terence; and, as I have plenty of money, I don't see why we should not
+have it. You can sleep on the ground, and go from morning till night in
+wet clothes, when you are on a campaign, but that is no reason why you
+should do it at other times. The weather is fine here now, at least your
+father says it is fine, and I want to get everything pushed on and
+finished before it changes to what even he will admit is wet. The people
+here seem all very nice and pleasant. They are delighted at having your
+father back again. I drive about with him a great deal, and we call upon
+the neighbours, who all seem very pleased that the house is going to be
+occupied again.
+
+The poor people seem very poor. I don't know that they are poorer than
+they are in Portugal, but I think they look poorer; but they don't seem to
+mind much. I have made great friends with most of the children already,
+and always go about with a large bag of sweetmeats in what your father
+calls "the trap." I think of you very often, Terence, and your father and
+I generally talk about you all the evening. By what he says you must have
+been a very naughty boy, indeed, before you became a soldier. Do take care
+of yourself. We shall be very, very anxious about you as soon as we hear
+that fighting has begun again. I hope you think very often of your very
+loving cousin,                        MARY O'CONNOR.__
+
+"She will do a world of good to my father," Terence said to himself as he
+put down the letters. "After being so long in the regiment he would have
+felt being alone in that old place horribly, especially as it has, of
+course, been a terrible trial to him to be laid aside just as a big
+campaign is beginning. She will keep him alive, and he won't have any time
+to mope. Even if for no other reason, it is a lucky thing indeed that I
+was able to get Mary out. I sha'n't feel a bit anxious about him now."
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA ***
+
+This file should be named 7crnn10.txt or 7crnn10.zip
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of With Moore At Corunna, by G. A. Henty
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
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+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: With Moore At Corunna
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Release Date: August, 2005  [EBook #8651]
+[This file was first posted on July 29, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: iso-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA ***
+
+
+
+
+E-text prepared by Ted Garvin, S.R.Ellison, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
+
+BY
+
+G. A. HENTY
+
+Author of "With Cochrane the Dauntless," "A Knight of the White Cross,"
+"In Freedom's Cause," "St. Bartholomew's Eve," "Wulf the Saxon," etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE FINDS THAT THE _SEA-HORSE__ HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED
+BETWEEN-DECKS.]
+
+
+
+
+WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS BY WAL PAGET
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+From the termination of the campaigns of Marlborough--at which time the
+British army won for itself a reputation rivalled by that of no other in
+Europe--to the year when the despatch of a small army under Sir Arthur
+Wellesley marked the beginning of another series of British victories as
+brilliant and as unbroken as those of that great commander, the opinion
+had gained ground in Europe that the British had lost their military
+virtues, and that, although undoubtedly powerful at sea, they could have
+henceforth but little influence in European affairs. It is singular that
+the revival of Britain's activity began under a Government which was one
+of the most incapable that ever controlled the affairs of the country. Had
+their deliberate purpose been to render nugatory the expedition
+which--after innumerable vacillations and changes of purpose--they
+despatched to Portugal, they could hardly have acted otherwise than they
+did.
+
+Their agents in the Peninsula were men singularly unfitted for the
+position. Then the Government divided the commands among their generals
+and admirals, sending to each absolutely contradictory orders, and when at
+last they brought themselves to appoint one to the supreme command, they
+changed that commander six times in the course of a year. While lavishing
+enormous sums of money, arms, clothing, and materials of war upon the
+Spaniards, who wasted or pocketed them, they kept their own army
+unsupplied with money, transport, or clothes. Unsupported by the home
+authorities, the British commanders had yet to struggle with the
+faithlessness, mendacity, and inertness of the Portuguese and Spanish
+authorities, and were hampered with obstacles such as never beset a
+British commander before. Still, in spite of this, British genius and
+valour triumphed over all difficulties, and Wellesley delivered Lisbon and
+compelled the French army to surrender.
+
+Then again, Moore, by his marvellous march, checked the course of victory
+of Napoleon and saved Spain for a time. Cradock organized an army, and
+Wellesley hurled back Soult's invasion of the north, and drove his army, a
+dispirited and worn-out mass of fugitives, across the frontier, and in
+less than a year from the commencement of the campaign carried the war
+into Spain. So far I have endeavoured to sketch the course of these events
+in the present volume. But the whole course of the Peninsular War was far
+too long to be condensed in a single book, except in the form of history
+pure and simple; therefore, I have been obliged to divide it into two
+volumes; and I propose next year to follow up the adventures of my present
+hero, who had the good fortune, with Trant, Wilson, and other British
+officers, to attain the command of a body of native irregulars, acting in
+connection with the movements of the British army.
+
+Yours sincerely,
+
+G. A. HENTY.
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAP.
+
+    I. THE MAYO FUSILIERS
+
+   II. TWO DANGERS
+
+  III. DISEMBARKED
+
+   IV. UNDER CANVAS
+
+    V. ROLICA AND VIMIERA
+
+   VI. A PAUSE
+
+  VII. THE ADVANCE
+
+ VIII. A FALSE ALARM
+
+   IX. THE RETREAT
+
+    X. CORUNNA
+
+   XI. AN ESCAPE
+
+  XII. A DANGEROUS MISSION
+
+ XIII. AN AWKWARD POSITION
+
+  XIV. AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND
+
+   XV. THE FIRST SKIRMISH
+
+  XVI. IN THE PASSES
+
+ XVII. AN ESCAPE
+
+XVIII. MARY O'CONNOR
+
+  XIX. CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
+
+   XX. WITH THE MAYOS
+
+  XXI. PORTUGAL FREED
+
+ XXII. NEWS FROM HOME
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+TERENCE FINDS THAT THE _SEA-HORSE__ HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED BETWEEN-DECKS
+
+TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE _SEA-HORSE__
+
+"I SHOULD NOT HAVE MINDED BEING HIT, FATHER, IF YOU HAD ESCAPED"
+
+"I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL"
+
+"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE?... WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM OUT OF THEIR
+BOOTS IN NO TIME"
+
+"POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM AT TORRES
+VEDRAS"
+
+TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN CRADOCK
+
+"IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION," SAID CORTINGOS
+
+"THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE MET WITH HEAVY
+VOLLEYS"
+
+"MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH HIS PISTOLS"
+
+TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR
+
+"WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR ASKED, SHARPLY
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Sketch Map of NORTHERN PORTUGAL.]
+
+
+
+WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE MAYO FUSILIERS
+
+"What am I to do with you, Terence? It bothers me entirely; there is not a
+soul who will take you, and if anyone would do so, you would wear out his
+patience before a week's end; there is not a dog in the regiment that does
+not put his tail between his legs and run for his bare life if he sees
+you; and as for the colonel, he told me only the other day that he had so
+many complaints against you, that he was fairly worn out with them."
+
+"That was only his way, father; the colonel likes a joke as well as any of
+them."
+
+"Yes, when it is not played on himself; but you haven't even the sense to
+respect persons, and it is well for you that he could not prove that it
+was you who fastened the sparrow to the plume of feathers on his shako the
+other day, and no one noticed it till the little baste began to flutter
+just as he came on to parade, and nigh choked us all with trying to hold
+in our laughter, while the colonel was nearly suffocated with passion. It
+was lucky you were able to prove that you had gone off at daylight
+fishing, and that no one had seen you anywhere near his quarters. By my
+faith, if he could have proved it was you he would have had you turned out
+of the barrack gate, and word given to the sentries that you were not to
+be allowed to pass in again."
+
+"I could have got over the wall, father," the boy said, calmly; "but mind,
+I never said that it was I who fastened the sparrow in his shako."
+
+"Because I never asked you, Terence; but it does not need the asking. What
+I am to do with you I don't know. Your Uncle Tim would not take you if I
+were to go down upon my knees to him. You were always in his bad books,
+and you finished it when you fired off that blunderbuss in his garden as
+he was passing along in the twilight, and yelled out 'Death to the
+Protestants!'"
+
+The boy burst into a fit of laughter. "How could I tell that he was going
+to fall flat upon the ground and shout a million murders, when I fired
+straight into the air?"
+
+"Well, you did for yourself there, Terence. Not that the old man would
+ever have taken to you, for he never forgave my marriage with his niece;
+still, he might have left you some money some day, seeing that there is no
+one nearer to him, and it would have come in mighty useful, for you are
+not likely to get much from me. But we are no nearer the point yet. What
+am I to do with you at all? Here is the regiment ordered on foreign
+service and likely to have sharp work, and not a place where I can stow
+you. It beats me altogether!"
+
+"Why not take me with you, father?"
+
+"I have thought of that, but you are too young entirely."
+
+"I am nearly sixteen, father. I am sure I am as tall as many boys of
+seventeen, and as strong too. Why should I not go? I am certain I could
+stand roughing it as well as Dick Ryan, who is a good bit over sixteen.
+Could I not go as a volunteer? Or I might enlist; the doctor would pass me
+quick enough."
+
+"O'Flaherty would pass you if you were a baby in arms; he is as full of
+mischief as you are, and has not much more discretion; but you could not
+carry a musket, full cartridge-box, and kit for a long day's march."
+
+"I can carry a gun through a long day's shooting, dad; but you might make
+me your soldier servant."
+
+"Bedad, I should fare mighty badly, Terence; still as I don't see anything
+else for you, I must try and take you somehow, even if you have to go as a
+drummer. I will talk it over with the colonel, though I doubt whether he
+has forgotten that sparrow yet."
+
+"He would not bear malice, dad, even if he were sure that it was me--which
+he cannot be."
+
+The speaker was Captain O'Connor of his Majesty's regiment of Mayo
+Fusiliers, now under orders to proceed to Portugal to form part of the
+force that was being despatched under Sir Arthur Wellesley to assist the
+Portuguese in resisting the advance of the French. He was a widower, and
+Terence was his only child. The boy had been brought up in the, regiment.
+His mother had died when he was nine years old, and Terence had been
+allowed by his father to run pretty nearly wild. He picked up a certain
+amount of education, for he was as sharp at lessons as at most other
+things. His mother had taught him to read and write, and the officers and
+their wives were always ready to lend him books; and as, during the hours
+when drill and exercise were going on, he had plenty of time to himself,
+he had got through a very large amount of desultory reading, and, having a
+retentive memory, knew quite as much as most lads of his age, although the
+knowledge was of a much more irregular kind.
+
+He was a general favourite among the officers and men of the regiment,
+though his tricks got him into frequent scrapes, and more than one
+prophesied that his eventual fate was likely to be hanging. He was great
+at making acquaintances among the country people, and knew the exact spot
+where the best fishing could be had for miles round; he had also been
+given leave to shoot on many of the estates in the neighbourhood.
+
+His father had, from the first, absolutely forbidden him to associate with
+the drummer boys.
+
+"I don't mind your going into the men's quarters," he said, "you will come
+to no harm there, but among the boys you might get into bad habits; some
+of them are thorough young scamps. With the men you would always be one of
+their officers' sons, while with the boys you would soon become a mere
+playmate."
+
+As he grew older, Terence, being a son of one of the senior officers,
+became a companion of the ensigns, and one or other of them generally
+accompanied him on his fishing excursions, and were not unfrequently
+participators in his escapades, several of which were directed against the
+tranquillity of the inhabitants of Athlone. One night the bells of the
+three churches had been rung simultaneously and violently, and the idea
+that either the town was in flames, or that the French had landed, or that
+the whole country was up in arms, brought all the inhabitants to their
+doors in a state of violent excitement and scanty attire. No clew was ever
+obtained as to the author of this outrage, nor was anyone able to discover
+the origin of the rumour that circulated through the town, that a large
+amount of gunpowder had been stored in some house or other in the
+market-place, and that on a certain night half the town would be blown
+into the air.
+
+So circumstantial were the details that a deputation waited on Colonel
+Corcoran, and a strong search-party was sent down to examine the cellars
+of all the houses in the market-place and for some distance round. These
+and some similar occurrences had much alarmed the good people of Athlone,
+and it was certain that more than one person must have been concerned in
+them.
+
+"I have come, Colonel," Captain O'Connor said, when he called upon his
+commanding officer, "to speak to you about Terence."
+
+The colonel smiled grimly. "It is a comfort to think that we are going to
+get rid of him, O'Connor; he is enough to demoralize a whole brigade, to
+say nothing of a battalion, and the worst of it is he respects no one. I
+am as convinced as can be that it was he who fastened that baste of a bird
+in my shako the other day, and made me the laughing stock of the whole
+regiment on parade. Faith, I could not for the life of me make out what
+was the matter, there was a tugging and a jumping and a fluttering
+overhead, and I thought the shako was going to fly away. It fairly gave me
+a scare, for I thought the shako had gone mad, and that the divil was in
+it. I have often overlooked his tricks for your sake, but when it comes to
+his commanding officer, it is too serious altogether."
+
+"Well, you see, Colonel, the lad proved clearly enough that he was out of
+the way at the time; and besides, you know he has given you many a hearty
+laugh."
+
+"He has that," the colonel admitted.
+
+"And, moreover," Captain O'Connor went on, "even if he did do this, which
+I don't know, for I never asked him" ("Trust you for that," the colonel
+muttered), "you are not his commanding officer, though you are mine, and
+that is the matter that I came to speak to you about. You see there is no
+one in whose charge I can leave him, and the lad wants to go with us; he
+would enlist as a drummer, if he could go no other way, and when he got
+out there I should get the adjutant to tell him off as my soldier
+servant."
+
+"It would not do, O'Connor," the colonel laughed.
+
+"Then I thought, Colonel, that possibly he might go as a volunteer--most
+regiments take out one or two young fellows, who have not interest enough
+to obtain a commission."
+
+"He is too young, O'Connor; besides, the boy is enough to corrupt a whole
+regiment; he has made half the lads as wild as he is himself. Sure you can
+never be after asking me to saddle the regiment with him, now that there
+is a good chance of getting quit of him altogether."
+
+"I think that he would not be so bad when we are out there, Colonel; it is
+just because he has nothing to do that he gets into mischief. With plenty
+of hard work and other things to think of I don't believe that he would be
+any trouble."
+
+"Do you think that you can answer for him, O'Connor?"
+
+"Indeed and I cannot," the captain laughed; "but I will answer for it that
+he will not joke with you, Colonel. The lad is really steady enough, and I
+am sure that if he were in the regiment he would not dream of playing
+tricks with his commanding officer, whatever else he might do."
+
+"That goes a long way towards removing my objection," the colonel said,
+with a twinkle in his eye; "but he is too young for a volunteer--a
+volunteer is the sort of man to be the first to climb a breach, or to risk
+his life in some desperate enterprise, so as to win a commission. But
+there is another way. I had a letter yesterday from the Horse Guards,
+saying that as I am two ensigns short, they had appointed one who will
+join us at Cork, and that they gave me the right of nominating another. I
+own that Terence occurred to me, but sixteen is the youngest limit of age,
+and he must be certified and all that by the doctor. Now Daly is away on
+leave, and is to join us at Cork; but O'Flaherty would do; still, I don't
+know how he would get over the difficulty about the age."
+
+"Trust him for that. I am indeed obliged to you, Colonel."
+
+"Don't say anything about it, O'Connor; if we had been going to stay at
+home I don't think that I could have brought myself to take him into the
+regiment, but as we are going on service he won't have much opportunity
+for mischief, and even if he does let out a little--not at my expense, you
+know--a laugh does the men good when they are wet through and their
+stomachs are empty." He rang a bell. "Orderly, tell the adjutant and
+Doctor O'Flaherty that I wish to see them. Mr. Cleary," he went on, as
+soon as the former entered, "I have been requested by the Horse Guards to
+nominate an ensign, so as to fill up our ranks before starting, and I have
+determined to give the appointment to Terence O'Connor."
+
+"Very well, sir, I am glad to hear it; he is a favourite with us all, but
+I am afraid that he is under age."
+
+"Is there any regular form to be filled up?"
+
+"None that I know of in the case of officers, sir. I fancy they pass some
+sort of medical examination at the Horse Guards, but, of course, in this
+case it would be impossible. Still, I should say that, in writing to state
+that you have nominated him, it would be better to send a medical
+certificate, and certainly it ought to be mentioned that he is of the
+right age."
+
+At this moment the assistant-surgeon entered. "Doctor O'Flaherty," the
+colonel said, "I wish you to write a certificate to the effect that
+Terence O'Connor is physically fit to take part in a campaign as an
+officer."
+
+"I can do that, Colonel, without difficulty; he is as fit as a fiddle, and
+can march half the regiment off their legs."
+
+"Yes, I know that, but there is one difficulty, Doctor, he is under the
+regulation age."
+
+O'Flaherty thought for a moment and then sat down at the table, and taking
+a sheet of paper, be began:
+
+_I certify that Terence O' Connor is going on for seventeen years of
+age, he is five feet eight in height, thirty-four inches round the
+chest, is active, and fully capable of the performance of his duties
+as an officer either at home or abroad.__
+
+Then he added another line and signed his name.
+
+"As a member of a learned profession, Colonel," he said, gravely, "I would
+scorn to tell a lie even for the son of Captain O'Connor;" and he passed
+the paper across to him.
+
+The colonel looked grave, and Captain O'Connor disappointed. He was
+reassured, however, when his commanding officer broke into a laugh.
+
+"That will do well, O'Flaherty," he said; "I thought that you would find
+some way of getting us out of the difficulty."
+
+"I have told the strict truth, Colonel," the doctor said, gravely. "I have
+certified that Terence O'Connor is going on for seventeen; I defy any man
+to say that he is not. He will get there one of these days, if a French
+bullet does not stop him on the way, a contingency that it is needless for
+me to mention."
+
+"I suppose that it is not strictly regular to omit the date of his birth,"
+the colonel said; "but just at present I expect they are not very
+particular. I suppose that that will do, Mr. Cleary?"
+
+"I think that you can countersign that, Colonel," the adjutant said, with
+a laugh. "The Horse Guards do not move very rapidly, and by the time that
+letter gets to London we may be on board ship, and they would hardly
+bother to send a letter for further particulars to us in Spain, but will
+no doubt gazette him at once. The fact, too--which of course you will
+mention--that he is the son of the senior captain of your regiment, will
+in itself render them less likely to bother about the matter."
+
+"Well, just write out the letter of nomination, Cleary; I am a mighty bad
+hand at doing things neatly."
+
+The adjutant drew a sheet of foolscap to him and wrote:--
+
+_To the Adjutant-general, Horse Guards,
+
+Sir, I have the honour to inform you that, in accordance with the
+privilege granted to me in your communication of--__
+
+and he looked at the colonel.
+
+"The 14th inst.," the latter said, after consulting the letter.
+
+_--I beg to nominate as an ensign in this regiment, Terence O'
+Connor, the son of Captain Lawrence O' Connor, its senior captain. I
+inclose certificate of Assistant-surgeon O' Flaherty,--the surgeon
+being at present absent on leave--certifying to his physical fitness
+for a commission in his Majesty's service. Mr. O' Connor having been
+brought up from childhood in the regiment is already perfectly
+acquainted with the work, and will therefore be able to take up his
+duties without difficulty. This fact has had some influence in my
+choice, as a young officer who had to be taught all his duties would
+have been of no use for service in the field for a considerable time
+after landing in Portugal. Relying on the nomination being approved
+by the commander-in-chief, I shall at once put him on the staff of
+the regiment for foreign service, as there will be no time to wait
+your reply.
+
+I have the honour to be
+
+Your humble, obedient servant,__
+
+Then he left a space, and added:
+
+_Colonel Mayo Fusiliers.__
+
+"Now, if you will sign it, Colonel, the matter will be complete, and I
+will send it off with O'Flaherty's certificate today."
+
+"That is a good stroke, Cleary," the colonel said, as he read it aloud.
+"They will see that it is too late to raise any questions, and the 'going
+on for seventeen' will be accepted as sufficient."
+
+He touched a bell.
+
+"Orderly, tell Mr. Terence O'Connor that I wish to see him."
+
+Terence was sitting in a state of suppressed excitement at his father's
+quarters. He had a strong belief that the matter would be managed somehow,
+for he knew that the colonel had no malice in his disposition, and would
+not let the episode of the bird--for which he was now heartily
+sorry--stand in the way. On receiving the message he at once went across
+to the colonel's quarters. The latter rose and held out his hand to him as
+he entered.
+
+"Terence O'Connor," he said, "I am pleased to be able to inform you that
+from the present moment you are to consider yourself an officer in his
+Majesty's Mayo Fusiliers. The Horse Guards have given me the privilege of
+nominating a gentleman to the vacant ensigncy, and I have had great
+pleasure in nominating your father's son. Now, lad," he said, in different
+tone of voice, "I feel sure that you will do credit my nomination, and
+that you will keep your love of fun and mischief within reasonable
+bounds."
+
+"I will try to do so, Colonel," the lad said, in a low voice, "and I am
+grateful indeed for the kindness that you have shown me. I have always
+hoped that some day I might obtain a commission in your regiment, but
+never even hoped that it would be until after I had done something to
+deserve it. Indeed I did not think that it was even possible that I could
+obtain a commission until----"
+
+"Tut, tut, lad, don't say a word about age! Doctor O'Flaherty had
+certified that you are going on for seventeen, which is quite sufficient
+for me, and at any rate you will see that boyish tricks are out of place
+in the case of an officer going on for seventeen. Now, your father had
+best take you down into the town and get you measured for your uniforms at
+once. You must make them hurry on with his undress clothes, O'Connor. I
+should not bother about full-dress till we get back again; it is not
+likely to be wanted, and the lad will soon grow out of them. If there
+should happen to be full-dress parade in Portugal, Cleary will put him on
+as officer of the day, or give him some duties that will keep him from
+parade. We may get the route any day, and the sooner he gets his uniform
+the better."
+
+Two days later Terence took his place on parade as an officer of the
+regiment. He had witnessed such numberless drills that he had picked up
+every word of command, knew his proper place in every formation, and fell
+into the work as readily as if he had been at it for years. He had been
+heartily congratulated by the officers of the regiment.
+
+"I am awfully glad that you are one of us, Terence," Dick Ryan said. "I
+don't know what we should have done without you. I expect we shall have
+tremendous fun in Portugal."
+
+"I expect we shall, Dick; but we shall have to be careful. We shall be on
+active service, you see, and from what they say of him I don't think Sir
+Arthur Wellesley is the sort of man to appreciate jokes."
+
+"No, I should say not. Of course, we shall have to draw in a bit. It would
+not do to set the bells of Lisbon ringing."
+
+"I should think not, Dick. Still, I dare say we shall have plenty of fun,
+and at any rate we are likely, from what they say, to have plenty of
+fighting. I don't expect the Portuguese will be much good, and as there
+are forty or fifty thousand Frenchmen in Portugal, we shall have all our
+work to do, unless they send out a much bigger force than is collecting at
+Cork. It is a pity that the 10,000 men who have been sent out to Sweden on
+what my father says is a fool's errand are not going with us instead. We
+might make a good stand-up fight of it then, whereas I don't see that with
+only 6,000 or 7,000 we can do much good against Junot's 40,000."
+
+"Oh, I dare say we shall get on somehow!" Dick said, carelessly. "Sir
+Arthur knows what he is about, and it is our turn to do something now. The
+navy has had it all its own way so far, and it is quite fair that we
+should do our share. I have a brother in the navy, and the fellows are
+getting too cheeky altogether. They seem to think that no one can fight
+but themselves. Except in Egypt we have never had a chance at all of
+showing we can lick the French just as easily on land as we can at sea."
+
+"I hope we shall, Dick. They have certainly had a great deal more practice
+at it than we have."
+
+"Now I think we ought to do something here that they will remember us for
+before we start, Terence."
+
+"Well, if you do, I am not with you this time, Dick. I am not going to
+begin by getting in the colonel's bad books after he has been kind enough
+to nominate me for a commission. I promised him that I would try and not
+get into any scrapes, and I am not going to break my word. When we once
+get out there I shall be game to join in anything that is not likely to
+make a great row, but I have done with it for the present."
+
+"I should like to have one more good bit of fun," Ryan said; "but I expect
+you are right, Terence, in what you say about yourself, and it is no use
+our thinking to humbug Athlone again if you are not in it with us;
+besides, they are getting too sharp. They did not half turn out last time,
+and, indeed, we had a narrow escape of being caught. Well, I shall be very
+glad when we are off; it is stupid work waiting for the route, with all
+leave stopped, and we not even allowed to go out for a day's fishing."
+
+Three days later the expected order arrived. As the baggage had all been
+packed up, that which was to be left behind being handed over to the care
+of the barrack-master, and a considerable portion of the heavy baggage
+sent on by cart, there was no delay. Officers and men were alike delighted
+that the period of waiting had come to an end, and there was loud cheering
+in the barrack-yard as soon as the news came. At daybreak next morning the
+rest of the baggage started under a guard, and three hours later the Mayo
+Fusiliers marched through the town with their band playing at their head,
+and amid the cheers of the populace.
+
+As yet the martial spirit that was roused by the struggle in the Peninsula
+had scarcely begun to show itself, but there was a strong animosity to
+France throughout England, and a desire to aid the people of Spain and
+Portugal in their efforts for freedom. In Ireland, for the most part,
+there was no such feeling. Since the battle of the Boyne and the siege of
+Limerick, France had been regarded by the greater portion of the
+peasantry, and a section of the population of the towns, as the  natural
+ally of Ireland, and there was a hope that when Napoleon had all Europe
+prostrate under his feet he would come as the deliverer of Ireland from
+the English yoke. Consequently, although the townspeople of Athlone
+cheered the regiment as it marched away, the country people held aloof
+from it as it passed along the road. Scowling looks from the women greeted
+it in the villages, while the men ostentatiously continued their work in
+the fields without turning to cast a glance at them.
+
+Terence was not posted to his father's company, but was in that of Captain
+O'Driscol, although the lad himself would have preferred to be with
+Captain O'Grady, with whom he was a great favourite. The latter was one of
+the captains whose companies were unprovided with an ensign, and he had
+asked the adjutant to let him have the lad instead of the ensign who was
+to join at Cork.
+
+"The matter has been settled the other way, O'Grady; in the colonel's
+opinion he will be much better with O'Driscol, who is more likely to keep
+him in order than you are."
+
+O'Grady was one of the most original characters in the regiment. He was
+rather under middle height, and had a smooth face, a guileless and
+innocent expression, and a habit of opening his light-blue eyes as in
+wonder. His hair was short, and stuck up aggressively; his brogue was the
+strongest in the regiment; his blunders were innumerable, and his look of
+amazement at the laughter they called forth was admirably feigned, save
+that the twinkle of his eye induced a suspicion that he himself enjoyed
+the joke as well as anyone. His good-humour was imperturbable, and he was
+immensely popular both among men and officers.
+
+"O'Driscol!" he repeated, in mild astonishment. "Do you mean to say that
+O'Driscol will keep him in better order than meself? If there is one man
+in this regiment more than another who would get on well with the lad it
+is meself, barring none."
+
+"You would get on well enough with him, O'Grady, I have no doubt, but it
+would be by letting him have his own way, and in encouraging him in
+mischief of all kinds."
+
+O'Grady's eyebrows were elevated, and his eyes expressed hopeless
+bewilderment.
+
+"You are wrong entirely, Cleary; nature intended me for a schoolmaster,
+and it is just an accident that I have taken to soldiering. I flatter
+meself that no one looks after his subalterns more sharply than I do. My
+only fear is that I am too severe with them. I may be mild in my manners,
+but they know me well enough to tremble if I speak sternly to them."
+
+"The trembling would be with amusement," the adjutant grumbled. "Well, the
+colonel has settled the matter, and Terence will be in Orders to-morrow as
+appointed to O'Driscol's company, and the other to yours."
+
+"Thank you for nothing, Cleary," O'Grady said, with dignity. "You would
+have seen that under my tuition the lad would have turned out one of the
+smartest officers in the regiment."
+
+"You have heard of the Spartan way of teaching their sons to avoid
+drunkenness, Captain O'Grady?"
+
+"Divil a word, Cleary; but I reckon that the best way with the haythens
+was to keep them from touching whisky. It is what I always recommend to
+the men of my company when I come across one of them the worse for
+liquor."
+
+The adjutant laughed. "That was not the Spartan way, O'Grady; but the
+advice, if taken, would doubtless have the same effect."
+
+"And who were the Spartans at all?"
+
+"I have not time to tell you now, O'Grady; I have no end of business on my
+hands."
+
+"Thin what do you keep me talking here for? haven't I a lot of work on me
+hands too. I came in to ask a simple question, and instead of giving me a
+civil answer you kape me wasting my time wid your O'Driscols and your
+Spartans and all kinds of rigmarole. That is the worst of being in an
+Irish regiment, nothing can be done widout ever so much blather;" and
+Captain O'Grady stalked out of the orderly-room.
+
+On the march Terence had no difficulty in obtaining leave from his captain
+to drop behind and march with his friend Dick Ryan. The marches were long
+ones, and they halted only at Parsonstown, Templemore, Tipperary, and
+Fermoy, as the colonel had received orders to use all speed. At each place
+a portion of the regiment was accommodated in the barracks, while the rest
+were quartered in the town. Late in the evening of the fifth day's march
+they arrived at Cork, and the next day went on board the two transports
+provided for them, and joined the fleet assembled in the Cove. Some of the
+ships had been lying there for nearly a month waiting orders, and the
+troops on board were heartily weary of their confinement. The news,
+however, that Sir Arthur Wellesley had been at last appointed to command
+them, and that they were to sail for Portugal, had caused great delight,
+for it had been feared that they might, like other bodies of troops, be
+shipped off to some distant spot, only to remain there for months and then
+to be brought home again.
+
+Nothing, indeed, could exceed the vacillation and confusion that reigned
+in the English cabinet at that time. The forces of England were frittered
+away in small and objectless expeditions, the plans of action were changed
+with every report sent either by the interested leaders of insurrectionary
+movements in Spain, or by the signally incompetent men who had been sent
+out to represent England, and who distributed broadcast British money and
+British arms to the most unworthy applicants. By their lavishness and
+subservience to the Spaniards our representatives increased the natural
+arrogance of these people, and caused them to regard England as a power
+which was honoured by being permitted to share in the Spanish efforts
+against the French generals. General Spencer with 5,000 men was kept for
+months sailing up and down the coast of Spain and Portugal, receiving
+contradictory orders from home, and endeavouring in vain to co-operate
+with the Spanish generals, each of whom had his own private purposes, and
+was bent on gratifying personal ambitions and of thwarting the schemes of
+his rivals, rather than on opposing the common enemy.
+
+Not only were the English ministry incapable of devising any plan of
+action, but they were constantly changing the naval and military officers
+of the forces. At one moment one general or admiral seemed to possess
+their confidence, while soon afterwards, without the slightest reason, two
+or three others with greater political influence were placed over his
+head; and when at last Sir Arthur Wellesley, whose services in India
+marked him as our greatest soldier, was sent out with supreme military
+power, they gave him no definite plan of action. General Spencer was
+nominally placed under his orders by one set of instructions, while
+another authorized him to commence operations in the south, without
+reference to Sir Arthur Wellesley. Admiral Purvis, who was junior to
+Admiral Collingwood, was authorized to control the operations of Sir
+Arthur, while Wellesley himself had scarcely sailed when Sir Hew Dalrymple
+was appointed to the chief command of the forces, Sir Harry Burrard was
+appointed second in command, and Sir Arthur Wellesley was reduced to the
+fourth rank in the army that he had been sent out to command, two of the
+men placed above him being almost unknown, they never having commanded any
+military force in the field.
+
+The 9,000 men assembled in the Cove of Cork knew nothing of these things;
+they were going out under the command of the victor of Assaye to measure
+their strength against that of the French, and they had no fear of the
+result.
+
+"I hope," Captain O'Grady said, as the officers of the wing of the
+regiment to which he belonged sat down to dinner for the first time on
+board the transport, "that we shall not have to keep together in going
+out."
+
+"Why so, O'Grady?" another captain asked.
+
+"Because there is no doubt at all that our ship is the fastest in the
+fleet, and that we shall get there in time to have a little brush with the
+French all to ourselves before the others arrive."
+
+"What makes you think that she is the fastest ship here, O'Grady?"
+
+"Anyone can see it with half an eye, O'Driscol. Look at her lines; she is
+a flyer, and if we are not obliged to keep with the others we shall be out
+of sight of the rest of them before we have sailed six hours."
+
+"I don't pretend to know anything about her lines, O'Grady, but she looks
+to me a regular old tub."
+
+"She is old," O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "but give her plenty of wind
+and you will see how she can walk along."
+
+There was a laugh all round the table; O'Grady's absolute confidence in
+anything in which he was interested was known to them all. His horse had
+been notoriously the most worthless animal in the regiment, but although
+continually last in the hunting field, O'Grady's opinion of her speed was
+never shaken. There was always an excuse ready; the horse had been badly
+shod, or it was out of sorts and had not had its feed before starting, or
+the going was heavy and it did not like heavy ground, or the country was
+too hilly or too flat for it. It was the same with his company, with his
+non-commissioned officers, with his soldier servant, a notoriously drunken
+rascal, and with his quarters.
+
+O'Grady looked round in mild expostulation at the laugh.
+
+"You will see," he said, confidently, "there can be no mistake about it."
+
+Two days later a ship-of-war entered the harbour, the usual salutes were
+exchanged, then a signal was run up to one of her mast-heads, and again
+the guns of the forts pealed out a salute, and word ran through the
+transports that Sir Arthur Wellesley was on board. On the following day
+the fleet got under way, the transports being escorted by a line-of-battle
+ship and four frigates, which were to join Lord Collingwood's squadron as
+soon as they had seen their charge safe into the Tagus.
+
+Before evening the _Sea-horse__ was a mile astern of the rearmost ship of
+the convoy, and one of the frigates sailing back fired a gun as a signal
+to her to close up.
+
+"Well, O'Grady, we have left the fleet, you see, though not in the way you
+predicted."
+
+"Whist, man! don't you see that the captain is out of temper because they
+have all got to keep together, instead of letting him go ahead?"
+
+Every rag of sail was now piled on to the ship, and as many of the others
+were showing nothing above their topgallant sails she rejoined the rest
+just as darkness fell.
+
+"There, you see!" O'Grady said, triumphantly, "look what she can do when
+she likes."
+
+"We do see, O'Grady. With twice as much sail up as anything else, she has
+in three hours picked up the mile she had lost."
+
+"Wait until we get some wind."
+
+"I hope we sha'n't get anything of the sort--at least no strong winds; the
+old tub would open every seam if we did, and we might think ourselves
+lucky if we got through it at all."
+
+O'Grady smiled pleasantly, and said it was useless to argue with so
+obstinate a man.
+
+"I am afraid O'Grady is wrong as usual," Dick Ryan said to Terence, who
+was sitting next to him. "When once he has taken an idea into his head
+nothing will persuade him that he is wrong; there is no doubt the
+_Sea-horse__ is as slow as she can be. I suppose her owners have some
+interest with the government, or they would surely never have taken up
+such an old tub as a troop-ship."
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+TWO DANGERS
+
+The next day, in spite of the sail she carried, the _Sea-horse__ lagged
+behind, and one of the frigates sailed back to her, and the captain
+shouted angry orders to the master to keep his place in the convoy.
+
+"If we get any wind," O'Grady said, as the frigate bore up on her course
+again, "it will take all your time to keep up with her, my fine fellow.
+You see," he explained to Terence, "no vessel is perfect in all points;
+some like a good deal of wind, some are best in a calm. Now this ship
+wants wind."
+
+"I think she does, Captain O'Grady," Terence replied, gravely. "At any
+rate her strong point is not sailing in a light wind."
+
+"No," O'Grady admitted, regretfully; "but it is not the ship's fault. I
+have no doubt at all that her bottom is foul, and that she has a lot of
+barnacles and weeds twice as long as your body. That is the reason why she
+is a little sluggish."
+
+"That may be it," Terence agreed; "but I should have thought that they
+would have seen to that before they sent her to Cork."
+
+"It is like enough that her owners are well-wishers of Napoleon, Terence,
+and that it is out of spite that they have done it. There is no doubt that
+she is a wonderful craft."
+
+"I am quite inclined to agree with you, Captain O'Grady, for as I have
+never seen a ship except when the regiment came back from India ten years
+ago, I am no judge of one."
+
+"It is the eye, Terence. I can't say that I have been much at sea myself,
+except on that voyage out and home; but I have an eye for ships, and can
+see their good points at a glance. You can take it from me that she is a
+wonderful vessel."
+
+"She would look all the better if her sails were a bit cleaner, and not so
+patched," Terence said, looking up.
+
+"She might look better to the eye, lad, but no doubt the owners know what
+they are doing, and consider that she goes better with sails that fit her
+than she would with new ones."
+
+Terence burst into a roar of laughter. O'Grady, as usual, looked at him in
+mild surprise.
+
+"What are you laughing at, you young spalpeen?"
+
+"I am thinking, Captain O'Grady," the lad said, recovering himself, "that
+it is a great pity you could not have obtained the situation of Devil's
+Advocate. I have read that years ago someone was appointed to defend Old
+Nick when the others were pitching into him, and to show that he was not
+as black as he was painted, but was a respectable gentleman who had been
+maligned by the world."
+
+"No doubt there is a good deal to be said for him," O'Grady said,
+seriously. "Give a dog a bad name, you know, and you may hang him; and I
+have no doubt the Old One has been held responsible for lots of things he
+never had as much as the tip of his finger in at all, at all."
+
+Seeing that his captain was about to pursue the matter much further,
+Terence, making the excuse that it was time he went down to see if the
+men's breakfast was all right, slipped off, and he and Dick Ryan had a
+hearty laugh over O'Grady's peculiarities.
+
+"I think, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said, two days later, "we are going
+to have our opportunity, for unless I am mistaken there is going to be a
+change of weather. Those clouds banking up ahead look like a gale from the
+southwest."
+
+Before night the wind was blowing furiously, and the _Sea-horse__ taking
+green sea over her bows and wallowing gunwale under in the waves. At
+daylight, when they went on deck, gray masses of cloud were hurrying
+overhead and an angry sea alone met the eye. Not a sail was in sight, and
+the whole convoy had vanished.
+
+"We are out of sight of the fleet, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said,
+grimly.
+
+"I felt sure we should be," O'Grady said, triumphantly. "Sorra one of them
+could keep foot with us."
+
+"They are ahead of us, man," O'Driscol said, angrily; "miles and miles
+ahead."
+
+"Ahead, is it? You must know better, O'Driscol; though it is little enough
+you know of ships. You see we are close-hauled, and there is no doubt that
+that is the vessel's strong point. Why, we have dropped the rest of them
+like hot potatoes, and if this little breeze keeps on, maybe we shall be
+in the Tagus days and days before them."
+
+O'Driscol was too exasperated to argue.
+
+"O'Driscol is a good fellow," O'Grady said, turning to Terence, "but it is
+a misfortune that he is so prejudiced. Now, what is your own opinion?"
+
+"I have no opinion about it, Captain O'Grady. I have a very strong opinion
+that I am not going to enjoy my breakfast, and that this motion does not
+agree with me at all. I have been ill half the night. Dick Ryan is awfully
+bad, and by the sounds I heard I should say a good many of the others are
+the same way. On the main deck it is awful; they have got the hatches
+battened down. I just took a peep in and bolted, for it seemed to me that
+everyone was ill."
+
+"The best plan, lad, is to make up your mind that you are quite well. If
+you once do that you will be all right directly."
+
+Terence could not for the moment reply, having made a sudden rush to the
+side.
+
+"I don't see how I can persuade myself that I am quite well," he said,
+when he returned, "when I feel terribly ill."
+
+"Yes, it wants resolution, Terence, and I am afraid that you are deficient
+in that. It must not be half-and-half. You have got to say to yourself,
+'This is glorious; I never enjoyed myself so well in my life,' and when
+you have said that and feel that it is quite true, the whole thing will be
+over."
+
+"I don't doubt it in the least," Terence said; "but I can't say it without
+telling a prodigious lie, and worse still, I could not believe the lie
+when I had told it."
+
+"Then I am afraid that you must submit to be ill, Terence. I know once
+that I had a drame, and the drame was that I was at sea and horribly
+sea-sick, and I woke up and said to myself, 'This is all nonsense, I am as
+well as ever I was;' and, faith, so I was."
+
+Ill as Terence was, he burst into a fit of laughter.
+
+"That was just a dream, Captain O'Grady; but mine is a reality, you know.
+I don't think that you are looking quite well yourself."
+
+"I am perfectly well as far as the sea goes, Terence; never was better in
+my life; but that pork we had for dinner yesterday was worse than usual,
+and I think perhaps I ought to have taken another glass or two to correct
+it."
+
+"It must have been the pork," Terence said, as seriously as O'Grady
+himself; "and it is unfortunate that you are such an abstemious man, or,
+as you say, its effects might have been corrected."
+
+"It's me opinion, Terence, my boy, that you are a humbug."
+
+"Then, Captain O'Grady, it is clear that evil communications must have
+corrupted my good manners."
+
+"It must have been in your infancy then, Terence, for divil a bit of
+manners good or bad have I ever seen in you; you have not even the good
+manners to take a glass of the cratur when you are asked."
+
+"That is true enough," Terence laughed. "Having been brought up in the
+regiment, I have learned, at least, that the best thing to do with whisky
+is to leave it alone."
+
+"I am afraid you will never be a credit to us, Terence."
+
+"Not in the way of being able to make a heavy night of it and then turn
+out as fresh as paint in the morning," Terence retorted; "but you see,
+Captain O'Grady, even my abstinence has its advantages, for at least there
+will always be one officer in the corps able to go the round of the
+sentries at night."
+
+At this moment the vessel gave such a heavy lurch that they were both
+thrown off their feet and rolled into the lee-scuppers, while, at the same
+moment, a rush of water swept over them. Amidst shouts of laughter from
+the other officers the two scrambled to their feet.
+
+
+[Illustration: TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE _SEA-HORSE__]
+
+
+"Holy Moses!" O'Grady exclaimed, "I am drowned entirely, and I sha'n't get
+the taste of the salt water out of me mouth for a week."
+
+"There is one comfort," Terence said; "it might have been worse."
+
+"How could it have been worse?" O'Grady asked, angrily.
+
+"Why, if we hadn't been in the steadiest ship in the whole fleet we might
+have been washed overboard."
+
+There was another shout of laughter. O'Grady made a dash at Terence, but
+the latter easily avoided him and went down below to change his clothes.
+
+The gale increased in strength, and the whole vessel strained so heavily
+that her seams began to open, and by one o'clock the captain requested
+Major Harrison, who was in command, to put some of the soldiers at the
+pumps. For three days and nights relays of men kept the pumps going. Had
+it not been for the 400 troops on board, the _Sea-horse__ would long
+before have gone to the bottom; but with such powerful aid the water was
+kept under, and on the morning of the fourth day the storm began to abate,
+and by evening more canvas was got on her. The next morning two vessels
+were seen astern at a distance of four or five miles. After examining them
+through his glass, the captain sent down a message to Major Harrison
+asking him to come up. In three or four minutes that officer appeared.
+
+"There are two strange craft over there, Major; from their appearance I
+have not the least doubt that they are French privateers. I thought I
+should like your advice as to what had best be done."
+
+"I don't know. You see, your guns might just as well be thrown overboard
+for any good they would be," the major said. "The things would not be safe
+to fire a salute with blank cartridge."
+
+"No, they can hardly be called serviceable," the master agreed. "I spoke
+to the owner about it, but he said that as we were going to sail with a
+convoy it did not matter, and that we should have some others for the next
+voyage."
+
+"I should like to see your owner dangling from the yardarm," the major
+said, wrathfully. "However, just at present the question is what had best
+be done. Of course they could not take the ship from us, but they would
+have very little difficulty in sinking her."
+
+"The first thing is to put on every stitch of sail."
+
+"That would avail us nothing; they can sail two feet to our one."
+
+"Quite so, Major; I should not hope to get away, but they would think that
+I was trying to do so. My idea is that we should press on as fast as we
+can till they open fire at us; we could hold on for a bit, and then haul
+up into the wind and lower our top-sails, which they will take for a proof
+of surrender."
+
+"You won't strike the flag, Captain; we cannot do anything treacherous."
+
+"No, no, I am not thinking of doing that. You see, the flag is not hoisted
+yet, and we won't hoist it at all till they get close alongside, then we
+can haul it up, and sweep their decks with musketry. Of course your men
+will keep below until the last moment."
+
+"That plan will do very well," the major agreed, "that is, if they venture
+to come boldly alongside."
+
+"One is pretty sure to do so, though the other may lay herself ahead or
+astern of us, with her guns pointed to rake us in case we make any
+resistance; but seeing what we are, and that we carry only four small guns
+each side, they are hardly likely to suspect anything wrong. I am not at
+all afraid of beating them off; my only fear is that after they have
+sheared away they will open upon us from a distance."
+
+"Yes, that would be awkward. However, if they do, we must keep the men
+below, and in the meantime you had better get your carpenter to cut up
+some spars and make a lot of plugs in readiness to stop up any holes they
+make near the water-line. I don't think they are likely to make very
+ragged holes, the wood is so rotten the shot would go through the side as
+if it were brown paper; still, you might get a lot of squares of canvas
+ready, with hammers and nails."
+
+The strange craft were already heading towards the _Sea-horse.__ No time
+was lost in setting every stitch of canvas that she could carry; the wind
+was light now, but the vessel was rolling heavily in a long swell. The
+major examined the guns closely and found that they were even worse than
+he had anticipated, the rust holes eaten in the iron having been filled up
+with putty, and the whole painted. He was turning away, with an
+exclamation of disgust, when Terence, who was standing near, said to him:
+
+"I beg your pardon, Major, but don't you think that if we were to wind
+some thin rope very tightly round them three or four inches thick, they
+might stand a charge or two of grape to give them at close quarters; we
+needn't put in a very heavy charge of powder. Even if they did burst, I
+should think that the rope would prevent the splinters from flying about."
+
+"The idea is not a bad one at all, Terence. I will see if the captain has
+got a coil or two of thin rope on board."
+
+Fortunately the ship was fairly well supplied in this respect, and a few
+of the sailors who were accustomed to serving rope, with a dozen soldiers
+to help them, were told off to the work. The rope was wound round as
+tightly as the strength of a dozen men could pull it, the process being
+repeated five or six times, until each gun was surrounded by as many
+layers of rope. A thin rod had been inserted in the touch-hole. The cannon
+was then loaded with half the usual charge of powder, and filled to the
+muzzle with bullets. The rod was then drawn out, and powder poured in
+until it reached the surface.
+
+While this was being done, all the soldiers not engaged in the work went
+below, and the officers sat down under shelter of the bulwarks. The two
+privateers, a large lugger and a brig, had been coming up rapidly, and by
+the time the guns were ready for action they were but a mile away.
+Presently a puff of smoke burst out from the bows of the lugger, and a
+round shot struck the water a short distance ahead of the _Sea-horse__.
+She held on her course without taking any notice of it, and for a few
+minutes the privateer was silent; then, when they were but half a mile
+away the brig opened fire, and two or three shots hulled the vessel.
+
+"That will do, Captain," the major said. "You may as well lay-to now."
+
+The _Sea-horse__ rapidly flew up into the wind, the sheets were thrown
+off, and the upper sails were lowered, one after the other, the job being
+executed slowly, as if by a weak crew. The two privateers, which had been
+sailing within a short distance of each other, now exchanged signals, and
+the lugger ran on, straight towards the _Sea-horse__, while the brig took
+a course which would lay her across the stern of the barque, and enable
+them to rake her with her broadside. Word was passed below, and the
+soldiers poured up on deck, stooping as they reached it, and taking their
+places under the bulwarks. The major had already asked for volunteers
+among the officers, to fire the guns. All had at once offered to do so.
+
+"As it was your proposal, Terence," the major said, "you shall have the
+honour of firing one; Ryan, you take another; Lieutenant Marks and Mr.
+Haines, you take the other two, and then England and Ireland will be
+equally represented."
+
+The deck of the lugger was crowded with men, and the course she was
+steering brought her within a length of the _Sea-horse__. Some of the men
+were preparing to lower her boats, when suddenly a thick line of red coats
+appeared above the bulwarks, two hundred muskets poured in their fire,
+while the contents of the four guns swept her deck. The effect of the fire
+was tremendous. The deck was in a moment covered with dead and dying men;
+half a minute later another volley, fired by the remaining companies,
+completed the work of destruction. The halliards of one of the lugger's
+sails had been cut by the grape, and the sail now came down with a run to
+the deck.
+
+"Down below, all of you," the major shouted, "the fellow behind will rake
+us in a minute."
+
+The soldiers ran down to the hold again. A minute later the brig, sailing
+across the stern, poured in the fire of her guns one by one. Standing much
+lower in the water than her opponent, none of her shot traversed the deck
+of the _Sea-horse__, but they carried destruction among the cabins and
+fittings of the deck below. As this, however, was entirely deserted, no
+one was injured by the shot or flying fragments. The brig then took up her
+position three or four hundred yards away, on the quarter of the
+_Sea-horse__, and opened a steady fire against her.
+
+To this the barque could make no reply, the fire of the muskets being
+wholly ineffective at that distance. The lugger lay helpless alongside the
+_Sea-horse__; the survivors of her crew had run below, and dared not
+return on deck to work their guns, as they would have been swept by the
+musketry of the _Sea-horse__.
+
+Half an hour later Terence was ordered to go below to see how they were
+getting on in the hold.
+
+Terence did so. Some lanterns had been lighted there, and he found that
+four men had been killed and a dozen or so wounded by the enemy's shot,
+the greater portion of which, however, had gone over their heads. The
+carpenter, assisted by some of the non-commissioned officers, was busy
+plugging holes that had been made in her between wind and water, and had
+fairly succeeded, as but four or five shots had struck so low, the enemy's
+object being not to sink, but to capture the vessel. As he passed up
+through the main deck to report, Terence saw that the destruction here was
+great indeed. The woodwork of the cabins had been knocked into fragments,
+there was a great gaping hole in the stern, and it seemed to him that
+before long the vessel would be knocked to pieces. He returned to the
+deck, and reported the state of things.
+
+"It looks bad," the major said to O'Driscol. "This is but half an hour's
+work, and when the fellows come to the conclusion that they cannot make us
+strike, they will aim lower, and there will be nothing to do but to choose
+between sinking and hauling down our flag."
+
+After delivering his report, Terence went to the side of the ship and
+looked down on the lugger. The attraction of the ship had drawn her closer
+to it, and she was but a few feet away. A thought struck him, and he went
+to O'Grady.
+
+"Look here, O'Grady," he said, "that fellow will smash us up altogether if
+we don't do something."
+
+"You must be a bright boy to see that, Terence; faith, I have been
+thinking so for the last ten minutes. But what are we to do? The muskets
+won't carry so far, at least not to do any good. The cannon are next to
+useless. Two of that lot you fired burst, though the ropes prevented any
+damage being done."
+
+"Quite so, but there are plenty of guns alongside. Now, if you go to the
+major and volunteer to take your company and gain possession of the
+lugger, with one of the mates and half a dozen sailors to work her, we can
+get up the main-sail and engage the brig."
+
+"By the powers, Terence, you are a broth of a boy," and he hurried away to
+the major.
+
+"Major," he said, "if you will give me leave, I will have up my company
+and take possession of the lugger; we shall want one of the ship's
+officers and half a dozen men to work the sails, and then we will go out
+and give that brig pepper."
+
+"It is a splendid idea, O'Grady."
+
+"It is not my idea at all, at all; it is Terence O'Connor who suggested it
+to me. I suppose I can take the lad with me?"
+
+"By all means, get your company up at once."
+
+O'Grady hurried away, and in a minute the men of his company poured up
+onto the deck.
+
+"You can come with me, Terence; I have the major's leave," he said to the
+lad.
+
+At this moment there was a slight shock, as the lugger came in contact
+with the ship.
+
+"Come on, lads," O'Grady said, as he set the example of clambering down
+onto the deck of the lugger. He was followed by his men, the first mate
+and six sailors also springing on board. The hatches were first put on to
+keep the remnant of the crew below. The sailors knotted the halliards of
+the main-sail, the soldiers tailed on to the rope, and the sail was
+rapidly run up. The mate put two of his men at the tiller, and the
+soldiers ran to the guns, which were already loaded.
+
+"Haul that sheet to windward," the mate shouted, and the four sailors,
+aided by some of the soldiers, did so. Her head soon payed off, and amid a
+cheer from the officers on deck the lugger swept round. She mounted twelve
+guns. O'Grady divided the officers and non-commissioned officers among
+them, himself taking charge of a long pivot-gun in the bow.
+
+"Take stiddy aim, boys, and fire as your guns bear on her; you ought not
+to throw away a shot at this distance."
+
+As the lugger came out from behind the Sea-horse, gun after gun was fired,
+and the white splinters on the side of the brig showed that most, if not
+all, of the shots had taken effect. O'Grady's gun was the last to speak
+out, and the shot struck the brig just above the water-line.
+
+"Take her round," he shouted to the mate; "give the boys on the other side
+a chance." The lugger put about and her starboard guns poured in their
+contents.
+
+"That is the way," he shouted, as he laboured away with the men with him
+to load the pivot-gun again; "we will give him two or three more rounds,
+and then we will get alongside and ask for his health."
+
+The brig, however, showed no inclination to await the attack. Some shots
+had been hastily fired when the lugger's first gun told them that she was
+now an enemy, and she at once put down her helm and made off before the
+wind, which was now very light.
+
+"Load your guns and then out with the oars," Captain O'Grady shouted. "Be
+jabers, we will have that fellow. Let no man attend to the _Sea-horse__;
+it's from me that you are to take your orders. Besides," he said to
+Terence, "there is no signal-book on board, and they may hoist as many
+flags as they like."
+
+The twelve sweeps on board the lugger were at once got out, and each
+manned by three soldiers. O'Grady himself continued to direct the fire of
+the pivot-gun, and sent shot after shot into the brig's stern. The latter
+had but some four hundred yards' start, and although she also hurriedly
+got out some sweeps, the lugger gained upon her. Her crew clustered on
+their taffrail, and kept up a musketry fire upon the party working the
+pivot-gun. Two of these had been killed and four wounded, when O'Grady
+said to the others:
+
+"Lave the gun alone, boys; we shall be alongside of her in a few minutes;
+it is no use throwing away lives by working it. Run all the guns over to
+the other side; we will give them a warming, and then go at her."
+
+The _Sea-horse__ had hoisted signals directly those on board perceived
+that the lugger was starting in pursuit of the brig. Terence had informed
+his commanding officer of this, but O'Grady replied:
+
+"I know nothing about them, Terence; most likely they mane 'Good-luck to
+you! Chase the blackguard, and capture him.' Don't let Woods come near me,
+whatever you do; I don't want to hear his idea of what the signals may
+mane."
+
+Terence had just time to stop the mate as he was coming forward.
+
+"The ship is signalling," he said.
+
+"I have told Captain O'Grady, sir," Terence replied. "He does not know
+what the signal means, but has no doubt that it is instructions to capture
+the brig, and he means to do so."
+
+The officer laughed.
+
+"I think myself that it would be a pity not to," he said; "we shall be
+alongside in ten minutes. But I think it my duty to tell you what the
+signal is."
+
+"You can tell me what it is," Terence said, "and it is possible that in
+the heat of action I may forget to report it to Captain O'Grady."
+
+"That is right enough, sir. I think it is the recall."
+
+"Well, I will attend to it presently," Terence laughed.
+
+When within a hundred yards of the brig the troops opened a heavy musketry
+fire, many of the men making their way up the ratlines and so commanding
+the brig's deck. They were answered with a brisk fire, but the French
+shooting was wild, and by the shouting of orders and the confusion that
+prevailed on board it was evident that the privateersmen were disorganized
+by the sight of the troops and the capture of their consort. The brig's
+guns were hastily fired, as they could be brought to bear on the lugger,
+as she forged alongside. The sweeps had already been got in, and the
+lugger's eight guns poured their contents simultaneously into the brig,
+then a withering volley was fired, and, headed by O'Grady, the soldiers
+sprang on board the brig.
+
+As they did so, however, the French flag fluttered down from the peak, and
+the privateersmen threw down their arms. The English broadside and volley
+fired at close quarters had taken terrible effect. Of the crew of eighty
+men thirty were killed and a large proportion of the rest wounded. The
+soldiers gave three hearty cheers as the flag came down.
+
+The privateersmen were at once ordered below.
+
+"Lieutenant Hunter," O'Grady said, "do you go on board the lugger with the
+left wing of the company. Mr. Woods, I think you had better stay here,
+there are a good many more sails to manage than there are in the lugger.
+One man here will be enough to steer her; we will pull at the ropes for
+you. Put the others on board the lugger."
+
+"By the by, Mr. Woods," he said, "I see that the ship has hoisted a
+signal; what does it mean?"
+
+"I believe that to be the recall, sir; I told Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"You ought to have reported that same to me," O'Grady said, severely;
+"however, we will obey it at once."
+
+The _Sea-horse__ was lying head to wind a mile and a half away, and the
+two prizes ran rapidly up to her. They were received with a tremendous
+cheer from the men closely packed along her bulwarks. O'Grady at once
+lowered a boat and was rowed to the _Sea-horse__, taking Terence with him.
+
+"You have done extremely well, Captain O'Grady," Major Harrison said, as
+he reached the deck, "and I congratulate you heartily. You should,
+however, have obeyed the order of recall; the brig might have proved too
+strong for you, and, bound on service as we are, we have no right to risk
+valuable lives except in self-defence."
+
+"Sure I knew nothing about the signal," O'Grady said, with an air of
+innocence; "I thought it just meant 'More power to ye! give it 'em hot!'
+or something of that kind. It was not until after I had taken the brig
+that I was told that it was an order of recall. As soon as I learned that,
+we came along as fast as we could to you."
+
+"But Mr. Woods must surely have known."
+
+"Mr. Woods did tell me, Major," Terence put in, "but somehow I forgot to
+mention it to Captain O'Grady."
+
+There was a laugh among the officers standing round.
+
+"You ought to have informed him at once, Mr. O'Connor," the major said,
+with an attempt at gravity. "However," he went on, with a change of voice,
+"we all owe so much to you that I must overlook it, as there can be very
+little doubt that had it not been for your happy idea of taking possession
+of the lugger we should have been obliged to surrender, for I should not
+have been justified in holding out until the ship sank under us. I shall
+not fail, in reporting the matter, to do you full credit for your share in
+it. Now, what is your loss, Captain O'Grady?"
+
+"Three men killed and eleven wounded, sir."
+
+"And what is that of the enemy?"
+
+"Thirty-two killed and about the same number of wounded, more or less. We
+had not time to count them before we sent them down, and I had not time
+afterwards, for I was occupied in obeying the order of recall. I am sorry
+that we have killed so many of the poor beggars, but if they had hauled
+down their flag when we got up with them there would have been no occasion
+for it. I should have told their captain that I looked upon him as an
+obstinate pig, but as he and his first officer were both killed, there was
+no use in my spaking to him."
+
+"Well, it has been a very satisfactory operation," the major said, "and we
+are very well out of a very nasty fix. Now, you will go back to the brig,
+Captain O'Grady, and prepare to send the prisoners on board. We will send
+our boats for them. Doctor Daly and Doctor O'Flaherty will go on board
+with you and see to the wounded French and English. Doctor Daly will bring
+the worst cases on board here, and will leave O'Flaherty on the brig to
+look after the others. They will be better there than in this crowded
+ship. The first officer will remain there with you with five men, and you
+will retain fifty men of your own company. The second officer, with five
+men, will take charge of the lugger. He will have with him fifty men of
+Captain O'Driscol's company, under that officer. That will give us a
+little more room on board here. How many prisoners are there?"
+
+"Counting the wounded, Major, there are about fifty of them; her crew was
+eighty strong to begin with. There are only some thirty, including the
+slightly wounded, to look after."
+
+"If the brig's hold is clear, I think that you had better take charge of
+them. At present you will both lie-to beside us here till we have
+completed our repairs, and when we make sail you are both to follow us,
+and keep as close as possible; and on no account, Captain O'Grady, are you
+to undertake any cruises on your own account."
+
+"I will bear it in mind, Major; and we will do all we can to keep up with
+you."
+
+A laugh ran round the circle of officers at O'Grady's obstinacy in
+considering the _Sea-horse__ to be a fast vessel, in spite of the evidence
+that they had had to the contrary. The major said, gravely:
+
+"You will have to go under the easiest sail possible. The brig can go two
+feet to this craft's one, and you will only want your lower sails. If you
+put on more you will be running ahead and losing us at night. We shall
+show a light over our stern, and on no account are you to allow yourselves
+to lose sight of it."
+
+A party of men were already at work nailing battens over the shattered
+stern of the _Sea-horse__. When this was done, sail-cloth was nailed over
+them, and a coat of pitch given to it. The operation took four hours, by
+which time all the other arrangements had been completed. The holds of the
+two privateers were found to be empty, and they learned from the French
+crews that the two craft had sailed from Bordeaux in company but four days
+previously, and that the _Sea-horse__ was the first English ship that they
+had come across.
+
+"You will remember, Captain O'Grady," the major said, as that officer
+prepared to go on board, "that Mr. Woods is in command of the vessel, and
+that he is not to be interfered with in any way with regard to making or
+taking in sail. He has received precise instructions as to keeping near
+us, and your duties will be confined to keeping guard over the prisoners,
+and rendering such assistance to the sailors as they may require."
+
+"I understand, Major; but I suppose that in case you are attacked we may
+take a share in any divarsion that is going on?"
+
+"I don't think that there is much chance of our being attacked, O'Grady;
+but if we are, instructions will be signalled to you. French privateers
+are not likely to interfere with us, seeing that we are together, and if
+by any ill-luck a French frigate should fall in with us, you will have
+instructions to sheer off at once, and for each of you to make your way to
+Lisbon as quickly as you can. You see, we have transferred four guns from
+each of your craft to take the place of the rotten cannon on board here,
+but our united forces would be of no avail at all against a frigate, which
+would send us to the bottom with a single broadside. We can neither run
+nor fight in this wretched old tub. If we do see a French frigate coming,
+I shall transfer the rest of the troops to the prizes and send them off at
+once, and leave the _Sea-horse__ to her fate. Of course we should be very
+crowded on board the privateers, but that would not matter for a few days.
+So you see the importance of keeping quite close to us, in readiness to
+come alongside at once if signalled to. We shall separate as soon as we
+leave the ship, so as to ensure at least half our force reaching its
+destination."
+
+Captain O'Driscol took Terence with him on board the lugger, leaving his
+lieutenant in charge of the wing that remained on board the ship.
+
+"You have done credit to the company, and to my choice of you, Terence,"
+he said, warmly, as they stood together on the deck of the lugger. "I did
+not see anything for it but a French prison, and it would have broken my
+heart to be tied up there while the rest of our lads were fighting the
+French in Portugal. I thought that you would make a good officer some day
+in spite of your love of devilment, but I did not think that before you
+had been three weeks in the service you would have saved half the regiment
+from a French prison."
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+DISEMBARKED
+
+As soon as the vessels were under way again it was found that the lugger
+was obliged to lower her main-sail to keep in her position astern of the
+_Sea-horse__, while the brig was forced to take in sail after sail until
+the whole of the upper sails had been furled.
+
+"It is tedious work going along like this," O'Driscol said; "but it does
+not so much matter, because as yet we do not know where we are going to
+land. Sir Arthur has gone on in a fast ship to Corunna to see the Spanish
+Junta there, and find out what assistance we are likely to get from
+Northern Spain. That will be little enough. I expect they will take our
+money and arms and give us plenty of fine promises in return, and do
+nothing; that is the game they have been playing in the south, and if
+there were a grain of sense among our ministers they would see that it is
+not of the slightest use to reckon on Spain. As to Portugal, we know very
+little at present, but I expect there is not a pin to choose between them
+and the Spaniards."
+
+"Then we are not going to Lisbon?" Terence said, in surprise.
+
+"I expect not. Sir Arthur won't determine anything until he joins us after
+his visit to Corunna, but I don't think that it will be at Lisbon, anyhow.
+There are strong forts guarding the mouth of the river, and ten or twelve
+thousand troops in the city, and a Russian fleet anchored in the port. I
+don't know where it will be, but I don't think that it will be Lisbon. I
+expect that we shall slip into some little port, land, and wait for Junot
+to attack us; we shall be joined, I expect, by Stewart's force, that have
+been fooling about for two or three months waiting for the Spaniards to
+make up their minds whether they will admit them into Cadiz or not. You
+see, at present there are only 9,000 of us, and they say that Junot has at
+least 50,000 in Portugal; but of course they are scattered about, and it
+is hardly likely that he would venture to withdraw all his garrisons from
+the large towns, so that the odds may not be as heavy as they look, when
+we meet him in the field. And I suppose that at any rate some of the
+Portuguese will join us. From what I hear, the peasantry are brave enough,
+only they have never had a chance yet of making a fight for it, owing to
+their miserable government, which never can make up its mind to do
+anything. I hope that Sir Arthur has orders, as soon as he takes Lisbon,
+to assume the entire control of the country and ignore the native
+government altogether. Even if they are worth anything, which they are
+sure not to be, it is better to have one head than two, and as we shall
+have to do all the fighting, it's just as well that we should have the
+whole control of things too."
+
+For four days they sailed along quietly. On the morning of the fifth the
+signal was run up from the _Sea-horse__ for the prizes to close up to her.
+Mr. Woods, the mate on board the brig, at once sent a sailor up to the
+mast-head.
+
+"There is a large ship away to the south-west, sir," he shouted down.
+
+"What does she look like?"
+
+"I can only see her royals and top-sails yet, but by their square cut I
+think that she is a ship-of-war."
+
+"Do you think she is French or English?"
+
+"I cannot say for certain yet, sir, but it looks to me as if she is
+French. I don't think that the sails are English cut anyhow."
+
+Such was evidently the opinion on board the _Sea-horse__, for as the
+prizes came up within a hundred yards of her they were hailed by the major
+through a speaking-trumpet, and ordered to keep at a distance for the
+present, but to be in readiness to come up alongside directly orders were
+given to that effect.
+
+In another half-hour the look-out reported that he could now see the lower
+sails of the stranger, and had very little doubt but that it was a large
+French frigate. Scarcely had he done so before the two prizes were ordered
+to close up to the _Sea-horse__. The sea was very calm and they were able
+to lie alongside, and as soon as they did so the troops began to be
+transferred to them. In a quarter of an hour the operation was completed,
+Major Harrison taking his place on board the lugger; half the men were
+ordered below, and the prize sheered off from the _Sea-horse__.
+
+"The Frenchman is bearing down straight for us," he said to O'Driscol;
+"she is bringing a breeze down with her, and in an hour she will be
+alongside. I shall wait another half-hour, and then we must leave the
+_Sea-horse__ to her fate; except for our stores she is worthless. Well,
+Terence, have you any suggestion to offer? You got us out of the last
+scrape, and though this is not quite so bad as that, it is unpleasant
+enough. The frigate when she comes near will see that the _Sea-horse__ is
+a slow sailer, and will probably leave her to be picked up at her leisure,
+and will go off in chase either of the brig or us. The brig is to make for
+the north-west and we shall steer south-east, so that she will have to
+make a choice between us. When we get the breeze we shall either of us
+give her a good dance before she catches us--that is, if the breeze is not
+too strong; if it is, her weight would soon bring her up to us."
+
+"Yes, Major, but perhaps she may not trouble about us at all. She would
+see at once that the lugger and brig are French, and if they were both to
+hoist French colours, and the _Sea-horse__ were to fly French colours over
+English, she would naturally suppose that she had been captured by us, and
+would go straight on her course without troubling herself further about
+it."
+
+"So she might, Terence. At any rate the scheme is worth trying. If they
+have anything like good glasses on board they could make out our colours
+miles away. If she held on towards us after that, there would be plenty of
+time for us to run, but if we saw her change her course we should know
+that we were safe. Your head is good for other things besides mischief,
+lad."
+
+The lugger sailed up near the ship again, and the major gave the captain
+instructions to hoist a French ensign over an English one, and then,
+sailing near the brig, told them to hoist French colours.
+
+"Keep all your men down below the line of the bulwarks, O'Grady. Mr.
+Woods, you had better get your boat down and row alongside of the ship,
+and ask the captain to get the slings at work and hoist some of our stores
+into her; we will do the same on the other side. Tell the captain to lower
+a couple of his boats; also take twenty soldiers on board with you without
+their jackets; we will do the same, so that it may be seen that we have a
+strong party on board getting out the cargo."
+
+In a few minutes the orders were carried out, and forty soldiers were at
+work on the deck of the Sea-horse, slinging up tents from below, and
+lowering them into the boats alongside. The approach of the frigate was
+anxiously watched from the decks of the prizes. The upper sails of the
+_Sea-horse__ had been furled, and the privateers, under the smallest
+possible canvas, kept abreast of her at a distance of a couple of lengths.
+The hull of the French frigate was now visible. "She is very fast," the
+mate said to the major, "and she is safe to catch one of us if the breeze
+she has got holds."
+
+As she came nearer the feeling of anxiety heightened.
+
+"They ought to make out our colours now, sir."
+
+Almost immediately afterwards the frigate was seen to change her course.
+Her head was turned more to the east. A suppressed cheer broke from the
+troops.
+
+"It is all right now, sir," the mate said; "she is making for Brest. We
+have fooled her nicely."
+
+The boats passed and repassed between the _Sea-horse__ and the prizes, and
+the frigate crossed a little more than a mile ahead.
+
+"Five-and-twenty guns a-side," the major said. "By Jove! she would have
+made short work of us."
+
+As it was not advisable to make any change in the position until the
+frigate was far on her way, the boats continued to pass to and fro,
+carrying back to the _Sea-horse__ the stores that had just been removed,
+until the Frenchman was five or six miles away.
+
+"Don't you think that we might make sail again, Captain?" the major then
+hailed.
+
+"I think that we had better give him another hour, sir. Were she to see us
+making sail with the prize to the south it would excite suspicion at once,
+and the captain might take it into his head to come back again to inquire
+into it."
+
+"Half an hour will surely be sufficient," the major said. "She is
+travelling at eight or nine knots an hour, and she is evidently bound for
+port. It would be unlikely in the extreme that her commander would beat
+back ten miles on what, after all, might be a fool's errand."
+
+"That is true enough, sir. Then in half an hour we shall be ready to sail
+again."
+
+The major was rowed to the _Sea-horse__. "We may as well transfer the men
+at once," he said. "We have had a very narrow escape of it, Captain, and
+there is no doubt that we owe our safety entirely to the sharpness of that
+young ensign. We should have been sunk or taken if he had not suggested
+our manning the lugger in the first place, and of pretending that the ship
+had been captured by French privateers in the second."
+
+"You are right, Major. Another half-hour and the craft would have
+foundered under us; and the frigate would certainly have captured the
+_Sea-horse__ and one of the prizes if the Frenchman had not, as he
+thought, seen two privateers at work emptying our hold. He is a sharp
+young fellow, that."
+
+"That he is," the major agreed. "He has been brought up with the regiment,
+and has always been up to pranks of all kinds; but he has used his wits to
+good purpose this time, and I have no doubt will turn out an excellent
+officer."
+
+Before sail was made the major summoned the officers on board the
+_Sea-horse__. The troops from the lugger and brig were drawn up on deck,
+and the major, standing on the poop, said in a voice that could be heard
+from end to end of the ship:
+
+"Officers and men, we have had a narrow escape from a French prison, and
+as it is possible that before we arrive at our destination we may fall in
+with an enemy again and not be so lucky, I think it right to take this
+occasion at once of thanking Mr. O' Connor, before you all, in my own
+name, and in yours, for to his intelligence and quickness of wit it is
+entirely due that we escaped being captured when the brig was pounding us
+with its shot, without our being able to make any return, and it was
+certain that in a short time we should have had to haul down our flag or
+be sunk. It was he who suggested that we should take possession of the
+lugger, and with her guns drive off the brig. As the result of that
+suggestion this craft was saved from being sunk, and the brig was also
+captured.
+
+"In the second place, when that French frigate was bearing down upon us
+and our capture seemed certain, it was he who suggested to me, that by
+hoisting the French flag and appearing to be engaged in transferring the
+cargo of the ship to the privateers, we might throw dust into the eyes of
+the Frenchmen. As you saw, the ruse succeeded perfectly. I therefore, Mr.
+O'Connor, thank you most heartily in my own name, and in that of your
+fellow-officers, also in the name of the four hundred men of the regiment,
+and of the ship's company, for the manner in which you have, by your
+quickness and good sense, saved us all from a French prison, and saved his
+Majesty from the loss of the wing of a fine regiment."
+
+As he concluded the men broke into loud cheering, and the officers
+gathered around Terence and thanked and congratulated him most heartily on
+the service that he had rendered them.
+
+"You are a broth of a boy, Terence," Captain O'Grady said. "I knew that it
+was in you all along. I would not give a brass farthing for a lad who had
+not a spice of divil-ment in him. It shows that he has got his wits about
+him, and that when he steddys down he will be hard to bate."
+
+Terence was so much overpowered at the praise he had received that, beyond
+protesting that it was quite undeserved, he had no reply to make to the
+congratulations that he received from the captain. O'Driscol, seeing that
+he was on the verge of breaking down, at once called upon him to take his
+place in the boat, and rowed with him to the lugger.
+
+A few minutes later all sail was set on the _Sea-horse__, and with her
+yards braced tautly aft she laid her course south, close-hauled; a fresh
+breeze was now blowing, and she ploughed her way through the water at a
+rate that almost justified O'Grady's panegyrics upon her. In another three
+days she entered the port of Vigo, where the convoy was to rendezvous, and
+all were glad to find that the whole fleet were still there. On anchoring,
+the major went on board the _Dauphin__, which had brought the
+headquarters, and the other wing of the regiment. He was heartily greeted
+by the colonel.
+
+"We were getting very uneasy about you, Harrison," he said. "The last ship
+of the convoy came in three days ago, and we began to fear that you must
+have been either dismasted or sunk in the gale. I saw the senior naval
+officer this morning, and he said that if you did not come in during the
+day he would send a frigate out in search of you; but I could see by his
+manner that he thought it most likely that you had gone down. So you may
+imagine how pleased we were when we made out your number, though we could
+not for the life of us make out what those two craft flying the English
+colours over the French, that came in after you, were. But of course they
+had nothing to do with you. I suppose they were two privateers that had
+been captured by one of our frigates, and sent in here with prize crews to
+refit before going home. They have both of them been knocked about a bit."
+
+"I will tell you about them directly, Colonel; it is rather a long story.
+We have had a narrow squeak of it. We got through the storm pretty well,
+but we had a bad time of it afterwards, and we owe it entirely to young
+O'Connor that we are not, all of us, in a prison at Brest at present."
+
+"You don't say so! Wait a moment, I will call his father here; he will be
+glad to hear that the young scamp has behaved well. I may as well call
+them all up; they will like to hear the story."
+
+Turning to the group of officers who were standing on the quarter-deck a
+short distance away, waiting to hear the news when the major had given his
+report, he said: "You may as well come now and hear Major Harrison's
+story; it will save his telling it twice. You will be glad to hear,
+O'Connor, that Terence has been distinguishing himself in some way, though
+I know not yet in what; the major says that if it had not been for him the
+whole wing of the regiment would have now been in a French prison."
+
+"Terence was always good at getting out of scrapes, Colonel, though I
+don't say he was not equally good in getting into them; but I am glad to
+hear that this time he has done something useful."
+
+The major then gave a full account of their adventure with the privateers,
+and of the subsequent escape from the French frigate.
+
+"Faith, O'Connor," the colonel said, warmly, holding out his hand to him,
+"I congratulate you most heartily, which is more than I ever thought to do
+on Terence's account. I had some misgivings when I recommended him for a
+commission, but I may congratulate myself as well as you that I did so. I
+was sure the lad had plenty in him, but I was afraid that it was more
+likely to come out the wrong way than the right; and now it turns out that
+he has saved half the regiment, for there is no doubt from what Harrison
+says that he has done so."
+
+"Thank you, Colonel; I am glad indeed that the boy has done credit to your
+kindness. It was a mighty bad scrape this time, and he got out of it
+well."
+
+"Of course, Major, you will give a full report in writing of this, and
+will send it in to Sir Arthur; he arrived this morning. I will go on board
+the flag-ship at once and report as to the prizes. Who they belong to I
+have not the least idea. I never heard of a transport capturing a couple
+of privateers before; but, I suppose, as she is taken up for the king's
+service and the prizes were captured by his Majesty's troops, they will
+rank as if taken by the navy, that is, a certain amount of their value
+will go to the admiral. Anyhow, the bulk of it will go, I should think, to
+the troops--the crew and officers of the ship, of course, sharing."
+
+"It won't come to much a head, Colonel, anyhow. You see, they were both
+empty, and there is simply the value of the ships themselves, which I
+don't suppose would fetch above five or six hundred apiece."
+
+"Still, the thing must be done in a regular way, and I must leave it in
+the admiral's hands. I will take your boat, Major, and go to him at once.
+You will find pen and ink in my cabin, and I should be glad if you would
+write your report by the time that I return; then I will go off at once to
+Sir Arthur."
+
+"I have it already written, Colonel," the major said, producing the
+document.
+
+"That looks to me rather long, Harrison, and busy as Sir Arthur must be,
+he might not take the trouble to read it. I wish you would write out
+another, as concise as you can make it, of the actual affair, saying at
+the end that you beg to report especially the conduct of Ensign O'Connor,
+to whose suggestions the escape of the ship both from the privateers and
+French frigate were due. I will hand that in as the official report, and
+with it the other, saying that it gives further details of the affair. Of
+course, with them I must give in an official letter from myself, inclosing
+your two reports. But first I will go and see the admiral."
+
+In a little over half an hour he returned. "The admiral knows no more than
+I do whether the navy have anything to do with the prizes or not. Being so
+small in value he does not want to trouble himself about it. He says that
+the matter would entail no end of correspondence and bother, and that the
+crafts might rot at their anchors before the matter was decided. He thinks
+the best thing that I can do will be to sell the two vessels for what they
+will fetch, and divide the money according to prize rules, and say nothing
+about it. In that way there is not likely ever to be any question about
+it, while if the Admiralty and Horse Guards once get into a correspondence
+over the matter, there is no saying what bother I might have; and that he
+should advise me, if I do not adopt that plan, to simply scuttle them
+both, and report that they have sunk. Now I will just write my official
+letter and take it to head-quarters."
+
+In two hours he was back again.
+
+"I have not seen the chief," he said, "but I gave the reports to his
+adjutant-general. General Fane was with him; he is an old friend of mine,
+and I told him the story of your voyage, and the adjutant-general joined
+in the conversation. Fane was waiting to go in to Sir Arthur, who was
+dictating some despatches to England, and he said that if he had a chance
+he would mention the affair to Sir Arthur; and, at any rate, the other
+officer said that he would lay the reports before him, with such mention
+that Sir Arthur would doubtless look through them both. I find that there
+is a bit of insurrection going on in Portugal, but that no one thinks much
+will come of it, as bands of unarmed peasants can have no chance with the
+French. Nothing is determined as yet about our landing. Lisbon and the
+Tagus are completely in the hands of the French.
+
+"Sir Arthur is going down to Oporto to-morrow, where it is likely that he
+will learn more about the situation than he did at Corunna. Fane says that
+he hopes we shall soon be ashore, as the general is not the man to let the
+grass grow under his feet."
+
+After holding counsel with his officers the colonel determined to adopt
+the advice he had received, and to sell the two craft for what they would
+fetch, the officers all agreeing to refund their shares if any questions
+were ever asked on the subject. The captain of the _Sea-horse__ agreed to
+accept the share of a captain in the line, and his mates those of first
+and second lieutenant. The colonel put himself in communication with some
+merchants on shore, and the two craft were sold for twelve hundred pounds.
+
+"This gave something over a pound a head to the 400 soldiers and the crew,
+twice that amount to the non-commissioned officers, and sums varying from
+ten pounds apiece to the ensigns to fifty pounds to the major. The admiral
+was asked to approve of the transaction, and said, 'I have no right
+formally to sanction it, since, so far as I know, it is not a strictly
+naval matter; but I will give you a letter, Colonel, saying that you have
+informed me of the course that you have adopted, and that I consider that
+under the peculiar circumstances of the capture, and the fact that there
+are no men available for sending the prizes to England, the course was the
+best and most convenient that could possibly be adopted, though, had the
+craft been of any great value, it would, of course, have been necessary to
+refer the matter home.'"
+
+A week passed without movement. The expedition had left England on the
+12th of July, 1808, and Sir Arthur rejoined it towards the end of the
+month. He had learned at Oporto from Colonel Brown, our agent there, that,
+contrary to what he had been told at Corunna, there were no Spanish troops
+in the north of Portugal, but that a body of some 8,000 Portuguese
+irregulars and militia, half-armed and but slightly disciplined, were
+assembled on the river Mondego. After a consultation with Admiral Sir
+Charles Cotton, Sir Arthur had concluded that an attack at the mouth of
+the Tagus was impracticable, owing to the strength of the French there,
+the position of the forts that commanded the entrance of the river, and
+the heavy surf that broke in all the undefended creeks and bays near.
+There was then the choice of landing far enough north of Lisbon to ensure
+a disembarkation undisputed by the French, or else to sail south, join
+Spencer, and act against the French army under Dupont.
+
+Sir Arthur finally determined that the Mondego River was the most
+practicable for the enterprise. The fort of Figueira at its mouth was
+already occupied by British marines, and the Portuguese force was at least
+sufficient to deter any small body of troops approaching the
+neighbourhood. Therefore, to the great joy of the troops, the order was
+given that the fleet should sail on the following morning; two days later
+they anchored off the mouth of the Mondego. Just before starting a vessel
+arrived with despatches from Spencer, saying that he was at St. Mary's and
+was free to act with Sir Arthur, and a fast vessel was despatched with
+orders to him to sail to the Mondego.
+
+On arriving there Sir Arthur received the mortifying intelligence that Sir
+Hew Dalrymple had been appointed over his head, nevertheless he continued
+to push on his own plans with vigour, pending the arrival of that general.
+With this bad news came the information that the French general, Dupont,
+had been defeated. This set free a small force under General Anstruther,
+and some fast-sailing craft were at once despatched to find his command,
+and order it to sail at once to the Mondego. Without further delay,
+however, the landing of the troops began on the 1st of August, and the
+9,000 men, their guns and stores, were ashore by the 5th.
+
+On that day Spencer fortunately arrived with 3,300 men. He had not
+received Sir Arthur's orders, but the moment that Dupont surrendered he
+had sailed for the Tagus, and had learned from Sir C. Cotton, who
+commanded the fleet at the entrance to the river, where Sir Arthur was,
+and at once sailed to join him. While the troops were disembarking Sir
+Arthur had gone over to the Portuguese head-quarters, two miles distant,
+to confer with Bernardin Friere, the Portuguese commander-in-chief. The
+visit was a disappointing one. He found that the Portuguese troops were
+almost unarmed, and that their commander was full of inflated ideas. He
+proposed that the forces should unite, that they should relinquish the
+coast, and march into the interior and commence an offensive campaign, and
+was lavish in his promises to provide ample stores of provisions. The
+English general saw, however, that no effectual assistance could be hoped
+for from the Portuguese troops, and as little from the promises of their
+commander. He gave Friere 5,000 muskets for his troops, but absolutely
+declined to adopt the proposed plan, his own intention being to keep near
+the coast, where he could receive his supplies from the ships and be
+joined by reinforcements.
+
+As soon as they had landed the Mayo regiment was marched to a village two
+miles inland, and, with two others of the same brigade, encamped near it.
+All idea of keeping up a regimental officers' mess had been abandoned, and
+as soon as the tents were pitched and the troops had settled down in them,
+O'Grady said to Terence:
+
+"We will go into the village and see if we can find a suitable place for
+taking our meals. It may be that in time our fellows will learn how to
+cook for us, but, by jabers! we will live dacent as long as we can. My
+servant, Tim Hoolan, has gone on ahead to look for such a place, and he is
+the boy to find one if there is one anyhow to be got. As our companies are
+number 1 and 2, it is reasonable that we should stick together, and though
+O'Driscol's a quare stick, with all sorts of ridiculous notions, he is a
+good fellow at heart, and I will put up with him for the sake of having
+you with me."
+
+As they entered the village the servant came up. "I have managed it,
+Captain; we have got hold of the best quarters in the village; it is a
+room over the only shebeen here. The ould scoundrel of a landlord wanted
+to keep it as a general room, but I brought the Church to bear on him, and
+I managed it finally."
+
+"How did you work it, Tim?"
+
+"Sure, your honour, I went to the praste, and by good luck his house is in
+front of the church. I went into the church, and I crossed myself before
+the altar and said a prayer or two. As I did so who should come out of the
+vestry but the father himself. He waited until I had done and then came up
+to me, and to my surprise said in good Irish:
+
+"'So it's a Catholic you are, my man?'
+
+"'That am I, your riverence,' said I, 'and most all of the rigiment are;
+sure, we were raised in the ould country, and belong, most of us, to
+County Mayo, and glad we were to come out here to fight for those of the
+true religion against these Frenchmen, who they say have no religion at
+all, at all. And how is it you spake the language, your riverence, if I
+may be so bold as to ask?'"
+
+"Then he told me that he had been at college at Lisbon, where the sons of
+many Catholic Irish gentlemen were sent to be educated, and that he had
+learned it from them.
+
+"'And how is it that you are not with your regiment, my man?'
+
+"'I am here to hire rooms for the officers, your riverence, just a place
+where they can ate a dacent meal in peace and quietness. I have been to
+the inn, but I cannot for the life of me make the landlord understand. He
+has got a room that would be just suitable, so I thought I would come to
+your riverence to explain to you that the rigiment are not heretics, but
+true sons of the Church. I thought that, being a learned man, I might make
+shift to make you understand, and that you would maybe go wid me and
+explain the matter to him.'
+
+"'That will I,' says he; and he wint and jabbered away with the innkeeper,
+and at last turned to me and said: 'He will let you have a room, seeing
+that it is for the service of good Catholics and not heretics.'"
+
+"But, you rascal, you know that we are not Catholics."
+
+"Sure, your honour, didn't I say that most all the rigiment were
+Catholics; I did not say all of them."
+
+"I must go and explain the matter to him, Hoolan. If he calls upon us, as
+like he may do, he would find out at once that you have desaved him."
+
+"Sure, your honour, if you think that it is necessary, of course it must
+be done; but would it not be as well to go to the shebeen first and to
+take possession of the room, and to get comfortably settled down in it
+before ye gives me away?"
+
+"I think it might be worth while, Tim," O'Grady said, gravely. "What do
+you say, Terence?"
+
+"I think the matter will keep for a few hours," Terence said, laughing,
+"and when we are once settled there it will be very hard to turn us out."
+
+The room was found to be larger than they had expected, and O'Grady
+proposed that they should admit the whole officers of their wing to share
+it with them, to which Terence at once agreed heartily. "I think that with
+a little squeezing the place would hold the officers of the five
+companies, and the major and O'Flaherty. The more of us there are, the
+merrier, and the less fear of our being turned out."
+
+"That is so. We had better put the names up on the door. You go down and
+try and make that black-browed landlord understand that you want some
+paper and pen and ink."
+
+With some difficulty and much gesticulation Terence succeeded. The names
+of the officers were written down on a paper and it was then fastened on
+the door.
+
+"Now, Terence, I will go and fetch the boys; you and Hoolan make the
+landlord understand that we want food and wine for fifteen or sixteen
+officers. Of course they won't all be able to get away at once. We must
+contint ourselves with anything we can get now; afterwards we will send up
+our rations, and with plenty of good wine and a ham (there are lots of
+them hanging from the ceiling down below), we shall do pretty well, with
+what you can forage outside."
+
+Terence left this part of the work to Hoolan, who, by bringing up a number
+of plates and ranging them on the table, getting down a ham and cutting it
+into slices, and by pointing to the wine-skins, managed to acquaint the
+landlord with what was required. In this he was a good deal aided by the
+man's two nieces, who acted as his assistants, and who were much quicker
+in catching his meaning than was the landlord himself. Very soon the room
+below was crowded with officers from other regiments, and Hoolan went up
+to Terence:
+
+"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that it would be a good job if you were to go down
+and buy a dozen of them hams. A lot of them have been sold already, and it
+won't be long before the last has gone, though I reckon that there are
+three or four dozen of them still there."
+
+"That is a very good idea, Tim. You come down with me and bring them
+straight up here, and we will drive some nails into those rafters. I
+expect before nightfall the place will be cleared out of everything that
+is eatable."
+
+The bargain was speedily concluded. The landlord was now in a better
+temper. At first he had been very doubtful of the intentions of the
+new-comers. Now that he saw that they were ready to pay for everything,
+and that at prices much higher than he could before have obtained, his
+face shone with good-humour. He and the two girls were already busy
+drawing wine and selling it to the customers.
+
+"I will get some wood, your honour, and light a fire here, or it is mighty
+little dinner that you will be getting. The soldiers will soon be dropping
+in, that is, if they don't keep this place for officers only, for there
+are two other places where they sell wine in the village. When I came up
+two officers had a slice of ham each on the points of their swords over
+the fire."
+
+"That will be a very good plan, Tim; you had better set to work about it
+at once, and at the same time I will try and get some bread."
+
+By the time that O'Grady returned with seven or eight other officers the
+fire was blazing. Terence had managed to get a sufficient number of knives
+and forks; there was, however, no table-cloth in the house. He and Terence
+were cooking slices of ham on a gridiron over the fire.
+
+"This is first-rate, O'Grady," Major Harrison said; "the place is crowded
+down below, and we should have fared very badly if you had not managed to
+get hold of this room."
+
+"If some of the boys will see to the cooking, Major, I will go down with
+Hoolan and get a barrel of wine and bring it up here; then we shall do
+first-rate."
+
+"How about the rations, Major?" Terence asked.
+
+"They have just been served out. I sent my man down to draw the rations
+for the whole wing at once, and told him to bring them up here."
+
+"And I have told mine," Captain O'Driscol said, "to go round the village
+and buy up two or three dozen chickens, if he can find them, and as many
+eggs as he can collect. I think that we had better tell off two of the men
+as cooks. I don't think it is likely that they will be able to get much
+done that way below. Hoolan and another will do."
+
+"I should think it best to keep Hoolan as forager; he is rather a genius
+in that capacity. I think he has got round those two girls, whether by his
+red hair or his insinuating manners I cannot say, but they seem ready to
+do anything for him, and we shall want lots of things in the way of pots
+and pans and so on."
+
+"Very well, Terence, then we will leave him free and put two others on."
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+UNDER CANVAS
+
+In a short time O'Grady returned, followed by Hoolan, carrying a small
+barrel of wine.
+
+"It is good, I hope," the major said, as the barrel was set down in one
+corner of the room.
+
+"I think that it is the best they have; one of the girls went down with
+Tim into the cellar and pointed it out to him. I told him to ask her for
+_bueno vino__. I don't know whether it was right or not, but I think she
+understood."
+
+"How much does it hold, O'Grady?"
+
+"I cannot say; five or six gallons, I should think; anyhow, I paid three
+dollars for it."
+
+"You must put down all the outgoings, O'Grady, and we will square up when
+we leave here."
+
+"I will put them down, Major. How long do you think we shall stop here?"
+
+"That is more than anyone can say; we have to wait for Anstruther and
+Spencer. It may be three or four days; it may be a fortnight."
+
+Dick Ryan assisted Terence in the cooking, while Tim went down to get
+something to drink out of. He returned with three mugs and two horns.
+
+"Divil a thing else is there that can be found, yer honour," he said, as
+he placed them on the table; "every mortial thing is in use."
+
+"That will do to begin with," the major said; "we will get our own things
+up this afternoon. We must manage as best we can for this meal; it is
+better than I expected by a long way."
+
+Tim now relieved the two young officers at the gridiron, and sitting down
+at the benches along the table the meal was eaten with much laughter and
+fun.
+
+"After all, there is nothing like getting things straight from the
+gridiron," the major said.
+
+O'Grady had got the bung out of the barrel and filled the five drinking
+vessels, and the wine was pronounced to be very fair. One by one the other
+officers dropped in, and Hoolan was for an hour kept busy. The major, who
+spoke a little Spanish, went down and returned with a dozen bottles of
+spirits, two or three of which were opened and the contents consumed.
+
+"It is poor stuff by the side of whisky," O'Grady said, as he swallowed a
+stiff glass of it; "still, I will not be denying that it is warming and
+comforting, and if we can get enough of it we can hold on till we get home
+again. Here is success to the campaign. I will trouble you for that
+bottle, O'Driscol."
+
+"Here it is. I shall stick to wine; I don't care for that fiery stuff.
+Here is success to the campaign, and may we meet the French before long!
+
+"We are pretty sure to do that," he went on, as he set his horn down on
+the table. "If Junot knows his business he won't lose a day before
+marching against us directly he hears of our landing. He will know well
+enough that unless he crushes us at once he will have all Portugal up in
+arms. Here, Terence, you can have this horn."
+
+The difficulty of drinking had to some extent been solved by Hoolan, who
+had gone downstairs, and returned with a tin pot capable of holding about
+a couple of quarts. This he had cleaned by rubbing it with sand and water,
+and it went round as a loving-cup among those unprovided with mugs or
+horns. When all had finished, the two soldier servants, who had now
+arrived with the rations, were left in charge. O'Driscol's servant had
+brought in a dozen fowls and a large basket full of eggs, and, ordering
+supper to be ready at eight, the officers returned to their camp. They
+found that their comrades had done fairly well. Several rooms had been
+obtained in the village, and hams, black sausages, and other provisions
+purchased, and cooked in a rough way on a gridiron.
+
+"I am afraid that it is too good to last," the colonel said, as the
+officers gathered around him as the bugle sounded for parade; "a week of
+this and the last scrap of provisions here will have been eaten, and we
+shall have nothing but our rations to fall back upon. There is one thing,
+however, that is not likely to give out, that is wine. They grow it about
+here, and I hear that the commissariat have bought up large quantities
+without difficulty to serve out to the troops."
+
+The regiment had a long afternoon's drill to get them out of the slackness
+occasioned by their enforced idleness on the voyage. When it was over they
+were formed up, and the colonel addressed a few words to the men.
+
+"Men of the Mayo regiment," he said, "I trust that, now we are fairly
+embarked upon the campaign, you will so behave as to do credit to
+yourselves and to Ireland. Perhaps some of you think that, now that you
+are on a campaign, you can do just as you like. Those who think so are
+wrong; it is just the other way. When you were at home I did not think it
+necessary that I should be severe with you; and as long as a man was able,
+when he came into barracks, to walk to his quarters, I did not trouble
+about him. But it is different here; any breach of duty will be most
+severely punished, and any man who is found drunk will be flogged. Any man
+plundering or ill-treating the people of the country will be handed over
+to the provost-marshal, and, unless I am mistaken, he is likely to be
+shot.
+
+"Sir Arthur Wellesley is not the man to stand nonsense. There must be no
+straggling; you must keep within the bounds of the camps, and no one must
+go into the village without a permit from the captain of his company. As
+to your fighting--well, I have no fear of that; we will say nothing about
+it. Before the enemy I know that you will all do your duty, and it is just
+as necessary that you should do your duty and be a credit to your regiment
+at other times. There are blackguards in the regiment, as there are in
+every other, but I tell them that a sharp eye will be kept upon them, and
+that no mercy will be shown them if they misbehave while they are in
+Portugal. That is all I have to say to you."
+
+"That was the sort of thing, I think, Major," he said, as, after the men
+were dismissed, he walked back to his tent with Major Harrison.
+
+"Just the sort of thing, Colonel," the other said, smiling; "and said in
+the sort of way that they will understand. I am afraid that we shall have
+trouble with some of them. Wine and spirits are cheap, and it will be very
+difficult to keep them from it altogether. Still, if we make an example of
+the first fellow who is caught drunk it will be a useful lesson to the
+whole. A few floggings at the start may save some hanging afterwards. I
+know you are averse to flogging--there have only been four men flogged in
+the last six months--but this is a case where punishment must be dealt out
+sharply if discipline is to be maintained, and the credit of the regiment
+be kept up."
+
+O'Grady and one of the other officers called upon the priest to thank him
+for his good offices in obtaining the room for them.
+
+"I am afraid from what my man tells me that he did not state the case
+quite fairly to you. Our regiment was, as he said, raised in Ireland, and
+the greater portion of the men are naturally of your faith, Father, but we
+really have no claim to your services whatever."
+
+The priest smiled.
+
+"I am, nevertheless, glad to have been of service to you, gentlemen," he
+said, courteously; "at least you are Irishmen, and I have many good
+friends countrymen of yours. And you have still another claim upon us all,
+for are you not here to aid us to shake off this French domination? I hope
+that you are comfortable, but judging from what I see and hear when
+passing I fear that your lodging is a somewhat noisy one."
+
+"You may well say that, Father; and we do our full share towards making it
+so; but having the room makes all the difference to us. They have no time
+to cook downstairs, and it is done by our own servants; but it is handy to
+have the wine and other things within call, and if we always do as well,
+we shall have good cause to feel mighty contented; for barring that we are
+rather crowded, we are just as well off here as we were at home, saving
+only in the quality of the spirits. Now, Father, we cannot ask you up
+there, seeing that it is your own village, but if you would like to take a
+walk through the camps we should be glad to show you what there is to be
+seen, and can give you a little of the real cratur. It is not much of it
+that we have been able to bring ashore, for the general is mighty stiff in
+the matter of baggage, but I doubt whether there is one of us who did not
+manage to smuggle a bottle or two of the real stuff hidden in his kit."
+
+The priest accepted the invitation, and was taken through the brigade
+camp, staying some time in that of the Mayos, and astonishing some of the
+soldiers by chatting to them in English, and with a brogue almost as
+strong as their own. He then spent half an hour in O'Grady's tent, and
+sampled the whisky, which he pronounced excellent, and of which his
+entertainer insisted upon his taking a bottle away with him.
+
+Three days later it was known in camp that two French divisions had been
+set in motion against them, the one from Abrantes to the east under
+Loison, the other from the south under Laborde. Junot himself remained at
+Lisbon. The rising in the south, and the news of the British landing
+caused an intense feeling among the population, and the French general
+feared that at any moment an insurrection might break out. The natural
+point of junction of these two columns would be at Leirya. That night
+orders were issued for the tents of the division to which the Mayo
+regiment belonged to be struck before daylight, and the troops were to be
+under arms and ready to march at six o'clock.
+
+"Good news!" O'Grady said, as he entered the mess-room at four o'clock in
+the afternoon, after having learned from the colonel the orders for the
+next morning; "our brigade is to form the advanced guard, and we are to
+march at six tomorrow."
+
+A general exclamation of pleasure broke from the five or six officers
+present. "We shall have the first of the fun, boys; hand me that horn,
+Terence. Here is to Sir Arthur; good-luck to him, and bad cess to the
+French!"
+
+The toast was drunk with some laughter. "Now we are going to campaign in
+earnest," he went on; "no more wine swilling, no more devilled ham----"
+
+"No more spirits, O'Grady," one of the group cut in; "and as for the wine,
+you have drunk your share, besides twice your share of the spirits."
+
+"Whin there is nothing to do, Debenham, I can take me liquor in
+moderation."
+
+"I have never remarked that, O'Grady," one of the others put in.
+
+"In great moderation," O'Grady said, gravely, but he was again interrupted
+by a shout of laughter.
+
+"Ye had to be helped home last night, O'Grady, and it took Hoolan a
+quarter of an hour to wake you this morning. I heard him say, 'Now, master
+dear, the bugle will sound in a minute or two; it's wake you must, or
+there will be a divil of botheration over it.' I looked in, and there you
+were. Hoolan was standing by the side of you shaking his head gravely, as
+if it was a hopeless job that he had in hand, and if I had not emptied a
+water-bottle over you, you would never have been on parade in time."
+
+"Oh! it was you, was it?" O'Grady said, wrathfully. "Hoolan swore by all
+the saints that he had not seen who it was. Never mind, me boy, I will be
+even wid ye yet; the O'Grady is not to be waked in that fashion; mind I
+owe you one, though I am not saying that I should have been on parade in
+time if you had not done it; I only just saved my bacon."
+
+"And hardly that," Terence laughed, "for the adjutant was down upon you
+pretty sharply; your coatee was all buttoned up wrong; your hair had not
+been brushed, and stuck up all ways below your shako; your sword-belt was
+all awry, and you looked worse than you did when I brought you home."
+
+"Well, it is a poor heart that never rejoices, Terence. We must make a
+night of it, boys; if the tents are to be struck before daylight it will
+be mighty little use your turning in."
+
+"You won't catch me sitting up all night," Terence said, "with perhaps a
+twenty-mile march in the morning, and maybe a fight at the end of it. If
+it is to Leirya we are going it will be nearer thirty miles than twenty,
+and even you, seasoned vessel as you are, will find it a long walk after
+being up all night, and having had pretty hard work to-day."
+
+"I cannot hold wid the general there," O'Grady said, gravely; "he has been
+kapeing us all at it from daybreak till night, ivery day since we landed,
+and marching the men's feet off. It is all very well to march when we have
+got to march, but to keep us tramping fifteen or twenty miles a day when
+there is no occasion for it is out of all reason."
+
+"We shall march all the better for it to-morrow, O'Grady. It has been hard
+work, certainly, but not harder than it was marching down to Cork; and we
+should have a good many stragglers to-morrow if it had not been for the
+last week's work. We have got half a dozen footsore men in my company
+alone, and you would have fifty to-morrow night if the men had not had all
+this marching to get them fit."
+
+"It is all very well for you, Terence, who have been tramping all over the
+hills round Athlone since you were a gossoon; but I am sure that if I had
+not had that day off duty when I showed the priest round the camp I should
+have been kilt."
+
+"Here is the general order of the day," the adjutant said, as he came in
+with Captain O'Connor. "The general says that now the army is about to
+take the field he shall expect the strictest discipline to be maintained,
+and that all stragglers from the ranks will at once be handed over to the
+provost-marshal, and all offences against the peasantry or their property
+will be severely punished. Then there are two or three orders that do not
+concern us particularly, and then there is one that concerns you, Terence.
+The general has received a report from Colonel Corcoran of the Mayo
+Fusiliers stating that 'the transport carrying the left wing of that
+regiment was attacked by two French privateers, and would have been
+compelled to surrender, she being practically unarmed, had it not been for
+the coolness and quick wit of Ensign Terence O'Connor. Having read the
+report the general commanding fully concurs, and expresses his high
+satisfaction at the conduct of Ensign O'Connor, which undoubtedly saved
+from capture the wing of the regiment.'
+
+"There, Terence, that is a feather in your cap. Sir Arthur is not given to
+praise unduly, and it is seldom that an ensign gets into general orders.
+It will do you good some day, perhaps when you least expect it."
+
+"I am heartily pleased, my lad," Captain O'Connor said, as he laid his
+hand upon Terence's shoulder. "I am proud of you. I have never seen my own
+name in general orders, but I am heartily glad to see yours. Bedad, when I
+think that a couple of months ago you were running wild and getting into
+all sorts of mischief, it seems hard to believe that you should not only
+be one of us, but have got your name into general orders."
+
+"And all for nothing, father," Terence said. "I call it a beastly shame
+that just because I thought of using that lugger I should be cracked up
+more than the others."
+
+"It was not only that, though, Terence; those guns that crippled the
+lugger could not have been fired if you had not thought of putting rope
+round them, and that French frigate would never have left you alone had
+not you suggested to the major how to throw dust into their eyes. No, my
+lad, you thoroughly deserve the credit that you have got, and I am sure
+that there is not a man in the regiment who would not say the same."
+
+"Gintlemen," Captain O'Grady said, solemnly, "we will drink to the health
+of Ensign Terence O'Connor; more power to his elbow!" And the toast was
+duly honoured.
+
+"It is mighty good of me to propose it," O'Grady went on, after Terence
+had said a few words of thanks, "because I have a strong idea that in
+another two or three minutes I should have made just the same suggestion
+that you did, me lad. I knew at the time that there was a plan I wanted to
+propose, but sorra a word came to me lips. I was just brimful with it when
+you came up and took the words out of me mouth. If I had spoken first it
+is a brevet majority I had got, sure enough."
+
+"You must be quicker next time, O'Grady," the adjutant said, when the
+laughter had subsided; "as you say, you have missed a good thing by your
+slowness. I am afraid your brain was still a little muddled by your
+indulgence the night before."
+
+"Just the contrary, me boy; I feel that if I had taken just one glass more
+of the cratur me brain would have been clearer and I should have been to
+the fore. But I bear you no malice, Terence. Maybe the ideas would not
+have managed to straighten themselves out until after we had had to haul
+down the flag, and then it would have been too late to have been any good.
+It has happened to me more than once before that I have just thought of a
+good thing when it was too late."
+
+"It has occurred to most of us, O'Grady," Captain O'Connor said, laughing.
+"Terence, you see, doesn't care for whisky, and perhaps that has something
+to do with his ideas coming faster than ours. Well, so we are off
+to-morrow; though, of course, no one knows which way we are going to
+march, it must be either to Leirya or along the coast road. It is a good
+thing Spencer has come up in time, for there is no saying how strong the
+French may be; though I fancy they are all so scattered about that, after
+leaving a garrison to keep Lisbon in order, and holding other points,
+Junot will hardly be able at such short notice to gather a force much
+superior to ours. But from what I hear there are some mighty strong
+positions between this and Lisbon, and if he sticks himself up on the top
+of a hill we shall have all our work to turn him off again."
+
+"I fancy it will be to Leirya," the adjutant said; "the Portuguese report
+that one French division is at Candieros and another coming from Abrantes,
+and Sir Arthur is likely to endeavour to prevent them from uniting."
+
+That evening there was a grand feast at the mess-room. The colonel had
+been specially invited, and every effort was made to do honour to the
+occasion. Tim Hoolan had been very successful in a foraging expedition,
+and had brought in a goose and four ducks, and had persuaded the
+landlord's nieces to let him and the cook have sole possession of the
+kitchen. The banquet was a great success, but the majority of those
+present did not sit very long afterwards. The colonel set the example of
+rising early.
+
+"I should advise you, gentlemen, to turn in soon," he said. "I do not say
+where we are to march to-morrow, but I can tell you at least that the
+march is a very long one, and that it were best to get as much sleep as
+possible, for I can assure you that it will be no child's play; and I
+think that it is quite probable we shall smell powder before the day is
+over."
+
+Accordingly, all the young officers and several of the seniors left with
+him, but O'Grady and several of the hard drinkers kept it up until
+midnight, observing, however, more moderation than usual in their
+potations.
+
+There was none of the grumbling common when men are turned out of their
+beds before dawn; all were in high spirits that the time for action had
+arrived; the men were as eager to meet the enemy as were their officers;
+and the tents were all down and placed in the waggons before daylight. The
+regimental cooks had already been at work, and the officers went round and
+saw that all had had breakfast before they fell in. At six o'clock the
+whole were under arms and in their place as the central regiment in the
+brigade. They tramped on without a halt until eleven; then the bugle
+sounded, and they fell out for half an hour.
+
+The men made a meal from bread and the meat that had been cooked the night
+before, each man carrying three days' rations in his haversack. There was
+another halt, and a longer one, at two o'clock, when the brigade rested
+for an hour in the shade of a grove.
+
+"It is mighty pleasant to rest," O'Grady said, as the officers threw
+themselves down on the grass, "but it is the starting that bates one. I
+feel that my feet have swollen so that every step I take I expect my boots
+to burst with an explosion. Faith, if it comes to fighting I shall take
+them off altogether, and swing them at my belt. How can I run after the
+French when I am a cripple?"
+
+"You had better take your boots off now, O'Grady," one of the others
+suggested.
+
+"It is not aisy to get them off, and how should I get them on again? No;
+they have got there, and there they have got to stop, bad cess to them! I
+told Hoolan to rub grease into them for an hour last night, but the rascal
+was as drunk as an owl."
+
+There was no more talking, for every man felt that an hour's sleep would
+do wonders for him; soon absolute quiet reigned in the grove, and
+continued until the bugle again called them to their feet. All knew now
+that it was Leirya they were making for, and that another ten miles still
+remained to be accomplished. A small body of cavalry which accompanied
+them now pushed on ahead, and when half the distance had been traversed a
+trooper brought back the news that the enemy had not yet reached the town.
+It was just six o'clock when the brigade marched in amid the cheers and
+wild excitement of the inhabitants. The waggons were not yet up, and the
+troops were quartered in the town, tired, and many of them foot-sore, but
+proud of the march they had accomplished, and that it had enabled them to
+forestall the French.
+
+Laborde, indeed, arrived the same night at Batalha, eight miles distant,
+but on receiving the news in the morning that the British had already
+occupied Leirya, he advanced no farther. His position was an exceedingly
+difficult one; his orders were to cover the march of Loison from Abrantes,
+and to form a junction with that general; but to do so now would be to
+leave open the road through Alcobaca and Obidos to the commanding position
+at Torres Vedras. Batalha offered no position that he could hope to defend
+until the arrival of Loison; therefore, sending word to that general to
+move from Torras Novas, as soon as he reached that town, to Santarem, and
+then to march to join him at Rolica, he fell back to Alcobaca and then to
+Obidos, a town with a Moorish castle, built on a gentle eminence in the
+middle of a valley.
+
+Leaving a detachment here, he retired to Rolica, six miles to the south of
+it. At this point several roads met, and he at once covered all the
+approaches to Torres Vedras, and the important port of Peniche, and could
+be joined by Loison marching down from Santarem.
+
+The advanced brigade of the British force remained in quiet possession of
+Leirya during the next day, and on the following, the 11th of August, the
+main body of the army arrived, having taken two days on the march. The
+Portuguese force also came in under Friere. That general at once took
+possession of the magazines there, and although he had promised the
+English general that their contents should be entirely devoted to the
+maintenance of the English army, he divided them among his own force.
+ Disgusted as the British commander was at this barefaced dishonesty, he
+was not in a position to quarrel with the Portuguese. It was essential to
+him that they should accompany him, not for the sake of the assistance
+that they would give, for he knew that none was to be expected from them,
+but from a political point of view. It was most important that the people
+at large should feel that their own troops were acting with the British,
+and that no feelings of jealousy or suspicion of the latter should arise.
+Friere was acting under the orders of the Bishop and Junta of Oporto,
+whose great object was to keep the Portuguese army together and not to
+risk a defeat, as they desired to keep this body intact in order that, if
+the British were defeated, they should be able to make favourable terms
+for themselves. Consequently, even after appropriating the whole of the
+stores and provisions found at Leirya, Friere continued to make exorbitant
+demands, and to offer a vigorous opposition to any further advance.
+
+So far did he carry this that the British general, finding that in no
+other way could he get the Portuguese to advance with him, proposed that
+they should follow behind him and wait the result of the battle, to which
+Friere at last consented. The Portuguese, in fact, had no belief whatever
+that the British troops would be able to withstand the onslaught of the
+French, whom they regarded as invincible. Colonel Trant, however, one of
+our military agents, succeeded in inducing Friere to place 1,400 infantry
+and 250 cavalry under the command of Sir Arthur.
+
+The addition of the cavalry was a very useful one, for the English had
+with them only 180 mounted men; the country was entirely new to them,
+scarcely an officer could speak the language, and there was no means,
+therefore, of obtaining information as to the movements of the enemy.
+Moving forward through Batalha, and regaining the coast road at Alcobaca,
+the British forces arrived at Caldas on the 15th; and on the same day
+Junot quitted Lisbon with a force of 2,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and
+ten pieces of artillery, leaving 7,000 to garrison the forts and keep down
+the population of the city. His force was conveyed to Villa Franca by
+water, and the general then pushed forward to Santarem, where he found
+Loison, and took command of his division.
+
+The British advanced guard, after arriving at Caldas, pushed forward,
+drove the French pickets out of Brilos, and then from Obidos. Here,
+however, a slight reverse took place. Some companies of the 95th and 60th
+Rifles pressed forward three miles farther in pursuit, when they were
+suddenly attacked in flank by a greatly superior force, and had it not
+been that General Spencer, whose division was but a short distance behind,
+pressed forward to their assistance, they would have suffered heavily; as
+it was they escaped with the loss of two officers and twenty-seven men
+killed and wounded. Their rashness, however, led to the discovery that
+Laborde's force had taken up a strong position in front of the village of
+Rolica, and that he apparently intended to give battle there.
+
+The next day was spent in reconnoitring the French position. It was a very
+strong one. Rolica stood on a table-land rising in a valley, affording a
+view of the road as far as Obidos. The various points of defence there,
+and on the flank, were held by strong parties of the enemy. A mile in the
+rear was a steep and lofty ridge that afforded a strong second line of
+defence. By the side of this ridge the road passed through a deep defile,
+and then mounted over a pass through the range of hills extending from the
+sea to the Tagus, and occupying the intermediate ground until close to
+Lisbon. Laborde's position was an embarrassing one. If he retired upon
+Torres Vedras his line of communication with Loison would be lost, if he
+moved to meet Loison he would leave open the direct road to Lisbon, while
+if he remained at Rolica he had to encounter a force almost three times
+his own strength.
+
+Trusting in the advantages of his position, and confident in the valour of
+his troops, he chose the last alternative. Very anxiously, during the day,
+the British officers watched the French line of defence, fearful lest the
+enemy would again retreat. By sunset they came to the conclusion that
+Laborde intended to stay where he was, and to meet them. The French,
+indeed, had been so accustomed to beat the Spanish and Portuguese, that
+they had not woke up to the fact that they had troops of a very different
+material facing them.
+
+"We ought to have easy work," Major Harrison said, as the officers
+gathered round the fire that had been built in front of the colonel's
+tent; "the people here all declare that Laborde has not above 5,000 troops
+with him, while, counting Trant's Portuguese, we have nearly 14,000."
+
+"There will be no credit in thrashing them with such odds as that," Dick
+Ryan grumbled.
+
+"I suppose, Ryan," Major Harrison said, "if you had been in Sir Arthur's
+place you would have preferred remaining at Leirya until Junot could have
+gathered all his forces, and obtained a reinforcement of some fifty
+thousand or so from Spain, then you would have issued a general order
+saying, that as the enemy had now a hundred thousand troops ready, the
+army would advance and smite them."
+
+"Not so bad as that, Major," the young ensign said, colouring, as there
+was a general laugh from the rest; "but there does not seem much
+satisfaction in thrashing an enemy when we are three to one against him."
+
+"But that is just the art of war, Ryan. Of course, it is glorious to
+defeat a greatly superior army and to lose half your own in doing so; that
+may be heroic, but it is not modern war. The object of a general is, if
+possible, to defeat an enemy in detail, and to so manoeuvre that he is
+always superior in strength to the force that is immediately in front of
+him, and so to ensure victory after victory until the enemy are destroyed.
+That is what the general is doing by his skilful manoeuvring; he has
+prevented Junot from massing the whole of the army of Portugal against us.
+
+"To-morrow we shall defeat Laborde, and doubtless a day or two later we
+shall fight Loison; then I suppose we shall advance against Lisbon, Junot
+will collect his beaten troops and his garrison, there will be another
+battle, and then we shall capture Lisbon, and the French will have to
+evacuate Portugal. Whereas, if all the French were at Rolica they would
+probably smash us into a cocked hat, in spite of any valour we might show;
+and as we have no cavalry to cover a retreat, as the miserable horses can
+scarcely drag the few guns that we have got, and the carriages are so
+rickety that the artillery officers are afraid that as soon as they fire
+them they will shake to pieces, it is not probable that a single man would
+regain our ships."
+
+"Please say no more, Major; I see I was a fool."
+
+"Still," Captain O'Connor said, "you must own, Major, that one does like
+to win against odds."
+
+"Quite so, O'Connor; individuals who may survive such a battle no doubt
+would be glad that it was a superior force that they had beaten, but then
+you see battles are not fought for the satisfaction of individuals.
+Moreover, you must remember that the proportion of loss is much heavier
+when the numbers are pretty equally matched, for in that case they must
+meet to a certain extent face to face. Skill on the part of the general
+may do a great deal, but in the end it must come to sheer hard fighting.
+Now, I expect that to-morrow, although there may be hard fighting, it is
+not upon that that Sir Arthur will principally rely for turning the French
+out of those strong positions.
+
+"He will, no doubt, advance directly against them with perhaps half his
+force, but the rest will move along on the top of the heights, and so
+threaten to cut the French line of retreat altogether. Laborde is, they
+say, a good general, and therefore won't wait until he is caught in a
+trap, but will fall back as soon as he sees that the line of retreat is
+seriously menaced. I fancy, too, that he must expect Loison up some time
+tomorrow, or he would hardly make a stand, and if Loison does come up,
+Ryan's wish will be gratified and we shall be having the odds against us.
+
+"Then you must remember that our army is a very raw one. A large
+proportion of it is newly raised, and though there may be a few men here
+who fought in Egypt, the great bulk have never seen a shot fired in
+earnest; while, on the other hand, the French have been fighting all over
+Europe. They are accustomed to victory, and are confident in their own
+valour and discipline. Our officers are as raw as our men, and we must
+expect that all sorts of blunders will be made at first. I can tell you
+that I am very well satisfied that our first battle is going to be fought
+with the odds greatly on our side. In six months I should feel pretty
+confident, even if the French had the same odds on their side."
+
+"The major gave it you rather hotly, Dick," Terence said to his friend, as
+they sauntered off together from the group. "I am glad that you spoke
+first, for I had it on the tip of my tongue to say just what you did, and
+I expect that a good many of the others felt just the same."
+
+"Yes, I put my foot in it badly, Terence. I have no doubt the major was
+right; anyhow, I have nothing to say against it. But for all that I wish
+that either we were not so strong or that they were stronger. What credit
+is there, I should like to know, in thrashing them when we are three to
+one? Anyhow, I hope that we shall have some share in the scrimmage. We
+shall get an idea when the orders are published to-night, and shall see
+where Fane's brigade is to be put."
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+ROLICA AND VIMIERA
+
+At nine o'clock in the evening it became known that the general plan of
+attack predicted by Major Harrison was to be carried out. Some five
+thousand men under General Ferguson were to ascend the hills on the left
+of the valley, while Trant, with a thousand Portuguese infantry and some
+Portuguese horse, were to move on the hills on the right; the centre, nine
+thousand strong, and commanded by Sir Arthur himself, were to march
+straight up the valley.
+
+Early in the morning the British troops marched out from Obidos.
+Ferguson's command at once turned to the left and ascended the hills,
+while Trant's moved to the west.
+
+After proceeding a short distance, Fane's brigade moved off from the road
+and marched along the valley, equidistant from the main body and from
+Ferguson, forming a connecting link between them; and on reaching the
+village of St. Mamed, three-quarters of a mile from the French position,
+Hill's brigade turned off to the right. From their elevated position the
+French opened fire with their artillery, and this was answered by the
+twelve guns in the valley and from Ferguson's six guns on the heights.
+Fane's brigade, extended to its left, was the first in action, and drove
+back the French skirmishers and connected Ferguson with the centre. They
+then turned to attack the right of the French position; while Ferguson,
+seeing no signs of Loison's force, descended from the high ground to the
+rear of Fane, while the Portuguese pressed forward at the foot of the
+hills on the other side of the valley and threatened the enemy's left
+flank.
+
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF ROLICA map.]
+
+
+Seeing that his position was absolutely untenable, Laborde did not wait
+the assault, but fell back, covered by his cavalry, to the far stronger
+position in his rear. A momentary pause ensued before the British
+continued their advance. The new position of the French was of great
+natural strength, and could be approached only by narrow paths winding up
+through deep ravines on its face. Ferguson and Fane received orders to
+keep to the left, and so turn the enemy's right. Trant similarly was to
+push forward and threaten his left flank, while Hill and Nightingale
+advanced against the front.
+
+The battle commenced by a storm of skirmishers from these brigades running
+forward. These soon reached the foot of the precipitous hill and plunged
+into the passes. Neither the fire of the enemy nor the difficulties of the
+ascent checked them. Spreading right and left from the paths they made
+their way up, and taking advantage of the shelter afforded by great
+boulders, broken masses of rock, and the stumps of trees, climbed up
+wherever they could find a foothold. The supporting columns experienced
+much greater difficulty; the paths were too narrow, and the ground too
+broken for them to retain their formation, and they made their way forward
+as best they could in necessary disorder.
+
+The din of battle was prodigious, for the rattle of musketry was echoed
+and re-echoed from the rocks. The progress of the skirmishers could only
+be noted by the light smoke rising through the foliage and by the shouts
+of the soldiers, which were echoed by the still louder ones of the French,
+gathered strongly on the hill above them. As the British made their way
+up, Laborde, who was still anxiously looking for the expected coming of
+Loison, withdrew a portion of his troops from the left and strengthened
+his right, in order to hold on as long as possible on the side from which
+aid was expected. The ardour of the British to get to close quarters
+favoured this movement.
+
+It had been intended that the 9th and 29th Regiments should take the
+right-hand path where the track they were following up the pass forked,
+and so join Trant's Portuguese at the top of the hill and fall upon the
+French left. The left-hand path, however, was the one that would take them
+direct to the enemy, and the 29th, which was leading, took this, and the
+9th followed them. So rapidly did they press up the hill that they arrived
+at the crest before Ferguson and Fane, on the left, and Trant on the
+right, had got far enough to menace the line of retreat, and so shake the
+enemy's position. The consequence was, that as the right wing of the 29th
+arrived at the top of the path it was met by a very heavy fire before it
+could form, and some companies of a French regiment, who had been cut off
+from the main body by its sudden appearance, charged through the
+disordered troops and carried with them a major and fifty or sixty other
+prisoners.
+
+The rest of the wing, thus exposed to the full fire of the French, fell
+back over the crest, and there rallied on the left wing; and being joined
+by the 9th, pushed forward again and obtained a footing on the plateau.
+Laborde in vain endeavoured to hurl them back again. They maintained their
+footing, but suffered heavily, both the colonels being killed, with many
+officers and men. But the 5th Regiment were now up, and at other points
+the British were gathering thickly at the edge of the plateau. Ferguson
+and Trant were pushing on fast past the French flanks, and Laborde, seeing
+that further resistance would lead to great disaster, gave the order to
+retire to a third position, still farther in the rear. The movement was
+conducted in splendid order. The French steadily fell back by alternate
+masses, their guns thundering on their flanks, while their cavalry covered
+the rear by repeated charges.
+
+Gaining the third position, Laborde held it for a time, and so enabled
+isolated bodies of his force to join him. Then, finding himself unable to
+resist the impetuosity of the British attack, he retired, still disputing
+every foot of ground, and took to the narrow pass of Runa. He then marched
+all night to the strong position of Montechique, thereby securing his
+junction with Loison, but leaving the road to Torres Vedras open to the
+British. The loss of the French in this fight was 600 killed and wounded,
+and three guns. Laborde himself was among the wounded. The British lost
+nearly 500 killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. The number of the
+combatants actually engaged on either side was about 4,000, and the loss
+sustained showed the obstinacy of the fighting. Sir Arthur believed that
+the French had, as they retreated, been joined by Loison, and therefore
+prepared to march at once by the coast-line to seize the heights of Torres
+Vedras before the French could throw themselves in his way.
+
+Great was the disappointment among officers and men of the Mayo Fusiliers
+that they had taken no part whatever in the actual fighting, beyond
+driving in the French skirmishers at the beginning of the operations.
+
+"Divil a man killed or wounded!" Captain O'Grady remarked, mournfully, as
+the regiment halted at the conclusion of the fight. "Faith, it is too bad,
+entirely; there we are left out in the cold, and scarce a shot has been
+fired!"
+
+"There are plenty of others in the same case," Captain O'Driscol said.
+"None of our three brigades on the left have had anything to do with the
+matter, as far as fighting went. I don't think more than four thousand of
+our troops were in action; but you see if it had not been for our advance,
+Hill and Nightingale might not have succeeded in driving Laborde off the
+hill. There is no doubt that the French fought well, but it's our advance
+that forced him to retire, not the troops in front of him; so that, even
+if we have not had any killed or wounded, O'Grady, we have at least the
+satisfaction of having contributed to the victory."
+
+"Oh, bother your tactics! We have come here to fight, and no fighting have
+we had at all, at all. When we marched out this morning it looked as if we
+were going to have our share in the divarshon, and we have been fairly
+chated out of it."
+
+"Well, O'Grady, you should not grumble," Terence said, "for we had some
+fighting on the way out, which is more than any of the other troops had."
+
+"That was a mere skirmish, Terence. First of all we were shot at, and
+could not shoot back again; and thin we shot at the enemy, and they could
+not shoot back at us. And as for the boarding affair, faith, it did not
+last a minute. The others have had two hours of steady fighting,
+clambering up the hill, and banging away at the enemy, and shouting and
+cheering, and all sorts of fun; and there were we, tramping along among
+those bastely stones and rocks, and no one as much as took the trouble to
+fire a shot at us!"
+
+"Well, if we had been there, O'Grady, we should have lost about a hundred
+and twenty men and officers--if we had suffered in the same proportion as
+the others--and we should now be mourning their loss--perhaps you among
+them. We might have been saying: 'There is O'Grady gone; he was a beggar
+to talk, but he meant well. Faith, the drink bill of the regiment will
+fall off.'"
+
+"Well, it might have been so," O'Grady said, in a more contented voice;
+"and if I had been killed going up the hill, without even as much as
+catching a glimpse of the Frenchies, I would niver have forgiven
+them--niver!"
+
+There was a roar of laughter at the bull.
+
+"Phwat is it have I said?" he asked, in surprise.
+
+"Nothing, O'Grady; but it would be an awful thing for the French to know
+that after your death you would have gone on hating them for ever."
+
+"Did I say that? But you know my maneing, and as long as you know that,
+what does it matter which way I put it? Well, now, I suppose Sir Arthur is
+going to take us tramping along again. Ah, it is a weary thing being a
+soldier!"
+
+"Why, you were saying yesterday, O'Grady, that your feet were getting all
+right," Terence said.
+
+"All right in a manner, Terence. And it is a bad habit that you have got
+of picking up your supayrior officer's words and throwing them into his
+teeth. You will come to a bad end if you don't break yourself of it; and
+the worst of it is, you are corrupting the other lads, and the young
+officers are losing all respect for their seniors. I am surprised, Major,
+that you and the colonel don't take the matter in hand before the
+discipline of the regiment is destroyed entirely."
+
+"You draw it upon yourself, O'Grady, and it is good for us all to have a
+laugh sometimes. We should all have missed you sorely had you gone down on
+that hill over there--as many a good fellow has done. I hear that both the
+9th and 29th have lost their colonels."
+
+"The Lord presarve us from such a misfortune, Major! It would give us a
+step all through the regiment; but then, you see--" And he stopped.
+
+"You mean I should be colonel, O'Grady," the major said, with a laugh;
+"and you know I should not take things as quietly as he does. Well, you
+see, there are consolations all round."
+
+The firing had ceased at four o'clock, and until late that night a large
+portion of the force were occupied in searching the ground that had been
+traversed, burying the dead, and carrying the wounded of both
+nationalities down into the hospital that had been established at Rolica.
+Sir Arthur determined to march at daybreak, so as to secure the passes
+through Torres Vedras; but in the evening a messenger arrived with the
+news that Anstruther and Acland's division, with a large fleet of
+store-ships, were off the coast. The dangerous nature of the coast, and
+the certainty that, should a gale spring up, a large proportion of the
+ships would be wrecked, rendered it absolutely necessary to secure the
+disembarkation of the troops at once. The next morning, therefore, he only
+marched ten miles to Lourinha, and thence advanced to Vimiera, eight miles
+farther, where he covered the disembarkation of the troops.
+
+The next day Anstruther's brigade were with difficulty, and some loss,
+landed on an open sandy beach, and on the night of the 20th Acland's
+brigade were disembarked at Maciera Bay. The reinforcements were most
+opportune, for already the British had proof that Junot was preparing a
+heavy blow. That general had, indeed, lost no time in taking steps to
+bring on a decisive battle. While the British were marching to Lourinha,
+he had, with Loison's division, crossed the line of Laborde's retreat, and
+on the same evening reached Torres Vedras, where the next day he was
+joined by Laborde, and on the 20th by his reserve. In the meantime he sent
+forward his cavalry, which scoured the country round the rear of the
+British camp, and prevented the general from obtaining any information
+whatever as to his position or intentions.
+
+The arrival of Acland's brigade on the night of the 20th increased the
+fighting strength of the army to 16,000 men, with eighteen guns, exclusive
+of Trant's Portuguese, while Sir Arthur judged that Junot could not put
+more than 14,000 in the field. Previous to leaving Mondego he had sent to
+Sir Harry Burrard notice of his plan of campaign, advising him to let Sir
+John Moore, on his arrival with 5,000 men, disembark there and march on
+Santarem, where he would protect the left of the army in its advance,
+block the line of the Tagus, and menace the French line of communication
+between Lisbon and the important fortress of Elvas. The ground at Santarem
+was suited for defence, and Moore could be joined with Friere, who was
+still, with his 5,000 men, at Leirya.
+
+The general intended to make a forced march, keeping by the sea-road. A
+strong advance guard would press forward and occupy the formidable
+position of Mathia in the rear of the hills. With the main body he
+intended to seize some heights a few miles behind Torres Vedras, and to
+cut the road between that place and Montechique, on the direct road to
+Lisbon, and so interpose between Junot and the capital. At twelve o'clock
+that night Sir Arthur was roused by a messenger, who reported that Junot,
+with 20,000 men, was advancing to attack him, and was but an hour's march
+distant. He disbelieved the account of the force of the enemy, and had no
+doubt but that the messenger's fears had exaggerated the closeness of his
+approach. He therefore contented himself with sending orders to the
+pickets to use redoubled vigilance, and at daylight the whole British
+force was, as usual, under arms.
+
+Nothing could have suited the British commander better than that Junot
+should attack him, for the position of Vimiera was strong. The town was
+situated in a valley, through which the little river Maciera flows. In
+this were placed the commissariat stores, while the cavalry and Portuguese
+were on a small plain behind the village. In front of Vimiera was a steep
+hill with a flat top, commanding the ground to the south and east for a
+considerable distance. Fane's and Anstruther's infantry, with six guns,
+were posted here. Fane's left rested on a churchyard, blocking a road
+which led round the declivity of the hill to the town. Behind this
+position, and separated by the river and road, was a hill extending in a
+half-moon to the sea.
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF VIMIERA. map]
+
+Five brigades of infantry, forming the British right, occupied this
+mountain. On the other side of the ravine formed by the river, just beyond
+Vimiera, was another strong and narrow range of heights. There was no
+water to be found on this ridge, and only the 40th Regiment and some
+pickets were stationed here. It was vastly better to be attacked in such a
+position than to be compelled to storm the heights of Torres Vedras, held
+by a strong French army. The advance of the French was fortunate in
+another respect. On the 20th Sir Harry Burrard arrived in the bay on board
+a frigate, and Sir Arthur, thus superseded, went on board to report the
+position of affairs, renewing his recommendation that Sir John Moore
+should land at Mondego and march to Santarem. Sir Harry Burrard, however,
+had already determined that his force should land at Maciera, and he
+refused to permit Sir Arthur's plan of advance to be carried out, and
+ordered that no offensive step should be undertaken until Sir John Moore
+had landed.
+
+The advance of Junot, happily, left Wellesley at liberty to act; and
+disposing his force in order of battle, he awaited the appearance of the
+enemy. It was not until seven o'clock that a cloud of dust was seen rising
+above the opposite ridge, and an hour later a body of cavalry crowned the
+height and sent out a swarm of scouts in every direction. Almost
+immediately afterwards a body of cavalry and infantry were seen marching
+along the road from Torres Vedras to Lourinha, threatening to turn the
+left of the British position. As the British right was not menaced, four
+of the brigades on the hill on that flank were ordered to cross the valley
+and to take post with the 40th Regiment for the defence of the ridge.
+
+This movement, being covered by the Vimiera heights, was unseen by the
+enemy; the 5th brigade and the Portuguese were on a second ridge behind
+the other, and thus assisted to cover the English left and protect its
+rear. The ground between the crest on which the French were first seen and
+our position was so thickly covered with wood, that after the enemy had
+descended into it no correct view of their movements could be obtained.
+
+Junot had intended to fall upon the English army at daybreak, but the
+defiles through which the force had to pass had delayed the march, as had
+the fatigue of the troops, who had been marching all night. From the
+height from which he obtained a view of the British position it seemed to
+him that the British centre and right were held in great strength, and
+that the left was almost unguarded. He therefore determined to attack upon
+that flank, which, indeed, was in any case the most favourable, as, were
+he successful there, he would cut the line of the British retreat and pen
+them up on the sea-shore.
+
+The march of the four brigades through Vimiera to take post on the British
+left was hidden from him, and he divided his force into two heavy columns,
+one of which was to attack the British left, and having, mounted the
+height to sweep all before it into the town; the other was to attack
+Vimiera Hill, held by Anstruther and Fane.
+
+Brennier commanded the attack against the left, Laborde against the
+centre, Loison followed at a short distance. Kellermann commanded the
+reserve of Grenadiers. Unfortunately for the success of Junot's plan, he
+was unaware of the fact that along the foot of the ridge on the British
+left ran a deep ravine, that rendered it very difficult to attack except
+at the extreme end of the position.
+
+"We are going to have our share of the fun to-day," O'Grady said, as he
+stood with a group of officers, watching the wooded plain and the head of
+Laborde's column debouching from among the trees, and moving towards the
+hill.
+
+There was a general murmur of satisfaction from the officers, for although
+they had all laughed at O'Grady's exaggerated regrets at their not being
+engaged at Rolica, all were somewhat sore at the regiment having had no
+opportunity of distinguishing itself on that occasion. No sooner had the
+column cleared the wood than the six guns posted with Fane's and
+Anstruther's brigade at once opened fire upon it. It had been intended
+that Brennier's attack should begin at the same time as Laborde's, but
+that advance had been stopped by the defile, which was so steep and so
+encumbered with rocks, brushwood, and trees, that his troops had the most
+extreme difficulty in making their way across. This enabled Acland, whose
+brigade was in the act of mounting the heights from the town, to turn his
+battery against Laborde's column, which was thus smitten with a shower of
+grape both in front and flank, and to this was added a heavy musketry fire
+from the three brigades.
+
+"Take it easy, lads, take it easy," the colonel said, as he walked up and
+down the ranks. "They are hardly in range yet, and you had better keep
+your ammunition until they get to the foot of the hill, then you can blaze
+away as hard as you like."
+
+Junot, receiving news of the arrest of Brennier's column and the obstacles
+that he had encountered, and seeing that the whole British fire was now
+directed against Laborde, ordered Loison to support that general with one
+brigade, and directed Solignac to turn the ravine in which Brennier was
+entangled and to fall upon the left extremity of the enemy's line.
+
+Fane had been given discretionary power to call up the reserve artillery
+posted in the village behind him, and seeing so strong an attack against
+his position about to be made called it up to the top of the hill.
+
+Loison and Laborde now formed their troops into three columns of attack.
+One advanced against that part of the hill held by Anstruther's brigade,
+another endeavoured to penetrate by the road past the church on Fane's
+extreme left, while the main column, represented by a large number of the
+best troops, advanced against the centre of the position. The reserve
+artillery, and the battery originally there, opened a terrible fire, which
+was aided by the musketry of the infantry. But with loud shouts the French
+pressed forward, and although already shaken by the terrible fire of the
+artillery, and breathless from their exertions, they gained the crest of
+the hill. Before they could re-form a tremendous volley was poured into
+them, and with a wild yell the Mayo Fusiliers and the 50th charged them in
+front and flank and hurled them down the hill.
+
+In the meantime, Anstruther, having repulsed the less serious attack made
+on him, detached the 43d to check the enemy's column moving through the
+churchyard, and prevented their advance until Kellermann brought up a
+force of Grenadiers, who, running forward with loud shouts, drove back the
+advanced companies of the 43d. The guns on the heights were turned upon
+them with great effect, and those of Acland's and Bowe's brigades on the
+left of the ridge took them in flank and brought them almost to a
+stand-still; then the 43d, in one mass, charged furiously down on the
+column, and after a fierce struggle drove them back in confusion.
+
+The French attacks on this side had now completely failed, and Colonel
+Taylor, riding out with his little body of cavalry, dashed out into the
+confused mass, slaying and scattering it. Margaron, who commanded a
+superior force of French cavalry, led them down through their infantry,
+and falling upon the British force killed Taylor and cut half his squadron
+to pieces. Kellermann took post with his reserve of Grenadiers in a
+pine-wood in advance of the wooded country through which they had
+advanced, while Margaron's horsemen maintained a position covering the
+retreat of the fugitives into the wood. At this moment Solignac reached
+his assigned position and encountered Ferguson's brigade, which was on the
+extreme left of the division, and was taken by surprise on finding a force
+equal to his own where he had expected to find the hill untenanted.
+Ferguson was drawn up in three lines on a steep declivity. A heavy
+artillery fire opened upon the French as soon as they were seen, while the
+5th brigade and the Portuguese marched along the next ridge and threatened
+the enemy's rear.
+
+Ferguson did not wait to be attacked, but marched his brigade against the
+French, who, falling fast under the musketry and artillery fire which had
+swept their lines, fell back fighting to the farthest edge of the ridge.
+Solignac was carried off severely wounded, and his brigade was cut off
+from its line of retreat and driven into a low valley, in which stood the
+village of Peranza, leaving six guns behind them. Ferguson left two
+regiments to guard these guns, and with the rest of his force pressed hard
+upon the French; but at this moment Brennier, who had at last surmounted
+the difficulties that had detained him, fell upon the two regiments
+suddenly, and retook the guns.
+
+The 82d and 71st, speedily recovered from their surprise, rallied on some
+higher ground, and then, after pouring in a tremendous volley of musketry,
+charged with a mighty shout and overthrew the French brigade and recovered
+the guns. Brennier himself was wounded and taken prisoner, and Ferguson
+having completely broken up the brigade opposed to him would have forced
+the greater part of Solignac's troops to surrender, if he had not been
+required to halt by an unexpected order. The French veterans speedily
+rallied, and in admirable order, protected by their cavalry, marched off
+to join their comrades who had been defeated in their attack upon the
+British centre.
+
+It was now twelve o'clock; the victory was complete; thirteen guns had
+been captured. Neither the 1st, 5th, nor Portuguese brigades had fired a
+shot, and the 4th and 8th had suffered very little, therefore Sir Arthur
+resolved with these five brigades to push Junot closely, while Hill,
+Anstruther, and Fane were to march forward as far as Torres Vedras, and,
+pushing on to Montechique, cut him off from Lisbon. Had this operation
+been executed Junot would probably have lost all his artillery, and seven
+thousand stragglers would have been driven to seek shelter under the guns
+of Elvas, from which fortress, however, he would have been cut off had
+Moore landed as Sir Arthur wished at Mondego. Unhappily, however, the
+latter was no longer commander-in-chief. Sir Harry Burrard, who had been
+present at the action, had not interfered with the arrangements, but as
+soon as victory was won he assumed command, sent an order arresting
+Ferguson's career of victory, and forbade all further offensive operations
+until the arrival of Sir John Moore.
+
+The adjutant-general and quartermaster supported his views, and Sir
+Arthur's earnest representations were disregarded. Sir Arthur's plan would
+probably have been crowned with success, but it was not without peril. The
+French had rallied with extraordinary rapidity under the protection of
+their cavalry. The British artillery-carriages were so shaken as to be
+almost unfit for service, the horses insufficient in number and wretched
+in quality, the commissariat waggons in the greatest confusion, and the
+hired Portuguese vehicles had made off in every direction. The British
+cavalry were totally destroyed, and two French regiments had just made
+their appearance on the ridge behind the wood where Junot's troops were
+reforming.
+
+Sir Harry Burrard, with a caution characteristic of age, refused to adopt
+Wellesley's bold plan. A great success had been gained, and that would
+have been imperilled by Junot's falling with all his force upon one or
+other of the British columns. Sir Arthur himself, at a later period, when
+a commission was appointed by Parliament to inquire into the
+circumstances, admitted that, though he still believed that success would
+have attended his own plan, he considered that Sir Harry Burrard's
+decision was fully justified on military grounds.
+
+Junot took full advantage of the unexpected cessation of hostilities. He
+re-formed his broken army on the arrival of the two regiments, which
+brought it up to its original strength; and then, covered by his cavalry,
+marched in good order until darkness fell. He had regained the command of
+the passes of Torres Vedras, and the two armies occupied precisely the
+same positions that they had done on the previous evening.
+
+One general, thirteen guns, and several hundred prisoners fell into the
+hands of the British, and Junot's total loss far exceeded that of the
+British, which was comparatively small. At the commencement of the fight
+the British force was more than two thousand larger than that of the
+French, but of these only a half had taken an active part in the battle,
+while every man in Junot's army had been sent forward to the attack.
+
+Sir Harry Burrard's command was a short one, for on the following morning
+Sir Hew Dalrymple superseded him. Thus in twenty-four hours a battle had
+been fought and the command of the army had been three times changed, a
+striking proof of the abject folly and incapacity of the British ministry
+of the day.
+
+Two of these three commanders arrived fresh on the scene without any
+previous knowledge of the situation, and all three differed from each
+other in their views regarding the general plan of the campaign; the last
+two were men without any previous experience in the handling of large
+bodies of troops, and without any high military reputation; while the man
+displaced had already shown the most brilliant capacity in India, and was
+universally regarded as the best general in the British service. Dalrymple
+adopted neither the energetic action advised by Sir Arthur nor the
+inactivity supported by Burrard, but, taking a middle course, decided to
+advance on the following morning, but not to go far until Sir John Moore
+landed at Maciera.
+
+Sir Arthur was strongly opposed to this policy. He pointed out that there
+were at present on shore but seven or eight days' provisions for the force
+at Vimiera. No further supplies could be obtained in the country, and at
+any moment a gale might arise and scatter or destroy the fleet, from which
+alone they could draw supplies during their advance. The debate on the
+subject was continuing when the French general, Kellermann, bearing a flag
+of truce and escorted by a strong body of cavalry, arrived at the outposts
+and desired a conference. The news was surprising, indeed. Junot's force
+was practically unshaken. He possessed all the strong places in Portugal,
+and could have received support in a short time from the French forces in
+Spain.
+
+Upon the other hand, the position of the British, even after winning a
+victory, was by no means a satisfactory one; they had already learnt that
+it was useless to rely in the slightest degree upon Portuguese promises or
+Portuguese assistance, and that, even in the matter of provisions and
+carriage, their commander-in-chief expected to be maintained by those who
+had come to aid in freeing the country of the French, instead of these
+receiving any help from him. In carriage the British army was wholly
+deficient; of cavalry they had none. When Sir John Moore landed there
+would be but four days' provisions on-shore for the army, and were the
+fleet driven off by a gale, starvation would at once threaten them.
+
+The gallantry with which the French had fought in both engagements, the
+skill with which they had been handled, and above all, the quickness and
+steadiness with which, after defeat, they had closed up their ranks and
+drawn off in excellent order, showed that the task of expelling such
+troops from the country would, even if all went well in other respects, be
+a very formidable one, and the offer of a conference was therefore at once
+embraced by Sir Hew Dalrymple.
+
+Kellermann was admitted to the camp. His mission was to demand a cessation
+of arms in order that Junot might, under certain conditions, evacuate
+Portugal. The advantage of freeing the country from the French without
+further fighting was so evident that Sir Hew at once agreed to discuss the
+terms, and took Sir Arthur Wellesley into his counsels. The latter quite
+agreed with the policy by which a strong French army would be quietly got
+out of the country, in which it held all the military posts and strong
+positions. A great moral effect would be produced, and the whole resources
+of Portugal would then be available for operations in Spain.
+
+By the afternoon the main points of the convention had been generally
+agreed upon. The French were to evacuate Portugal, and were to be conveyed
+in the English vessels to France with their property, public or private.
+There was to be no persecution of persons who had been the adherents of
+France during the occupation; the only serious difference that arose was
+as to the Russian fleet in the Tagus. Kellermann proposed to have it
+guaranteed from capture, with leave to return to the Baltic. This,
+however, was refused, and the question was referred to Admiral Cotton,
+who, as chief representative of England, would have to approve of the
+treaty before it could be signed.
+
+Kellermann returned to Lisbon with Colonel Murray, the
+quartermaster-general, and after three days' negotiations the treaty was
+finally concluded, the Russian difficulty being settled by their vessels
+being handed over to the British, and the crew transported in English
+ships to the Baltic. The convention was, under the circumstances,
+unquestionably a most advantageous one. It would have cost long and severe
+fighting and the siege of several very strong fortresses before the French
+could have been turned out of Portugal. Heavy siege-guns would have been
+necessary for these operations. At the very shortest calculation a year
+would have been wasted, very heavy loss of life incurred, and an immense
+expenditure of money before the result, now obtained so suddenly and
+unexpectedly, had been arrived at.
+
+Nevertheless, the news of the convention was received with a burst of
+popular indignation in England, where the public, wholly ignorant of the
+difficulty of the situation, had formed the most extravagant hopes,
+founded on the two successes obtained by their troops. The result was that
+a commission was appointed to investigate the whole matter. The three
+English generals were summoned to England to attend before it, and so
+gross were the misrepresentations and lies by which the public had been
+deceived by the agents of the unscrupulous and ambitious Bishop of Oporto
+and his confederates, that it was even proposed to bring the generals to
+trial who had in so short a time and with such insufficient means freed
+Portugal from the French. Sir John Moore remained in command of the troops
+in Portugal.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A PAUSE
+
+The Mayo Fusiliers had suffered their full proportion of losses at the
+battle of Vimiera. Major Harrison had been killed, Captain O'Connor had
+been severely wounded, as his company had been thrown forward as
+skirmishers on the face of the hill, and a third of their number had
+fallen when Laborde's great column had driven them in as it charged up the
+ascent. Terence's father had been brought to the ground by a ball that
+struck him near the hip; had been trampled on by the French as they passed
+up over him, and again on their retreat; and he was insensible when, as
+soon as the enemy retired, a party was sent down to bring up the wounded.
+By the death of the major, O'Connor, as senior captain, now attained that
+rank, but the doctor pronounced that it would be a long time before he
+would be able to take up his duties. Another captain and three subalterns
+had been killed, and several other officers had been wounded. Among these
+was O'Grady, whose left arm had been carried away below the elbow by a
+round shot. As Terence was in the other wing of the regiment he did not
+hear of his father's wounds until after the battle was over, and on the
+order being given that there was to be no pursuit the regiment fell out of
+its ranks. As soon as the news reached him he obtained permission to go
+down to Vimiera, where the church and other buildings had been turned into
+temporary hospitals, to which the seriously wounded had been carried as
+soon as the French retired. Hurrying down, he soon learned where the
+wounded of General Fane's brigade had been taken. He found the two
+regimental doctors hard at work. O'Flaherty came up to Terence as soon as
+he saw him enter the barn that had been hastily converted into a hospital
+by covering the floor deeply with straw.
+
+
+[Illustration: 'I should not have minded being hit, Father, if you had
+escaped.']
+
+
+"I think your father will do, Terence, my boy," he said, cheeringly; "we
+have just got the bullet out of his leg, and we hope that it has not
+touched the bone, though we cannot be altogether sure. We shall know more
+about that when we have got through the rough of our work. Still, we have
+every hope that he will do well. He is next the door at the further end;
+we put him there to let him get as much fresh air as possible, for, by the
+powers, this place is like a furnace!"
+
+Captain O'Connor was lying on his back, the straw having been arranged so
+as to raise his shoulders and head. He smiled when Terence came up to him.
+
+"Thank God you have got safely through it, lad!"
+
+"I should not have minded being hit, father, if you had escaped," Terence
+said, with difficulty suppressing a sob, while in spite of his efforts the
+tears rolled down his cheeks.
+
+"The doctors say I shall pull through all right. I hear poor Harrison is
+killed; he was a good fellow. Though it has given me my step, I am
+heartily sorry. So we have thrashed them, lad; that is a comfort. I was
+afraid when they went up the hill that they might be too much for us, and
+I was delighted when I heard them coming tearing down again, though I had
+not much time to think about it. They had stepped over me pretty much as
+they went up, but they had no time to pick their way as they came back
+again, and after one or two had jumped on me, I remembered no more about
+it until I found myself here with O'Flaherty probing the wound and hurting
+me horribly. I am bruised all over, and I wonder some of my ribs are not
+broken; at present they hurt me a good deal more than this wound in the
+hip. Still, that is only an affair of a day or two. Who have been killed
+besides the major?"
+
+"Dorman, Phillips, and Henderson are killed. O'Grady is wounded, I hear,
+and so are Saunders, Byrne, and Sullivan; there have been some others hit,
+but not seriously; they did not have to fall out."
+
+"O'Grady is over on the other side somewhere, Terence; I heard his voice
+just now. Go and see where he is hurt."
+
+O'Grady was sitting up with his back to the wall; the sleeves of his
+jacket and shirt had been cut off, and a tourniquet was on his arm just
+above the elbow.
+
+"Well, Terence," he said, cheerfully, "I am in luck, you see."
+
+"I can't see any luck about it, O'Grady."
+
+"Why, man, it might have been my right arm, and where should I have been
+then? As to the left arm, one can do without it very well. Then, again, it
+is lucky that the ball hit me below the elbow and not above it. O'Flaherty
+says they will be able to make a dacent job of it, and that after a bit
+they will be able to fit a wooden arm on, so that I can screw a fork into
+it. The worst of it at present is, that I have a terrible thirst on me,
+and nothing but water have they given me, a thing that I have not drunk
+for years. They have tied up the arteries, and they are going presently to
+touch up the loose ends with hot pitch to stop the bleeding altogether. It
+is not a pleasant job; they have done it to three or four of the men
+already. One of them stood it well, but the others cried a thousand
+murders. O'Flaherty has promised me a drink of whisky and water before
+they do it, and just at present I feel as if I would let them burn all my
+limbs at the same price. It is sorry I am, Terence, to hear that your
+father is hit so hard, but O'Flaherty says he will get through it all
+right. Well, he will get his majority, though I am mightily sorry that
+Harrison is killed; he was a good boy, though he was an Englishman. Ah,
+Terence, my heart's sore when I think what I said that evening after the
+fight at Rolica! I did not mean it altogether, but the words come home to
+me now. It is not for meself but for the poor boys that have gone. It was
+just thoughtlessness, but I would give me other arm not to have said those
+words."
+
+"I know that you did not mean it, O'Grady, and we were all feeling sorry
+that the regiment had not had a chance to be in the thick of it."
+
+"Here they are, coming this way with the pitch kettle. You had better get
+away, lad, before they begin."
+
+Terence was glad to follow the advice, and hurried out of the barn and
+walked three or four hundred yards away. He was very fond of O'Grady, who
+had always been very kind to him, and who was thoroughly warm-hearted and
+a good fellow, in spite of his eccentricities. In a quarter of an hour he
+returned. Just as he was entering, O'Flaherty came out of the door.
+
+"I must have a breath of fresh air, Terence," he said. "The heat is
+stifling in there, and though we are working in our shirt-sleeves we are
+just as damp as if we had been thrown into a pond."
+
+"Has O'Grady's arm been seared?"
+
+"Yes, and he stood it well; not a word did he say until it was over. Then
+he said, 'Give me another drink, O'Flaherty; it's wake-like I feel.'
+Before I could get the cup to his lips he went off in a faint. He has come
+round now and has had a drink of weak whisky and water, and is lying quiet
+and composed. It is better that you should not go near him at present. I
+hope that he will drop off to sleep presently. I have just given a glance
+at your father, and he is nearly, if not quite, asleep too, so you had
+better leave them now and look in again this evening. Now that the affair
+is over, and there is time to go round, they will clear out some houses
+and get things more comfortable. The principal medical officer was round
+here half an hour ago. He said they would fit up rooms for the officers at
+once, and I will have your father, O'Grady, and Saunders carried up on
+stretchers and put into a room together. If they can bear the moving it
+will be all in their favour, for it will be cooler there than in this oven
+of a place. I hear the church has been requisitioned, and that the worst
+cases among our men will be taken there."
+
+In comparison with the loss of the French that of the British had been
+very small. From their position on commanding heights they had suffered
+but little from the fire of the French artillery, and the casualties were
+almost confined to Fane's brigade, the 43d Regiment, Anstruther's, and the
+two regiments of Ferguson's brigade that had been attacked by Brennier,
+and before nightfall the whole of the wounded had been brought in and
+attended to, the hospitals arranged, and the men far more comfortably
+bestowed than in the temporary quarters taken up during the heat of the
+conflict. As there was no prospect of an immediate movement, the soldier
+servants of the wounded officers had been excused from military duty and
+told off to attend to them, and when Terence went down in the evening he
+found his father, O'Grady, and Saunders--the latter a young
+lieutenant--comfortably lodged in a large room in which three hospital
+beds had been placed. O'Grady had quite recovered his usual good spirits.
+
+"Don't draw such along face, Terence," he said, as the lad entered; "we
+are all going on well. Your father has been bandaged all over the chest
+and body, and is able to breathe more comfortably; as for me, except that
+I feel as if somebody were twisting a red-hot needle about in my arm, I am
+as right as possible, and Saunders is doing first-rate. The doctors
+thought at first that he had got a ball through his body; after they got
+him here they had time to examine him carefully, and they find that it has
+just run along the ribs and gone out behind, and that he will soon be
+about again. If it wasn't that the doctors say I must drink nothing but
+water with lemon-juice squeezed into it, I would have nothing to complain
+of. We have got our servants. Hoolan came in blubbering like a calf, the
+omadhoun, and I had to threaten to send him back to the regiment before he
+would be sensible. He has sworn off spirits until I am well enough to take
+to them, which is a comfort, for I am sorry to say he is one of those men
+who never know when they have had enough."
+
+"Like master, like man, O'Grady."
+
+"Terence, when I get well you will repint of your impudence to your
+supayrior officer, when he is not able to defend himself."
+
+Terence went across to his father's bed.
+
+"Do you really feel easier, father?"
+
+"A great deal, lad. I was so bruised that every breath I took hurt me;
+since I have been tightly bandaged I am better, ever so much. Daly says
+that in a few days I shall be all right again as to that, but that the
+other business will keep me on my back for a long time. He has examined my
+wound again, and says he won't touch it for a few days; but I can see that
+he is rather afraid that the bone has been grazed if not splintered. You
+have not heard what is going to be done, have you?"
+
+"No, father; the talk is that no move will be made anyhow until Sir John
+Moore lands with his troops; after that I suppose we shall go forward."
+
+"It is a pity we did not push forward to-day, lad, if, as I hear, half the
+force were never engaged at all. Junot would not have carried off a gun if
+our fellows had been launched against them while they were in disorder. As
+it is, I hear they have marched away over that ridge in as good order as
+they came, and so we shall have all the work of thrashing them to do over
+again."
+
+"They say that is what Sir Arthur wanted to do, father, but Burrard
+overruled him."
+
+"Did any man ever hear of such nonsense as a general who knows nothing at
+all about the matter coming and taking over the command from a general who
+has just won a battle, and who has all the ins and outs of the matter at
+his finger-ends!"
+
+"Now, my dear O'Connor," O'Grady broke in, "you know what Daly said, the
+quieter you lie and the less you talk the better. He did not say so to
+meself; in the first place, because he knew it would be of no use, and in
+the second, because there is no raison on earth why, because a man has
+lost a bit of his arm, his tongue should not wag. And what does the
+colonel say, Terence; is he not delighted with the regiment?"
+
+"He is that, and he has a right to be," Terence said. "The way they went
+at the French, and tumbled them over the crest and down the hill was
+splendid. The tears rolled down his cheeks when he heard that the major
+and the others were killed, but he said that a man could not die more
+gloriously. He shook hands with all the officers after it was over, and
+sent a party down to the town to buy and bring up some barrels of wine,
+and served out a good allowance to each man. As soon as the firing ceased
+I heard him tell O'Driscol that he was proud to have commanded the
+regiment."
+
+"That is good, Terence; and now, do you think that you could bring me up
+just a taste of the cratur?"
+
+"The divil a drop, O'Grady; if Daly and O'Flaherty both say that you are
+not to have it, it is certain that it is bad for you. But I'll tell you
+what I will do; I have one bottle of whisky left, and I will promise you
+that it sha'n't be touched till you are well enough to drink it, and if we
+are marched away, as I suppose we shall be, I will hand it over to
+O'Flaherty to give you when you are fit to take it. He tells me that he
+will be left to look after the wounded when we move."
+
+"I could not trust him, Terence; I would hand over a bag of gold uncounted
+to him, but as for whisky, the temptation would be too great for an
+Irishman to resist. Look here, you put it into a wooden box and nail it up
+securely, and write on it 'O'Grady's arm,' and hand it over to him
+solemnly, and tell him that I have a fancy for burying the contents
+myself, which will be true enough, though it is me throat I mean to bury
+it in."
+
+Knowing that it was best they should be left in quiet, Terence soon left
+them and returned to the regiment.
+
+"Well, Dick, what did you think of a battle?" he asked his chum.
+
+"I don't quite know what I did think. It does not seem to me that I
+thought much about it at all, what with the noise of the firing and the
+shouting of the men, and the whistle overhead of the French round shot,
+and the men cheering, the French shouting and the excitement, there was no
+time for thinking at all. From the time the skirmishers came running up
+the hill to the time when we rolled the French down it, I seem to have
+been in a dream. It's lucky that I had no words of command to give, for I
+am sure I should not have given them. I don't think I was frightened at
+all; somehow I did not seem to think of the danger. It was just a horrible
+confusion."
+
+"I felt very much like that, too. It was not a bit like what it was when
+we took that brig; I felt cool enough when we jumped on to her deck. But
+then there was no noise to speak of, while the row this morning was
+tremendous. I tried to cheer when the men did, but I could not hear my own
+voice, and I don't know whether I made any sound or not."
+
+A delay of some weeks took place after the battle of Vimiera. The Mayo
+Fusiliers were not among the troops who entered Lisbon in order to overawe
+the populace and prevent attacks both upon French soldiers and officers,
+and Portuguese suspected of leaning towards the French cause. Throughout
+the country everything was in confusion. A strong party, at whose head
+were the Bishop of Oporto and Friere, denounced the convention with the
+French--against whom they themselves had done nothing--as gross treachery
+on the part of the English to Portugal. They endeavoured in every way to
+excite the feelings of the population, both in the country and the
+capital, against the British; but in this they failed altogether, for the
+people were too thankful to get rid of the oppression and exactions of the
+invaders to feel aught but satisfaction at their being compelled to leave
+the country.
+
+The Junta at Oporto, at whose head was the bishop, desired to grasp the
+entire power throughout the country, and were furious at being thwarted in
+their endeavours to prevent a central Junta being established at Lisbon.
+Throughout Spain also chaos reigned. Each provincial Junta refused
+co-operation with others, and instead of concerting measures for
+resistance against the great force that Napoleon was assembling on the
+frontier, thought only of satisfying the ambitions and greed of its
+members. The generals disregarded alike the orders from the central Junta
+at Madrid and those of the provincial Juntas, quarrelled among themselves
+to a point that sometimes approached open hostility, and each acted only
+for his private ends. Arms had been sent in vast numbers from England;
+yet, while the money so lavishly bestowed by British agents went into the
+pockets of individuals, the arms were retained by the Juntas of Seville,
+Cadiz, and the maritime ports, and the armies of Spain were left almost
+unarmed.
+
+The term army is indeed absurd, as applied to the gatherings of peasants
+without, an idea of discipline, with scarcely any instruction in drill,
+and in the majority of, cases, as the result proved, altogether deficient
+in courage; and yet, while neglecting all military precautions and ready
+to crumble to pieces at the first approach of the French, the arrogance
+and insolence of the authorities, civil and military alike, were
+absolutely unbounded. They disregarded wholly the advice of the British
+officers and agents, and treated the men who alone could save them from
+the consequences of their folly with open contempt.
+
+After a fortnight's halt at Vimiera the Mayo Fusiliers were marched, with
+four other regiments, to Torres Vedras, where they took up their quarters.
+In the middle of October O'Grady and Saunders rejoined, and Terence
+obtained a few days' leave to visit his father.
+
+The latter's progress had been slow; the wound was unhealed, pieces of
+bone working their way out, and the doctors had decided that he must be
+invalided home, as it was desirable to clear out the hospitals altogether
+before the army marched into Spain.
+
+"They think the change of air will do me good," Major O'Connor said to
+Terence, as they were chatting together after the latter arrived, "and I
+think so myself. It is evident that I cannot take part in the next
+campaign, but I hope to rejoin again in the spring. Of course it is hard,
+but I must not grumble; if the bullet had been half an inch more to the
+right it would have smashed the bone altogether, then I should have had
+small chance indeed, for taking off the leg at the hip is an operation
+that not one man in twenty survives. O'Flaherty says he thinks that all
+the bits of bone have worked out now, and that I may not be permanently
+lame; but if it is to be so, lad, it is of no use kicking against fate. I
+have got my majority, and if permanently disabled by my wounds, can retire
+on a pension on which I can live comfortably."
+
+"So I hear that Sir John Moore is going to march into Spain. By the way,
+you have got some cousins in Oporto or the neighbourhood, though I don't
+suppose you are likely to run against them."
+
+"I never heard you say anything about them before, father."
+
+"No; I don't think that I ever did mention it. A first cousin of mine went
+over, just about the time that I was married, to Oporto, and established
+himself there as a wine merchant. He had been out there before for a firm
+in Dublin, and when Clancy's father died, and he came into some money he
+went out, as I said, and started for himself. He was a sharp fellow and
+did well, and married the daughter of a big land-owner. We used to hear
+from him occasionally. He died about a year ago, and left a girl behind
+him; she had been brought up in her mother's religion. He never said much
+about his wife, but I fancy she was a very strong Roman Catholic, and that
+they did not quite agree about the girl, who, as I gathered, had a
+hankering after her father's religion. However, after Clancy died we never
+heard any more of them.
+
+"There was a letter from their man of business announcing the death, and
+stating that Clancy had left his own property, that is to say, the money
+he had made in business, to the girl. What has become of her since I do
+not know. It was no business of mine, though I believe that I was his
+nearest relation--at least my uncle had no other children, and there were
+neither brothers nor sisters except him and my father. Still, as he left a
+widow who had a good big property on her own account, and was connected
+with a lot of grandee families, there was no occasion for me to mix myself
+up in the affair; and, indeed, it never entered my head to do so. Yet,
+Clancy and I were great friends, and I should be glad to know what has
+become of his girl. I fancy that she is about your age, and if Moore
+should take you up north you might make some inquiries there. The mother's
+family name was Montarlies, and I fancy, from what Clancy said, her
+father's property was somewhere to the north of Oporto, so I expect that
+at that town you would be likely to hear something of them."
+
+"All right, father; if we go there I will be sure to make some inquiries."
+
+On the fourth day after Terence's arrival the hospital was broken up, the
+convalescents marched for Torres Vedras, and Major O'Connor, with four
+other officers and forty men, were put on board a ship to be taken to
+England.
+
+"Your visit has done your father good, Terence," O'Flaherty said, as,
+after seeing the party safely on board ship, he returned to the town
+whence they were to march with the convalescents, sixty in number, among
+whom were five officers. "He has brightened up a deal the last four days,
+and his wound looks distinctly more healthy. I have a strong hope that all
+those splinters have worked out now, and your being here has given him a
+fillip, so that he is altogether better and more cheerful. I hope by the
+spring he will be able to rejoin us. I can tell you I am mighty glad to be
+off again myself. It has been pretty hard work here, for I have had, for
+the last fortnight, a hundred and twenty men on my hands. At first there
+were three of us here, but two went off with the last batch of
+convalescents, and I have been alone since. Luckily Major Peters has been
+well enough to look after things in general, and help the commissariat
+man; still, with forty bad cases, I have not had much time on my hands. Of
+course I knew him and all the other officers, but they all belonged to
+other regiments, and it was not like being among the Mayos. And when do
+you think we will be starting again?"
+
+"I have no idea. I have heard that Moore is doing everything he can to
+hurry on things, but that he is awfully hampered for want of money. It is
+scandalous. Here are our agents supplied with immense sums for the use of
+these blackguard Spaniards, yet they keep their own army without funds."
+
+"If the general has no funds, Terence, he had better be stopping where he
+is. There is no getting anything in Portugal without paying ten times the
+proper price for it, and from what I hear of the Spaniards they will
+charge twenty times, put the money in their pockets, and then not even
+give you what you paid for. As to their being any good to us as allies, it
+is not to be hoped for; they will take our arms and our money, expect us
+to feed their troops, and will then run away at the sight of a French
+soldier; you will see if they don't."
+
+"I hear that the Junta of Corunna says that all the north will rise as
+soon as we enter their country."
+
+"They may rise and flock round us until they have got arms and money, and
+then they will go off to their homes again. That is the sort of assistance
+that is to be had from them. We should do a deal better if there was not a
+Spaniard in the country, and it was left to us to fight it out with the
+French."
+
+"In that case, O'Flaherty, we should never cross the frontier at all. They
+say that Napoleon is gathering a great army, and against such a force,
+with the French troops already in Spain, our twenty or twenty-five
+thousand men would fare very badly, especially as they say that the
+emperor is coming himself."
+
+"That is worse news than the other, Terence. It is only because the French
+generals have always been quarrelling among themselves that the whole
+Peninsula has not been conquered; but with Napoleon at the head of affairs
+it would be a different matter altogether, and my humble opinion is that
+we had better stay where we are until he has wiped out the Spaniards
+altogether."
+
+Terence laughed.
+
+"You don't take a sanguine view of things."
+
+"You have been with the regiment, Terence, and have had very little to do
+with the natives. I have not seen very much of them either, thank
+goodness; but I have seen quite enough to know that though perhaps the
+peasants would make good soldiers, if officered by Englishmen, there is
+mighty little feeling of patriotism among the classes above them. Reading
+and writing may be good for some countries, but as far as I see here,
+reading and writing spoil them here, for every man one comes across who
+can sign his name is intent either on filling his pocket, or on working
+some scheme or other for his own advantage. If I were Sir John Moore I
+would send up a division to Oporto, hang the bishop and every member of
+the Junta, shoot Friere and a dozen of his principal officers, and if the
+people of Oporto gave them the chance clear the streets with grape-shot.
+Why, if it hadn't been for a small guard of our fellows with the French
+garrisons that were marched down there to embark, the Portuguese would
+have murdered every man-jack of them. They did murder a good many, and
+robbed them all of their baggage; and if it had not been that our men
+loaded and would have fired on them if they had gone further, not a
+Frenchman would have got off alive. If this had been done in Lisbon, where
+the French had been masters, there might have been some sort of excuse for
+it; but they had never been near Oporto at all, and therefore the people
+there had no scores to settle with them."
+
+"I am afraid, O'Flaherty, that an army worked on your principles would
+never get far from the coast, for we should have the whole country against
+us."
+
+"So much the better if we never got far from the coast. How much help have
+we had from them? There is not a single horse or waggon for transport
+except those we have hired at exorbitant prices; not a single ounce of
+food. They would not even divide with us the magazines at Leirya, which
+they had no share in capturing. The rabble they call an army has never
+fired a shot or marched a yard with us, except Trant's small command, and
+they were kept so far out of it in both fights, that I doubt whether they
+fired a shot; and yet they take upon themselves to throw every obstacle in
+our way, to dictate to our generals, and to upset every plan as soon as it
+is formed.
+
+"Well, I shall be glad to be back with the regiment again, Terence. There
+is some fun going on there anyhow, and I have not had a hearty laugh since
+O'Grady went off ten days ago."
+
+"We were all heartily glad to see him back again," Terence said. "He does
+not seem a bit the worse for having lost his hand."
+
+"No, he has got through it a deal better than I had expected, considering
+that he is not what might be called a very temperate man."
+
+"Not by any means. It is not very often that he takes more liquor than he
+can carry, but he generally goes very close to the mark."
+
+"I kept him very short here," O'Flaherty laughed, "and told him that if he
+did not obey orders I would have him invalided home; I have got him to
+promise that he will draw in a bit in future, and have good hopes of his
+keeping it, seeing that when the army starts again you won't get much
+chance of indulging."
+
+"It will be a good thing for others as well as O'Grady," Terence said,
+quietly. "I suppose in Ireland the whisky does not do much harm, seeing
+that it is a wet country; but here I notice that they cannot drink half as
+much as they were accustomed to without feeling it."
+
+"That is true for you, Terence. Half a bottle here goes as far as a bottle
+in the old country; and I find with the wounded, spirits have a very bad
+effect, even in very small quantities. There is one thing, when the troops
+are on the march they not only get small chance of getting drink, but
+mighty little time to think of it. When you have been doing your twenty
+miles a day, with halts and stoppages on these beastly roads and defiles,
+and are on your feet from daylight until late in the evening, and then,
+perhaps, a turn at the outposts, a man hasn't got much time for divarshon;
+and even if there is liquor to be had, he is glad enough when he has had a
+glass or so to wrap himself in his cloak and lie down to sleep. I have
+nearly sworn off myself, for I found that my head troubled me in the
+morning after a glass or two, more than it did after an all-night's
+sitting at Athlone. Ah, Terence, it is lucky for you that you have no
+fancy for it!"
+
+"I hope I never shall have, O'Flaherty. If one has got thoroughly wet
+through in a long day's fishing, it may be that a glass of punch may keep
+away a cold, though even that I doubt. But I am sure that I am better
+without it at any other time; and I hope some day the fashion will change,
+and instead of it being considered almost as a matter of course after a
+dinner that half the men should be under the table, it will then be looked
+upon as disgraceful for a man to get drunk, as it is now for a woman to do
+so."
+
+O'Flaherty looked at his companion with amused surprise. "Faith, Terence,
+that would be a change indeed, and you might as well say that you hope the
+time will come when you can whip off a fellow's leg without his feeling
+pain."
+
+"Perhaps that may come too," Terence laughed; "there is no saying."
+
+The next morning the detachment started at daybreak and marched to Torres
+Vedras, where they heard that a general movement was expected to begin.
+The regiment had now a comfortable mess, and the situation was freely
+discussed as scraps of news arrived from Lisbon. Could the English
+ministry have heard the comments on their imbecility passed by the
+officers of the British army, even they might have doubted the perfect
+wisdom of their plan. On the 6th of October, Moore had received a despatch
+stating that 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry were to be employed in the
+north of Spain. Ten thousand of these were to be sent out direct from
+England, the remainder were to be composed of regiments from the army in
+Portugal. Moore had the choice of taking the troops round in ships or of
+marching them direct. He decided upon the latter course, for arrangements
+had been made by Sir Hew Dalrymple to enter Spain by Almeida, and,
+moreover, he thought that the resources of the sea-coast of Galicia would
+not be more than sufficient to supply transport and food for the 10,000
+men who were to land there under the command of Sir David Baird.
+
+The English general's difficulties were indeed overwhelming. He had
+soldiers who, although but recently raised, had shown themselves good
+fighters; but he was altogether without even transport sufficient for the
+officers. With an ample supply of money, an experienced staff, and a
+well-organized commissariat, the difficulties might have been overcome,
+but Sir John Moore was practically without money. His staff had no
+experience whatever, and the commissariat and transport officers were
+alike ignorant of the work they were called upon to perform. He was
+unacquainted with the views of the Spanish government, and uninformed as
+to the numbers, composition, and situation of the Spanish armies with whom
+he was to act, or with those of the enemy. He had a winter march of 300
+miles before he could join Sir David Baird, who would have 200 miles to
+march from Corunna to join him, and there was then a. distance of another
+300 miles to be traversed before he reached the Ebro, which was designated
+as the centre of his operations.
+
+And all this had to be done while a great French army was already pouring
+in through the passes of the Pyrenees. No more tremendous, or, it may be
+said, impossible, task was ever assigned to an English commander; and to
+add to the absurdity of their scheme, the British government sent off Sir
+David Baird without instructions, and even without money. The Duke of York
+had vainly protested against the plan of the ministry, and had pointed out
+that nothing short of an army of 60,000 men, fully equipped with all
+necessaries for war--money, transport, and artillery--could achieve
+success of any kind.
+
+Upon the day Terence rejoined, news came from the engineers in advance
+that the assurances Sir John Moore had received that the road by which the
+army was to travel was perfectly practicable for artillery and
+baggage-waggons, were wholly false, and it was probable that the artillery
+and cavalry would have to make a long circuit to the south.
+
+It was too late now to change the route for the rest of the army. Nearly
+half the force had already started on the road to Almeida, and the
+supplies for their subsistence had been collected at that town. Therefore
+it was necessary that the main body of the infantry should travel by that
+road, while three thousand were to act as a guard for the artillery and
+cavalry on the other route.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE ADVANCE
+
+"It is enough to drive Sir John out of his senses," the colonel said, as
+the news was discussed after mess. "These people must be the champion
+liars of the world. Not content with doing nothing themselves, they seem
+to delight in inventing lies to prevent our doing anything for them. Who
+ever heard of an army marching, without artillery and cavalry, one way,
+while these arms travelled by a different road entirely, and that not for
+a march of twenty miles, but for a march of three hundred? One battery is
+to go with us. But what will be the use of six guns against an enemy with
+sixty? Every day the baggage is being cut down owing to these blackguard
+Portuguese breaking their engagements to furnish waggons, and we shall
+have to march pretty nearly as we stand, and to take with us nothing
+beyond one change of clothes."
+
+Loud exclamations of discontent ran round the table. It was bad enough
+that in the midst of a campaign waggons should break down and baggage be
+left behind, but that troops should start upon a campaign with scarcely
+the necessaries of life had caused general anger in the army; and no order
+would have been more willingly obeyed than one to march upon Lisbon, shoot
+every public official, establish a state of siege, and rule by martial
+law, seizing for the use of the army every draught animal, waggon, and
+carriage that could be found in the city, or swept in from the country
+round. The colonel had not exaggerated matters. The number of tents to be
+taken were altogether insufficient for the regiment, even with the utmost
+crowding possible. The officers' baggage had been cut down to twenty
+pounds a head--an amount scarcely sufficient for a single change of
+clothes and boots. Even the amount of ammunition to be taken would be
+insufficient to refill the soldiers' pouches after the supply they carried
+was exhausted.
+
+The paucity of baggage would not have mattered so much had the march begun
+at the commencement of summer, instead of just as winter was setting in.
+In the former case, men could have slept in the open air, and a solitary
+blanket and one change of clothes would have sufficed; but with the wet
+season at hand, to be followed by winter cold, the grievance was a very
+serious one. Terence had already learned that the brigade was to march in
+two days, and that the great bulk of the baggage was to be stored at
+Torres Vedras, which was to be occupied on their leaving by some of the
+troops that would remain in Portugal.
+
+"Faith, it is an evil look-out, Terence," O'Grady, who was sitting next to
+him, said, pathetically. "Sorra a drop of whisky is there in the camp, and
+now we sha'n't be able to have even a drink of their bastely spirits,
+onless we can buy it at the towns; and as Anstruther's division has gone
+on ahead of us, it is likely that every drop has been drunk up."
+
+"It will be all the better for you, O'Grady. Daly tells me that your arm
+is not fully healed yet. I know that you would not like to be left behind
+when we have once started."
+
+"That is true enough, but a drop of the cratur hurts no one."
+
+"I beg your pardon, O'Grady, it is very bad for anything like a wound. The
+doctor told me, when I was chatting with him before dinner, that he really
+did not think that you could go, for you would not obey his orders to give
+up spirits altogether."
+
+"Well, I own that it has been smarting a good deal the last few days,"
+O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "though I have not said as much to the
+doctor. I don't know that you are not about right, Terence; but faith,
+after being kept upon bastely slops by O'Flaherty, it was not in human
+nature to drink nothing but water when one gets a chance. At any rate, I
+am not likely to find any great temptation after we have started."
+
+"Well, you had better begin to-night, O'Grady. I am going to get away as
+soon as I can, and if you will take my advice you will come too."
+
+"What! and us to march in two days? It is not to be thought of. You mane
+well, Terence, but a lad like you must not take to lecturing your
+supayrior officer. Shure, and don't I know what to do for meself better
+than any other?"
+
+Terence saw that it was useless to endeavour to persuade him to move, and
+presently went round to Dr. Daly and said, quietly:
+
+"Doctor, O'Grady tells me that his arm has been hurting him a good deal
+more during the last two days. I expect they will make a night of it this
+evening, and again to-morrow, and if he once begins, nothing will stop him
+until they break up. Could not you do anything?"
+
+"I will talk to him like a father, Terence. You are a good boy to have
+told me; I might have gone away without thinking of it."
+
+"Don't mention my name, Doctor."
+
+The doctor nodded, and Terence went away and took a vacant seat at some
+distance from him. Presently the doctor got up and went round to O'Grady.
+The supply of claret had just been finished, and bottles of spirits had
+been placed upon the table. O'Grady stretched out his hand to one near
+him, but the doctor quietly removed it.
+
+"Not for you, O'Grady," he said; "you have had more than sufficient wine
+already. I have been doubting whether you are fit to go on with the
+regiment; and, by the powers, if you touch spirits to-night or to-morrow,
+I will put your name down in the list of those who are to be left behind
+as unfit for service!"
+
+"Sure you are joking, Doctor?"
+
+"Never was more earnest in my life, O'Grady. You don't want to be left
+behind, I suppose, in some filthy Portuguese town, while we march on, and
+that is what it will come to if your wound inflames. I told you this
+morning that it was not doing as well as it ought to, and that you must
+cut off liquor altogether. I have had my eye upon you, and you have taken
+down more than a bottle of wine already. I don't think I ought to let you
+go with us, even as it is; but, by the piper that played before Moses, if
+you don't go off to your quarters, without touching a drop more, I will
+have you left behind!"
+
+"You are mighty hard on a poor fellow, and must have a heart of stone to
+treat a man, who has lost his arm and wants a bit of comfort, in such
+fashion. Faith, I would not do it to a dog."
+
+"There would be no occasion, O'Grady; a dog has got sense."
+
+"And I haven't? Thank ye for the compliment. I will appeal to the colonel.
+Colonel, the doctor says if I drink a drop of spirits to-night or
+to-morrow he will put me down in the black list. Now, I ask you, do the
+regulations justify his using such a threat as that?"
+
+"I think they do," the colonel said, with a laugh. "I think that his order
+is good and sensible, and I endorse it. You know yourself that spirits are
+bad for you, with an arm only just healed up. Now, behave like a
+raisonable fellow, and go off to your quarters. You know well enough that
+if you stop here you won't be able to keep from it."
+
+"Faith, if the two of you are against me I have nothing more to say. It is
+mighty hard that after having lost an arm in the service of my country I
+should be treated like a child and sent off to bed."
+
+"I am going, too, O'Grady," Terence, who had gone back to his original
+place, now said. "There is no occasion to go to bed. I have a box of good
+cigars in my tent, and we can sit there and chat as long as you like."
+
+But O'Grady's dignity was ruffled.
+
+"Thank you, Mr O'Connor," he said, stiffly; "but with your lave I will do
+as I said"
+
+"That is the best thing," the doctor said. "You have not had a long
+night's rest since you rejoined. I am going myself, and I see that some of
+the others are getting up, too, and it would be a good thing if all would
+do so, for, with such work as we have got before us, the more sleep we
+get, while we can, the better."
+
+As nearly half the officers now rose from their seats, O'Grady was
+mollified, and as we went out he said:
+
+"I think, after all, Terence, I will try one of those cigars of yours."
+
+On the 14th of October Fane's brigade left Torres Vedras.
+
+
+[Illustration: 'I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL.']
+
+
+A number of the troops had been stationed along the line of route to be
+followed, and these had started simultaneously with the departure of
+Fane's brigade from Torres Vedras. The discontent as to the reduction of
+baggage ceased as soon as the troops were in motion. They were going to
+invade Spain, and ignorant as the soldiers were of the real state of
+affairs, none doubted but that success would attend them there. Among the
+officers better acquainted with the state of things there was no such
+feeling of confidence, but they hoped that they should at least give as
+good an account of themselves as before, against any French force of
+anything like equal strength they might encounter. O'Grady, influenced by
+the doctor's threats, which he knew the latter would be firm enough to
+carry out, had obeyed his orders, and had confided to Terence, when the
+regiment formed up at daybreak for the march, that his arm felt much
+better.
+
+"I don't say that the doctor may not have been right, Terence, but he need
+not have threatened me in that way, at all, at all."
+
+"I don't know," Terence replied. "I feel pretty sure that if he hadn't,
+you would not have knocked off spirits. Well, it is a glorious morning for
+starting, but I am afraid the fine weather won't last long. Everyone says
+that the rains generally begin about this time."
+
+As Terence fell in with his company the adjutant rode up.
+
+"Mr. O'Connor, you are to report yourself to the brigadier."
+
+Wondering much at the message, Terence hurried to the house occupied by
+General Fane. He and several officers were standing in front of it.
+
+"I am told that you wish to speak to me, General," he said, saluting.
+
+"Oh, you are Mr. O'Connor! Can you ride?"
+
+"Yes, sir," Terence replied; for he had often had a scamper across the
+hills around Athlone on half-broken ponies, and occasionally on the horses
+of some of his friends in the regiment.
+
+"I have a vacancy on my staff. Lieutenant Andrews was thrown when riding
+out from Lisbon with a despatch last night, and broke a leg. I was on
+board the flag-ship when your colonel brought his report about the fight
+between the transport and the two privateers. I read it, and was so much
+struck with the quickness and intelligence you displayed, that I made a
+note at the time that if I should have a vacancy on my staff I would
+appoint you."
+
+"I am very much obliged, General," Terence said, "but I have no horse."
+
+"I have arranged that. Lieutenant Andrews will not be fit for service for
+a long time. It is a compound fracture, and he will, the doctor says,
+probably be sent back to England by the first ship that arrives after he
+reaches Lisbon. His horse is therefore useless to him, and as it is only a
+native animal and would not fetch a ten-pound note, he agreed at once to
+hand it over to his successor, and in fact was rather glad to get it off
+his hands. He has an English saddle, bridle, and holsters; he will take
+five pounds for them. If you happen to be short of cash the paymaster will
+settle it for you."
+
+"Thank you, sir; I have the money about me, and I am very much obliged to
+you for making the arrangement."
+
+Terence was indeed in funds, for in addition to the ten pounds that had
+fallen to him as his share of the prize money, his pay had been almost
+untouched from the day he left England, and his father had, on embarking,
+added ten pounds to his store.
+
+"I won't want it, Terence," he said; "I have got another twenty pounds by
+me, and by the time I get to England I shall have another month's pay to
+draw, and shall no doubt be put in a military hospital, where I shall have
+no occasion for money till I am out again."
+
+"But I sha'n't want it either, father."
+
+"There is never any saying, lad; it is always useful to have money on a
+campaign. You may be in places where the commissariat breaks down
+altogether, and you have to depend on what you buy; you may be left behind
+wounded, or may be taken prisoner, one never can tell. I shall feel more
+comfortable about you if I know that you are well provided with cash,
+whatever may happen. My advice is, Terence, get fifteen or twenty pounds
+in gold sewn up in your boot; have an extra sole put on, and the money
+sewn inside. If it is your bad luck to be taken prisoner, you will find
+the money mighty useful in a great many ways."
+
+Terence had followed this advice and had fifteen pounds hidden away,
+besides ten that he carried in his pockets; he therefore hurried to the
+hut where Lieutenant Andrews was lying. He was slightly acquainted with
+him, as he had been Fane's aide-de-camp from the time of landing. The
+young lieutenant's servant was standing at the door with a horse ready
+saddled and bridled.
+
+"I am very sorry to hear of your injury," he said to the young officer.
+
+"Yes, it is a horrible nuisance," the other replied; "and just as we were
+starting, too. There is an end of my campaigning for the present. I should
+not have minded if it had been a French ball, but to be merely thrown from
+a horse is disgusting."
+
+"I am extremely obliged to you for the horse, Andrews, but I would rather
+pay you for it; it is not fair that I should get it for nothing."
+
+"Oh, that is all right! It would be a bother taking it down, and I should
+not know what to do with it when I got to Lisbon; it would be a nuisance
+altogether, and I am glad to get rid of it. The money is of no consequence
+to me one way or the other. I wish you better luck with it than I have
+had."
+
+"At any rate here are five pounds for the saddle and bridle," and he put
+the money down on the table by the bed.
+
+"That is all right," the other said, without looking at it; "they are well
+off my hands, too. I hope the authorities will send me straight on board
+ship when I get to Lisbon; my servant will go down with me. If I am kept
+there, he will of course stay with me until I sail; if not, he will rejoin
+as soon as he has seen me on board. He is a good servant, and I can
+recommend him to you; he is rather fond of the bottle, but that is his
+only fault as far as I know. He is a countryman of yours, and you will be
+able to make allowances for his failing," he added, with a laugh.
+
+There was no time to be lost--the bugles were sounding--so, with a brief
+adieu, Terence went out, mounted the horse and rode after the general, who
+had just left with his staff, and taken his place at the head of the
+column. As he passed his regiment, he stopped for a moment to speak to the
+colonel.
+
+"I heard that you were wanted by the general, Terence," the latter said,
+"and I congratulate you on your appointment. I am sorry that you are
+leaving us, but, as you will be with the brigade, we shall often see you.
+O'Driscol is as savage as a bull at the loss of one of his subalterns.
+Well, it is your own luck that you have and another's; drop in this
+evening, if you can, and tell us how it was that Fane came to pick you
+out."
+
+"It was thanks to you, Colonel. If you remember, you told us at Vigo that
+Fane was on board when you went to make your report, and that he and Sir
+Arthur's adjutant-general read it over together, and asked you a good many
+questions. It was owing to that affair that he thought of me."
+
+"That is good, lad. I thought at the time that more might come of it than
+just being mentioned in orders, and I am very glad that it was for that
+you got it. At any rate, come in this evening; I want to hear where you
+have stolen that horse from, and all about it."
+
+Terence rode off and took his place with his fellow aide-de-camp behind
+the two other officers of the staff. He scarcely knew whether to be glad
+or sorry, at present, at the change that had so suddenly taken place. It
+was gratifying to have been selected as he had been. It was certainly more
+pleasant to ride through a campaign than to march; and there would be a
+good many more chances of distinguishing himself than there could be as a
+regimental officer; while, on the other hand, he would be away from the
+circle of his friends and comrades, and should greatly miss the fun and
+jollity of the life with them.
+
+"An unfortunate affair this of Andrews," Lieutenant Trevor, his fellow
+aide-de-camp, said.
+
+"Most unfortunate. I little thought when you and he lunched with us two
+days since that to-day he would be down with a broken leg and I riding in
+his place. Just at present I certainly do not feel very delighted at the
+change. You see, from my father being a captain in the regiment, I have
+been brought up with it, and to be taken so suddenly away from them seems
+a tremendous wrench."
+
+"Yes, I can understand that," the other said. "In my case it is different.
+My regiment was not coming out, and of course I was greatly pleased when
+the general gave me a chance of going with him. Still, you see, as your
+regiment is in the brigade you will still be able to be with it when off
+duty, and when the end of the campaign comes you will return to it.
+Besides, there are compensations--you will at least get a roof to sleep
+under, at any rate nine times out of ten. I don't know how you feel it,
+but to me it is no small comfort being on horseback instead of tramping
+along these heavy roads on foot. The brigadier is a capital fellow; and
+though he does keep us hard at work, at any rate he works hard himself,
+and does not send us galloping about with all sorts of trivial messages
+that might as well be unsent. Besides, he is always thoughtful and
+considerate. Is he related to you in any way?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"Then I suppose you had good interest in some way, or else how did he come
+to pick you out?"
+
+"It was just a piece of luck," Terence said; "it was because he had heard
+my name in connection with a fight the transport I came over in had with
+two French privateers."
+
+"Oh, yes, I remember now," the other said; "I had forgotten that the name
+was O'Connor. I remember all about it now. He told us the story at Vigo,
+and you were put in general orders by Sir Arthur. I know the chief spoke
+very highly about your conduct in that affair. It is just like him to
+remember it, and to pick you out to take Andrews' place. Well, you fairly
+won it, which is more than one can say for most staff appointments, which
+are in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the result of pure favouritism
+or interest.
+
+"Well, O'Connor, I am very glad to have you on the staff. You see, it
+makes a lot of difference, when there are only two of us, that we should
+like each other. I own I have not done anything as yet to get any credit,
+for at Vimiera it was just stand up and beat them back, and I had not a
+single message to carry, and, of course, at Rolica our brigade was not in
+it; but I hope I shall get a turn some day. Then it was your father who
+was badly wounded?"
+
+"Yes; I saw him off to England four days ago. I hope that he will be able
+to rejoin before long, but it is not certain yet that the wound won't
+bring on permanent lameness. I am very anxious about it, especially as he
+has now got his step, and it would be awfully hard on him to leave the
+service just as he has got field-officer's rank."
+
+"Yes, it would be hard. However, I hope that the sea-voyage and English
+air will set him up again."
+
+Presently one of the officers who were in front turned and said: "The
+general wishes you to ride back along the line, Mr. Trevor, and report
+whether the intervals between the regiments are properly kept, and also as
+to how the baggage-waggons are going on."
+
+As Trevor turned to ride back the general cantered on, followed by the
+three officers and the four troopers who served as orderlies. Two miles
+ahead they came to a bridge across a torrent. The road, always a bad one,
+had been completely cut up by the passage of the provision and ammunition
+carts going to the front, and was now almost impassable.
+
+"Will you please to ride back, Mr. O'Connor, and request the colonel of
+the leading regiment to send on the pioneers and a company of men at the
+double to clear the road and make it passable for the waggons."
+
+The work was quickly done. While some men filled up the deep ruts, others
+cut down shrubs and bushes growing by the river bank, tied them into
+bundles, and put them across the narrow road, and threw earth and stones
+upon them, and in half an hour from the order being given the bugle
+sounded the advance. The head of the column had been halted just before it
+reached the bridge, and the men fell out, many of them running down to the
+stream to refill their water-bottles. As the bugle sounded they at once
+fell in again, and the column got into motion. General Fane and his staff
+remained at the bridge until the waggons had all crossed it.
+
+"It is not much of a job," Fane said. "Of course the four regiments
+passing over it flattened the earth well down, but the waggons have cut it
+all up again. The first heavy shower will wash all the earth away, and in
+a couple of days it will be as bad as before. There are plenty of stones
+down in the river, but we have no means of breaking up the large ones, or
+of carrying any quantity of small ones. A few hundred sappers and
+engineers, with proper tools, would soon go a long way towards making the
+road fairly fit for traffic, but nothing can be done without tools and
+wheel-barrows, or at least hand-barrows for carrying stones. You see, the
+men wanted to use their blankets, but the poor fellows will want them
+badly enough before long, and those contractors' goods would go all to
+pieces by the time they had carried half a dozen loads of stones. At any
+rate, we will content ourselves with making the road passable for our own
+waggons, and the troops who come after us must do the same. By the way,
+Mr. O'Connor, you have not got your kit yet."
+
+"No, sir; but I have no doubt that it is with the regimental baggage, and
+I will get it when we halt to-night."
+
+"Do so," the general said. "Of course it can be carried with ours, but I
+should advise you always to take a change of clothes in your valise, and a
+blanket strapped on with your greatcoat."
+
+"I have Mr. Andrews' blanket, sir. It was strapped on when I mounted, and
+I did not notice it."
+
+"That is all right. The store blankets are very little use for keeping off
+rain, but we all provided ourselves with good thick horse-cloths before
+leaving England. They are a great deal warmer than blankets, and are
+practically water-proof. I have no doubt that Mr. Andrews told his servant
+to strap it on as usual."
+
+Many and many a time during the campaign had Terence good reason for
+thinking with gratitude of Andrews' kindly thought. His greatcoat, which
+like those of all the officers of the regiment, had been made at Athlone,
+of good Irish frieze lined with flannel, would stand almost any amount of
+rain, but it was not long enough to protect his legs while lying down. But
+by rolling himself in the horse-cloth he was able to sleep warm and dry,
+when without it he would have been half-frozen, or soaked through with
+rain from above and moisture from the ground below. He found that the
+brigadier and his staff carried the same amount of baggage as other
+officers, the only difference being that the general had a tent for
+himself, his assistant-adjutant and quartermaster one between them, while
+a third was used as an office-tent in the day, and was occupied by the two
+aides-de-camp at night.
+
+The baggage-waggon allotted to them carried the three tents, their scanty
+kits, and a box of stationery and official forms, but was mainly laden
+with musketry ammunition for the use of the brigade. After marching
+eighteen miles the column halted at a small village. The tents were
+speedily pitched, rations served out, and fires lighted. The general took
+possession of the principal house in the village for the use of himself
+and his staff, and the quartermaster-general apportioned the rest of the
+houses between the officers of the four battalions. The two aides-de-camp
+accompanied the general in his tour of inspection through the camp.
+
+"It will be an hour before dinner is ready," Trevor said, as they returned
+to the house, "and you won't be wanted before that. I shall be about if
+the chief has any orders to send out. I don't think it is likely that he
+will have; he is not given, as some brigadiers are, to worrying; and,
+besides, there are the orderlies here to take any routine orders out, so
+you can be off if you like."
+
+Terence at once went down to the camp of the Mayo Fusiliers. The officers
+were all there, their quartermaster having gone into the village to fix
+their respective quarters.
+
+"Hooray, Terence, me boy!" O'Grady shouted, as he came up, "we all
+congratulate you. Faith, it is a comfort to see that for once merit has
+been recognized. I am sure that there is not a man in the regiment but
+would have liked to have given you a cheer as you rode along this morning
+just before we started. We shall miss you, but as you will be up and down
+all day and can look in of an evening, it won't be as if you had been put
+on the staff of another brigade. As to Dicky Ryan, he is altogether down
+in the mouth, whether it is regret for your loss or whether it is from
+jealousy at seeing you capering about on horseback, while he is tramping
+along on foot, is more than I know."
+
+"If you were not my superior officer, Captain O'Grady, I should make a
+personal onslaught on you," Ryan laughed. "You will have to mind how you
+behave now, Terence; the brigadier is an awfully good fellow, but he is
+pretty strict in matters of discipline."
+
+"I will take care of meself, Dicky, and now that you will have nobody to
+help you out of your scrapes, you will have to mind yourself too."
+
+"I am glad that you have got a lift, Terence," Captain O'Driscol said;
+"but it is rather hard on me losing a subaltern just as the campaign is
+beginning in earnest."
+
+"Menzies likes doing all the work," Terence said, "so it won't make so
+much difference to you."
+
+"It would not matter if I was always with my company, Terence, but now,
+you see, that I am acting as field-officer to the left wing till your
+father rejoins, it makes it awkward."
+
+"I intend to attach Parsons to your company, O'Driscol," the colonel said.
+"Terence went off so suddenly this morning that I had no time to think of
+it before we marched, but he shall march with your company to-morrow. You
+will not mind, I hope, Captain Holland?"
+
+"I shall mind, of course, Colonel; but, as O'Driscol's company has now
+really only one officer, of course it cannot be helped, and as Menzies is
+the senior lieutenant, I have no doubt that he can manage very well with
+Parsons, who is very well up in his work."
+
+"Thank you, Captain Holland; it is the first compliment that you ever paid
+me; it is abuse that I am most accustomed to."
+
+"It is thanks to that that you are a decent officer, Parsons," Captain
+Holland laughed. "You were the awkwardest young beggar I ever saw when you
+first joined, and you have given me no end of trouble in licking you into
+shape. How do you think you will like your work, Terence?"
+
+"I think I shall like it very much," the lad replied. "The other
+aide-de-camp, Trevor, is a very nice fellow, and every one likes Fane; as
+to Major Dowdeswell and Major Errington, I haven't exchanged a word with
+either of them, and you know as much about them as I do."
+
+"Errington is a very good fellow, but the other man is very unpopular. He
+is always talking about the regulations, as if anyone cared a hang about
+the regulations when one is on service."
+
+"I expect that if Fane were not such a good fellow Dowdeswell would make
+himself a baste of a nuisance, and be bothering us about pipe-clay and
+buttons, and all sorts of rigmarole," O'Grady said; "as if a man would
+fight any the better for having his belt white as snow!"
+
+"He would not fight any the better, O'Grady, but the regiment would do
+so," the colonel put in. "All these little matters are nothing in
+themselves, but still they have a good deal to do with the discipline of
+the regiment; there is no doubt that we are not as smart in appearance as
+we ought to be, and that the other regiments in the brigade show up better
+than we do. It is a matter that must be seen to. I shall inspect the
+regiment very carefully before we march to-morrow."
+
+There was a little silence among the group, but a smile stole over several
+of the faces. As a rule, the colonel was very lax in small matters of this
+kind, but occasionally he thought it necessary to put on an air of
+severity, and to insist upon the most rigid accuracy in this respect; but
+the fit seldom lasted beyond twenty-four hours, after which things went on
+pleasantly again. Some of the officers presently sauntered off to warn the
+colour-sergeants that the colonel himself intended to inspect the regiment
+closely before marching the next morning, and that the men must be warned
+to have their uniforms, belts, and firearms in perfect order.
+
+Terence remained for some little time longer chatting, and then got
+possession of his kit, which was carried by Tim Hoolan across to his
+quarters.
+
+"We are all sorry you've left us, yer honour," that worthy said, as he
+walked a short distance behind Terence; "the rigiment won't be like itself
+widout you. Not that it has been quite the same since you joined us
+reg'lar, and have taken to behaving yourself."
+
+"What do you mean, you impudent rascal?" Terence said, with a pretence at
+indignation.
+
+"No offence, yer honour, but faith the games that you and Mr. Ryan and
+some of the others used to play, kept the boys alive, and gave mighty
+contintment to the regiment."
+
+"I was only a lad then, Hoolan."
+
+"That was so, yer honour, and now you are a man and an officer, it is
+natural it should be different."
+
+"Tim Hoolan, you are a humbug," Terence said, laughing.
+
+"Sorra a bit of one, yer honour. I am not saying that you won't grow a bit
+more; everyone says what a fine man you will make. But sure ye saved our
+wing from being captured, and you would not have us admit that, if it had
+not been for a boy, a wing of the Mayo Fusiliers would have been captured
+by the French. No, your honour, when we tell that story we spake of one of
+our officers who had the idea that saved the _Sea-horse__, and brought
+thim two privateer vessels into Vigo."
+
+"Well, Tim, it is only three months since I joined, and I don't suppose I
+have changed much in that time; but of course I cannot play tricks now as
+I used to do, before I got my commission."
+
+"That is so, yer honour; the rigiment misses your tricks, though they did
+bother us a bit. Three times were we turned out at night, under arms, when
+we were at Athlone, once on a wet night too, and stood there for two hours
+till the colonel found out it was a false alarm, and there was me and Mr.
+Ryan, and two or three others as was in the secret, nigh choking ourselves
+with laughter, to hear the men cursing and swearing at being called out of
+bed. That was a foine time, yer honour."
+
+"Attention, Tim!" Terence said, sharply.
+
+They had now entered the village, and the burst of laughter in which
+Hoolan indulged at the thought of the regiment being turned out on a false
+alarm was unseemly, as he was accompanying an officer. So Tim straightened
+himself up, and then followed in Terence's footsteps with military
+precision and stiffness.
+
+"There is a time for all things, Tim," the latter said, as he took the
+little portmanteau from him. "It won't do to be laughing like that in
+sight of head-quarters. I can't ask you to have a drink now; there is no
+drink to be had, but the first time we get a chance I will make it up to
+you."
+
+"All right, yer honour! I was wrong entirely, but I could not have helped
+it if the commander-in-chief had been standing there."
+
+Terence went up to the attic that he and Trevor shared. There was no
+changing for dinner, but after a wash he went below again.
+
+"You are just in time," Trevor said, "and we are in luck. The head man of
+the village sent the general a couple of ducks, and they will help out our
+rations. I have been foraging, and have got hold of half a dozen bottles
+of good wine from the priest.
+
+"We always try to get the best of things in the village, if they will but
+part with them. That is an essential part of our duties. To-morrow it will
+be your turn."
+
+"But our servants always did that sort of thing," Terence said, in some
+surprise.
+
+"I dare say, O'Connor, but it would not do for the general's servant to be
+going about picking up things. No matter what he paid, we should have
+tales going about in no time of the shameful extortion practised by our
+servants, who under threats compelled the peasantry to sell provisions for
+the use of their masters at nominal prices."
+
+"I did not think of that," Terence laughed. "Yes, as the Portuguese have
+circulated scores of calumnious lies on less foundation, one cannot be too
+particular. I will see what I can do to-morrow."
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+A FALSE ALARM
+
+The march was continued until the brigade arrived at Almeida, which they
+reached on the 7th of November, and Sir John Moore and the head-quarters
+staff came up on the following day. All the troops were now assembled at
+that place; for Anstruther, by some misconception of orders, had halted
+the leading division, instead of, as intended by the general, continuing
+his march to Salamanca. The condition of the troops was excellent.
+Discipline, which had been somewhat relaxed during the period of
+inactivity, was now thoroughly restored. The weather had continued fine,
+and the steady exercise had well prepared them for the campaign which was
+beginning. Things, however, were in other respects going on unfavourably.
+
+The Junta of Corunna had given the most solemn promises that transport and
+everything necessary for the advance of Sir David Baird's force should be
+ready by the time that officer arrived. Yet nothing whatever had been
+done, and so conscious were the Junta of their shortcomings, that when the
+fleet with the troops arrived off the port they refused to allow them to
+enter without an order from the central Junta, and fifteen days were
+wasted before the troops could disembark. Then it was found that neither
+provisions nor transport had been provided, and that nothing whatever was
+to be hoped for from the Spanish authorities. Baird was entirely
+unprovided with money, and was supplied with £8,000 from Moore's scanty
+military chest, while at the very time the British agent, Mr. Frere, was
+in Corunna with two millions of dollars for the use of the Spaniards,
+which he was squandering, like the other British agents, right and left
+among the men who refused to put themselves to the slightest trouble to
+further the expedition.
+
+Spain was at this time boasting of the enthusiasm of its armies, and of
+the immense force that it had in the field, and succeeded in persuading
+the English cabinet and the English people that with the help of a little
+money they could alone and unaided drive the French right across the
+frontier. The emptiness of this braggadocio, and the utter incapacity of
+the Spanish authorities and generals was now speedily exposed, for
+Napoleon's newly arrived armies scattered the Spaniards before them like
+sheep, and it was only on one or two occasions that anything like severe
+fighting took place. Within the space of three weeks there remained of the
+great armies of Spain but a few thousand fugitives hanging together
+without arms or discipline. Madrid, the centre of this pretended
+enthusiasm and patriotism, surrendered after a day's pretence at
+resistance, and the whole of the eastern provinces fell, practically
+without a blow, into the hands of the invaders.
+
+At present, however, Moore still hoped for some assistance from the
+Spaniards. He, like Baird, was crippled for want of money, but determined
+not to delay his march, and sent agents to Madrid and other places to make
+contracts and raise money; thus while the ministers at home squandered
+huge sums on the Spaniards, they left it to their own military commanders
+to raise money by means of loans to enable them to march. Never in the
+course of the military history of England were her operations so crippled
+and foiled by the utter incapacity of her government as in the opening
+campaigns of the Peninsular War.
+
+While Baird was vainly trying to obtain transport at Corunna, a
+reinforcement of some five thousand Spanish troops under General Romana
+landed at San Andero, and, being equipped from the British stores, joined
+the Spanish general, Blake, in Biscay. These troops had been raised for
+the French service at the time Napoleon's brother Joseph was undisputed
+King of Spain. They were stationed in Holland, and when the insurrection
+at home broke out, the news of the rising was sent to them, and in
+pursuance of a plan agreed upon they suddenly rose, marched down to a port
+and embarked in English ships sent to receive them, and were in these
+transported to the northern coast of Spain.
+
+Sir David Baird was a man of great energy, and, having succeeded in
+borrowing a little more money from Mr. Frere, he started on his march to
+join General Moore. He had with great difficulty hired some country carts
+at an exorbitant rate, but the number was so small that he was obliged to
+send up his force in half-battalions, and so was able to proceed but very
+slowly.
+
+Sir John Moore was still in utter ignorance of the situation in Spain. The
+jealousy among the generals, and the disinclination of the central Junta
+to appoint any one person to a post that might enable him to interfere
+with their intrigues, had combined to prevent the appointment of a
+commander-in-chief, and there was no one therefore with whom Sir John
+could open negotiations and learn what plans, if any, had been decided
+upon for general operations against the advancing enemy.
+
+On the day that Moore arrived at Almeida, Blake was in full flight,
+pursued by a French army 50,000 strong, and Napoleon was at Vittoria with
+170,000 troops.
+
+Of these facts he was ignorant, but the letters that he received from Lord
+William Bentinck and Colonel Graham, exposing the folly of the Spanish
+generals, reached him. On the 11th he crossed the frontier of Spain,
+marching to Ciudad-Rodrigo. On that day Blake was finally defeated, and
+one of the other armies completely crushed and dispersed. These events
+left a large French army free to act against the British. Sir John Moore,
+however, did not hear of this until a week later. He knew, however, that
+the situation was serious; and after all the reports of Spanish
+enthusiasm, he was astonished to find that complete apathy prevailed, that
+no effort was made to enroll the population, or even to distribute the
+vast quantity of British muskets stored up in the magazines of the cities.
+
+The general arrived at Salamanca with 4,000 British infantry. The French
+cavalry were at Valladolid, but three marches distant. On the 18th more
+troops had arrived, and on the 23d 12,000 infantry and six guns were at
+Salamanca. But Moore now knew of the defeat of Blake, and that the French
+army that had crushed him was free to advance against Salamanca. But he
+did not yet know of the utter dispersal of the Asturian army, or that the
+two armies of Castanos and Palafox were also defeated and scattered beyond
+any attempt at rallying, and that their conquerors were also free to march
+against him. Although ignorant of the force with which Napoleon had
+entered Spain, and having no idea of its enormous strength, he knew that
+it could not be less than 80,000 men, and that it could be joined by at
+least 30,000 more.
+
+His position was indeed a desperate one. Baird was still twenty marches
+distant, his cavalry and artillery still far away. It would require
+another five days to bring the rear of his own army to Salamanca, as only
+a small portion could come forward each day, owing to want of transport;
+and yet, while in this position of imminent danger, the Spanish
+authorities, through Mr. Frere and other agents, were violently urging an
+advance to Madrid.
+
+General Moore was indeed in a position of imminent danger; but the lying
+reports as to the strength of the Spanish army induced him for a moment to
+make preparations for such a movement. When, however, he learned the utter
+overthrow and dispersal of the whole of the Spanish armies, he saw that
+nothing remained but to fall back, if possible, upon Portugal.
+
+It was necessary, however, that he should remain at Salamanca until Hope
+should arrive with the guns, and the army be in a position to show a front
+to the enemy. Instructions had been previously sent to Hope to march to
+the Escurial. Hope had endeavoured to find a road across the mountains of
+Ciudad-Rodrigo, but the road was so bad that he dared not venture upon it,
+as the number of horses was barely sufficient to drag the guns and
+ammunition waggons along a good road. He therefore kept on his way until
+he reached the Escurial; but after advancing three days farther towards
+Madrid, he heard of the utter defeat of the Spaniards and the flight of
+their armies. His cavalry outposts brought in word that more than 4,000
+cavalry were but twelve miles away, and that other French troops were at
+Segovia and other places. The prospect of his making his way to join Sir
+John Moore seemed well-nigh hopeless; but, with admirable skill and
+resolution, Hope succeeded in eluding some of his foes, in checking others
+by destroying or defending bridges, and finally joined the main force
+without the loss of any of the important convoy of guns and ammunition
+that he was escorting.
+
+The satisfaction of the troops at the arrival of the force that had been
+regarded as lost was unbounded. Hitherto, unprovided as they were with
+artillery and cavalry, they could have fought only under such
+disadvantages as would render defeat almost inevitable, for an enemy could
+have pounded them with artillery from a distance beyond their musket
+range, and they could have made no effectual reply whatever. His cavalry
+could have circled round them, cut their communications, and charged down
+on their lines in flank and rear while engaged with his infantry. Now
+every man felt that once again he formed part of an army, and that that
+army could be relied upon to beat any other of equal numbers.
+
+Terence had enjoyed the march to Salamanca. The fine weather had broken
+up, and heavy rains had often fallen, but his thick coat kept him dry
+except in the steadiest downpours; while on one or two occasions only the
+general and his staff had failed to find quarters available. As they
+proceeded they gradually closed up with the troops forming a part of the
+same division, and at Almeida came under the command of General Fraser,
+whose division was made complete by their arrival. Up to this point the
+young aide-de-camp's duties had been confined solely to the work of the
+brigade--to seeing that the regiments kept their proper distances, that
+none of the waggons loitered behind, and that the roads were repaired,
+where absolutely necessary, for the baggage to pass.
+
+In the afternoon he generally rode forward with Major Errington, the
+quartermaster-general of the brigade, to examine the place fixed upon for
+the halt, to apportion the ground between the regiments, and ascertain the
+accommodation to be obtained in the village. Two orderlies accompanied
+them, each carrying a bundle of light rods. With these the ground was
+marked off, a card with the name of the regiment being inserted in a slit
+at the end of the rod; the village was then divided in four quarters for
+the accommodation of the officers. But beyond fixing the name of each
+regiment to the part assigned to it, no attempt was made to allot any
+special quarters to individual officers, this being left for the
+regimental quartermaster to do on the arrival of the troops.
+
+When the column came up Terence led each regiment to the spot marked off,
+and directed the baggage-waggons to their respective places. While he was
+doing this, Trevor, with the orderlies, saw the head-quarters baggage
+carried to the house chosen for the general's use, and that the place was
+made as comfortable as might be, and then endeavoured to add to the
+rations by purchases in the village. Fane himself always remained with the
+troops until the tents were erected, and they were under cover, the
+rations distributed, and the fires lighted. The latter operation was often
+delayed by the necessity of fetching wood from a distance, the wood in the
+immediate neighbourhood having been cut down and burned either by the
+French on their advance, or by the British regiments ahead.
+
+He then went to his quarters, where he received the reports of the
+medical, commissariat, and transport officers, wrote a report of the state
+of the road and the obstacles that he had encountered, and sent it back by
+an orderly to the officer commanding the six guns which were following a
+day's march behind him. These had been brought along with great labour, it
+being often necessary to take them off their carriages and carry them up
+or down difficult places, while the men were frequently compelled to
+harness themselves to ropes and aid the horses to drag the guns and
+waggons through the deep mud. Between the arrival of the troops and dinner
+Terence had his time to himself, and generally spent it with his regiment.
+
+"Never did I see such a country, Terence," O'Grady complained to him one
+day. "Go where you will in ould Oirland, you can always get a jugful of
+poteen, a potful of 'taties, and a rasher of bacon; and if it is a
+village, a fowl and eggs. Here there are not even spirits or wine; as for
+a chicken, I have not seen the feather of one since we started, and I
+don't believe the peasants would know an egg if they saw it."
+
+"Nonsense, O'Grady! If we were to go off the main road we should be able
+to buy all these things, barring the poteen, and maybe the potatoes, but
+you could get plenty of onions instead. You must remember that the French
+army came along here, and I expect they must have eaten nearly everything
+up on their way, and you may be sure that Anstruther's brigade gleaned all
+they left. As we marched from the Mondego we found the villagers well
+supplied--better a good deal than places of the same size would be in
+Ireland--except at our first halting-place."
+
+"I own that, although Hoolan sometimes fails to add to our rations, we
+have not been so badly off, Terence. He goes out with two or three more of
+the boys directly we halt, laving the other servants to get the tents
+ready, and he generally brings us half a dozen fish, sometimes a dozen,
+that he has got out of the stream.
+
+"He is an old hand, is Tim, and if he can't get them for dinner he gets
+them for breakfast. He catches them with night-lines and snares, and all
+sorts of poaching tricks. I know he bought a bag with four or five pounds
+of lime at Torres Vedras, and managed to smuggle it away in the regimental
+baggage. I asked him what it was for, and the rascal tipped me a wink, as
+much as to say, Don't ask no questions, master; and I believe that he
+drops a handful into a likely pool when he comes across one. I have never
+dared to ask him, for my conscience would not let me countenance such an
+unsportsmanlike way of getting round the fish."
+
+"I don't think that there is much harm in it under the present
+circumstances," Terence laughed. "It is not sport, but it is food. I am
+afraid, Tim, that you must have been poaching a good deal at home or you
+would never have thought of buying lime before starting on this march."
+
+"I would scorn to take in an Oirish fish, yer honour!" Hoolan said,
+indignantly. "But it seems to  me that as the people here are trating us
+in just as blackguardly a manner as they can, shure it is the least we can
+do to catch their fish any way we can, just to pay them off."
+
+"Well, looking at it in that light, Tim, I will say no more against the
+practice. I don't think I could bring myself to lime even Portuguese
+water, but my conscience would not trouble me at eating fish that had been
+caught by somebody else."
+
+"I will bear it in mind, yer honour, and next time we come on a good pool
+a dish of fine fish shall be left at your quarters, but yer honour must
+not mintion to the gineral where you got them from. Maybe his conscience
+in the matter of ateing limed fish would be more tender than your own, and
+it might get me into trouble."
+
+"I will take care about that, Tim; at any rate, I will try and manufacture
+two or three hooks, and when we halt for a day will try and do a little
+fishing on my own account."
+
+"I will make you two or three, Mr. O'Connor. I made a couple for Mr. Ryan,
+and he caught two beauties yesterday evening."
+
+"Thank you, Hoolan. Fond as I am of fishing, I wonder it did not strike me
+before. I can make a line by plaiting some office string, with twisted
+horse-hair instead of gut."
+
+"I expect that that is just what Mr. Ryan did, yer honour. I heard the
+adjutant using powerful language this morning because he could not find a
+ball of twine."
+
+After this Terence generally managed to get an hour's fishing before the
+evening twilight had quite faded away; and by the aid of a long rod cut on
+the river bank, a line manufactured by himself, and Hoolan's hook baited
+with worms, he generally contrived to catch enough fish to supplement the
+ordinary fare at the following morning's breakfast.
+
+"This is a welcome surprise, Trevor," the brigadier said the first time
+the fish appeared at table. "I thought I smelt fish frying, but I felt
+sure I must be mistaken. Where on earth did you get them from?"
+
+"It is not my doing, General, but O'Connor's. I was as much surprised as
+yourself when I saw Burke squatting over the fire frying three fine fish.
+I asked him where he had stolen them. He told me that Mr. O'Connor brought
+them in at eight o'clock yesterday evening."
+
+"Where did you get them from, O'Connor?"
+
+"I caught them in the stream that we crossed half a mile back, sir. I
+found a likely pool a few hundred yards down it, and an hour's work there
+gave me those three fish. They stopped biting as soon as it got dark."
+
+"What did you catch them with?"
+
+Terence explained the nature of his tackle.
+
+"Capital! You have certainly given us a very pleasant change of food, and
+I hope that you will continue the practice whenever there is a chance."
+
+"There ought often to be one, General. We cross half a dozen little
+mountain streams every day, and the villages are generally built close to
+one. I don't suppose I should have thought of it, if I had not found that
+some of the men of my regiment have been supplying the mess with them. I
+hope to do better in future, for going over the ground where some of the
+troops in front of us have bivouacked I came upon some white feathers
+blowing about, and I shall try to tie a fly. That ought to be a good deal
+more killing than a worm when the light begins to fade."
+
+"You have been a fisherman, then, at home?"
+
+"Yes, sir; I did a good deal of fishing round Athlone, and was taught to
+tie my own flies. I wish I had a packet of hooks--the two one of our
+fellows made for me are well enough for worms, but they are rather clumsy
+for flies."
+
+"I used to be fond of fishing myself," Fane said; "but I have always
+bought my tackle, and I doubt whether I should make much hand at it, if
+left to my own devices. We are not likely to be able to get any hooks till
+we get to Almeida, but I should think you would find some there."
+
+"I shall be able to get some wire to make them with, no doubt, sir."
+
+"I fancy after we have left Almeida you won't find many opportunities of
+fishing, O'Connor. We shall have other work on hand then, and shall, I
+hope, be able to buy what we want; at any rate, we shall have as good a
+chance of doing so as others, while along this road there is nothing to be
+had for love or money, and the peasants would no doubt be glad to sell us
+anything they have, but they are living on black bread themselves; and,
+indeed, the greater part have moved away to less-frequented places. No
+doubt they will come back again as soon as we have all passed, but how
+long they will be allowed to live in peace and quietness is more than I
+can say. As long as it is only our troops who come along they have nothing
+much to complain of, for they can sell everything they have to dispose of
+at prices they never dreamt of before; but they complain bitterly of the
+French, who ate their fruit and drank their wine, killed their pigs and
+fowls, appropriated their cattle and horses, and they thought themselves
+lucky to escape with their lives. You see there are very few men about
+here; they have all gone off to join one or other of the Portuguese
+bands."
+
+"I fancy these Portuguese fellows will turn out useful some day, General,"
+Major Errington said. "They are stout fellows, and though I don't think
+the townspeople would be of any good, the peasantry ought to make good
+soldiers if they were well drilled and led."
+
+"That is a very large if," Fane laughed. "I see no signs of any leader,
+and unless we could lend them a few hundred non-commissioned officers I
+don't see where their drill instructors are to come from. Still, I have
+more hope of them than I have of the Spaniards. Those men under Trant were
+never tried much under fire, but they certainly improved in discipline
+very much in the short time they were with us. If we could but get rid of
+all the Portuguese authorities and take the people in hand ourselves, we
+ought to be able to turn out fifty thousand good fighting troops in the
+course of a few months, but so long as things go on as they are I see no
+hope of any efficient aid from them."
+
+At Almeida Terence managed to procure some hooks. They were clumsily made,
+but greatly superior to anything that he could turn out himself. He was
+also able to procure some strong lines, but the use of flies seemed to be
+altogether unknown. However, during his stay he made half a dozen
+different patterns, and with these in a small tin box and a coil of line
+stowed away at the bottom of one of his holsters, he felt that if
+opportunity should occur he ought to be able to have fair sport. He had
+suffered a good deal during the heavy rains, which came on occasionally,
+from the fact that his infantry cloak was not ample enough to cover his
+legs when riding. He was fortunate enough here to be able to buy a pair of
+long riding-boots, and with these and a pair of thick canvas trousers,
+made by one of the regimental tailors, and coming down just below the
+knee, he felt that in future he could defy the rain.
+
+At Salamanca there were far better opportunities of the officers
+supplementing their outfits. Landing on the Mondego early in August, they
+had made provision against the heat, but had brought no outfit at all
+suited for wear in winter, and all seized the opportunity of providing
+themselves with warm under-garments, had linings sewn into greatcoats, and
+otherwise prepared for the cold which would shortly set in. The greater
+part of the troops were here quartered in the convents and other extensive
+buildings, and as Fane's brigade was one of the first to arrive they
+enjoyed a short period of well-earned rest. Terence had by this time
+picked up a good deal of Portuguese, and was able to make himself pretty
+well understood by the Spanish shopkeepers. He, as well as the other
+officers, was astonished and disgusted at the lethargy that prevailed
+when, as all now knew, the great Spanish armies were scattered to the
+winds, and large bodies of French troops were advancing in all directions
+to crush out the last spark of resistance.
+
+The officers of the Mayo Fusiliers had established a mess, and Terence
+often dined there. He was always eagerly questioned as to what was going
+to be done.
+
+"I can assure you, O'Grady," he said, one day, "that aides-de-camp are not
+admitted to the confidence of the officer commanding-in-chief. I know no
+more as to Sir John's intentions than the youngest drummer-boy. I suppose
+that everything will depend upon the weather, and whether General Hope,
+with the artillery and cavalry, manages to join us. If he does, I suppose
+we shall fight a battle before we fall back. If he does not, I suppose we
+shall have to fall back without fighting, if the French will let us."
+
+"I wish, Terence, you would give these lazy Spaniards a good fright, just
+as you gave the people at Athlone. Faith, I would give a couple of months'
+pay to see them regularly scared."
+
+"If I were not on the staff I might try it, O'Grady, but it would never do
+for me to try such a thing now."
+
+Dick Ryan, who was standing by, winked significantly, and in a short time
+he and Terence were talking eagerly together in a corner of the room.
+
+"Who is to know you are a staff-officer, Terence?" the latter urged.
+"Isn't it an infantry uniform that you are wearing? and ain't there
+hundreds of infantry officers here? It was good fun at Athlone, but I
+don't think that many of them believed there was any real danger. It would
+be altogether different here; they are scared enough as it is, though they
+walk about with their cloaks wrapped round them and pretend to be mighty
+confident."
+
+"Let us come and talk it over outside, Dick. It did not much matter before
+if it had been discovered we had a hand in it. Of course the colonel would
+have given us a wigging, but at heart he would have been as pleased at the
+joke as any of us. But it is a different affair here."
+
+Going out, they continued their talk and arranged their plans. Late the
+following night two English officers rushed suddenly into a drinking-shop
+close to the gate through which the road to Valladolid passed.
+
+"The French! the French!" one exclaimed. "Run for your lives and give the
+alarm!"
+
+The men all leapt to their feet, rushed out tumultuously, and scattered
+through the streets, shouting at the top of their voices: "The French are
+coming! the French are coming! Get up, or you will all be murdered in your
+beds!"
+
+The alarm spread like wildfire, and Terence and Ryan made their way back,
+by the shortest line, to the room where most of the officers were still
+sitting, smoking and chatting.
+
+"Any news, O'Connor?" the colonel asked.
+
+"Nothing that I have heard of, Colonel. I thought I would drop in for a
+cigar before turning in."
+
+A few minutes later Tim Hoolan entered.
+
+"There is a shindy in the town, your honour," he said to the colonel.
+"Meself does not know what it is about; but they are hallooing and bawling
+fit to kill themselves."
+
+One of the officers went to the window and threw it up.
+
+"Hoolan is right, Colonel; there is something the matter. There--" he
+broke off as a church bell pealed out with loud and rapid strokes.
+
+"That is the alarm, sure enough!" the colonel exclaimed. "Be off at once,
+gentlemen, and get the men up and under arms."
+
+"I must be off to the general's quarters!" Terence exclaimed, hastily
+putting on his greatcoat again.
+
+"The divil fly away with them," O'Grady grumbled, as he hastily finished
+the glass before him; "sorrow a bit of peace can I get at all, at all, in
+this bastely country."
+
+Terence hurried away to his quarters. A score of church bells were now
+pealing out the alarm. From every house men and women rushed out
+panic-stricken, and eagerly questioned each other. All sorts of wild
+reports were circulated.
+
+"The British outposts have been driven in; the Valladolid gate has been
+captured; Napoleon himself, with his whole army, is pouring into the
+town."
+
+The shrieks of frightened women added to the din, above which the British
+bugles calling the troops to arms could be heard in various quarters of
+the city.
+
+"Oh, here you are, Mr. O'Connor!" General Fane exclaimed, as he hurried
+in. "Mr. Trevor has just started for the convent; he may be intercepted,
+and therefore do you carry the same message; the brigade is to get under
+arms at once, and to remain in readiness for action until I arrive. From
+what I can gather from these frightened fools, the French have already
+entered the town. If the convent is attacked, it is to be defended until
+the last. I am going to head-quarters for orders."
+
+A good deal alarmed at the consequences of the tumult that he and Dick
+Ryan had excited, Terence made his way through the streets at a run; his
+progress, however, was impeded by the crowd, many of whom seized him as he
+passed and implored him to tell them the news. He observed that not a
+weapon was to be seen among the crowd; evidently resistance was absolutely
+unthought of. Trevor had reached the convent before him. The four
+regiments had already gathered there under arms.
+
+"Have you any orders, Mr. O'Connor?" Colonel Corcoran asked, eagerly, for
+the Mayo Fusiliers happened to be formed up next the gate of the convent.
+
+"No, sir; only to repeat those brought by Mr. Trevor, as the general
+thought that he might be intercepted on the way. The troops are to remain
+here in readiness until he arrives. If attacked, they are to hold the
+convent until the last."
+
+"Have you seen any signs of the French?"
+
+"None, whatever, Colonel."
+
+"Did you hear any firing?"
+
+"No, sir; but there was such an uproar--what with the church bells,
+everyone shouting, and the women screaming--that I don't suppose I should
+have heard it unless it had been quite close."
+
+"We thought we heard musketry," the colonel replied, "but it might have
+been only fancy. There is such a hullabaloo in the city that we might not
+have heard the fire of small-arms, but I think that we must have heard
+artillery."
+
+In ten minutes Fane with his staff galloped in. "The brigade will march
+down towards the Valladolid gate," he said. "If you encounter any enemies,
+Colonel Corcoran you will at once occupy the houses on both sides of the
+street and open fire upon them from the windows and roofs; the other
+regiments will charge them. At present," he went on, as the colonel gave
+the order for the regiment to march, "we can obtain no information as to
+the cause of this uproar. An officer rode in, just as I was starting, from
+Anstruther's force, encamped outside the walls, asking for orders, and
+reporting that his outposts have seen no signs of the enemy. I believe it
+is a false alarm after all, and we are marching rather to reassure the
+populace than with any idea of meeting the enemy."
+
+The troops marched rapidly through the streets, making their way without
+ceremony through the terrified crowd. They had gone but a short distance
+when the bells of the churches one by one ceased their clamour, and a hush
+succeeded the din that had before prevailed. When the head of the column
+reached the gate, they saw Sir John Moore and his staff sitting there on
+horseback. Fane rode up to him for orders.
+
+"It is, as I fancied, wholly a false alarm," the general said. "How it
+could have started I have no idea. I have had another report from
+Anstruther; all is quiet at the outposts, and there is no sign whatever of
+the enemy. There is nothing to do but to march the troops back to
+barracks. However, I am not sorry, for possibly the scare may wake the
+authorities up to the necessity of taking some steps for the protection of
+the town."
+
+Terence rode back with General Fane to his quarters.
+
+"I cannot make out," Trevor said, as they went, "how the scare can have
+begun; everything was quiet enough. I was just thinking of turning in when
+we heard a shouting in the streets. In three minutes the whole town seemed
+to have gone mad, and I made sure that the French must be upon us; but I
+could not make out how they could have done so without our outposts giving
+the alarm. Where were you when it began?"
+
+"I was in the mess-room of the Mayos, when one of the servants ran in to
+say that there was a row. Directly afterwards the alarm-bells began to
+ring, the colonel at once gave orders for the regiment to be got under
+arms, and I ran back to the general for orders; and I must have passed you
+somewhere on the road. Did you ever see such cowards as these Spaniards?
+Though there are arms enough in the town for every man to bear a
+musket--and certainly the greater portion of them have weapons of some
+sort or other--I did not see a man with arms of any kind in his hand."
+
+
+"I noticed the same thing," Trevor said. "It is disgusting. It was evident
+that the sole thought that possessed them was as to their own wretched
+lives. I have no doubt that, if they could have had their will, they would
+have disarmed all our troops, in order that no resistance whatever should
+be offered. And yet only yesterday the fellows were all bragging about
+their patriotism, and the bravery that would be shown should the French
+make their appearance. It makes one sick to be fighting for such people."
+
+The following afternoon Terence went up to the convent.
+
+"Well, O'Connor, have you heard how it all began?" the colonel asked, as
+he went into the mess-room.
+
+"No one seems to know at all, Colonel. The authorities are making
+inquiries, but, as far as I have heard, nothing has taken place to account
+for it."
+
+"It reminds me," the colonel said, shutting one eye and looking fixedly at
+Terence, "of a certain affair that took place at Athlone."
+
+"I was thinking the same myself," Terence replied, quietly, "only the
+scare was a good deal greater here than it was there; besides, a good many
+of the townspeople in Athlone did turn out with guns in their hands,
+whereas here, I believe every man in the town hid his gun in his bed
+before running out."
+
+"I always suspected you of having a hand in that matter, Terence."
+
+"Did you, Colonel?" Terence said, in a tone of surprise. "Well, as,
+fortunately, I was sitting here when this row began, you cannot suspect me
+this time."
+
+"I don't know; you and Ryan came in together, which was suspicious in
+itself, and it was not two minutes after you had come in that the rumpus
+began. Just give me a wink, lad, if you had a finger in the matter. You
+know you are safe with me; besides, ain't you a staff-officer now, and
+outside my jurisdiction altogether?"
+
+"Well, Colonel, a wink does not cost anything," Terence said, "so here is
+to ye."
+
+He exchanged a wink with the colonel, who burst into a fit of laughter so
+loud that he startled all the other officers, who at once came up to hear
+the joke.
+
+"It is just a little story that Terence has been telling me," the colonel
+said, when he had recovered his breath, "about the scare last night, and
+how a young woman, with next to nothing on her, threw her arms round his
+neck and begged him to save her. The poor young fellow blushed up to his
+eyelids with the shame of it in the public streets!"
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE RETREAT
+
+O'Grady asked no questions, but presently whispered to Terence: "Faith, ye
+did it well, me boy."
+
+"Did what well, O'Grady?"
+
+"You need not tell me about it, Terence. I was expecting it. Didn't I
+spake to ye the day before about it, and didn't I feel sure that something
+would come of it? When that row began last night, I looked at you hard and
+saw you wink at that young spalpeen, Dicky Ryan; and sure all the time
+that we were standing there, formed up, I well-nigh burst the buttons off
+me coatee in holding in me laughter, when everyone else was full of
+excitement.
+
+"'Are you ill, O'Grady?' the colonel said, for I had to sit meself down on
+some steps and rock meself to and fro to aise meself. 'Is it sick ye are?'
+'A sudden pain has saised me, Colonel,' says I, 'but I will be all right
+in a minute.' 'Take a dram out of me flask,' says he; something must have
+gone wrong wid ye.' I took a drink--"
+
+"That I may be sure you did," Terence interrupted.
+
+"--And thin told him that I felt better; but as we marched down through
+the crowd and saw the fright of the men, and the women screaming in their
+night-gowns at the windows, faith, I well-nigh choked."
+
+"Have you spoken to Ryan about this absurd suspicion, O'Grady?"
+
+"I spoke to him, but I might as well have spoke to a brick wall. Divil a
+thing could I get out of him. How did you manage it at all, lad?"
+
+"How could I manage it?" Terence said, indignantly. "No, no, O'Grady; I
+know you did make some remark about that scare at Athlone, and said it
+would be fun to have one here. I was a little shocked at hearing such a
+thing from, as you often say, a superior officer, and it certainly appears
+to me that it was you who first broached the idea. So I have much more
+right to feel a suspicion that you had a hand in the carrying of it out
+than for you to suspect me."
+
+"Well, Terence," O'Grady said, in an insinuating way, "I won't ask you any
+questions now, and maybe some day when you have marched away from this
+place, you will tell me the ins and outs of the business."
+
+"Maybe, O'Grady, and perhaps you will also confess to me how you managed
+to bring the scare about."
+
+"Go along wid you, Terence, it is yourself knows better than anyone else
+that I had nothing to do with it, and I will never forgive you until you
+make a clean breast of it to me."
+
+"We shall see about it," Terence laughed. "Anyhow, if you allude to the
+subject again, I shall feel it my duty to inform the colonel of my reasons
+for suspecting that you were concerned in spreading those false reports
+last night."
+
+"It was first-rate, wasn't it?" Dick Ryan said, as he joined Terence, when
+the latter left the mess-room.
+
+"It was good fun, Dicky; but I tell you, for a time I was quite as much
+scared as anyone else. I never thought that it would have gone quite so
+far. When it came to all the troops turning out, and Sir John and
+everyone, I felt that there would be an awful row if we were ever found
+out."
+
+"It was splendid, Terence. I knew that we could not be found out when we
+had not told a soul. Did you ever see such a funk as the Spaniards were
+all in, and after all their bragging and the airs that they had given
+themselves. Our men were so savage at their cowardice, that I believe they
+would have liked nothing better than an order to pitch into them. And
+didn't the women yell and howl? It is the best lark we have ever had."
+
+"It is good fun to look back at, Dicky, but I shall be glad when we are
+out of this. The Spanish authorities are making all sorts of inquiries,
+and I have no doubt that they will get hold of some of the men in that
+wine-shop, and it will come out that two British officers started the
+alarm."
+
+"What if it did?" Ryan said. "There were only two wretched candles burning
+in the place, and they could not have got a fair sight at us, and indeed
+they all jumped up and bolted the moment we spoke. I will bet that there
+is not one among them who would be able to swear to us though we were
+standing before him; and I have no doubt if they were questioned every man
+would give a different account of what we were like. I have no fear that
+they will ever find us out. Still, I shall be glad when we are out of this
+old place. Not because I am afraid about our share in that business being
+discovered, but we have been here nearly a fortnight now, and as we know
+there is a strong French force within ten miles of us, I think that it is
+about time that the fun began. You don't think that we are going to
+retreat, do you?"
+
+"I don't know any more about it than you do, Dicky; but I feel absolutely
+sure that we shall retreat. I don't see anything else for us to do. Every
+day fresh news comes in about the strength of the French, and as the
+Spanish resistance is now pretty well over, and Madrid has fallen, they
+will all be free to march against us; and even when Hope has joined us we
+shall only be about 20,000 strong, and they have, at the least, ten times
+that force. I thing we shall be mighty lucky if we get back across the
+frontier into Portugal before they are all on us."
+
+Sir John Moore, however, was not disposed to retire without doing
+something for the cause of Spain. The French armies had not yet penetrated
+into the southern provinces, and he nobly resolved to make a movement that
+would draw the whole strength of the French towards him, and give time for
+the Spaniards in the south to gather the remains of their armies together
+and organize a resistance to the French advance. In view of the number and
+strength of the enemy, no more heroic resolution was ever taken by a
+military commander, and it was all the more to be admired, inasmuch as he
+could hope to win no victory that would cover himself and his army with
+glory, no success that would satisfy the public at home, and at best he
+could but hope, after long, fatiguing, and dangerous marches, to effect
+his retreat from the overwhelming forces that would be hurled against him.
+
+While remaining at Salamanca, Sir John, foreseeing that a retreat into
+Portugal must be finally carried out, took steps to have magazines
+established on two of the principal routes to the coast, that a choice
+might be left open to him by which to retire when he had accomplished his
+main object of diverting the great French wave of invasion from the south.
+
+On the 11th of December the march began, and for the next ten days the
+army advanced farther and farther into the country. So far Moore had only
+Soult's army opposing his advance towards Burgos, and it might be possible
+to strike a heavy blow at that general before Napoleon, who was convinced
+that the British must fall back into Portugal if they had not already
+begun to do so, should come up. He had been solemnly assured that he
+should be joined by Romana with 14,000 picked men, but that general had
+with him but 5,000 peasants, who were in such a miserable condition that
+when the British reached the spot where the junction was to be effected,
+he was ashamed to show them, and marched away into Leon.
+
+The British, in order to obtain forage, were obliged to move along several
+lines of route. Sir David Baird's division joined them as they advanced,
+and when they reached the Carrion their effective force amounted to 23,583
+men, with sixty pieces of artillery. On the French side, Soult had--on
+hearing of the British advance to the north-east, by which, if successful,
+they would cut the French lines of communication between Madrid and the
+frontier--called up all his detached troops, and wrote to the governor of
+Burgos to divert to his assistance all troops coming along the road from
+France, whatever their destination might be.
+
+On the 21st Lord Paget, with the 10th and 15th Hussars, surprised a French
+cavalry force at Sahagun, and ordered the 15th to turn their position and
+endeavour to cut them off. When with the 10th Hussars Lord Paget arrived
+in the rear of the village, he found six hundred French dragoons drawn up
+and ready to attack him. He at once charged and broke them and pursued
+them for some distance. Twenty were killed, thirteen officers and 154 men
+taken prisoners. On the 23d, Soult had concentrated his forces at the town
+of Carrion, and that night the British troops were got in motion to attack
+them, the two forces being about even in numbers; but scarcely had he
+moved forward when reports, both from Romana and his own spies, reached
+Sir John Moore to the effect that his march had achieved the object with
+which it was undertaken. Orders had been sent by Napoleon for the whole of
+the French armies to move at once against the British, while he himself,
+with the troops at Madrid, 70,000 strong, had started by forced marches to
+fall upon him.
+
+The instant Moore received this information he arrested the forward
+movement of his troops. His object had been attained. The French invasion
+of the south was arrested, and time given to the Spaniards. There was
+nothing now but to fall back with all speed. It was well indeed that he
+did not carry out his intention of attacking Soult. The latter had that
+day received orders from the emperor not to give battle, but to fall back,
+and so tempt Moore to pursue, in which case his line of retreat would have
+been intercepted and his army irretrievably lost.
+
+The order to retreat was an unwelcome one indeed to the troops. For twelve
+days they had marched through deep snow and suffered fatigues, privations,
+and hardships. That evening they had expected to be repaid for their
+exertions by a battle and a victory on the following morning, and the
+order to retreat, coming at such a moment, was a bitter disappointment
+indeed.
+
+They were, of course, ignorant of the reasons for this sudden change, and
+the officers shared the discontent of the troops, a feeling that largely
+accounted for the disorders and losses that took place during the retreat.
+
+Napoleon led his troops north with his usual impetuosity. The deep snow
+choked the passes through the mountains. The generals, after twelve hours
+of labour, reported the roads impracticable, but Napoleon placed himself
+at the head of the column, and, amidst a storm of snow and driving hail,
+led them over the mountain. With tremendous efforts he reached Desillas on
+the 26th; while Houssaye entered Valladolid on the same day, and Ney, with
+the 6th corps, arrived at Rio Seco.
+
+Full of hope that he had caught the British, the emperor pushed on towards
+Barras, only to find that he was twelve hours too late. Moore had, the
+instant he received the news, sent back the heavy baggage with the main
+body of infantry, himself following more slowly with the light brigade and
+cavalry, the latter at times pushing parties up to the enemy's line and
+skirmishing with his outposts to prevent Soult from suspecting that the
+army had retreated. On the 26th the whole army, moving by different
+routes, approached the river Esla, which they crossed in a thick fog,
+which greatly hindered the operation. A brigade remained on the left bank
+to protect the passage, for the enemy's cavalry were already close at
+hand, and Soult was hotly pressing in pursuit.
+
+A strong body of horse belonging to the emperor's army intercepted Lord
+Paget near Mayorga, but two squadrons of the 10th Hussars charged up the
+rising ground on which they had posted themselves, and, notwithstanding
+their disadvantage in numbers and position, killed twenty and took a
+hundred prisoners. Moore made but a short pause on the Esla, for that
+position could be turned by the forces advancing from the south. He
+waited, therefore, only until he could clear out his magazines, collect
+his stragglers, and send forward his baggage. He ordered the bridge by
+which the army had crossed to be broken down, and left Crawford to perform
+this duty.
+
+Short as the retreat had been, it had already sufficed to damage most
+seriously the morale of the army. The splendid discipline and order that
+had been shown during the advance was now gone; many of the regimental
+officers altogether neglected their duties, and the troops were
+insubordinate. Great numbers straggled, plundered the villages, and
+committed excesses of all sorts, and already the general had been forced
+to issue an order reproaching the army for its conduct, and appealing to
+the honour of the soldiers to second his efforts. Valiant in battle,
+capable of the greatest efforts on the march, hardy in enduring fatigue
+and the inclemency of weather, the British soldier always deteriorates
+rapidly when his back is turned to the enemy. Confident in his bravery,
+regarding victory as assured, he is unable to understand the necessity for
+retreat, and considers himself degraded by being ordered to retire, and
+regards prudence on the part of his general as equivalent to cowardice.
+
+The armies of Wellington deteriorated with the same rapidity as this
+force, when upon two occasions it was necessary to retreat when threatened
+by overwhelming forces; and yet, however disorganized, the British soldier
+recovers his discipline the instant he is attacked, and fiercely turns
+upon his pursuers. At the bridge across the Esla two privates of the 3d
+gave an example of splendid courage and determination. It was night. Some
+of the baggage was still on the farther bank, and the two men were posted
+as sentries beyond the bridge, their orders being that if an enemy
+appeared, one should fire and then run back to the bridge and shout to
+warn the guard whether the enemy were in force or not. The other was to
+maintain his post as long as possible.
+
+
+[Illustration: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE? WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED THEM OUT
+OF THEIR BOOTS IN NO TIME]
+
+
+During the night the light cavalry of the imperial guard rode down.
+Jackson, one of the sentries, fired and ran back to give the alarm. He was
+overtaken, and received over a dozen sabre cuts; nevertheless he staggered
+on until he reached the bridge, and gave the signal. Walton, the other
+sentry, with equal resolution stood his ground and wounded several of his
+assailants, who, as they drew off, left him unhurt, although his cap,
+knapsack, belt, and musket were cut in over twenty places, and his bayonet
+bent double.
+
+Terence O'Connor's duties had been light enough during the advance, but
+during the three days of the retreat to the Esla he had been incessantly
+occupied. He and Trevor had both been directed to ride backwards and
+forwards along the line of the brigade to see that there was no straggling
+in the ranks, and that the baggage carts in the rear kept close up. The
+task was no easy one, and was unpleasant as well as hard. Many of the
+officers plodded sulkily along, paying no attention whatever to their men,
+allowing them to straggle as they chose; and they were obliged to report
+several of the worst cases to the brigadier. With the Mayo Fusiliers they
+had less trouble than with others. Terence had, when he joined them at
+their first halt after the retreat began, found them as angry and
+discontented as the rest at the unexpected order, and was at once assailed
+with questions and complaints.
+
+He listened to them quietly, and then said:
+
+"Of course, if you all prefer a French prison to a few days' hard
+marching, you have good reason to grumble at being baulked in your wishes;
+that is all I have to say about it."
+
+"What do you mean, Terence?" O'Grady asked, angrily. "Soult's force was
+not stronger than ours, at least so we heard; and if it had been it would
+make no difference, we would have thrashed them out of their boots in no
+time."
+
+"I dare say we should, O'Grady, and what then?"
+
+"Well, I don't know what then," O'Grady said, after a moment's silence;
+"that would have been the general's business."
+
+"Quite so; and so is this. There you would have been with perhaps a couple
+of thousand wounded and as many French prisoners, and Napoleon with 60,000
+men or so, and Ney with as many more, and Houssaye with his cavalry
+division, all in your rear cutting you off from the sea. What would have
+been your course then?"
+
+A general silence fell upon the officers.
+
+"Is that so?" the colonel asked at last.
+
+"That is so," Terence said, gravely. "All these and other troops are
+marching night and day to intercept us. It is no question of fighting now.
+Victory over Soult, so far from being of any use, would only have burdened
+us with wounded and prisoners, and even a day's delay would be absolutely
+fatal. As it is, it is a question whether we shall have time to get back
+to the coast before they are all posted in our front. Every hour is of the
+greatest importance. You all know that we have talked over lots of times
+how dangerous our position is. General Fane told us, when the orders to
+retreat were issued, that he believed the peril to be even more imminent
+than we thought. We all know when we marched north from Salamanca, that,
+without a single Spaniard to back us, all that could be hoped for was to
+aid Saragossa and Seville and Cadiz to gather the levies in the south and
+prepare for defence, and that erelong we should have any number of enemies
+upon us. That is what has precisely happened, and now there is grumbling
+because the object has been attained, and that you are not allowed to
+fight a battle that, whether won or lost, would equally ruin us."
+
+"Sure ye are right," O'Grady said, warmly, "and we are a set of omadhouns.
+You have sense in your head, Terence, and there is no gainsaying you. I
+was grumbling more than the rest of them, but I won't grumble any more.
+Still, I suppose that there is no harm in hoping we shall have just a bit
+of fighting before we get back to Portugal."
+
+"We shall be lucky if we don't have a good deal of fighting, O'Grady, and
+against odds that will satisfy even you. As to Portugal, there is no
+chance of our getting there. Ney will certainly cut that road, and the
+emperor will, most likely, also do so, as you can see for yourself on the
+map."
+
+"Divil a map have I ever looked at since I was at school," O'Grady said.
+"Then if we can't get back to Portugal, where shall we get to?"
+
+"To one of the northern seaports; of course, I don't know which has been
+decided upon; I don't suppose the general himself has settled that yet. It
+must depend upon the roads and the movements of the enemy, and whether
+there is a defensible position near the port that we can hold in case the
+fleet and transports cannot be got there by the time we arrive."
+
+"Faith, Terence, ye're a walking encyclopeydia. You have got the matter at
+your finger ends."
+
+"I don't pretend to know any more than anyone else," Terence said, with a
+laugh. "But of course I hear matters talked over at the brigade mess. I
+don't think that Fane knows more of the general's absolute plans than you
+do. I dare say the divisional generals know, but it would not go further.
+Still, as Fane and Errington and Dowdeswell know something about war
+besides the absolute fighting, they can form some idea as to the plans
+that will be adopted."
+
+"Well, Terence," the colonel said, "I didn't think the time was coming so
+soon when I was going to be instructed by your father's son, but I will
+own that you have made me feel that I have begun campaigning too late in
+life, and that you have given me a lesson."
+
+"I did not mean to do that, Colonel," Terence said, a good deal abashed.
+"It was O'Grady I was chiefly speaking to."
+
+"Your supeyrior officer!" O'Grady murmured.
+
+"My superior officer, certainly," Terence went on, with a smile; "but who,
+having, as he says, never looked at a map since he left school--while I
+have naturally studied one every evening since we started from Torres
+Vedras--can therefore know no more about the situation than does Tim
+Hoolan. But I certainly never intended my remarks to apply to you,
+Colonel."
+
+"They hit the mark all the same, lad, and the shame is mine and not yours.
+I think you have done us all good. One doesn't care when one is retreating
+for a good reason, but when one marches for twelve days to meet an enemy,
+and then, when just close to him, one turns one's back and runs away, it
+is enough to disgust an Englishman, let alone an Irishman. Well, boys, now
+we see it is all right, we will do our duty as well on the retreat as we
+did on the advance, and divil a grumble shall there be in my hearing."
+
+From that moment, therefore, the Mayo Fusiliers were an example to the
+brigade. Any grumble in the ranks was met with a cheerful "Whist, boys! do
+you think that you know the general's business better than he does
+himself? It is plenty of fighting you are likely to get before you have
+done, never fear. Now is the time, boys, to get the regiment a good name.
+The general knows that we can fight. Now let him see that we can wait
+patiently till we get another chance. Remember, the better temper you are
+in, the less you will feel the cold."
+
+So, laughing and joking, and occasionally breaking into a song, the Mayo
+Fusiliers pushed steadily forward, and the colonel that evening
+congratulated the men that not one had fallen out.
+
+"Keep that up, boys," he said. "It will be a proud day for me when we get
+to our journey's end, wherever that may be, to be able to say to the
+brigadier: 'Except those who have been killed by the enemy, here is my
+regiment just as it was when it started from the Carrion--not a man has
+fallen out, not a man has straggled away, not a man has made a baste of
+himself and was unfit to fall in the next morning.' I know them," he said
+to O'Driscol, as the regiment was dismissed from parade. "They will not
+fall out, they will not straggle, but if they come to a place where wine's
+in plenty, they will make bastes of themselves; and after all," he added,
+"after the work they have gone through, who is to blame them?"
+
+At the halt the next evening at Bembibre the colonel's forebodings that
+the men could not be trusted where liquor was plentiful were happily not
+verified. There were immense wine-vaults in the town. These were broken
+open, and were speedily crowded by disbanded Spaniards, soldiers,
+camp-followers, muleteers, women and children--the latter taking refuge
+there from the terrible cold. The rear-guard, to which the Mayo regiment
+had been attached the evening before, found that Baird's division had gone
+on, but that vast numbers of drunken soldiers had been left behind.
+General Moore was himself with the rear-guard, and the utmost efforts were
+made to induce the drunkards to rejoin their regiments. He himself
+appealed to the troops, instructing the commanders of the different
+regiments to say that he relied implicitly upon the soldiers to do their
+duty. The French might at any moment be up, and every man must be in his
+ranks. No men were to fall out or to enter any wine-house or cellar, but
+each should have at once a pint of wine served out to him, and as much
+more before they marched in the morning.
+
+After the colonel read out this order, he supplemented it by saying, "Now,
+boys, the credit of the regiment is at stake. It is a big honour that has
+been paid you in choosing you to join the rear-guard, and you have got to
+show that you deserve it. As soon as it can be drawn, you will have your
+pint of wine each, which will be enough to warm your fingers and toes.
+Wait here in the ranks till you have drunk your wine and eaten some of the
+bread in your haversacks, and by that time I will see what I can do for
+you. You will have another pint before starting; but mind, though I hope
+there isn't a mother's son who would bring discredit on the regiment, I
+warn you that I shall give the officers instructions to shoot down any man
+who wanders from the ranks in search of liquor. The French may be here in
+half an hour after we have started, and it is better to be shot than to be
+sabred by a French dragoon, which will happen surely enough to every baste
+who has drunk too much to go on with the troops."
+
+Only a few murmurs were heard at the conclusion of the speech.
+
+"Now, gentlemen," the colonel said, "will half a dozen of you see to the
+wine. Get hold of some of those fellows loafing about there and make them
+roll out as many barrels as will supply a pint to every man in the
+regiment, ourselves as well as the men. O'Grady, take Lieutenant Horton
+and Mr. Haldane and two sergeants with you. Here is my purse. Go through
+the town and get some bread and anything else in the way of food that you
+can lay your hands upon. And, if you can, above all things get some
+tobacco."
+
+O'Grady's search was for a time unsuccessful, as the soldiers and
+camp-followers had already broken into the shops and stores. In an
+unfrequented street, however, they came across a large building. He
+knocked at the door with the hilt of his sword. It was opened after a time
+by an old man.
+
+"What house is this?"
+
+"It is a tobacco factory," he replied.
+
+"Be jabers, we have come to the right place. I want about half a ton of
+it. We are not robbers, and I will pay for what we take." Then another
+idea struck him. "Wait a moment, I will be back again in no time. Horton,
+do you stay here and take charge of the men. I am going back to the
+colonel."
+
+He found on reaching the regiment that the men were already drinking their
+wine and eating their bread.
+
+"I am afraid I shall never keep them, O'Grady," the colonel said,
+mournfully. "It is scarcely in human nature to see men straggling about as
+full as they can hold, and know that there is liquor to be had for taking
+it and not to go for it."
+
+"It is all right, Colonel. I know that we can never keep the men if we
+turn them into the houses to sleep; but I have found a big building that
+will hold the whole regiment, and the best of it is that it is a tobacco
+factory. I expect it is run by the authorities of the place, and as we are
+doing what we can for them, they need not grudge us what we take; and
+faith, the boys will be quiet and contented enough, so that they do but
+get enough to keep their pipes going, and know that they will march in the
+morning with a bit in their knapsacks."
+
+"The very thing, O'Grady! Pass the word for the regiment to fall in the
+instant they have finished their meal."
+
+It was not long before they were ready, and in a few minutes, guided by
+O'Grady, the head of the regiment reached the building.
+
+"Who is the owner of this place?" the colonel asked the old man, who, with
+a lantern in his hand, was still standing at the door.
+
+"The Central Junta of the Province has of late taken it, your Excellency."
+
+"Good! Then we will be the guests of the Central Junta of the Province for
+the night." Then he raised his voice, "Boys, here is a warm lodging for
+you for the night, and tobacco galore for your pipes; and, for those who
+haven't got them, cigars. Just wait until I have got some lights, and then
+file inside in good order."
+
+There was no difficulty about this, for the factory was in winter worked
+long after dark set in. In a very few minutes the place was lighted up
+from end to end. The troops were then marched in and divided amongst the
+various rooms.
+
+"Now, boys, tell the men to smoke a couple of pipes, and then to lie down
+to sleep. In the morning each man can put as much tobacco into his
+knapsack and pockets as they will hold, and when we halt they can give
+some of it away to regiments that have not been as lucky as themselves."
+
+The men sat down in the highest state of satisfaction. Boxes of cigars
+were broken open, and in a couple of minutes almost every man and officer
+in the regiment had one alight in his mouth. There were few, however, who
+got beyond one cigar; the warmth of the place after their long march in
+the snow speedily had its effect, and in half an hour silence reigned in
+the factory, save for a murmur of voices in one of the lower rooms where
+the officers were located.
+
+"O'Grady, you are a broth of a boy," the colonel said. "The men have
+scarce had a smoke for the last week, and it will do them a world of good.
+We have got them all under one roof, and there is no fear that anyone will
+want to get out, and they will fall in in the morning as fresh as paint.
+Half an hour before bugle-call three or four of you had best turn out with
+a dozen men, and roll up enough barrels from the vaults to give them the
+drink promised to them, before starting. Who will volunteer?"
+
+Half a dozen officers at once offered to go, and a captain and three
+lieutenants were told off for the work.
+
+"They know how to make cigars, if they don't know anything else," Captain
+O'Driscol said; "this is a first-rate weed."
+
+"So it ought to be by the brand," another officer said. "I took the two
+boxes from a cupboard that was locked up. There are a dozen more like
+them, and I thought it was as well to take them out; they are at present
+under the table. I have no doubt that they are real Havannas, and have
+probably been got for some grandee or other."
+
+"He will have to do without them," O'Grady said, calmly, as he lighted his
+second cigar; "they are too good for any Spaniard under the sun. And,
+moreover, if we did not take them you may be sure that the French would
+have them to-morrow, and I should say that the Central Junta of the
+Province will be mighty pleased to know that the tobacco was smoked by
+their allies instead of by the French."
+
+"I don't suppose that they will care much about it one way or another,"
+O'Driscol remarked; "their pockets are so full of English gold that the
+loss of a few tons of tobacco won't affect them much. I enjoy my cigar
+immensely, and have the satisfaction of knowing that for once I have got
+something out of a Spaniard--it is the first thing since I landed."
+
+"Well, boys, we had better be off to sleep," the colonel said. "I am so
+sleepy that I can hardly keep my eyes open, and you ought to be worse, for
+you have tramped well-nigh forty miles to-day. See that the sentry at the
+door keeps awake, Captain Humphrey; you are officer of the day; upon my
+word I am sorry for you. Tell him he can light up if he likes, but if he
+sees an officer coming round he must get rid of it. Mind the sentries are
+changed regularly, for I expect that we shall sleep so soundly that if all
+the bugles in the place were sounding an alarm we should not hear them."
+
+"All right, Colonel! I have got Sergeant Jackson in charge of the reliefs
+in the passage outside, and I think that I can depend upon him, but I will
+tell him to wake me up whenever he changes the sentries. I don't say I
+shall turn out myself, but as long as he calls me I shall know that he is
+awake, and that it is all right. I had better tell him to call you half an
+hour before bugle-call, Sullivan, so that you can wake the others and get
+the wine here; he mustn't be a minute after the half-hour. Thank goodness,
+we don't have to furnish the outposts to-night."
+
+In ten minutes all were asleep on the floor, wrapped in their greatcoats,
+the officer of the day taking his place next the door so that he could be
+roused easily. Every hour one or other of the two non-commissioned
+officers in charge of the guard in the passage opened the door a few
+inches and said softly, "I am relieving the sentries, sir;" and each time
+the officer murmured assent.
+
+Sullivan was called at the appointed time, got up, and stretched himself,
+grumbling:
+
+"I don't believe that I have been asleep ten minutes."
+
+On going out into the passage, however, where a light was burning, his
+watch told him that it was indeed time to be moving. He woke the others,
+and with the men went down to the cellars. Here the scene of confusion was
+great; drunken men lay thickly about the floor, others sat, cup in hand,
+talking, or singing snatches of song, Spanish or English. Hastily picking
+out enough unbroken casks for the purpose, he set the men to carry them up
+to the street, and they were then rolled along to the factory. Just as
+they reached the door the bugle-call sounded; the men were soon on their
+feet, refreshed by a good night's sleep. The casks were broached, and the
+wine served out.
+
+"It is awful, Colonel," Sullivan said. "There will be hundreds of men left
+behind. There must have been over that number in the cellar I went into,
+and there are a dozen others in the town. I never saw such a disgusting
+scene."
+
+Scarcely had they finished when the assemble sounded, and the regiment at
+once fell-in outside the factory, every man with knapsack and haversack
+bulging out with tobacco. They then joined the rest of the troops in the
+main street. General Moore had made a vain attempt to rouse the besotted
+men. A few of those least overcome joined the rear-guard, but the greater
+number were too drunk to listen to orders, or even to the warning that the
+French would be into the town as soon as the troops marched out.
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CORUNNA
+
+As the confusion in the streets increased from the pouring out from the
+houses and cellars of the camp-followers--women and children, together
+with men less drunk than their comrades, but still unable to walk
+steadily--who filled the air with shouts and drunken execrations, Colonel
+Corcoran rode along the line.
+
+"Just look at that, boys," he said. "Isn't it better for you to be
+standing here like dacent men, ready to do your duty, than to be rolling
+about in a state like those drunken blackguards, for the sake of half an
+hour's pleasure? Sure it is enough to make every mother's son of you swear
+off liquor till ye get home again. When the French get inside the town
+there is not one of the drunken bastes that won't be either killed or
+marched away a thousand miles to a French prison, and all for half an
+hour's drink."
+
+The lesson was indeed a striking one, and careless as many of the men
+were, it brought home to them with greater force than ever before in their
+lives, not only the folly but the degradation of drunkenness. A few
+minutes later, General Moore, who was riding up and down the line,
+inspecting the condition of the men in each regiment, came along.
+
+"Your men look very well, Colonel," he said, as he reached the Fusiliers.
+"How many are you short of your number?"
+
+"Not a man, General; I am happy to say that there was not a single one
+that did not answer when his name was called."
+
+"That is good, indeed," the general said, warmly. "I am happy to say that
+all the regiments of the rear-guard have turned out well, and shown
+themselves worthy of the trust reposed in them; none, however, can give so
+good a report as you have done. I selected your regiment to strengthen
+this division from the excellent order that I observed you kept along the
+line of march, and I am glad indeed that it has shown itself so worthy of
+the honour. March your regiment across to the side of the street, let the
+others pass you, and fall in at the rear of the column. I shall give the
+Mayo Fusiliers the post of honour, as a mark of my warm approbation for
+the manner in which they have turned out."
+
+Scarcely had the troops left the town when the French cavalry poured in.
+Now that it was too late, the sense of danger penetrated the brains of the
+revellers, and the mob of disbanded Spanish and British soldiers and
+camp-followers poured out from the cellars. Few of the soldiers had the
+sense even to bring up their muskets. Most of those who did so were too
+drunk to use them, and the French troopers rode through the mob, sabring
+them right and left, and trampling them under foot, and then, riding
+forward without a pause, set out in pursuit of the retiring columns. As
+they came clattering along the road the colonel ordered the last two
+companies to halt, and when the head of the squadron was within fifty
+yards of them, and the troopers were beginning to check their horses, a
+heavy volley was poured in, which sent them to the right-about as fast as
+they had come, and emptied a score of saddles. Then the two companies
+formed fours again, and went on at the double until they reached the rear
+of the column.
+
+All day the French cavalry menaced the retreat, until Lord Paget came back
+with a regiment of hussars and drove them back in confusion, pursuing them
+a couple of miles, with the view of discovering whether they were followed
+by infantry. Such, however, was not the case, and the column was not
+further molested until they reached Cacabolos, where they were halted. The
+rest of the army had moved on, the troops committing excesses similar to
+those that had taken place at Bembibre, and plundering the shops and
+houses.
+
+The division marched over a deep stream crossed by a stone bridge, and
+took up their ground on a lofty ridge, the ascent being broken by
+vineyards and stone walls. Four hundred men of the rifles and as many
+cavalry were posted on a hill two miles beyond the river to watch the
+roads. They had scarcely taken their post when the enemy were seen
+approaching, preceded by six or eight squadrons of cavalry. The rifles
+were at once withdrawn, and the cavalry, believing that the whole French
+army was advancing, presently followed them, and, riding fast, came up to
+the infantry just as they were crossing the bridge.
+
+Before all the infantry were over the French cavalry came down at a
+furious gallop, and for a time all was confusion. Then the rifles,
+throwing themselves among the vineyards and behind the walls, opened a
+heavy fire. The French general in command of the cavalry was killed, with
+a number of his troops, and the rest of the cavalry fell back. A regiment
+of light infantry had followed them across the bridge, and two companies
+of the 52d and as many of the Mayo regiment went down the hill and
+reinforced the rifles. A sharp fight ensued until the main body of the
+French infantry approached the bridge. A battery of artillery opened upon
+them, and seeing the strength of the British division, and believing that
+the whole army was before him, Soult called back his troops. The
+voltigeurs retired across the bridge again, and the fight came to an end.
+Between two and three hundred men had been killed or wounded.
+
+As soon as night came on the British force resumed its march, leaving two
+companies of the rifles as piquets at the bridge. The French crossed again
+in the night, but after some fighting, fell back again without having been
+able to ascertain whether the main body of the defenders of the position
+were still there. Later on the rifles fell back, and at daybreak rejoined
+the main body of the rear-guard, which had reached Becerréa, eighteen
+miles away. Here General Moore received the report from the engineers he
+had sent to examine the harbours, and they reported in favour of Corunna,
+which possessed facilities for defence which were lacking at Vigo.
+Accordingly he sent off orders to the fleet, which was lying at the latter
+port, to sail at once for Corunna, and directed the various divisions of
+the army to move on that town.
+
+The rear-guard passed the day without moving, enjoying a welcome rest
+after the thirty-six miles they had covered the day before. By this march
+they had gained a long start of the enemy and had in the evening reached
+the town the division before them had quitted that morning. The scene as
+they marched along was a painful one. Every day added to the numbers of
+the stragglers. The excesses in drink exhausted the strength of the troops
+far more than did the fatigue of the marches. Their shoes were worn out;
+many of them limped along with rags tied round their feet. Even more
+painful than the sight of these dejected and worn-out men was that of the
+camp-followers. These, in addition to their terrible hardships and
+fatigue, were worn out with hunger, and almost famished. Numbers of them
+died by the roadside, others still crawled on in silent misery.
+
+Nothing could be done to aid these poor creatures. The troops themselves
+were insufficiently fed, for the evil conduct of the soldiers who first
+marched through the towns defeated all the efforts of the commissariat;
+for they had broken into the bakers' shops and so maltreated the
+inhabitants that the people fled in terror, and no bread could be obtained
+for the use of the divisions in the rear. Towards evening the next day the
+reserve approached Constantina. The French were now close upon their rear.
+A bridge over a river had to be crossed to reach the town, and as there
+was a hill within a pistol-shot of the river, from which the French
+artillery could sweep the bridge, Sir John Moore placed the riflemen and
+artillery on it. The enemy, believing that he intended to give battle,
+halted, and before their preparations could be made the troops were across
+the bridge, and were joined by the artillery, which had retired at full
+speed.
+
+The French advanced and endeavoured to take the bridge. General Paget,
+however, held the post with two regiments of cavalry, and then fell back
+to Lugo, where the whole army was now assembled. The next day Sir John
+Moore issued an order strongly condemning the conduct of the troops, and
+stating that he intended to give battle to the enemy. The news effected an
+instant transformation. The stragglers who had left their regiments and
+entered the town by twos and threes at once rejoined their corps. Fifteen
+hundred men had been lost during the retreat, of whom the number killed
+formed but a small proportion. But the army still amounted to its former
+strength, as it was here joined by two fresh battalions, who had been left
+at Lugo by General Baird on his march from the coast. The force therefore
+numbered 19,000 men; for it had been weakened by some 4,000 of the light
+troops having, early in the retreat, been directed towards other ports, in
+order to lessen as far as possible the strain on the commissariat.
+
+The position was a strong one, and when Soult at mid-day came up at the
+head of 12,000 men he saw at once that until his whole force arrived he
+could not venture to attack it. Like the British, his troops had suffered
+severely from the long marches, and many had dropped behind altogether.
+Uncertain whether he had the whole of the British before him, he sent a
+battery of artillery and some cavalry forward; when the former opened
+fire, they were immediately silenced by a reply from fifteen pieces. Then
+he made an attack upon the right, but was sharply repulsed with a loss of
+from three to four hundred men; and, convinced now that Moore was ready to
+give battle with his whole force, he drew off.
+
+The next day both armies remained in their positions. Soult had been
+joined by Laborde's division, and had 17,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and
+50 guns; the English had 16,000 infantry, 1,800 cavalry, and 40 guns. The
+French made no movement to attack, and the British troops were furious at
+the delay. Soult, however, was waiting until Ney, who was advancing by
+another road, should threaten the British flank or cut the line of
+retreat. Moore, finding that Soult would not fight alone, and knowing that
+Ney was approaching, gave the order for the army to leave its position
+after nightfall and march for Corunna. He exhorted them to keep good
+order, and to make the effort which would be the last demanded from them.
+It was indeed impossible for him to remain at Lugo, even if Ney had not
+been close at hand, for there was not another day's supply of bread in the
+town.
+
+He took every precaution for securing that no errors should take place as
+to the route to be followed in the dark, for the ground behind the
+position was intersected by stone walls and a number of intricate lanes.
+To mark the right tracks, bundles of straw were placed at intervals along
+the line, and officers appointed to guide the columns. All these
+precautions, however, were brought to naught by the ill-fortune that had
+dogged the general along the whole line of retreat. A tremendous storm of
+wind and rain set in, the night was pitch dark, the bundles of straw were
+whirled away by the wind, and when the army silently left their post at
+ten o'clock at night, the task before them was a difficult one indeed. All
+the columns lost their way, and one division alone recovered the main
+road; the other two wandered about all night, buffeted by the wind,
+drenched by the rain, disheartened and weary.
+
+Some regiments entered what shelters they could find, the men soon
+scattered to plunder, stragglers fell out in hundreds, and at daybreak the
+remnants of the two divisions were still in Lugo. The moment the light
+afforded means of recovering their position, the columns resumed their
+march, the road behind them being thickly dotted by stragglers. The
+rearguard, commanded by the general himself, covered the rear, but
+fortunately the enemy did not come up until evening; but so numerous were
+the stragglers that when the French cavalry charged, they mustered in
+sufficient force to repel their attack, a proof that it was not so much
+fatigue as insubordination that caused them to lag behind. The rear-guard
+halted a few miles short of Friol and passed the night there, which
+enabled the disorganized army to rest and re-form. The loss during this
+unfortunate march was greater than that of all the former part of the
+retreat, added to all the losses in action and during the advance.
+
+The next day the army halted, as the French had not come up in sufficient
+numbers to give battle, and on the following day marched in good order
+into Corunna, where, to the bitter disappointment of the general, the
+fleet had not yet arrived. At the time, Sir John Moore was blamed by the
+ignorant for having worn out his troops by the length of the marches; but
+the accusation was altogether unfounded, as is proved by the fact that the
+rear-guard--upon whom the full brunt of the fighting had fallen, who had
+frequently been under arms all night in the snow, had always to throw out
+very strong outposts to prevent surprises, and had marched eighty miles in
+two days, had suffered far more than the other troops, owing to the fact
+that the food supply intended for all had been several times wasted and
+destroyed by the excesses of those who had preceded them--yet who, when
+they reached Corunna, had a much smaller number missing from their ranks
+than was the case with the three other divisions.
+
+After all the exertions that had been made, and the extraordinary success
+with which the general had carried his force through a host of enemies,
+all his calculations were baffled by the contrary winds that delayed the
+arrival of the fleet, and it remained but to surrender or fight a battle,
+which, if won, might yet enable the army to embark. Sir John did not even
+for a moment contemplate the former alternative. The troops on arriving
+were at once quartered in the town. The inhabitants here, who had so
+sullenly held aloof from Baird's force on its arrival, and had refused to
+give him the slightest aid, now evinced a spirit of patriotism seldom
+exhibited by the Spaniards, save in their defence of Saragossa, and on a
+few other occasions.
+
+Although aware that the army intended, if possible, to embark, and that
+the French on entering might punish them for any aid given to it, they
+cheerfully aided the troops in removing the cannon from the sea-face and
+in strengthening the defences on the land side. Provisions in ample
+quantity were forthcoming, and in twenty-four hours the army, knowing that
+at last they were to engage the foe who had for the last fortnight hunted
+them so perseveringly, recovered its confidence and discipline. This was
+aided by the fact that Corunna had large magazines of arms and ammunition,
+which had been sent out fifteen months before, from England, and were
+still lying there, although Spain was clamouring for arms for its newly
+raised levies.
+
+To the soldiers this supply was invaluable. Their muskets were so rusted
+with the almost constant downfall of rain and snow of the past month as to
+be almost unserviceable, and these were at once exchanged for new arms.
+The cartridge-boxes were re-filled with fresh ammunition, an abundant
+store served out for the guns, and, after all this, two magazines
+containing four thousand barrels of powder remained. These had been
+erected on a hill, three miles from the town, and were blown up so that
+they should not fall into the hands of the enemy. The explosion was a
+terrible one, and was felt for many miles round. The water in the harbour
+was so agitated that the shipping rolled as if in a storm, and many
+persons who had gone out to witness the explosion were killed by falling
+fragments.
+
+The ground on which the battle was to take place was unfit for the
+operations of cavalry. The greater portion of the horses were hopelessly
+foundered, partly from the effects of fatigue, partly from want of shoes;
+for although a supply of these had been issued on starting, no hammers or
+nails had been sent, and the shoes were therefore useless. It would in any
+case have been impossible to ship all these animals, and accordingly, as a
+measure of mercy, the greater portion of them were shot. Three days were
+permitted Moore to make his arrangements, for it took that time for Soult
+to bring up his weary troops and place them in a position to give battle.
+Their position was a lofty ridge which commanded that upon which Sir John
+Moore now placed his troops, covering the town. On the right of the French
+ridge there was another eminence upon which Soult had placed eleven heavy
+guns.
+
+On the evening of the 14th there was an exchange of artillery fire, but it
+led to nothing. That afternoon the sails of the long-expected fleet were
+made out, and just at nightfall it entered the harbour. The dismounted
+cavalry, the sick, the remaining horses, and fifty guns were embarked,
+nine guns only being kept on shore for action. On the 15th Soult occupied
+himself in completing his preparations. Getting his great guns on to the
+rocks on his left, he attacked and drove from an advanced position some
+companies of the 5th Regiment, and posted his mass of cavalry so as to
+threaten the British right, and even menace its retreat to the town from
+the position it held. Had the battle been delayed another day, Sir John
+Moore had made every preparation for embarking the rest of his troops
+rather than await a battle in which even victory would be worthless, for
+Ney's corps would soon be up. The French, however, did not afford him an
+opportunity of thus retiring.
+
+Terence O'Connor speedily paid a visit to his regiment at Corunna, for he
+had, of course, accompanied Fane's brigade during the retreat. He was
+delighted to find that there had been only a few trifling casualties among
+the officers, and that the regiment itself, although it had lost some men
+in the fighting that had taken place, had not left a single straggler
+behind, a circumstance that was mentioned with the warmest commendation by
+General Paget in his report of the doings of the rear-guard.
+
+"I was awfully afraid that it would have been quite the other way,"
+Terence said. "I know how all the three other divisions suffered, though
+they were never pressed by the enemy, and had not a shadow of excuse for
+their conduct."
+
+"You did not know us, me boy," O'Grady said. "I tell ye, the men were
+splendid. I expect if we had been with the others we should have behaved
+just as badly; but being chosen for the rear-guard put our boys all on
+their mettle, and every man felt that the honour of the regiment depended
+on his good conduct. Then, too, we were lucky in lighting on a big store
+of tobacco, and tobacco is as good as food and drink. The men gave a lot
+away to the other regiments, and yet had enough to last them until we got
+here."
+
+"Then they were not above doing a little plundering," Terence laughed.
+
+"Plunder is it!" O'Grady repeated, indignantly. "It was a righteous
+action, for the factory belonged to the Central Junta of the Province, and
+it was just stripping the French of their booty to carry it away. Faith,
+it was the most meritorious action of the campaign."
+
+"Have you got a good cigar left, O'Grady?"
+
+"Oh, you have taken to smoking, have you?"
+
+"I was obliged to, to keep my nose warm. On the march, Fane and the major
+and Errington all smoked, and they looked so comfortable and contented
+that I felt it was my duty to keep them company."
+
+"I have just two left, Terence, so we will smoke them together, and I have
+got a bottle of dacent spirits. Think of that, me boy; thirty-two days
+without spirits! They will never believe me when I go home and tell 'em I
+went without it for thirty-two mortal days."
+
+"Well, you have had wine, O'Grady."
+
+"It's poor stuff by the side of the cratur, still I am not saying that it
+wasn't a help. But it was cold comfort, Terence, a mighty cold comfort."
+
+"You are looking well on it, anyhow. And how is the wound?"
+
+"Och, I have nigh forgot I ever had one, save when it comes to ateing. Tim
+has to cut my food up for me, and I never sit down to a male without
+wishing bad cess to the French. When we get back I will have a patent
+machine for holding a fork fixed on somehow. It goes against me grain to
+have me food cut up as if I was a baby; if it wasn't for that I should not
+miss my hand one way or the other. In fact, on the march it has been a
+comfort that I have only had five fingers to freeze, instead of ten. There
+is a compensation in all things. So we are going to fight them at last?
+There is no chance of the fleet coming to take us off before that, I
+hope?" he asked, anxiously, "for we should all break our hearts if we were
+obliged to go without a fight."
+
+"I don't think there is any chance of that, O'Grady, though I should be
+very glad if there were. I am not afraid of the fighting, but we certainly
+sha'n't win without heavy loss, and every life will be thrown away, seeing
+that we shall, after all, have to embark when the battle is over. Ney,
+with 50,000 men, is only two or three marches away.
+
+"Well, Dicky, how do you do?" he asked, as Ryan came up.
+
+"I am well enough, Mr. Staff Officer. I needn't ask after yourself, for
+you have been riding comfortably about, while we have been marched right
+off our legs. Forty miles a day, Terence, and over such roads as they have
+in this country; it is just cruelty to animals."
+
+"I would rather have been with you, Dicky, than see to the horrible
+confusion that has been going on. Why, as soon as the day's march was over
+we had to set to work to go about trying to keep order. A dozen times I
+have been nearly shot by drunken rascals whom I was trying to get to
+return to their corps. Worse still, it was heartrending to see the misery
+of the starving women and camp-followers. I would rather have been on
+outpost duty, with Soult's cavalry hovering round, ready to charge at any
+moment."
+
+"It is all very well to say that, Terence!" O'Grady exclaimed. "But wait
+until you try it a bit, my boy. I had five nights of it, and that widout a
+drop of whisky to cheer me. It was enough to have made Samson weep, let
+alone a man with only one hand, and a sword to hold in it, and a bad could
+in his head. It was enough to take the heart out of any man entoirely, and
+if it hadn't been for the credit of the regiment, I could often have sat
+down on a stone and blubbered. It is mighty hard for a man to keep up his
+spirits when he feels the mortal heat in him oozing out all over, and his
+fingers so cold that it is only by looking that one knows one has got a
+sword in them, and you don't know whether you are standing on your feet or
+on your knee-bones, and feel as if your legs don't belong to you, but are
+the property of some poor chap who has been kilt twenty-four hours before.
+Och, it was a terrible time! and a captain's pay is too small for it, if
+it was not for the divarsion of a scrimmage now and then!"
+
+"How about an ensign's pay?" Ryan laughed. "I think that on such work as
+we have had, O'Grady, the pay of all the officers, from the colonel down,
+ought to be put together and equally divided."
+
+"I cannot say whether I should approve the plan, Ryan, until I have made
+an intricate calculation, which, now I am comfortable at last, would be a
+sin and a shame to ask me brain to go through; but as my present idea is
+that I should be a loser, I may say that your scheme is a bad one, and not
+to say grossly disrespectful to the colonel, to put his value down as only
+equal to that of a slip of a lad like yourself. Boys nowadays have no
+respect for their supeyrior officers. There is Terence, who is not sixteen
+yet--"
+
+"Sixteen three months back, O'Grady," Terence put in.
+
+"Yes, I remember now, but a week or two one way or the other makes no
+difference. Here is Terence, just sixteen, who ought to be at school
+trying to get a little learning into his head, laying down the law to his
+supeyrior officers, just because he has had the luck to get onto the
+brigadier's staff. I think sometimes that the world is coming to an end."
+
+"At any rate, O'Grady," Terence laughed, "I am half a head taller than you
+are, and could walk you off your legs any day."
+
+"There! And he says this to a man who has gone through all the fatigues of
+the rear-guard, while he has been riding about the country like a
+gentleman at aise."
+
+"Well, I cannot stop any longer," Terence said. "I am on my way up to see
+how they are getting on with the earthworks, and the general may want me
+at any moment."
+
+"I would not trouble about that," O'Grady said, sarcastically; "perhaps he
+might make a shift to do widout you, widout detriment to the service."
+
+Terence made no reply, but, mounting, rode off up the hill behind the
+town. At two o'clock on the 16th a general movement of the French line was
+observed, and the British infantry, 14,500 strong, drew up in order of
+battle along the position marked for them. The British were fighting under
+a serious disadvantage, for not only had Soult over 20,000 infantry, with
+very powerful artillery and great strength in cavalry, but owing to their
+position on the crest running somewhat obliquely to the higher one
+occupied by the French, the heavy battery on the rocks to their right
+raked the whole line of battle. Hope's division was on the British left,
+Baird's on the right. Fraser's division was on another ridge some distance
+from the others, and immediately covering the town of Corunna; and Paget,
+with his division to which the Mayo regiment was still attached, was
+posted at the village of Airis, on the height between Hope's division and
+the harbour, and looking down the valley between the main position and the
+ridge held by Fraser.
+
+From here he could either reinforce Hope and Baird, or advance down the
+valley to repel any attack of the French cavalry, and cover the retreat of
+the main body if forced to fall back. The battle commenced by the French
+opening fire with their field-guns, which were distributed along the front
+of their position, and by the heavy battery on their left, while their
+infantry descended the mountain in three heavy columns, covered by clouds
+of skirmishers. The British piquets were at once driven in, and the
+village of Elvina, held by a portion of the 50th, carried. The French
+column on this side then divided into two portions; one endeavoured to
+turn Baird's right and enter the valley behind the British position, while
+the other climbed the hill to attack him in front. The second column moved
+against the British centre, and the third attacked Hope's left, which
+rested on the village of Palavia Abaxo.
+
+The nine English guns were altogether overmatched by those of Soult's
+heavy battery. Moore, seeing that the half-column advancing by Baird's
+flank made no movement to penetrate beyond his right, directed him to
+throw back one regiment and take the French in flank. Paget was ordered to
+advance up the valley, to drive back the French column, and menace the
+French battery, uniting himself with a battalion previously posted on a
+hill to keep the threatening masses of French cavalry in check. He also
+sent word to Fraser to advance at once and support Paget. Baird launched
+the 50th and 42d Regiments to meet the enemy issuing from Elvina. The
+ground round the village was broken by stone walls and hollow roads, but
+the French were forced back, and the 50th, entering the village with the
+fleeing enemy, drove them, after a struggle, beyond the houses.
+
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Battle of Corunna.]
+
+
+The 42d, misunderstanding orders, retired towards the hill, and the
+French, being reinforced, again attacked Elvina, which the 50th held
+stubbornly until again joined by the 42d, which had been sent forward by
+Moore himself. Paget was now engaged in the valley, the advance of the
+enemy was arrested, and they suffered very heavily from the fire of the
+regiments on the height above their flank, while Paget steadily gained
+ground. The centre and left were now hotly engaged, but held their ground
+against all the attacks of the enemy, and on the extreme left advanced and
+drove the French out of the village of Palavia Abaxo, which they had
+occupied. Elvina was now firmly held, while Paget carried all before him
+on the right, and, with Fraser's division behind him, menaced the great
+French battery.
+
+Had this been carried, the two divisions could have swept along the French
+position, crumpling up the forces as they went, and driving them down
+towards the river Moro, in which case they would have been lost. Owing,
+however, to the battle having been begun at so late an hour, darkness now
+fell. The general himself, while watching the contest at Elvina, had been
+struck by a cannon-ball and mortally wounded. General Baird had also been
+struck down. This loss of commanders combined with the darkness to arrest
+the progress of the victorious troops, and permitted the French, who were
+already falling back in great confusion, to recover themselves and
+maintain their position.
+
+The object for which the battle had been fought was gained. Night, which
+had saved the French from total defeat, afforded the British the
+opportunity of extricating themselves from their position, and General
+Hope, who now assumed the command, ordered the troops to abandon their
+positions and to march down to the port, leaving strong piquets with fires
+burning to deceive the enemy. All the arrangements for embarkation had
+been carefully arranged by Sir John Moore, and without the least hitch or
+confusion the troops marched down to the port, and before morning were all
+on board with the exception of a rear-guard, under General Beresford,
+which occupied the citadel.
+
+At daybreak the piquets were withdrawn and also embarked, and a force
+under General Hill, that had been stationed on the ramparts to cover the
+movement, then marched down to the citadel, and there took boats for the
+ships. By this time, however, the French, having discovered that the
+British position was abandoned, had planted a battery on the heights of
+San Lucia and opened fire on the shipping. This caused much confusion
+among the transports. Several of the masters cut their cables, and four
+vessels ran ashore. The troops, however, were taken on board of other
+transports by the boats of the men-of-war. The stranded ships were fired,
+and the fleet got safely out of harbour.
+
+The noble commander, by whose energy, resolution, and talent this
+wonderful march had been achieved, lived only long enough to know that his
+soldiers were victorious, and was buried the same night on the ramparts.
+His memory was for a time assailed with floods of abuse by that portion of
+the press and public that had all along vilified the action of the British
+general, had swallowed eagerly every lie promulgated by the Junta of
+Oporto, and by the whole of the Spanish authorities; but in time his
+extraordinary merits came to be recognized to their full value, and his
+name will long live as one of the noblest men and best generals Great
+Britain has ever produced.
+
+Beresford held the citadel until the 18th, and then embarked with his
+troops and all the wounded; the people of Corunna, remaining true to their
+promises, manned the ramparts of the town until the last British soldier
+was on board.
+
+The British loss in the battle was estimated at 800 men; that of the
+French was put down at 3,000. Their greater loss was due to the fact that
+they assumed the offensive, and were much more exposed than the defenders;
+that the nine little guns of the latter were enabled to sweep them with
+grape, while the British were so far away from the French batteries that
+the latter were obliged to fire round shot; and lastly that the new
+muskets and fresh ammunition gave a great advantage to the British over
+the rusty muskets and often damaged powder of the French. Paget's division
+had suffered but slightly, the main loss of the English having occurred in
+and around Elvina, and from the shot of the heavy battery that swept the
+crest held by them. Two officers killed and four wounded were the only
+casualties in that division, while but thirty of the rank and file were
+put out of action.
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+AN ESCAPE
+
+While the battle was at its height Terence was despatched by the brigadier
+to carry an order to one of the regiments that had pushed too far forward
+in its ardour. Scrambling over rough ground, and occasionally leaping a
+wall, he reached the colonel. "The general requests you to fall back a
+little, sir; you are farther forward than the regiment on your flank. The
+enemy are pushing a force down the hill in your direction, and as there is
+no support that can be sent to you at present, he wishes your extreme
+right to be in touch with the left of the regiment holding Elvina."
+
+"Very good. Tell General Fane that I will carry out his instructions.
+Where is he now?"
+
+"He is in the village, sir." Terence turned his horse to ride back. The
+din of battle was almost bewildering. A desperate conflict was going on in
+front of the village, where every wall was obstinately contested, the
+regiment being hotly engaged with a French force that was rapidly
+increasing in strength. The great French battery was sending its missiles
+far overhead against the British position on the hill, the British guns
+were playing on the French troops beyond the village, and the French light
+field-pieces were pouring their fire into Elvina. Terence made his way
+across the broken ground near the village. Galloping at a low stone wall,
+the horse was in the act of rising to clear it when it was struck in the
+head by a round shot. Terence was thrown far ahead over the wall, and fell
+heavily head-foremost on a pile of stones covered by some low shrubs.
+
+The shock was a terrible one, and for many hours he lay insensible. When
+he recovered consciousness, he remained for some time wondering vaguely
+where he was. Above him was a canopy of foliage, through which the rays of
+the sun were streaming. A dead silence had succeeded the roar of battle.
+He put his hand to his head, which was aching intolerably, and found that
+his hair was thick with clotted blood.
+
+"Yes, of course," he said to himself at last; "I was carrying a message to
+Fane. I was just going to jump a wall and there was a sudden crash. I
+remember--I flew out of the saddle--that is all I do remember. I have been
+stunned, I suppose. How is it so quiet? I suppose the battle is over."
+
+Then he sat suddenly upright.
+
+"The sun is shining," he said. "It was getting dusk when I was riding back
+to the village. I must have lain here all night."
+
+Suddenly he heard a gun fired; it was quickly followed by others. He rose
+on his knees and looked cautiously over the bushes.
+
+"It is away there," he said, "on those heights above the harbour. The army
+must have embarked, and the French are firing at the ships."
+
+
+[Illustration: "POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM
+AT TORRES VEDRAS."]
+
+
+His conjecture was speedily verified, for, looking along the crest which
+the British had held during the fight, he saw a large body of French
+troops just reaching the top of the rise. He stood up now and looked
+round. No one could be seen moving in the orchards and vineyards round. He
+peered over the wall; his horse lay there in a huddled-up heap.
+
+"A round shot in the head!" he exclaimed; "that accounts for it. Poor old
+Jack! he has carried me well ever since I got him at Torres Vedras."
+
+He climbed down and got what he was in search of--a large flask full of
+brandy-and-water, which he carried in one of the holsters. He took a long
+drink, and felt better at once.
+
+"I may as well take the pistols," he said, and, putting them into his
+belt, climbed over the wall again, and lay down among the bushes.
+
+He was now able to think clearly. Should he get up and surrender himself
+as a prisoner to the first body of French troops that he came across? or
+should he lie where he was until nightfall, and then try to get away? If
+he surrendered, there was before him a march of seven or eight hundred
+miles to a French prison; if he tried to get away, no doubt there were
+many hardships and dangers, but at least a possibility of rejoining sooner
+or later. At any rate, he would be no worse off than the many hundreds who
+had straggled during the march, for it was probable that the great
+majority of these were spread over the country, as the French, pressing
+forward in pursuit, would not have troubled themselves to hunt down
+fugitives, who, if caught, would only be an encumbrance to them.
+
+He was better off than they were, for at any rate he could make himself
+understood, which was more than the majority of the soldiers could do; and
+at least he would not provoke the animosity of the peasants by the rough
+measures they would be likely to take to satisfy their wants. The worst of
+it was that he had no money. Then suddenly he sat up again and looked at
+his feet.
+
+"This is luck!" he exclaimed; "I had never given the thing a thought
+before."
+
+On his arrival at Corunna he had thrown away the riding-boots he had
+bought at Salamanca. The constant rains had so shrunk them that he could
+no longer wear them without pain, and he had taken again to the boots that
+he carried in his valise.
+
+From the time when, at his father's suggestion, he had had extra soles
+placed on them, above which were hidden fifteen guineas, the fact of the
+money being there had never once occurred to him. He had had sufficient
+cash about him to pay for purchases at Salamanca and on the road, and,
+indeed, had five guineas still in his pocket, though he had drawn no pay
+from the time of leaving Torres Vedras.
+
+This discovery decided him. With twenty guineas he could pay his way for
+months, and he determined to make the attempt to escape.
+
+The firing continued for some time and then ceased.
+
+"The fleet must have got out," he said to himself. "It is certain that the
+French have not taken Corunna. We were getting the best of it up to the
+time I was hurt, and it would be dark in another half-hour, and there
+could be no fighting on such ground as this, after that. Besides, Corunna
+is a strong fortress, and we could have held out there for weeks, for
+Soult can have no battering train with him; besides, everything was ready
+for embarkation, and I know that it was intended, whether we won or lost,
+that the troops should go on board in the night."
+
+As he lay there he could occasionally hear the sound of drums and trumpets
+as the troops marched from their positions of the night before, to take up
+others nearer to the town. At times he heard voices, and knew that they
+were searching for wounded over the ground that had been so desperately
+contested; but the spot where he was lying lay between the village and the
+ground where the regiment he had gone to order back had been engaged with
+the enemy, and as no fighting had taken place there, it was unlikely that
+the search-parties would go over it. This, indeed, proved to be the case,
+and after a time he fell off to sleep, and did not wake until night was
+closing in. He was hungry now, and again crossing the wall he took half a
+chicken and a piece of bread that his servant had thrust into his wallet
+just before starting, and made a hearty meal. He unbuckled his sword and
+left it behind him; he had his pistols, and a sword would be only an
+encumbrance.
+
+As soon as it became quite dark he made his way cautiously down the
+valley, passed the spot where the French column had suffered so heavily,
+and then, turning to the left, traversed the narrow plain that divided the
+position on which the French heavy battery had been placed and the plateau
+on which their cavalry had been massed. Numerous fires blazed in the wide
+valley behind, where the reserve had been stationed on the previous
+morning, and he doubted not that the French cavalry were there, especially
+as he found no signs of life on the plateau above. Coming presently on a
+small stream he bathed his head for a considerable time, and then
+proceeded on his way, feeling much brighter and fresher than he had done
+before.
+
+The ground began to ascend more steeply, and after an hour's walking he
+stood on the crest of the hill and looked down on the position that the
+French had held, and beyond it on Corunna and the sea. The cold was
+extreme. He had brought with him his greatcoat and blanket, and, wrapping
+himself in these, lay down in a sheltered position and slept again till
+morning broke. His head was now better, and he was able to think more
+clearly than he could the day before. The first thing was to decide as to
+his course. It would be dangerous to make direct for the frontier of
+Portugal. Now that the British army had embarked, Soult would be free to
+undertake operations in that country, and would doubtless shortly put his
+troops in motion in that direction, and his cavalry would be scattering
+all over the province collecting provisions. Moreover, there would be the
+terrible range of the Tras-os-Montes to pass, and no certainty whatever of
+being well received by the Portuguese peasants north of Oporto.
+
+His constant study of the staff maps was now of great assistance to him.
+He determined to turn west until he reached the river Minho some distance
+below Lugo, which he could do by skirting the top of the hills. He would
+therefore strike it somewhere about the point where the river Sil joined
+it, and, following this, would find himself at the foot of the Cantabrian
+Hills, dividing the Asturias from Leon. Then he could be guided by
+circumstances, and could either cross these mountains and make for a
+seaport, or could journey down through Leon to Ciudad-Rodrigo, which was
+still held by a Spanish garrison, and from there make his way through
+Portugal to Lisbon.
+
+He questioned whether it would be wise for him to attempt to get the dress
+of a Spanish peasant instead of his uniform, but he finally decided that
+until he was beyond any risk of being captured by parties from either
+Soult or Ney's armies, it would be better to continue in uniform. If taken
+in that dress it would be seen that he was a straggler from Moore's army,
+and he would be simply treated as a prisoner of war; while, if taken in
+the dress of a peasant, he would be liable to be treated as a spy and
+shot. Having made up his mind, he started at once, and in three hours was
+at the foot of the hills on the other side of which ran the road from Lugo
+to Corunna, which proved so disastrous to the army. He presently arrived
+at a small hamlet, and the children in the streets ran shrieking away as
+they saw him. Women appeared at the doors and looked out anxiously; they
+had not before seen a British uniform, and at once supposed that he was
+French. Seeing that he was alone, several men armed with clubs and picks
+came out.
+
+"I am an English officer," he said, "and I desire food and shelter for a
+few hours. I have money to pay for it."
+
+The peasants at once came round him. Confused accounts had reached them of
+the doings on the other side of the hills. They knew that an English army
+had marched from Lugo to Corunna, hotly pursued by the French, but they
+had heard nothing of what had happened afterwards. They eagerly asked for
+news. Terence told them that there had been a great battle outside
+Corunna, that the French had been repulsed with much loss, and that the
+English had embarked on board ships to take them round to Lisbon, there to
+march east to meet the French again.
+
+Nothing could be kinder than the treatment he received. They told him that
+Ney's army was between the Sil and Lugo, but that no French troops had
+crossed the Minho as yet.
+
+They were eager to know why the English, if they had beaten the French,
+sailed away. But when he said that Soult would have been joined by Ney in
+a couple of days, and would then be well-nigh double the strength of the
+British, who would be so hotly pressed that they would be unable to
+embark, the peasants saw that what they considered their desertion could
+not have been avoided. The news of the terrible defeats that had, a month
+before, been inflicted upon their armies had not reached them, and Terence
+did not think it necessary to enlighten them. He told them that the march
+north of the English had been intended to bring all the French forces in
+that direction, and so to enable the Spanish armies to operate
+successfully, and that not only Soult and Ney, but Napoleon himself, had
+been drawn off from the south in pursuit of them.
+
+They were filled with satisfaction, and he was at once taken into one of
+the cottages. A good meal was shortly placed before him, his head was
+carefully bandaged, and he was then asked how it was that he had not
+embarked with the rest of the army. He related how he had been left
+behind, and then asked them their opinion as to his best course, telling
+them the plan he himself had formed. They agreed at once that this was the
+wisest one, but that it would be dangerous to try it until Ney's force had
+moved from its present position. They knew that he had a division at
+Orense on the Minho, and that parties of his cavalry had scoured the plain
+as far as the river Ulla, and urged upon him to remain with them until
+some news was obtained of the movements of the French army.
+
+He gladly accepted the invitation, and for a couple of days remained at
+the little hamlet. One of the peasants came in at the end of that time,
+saying that the French in Corunna had crossed the mountains and had
+arrived at Santiago, twenty miles distant, and that their cavalry were
+scouring the country. They also brought news that Romana was at Toabado,
+and that he had but two or three thousand men with him, the rest having
+been routed and cut up by the French cavalry. Terence at once determined
+to join him.
+
+The fact that he still had some troops with him had no influence in
+causing him to form this resolution. Romana had been so often defeated
+that he knew that his men would, after their recent misfortunes, scatter
+at once before even the weakest French detachment. But Romana himself knew
+the country well, was a man of great resource and activity, and was likely
+to evade all efforts to capture him. He thought then that by joining him
+and sharing his fortunes he was more likely to have some opportunity of
+making his way to Lisbon than he would have if left to his own resources,
+especially as he had no doubt that Soult would at once prepare to invade
+Portugal by occupying all the passes, and thus render it next to
+impossible to journey thither alone and on foot. One of the peasants
+offered to guide him across the hills to Toabado. They started at once,
+and at daybreak next morning reached the village.
+
+As Romana had been several times in personal communication with Sir John
+Moore, Terence was acquainted with his appearance, and seeing him standing
+at the door of the principal house of the village, went up to him and
+saluted him. The latter looked upon him with great surprise.
+
+"How have you managed to pass through the French?" he asked.
+
+"I have seen none of them, Marquis. I was wounded in the battle of
+Corunna, and after lying insensible all that night, found, when I
+recovered in the morning, that the French had advanced and that I was in
+their rear. I heard their guns from the heights above the town, and knew
+that our army had gained their transports. I lay concealed all day and
+then crossed the mountains, and have been resting for two days at a
+village on the other side of the hills. The news came that you were here,
+and I decided to join you at once. I was on the staff of General Fane,
+and, knowing the duties of an aide-de-camp, thought I might make myself
+useful to you until there was an opportunity of my rejoining a British
+force."
+
+"You are welcome, sir," Romana said, courteously. "It was only this
+morning that we learned from a prisoner that my men took that you had
+driven back Soult before Corunna and had embarked safely. I was in great
+fear that your army would have been captured. I see that you have been
+wounded on the head."
+
+"It can scarcely be called a wound, Marquis. I was carrying a message on
+the battle-field; when I was taking a wall my horse was struck with a
+round shot. I was thrown over his head onto a heap of rough stones, and it
+was a marvel to me that I was not killed."
+
+"I am just going to breakfast, señor, and shall be glad if you will join
+me. I have no doubt that you will do justice to it."
+
+Romana, who had commanded the Spanish troops which had escaped from
+Holland, was the most energetic of the Spanish generals. Defeated often,
+he was speedily at the head of fresh gatherings, and ready to take the
+field again. As a partisan chief he was excellent, but possessed no
+military talent, and was, like the Spaniards generally, full of grand but
+utterly impracticable schemes, and in spite of his experience to the
+contrary, confident that the Spaniards would overthrow the French.
+
+"I have been unfortunate," he said, in reply to the inquiry as to how many
+troops he had with him. "At your English general's request I took a
+different course with my army to that which he was pursuing, in order that
+his magazines should be untouched. I crossed his line of retreat, but
+unfortunately Franceschi's cavalry come down upon us, cut up my artillery
+and infantry, and scattered my force entirely. However, some three
+thousand have rejoined, and I expect in a short time to be at the head of
+20,000. I ought to have more, but these Galician peasants are stubborn
+fellows. They know nothing of the affairs of Spain, and although they will
+fight in defence of their own villages, they have no interest in anything
+beyond, and hang back from joining an army that might operate outside
+their province. You see, until now it has been untouched by war. They have
+suffered in no way from French extortions and outrages. As soon as they
+feel the smart themselves, I doubt not they will be as full of hatred of
+the invaders as people are elsewhere, and as ready to take up arms against
+them."
+
+Romana's troops were but a motley gathering. The force that he had brought
+with him from Holland had been landed at Santander, marched to Bilbao, and
+joined Blake's army, and had shared in the crushing defeat suffered by
+that general at Espinosa, where most of them were taken prisoners. They
+were again incorporated in the French army, and afterwards took part in
+the Russian campaign, and in the retreat no less than four thousand of
+them were taken prisoners by the Russians and handed over by them to
+British transports sent to Cronstadt to fetch them. Romana himself had
+escaped from the battle-field, and afterward raised a fresh force. This
+had dwindled away from 15,000 to 5,000 when he joined Moore on his
+advance, and now amounted to barely 2,000, of whom the greater portion had
+thrown away their arms in their flight.
+
+On the following day Romana, with a small body of cavalry, left Toabado,
+crossed the Minho, descended into the valley of the Tamega, and took
+refuge close to the Portuguese frontier line. Here he was, for a time,
+safe from the pursuit of the French, the insignificance of his force being
+his best protection. Soult lost no time. As soon as the English army had
+left, Corunna opened its gates to him, as did Ferrol, although neither of
+these towns could have been taken without a siege, and Soult must have
+been delayed until a battering-train was brought from Madrid.
+
+The magazines of British powder and stores that had been lying for months
+in Ferrol were invaluable to him.
+
+The soldiers were set to work to make fresh cartridges, and then, after
+six days' halt to give rest to his weary and footsore men, he began to
+prepare to carry out Napoleon's orders to invade Portugal. Ney, with
+20,000 men, was to maintain Galicia, and, reinforced by a fresh division,
+Soult was to march direct upon Oporto with 25,000 men, leaving 12,000 in
+hospital, and 8,000 to keep up the line of communication with Ney. It took
+some time to complete all the arrangements and to gather the force at St.
+Jago Compostella, and it was not until the first of February that he was
+able to move.
+
+On the day of his arrival on the frontier, Romana despatched Terence to
+Sir John Cradock, who now commanded the British troops in Portugal, which
+had been augmented by fresh arrivals from England until their numbers
+almost equalled that of the force with which Sir John Moore marched into
+Spain.
+
+Romana asked that arms and money should be sent to him, promising to
+harass the French advance, and cut their communications from the rear.
+Terence gladly consented to carry his despatch; he was furnished with one
+of the best horses in the troop, and at once started on his journey. It
+was a long and harassing one; many ranges of mountains and hills had to be
+crossed, by roads difficult in the extreme at the best of times, but
+almost impassable in winter. Three times he was seized by parties of
+Portuguese militia and raw levies, but was released on convincing their
+leaders that he was the bearer of a communication to the English general.
+
+The distance to be travelled was, in a direct line, over two hundred and
+thirty miles. This was greatly increased by the circuitous nature of the
+route through the mountainous country, so that it took nine days, and
+would have much exceeded this time, had Terence not found a British force
+at Coimbra, and there exchanged his worn-out animal for a fresh one,
+placed at his disposal by the officer in command.
+
+Cradock was experiencing exactly the same difficulties that Moore had
+done. The Spanish and Portuguese authorities united in pressing him to
+advance, the former urging upon him that his presence would be the signal
+for the Spanish armies in the south to unite and entirely overthrow the
+French, while the latter were desirous that he should march to
+Ciudad-Rodrigo, defeat the French at Salamanca, and so protect Portugal
+from invasion from that side.
+
+That Portugal might be attacked from the north and south simultaneously by
+Soult and Victor did not enter into their calculations, but while urging
+an advance, the Junta would take no steps whatever to enable the army to
+move; they would neither afford him facilities for collecting transport,
+nor order the roads that he would have to traverse to be put in order, and
+thwarted all his efforts to raise a strong force among the Portuguese.
+
+There was, indeed, some improvement in the latter respect. At their own
+request, Lord Beresford had been sent out from England to take the command
+of the Portuguese armies, and as he had brought many British officers with
+him, some 20,000 men had been armed and drilled, and could be reckoned
+upon to do some service, if employed with British troops to give them
+backbone. The Portuguese peasantry were strong and robust, and by nature
+courageous, and needed only the discipline--that they could not receive
+from their own officers--to turn them into valuable troops. According to
+the law of the country every man was liable for service, and had the
+corrupt Junta been dismissed, and full power been given to the British, an
+army of 250,000 men might have been placed in the field for the defence of
+the country, with a proper supply of arms and money.
+
+But so far from assisting, the Junta threw every possible impediment in
+the way. They feared that any real national effort, if successful, would
+get altogether beyond their control, and that they would lose the power
+that enabled them to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. Not
+only that, but they were engaged in a struggle for supremacy with the
+Junta of Oporto, which was striving by every means to render itself the
+supreme authority of the whole of Portugal.
+
+Terence had hoped that when he arrived at Lisbon he should meet the army
+he had left at Corunna, for Sir John Moore's instructions had been precise
+that the fleet was to go thither. These instructions, however, had been
+disobeyed, and the fleet had sailed direct for England. It had on the way
+encountered a great storm, which had scattered it in all directions.
+Several of the ships were wrecked on the coast of England, and the army
+which would have been of inestimable service at Lisbon, now served only,
+by the tattered garments and emaciated frames of the soldiers, to excite a
+burst of misplaced indignation against the memory of the general whose
+genius had saved it from destruction.
+
+On arriving at head-quarters and stating his errand, Terence was at once
+admitted to the room where Sir John Cradock was at work.
+
+"I am told, sir, that you are the bearer of a despatch from the Spanish
+general, Romana. Before I open it, will you explain how it was that you
+came to be with him?"
+
+Terence gave a brief account of the manner in which, after being left
+behind on the field of Corunna, he had succeeded in joining Romana.
+
+The general's face, which had at first been severe, softened as he
+proceeded.
+
+"That is altogether satisfactory, Mr. O'Connor," he said. "I feared that
+you might have been one of the stragglers, among whom I hear were many
+officers, as well as thousands of men belonging to Sir John Moore's army.
+We received news of his glorious fight at Corunna and the embarkation of
+his army, by a ship that arrived here but three days since from that port.
+Have you heard of the death of that noble soldier himself?"
+
+"No, sir," Terence replied, much shocked at the news. "That is a terrible
+loss, indeed. He was greatly loved by the army. He saw into every matter
+himself, was with the rearguard all through the retreat, and laboured
+night and day to maintain order and discipline, and it was assuredly no
+fault of his if he failed."
+
+"Was your own regiment in the rear-guard?"
+
+"Yes, sir. It had the honour of being specially chosen by Sir John Moore
+for its steadiness and good conduct. I was not with it, but was one of
+Brigadier-general Fane's aides-de-camp. It was while carrying a message to
+him that my horse was killed and I myself stunned by being thrown onto a
+heap of stones."
+
+Sir John Cradock nodded, and then opened Romana's despatch. He raised his
+eyebrows slightly. He had been accustomed to such appeals for arms and
+money, and knew how valueless were the promises that accompanied them.
+
+"What force has General Romana with him?"
+
+"Some two hundred cavalry and three or four thousand peasants, about a
+quarter of whom only are armed."
+
+"He says that he expects to be joined by twenty thousand men in a few
+days. Have you any means of judging whether this statement is well
+founded?"
+
+"That I cannot say. General Romana seems to me to be a man of greater
+energy than any Spaniard I have hitherto met, and I know that he has
+already sent messages to the priests throughout that part of Galicia
+urging upon them the necessity of using their influence among the
+peasantry. He got a force together in a very short time, after the
+complete defeat and capture of his own command by the French, at the time
+of Blake's defeat, and I think that he might do so again, though whether
+they would be of any use whatever in the field I cannot say; but should
+Soult advance into Portugal, I should think that bands of this sort might
+very much harass him."
+
+"No doubt they might do so. I will see, at any rate, if I can obtain some
+money from the political agents. I have next to nothing in my military
+chest, and our forces are at a standstill for the want of it. But that
+does not seem to matter. While our troops are ill-fed, ragged, almost
+shoeless, and unpaid, every Spanish or Portuguese rascal who holds out his
+hand can get it filled with gold. As to arms, they are in the first place
+wanted for the purpose of the Portuguese militia, who are likely to be a
+good deal more useful than these irregular bands; and in the second place,
+there are no means whatever of conveying even a hundred muskets, let alone
+the ten thousand that Romana is good enough to ask for. By the way, are
+you aware whether Sir John Moore intended the army to sail to England?"
+
+"Certainly not, sir. I know that up to the moment the battle began the
+preparation for the embarkation went on unceasingly, and General Fane told
+me the night before that we were to be taken here. Whether Sir John may,
+at the last moment, have countermanded that order I am unable to say."
+
+"Yes, I know that it was his intention, for I received a letter from him,
+written after his arrival at Corunna, saying that the embarkation could
+not be effected without a battle, and that if he beat Soult he should at
+once embark and bring the troops round here, as Ney's approaching force
+would render Corunna untenable. Just at present the arrival of 20,000
+tried troops would be invaluable. General Baird will, of course, have
+succeeded Sir John Moore?"
+
+"General Baird was severely wounded, sir. He had just ridden up to General
+Fane when he was struck. General Hope would therefore be in command after
+Sir John Moore was killed."
+
+"I have heard no particulars of the battle," Sir John said, "beyond that
+it has been fought and Soult has been driven back, that Sir John Moore is
+killed, and that the army has embarked safely. And do I understand you
+that it was towards the end of the battle that you were hurt?"
+
+"It was getting dusk at the time, General, but I cannot say how long
+fighting went on afterwards."
+
+"Will you please to sit down at that table and give me, as nearly as you
+can, a sketch of the position of our troops and those of the French, and
+then explain to me, as far as you may have seen or know, the movements of
+the corps and the course of events."
+
+As Terence had, the evening before the battle, seen a sketch-map on which
+General Fane had written the names and positions of the British force and
+those of the French, he was able to draw one closely approximating to it.
+In ten minutes he got up and handed the sketch to Sir John Cradock.
+
+"I am afraid it is very rough, sir," he said, "but I think that it may
+give you an idea of the position of the town and the neighbouring heights,
+and the position occupied by our troops."
+
+"Excellent, Mr. O'Connor!"
+
+"I had the advantage of seeing a sketch-map that the brigadier drew out,
+sir."
+
+"Well, benefited from it. Now point out to me the various movements. It
+seems to me that this large French battery must have galled the whole line
+terribly; but, on the other hand, it is itself very exposed."
+
+"General Fane said, sir, that he thought Soult was likely to be
+over-confident. Our army was in frightful confusion on the retreat from
+Lugo, and the number of stragglers was enormous. Although many came in
+next day, the field-state showed that over 2,000 were still absent from
+the colours. The brigadier was observing that there was one advantage in
+this, namely, that Soult would suppose that the whole army was
+disorganized, and might, therefore, take more liberties than he would
+otherwise have done; and that, at any rate, he was likely to rely upon his
+great force of cavalry on this plateau to cover the battery hill from any
+attack on its left flank. It was for that purpose that General Paget
+posted one of the regiments on this eminence on the right of the valley,
+which had the effect of completely checking the French cavalry."
+
+He then related the incidents of the battle as far as they had come under
+his notice.
+
+"A very ably fought battle," Sir John Cradock said, as he followed on the
+map Terence's account of the movements. "Soult evidently miscalculated Sir
+John's strength and the fighting powers of his troops. He hurled his whole
+force directly against the position, specially endeavouring to turn our
+right, but the force he employed there was altogether insufficient for the
+purpose. From his position I gather that he could not have known of the
+existence of Paget's reserve up the valley, but he must have seen Fraser's
+division on the hill above Coranto. I suppose he reckoned that this
+turning movement would shake the British position, throw them into
+confusion, and enable his direct attack to be successful before Fraser
+could come to their support. I am much obliged to you for your
+description, Mr. O'Connor; it is very clear and lucid. I will write a
+note, which you shall take to Mr. Villiers, and it is possible that you
+may get help from him for Romana. I shall be glad if you will dine with me
+here at six o'clock."
+
+"I am much obliged to you, General, but I have nothing but the uniform in
+which I stand, which is, as you see, almost in rags, and stained with mire
+and blood."
+
+"I think it is probable that you will have no difficulty in buying a fresh
+uniform in the city; so many officers have come out here with exaggerated
+ideas of the amount of transport, that they have had to cut down their
+wardrobes to a very large extent."
+
+He touched the bell. "Will you ask Captain Nelson to step in," he said to
+the clerk who answered. "Captain Nelson," he said, as one of his staff
+entered, "I want you to take Mr. O'Connor under your charge. He has just
+arrived from the north, and was present at the battle of Corunna. He was
+on Brigadier Fane's staff. As at present he is unattached, I shall put him
+down in orders to-morrow as an extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He will be
+leaving to-morrow for the northern frontier. I wish you to see if you
+cannot get him an undress uniform. He belongs to the infantry. I will give
+you an order on the paymaster, Mr. O'Connor, to honour your draft for any
+amount that you may need. I dare say you are in arrears of pay."
+
+"Yes, Sir John. I have drawn nothing since we marched from Torres Vedras
+in October."
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A DANGEROUS MISSION
+
+Captain Nelson at once took Terence under his charge.
+
+"You certainly look as if you wanted a new uniform," he said. "You must
+have had an awfully rough time of it. If only for the sake of policy, we
+ought to get you into a new one as soon as possible, for the very sight of
+yours would be likely to demoralize the whole division by affording a
+painful example of what they might expect on a campaign."
+
+Terence laughed. "I know I look a perfect scarecrow. Do you think that you
+can find me something? I really don't know what I should have done if I
+had not had my greatcoat, for I could never have ventured to walk through
+the street from the little inn where I put up my horse, if I could not
+have hidden myself in it."
+
+"I can, fortunately, put you in the right way without difficulty. There is
+a man here who has made a business of buying up uniforms. I believe he
+sends most of them to England, where they would certainly fetch a good
+deal more than he gave for them; but I know that he keeps a stock by him,
+for there is a constant demand. The work out in the country here does for
+a uniform in no time, and many men who, before marching for the frontier,
+parted with all their extra kit for a song, are glad enough to write to
+him for a fresh outfit at three times the price he gave them two or three
+months before."
+
+"I wonder they don't send their surplus outfit back to England direct,"
+Terence said.
+
+"Well, you see, there is the risk of the things being lost or stolen on
+the way home, or being ruined by damp before they are wanted again.
+Besides, a man thinks there is no saying whether he shall ever want them
+again, or how long the war will last, and is glad to take anything he can
+get to save himself any further bother about them."
+
+Terence was fortunate in being able to buy an undress uniform, with
+facings similar to those of his own regiment, and to lay in a stock of
+underclothes at a very much lower price than he could have purchased them
+for even at home. Before leaving the shop he put on his new uniform and
+left the old one to be thrown away.
+
+"Now," Captain Nelson said, when they left the shop, "it is just our lunch
+time. You must come with me and tell us all about your wonderful march and
+the fight at the end of it."
+
+"I was going down to see about my horse."
+
+"Oh, that is all right! I sent down an orderly to bring him up to our
+stables. There, this is where we mess," he said, stopping before a hotel.
+"We find it much more comfortable than having it in a room at
+head-quarters. Besides, one gets away from duty here. Of course, the chief
+knows where we are, and can send for us if we are wanted; but one gets off
+being set to do a lot of office work in the evening, and we find ourselves
+much more free and comfortable when we haven't got two or three of the
+big-wigs of the staff. So they have a little mess of their own there, and
+we have a room kept for ourselves here."
+
+There were more than a dozen officers assembled when the two entered the
+room, where a meal was laid; for Captain Nelson had looked into the hotel
+for a moment on their way to the tailor's, to tell his companions who
+Terence was, and to say that he should bring him in to lunch. They had
+told some of their acquaintances. Terence was introduced all round, and as
+soon as the first course was taken off the table he was asked many
+questions as to the march and battle; and by the time when, an hour later,
+the party broke up, they had learned the leading incidents of the
+campaign.
+
+"You may guess how anxious we were here," one of them said, "when Moore's
+last despatch from Salamanca arrived, saying that he intended to advance,
+and stating his reasons. Then there was a long silence; all sorts of
+rumours reached us. Some said that, aided by a great Spanish army, he had
+overthrown Napoleon, and had entered Madrid; others, again, stated that
+his army had been crushed, and he, with the survivors, were prisoners, and
+were on their way to the frontier--in fact, we had no certain news until
+three days ago, when we heard of the battle, his death, and the
+embarkation of the army, and its sailing for England. The last was a
+terrible blunder."
+
+"Only a temporary one, I should think," Captain Nelson said. "From Mr.
+O'Connor's account of the state of the army, I should think that it is
+just as well that they should have gone home to obtain an entirely new
+rig-out; there would be no means of fitting them out here. A fortnight
+ought to be enough to set them up in all respects, and as we certainly
+shall not be able to march for another month--"
+
+"For another three months, you mean, Nelson."
+
+"Well, perhaps for another three months, the delay will not matter
+materially."
+
+"It won't matter at all, if the French oblige us by keeping perfectly
+quiet, but if Soult menaces Portugal with invasion from the north, Lapisse
+from the centre, and Victor from the south, we may have to defend
+ourselves here in Lisbon before six weeks are out."
+
+"Personally, I should not be sorry," another said, "if Soult does invade
+the north and captures Oporto, hangs the bishop, and all the Junta. It
+would be worth ten thousand men to us, for they are continually at
+mischief. They do nothing themselves, and thwart all our efforts. They are
+worse than the Junta here--if that is possible--and they have excited the
+peasants so much against us that they desert in thousands as fast as they
+are collected, while the population here hate us, I believe, quite as much
+as they hate the French. But why they should do so Heaven knows, when we
+have spent more money in Portugal than the whole country contained before
+we came here."
+
+After the party had broken up, Captain Nelson took Terence to Mr.
+Villiers, who, on reading the general's letter and hearing from Terence
+how Romana was situated, at once said that he would hand over to him
+20,000 dollars to take to the Spanish general.
+
+"How am I to carry it, sir? It will be of considerable weight, if it is in
+silver."
+
+"I will obtain for you four good mules," Mr. Villiers said, "and an escort
+of twelve Portuguese cavalry under an officer."
+
+"May I ask, sir, that the money shall be packed in ammunition-boxes, and
+that no one except the officer shall know that these contain anything but
+ammunition?"
+
+"You have no great faith in Portuguese honesty, Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"As to their honesty as a general thing, sir, I express no opinion,"
+Terence said, bluntly; "as to the honesty of their political partisans, I
+have not a shadow of belief. Moreover, there is no love lost between them
+and the Spaniards, and though possibly money for any of the Portuguese
+leaders might be allowed to pass untouched by others--and even of this I
+have great doubt--I feel convinced that none of them would allow it to go
+out of the country for the use of the Spaniards if they could lay hold of
+it by the way."
+
+"Those being your sentiments, sir, I think that it is a pity the duty is
+not intrusted to some officer of broader views."
+
+"I doubt whether you would find one, sir; especially if he has, like
+myself, been three or four months in the country. I have simply accepted
+the duty, and not sought it, and should gladly be relieved of it. General
+Romana sent me here with a despatch, and it is my duty, unless General
+Cradock chooses another messenger, to carry back the reply, and anything
+else with which I may be intrusted. I have for the past three months been
+incessantly engaged on arduous and fatiguing duty. I have ridden for the
+last nine days by some of the worst roads to be found in any part of the
+world, I should say, and have before me the same journey. Besides, if I
+receive the general's orders to that effect, I may have to stay with the
+Spanish general, and in that case shall, I am sure, be constantly upon the
+move, and that among wild mountains. If this treasure is handed over to me
+I shall certainly do my best to take it safely and to defend it, if
+necessary, with my life; but it is assuredly a duty of which I would
+gladly be relieved. But that, sir, it seems to me, is a question solely
+for the commander-in-chief."
+
+Mr. Villiers gazed in angry surprise at the young ensign; then thinking,
+perhaps, that he would put himself in the wrong, and as his interferences
+in military matters with Sir John Cradock had not met with the success he
+desired for them, he checked the words that rose to his lips, and said,
+shortly: "The convoy will be ready to start from the treasury at daybreak
+to-morrow."
+
+"I shall be there--if so commanded by General Cradock."
+
+As soon as they had left the house Captain Nelson burst into shout of
+laughter.
+
+"What is it?" Terence asked, in surprise.
+
+"I would not have missed that for twenty pounds, O'Connor; it is the first
+bit of real amusement I have had since I landed. To see Villiers--who
+regards himself as the greatest man in the country, who not only thinks
+that he regulates every political intrigue in Spain and Portugal, but
+assumes to give the direction of every military movement also, and tries
+to dictate to the general on purely military matters--quietly cheeked by
+an ensign, is the best thing I ever saw."
+
+"But he has nothing to do with military matters, has he?"
+
+"No more than that mule-driver there, but he thinks he has; and yet, even
+in his own political line, he is the most ill-informed and gullible of
+fools, even among the mass of incompetent agents who have done their
+utmost to ruin every plan that has been formed. I doubt whether he has
+ever been correct in a single statement that he has made, and am quite
+sure that every prophecy he has ventured upon has been falsified, every
+negotiation he has entered into has failed, and every report sent home to
+government is useful only if it is assumed to be wrong in every
+particular; and yet the man is so puffed up with pride and arrogance that
+he is well-nigh insupportable. The Spaniards have fooled him to the top of
+his bent; it has paid them to do so. Through his representations the
+ministry at home have distributed millions among them. Arms enough have
+been sent to furnish nearly every able-bodied man in Spain, and harm
+rather than good has come of it. Still, he is a very great man, and our
+generals are obliged to treat him with the greatest civility, and to
+pretend to give grave consideration to the plans that, if they emanated
+from any other man, would be considered as proofs that he was only fit for
+a mad-house. And to see you looking calmly in his face and announcing your
+views of the Spanish and Portuguese was delightful." And Captain Nelson
+again burst into laughter at the recollection.
+
+Terence joined in the laugh. "I had no intention of offending him," he
+said. "Of course I have often heard how he was pressing General Moore to
+march into Spain, and promising that he should be met by immense armies
+that were eager and ready to drive the French out of that country, and
+were only waiting for his coming to set about doing so. I know that the
+brigadier and his staff used to talk about what they called Villiers'
+phantom armies, but as I only said what everyone says who has been in
+Spain, it never struck me that I was likely to give him serious offence."
+
+"And if you had thought so, I don't suppose it would have made any
+difference, O'Connor."
+
+"I don't suppose it would," Terence admitted; "and perhaps it will do him
+good to hear a straightforward opinion for once."
+
+"It will certainly do him no harm. Now, you had better tell the chief that
+you are to have the money. I should think that he will probably send a
+trooper with you as your orderly. Certainly, he has no reason to have a
+higher opinion of the Portuguese than you have."
+
+"I will go back with you, Captain Nelson; but as you were present, will
+you kindly tell the general? I don't like bothering him."
+
+"Certainly, if you wish it."
+
+On arriving at head-quarters Terence sat down in the anteroom and took up
+an English paper, as he had heard no home news for the last three months.
+Presently Captain Nelson came out from the general's room and beckoned to
+him. He followed him in. Four or five officers of rank were with the
+general, and all were looking greatly amused when he entered.
+
+"So you have succeeded in obtaining money for Romana," the general said.
+
+"Yes, sir, there was no difficulty about it. Mr. Villiers asked me a few
+questions as to the situation on the frontier, and at once said that I
+should have £5,000 to take him."
+
+"Captain Nelson tells us that you were unwise enough to express an opinion
+as to the honesty of the Portuguese escort that he proposed to send with
+you."
+
+"I said what I thought, General, and had no idea that Mr. Villiers would
+take it as an offence, as he seemed to."
+
+"Well, he has his own notions on these things, you see," he general said,
+dryly, "and they do not exactly coincide with our experience; but then Mr.
+Villiers claims to understand these people more thoroughly than we can
+do."
+
+Terence was silent for a moment. "I only went by what I have seen, you
+know," he said, after a pause, "and certainly had no intention of angering
+Mr. Villiers. But it seemed to me that, as I was responsible for taking
+this money to Romana, it was my duty to suggest a precaution that appeared
+to me necessary."
+
+"Quite right, quite right; and it is just as well, perhaps, that Mr.
+Villiers should occasionally hear the opinions of officers of the army
+frankly expressed. Certainly, I think that the precaution you suggested
+was a wise one, and if Mr. Villiers does not do so, I will see that it is
+carried out.
+
+"I have asked Captain Nelson to go with you, taking the treasure, to the
+barracks and see that the money is taken out of the cases and repacked in
+ammunition-boxes. It would be unwise in the extreme to tempt the cupidity
+of any wandering parties that you might fall in with by the sight of
+treasure-cases. Your suggestion quite justifies the opinion that I had
+formed of you from the brief narrative that you gave me of the battle of
+Corunna. For the present, gentlemen, I have appointed Mr. O'Connor as an
+extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He served in that capacity with
+Brigadier-general Fane from the time that the troops marched from here,
+which is in itself a guarantee that he must, in the opinion of that
+general, be thoroughly fit for the work.
+
+"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that, going as you will as an officer on my staff,
+it is best that you should be accompanied by a couple of troopers, and I
+have just spoken to Colonel Gibbons, who will detach two of his best men
+for that service. In addition to your being in charge of the treasure, you
+will also carry a despatch from myself to General Romana, with suggestions
+as to his co-operation in harassing the advance of the French. I will not
+detain you further now. Don't forget the dinner hour."
+
+A large party sat down to table. There were the officers Terence had seen
+there in the afternoon, and several colonels and heads of departments of
+the army, and Terence, although not shy by nature, felt a good deal
+embarrassed when, as soon as the meal was concluded, several maps were, by
+the general's orders, placed upon the table, and he was asked to give as
+full an account as he was able of the events that had happened from the
+time General Moore marched with his army from Salamanca, and so cut
+himself off from all communication.
+
+It was well that Terence had paid great attention to the conversations
+between General Fane and the officers of the brigade staff, had studied
+the maps, and had made himself, as far as he could, master of the details
+of the movements of the various divisions, and had gathered from Fane's
+remarks fair knowledge of General Moore's objects and intentions.
+Therefore, when he had overcome his first embarrassment, he was able to
+give a clear and lucid account of the campaign, and of the difficulties
+that Moore had encountered and overcome in the course of his retreat. The
+officers followed his account upon the maps, asked occasional questions,
+and showed great interest in his description of the battle.
+
+When he had done, Sir John Cradock said: "I am sure, gentlemen, that you
+all agree with me that Mr. O'Connor has given us a singularly clear and
+lucid account of the operations of the army, and that it is most
+creditable that so young an officer should have posted himself up so
+thoroughly, not only in the details of the work of his own brigade, but in
+the general plans of the campaign and the movements of the various
+divisions of the army."
+
+There were also hearty compliments from all the officers as they rose from
+the table.
+
+"I doubt, indeed, Sir John," one of them said, "whether we should ever
+have got so clear an account as that he has given from the official
+despatches. I own that I, for one, have never fully understood what seemed
+a hopeless incursion into the enemy's country, and I cannot too much
+admire the daring of its conception. As to the success which has attended
+it, there can be no doubt, for it completely paralysed the march of the
+French armies, and has given ample time to the southern provinces of Spain
+to place themselves in a position of defence. If they have not taken
+advantage of the breathing time so given them, it is their fault, and in
+no way detracts from the chivalrous enterprise of Moore."
+
+"No, indeed," Sir John agreed; "the conception was truly an heroic one,
+and one that required no less self-sacrifice than daring. There are few
+generals who would venture on an advance when certain that it must be
+followed by a retreat, and that at best he could but hope to escape from a
+terrible disaster. It is true that he gained a victory which, under the
+circumstances, was a most glorious one, but this was the effect of
+accident rather than design. Had the fleet been in Corunna when he
+arrived, he would have embarked at once, and in that case he would have
+been attacked with ferocity by politicians at home, and would have been
+accused of sacrificing a portion of his army on an enterprise that
+everyone could have seen was ordained to be a failure before it
+commenced."
+
+"Did you know General Fane personally before you were appointed to his
+staff?"
+
+"No, General; he commanded the brigade of which my regiment formed part,
+and of course I knew him by sight, but I had never had the honour of
+exchanging a word with him."
+
+"Then, may I ask why you were appointed to his staff, Mr. O'Connor?"
+
+Terence hesitated. There was nothing he disliked more than talking of what
+he himself had done. "It was a sort of accident, General."
+
+"How an accident, Mr. O'Connor? Your conduct must have attracted his
+attention in some way."
+
+"It was an accident, sir," Terence said, reluctantly, "that General Fane
+happened to be on board Sir Arthur Wellesley's ship at Vigo when my
+colonel went there to make a report of some circumstances that occurred on
+the voyage."
+
+"Well, what were these circumstances?" the general asked. "You have shown
+us that you have the details of a campaign at your finger ends, surely you
+must be able to tell what those circumstances were that so interested
+General Fane that he selected you to fill a vacancy on his staff."
+
+Terence felt that there was no escape, and related as briefly as he could
+the account of the engagement with the two privateers, and of their narrow
+escape from being captured by a French frigate.
+
+"That is a capital account, Mr. O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, smiling,
+as he brought it to a conclusion. "But, so far, I fail to see your
+particular share in the matter."
+
+"My share was very small, sir."
+
+"I think I can fill up the facts that Mr. O'Connor's modesty has prevented
+him from stating," one of the officers said.
+
+"It happened that before we sailed from Ireland six weeks ago, an officer
+of the Mayo Fusiliers, who had been invalided home in consequence of a
+wound, dined at our mess, and he told the story very much as Mr. O'Connor
+has told it, but he added the details that Mr. O'Connor has omitted.
+Restated that really the escape of the wing of the regiment was entirely
+due to an ensign who had recently joined--a son of one of the captains of
+the regiment. He said that, in the first place, when the cannon were found
+to be so honeycombed with rust that it would have been madness to attempt
+to fire them, this young officer suggested that they should be bound round
+with rope just like the handle of a cricket bat. This suggestion was
+adopted, and they were therefore able to pour in the broadside that
+crippled the lugger and brought her sails down, leaving her helpless under
+the musketry fire of the troops. In the second place, when the ship was
+being pounded by the other privateer without being able to make any reply,
+and must shortly have either sunk or surrendered, this young officer
+suggested to one of the captains that the lugger, lying helpless
+alongside, should be boarded, and her guns turned on the brig, a
+suggestion that led not only to the saving of the ship, but the capture of
+the brig itself.
+
+"Lastly, when the French frigate hove in sight, the troops were
+transferred to the two prizes, and were about to make off, in which case
+one of them would almost certainly have been captured. He suggested that
+they should hoist French colours, and that both should be set to work to
+transfer some of the stores from the ship to the privateers. This
+suggestion was adopted, with the result that on the frigate approaching,
+and seeing, as was supposed, two French privateers engaged in rifling a
+prize, she continued on her way without troubling herself further about
+them. Sir Arthur Wellesley issued a most laudatory notice of Mr.
+O'Connor's conduct in general orders."
+
+Most of those present remembered seeing the order, now that it was
+mentioned, and the general, turning to Terence, who was colouring scarlet
+with embarrassment and confusion, said, kindly:
+
+"You see, we have got at it after all, Mr. O'Connor. I am glad that it
+came from another source, for I do not suppose that we should have got all
+the facts from you, even by cross-questioning. You may think, and I have
+no doubt that you do think, that you received more credit than you
+deserved for what you consider were merely ideas that struck you at the
+moment; but such is not my opinion, nor that, I am sure, of the other
+officers present. The story which we have just heard of you, and the
+account that you have given of the campaign, afford great promise, I may
+almost say a certainty, of your attaining, if you are spared, high
+eminence in your profession.
+
+"Your narrative showed that you are painstaking, accurate, and
+intelligent. The facts that we have just heard prove you to be
+exceptionally quick in conceiving ideas, cool in action, and able to think
+of the right thing at the right time--all qualities that are requisite for
+a great commander. I warmly congratulate you, that at the very
+commencement of your career you should have had the opportunity afforded
+you for showing that you possess these qualities, and of gaining the warm
+approbation of men very much older than yourself, and all of wide
+experience in their profession. I am sorry now that you are starting
+to-morrow on what I cannot but consider a useless, as well as a somewhat
+dangerous, undertaking. I should have been glad to have utilized your
+services at once, and only hope that you will erelong rejoin us."
+
+So saying, he rose. The hour was late, for Terence's description of the
+campaign and battle had necessarily been a very long one, and the party at
+once broke up, all the officers present shaking the lad warmly by the
+hand.
+
+"You are a lucky fellow, O'Connor," Captain Nelson said, as he accompanied
+him to his room, in which a second bed had been set up for the young
+ensign's accommodation. "You will certainly get on after this. There were
+a dozen colonels and two generals of brigade among the party, and I fancy
+that there is not one of them that will not bear you in mind and say a
+good word for you, if opportunity occurs, and Sir John himself is sure to
+push you on. I should say that not an officer of your rank in the army has
+such good chances, and you look such a lad, too. You did not show it so
+much when you first arrived; of course you were fagged and travel-stained
+then, but now I should not take you for more than seventeen. Indeed, I
+suppose you are not, as you only joined the service six months ago."
+
+"No; I am not more than seventeen," Terence said, quietly, not thinking it
+necessary to state that he wanted a good many months yet to that age, for
+to do so would provoke questions as to how he obtained his commission
+before he was sixteen. "But, you see, I have had a good many advantages. I
+was brought up in barracks, and I suppose that sharpens one's wits a bit.
+When I was quite a young boy I used to be a good deal with the junior
+officers; of course, that made me older in my ideas than I should have
+been if I had always associated with boys of my own age. Still, it has
+been all luck, and though Sir John was kind enough to speak very warmly
+about it, I really can't see that I have done anything out of the way."
+
+"Luck comes to a good many fellows, O'Connor, but it is not every one who
+has the quickness to make the most of the opportunity. You may say that
+they are only ideas; but you see you had three valuable ideas, and none of
+your brother officers had them, and you cannot deny that your brains
+worked more quickly than those of the others.
+
+"Well, we may as well turn in at once, as we have all got to be up before
+daylight. I am very glad that Sir John has given you a couple of troopers.
+It will make you feel a good deal more comfortable anyhow, even if you
+don't get into any adventure where their aid may be of vital importance."
+
+"It will indeed; alone I should have very little influence with the
+Portuguese guard. These might be perfectly honest themselves, but they
+might not be at all disposed to risk their lives by offering any
+opposition to any band that might demand the ammunition they would believe
+were in the cases. I was twice stopped by bands of scantily armed peasants
+on my way down, and although they released me on seeing the letter that I
+carried to the general, it was evident that they felt but little good-will
+towards us, and had I had anything about me worth taking, my chance of
+reaching Lisbon would have been small."
+
+"The Junta of Oporto has spared no pains in spreading all sorts of
+atrocious lies against us ever since the escort of the French prisoners
+interfered to save them from the fury of the populace, though perhaps the
+peasants in this part of the country still feel grateful to us for having
+delivered them from the exactions of the French.
+
+"In the north, where no French soldier has set foot, they have been taught
+to regard us as enemies to be dreaded as much as the French. Up to the
+present time all the orders for the raising of levies have been
+disregarded north of the Douro, and though great quantities of arms have
+been sent up to Oporto, I doubt whether a single musket has been
+distributed by the Junta. That fellow Friere, the general of what they
+call their army, is as bad as any of them. I hope that if Soult comes down
+through the passes he will teach the fellow and his patrons a wholesome
+lesson."
+
+"And do you think that the troops here will march north to defend Oporto?"
+
+"I should hardly think that there is a chance of it. Were our force to do
+so, Lisbon would be at the mercy of Victor and of the army corps at
+Salamanca. Cuesta is, what he calls, watching Victor. He is one of the
+most obstinate and pigheaded of all the generals. Victor will crush him
+without difficulty, and could be at Lisbon long before we could get back
+from Oporto. No, Lisbon is the key of the situation; there are very strong
+positions on the range of hills between the river and the sea at Torres
+Vedras, which could be held against greatly superior forces. The town
+itself is protected by strong forts, which have been greatly strengthened
+since we came. The men-of-war can come up to the town, aid in its defence,
+and bring reinforcements; and provisions can be landed at all times.
+
+"The loss of Lisbon would be a death-blow to Portuguese independence, and
+you may be sure that the ministry at home would eagerly seize the
+opportunity of abandoning the struggle here altogether. Do you know that
+at the present moment, while urging Sir John Cradock to take the offensive
+with only 15,000 men against the whole army of France in the Peninsula,
+they have had the folly to send a splendid expedition of from thirty to
+forty thousand good troops to Holland, where they will be powerless to do
+any good, while their presence here would be simply invaluable. Well, we
+will not enter upon that subject to-night; the folly and the incapacity of
+Mr. Canning and his crew is a subject that, once begun, would keep one
+talking until morning."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+AN AWKWARD POSITION
+
+When Captain Nelson and Terence went out, just as the morning was
+breaking, they found the two troopers waiting in the street. Each held a
+spare horse; the one was that upon which Terence had ridden from Coimbra,
+the other was a fine English horse.
+
+"What horse is this?" Terence asked.
+
+"It is a present to you from Sir John Cradock," Captain Nelson said. "He
+told me last night that the troopers had been ordered to ask for it when
+they took your horse this morning, and that his men were ordered to hand
+it over to them. He wished me to tell you that he had pleasure in
+presenting the horse to you as a mark of his great satisfaction at the
+manner in which you had mastered the military details of Sir John Moore's
+expedition, and the clearness with which you had explained them."
+
+"I am indeed greatly obliged to the general; it is most kind of him,"
+Terence said. "Will you please express my thanks to him in a proper way,
+Captain Nelson."
+
+They rode to the Treasury, where they found the Portuguese escort, with
+the mules, waiting them. The officer in charge of the Treasury was already
+there, and admitted the two officers.
+
+"I have packed the money in ammunition-boxes," he said. "I received
+instructions from Mr. Villiers to do so."
+
+"It is evident that your words had some effect, Mr. O'Connor," Captain
+Nelson said aside to Terence. "I suppose that when he thought it over he
+came to the conclusion that, after all, your suggestions, were prudent
+ones, and that it would add to the chance of the money reaching Romana
+were he to adopt it."
+
+"I am glad that he did so, for had the money been placed in the ordinary
+chests and then brought to the barracks to be packed in ammunition-cases,
+the Portuguese troopers would all have been sure of the nature of the
+contents; whereas now, whatever they may suspect, they cannot be sure
+about it, because there is a large amount of ammunition stored in the same
+building."
+
+Some of the guard stationed in the Treasury carried the chests out, and
+assisted the muleteers to lash them in their places.
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN
+CRADOCK]
+
+
+"I cannot thank you too warmly, Captain Nelson, for the kindness that you
+have shown me," Terence said.
+
+"Not at all," that officer replied; "I simply carried out the general's
+orders, and the duty has been a very pleasant one. No, I don't think I
+would mount that horse if I were you," he went on, as Terence walked
+towards his acquisition. "I would have him led as far as Coimbra, while
+you ride the horse you borrowed there, then he will be fresh for the
+further journey."
+
+"That would be the best way, no doubt, though our stages must all be
+comparatively short ones, owing to our having mules with us."
+
+"I should not press them if I were you. I don't suppose that it will make
+much difference whether Romana gets the money a few days sooner or later."
+
+"None whatever, I should say," Terence laughed, as he mounted his horse.
+"Still, I do think that he will be able to gather a mob of peasants. Of
+course, being almost without arms, they will be of no use whatever for
+fighting, but still they may harass Soult's communications, cut off
+stragglers, and compel him to move slowly and cautiously."
+
+Terence now saluted the Portuguese officer, who said, as he returned the
+salute:
+
+"My name, señor, is Juan Herrara."
+
+"And mine is Terence O'Connor, señor. Our journey will be a somewhat long
+one together, and I hope that we shall meet with no adventures or
+accidents by the way."
+
+"I hope not, señor. My instructions are simple; I am to place myself under
+your orders, and to convey eight cases of ammunition to the northern
+frontier, and to follow the routes that you may point out. I was ordered
+also to pick the men who are to form the escort. I have done so, and I
+think I can answer that they can be relied upon to do their duty under all
+circumstances."
+
+Terence now turned, and with a hearty farewell to Captain Nelson, rode on
+by the side of Lieutenant Herrara. The two British troopers followed them,
+the four mules with their two muleteers kept close behind, and the twelve
+Portuguese troopers brought up the rear.
+
+"It is a strong escort for four mules carrying ammunition," the Portuguese
+officer said, with a smile.
+
+"It may seem so," Terence laughed, "but you see the country, especially
+north of the Douro, is greatly disturbed."
+
+"Very much so, and I think that the precaution that has been taken is a
+very wise one. I have been informed what is really in the cases. Were I
+going by myself with a sergeant and twelve men, I should say that to put
+the money in ammunition-cases was not only absolutely useless but
+dangerous, the disproportion between the force and the value of the
+ammunition would be so great that it would attract attention at once, but
+as you are with us it is more likely to pass without observation. You are
+an officer on the staff of the English general. You have your own two
+orderlies, and, as you are carrying despatches, it is considered necessary
+that you should have an escort of our people. The cases in that event
+would seem to be of little importance, but to be simply travelling with us
+to have the advantage of the protection of our escort."
+
+"You are quite right, Senior Herrara, and it would have been vastly better
+had the money been stowed in sacks filled up with grain; then they could
+follow a short distance behind us, and it would seem that they were simply
+carrying forage for our use on the road."
+
+"That would have been very much better, senior. You might have it done at
+Torres Vedras."
+
+"The money is in bags, each containing two hundred dollars. There will be
+no trouble in transferring them to sacks filled with plenty of forage. Two
+of your soldiers have behind them a bundle or two of faggots, a basket of
+fowls, and other matters; these can be piled on the top of the sacks, so
+that the fact that the principal load was forage would hardly be noticed.
+You might mention to the muleteers that I thought that it would be a
+considerable saving of weight if we used sacks instead of those heavy
+cases, and that the ammunition would travel just as well in the one as the
+other. We must arrange so that the muleteers do not suspect anything."
+
+"As a rule," Herrara said, "they are very trustworthy. There is scarcely a
+case known in which they have stolen goods intrusted to them, however
+valuable; but it would be easy to place a few packets of ammunition in the
+mouth of each sack, and call them in to cord them up firmly. The sight of
+the ammunition would go far to lessen any suspicions they might have."
+
+They reached Torres Vedras that night. Terence spoke to the officer in
+command there, and was furnished with the sacks he required, and enough
+forage to fill them. The boxes were put into a room in the barracks, and
+here Terence, with his two orderlies, opened the cases and transferred the
+bags of money to the centre of the sacks. Two or three dozen packets of
+ammunition were obtained, and a few put into the mouths of the sacks.
+These were left open, and the room locked up, two of the Portuguese
+soldiers being placed on guard before it. Terence and Lieutenant Herrara
+were invited to dine at mess and had quarters assigned to them, and
+Terence, after dinner, again, but much more briefly than before, gave the
+officers at the station a sketch of the retreat and battle.
+
+The next morning the muleteers were called in to fasten up the sacks. At
+the suggestion of the officer in command, a tent was also taken.
+
+"You may want it badly before you are done," he said. "If I were you I
+should always have it pitched, except when you are at a village, for you
+can have the sacks in as beds, and so keep them under your eye; and if, as
+you tell me, you are giving out that they contain ammunition, it would
+seem but a natural step, as you are so able to keep it dry."
+
+The mules looked more heavily laden than upon the preceding day, but they
+were carrying no heavier burden, for the weight of the tent, its poles,
+the basket of fowls, Terence's valise, and other articles, were
+considerably less than those of the eight heavy cases that had been left
+behind. The two officers now rode at the head of the detachment, and two
+only of the Portuguese soldiers kept in rear of the mules, which now
+followed at a distance of thirty or forty yards behind them. They stopped
+that night at Rolica and the next at Leirya. This was a long march, and a
+short one the next day brought them to Pombal, and the following afternoon
+they arrived at Coimbra. Here they spent another pleasant evening with the
+regiment stationed in the town.
+
+"By the way, O'Connor," one of the officers said, after the dinner was
+over and cigars lighted, "I suppose you don't happen to have any relations
+at Oporto?"
+
+"Well, I do happen to have some," Terence answered, in some surprise. "Why
+do you ask?"
+
+"Well, that is singular," the officer said; "I will tell you how it
+happened. I was with the party that escorted the French prisoners down to
+Oporto. Just as we had got into the town--it was before the row began, and
+being early in the morning, there were very few people about--a head
+appeared at a window on the second floor of a big convent standing on the
+left side of the road. I remember the name was carved over the door-it was
+the Convent of Santa Maria. I happened to catch sight of the nun, and she
+at once dropped a little letter, which fell close to me. I picked it up
+and stuck it into my glove, and thought no more about it for a time, for
+the mob soon began to gather, to yell and threaten the prisoners, and my
+hands were too full, till we had got them safely on board a ship, to think
+any more of the matter. When I took off my glove the letter fell out. It
+was simply addressed 'to an English officer.'
+
+"'_I, an English girl, am detained here, a prisoner, principally because
+my Spanish relations wish to seize my property. I have been made a nun by
+force, though my father was a Protestant, and taught me his religion. I
+pray you to endeavour to obtain my freedom. I am made most miserable here,
+and am kept in solitary confinement. I have nothing to eat but bread and
+water, because I will not sign a renunciation of my property. The Bishop
+of Oporto has himself threatened me, and it is useless to appeal to him.
+Nothing but an English army being stationed here can save me. Have pity
+upon me, and aid me__.'
+
+"It was signed '_Mary O'Connor__.' Of course no British troops have been
+there since, but if we are sent there I had made up my mind to bring the
+matter before the general, and ask him to interfere on the poor girl's
+behalf; though I know that it would be an awkward matter. For if there is
+one thing that the Portuguese are more touchy about than another, it is
+any interference in religious matters, and the bishop, who is a most
+intolerant rascal, would be the last man who would give way on such a
+subject."
+
+"I have not the least doubt in the world but that it is a cousin of mine,"
+Terence said. "Her father went out to join a firm of wine merchants in
+Oporto. I know that he married a very rich Portuguese heiress, and that
+they had one daughter. My father told me that he gathered from his
+cousin's letters that he and his wife did not get on very well together.
+He died two years ago, and it is quite possible that the mother, who may
+perhaps want to marry again, has shut the girl up in a convent to get rid
+of her altogether, and to make her sign a document renouncing her right to
+the property in favour of herself, or possibly, as the bishop seems to
+have meddled in the affair, partly of the Church.
+
+"I quite see that nothing can be done now, but if we do occupy Oporto,
+some day, which is likely enough, I will speak to the general, and if he
+says that it is a matter that he cannot entertain, I will see what I can
+do to get her out."
+
+"It is awkward work, O'Connor, fooling with a nunnery either here or in
+Spain. The Portuguese are not so bigoted as the Spaniards across the
+frontier, but there is not much difference, and if anyone is caught
+meddling with a nunnery they would tear him to pieces, especially in
+Oporto, where men who are even suspected of hostility to the bishop are
+murdered every day."
+
+"I don't want to run the risk of being torn to pieces, certainly, but
+after what you have told me of her letter, I will not let my little cousin
+be imprisoned all her life in a nunnery, and robbed of her property,
+without making some strong effort to save her."
+
+"I will give you the letter presently, O'Connor; I have it in a
+pocket-book at my quarters. By the by, how old is your cousin?"
+
+"About my own age, or a little younger."
+
+The subject of the conversation was then changed, and half an hour later
+the officer left the room and returned with the letter.
+
+"At any rate," he said, "if we do go to Oporto you will have more
+opportunity for getting the general to move than I should."
+
+Terence had handed over the horse he had borrowed, with many thanks for
+its use, and received his own again, which was in good condition after its
+rest of seven or eight days. It was by no means a valuable animal, but he
+thought it as well to take it on with him in case any of the other horses
+should meet with an accident or break down during the journey through the
+mountains.
+
+Coimbra was the last British station through which they would pass, and
+the real difficulties of the journey would now begin. Terence had, before
+starting, received a sum of money for the maintenance of himself and his
+escort upon the way, and he had done all in his power to see that the
+troopers were comfortable at their various halting-places.
+
+The journey as far as the Douro passed without any adventure. They
+encountered on the road several bands of peasants armed with pikes, clubs,
+hoes, and a few guns. These were for the most part ordenanças or levies,
+called out when a larger force than the regular troops and militia was
+required. They were on their way to join the forces assembling under the
+edicts, and beyond pausing to stare at the British officer with the two
+dragoons behind him and an escort of their own troops, they paid no
+attention to the party.
+
+They crossed the Douro at St. Joa de Pesquiera, and on stopping at a large
+village some ten miles beyond, found it occupied by a rabble of some two
+thousand men, absolutely useless for service in the field, but capable of
+offering an obstinate defence to the passage of a river, or of impeding an
+enemy's advance through a mountain defile. As they stopped before the
+principal inn a man, dressed in some attempt at a uniform, came out from a
+door.
+
+"You are a British officer, sir?" he asked Terence, raising his broad hat
+courteously.
+
+"I am an officer on the English general's staff, and am proceeding on a
+mission from him to the northern frontier to ascertain the best means of
+defence, and the route that the enemy are most likely to move by if they
+attempt to invade Portugal from that direction."
+
+"The French general would hardly venture to do that," the officer said,
+disdainfully, "when there will be 50,000 Portuguese to bar his way."
+
+"He may be in ignorance of the force that will gather to meet him,"
+Terence said, gravely, and with difficulty restraining a smile at the
+confident tone of this leader of an armed mob. "However, I have my orders
+to carry out. Do you not think," he said, turning to Herrara, "that it
+will be better for us to go on to the next hamlet, if there is one within
+two or three miles. I fear there is little chance of obtaining any
+accommodation for our men here."
+
+"There is no need for that," the Portuguese colonel broke in. "There is a
+large house at the end of the village that is at present vacant; the
+proprietor, who was a disturber of the peace, and who belonged to the
+French faction, was killed last week in the course of a disturbance
+created by him. I, as Commissioner of the Junta here, had the house closed
+up, but it is quite at your service."
+
+As the march had already been a long one, Terence thought it best to
+accept the offer. The colonel called a man, who presently brought a key,
+and accompanied them to the house in question. It showed signs at once of
+mob violence. The snow in the garden was trampled down, the windows
+broken, and one of the lower ones smashed in as if an entry had been
+effected here. The door was riddled with bullet holes. Upon this being
+opened the destruction within was seen to be complete, rooms being strewn
+with broken furniture and litter of all sorts.
+
+"At any rate there is plenty of firewood," the lieutenant said, as he
+ordered his men to clear out one of the rooms. "There has been dastardly
+work here," he went on, as the man who had brought the key left the place.
+
+"Yes, I have no doubt the proprietor, whoever he was, has been foully
+murdered, and as likely as not by the orders of that fellow we met, who
+says he is Commissioner of the Junta. I should not be surprised if we have
+trouble with him before we have done. I should think, Herrara, you had
+better send off a couple of men to get what they can in the way of
+provisions and a skin of wine. This is a cheerless-looking place, and
+these broken windows are not of much use for keeping out the cold. Bull,
+you had better see if you can find something among all this rubbish to
+hang up in front of the window, for in its present state it merely creates
+a draught."
+
+The orderly went out, and returned with two torn curtains.
+
+"There has been some bad work going on here, sir," he said. "There are
+pools of blood in three of the rooms upstairs, and it is evident that
+there has been a desperate struggle. One of the doors is broken in, and
+there are several shot-holes through it."
+
+"I am afraid there has been bad work. I suppose the man here was obnoxious
+to somebody, so they murdered him. However, it is not our business."
+
+Some of the horses were stabled in a large shed, the others in the lower
+rooms of the house, the soldiers and muleteers taking possession of the
+large kitchen, where they soon had a huge fire burning. The windows on
+this side of the house were unbroken. The two orderlies soon fastened up
+the curtains across the windows of the officers' room, and when the fire
+was lighted it had a more cheerful aspect. The burdens of the mules were
+brought into the room opposite, where there was a key in the door and bars
+across the windows. Presently the soldiers returned with some meat, a
+couple of fowls, bread, and some wine, together with a bunch of candles.
+The fowls were soon plucked, cut in two, and grilled over the fire, and in
+a quarter of an hour after the men's return the two officers sat down to
+supper. The meal was just finished when there was a knock at the outer
+door, and the soldier acting as sentry came in and said that Colonel
+Cortingos desired to speak to them.
+
+"I suppose that is the fellow we saw in the town," Terence said; "show him
+in."
+
+The supposition was a correct one, for the man entered, accompanied by two
+others. Terence had no doubt that this fellow was the author of the attack
+upon the house, and the murderer of the proprietor and others. He did not
+feel disposed to be exceptionally civil to him, but as he had a couple of
+thousand men under his command and had certainly put the only available
+place in the village at their disposal, he rose as he entered.
+
+"These two gentlemen," the colonel began, "form, with myself, the
+committee appointed by the Junta of Oporto to organize the national
+resistance here and in the surrounding neighbourhood, to keep our eye upon
+persons suspected of being favourable to the enemy, and to arrest and send
+them to Oporto for trial. We are also enjoined to make close inquiries
+into the business of all persons who may pass through here."
+
+"I have already told you," Terence said, quietly, "that I am an officer on
+the staff of the English general, and that I have a mission from him to
+see what are the best means of defending the northern passes, and, I may
+add, to enter into such arrangements as I may think proper with the
+leaders of any bands who may be gathered for the purpose of defending
+them. As I am acting under the direct orders of the general, I in no way
+recognize the right of any local authority to interfere with me in any
+way."
+
+"And I, Lieutenant Herrara, have been ordered by the colonel of my
+regiment to command the escort of Portuguese cavalry told off to accompany
+this British officer, and also feel myself free from any interference or
+examination by civilians."
+
+"I am a colonel!" Cortingos said, angrily.
+
+"By whom appointed, if I may ask?"
+
+"By the Junta of Oporto."
+
+"I was not aware that they possessed the right of granting high
+commissions," Herrara said, "although, of course, they can grant temporary
+rank to those who command irregular forces. This British officer has
+assured you as to the object of his journey, and unless that object has
+had the approval of the military authorities at Lisbon he would not have
+been furnished with an escort by them."
+
+"I have only his word and yours as to that," Cortingos said, insolently.
+"I am acting under the orders of the supreme authority of this province."
+
+"You are doing your duty, no doubt," the lieutenant said, "in making these
+inquiries. This officer has answered them, and I will answer any further
+questions if I consider them to be reasonable."
+
+"We wish, in the first place," Cortingos said, "to examine any official
+passes you may have received."
+
+"Our official passes are our uniforms," Herrara replied, haughtily.
+
+"Uniforms have been useful for purposes of disguise before now," Cortingos
+replied. "I again ask you to show me your authority."
+
+"Here is an authority," Terence broke in. "Here is a despatch from General
+Sir John Cradock to General Romana."
+
+"Ah, ah, a Spaniard."
+
+"A Spanish general, a marquis and grandee of Spain, who has been fighting
+the French, and who is now with a portion of his army preparing to defend
+the passes into Portugal."
+
+Cortingos held out his hand for the paper, but Terence put it back again
+into the breast-pocket of his uniform.
+
+"No, sir," he said; "this communication is for the Marquis of Romana, and
+for him only. No one else touches it so long as I am alive to defend it."
+
+The colonel whispered to his two associates.
+
+"We will let that pass for the present," he replied, and turning to
+Terence again, said, "In the next place we wish to know the nature of the
+contents of the sacks that are being carried by the mules that accompany
+you."
+
+"They contain ammunition, and forage for our horses," Lieutenant Herrara
+said. "You can, if you choose, question the muleteers, who fastened up the
+sacks and had an opportunity of seeing the ammunition."
+
+"In the name of the Junta I demand that ammunition!" Cortingos said, with
+an air of authority. "It is monstrous that ammunition should be taken to
+Spaniards, who have already shown that they are incapable of using it with
+any effect, while here we have loyal men ready to die in their country's
+defence, but altogether unprovided with ammunition."
+
+"For that, sir, you must apply to your Junta. Since they give you orders,
+let them give you ammunition; there is enough in Oporto to supply the
+whole population, had they arms; and you may be assured that I and my men
+will see that the convoy intrusted to our charge reaches its destination."
+
+
+[Illustration: "IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA, I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION,"]
+
+
+"I believe that there is not only ammunition, but money in those sacks,"
+said Cortingos. "It would be an act of treachery to allow it to pass,
+when, even if not taken to them directly, it might fall into the hands of
+the French. It is needed here; my men lack shoes and clothes, and as you
+say the object of your mission is to see to the defence of our frontier,
+any money you may have cannot be better applied than to satisfy the
+necessities of my soldiers. However, we do not wish to take steps that
+might appear unfriendly. And, therefore, if you will allow us to inspect
+the contents of those sacks, we will let you pass on if we find that they
+contain no money--confiscating only the ammunition for the use of the
+troops of the province."
+
+"I refuse absolutely," Herrara said, "to allow anything confided to my
+charge to be touched."
+
+"That is your final decision," the man said, with a sneer.
+
+"Final and absolute."
+
+"I also shall do my duty;" and then, without another word, the colonel
+with his two associates left the house.
+
+"We shall have trouble with that fellow," Herrara said.
+
+"So much the better," Terence replied. "We have evidence here that the
+scoundrel is a murderer. No doubt he had some private enmity against the
+owner of this establishment, and so denounced him to the Junta, and then
+attacked the place, murdered him, and perhaps some of his servants, and
+sacked the house. They won't find it so easy a job as it was last time;
+all the windows are barred, and there are only three on this floor to
+defend. The shutters of two of them are uninjured, so it is only the one
+where they broke in before that they can attack, while our men at the
+windows upstairs will make it hot for them as they approach. But I should
+hardly think that the men he calls soldiers will venture to attack a party
+of regular troops."
+
+The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"He will tell them some lies, probably assert that we are French agents in
+disguise taking money to the French army. Indeed, there is neither order
+nor discipline among these bands, and, roused to a pitch of fury, they
+would murder their own leaders as readily as anyone else. The Junta acts
+as if the province were altogether independent, and numbers of men of
+position have been butchered on the pretence of their being adherents of
+the French, when their sole crime was that they disapproved of the doings
+of the bishop and his tools. You will see that the night will not pass off
+without something happening. Of course, I shall be sorry to have to order
+the men to fire. In the first place it would render it very difficult for
+us to resume our journey; and in the second, if we succeed in getting out
+alive, they will send a lying account of the affair to Lisbon, and there
+will be all sorts of trouble. Still, of course, if they attack the house
+we shall defend ourselves."
+
+The two officers then made a tour of the house and carefully examined the
+means of defence. The broken shutters were replaced in their position in
+the window, and were backed with a pile of the fragments of furniture. The
+horses were all brought in from the shed outside, the soldiers were warned
+that the mob in the place were likely to attack them, and four of them
+were placed as sentries at the upper windows; and, by the looks of the men
+when the lieutenant made the communication to them, Terence saw that they
+could be relied upon.
+
+"I have no doubt that we shall be able to defend the place successfully,"
+Terence said to the two British troopers; "but if the worst comes to the
+worst we will all mount inside the house, throw open the door behind, and
+then go right at them. But I hope that we shall avoid a fight, for if we
+have one, it will be very difficult for us to make our way to the north,
+or to get back across the Douro."
+
+In an hour one of the sentries at the upper window brought news that a
+large number of men were approaching. Terence at once gave some orders
+that he and the lieutenant had agreed upon to the two soldiers, and four
+of the Portuguese troopers, and then went up with the lieutenant to the
+window over the door. He threw it open just as a crowd of men poured into
+the garden in front.
+
+"What is it?" he asked. "What do you want?"
+
+"I demand entrance to this house in the name of the Junta of Oporto," a
+voice which he recognized as that of Cortingos replied. "If that is
+refused I shall denounce you as traitors to Portugal, and your blood will
+be on your own heads."
+
+"We respect the orders of the Junta," Herrara replied, "and are ready to
+open the door as you demand; but I must first be assured that it is really
+the committee appointed by the Junta that demand it."
+
+Several of the men had torches, and these were brought forward, and they
+saw the man and his two associates standing in front.
+
+"Good, I will open the door," the lieutenant said, and he and Terence went
+down. The bars were removed and the door thrown open, the two officers
+walked a few paces outside, and then halted.
+
+Followed closely by their armed followers, the three men approached,
+confident in the strength of their following.
+
+"Enter, gentlemen," Terence said. "I protest against this invasion, by
+force, but I cannot oppose it."
+
+The three men entered the door, the two officers standing aside and
+allowing them to pass. The instant the three Portuguese had entered
+Terence and the lieutenant threw themselves suddenly upon those following
+them. Two or three rolled over with the suddenness of the assault, and the
+rest recoiled a step or two. Before they could recover themselves Herrara
+and Terence dashed through the door, which was slammed to and barred by
+the two English troopers. Meanwhile, the three men had been seized by the
+Portuguese troopers, their coats torn off them, and their hands tied
+behind their backs, and then they were hurried upstairs.
+
+Yells of fury filled the air outside, shots were fired at the windows, and
+men began to beat the door and shutters with bludgeons and hatchets.
+Suddenly a light appeared from a window above, and Cortingos and his two
+friends were seen standing there. By the side of each stood a trooper,
+holding a rope with a noose round the prisoners' necks. For a moment there
+was a silence of stupefaction outside, followed by a yell of fury from the
+mob. Herrara went to the window and shouted: "My friends." Again there was
+a moment of silence, as each wanted to hear what he said. "My friends, at
+the first shot that is fired, or the first blow that is struck at the
+doors of this house, these three men will be hung out of the window. They
+have deceived you grossly. I am an officer of the National Army, these
+troopers are men of the 2d Portuguese Dragoons. We have been appointed by
+the military authorities of Lisbon to escort this British officer, who is
+on the staff of the British general, and whose commission is to make
+arrangements with the Spanish general, Romana to harass the rear of the
+French, and attack their convoys should they attempt to enter the northern
+passes.
+
+"These three scoundrels have deceived you, in order, as they hoped, to
+obtain some money that they believed us to be escorting. As loyal
+Portuguese, I warn you against attempting to aid the fellows in a deed
+which would bring disgrace upon the national name, and would result in the
+British general refusing to assist in the defence of your country. You are
+brave men, but you see these three cowards are trembling like children. We
+advise you to appoint fresh officers among yourselves, and to remain
+faithful to your duty, which is to march when ordered to the defence of
+the defiles. These three fellows we shall take with us, and will see that
+they do not further deceive you. Already they have done harm enough by
+goading you to theft, and to murder a man whose only fault was that he was
+more patriotic than they are. Be assured that in no case would you be able
+to carry this house. It is defended by sixteen well-armed men, and
+hundreds of you would throw away your lives in the attempt. Therefore, I
+advise you to go back to your quarters, and in the morning assemble and
+choose your officers."
+
+The crowd stood irresolute.
+
+"Tell them to go, you cur," Herrara said to Cortingos, standing back from
+the window and giving him a kick that almost sent him on his face. "Tell
+them to disperse at once, if you don't want to be dangling from the end of
+this rope."
+
+Cortingos stepped forward, and in a quavering voice told the men to
+disperse to their quarters.
+
+"We have made a mistake," he said. "I am now convinced that these officers
+are what they appear to be. I beseech you do not cause trouble, and
+disperse at once--quietly."
+
+Hoots of derision and scorn rose from the peasants.
+
+"I have a good mind to fire a shot before I go," one of the peasants
+shouted, "just for the pleasure of seeing three such cowards hung."
+
+Another yell of disgust and anger arose, and then the crowd melted away.
+
+"Keep these three fellows at the window. Remove the ropes from their
+necks, and take your place behind them; you will be relieved every hour.
+If they move, bayonet them at once."
+
+"We shall die of cold," one of the men whimpered.
+
+"That would be a more honourable death than you are likely to meet,"
+Terence said, scornfully. "I fancy if I don't hang you, those men in the
+village will do so if they can lay hands on you."
+
+"How about the sentries, sir?" the corporal of the escort asked Herrara as
+they went downstairs. "They can all be removed except the one keeping
+guard over these men--he is to be relieved every hour--and one inside the
+door, he can be relieved every two hours."
+
+The night passed quietly. Just as they were preparing to start next
+morning, the soldier on guard over the prisoners shouted, "There is a
+crowd of men coming!"
+
+"Get your arms ready," Herrara said to the escort; "but I don't think
+there will be any occasion to use them."
+
+Terence went to the door. "Bull, do you and Macwitty keep close behind;
+but whatever happens don't use your weapons, unless I order you to do so."
+
+The crowd stopped at the gate, two of them only coming forward.
+
+"We are ready to fight, sir," one said, addressing Terence, "but we have
+no officers; none of us know anything about drill. We will follow you, if
+you will command us, and you will find that we won't turn our backs to the
+enemy. We know that English officers will fight."
+
+"Wait a minute or two," Terence said, after a moment's hesitation, "I will
+then give you my answer."
+
+Herrara had followed him out and heard the offer.
+
+"I don't know what to do, Herrara," Terence said, as he re-entered the
+house. "My instructions are to join Romana, and to remain with him for a
+time, sending word to Lisbon as to the state of things, and aiding him in
+any way in my power. Here are between two and three thousand stout,
+healthy fellows, evidently disposed to fight. If they were armed I would
+not hesitate a moment, but I don't suppose that there are a hundred
+muskets among them, and certainly Romana has none to give them. Still, in
+the defiles we might give a good deal of trouble to the French by rolling
+stones down, breaking up bridges, and that sort of thing."
+
+"It would be good fun," Herrara laughed. "As for myself," he said, "I have
+orders to return as soon as I have seen the treasure safely in Romana's
+camp. If it hadn't been for that I should have liked nothing better,
+though there would not have been much chance for cavalry work in these
+defiles."
+
+"I will talk to them again," Terence said. "It is not often that one gets
+the chance of an independent command. It is just the sort of work I should
+like."
+
+He went out again. "I should like to command a number of brave fellows,"
+he said, "but the question is about arms. There have been any quantity
+sent out by England for your use; but instead of being served out, the
+Juntas keep them all hidden up in magazines. Even now, when the French are
+going to invade your country, they still keep them locked up, and send you
+out with only pikes and staves to fight against a well-armed army. It is
+nothing short of murder."
+
+"Down with the Juntas!" cried half a dozen of the men standing near enough
+to hear what was said.
+
+"I don't say 'Down with the Juntas!'" Terence replied; "but I do say take
+arms if you can get them. Are there any magazines near here?"
+
+"There is one at Castro, ten miles away," the man said. "I know that there
+are waggon-loads of arms there."
+
+"Well, my friends, the matter stands thus: I, as a British officer, cannot
+lead you to break open magazines; but I say this, if you choose to go in a
+body to Castro and do it yourselves, and arm yourselves with all the
+muskets that you can find there, and bring with you a good store of
+ammunition in carts that you could take with you from here, and then come
+to me at a spot where I will halt to-night five or six miles beyond
+Castro, I will take command of you. But mind, if I command, I command. I
+must have absolute obedience. It is only by obeying my orders without
+question that you can hope to do any good. The first man who disobeys me I
+shall shoot on the spot, and if others are disposed to support him I shall
+leave you at once."
+
+"I will consult the others," the man said. "Many of us, I know, will be
+glad to fight under an English officer, and agree to obey him implicitly."
+
+"Very well, I will give you a quarter of an hour to decide."
+
+Before that time had elapsed a dozen men came to the door with the
+principal spokesman.
+
+"We have made up our minds, señor. We will follow you, and we will arm
+ourselves at Castro. It is a sin that the arms should be lying there idle
+with so many hands ready to use them."
+
+"That is good," Terence said. "Now, my first order is that you wait until
+I have been gone an hour; then, that you form up in military order, four
+abreast; the men with guns in front, the others after them. You must go as
+soldiers, and not as a mob. You must march into Castro peacefully and
+quietly, not a man must straggle from the ranks. You must go to the
+authorities and demand the arms and ammunition; if they refuse to give
+them to you, march--always in regular order--to the magazine and burst it
+open; then distribute the muskets and a hundred rounds of ammunition to
+each man having one, take the rest of the stores in carts, and then march
+away along the road north until you come to the place where we are halted.
+
+"Observe the most perfect order in Castro. If any man plunders or meddles
+in any way with the inhabitants and is reported to me, I shall know how to
+punish him. From the moment that you leave this place remember that you
+are soldiers of Portugal, and you must behave so as to be an honour to it
+as well as a defence. Now let us all shout 'Viva Portugal!'"
+
+A great shout followed the words, and then Terence went indoors, and five
+minutes later started with his convoy, telling the three prisoners they
+could go where they liked.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND
+
+As they left the village the Portuguese lieutenant burst into a sudden fit
+of laughter.
+
+"What is it, Lieutenant?" Terence asked.
+
+"I am laughing at the way in which you--who, as you tell me, have only
+been six months in the army--without hesitation organize what is really a
+rising against the authorities, you having already taken representatives
+of the Junta prisoners--"
+
+"Yes; but you must remember that they took upon themselves to endeavour to
+forcibly possess themselves of the treasure in my charge."
+
+"That is true enough; still, you did capture them. You treated them with
+considerable personal indignity, imprisoned them, and threatened their
+lives. Then you incite, say 2,500 ordenanças to break open magazines."
+
+"No, no, Lieutenant, I did not incite them. You will remember they
+expressed a desire to march under my command to fight against the French.
+I simply pointed out to them that they had no arms, and asked if they
+could get any; and hearing that there were plenty lying useless a few
+miles away, suggested that those arms would do more good in their hands
+than stowed away in magazines. Upon their agreeing with me on this head, I
+advised them to proceed in a quiet and orderly way, and to have no rioting
+or disturbance of any sort. I said that if they, after arming themselves,
+came to me and still wished to follow me, I would undertake to command
+them. You see, everything depends upon the manner in which the thing is
+put."
+
+"But you must remember, señor, that the Junta will naturally view the
+matter in the light in which their representatives will place it before
+them."
+
+"I think it unlikely," Terence replied, "that they will have any
+opportunity of doing so. I took care that they were removed from the
+window before I met the deputies of the men. They will consequently be
+unaware of the arrangements made, and will, perhaps, go out as soon as we
+have left and try to persuade the men to follow and attack us. As it was
+possible that they might take this course, I took the precaution of
+sending out one of the muleteers, with instructions to mention casually to
+the men that I was leaving the three fellows behind me, and that it might
+be as well for them to confine them under a guard so as to prevent their
+going to Oporto at present and making mischief."
+
+"I agree with you, señor, that they are certainly not likely to make any
+report as to the proceedings here."
+
+"I fancy not; in fact I should not be at all surprised if at the present
+moment they are hanging from the windows of the house of the man they
+caused to be murdered. They will most richly deserve their fate, and it
+may save us some trouble. No doubt the Junta will hear some day that the
+ordenanças here rose, killed the three members of their committee,
+obtained arms at Castro, and marched into the mountains. The Junta will
+care nothing whatever for the killing of its three agents; plenty of men
+of the same kind can be found to do their work. That the mutineers
+afterwards fell in with a British officer, and placed themselves under his
+command, will not concern the Junta one way or the other, and they will
+certainly be a great deal more useful in that way than they would be in
+remaining unarmed here. They may even, when the French once get in motion,
+come to regard the affair altogether as satisfactory. If all the new
+levies were to act in exactly the same way, Portugal would be very
+materially benefited."
+
+"But how are you going to feed them?"
+
+"That is rather a serious question. I suppose they will have to be fed in
+the same way as other irregular bands. However, I shall consider myself
+fully justified in devoting a fifth of the money I am carrying to that
+purpose. I obtained from Villiers £5,000 to enable Romana to support the
+levies he is raising. Those levies will be for the most part unarmed, and
+therefore practically useless; and as these Portuguese will be at any rate
+fairly armed, and are likely to be of very much greater service than a
+horde of Galician peasants, a portion at least of the money can be very
+much more usefully employed in feeding them than were it all given to
+Romana, I have no doubt whatever that when I explain the circumstances to
+General Cradock, he will entirely approve of my appropriating a small
+portion of the money that Villiers has chosen to throw away on Romana.
+When you return I shall get you to carry a report from me to the general,
+stating what I have done. I have no doubt he will warmly approve of it."
+
+On approaching Castro they made a detour to avoid the town.
+
+"There may be more representatives of the Junta there," Terence said, "and
+we may have even more trouble with them than we had with the last. I don't
+want any more bother, especially as I have much greater interest in the
+money now than I had before. I have not a shadow of belief in those bands
+of Portuguese peasants, but I do think that, with the aid of my two
+troopers, I shall be able to lick these fellows into some sort of shape,
+and to annoy Soult, if I cannot stop him. I hope they will find a good
+supply of powder, besides the muskets and ammunition at Castro; we shall
+want it for blowing up bridges and work of that sort."
+
+"I wish I could go with you," Herrara said.
+
+"I really don't see why you should not. I would take the blame on my own
+shoulders. One of your troopers could carry my report to the general, and
+I will say that under the circumstances I have taken upon myself to retain
+you with me in order to assist me in drilling and organizing this band,
+conceiving that your services with me would be very much more useful than
+with your regiment. You see, you were placed under my orders, so that no
+blame can fall upon you for obeying them, and at any rate you certainly
+will be doing vastly better service to the country than if you were
+stationed at Lisbon, with no prospect of an advance for a long time to
+come. Still, of course, I will not retain you against your will."
+
+"I should like it of all things," Herrara said; "but do you really think
+that the general would approve?"
+
+"I have not the least doubt that he would, and at any rate if he did not
+he would only blame me, and not you. Your help would certainly be
+invaluable to me, and so would that of your men. They are all picked
+soldiers, and if we divided the force up into twelve companies, they would
+very soon teach them as much drill as is necessary for work like this.
+Each trooper would command one of the companies, my two orderlies would
+act as field officers; you would be colonel, and I should be political
+officer in command."
+
+Herrara burst into a fit of laughter.
+
+"You are the strangest fellow I ever met, señor. Here is a very serious
+business, and you take it as easily as if it were a game of play. However,
+it does seem to me that we might do some good service. At any rate I am
+quite willing to obey your orders. It would be an adventure to talk of all
+one's life."
+
+"That is right," Terence said; "and there will be some credit to be
+gained, too. Indeed, we can safely say that our band will be very much
+better organized than nineteen out of twenty of the irregular bands."
+
+The track they followed was a very bad one, and the point at which they
+regained the main road was eight miles north of Castro. There was a small
+village here, and they at once halted. Although they had travelled slowly
+they knew that the men could not come along for some time, as they were
+not to start until an hour after them, and would be detained for some
+considerable time at Castro. It was indeed nearly three hours before a
+column marching in good order was seen coming along the road.
+
+"That is a good sign," Terence said; "they have obeyed orders strictly;
+whether they have got the arms I cannot tell yet. The men at the head of
+the column have certainly muskets, but as the armed men were to go in
+front that is no proof."
+
+However, as the column approached, it could be seen that at any rate a
+very considerable number were armed.
+
+"We had better form them up as they come, Herrara. If the head of the
+column stops it will stop them all, and then there will be confusion."
+
+The road through the village was wide. When a hundred ranks had passed
+they were halted, faced round, and marched forward, and so they continued
+until the village was filled with a dense mass of men, twenty deep.
+Terence observed with satisfaction that they had with them six bullock
+carts filled with ammunition-cases, spare muskets, and powder-barrels. The
+men who had first spoken to Terence had headed the column, and these had
+stopped by his side as the others marched in.
+
+"You have succeeded, I see," he said. "I hope that you were enabled to
+accomplish it without violence."
+
+"They were too much surprised to offer much resistance. Five fellows, who
+said they were the committee appointed by the Junta, came to us and told
+us that unless we dispersed at once we should be severely punished. We
+told them that we had come out of our homes at the orders of the Junta,
+but that as the Junta had not supplied us with arms we had come for them,
+as we were not going to fight the French with nothing but sticks. They
+then threatened us again, and we told them that if they hindered us from
+defending the country we should hang them at once; and as they saw we
+meant it, they went quietly off to their houses. Then we broke down the
+door of the magazine. We found four thousand muskets there. Each man took
+one, and we left the remainder and enough ammunition for them, and have
+brought the rest here, together with a hundred spare muskets.
+
+"We have observed excellent order, and no one was hurt or alarmed. The
+only men who left the ranks were a score who went round to the bakers'
+shops by my orders, and bought up all the bread in the place. We found a
+bag with a thousand dollars at the quarters of Cortingos."
+
+"What became of him and his two associates?"
+
+"They had the impudence to come out and harangue us when you had gone; but
+we tied them up to the branch of a tree, so there is an end of them."
+
+"And a very fitting end, too," Terence said. "What have you done with the
+money?"
+
+"The bag is in that cart, señor."
+
+"You had better appoint four of your number as treasurers. I would rather
+not touch it. You must be as careful as you can, and spend it only on the
+barest necessaries of life. We shall have few opportunities of buying
+things in the mountains, but when we do come upon them they must be paid
+for. Of course, we shall go no farther to-night. How many men have you?"
+
+"About two thousand five hundred, señor."
+
+"They must be told off into twelve companies. That will be two hundred and
+ten to each company. I shall appoint one of these soldiers to each company
+to drill and command it. I propose that each company shall elect its other
+officers. Lieutenant Herrara will, under my orders, command the regiment.
+The two English soldiers with me will each take command of six companies.
+The first thing to be done is to tell off the men into companies."
+
+"This we will at once do. After that they can be marched just outside the
+village, and each company will then fall out and elect its officers. When
+that is done the men will be quartered in the village. I have set apart
+one room in each house for the inhabitants, and the men must pack as
+tightly as they can into the others; and of course the sheds and stables
+must also be utilized."
+
+With the assistance of the troopers the work of dividing the force up into
+companies was accomplished in an hour. Herrara then called his men to him.
+
+"You will each take the command of a company," he said, "and drill them
+and teach them the use of their arms. This force is now under the command
+of this British officer. Acting under his orders, I take the command of
+the force under him. So long as we are out you will each act as captains
+of your companies, and your British comrades will act as field officers,
+each taking the command of six companies. We are going to hinder the
+advance of the French, and to cut their communications with Spain. It will
+be a glorious and most honourable duty, and I rely most implicitly on your
+doing your best to make the men under your command fit to meet the enemy.
+Captain Juan Sanches, you will take the first company;" and so he allotted
+to each his command.
+
+The soldiers saluted gravely, but with an air of delight.
+
+"You will, in the first place, march your men to various spots around the
+village; they will then fall out and select six officers each. You will
+see that each man knows the number of his company, so that they can fall
+in without hesitation as soon as the order is given. While you are away we
+shall examine the houses and allot so many to each company."
+
+In the meantime Terence had been similarly instructing the two orderlies.
+Although standing at attention, a broad grin of amusement stole over their
+faces as he went on:
+
+"I did not expect this any more than you did," he said; "but my orders
+were open ones, and were to assist General Romana in hindering the advance
+of the French, and I think that I cannot do so better than by augmenting
+his forces by 2,500 well-armed men. I rely greatly upon you to assist me
+in the work. You will, as you see, each occupy the position of field
+officers, while the Portuguese troopers will each have the command of a
+company. In order to support your authority I shall address you each as
+major, and you can consider that you hold that rank as long as we are out
+with this force. I have seen enough of you both to know that you will do
+your duty well. You will understand that this is going to be no child's
+play; it will be a dangerous service. I shall spare neither myself nor any
+under my command. There will be lots of fighting and opportunities for you
+to distinguish yourselves, and I hope that I shall be able to speak in
+high terms of you when I send in my report to General Cradock."
+
+"We will do our best, sir," Andrew Macwitty said. "How are we to address
+you?"
+
+"I shall keep to Mr. O'Connor, and shall consider myself a political
+officer with supreme military authority. Your titles are simply for local
+purposes, and to give you authority among the Portuguese."
+
+"We don't know enough of the lingo to give the words of command, sir,"
+William Bull said.
+
+"That will not matter. The Portuguese dragoons will teach them as much
+drill as it is necessary for them to know. If you have to post them in a
+position you can do that well enough by signs; but at the same time it is
+most desirable that you should both set to work in earnest and try to pick
+up a little of the language. You both know enough to make a start with,
+and if you ride every day with one or other of the captains of companies,
+and when they are drilling the men stand by and listen to them, you will
+soon learn enough to give the men the necessary orders. As a rule, the two
+wings will act as separate regiments; each of them is rather stronger than
+that of a line regiment at its full war strength, and it will be more
+convenient to treat them as separate regiments, and, until we get to the
+frontier, march them a few miles apart.
+
+"In this way they can occupy different villages, and obtain better
+accommodation than if they were all together. They have money enough to
+buy bread and wine for some time. You and the captains under you had
+better each form a sort of mess. You will, of course, draw rations of
+bread and wine, and I will provide you with money to buy a sheep
+occasionally or some fowls, to keep you in meat."
+
+The two troopers walked gravely away, but as soon as they were at a little
+distance they turned round the corner of a house and burst into a shout of
+laughter.
+
+"How are you finding yourself to-day, Major Macwitty?"
+
+"Just first-rate; and how is yoursel', Major Bull?" and they again went
+off into another shout of laughter.
+
+"This is a rum start, and no mistake, Macwitty."
+
+"Ay, but it is no' an unpleasant one, I reckon. Mr. O'Connor knows what he
+is about, though he is little more than a laddie. The orderly who brought
+our orders to go with him, said he had heard from one of the general's
+mess waiters that the general and the other officers were saying the young
+officer had done something quite out of the way, and were paying him
+compliments on it, and the general had put him on his own staff in
+consequence, and was saying something about his having saved a wing of his
+regiment from being captured by the French. The man had not heard it all;
+but just scraps as he went in and out of the room with wine, but he said
+it seemed something out of the way, and mighty creditable. And now what do
+you think of this affair, Bull?"
+
+"There is one thing, and that is that there is like to be, as he said,
+plenty of fighting, for I should say that he is just the sort of fellow to
+give us the chance of it, and I do think that these Portuguese fellows
+really mean to fight."
+
+"I think that mysel', but there is no answering for these brown-skin
+chaps. Still, maybe it is the fault of the officers as well as the men."
+
+"It will be a rare game anyhow, Macwitty. At any rate I will do my best to
+get the fellows into order. He is a fine young officer, and a thorough
+gentleman, and no mistake. He goes about it all as if he had been
+accustomed to command two regiments all his life, and these Portuguese
+fellows seem to have taken to him wonderfully. At any rate it will be a
+thing for us to talk about all our lives--how we were majors for a bit,
+and fought the French on our own account."
+
+"Yes, if we get home to tell about it," Macwitty said, cautiously. "I
+dinna think we can reckon much on that yet. It is a desperate sort of a
+business, and he is ower young to command."
+
+"I would rather have a young officer than an old one," Bull said,
+carelessly; "and though he is Irish, I feel sure that he has got his head
+screwed on the right way. Look how well he managed last night. Why, an old
+general could not have done better. If he hadn't caught those three
+fellows in a trap, I doubt whether we should have got out of the scrape.
+Sixteen or seventeen men against over two thousand is pretty long odds. We
+should have accounted for a lot of them, but they would have done for us
+in the end."
+
+"You are right there, Bull. I thought mysel' that it was an awkward fix,
+and certainly he managed those Portuguese fellows well, and turned the lot
+round his little finger. Ay, ay; he knows what he is doing perfectly well,
+young as he is."
+
+"Well, we had best be off to look after our commands,"
+
+Bull laughed. "I suppose they will call mine the first regiment, as I have
+the right wing."
+
+While the men were away, Terence and Herrara, with the head man of the
+village, went round to all the houses, and marked on pieces of paper the
+number of men who could manage to lie down on the floors and passages,
+with the number of the company, and fixed them on the doors; they also
+made an arrangement with the proprietor of a neighbouring vineyard to
+supply as much wine as was required, at the rate of a pint to each man.
+When the men returned four men were told off from each company to fetch
+the rations of bread, and another four to carry the wine. They were
+accompanied by one of the newly elected sergeants to check the quantity,
+and see that all was done in order. To prevent confusion the companies
+were kept drawn up until the rations had been distributed; then they were
+taken into their quarters, filling every room, attic and cellar, barn,
+granary, and stable in the village. Then Terence and Herrara in one room,
+and the troopers in another of the little inn, sat down to a meal Terence
+had ordered as soon as they arrived.
+
+The next morning at daybreak they marched off. Terence rode at their head,
+Herrara at the rear of the regiment, and each captain at the head of his
+company. From time to time Terence rode up and down the line, and ordered
+the men to keep step.
+
+"It is just as easy," he said to the captains, "for the men to do so as to
+walk along anyhow, and they will find that the sound of all the footfalls
+together helps them to march steadily and lessens fatigue. Never mind
+about the slope of their muskets; you must not harass them about little
+things, else they will get sulky; it will all come gradually."
+
+Four marches of twenty miles each took them over the mountains in four
+days. The Portuguese marched well, and not a single man fell out from the
+ranks, while at the end of the day they were still fresh enough to allow
+of an hour's drill. Even in that short time there was a very appreciable
+difference in their appearance. They had already learned to keep their
+distances on the march, to slope their muskets more evenly on their
+shoulders, and to carry themselves with a more erect bearing. The first
+two drills had been devoted to teaching them how to load and aim, the
+other two to changes of formation, from column into line and back again.
+
+"They would make fine soldiers, sir," Bull said, on the fourth evening,
+"after they have had six months' drill."
+
+"No doubt they would move more regularly," Terence agreed, "but in
+mountain warfare that makes little difference; as soon as they have
+learned to shoot straight, and to have confidence in themselves, they will
+do just as well holding a defile or the head of a bridge as if they had
+been drilled for months. We must get hold of some horns of some sort, and
+they must learn a few simple calls, such as the advance, retire, form
+square, and things of that sort. With such large companies the voice would
+never be heard in the din of a battle. I hope that we shall get at least a
+week to practise skirmishing over rough ground and to fall back in good
+order, taking advantage of every rock and shelter, before we get under
+fire. Do you know anything about blowing up bridges?"
+
+"Not me, sir. That is engineers' business."
+
+"It is a thing that troopers ought to know something about too, Bull; for
+if you were far in advance without an engineer near you, you might do good
+service by blowing up a bridge and checking the advance of an enemy.
+However, I dare say we shall soon find out how it is best done. Now,
+to-morrow morning we will have three hours of skirmishing work on these
+hillsides. By that time the other regiment will have come up, and then we
+will march together to join Romana."
+
+The Spanish general was much surprised at the arrival of Terence at the
+head of two well-armed regiments. His force had swelled considerably in
+point of numbers, for he had sent messengers all over the country to the
+priests, and these, having a horror of the French, had stirred up the
+peasants by threats of eternal perdition if they came back; while Romana
+issued proclamations threatening death to all who did not take up arms.
+Thus he had some 8,000 men collected, of whom fully half were his own
+dispersed soldiers. He received Terence with effusion.
+
+"Have you brought me arms?" was his first question.
+
+"No, sir; no transport could be obtained in Lisbon, and it was found
+impossible to despatch any muskets to you. I have, however, four thousand
+pounds, in dollars, to hand over. At starting I had five thousand, but of
+these I have, in the exercise of my discretion, retained a thousand for
+the purchase of provisions and necessaries for these two Portuguese
+regiments which are under my command, and with which I hope to do good
+service by co-operating with your force. Have you not found great
+difficulty in victualling your men?"
+
+"No, I have had no trouble on that score," the marquis said. "I found that
+a magazine of provisions had been collected for the use of General Moore's
+army at Montrui, three miles from here, and have been supporting my troops
+on the contents. The money will be most useful, however, directly we move.
+Fully half of my men have guns, for the Galician peasants are accustomed
+to the use of arms. I wish that it had been more, but four thousand pounds
+will be very welcome. Do you propose to join my force with your
+regiments?"
+
+"Not exactly to join them, General; my orders are to give you such
+assistance as I can, and I think that I can do more by co-operating with
+you independently. In the first place, I do not think that my Portuguese
+would like to be commanded by a Spanish general; in the second place, it
+would be extremely difficult to feed so large a body of troops in these
+mountains, and the smaller the number the more easily can they move about.
+Besides, in these defiles a large force of undisciplined men could not act
+efficiently, and in case of a reverse would fall rapidly into confusion. I
+propose to use my force as a sort of flying column, co-operating with
+yours. Thus, if you attack the head of a column, I will fall on their
+flank or rear, will harass their line of communication, blow up bridges
+and destroy roads, and so render their movements slow and difficult. By
+such means I should certainly render you more efficient service than if my
+regiments were to form a part of your force."
+
+"Perhaps that would be best," Romana said. "Could you supply me with any
+ammunition? For although the peasants have guns, very few have more than a
+few rounds of ammunition, and even this is not made up into cartridges."
+
+"That I can do, sir. I can give you 20,000 rounds of ammunition and ten
+barrels of powder. I have no lead, but you may perhaps be able to obtain
+that."
+
+"Yes. The priests, in fact, have sent in a considerable amount. They have
+stripped the roofs off their churches. That will be a most welcome supply
+indeed, and I am heartily obliged to you."
+
+The gift of the ammunition had the effect of doing away with any
+discontent the Spaniard may have felt on finding that Terence was going to
+act independently of him. It had indeed already flashed across his mind
+that it might be unpleasant always to have a British officer with him,
+from whose opinion he might frequently differ, and who might endeavour to
+control his movements. He had hardly expected that, with so much on their
+hands, and the claims that would be made from Oporto for assistance, they
+would have sent any money; and the sixteen thousand dollars were therefore
+most welcome, while the ammunition would be invaluable to him.
+
+Terence had taken out his share of the money, and the cart with the
+remainder for Romana was now at the door. The sacks were brought in,
+Romana called in four or five officers, the dollars were counted out and a
+receipt given to Terence for them.
+
+"I will send the ammunition up in half an hour, Marquis."
+
+"I thank you greatly, señor. I will at once order a number of men to set
+to work casting bullets and preparing cartridge-cases. In the meantime,
+please let me hear what are your general's plans for the defence of
+Portugal."
+
+Terence told him that he was unaware what were the intentions of the
+British general, but that, from what he learned during the few hours that
+he was at Lisbon, he thought it improbable in the extreme that Sir John
+Cradock would be able to send any force to check the advance of the French
+upon Oporto.
+
+"In the first place," he said, "he is absolutely without transport; and in
+the second Victor has a large army, and now that Saragossa has fallen,
+there is nothing to prevent his marching direct upon Lisbon. Lapisse is at
+Salamanca and can enter Portugal from the east. The whole country is in
+confusion; with the exception of a force gathering under Lord Beresford
+there is no army whatever. Lisbon is almost at the mercy of the mob, who,
+supported by the government, march about with British muskets and pikes,
+killing all they suspect of being favourable to the French, and even
+attacking British soldiers and officers in the streets.
+
+"Were the general to march north, he would not get news of Victor's
+advance in time to get back to save Lisbon, therefore I fear that it is
+absolutely impossible for him to attempt to check the French until they
+cross the Douro, perhaps not until they cross the Mondego. The levies of
+the northern province are ordered to assemble at Villa Real, and I
+believe, from what I gathered on the march, that some thousands of men are
+there, but I doubt very greatly whether they are in a state to offer any
+determined resistance to Soult."
+
+"That is a bad look-out," the general said, gloomily; "still, we must hope
+for the best, as Spain will soon raise fresh armies, and so occupy the
+attention of the enemy that Soult will have to fall back. I am in
+communication with General Silveira, who will advance to Chaves; he has
+four thousand men. He has written to me that the bishop had collected
+50,000 peasants at Oporto."
+
+"Where they will probably do more harm than good," Terence said,
+scornfully. "I would rather have half a regiment of British troops than
+the whole lot of them. It is not men that are wanted, it is discipline,
+and 50,000 peasants will be even more unmanageable and useless than 5,000
+would be. By the way, General, I have now to inform you that General
+Cradock has done me the honour of placing me on his personal staff."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," the marquis said, courteously; "it will certainly
+increase your authority greatly."
+
+Terence, leaving Romana, marched his troops to within a mile of Monterey,
+choosing a spot where there was a wood which would afford some shelter to
+the troops, and would give them a supply of firewood. At Monterey he would
+be able to purchase provisions, and he wished to keep them apart from
+Romana's men, whose undisciplined habits and general insubordination would
+counteract his efforts with his own men.
+
+The next ten days were spent in almost incessant drilling, and in
+practising shooting. Bread and wine were obtained from Monterey, and he
+purchased a large flock of sheep at a very low price, the peasants, in
+their fear of the French, being very anxious to turn their flocks and
+herds into money, which could be hid away securely until the tide of
+invasion had passed. Laborious and frugal in their habits, these peasants
+seldom touch meat, and the troops were highly gratified at the rations
+supplied to them, and worked hard and cheerfully at their drill.
+
+Among so many men there were naturally a few who were inclined to be
+insubordinate. These were speedily weeded out. The offenders were promptly
+seized, flogged, and expelled from the force, their places being supplied
+from among the peasants, many of whom were desirous of enlisting. Terence
+sent these off, save a few he selected, to Silveira, as his own force was
+quite as large as could properly be handled. With improved food and
+incessant drill the men rapidly developed into soldiers. Each carried a
+rough native blanket rolled up like a scarf over one shoulder. This was
+indeed the only point of regular equipment. They had no regular uniform,
+but they were all in their peasant dresses. There was no communication
+between them and Romana's forces, for the animosity between the two
+peoples amounted to hatred. The Portuguese would indeed have marched to
+attack them as willingly as they would have received the order to move
+against the French.
+
+During this week of waiting, Silveira with 4,000 men arrived at Chaves,
+and a meeting took place between him and Romana. Both had plans equally
+wild and impracticable, neither would give way, and as they were well
+aware that their forces would never act together, they decided to act
+independently against the French. At the end of eight days the news came
+that Soult, having made all his preparations, had left Orense on his march
+southward.
+
+Terence had bought a quantity of rough canvas, and the men, as they sat
+round the fires after their day's work was over, made haversacks in which
+they could carry rations for four or five days. As soon as the news was
+received that Soult was advancing, Terence ordered sufficient bread to
+supply them for that time, from the bakehouses of Monterey. A hundred
+rounds of ball-cartridge were served round to each. A light cart
+containing eight barrels of powder, a bag with 1,000 dollars, and the
+tent, was the only vehicle taken, and the rest of the ammunition and
+powder was buried deep in the wood, and the bulk of the money privately
+hidden in another spot by Terence and Herrara. Twelve horns had been
+obtained; several of the men were able to blow them, and these, attached
+one to each company, had learned a few calls. Terence and Herrara took
+their post at the edge of the wood to watch the two regiments march past.
+
+"I think they will do," Terence said; "they have picked up marvellously
+since they have been here; and though I should not like to trust them in
+the plain with Franceschi's cavalry sweeping down upon them, I think that
+in mountain work they can be trusted to make a stand."
+
+"I think so," Herrara agreed. "They have certainly improved wonderfully.
+Our peasants are very docile and easily led when they have confidence in
+their commander, and are not stirred up by agitators, but they are given
+to sudden fury, as is shown by the frightful disorders at Lisbon and
+Oporto. However, they certainly have confidence in you, and if they are
+successful in the first skirmish or two they can be trusted to fight
+stoutly afterwards."
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE FIRST SKIRMISH
+
+Soult had spent a month in making his preparations for the invasion of
+Portugal. The time, however, had not been wasted by him. Vigo, Tuy, and
+Guardia had all been occupied without opposition. Salvatierra on the Minho
+had been taken possession of, and thus three roads were open to him by
+which to cross low down on the river, namely, at Guardia, Tuy, and
+Salvatierra. These roads afforded the shortest and easiest line to Oporto.
+Romana and Silveira had both been of opinion that he would march south
+from Orense, through Monterey, and up the valley of the Tamega, and their
+plans were all made with a view of opposing his advance in that direction.
+The night before Terence marched he called upon Romana.
+
+"It seems to me probable, Marquis, as it does to you, that the French will
+advance by this line, but it is possible that they may follow the north
+bank of the Minho and cross at Salvatierra or Tuy. By that route they
+would have several rivers to cross but no mountains or defiles. Were they
+to throw troops across there they would meet with no opposition until they
+arrived at Oporto. It seems to me that my best plan would be to march west
+and endeavour to prevent such a passage being made. If I could do so it
+would prevent your position being turned. There are no bridges marked on
+my map, and if I could secure the boats we should, at any rate, cause
+Soult much difficulty and delay. No doubt there are some local levies
+there, and we should be able to watch a considerable extent of the river;
+indeed, so far as I can see, they must cross, if they cross at all there,
+at one of the three towns on the north side, for it is only by the roads
+running through these that they could carry their artillery and baggage."
+
+"I think that will be an excellent plan," Romana said, "for although I
+believe that they will come this way, I have been very uneasy at the
+thought that they might possibly cross lower down, and so turn our
+position altogether. But you will have to watch not only the three places
+through which the roads pass, but other parts of the river, for they may
+throw a few hundred men across in boats at any point, and these falling
+suddenly upon your parties on the bank, might drive them away and enable
+the main body to cross without resistance."
+
+"I will keep as sharp a look-out as I can, Marquis." Marching north from
+Monterey the troops moved through Villa Real and Gingo, and then, turning
+west, crossed the river Lima, there a small stream, and then following the
+valley of that river for some distance, turned off and struck the Minho
+opposite Salvatierra, having covered fifty miles in two days. Here a
+considerable number of armed peasants and ordenanças were gathered. They
+were delighted at the arrival of two well-armed regiments; and hearing
+from Herrara that Terence was a staff-officer of the British general, and
+was sent by him to direct the defence of the river, they at once placed
+themselves under his orders.
+
+Terence found, to his satisfaction, that on the approach of the French
+most of the boats had been removed to the south side of the river and
+hauled up the bank. His first order was that anyone acquainted with the
+position of any boats on the other side of the river should at once inform
+him of it. It was not long before he heard of some twenty or thirty that
+had been hidden by their owners on the other side, in order that they
+might have the means of crossing to escape the French exactions. At
+nightfall several boats were launched, and parties of men, directed by
+those who had given information, started to cross the river and bring
+those boats over. The Minho was at this time in flood and was running with
+great rapidity, and Terence felt confident that in its present state none
+of the enemy's cavalry would attempt to cross it by swimming.
+
+He decided on placing the largest part of his force opposite Tuy, as the
+principal road south passed through this town, and he would here be
+supported by the guns of the fortress of Valenca. He stationed his first
+battalion here, with orders to line the river for six miles above and
+below this spot. Half of the second battalion he left under Macwitty, and
+with the other half determined to march down towards the mouth of the
+river. The next morning all the boats returned, bringing those for which
+they had been searching, and after closely questioning the guides he felt
+assured that there could be so few remaining that the French would hardly
+attempt to cross the river in the face of the crowd of peasants--whom they
+could not but see--lining the southern bank.
+
+As soon as the boats had returned he marched with the three companies.
+When half-way between Valenca and Caminha he met a peasant, who had
+crossed from the northern bank in a boat that had escaped the search of
+the French. He reported that some days before some 10,000 of the French
+had arrived in the neighbourhood of the village Campo Sancos, and that a
+division had been hard at work since their arrival transporting some large
+fishing-boats and heavy guns from the harbour of Guardia to Campo Sancos.
+The guns had been placed in a battery on a height, and the boats launched
+in a little river that ran into the Minho village. Terence learned that
+the work was now nearly completed, and the peasant had risked his life in
+coming across to give information.
+
+Terence at once sent off a mounted man to Valenca to request Herrara to
+march down with the first battalion and to send on to Macwitty to leave
+one company to assist the ordenanças to guard the river between
+Salvatierra and Valenca, and to take post with the other two in front of
+the latter town. At nightfall he was joined by Herrara.
+
+After explaining the situation to him, Terence said:
+
+"It will not be necessary to watch the river above Campo Sancos, for it
+would be impossible to row heavy fishing-boats against this stream, so
+they must land somewhere between that place and the mouth of the river.
+Thus we have only some eight miles to guard, and as we have eighteen
+hundred men, besides the peasants, we ought to be able to do that
+thoroughly. I expect they will endeavour to make the passage to-night, and
+they will certainly cross, as nearly as they can, opposite the village.
+The battery is about a mile below it, and is no doubt intended to cover
+their landing. I shall post myself with two companies of the first
+battalion there, and extend another company from that point up to Campos
+Sancos. You, with the other three companies and the three companies of the
+second battalion, will watch the river below.
+
+"It is unlucky that there is no moon at present. I do not expect, however,
+that the attack will take place till morning, for, in the first place, the
+peasant said that although the guns had been got up to the height they had
+not yet been placed in position, and as we have noticed no movement there
+all day, nor seen a French soldier anywhere near the river, they will only
+be beginning work now, and can hardly have finished it until well on in
+the night. Besides, when the first party who crossed have obtained a
+footing here, the boats will have to go backwards and forwards. No doubt
+the cavalry will be among the first to cross, and they would hardly get
+the horses on board in the dark. It is of vital importance to repel this
+attack, for if the French got across they would be at Vianna to-morrow
+evening, and at Oporto three days later. I don't suppose that place will
+resist for a day; and if, as is probable, Victor moves up from the south,
+he and Soult may be in front of Lisbon in ten days' time.
+
+"You had better tell your captains this, in order that they may understand
+how vital it is to prevent the passage. From what I hear from the
+peasants, the boats will not be able to carry more than three or four
+hundred men, and wherever they land we ought to be able to crush them
+before the boats can cross again and bring over reinforcements."
+
+"Well, Bull, I think we are likely to have fighting tonight," Terence
+said, as Herrara marched off with his men.
+
+"I hope so, sir. I don't think they will be able to cross in our face, and
+it will do the men a lot of good to win the first fight."
+
+"If Romana's troops were worth anything, Soult would find himself in an
+awkward position. He has got his whole army jammed up in the corner here,
+and if he cannot cross there is nothing for him to do but to march along
+the river to Orense, and then come down by the road through Monterey.
+There are several streams to cross as he marches up the bank. Romana is
+sure to have heard of his concentrating somewhere down near the mouth of
+the river, and I should think that by this time he will have crossed near
+Orense, and will arrive in time to dispute the passage of these streams.
+He told me that the Galician peasants have been so enraged by their cattle
+being carried off for the use of the French army that they will rise in
+insurrection the instant the French march, and if that is the case, they
+and Romana ought to be able to give Soult a lot of trouble before he
+reaches Orense."
+
+"I don't think those fellows with Romana are likely to do much, sir. The
+French will just sweep them before them."
+
+"I am afraid so, Bull; still, if we can prevent the French from crossing
+here and compel them to follow the long road through Monterey, we shall
+have done good service. It would give Portugal another seven or eight days
+to prepare, and will send the enemy through a country where undisciplined
+troops ought to be able to make a stand even against soldiers like the
+French."
+
+All through the night Terence and his major patrolled the bank from the
+point facing Campo Sancos to a mile below that on which the French were
+placing their guns. Everything went on quietly, sentries at intervals kept
+watch, and the men, wrapped in their blankets, lay down in parties of
+fifty at short intervals.
+
+"The day is beginning to break," Terence said, as he met Bull coming back
+from the lower end of the line. "I am not afraid now, for if we can but
+see them coming we can gather two or three hundred men at any point they
+may be making for. Besides, our shooting would be very wild in the dark."
+
+"That it would, sir; not one shot in fifty would hit the boats, let alone
+the men; and when the Portuguese saw the boats come on without pause in
+spite of their fire, they would be likely to lose heart and to get
+unsteady."
+
+"We may as well stop here, Bull. It will be light enough to see across the
+river in another quarter of an hour, and if there are no boats coming
+then, I think it is pretty certain that they will not begin until
+to-morrow night. The peasant said that they have only got 10,000 troops
+there as yet, and we know that Soult has more than double that, and he may
+wait another day for them all to come up."
+
+Ten minutes later one of the sentries close to them shouted out that he
+could see boats. Terence ran up to him.
+
+"Where are they, my man?"
+
+"Nearly opposite, sir."
+
+Terence gazed fixedly for a moment, and then said: "I see them; they are
+heading straight across." Then he gave the order to the man who always
+accompanied him with a horn, to blow the alarm.
+
+At the sound, the troops sprang to their feet, and some hundreds of
+peasants, who were lying down a short distance behind, ran up. The horn
+was evidently heard on the other side of the river, for immediately the
+guns of the battery opposite opened fire, and their shot whizzed overhead.
+The boats plied their oars vigorously, and the French soldiers cheered;
+they were but some three hundred yards away when first discovered. The
+Portuguese were coming rapidly up at the double. Terence shouted that not
+a shot was to be fired until he gave the order. He was obeyed by his own
+men, but the peasants at once began a wild fire at the boats. By the time
+these were within fifty yards of the shore Terence saw with satisfaction
+that fully a company had come up. The men stood firmly, although the balls
+from the French battery ploughed up the ground around them.
+
+"Wait until the first boat grounds," Terence shouted again. Another minute
+and the first fishing-boat touched the shore. Then the horn sounded, and
+the front line of the Portuguese poured a terrible volley into it. A few
+of the French soldiers only succeeded in gaining the land, and these were
+at once shot down. Then the troops opened a rolling fire upon the other
+boats. The French replied with their musketry, but their fire was feeble.
+They had expected to have effected a landing with but slight opposition,
+and the concentrated fire of the troops and the peasantry convinced them
+that, even should they gain the shore, they would be greatly outnumbered,
+and would be shot down before they could gather in any regular formation.
+Many of the rowers, who were Spanish peasants forced into the work, had
+fallen. Most of their comrades left the oars and threw themselves into the
+bottom of the boats, and the craft drifted down the stream.
+
+Shouts of triumph rose from the Portuguese, who obeyed the signal to form
+fours, and marched along parallel with the boats, forming line
+occasionally and firing heavy volleys. The French soldiers now seized the
+oars and rowed the craft into the middle of the river, and then slowly and
+painfully made their way to Campo Sancos, having lost more than half of
+the three hundred men who had left there. The French battery ceased to
+fire, and the din of battle was succeeded by a dead silence. Once
+convinced that the French had abandoned the attempt to land, the
+Portuguese broke into loud shouts of triumph, which were only checked when
+Terence ordered them to form up in close order. When they did so he
+addressed a few words to them, complimenting them upon the steadiness that
+they had shown, and upon their obeying his order to reserve their fire
+till the French were close at hand.
+
+"I was convinced that you would behave well," he said, "and in future I
+shall have no hesitation in meeting a body of French equal in numbers to
+yourselves."
+
+Messengers were at once despatched to order up all the troops that had
+been posted below, and in two hours the whole force, with the exception of
+the three companies, between them and Salvatierra, were assembled.
+
+"The question is, Herrara," Terence said, when he and his colonel had
+exchanged congratulations on the repulse of the French, "what will Soult
+do next?
+
+"That is a question upon which everything depends. I don't think he will
+try again here. He has been eight days in preparing those boats to cross,
+and now that he knows there is a very strong force here, and that even if
+he got three or four times as many boats he would scarcely be able to
+force a passage, my idea is that he will abandon the attack and march at
+once for Orense. In that case the question is, shall we wait until we have
+assured ourselves that he has gone, and then follow and harass his rear?
+or shall we march up the river and then cross to help Romana to bar his
+passage?"
+
+"I think the latter will be the best plan. You see, we should not be
+cutting his communication were we to march now, because when he has
+crossed the river Avia he will have direct communication with Ney, and
+will of course draw all his supplies from the north, so I think that we
+had better lose no time in pushing up along the river."
+
+The troops were ordered to light fires and cook their breakfast. While
+this was going on Terence assembled the peasant bands, and told them that
+he thought the French would not make another attempt to cross, but that
+they must remain in a state of watchfulness until they received certain
+news from the other side that they had marched for Orense.
+
+As soon as breakfast was over and the cooking-pots packed in the cart, the
+two regiments started on their march. They were in high spirits, and
+laughed and sang as they tramped along. They had lost but two killed by
+the French musketry fire, and there were but five so severely wounded as
+to be unable to take their places in the ranks. These Terence ordered to
+be taken in a country cart to Pontelima, and he provided them with money
+for their support there until cured.
+
+The men having been on foot all night, Terence halted them after doing
+fifteen miles. On the following morning, soon after they had started, they
+saw a large body of French cavalry following the road by the river. These
+were La Houssaye's, who had been quartered at Salvatierra, The river here
+was narrower than it had been below, and halting the troops and forming
+them in line, two or three volleys were fired across the river. These did
+some execution, and caused much confusion in the French ranks. The
+horsemen, however, galloped rapidly up the river, and were soon out of
+range.
+
+"That settles the question, Herrara. The French are retracing their steps,
+and bound for Orense. Soult has not let the grass grow under his feet, and
+the cavalry are evidently sent on to clear out any bands of peasants that
+may be gathering at the rivers."
+
+La Houssaye, indeed, twice in the course of the day broke up irregular
+bands, and burned two villages. The infantry and artillery, after passing
+through Salvatierra, moved by the main road. This, however, was found to
+be so bad that the artillery were, with ten of the sixteen light guns, and
+six howitzers, left behind at Tuy, with a great ammunition and baggage
+train, together with 900 sick. A garrison of 500 men were left in the
+fort. Orders were given that all stragglers were to be retained at that
+place.
+
+
+[Illustration: "THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE
+MET WITH HEAVY VOLLEYS"]
+
+
+The march of the French was not unopposed. When they arrived at the river
+Morenta they found 800 Spaniards had barricaded the bridges and repulsed
+the advance parties of cavalry. On the 17th, at daybreak, the leading
+division attacked them fiercely, carried the bridge, and pursued them
+hotly, until at a short distance from Ribadavia the Spaniards rallied upon
+some 10,000 irregulars arrayed in order of battle in a strong position
+covering the town. The rest of the division and a brigade of cavalry came
+up, and, directed by Soult himself, attacked the Spaniards, drove them
+through the town and across the Avia with great loss. Twenty priests were
+found among the slain. The next day three or four thousand other
+irregulars from the valley of Avia were attacked and scattered, and on the
+18th the French cavalry, with three brigades of infantry, entered Orense.
+
+An hour earlier Terence had arrived on the other side of the river, and
+had at once made preparations for blowing up the bridge. The men had been
+but a short time at work when numbers of the townsmen streamed across the
+bridge and reported that a great body of the French were entering the
+town. Terence had a hasty consultation with Herrara, and both agreed that
+they could not hope to hold the bridge long against the whole French army,
+especially as they had learned two hours before from a peasant who had
+ridden up, that strong bodies of French troops had crossed the river by
+the ferries at Ribadavia and Barbibante, and that they might shortly be
+attacked in flank. The powder-barrels were therefore hastily repacked, and
+the troops marched off towards the hills on their left.
+
+They were but half-way across the plain when a regiment of French cavalry
+were seen riding in pursuit. The regiments were at once formed into
+squares within fifty yards of each other, and Terence and Bull in the
+centre of one square, and Herrara and Macwitty in the other, exhorted the
+men to stand steady, assuring them there was nothing whatever to be feared
+from the cavalry if they did so. The French rode up towards the squares,
+but were met by heavy volleys, and after riding round them drew off,
+having suffered considerable loss, being greatly surprised at finding that
+instead of a mob of armed men, such as they had met at Avia, they were
+encountered by soldiers possessing the steadiness of trained troops.
+
+The regiments resumed their march until far up the hill, where they
+proceeded to cut down trees and brushwood and to form an encampment, as
+their leader had decided to stay here and await events until Soult's
+intentions were clearly shown. There were two courses open to the French
+general. He might advance to Allaritz and then march along the Lima, be
+joined by his artillery and train from Tuy, and then move direct upon
+Oporto, or he might follow the valley of the Tamega to Chaves, whence he
+would have the choice of routes, and take either that over the Sierra de
+Cabrera to Braga, or continue his course down the valley until he reached
+the Douro.
+
+It was not until the 4th of March that the French again moved forward. In
+the meantime Terence was forced to remain quiet, except that each day he
+marched his men farther among the hills and drilled them for some hours
+perseveringly. The affair on the Minho and the repulse of the French
+cavalry had given them great confidence in themselves and their leader,
+and had shown them the value of steadiness, and of maintaining order and
+discipline in the ranks. They therefore devoted themselves even more
+willingly and zealously than before to their military exercises, and the
+ten days taken by Soult in preparing for the advance were well spent in
+accustoming the Portuguese to rapid movements among the mountains, and to
+attaining a fair knowledge of what would be required of them in mountain
+warfare. Two companies always remained in the camp, and these had several
+skirmishes with bodies of French marauders, and small parties of cavalry
+making across the country to ascertain the position and strength of the
+Portuguese.
+
+The advance of the French was rapid, and on the 5th the cavalry and a
+portion of the infantry reached Villa Real, where, on the evening of the
+same day, two divisions of infantry arrived. That night Terence with his
+men having on the 4th marched along the hills parallel to the road, made a
+forced march, crossed the road and took up a position on the spur of the
+mountains between Montalegre and the river. Even yet it was doubtful which
+route Soult intended to follow, as the division at Villa Real might be
+intended only to prevent Romana and Silveira falling upon his flank. As he
+marched down the valley of the Lima, he had learned from Romana that he
+and Silveira had decided to fall back to Chaves, and that he agreed with
+Terence's opinion that he had better remain in the rear of the French, and
+intercept their communications with Orense.
+
+On the following morning the French advanced in force to Monterey. Romana
+abandoned the position as they advanced, drew off to Verin, and then
+retired along the road towards Sanabria. He thus left it open to himself
+either to follow the road to Chaves, as agreed upon, or to retire into
+Spain through the mountains. Franceschi's cavalry and a battalion of
+French infantry overtook between two and three thousand men forming the
+rear of Romana's column. The latter drew up in a great square. Franceschi
+attacked the rear face with his infantry, passed with his cavalry round
+the sides of the square, and placed himself between it and the rest of the
+retiring column. He had with him four regiments of cavalry, and now hurled
+a regiment at each side of the square.
+
+The Spaniards were at once seized with dismay, broke their formation, and
+in a moment the French cavalry were upon them, cutting and trampling them
+down. Twelve hundred were killed and the rest made prisoners. As soon as
+Romana heard of the disaster that had befallen his rearguard, he broke his
+engagement with Silveira and led his force over the mountains into Spain,
+where the news of his defeat caused the Spanish insurgent bands to
+disperse rapidly to their homes, where they delivered up their arms; and
+even the priests, who had been the main promoters of the rising, seeing
+the failure of all their plans, advised them to maintain a peaceable
+attitude in future.
+
+Silveira was not more fortunate, for two thousand of his troops with some
+guns, issuing from the mountains just as Franceschi returned from the
+annihilation of Romana's rearguard, the French cavalry charged and
+captured the Portuguese guns, and drove Silveira down the valley.
+
+Soult paused two days at Monterey, the baggage and hospital train, and a
+great convoy of provisions being brought up from Orense, under the guard
+of a whole division. This rendered it evident that he intended to cut
+himself off altogether from Spain, and to subsist entirely upon the
+country. It was clear then that it was useless to attempt to fall upon his
+rear, and by a long march through the mountains Terence took his force
+down to Chaves.
+
+Here he found that Silveira, deserted by Romana and beaten by Franceschi,
+had fallen back to a mountain immediately behind Chaves. Terence continued
+his march until he joined him. He found a great tumult going on among his
+troops; always insubordinate, they were now in a state of mutiny. Many of
+the officers openly advocated that they should desist from a struggle in
+which success was altogether hopeless, and should go over and join the
+French. The troops, however, not only spurned the advice, but fell upon
+and killed several of those who offered it, and demanded from Silveira
+that he should lead them down to defend Chaves. This he refused to do,
+saying that the fortifications were old and useless, the guns worn out,
+and that were they to shut themselves up there, they would be surrounded
+and forced to surrender.
+
+This refusal excited the mutineers to the highest pitch, and when Terence
+arrived they were clamouring for his death. A small party of soldiers who
+remained faithful to him surrounded him, but they would speedily have been
+overpowered had it not been for the arrival of Terence's command. As soon
+as he understood what was happening, he formed his men into a solid body,
+marched through the excited crowd, and formed up in hollow square round
+the general. The firm appearance of the force and the fact that they
+possessed more arms than the whole of Silveira's army, had its effect. The
+mutineers, however, to the number of 3,500, determined to carry out their
+intentions, and at once marched away to Chaves. Silveira remained with but
+a few hundred men, as the 2,000 routed by Franceschi had not rejoined him.
+
+"I owe you my life, señor," he said to Terence, "for those mad fools would
+certainly have murdered me."
+
+"It is not surprising," Terence said. "A mob of men who are not soldiers
+cannot be expected to observe discipline, especially when insubordination
+and anarchy have been absolutely fomented by the authorities, crimes of
+all sorts perpetrated by their orders, and no efforts whatever made to
+punish ill-doers."
+
+"Your men seem to be disciplined and obedient," Silveira said.
+
+"They have been taught to be so, General, and I believe that I can rely
+upon them absolutely. If you had but officers and discipline, I am certain
+that your soldiers would be excellent; but as it is, with a few
+exceptions, your officers are worse than useless. They are appointed as a
+reward for their support of the Junta; they are ignorant of their duties,
+and many of them favour the French; they regard their soldiers as raised,
+not for the defense of Portugal, but for the support of the Junta. I have
+seen enough to know that the peasants are brave, hardy, and ready to
+fight. But what can they do when they are but half-armed, and no attempt
+whatever is made to discipline them? Have you heard, since these troubles
+began, of a single man being shot for insubordination, or of a single
+officer being punished even for the grossest neglect of orders? It is
+nothing short of murder to put a mob of half-armed peasants to stand
+against French troops."
+
+"All that is quite true," Silveira said, heartily. "However, I shall do my
+best, and shall, I doubt not, soon have another force collected, for now
+that the French have fairly entered Portugal, and are marching towards the
+capital, every man will take up arms. And you, señor, what do you mean to
+do?"
+
+"I shall harass the French as I see an opportunity, but I shall not
+subject my men to certain disaster by joining any of the new levies. I
+know what my men can do, and what I can do with them; but if mixed up with
+thousands of raw peasants they would be swept away by the latter and share
+in any misfortune that might befall them. What I have seen of your troops
+to-day, and what I saw of Romana's, is quite enough to show me that to
+lead peasants into the field is simply to bring misfortune and death upon
+them. Far better that each leader should collect two or three hundred men
+and teach them discipline and a little drill instead of taking a mob
+thousands strong out to battle. Those men that have marched down into
+Chaves will, you will see, offer no resistance, and will simply be killed
+or made prisoners to a man. Now, may I ask if you have any stores here,
+General? We have had great difficulty in buying food up in the mountains,
+and as it will be useless to you, and certainly cannot be carried off, I
+should be glad to fill the men's haversacks before we go farther."
+
+"Certainly. I had enough meat and bread for my whole force for a week, and
+you are welcome to take as much as you require. Which way do you propose
+marching?"
+
+"I am waiting to see which way the French go after leaving Chaves. Whether
+they go down the valley or across the mountains to Braga, I shall
+endeavour to get ahead of them; and as my men are splendid marchers, I
+have no doubt that I shall succeed in doing so, even if the French have a
+few hours' start. If I can do nothing else, I can at least make their
+cavalry keep together instead of riding in small parties all over the
+country to sweep in food."
+
+Fires were soon lighted, some bullocks killed and cut up, and a hearty
+meal eaten. They had already made a very long march, and were ordered to
+lie down until nightfall. Silveira marched away with his men, and Terence
+and Herrara sat and watched the road, down which bodies of French troops
+could already be seen advancing from Monterey towards Chaves. As they
+approached the town, gun after gun was fired. The advance-guard halted and
+waited until the whole division had come up.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+IN THE PASSES
+
+On the following day the French cavalry, with a division of infantry, took
+up their position beyond the town, so as to cut off the retreat of the
+garrison, who were then summoned to surrender. No reply was made, but for
+the next twenty-four hours the defenders, although in no way attacked,
+kept up a random fire from the guns on the walls, and with musketry, to
+which no reply whatever was made by the French.
+
+On the following day, the whole army having now come up, the town was
+again summoned, and at once surrendered, when Soult, who did not wish to
+be hampered with a mob of prisoners, contemptuously allowed them to depart
+to their homes.
+
+After bringing up his sick from Chaves, and discovering that the passes
+through the mountains were unoccupied, and that the Portuguese army was at
+Braga, Soult, on the 14th, began to move in that direction, both for the
+purpose of crushing Friere and getting into communication with Tuy, and
+being joined by his artillery from there. As soon as this movement was
+seen from the hill where Terence's regiments had been for three days
+resting, preparations were made for marching, and with haversacks well
+filled with bread and meat, the troops started in good spirits. Terence
+procured the services of a peasant well acquainted with the mountains, and
+was led by paths used by shepherds across the hills, and after a twelve
+hours' toilsome journey came down into the defiles that the French were
+following. There he learned from peasants, that, with the exception of a
+small scouting party two days before, there were no signs of any hostile
+force.
+
+The men were at once set to work to destroy a bridge across a torrent at
+the mouth of a defile. It was built of stone, but was old and in bad
+repair, and the men had little difficulty in prising the stones of the
+side walls from their places, and throwing them down into the stream.
+Another party made a hole over the key of an arch. A barrel of powder was
+placed here, and a train having been laid, was covered up by a pile of
+rocks. A third party formed a barricade six feet high, across the end of
+the bridge, and also two breastworks, each fifty yards away on either
+side, so as to flank the approaches to the other end and the bridge. The
+troops were extended along the hillsides, one battalion on each side of
+the defile, under the shelter of the rocks and brush.
+
+While these preparations were being made, the horses were taken up to the
+top of the hills by some paths known to the peasants of a little village
+near the mouth of the defile, the women and children following them.
+Terence and Herrara had a consultation, and then the former called Bull
+and Macwitty to him.
+
+"Now," he said, "you understand that while we will defend this defile as
+long as we can, we will run no risk of a defeat that might end in a rout.
+We shall inflict heavy loss upon them before they can repair the bridge,
+and can certainly force their cavalry to remain quiet until they bring up
+their infantry. Colonel Herrara, you, with one company of the second
+battalion, will hold the village, and we shall sweep the column advancing
+along the bottom of the defile with a fire from each flank, while they
+will also be exposed to your fire in front. When they succeed in making
+their way up to within charging distance you will evacuate the village and
+join Macwitty on the hill.
+
+"They must attack us there on both sides, for no troops could march
+through until the hillsides are cleared. It is probable that they may do
+this before they attempt to attack the village, but in any case you must
+keep up a steady fire until they get within fifty yards of you, then
+retire up the hill, but leave a party to keep them in check until the rest
+have gained the crest and formed up in good order. By the time you do this
+they will have driven in your rear-guard. The French will be breathless
+with their exertions when they reach you. Wait till a considerable number
+have gained the crest, then, before they have time to form, pour a heavy
+volley into them and charge, and then sweep them with your fire until they
+reach the bottom. The next time they will no doubt attack in much greater
+force; in that case we will move quietly off without waiting for them, and
+will reunite at the village of Romar, five miles in the rear. If we find,
+as we near it, that the French are in possession, we will halt, and I will
+send orders to the second regiment as to what is to be done. If the force
+is not too great we will attack them at night."
+
+"How will you know where we shall be, sir?" Macwitty said.
+
+"I have arranged with Colonel Herrara that when you halt you shall light
+two fires a short distance from each other. I will reply by lighting one,
+and the fires are then to be extinguished."
+
+This being arranged, Terence went down and applied a match to the train,
+and then retired at a run. Three minutes later there was a heavy
+explosion, rocks flew high in the air, and when the smoke cleared away, a
+cheer from the hillside told that the explosion had been successful.
+Terence returned to the bridge; a considerable portion of the arch had
+been blown away, and putting fifty men to work, the gap was soon carried
+across the road and widened, so that there was a chasm twelve feet across.
+The parties who were to man the breastworks were now posted. Terence
+himself took the command here. The defenders consisted of a company of
+Bull's battalion.
+
+Half an hour later a deep sound was heard, and as it grew louder the head
+of a column of cavalry was seen approaching. The whole of the force on the
+hillsides were hidden behind rocks or brushwood; not a head was shown
+above the breastworks. The cavalry, however, halted, and an officer with
+four men rode forward. When within fifty yards of the bridge a volley of
+twenty muskets flashed out from the work behind it. The officer and three
+men fell, the other galloped back to the main body. He had seen nothing
+beyond the fact that there was a breastwork across the road, and
+Franceschi, thinking that he had but a small force of peasants in front of
+him, ordered a squadron to charge, and clear the obstacle.
+
+As before, they were allowed to approach to within fifty yards of the
+bridge, when from the breastwork in front, and the two side redoubts a
+storm of musketry was poured into them. The effect was terrible; the head
+of the squadron was swept away, but a few men charged forward until close
+to the break in the bridge. Most of these fell, but a few galloped back,
+and the remains of the squadron then trotted off in good order.
+
+No further movement took place for an hour, and then a body of infantry,
+some two thousand strong, appeared. As they passed the cavalry, the first
+two companies were thrown out in skirmishing order, and were soon swarming
+down towards the stream. The banks of this, although very steep, were not
+impassable by infantry, and the defenders of the two side redoubts spread
+themselves out along the bank, and, as the skirmishers approached, opened
+fire.
+
+For a time the rattle of firearms was incessant. When the main body of
+French infantry had, as their commander thought, ascertained the strength
+of the defenders, they advanced in solid order until near the bridge, and
+then wheeled off on either flank and advanced with loud shouts. A horn was
+sounded, and from the hillsides near a scattering fire of musketry opened
+at once. The French, however, pushed forward without a pause. Terence's
+horn sounded again, the men fell back from the bank, and the whole company
+ran at full speed across the narrow valley, and took their place with
+their comrades on the hillside.
+
+The French crossed the stream under a heavy fire, and, dividing into two
+portions, prepared to assault both hills simultaneously. The combat was
+obstinate, the French suffered heavily, but pushed their way up
+unflinchingly. The Portuguese, encouraged by the shouts of their officers,
+held their ground obstinately, retreating only at the sound of their
+horns, and renewing the combat a short distance higher up. Being sheltered
+by the rocks behind which they lay, their loss was but trifling in
+comparison to that of the French, who were forced to expose themselves as
+they advanced, and whose numbers dwindled so rapidly that when half-way up
+they were on both sides brought to a stand-still, and then, taking shelter
+behind the rocks, they maintained the contest on more equal terms.
+
+But by this time a column of 4,000 men was marching down to the stream,
+and, dividing like the first, climbed the hills. The Portuguese now fell
+back more rapidly, their fire slackened, and the French, with loud shouts,
+pressed up the hill. Presently the resistance ceased altogether, and,
+firing as they advanced at the flying figures, of whom they caught an
+occasional glimpse, the French pressed forward as rapidly as the nature of
+the ground would permit, cheering loudly. At last they reached the top of
+the hill, and the leaders paused in doubt as they saw before them some
+eleven or twelve hundred men drawn up in line four deep at a distance of
+fifty yards. Every moment added to the number of the French, and as they
+arrived their officers tried to form them into order. When their numbers
+about equalled those of the Portuguese, two heavy volleys were poured into
+them, and then, with loud shouts, the Portuguese rushed at them with
+levelled bayonets.
+
+The charge was irresistible. The French were hurled over the crest and
+went down the hill, carrying confusion and dismay among those climbing up.
+The Portuguese pressed them hotly, giving them no time to rally, and
+forcing them down to the bottom of the hill without a check. Then at the
+signal they fell back to the post that they had held at the beginning of
+the fight. The success was equal on both hillsides, and the regiments
+cheered each other's victory with shouts which rose high above the roar of
+musketry. With their usual discipline, the French speedily rallied, in
+spite of the heavy fire that from both sides swept their ranks, and they
+prepared, when joined by another regiment which was approaching at the
+double to their assistance, to renew the assault.
+
+Terence saw that, this time, the odds would be too great to withstand. His
+horn sounded the retreat, and the Portuguese turned to make their way up
+the hill just as a French battery opened fire. Sheltered among the rocks,
+the infantry below were unconscious of the movement, for on either side a
+company had been left to continue their fire until the main body gained
+the top of the hill, when they too were summoned by the horns to fall
+back. The wounded had been all taken up the hill, and were laid in
+blankets and carried off by their comrades. As the two regiments marched
+away from the crest of the defile the soldiers were in the highest
+spirits. They had repulsed with heavy loss a French force of three times
+their own strength, and they greeted Terence and Bull, as they rode
+together along the column, with enthusiastic cheers.
+
+The wounded, which in the first battalion numbered forty-three, were
+despatched with a party a hundred strong to a village four miles away
+among the mountains, and the regiment marched on until it reached the
+point agreed upon.
+
+Two men were sent forward to reconnoitre the village, and returned with
+the report that it had already been occupied by a very strong force of
+French cavalry. Half an hour later two wreaths of smoke rose on the
+opposite hill. Sticks had been gathered in readiness, and the answering
+signal was at once made. Two minutes later the smoke ceased to rise on
+either side. Terence now received the reports of the captains of the six
+companies, and found that fifteen men had been killed, and that his
+strength was thus reduced by fifty-eight. The men were now told that they
+could lie down, the companies keeping together so as to be ready for
+instant action.
+
+Trifling wounds, of which there were some two or three and twenty, were
+then attended to and bandaged. Some of these were quite serious enough to
+have warranted the men falling out, but the delight and pride they felt at
+their success had been so great that they had refused to be taken off with
+their disabled comrades. Terence made a round of the troops and addressed
+a few words to each company, praising their conduct, and thanking them for
+the readiness and quickness with which they had obeyed his orders.
+
+"You see, my lads," he said, "what can be done by discipline. Had it not
+been for the steady drill you have had ever since we marched, we could not
+have hoped to oppose the French, and I should not have ventured to have
+done so. Now, you see, you have proved that you are as brave as the enemy,
+and not only have you beaten them with heavy loss, but the effect of this
+fight will be to render them more cautious in future and slower in their
+movements, and the news of the blow you have struck will inspirit your
+countrymen everywhere."
+
+Having nothing else to do until after darkness fell, Terence, after
+finishing his round, sat down and added an account of the fight to the
+report he had written up at their last halting-place. This was written in
+duplicate, one copy being intended for General Cradock, and the other for
+the Portuguese authorities at Oporto. Outposts had been thrown out towards
+the village as soon as they halted, and after opening their haversacks,
+eating a meal, and quenching their thirst at a little rivulet that ran
+down to the village, the men lay down to sleep, tired with their long
+night's march and the excitement of the battle.
+
+Terence was no exception to the general rule, for although he had had his
+horse, yet for the greater part of the distance he had marched on foot, as
+the ruggedness of the ground traversed had in most places been too great
+to travel in safety on horseback in the dark. When night fell all were on
+their feet again, refreshed by a long sleep. Two men were now sent down to
+reconnoitre the village again. They reported that it was still occupied by
+the cavalry. The infantry, as they could see by the fires along the road,
+had bivouacked there, and one regiment at least had passed through the
+village and had occupied the road ahead.
+
+Terence had already written out his instructions to Herrara in triplicate,
+and three men were despatched with these. They were warned to be extremely
+careful, for the men who had first been sent, had reported that the French
+had posted sentries out on their flanks. One of the messengers was to make
+a long detour to cross the road half a mile ahead of the French, and then
+to make his way along on the opposite hillside to the spot where Herrara
+was posted. The other two were to make their way as best they could
+through the village. The pieces of paper they carried were rolled up into
+little balls, and they were ordered that, if noticed and an alarm given,
+these were at once to be swallowed.
+
+Soon after ten o'clock the regiment formed up. Terence had given detailed
+orders to the captain of each company. These were instructed to call up
+their men twenty at a time, and to explain their orders to them, so that
+every man should know exactly what to do. No sound had been heard in the
+village, and Terence felt sure that Herrara must have received his orders,
+and at a quarter past ten he with one company moved slowly down towards
+the village; Bull, with the main body of the force, marching westward
+along the hills. Six men had volunteered for the service of silencing the
+French outposts, and these, leaving their muskets behind, stole forward in
+advance of the company, which halted at some little distance from the
+French centre.
+
+In a quarter of an hour they returned. Eight French sentries had been
+surprised and killed, the Portuguese crawling up to them until near enough
+to spring upon and stab them without the slightest alarm being given. The
+company now moved silently forward again until within a hundred yards of
+the village, when they halted until the church clock struck eleven. Then
+they rushed down into the village. As they entered it shots were fired,
+and an outcry rose from the other side, showing that Herrara had managed
+matters as well as they had. The surprise was complete; the street was
+full of horses, while the soldiers had taken shelter in the houses. A
+scene of the wildest confusion ensued. The horses were shot, for it was
+most important to cripple this most formidable arm of the French service,
+and the men were attacked as they poured out of the houses.
+
+Bull, with a hundred men, made his way straight to the upper end of the
+village and repelled the desperate attempts of a squadron of horse that
+were posted beyond it in readiness for action, to break through to the
+assistance of their comrades, while Terence and Herrara, each with a
+hundred men, held the road at the lower end of the village to check an
+infantry attack there. It was not long before it was delivered. The French
+infantry, disciplined veterans, accustomed to surprises, had sprung to
+their feet when the first shot was fired, and forming instantly into
+column, came on at a run, led by their officers. Terence, with fifty men,
+four deep, barred the way across the road; the rest of his men were
+stationed along the high ground flanking it on one side, while Herrara
+with his hundred flanked the opposite side.
+
+As the French came on the Portuguese on the high ground remained silent
+and unnoticed, but when a flash of fire ran across the road and a deadly
+volley was poured in upon the enemy, those on the flanks at once opened
+fire. For a moment the column paused in surprise, and then opened fire at
+their unseen assailants, whose fire was causing such gaps in the ranks.
+The colonel and several other officers who had been at its head had
+fallen; in the din no orders could be heard, and for some minutes the head
+of the column wasted away under the rain of bullets. Then a general
+officer dashed up, and another body of Frenchmen came along at a run.
+Terence's horn rang out loudly; the signal was repeated in the village,
+the fire instantly ceased, and when the French column rushed into the
+place not a foe was to be seen, but the street was choked up by dead
+horses and men.
+
+These reinforcements did not pause, but making their way over the
+obstacles pressed on to where a roar of fire in front showed how hotly the
+advance-guard was engaged. Here the surprise had been rather less
+complete. Some of the outposts had given the alarm, and the French were on
+their feet before, after pouring terrible volleys into them, a thousand
+men fell upon them on either side. Great numbers of the French fell under
+the fire, and the long line was broken up into sections by the impetuous
+rush of the Portuguese. Nevertheless, the French soldiers hung together,
+and the combat raged desperately until the head of the relieving column
+came up. Then, as suddenly as before, the attack ceased. Not a gun was
+fired, and, as if by magic, their assailants stole away into the darkness,
+while the French opened a random fire after them.
+
+An hour later the two Portuguese regiments united on the road two miles in
+advance of the village. Their loss had been eighty-four killed and a
+hundred and fifty wounded, of which seventy were serious cases. These
+were, as before, sent off to be cared for in the mountain villages. The
+French loss, as Terence afterward heard, had been very heavy; three
+hundred of the cavalry had been killed, and upwards of four hundred
+infantry. Great was the enthusiasm when the two regiments met, and after a
+short halt marched away together into the hills and encamped in a wood two
+miles from the road.
+
+"What next, Generalissimo?" Herrara, whose left arm had been broken by a
+bullet, asked.
+
+"I think that we have done enough for the present," Terence said. "We will
+leave it to the rest of the army to do a little fighting now. We have
+lost, in killed and wounded, some two hundred men, and I don't wish to see
+the whole force dwindle away. I propose that we do not go near Braga. I
+have no idea of putting myself under the command of Friere; I have seen
+enough of him already. So we will travel by by-roads till we get near
+Oporto, then we will find out how matters stand there. My own idea is that
+when the French army approaches, the Junta's courage will ooze out of its
+finger ends, and that the 50,000 peasants, which it calls an army, will
+bolt at the first attack of the French. So, as I don't mean to be trapped
+there, we will rest on our laurels until we see how matters go."
+
+It was well for the corps that Terence abstained from joining the army at
+Braga. As the French entered the pass of Benda Nova, the peasants rushed
+furiously down upon them. Many broke into the French columns, and fighting
+desperately, were slain. The survivors made their way up the hillside, and
+then making a detour, fell upon the rear of the column, killed fifty
+stragglers and plundered the baggage. This spontaneous action of the
+peasants was the only attempt made to bar the advance of the French, and
+Friere permitted them to pass through defile after defile without firing a
+shot. His conduct aroused the fury of his troops, and the feeling was
+fanned by agents of the bishop, who had now become jealous of him, and his
+men rushing upon him dragged him from a house in which he had taken
+refuge, and slew him--a fit end to the career of a man who had proved
+himself as unpatriotic as he was incapable.
+
+On the 18th Soult arrived near Braga, and the Portuguese, who were now
+commanded by Eben, a German officer in the British service, drew up to
+meet him. The French began their advance on the 20th, and half an hour
+later the Portuguese army was a mob of fugitives. The vanquished army lost
+4,000 men and all their guns, 400 only being taken prisoners; the rest
+dispersed in all directions, carrying tales of the invincibility of the
+French. Had it not been for the stout resistance offered by 3,000 men,
+placed on a position in the rear commanding the road, which checked the
+pursuit of the cavalry and enabled the fugitives to make off, scarce a man
+of the Portuguese would have escaped to tell the tale.
+
+Terence had approached Oporto, and encamped in a large wood, when the
+fugitives brought him news of the crushing defeat that they had suffered.
+The soldiers were so furious when they heard of the disgraceful rout, that
+Terence and Herrara had difficulty in preventing them from killing the
+fugitives. The result strengthened his position. The troops on arriving at
+their present camping-place were eager to be led into Oporto. Terence and
+Herrara had talked the matter over several times, and agreed that such a
+step might be fatal. Standing, as this town did, on the north side of the
+river, the only means of leaving it was the bridge of boats, and if
+anything happened to this all retreat would be cut off.
+
+The defeat at Braga at once confirmed their opinion that the army of
+peasants that the bishop had gathered round Oporto would be able to make
+but little resistance to the French attack.
+
+"It would be terrible," Herrara said; "50,000 fugitives, and a great
+portion of the inhabitants of the town, all struggling to cross the
+bridge, with the French cavalry pressing on their rear, and the French
+artillery playing upon them. It is not to be thought of."
+
+The troops, however, had been full of confidence in the valour of their
+countrymen, and from their own success against the French believed that
+the army at Braga would certainly defeat Soult, and there had been some
+dissatisfaction that they had not been permitted to take part in the
+victory. The news brought by the fugitives at once dissipated the hopes
+that they had entertained. They saw that their commander had acted wisely
+in refusing to join the army there, and their feeling of contempt for the
+undisciplined ordenanças and peasants equalled the confidence they had
+before reposed in them. Terence ordered the two regiments to form into a
+hollow square and addressed them.
+
+"Soldiers," he said, "I know that it was a disappointment to you that I
+did not take you to Braga. Had I done so, not one of you would have
+escaped, for when the rest fled like a flock of sheep you could not alone
+have withstood the attack of the whole French army. I know that you wish
+to enter Oporto. I have withstood that wish, and now you must see that I
+was right in doing so. The peasants gathered in its defence are even less
+disciplined than those at Braga, and Soult will, after two or three
+minutes' fighting, capture the place. Were you there you could not prevent
+such a result. You might hold the spot at which you were stationed, but if
+the French broke in at any other point you would be surrounded and killed
+to a man. What use would that be to Portugal? You can do more good by
+living and fighting another day.
+
+"Even if you should fall back with the other fugitives, what chance of
+safety would there be? You know that there is but one bridge of boats
+across the river, and that will soon be blocked by a panic-stricken crowd,
+and your chance of crossing would be slight indeed. The men who fought at
+Braga, those men who will fight before Oporto, are no more cowards than
+you are, and had they gained as much discipline as you have, I would march
+down with you at once and join in the defence. But a mob cannot withstand
+disciplined troops. When the Portuguese have learned to be soldiers, they
+may fight with a hope of success; until then it is taking them to
+slaughter to set them in line of battle against the French. Soult may be
+here in twenty-four hours, therefore I propose to march you down to the
+river above Oporto. We are sure to find boats there, and we will cross at
+once to the other side and encamp near the suburb at the south end of the
+bridge, and when the fugitives pour over we will take our station there,
+cover their retreat, and prevent the French from crossing in pursuit."
+
+A murmur of satisfaction broke from the soldiers and swelled into a shout.
+Soon after evening fell the corps marched from the wood, and two hours
+later came down on the bank of the Douro. As Terence anticipated, there
+were plenty of fishermen's boats hauled up, and the regiments passed over
+by companies. By three in the morning all were across, and by five they
+encamped in a wood beyond the steep hill rising behind the Villa Nova
+suburb, on the left bank of the river. As soon as he had seen the soldiers
+settled Terence borrowed the clothes of one of the men, and putting these
+on instead of his uniform, he sent for Bull and Macwitty, and the two
+soldiers soon arrived. They looked in astonishment at their officer.
+
+"I am going into the town," he said, "partly to judge for myself of the
+state of things there, and partly on a little private business of my own.
+It is possible that I may get into trouble. I hope that I shall not do so,
+but it is as well to be prepared for any emergency that might happen. If,
+then, I do not return, you are to look to Colonel Herrara for orders. When
+the French enter Oporto, which I am certain they will do as soon as they
+attack it, you may gather your men at this end of the bridge, cover the
+retreat, and repulse all efforts of the French to cross. As soon as those
+attempts have ceased, you will march with the two regiments for Coimbra,
+and report yourselves to the officer commanding there. Here are my
+despatches to the general, in which I have done full justice to your
+bravery and your conduct. Here is also a note to the officer commanding at
+Coimbra. I have spoken to him about your conduct, and have asked him to
+allow you to continue with the Portuguese until an order is received from
+Sir John Cradock. I have given Colonel Herrara a duplicate of my
+despatches and official orders, in case you should be killed."
+
+"Cannot we go with you, sir?" Bull asked.
+
+"I don't think so, Bull. Dress as you might, you could hardly be taken for
+anything but an Englishman. Your walk and your complexion, to say nothing
+of your hair, would betray you both at once. The first person who happened
+to address you would discover that you were not natives, and the chances
+are he would denounce you, and that you would be torn to pieces before you
+could offer any explanation. Now, I think that I can pass readily enough.
+The wind and rough weather have brought me to nearly the right colour, and
+I know how to speak Portuguese well enough to ask any question without
+exciting suspicion."
+
+"But why not take two of the men with you?" Macwitty said. "They could do
+any talking that was necessary; and should anyone suggest that you are not
+a native, they could declare that you were a comrade from their own
+village."
+
+Bull strongly approved of the suggestion, and Terence, though in some
+respects he would rather have been alone, at last agreed to it.
+
+"They may as well take their arms; not for use, but to give them the
+appearance of two men from the camp who had come down to make purchases in
+the city."
+
+Daylight was just breaking as the three crossed the bridge of boats into
+the town, and passed through it up the hill to the great camp that had
+been established there. It covered a large extent of ground, and contained
+tents sufficient for the whole of the 50,000 men assembled. A short
+distance away was the line of intrenchments on which the peasants had been
+for some weeks engaged. They consisted of forts crowning a succession of
+rounded hills, and connected by earthen ramparts, loopholed houses,
+ditches, and an abattis of felled trees. No less than two hundred guns
+were in place on the forts. It was a position that two thousand good
+troops should have been able to hold against an army.
+
+"It is a strong position," Terence said to the two men with him.
+
+"Yes, the French can never pass that," one of them said, exultingly.
+
+"That we shall see. They ought not to, certainly, but whether they will or
+not is another matter."
+
+They wandered about for a couple of hours. Once one of the Portuguese
+joined a group of peasants, and learned from them something of the state
+of things in the town, representing that they had but just arrived.
+
+"You are lucky. You will see how we shall destroy the French army. Our
+guns will sweep them away. Every man in the town is full of confidence,
+and the traitors are all trembling in their houses. When the news of the
+business at Braga came yesterday, and we learned the treachery of our
+generals, the people rose, dragged fifteen suspected men of rank from the
+prison and killed them. There is not a day that some of these traitors are
+not rooted out."
+
+"That is well," the other said; "it is traitors that have brought us to
+this pass."
+
+"You will see how we shall fight when the French come. The bishop himself
+has promised to come out in his robes to give us his blessing, and to call
+down the wrath of heaven on the French infidels."
+
+After having finished his survey of the line, Terence returned to the
+city, and following the instructions that he had received as to the
+situation of the convent at Santa Maria, he was not long in finding it. It
+was a massive building; the windows of the two lower stories were closely
+barred. He could not see any way of opening communications with his
+cousin, or of devising any way of escape. He, however, thought that it
+might possibly be managed if he could send in a rope to her and a pulley,
+with means of fixing it; in that way he could lower her to the ground. But
+all this would be very difficult to manage, even if he had ample time at
+his disposal, and in the present circumstances it was altogether
+impossible. He stared at the house for a long time in silence, but no idea
+came to him, and it was with a feeling of hopelessness that he recrossed
+the bridge and rejoined the troops.
+
+"I am glad to see you back, sir," Bull said, heartily. "I have been in a
+funk all this morning that something might happen to you."
+
+"It has all gone off quietly. I will now tell you and Macwitty what my
+business here is. I may need your help, and it is a matter in which none
+of the Portuguese would dare to offer me any assistance."
+
+"I think they would do maist anything for you, sir," Mac-witty said. "They
+have that confidence in you, they would go through fire and water if you
+were to lead them."
+
+"They would do almost anything but what I want done now. I have a cousin,
+a young lady, who is an heiress to a large fortune. Her father is dead,
+and her mother, a wealthy land-owner, has had her shut up in a convent,
+where they are trying to force her, against her will, to become a nun. She
+is kept a prisoner, on bread and water, until she consents to sign a paper
+surrendering all her rights. Now, what I want to do is to get her out. It
+cannot be done by force; that is out of the question. It is a strong
+building, and even if the men would consent to attack a convent, which
+they would not do, all the town would be up, and we should have the whole
+populace on us. So that force is out of the question. Now, the French are
+sure to take the place. When they do, there will be an awful scene. They
+will be furious at the resistance they have met with, and at the losses
+that they have suffered. They will be maddened, and reasonably, by the
+frightful tortures inflicted upon prisoners who have fallen into the hands
+of the Portuguese, and you may be sure that for some time no quarter will
+be given. The soldiers will be let loose upon the city, and there will be
+no more respect for a convent than a dwelling-house. You may imagine how
+frightfully anxious I am. If it had not been for the French I would have
+let the matter stand until our army entered Oporto, but as it is, I must
+try and do something; and, as far as I can see, the only chance will be in
+the frightful confusion that will take place when the French enter the
+town."
+
+"We will stand by you, Mr. O'Connor, you may be sure. You have only got to
+tell us what to do, and you may trust us to do it."
+
+Macwitty, who was a man of few words, nodded. "Mr. O'Connor knows that,"
+he said.
+
+"Thank you both," Terence said, heartily. "I must think out my plan, and
+when I have decided upon it I will let you know."
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+AN ESCAPE
+
+During his visit to the other side of the river Terence had seen, with
+great satisfaction, that a powerful battery, mounting fifty guns, had been
+erected on the heights of Villa Nova, and its fire, he thought, should
+effectually bar any attempt of the French to cross the bridge.
+
+It would indeed be madness for them to attempt such an operation, as the
+boats supporting the bridge could be instantly sunk by the concentrated
+fire of the battery. He said nothing of this on his return to camp, as it
+might have given rise to fresh agitation among the men, were they to be
+aware that their presence was not really required for the defence of the
+bridge. After a short stay in camp he again went down into the town, with
+the idea that he was more likely to hit upon some plan of action there
+than he would be in the camp.
+
+The two men again went with him. Another prolonged stare at the convent
+failed to inspire him with any scheme that was in the slightest degree
+practicable. He fell back upon the conclusion he had mentioned to the two
+troopers, that the only chance would be to take advantage of the wild
+confusion that would prevail upon the entry of the French. The difficulty
+that presented itself to him was, that the nuns would be so appalled by
+the approach of the French that it would be unlikely that they would think
+of leaving the protection--such as it was--of the convent, and would
+shrink from encountering the wild turmoil in the streets. Even if they did
+so, it would be too late for them to have any chance of getting across the
+bridge, which would be thronged to a point of suffocation by the mob of
+fugitives, and might readily be destroyed by one or two of the boats being
+sunk by the French artillery.
+
+The one thing evident was, that he must arrange to get a boat and to
+station it at the end of some street going down to the river from the
+neighbourhood of the convent. That part of the city being some distance
+from the bridge, the streets would soon be deserted, and there would not
+be a wild rush of fugitives to the boat, which would be the case were it
+to be lying alongside anywhere near the bridge. Upon the other hand, it
+would be less likely that the nuns would leave the convent if all was
+comparatively quiet in that neighbourhood, and did they do so it would be
+difficult in the extreme to carry off his cousin from their midst,
+ignorant, too, as he was of her appearance. After looking for some time at
+the convent, he returned to the more busy part of the town. Presently he
+heard a great shouting; every window opened, and he saw a crowd coming
+along the street. By the candles, banners, crucifixes, and canopies it was
+evident that it was a religious procession. He was about to turn off into
+a side street when the thought struck him that possibly it was the bishop
+himself on his way up to the camp; therefore he remained in his place,
+doffed his hat, and, like all around him, went down on one knee.
+
+The procession was a long and stately one, and in the midst, walking
+beneath a canopy, came the bishop himself. Terence gazed at him fixedly in
+order to impress on his mind the features of the man whose ambition had
+cost Portugal so dearly, and at whose instigation so much blood of the
+most honest and capable men of the province had been shed. The face fully
+justified the idea that he had formed of the man. The bishop was of
+commanding presence, and walked with the air of one who was accustomed to
+see all bow before him; but on the other hand, the face bore traces of his
+violent character. There was a set smile on his lips, but his brow was
+heavy and frowning, while his receding chin contradicted the strength of
+the upper part of his face. There was, too, a look of anxiety and
+restlessness betrayed by a nervous twitching of the lips.
+
+"The scoundrel is a coward," Terence said to himself. "He may profess
+absolute confidence, but I don't think he feels it, and I will bet odds
+that he won't be in the front when the time for fighting comes."
+
+Terence walked away after the procession had passed.
+
+"If one could get hold of the bishop," he said to himself, "one might get
+an order on the superior of the convent to hand over Mary O'Connor to the
+bearer, but I don't see how that can possibly be managed. Of course, he is
+surrounded by priests and officials all day, and his palace will be
+guarded by any number of soldiers, for he must have many enemies. There
+must be scores of relatives of men who have been killed by his orders, who
+would assassinate him, bishop though he is, had they the chance. And even
+if I got an order--and it seems to me impossible to do so--it would not be
+made out in the name of Mary O'Connor. I know that they change their names
+when they go into nunneries, and she may be Sister Angela or Cecilia, or
+anything else, and I should not know in the slightest degree whether the
+name he put down was the one that she really goes by. No, that idea is out
+of the question."
+
+Returning to the camp, he held counsel with Herrara. The latter, he knew,
+had none of the bigotry so general among his countrymen. He had before
+told him about his cousin being shut up against her will, and of the
+letter that she had thrown out, but had hitherto said nothing of his
+intention to bring about her escape if possible.
+
+"I had an idea that that was what was in your mind when you went off so
+early this morning, O'Connor. I have a high respect for the Church, but I
+have no respect for its abuses. And the shutting up of a young lady, and
+forcing her to take the veil in order to rob her of her property, is as
+hateful to me as it can be to you, so that I should have no hesitation in
+aiding you in your endeavour to bring about her escape. Have you formed
+any plan?"
+
+"No; I have thought it over again and again, but cannot think of any
+scheme."
+
+"If that is the case, O'Connor, I fear that it is useless for me to try to
+do so; you are so full of ideas always, that if you cannot see your way
+out of the difficulty, it is hopeless to expect that I could do so. If you
+can contrive any plan I will promise to aid you in any way you can point
+out, but as to inventing one, I should never do so if I racked my brain
+ever so much."
+
+"There must be some way," Terence said. "I used to get into all sorts of
+scrapes when I was a boy, but found there was always some way out of them,
+if one could but hit upon it. The only thing that I can think of, is to
+carry her off in the confusion when the French enter the town."
+
+"I should say that the nuns would never think of leaving their convent,
+O'Connor; it is their best hope of safety to remain there."
+
+"No doubt it is, but the French don't always respect the convents--very
+much the contrary, indeed. No, I don't think that they would go out merely
+to rush into the street; but they might go out if they thought they could
+get over the bridge before the French arrived."
+
+"They might do that, certainly; indeed, it would be the best thing they
+could do."
+
+"Do you think that if one were to dress up as a priest, or as one of the
+bishop's attendants, and to go as from him with an order to the lady
+superior to take the nuns at once across the bridge to the convent on the
+other side, she would obey it?"
+
+"Not without some written order," Herrara said. "The bishop would
+naturally send someone who would be known to her, or if he did send a
+stranger he would give him a letter or some token she would recognize;
+otherwise, she could not know that it was his order."
+
+"That is what I was afraid of, Herrara, but it is what I shall try, if I
+can see no other way. Indeed, I see only one chance of getting over the
+difficulty. The bishop is a tyrant of the worst kind. Now, as far as I can
+remember, tyrants of his sort--that is to say, tyrants who rule by working
+on the passions of the mob--are always cowards. I watched the bishop
+closely when I saw him to-day, and I am convinced he is one also. Even in
+that kneeling crowd he could not conceal it. There was a nervous twitching
+about his lips which, to my mind, showed that he was in a state of intense
+anxiety, and that under all his swagger and show of confidence he was,
+nevertheless, in a horrible state of alarm. That being so, it seems to me
+extremely likely that when the fighting begins he will make a bolt of it.
+He won't wait for the French to enter, for he would know well enough that
+in their fury at their defeat, the fugitives, if they came upon him, would
+be likely to tear him limb from limb, just as they have murdered dozens of
+infinitely better men; so I think that he will make off beforehand. I
+imagine that he will go secretly, and with only two or three attendants."
+
+"But you could never carry him off without an alarm being raised, if that
+is what you are thinking of, O' Connor."
+
+"No, I am not thinking of that; but if I could, say with Bull and
+Macwitty, suddenly attack him like three robbers, we might carry off
+something that would serve as a sort of passport to the lady abbess. For
+instance, he had a tremendously big ring on. I noticed it as he held up
+his hands, as if on purpose to show it off."
+
+"That was his episcopal ring," Herrara laughed. "Yes, if you could get
+hold of that, it would be a key that would open the door of any convent."
+
+"Do you think she would hand my cousin over to me if I showed it to her
+and gave her a message as from the bishop?"
+
+"Yes, if you knew the name. You see, from the day she was made a nun she
+lost her former name altogether; and certainly the bishop would send for
+her under her convent name."
+
+"That is what I was thinking myself. Then I must get them all out."
+
+"You have got to get the ring first," Herrara said with a smile.
+
+"Yes, yes, I mean if I get it."
+
+"But if the French have entered the town you can never get them across the
+bridge."
+
+"No, I know that. I mean to get a boat and have it lying off the end of
+some quiet street. I could put a couple of our men into that, for they
+would only regard it, when I had got her on board, as an effort on my part
+to save one of the nuns from the French. One thing to do would be to get
+the robe of a priest, or the dress of one of the bishop's officials."
+
+Herrara thought for some time. "I think that I could do that for you,
+O'Connor. Of course I have a good many acquaintances in Oporto, among them
+some ladies. I was intending to go across this evening and see some of
+them, and implore them to leave the town before it is too late. One of
+these friends of mine might buy some robes for me; a woman can do that
+sort of thing when a man cannot. She can pretend that she wants to buy the
+robe as a present for the parish priest, or her father confessor, or
+something of that sort. At any rate, it is worth trying."
+
+"It is, indeed, Herrara, and if you could manage it I should be greatly
+obliged to you."
+
+"I will go across at once. I expect Soult will be close up to-morrow
+morning, or at any rate the next day. It may be another couple of days
+before he gets his whole force concentrated, but in four days anyhow his
+shot will be rattling down into the town. I will go and see what I can do.
+You had better get one of my troopers to get the boat for you."
+
+Herrara did not return until early on the following morning.
+
+"I have managed it," he said, as Terence, who was getting very anxious
+about him, ran forward to meet him.
+
+"There is one family in Oporto whose eldest son is a brother officer of
+mine, and I have visited them here with him, and have met them several
+times at Lisbon. Indeed, I may tell you frankly that had it not been for
+the troubles, his sister would, ere this time, have been affianced to me.
+I had hoped that they had left the town before this, but they told me that
+any movement of that sort might bring disaster on them. Two of her
+brothers are in the army, and the bishop could not, therefore, pretend
+that the father was a traitor to the country; being an elderly man, the
+latter has in fact held aloof altogether from politics; but he is
+certainly not of the bishop's party, and the bishop considers that all who
+are not with him are against him. Had they attempted to leave the town
+there is no doubt he would have made it a pretext for arresting the
+father, and would certainly do so on the first opportunity. However, they
+quite believed that the great force that there is here would be sufficient
+to defend the fortifications, and were completely taken aback when I told
+them that I was absolutely convinced that the place would fall at the
+first attack of the French.
+
+"They agreed to make all preparations for leaving at once. Their horses
+have been seized, nominally that they should be used on the
+fortifications, but really, I have no doubt, to prevent their leaving. Of
+course I told them all about what we had been doing, in which they were
+intensely interested. For aught they know, their house may be watched; so
+they will come out in some of their servants' clothes. I told them that
+they must leave on the night before Soult made his attack. Of course he
+will summon the town, and the bishop will, of course, refuse to surrender,
+and you may be sure the French will attack on the following day. They left
+me alone with Lorenza for a time, and I took that opportunity of telling
+her about your plan, and what you wanted, and she promised to procure you
+the dress of an ecclesiastic to-morrow. I told her that you were about my
+size and height.
+
+"She knew your cousin personally, and was very fond of her, and therefore
+entered all the more readily into our plans to get her out. She said that
+she disappeared suddenly some months ago, and that her mother had given
+out that she had been suddenly seized with the determination to enter a
+convent, much against her own wishes. Lorenza felt sure that this was not
+true, for she knew that your cousin had heard from her father much about
+the Reformed religion, and was in her heart disposed that way. The mother
+is engaged to be married to a nobleman who is one of the bishop's warmest
+supporters, and the general idea was that Mary O'Connor had been forced
+into a nunnery against her will. I sat talking with them until late last
+night, and they would not hear of my leaving, especially as they said that
+the town was full of bands of ruffians, who traversed the streets,
+attacking and robbing anyone of respectable appearance. As I had rather a
+fancy to try what a comfortable bed was like again, I did not need much
+pressing."
+
+"Thank you greatly, Herrara, I am indeed obliged to you; things seem to
+look really hopeful. I have arranged with Bull and Macwitty that on the
+evening before the attack is likely to take place we will watch all night
+at this end of the bridge. The bishop won't leave until the last thing,
+but I would wager any money he will do so that night. He won't go farther
+than Villa Nova, so as to be ready to cross again at once if the news
+comes that the French have been beaten off. No doubt he will make the
+excuse that as an ecclesiastic he could take no active part in the
+defence, but had been engaged in prayer, which had done more towards
+gaining the victory than his presence could possibly have done."
+
+"I should not be surprised if that should be his course," Herrara said,
+smiling. "At any rate, for your sake I hope that it will be. Have you seen
+about a boat?"
+
+"Yes, I spoke to Francesco Nortis yesterday evening, and told him that I
+wanted to hire a boat with two boatmen for the next week. They were to be
+at his service night and day. He was to tell them that he would not want
+it for fishing, but that, in case, by any possibility, the French took the
+town, he should be able to go across and bring some friends over. When I
+told him that money was no object, he said that there would be no
+difficulty about it. They will be glad enough to get a good week's pay and
+next to nothing to do for it."
+
+Two days passed quietly. On the first day the news arrived that Silveira
+had invested Chaves on the day of the battle of Braga, and had forced the
+garrison, which consisted of but a hundred fighting men, with twelve
+hundred sick, to capitulate.
+
+Day after day news came of the advance of the French. They had moved in
+three columns. Each had met with a stout resistance, but had carried the
+passes and bridges after severe loss. One of the columns had been held for
+some time in check at the Ponte D'Ave, but had carried it at last,
+whereupon the Portuguese had murdered their general and dispersed.
+
+On the 26th, six days after the battle of Braga, Franceschi's cavalry were
+seen approaching the position in front of Oporto. The alarm bells rung,
+the troops hurried to their positions, but the day passed off quietly, the
+confidence of the people being still further raised by the arrival of
+2,000 regular troops sent by Beresford to their assistance. As there were
+already seven or eight thousand regular troops in the camp, it seemed to
+all that as Soult had but 20,000 men fit for action, the defences ought to
+be held against him for any length of time. The majority, indeed, believed
+that he would not even venture to attack the town when upon his arrival he
+perceived its strength, especially when they knew that he had but a few
+guns with him, his park of artillery being still at Tuy, which was closely
+invested by the Spaniards.
+
+On the following day the whole French army settled down in front of the
+Portuguese works, and a wild and purposeless fire was now opened by the
+defenders, although the French were far beyond musket-range.
+
+Soult sent in a message to the bishop urging him to surrender. He assured
+him that resistance was hopeless, and that it was his earnest desire to
+save so great a city from the horrors of a storm. The message was sent by
+a prisoner, who was seized by the mob in spite of the flag of truce that
+he carried, and would have been murdered had he not assured the people
+that he came with a message from Soult, to the effect that, seeing the
+hopelessness of attacking the town or of marching back to the frontier in
+safety, he wished to negotiate for a surrender for himself and his army.
+
+At one point the Portuguese displayed a white flag, and shouted that they
+wished to surrender. A French general advanced with another officer, but
+when they reached the lines the Portuguese fell upon him, killed his
+companion, and carried the general a prisoner into the town. The
+negotiations were prolonged until evening, but the bishop declined all
+Soult's overtures, and the fire from the intrenchments continued. In the
+course of the evening Merle's division, in order to divert attention from
+the points Soult had fixed upon for the attack, moved towards the
+Portuguese left, when a tremendous fire of artillery and musketry opened
+upon it. The division made its way forward, and occupied some hollow
+ground which shielded it from fire, within a very short distance of the
+intrenchments. Feeling that the crisis was at hand, Terence had everything
+prepared. The boatmen were told that they might be required that night,
+and that they were to have the boat in readiness to start at any moment.
+Herrara had warned his friends, and went to their house with six of his
+men, as soon as it became dusk, to escort them over. Terence with his two
+troopers, clad in the dresses of two of the tallest of the men and wrapped
+in cloaks, with their broad hats pressed low down upon their foreheads,
+went down to the end of the bridge as soon as it became quite dark. The
+river was three hundred yards broad, but the sound of the confusion and
+alarm that prevailed in the city could be plainly heard, although the
+evening had set in rough and tempestuous. The shouts of the excited mob
+mingled with the clanging of the church bells.
+
+"That does not sound like confidence in victory," Terence remarked.
+
+"Quite the other way, sir. I should say that after all their bragging
+every man in the place is in a blue funk."
+
+A great many people, especially women with children, were making their way
+across the bridge. About nine o'clock a little knot of five or six men,
+following a tall figure, passed them.
+
+"That is the bishop," Terence whispered, and in pursuance of the orders
+that he had previously given them, the two men followed him as he fell in
+at a short distance behind the group. These turned off from the main road
+and took one that led up to the Serra Convent, standing on the crest of a
+rugged hill. As soon as they had passed beyond the houses at the foot of
+the hill, and the road was altogether deserted, Terence said to the men:
+
+"Now is our time. Do you take the attendants; I will manage the bishop."
+
+They moved forward quickly and silently until they were close to the
+group, then they dashed forward. As the startled attendants turned round
+the troopers fell upon them, and with heavy blows from their fists knocked
+them to the ground like nine-pins. The bishop turned round and shouted:
+
+"Villains, I am the bishop!"
+
+"I know that!" Terence exclaimed, and sprang at him.
+
+The prelate reeled and fell. Terence threw himself upon him, and seizing
+his hand wrested from it the episcopal ring. Then, upon seeing that the
+bishop had fainted, probably from fright, Terence leapt to his feet. The
+five attendants were lying on the ground.
+
+"All right, lads," he said, "we have got what we wanted, but just strip
+off one of these fellows' clothes. Take this one, he is a priest."
+
+It took but a minute for the two troopers to strip off the garment and
+pick up the three-cornered hat.
+
+"Now, come along, men."
+
+They reached the houses again without hearing so much as a cry from the
+astounded Portuguese, who as yet had but a vague idea of what had happened
+to them. The capture of the clothes had been rendered necessary by
+Herrara's report, two days before, that the young lady had failed to get
+the clothes, for the shopman had asked so many questions concerning them
+that she had said carelessly that it made no matter. She had intended to
+give them as a present and a surprise, but as there seemed a difficulty
+about it she would give money instead, and let the priest choose his own
+clothes. She had purposely entered a shop in the opposite end of the town
+from that in which her father lived, so that there would be less chance of
+her being recognized.
+
+Herrara said that she would try elsewhere, but Terence at once begged him
+to tell her not to do so.
+
+"The bishop is sure to have some of his priests with him," he said, "and
+if I rob him of his ring, I might just as well rob one of them of his
+clothes."
+
+On returning to the camp Terence found that his comrade had already
+arrived with a gentleman and three ladies. The tent had been given up for
+the use of the latter. Herrara had warned him not to say a word to the old
+gentleman of his adventure.
+
+"He and the others know nothing about it," he said, "and it is just as
+well that they shouldn't, for he is somewhat rigid in his notions, and
+might be rather horrified at your assaulting a bishop, however great a
+scoundrel he might be, and would be specially so at the borrowing of his
+ring."
+
+At twelve o'clock heavy peals of thunder were heard, followed by a
+tremendous outbreak of firing from the intrenchments, two hundred guns and
+a terrific musketry fire opening suddenly.
+
+"The French are attacking!" Herrara exclaimed.
+
+"I don't think so," Terence replied. "It is more likely to be a false
+alarm. The troops may have thought that the thunder was the roar of French
+guns. Soult would hardly make an attack at night, or, not knowing the
+nature of the ground behind the intrenchments, his men would be falling
+into confusion, and perhaps fire into each other."
+
+As, after a quarter of an hour of prodigious din, the fire slackened and
+presently ceased altogether, it was evident that this supposition was a
+correct one. The morning broke bright and still, and an hour later the
+cannonade began again. Terence at once, after telling Herrara to form the
+troops up and march them down to the end of the bridge, left the camp, and
+after proceeding a short distance took off his uniform and donned the
+attire of the ecclesiastic, and then hurried down into the town. He was
+accompanied by the two troopers in their peasant dress. These left him at
+the bridge. The din was now tremendous, every church bell was ringing
+furiously, and frightened women were already crowding down towards the
+bridge.
+
+Their point of crossing had already been decided upon--it was at the end
+of a street close to the convent, and when Terence reached the convent the
+two men were already standing at the end of the street, awaiting him.
+
+"Now, you do your part of the business and I will do mine," Terence said,
+and he moved forward to the door of the convent, where he would be unseen
+should anyone look out.
+
+The two troopers went to the middle of the street, opposite the window
+which the officer had described to Terence, and both shouted in a
+stentorian voice:
+
+"Mary O'Connor!"
+
+The shout was heard above the tumult of the battle and the din in the
+city, and a head appeared at the window and looked down with a bewildered
+expression.
+
+"Mary O'Connor," Bull shouted again, "a friend is here to rescue you. You
+will leave the convent directly with the rest. Look out for us."
+
+Then they walked on, and passed Terence.
+
+"Have you seen her face?"
+
+"We have, sir. We shall know her again, never fear."
+
+Terence now seized the bell and rung it vigorously. The door opened, and a
+terrified face appeared at the window.
+
+"I have a message from the bishop to the lady superior."
+
+The door was opened, and was at once closed and barred behind him. He was
+led along some passages to the room where the lady superior, pale and
+agitated, was awaiting him.
+
+"Have the French entered the intrenchments?" she asked.
+
+"I trust they have not entered yet, but they may do so at any moment. The
+bishop is at the Serra Convent, and from there has a view over the town to
+the intrenchments. He begs you to instantly bring the nuns across, for
+they will be in safety there, whereas no one can say what may happen in
+the town. Here is his episcopal ring in proof that I am the bearer of his
+orders I pray you to hasten, sister, for a crowd of fugitives are already
+pouring over the bridge, and there is not a moment to be lost."
+
+"The nuns are just coming down to prayer in the chapel, and we will start
+instantly."
+
+In two minutes upward of a hundred frightened women were gathered in the
+courtyard.
+
+"Are all here?" Terence asked the lady superior.
+
+"All of them."
+
+"I asked because I know that he is specially anxious that one, who is a
+sort of prisoner, should not fall into the hands of the French, as that
+might cause serious trouble."
+
+"I know whom you mean," and she called out "Sister Theresa!" There was no
+answer.
+
+
+[Illustration: "MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH HIS
+PISTOLS"]
+
+
+"It is well you asked," she said. "They have forgotten her." She gave
+orders to one of the sisters, who at once entered the house, and returned
+in a minute with a young nun. The door was now opened, and they moved out
+in procession. Terence could hear regular volleys amidst the roar of guns
+and the incessant crack of muskets.
+
+"I fear that they have entered the intrenchments," he said. "Hasten,
+sister, or we shall be too late."
+
+With hurried steps they passed along the deserted streets. As they neared
+the bridge a crowd of fugitives were hastening in that direction, and when
+they approached its head they found it blocked by a struggling mass.
+
+"What is to be done?" the lady superior asked in consternation.
+
+"We must wait a minute or two; they may clear off."
+
+But every second the crowd increased, and was soon thick behind them.
+Already the line of nuns was broken up by the pressure. Terence had kept
+his eyes on the two tall figures who had followed, at first behind them,
+and had then quickened their footsteps until abreast of the centre of the
+line, and to his satisfaction saw that they had one of the nuns between
+them, and were forcing their way with her through the crowd behind. At
+this moment a terrible cry arose from the crowd. A troop of Portuguese
+dragoons rode furiously down the street leading to the bridge, and dashed
+into the crowd, trampling down all in their way in their reckless terror,
+until they gained the end of the bridge. As they rode on to it, two of the
+boats, already low in the water from the weight upon them, gave a surge
+and sank, carrying with them hundreds of people. The crowd recoiled with a
+cry of horror.
+
+"There is no escape now, sister," Terence said; "go back to the convent."
+
+"Home, sisters!" she cried in a loud, shrill voice, that made itself heard
+even over the screams of the drowning people and the wails and cries of
+the mob.
+
+Terence placed himself before the lady superior, and by main force made a
+way through the crowd; which was the more easy as, seeing their only
+escape cut off, numbers were now beginning to disperse to their homes. The
+movement was converted into a wild rush when a troop of French cavalry
+came thundering down to the bridge. In a moment all was mad confusion and
+fright. The nuns followed their superior, and all thought of decorum being
+now lost, fled with her like a flock of frightened sheep along the street
+leading to the convent. Terence paused a moment. He saw that the French
+troopers threw themselves from their horses, and, all animosity being for
+the moment forgotten in the horror of the scene, set to work to endeavour
+to save the drowning wretches, regardless of the fire which, as soon as
+the French appeared, was opened by the battery on the height of Villa
+Nova.
+
+Then he sped away after the nuns, whom he soon passed. He turned down the
+street next to the convent, and, on reaching the end, saw the two troopers
+with a nun in a boat ten yards away. Macwitty was standing covering the
+two boatmen with his pistols.
+
+"Row back to the shore again," he roared out in English, "and take off
+that gentleman there." The men did not understand his words, but they
+understood his gestures, and a stroke or two took them alongside. Terence
+leapt in and told the men to row across the river.
+
+"This is an unexpected meeting, cousin," he said to the girl.
+
+"They have been telling me who you are, and how you have effected my
+rescue," she said, bursting into tears. "How can I thank you?"
+
+"Well, this is hardly a time for thanks," he said, "and I am as glad as
+you are that it has all turned out well. I will tell you all about it as
+soon as we are across."
+
+They were nearly over when he exclaimed to the troopers:
+
+"The French have repaired the bridge with planks. See, they are crossing!"
+
+They sprang out on reaching the opposite shore. A moment later a rattle of
+musketry broke out.
+
+"Macwitty," he said, "I will give this young lady into your charge. Take
+her straight up to the camp. There are three ladies there," he said to his
+cousin, "and in the tent they have some clothes for you to change into. It
+will not be long before I shall rejoin you. But I must join my regiment
+now; they are engaged with the enemy."
+
+As he hurried along with Bull, he could hear above the sound of the
+musketry the sharp crack of the field-guns from the opposite side of the
+river.
+
+"They are covering the passage, Bull."
+
+As he came up he found that Herrara had taken possession of the houses
+near the end of the bridge. A part of his troops filled the windows, while
+the main body lined the quay. The French were recoiling, but a mass of
+their troops could be seen at the further end of the bridge, and two field
+batteries were keeping up an incessant fire. Herrara was posted with a
+company at the end of the bridge.
+
+"We had better fall back, Herrara, before they form a fresh column of
+attack. We might repulse them again, but they will be able to cross by
+boats elsewhere, and we shall be taken in front and rear. Let us draw off
+in good order. The infantry will be sure to march straight against the
+battery on the hill behind, and it will be half an hour before the cavalry
+can cross, and by that time we shall be well on our way; whereas, if we
+stop here until we are taken in flank and rear, we shall be cut to
+pieces."
+
+"I quite agree with you," Herrara said, and ordered the man with the horn
+standing beside him to sound the retreat.
+
+The men near at once formed up and got in motion, those in the houses
+poured out, and in two minutes the whole force were going up the hill at a
+trot, but still preserving their order. Five minutes later the head of the
+French column poured over the bridge. Just as the troops reached the place
+of encampment the fire of the battery ceased suddenly.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+MARY O'CONNOR
+
+Never was a large force of men driven from a very strong position,
+carefully prepared and defended by a vast number of guns, so quickly and
+easily as were the Portuguese before Oporto. The bishop, after rejecting
+Soult's summons and disregarding his prayers to save the city from ruin,
+suddenly lost heart, and after all his boasting, slipped away after dark
+to the Serra Convent, leaving the command to the generals of the army. The
+feint which Soult had made with Merle's division the night before against
+the Portuguese left succeeded perfectly, the Portuguese massing their
+forces on that side to resist the expected attack.
+
+Soult's real intentions, however, were to break through the centre of the
+line and then to drive the Portuguese right and left away from the town,
+while he pushed a body of troops straight through the city to seize the
+bridge and thus cut off all retreat. Accordingly he commenced the attack
+on both wings. The Portuguese weakened their centre to meet these, and
+then the central division of the French rushed forward, burst through the
+intrenchments, and carried at once the two principal forts. Then two
+battalions marched into the town and made for the bridge, while the rest
+fell on the Portuguese rear. The French right carried in succession a
+number of forts, took fifty pieces of artillery, and drove off a great
+mass of the Portuguese from the town, while Merle met with equal success
+on the other flank. Half the Portuguese, therefore, were driven up the
+valley of the Douro, and the other half down towards the sea.
+
+Maddened by terror, some of them strove to swim across, others to get over
+in small boats. Lima, their general, shouted to them that the river was
+too wide to swim, and that those who took to boats would be shot down by
+the pursuing French. Whereupon his own troops turned upon him and murdered
+him, although the French were but a couple of hundred yards away; they
+then renewed their attempt to cross, and many perished. Similar scenes
+took place in the valley above the town, but here the French cavalry
+interposed between the panic-stricken fugitives and the river, and so
+prevented them throwing away their lives in the hopeless attempt to swim
+across. In the meantime incessant firing was going on in the city. The
+French column arriving at the bridge, after doing their best to rescue the
+drowning people, sacrificed to the heartless cowardice of the Portuguese
+cavalry, speedily repaired the break caused by the sinking boats and
+prepared to cross the river, while others scattered through the town.
+
+The inhabitants fired upon them from the roofs and windows, and two
+hundred men defended the bishop's palace to the last. Every house was the
+scene of conflict. The French on entering one of the principal squares
+found a number of their comrades, who had been taken prisoners and sent to
+the town, still alive but horribly mutilated, some of them having been
+blinded, others having legs cut off, and all mutilated in various ways.
+This terrible sight naturally goaded them to such a state of fury that
+Soult in vain endeavoured to stop the work of slaughter and pillage. This
+continued for several hours, and altogether the number of Portuguese who
+perished by drowning and slaughter in the streets was estimated at ten
+thousand, of which the number killed in the defence of the works formed
+but an insignificant portion.
+
+Terence on his arrival at the camp in the wood resumed his uniform.
+Herrara had, on the previous day, purchased a light waggon and two horses
+for the use of the ladies, and as soon as the men had strapped on the
+cloaks and blankets which they had left behind them when they advanced to
+the defence of the bridge, the retreat began. Not until he had seen the
+column fairly on its way did Terence ride up to speak to the occupants of
+the waggon. He had not been introduced by Herrara to his friends, for on
+his return from his encounter with the bishop the ladies had already
+retired to their tent.
+
+"I must introduce myself to you, Don Jose. I am Terence O' Connor, an
+ensign in his Britannic Majesty's regiment of Mayo Fusiliers and an
+aide-de-camp of General Cradock, a very humble personage, though at
+present in command of these troops--irregular regiments of the Portuguese
+army."
+
+"Lieutenant Herrara has told us so much about you, Señor O'Connor, that we
+have been looking forward with much pleasure to meeting you. Allow me to
+present you to my wife and daughters, who have been as anxious as myself
+to meet an officer who has done such good services to the cause, and to
+whom it is due at the present moment that we are here, instead of being in
+the midst of the terrible scenes that are no doubt at this moment being
+enacted in Oporto."
+
+Terence bowed deeply to the ladies, and then said to his cousin:
+
+"I almost require introducing to you, for I caught but a glimpse of you as
+we crossed the river, and you look so different now that you have got rid
+of that hideous attire that I don't think that I should have known you."
+
+"You have changed greatly, too, Señor O'Connor."
+
+Terence burst into a laugh.
+
+"My dear cousin, it is evident that you know very little of English
+customs, though you speak English so well. We don't call our cousins Mr.
+and Miss; you will have to call me Terence and I shall certainly call you
+Mary. Macwitty brought you back to camp all right?"
+
+"Yes; but it was terrible to hear all that firing, and I was wondering all
+the time whether you were being hurt."
+
+"There is a great deal of powder fired away to every one that gets hit."
+
+"Do you know what has happened in the town?" Don Jose asked.
+
+"I know no more than what my cousin has no doubt told you of that terrible
+scene at the bridge. It is evident that the French burst through the lines
+without any difficulty, as we saw no soldiers, except those cowardly
+cavalrymen, before the French arrived. It is probable that the
+intrenchments were carried in the centre, and Soult evidently sent a body
+of soldiers straight through the town to secure the bridge. I think he
+must have cut off the main body of the defenders of the intrenchments from
+entering the town and must either have captured them or driven them off.
+The fire of cannon had ceased over there before we retired, and it is
+clear from that that the whole of the intrenchments must have been
+captured. There was, however, a heavy rattle of musketry in the town, and
+I suppose that the houses, and perhaps some barricades, were being
+defended. It was a mad thing to do, for it would only excite the fury of
+the French troops, and get them out of hand altogether. If there had been
+no resistance the columns might have marched in in good order; but even
+then I fear there might have been trouble, for unfortunately, your
+peasants have behaved with such merciless cruelty to all stragglers who
+fell into their hands, that the thirst for vengeance would in any case
+have been irrepressible. Still, the officers might possibly have preserved
+order had there been no resistance."
+
+"Shall we be pursued, do you think, señor?" Don Jose's wife asked.
+
+"I do not think so. Possibly parties of horse may scour the country for
+some distance round, to see if there is a body of troops here, but we are
+too strong to be attacked by any but a very numerous body of horse; and if
+they should attempt it, you may be sure that we can render a very good
+account of ourselves. We have beaten off the French horse once, and, as
+since then we have had some stiff fighting, I have no fear of the men
+being unsteady, even if all Franceschi's cavalry came down upon us. Of
+that, however, there will be little chance; the French have their hands
+full for some days, and a few scouting parties are all that they are
+likely to send out."
+
+"You speak Portuguese very well, Terence," Mary O'Connor said, in that
+language, hesitating a little before she used his Christian name.
+
+"I have been nearly nine months in the country, during most of which I
+have been on the staff, and have had to communicate with peasants and
+others, and for the past two months I have spoken nothing else; necessity
+is a good teacher. Besides which, Lieutenant Herrara has been good enough
+to take great pains in correcting my mistakes and teaching me the proper
+idioms; another six months of this work and I have no doubt I shall be
+able to pass as a native."
+
+After marching fifteen miles the column halted, Terence feeling assured
+that the French would not push out their scouting parties more than three
+or four miles from Villa Nova. They halted at the edge of a forest, and a
+party under one of the officers was at once despatched to a village two
+miles away, and returned in an hour with a drove of pigs that had been
+bought there, and a cart laden with bread and wine. Fires had already been
+lighted, and after seeing that the rations were divided among the various
+companies, Terence went to the tent. Herrara was chatting with his
+friends, and Mary O'Connor came out at once and joined him.
+
+"That is right, Mary; we will take a stroll in the wood and have a talk
+together. Now tell me how you have got on. I had expected to find you
+quite thin and almost starving."
+
+"No, I have had plenty of bread to eat," she laughed; "the sisters kept me
+well supplied. I am sure that most of them were sorry for me, and they
+used to hide away some of their own bread and bring it to me when they had
+a chance. The lady superior was very hard, and if I had had to depend
+entirely on what she sent me up I should have done very badly. I always
+ate as much as I could, as I wanted to keep up my strength; for I knew
+that if I got weak I might give way and do what they wanted, and I was
+quite determined that I would not, if I could help it."
+
+"Macwitty told you, I suppose, how I came to hear where you were
+imprisoned?"
+
+"Yes; he said that the officer had given you the letter that I dropped to
+him; yet how did he come to know that you were my cousin?"
+
+"It was quite an accident; just the similarity of name. We were chatting,
+and he said, casually, 'I suppose that you have no relatives at Oporto,'
+and I at once said I had, for fortunately my father had been telling me
+about your father and you, the last time I saw him, that is four months
+ago. He was badly wounded at Vimiera and invalided home. Then Captain
+Travers told me about getting your letter and what was in it, and I felt
+sure that it was you, and of course made up my mind to do what I could to
+get you out, though at the time I did not think that I should be in Oporto
+until I entered with the British army."
+
+"But I cannot think how you got us all to start, and walked along with the
+lady superior as if you were a friend of hers. Macwitty had not time to
+tell me that. I was so frightened and bewildered with the dreadful noise
+and the strangeness of it all that I could not ask him many questions."
+
+"It was by virtue of this ring," he said, holding up his hand.
+
+"Why," she exclaimed in surprise, "that is the bishop's! I noticed it on
+his finger when he came one day to me and scolded me, and said that I
+should remain a prisoner if it was for years until my obstinate spirit was
+broken. But how did you get it?"
+
+"Not with the bishop's good-will, you may be sure, Mary," Terence laughed;
+and he then told her how he had become possessed of it.
+
+The girl looked quite scared.
+
+"It sounds dreadful, doesn't it, Mary, to think that I should have laid
+hands upon a bishop, and such a bishop, a man who regards himself as the
+greatest in Portugal. However, there was no other way of getting the ring,
+and I could not see how, without it, I could persuade the lady superior to
+leave her convent with you all; and to tell you the truth, I would rather
+have got it that way than any other. The bishop is, in my opinion, a man
+who deserves no respect. He has terrorized all the north of Portugal, has
+caused scores of better men than himself to be imprisoned or put to death,
+and has now by his folly and ignorance cost the lives of no one knows how
+many thousand men, and brought about the sack of Oporto."
+
+"Did you hear anything of my mother?" the girl asked.
+
+"No; my Portuguese was not good enough for me to ask questions without
+risking being detected as a foreigner at once. She has behaved shamefully
+to you, Mary."
+
+"She never liked me," the girl said, simply. "She and father never got on
+well together, and I think her dislike began by his taking to me, and my
+liking to be with him and getting to talk English. There was a terrible
+quarrel between them once because she accused him of teaching me to be a
+Protestant, although he never did so. He did give me a Bible, and I used
+to ask him questions and he answered them, that was all; but as it did
+seem to me that he was much wiser in all things than she was, I thought
+that he might be wiser in religion too. I would have given up the property
+directly they wanted me to, if they would have let me go away to England;
+but when they took me to the convent and cut off my hair, and forced me to
+become a nun, I would not give way to them. I never took the vows,
+Terence; I would not open my lips, but they went on with the service just
+the same. I was determined that I would not yield. I thought that the
+English would come some day, and that I might be freed then."
+
+"What would you have done in England if you had gone there, Mary?"
+
+"I should have found your father out, and gone to him. Father told me that
+your father was his greatest friend, and just before he died he told me
+that he had privately sent over all his own money to a bank at Cork, and
+ordered it to be put in your father's name. It was a good deal of money,
+for he would not give up the business when he married my mother, though
+she wanted him to; but he said that he could not live in idleness on her
+money, and that he must be doing something. And I know that he kept up the
+house in Oporto, while she kept up her place in the country. He told me
+that the sum he had sent over was £20,000. That will be enough to live on,
+won't it?"
+
+"Plenty," Terence laughed. "I had no idea that I was rescuing such an
+heiress. I was sure that there was no chance of your getting your mother's
+money, at any rate, as long as the bishop was leader of Oporto. However
+just your claim, no judge would decide in your favour."
+
+"Now tell me about yourself, Terence, and your home in Ireland, and all
+about it."
+
+"My home has been the regiment, Mary. My father has a few hundred acres in
+County Mayo, and a tumble-down house; that is to say, it was a tumble-down
+house when I saw it four years ago, but it had been shut up for a good
+many years, and I should not be surprised if it has quite tumbled down
+now. However, my father was always talking of going to live there when he
+left the army. The land is not worth much, I think. There are five hundred
+acres, and they let for about a hundred a year. However, my father has
+been in the regiment now for about eighteen years; and as I was born in
+barracks I have only been three or four times to Ballinagra, and then only
+because father took a fancy to have a look at the old house. My mother
+died when I was ten years old, and I ran almost wild until I got my
+commission last June."
+
+"And how did you come to be a staff-officer of the English general?" she
+asked.
+
+"I have had awfully good luck," Terence replied. "It happened in all sorts
+of ways."
+
+"Please tell me everything," she said. "I want to know all about you."
+
+"It is a long story, Mary."
+
+"So much the better," she said. "I know nothing of what has passed for the
+last year, and I dare say I shall learn about it from your story. You
+don't know how happy I am feeling to be out in the sun and in the air
+again, and to see the country after being shut up in one room for a year.
+Suppose we sit down here and you tell me the whole story."
+
+Terence accordingly related the history of his adventures since he had
+left England. The girl asked a great many questions, and specially
+insisted upon hearing his own adventures very fully.
+
+"It is no use your keeping on saying that it is all luck," she said when
+he had finished. "Your colonel could not have thought that it was luck
+when he wrote the report about that adventure at sea, and your general
+could not have thought so, either, or he would not have praised you in his
+despatch. Then, you know, General Fane must have thought that it was quite
+out of the way or he would not have chosen you to be on his staff. Then
+afterwards the other general must have been pleased with you, or he would
+not have put you on his staff and sent you off on a mission to General
+Romana. It is quite certain that these things could not have been all
+luck, Terence. And anyhow, you cannot pretend that it was luck that this
+regiment of yours fought so well against the French, while none of the
+others seem to have fought at all. I suppose that you will say next that
+it was all luck that you got me out of the convent."
+
+"There was a great deal of luck in it, Mary. If that cowardly bishop
+hadn't left Oporto secretly, after declaring that he would defend it until
+the last, I could never have got his ring."
+
+"You would have got me out some other way if he hadn't," the girl said,
+with confidence. "No, Terence, you can say what you like, but I shall
+always consider that you have been wonderfully brave and clever."
+
+"Then you will always think quite wrong," Terence said, bluntly.
+
+"I shall begin to think that you are a tyrant, like the Bishop of Oporto,
+if you speak in that positive way. How old are you, sir?"
+
+"I was sixteen six months ago."
+
+"And I was sixteen three days ago," she said. "Fancy your commanding two
+thousand soldiers and only six months older than I am."
+
+"It is not I, it is the uniform," Terence said. "They obey me when they
+won't obey their own officers, because I am on the English general's
+staff. They know that we have thrashed the French, and that their own
+officers know nothing at all about fighting, and they have no respect
+whatever for them. More than that, they despise them because they know
+that they are always intriguing, and that really, although they may be
+called generals, they are but politicians. You will see, when they get
+English officers to discipline them, they will turn out capital soldiers;
+but they think so little of their own, that if anything goes wrong their
+first idea is that their officers must be traitors, and so fall upon them
+and murder them.
+
+"You look older than I do, Mary. You seem to me quite a woman, while, in
+spite of my uniform and my command, and all that, I am really only a boy."
+
+"I suppose I am almost a woman, Terence, but I don't feel so. You see out
+here girls often marry at sixteen. I know father said once that he hoped I
+shouldn't marry until I was eighteen, and that he wanted to keep me young.
+I never thought about getting almost a woman until the bishop told me one
+day that if I chose to marry a señor that he would choose for me, he would
+get me absolution from my vows, and that I need not then resign my
+property."
+
+"The old blackguard!" Terence exclaimed, angrily. "And what did you say to
+him?"
+
+"I said that, in the first place, I had never thought of marrying; that in
+the second place, I had not taken any vows; and in the third place that
+when I did marry I would choose for myself. He got into a terrible rage,
+and said that I was an obstinate heretic, and that some day when I was
+tired of my prison I would think better of it."
+
+"I would have hit the bishop hard if I had known about that," Terence
+grumbled. "If ever I fall in with him again I will pay him out for it.
+Well, anyhow, I may as well take off his ring; it might lead to awkward
+questions if anyone noticed it."
+
+"I think that you had certainly better do so, Terence; it might cost you
+your life. The bishop is a bad man, and he is a very dangerous enemy. If
+he heard that an English officer was wearing an episcopal ring, and upon
+inquiring found that that officer had been in Oporto at its capture, he
+would know at once that it was you who assaulted him, and he would never
+rest until he had your life. You had better throw it away."
+
+"All right, here goes!" Terence said, carelessly, and he threw the ring
+into a clump of bushes. "Now, Mary, it is getting dark, and I should think
+supper must be waiting for us."
+
+"Yes, it is late; we have been a long while, indeed," the girl said,
+getting up hastily. "I forgot all about time."
+
+"We are in plenty of time," Terence said, looking at his watch. "As we all
+had some cold meat for lunch as soon as we arrived, I ordered dinner at
+six o'clock, and it wants twenty minutes of that time now."
+
+"It is shocking, according to our Portuguese ideas," she said, demurely,
+"for a young lady and gentleman to be talking together for nearly three
+hours without anyone to look after them."
+
+"It is not at all shocking, according to Irish ideas," Terence said,
+laughing, "especially when the young lady and gentleman happen to be
+cousins."
+
+They walked a short time in silence, then she said:
+
+"I have obeyed you, Terence, and haven't uttered a word of thanks for what
+you have done for me."
+
+"That shows that you are a good girl," Terence laughed.
+
+"Good girls always do as they are told; at least they are supposed to,
+though as to the fact I never had any experience, for I have no sisters,
+and there were no girls in barracks; still, I am glad that you kept your
+promise, and hope that you will always do so. Being a cousin, of course it
+was natural that I should try to rescue you."
+
+"And you would not if I hadn't been a cousin?"
+
+"No, I don't say that. I dare say I should have tried the same if I had
+heard that any English or Irish girl was shut up here. I am sure I should
+if I had seen you beforehand."
+
+She coloured a little at the compliment, and said, lightly: "Father told
+me once that Irishmen were great hands at compliments. He told me that
+there was some stone that people went to an old castle to kiss--I think
+that he called it the Blarney Stone--and after that they were able to say
+all sorts of absurd things."
+
+"I have never kissed the Blarney Stone," Terence said, laughing. "If I
+wanted to kiss anything, it would be something a good deal softer than
+that."
+
+They were now entering the camp, and in a few minutes they arrived at the
+tent.
+
+"I began to think that you were lost, O'Connor," Herrara said, as they
+came up.
+
+"We had a lot to talk about," Terence replied. "My cousin has been
+insisting upon my telling her my whole history, and all about what has
+passed here since she was shut up a year ago, and, as you may imagine, it
+was rather a long story."
+
+A few minutes later they sat down on the ground to a meal in which roast
+pork was the leading feature.
+
+"This is what we call in England a picnic, señora," Terence said to Don
+Jose's wife.
+
+"A picnic," she repeated; "what does that mean? It is a funny word."
+
+"I have no idea why it should be called so," Terence said. "It means an
+open-air party. The ladies are supposed to bring the provisions, and the
+gentlemen the wine. Sometimes it is a boating party; at other times they
+drive in carriages to the spot agreed upon. It is always very jolly, and
+much better than a formal meal indoors, and you can play all sorts of
+tricks."
+
+"What sort of tricks, señor?"
+
+"Oh, there are lots of them. I was always having fun before I became an
+officer. My father was one of the captains of the regiment, and I was
+generally in for any amusement that there was. Once at a picnic, I
+remember that I got hold of the salt-cellars and mustard-pots beforehand,
+and I filled up one with powdered Epsom salts, which are horribly nasty,
+you know, and I mixed the mustard with cayenne pepper. Nobody could make
+out what had happened to the food. They soon suspected the mustard, but
+nobody thought of the salt for a long time. The colonel was furious over
+it, but fortunately they could not prove that I had any hand in the
+matter, though I know that they suspected me, for I did not get an
+invitation to a picnic for a long time afterwards."
+
+The three girls laughed, but Don Jose said, seriously: "But you would have
+got into terrible trouble if you had been found out, would you not?"
+
+"I should have got a licking, no doubt, señor; but I was pretty accustomed
+to that, and it did not trouble me in any way. At any rate, it did not
+cure me of my love for mischief. I am afraid I never shall be cured of
+that. I used to have no end of fun in the regiment, and I think that it
+did us all good. It takes some thinking to work out a bit of mischief
+properly, and I suppose if one can think one thing out well, one can think
+out another."
+
+"It seems to have succeeded well in your case, anyhow," Herrara laughed.
+"Perhaps if it had not been for your playing that trick at the picnic you
+would never have taken command of that mob, and we should never have gone
+to Oporto, and my friends and your cousin would be there now--that is, if
+they had not been killed."
+
+"It may have had something to do with it," Terence admitted.
+
+"And now, señor," Don Jose said, "which way are you going to take us?"
+
+"We shall go straight on to Coimbra," Terence said, "unless we come upon a
+British force before that. Two long days' march will take us there. After
+that I must do as I am ordered; my independent command will come to an end
+there. I hope that I shall soon hear that my regiment has returned from
+England."
+
+"And what is to become of me? I have not thought of asking," Mary O'Connor
+said.
+
+"That must depend upon circumstances, Mary. If I go down to Lisbon, I hope
+that we shall all travel together, and I can then put you on board a
+transport returning to England. I am sure to find letters from my father
+there, telling me where he is and whether he is coming back with the
+regiment."
+
+"We shall be very happy, señor," Don Jose said, courteously, "to take
+charge of the señora, until there is an opportunity for sending her to
+England. I have, of course, many friends in Lisbon, and shall take a house
+there the instant I arrive, and Donna O'Connor will be as one of my own
+family."
+
+"I am extremely obliged to you, Don Jose. I have been wondering all day as
+I rode along what I should do with my cousin if, as is probable, I am
+obliged to stay at Coimbra until I receive orders from Lisbon. Your kind
+offer relieves me of a great anxiety. I think that it will be prudent for
+her to take another name while she is at Lisbon. There will certainly be
+no inquiries after her, for the lady superior of her convent will, of
+course, conclude that she was accidentally separated from the others in
+the crush, and that she was trampled on, or killed; and, indeed, there
+will be such confusion in Oporto that the loss of a nun more or less would
+fail to attract attention. At any rate, it is likely to be a long time
+before any report the lady superior will make to the bishop will reach
+him--months, perhaps, for she is not likely to take any particular pains
+to tell him news that would certainly anger him.
+
+"Still, if he goes to Lisbon, as no doubt he will, and by any chance
+happens to hear that Miss O'Connor was one of those who had escaped from
+the sack of Oporto, he might make inquiries, and then all sorts of trouble
+might arise, even if he did not have her carried off by force, which would
+be easy enough in a place so disturbed as Lisbon at present is."
+
+"I think that you are right, señor," Don Jose said, gravely. "At any rate
+it would be as well to avoid any risk. What name shall we call her?"
+
+"You can call her Miss Dillon, señor, that is the name of an officer in
+our regiment."
+
+"But the bishop might meet her in the street by chance; what then?"
+
+"I don't think that he would know me," Mary O'Connor put in. "I have seen
+him, but I don't suppose that he ever noticed me until he saw me in my
+nun's dress, and, of course, I look very different now. Still, he is very
+sharp, and I will take good care never to go out without a veil."
+
+"That will be the safest plan, Mary," Terence said, "though I don't think
+anyone would recognize you. Of course, he supposes that you are still
+snugly shut up in the convent; still, it is just as well not to run the
+slightest risk."
+
+They made two long marches and reached Coimbra early on the third morning,
+bringing the first news that had been received there of the storming of
+Oporto. Terence at once reported himself to the commanding officer.
+
+"I was wondering where these two regiments came from, Mr. O'Connor," the
+colonel said. "I watched them march in, and thought that they were the
+most orderly body that I have seen since we came out here. Whose corps are
+they?"
+
+"Well, Colonel, they are my corps. I will tell you about it presently; it
+is a long story."
+
+"How strong are they?"
+
+"The field state this morning made them two thousand three hundred and
+fifty-five. They were two thousand five hundred to begin with; the rest
+are either killed or wounded."
+
+"Oh, you have had some fighting then."
+
+"We have had our share, at any rate, Colonel, and I think I can venture to
+say that no other Portuguese corps shows so good a record."
+
+"We have a large number of tents in store, and I will order a sufficient
+number to be served out to put all your men under canvas, with the
+understanding that if the army advances this way the tents must be handed
+back to us. There are quantities of uniforms also. There have been
+ship-loads sent over for the use of the Portuguese militia, who were to
+turn out in their hundreds of thousands, but who have yet to be
+discovered. Would you like some of them?"
+
+"Very much, indeed, Colonel. It would add very greatly to their
+appearance; though, as far as fighting goes, I am bound to say that I
+could wish nothing better."
+
+"Really! Then all I can say is you have made a very valuable discovery.
+Hitherto the fighting powers of the Portuguese have been invisible to the
+naked eye. But if you have found that they really will fight under some
+circumstances, we may hope that, now Lord Beresford has come out to take
+command of the Portuguese army, and is going to have a certain number of
+British officers to train and command them, they will be of some utility,
+instead of being simply a scourge to the country and a constant drain on
+our purse."
+
+"Have you heard that Oporto is captured, sir?"
+
+"No, you don't say so!"
+
+"Captured in less than an hour from the time that the first gun was
+fired."
+
+"Just what I expected. When you have political bishops who not only
+pretend to govern a country, but also assume the command of armies, how
+can it be otherwise? However, you shall tell me about it presently. I will
+go down with you at once to the stores and order the issue of the tents
+and uniforms. My orders were that the uniforms were to be served out to
+militia and ordenanças; under which head do your men come?"
+
+"The latter, sir; that is what they really were, but they hung the three
+men the Junta sent to command them, and placed themselves in my hands, and
+I have done the best I could with them, with the assistance of Lieutenant
+Herrara--who, as you may remember, accompanied me in charge of the
+escort--and my own two troopers and his men, and between us we have really
+done much in the way of disciplining them."
+
+Two hours later the tents were pitched on a spot half a mile distant from
+the town. By the time that this was done the carts with the uniforms came
+up, to the great delight of the men.
+
+"I have to go to the commandant again now, Herrara; let the uniforms be
+served out to the men at once. Tell the captains to see to their fitting
+as well as possible. I have no doubt that the colonel will come down to
+inspect them this afternoon, and will probably bring a good many officers
+with him, so we must make as good a show as possible."
+
+Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor had, on arriving at Coimbra, hired
+rooms, as Don Jose had determined to stay for a few days before going on,
+because his wife had been much shaken by the events that had taken place,
+and his eldest daughter was naturally anxious to wait until she knew
+whether Herrara would be able to return to Lisbon, or would remain with
+the corps. By the time Terence returned to the colonel's quarters it was
+lunch time.
+
+"You must come across to mess, Mr. O'Connor," the commandant said.
+"Everyone is anxious to hear your news, and it will save your going over
+it twice if you will tell it after lunch. I fancy every officer in the
+camp will be there."
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
+
+Terence, after lunch was over, first related to the officers all that he
+knew of the siege of Oporto, explaining why he did not choose to sacrifice
+the men under him by joining the undisciplined rabble in the
+intrenchments, but determined to keep the head of the bridge. They
+listened with breathless interest to his narrative of the attack and
+capture of Oporto.
+
+"But how was it that that fifty-gun battery did not knock the bridge to
+pieces when the French tried to cross?"
+
+"That is more than I can say, Colonel. I should fancy that they were so
+terrified at the utter rout on the other side, which they could see well
+enough, for they had a view right over the town to the intrenchments, that
+they simply fired wildly. I don't believe a single ball hit the bridge,
+though, of course, they ought to have sunk a dozen boats in a couple of
+minutes. My men could have held it for days, though they were suffering
+somewhat from the fire of two of the French field batteries; but I found
+that no steps whatever had been taken to remove the boats from the other
+side. There were great numbers of them all along the bank, and the enemy
+could have crossed a mile higher up, at the spot where I took my men over,
+and so fallen on our rear, therefore I withdrew to save them from being
+cut up or captured uselessly."
+
+"Now tell us about those troops of yours, O'Connor."
+
+Terence gave a somewhat detailed account of the manner in which he took
+the command and of the subsequent operations, being desirous of doing
+justice to Herrara and his troopers, and to his own two orderlies. There
+was much laughter among the officers at his assumption of command, and at
+the subsequent steps he took to form his mob of men into an orderly body;
+but interest took the place of amusement as he told how they had prevented
+the French from crossing at the mouth of the Minho, and caused Soult to
+take the circuitous and difficult route by Orense. His subsequent defence
+of the defile and the night attack upon the French, surprised them much,
+and when he brought his story to a conclusion there were warm expressions
+of approval among his hearers.
+
+"I must congratulate you most heartily, Mr. O'Connor," the colonel said.
+"What seemed at first a very wild and hare-brained enterprise, if you
+don't mind my saying so, certainly turned out a singular success. It would
+have seemed almost impossible that you, a young ensign, should be able to
+exercise any authority over a great body of mere peasants, who have
+everywhere shown themselves utterly insubordinate and useless under their
+native officers. It is nothing short of astonishing; and it is most
+gratifying to find that the Portuguese should, under an English officer,
+develop fighting powers far beyond anything with which they have been
+hitherto credited. What are you going to do now?"
+
+"I was intending to send my despatches on to Sir John Cradock, and wait
+here for orders."
+
+"I think that you had better take your despatches on yourself, Mr. O'
+Connor. I do not suppose that they are anything like so full as the story
+you have told us, which, I am sure, would be of as much interest to the
+general as it has been to us."
+
+"I will do so, sir, and will start this evening. My horse had three days'
+rest at Villa Nova, and is quite fit to travel."
+
+"You must be feeling terribly anxious about your cousin," the officer who
+had first told him about her remarked; "there is no saying what may have
+happened in Oporto after it was stormed."
+
+"I should indeed be, if she were there," Terence replied; "but I am happy
+to say that she is at present in Coimbra, having travelled with us under
+the charge of some Portuguese ladies, friends of Herrara."
+
+"You don't mean to say that you persuaded the bishop to let her out of the
+convent?"
+
+"Scarcely," Terence laughed, "though the bishop did unwittingly aid me."
+
+"I congratulate you on getting her out," the colonel said.
+
+"Travers was telling us the day after you left what a curious coincidence
+it was that the nun who threw him out a letter should turn out to be a
+cousin of yours. Will you tell us how you managed it?"
+
+"I don't mind telling it, sir, if all here will promise not to repeat it.
+The Bishop of Oporto is a somewhat formidable person, and were he to lodge
+a complaint against me he might get me into serious trouble, and is
+perfectly capable of having me stabbed some dark night in the streets of
+Lisbon; therefore, I think it would be as well to omit any details of the
+share he played in the matter. Without that the story is simple enough.
+Having got a boat with two men in it at the end of the street in which
+stood the convent, I went there in the dress of an ecclesiastic, just as
+the French burst into the town. The bishop had fled on the night before to
+the Serra Convent on the other side of the river, and I was able to
+produce an authority from him which satisfied the lady superior that I was
+the bearer of his order for her and the nuns to make for the bridge, and
+to cross the river at once.
+
+"Of course, I accompanied them. The crowd was great and they naturally got
+separated. In the confusion my orderlies managed to get my cousin out of
+the crowd, and took her straight to the boat. As soon as I saw that they
+had gone, I persuaded the lady superior to take the rest of the nuns back
+to the convent at once, as the bridge was by this time broken, and the
+French had made their appearance. She got the nuns together and made off
+with them as fast as they could run, and after seeing that they were all
+nearly back to their convent without any signs of the French being near, I
+joined the others in the boat, and we rowed across the river. It was a
+simple business altogether, though at first it seemed very hopeless."
+
+"Especially to get the authority of the bishop," the colonel said, with a
+smile.
+
+"That certainly seemed the most hopeless part of the business," Terence
+replied; "but happily I was able to manage it somehow."
+
+"Well, you certainly have had a most remarkable series of adventures, Mr.
+O'Connor. Now we will go and inspect your corps. Of course they will be
+rationed while they are here, and will be under my general orders until I
+hear from Cradock."
+
+"Quite so, Colonel; I am sure they will be proud of being inspected by
+you. Of course, they are unable to do any complicated manoeuvres, but
+those they do know they know pretty thoroughly, and can do them in a rough
+and ready way that for actual work is, I think, just as good as a
+parade-ground performance. I will go on ahead, sir, and form them up."
+
+"I would rather, if you don't mind, that they should have no warning," the
+colonel said; "we will just go down quietly, and see how quickly they can
+turn out."
+
+"Very well, sir."
+
+All there expressed their wish to go, and as all were provided with horses
+or ponies of some kind, in ten minutes they rode off in a body. His
+officers had been very busy all the time that Terence had been away,
+serving out the uniforms and seeing that they were properly put on. The
+work was just over, and the men were sauntering about round their tents
+when the party arrived. Herrara came up and saluted. He was known to the
+colonel, as he had dined with Terence at the mess on their way through.
+
+After a few words, Terence said to Herrara:
+
+"Have the assembly blown, and let the men fall in."
+
+Herrara walked back to the tents, and a moment later a horn blew. It had
+an uncouth sound, and bore no resemblance to the ordinary call, but it was
+promptly obeyed. The men snatched their muskets from the piles in front of
+the tents, and in a wonderfully short time the whole were formed up in
+their ranks, stiff and immovable.
+
+"Excellently done!" the colonel said; "no British regiment could have
+fallen in more smartly."
+
+Accompanied by Terence, and followed by the rest of the officers, he rode
+along the line. The evening before Terence had impressed upon the captains
+of companies the necessity for having the rifles perfectly clean, as they
+were about to join a British camp, so that the pieces were all in perfect
+order. When the inspection was over the mounted group drew off a little.
+
+"The troops will form up in columns of companies," Terence said, and Bull
+and Macwitty, who were at the head of their respective regiments, gave the
+orders. The movements were well executed. The men, proud of their uniform,
+and on their mettle at being inspected by British officers, did their
+best, and that best left little to be desired. After marching past, they
+formed into company squares to resist cavalry, then retired by alternate
+companies, and then formed into line.
+
+"Excellently done!" said the colonel. "Indeed, I can hardly believe it
+possible that a party of peasants have in a month's time been formed into
+a body of good soldiers. I should like the officers to come up."
+
+"Call the officers."
+
+There was an officers' call, and this now sounded, and the twelve captains
+with their two majors rode to the front and saluted. "Mr. Herrara," the
+colonel said, "I have seen with surprise and the greatest satisfaction the
+movements of the men under you; they do you the greatest credit, and I
+shall have pleasure in sending in a most favourable report to the general,
+the result of my inspection of the regiments. I hear from Mr. O'Connor
+that your men have shown themselves capable of holding their own against
+the French, and I can say that I should feel perfectly confident in going
+into action with my regiment supported by such brave and capable troops.
+Would that instead of 2,000 we had 100,000 Portuguese troops equally to be
+trusted, we should very speedily turn the French out of Portugal and drive
+them from the Peninsula."
+
+The officers bowed and rode off. The troops had not learned the salute,
+and when the horn sounded they were at once dismissed drill.
+
+"Well, Mr. O'Connor, I must congratulate you most heartily on what you
+have done. If nothing else, you have added to our army a couple of strong
+regiments of capable soldiers. If I had not seen it myself I should have
+thought it impossible that over 2,000 men could be converted into soldiers
+in so short a time, and that without experienced non-commissioned officers
+to work them up."
+
+Returning to Coimbra with the colonel, Terence rode to the house where
+Herrara's friends had taken rooms, and told them that he was going to
+leave them. Don Jose at once wrote several letters of introduction to
+influential friends at Lisbon, telling them that he and his daughters had
+escaped from the sack of Oporto, and asking them to show every kindness to
+the officer, to whom they chiefly owed their safety.
+
+Terence meanwhile returned to camp, arranged with Herrara and the two
+majors that everything was to go on as usual during his absence, urging
+them to work hard at their drill, and to impress upon the men the
+necessity, now that they were in uniform, of carrying themselves as
+soldiers, and doing credit to their corps.
+
+Five days later he arrived at Lisbon, taking with him a report from the
+commandant of his inspection of the corps.
+
+"I had begun to be afraid that you had been killed or taken prisoner, Mr.
+O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, as Terence presented himself, "or that
+you must have fallen back with Romana into Spain. He seems to have behaved
+very badly, for, as I hear, although he had 10,000 men with him, half of
+them regular troops, he retired without a shot being fired--except by two
+regiments who were mauled by the French cavalry--and left Silveira in the
+lurch."
+
+"I was on other business, General, and I fear that you will think that I
+exceeded my orders; but I hope that you will consider that the result has
+justified my doing so. Will you kindly first run your eye over this report
+by the officer commanding at Coimbra?"
+
+Sir John Cradock read the report with a puzzled expression of face, then
+he said: "But what regiments are these that Colonel Wilberforce speaks of
+in such high terms? Were they part of Romana's force? He speaks of them as
+a corps under your command, and as being 2,300 strong."
+
+"They were not Romana's men, sir, but a body of ordenanças, of whom, as my
+report will inform you, I came by a combination of circumstances to take
+the command, appointing Lieutenant Herrara, who commanded my escort,
+colonel, my two orderlies as majors, and the Portuguese troopers of my
+escort as captains of companies. We have been several times engaged with
+the French, and I cannot speak too highly of the behaviour of officers and
+men."
+
+Sir John Cradock burst into a laugh. "You certainly are a cool hand, Mr.
+O'Connor. Assuredly I did not contemplate when I sent you off that you
+would return as colonel of two regiments."
+
+"Nor did I, sir. But, you see, you gave me general instructions to concert
+measures with Romana for the defence of the frontier. I saw at once that
+Romana was hopeless, and was therefore myself driven to take these
+measures. As Oporto has fallen I cannot say they were successful, but at
+least I may say that we gave Oporto fourteen days' extra time to prepare
+her defence, and if she did not take advantage of the time it was not my
+fault."
+
+The look of amusement on the general's face turned to one of interest.
+
+"How did you do that, sir?"
+
+"My corps prevented Soult from crossing at the mouth of the Minho,
+General, killing some two hundred of his men and driving his boats back
+across the river. When the French general saw that he could not cross in
+face of such opposition, he was obliged to march his army round by Orense
+and down by the passes, which ought to have been successfully defended by
+the Portuguese."
+
+"That was good service, indeed, Mr. O'Connor. I received despatches from
+our agents at Oporto, saying that Soult's landing had been repulsed by
+armed peasants."
+
+"My men were little more than armed peasants then, sir, though they had
+had a few days' hard drill; still, a British officer would scarcely have
+called them soldiers."
+
+"Well, I think that Wilberforce's report shows that they have a right to
+that title now. Take a seat, Mr. O' Connor, and a newspaper--there are
+some that arrived two days ago--while I look over your report."
+
+Terence had written in much greater detail than is usual in official
+reports, as he wished the general to see how well the men and their
+officers had behaved. It was twenty minutes before the general finished
+it.
+
+"A very remarkable report, Mr. O'Connor; very remarkable. You must dine
+with me this evening. I have many questions to ask you about it, and also
+about the storming of Oporto, of which we have, as yet, received no
+details, although a messenger from the bishop brought us the news some
+days ago. He seems to have made a terrible mess of it."
+
+"He ought to be hung, sir!" Terence said, indignantly. "After getting all
+those unfortunate peasants together he sneaked off and hid himself in a
+convent on the other side of the river, on the very night before the
+French attacked."
+
+"Unfortunately, Mr. O'Connor, we cannot give all men their deserts, or we
+should want all the rope on board the ships in the harbour for the
+purpose. The bishop is a firebrand of the most dangerous kind; and I
+suppose we shall have him here in a day or two, for he said in his letter
+that he was on his way. There is one comfort: he will be too busy in
+quarrelling with the authorities to have any time to spend on his quarrels
+with us. Then I shall see you in an hour's time. Please ask Captain Nelson
+to come in here; I have some notes for him to write."
+
+Terence bowed and retired.
+
+"What a nuisance!" Captain Nelson said. "I was wanting to hear all that
+you had been doing."
+
+"I am to dine with the general," Terence said. "Perhaps I shall meet you
+there."
+
+Captain Nelson found that he was wanted to write notes of invitation to
+such of the officers who were still at Lisbon as had dined there when
+Terence was last the general's guest; and as the general's invitations
+overrode all other engagements, most of them were present when Terence
+returned.
+
+"Mr. O'Connor has another story for you, gentlemen," the general said,
+when the cloth was removed and the wine put upon the table. "I am not sure
+whether I am right in calling him Mr. O' Connor, for he has been
+performing the duties of a colonel, commanding two regiments in the
+Portuguese service. I will preface his story by reading the report of
+Colonel Wilberforce, commanding at Coimbra, of the state of efficiency of
+his command."
+
+There was a look of surprise at the general's remarks, and that surprise
+was greatly heightened on the reading of Colonel Wilberforce's report.
+
+"Now, Mr. O'Connor," the general said, when he had finished, "I am sure
+that we shall all be obliged by your giving us a detailed statement of the
+manner in which you raised those regiments, and of the operations that you
+undertook with them; and the more details you give us the better, for it
+is well that we should understand how the Portuguese can be best handled.
+I may say at once that, personally, we are greatly indebted to you for
+having proved that, when even partially disciplined and well led, they are
+capable of doing very good service, a fact of which, I own, I have been
+hitherto very doubtful."
+
+Smiles were exchanged among the auditors when Terence described the manner
+in which he came to command the body of undisciplined ordenanças. When he
+spoke of the state in which he found Romana's army, and the reason for his
+determination to keep his column intact, they listened more attentively,
+and exchanged looks of surprise when he described his rapid march to the
+mouth of the Minho, and the repulse of Soult's attempt to cross from Tuy.
+He then described how he had joined Silveira, and the mutiny of that
+general's troops. Still more surprise was manifested when he related the
+action in the defile and the bravery with which his troops had behaved,
+and the manner in which they had been handled by the troopers that he had
+appointed as their officers. The night attack on the cavalry and infantry
+of the head of Soult's column was equally well received. His reasons for
+not joining the army at Braga, and of keeping aloof from the mob of
+peasants at Oporto were as much approved as was the holding of the bridge
+for a while, and his reasons for withdrawing.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," the general said, when Terence had finished, "I think
+you will allow that my aide-de-camp, Mr. O'Connor, has given a good
+account of himself, and that if he went outside my orders, his doing so
+has been most amply justified."
+
+"It has, indeed, General," one of the senior officers said, warmly. "I can
+answer for myself, that I should have been proud to have been able to tell
+such a story."
+
+A murmur of approval ran round the table.
+
+"It is difficult to say whether Mr. O'Connor's readiness to accept
+responsibility, or the manner in which, in the short space of a month, he
+turned a mob of peasants into regular soldiers, or the quickness with
+which he marched to the spot threatened by Soult, and so compelled him to
+entirely change the plan of his campaign, or his conduct in the defence of
+the defile, and in his night attack, are most remarkable."
+
+"I should wish to say, General, that in telling this story I have been
+chiefly anxious to do justice to the hearty co-operation of Lieutenant
+Herrara, and the services rendered by my own two orderlies and his
+troopers. By myself, I could have done absolutely nothing. Their work was
+hard and incessant, and the drill and discipline of the troops was wholly
+due to them."
+
+"I understand, Mr. O'Connor; it is quite right for you to say so, and I
+thoroughly recognize that they must have done good service; but it is to
+the man that plans, organizes, and infuses his own spirit into those under
+his command, that everything is due. Now, Mr. O'Connor, I think I will ask
+you to leave us for a few minutes; the case is rather an exceptional one,
+and I shall be glad to chat the matter over with the officers present.
+Well, gentlemen, what do you think that we are to do with Mr. O'Connor?"
+he went on, with a smile, as the door closed behind Terence.
+
+"My experience affords me no guide, General," another of the senior
+officers said. "It is simply amazing that a lad of seventeen--I suppose he
+is not much over that--should have conceived and carried out such a plan.
+It sounds like a piece of old knight-errantry. Clive did as much, but
+Clive was some years older when he first became a thorn in the side of the
+French. What is your opinion, sir?"
+
+"He is already a lieutenant," the general said. "I sent home a strong
+recommendation that he should be promoted, when he was last here, and
+received an intimation three days ago that he had been gazetted lieutenant
+and transferred to my staff. This time I shall simply, send home a copy of
+the report he has furnished me with, and that of Colonel Wilberforce, and
+say that I leave the reports to speak for themselves, but that in my
+opinion it is a case altogether exceptional. That is all I can do now. The
+question of course is, whether he shall return to staff service again, or
+shall continue in command of the corps with which he has done so much. If
+he does the latter he must have local rank, otherwise he would be liable
+to be overruled by any Portuguese officer of superior rank. I think that
+the best way would be to send a copy of the reports to Lord Beresford,
+saying that my opinion is very strong that Lieutenant O'Connor should be
+allowed to retain an independent command of the corps that he has raised
+and disciplined; and that I will either myself bestow local rank upon him,
+and treat the corps as forming a part of the British army, like that of
+Trant, or that he should give him local rank as its colonel, in which case
+he would operate still independently, but in connection with Beresford's
+own force."
+
+"I should almost think that the first step would be best, General, if I
+might say so. In the first place, Beresford will have any number of
+irregular parties operating with him, while such a corps would be
+invaluable to us. They are capable of taking long marches, they know the
+mountains and forests, and would keep us supplied with news, while they
+harassed the enemy. As an officer on your staff, O'Connor would have a
+much greater power among the Portuguese population than he would have on
+his own account in their own army, and he would be very much less likely
+to be interfered with by the leaders of other parties and corps."
+
+"Perhaps that would be the best way, Colonel. I will send the reports to
+Beresford, and say that I have appointed Lieutenant O'Connor to remain in
+command of this corps, which I shall attach to my own command; and saying
+that I shall be obliged if he will have a commission made out for him,
+giving him the local rank of colonel in the Portuguese army. Beresford is
+himself a gallant soldier, and will appreciate, as you do, the work that
+O'Connor has done; and as he knows nothing of the lad's age he will
+comply, as a matter of course, with my request. I shall, in writing home,
+strongly recommend his two cavalrymen for commissions. As to Herrara, I
+shall ask Beresford to give him the rank of lieutenant-colonel. I shall
+suggest to Beresford that his troopers should all receive commissions in
+his army. They have all earned them, which is more than I can say of any
+other Portuguese soldiers, so far as I have heard."
+
+Terence was then called in again.
+
+"In the first place, I have a pleasant piece of news to give you, Mr. O'
+Connor, namely, that I have received from home an official letter, that on
+my recommendation you have been gazetted to the rank of lieutenant and
+transferred to my staff; in the second place, I have decided, that while
+still retaining you on my staff, you will be continued in your present
+command; I shall obtain for you a commission as colonel in the Portuguese
+service, but your corps will form part of my command, and act with the
+British army. I shall request Lord Beresford to appoint Mr. Herrara to the
+rank of lieutenant-colonel, and shall recommend that commissions be given
+to his troopers. The two orderlies, of whose services you spoke so highly,
+I shall recommend for commissions in our army, and shall request Lord
+Beresford to give them local rank as majors."
+
+Terence coloured with pleasure and confusion.
+
+"I am greatly obliged to you, General," he said; "but I do not at all feel
+that the services that I have tried to perform----"
+
+"That is for me to judge," the general said, kindly. "All the officers
+here quite agree with me, that those services have been very marked and
+exceptional and are at one with me as to how they should be recognized.
+Moreover, in obtaining for you the rank of colonel in the Portuguese army,
+I am not only recognizing those services, but am adding to the power that
+you will have of rendering further services to the army. Although attached
+to our forces, you will receive your colonel's commission from Lord
+Beresford, who is now the general appointed by the Portuguese government
+to command their army."
+
+It was now late, and the party rose. All of them shook hands warmly with
+Terence, who retired with his friend Captain Nelson. The latter told him
+before they went in to dinner that he had had a bed put up for him in his
+own room.
+
+"Well, Colonel O'Connor," Nelson laughed, "you must allow me to be the
+first to salute you as my superior officer."
+
+"It is absurd altogether," Terence said, almost ruefully. "Still, Captain
+Nelson, though I may hold a superior rank in the Portuguese army, that
+goes for very little. I have seen enough of Portuguese officers to know
+that even their own soldiers have not got any respect for them, and in our
+own army I am only a lieutenant."
+
+"That is so, lad; however, there was never promotion more deserved. And as
+you hung, or rather left to be hung, a Portuguese colonel, it is only
+right that you should supply the deficiency."
+
+"I hope I shall not have to wear a Portuguese uniform," Terence said,
+earnestly.
+
+"I should think not, O'Connor, but I will ask the general in the morning.
+Of course, you will not wear your present uniform, because you are now
+gazetted into the staff and out of your own regiment. Now we will smoke a
+quiet cigar before we turn in. Have you any other story to tell me that
+you have not already related?"
+
+"Well, yes, I have one, but it is only of a personal interest;" and he
+then gave an account of his discovery of his cousin in the convent at
+Oporto, and how he had managed to rescue her, ending by saying: "I have
+told you the story, Nelson, so that if by any unexpected accident it is
+found out that she is an escaped nun, and her friends appeal to the
+general for protection, you may be aware of the circumstances, and help."
+
+"Certainly I will do so," Captain Nelson said, warmly. "You certainly have
+a wonderful head for devising plans."
+
+"I began it early," Terence laughed. "I was always in mischief before I
+got my commission, and I suppose that helps me; but you see I had
+wonderful luck."
+
+"I don't say anything against your luck; but good luck is of no use unless
+a fellow knows how to take advantage of it, and that is just what you have
+done. I suppose that you will stay here for a day or two."
+
+"My horse wants a couple of days' rest, and I have my uniform to get. I
+suppose I can get one made in a couple of days, whether it is a Portuguese
+or an English one."
+
+"Yes, I dare say you will be able to manage that."
+
+The next morning, to his great satisfaction, Terence learned that the
+general said he had better wear staff uniform, and he accordingly went
+with Captain Nelson and was measured.
+
+"Your Portuguese seems to have improved amazingly in the two months you
+have been away," the latter said, as they came out from the shop; "you
+seem to jabber away quite fluently."
+
+"I have been talking nothing else, and Herrara has acted as my instructor,
+so I get on very fairly now."
+
+At this moment a carriage drove past them.
+
+"That is the Bishop of Oporto," said Terence; "I suppose he has just
+arrived."
+
+"It is a good thing that he does not know you as well as you know him,"
+Captain Nelson said, dryly; "if he did, your adventures would be likely to
+be cut short by a knife between your shoulders some dark night."
+
+"He does not know me at all," Terence laughed; "the advantages are all on
+my side in the present case."
+
+"It is an advantage," Captain Nelson laughed. "When I think that you have
+raised your hand against that venerable but somewhat truculent prelate, I
+shudder at your boldness. I only caught a glimpse of him as he passed, but
+I could see that he looks rather scared."
+
+"Perhaps he hasn't recovered yet from the fright I gave him," laughed
+Terence; "I have seen and heard enough of his doings, and paid him a very
+small instalment of the debt due to him."
+
+The uniforms were promised for the next evening, and Terence felt when he
+put them on that they were a considerable improvement upon his late one,
+stained and discoloured as it was by wet, mud, and travel. After paying a
+visit to the general to say good-bye, Terence mounted and started for
+Coimbra.
+
+Upon his arrival there four days later he at once reported himself to the
+commandant.
+
+"I received a copy of the general order of last Tuesday," the latter said,
+"and congratulate you warmly on being confirmed in your rank. I thought
+that it would be so, for one could not reckon that, had another taken your
+place, your corps would have maintained its present state of efficiency."
+
+"You are very good to say so, Colonel, but any British officer appointed
+to command it would do as well or better than I should."
+
+"I don't think that he would in any way; but certainly he would not be
+followed with the same confidence by his men as they would follow you, and
+with troops like these everything depends upon their confidence in their
+commander."
+
+"The corps is now attached to our army, Colonel; you were good enough to
+order them to be rationed before, but I have now an order from the general
+for them to draw pay and rations the same as the British troops."
+
+"That is all right," the colonel said, examining the document; "I will
+take a copy of it, but as it is a general order you must keep the original
+yourself. I see that you have now adopted the uniform of the staff. It is
+certainly a great improvement upon that of an infantry officer, and
+appearances go for a good deal among these Portuguese. I see, by the way,
+that you have got your step in our army."
+
+"Yes, Colonel, the general was good enough to recommend me. Of course I am
+glad in one way, but I am sorry that it has put me out of the regiment
+that I have been brought up with. But, of course, it was necessary, for I
+could not have gone over other men's heads in it."
+
+"No, when a man gets special promotion it is always into another regiment
+for that reason. You will be glad to hear that your men have been behaving
+extremely well in your absence, and that I have not heard of a single case
+of drunkenness or misconduct among them. I have been down there several
+times, and always found them hard at work drilling; they seem to me to
+improve every time I see them."
+
+On leaving the colonel's quarters Terence rode to his cousin's. Mary rose
+with an exclamation of surprise as he entered.
+
+"What a handsome uniform, Terence! How is it that you have changed it?"
+
+"I am now regularly on the general's staff, Mary, and this is the
+uniform."
+
+"You look very well in it," she said; "don't you think so, Lorenza?"
+
+"I do, indeed," her friend agreed; "it does make a difference."
+
+"Well, to begin with, it is clean and new," Terence laughed; "and though
+the other was not old, it had seen its best days. But I have more news,
+Mary; you have now to address your cousin as colonel."
+
+Mary clapped her hands, and Don Jose and his family uttered exclamations
+of pleasure.
+
+"It is quite right," Mary said; "it is ridiculous that Señor Herrara
+should be colonel and you only Mr. O'Connor."
+
+"It does not matter much about a name," he said. "I commanded before and I
+shall do so now, but I have got Portuguese rank."
+
+"Why did not they make you an English colonel?" Mary asked, rather
+indignantly.
+
+Terence laughed. "I shall be lucky if I get that in another twenty years,
+Mary. I am a lieutenant now--I have got the step since you saw me
+last--but I am to rank as a colonel in the Portuguese army as long as I
+command this corps, which I am glad to say is now to form a part of the
+British army. Herrara is to have the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Bull and
+Macwitty will, I hope, get their commissions as ensigns in the British
+army, with local rank of majors. The general will recommend that Herrara's
+troopers all get commissions in the Portuguese army."
+
+"Ah, well! I am pleased that your services are appreciated, Terence. We
+are very glad that you have come back, Lorenza especially so, as, now you
+have returned, she thinks she will see more of Señor Herrara."
+
+"The bishop is in Lisbon, Mary."
+
+"That is not such good news, Terence. I will be very careful to keep out
+of his way."
+
+"Do," he said. "I have spoken to Captain Nelson, one of the general's
+staff, about you, and if by any chance you should be recognized as an
+escaped nun, I hope that Don Jose will go to him at once and ask him to
+obtain the general's protection for you, which will, I am sure, be given.
+Your father was an Irishman. You are a British subject, and have a right
+to protection. You won't forget the name, Don Jose--Captain Nelson?"
+
+"I will write it down at once," the Portuguese said, "but as Donna Mary
+will pass under the name of Dillon, and her dress has so changed her
+appearance, I do not think that there is the smallest fear of her being
+recognized. Indeed, no one could know her except the bishop himself."
+
+"You may be sure that I shall not go out much in Lisbon," Mary said, "and
+if I do I will keep my promise to be always closely veiled."
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+WITH THE MAYOS
+
+The news that Terence brought to the regiment gave great and general
+satisfaction. Herrara was delighted to hear that he was to be made a
+lieutenant-colonel in his army. Bull and Macwitty were overjoyed on
+hearing that they had both been recommended for commissions, and Herrara's
+troopers were equally pleased. The rank and file felt no less
+gratification, both at the honour of being attached to the British army,
+and at the substantial improvement in their condition that this would
+entail.
+
+On the following day Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor left for Lisbon,
+and the latter astonished Terence by bursting into tears as she said
+good-bye to him.
+
+"I have said nothing yet of the gratitude that I feel to you, Terence, for
+all that you have done for me, for you have always stopped me whenever I
+have tried to, but I shall always feel it, always; and shall think of you
+and love you dearly."
+
+"It has been just as fortunate for me as it has been good for you, Mary,"
+he said. "I have never had a sister, and I seem to have found one now."
+
+The girl looked up, pouting. "I don't think," she said, "I should
+particularly care about being a sister; I think that I would rather remain
+a cousin."
+
+Terence looked surprised and a little hurt.
+
+"You are only a silly boy," she laughed, "but will understand better some
+day. Well, good-bye, Terence," and the smile faded from her face.
+
+
+[Illustration: TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR.]
+
+
+"Good-bye, dear. Take great care of yourself in Lisbon, and be sure that
+you look out to see if the Mayo Fusiliers arrive while you are there. I
+heard that they were about to embark again with a force that General Hill
+is bringing out, but my father won't be with them, I am afraid. I have not
+heard from him, but I should hardly think that he will be fit for hard
+service again; yet, if he should be, he will tell you where to go to till
+we get back. At any rate, don't start for England until the regiment
+comes. I fancy that it will be at Lisbon before you are, and Don Jose can
+easily find out for you whether father is with it. If he is not, go to
+Ballinagra. I have written instructions how you are to travel, but you had
+better write to him there directly you land, and I have no doubt that he
+will come over and fetch you. I don't know anything about London, but you
+had better see Captain Nelson at Lisbon. Here is a note I have written to
+him, asking him where you had better go, and what you had better do when
+you get to London."
+
+The day after the party had left, Terence marched with his corps north,
+and established himself at Carvalho, where the road from Oporto passed
+over the spurs of the Serra de Caramula, in order to check the incursions
+of French cavalry from Oporto. In the course of the next fortnight he had
+several sharp engagements with them. In the last of these, when making a
+reconnaissance with both regiments, he was met by the whole of
+Franceschi's cavalry. They charged down on all four sides of the square
+into which he formed his force, expecting that, as upon two previous
+occasions, the Portuguese would at once break up at their approach. They
+stood, however, perfectly firm, and received the cavalry with such
+withering volleys that Franceschi speedily drew off, leaving upwards of
+two hundred dead behind him.
+
+The day after this fight Terence received a letter from Mary, saying that
+General Hill had arrived before they reached Lisbon, and that Don Jose had
+learned that Major O'Connor had retired on half-pay. Also that Captain
+Nelson had obtained a passage for her in one of the returning transports,
+and had given her a letter to his mother, who resided in London, asking
+her to receive her until she heard from the major.
+
+A few days afterwards he learned from Colonel Wilberforce that the English
+army had marched for Leirya. General Hill's force of five thousand men and
+three hundred horses for the artillery arrived at an opportune moment. The
+storming of Oporto, the approach of Victor to Badajos, after totally
+defeating Cuesta's Spanish army, killing three-fifths of his men, and
+capturing thousands of prisoners, while Lapisse was advancing from the
+east, had created a terrible panic in Portugal. Beresford's orders were
+disobeyed, many of his regiments abandoned their posts, and the populace
+in Lisbon were in a state of furious turmoil. Hill's arrival to some
+extent restored confidence, the disorders were repressed, and Sir John
+Cradock now felt himself strong enough to advance.
+
+Terence's report of the repulse of Franceschi's cavalry was answered by a
+letter from Cradock himself, expressing warm approval at the conduct of
+the corps.
+
+"There is but little fear of an advance by Soult at present," he said. "He
+must know that we have received reinforcements, and he will not venture to
+march on Lisbon, as the force now gathering at Leirya could operate upon
+his flank and rear. I shall be glad, therefore, if you would march with
+your command to the latter town. The example of your troops cannot but
+have a good effect upon the raw Portuguese levies, and, in the event of
+our advancing to the relief of Ciudad-Rodrigo, could render good service
+by clearing the passes, driving in the French outposts, and keeping me
+well informed of the state of the roads, the accommodation available for
+the troops, and the existence of supplies."
+
+Immediately on receipt of this Terence marched for Leirya, where the
+British army was under canvas. On the way down they halted for a night at
+Coimbra.
+
+"An official letter came for you last night, O'Connor," Colonel
+Wilberforce said. "I kept it until I should have an opportunity of
+forwarding it to you. Here it is, duly addressed, Colonel O'Connor, the
+Minho Regiment."
+
+This was the name Sir John Cradock suggested to Terence, as a memorial of
+the service they had rendered in repulsing Soult at that river. It was the
+first time Terence had seen his name with the prefix of colonel.
+
+"It looks like a farce," he said, as he broke the seal.
+
+Inside was an official document, signed by Lord Beresford, to the effect
+that as a recognition of the very great services rendered by Lieutenant
+O'Connor, an officer on the staff of Sir John Cradock, when in command of
+the two battalions of the Minho Regiment, and in accordance with the
+strong recommendation of the British general, Lieutenant Terence O'Connor
+is hereby appointed to the rank of colonel in the Portuguese service, with
+the pay and allowances of his rank. Colonel O' Connor is to continue in
+command of the regiments, which will be attached to the British army,
+under the command of Sir John Cradock.
+
+"Here is also a letter for your friend Herrara, and a much more bulky one;
+will you hand it to him?"
+
+Herrara's letter contained his promotion to lieutenant-colonel, with an
+order to remain under Terence's command; also fourteen commissions, two
+giving Bull and Macwitty the Portuguese rank of major, the remaining being
+captain's commissions for the twelve troopers.
+
+Two days later they reached Leirya. The April sun rendered shelter
+unnecessary for the Portuguese, and after establishing them, for the
+present, a quarter of a mile away from the British camp, he went and
+reported his arrival to the officer in command, and was told that he could
+not do better than bivouac on the ground he had selected. Leaving the
+headquarters he soon found where the Mayo regiment was encamped, and made
+his way to the officers' marquee. They were just sitting down to lunch
+when, at the entry of an officer on the general's staff, the colonel at
+once rose gravely. O'Grady was the first to recognize the newcomer.
+
+"Be jabers," he shouted, "but it is Terence O' Connor himself!" There was
+a general rush to shake hands with him, and a din of voices and a
+confusion of questions and greetings.
+
+"And what in the world have you got that uniform on for, Terence?" O'Grady
+asked, when the din somewhat subsided. "We saw that the general had
+appointed you as one of his aides-de-camp when you got here after Corunna,
+but you would wear your own uniform all the same."
+
+"What matters about his uniform, O'Grady?" the others exclaimed. "What we
+want to know is how he saved his life at Corunna, when we all thought that
+he was either killed or taken prisoner."
+
+"Wait till the lad has got something to eat and drink," the colonel said,
+peremptorily. "Pray take your seats, gentlemen. You take this chair by me,
+O'Connor; and now, while you are waiting for your plate, tell us in a few
+words how you escaped. Everyone made sure that you were killed. We heard
+that Fane had sent you to carry an order, that you had delivered it, and
+then started to rejoin him; from that time nobody saw you alive or dead."
+
+"The matter was very simple, Colonel. My horse was hit in the head with a
+round shot. I went a frightful cropper on some stones in the middle of a
+clump of bushes. I lay there insensible all night, and coming-to in the
+morning, saw that the French had advanced, and the firing on the hill over
+the town told me that the troops had got safely on board ship. I lay quiet
+all day, and at night made off, sheltered for a couple of days with some
+peasants on the other side of the hill, joined Romana, went to the
+Portuguese frontier with him, and then rode to Lisbon, where Sir John
+Cradock was good enough to put me on his staff."
+
+"We heard you had turned up safely at Lisbon, and glad we were, as you may
+be sure, and a good jollification we had over it. As for O'Grady, it has
+served as an excuse for an extra tumbler ever since."
+
+"Bad excuses are better than none," Terence laughed, "and if it hadn't
+been that, it would have been something else."
+
+"Shut up, you young scamp," O'Grady said. "How is it that you have not
+answered my question? Why are you wearing staff-officer's uniform instead
+of your own?"
+
+"Have you not heard, Colonel," Terence said, "that I no longer belong to
+the regiment?"
+
+There was a chorus of expressions of regret round the table.
+
+"And how has that happened, Terence?" the colonel asked. "That is bad news
+for us all, anyway."
+
+"I was gazetted lieutenant a month ago, Colonel. I suppose you had sailed
+from England before the _Gazette__ came out."
+
+"I suppose so, lad. Well, you richly deserved your promotion, if it was
+only for that affair on board the _Sea-horse__, and you ought to have had
+it long ago."
+
+"I am awfully sorry to leave the regiment. It has been my home as long as
+I can remember, and wherever I may be, I shall always regard it in that
+light."
+
+"And so you remain on the staff at present, O'Connor?"
+
+"Well, sir, I am on the staff still, but for the present I am on detached
+duty."
+
+"What sort of duty, Terence?"
+
+"I have the honour to command two Portuguese regiments that marched in an
+hour ago."
+
+A shout of laughter followed the announcement.
+
+"Bedad, Terence," O'Grady said, "that crack on your head hasn't changed
+your nature, thanks to your thick skull. I suppose it is poking fun at us
+that you are. But you won't take us in this time."
+
+"I saw the regiments pass at a distance," the colonel said, "and they
+marched in good order, too, which is more than I have seen any other
+Portuguese troops do. Now you mention it, I did see an officer, in what
+looked like a British uniform, riding with the men, but it was too far off
+to see what branch of the service he belonged to. That was you, was it?"
+
+"That was me, sure enough, Colonel."
+
+"And what were you doing there? Tell us, like a good boy."
+
+"Absurd as it may appear, and, indeed, absurd as it is, I am in command of
+those two regiments."
+
+Again a burst of incredulous laughter arose. Terence took out his
+commission and handed it to the colonel.
+
+"Perhaps, Colonel, if you will be kind enough to read that out loud, my
+assurance will be believed."
+
+"Faith, it was not your assurance that we doubted, Terence, me boy!"
+O'Grady exclaimed. "You have plenty of assurance, and to spare; it is the
+statement that we were doubting."
+
+The colonel glanced down the document, and his face assumed an expression
+of extreme surprise.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, rising, "if you will endeavour to keep silence for a
+minute, I will read this document."
+
+The surprise on his own face was repeated on the faces of all those
+present, as he proceeded with his reading. O'Grady was the first to break
+the silence.
+
+"In the name of St. Peter," he said, "what does it all mean? Are you sure
+that it is a genuine document, Colonel? Terence is capable of anything by
+way of a joke."
+
+"It is undoubtedly genuine, O'Grady. It is dated from Lord Beresford's
+quarters, and signed by his lordship himself as commander-in-chief of the
+Portuguese army. How it comes about beats me as much as it does you. But
+before we ask any questions we will drink a toast. Gentlemen, fill your
+glasses; here is to the health of Colonel Terence O'Connor."
+
+The toast was drank with much enthusiasm, mingled with laughter, for many
+of them had still a suspicion that the whole matter was somehow an
+elaborate trick played by Terence.
+
+"Now, Colonel O'Connor, will you please to favour us with an account of
+how General Cradock and Lord Beresford have both united in giving you so
+big a step up."
+
+"It is a long story, Colonel."
+
+"So much the better," the colonel replied. "We have nothing to do, and it
+will keep us all awake."
+
+Terence's account of his interview with the colonel of the ordenanças, the
+demand by Cortingos that he should hand over the money he was escorting,
+and the subsequent gathering to attack the house, and the manner in which
+the leaders were captured, the rioters appeased and subsequently advised
+to direct their efforts to obtain arms and ammunition, excited
+exclamations of approval; but the belief that the story was a pure romance
+still prevailed in the minds of many, and Terence saw Captain O'Grady and
+Dick Ryan exchanging winks. It was not until Terence spoke of his rapid
+march to the mouth of the Minho, as soon as he heard that the French were
+concentrating there, that he began to be seriously listened to; and when
+he told how Soult's attempt to cross had been defeated, and the French
+general obliged to change the whole plan of the campaign, and to march
+round by Orense, the conviction that all this was true was forced upon
+them.
+
+"By the powers, Terence!" the colonel exclaimed, bringing his hand down on
+his shoulder, "you are a credit to the ould country. I am proud of you, me
+boy, and it is little I thought when O'Flaherty and myself conspired to
+get ye into the regiment that you were going to be such a credit to it.
+Gentlemen, before Colonel O'Connor goes further, we will drink his health
+again."
+
+This time there was no laughter mixed with the cheers. Many of the
+officers left their seats and came round to shake his hand warmly, O'Grady
+foremost among them.
+
+"Sure I thought at first that it was blathering you were, Terence; but,
+begorra, I see now that it's gospel truth you are telling, and I am proud
+of you. Faith, I am as proud as if I were your own father, for haven't I
+brought you up in mischief of all kinds? Be the poker, I would have given
+me other arm to have been with you."
+
+The rest of the story was listened to without interruption. When it was
+concluded, Colonel Corcoran again rose.
+
+"Gentlemen, we will for the third time drink to the health of Colonel
+O'Connor, and I think that you will agree with me that if ever a man
+deserved to be made a colonel it's himself."
+
+This time O'Grady and three others rushed to where Terence was sitting,
+seized him, and before he knew what they were going to do, hoisted him
+onto the shoulders of two of them, and carried him in triumph round the
+table. When at length quiet was restored, and Terence had resumed his
+seat, the colonel said:
+
+"By the way, Terence, there was a little old gentleman called on me three
+days after we landed to ask if Major O'Connor was with the regiment. I
+told him that he was not, having gone on half-pay for the present on
+account of a wound. He seemed rather pleased than otherwise, I thought,
+and I asked him pretty bluntly what he wanted to know for. He brought an
+interpreter with him, and said through him that he hoped that I would not
+press that question, especially as a lady was concerned in the matter. It
+bothered me entirely. Why, from the time we landed at the Mondego till
+your father was hit at Vimiera I don't believe we ever had the chance to
+speak to a woman. It may be that it was some lady that nursed him there
+after we had marched away, and who had taken a fancy to him. The ould man
+may have been her father, and was perhaps mighty glad to hear that the
+major was not coming back again."
+
+Terence burst into a shout of laughter.
+
+"My dear Colonel," he said, "the respectable old gentleman did not call on
+behalf of his daughter, but on behalf of a cousin of mine, who was wanting
+to find my father; and Don Jose, who was in charge of her, was glad to
+hear that he was going to remain in England."
+
+"A cousin!" O'Grady exclaimed. "Why how in the name of fortune does a lady
+cousin of yours come to be cruising about in such an outlandish place as
+this?"
+
+"That is another story, Colonel, and I have talked until I am hoarse now,
+so that that must keep until another sitting. It is quite time that I was
+off to see how my men are getting on."
+
+"Of course you will dine with us?"
+
+"Not to-night, Colonel; this has been a long sitting, and I would rather
+not begin a fresh one."
+
+"Well, we will come and have a look at your regiments."
+
+"I would rather you did not come until to-morrow, Colonel. The men have
+marched five-and-twenty miles a day for the last five days, and they want
+rest, so I should not like to parade them again. If you will come over,
+say at twelve o'clock to-morrow, I shall be proud to show them."
+
+The corps now possessed five tents, Terence having obtained four more at
+Coimbra. Herrara and himself occupied one, while two were allotted to the
+officers of each regiment. Bull and Macwitty had both by this time picked
+up sufficient Portuguese to be able to get on comfortably, and had agreed
+with Terence that although they would like to remain together, it was
+better that each should stay with the officers of his own regiment.
+
+At twelve o'clock next day Colonel Corcoran came over with nearly the
+whole of the officers of the Mayo regiment, and was accompanied by many
+others, as they had the night before given many of their acquaintances an
+outline of Terence's story.
+
+The men had been on foot from an early hour after breakfast. There had
+been a parade. Every man's firelock, accoutrements, and uniform had been
+very closely inspected, and when they fell in again at a quarter to twelve
+a most rigid inspection would have failed to find any fault with their
+appearance. Terence joined the colonel as soon as he came on the ground.
+
+"So your officers are all mounted, I see, Terence?"
+
+"Yes, Colonel; you see the companies are over two hundred strong, for the
+losses we had have been filled up since, and one officer to each corps
+could do but little unless he were mounted."
+
+"The men looked uncommonly well, Terence, uncommonly well. I should like
+to walk along the line before you move them."
+
+"By all means, Colonel. Their uniforms do not fit as well as I should
+like, but I had to take them as they were served out, and have had no
+opportunity of getting them altered."
+
+Since the inspection at Coimbra the men had been taught the salute, and as
+Terence shouted:
+
+"Attention! General salute! Present arms!" the men executed the order with
+a sharpness and precision that would have done no discredit to a British
+line regiment. Then the colonel and officers walked along the line, after
+which the troops were put through their manoeuvres for an hour, and then
+dismissed.
+
+"Upon my word, it is wonderful," Colonel Corcoran said. "Why, if the
+beggars had been at it six months they could not have done it better."
+
+There was a chorus of agreement from all the officers round.
+
+"We could not have done some of those movements better ourselves, could
+we, O'Driscol?"
+
+"That we could not," the major said, heartily. "Another three months' work
+and these two regiments would be equal to our best; and I can understand
+now how they stood up against the charge of Franceschi's cavalry
+regiments."
+
+"Now, Colonel, I cannot ask you all to a meal," Terence said; "my
+arrangements are not sufficiently advanced for that yet; but I managed to
+get hold of some very good wine this morning, and I hope that you will
+take a glass all round before you go back to camp."
+
+"That we will, and with pleasure, for the dust has well-nigh choked me. It
+is a different thing drilling on this sandy ground from drilling on a
+stretch of good turf. Of course, you will come back and lunch with us, and
+bring your friend Herrara."
+
+Herrara, however, excused himself. He did not know a word of English, and
+felt that until he could make himself understood he would feel
+uncomfortable at a gathering of English officers. After lunch Terence was
+called upon to tell the story about his cousin. Among his friends of the
+regiment he had no fear of his adventure with the bishop getting abroad,
+and he therefore related the whole story as it happened.
+
+"By my sowl," O'Grady said to him, afterwards, "Terence O'Connor, you take
+me breath away altogether. To think that a year ago you were just a
+gossoon, and here ye are a colonel--a Portuguese colonel, I grant, but
+still a colonel--fighting Soult, and houlding defiles, and making night
+attacks, and thrashing the French cavalry, and carrying off a nun from a
+convent, and outwitting a bishop, and playing all Sorts of divarsions. It
+bates me entirely. There is Dicky Ryan, who, as I tould him yesterday, had
+just the same chances as you have had, just Dicky Ryan still. I tould him
+he ought to blush down to his boots."
+
+"And what did he say, O'Grady?"
+
+"The young spalpeen had the impudence to say that there was I, Captain
+O'Grady, just the same as when he first joined, and, barring the loss of
+an arm, divil a bit the better. And the worst of it is, it was true
+entirely. If I could but find a pretty cousin shut up in a convent you
+would see that I would not be backward in doing what had to be done; but
+no such luck comes to me at all, at all."
+
+"Quite so, O' Grady; I have had tremendous luck. And it has all come about
+owing to my happening to think it would be a good thing to take possession
+of that French lugger."
+
+"Don't you think it, me boy," O'Grady said, seriously. "No doubt a man may
+have a turn of luck, though it is not everyone who takes advantage of it
+when it comes. But when you see a man always succeeding, always doing
+something that other fellows don't do, and making his way up step by step,
+you may put it down that luck has very little to do with the matter, and
+that he has got something in him that other men haven't got. You may have
+had some luck to start with--enough, perhaps, to have got you your
+lieutenancy, though I don't say that it was luck; but you cannot put the
+rest of it down to that."
+
+At this moment Dick Ryan came and joined them.
+
+"Well, Dicky," Terence said, "have you had no fun lately in the regiment?"
+
+"Not a scrap," Ryan said, dismally. "There was not much chance of fun on
+that long march; on board ship there was a storm all the way; then we were
+kept on board the transport at Cork nearly three months. Everyone was out
+of temper, and a mouse would not have dared squeak on board the ship. I
+have had a bad time of it since the day we lost you."
+
+"Oh, well, you will have plenty of chances yet, Dicky."
+
+"It has not been the same thing since you have gone, Terence," he
+grumbled. "Of course we could not always be having fun; but you know that
+we were always putting our heads together and talking over what might be
+done. It was good fun, even if we could not carry it out. I tried to stir
+up the others of our lot, but they don't seem to have it in them. I wish
+you could get me transferred to your regiment. I know that we should have
+plenty of fun there."
+
+"I am afraid that it could not be done, Dicky, though I should like it
+immensely. But you see you have not learned a word of Portuguese, and you
+would be of no use in the world."
+
+"There it is, you see," O'Grady said. "That is one of the points which had
+no luck in it, Terence. You were always trying to talk away with the
+peasants; and, riding about as you did as Fane's aide-de-camp, you had
+opportunities of doing so and made the most of them. Now there are not
+three other fellows in the regiment who can ask a simple question. I can
+shout _Carajo!__ at a mule-driver who loiters behind, and can add two or
+three other strong Portuguese words, but there is an end of it. Cradock
+would never have sent you that errand to Romana if you could not have
+talked enough to have made yourself understood. You could never have jawed
+those mutineers and put them up to getting hold of the arms. If Dicky Ryan
+and I had been sent on that mission we should just have been as helpless
+as babies, and should, like enough, have been murdered by that mob. There
+was no luck about that, you see; it was just because you had done your
+best to pick up the language, and nobody else had taken the trouble to
+learn a word of it."
+
+"I see that, O'Grady," Ryan said, dolefully. "I don't envy Terence a bit.
+I know that he has quite deserved what he has got, and that if I had had
+his start, I should never have got any farther. Still, I wish I could go
+with him. I know that he has always been the one who invented our plans.
+Still, I have had a good idea sometimes."
+
+"Certainly you have, Dicky; and if I have generally started an idea, you
+have always worked it up with me. Well, if you will get up Portuguese a
+bit, and I see a chance of asking for another English officer, say as
+adjutant, I will see if I cannot get you; but I could not ask for you
+without being able to give as a reason that you could speak Portuguese
+well."
+
+"I will try, Terence; upon my honour, I will try hard," Ryan said. "I will
+get hold of a fellow and begin to-day."
+
+"Quite right, Dicky," O'Grady said. "Faith, I would do it meself, if it
+wasn't in the first place that I am too old to learn, and in the second
+place that I niver could learn anything when I was a boy. I used to get
+thrashed every day regularly, but divil a bit of difference did it make. I
+got to read and write, and there I stuck. As for the ancients, I was
+always mixing them up together; and whether it was Alexander or Caesar who
+marched over the Alps and burnt Jerusalem, divil a bit do I know, and I
+don't see that if I did know it would do me a hap'orth of good."
+
+"I don't think that particular piece of knowledge would, O'Grady," Terence
+agreed, with a hearty laugh; "still, even if you did learn Portuguese, I
+couldn't ask for you. I don't mind Dicky, because he is only a year senior
+to me; but if they made me commander-in-chief of the Portuguese army, I
+could never have the cheek to give you an order."
+
+Three weeks later came the startling news that Sir Arthur Wellesley had
+arrived at Lisbon, and was to assume the command of the army. Sir John
+Cradock was to command at Gibraltar. There was general satisfaction at the
+news, for the events of the last campaign had given all who served under
+him an implicit confidence in Sir Arthur; but it was felt that Sir John
+Cradock had been very hardly treated. In the first place, he was a good
+way senior to Sir Arthur, and in the second place, he had battled against
+innumerable difficulties, and the time was now approaching when he would
+reap the benefit of his labours. To Terence the news came almost as a
+blow, for he felt that it was probable he might be at once appointed to a
+British regiment.
+
+Personally he would not have cared so much, but he would have regretted it
+greatly for the sake of the men who had followed him. It was true that
+they might obey Herrara as willingly as they did himself, but he knew that
+the native officers did not possess anything like the same influence with
+the Portuguese that the English did, and that there might be a rapid
+deterioration in their discipline and morale. He remained in a state of
+uncertainty for a week, at the end of which time he received a letter from
+Captain Nelson, and tearing it open, read as follows:--
+
+_My Dear O' Connor,
+
+I dare say you have been feeling somewhat doubtful as to your position
+since you heard that Sir Arthur has superseded Sir John Cradock. I may
+tell you at once that he has taken over the whole of Sir John's staff,
+yourself, of course, included. I ventured to suggest to Sir John that he
+should mention your case to Sir Arthur, and he told me that he had
+intended to take the opportunity of the first informal talk he had with
+him to do so. The opportunity came yesterday, and Sir John went fully into
+your case, showed him the reports, and mentioned how he came to appoint
+you because of the clear and lucid description you gave of the movements
+of every division of Moore's army.
+
+Sir Arthur remembered your name at once, and the circumstances under which
+he had mentioned you in general orders for your conduct on board the
+transport coming out. Sir John told me that he said, 'There is no doubt
+that O'Connor is a singularly promising young officer, Sir John. The check
+he gave Soult on the Minho might have completely reversed the success of
+the Frenchman's campaign had he had any but Spaniards and Portuguese to
+oppose him. The report shows that O'Connor has done wonders with those two
+regiments of his, and I shall not think of removing him from their
+command. A trustworthy native corps of that description would be of the
+greatest advantage, and will act, like Trant and Wilson's commands, as the
+eyes of the army. I am much obliged to you for your having brought the
+case before my notice, for otherwise, not knowing the circumstances, I
+might very well have considered that the position of a lieutenant on my
+staff as the commander of two native regiments was an anomalous one. I
+should, no doubt, have inquired how it occurred before I thought of
+superseding an officer you had selected, but your explanation more than
+justifies his appointment.' So you see, Terence, the change will make no
+difference in your position. And as I fancy Sir Arthur will not let the
+grass grow under his feet, you are likely to have a lively time of it
+before long. By the way, a Gazette has arrived, and it contains the
+appointment of your two men to commissions.__
+
+While waiting at Leirya, Terence had ordered uniforms for all the
+officers. He had, after consultation with Herrara, decided upon one
+approximating rather to the cavalry than to infantry dress, as being more
+convenient for mounted officers. It consisted of tight-fitting green
+patrol jacket, breeches of the same colour, and half-high boots and a
+gold-embroidered belt and slings. The two English officers wore a yellow
+band round their caps, and Herrara a gold one.
+
+"I am sure, Colonel O'Connor," Bull said, when Terence told Macwitty and
+him that they had been gazetted to commissions, "we cannot thank you
+enough. Macwitty and I have done our best, but it has been nothing more
+than teaching drill to a lot of recruits."
+
+"We had two or three hard fights, too, Bull; and I have very good reason
+for thinking most highly of you, for I should never have got the corps
+into an efficient state without your assistance. And, indeed, I doubt
+whether I should have ventured upon the task at all if I had not been sure
+that I should be well seconded by you."
+
+"It is good of you to say so, Colonel," Macwitty said; "but at any rate,
+it has been a rare bit of luck for us, and little did we think when we
+were ordered to accompany you it was going to lead to our getting
+commissions. Well, we will do our best to deserve them."
+
+"That I am sure you will, Macwitty; and now that the campaign is going to
+commence in earnest, and we may have two or three years' hard fighting,
+you may have opportunities of getting another step before you go home."
+
+Three days later an order came to Terence to march north again with his
+corps, and to place himself in some defensible position north of the
+Mondego, and to co-operate, if necessary, with Trant and Silveira, also
+ordered to take post beyond the river. Cuesta, the Portuguese general, had
+gathered a fresh army of six thousand cavalry and thirty thousand
+infantry. The greater portion were in a position in front of Victor's
+outposts. Between the Tagus and the Mondego were 16,000 Portuguese troops
+of the line, under Lord Beresford, that had been drilled and organized to
+some extent by British officers. The British and German troops numbered
+22,000 fighting men.
+
+Sir Arthur Wellesley, at Lisbon, had the choice of either falling upon
+Victor or Soult. The former would be the most advantageous operation, but,
+upon the other hand, the Portuguese were most anxious to recover Oporto,
+their second city, with the fertile country round it.
+
+Another fact which influenced the decision was that Cuesta was alike
+incapable and obstinate, and was wholly indisposed to co-operate warmly
+with the British. The British commander, therefore, decided in the first
+place to attack Soult, and the force at Leirya was ordered to march to
+Coimbra. Five British battalions and two regiments of cavalry, with 7,000
+Portuguese troops, were ordered to Abrantes and Santarem to check Victor,
+should he endeavour to make a rapid march upon Lisbon. Four Portuguese
+battalions were incorporated in each British brigade at Coimbra, Beresford
+retaining 6,000 under his personal command. On the 2d of May Sir Arthur
+reached Coimbra and reviewed the force, 25,000 strong, 9,000 being
+Portuguese, 3,000 Germans, and 13,000 British.
+
+Soult was badly informed of the storm that was gathering about him, or
+many of his officers were disaffected, and were engaged in a plot to have
+him supplanted; consequently, they kept back the information they received
+of the movements of the British.
+
+
+[Illustration: "WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+PORTUGAL FREED
+
+On the 9th of May Terence was directing the movements of his men, who were
+practising skirmishing among some rough ground at the bottom of the hill
+upon which he had taken up his position, to defend, if necessary, the road
+that crossed if. His men had thrown up several lines of breast-works along
+the face of the hill to a point where steep ravines protected the flank of
+his position. Presently he saw a party of horsemen riding down the hill
+behind him. They reined up suddenly when half-way down the hill and paused
+to watch what was being done; then they came on again. As they approached,
+Terence recognized the erect figure of the officer who rode at the head of
+the party. He cantered up and saluted.
+
+"Who are you, sir, and what troops are these?" Sir Arthur asked, sharply.
+
+"My name is O'Connor, sir. These men constitute the corps that I have the
+honour to command."
+
+"Form them up in line," the general said, briefly.
+
+Terence rode away at a gallop, and as soon as he reached the spot where
+his bugler was standing--for bugles had now taken the place of the horns
+that had before served the purpose--the latter at once blew the assembly,
+and then the order to form line. The men dashed down at the top of their
+speed, and in a very short time formed up in a long line with their
+officers in front.
+
+"Break them into columns of companies," the general, who had now ridden
+with the staff to the front, said.
+
+The manoeuvre was performed steadily and well.
+
+"Send out the alternate companies as skirmishers, while the other
+companies form line and move forward in support." When this had been done
+the order came: "Skirmishers, form into company squares to resist enemy's
+cavalry."
+
+This had been so frequently practised that in a few seconds the six
+squares were formed up in an attitude to receive cavalry.
+
+"That is very well done, Colonel O'Connor," Sir Arthur said, with more
+warmth than was usual with him. "Your men are well in hand and know their
+business. It is a very creditable display, indeed; you have proved your
+capacity for command. I have not forgotten what I have heard of you, sir,
+and it will not be long before your services are utilized."
+
+So saying he rode on. Captain Nelson lingered behind for a moment to shake
+hands with Terence.
+
+"You may feel proud of that, O'Connor," he said; "Sir Arthur is not given
+to praise, I can assure you. Good-bye, I must catch them up;" and,
+turning, he soon overtook the general's staff.
+
+That the general was well satisfied was proved by the fact that three days
+later the following appeared in general orders:
+
+_"The officer commanding-in-chief on Thursday inspected the corps under
+the command of Lieutenant (with the rank of colonel in the Portuguese
+army) O'Connor. He was much pleased with the discipline and quickness with
+which the corps went through certain movements ordered by him. This corps
+has already greatly distinguished itself, and Sir Arthur would point to it
+as an example to be imitated by all officers having command of Portuguese
+troops."__
+
+Soult's position had now become very dangerous. The Spanish and Portuguese
+insurgents were upon the Lima, and the principal portion of his own force
+was south of the Douro.
+
+Franceschi's cavalry, supported by infantry and artillery, and by Mermet's
+division, occupied the country between that river and the Vouga, and was
+without communication with the centre at Oporto, except by the bridge of
+boats.
+
+Although aware that there was a considerable force gathering at Coimbra,
+the French general had no idea that the whole of the British army was
+assembling there. Confident that success would attend his operations, Sir
+Arthur directed the Portuguese corps to be in readiness to harass Soult's
+retreat through the mountain denies and up the valley of the Tamega, and
+so to force him to march north instead of making for Salamanca, where he
+could unite with the French army there.
+
+A mounted officer brought similar orders to Terence. Half an hour after
+receiving them the corps was on the march. The instructions were brief and
+simple:
+
+_"You will endeavour to harass Soult as he retreats across the
+Tras-os-Montes, and try to head him off to the north. Act as circumstances
+may dictate."__
+
+The service was a dangerous one, and Terence felt that it was a high
+honour that the general should have appointed him to undertake it, for he
+assuredly would not have sent the corps on such a mission had he not
+considered that they could be relied upon to take care of themselves. They
+would be wholly unsupported save by parties of peasants and ordenanças;
+they would have to operate against an army broken, doubtless, by defeat,
+but all the more determined to push on, as delay might mean total loss.
+
+He followed the line of the Vouga to the point where it emerged from the
+hills, crossed these, and came down upon the Douro some ten miles above
+San Joao, at nearly the same spot where he had before made the passage
+when on his way to join Romana.
+
+He was now well beyond the district held by the French south of the Douro,
+and, obtaining a number of boats, crossed the river, and then made for
+Mirandella on the river Tua, and halted some distance from the town,
+having made a march of over seventy miles in two days. Learning from the
+peasants that there were no French troops west of the Tamega, he marched
+the next day to the crest looking down into the valley, and here halted
+until he could learn that Soult was retreating, and what road he was
+following. He had not long to wait for news, for, on the night of the 9th,
+while he was on his march by the Vouga, the British force had moved
+forward to Aveiro. Hill's division had there taken boats, and proceeding
+up the lake to Ovar, had landed at sunrise on the 10th, and placed himself
+on Franceschi's right.
+
+In the meantime Paget's division had marched to Albergaria, while Cotton's
+division and Trant's command moved to turn Franceschi's position on its
+right. The darkness and their ignorance of the roads prevented the
+movement being attended with the hoped-for success. Had the operation been
+carried out without a hitch, Franceschi and Mermet would both have been
+driven off the line of retreat to the bridge of Oporto, and must have been
+captured or destroyed. As it was, Franceschi fell back fighting, joined
+Mermet's division at Crijo, a day's march in the rear, and although the
+whole were driven on the following day from this position, they retired in
+good order, and that night effected their retreat across the bridge of
+boats, which was then destroyed.
+
+As Franceschi's report informed Soult that the whole force of the allies
+was now upon him, he at once sent off his heavy artillery and baggage by
+the road to Amarante. Mermet was posted at Valongo, with orders to patrol
+the river and to seize every boat. Those at Oporto were also secured. On
+the morning of the 12th the British force was concentrated behind the hill
+of Villa Nova, and Sir Arthur took his place on the top of the Serra
+Convent, from whence he commanded a view of the city and opposite bank. He
+saw that the French force was stationed for the most part below Oporto.
+Franceschi's report had led Soult to believe that Hill's division had come
+by sea, and he expected that the transports would go up to the mouth of
+the Douro, and that the British would attempt to effect a landing there.
+
+The river took a sharp turn round the Serra Convent, and Sir Arthur saw
+that another large convent on the opposite bank, known as the Seminary,
+was concealed by the hill from Soult's position, and that it might be
+occupied without attracting the attention of the French. After much search
+a little boat was found; in this a few men crossed and brought back two
+large boats from the opposite side of the river. In these the troops at
+once began to cross, and two companies had taken possession of the convent
+before Soult was aware of what was going on. Then a prodigious din arose.
+Troops were hurried through the town, the bugles and trumpets sounded the
+alarm, while the populace thronged to the roofs of their houses wildly
+cheering and waving handkerchiefs and scarves, and the church bells added
+to the clamour.
+
+Three batteries of artillery had been brought up close to the Serra
+Convent, and now that there was no longer need of concealment these were
+brought forward, and--as the French issued from the town and hurried
+towards the post held by the two companies that had crossed--opened a
+heavy fire upon them. The French pushed on gallantly in spite of this fire
+and the musketry of the soldiers, but the wall of the convent was strong,
+more boats had been obtained, and every minute added to the number of the
+defenders. The attack was, nevertheless, obstinately continued. The French
+artillery endeavoured to blow in the gate, and for a time the position of
+the defenders was serious, but the enemy's troops were now evacuating the
+lower part of the town, and immediately they did so the inhabitants
+brought boats over, and a brigade under Sherwood crossed there.
+
+In the meantime General Murray had been sent with the German division to
+effect a passage of the river two miles farther up. Soult's orders to take
+possession of all the boats had been neglected, and it was not long before
+Murray crossed with his force. The confusion in the French line of retreat
+was now terrible. A battery of artillery, who brought up the rear, were
+smitten by the fire of Sherwood's men; many were killed, and the rest cut
+their traces and galloped on to join the retreating army. Sherwood's men
+pressed these in the rear, the infantry on the roof of the Seminary poured
+their fire on the retiring masses, and the guns on the Serra rock swept
+the long line.
+
+Had Murray now fallen upon the disordered crowd their discomfiture would
+have been complete, but he held his force inactive, afraid that the French
+might turn upon him and drive him into the river. General Stewart and
+Major Harvey, furious at his inactivity, charged the French at the head of
+two squadrons of cavalry only, dashed through the enemy's column, unhorsed
+General Laborde and wounded General Foy. Receiving, however, no support
+whatever from Murray, the gallant little band of cavalry were forced to
+fight their way back with loss. Thus, as Franceschi had been saved from
+destruction from an error as to the road, Soult was saved the loss of this
+army by Murray's timidity, and in both cases Sir Arthur's masterly plans
+failed in attaining the complete success they deserved.
+
+Terence had engaged several peasants to watch the roads leading from
+Oporto, and as soon as he learned that a long train of baggage and heavy
+guns was leaving the city by the road to Amarante, he crossed the valley,
+took up a position on the Catalena hill flanking the road, and as the
+waggons came along opened a sudden and heavy fire upon them. Although
+protected by a strong guard the convoy fell into confusion, many of the
+horses being killed by the first volley. Some of the drivers leapt from
+their seats and deserted their charges, others flogged their horses, and
+tried to push through the struggling mass. An incessant fire was kept up,
+but just as Terence was about to order the whole corps to charge down and
+complete the work, a large body of cavalry, followed by a heavy body of
+infantry, appeared on the scene.
+
+This was Merle's division, that had hastened up from Valonga on hearing
+the firing. The advance of the cavalry was checked by the musketry fire,
+but Merle at once ordered his infantry to mount the hill and drive the
+Portuguese off. The latter stood their ground gallantly for some time,
+inflicting heavy loss upon their assailants. Terence saw, however, that he
+could not hope to withstand long the attack of a whole French division,
+and leaving two companies behind to check the enemy's advance, he marched
+along the crest of the hill until he came upon the road crossing from
+Amarante to the Ave river.
+
+By this time he had been joined by the rear-guard, who had retired in time
+to make their escape before the French reached the top of the hill. Merle
+posted a brigade along the crest of the ridge to prevent a repetition of
+the attack, and to cover Soult's line of retreat, if he were forced to
+fall back; while Terence took up his position near Pombeiro, whence he
+presently saw the convoy enter Amarante. He had the satisfaction, however,
+of noticing that it was greatly diminished in length, a great many of the
+waggons having been left behind owing to the number of horses that had
+been killed. His attack had had another advantage of which he was unaware,
+for it had so occupied Merle's attention that he had neglected to have all
+the boats taken across the river, which enabled Murray's command to cross
+the next day, an error which, had Murray been possessed of any dash and
+energy, would have proved fatal to the French army.
+
+The next day Terence heard the sound of the guns on the Serra height, but
+the distance was too great for the crack of musketry to reach him, and he
+had no idea that the British were crossing the river until he saw the
+French marching across the mouth of the valley towards Amarante. Among
+such veteran troops discipline was speedly recovered, and they encamped in
+good order in the valley. That town was, however, in the hands of the
+Portuguese, Loison, either from treachery or incapacity, having disobeyed
+Soult's orders and retired before the advance of the Portuguese force
+under Lord Beresford, and, evacuating Amarante, taken the road to
+Guimaraens, passing by Pombeiro.
+
+He had sent no news to Soult, and the latter general was altogether
+ignorant that he had left Amarante. Upon receiving the news from the head
+of the column he at once saw that the position had now become a desperate
+one. Beresford, he learned at the same time, had marched up the Tamega
+valley to take post at Chaves, where Silveira had joined him. A retreat in
+that direction, therefore, was impossible, and he at once destroyed his
+baggage, spiked his guns, and at nightfall, guided by a peasant, ascended
+a path up the Serra Catalena, and, marching all night, rejoined Loison at
+Guimaraens, passing on his way through Pombeiro. Terence had left the
+place a few hours before, believing that Soult must return up the valley
+of the Tamega, and, ignorant that Beresford and Silveira barred the way,
+he marched after nightfall towards Chaves and took up a position where he
+could arrest, for a time, the retreat of the French army.
+
+He had left two of his men at Pombeiro, and had halted but a short time
+after completing his long and arduous march when his two men came up with
+the news that Soult had passed by the very place he had a few hours before
+left. As there was more than one route open to Soult, Terence was unable
+to decide which he had best take. His men had already performed a very
+long march, and it was absolutely necessary to give them a rest; he
+therefore allowed them to sleep during the day. Towards evening he crossed
+the Serra de Cabrierra and came down upon Salamende, and sent out scouts
+for news. Destroying the guns, ammunition, and baggage of Loison's
+division, Soult reached the Carvalho on the evening of the 14th, drew up
+his army on the position that he had occupied two months before at the
+battle of Braga, reorganized his forces, and ordering Loison to lead the
+advance, while he himself took command of the rear, continued his march.
+The next day Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had been obliged to halt at Oporto
+until the whole army, with its artillery and train, had passed the river,
+reached Braga, having marched by a much shorter road.
+
+Terence's scouts brought news that the whole of the French army were
+marching towards Salamende. Wholly unsupported as he was, ignorant of the
+position of Beresford and Silveira, and knowing nothing of Sir Arthur's
+march towards Braga, he decided not to attempt with his force to bar the
+way to Soult's twenty thousand men, but to hold Salamende for a time and
+then fall back up the mountains. Before doing so he sent a party to blow
+up the bridge at Ponte Nova across the Cavado, and also sent his second
+regiment to defend the passage at Riuvaens.
+
+Thinking it likely that Soult would again cross the mountains to Chaves,
+he sent Herrara in command of the force at the bridge, while he himself
+remained at Salamende. Here he had the houses facing the road by which the
+enemy would approach, loopholed and the road itself barricaded. Late in
+the afternoon the French cavalry were seen approaching, and a heavy fire
+was at once opened upon them. The rapidity of the discharges showed
+Franceschi that the place was held by more than a mere party of peasants,
+and he drew off his cavalry and allowed the infantry to pass him. For half
+an hour the Portuguese held their ground and repulsed three determined
+assaults; then, seeing a strong body of troops ascending the hillside to
+take the position in flank, Terence ordered his troops to fall back. This
+they did in good order, and took up a position high up on the hill.
+
+The French made but a short pause; a small body of cavalry that Soult had
+left near Braga brought him the news that the British army was entering
+that town. Scouts were sent forward at once, and their report that the
+bridge of Riuvaens was destroyed, and that 1,200 Portuguese regular troops
+were on the opposite bank, decided him to take the road by the Ponte Nova.
+The night was a terrible one; the rain had for two days been continuous,
+and the troops were drenched to the skin and impatient at the hardship
+that they had suffered. The scouts reported that the bridge here had also
+been destroyed, but that one of the parapets was still unbroken, and that
+the force on the other side consisted only of peasants. Soult ordered
+Major Doulong, an officer celebrated for his courage, to take a hundred
+grenadiers and secure the passage.
+
+A violent storm was now raging, and their footsteps being deadened by the
+roar of the wind, the French crept up, killed the Portuguese sentry on
+their side of the bridge before he could give the alarm, and then crawled
+across the narrow line of masonry. Then they rushed up the opposite
+heights, shouting and firing, and the peasantry, believing that the whole
+French army were upon them, fled at once. The bridge was hastily repaired,
+and at four o'clock in the morning the whole of the French army had
+crossed. Their retreat was opposed at a bridge of a single arch over a
+torrent, by a party of Portuguese peasantry, but after two repulses the
+French, led by Major Doulong, carried it.
+
+They were just in time, for in the afternoon the British came upon a
+strong rear-guard left at Salamende. Some light troops at once turned
+their flank, while Sherwood attacked them in front, and they fled in
+confusion to the Ponte Nova. As the general imagined that Soult would take
+the other road, their retreat in this direction was for some time
+unperceived, but just as they were crossing, the British artillery opened
+fire upon the bridge with terrible effect, very many of the enemy being
+killed before they could effect a passage. Their further retreat was
+performed without molestation. The British troops had made very long
+marches in the hopes of cutting Soult's line of retreat, and as the
+French, unlike the British, carried no provisions for their march, there
+was now little hope of overtaking them, especially as their main body was
+far ahead.
+
+Sir Arthur halted for a day at Riuvaens, where Terence's corps was now
+concentrated, he having marched there the night he was driven out of
+Salamende. As soon as the British entered the place, the general inquired
+what corps was holding it, and at once sent for Terence.
+
+"Let me hear what you have been doing, Colonel O'Connor."
+
+Terence had, as soon as he heard that the army had arrived at Salamende,
+written out a report of his movements from the time that he had marched
+from Vouga. He now presented it. The general waved it aside.
+
+"Tell me yourself," he said.
+
+Terence related as briefly as possible the course he had followed, and the
+reasons of his movements.
+
+"Good!" the general said, when he had finished. "Your calculations were
+all well founded; but, of course, you could not calculate on Soult's night
+march across the Catalena hills, and, as you knew nothing of the
+whereabouts of Beresford and Silveira, you had good reason to suppose that
+Soult would continue his march up the valley of the Tamega to Chaves. That
+was the only mistake you committed, and an older soldier might well have
+fallen into the same error. When you had found out your mistake, you acted
+promptly, and could not have done better than to proceed to Salamende. You
+did well to destroy both bridges, and to place half your force to defend
+the passage here, for you naturally supposed, as I supposed myself, that
+Soult would follow this road down to Chaves.
+
+"You were again deceived, but were in no way to blame. Your position was
+most judiciously chosen on the Catalena hills on Soult's natural line of
+retreat, and I heard that the enemy's baggage train had been very severely
+mauled, and was only saved from destruction by Merle deploying his whole
+division against the force attacking it. Again I see you made a stout
+defence at Salamende. We saw a large number of French dead there as we
+marched in. If everyone else had done as well as you have done, young sir,
+Soult's army would never have escaped me."
+
+Terence bowed, and retired deeply gratified, for he had been doubtful what
+his reception would be. He knew that he had done his best, but twice he
+had been mistaken, and each time the mistake had allowed Soult to pass
+unmolested; and he was, therefore, all the more pleased on learning that
+so skilful a general had declared that these mistakes, although
+unfortunate, were yet natural.
+
+Soult reached Orense on the 20th, without guns, stores, ammunition, or
+baggage, his men exhausted with fatigue and misery, most of them shoeless,
+and some without muskets. He had left Orense seventy-six days before with
+22,000 men, and had lately been joined by 3,500 from Tuy. He returned with
+19,500, having lost 6,000 by sword, sickness, assassination, and capture.
+Of these 3,600 were taken in the hospitals at Oporto, Chaves, Vianna, and
+Braga. One thousand were killed in the advance, and the remainder captured
+or killed within the last eight days.
+
+A day later the news arrived that Victor was at last advancing and a
+considerable number of the troops assembled at Salamende, among them
+Terence's corps, were ordered to march to join the force opposed to him.
+Terence started two hours before the bulk of the force got into motion,
+and traversing the ground at a high rate of speed, struck the road from
+Lisbon a day in advance of the British troops. There was, however, no
+occasion for action, for Victor, who had taken Abrantes, had, on receiving
+news of the fall of Oporto, at once evacuated that town and fallen back,
+and for a time all operations ceased on that side.
+
+The British army had suffered but slight loss in battle, but the long
+marches, the terribly wet weather, and the effect of climate told heavily
+upon them, and upwards of 4,000 men were, in a short time, in hospital.
+
+Fortunately, however, a reinforcement of equal strength arrived from
+England, and the fighting strength of the army was therefore maintained.
+There was still, however, a great want of transport animals; the
+commissariat were, for the most part, new to their duties, and ignorant of
+the language. Sir Arthur Wellesley was engaged in the endeavour to get
+Cuesta to co-operate with him, but the obstinate old man refused to do so
+unless his plans were adopted; and these were of so wild and impracticable
+a character that Sir Arthur preferred to act alone, especially as Cuesta's
+army had already been repeatedly beaten by the French, and the utter
+worthlessness of his soldiers demonstrated.
+
+The pause of operations in Spain, entailed by the concentration of the
+commands of Soult, Ney, Victor, and Lapisse on the frontier, had given
+breathing time to Spain. Large armies had again been raised, and the same
+confident ideas, the same jealousy between generals, and the same quarrels
+between the Juntas had been prevalent. Once again Spain was confident that
+she could alone, and unaided, drive the French across the frontier
+altogether, forgetful of the easy and crushing defeats that had before
+been inflicted upon her. Like Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley was to some
+extent deceived by these boastings, and believed that he should obtain
+material assistance in the way of transports and provisions, and that at
+least valuable diversions might be made by the Spanish army.
+
+He accepted, too, to some extent, the estimate of the Spaniards as to the
+strength of the French, and believed that their fighting force in the
+Peninsula did not exceed 130,000 men, whereas in reality it amounted to
+over 250,000. The greatest impediment to the advance was the want of
+money, for while the British government continued to pour vast sums into
+Cadiz and Seville, for the use of the Spaniards, they were unable to find
+money for the advance of their own army. The soldiers consequently were
+unpaid, badly fed, almost in rags, and a large proportion of them
+shoeless; and to meet the most urgent wants, the general was forced to
+raise loans at exorbitant rates at Lisbon. And yet, while a great general
+and a victorious army were nearly starving in Portugal, the British
+government had landed 12,000 troops in Italy and had despatched one of the
+finest expeditions that ever sailed from England, consisting of 40,000
+troops and as many seamen and marines of the fleet, to Walcheren, where no
+small proportion of them died of fever, and the rest returned home broken
+in health and unfit for active service, without having performed a single
+action worthy of merit.
+
+The Mayo Fusiliers were among the regiments stationed at Abrantes, and
+Terence received orders to take up a position four miles ahead of that
+town, and hold it unless Victor again advanced in overwhelming strength,
+and then to fall back on Abrantes. This exactly suited his own wishes. It
+was pleasant to him to be within a short ride of his old regiment, while
+at the same time his corps were not encamped with a British division, for
+his own position was an anomalous one, and among the officers who did not
+know him he was regarded as a young staff-officer. He could not explain
+the position he held without constantly repeating the manner in which he
+had gained a commission as colonel in the Portuguese service.
+
+During the month that had passed without movement, he continued his
+efforts to improve his corps, and borrowed a dozen non-commissioned
+officers from Colonel Corcoran to instruct his sergeants in their duty,
+and thus enable them to train others and relieve the officers of some of
+their work. He had in his first report stated that he had kept back £1,000
+of the money he carried to Romana for the use of his corps, and as he had
+never received any comment or instructions as to the portion that had not
+been expended, he had still some money in hand. This he spent in
+supplementing the scanty rations served out. Frequently he rode into
+Abrantes and spent the evening with the Mayo Fusiliers. The first time he
+did so he requested the officers always to call him, as before, Terence
+O'Connor.
+
+"It is absurd being addressed as colonel when I am only a lieutenant in
+the service. Of course when I am with the corps it is a different thing; I
+am its colonel, and must be called so; but it is really very annoying to
+be called so here."
+
+"You must be feeling quite rusty," Colonel Corcoran said to him, "sitting
+here doing nothing, after nine months of incessant moving about."
+
+"I am not rusting, Colonel, I am hard at work sharpening my blade; that
+is, improving my corps. Your men drill my sergeants four hours a day, and
+for the other eight each of them is repeating the instructions that he has
+received to three others. So that by the time we are in movement again I
+hope to have a sergeant who knows something of his duty to each fifty men.
+I can assure you that in addition to the great need for such men when the
+troops are out skirmishing, or otherwise detached in small parties, I felt
+that their appearance on parade was greatly marred by the fact that the
+non-commissioned officers did not know their proper places or their proper
+work, which neither Bull nor Macwitty, nor indeed the company officers,
+could instruct them in, all being cavalrymen."
+
+"Yes, I noticed that when I saw them at Leirya," the colonel said. "Of
+course it was of no consequence at all as far as their efficiency went,
+but to the eye of an English officer, naturally, something seemed
+wanting."
+
+"I should be glad of at least four more officers to each company, and at
+one time thought of writing to Lord Beresford to ask him to supply me with
+some, but I came to the conclusion that we had better leave matters as
+they were. In the first place young officers would know nothing of their
+work, and nothing of me; and in the second place, if they were men of good
+family they would not like serving under officers who have been raised
+from the ranks; and lastly, if they became discontented, they might render
+the men so. We have done very fairly at present, and we had better go on
+as we are; and when I get a sufficient number of trained men to furnish a
+full supply of non-commissioned officers, I shall do better than with
+commissioned ones, for the men are of course carefully selected, and I
+know them to be trustworthy, whereas those they sent me might be idle, or
+worse than useless."
+
+"You spake like King Solomon, Terence," O'Grady said; "not that he can
+have known anything whatever about military matters."
+
+A roar of laughter greeted this very doubtful compliment.
+
+"Thank you, O'Grady," Terence said. "That is one of the prettiest speeches
+I have heard for a long time. I shall know where to come for a character."
+
+"You are right there, Terence; but you may live a good many years before
+you get a chance of calling a whole British army under arms, as you did at
+Salamanca."
+
+Terence was at once assailed with a storm of questions, for with the
+exception of O'Grady, no one had suspected the share that he and Dicky
+Ryan had had in that affair. Terence knew that the latter had kept the
+secret, for he had asked him only two or three days before, and he
+therefore assumed an expression of innocence.
+
+"What on earth do you mean, O'Grady?"
+
+"What do I mane? Why, that somehow or other you were at the bottom of that
+shindy when all the troops were turned out on a false alarm."
+
+"Really, O'Grady, that is too bad. You know that every trick that was
+played at Athlone was your suggestion, and as we never could find out how
+that alarm originated, of course you put it down to me, whereas it is just
+as likely to have been your own work. Colonel Corcoran knows that Dicky
+and I were in the mess-room at the convent at the time when the alarm
+broke out."
+
+"That was so," the colonel agreed, "for I know that you were talking to me
+when Hoolan ran in and told us that there was a row in the town. On what
+do you base your suspicions, O'Grady?"
+
+"Just upon me knowledge of the two lads, Colonel. Faith, there never was a
+piece of mischief afloat that they were not mixed up with."
+
+"If that is all you have to say, O'Grady," Terence replied, "I should
+advise you not to go hunting for mares' nests again. I know that you can
+see as far into a brick wall as most people, but you cannot see what is
+going on on the other side."
+
+"All the same, Terence," O'Grady said, doggedly, "to the end of me life I
+will always believe that you had a hand in the matter. There is no one
+else that I know of except you and Ryan who would have had the cheek to do
+such a thing, and I don't believe that you can deny it yourself."
+
+"I shall not trouble myself to plead not guilty, except before a regularly
+constituted court," Terence laughed. "At any rate, as when the march
+begins we shall go on first as scouts, it may be that I shall send in news
+which will turn out a British army again."
+
+"I will forgive you if you do, for it is likely that we should have some
+divarsion after turning out, instead of marching out and back again like a
+regiment of omadhouns."
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+NEWS FROM HOME
+
+A week after arriving at Abrantes, seeing that there was no probability
+whatever of fighting for a time, Terence had suggested to Herrara that it
+would be a good opportunity for him to run down to Lisbon for a few days
+to see his fiancée and his friends in the town.
+
+"I don't know who you really ought to apply to for leave," he said, "but
+as we are a sort of half-independent corps, it seems the simplest way for
+me to take the responsibility. Nobody is ever likely to ask any questions
+about it; and now that it will simply be a matter of hard drill till the
+army moves again, you can be very well spared. If it is company work, it
+is the captain's business. If the two regiments are manoeuvring together,
+they will of course be under Bull and Macwitty, and I should be acting as
+brigadier."
+
+"I should like to go very much," Herrara said. "I have not yet had the
+pleasure of introducing myself to my family and friends as a
+lieutenant-colonel. Of course, I wrote to my people when I received the
+commission from Lord Beresford; but it would be really fun to surprise
+some of my school-fellows and comrades, so if you think that it will not
+be inconvenient I should like very much to go."
+
+"Then if I were you I should start at once. I will give you a sort of
+formal letter of leave in case you are questioned as you go down. You can
+get to Santarem to-night and to Lisbon to-morrow afternoon."
+
+"Is there anything that I can do for you?"
+
+"Yes; I wish you would ask Don Jose if he will, through his friends at
+Oporto, find out whether my cousin's mother was there at the time the
+French entered, and if she was, whether she got through that horrible
+business unhurt. I have been hearing about it from my friends, who were a
+couple of days there before the force marched to Braga. They tell me that,
+by all accounts, the business was even worse than we feared. The French
+came upon some of their comrades tied to posts in the great square,
+horribly mutilated, some of them with their eyes put out, still living,
+and after that they spared no one; and upon my word, I can hardly blame
+them, and in fact don't blame them at all, so long as they only  their
+vengeance on men. The people made it worse for themselves by keeping up a
+desultory fire from windows and housetops when resistance had long ceased
+to be of any use; and, of course, seeing their comrades shot down in this
+way infuriated the troops still further.
+
+"I don't suppose it will make the slightest difference in the world to my
+cousin whether her mother is dead or not, for I fancy from what Mary said
+that her mother never cared for her in the slightest. Possibly she was
+jealous that the child had the first place in the father's affections.
+However that may be, there was certainly no great love between them, and
+of course her subsequent treatment of my cousin destroyed any affection
+that might have existed. That either by some deed executed at the time of
+marriage, or by Portuguese law, Mary has a right to the estate at her
+mother's death, is clear from the efforts they made to get her to renounce
+that right. Still, there is no more chance of her ever inheriting it than
+there would be of her flying. As a nun she would naturally have to
+renounce all property, and no doubt the law of this priest-ridden country
+would decide that she had done so. She tells me--and I am sure,
+truly--that she refused to open her lips to say a single word when she was
+forced to go through the ceremony; but as, no doubt, a score of witnesses
+would be brought forward to swear that she answered all the usual
+questions and renounced all worldly possessions, that denial would go for
+nothing."
+
+"Besides," Herrara said, "it would never do for her to set foot in
+Portugal. She would be seized as an escaped nun immediately, and would
+never be heard of again."
+
+"I have no doubt that that would be so, Herrara; and as she has a nice
+fortune from her father, you may be sure that she will not trouble about
+the estates here, and her mother would be welcome to do as she likes with
+them, which is, after all, not unreasonable, as they are her property and
+descended to her from her father. Still, I should be glad to learn, if it
+does not give any great trouble, whether if, as is almost certain--for the
+people from all the country round took refuge there long before the French
+arrived--she was in Oporto, and if so, whether she got through the sack of
+the town unharmed. No doubt Mary would be glad to hear."
+
+"I am sure Don Jose would be able to find out for you without any
+difficulty," Herrara said; "indeed I expect he will soon be going back
+there himself. Now that there is a British garrison in the town, that the
+bishop must be utterly discredited there, and a good many of his Junta
+must have been killed, while the rabble of the town has been thoroughly
+discomfited, the place will be more comfortable to live in than it has
+been for a long time past. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
+
+"Nothing whatever."
+
+A quarter of an hour later Herrara left for Lisbon, bearing many messages
+of kind regards on Terence's part to Don Jose and his family. Terence's
+last words were:
+
+"By the way, Herrara, if you should be able to find at any store in Lisbon
+some Irish whisky, I wish you would get six dozen cases for me, or what
+would be more handy, a sixteen or eighteen gallon keg, and could get it
+sent on by some cart coming here, I should be very much obliged. It had
+better be sent to me, care of Colonel Corcoran, Mayo Fusiliers, Abrantes.
+I should like to be able to give a glass to my friends when they ride out
+to see me. But have the barrel or cases sewn up in canvas before the
+address is put on; I would not trust it to the escort of any British guard
+if they were aware of the nature of the contents. Wine would be safe with
+them, for they can get that anywhere, but it would be too much for the
+honesty of any Irishman if he were to see a cask labelled Irish whisky."
+
+A week later Colonel Corcoran said when Terence rode in:
+
+"By the bye, O'Connor, there is a cask of wine for you at my quarters; it
+was brought up by an ammunition train this morning. The officer said that
+a Portuguese colonel had begged him so earnestly to bring it up that he
+could not refuse."
+
+ "It was Herrara, no doubt, Colonel; he has gone down to Lisbon for a
+week."
+
+"Ah! I suppose he sent you a keg of choice wine."
+
+"You shall taste it next time you come out, Colonel. I have been wishing
+that I had something better than the ordinary wine of the country to offer
+when you come over to see me. I will send over a couple of men with a cart
+in the morning to bring it out to me."
+
+On leaving that evening Terence invited all the officers who could get
+away from duty to come over to lunch the next day.
+
+"Bring your knives and forks with you," he said; "and I think you had
+better bring your plates, too; I fancy four are all I can muster."
+
+Early next morning Terence told Bull and Macwitty that he expected a dozen
+officers out to lunch with him. "And I want you to lunch with me too. I
+know that Captain O'Grady and others have asked you several times to go in
+and dine at mess, and that you have not gone. I hope to-day you will meet
+them at luncheon. I can understand that you feel a little uncomfortable at
+this first meeting with a lot of officers as officers yourselves; but, of
+course, you must do it sooner or later, and it would be much better doing
+so at once.
+
+"The next thing is, what can I give them to eat? I should be glad if you
+will send out a dozen foraging parties in different directions; there must
+be little villages scattered among the hills that have so far escaped
+French and English plunderers. Let each party take four or five dollars
+with them. I want anything that can be got, but my idea is a couple of
+young kids, three or four ducks, or a couple of geese, as many chickens,
+and of course any vegetables that you can get hold of. My man Sancho is a
+capital cook, and he will get fires ready and two or three assistants.
+They will be here by one o'clock, so the foraging parties had better
+return by ten."
+
+"If there is anything to be brought you shall have it, Colonel," Bull
+said; "Macwitty and I will both go ourselves, and we will get half a dozen
+of the captains to go too; between us it is hard if we don't manage to get
+enough."
+
+By ten o'clock the officers rode in, almost every one of them having some
+sort of bird or beast hanging from his saddle-bow; there were two kids, a
+sucking pig, two hares, half a dozen chickens, three geese, and five
+ducks, while the nets which they carried for forage for their horses were
+filled with vegetables. Half a dozen fires had already been lighted, and
+Sancho had obtained as many assistants, so that by the time the colonel
+and fifteen officers rode up lunch was ready.
+
+After chatting for a few minutes with them, Terence led the way to a rough
+table that was placed under the shade of a tree. Ammunition boxes were
+arranged along for seats. Although but a portion of what had been brought
+in had been cooked, the effect of the table was imposing.
+
+"Why, O'Connor," the colonel said, "have you got one of the genii, like
+Aladdin, and ordered him to bring up a banquet for you? I have not seen a
+winged thing since we marched from Coimbra, and here you have got all the
+luxuries of the season. No wonder you like independent action, if this is
+what comes of it; there have we been feeding on tough ration beef, and
+here are the contents of a whole farmyard."
+
+Almost all the officers had been out before, and Bull and Macwitty had
+been introduced to them. They now all sat down to the meal.
+
+"I am sorry Major O'Driscol is not here," Terence said.
+
+"He could not get away," the colonel said, from the other end of the
+table. "If the general had come round and there hadn't been a
+field-officer left to meet him there would have been a row over it. I have
+brought pretty nearly all the officers with me, and I dared not stretch it
+further."
+
+"O'Grady," Terence said, "I wish you would carve this hare for me, I have
+no idea how it ought to be cut. I can manage a chicken, or a duck, but
+this is beyond me altogether."
+
+"I will do it gladly, Terence; faith, it is a comfort to find that there
+is something you can't do." And so, with much laughter and fun, the meal
+was eaten.
+
+"You have not told us yet where you got all these provisions, O'Connor,"
+the colonel said; "it is too bad to keep all the good things to yourself."
+
+"It has been the work of eight officers, Colonel; they rode off this
+morning in different directions among the hills, and there was not one of
+them who returned empty-handed."
+
+"The wine is fairly good," the colonel said, as he set down his tin mug
+after a long draught, "but it was scarce worth sending all the way up from
+Lisbon."
+
+"That has to follow, Colonel; I thought you would appreciate it better
+after you had done eating."
+
+"I have not had such a male since we left Athlone," O'Grady said, when at
+last he reluctantly laid down his knife and fork. "Be jabers, it would be
+all up with me if the French were to put in an appearance now, for faith I
+don't think I could run a yard to save me life."
+
+The tin mugs were all taken away and washed when the table was cleared.
+
+"You are mighty particular, O'Connor," the colonel said.
+
+"One mug is good enough for us. If we liquored-up a dozen times--which, by
+the way, we never do--one of these wines is pretty well like another, and
+if there was a slight difference it would not matter."
+
+When the board was cleared a large jug was placed before Terence, and some
+water-bottles at various points of the table.
+
+"I thought, Colonel, that you might prefer spirits even to the wine,"
+Terence said.
+
+"And you are right, O'Connor. A good glass of wine after a good dinner is
+no bad thing, but after such a meal as we have eaten I think that even
+this bastely spirit of theirs--which, after all, is not so bad when you
+get accustomed to it--is better than wine; it settles matters a bit."
+
+Terence poured some of the spirit from a jug into his tin and filled it up
+with water. "Help yourself," he said, passing the jug to O'Grady, who sat
+next to him.
+
+O'Grady was about to do so when he suddenly set the jug down.
+
+"By the powers," he exclaimed, in astonishment, "but it is the real
+cratur!"
+
+"Go on, O'Grady, go on, the others are all waiting while you are looking
+at it. If you feel too surprised to take it, pass the jug on."
+
+O'Grady grasped it. "I will defind it wid me life!" he exclaimed. In the
+meantime the colonel had filled his mug.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, solemnly, after raising it to his lips, "O'Grady is
+right; it is Irish whisky, and good at that."
+
+"It is a cruel trick you've played on us," O'Grady said, with a sigh, as
+he replaced the empty mug upon the table. "I had almost forgotten the
+taste, and had come to take kindly to the stuff here. Now I shall have to
+go through it all again. It is like holding the cup to the lips of that
+old heathen Tartarus, and taking it away again."
+
+"Tantalus, O'Grady."
+
+"Och, what does it matter, when he has been dead and buried thousands of
+years, how he spilt his name. Where did you get it from, Terence?"
+
+"I asked Herrara to try and find some for me at Lisbon; I thought it was
+most likely that some English merchant there would have laid in a stock,
+and it seems that he has found one."
+
+"Do you hear that, Colonel? There is whisky to be had at Lisbon, and us
+not know it."
+
+"Well, Captain O'Grady, all I can say is that I shall at dinner this
+evening move a vote of censure upon you as mess president for not having
+discovered the fact before."
+
+"Don't talk of dinner, Colonel; there is not one of us could think of
+sitting down to ration beef after such a male as we have had--and with
+whisky here, too! I move, Colonel, that no further mintion be made of
+dinner. I have no doubt that Terence will give us some divilled
+bones--there is as much left on the table as we have eaten--before we
+start home to-night."
+
+"I will do that with pleasure. In fact, it is exactly what I reckoned
+upon," Terence replied.
+
+"I think, O'Grady, we must send to Lisbon for some of this."
+
+"Is it only think, Colonel? Faith, I would go down for it myself, if I had
+to walk with pays in my boots and to carry it back on me shoulders. Can I
+find Herrara there?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, I can give you the address where he will be found."
+
+"Anyhow, Colonel," O'Flaherty said, "I must--and I'm sure all present will
+join me in the matter--protest against Captain O'Grady going down to
+Lisbon to fetch whisky for the mess. You must know, sir, as well as I do,
+that he would never return again, and we should probably hear some day
+that his body had been found by the side of the road with three or four
+empty kegs beside him."
+
+There was a general burst of agreement.
+
+"Perhaps, Doctor O'Flaherty," O'Grady said, in a tone of withering
+sarcasm, "it's yourself who would like to be the messenger."
+
+"There might be a worse one," O'Flaherty said, calmly; "but as I believe
+that Captain Hall is going down on a week's leave to-morrow, I propose
+that he, being an Englishman, and therefore more trustworthy than any
+Irish member of the mess would be on such a mission, be requested to
+purchase some for the use of the mess, and to escort it back again. How
+much shall I say, Colonel?"
+
+"That is a grave matter, and not to be answered hastily, Doctor. Let me
+see, there are thirty-two officers with the regiment. Now, what would you
+say would be a fair allowance per day for each man?"
+
+"I should say half a bottle, Colonel. There are some of them won't take as
+much, but O'Grady will square matters up."
+
+"I protest against the insinuation," O'Grady said, rising; "and, moreover,
+I would observe, that it is mighty little would be left for me after each
+man had taken his whack."
+
+"That is sixteen bottles a day. For a continuance I should consider that
+too much; but seeing that we have been out of dacent liquor for a month,
+and may have but a fortnight after it arrives to make up for lost time, we
+will say sixteen bottles."
+
+"Make it three gallons," O'Grady said, persuasively; "we shall be having
+lots of men drop in when it gets known that we have got a supply."
+
+"There is something in that, O'Grady. Well, we will say three
+gallons--that is, forty-two gallons for a fortnight. We will commission
+Captain Hall to bring back that quantity."
+
+"If you say forty-five, Colonel, it will give us a drop in our flasks to
+start with, and we are as likely to be fifteen days as fourteen, anyway."
+
+"Let it be forty-five then," the colonel assented. "Will you undertake
+that, Captain Hall?"
+
+"Willingly, Colonel. I will get the whisky emptied into wine casks, and as
+I know one of the chief commissaries at Lisbon, I can get it brought up
+with the wine for the troops."
+
+After sitting for a couple of hours, the colonel proposed that they should
+all go for a walk, while those who preferred it should take a nap in the
+shade.
+
+"I move, O'Connor," he said, "that this meeting be adjourned until
+sunset."
+
+"I think that will be a very good plan, Colonel."
+
+The proposal was carried out. O'Grady and a few others declared that they
+should prefer a nap. The rest started on foot, and sauntered about in the
+shade of the wood for a couple of hours, then all gathered at the table
+again. At eight o'clock grilled joints of fowls and ducks were put upon
+the table, and at nine all mounted and rode back to Abrantes.
+
+"How many of those quart jugs have been filled, Sancho?"
+
+"Eight, sir."
+
+"That is not so bad," Terence said to Macwitty. "That is twelve bottles;
+and as there were sixteen and our three selves, that is only about two
+bottles between three men."
+
+"I call that vera moderate under the circumstances, Colonel," Macwitty
+said, gravely. "I have drank more myself many a time."
+
+"They were a good many hours over it too," Terence added; "you may say it
+was two sittings. You will see that we shall have a great many callers
+from the camp for the next few days."
+
+A fortnight later Terence received a letter from Don Jose, saying that he
+had heard from his friend at Oporto, and that they informed him that the
+Señora Johanna O'Connor had been killed at the sack of Oporto. She had
+left her own house and taken refuge at the bishop's. That place had been
+defended to the last, and when the infuriated French broke in, all within
+its walls had been killed.
+
+Terence was not altogether sorry to hear the news. The woman had been a
+party to the cruel imprisonment of Mary. No doubt his cousin would feel
+her death, but her grief could not be very deep; and it was, he thought,
+just as well for her that her connection with Portugal should be
+altogether severed. Her mother might have endeavoured to tempt her to
+return there; and although he felt sure that she would not succeed in
+this, she might at least have caused some trouble, and it was better that
+there should be an end of it. As to the woman herself, she had been in
+agreement with the bishop, had been mixed up in his intrigues, and her
+death was caused by her misplaced confidence in him. Of course she had not
+known that he had left the town, and thought that under his protection she
+would be safe in the palace.
+
+"She must have been a bad lot," he said to himself.
+
+"Evidently she did not make her husband happy, and persecuted her
+daughter, and I regret her death no more than any other of the ten
+thousand people who fell in Oporto."
+
+A few days later he received letters both from his father and Mary. Being
+under eighteen he opened the former first.
+
+_My Dear Terence,
+
+I have heard all about you and your doings from Mary, and I am proud of
+you. It is grand satisfaction that you should have won your lieutenancy,
+and that you should be on the general's staff; as to your being a colonel,
+although only a Portuguese one, it is simply astounding. I don't care so
+much about the rank, for the Portuguese officers are poor creatures, not
+one in fifty of them knows anything of his duty; but what I do value is
+your independent command. That will give you opportunities for
+distinguishing yourself that can never fall in the way of a subaltern of
+the line, and I fancy, now that you have got Wellesley at the head, there
+will be plenty of such opportunities.
+
+I was delighted, as you may guess, when I got Mary's letter from London. I
+had just settled at the old house, and mighty lonely I felt with no one to
+speak to, and the wind whistling in at the broken windows, and the whole
+place in confusion. So putting aside Mary, I was glad enough to have some
+excuse for running away. I took the next coach for Dublin; found, by good
+luck, a packet just sailing for London; and got there a week later. She is
+a nice girl and a pretty one; but I suppose I need not tell you that. I
+told her it was a poor place I was going to take her to, but she would be
+as welcome as the flowers in May; but she only laughed and said, that
+after being shut up for a year in a single room, and having nothing but
+bread and water, it would not matter a pin to her what it was like.
+
+She was in a grand house, and Mrs. Nelson insisted on my putting up there.
+We stopped three days and then we took ship to Cork. We had to prove that
+the money lying there belonged to me; that is to say, that I was the
+person in whose name it had been put. I had all sort of botheration about
+it, but luckily I knew the colonel of the regiment there, and he went to
+the bank with me and testified. Then we came down here, and Mary hadn't
+been here a day before she began to spend money. I said I would not allow
+it; and she said I could not help it, the money was her own, and she could
+spend it as she liked, which was true enough; and at present the place is
+more topsy-turvy than ever.
+
+I won't have anything to do with giving orders, but she has got a score of
+masons and carpenters over from Athlone, and she is turning the old place
+upside down. I sha'n't know it myself when she has done with it. There is
+not a place fit to sit down in, and we are living for the time at the inn
+at Kilnally, three miles away, and drive backwards and forwards to the
+house. Except that we quarrel over that, we get on first-rate together.
+She is never tired of talking about you, and when I hinted one day that it
+was ridiculous your being made a colonel, she spurred up like a young
+bantam, and more than hinted that if you had been appointed
+commander-in-chief instead of Sir Arthur it would not have been beyond
+your deserts.
+
+My wound hurts me a bit sometimes, but I am able to get about all right,
+and the surgeon says in a few months I shall be able to walk as straight
+as anyone. And so, good-bye. I don't think I ever wrote such a long letter
+before, and as Mary will be telling you everything, I don't suppose I
+shall ever write such a long one again.__
+
+Terence laughed as he put the letter down and opened one from his cousin.
+
+_Dear Cousin Terence,
+
+Here I am with your father as happy as a bird, and as free. I sing about
+the place all day, my heart is so light, and should be perfectly happy
+were it not that I am afraid that you will be fighting again soon, and
+then I shall be very anxious about you. Your father is just what I thought
+he would be from what I know of you. He is as kind as if he was my own
+father, and reminds me of him. You told me it was a tumbledown old place,
+and it is. When we came it was only fit for owls to live in, so, of
+course, I set to work at once. Your father was very foolish about it, but,
+of course, I had my way. What is the use of having money and living in an
+owl's nest? So I have set a lot of men to work.
+
+Your father won't interfere with it one way or the other. I had a builder
+down, he shook his head over it and said that it would be cheaper to pull
+it down and build a new one; but as it was an old family house I could not
+do that. However, between ourselves, I don't think there will be much of
+the old one left by the time we have finished. It looks awful at present.
+I am building a new wall against the old one, so that it will look just
+the same, only it will be new. The windows are going to be made bigger,
+and there will be a new roof put on. Inside it will all have to come down,
+all the woodwork was so rotten that it was dangerous to walk upstairs. It
+is great fun looking after the workmen. And though your father does keep
+on grumbling and saying that I am destroying the old place, I don't think
+he really minds.
+
+As I tell him, one could live in a house without windows nine months in
+the year in Portugal, but it is not so in Ireland. One wants comfort,
+Terence; and, as I have plenty of money, I don't see why we should not
+have it. You can sleep on the ground, and go from morning till night in
+wet clothes, when you are on a campaign, but that is no reason why you
+should do it at other times. The weather is fine here now, at least your
+father says it is fine, and I want to get everything pushed on and
+finished before it changes to what even he will admit is wet. The people
+here seem all very nice and pleasant. They are delighted at having your
+father back again. I drive about with him a great deal, and we call upon
+the neighbours, who all seem very pleased that the house is going to be
+occupied again.
+
+The poor people seem very poor. I don't know that they are poorer than
+they are in Portugal, but I think they look poorer; but they don't seem to
+mind much. I have made great friends with most of the children already,
+and always go about with a large bag of sweetmeats in what your father
+calls "the trap." I think of you very often, Terence, and your father and
+I generally talk about you all the evening. By what he says you must have
+been a very naughty boy, indeed, before you became a soldier. Do take care
+of yourself. We shall be very, very anxious about you as soon as we hear
+that fighting has begun again. I hope you think very often of your very
+loving cousin,                        MARY O'CONNOR.__
+
+"She will do a world of good to my father," Terence said to himself as he
+put down the letters. "After being so long in the regiment he would have
+felt being alone in that old place horribly, especially as it has, of
+course, been a terrible trial to him to be laid aside just as a big
+campaign is beginning. She will keep him alive, and he won't have any time
+to mope. Even if for no other reason, it is a lucky thing indeed that I
+was able to get Mary out. I sha'n't feel a bit anxious about him now."
+
+
+
+
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