g y_"v^ % THE YOUNG RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. THE YOUNG RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE A NARRATIVE OF HIS MILITARY ADVENTURES, CAPTIVITY, AXD SHIPWRECK PHILADELPHIA: H. C. CAREY AND I. LEA, CHESNUT STREET. 1827. HIS EXCELLENCY FREYHERRN VON GOTHE, MINISTER OF STATE TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE GRAND DUKE OF SAXE WEIMAR, $c. $c. Sir, I do not know any name so well calculated to grace the dedication-page of this interesting little volume, as that under the sanction of which it has been introduced into German lite- rature. In this persuasion, I am not only in- fluenced by a sense of appropriateness; but also feel happy in having an opportunity of express- ing the respect and admiration which I have long entertained for your splendid talents and high character. A2 Vl DEDICATION. The fame of the Author of Faust has not been confined even to the numerous divisions of Germany: it has penetrated every portion of civilized Europe: therefore 1 am desirous (in common with natives of many other countries) to consider Gothe rather as the " Citizen of the World," than of any particular part of it. Your genius and accomplishments, admitted by your countrymen to be pre-eminent, and which will unquestionably render the works of your pen immortal, have ensured their introduction into my native land, which I am happy to say boasts a closer intellectual affinity than any other to your own; a fact proved in a great de- gree, by the endeavours of several of our high- ly distinguished literati to render into the En- glish tongue the most valuable productions of German inspiration, — as well as by the popu- larity of the names of Gothe, Schiller, Wie- land, &c. amongst the reading classes of my countrymen. The high regard of the English people for your Excellency's individual merits has been already fully expressed in a variety of ways, — DEDICATION. Vll more particularly in the works of our Byron, Scott, Gower, Shelley, and other well-known names. For myself, an humble gleaner in the harvest of British literature, I am proud to of- fer this little testimony of correspondent feel- ing, not so much in the character of an indi- vidual, as of a citizen of England; — in which light 1 trust Your Excellency will be pleased to accept it, and to permit me to subscribe myself, With great respect, Your Excellency's most obedient servant, The Translator. London, Oct. 12 th, 1826. EDITOR'S PREFACE. There is a saying amongst us, that fortune is spherical; and I think there is some truth in the adage; since this comparison may be used in another sense besides the common one. The form of a sphere appears to the observer that of a complete, perfect, self-existent figure ; and in like manner as its unvaried outline proves unattractive to our eye, so does the smooth course of the fortunate man fail to command our interest. The state of well-being and contentment is simple and uniform, whatever the source from which it springs. We feel no excitement in dwelling on the contemplation of such a lot; and when, at the end of a drama, the hero and heroine are united, curiosity expires, and the spectator willingly returns home, however X PREFACE. powerfully his attention might have been pre- viously enchained by the intricacy of the plot and the distresses and embarrassments of the characters. Untoward circumstances, on the other hand, may be compared with the figure of a polygon, whose numerous angles, by confusing, excite the vision. Its surface is various, broken, ir- regular. Upon that of the sphere the light seems invited to repose, while those parts not presented to it rest in tender shadows: — the polygon, on the contrary, upon every angular division, exhibits a different tint — a different degree of colouring or of shade; thus amusing the organs of sight, which are busied with the endeavour to comprehend and harmonize the whole. This little volume is calculated to illustrate these considerations. Its contents, with a few exceptions, treat of misfortune, of pain, and despair. Recitals of this nature are useful and con- solatory. Knowledge is always advantageous: therefore we ar<5 indebted to those who, having suffered so much, — having had death more than once before their eyes, — have related to us these sufferings, and the manner in which they were redeemed from them; and the re- flection is consolatory, that this redemption PREFACE. XI proceeded from themselves. It is true, indeed, that the exertions of steadfast, active, prudent, humane, and religious men are favoured by the influence of a higher power; and the moral government of the world is presented in its clearest manifestation by assistance afforded to the good and brave sufferer. The social organization of the exiles of Ca- brera, the poorest of the Balearic Islands, can not fail to obtain the commendation of all think- ing men: it exhibits, indeed, an absolute model of a political condition of society, conformable with reason and nature. The fortitude exhibited, and the struggles made by the unfortunate sailors who were stranded upon a barren rock upraising itself in the middle of the ocean, — evince, in like man- ner, a model of natural and moral resolution — of native and tried constancy — of considerate and prudent boldness. These men are rescued, by conduct of this description, from a situation the most appalling; and they subsequently meet with others who have encountered similar pe- rils. What a lesson is thus read to us! and how desirable is it for each individual and unim- portant man to see what has been achieved by others equally obscure with himself; — to per- ceive that they have attained to praise and com- XU PREFACE. memoration simply by the exercise of those virtues, the use of which would be equally ne- cessary in him, should he ever be called to contend with danger and fate! Thus, I really conceive it to be a work of benevolence to recommend to others the pe- rusal of a book which has suggested such re- flections to my own mind; and I trust, that in the heart of every thinking reader, it will sow the seeds of a similar harvest. GOTHE. Weimar, 14M Jan. 1826. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. Memoir- writing — at least that kind of me- moir-writing to which the present work be- longs, is new in Germany, and sufficiently rare amongst ourselves. It is extremely interest- ing in its nature, tending of course to make the reader much better acquainted than he could possibly become through any other medium , with the actions, as well as peculiarities of cha- racter, of the individual described. It is curious enough to compare the rarity and recentness of the military adventures we possess, with the great importance of the sub- ject, and the moderate quantity of talent re- quired in its treatment. Military officers are gentlemen; and moreover they are at least sup- posed to be qualified by education to put to- gether words and sentences according to the received usages of the English tongue. The days of the Ensign Northingtons in Tom XIV Jones are over. If any military man chooses merely to narrate his adventures, — the " mov- ing accidents" which every officer is sure to have encountered in his life-time, as well as " hair-breadth scapes i' th' imminent deadly breach" — if he details these unaffectedly and plainly, and presents the reader with any thing like a faithful picture of his own feelings, the book is sure to be an amusing and interesting one. It is rather surprising, therefore, that the books of this description with which we have been presented since the close of that great struggle which has changed the face of all Europe, have been so few — and especially that it should have been left to persons in the inferior ranks of the army to give us the few we have. Count Rapp has indeed recently published a Narrative of his military life, com- prising a striking account of Buonaparte's Ex- pedition to Moscow: but for the grand pano- rama of that great man's battles, we must look to " the general camp, pioneers and all" — es- pecially to the very entertaining volume lately published in England, entitled, " Adventures of a French Serjeant." The still more recent publication, " Adven- tures of a Young Rifleman," between which volume and the present there is a conformity of interest arising from the similar rank, and xv acquaintanceship, of the respective heroes, shows that the German officers are not more anxious for literary reputation than our own: and a few other personal narratives which have appeared among them, and w r ith which the public may soon perhaps become acquainted, render it manifest that in Germany, as here, the officers have been indebted for some of their fame, as well as their fortunes, to the common soldiers who fought under them. Even in France, that land of memoirs and memoir-writing, this class of narratives has by no means been abundant, in spite of the tempt- ing effects to be produced from a display of the ever-shifting scenes in the great drama of the Revolution, and the more brilliant, though equally various display of the pride, pomp, and circumstance of war and conquest which suc- ceeded it. There has been nothing published in France, during the revolution, at all equal- ling in interest or power the Memoirs of Colo- nel Hutchinson by his wife — the personal nar- rative of Captain Crichton, printed in Swift's Works; or even Defoe's History of a Cavalier, which he compiled from the floating military reports and traditions of his time. The works in France that come nearest these in character and interest are undoubtedly the memoirs re- lating to the struggle in La Vendee — especial- XVI ly that which bears the heroic name of Laroche- jaquelin: but even these memoirs, delightful and various as they are, want the charm of variety, of change of scene and manners, which is perpetually giving its gay and shifting co- lours to the story of a life of restless and pre- datory adventure. All this will be met with in the Rifleman's Comrade, which has found an Editor whose fame is even more extensively European than the adventures of the hero. This celebrated leader in the republic of letters has already stated, in his own Preface, the principal ma- terials whereof the present volume is com- posed; which bear, in some of their features, as we have alreadj' - hinted, a family resem- blance to those which have already obtained a great share of popularity under the title of " The Young Rifleman," to which work the present was published in Germany as a com- panion. The reader will be tempted to smile, now and then, at the national prejudice displayed by the author of the following narrative: — " the good German manners," — " the temper- ance and industry common in Germany," — "the honest and social feelings characteristic of his native country," brought by the German colonist to Port Louis, — all these expressions translator's preface. xvii savour strongly of that esprit national which we should almost have thought so general an acquaintance with the world would have era- dicated from the writer's mind. His observations on men and things, with the exception of the Spaniards, in treating of whom he exhibits a prejudice similar in its na- ture to the foregoing, although of a complexion widely different, appear to be at once fair and sensible; and sprinkled, here and there, with a latent spirit of humour which renders them oc- casionally very piquant, relieving pleasantly the deep and tragic nature of the general in- terest of the story. After all, we are at a loss to know how much of this book may belong absolutely and bona-fide to the illustrious writer by whom it has been introduced to the world. With regard to the eloquence displayed in various parts, that is not much to the purpose; since of course the style would receive a tinge from the glowing imagination of the Editor: but it must be con- fessed that, at times, the elevation of sentiment and refinement of taste displayed by the Rifle- man seem somewhat beyond the sphere of his alleged rank. This is, however, mere guess- work; and refers, at most, to the speculative portions of the volume: — the facts narrated b2 *■ XV111 translator's preface. bearing throughout the unequivocal stamp of individual truth and reality. A slight freedom has been in one or two in- stances taken with the text, but in no matter whatever of importance. The translator has sought rather to render the spirit and gist of the original than to adhere to it literally: here and there, also, an expression has been sup- pressed, on account of the established differ- ence of taste between the two countries. CONTENTS. CHAP. I. The first years of my life — Imprisonment of my father — Flight of the rest of the family — Tidings of my father — History of his captivity — He is discharged; returns to my native town, and from thence joins us in Germany — We go back to France together — Pleasant occurrences at home — The inconveniences of war in our town — The military service of my brother — The beginning of my military career — My departure for Strasburg — Expedi- tion to Spain . 25 CHAP. II. Arrival in Spain — My first night's lodging — Provision for the troops — Biscayan carts — Second night's lodging in Tolosa — Departure from hence — Object of the expe- dition — Discontentment of the Spaniards with the French — Our arrival at Madrid, and entrance into that city — Quarrels between our troops and the natives — Commo- tions in the provinces — National character of the Span- iards — Expedition to Toledo — Revolt of the inhabitants of Madrid, and massacre of the 2d of May . . 48 m XX CONTENTS. CHAP. PL Expedition into Andalusia Terrible fate of the French captives — Capture of Cordova, and massacre there — Similar occurrences at Jaen — Increasing- rage of the Spaniards against the French — Battle of Andujar — Dis-- tress of our troops on account of hunger and bad wea- ther — Captivity of the army of Dupont — Treacherous and vindictive behaviour of the Spaniards towards their prisoners — Sojourn of the French captives at St. Lucar and Cadiz — Their transport to Majorca, and abode at Palma 65 CHAP. IV. Further stay at Palma — Passage to Cabrera — Sojourn of the captives there — Terrible famine, and its conse- quences — Domestic and political condition of the cap- tives — Levies of the Spaniards and English amongst them 84 CHAP. V. I grow weary of our life in Cabrera, and therefore ca- pitulate with the English — I take leave of our prison- island, and embark for Spain — Arrival at Tarragona — View of Corsica and Sicily .... 98 CHAP. VI. Observations concerning Spain — Madrid and its inha- bitants — Scenes in the streets of that metropolis — Water- carriers — Swiss in the Spanish service — Attendance in the hotels — Mule-drivers and coachmen — Living of the Frenchmen there — Buildings — Scenes of horror — Bull- fights—Bridge of Toledo— City of Toledo . 105 S -/1Utfr CONTENTS. XXI CHAP. VIL View of Sicily from the sea — Arrival in the bay of Palermo — Quarantine — Reception at Palermo — Ciood treatment by the officers of our regiment — The origin of our corps — A love affair, and its consequences — Sicily and its inhabitants — Malevolent trick of a Sicilian sans- culotte, and his punishment . . . . 118 CHAP. VIII. Favourite dishes of the Sicilian people — Streets and dwelling-houses of Palermo — Convents and monks — Public festival of the inhabitants — Environs of the town — The king- of Sicily — Characteristics of the Sicilians, with examples ...... 128 CHAP. IX. Serpents and scorpions in Sicily, with examples — Te- diousness of the military service, and ill success of the endeavours to escape — Merry tricks of the soldiers — Festival of the cat — Dishes of the lowest classes in Sicily — Milk trade in Palermo — Ladies of Palermo, and anec- dotes of them 142 CHAP. X. Pleasures and quarrels of the English soldiers — No hopes of getting discharged from the military service — Arrival of royal French ships — Passage of the English army to Naples — Arrival at Milazzo — Adventures on our voyage 156 CHAP. XI. View of the shores of Italy — Arrival in the Bay of Na- ples, and reception there — Description of the Austrian XX11 CONTENTS. array — Excursions — Departure for Genoa, and residence there — Voyage from Genoa to England — Stay at Ports- mouth — My discharge from the army — Enter the service of an English officer — Description of Portsmouth and its inhabitants . 164 CHAP. XII. Journey to London — Arrival in the Thames — View of the Metropolis— Custom-house — London and its inhabi- tants — Buildings— Banks of the river — Shops, and their brilliant appearance at night — Guildhall — Royal Ex- change — The Bank — Somerset-house — Westminster Ab- bey—St. Paul's Cathedral— Public Charities— The la- dies of London — Salutations of the English — Diseases in- cident to the capital — Epitaphs — Observations on the English character — Domestic, social, and commercial habits of the Londoners — A Sunday in London . 177 CHAP. XIII. Journey to Gravesend, and voyage from thence to China — Description of the shipwreck of the Cabalva — Stranding of the vessel — Revolt of a part of the crew, and their punishment — Arrival at the Cape of Good Hope — Horrible scenes during the shipwreck . 192 CHAP. XIV. Endeavours of the ship's company to save themselves — Several are lost — Characteristic anecdote of a British seaman — Death of the captain — Arrival at the coral-reef —Living on it — Voyage to a sand-bank, and arrival thereupon 203 CONTENTS. XX111 CHAP. XV. Living on the sand-bank — Visit to the wreck — En- deavours of some of the seamen to run away with the large cutter — Curious adventure respecting a wounded comrade — Arrival of the caulker's mate who had been thought dead, and his report . . . . 216 CHAP. XVI. Wounded feet— The large cutter under repair — Se- cond visit to the wreck — Adventures thereupon — Report by an officer of his excursion — Visit to the Beer Island — Life of the inhabitants of that colony — One of them wounds himself — Their method of fishing — Return to our Sand-bank — Its geographical situation — Equipment of the cutter for a voyage 229 CHAP. XVII. Tents upon the sand-bank — Their arrangement and inhabitants — Officer of the stores, and his conscientious management — Discovery of a fresh-water spring — De- putation from Beer Island — The purser's sermon . 239 CHAP. XVIII. Complete equipment of the large cutter— Consultation about the projected voyage — The journalist's bodily, in- tellectual, and scientific preparations — His farewell of the inhabitants of the sheF, and departure — His further adventures 250 CHAP. XIX. View of an island — Approach thereto — Inhuman con- duct of a ship which passed us — Arrival at Port Louis, XXIV CONTENTS. and reception there — Excuse made by the captain of the before-mentioned ship — Measures put in train for extricating our messmates upon the sand-bank — Passage back thither 260 CHAP. XX. Arrival on the sand-bank, and reception there — Occur- rences during our stay — Expressions of rapture at our return — Departure from the sand-bank — Arrival and so- journ at Port Louis — Set sail for England — Arrival and reception in London — The journalist's reward and ad- vancement 268 CHAP. XXI. My own individual adventures upon the shipwreck — Friendship of a fellow-countryman — Departure for Great Britain — Arrival at St. Helena, and subsequently at Portsmouth — I leave England, and proceed, through Holland, and the Netherlands, to my native town — Re- ception by my family, relations, and friends — Conclusion 278 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. CHAP. I. Coxtkhts. — The first years of my life — Imprisonment of my father — Flight of the rest of the family — Tidings of* my father — History of his captivity — He is discharged; returns to my native town, and from thence joins us in Germany — We go back to France together — Pleasant occurrences at home — The inconveniences of war in our town — The military service of my brother — The begin- ning of my military k career — My departure for Straaburg — Expedition to Spain. I was born during that eventful period when the horrors of the French Revolution resound- ed throughout Europe — a period which must remain indelibly impressed on the imagination and memory of all those who were its contem- poraries. My father was a respectable butch- er, and was elected mayor of the small town in which we lived. My education was as good as the troubled circumstances of the time ad- c 26 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. mitted it to be. Among other indications of these circumstances was the fact, that our priests were not permitted to exhort publicly; nevertheless, the good work was not left un- heeded; they came in the night-time into the houses of their penitents, and sought to impart that consolation and courage so necessary un- der the pressure of adverse events. I need scarcely say that the general habits of the peo- ple were not of the purest description, at a time when "trees of liberty" sprang up like mush- rooms, around which the furious Jacobins danc- ed and roared to the melody of their ga ira. A great many things were exhibited to the unpractised eyes of youth by no means conso- nant with those feelings of modesty and shame so amiable in the juvenile disposition. I can remember very well that my father was taken one night out of his bed, bound, and conveyed as a prisoner to Strasburg. This violence was committed on the plea of his be- ing an aristocrat. He yielded with firmness and patience — replyingto the insults of themen who apprehended him with mildness, and ex- pressing his reliance on the divine protection. Our constancy was not of this heroic descrip- tion: we were dissolved in tears; we held the knees of the heartless gens d'armes, and im- plored them not to deprive us of our protector; THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 27 but our appeal produced in them only savage laughter and low-bred mockery. They divert- ed themselves with the excess of our affliction; and when my unoffending parent was removed from his house upon a wheelbarrow, an expres- sion of malicious joy was visible in the coun- tenances of several of our neighbours, which filled his affectionate heart with dread and ap- prehension on our account. The national guards had scarcely quitted the house, when a party of sans-culottes forced themselves into it. By these ruffians every moveable thing was abstracted or destroyed. No one dared to interfere in our behalf. The house of one said to be a friend of the king, was, as it were, confiscated, and it was put in- to the power of every good patriot to commit in it whatever devastation his benevolence dic- tated. A little while after came the new may- or, who drove us altogether out of our dwell- ing, thus compelling us to relinquish the shel- ter of our paternal roof, utterly destitute of any other asylum or the means to procure one. That man who should have received us would have been marked and proscribed: he would have been set down as an aristocrat, and shared the unhappy fate of one. A plan was concerted for us to repair to a relation of my mother, who resided on the MP 28 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. other side of the Rhine, near Manheim. But the question was, how to get there? — without passport — without money — without bread ! My eldest brother, a youth of sixteen, who, having exercised the business of our father, was well acquainted with the country, inspired us with courage, and promised to get us safely over the Rhine, in spite of the watchful diligence of the officers of the customs. I, the youngest and feeblest, was sometimes led, sometimes carried, by my brothers; and thus our progress towards the river was very slow, although it was only four or five German miles distant.* In fact, during the day, we were compelled to remain in the forests, subsisting on the precarious boun- ty of the neighbouring villagers, which was solicited for the common benefit by my sister and my second brother; my poor mother could only travel at a lingering pace, and I hardly at all ; and the third night had arrived when our little forlorn party found itself on the bank of the Rhine. My eldest brother had separated from us, in order to seek the readiest means of passage, a point of meeting having been previously decid- ed on. Mine was the only heart which did not thrill with anxiety at this period. The shadows • Five English miles form one German mile, THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 29 of life had not as yet dimmed the sun-shine na- tural to it. I was happily ignorant of the perils by which we were environed; and with plenty to eat, was content and cheerful. Having reached the spot agreed on, we con* cealed ourselves as well as possible, and awaited the arrival of our youthful guardian. An hour beyond the specified time elapsed, and still he came not. The whole party was nigh fright- ened to death — at least with one exception — that of myself, who, as I have already observ- ed, was unable to comprehend the nature of our situation — marvelling why we returned not home, and why we were travelling in the dark night. At length, the concerted signal was heard, hope revived, and each individual earnestly longed to hear the well-known accents of my brother. He had not been able satisfactorily to fulfil his scheme, which was to take one of the many small fishing-boats constantly lying on the shore. They had all been too well secur- ed; until at last he had met with one in a wood, which he had been obliged to carry a long way to the river: " and after all," said he, " it is scarce fit to receive so many persons; but by God's help, and the use of a pair of tolerably robust arms, I will convey you safely to the other side." It was of little consequence, wan- c2 30 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. derers as we were, at what point of the oppo- site shore we might land. Eagerness to depart was now the prevalent feeling. To have been intercepted at the mo- ment when our redemption appeared so near, would have been doubly grievous. We pro- ceeded towards the river, with strained nerves and in silence, — fear urging our steps, and im- parting to us an unwonted principle of strength. Shortly the rush of the impetuous Rhine be- came perceptible to our ears. We soon stood upon the shore, and saw the frail bark which was to waft us from a land of anarchy and car- nage to one unstained with the blood of kings. The sight inspired us with fresh courage, but it was unenduring; for a second glance proved how well grounded my brother's apprehensions were as to the capacity of the boat; and scarce- ly had one of our party set foot in it, when dread of exchanging the hard-heartedness of man for the yet more merciless wave, restrain- ed, with an involuntary cry, the others from following. This irresolution was combated by my bro- ther with all his eloquence. My mother was the most timid; but at length, even in her, the fear of immediate death was surmounted by that of losing her children; she entered the boat; and my brother pushed from shore. The 31. passage was not without danger, for our boat- man was inexperienced: the exigency of the circumstances, however, inspired him not only with fortitude, but with tact. He instructed us all to lie down, himself remaining upright. Thus he relieved himself from harassing ob- servations or ignorant fears, since we knew not the progress of our brief voyage: neither would he answer any question, devoting eve- ry energy unencumbered to the reaching with safety the peaceful shore of Germany. At length, his cry of pleasure aroused us, and almost at the same moment we felt our boat push against the sand: we arose, and saw, at the distance of about twenty steps, the desired country. A brief time sufficed to set us ashore, and fervently did we thank the benevolent God who had thus far preserved us. My brother being known in these parts, we experienced no difficulty in finding our relations, by whom our reception was exceeding friendly, and we obtained in one way and another, a sufficient provision. My brother made excursions, at several dif- ferent times, into France, for the purpose of collecting intelligence touchingthe condition of my father. These endeavours were, however, in every instance fruitless; nor was this much 32 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. to be wondered at, since he was obliged to con- ceal his presence there from public observation, and our true friends could give him no tidings of the fate of that victim of persecution. In this manner about a year and a half pass- ed away, at the expiration of which period we received a letter informing us that my father had not been convicted of aristocratism, but notwithstanding still remained in close confine- ment. This news, on the face of it, seemed dreary enough, and yet we all derived hope therefrom. He was still alive. The very ar- rival of the letter appeared indicative of good, particularly to the longing ardour of my excel- lent mother, who had suffered severely. I have already said that we had sufficient for our sup- port; but this sufficiency was derived princi- pally from the Christian charity of the humane neighbours. My brother, indeed, having been engaged as assistant by a butcher, contribut- ed his quota to our sustenance. One evening (how perfectly it lives in my remembrance!) we were sitting round the fire- side: the wind was up, lashing forward the torrent of the Rhine, and huge black clouds were discharging from their heavy masses a deluge of rain, when we heard, quite sudden- ly, a knocking at the door. It was opened; and, the joy! my dear father entered. We 33 were mute, from the quick and overpowering revulsion of habitual fear and delayed hope: nor was it until blinding tears had given a pas- sage to our emotion that we were enabled to speak a single word. But then, when the un- locked voice resumed its utterance, how fond- ly were its powers lavished on the stranger! What a store of endearing expressions! What an infinity of questions, scarcely waiting for reply! The best place by the fire was awarded to the beloved object of our solicitude, and happiness sat at the heart of every member of our humble circle. After rest and refreshment, my father com- menced his story. " You know," said he, " that I was carried on a wheelbarrow, like the meanest criminal, to Strasburg. I was in- sulted, not only by the men who escorted me, but by the greater part of the inhabitants of those places through which we passed; never- theless there were not wanting many faces light- ed up by the divine feeling of compassion. At Strasburg, I was immediately thrown into pri- son, where I found a great many other unfor- tunates circumstanced in a similar way. In this state of durance I continued four weeks without any question being put to me. The Court of Justice (alas, miscalled so!) assembled every day. Most of the prisoners were con» 34 victed, few only discharged. At first, the ex- pectation of certain death was fixed in my mind; but by degrees, hope grew up, strengthening itself day by day from the consideration that, had they meant to go to extremities with me, I should have been sooner summoned before their tribunal, as they professed themselves to be furnished with proofs of my pretended guilt At last my day came round, and I was con- ducted to the court. With serene face and ap- proving conscience did I go to meet my accu- sers and judges, for my heart bore me witness that I had demeaned myself as a blameless and good citizen both in the days of the monarchy and in those of the republic. The information against me was read. I was accused therein of having harboured friends of the king and assisted their flight out of France. 1 could not exculpate myself in this point, because, you know, a great many unfortunate royalists had been assisted by me. I knew not what to say. They demanded my defence: upon which I desired the particular facts to be pointed out, and their proofs adduced. These proofs, as I suspected, they were unable to produce, my caution having been uniformly excessive. A number of captious questions were subsequently put to me, to each of which my answer was THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 35 concise, often monosyllabic, — yes or no. 1 never was summoned before the court again. " I beheld neither friend nor acquaintance during the whole term of my imprisonment. This day se'nnight I received my discharge, and hastened home; but, to my inexpressible consternation, found not you, its chief treasures: strangers occupied our dwelling, and you, I was told, had escaped. I lost no time in pro- viding myself with a passport, that I might be enabled to seek you; and here, dear friends, we are met again. All worldly property we have lost, at least for the present: but I trust, by aid of the divine Providence which has given us back to one another, we shall yet see a renewal of prosperous days." Such was the recital of my father, by which we were all animated with fresh courage. We had again amongst us our revered head and protector. It was in our power to return fear- lessly to our native country. The reign of ter- ror had passed; Robespierre, and his deists, were dead or dispersed; and a milder govern- ment had superseded their system of horror and atrocity. After the interval of a few joyful days, my father and brother went home, to try to reco- ver a part of our lost fortune. This separation cost us much inquietude. They departed, ac- 36 the rifleman's comrade. companied by our hearts' best wishes. We followed them with our eyes as long as the organs of vision would avail us; and when we had quite lost sight of them, turned aside to weep — but not such bitter tears as those which ensued upon our first sad parting. When the arrival of my father was known in the little town, a general sentiment of joy appeared to prevail. Almost every body came to congratulate him; and no one came with empty hands. Each brought a present — a less- er or a greater one, according to the power of the donor. After some weeks, our two cherished friends rccrossed the Rhine, and apprised us that they had purchased our house for a small sum; and although my father had not the ready money necessary to complete his bargain, the party with whom he had to deal expressed a willing- ness to trust, as he said, to his honest face. Having packed together every thing which we could call our own, we took leave of the good-natured inhabitants of the country, thank- ed them for the abundant proofs they had ex- hibited of friendship and benevolence, and de- parted with a mingled feeling of pleasure and pain. W r e soon stood on the bank of Germa- ny's watery frontier; and casting a retrospec- tive glance upon the hospitable land we were ♦THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 37 quitting, were speedily wafted to the shores of our native France. At length, the tower of the church of our village rose upon our view, and we quickly afterwards found ourselves there. My brother had gone on before: but joyless was the entrance into our formerly pleasant home: it was quiet, empty, and de- serted. No yard-dog greeted us with loud bayings; no domestic fowl was chirping about. All had been taken away; and amongst the rest, a little pet of my own, a tame kid, which I had left behind, and the loss of which was to me matter of serious grief. The few things we had brought with us relieved us, at first, from a good deal of embarrassment. My father felt extremely gratified when, af- ter a few days' interval, one of his old acquaint- ance spaid us a visit, and, calling him aside, put into his hands a purse containing fifty louis d'or, with these words: — "Here, my friend! take it not ill that I have retained your proper- ty so long; but I would not give it you until I was convinced that you were in a situation to keep it when you had it." My father was at a loss to understand this seeming enigma, since this man had been one of the most furious of the self-called patriots, at the period of his imprisonment. u Friend/' : #* 3a returned he hesitatingly, " I know not what I should think of you." " Think what you please," replied the other, " but I will afford you a clew to this riddle. 1 detested from my soul the horrors which were enacted here and elsewhere; but what could I do? I called to mind the old proverb, — < One swallow makes no summer.' I assumed the deportment of a ' good patriot,' because in that character, and in that alone, I should have it in my power essentially to benefit my friends. When I heard that informations were laid against you, I was accordingly among the first who broke into your house, and commenced the work of spoliation*, and from my know- ledge of the premises, I lost no time in reach- ing the place where your cash was deposited. This I seized on, and have kept unappropriat- ed until now, when the return of security ena- bles me to perceive that I may re-deliver it to you with safety. I pray you let this secret remain unviolated between us." My father was unable to utter a word in reply to this explanation; but he pressed his friend's hand, and his grateful countenance spoke the swelling feelings of his heart. This was a great help to us. Fifty louis d'or was, at that time, an important sum, as the republic paid with assignats, and one louis d'or would ■ THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. '■' 8 often fetch the value of a hundred francs in the paper currency. Cattle were now purchased, together with the instruments necessary in our trade; and the house, after the lapse of four weeks, became as cheerful and commodious as if we had never left it. The French armies passed the Rhine, and victory almost uniformly crowned their ban- ners. The theatre of war was at several pe- riods, in our immediate neighbourhood; but our little town, somehow or other, always es- caped the ravages of plunder. We were, how- ever, occasionally harassed by contributions. The Austrian troops were no strangers to us: but they did not come in sufficient force to do essential injury. My eldest brother was drawn by the conscription; and his lot obliged him to march directly.* His regiment was the sixth of cuirassiers, and he made his first campaign in Switzerland. My parents were rendered disconsolate by this bereavement, since the young man was not only an affectionate son, but an intelligent and an active citizen. They were however compelled to seek consolation in the thought that their own case, far from be- * The laws of the conscription ordained those includ- ed within their operation to draw lots, according- to which, the time was fixed for their entering upon ser- vice, as well as their peculiar destination. 40 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. ing a solitary one, was shared by many other weeping families. Meanwhile, the young soldier, having com- pleted his Swiss expedition, was sent into Italy: his regiment" was concerned in the battle of Marengo, where General Desaix closed a life of heroism by a death of glory. — It subsequent- ly entered Germany, and took part in the bat- tle of Austerlitz. For his good conduct and bravery in this action, my brother was invest- ed with the cross of honour; but he had, to counterbalance this fortune, the ill fate to lose his left leg, which was dashed to pieces by a spent ball. This disabled him from further service, and a pension was settled on him. He therefore returned to us, cured, indeed, but crippled, yet without having been deprived of his natural gaiety of heart and disposition to activity. He procured a wooden leg, which was made with so much dexterity as to hide the deformity consequent upon his loss; and if the substitution was at times perceived, it show- ed that his cross of honour was not bestowed unworthily. In spite of it, he married a very pretty girl, with a considerable fortune, and was thereby enabled to carry on the business to which he had been bred by his father; and he is now living, I am happy to say, in re- spectability and comfort. THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 41 In the year 1806, 1 also was included in the conscription list. In this circumstance there was nothing extraordinary, and yet it operated on me like a thunder-stroke: I said nothing of this feeling to my brother; for he was devoted with enthusiasm to the military profession, of which he spoke in terms almost of inspiration. " Every young man," said he, " who is healthy, and possessed of sufficient strength to bear the inconveniences of the service, ought to repair with ardour to the standard of his country, whenever that country is threatened with dan- ger. I know of no calling so honourable as that of a soldier, who endures, for a slight re- muneration, all the privations and horrors of war; — who, reckless of danger, every day ex- poses his own life for the preservation of his kindred and fellow citizens from the invading enemy. If he falls, he dies the death of glory. Does he become mutilated? — He leaves the scene of his honourable exploits, and carries home with him the esteem of his comrades, receiving there the welcome of affection and respect. " Such were the impassioned observations fre- quently reiterated by my warlike brother; and I would not have advised any one to thwart him when in this excited state. I had always cherished the hope of drawing a free lot, which d 2 42 would have exempted me from service. This hope was now at an end. I drew the number nine, by virtue of which, I, like my brother before me, was compelled to march without delay. My mother was inconsolable; but my father's sensibility had been blunted by renew- ed accessions of evil, and he now shielded him- self with the feeling of indifference. My bro- ther encouraged me; and when I cast my eye on the red riband of the cross of honour which decorated his button-hole, a spark of emulation darted athwart my mind, and 1 felt excited to acquire a similar mark of distinction; an ardour however which was speedily abated on glanc- ing a little lower down upon his wooden leg. Provided with whatever assistance my pa- rents had it in their power to extend to me, I quitted the town with my companions, and an old serjeant escorted us to the place of our des- tination, where I was enrolled in a regiment of infantry, the depot of which was at that pe- riod in Strasburg; and consequently I remained some time in the vicinity of my friends. Here my initiation in the art of war took place. Su- perannuated warriors, themselves past the ca- pability of military service, were our teachers; and these men were the most fitting of any to provide the regiment, from time to time, with efficient recruits. In the beginning of my ca- 43 reer, I imbibed a powerful aversion to the du- ties 1 was subjected to; nor was this without reason; since, during my former residence in Germany, I had frequent opportunities of wit- nessing military exercises, and recollected per- fectly well the brutal treatment experienced by the unfortunate novices at the hand of their task-masters. It was not enough that a recruit was pushed about and insulted: actual chastise- ment was inflicted without remorse; and my compassion was constantly awakened by the sufferings of these poor people, whose only of- fence was awkwardness in performing evolu- tions entirely new to them. But I soon found, to my inexpressible delight, that this system was not followed up by my instructors, who exercised towards their pupils great kindness and forbearance. Their manner of speaking was considerate, nay affectionate, as should be that of every one who proposes to give instruc- tion to others. Accordingly, we returned their kindness with confidence and respect; using all possible endeavours to comprehend and per- form our duties, in order to relieve them, as much as possible, from the trouble necessarily entailed on them. During the whole time of my stay at Stras- burg, my friends at home were in the habit of furnishing me with articles of comfort and con- 44 venience; and thus my residence there was, all things considered, agreeable enough. In the evenings, when we had assembled together, the veterans related to us their former expedi- tions and achievements — not in the spirit of boasting, or to impress upon our minds the hardships of a military life; but in order to lay before their youthful auditors an example of the manner in which they ought to behave themselves when called on for active service. Thus the days passed cheerfully on; and a posi- tive desire was awakened in our hearts to join the ranks of our regiment, in order that we might display to our aged friends how much we had profited by their lessons. The French armies were, at the period of which I speak, in Suabia, Bavaria, and Fran- conia,(«) ready to commence on the instant a projected expedition against Prussia; and our men were eager to receive orders to march thither. But affairs took another turn. The expedition was undertaken and completed without our intervention. Its result was for- tunate for France; and our disappointment was great in being doomed to remain inactive in quarters while these glorious events were go- ing forward. So passed the autumn of 1806. The suc- ceeding year brought with it fresh occurrences. THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 45 Spain called in France as a confederate against England, and the prudent Napoleon made use of this circumstance to further his own peculiar views. For a long while there was a report circulated that we should take part in an ex- pedition to Spain; but it was only a report: the summer passed away, and we were still at Strasburg. Suddenly an order arrived for breaking up our quarters, and in three days time we found ourselves on the road to Paris. We formed a battalion of seven hundred men, the conscripts of the present year being united with us. The march to Paris was the pleasantest I ever expe- rienced in the course of my military life. Our daily journeys were short; the landlords and landladies of the inns on the road were cour- teous and obliging; we had most of us spare money in our pockets; and these advantages, added to the excitement of new scenes, remark- able places, and a beautiful country, combined to render us happy. We were speedily in Paris; and I can scarce- ly express the extent of my wonder at the first view of this noble city, both externally and in- ternally. We were conducted almost close to the Tuilleries; and having been reviewed there by a commissary of war, were sent to occupy an empty barrack in the suburb of St. Ger- 46 the rifleman's comrade. main. Every thing had been provided for our reception. Our stay here was protracted for some days, it being the custom at that time for every detachment of troops to receive a festive dinner before their departure to join the army. The tables were spread in a public place, to enable all the men of the battalion to enjoy themselves in concert. A number of toasts were drunk, which was the occasion of a great deal of amusement; and many comic scenes ensued. After the dinner, I went to look round Paris; and was equally astonished and delight- ed at the variety and splendour of the scenes around me, and at the spirit of life and bustle which seemed to animate the population of the metropolis, thronging in every direction. Coaches were rattling about on all sides; and groups of gay horsemen occasionally diversi- fied the scene. When the time arrived for my return to my quarters, I was obliged to take some trouble in seeking them out; and the same difficulty, I found, had occurred to several of my companions. Every one of us retired to rest, full of gratification and of amazement at the novelties we had witnessed; and the next morning we quitted Paris. We were now certain that Spain was our destination. Many regiments left the metro- 47 polis at the same period, with a similar object. Our route lay through Orleans, where I saw the statue of Jeanne D'Arc, her helm and shield by her side, which is placed in a public part of the town, enclosed by a palisading. This sight called up the memory of past times into my mind, and gave occasion for instituting a comparison between those and the present. We quitted Orleans, proceeded to Limoges, thence into the rich town of Bordeaux, and subsequently to Paul de Dax, remarkable for its hot springs. From this place we proceed- ed to Bayonne, where all appeared full of mili- tary activity, as it was the general rendezvous of the troops destined for the Spanish expedi- tion. The whole army consisted of young conscripts, principally of the current year; not a beard was visible upon the chins of the inci- pient heroes; and hence we were facetiously denominated VJlrm&e des Enfans. Many — many a one of these youths, then full of hope and strength, was doomed to see his native France no more: many were starved in the Peninsula; and no account having been ren- dered of them, are perhaps still expected at home— alas! in vain. 4S CHAP. II. Arrival in Spain — My first night's lodging — Provision for the troops — Biscayan carts — Second night's lodging in Tolosa — Departure from thence — Objects of the ex- pedition — Discontentment of the Spaniards with the French — Our arrival at Madrid, and entrance into that city — Quarrels between our troops and the natives — Commotions in the provinces — National character of the Spaniards — Expedition to Toledo — Revolution of the in- habitants of Madrid, and massacre of the 2d of May. The Grand Duke of Berg (Murat) was general-in-chief of the army of Spain. As soon as he arrived with his staff, orders were given to advance. At the close of the year 1807, we set foot for the first time on Spanish ground. We belonged to the second division of the army, commanded by Gen. Dupont. Another division proceeded, through Spain, into Portu- gal, to occupy and defend it against the English. Although the provisions for the soldiery were none of the best in France, in Spain they were far worse. In the former country every one received the means to furnish his journey with 49 necessary comforts, including a good bed, with blankets and mattresses. However, a soldier should not accustom himself to expect such accommodations; and our first night's lodging in Spain was calculated to put our philosophy to the proof. About four o'clock in the after- noon, Bayonne was behind us; and an hour afterwards night set in. We procured for our- selves flambeaux, which are commonly to be met with; and our column exhibited a regular train of torch-bearers. The march was ex- tremely tedious and inconvenient, from the ir- regularity of the road: but, in spite of all im- pediments, we on the same night effected the passage of the Bidassoa, a little river which separates Spain from France. How different were the manners of the inhabitants on either side of this river! Angry and malicious glances were abundantly cast on us by the Spaniards. A little further on, we came to a small village, at which we halted for the night, the cavalry proceeding a league further, to a somewhat larger place. We received billets for our night's lodging, but they were of no use whatever, since we saw none of the inhabitants, who kept themselves out of the way from want either of courtesy or confidence. At length some of these people were reluctantly dragged forward, and compelled to give the troops both informa- 50 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. tion and assistance. I was fortunate enough, with two of my comrades, to find a comfortable lodging — at least what would be so called in Spain. Our landlord was a wealthy inhabitant of the village, who treated us with the utmost hospitality a Spaniard is capable of showing. Our party consisted of a German, a Spaniard, and two Frenchmen. Each man spoke only his native tongue, and hence our conversation was of the most droll and ridiculous character; since urged by the social principle, every one was anxious to communicate to his neighbour his own wants and observations; and having discovered that this could not be effected by words, looks, signs, and gestures were resort- ed to, often of the most grotesque description, — sometimes understood, sometimes not, and ilmost always giving rise to violent bursts of laughter. Altogether, it was a highly comic scene. Our supper consisted of various Span- ish dishes, by no means wanting in oil and pep- per, — -ingredients used here in an abundance which did not well agree with our taste. But the landlord tempered his repast with a bottle of good Spanish wine, to which we had not the slightest objection. Our bed was of straw, to which our cloaks, &c. formed the blankets and sheets; but our night's rest was dreadfully dis- turbed by a violent draught of wind; although .51 excessive fatigue made even this uncomforta- ble dwelling acceptable. We awoke the next morning with but a slight sense of refreshment, and our limbs were benumbed with cold. We took leave of our landlord, and repaired to the place of rendez- vous. Here we were literally stunned by the exclamations and complaints made by our com- rades of the manner in which they had passed the night. From this time we no longer re-, ceived marching money, in lieu of which ra- tions were substituted, consisting of the usual portion of bread, half a pound of meat, and half a pint of wine. Having arrived at the village already mentioned late in the evening, these rations were not distributed until the following morning before we commenced our march. The wine we drank immediately, not indeed as a matter of choice, but owing to the fact of our being destitute of vessels to carry it in. The meat was cut in pieces and stowed into our knapsacks, and the vegetables which accom- panied it we gave to the poorer inhabitants of the place. Thus provided, we renewed our march. The road by which we travelled over- looked a country of great beauty, leading us alternately over high mountains and through deep valleys. We were met by a great num- ber of Biscayan carts, the motion of which pro- 52 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. duced a sound excessively disagreeable to our ears, owing to their wheels not turning round the axis, but with it, and thence occasioning a grinding and rumbling that jarred to the very centre of our auricular organs. These carts are used throughout the whole district of the Py- renees, being calculated to make way across the very worst roads. Our second night's lodging in Spain was at the town of Toloso. There we were not per- mitted to mix with the inhabitants, but were accommodated in a convent, which had been converted for our reception into barracks. We found plenty of straw wherewith to make us beds — not the most luxurious mode of recum- bency, but by no means to be despised by the followers of martial glory. Rations were served out to us this evening of the same proportion and quality as in .the morning; and in the course of an hour, all our kettles were put in- requisition to boil the meat. We had pease for vegetables; but so craving was our appetite, that neither vegetables nor meat were suffi- ciently dressed. Hunger was in this instance the best cook, and imparted to our humble fare a relish which more costly viands, without it, would have been destitute of. It was really pleasant to observe the manner in which ten or twelve men would congregate round a kettle of THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 53 soup, each armed with his spoon, and all at- tacking it at the same moment. Hilarity and good-humour prevailed: as our appetite sub- sided, we found leisure to concoct and pass round the joke or jibe, careless as to the no- velty or refinement of our pleasantry, and con- tented to enjoy the mirth that was cheaply provided. Supper over, we nestled in our straw, and experienced a far more comfortable slumber than that which attended us the for- mer night. Such was the nature of our daily march. We slept, by turns, in a church or a convent. The strictest discipline was enforced, and the least breach thereof visited with a heavy pun- ishment. The abundant rains which now marked the approach of the wet season deluged the otherwise fine roads with water and mud, and rendered them most inconvenient and slip- pery; the small mountain rivulets which we had to cross were swollen into considerable streams; and many a night we found ourselves without the means to dry our drenched gar- ments. We arrived successively at Mondragon, and Salines; and finally halted at Vittoria, where we were joined by the troops which followed in our route. The object of our expedition into Spain was E 2 54 now made generally known. The French ar- my was destined, in unison with the Spanish troops, to oppose the operations of the English. This at least was the understanding then pre- valent; but the course of events proved how far our government had miscalculated the senti- ments of the people of the Peninsula. Our army consisted of 80,000 men; and after having been reviewed by Murat, proceeded into the interior of the country. Even alrea- dy it became sufficiently apparent that the na- tives cherished a violent hatred for their aux- iliaries; insomuch that, in many places, we per- ceived marks of an outburst of the smoulder- ing fire. This spirit was, however, in the be- ginning, always put down by the strong arm of power, and hence the indignation and dis- trust of the Spaniards increased twofold. We were now in full march towards Madrid; and our movements were hastened in conse- quence of information that several popular commotions had begun to show themselves in that metropolis, instigated by the conduct of Don Manuel Godoy, the Prince of the Peace. Murat, at our head, led us onward through Mi- randa, a town on the Ebro, and through Bur- gos, until the walls of Madrid rose upon our view. 55 The season was extremely unfavourable, the rain falling in torrents. In spite of this, how- ever, we were compelled to remain three days in tents, without the city. I know not what motives influenced the authorities to this course; but at the termination of the three days, the whole of the magistrates came in a body, with the corregidor at their head, and presented to our general-in-chief the keys of the town. Shortly after we entered the capital, with fly- ing colours and resonant music; but scarcely any of the inhabitants greeted our arrival, and those who did lounge about to stare upon us as we passed consisted of the lowest rabble. The fine appearance and consummate discipline of the French troops appeared to excite a feel- ing of admiration, but not one friendly look or exclamation of welcome was extended towards our lines. Individuals of the higher classes occasionally exhibited themselves at the bal- conies; and their dark faces and lowering brows were in perfect harmony with the expression of their humbler fellow citizens. We saw no women whatever, the custom of the country not permitting their free intercourse with men even of their own nation; and it therefore not being to be wondered at that they were sedu- lously kept out of our sight, (b) Our troops were in the first instance, quar- 56 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRAPE. tered partly in empty barracks, and partly in convents, the cloisters of which latter were prepared for their reception, and provided with beds. Meanwhile the king and queen depart- ed from Madrid to Bayonne, whither the Prince of Asturias had preceded them, in or- der to hold the celebrated conference with Na- poleon. This step was very contrary to the wishes and opinions of the people; but like the generality of crowned heads, that of Charles IV. was self-willed and impotent, and he went. This proceeding tended more and more to ir- ritate the minds and tempers of the Spaniards; and the disturbances which had from the be- ginning been habitual between them and our- selves wore every day a more serious aspect. In the public houses, more especially, where the effects of wine aggravated the national jea- lousy, bad words were constantly followed up by hard blows, and blood flowed profusely, gushing out at the stroke of the poniard or at the push of the bayonet. Our officers did all that lay in their power to prevent the recur- rence of these scenes: but their efforts were vain; and instead of decreasing, they grew more and more frequent, the name of Spaniard becoming synonymous with hatred to France and Frenchmen. Assassination by night and insult by day were the agreeable constituents 57 of our life in Madrid; and hence perpetual watchfulness, particularly when the shades of night fell over us, was necessary for the pre- servation of our very existence. Nor was this spirit confined to the metropolis: on the con- trary, every provincial district displayed equal urbanity towards us, and revelled in similar scenes. The genius of revolution was, in truth, busy here, there, every where around; and a moral convulsion of the most appalling kind threatened to engulf us in its destructive con- sequences. On the 27th of April, in the city of Toledo, all restraint was thrown aside, and the flame of discord fairly broke out; in order to extinguish which, our battalion, together with some others, was dispatched thither. But before I proceed with this part of my narrative, I will give the reader as good an idea as close observation en- abled me to form, of the Spanish character. The Spaniard is proud, and thinks himself privileged to regard with supreme contempt the native of any other country: he is extreme- ly vindictive; and having resolved to sacrifice any individual to his revenge, it is with great difficulty his victim can escape. He will trea- sure up his venom from year to year; and when a more generous spirit would imagine the sense of injury had been wholly blunted, will spring 5S tiger like, upon his prey. He is, in the high- est degree, jealous, luxurious, voluptuous; in a word, whatever vices disfigure the human breast are to be found no where so rife as in the bosom of a Spaniard.* Degradingly su- perstitious, he receives for gospel whatever the knavish monks choose to assert, without dar- ing even to question its veracity. Miracles are with him matters of common-place noto- riety; and every church is filled with pictures of saints, who are reported to be very liberal of their intervention. — There is however some brightness on the reverse of the medal. The Spaniard possesses the virtues of sobriety and fortitude. The greatest inconveniences are borne by him with a degree of patience truly admirable; and love of his native land becomes in his breast a sacred principle, as was suffi- ciently manifested in the long peninsular strug- gle against Napoleon, (c) Our route to Toledo led us through Aran- juez, where the splendid summer palace of the king is situated; in a country perfectly enchant- ing, and ten leagues from Madrid. Hence we * The English reader will bear in mind, that it is pro- bable a sense of injury jaundiced the perceptions of the French soldier who wrote this account; nevertheless, in sober sadness, we fear his allegations are in many in- stances but too well founded. 59 proceeded to Ocanias, and from that place on- wards to the scene of revolt. When we ar- rived at Toledo, the greatest exertion was ne- cessary to quell the insurrection. The Spa- niards had armed themselves, and were run- ning in agitation through all the streets of the town; the monks were preaching rebellion; and anarchy reigned throughout the whole city. Several discharges of musketry were levelled by us at the insurgents, and many of them were killed or wounded. This instilled into their minds a sentiment of fear, and produced that kind of quiet which is the result of compul- sion, and only prognosticated further evil, — like the brief suspension of the tempest, while the rack on high is gathering materials for a fresh outbursting. Before our arrival, the houses of the more peaceable citizens had been broken open, and thoroughly sacked; such of their inhabitants as either could not or would not seek safety in flight were poniarded. Here, for the first time, I grew fully acquainted with the feeling experienced by a soldier when in presence of his enemy; and although the ac- tion was not of long duration, several of our men received awkward wounds. We stopped at Toledo for some days, during which period we were pretty comfortably accommodated; 60 and then, leaving a strong garrison behind us, returned to Madrid. The greatest portion of the French army had for some time occupied an encampment round about the capital, and a feeble garrison only- remained withinside the wallsj scarcely suffi- cient, indeed, to occupy the most important stations. The Spaniards availed themselves of this circumstance to hatch a conspiracy, the object of which was to take the French una- wares, and massacre them by wholesale. It was easy to observe that, for a few days past, the population of Madrid had been receiving a considerable reinforcement. A great num- ber of peasants poured into the capital from the adjacent country districts: nevertheless our suspicions were not aroused; and such was the aspect of affairs when the sun uprose on the morning of the fatal second of May. Certain members of the Spanish royal family had projected repairing to France under an escort of our troops. Against this measure, the faces of the people were steadily set; and on the day above mentioned, a furious mob overthrew the sentinels at the royal palace, entered its walls, and poniarded sundry French officers, who were so unfortunate as to fall in their way. This was the signal for universal revolt. The cry "to arms!" resounded through 61 the streets, which were paraded by bands of insurgents, who slew every Frenchman they met. The guards were overpowered, and the residences of several general officers despoiled of every article of value therein. Our little garrison made a most courageous resistance: but what heroism can protract a contest against numbers? They fell covered with wounds and with honour; and meanwhile the host of rebels was hourly accumulating. At length reinforcements arrived from the encampment; and this event soon changed the course of circumstances. The French troops advanced with great celerity. They took no heed of the missiles aimed at them from the balconies, but bore right forward to the assist- ance and rescue of their overwhelmed com- rades. Possessed by a feeling of indignation and rage, they hesitated not to retaliate upon the misguided natives, who in their turn were either shot or struck to the earth, and were very speedily undeceived as to their compara- tive strength. They fled in all directions; but were every where encountered by fresh de- tachments of hostile troops. Is it to be wondered at, that, assailed by treachery and assassination, these men forgot for awhile the sacred emotions of compassion? —They saw nothing but the mangled bodies 62 of their fellow-countrymen; they heard nothing but their agonising shrieks for quarter or for help. — They took deadly vengeance, sparing neither age nor profession. The sanctuary of the churches was invaded, and the penitent at the altar shared the fate of the armed rebel. The sacred stole of the priest was no greater protection from the soldier's mad vengeance, than the sober garb of the citizen. The vest- ments and plate applied to the uses of religion were abstracted without remorse, and the un- hallowed appetite of lust was let loose upon the persons both of matrons and virgins. It is with grief I speak it, but truth compels me to admit that every conceivable atrocity marked the vengeance of the French soldiery. A portion of the insurgents had occupied the arsenal, and taken possession of the arms ac- cumulated there; but their further measures were arrested by the arrival of a French de- tachment, and themselves put to the sword, a few only escaping by flight. Even the unhap- py individuals consigned by sickness to the wards of the hospitals were thrown out of bed and inhumanly lacerated — until, the first ebul- litions of rage having subsided, other detach- ments of troops interposed, and put a stop to the scene of carnage. As the day advanced, the French forces con- S3 firmed to arrive in still increasing numbers. The cavalry scoured the principal streets, over- throwing every thing that presented itself; the infantry pursued a similar course in the lesser ones, and the point of the bayonet pierced alike children often or twelve years, and persons who had arrived at manhood. One of our grenadiers encountered a young woman of high respectability, who, while she held a child on one arm, brandished a poniard with the other hand: he stunned the mother by a blow with the butt-end of his musket, and impaled her infant upon his bayonet. In another place, a Mameluke rode up full gallop, each hand fill- ed with watches, which he held by their chains: " Carrier ade, en voulez-vous une'P 7 — He was answered by each of those who were near him taking one; and thus a very beautiful gold watch fell to my share. Instances similar to the above were common enough. When the Spaniards perceived that their case was desperate, they gave in, and promised submission. But we knew that the seeds of hatred were too deeply sown to pro- duce other than the deadliest fruit; and placing no confidence in their forced subserviency, we stood upon our guard. The sentinels were every where doubled; and a piquet of 1500 men was in daily motion. Thus the inhabitants •*#f 64 of Madrid were kept quiet; but in the neigh- bouring country, armed forces were constantly- assembling: General Caro was put at the head of these, in the province of Valencia: in Anda- lusia, Generals Reding and Castanos took the commnad. Marshal Moncey was dispatched against the Valencian rebels; and General Du- pont against the Andalusian. — And now com- mences the history of my sufferings. 65 CHAP. III. Expedition into Andalusia — Terrible fate of the French captives — Capture of Cordova, and massacre there — Similar occurrences at Jaen — Increasing 1 rage of the Spaniards against the French — Battle of Andujar — Dis- tress of our troops on account of hunger and bad wea- ther — Captivity of the army of Dupont — Treacherous and vindictive behaviour of the Spaniards towards their prisoners — Sojourn of the French captives at St. Lucar and Cadiz — Their transport to Majorca, and abode at Pal ma. On the last day of May, 1808, the corps of General Dupont quitted Madrid, on its march to Andalusia. It consisted of about 17,000 men capable of bearing arms. Our daily orders forbade, under strict penalties, any wrong to be offered to the inhabitants of the country; and General Dupont was uniformly a man of his word. The weather was fine; the distance short; the provision for the troops pretty good : for the most part, however, we were under the necessity of bivouacking at night, and thus came but slightly in contact with the natives. f2 66 We went through the province of La Mancha; crossed, without any difficulty whatever, the gloomy valleys of the Sierra Morena, and ar- rived at Andujar, where the army for the first time halted in order to concentrate itself. No- tice quickly reached us, that several parties of the enemy had collected in front for the pur- pose of intercepting our march; and on the 7th of June we attacked these troops by Alcolea; after some hours' resistance, they were dis- persed, and two pieces of cannon fell into our hands. Another day, when on our road to Cordova, we met with some of our comrades, who had been the preceding day taken prisoners by the Spaniards. But what an appearance did they present! Their eyes were put out; their tongues cut off; their fingers split up; and sundry parts of their body stabbed. Every one who saw them was filled with horror at so appalling a spectacle, and swore to revenge a hundredfold the barbarity with which they had been treat- ed. Quite different had been the usage of the Spanish captives by us: they were provided for well, and sent to their respective homes, the greater part of them being country people, who resided near at hand. At length we reached Cordova. The gates of the town were closed, and we were received with discharges of can- 67 nonand musketry. Every peaceful proposition was rejected, and even the bearers of them in- sulted. The patience of our commander at last gave way, and he ordered a general attack: a battery of twelve-pounders was erected; and a breach made. The sappers, their advance co- vered by a troop of upwards of a hundred sol- diers, burst open the gates, and our forces im- mediately rushed into the town like the im- petuous waves of ocean. Our antagonists con- sisted of about two thousand regular troops, amongst whom were a good many Germans; but their resistance was weak and inefficient, opposed to French warriors who were urged for- ward by rage, without fear either of death or bonds. When in the town, our men dispers- ed, and in small groups ran along the streets overthrowing both citizens and soldiers; and every where round arose the shouts of the con- querors and the cry of the dying victims. Every house was forced open; and all who pre- sented themselves drew down instant destruc- tion. The temples of worship were robbed and profaned in different ways; and the utmost ingenuity exhibited in varying the insults and tortures inflicted upon the unhappy townsfolk. Neither childhood nor old age proved an ex- ception from the prevailing thirst for blood. In short, all feelings of humanity had fled. 6S 1 The town of Jaen shared the same fate, its resistance having been similar. Our soldiers were literally burdened with spoils of gold and silver. The treasures of Cordova and of its churches were in our knapsacks, and many a costly crucifix peeped from beneath their co- vers, the purloiner not having had time to se- cure it more completely. By this conduct, it may be easily imagined that the angry passions of the Spaniards grew more and more inflamed, and only awaited op- portunity to retaliate. No one attached to the French army dared venture beyond the circle of his companions without the consciousness of exposing himself to a death of horrible tor- ture. It is true, that every Spaniard accused of ill-treating a Frenchman was subjected to the severest punishment — exceeding, if possi- ble, his own barbarity: yet, in spite of these examples, their savage vengeance was constant- ly renewed. Their watch-word was (d) Ven- eer o morir por nuestra patria.* So long as the season remained favourable, this kind of life, however unpleasant, might be tolerated. We had lost a great many men in various ways; in open battle, by assassination, by sickness, arising from the Spanish climate, • Let us conquer or die for our country. 69 where, after the hottest summer day, the dews of night fall heavy and cold, proving a great discomfort to us, who were as yet not inured to the privations and sufferings of war. Indeed the most robust men whilst unused to it, are in- capable of bearing the Spanish climate without annoyance. The entire province of Andalusia took up arms. The monks upraised the war-cry f jm the pulpits of peace. Every slain Frenchman was a source of profit to the individual who slew him, and the deed was held to entitle him to heavenly as well as to earthly rewards. Thus our situation became daily more hazardous. We quitted Cordova, and fell back on Andujar, before General Castanos, whose army, doubling ours in number, was in full march against us, whilst another not inconsiderable force was manoeuvring to cut off our retreat. We found no difficulty, however, in dispersing this latter armament. On the 14th of July, General Reding attack- ed us with an army of 18,000 troops of the line, and a strong artillery. The battle was obstinate on both sides, and I saw numbers of my comrades falling around me. Our powder was quickly exhausted, and a fresh supply dis- tributed, on the receipt of which we advanced, raising the much-loved cry of "Vive l'Empe- 70 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. reur!" Night put a stop to the action; and the Spaniards retreated in good order to their old position. Next morning the battle was renewed. We fought with equal bravery as on the preceding day: every inch of ground was disputed; and the shades of evening again fell upon the earth whilst we were pursuing our sanguinary toil. Oi the third day, the 16th of July, the enemy, in order to decide the victory, brought up his whole power; but their best endeavours were rendered unavailing by the good conduct of our troops. The Spanish forces had suffered severely; and we also missed a great proportion of our brave fellows, to whom the inhospitable ground yielded a bloody grave. Numoers were wounded; and the situation of these unfortu- nate men was cruelly wretched. Destitute of careful treatment, their hurts scarcely dressed, they found hardly any shelter from the intole- rable heat of the sun; and in this condition a good many were literally starved, who with average care might have been preserved to do service to their country, and honour to their friends. But misery and want are inseparably linked to the chariot of war: men, it is true, grow accustomed even to these evils; and sel- dom does the soldier look with tenderness upon the sufferings of his comrade, heedless that the 71 following hour may bring to himself a similar fate. When the Spaniards perceived that all their efforts fell short of the mark, they desisted from further violence, and the general state of the country became more tranquil. This quiet however was to us but temporary; for after awhile appeared another foe, of a character far more formidable, and a contention with whom was likely to be attended with still greater hor- rors. Whilst the fruits of the earth continued tolerably plentiful, its produce rendered us elate, and restrained all disposition to repining: but when our protracted sojourn, added to the ravages of war and the licenses of excess, had exhausted the kindly supplies of nature, then approached the grim fiend hunger. Many a day did we pass without receiving a morsel of bread, being restricted to a small portion of meat accompanied with wretched soup, and at length, even this provision likewise ceased, and we were compelled to resort to whatever sub- stitutes fell in our way, among which may be enumerated the herbs which grew uncultivated in the open fields. By this kind of living, every description of malady was successively intro- duced amongst us, and a necessity arose for sundry medicines, with which we were wholly unprovided, our field-dispensaries having fallen 72 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. into the hands of the Spaniards during our passage through the Sierra Morena. From these causes, our army decreased rapidly; yet, in spite of all, and in the midst of every other deprivation, we were not abandoned by the principle of courage; much of our fortitude being doubtless owing to the circumstance of each man suffering not solitarily, but in com- mon with his companions. Our brigade, commanded by General Wedel, was ordered to march to La Carolina; and in the mean time, General Dupont was again en- gaged in battle with General Reding, upon whose army he made several desperate attacks; but the Spanish chieftain would not yield, and eventually Dupont found himself so situated as to be induced to capitulate. Of these events, General Wedel had no knowledge at the time of their occurrence: he therefore descended from the mountains upon a Spanish corps, which he attacked, making prisoners of a whole regiment, together with two pieces of cannon: but not being in sufficient force to protract the combat, we fell ba^k into our strong holds, and were there encountered by another division of the enemy; and thus unequally opposed, we also had no alternative but to lay down our arms. The French forces thus compelled to surren- der, consisted of 14,000 men, 3,000 having 73 been previously killed or wounded. Our situa- tion had become so exceedingly irksome, that this capitulation seemed likely to improve our prospects rather than the contrary. The terms of it were to disarm ourselves, and then to be sent back to France; but let us see how this latter stipulation was observed. No sooner had we grounded our arms, than the Spaniards broke in on us, and murdered in cold blood our defenceless people. Then hos- tile generals, it is true, interposed, and used every possible means to quell this diabolical spirit, but in vain. The ill-starred men who thus fell victims to treachery met death under every variety of torture: some were pierced with numberless stabs; others taken and burnt alive; in short, all the horrors of Cordova were revived, and put in execution against us. When glutted with carnage, they took breath- ing time; and the remainder of our hapless troops were left to indulge the melancholy an- ticipation of a similar fate. The day passed by, and no food was distributed to us; so that we began to suppose starvation was the doom for which we were reserved. The keen pangs of hunger overcame, in us, even the horror of our brutal oppressors, and we implored them, in piteous accents, to give us wherewithal to eat; but our petitions only awakened their de- 74 the rifleman's comrade. rision. Several men fell down from exhaus- tion; and these were at once dispatched either with the bayonet, or by a deadly blow from the butt-end of the musket. We were finally conducted back to Cordova, which we had be- fore entered in the character of proud victors; and scarcely could a more wo-begone and withering spectacle be presented than that of- fered by our ranks. On our arrival in the city, more sufferings awaited our forlorn bands. The infuriated po- pulace rushed upon us like tigers, and indi- viduals were here and there plucked from the line, and literally cut into pieces. Our escort opposed but little resistance to this lawless spirit: they for the most part entrenched them- selves in stony-hearted apathy; and even had it been otherwise, they did not possess suffi- cient strength to preserve our security, invad- ed as it was by persons of all ranks and all ages. The agonizing throes and convulsive gestures of expiring nature were gazed on with savage exultation, and human charity appeared to have given place to the devilish temper of the cannibal. Even one of their own country- men, a soldier in the ranks of our escort, was struck down in my sight because he had wrap- ped himself in a French coat, being destitute of any other. His comrades interfered, but 75 to no purpose: the man was mercilessly butch- ered. No time was now lost in conveying us to various places of strength; but these were im- mediately surrounded by our blood-thirsty enemies, and nothing but the solid walls, and a newly-awakened vigilance on the part of our escort, saved our exhausted remnant. Happy were we — comparatively happy — when we found ourselves out of this detested town. Our columns were severally dispatched along different roads; and in each direction were we met by armed bands, and saw the na- tives undergoing military exercises; whilst the dreadful cry of Matomos los Franceses!* rung in our ears. It had been promised that we should em- bark at Barameda de San Lucar, in order to reach our native France, and the prospect of shortly escaping out of this land of slaughter animated our minds with a sort of fearful hope. Before this longed-for period occurred, how- ever, new sufferings were in store for us. In pro- portion as our distance from Cordova increas- ed, the hazard of immediate death grew less and less imminent; but to counterbalance this comfort, we were more and more exposed to • Kill the Frenchmen! 76 the insults of our escort, who renewed their own barbarity as soon as other dangers were removed. They permitted us not to deviate one step out of the line, even to satisfy any pressing want; and in the night we were coop- ed up in ruinous buildings filled with loath- some vermin, being fed upon bread and water, and this in stinted quantities. Our numbers thinned rapidly. Fatigue and insufficient provision rendered many incapable of rising to renew their march after the night's halt, and" dawn exhibited to us the stiffened limbs of such as death had released from fur- ther earthly trouble. The survivors were gaunt and emaciated; and frequently on our ghastly march a poor fellow would drop to earth in the extremity of weariness and despair. No effort was made to assist these sufferers, who were either left behind to perish, or bayonet- ted on the spot. It is impossible to tell how many were thus lost: in fact, it seemed to be the intention of the Spaniards to extirpate us altogether. At length we arrived at San Lucar. Hope, ever an active principle of the human breast, worked busily in us even yet. We said to each other, " Surely our misery will now find a termination!" but no, our enemies had not filled up the measure of their atrocity. We 77 were thrown some of us into prison-ships, others into stinking casemates.* The extremity of anguish by which we were now overwhelmed exceeds all powers of description, but may be imagined by the benevolent mind. With scarce power enough to crawl to our detestable dungeons, many reached them only to lie down and die broken-hearted; nor should these be considered unhappy, since they were taken from the evil to come. My lot was cast in one of these putrid casemates, where poison- ous dews constantly distilled from the walls, which excluded effectually the free air and sweet light of heaven. Unwholesome and dis- tasteful bread, accompanied by about four ounces of horse-beans and a little rancid oil, formed the materials of our wretched fare — so wretched, that it was in many instances re- fused even by men fainting with weariness and famished with hunger. Hence the ravages of disease were spread in every direction amongst us; and it was not until death hovered over the heads of the sufferers that they were removed to the hospitals, — which removal in- deed was scarcely a change for the better. Still hope did not quite forsake us, although * A term used in fortification, and designating a sub- terraneous or covered archwork. G2 78 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. it was sadly dashed by the taunts of the towns- people, who frequently visited in order to re- proach us. They seemed to regard us actually as monsters, and said that it was in vain for us to expect ever to tread again upon French ground, as a large reinforcement of our coun- trymen were in the act of marching to Ma- drid, but would be resisted by the brave Spa- niards under the command of Castanos, Pala- fox, and others, who would quickly beat them back again. In spite of these vauntings, however, the French troops a second time found the way to Madrid, penetrated into all the recesses of the Peninsula, and finally occupied the coasts. Of these events we were kept in ignorance: but we could observe, from the nature of the pre- parations constantly going on, and which we were compelled to take part in, receiving abun- dant stripes for our recompense, that the boast- ed superiority of our task-masters was merely ideal. Our situation was after a while altered, and we were sent to Cadiz, the Spaniards not con- ceiving San Lucar to be a place of sufficient se- curity. Such among us as were at all able to endure the fatigues of the journey were dis- patched on foot, and the remainder on board Spanish vessels. In every town through which 79 the former division passed, we saw military exercises in use, and preparations made for the hostile reception of our countrymen. Having reached Cadiz, we found our treat- ment still more oppressive than at the place we had quitted, although we had an opportu- nity of watching more distinctly the course of events. We were again confined in prison- ships, and liberated galley-slaves were set over us as guards; and it should seem that they had been selected on the principle of infamy and ruffianism, for never did 1 elsewhere encounter such depraved wretches. As soon as we had got on board these ves- sels, we were counted like so many cattle when driven into their stables. Each place of rest was made to contain six men; so that when once laid on our backs, we had no room to en- able us to change our position either to the right or left; and, as may be easily conceived, the pestilential effluvia arising from so many bodies thus huddled together was offensive in the extreme, rendering the atmosphere of the ship quite putrid. Vermin were generated by thousands; and such was the climax of wretch- edness and disgust which oppressed me, that with fervent sincerity I implored the interven- tion of the destroying angel. The least offence conceived at our behaviour on the part of our 80 masters occasioned the exercise of unrelenting severity. No slave — no brute animal, could receive harder treatment at the hands of his owner than did we, who partook of the same common nature with our oppressors, and were born as free as they. A great many of my harassed companions sought refuge from mise- ry by plunging into the sea; others resorted to a different mode of self-destruction; others again perished under the hands of the medical prac- titioners, 'who, fiend-like, are said to have, in several instances, drugged their patients with poisonous instead of healing draughts, thinking perhaps that our hapless comrades presented proper subjects on whom to work experiments. The reader w T ill easily imagine that the va- rious causes which I have mentioned had re- duced in a woful degree the number of those troops who had originally laid down arms; and yet the minister of fate availed himself of ad- ditional instruments. Worn out as we were, whilst the principle of life remained, the de- sire of freedom was co-existent with it, and goaded to desperation, we formed several con- spiracies against our tyrants which were uni- formly discovered, and as uniformly punished with death. These victims were brought to the fore-part of the vessel, where, confronting THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. Si the shadowy king, they met his rude embrace without a murmur. In one instance, however, fortune smiled upon a party of our fellow-sufferers, who to the number of thirteen men and some officers, escaped in a boat, eluding the vigilance of their guards. I know not if they were ultimately saved, having from that day to the present never received any intelligence of their fate. An offer was now made to such of us as yet stubbornly contested with our destiny to enter as recruits into the Spanish army! The advan- tages of the service was insisted on with great vehemence, in the hopes of thus inveigling from us our consent; but their advances were universally rejected with contempt. Not one man amongst us could be found willing to brand his name with infamy by associating with the murderers of his comrades. Meanwhile the French forces entered An- dalusia, and were reported to be advancing upon Cadiz. We were consequently removed from the prison-ships into smaller vessels, in order to be conveyed to a more distant port, but whither we had not the least idea, since none of us Yvere permitted to come upon deck, on peril of being instantly struck down; the only exceptions to which rule were in favour 82 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. of those who performed the menial offices in- dispensably necessary amongst us. After a voyage of eight days, during which the sailors were constantly offering up prayers for fair weather and favourable winds to the Holy Virgin, (e) who by the bye appeared quite regardless of their supplications, a stiff gale carried us into, the harbour to which we were bound; a fact, the knowledge of which was com- municated to us by the dropping of the anchor and the furling of the sails; and these matters having been arranged, we were suffered to emerge from below, twelve at a time, in or- der to enjoy a little fresh air. It can hardly be imagined of what service this indulgence prov- ed to us, accorded as it was for a very brief in- terval only; — since, that all might in turn be accommodated, each party was obliged to creep back to their den after the lapse of three quar- ters of an hour. The hatches, however, were thrown open, and other means taken to purify the ships from the putrid effluvia, which might otherwise have occasioned an epidemic; and from this circumstance we derived considera- ble comfort until, upon evening closing in, we were again pent up and subjected to the same annoyance as before. Two days we continued on board these ves- sels; at the expiration of which period we were 83 put ashore, and pressed the soil of Majorca, one of the Balerean islands. We entered Palma, its metropolitan town, and here our specula- tions were excited as to what new adventures should be in store for us. We had done with fear; it was impossible our condition could be rendered worse and life retained. We were thrown into an old barrack, whose thick and gloomy walls reverberated no sigh; and here, shut out from human observation, our bitter groans were uttered to the ear of Heaven alone. Our garments scarcely sufficed to cover nakedness, hanging about us in rotten shreds, and swarming with vermin, which we ineffec- tually endeavoured to extirpate, and to the ge- neration of which the air and climate of Spain appear particularly prone. 84 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. CHAP. IV. Further stay at Palma — Passage to Cabrera — Sojourn of the captives there — Terrible famine, and its conse- quences — Domestic and political condition of the cap- tives — Levies of the Spaniards and English amongst them. The endeavours of the Spaniards to induce us to enter their ranks were often repeated: but, notwithstanding the desolate state to which they had reduced us, we were firm in our re- jection of their offers, and at length they ceas- ed from troubling us on the subject; but, lest our morsel of food should be eaten for nothing, we were compelled to work for the government: sometimes we laboured in the dock-yards, and sometimes in the construction of new batteries. These modes of employment were not desti- tute of advantage, since the exercise and the fresh air were calculated to benefit our languid frames, although they, at the same time, most inopportunely sharpened our appetites. We were also thus enabled to make the acquaint- THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 85 ance of a great many German soldiers, who belonged to the Swiss regiments which were here in garrison, and amongst these were se- veral who compassionated our forlorn state, and my own in particular. Frequently were they compelled to overlook us while at work; and when the dinner-hour arrived, these hu- mane men gave us a portion of their small al- lowance; in which act of kindness, also, I was distinguished by them, to the no small jealousy of my companions, whom, in truth, I could not therefore blame. Owing to this good treatment, my health began to be re-established, and the vital energy invigorated. But such a happy state of things did not continue; the Spanish junta having doomed for all French prisoners another place of abode. In a southern direction from Majorca lies the island of Cabrera,* so called because during the season at which it is favourably visited by the rays of the sun, and consequently productive of herbage, flocks of goats and sheep are sent there to feed by the inhabitants of the adjoin- ing Spanish coasts. When, however, either the heat becomes so intense as to dry up the pasture, or inclement winter, with his de- * Cabrera, it is perhaps scarcely necessary to say, is derived from the Latin word capra, a goat. H 86 nizens of frost and snow, reigns over the fields, the desolate little tract is wholly deserted both by man and beast. At the time of which I speak, it happened to be quite destitute of in- habitants, the indolence of the Spaniards in- clining them to prefer a more fertile spot. Such was the place selected as the ultimatum of our destination, in the view that we might there drag out the remainder of our days in destitution and exile. The first division dis- patched hither, amongst whom I was myself included, amounted to some few thousands, the miserable remnant of General Dupont's fine army, the remainder of which were either dead, lying in Spanish hospitals, or dispersed in other ways. We were cast upon the shore in like manner as one of their herds of goats might have been: a guard of Spaniards was set over us; and each man received a supply of bread and vegetables designed to last him seve- ral days. At first, this change of circumstances wore to us an agreeable aspect; we might, at least, wander in the open country wherever we chose; but the cold air soon reminded us, and in no gentle way, of our want of shelter. The ground was bare and desert, a few sprouts of grass only here and there peeping out from the clefts of the rocks which had protected them 87 from the snow-storms. Low shrubs sprung up at distant intervals, from which occasional- ly a bird was seen to start timidly, as if terror- stricken at the unwonted approach of man. Vaulted by the broad sky alone, and clipped in by the sterile ocean, we seemed to be buri- ed alive. The garrison were lodged in a bar- rack surrounded by palisades; and as escape appeared to be impossible, they grew quite heedless of our movements: several English vessels were besides cruising near the island, every moment ready to be called in for our de- struction in case of the least signs of revolt. The first night we managed as well as possi- ble, and on the succeeding day assembled in parties, to debate on means for providing lodg- ment. The first step taken was to break up the underwood and to collect dry leaves. The thick ends of the shrubs were used to stave in- to the earth in the capacity of rough pillars; but as we were unprovided with tools, our pro- gress was slow and painful; and blood perpetu- ally exuded from our fingers and nails. This suffering, however, was held lightly, since it was ourselves, and not our hated task-masters, for whom we laboured. Our intention was, to establish our new colony not far from the sea, near a spring, the only one to be found on the island, but of which the water was brackish in 88 the rifleman's comrade. taste: so valuable, nevertheless, was it to us, that we proposed to visit with severe punish- ment any of our body who should taint it with impurity. To this law the greater portion vo- ciferously consented, while a few heard it in sullen silence. We had no lack of drinking- vessels, and many a one amongst us still retain- ed his military cap, applying it to the purpose of carrying water to the buildings. In a short time, all was activity. Some of us were incessantly employed upon our structures; others seeking stones upon the sea-shore which might be converted into rude instruments. Our barracks were erected at proper distances one from another; so that to each household was appropriated a piece of ground, which subsequently, when our arrangements were in a more advanced state, proved of the greatest utility. But there were a few amongst us who took no care for the future, running about wildly, without purpose, like so many savages, and filling their stomachs with any substance, how- ever indigestible, they could procure. These mistaken men were all, within a short period, smitten by the arrow of death. Summer passed away, and autumn found our works advanced; and we really experienced a sensation of happiness when on the close of 89 evening, we retired to rest and sleep upon our leafy couches. Suddenly, however, this interval of peace was broken in upon by a new and fear- ful accident. We had hitherto received our provisions for four days at a time; but it was not uncommon, among thriftless individuals, to see the whole consumed in as many hours, and the remaining period was given over either to the pangs of hunger or to a chance supply. A storm, which lasted an entire week, prevented vessels both from leaving the opposite coast and reaching Cabrera, and consequently there ensued a suspension of our supplies. Daily was the shore thronged with people on the look-out for the arrival of some boat which might rescue us from this dreadful situation; and the weak eyes of the half-starved wretches mistook eve- ry giant-wave for the hoped-for treasure. Each little white cloud on the horizon bore the sem- blance of a sail, until delayed hope made sick the hearts of our unfortunate band. We ran to and fro — to the barracks — to the rocks — to the shore — in search of something wherewith to satisfy our craving hunger, but nothing was to be found. We resorted at length even to the grass and dust of the earth, wherewith to an- swer the wants of nature; but such things pre- senting no nutriment, they still pressed upon us. A great many died, and we buried them h 2 90 THE RIFLEMAN^S COMRADE. immediately in the sea, in the horrible dread that, were their bodies to remain before us, the savage longings of the cannibal would arise in our hearts. A cuirassier was, in fact, killed, for the actu- al pupose of consuming his carcass, by a Pole, who was in the act of extracting the entrails, when he was discovered by the Spaniards, in- formed against, and shot. After sentence had been pronounced upon him, he confessed that he had previously done the same by two other of his comrades. At last, the angry heavens cleared up, and the help which had been so ardently implored came to us. We were all eager to reach the harbour; the provisions were divided without loss of time, and almost as instantly devoured. Our voracity was so keen that the food was swallowed almost without mastication, and hence the indigestible mass produced in several instances immediate mortality: but so far from feeling any concern hereat, our masters appear- ed to rejoice at every occurrence of this kind, which left them less to provide for. A magazine was now constructed for con- taining a week's provisions, lest a repetition of the former disaster should embarrass the gar- rison itself. — Thus the winter went over our heads, and with it much of the gloom and dis- THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 91 tress which preyed on us, although their re- membrance can never be obliterated from our minds. Indeed, if the season had not been mild comparatively with those experienced in other parts of Europe, I think every individual of us must have perished : as it was, the degree of frost which did occur was sufficiently bitter and irritating to poor wretches with scarcely a rag to cover them from its sting. ' In the course of the preceding autumn we had gathered together an abundance of dried hay, and had found sometimes, on the shore, a little wood, but not in quantities large enough to keep up comfortable fires. The horse-beans distributed to us were roasted in the glowing ashes, since we possessed no vessels wherein to boil them: in watching this process, our bodies likewise became scorched and smoked, and were hardly distinguishable, in places, from those of black men: but the spring imparted to all new life and activity; and our colony re- ceived an accession of strength from the arri- val of fresh prisoners, who were brought over in English vessels. Some of these men had not, like us, lost every thing, but still retained sup- plies both of clothes and money. Many vacan- cies had been occasioned in our different house- holds by the inroads of death, and these were filled up by the new-comers, each of whom was 92 obliged, on joining us, to contribute, either in garments, cash, or some other thing of value, to the general stock, which articles were appro- priated to the poorer members of each party. When the Spaniards perceived that there was a little money amongst us, many members of the garrison commenced a small trade in bread, cheese, tobacco, and other matters, to us, of luxury. This gave animation to the colony; and several amongst us began to barter for various kinds of seed, saving likewise some of our horse-beans, and proceeding to cultivate our enclosures: hence quarrels arose as to the division and subdivision of this ground, and arbiters were chosen to compose these differ- ences. Thus were the germs laid of future police and courts of justice. Our endeavours to make the most of our land were happily crowned with success. Our beans came up in the most kindly way; and after this prosperous experiment, we proceed- ed to plant tobacco, and comforts accumulated around us. A newly-arrived member of my barrack did a good deal for the enlargement of our conve- nience: he was a German from Brunswick. H s had been in the military service of Westphalia; had made a good deal of booty in Spain, and had been fortunate enough to keep 93 a considerable portion of it. He had been sta- tioned near Barcelona, and spoke largely of the bravery of the French troops, and of their suc- cess. A gold piece of eight dollars which this man paid us as entrance-money was put to the best purpose, since it not only procured for us several articles of comfort, such as blankets, &c. but likewise fresh supplies of seed; and with the overplus which remained we bought bread, whereon we banqueted in honour of the founder of the feast. Since the terrible event of the provision- boat's non-arrival, we had taken care to guard against a recurrence of such danger. We no longer, as formerly, ate our meals in solitude, but clubbed our supplies together, and dined, each household, in concert: hence all waste was prevented, and the common stock held out until the appointed day of replenishment. Sub- sequently the little enclosure to which my party played husbandmen, furnished us with more produce than we could have possibly anticipat- ed, and enabled us either to afford assistance to our neighbours, or to barter our superabundance in exchange for other commodities. Each individual applied himself to the manu- facture of some necessary article or implement of trade. This attracted the notice of the in- habitants of Palma, who came over, and fre- 94 quently made little purchases, thereby encour- aging our industry, and rendering our prison- colony daily more wealthy and animated. Every where around were spread the seeds of cheerfulness and activity, and it now became possible to distinguish the rich from the poor. Very few suffered privation of any sort; and even in those instances, it arose from their own want of energy and application. The Spaniards themselves took pleasure in the observation of our increasing prosperity. The temptations formerly held out to us to enlist in foreign service were now renewed, both by the Spaniards and English, almost every week. They remarked that in no other way were we likely to get free from this irk- some captivity, because the war was carried on with the greatest obstinacy on either side. A great many were thus won over, including the larger part of our household: but I and my friend II s continued inflexible, although his service of Napoleon had been quite com- pulsory. Our barrack became by degrees so deserted, that at length we found ourselves alone in it, still pursuing, however, our usual avocations, and feeling tolerably easy. The plan we decided on was to admit no new com- panions, but to keep ourselves as quiet and un- disturbed as possible. Our conversation oft- >€* 95 en turned upon the subject of our respective homes; and particularly when, on a fine eve- ning, we sat upon the turf-seat in front of our barrack, and watched the broad sun declining below the horizon. This is a period especially harmonising with pensive thought; and our minds would at such times wander to far dis- tant scenes, and commune in imagination with those who, we doubted not, were cherishing for us the same sentiments of affection — the same yearnings of soul. Two years did we go on thus; during which period we saw a good number both come and go, and many were removed by death. Few lived so regularly, so sociably, and consequent- ly so happily, as ourselves. Some who were too idle to establish and keep up a regular house- hold, were to be seen running about without home or occupation, and almost naked, in dif- ferent parts of the island — suffering, alternate- ly, the extremes of heat and cold, and becom- ing finally occupiers of a premature grave. 1 have already mentioned that, to ensure the preservation of order, and prevent dishonesty, we had constituted certain umpires over us. These were selected from amongst the oldest and most prudent of our comrades; and subse- quently their authority was more firmly esta- blished, and recognised by every individual 96 the rifleman's comrade. upon the island: it was only the most harden- ed criminals that we delivered over to the ten- der mercies of the Spanish garrison. Other arrangements of similar utility were gradually introduced; as, for instance, constables or watchmen, to overlook every thing, and main- tain decorum both by day and night. Every owner of property was compelled to take guard in turn, and was held answerable for all the mischief perpetrated during his watch. We also established a regular market for negotiating the sale or exchange of vegetables or other matters: wine-shops were likewise opened. The Spaniards, seeing us thus caring for the good of our bodies, thought it became them to take heed of our souls; and a priest was de- puted to exercise the offices of religion in our colony. This man possessed, however, no- thing clerical but his garb: he strove to insult, to disgrace, and to crush us. His opinions were exceedingly liberal, inducing him to con- fine the favours of Heaven to his own country- men only, and to denounce us to everlasting perdition because we happened to belong to other nations. In fact, the poor wretch ap- peared to be so bigoted and ignorant, that he fairly moved our compassion. I will just men- tion, as an instance of his method of consoling his flock, that upon being once asked when THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 97 we were likely to be delivered from this cap- tivity, he replied, stamping his stick into the ground, " When this stick shall bring forth leaves, and not before." On another occasion he was more pious, and equally benevolent. We implored his influence to procure us some raiment, of which we were in sad want. His answer was: " Consider the lilies of the field, — they neither sow nor reap, yet our Heaven- ly Father provideth for them;" and so saying, he turned on his heel, and walked off. Never- theless, we derived some comfort from his mass-reading on the Sundays, which the whole of the prisoners duly attended. 98 the rifleman's comrade. CHAP. V. I grow weary of our life in Cabrera, and therefore ca- pitulate with the English — I take leave of our prison- island, and embark for Spain — Arrival at Tarragona — View of Corsica and Sicily. Three years had passed, and yet no pros- pect of the recovery of our liberty. My old comrades, who had originally borne me com- pany to Cabrera, were all dispersed. Many had died broken-hearted: others, tired of this monotonous life, had taken service in the ranks of the Spaniards or English. At length my friend and I grew weary likewise of our pro- tracted durance, and resolved to take the first opportunity of getting employment: we sick- ened, however, at the idea of taking part with the Spaniards, and therefore lay out for pro- curing an engagement in some English regi- ment, nor was it long before means presented themselves. We received four guineas earnest- money, with the stipulation that we should either serve seven years, or be discharged six months after the conclusion of peace. THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 99 We sold our barrack and the adjoining fields to the highest bidder, and spent the piastres which were paid for them in making merry on the occasion of our departure, and drinking farewell to those we left behind. Even this desolate place had spots endeared to us by habit, and which recalled the memory of peace- ful, if not happy hours; and we bade adieu to many a little nook wherein we had lain and soothed ourselves with the thoughts ef home. Sorrow and suffering had been busy with us during our abode in Cabrera; yet we set about leaving it with heavy hearts and sad faces. A boat came to conduct us to the English frigate; but before we entered it, a new suit of clothes was given to each of us, consisting of a shirt, a pair of shoes, a woollen jacket, and a military cap. We sprang into the sea, cleans- ed our persons with sand, bounded lightly out again, and dressed ourselves. Never did I experience sensations so perfectly delightful as those which followed this replenishment of the outer man. A voluptuous irritation, if I may so express myself, spread over my whole frame, and did not subside for several days: — each recruit received, besides, three Spanish pias- tres in advance of pay. We leaped into the boat, gave once more to our comrades and to Cabrera an eternal fare- 100 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. well, and glided gently over the tranquil waves towards the frigate, which we reached in a quarter of an hour: directly we were put on board, she got under way. How different was my situation to that when last I travelled over the briny element! We were now permitted to stay upon deck, and to feel the enjoyment of a sea voyage in favourable weather. The keel of our vessel cut its way swiftly .through the waves; and in thirty-six hours, during which we were once or twice in pursuit of other ships, we arrived at Tarra- gona. During this short passage, all of us were quite well and comfortable: we had hammocks to sleep in, and our food was wholesome and nourishing, although not exactly plentiful enough to satisfy our voracity, excited by pre- vious privation and the bracing sea air; but it must be remarked, to the honour of the English service, that those engaged in it are very well provided for. The ship was of fifty guns, and had one hundred and fifty hands on board: or- der and cleanliness reigned in every part: every thing was executed with the utmost precision: it was really delightful to behold so much regu- larity. The sailors appeared to revel in the plenitude of health and strength, and were all neatly dressed and perfectly clean — presenting 101 a striking contrast to the squalid filth of the Spanish sailors, who were ever and anon pray- ing or counting their beads, (f) Having landed at Tarragona, we were con- ducted to the English depot, where we became attached to a battalion of the German Legion, then in Sicily. We remained in-Tarragona about four weeks, and lived in very pleasant style all the time, our allowance being sixpence a day, with a pound of bread and a pint of wine, the best Alicant being to be purchased for about twopence* a bottle. At the conclusion of the above-mentioned period, arrived a fleet of transport- vessels from Sicily, having on board provisions and other necessaries for the British forces in Spain. The convoy speedily returned with wounded and sick soldiers, and on board one of the vessels we were placed. We did not feel here so much at our ease as in the frigate; in the latter we were considered somewhat as passengers; but now the strictest discipline was observed, and the most trivial fault severely punished. The mariners were, for the greater part, merry and kind-hearted, but rough people, full of frolic whilst the wind was favourable and they had no occasion to work. * " Seven krenzer," a German coin, thirty-six of which make an English shilling-. 12 102 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. As soon as we became a little acquainted with our new service, we were obliged to watch in company with the sailors, for the preserva- tion of order. The use of water, in so short a voyage, not being restricted, every one was at liberty to drink as much as he chose: but to waste it, by washing therewith, or other wan- ton expenditure, was decidedly forbidden: it was therefore necessary to guard the casks which contained this precious fluid. For several days we scudded before a fa- vourable breeze; piercing the brine as an arrow cleaves the air: but subsequently the sky be- came obscured, thunder-clouds hung overhead, and a storm was evidently approaching: the sea-birds screamed about the masts, and shoals of dolphins floated past our bark, frisking and leaping with unusual glee. We redoubled our caution, binding the sails together, closing the port-holes, arranging the pumps, and low- ering the topsails. The ocean grew more and more agitated, — the heavens more and more threatening, — the gale tempestuous. Our cap- tain was full of activity. He was here — there — everywhere; and devoted no small attention to the veering of the compass. Our labouring ship was now hurled to the summit of the giant billows, and again sunk into the " trough of the sea;" now thrown on one of her sides, now on THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 103 the other: sometimes a wave broke right over the deck, and drenched all upon it. — I myself was struck down by such apne whilst sitting astern, close by the rudder; it washed me with it to the other side of the vessel, where I lay deprived of all sensation, and half drowned, until another blow brought me again to my senses, thereby enabling me, whilst rolling across the deck, to seize hold of one of the guns. The bad weather continued to rage, with more or less violence, for some days, and our situation grew extremely critical, because we were not far from shore, and were therefore in great apprehension from the breakers. The mariner, whilst he has plenty of sea-room, feels little anxiety during a storm, presuming ihis ship to be sea-worthy and his tackle good; and hence it is that few vessels are lost in deep water. Eventually, the atmosphere cleared up, but the swell continued tremendous, which, as is well known, sometimes produces still greater hazard than the preceding storm, the water be- ing left to its own angry mood without coun- teraction of any other element. In a short time we came in sight of the steep shores of Corsica. We sailed through the channel Bonifacio, and in a few days afterwards were steering between Sicily and the Italian peninsula. We were enchanted with the view 104 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. of the Sicilian fields, concerning the beauty of which the sailors, amongst whom were some rmans, discoursed largely, exciting a keen desire in us to witness the country they so highly praised. 105 CHAP. VI. Observations concerning- Spain — Madrid and its inha- bitants — Scenes in the streets of that metropolis — Water- carriers — Swiss in the Spanish service — Attendance in the hotels — Mule-drivers and coachmen — Living of the Frenchmen there — Buildings — Scenes of horror — Bull- fights — Bridge of Toledo — City of Toledo. I never, after this period of my life, revisit- ed Spain, and will therefore, ere I quit the subject finally, make the reader acquainted with the peculiarities of those of its towns in which I made some stay. Madrid and Toledo were the two places which came chiefly under my observation. In the first, my lodging was near the Puerta del Sol, — a spot, the vicinity of which is noted for bringing together persons of the most opposite grades of society; fashionables and plebeians — good and bad — busy and idle — women of vir- tue and women of pleasure — bigots and bawds — are to be seen parading here at different hours of the day. On one hand you are ad- dressed by a bustling prig of a barber, who of- fers his services for a few quartos, and while 106 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. .# ' you are undergoing them, proposes to you a fdle-de-joie. On the other, you are accosted by a broker, who wishes to know if you will sell your great coat, promising to pay handsomely and holding the money in his hand. Anon, you become aware of some one dodging your steps; and turning round, perceive an old wo- man, who, with a look of mystery, whispers to you the virtues of some dozen of her nymphs, declaring them to be fairer and purer than " Our lady of Atocha." Priests implore alms for the poor in the name of the Deity, casting at the same time lustful glances towards every pretty woman that passes. Honourable ladies make this their place of exhibition; where new dresses are displayed, and every charm of figure studiously set forth; whilst the wretched beggar, who follows them perhaps for a quarter of an hour, departs unrelieved. Every moment oners a change of scene — the objects as various as the presentations of the kaleidoscope. Our soldiers were, in several cases, great favourites with the fair sex, particularly when their appearance was at all imposing. I have known in some of these bonnes fortunes, in- stances where even marchionesses and other women of quality have received our heroes in preference to their lawful lords. 107 Bustle and noise reign triumphant through the whole day in every street. Lemons, oranges, cherries, ham, sausages, meat, bread, wine, brandy, water — in a word, all the neces- saries and luxuries of life are cried about. In every corner chocolate is prepared in the morn- ing, coffee being but little used: the poorer classes are apt to take brandy, of which they can procure the value even of a single quarto. Then come the women with chestnuts, (g) be- ing as black in their persons as so many chim- ney-sweepers, and annoying every passer-by with the offer of their fruit; I would advise no one, however, to treat these damsels with dis- dain, becausethey invariably adopt each other's quarrels, and would fall upon a man in rather a formidable body. The water-carriers also form a considerable portion of the poorer population, being for the most part foreigners, and generally robust in person. They are habited in leather, and co- vered with a large slouched hat; each one of these men has a bucket calculated to hold from forty to fifty quarts, in which they carry water over the town; being paid in proportion to the distance they go and the height to w T hich they bear it in the house. At all the fountains of the town they may be seen assembled in troops, scarce any body besides resorting thither: hence we frequently found ourselves implicated in very serious quarrels, when our necessities compelled us to invade what they had acquired the habit of considering as their right. We had plentiful deference paid to us on our ar- rival, in almost every other respect; but these leathern gentlemen would not budge an inch: they evidently regarded us as so many usurp- ers; and the office of fetching water, at length, grew dangerous to such a degree, that we felt it advisable to proceed to the fountains in com- panies, under the escort of an armed patrol. These water-carriers were extremely active on the revolution of the 2d of May. They exchanged, on that occasion, the water-pail for the musket; but soon found that the manage- ment of the one was by no means so pat to them as that of the other. Almost the whole day long the bells of the churches are ringing, and processions of every description parading through the city: thus the spectator is constantly reminded of the supre- macy of the priesthood and the superstition of the people, (h) The town of Madrid is pretty well built. There are many fine churches and palaces or- namenting the principal thoroughfares, but the suburbs and smaller streets present few agree- able objects; dirt and dust flying in all direc- 109 tions, and the appearance of the houses being indicative of great want of comfort. The en- virons of the city exhibit no pleasant prospects; and if Madrid did not possess the Royal Gar- dens and the Prado, there would not remain a single place wherein you might find recreation after the heat of the sun. In a short time after the arrival of our troops, small clusters of booths or stalls were establish- ed in front of the several barracks, at which we could purchase dressed or undressed viands of every description, as, for instance, vermi- celli, love-apples, rice, tobacco, &c. Every one, in fact, was here able to satisfy his appe- tite in proportion to his means; the rapacious female trader grasping at the olchavo, in de- fault of obtaining the real; and shouting out, with laudable candour, to attract the customer to her particular standing, " Come here! come here! — Mine is the best! mine is the best!" ■ Many and desperate, indeed, were the squab- bles among these amiable ladies, in consequence of their tenacious rivalry. At Madrid we met with sundry German re- giments which were engaged in the Spanish service, and called Switzers. They had been, for the most part, captives taken from the Prussian and Austrian armies, and levied by the Spanish recruiting officers in France at the 110 prisoner-depots. These men were almost wea- ried to death of their stay here, because they were paid very badly, and treated still worse, and had, besides, no hope of returning to their native country. I met with many brave and worthy men amongst them, who excited my hearty compassion; but my own situation did not admit of my giving assistance to them. We were, however, in the habit of paying recipro- cal visits to each other's quarters. Independently of the inferior payment re- ceived by the Spanish soldier, he was dosed with bad bread, and placed in sleeping-rooms filled with vermin. Straw was the material that formed his bed, and the blanket which covered it was of a piece with the other accom- modations. Bugs and fleas invaded his rest by regular squadrons, nor was an auxiliary troop of lice by any means unusual. Such was the state of the Spanish royal body-guard — fit pre- servers of an outworn and loathsome despotism. It will readily be conceived that these poor fellows, situated thus, would find it necessary to increase their income by every means in their power. Accordingly, they applied their lei- sure time to various other occupations; some made buttons of bone, some lanterns of paper, others manufactured snuff from ashes and to- bacco pounded together in mortars. Again, Ill there were not a few who resorted for the en- largement of their means to tricks more in- genious than respectable; and these, upon be- ing detected, were visited with severe punish- ment, and exposed to public infamy. Their dress might have been considered bet- ter than their food and treatment — indeed might have been denominated handsome, had they not been obliged to use each suit until it hung about them in tatters, scarcely covering their nakedness. The members of a cavalry regiment which I saw here were habited in long yellow coats, with red facings; huge, un- couth, triangular hats, to which were affixed queues reaching to the saddle; short blue trow- sers; long white stockings, and shoes with buc- kles; a very long musket, and still longer sabre .it their sides: such were the accoutrements of these chevaliers of the spit, as they were de- ridingly called by us, in allusion to their clum- sy swords. The Spanish troops in Madrid were, indeed, altogether in a most pitiful state, so that when the whole garrison, Spanish and French, were on one occasion reviewed by Murat, he spoke the following words to the general officers around him: — " Here, gentle- men, you may see, at a single glance, the dif- ference between soldiers and no soldiers." The Spaniards are greatly behind other Eu- IIS THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE- ropean nations with respect to the comfort of inns, and the accommodation of the at- tendance. The plates and dishes which are placed on the table are generally both dirty and half-broken, and it is not of the least use to remonstrate, since no better are ever to be found. Coachmen and drivers of mules are in the habit of dining on the high-road; their fare consisting of cold provisions, which they car- ry along with them, and which commonly in- clude ham, onions, and garlic: the latter al- most always forming an ingredient in a Spanish meal. At the inns on the road they take no- thing but wine, and this in moderate quantities and generally diluted. They are by no means nice in respect of lodgings; often sleeping upon the lading of their mules, and crouching down, when the mildness of tV»*» season will permit, by the side of the animals themselves, covered by a blanket alone. Our own situation would have been in no small degree irksome, had we not duly receiv- ed our payment, and kept each of us a little spare cash. The military post, likewise, fre- quently brought to different individuals sup- plies from home; until, among other evils in- to a state of Warfare, its operations were suspended. A ration of a pound and a half of bread and half a pound of meat was daily serv- THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 113 ed out to each man; but the former was so min- gled with potash that it was scarcely eatable; and as for the latter, it was, in my belief, much oftener the flesh of a jack-ass than of an ox. It usually happens that the commissariat de- partment of an army is infected with the desire of growing wealthy, and to this the comfort of the unfortunate soldiers is too often sacrificed. Such was the case in the present instance. Our generals and other commissioned officers were treated well enough; but the privates were wholly neglected; nor was it of the least utility to complain, since nonotice whatever was taken of any representation of the facts. The most remarkable building in Madrid is unquestionably the royal palace; but it is sit- uated badly upon an elevation near the walls of the city, no kind of care having been taken toornamentorrenderagreeable the surrounding ground: on the contrary, its vicinity exhibits almost a perfect desert. The view is, it is true, very fine, towards the park, which is situated about half an hour's walk on the other side of the Manzanares. I believe one of the grandest places of public worship is the church dedicat- ed to our lady of Atocha, in which we assisted at mass every Sunday, fully equipped: this church was not only adorned externally with stone-work, but inside are some fine paintings, k2 114 together with other rarities; besides which, a number of miracles are reported to have been enacted therein. The Royal Hospital, also de- nominated Hospital for Males, and which was used by the French garrison, is an edifice both extensive and beautiful, and calculated to hold many thousands of patients. 1 have several times had occasion to look into it, and found it to consist of sundry masses of building very commodiously arranged. It is to be lamented that this noble asylum for disease and suffering should have been so terribly profaned as it was on the second of May: but subsequently, after the French had quitted Madrid for the first time, the Spaniards made even a more melan- choly devastation there than our troops had done before: all the French invalids who were necessarily left behind were put to death in the most merciless way, the Spanish military being either too weak or too malicious to interpose for the prevention of such horrors. A person of veracity belonging to our army, who went into the hospital to get cured of his wounds, told me, the fury of the populace was so violent that they actually bored holes through the cheek-bones of these helpless individuals, pass- ed strings through the holes, and fastened them thereby to the backs of mules; in this way trail- ing the wretched sufferers through the town in 115 a sort of triumphal procession, accompanied by shouts and exclamations of savage ferocity from the assembled multitude. It is observable that, in the course of this war, acts of violence were perpetrated of a character to remind the spec- tator of the scenes said to have occurred at the conquest of South America. The sanguinary disposition of the Spaniards is indeed sufficiently evidenced in their bull- fights, where rich and poor — fashionable and vulgar — sentimental gentlemen and ladies — priests and laymen — all hurry to the arena, to behold a spectacle of the most bloody and ty- rannous nature. All is, on these occasions, ac- tivity and interest, noise and clamour; each man discussing with his neighbour the respective merits of the bull and the mattadores, or what- ever other designation the human brutes might receive: and the more furious the bull becomes, — the longer the poor animal is subjected to the torture before the finishing blow is given, — the more delighted is the multitude. Ladies and gentlemen nod to the different fighters in token of their approbation, seeming only to fear lest their refined amusement should be at an end too soon. After the scene has come to its close, every one rushes into the arena, eager to gaze upon the convulsed limbs and features of the gallant beast which has been tormented even 116 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. unto death; but without exhibiting in their own countenances the least spark of feeling. The animal is shortly after removed, and then a fresh fight commences. During my stay in Madrid, these exhibitions took place usually once a fortnight; and the common talk, during the intervals, was of the last bull-fight and the next — of the bravery of the quadrupeds, and the boldness or cowardice of the several mattadores. The Toledo bridge, which I have frequently had occasion to cross over, is another beautiful specimen — indeed quite a chef-d'oeuvre of ar- chitecture, and is elevated upon handsome co- lumns; but it can not fail to strike every one, at a single glance, that this profusion of taste and expense is almost ludicrously misapplied, since the little river over which it is thrown was, during the period of my sojourn, scarcely com- parable with a mountain rivulet: in autumn, however, or spring, the Manzanares becomes, by virtue of rain and melting snows, so large, as to bear the appearance of a formidable and unfordable stream. Statues of many of the kings of Spain are introduced by way of em- bellishment to this structure. I will conclude the present chapter with a few words touching the city of Toledo. It is at once the most observable and most unfortunate 117 circumstance connected with this place, that it is impossible to procure thereat a good supply of fresh water, which must be brought from a distance of several miles in carts or upon asses, and was very often, in my time there, scarcer and dearer than wine. The town itself is by no means attractive in appearance, looking quite black and sooty, except the cathedral church, which, according to an old tradition, was origin- ally built in honour of a Moorish princess, who had treated with great humanity certain Chris- tian captives; — conduct which, when it came to the ears of her father, procured her a bitter reward for her sweet virtues — reproach and death. Peace to her memory ! 118 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. CHAP. VII. View of Sicily from the sea — Arrival in the bay of Palermo — Quarantine — Reception at Palermo — Good treatment by the officers of our regiment — The origin of our corps — A love affair, and its consequences — Sicily and its inhabitants — Malevolent trick of a Sicilian sans- culotte, and his punishment. I will now take a pleasant spring back again to the Italian sea, and resume the narrative of my adventures. Sicily lay before us, and a favourable wind drove us quickly into the bay of Palermo, our place of destination. The nearer we approached to this town, the steeper became the coast, which at length seemed to rise almost to the clouds, and terminated in the Monte Pellegrino, on which was placed a tele- graph, together with a chapel. In this latter edifice was contained the holy picture of some saint, whose name I do not remember, but who was very much given to work miracles by virtue of his canvas representative. In the front of us, as we advanced, was spread the 119 beautiful town above mentioned; to our right, the Monte Pellegrino; to our left, the open coast of the island. It was exceedingly in- teresting to look towards the port, which was closely strewed with shipping, presenting a regular forest of masts. We continued to glide smoothly over the soft-stirring ocean, and in the course of an hour anchored in the Mola, where the performance of quarantine com- mences, with which view the constituted offi- cers came immediately to inspect our vessel. Being convinced that the ship's company were all in perfect health, they suffered us the next day to be towed out of quarantine, and we ac- cordingly proceeded as close as possible to the shore. Shortly afterwards came on board the surgeon and officers of our regiment, all of them Germans, who at once treated us with a kindness and courtesy which could not fail to reflect honour upon their native country. Our past sufferings received their hearty commise- ration. "Well, my boys/' cried the major, whose name was Soest, " make haste out of the boat; I will soon make proper men of you : if, in four weeks from this, you are not able and ready to spring about like the deer, my name is no longer Soest." We were all enchanted by this good-natured reception, and began to grow quite frolicsome. We came ashore, and 120 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. now, for the first time after a long and dreary interval, found ourselves once again in military line, performing our various evolutions at the (to us unintelligible) English words of com- mand, which were constantly made use of in the German Legion. Every body around regarded us with asto- nishment, since in point of complexion, we resembled Africans rather than Frenchmen or Germans; and the question — "What country- men are they?" was vociferated in every di- rection. Some took us for Polacks, some for Russians, some for Spaniards, and not a few even did us the honour of believing us to be Turks: thus, accompanied by a large crowd of people, we reached our quarters at San Fran- cisco de Paolo, — a convent, wherein, besides the 'monks, two battalions of English soldiers were residing, whose devotion was not a jot inferior to that of the holy fathers, which lat- ter indeed was by no means of a formidable character. Now I was, in truth, an English soldier, re- ceiving both good payment and food; and could perceive, from certain indubitable signs, that I was expanding in proportions every day. To the honour of the English nation, I must say that we were treated in all respects extremely well; and so far from being in want of any 121 thing, our comforts were actually superfluous. We were even, for a while after joining our troop, exempted from military exercise, in or- der to enable us to recover our strength. Se- veral of the new recruits were, in fact, found, on examination, to be in such a state of health as to incapacitate them wholly from service. These poor creatures were in dread lest they should be sent back to their miserable exile; but, on the contrary, they received money enough to carry them, with frugality, to their native homes, together with a necessary supply of raiment, and a regular discharge. When we were thought to be in sufficiently good trim, our initiation commenced into the preparatory exercises of the English military system. At first, we were drilled an hour, or scarcely so long, each day; so that we grew by degrees accustomed to our new service, and the duty was increased from time to time. This humane treatment recalled to my mind my old original instructors in the art of war, as well as the comforts of my native home, the thoughts of which not unfrequently drew tears into my eyes. The regiment in which I was included, the seventh of the king's German Legion, — consisted chiefly of French prisoners, who were, however, generally speaking, Germans by birth: The officers, and the greater part of H 122 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. the Serjeants, formed exceptions to this obser- vation. It had been before Copenhagen; in Portugal, in the battle by Vimeira;and in Spain, in the action of Talavera de la Reina; and in each instance had fully displayed the glory of German valour. By these conflicts, however, its numbers had been dreadfully thinned; and the old remnant was subsequently dispersed amongst other battalions, whilst the staff was sent to England, for the purpose of forming, out of the recruits levied from amongst the French prisoners, a new battalion. This plan was executed; and after the new regiment had made some stay at Malta, it was ordered to Sicily: the rifle company had been but a little while returned from Spain, where it had been engaged in the War of Liberty, and to this troop I was joined. I received a handsome rifle-gun, and the rest of my equipment was neat and conformable thereto. The whole com- pany, at the head of which was Captain Von S — hard t, with two other excellent officers, was composed of quite young men, the age of no individual amongst us, perhaps, exceeding thirty years. The captain had the privilege of selecting his privates out of the entire bat- talion, and accordingly made choice only of orderly and courageous men, who were at the THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 123 same time full of spirit and gaiety, as will ap- pear by the following instance. A serjeant of the company was condemned to be placed under arrest for four days, for an affair of intrigue with the wife of Serjeant F — . The former of these men was very much be- loved by our whole troop; and the universal wish was, that he might escape punishment: we, therefore, went in a body to the captain, soliciting a remission of the sentence against H — : but he did not seem at all disposed to concede to our request, particularly as the cir- cumstance had come to the ears of the colonel. We were accordingly obliged to return unsuc- cessful. H — went to prison in pursuance of his sentence; but each of us did every thing which lay in his power to alleviate the incon- veniences of his confinement. We likewise designed to give him a joyous welcome imme- diately on his release, and soon agreed upon the manner of doing so. We decorated the chapel in which he, with eighteen other men, was lodged, with festoons of leaves and flowers : on the table were placed flasks of wine; and* when he entered the door, little mortars were fired in honour of his restoration to his com- rades. The serjeant was quite overpowered with glad emotion, whilst his rival almost burst 124 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. with rage, which, however, we did not trou- ble our heads about. After my arrival in Palermo, I became quite an altered man. I had lived four years in the utmost misery and poverty, — I may, indeed, almost say slavery. No other individuals came in my way during this period, if I except my fellow-sufferers, but malevolent Spaniards or formal Englishmen: now, on the other hand, I was the associate of light-hearted Germans, whose gaiety was interrupted, alone, by the duties of their service, and from whom it be- came, after a short interval, difficult to distin- guish the formerly emaciated colonists of Ca- brera. Thus much were we changed to our great advantage, reflecting with horror upon the calamities of the last past years, and thank- ing God for our preservation, and for the hap- py revolution of our fate. Sicily, in truth, is one of the few countries which may be called rich, even to superfluity, in the various necessaries and luxuries of hu- man life. Every fruit of the earth is produced in abundance: — oranges, figs, carobs,* Indian figs; all sorts of vegetables; wines of the most agreeable strength and flavour: — the whole are to be had without requiring the aid of much • A tree very common in Spain and Sicily, THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 125 tillage of the ground, which, if it be but slight- ly cultivated, returns with tenfold interest the seeds entrusted to its bosom. To counterbal- ance this prodigality of nature, however, the inhabitants of the country are extremely indo- lent, using no exertion to make the most of its indigenous advantages. For the last century no improvement whatever has been made in the manners or genius of the natives of Sicily; the same ploughing utensils — the same carts — the same vestments — all continue, and will still continue, at least so long as the govern- ment shall remain in its state of reprehensible supineness. I have several times inquired of young, active-looking boys, begging about the streets, for what reason they did not endeavour to get work? to which the universal reply was — " We don't want it: we receive our dinner at the convent of San Dominico, and make pro- vision for other wants as chance directs;" that is to say, they unite the praiseworthy occupa- tions of begging and stealing. The dolce far niente ("the sweet trade of doing nothing") is, in fact, highly popular among all classes of the people; and the come sta which salutes your ears at every moment, should be taken literally, as to stand still seems the most de- lightful enjoyment of a Sicilian's existence. You may constantly see a number of persons l2 226 sauntering about the livelong day, in order to offer articles for sale which scarely amount to the value of two or three farthings, their prin- cipal object being to overreach you by every means in their power. For instance, there came one day into our quarters a sans-culotte of this description, who was vending barley-sugar. Jealous of our " flesh-pots of Egypt," this pretty fellow was very desirous of helpinghimself therefrom; but the exercise of all his ingenuity was to no pur- pose, as there were too many eyes fixed upon his movements. His knavish disposition, how- ever, would not suffer him to depart without doing some mischief; and being foiled in his first attempts, he betook himself to further ex- periments. He accordingly affected to take leave, but came back almost directly after- wards with a lizard which he had concealed in his bosom; and imagining himself to be unob- served, he threw the noxious animal into one of our kettles. The vengeance of Nemesis, however, soon made itself apparentin the agen- cy of ten very powerful cooks, one of whom had witnessed the exploit. These formidable personages seized the shuddering miscreant, and holding him tightly, rendered nugatory all efforts to get away: he struggled and kicked furiously; but it was like a small bird in the •# 127 talons of the eagle, and summary punishment was dealt out in unsparing blows; whilst, in the mean time, one of the cooks had gone to report this occurrence to the adjutant, who came up soon after with two lusty Serjeants, each provided with a suitable cudgel. All sup- plications for mercy were in vain: they laid the poor devil upon a bench, and inflicted on him twenty-five strokes; by the time he had re- ceived ten of which, his small clothes gave way, and exhibited the seat of honour in its native dignity. Having favoured him with his full amount of lashes, they proceeded to drench their victim with the lizard-soup, which had been meanwhile boiling. The preparation for this excited in his stomach the most furious loathing; in despite of which, however, and of abundant entreaties, wry faces, and de- precations, the obnoxious liquid was forcibly administered. At length he was suffered to hobble away; and never after revisited, to use his own expression, the cursed quarters of the English heretics. 128 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. CHAP. VIII. Favourite dishes of the Sicilian people — Streets and dwelling-houses of Palermo — Convents and monks — Public festival of the inhabitants — Environs of the town — The king- of Sicily — Characteristics of the Sicilians, with examples. During the hot summer days, when it is impossible to get out while the sun is in the heavens, it is customary for the inhabitants of Palermo to recreate themselves by walking in the cool of the evening; and a stranger would be quite astonished to meet a lady or gentleman employed in gnawing a raw cucumber or a head of lettuce, or chewing a bunch of small radishes or a boiled artichoke. These dainties will certainly strike the fair natives of more polished lands as being altogether uneatable: but there, on the contrary, so far from being thought strange, their mastication excites no remark whatever. The southern country peo- ple relish these viands extremely; and per- haps there is scarcely an individual in the 129 wholeddngdom of Sicily who understands the method of dressing a German cucumber-salad.* When we once ordered such a thing in a cer- tain wine-shop, the landlord brought us unpeel- ed cucumbers, each cut into four pieces, over which were sprinkled oil and vinegar: angry at this blunder, we instructed the man how to rectify it; but he frankly answered, that he never in his whole life had made, nor would he now begin to make, such a hog's mess. When the simple green lettuce is used by them as a salad, the common people may frequently be seen plucking off one leaf after another, and dipping it in vinegar and oil by way of dress- ing; whilst to the higher classes, it is served on a plate at table, each individual being left to qualify it with the accompanying condi- ments of vinegar, oil, and pepper, according to his own peculiar taste. The most favourite dish of all is maccaroni, which are preferred to any thing else by the Italians, whether fashionables, working people, lazzaroni, or, in short, to whatever grade of society they may happen to belong. They are made in a variety of different shapes; either re- sembling great or little stars, or snails, or mi- nute threads, even as thin as a hair, in which * Cutting it into slices, in the usual English way. & I 130 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. latter form they are generally most admired; and in every public house, the saucepan is in readiness to receive them until a late hour at night. Maccaroni are to be had in greater or less quantities, at the option of the purchaser, who takes them into the first public house he comes to, and claps them into any disengaged sauce- pan or kettle in his way, without questions asked on either side. While his maccaroni boil, he goes to fetch his Parmesan; and when they are ready, he lays one stratum on a plate, scraping the cheese over it, then again macca- roni, then again, cheese, in alternate layers, un- til the whole is amalgamated. This being ac- complished, he takes a piece up in his fingers, —the maccaroni, which are very long, reach- ing from the plate to his mouth; and whilst his meal is in progress, the smacking of the tongue and sparkling of the eye indicate the gusto with which it is devoured. A glass of wine still further improves its relish ; and the game of la more (i) is often played by a party of boon companions over their maccaroni, the loser being paymaster of the whole entertain- ment. This kind of gambling is very frequent- ly productive of quarrels, not seldom ending in bloody arbitrament, and even in murder; and although the police is on the alert in all 131 lirections, it is too weak to prevent a recur- rence of such scenes. Another favourite dish of the Sicilian people is the Indian fig,* which grows here, as I have already observed, in great abundance. This plant is used as a sort of enclosure for gardens and meadows, and some of its leaves extend from three to four feet in diameter, bearing each an innumerable quantity of rough-looking fruit, which is large and coloured like the cas- tanos, being spread with similar spots, upon which are prickles sufficiently sharp to pene- trate the surface of the skin, and subtle to lodge under it. I was once smartly punished for my ignorance of this. Some of my comrades were with me in a garden wherein a great many of these figs were growing: one of the party, a fa- cetious sort of fellow, seized quickly hold of a fig, and put it into his mouth with the action of biting it, proposing to me to do the same. He praised the agreeableness of its taste and fla- vour; and I was at length persuaded: but scarce- ly had I touched the fruit with my tongue, be- fore I cast it from me with a sharp cry; yet even in that short interval, it left behind it a host of stinging prickles, which incapacitated me from eating with any comfort for the space * Called by the botanists Cactus. 132 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. of seven or eight clays. If, however, you be- gin by cautiously opening the peel, you will find within a yellow mass, containing many hard kernels, and this part of the fruit is so deli- cious as to incite you to eat even thirty or forty. It is not every one, however, who can open the shell or rind dexterously; and an awkward hand will inevitably suffer more or less incon- venience from the host of prickles which seem purposed to defend the fruit. The traders in this article, therefore, open it themselves for the purchaser, before whom it is exhibited on plates, four or six of the figs making a lot, for each of which they charge a bajocco.* The method of opening them is with a sharp knife, the fingers being protected by three thimbles made of reed — one on the thumb, one on the fore-finger, and one on the middle finger. The fig is unclosed by one cross-cut, and two more at each end of it, and thus its inside is extract- ed without having been at all touched by the operator's hand. Scarcely do I recollect any other eatable which can be taken with so great zest; and as cleanliness is, in this country, a pearl of great price, the very circumstance of the knife being steeped in water between the unclosing of each fig, actuall}' gives an addi- • A coin about the value of a halfpenny. 133 lional stimulus to the appetite. Even wealthy and fashionable persons will not object to en- ter the little booths of the fig-sellers, and re- gale themselves to the value of two or three grant. * In every principal thoroughfare of the town, there are likewise standings for people who vend lemons and oranges; which fruits are seen piled thereat in the most luxurious profusion, and swelling with juice, presenting a delight- ful object to the passer-by. Gold and silver fish gambol in handsomely-shaped glass reser- voirs, to increase the temptations of each booth, and in the evening the whole are brilliantly illuminated. Hence, a walk through the streets of Palermo towards night is exceedingly amus- ing; and into whichever of these booths you chance to stroll, a pretty-looking girl salutes you by her offers of attendance. The streets themselves are handsome, and the buildings tasteful; but little, if any care is taken to keep either neat and clean. In sum- mer, and in dry weather, the gardeners cross the streets with asses, and gather up the dust in baskets; but in the winter time, the inhabi- tants are in no small danger of being suffocated by this article, in spite of the paved cart-road. * A grane is about the value of a halfpenny. M 134 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. The flag-stones on either side are irregular in breadth, and in some streets altogether want- ing. Tradesmen, alone, inhabit the ground- floor, where their shops are situated, but the superior classes would deem it discreditable to reside so low. The ground-floors even of the houses of the nobility are commonly let to working people and others of the very poor- est description, and the entrances of these rooms have no connexion whatever with the apartments above. Thus, under one and the same roof, you may often find the excess both of luxury and destitution: — half-naked chil- dren may be seen crawling round the princely equipage of the nobleman who inhabits, in common with them, the same dwelling, and who is just about (hemmed in by his richly- liveried domestics,) to enter his carriage, not deigning to notice in the least his forlorn fel- low-lodgers. Upon the exclamation guar da! the coachman lashes forward his horses, quite regardless of any poor devil whom he might possibly trample into the dust. Convents literally swarm both within and without the town. The upper floors of the street called Toledo are provided with trellis- ed windows, behind which are immured the victims of parental fanaticism: new-born chil- dren even being frequently devoted to the the rifleman's comrade. 135 cloister by their misguided mothers. Boys of six years and under are to be met walking, dressed in the habit of the convent to which they are destined, and led by the holy fathers; and girls of a similar age, and attired with vestments of a similar nature, parade about un- der the chaperonage of the abbess or elder nuns. Mendicants of the Franciscan or Capu- chin fraternities are crossing the streets every here and there, bearing in their hands reliqua- ries or figures of saints, which they submit to the salutations of the faithful; and after a while these articles wear so beslobbered an appear- ance, that a tolerably strong stomach is requi- site in the devotee to enable him to add his quota of kisses: the trade is a thriving one, however, on the part of the priests; and it is but seldom that a true-born Sicilian declines to add his homage to that of his predecessors; all which turns in remarkably well to the pur- pose of the image-bearer, since the act of wor- ship is uniformly accompanied by the drop- ping a few bajocci into the box attached to the reliquary. These mendicants also not only exhibit but sell their statuary and relics. One presents you with remnants of the garment of a male or female martyr, which he declares to be a specific against tooth-ache, head-ache, and in 136 the rifleman's comrade 4 . short, all other diseases incident to the human frame. So many clothes indeed are hawked about, professing to have originally belonged to the same individual saint, that it would seem they were each in the habit of keeping a pro- digiously large wardrobe. In most of the chambers of the monks, great disorder and want of cleanliness are apparent; and many of the priests present figures dis- gustingly filthy. In our quarter, namely the cloister or convent of San Francisco de Paolo, we lived in very familiar intercourse with the fathers; one of whom was extremely desirous to extend the sphere of his benevolent intima- cy so as to include our wives, endeavouring to establish an intrigue with the spouse of one of our grenadiers. He flattered himself on being in the way to attain the full accomplishment of his wishes: but whether through fear of dis- covery, or real virtuous constancy to her hus- band, (which latter sentiment by the bye is not very common amongst the wives of sol- diers,) the lady unfolded to her legal possessor the whole affair; and he being a cunning fel- low, concerted with his wife that she should continue to hold out hopes to the lustful priest of his being made perfectly happy at a certain understood hour — warning him, at the same time, to beware of her jealous and watchful 137 husband. The monk, in the fulness of his ex- ultation, promised every thing; and appointed a rendezvous in an old ruinous chapel at some distance from the convent, in the middle of which chapel was an aperture through which might be perceived the coffins underneath. According to this appointment, the parties met; but had hardly arrived at the place, when the husband darted forth from his ambush. He seized hold of the interloper by the throat, and demanded in rough terms of the trembling culprit, what he was about to do with his wife? To this interrogatory, no answer was return- ed ; upon which, the soldier professed himself resolved to expose to the eyes of the public at large this sanctified libertine. Our holy father was now touched: he began to implore pity in the most abject terms; offering his purse and his watch if the other would suffer him to de- part. My comrade made as if he was altoge- ther deaf to these entreaties, and affected to grow more and more furious: after a while, however, he appeared to relent; pocketed the proffered valuables; and returned home with his cara sposa, to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of the disappointed gallant. In the autumn, I witnessed a spectacle to me perfectly novel, consisting of a public festivity of the natives. Walking one day upon the m2 138 shore, near to the Garden of Flora, I saw in- numerable crowds of people assembled, not only parading on the shore itself, but filling a quantity of boats which ran immediately along the coast, and which were provided with guns, discharged every moment into the air. On ar- riving nearer, I perceived that these shots were aimed at huge flights of birds, which were just migrating to this island from the continent of Europe — swallows, starlings, and other birds of passage. I can not describe the delight which was manifested by the multitude at the destruc- tion of these poor animals; the atmosphere re- sounding with their triumphant acclamations. " Ah! poor little creatures!" thought I to my- self, " in my country you may have escaped many a hazard; and here after a perilous tra- vel, when approaching nearyour journey'send, you are slaughtered in the mere spirit of idle- ness:" for I observed that they were none of them picked up, except indeed by the ducks, who seemed to gobble them in with prodigious avidity. The Lent dishes of the Sicilians are not found here in such great profusion as might be ex- pected; the people giving as a reason the ex- istence of so many convents, in every one of which a good deal of fish is daily consumed. Shell-fish, however, is more plentiful, consist- THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 139 ing of lobsters, shrimps, and polypi; and it is amusing to see two or three hundred fishing- smacks, both within and without the bay, ply- ing their trade in the middle of the night. On each boat are several candles, or torches, by which the harbour is perfectly illuminated: and by this light the finny tribes are attracted, thus falling a readier prey to their merciless cap- tors. The environs of the Sicilian metropolis pre- sent many beautiful views, particularly in the direction of the Monte Pellegrino, where a good many elegant villas and gardens are to be found. Here are situated the summer-houses of most of the patricians; and the king, during his re- sidence on the island, also preferred this neigh- bourhood to any other whatever. I often met his majesty riding hither on horseback, attended by a single servant only. Although very little liked by his subjects, this monarch was in the habit of traversing unguarded the streets of Palermo, being scarcely noticed by any one, and those whom he did encounter merely say- ing, as he passed, — * « II Re!" and hardly touch- ing their hats. Quite different, however, was the scene when a procession appeared: every one fell immediately upon his knees, how dirty soever it might happen to be; and I really think, had any individual declined to pay this 140 homage he would have incurred the hazard of compulsion, and that in no gentle way. The stranger, in common with the native, is annoyed, in this beautiful country, by many species of inconvenience. The former, in par- ticular, should be strictly upon his guard: be- cause, however brave a Sicilian may possibly be, he is seldom untainted with the spirit of treachery, — which disposition, in fact, he does not appear anxious to conceal. At several times, our muskets were stolen even from the sentry-posts; and in truth, no foreigner should place in them any degree of confidence, since they can not be faithful one to another, and much less are to be considered trustworthy by such as differ from them in language or belief. The least affront causes them to clutch their poniard; and if prevented from gratifying re- venge on the spot, they follow up their victim with unrelenting ferocity. One day, a soldier named Haupt was pro- menading on the shore; and havin 2: washed his small-clothes, was drying them upon his shoul- ders, when a Sicilian, who was passing, came on him before he was aware, seized the gar- ment, and ran off. Haupt pursued him, and, crying out for assistance, was joined by some of his comrades who were near the spot: they overtook the thief, rescued the stolen trousers, 141 and punished him as he deserved. The Sicilian became possessed by the demon of revenge, and sought, without ceasing, for an opportunity to gratify it against his original antagonist, whom he at last found in a lonely spot doing duty as sentinel. Rushing treacherously upon the unsuspecting soldier, he struck him repeat- edly with his accursed knife, and the poor fellow was thus precipitated into another state of existence by the cowardly act of a ruffian who was his original aggressor. Upon the ar- rival of the party who came to relieve guard, they found their unfortunate messmate robbed and murdered, and a scrap of paper lying by him, on which was written Questo e por gli pantaloni.* In this manner is the vin- dictive temper of these islanders displayed, not alone to foreigners, but to others, of their own country. The most atrocious excesses, includ- ing assassination, may often be traced to the most trivial causes: indeed, the Sicilian blood boils a hundred times quicker than that even of the neighbouring Italians — resentment of supposed insult raging more powerfully than amongst any other European people; and even should the arm of public justice be called in to avenge them upon their enemy, the expiation is frequently deemed insufficient. • "So much for your trousers!" 142 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. CHAP. IX. Serpents and scorpions in Sicily, with examples — Te- diousness of the military service, and ill success of the endeavours to escape — Merry tricks of the soldiers- Festival of the cat — Dishes of the lowest classes in Sicily — Milk trade in Palermo — Ladies of Palermo, and anec- dotes of them. This very beautiful country is also subject to other annoyances. Poisonous reptiles abound therein, against which every body should be placed upon their guard. Serpents from six to eight feet in length, scorpions, tarantulae, and other reptiles, are found in large numbers. Thus, one fine morning, while I was in my little room at the hospital, where, besides my- self, three other sick persons were accommo- dated, we were all of us enjoying the fresh breeze introduced through the open window, which commanded both a fruit and a kitchen- garden. Happy in the sensation of returning health, and regaling ourselves each with a pipe of tobacco, we contemplated with delight the trees burthened with lovely blossoms and de- THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 143 licious fruit, and which exhaled the most aro- matic odours: a desire seized us to taste some of these luxuries; and we comforted ourselves by the reflection, that our approaching dis- charge from the hospital would enable us to gratify this appetite. Suddenly a loud hissing at the window excited the attention of the whole party, and a large black viper, followed closely by another, glided swiftly along the opposite walL The two almost immediately commenced a furious battle; both animals twist- ing their folds round each other with such vio- lence, that we could almost distinguish the crackling of the joints, although the smooth- ness of their long bodies soon enabled them to disengage themselves. They reared them- selves aloft; renewed their convolutions; fell back again upon the earth; commenced and re- commenced their conflict; and thus the fight continued several minutes. One was evident- ly weaker than the other, and made perpetual efforts to escape; but could not for a while ac- complish her desire, being always stopped by the enemy. At length, however, she got away, and precipitated herself into a pond or basin of water which lay in the garden underneath, and was used to water the plants. The other lost no time in following, and had overtaken her antagonist, when both were suddenly lost IP '* 144 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. to our view. After some moments, the stronger one re-appeared, trying, with all her might, to spring over the edge of the basin, which was finally accomplished: she crept back slowly to the scene of the contest, and lay basking in the sun. The battle had manifestly fatigued her much, as was palpable from her forked tongue hanging out of her mouth, whilst in several parts of her body wounds were visible. Un- til now, we had observed the action and its re- sult in silence: and having suffered her to rest awhile, we sought about for large stones, and threw them forcibly upon the reptile. Some of these hit the mark, but not sufficiently hard to do her any considerable injury. She now retreated with all dispatch into her lurking- place; and after a few minutes came up the owner of the garden, to whom we related what had passed. "OV said he, "I know these gentlemen: they are great enemies to my vege- tables." He took his stick, and pulled with it the viper, which had been suffocated by the wa- ter, from out the pond: she exhibited still a few signs of animation, but was quickly de- stroyed by blows. A few days afterwards I quitted the hospital, during my stay in which, I was given to un- derstand that invalids were often annoyed by serpents, even in their own rooms. I myself 145 frequently encountered them in my walks, as they lay by dozens in bushes and in hedges, on the look-out for prey. Their skins were beautiful in the extreme, often resembling ribands of the most glowing hues. A com- rade of mine was once in the act of grasping one of these supposed ribands, and would have smarted sadly for his blunder, had it not been for my timely intervention. Scorpions, likewise, abounded in such large numbers, that the soldiers frequently discover- ed them both in their knapsacks and bread- baskets: we were therefore obliged to prepare scorpion-oils, which alleviated the pain of their sting. These are composed of scorpions them- selves, which are put into a little bottle full of olive oil; the heat of the sun decomposes the scorpions, and hence they become thoroughly amalgamated with the other essence. By one of these loathsome and even terrible reptiles I was once exceedingly frightened. We were fetching bullets from Castelamar, and amongst them was a scorpion which was in the act of darting at my breast: I stepped back, however, in time to prevent the favour designed for me. The Sicilians were in the habit of making a circle of powder, within which they placed the scorpion, taking it up with the tongs, and afterwards setting it on fire; by which means 146 the insect was of course destroyed. They like- wise make circles of glowing coals, in the mid- dle of which the scorpion is put, its terrors and sufferings occasioning inconceivable pleasure to the lookers-on: the poor devil, first with quick action, which pain soon renders slower, runs round the ring, retreating by degrees to the centre, till it is ultimately killed by the fierce heat. In no instance, however, had I opportunity to authenticate what has been fre- quently stated as a fact by others, namely, that the scorpion is accustomed to terminate its existence by its own sting. During my stay in Sicily, a single instance only came within my knowledge of any man having been killed by a scorpion — and this was a member of our artillery corps. The reptile had concealed it- self in one of his shoes; and when, on rising in the morning, he put his naked foot therein, the sharp pain of the sting induced him to with- draw it hastily, and on searching, the cause of the evil soon became apparent. Not, as it un- fortunately happened, being aware of the dan- ger of such an occurrence, it was disregarded by him, and he went about his business. Af- ter a while, however, finding the pain grow more and more acute, and the foot rapidly swell, he began to think seriously of the mat- ter, and was advised to consult a medical man. 147 The surgeon examined and probed the wound ; but the poison having by this time been taken up by the absorbents, the whole economy of the system was vitiated, and no effectual aid could be administered. Thus the poor fellow lost his life, and the service a brave and wor- thy soldier, (k) Besides vipers and scorpions, quantities of tarantulas were occasionally beheld by us: but I was equally unfortunate here as in the case of the scorpions, since the Tarantular Dance was never exhibited in my presence. (/) To look upon these creatures, however, was quite enough to produce terror and shuddering. Thus rolled on the days in sadness or in mirth; and many of them were well-nigh con- sumed in ardent aspirations after our native land. Neither the esteem of my officers, nor the friendship of my comrades, both of which, I rejoice to say, I enjoyed, could repress my longing to change the military for the domestic life; but it was necessary to exercise the quality of patience, as was confessed, in their despond- ence,by a number of other anxious hearts, who, like me, languished for home, and who cursed the day on which they left it to follow a life of toil and bloodshed. So powerful was this sen- timent, that some amongst us sought to gratify it by desertion; others by mutilating them 148 selves; but not one of these succeeded in ac- complishing his object. One day I was in the barrack-court, wherein were placed three com- panies of our battalion, when 1 heard a shot fired near me, which was followed the next minute by a terrible cry, and "O, my God!" was vociferated by a number of voices. A sol- dier of the barrack-guard had shot himself through the hand, for the purpose of disabling himself; but he repented of his act when too late: the hand was quite dashed to pieces, and it became necessary to amputate it, together with the fore-arm. The circumstances of this man were, in every respect, peculiar. He possessed a settled notion that he was a natu- ral son of the Duke of Gotha, in which idea he strengthened his belief from day to day. Hence arose a great feeling of pride, by which he was induced often to address his officers with a good deal of arrogance, and which even- tually tempted him to endeavour by mutilation to get free from his humble situation. As I have already stated, this kind of conduct was altogether ineffectual, although practised every succeeding week. In order to employ the time, which was by no means fully occupied, our men resorted to a great many different artifices. — In the court of the barrack was a bakehouse, which how- 1-1.9 ever was not used as such, but as a stable. One of the cloister cats, a very large fat animal, hav- ing lost her way, came across the court. My- self and some others, who had witnessed puss's entrance, immediately commenced a pursuit, in order that we might catch and dress her. We pressed her pretty closely, but she some- how or other eluded us, and took refuge in the bakehouse, which was instantly placed in a state of blockade. On the one side we pushed in a long stake, and at the other a large sack was held open before a hole, for the purpose of re- ceiving our victim, should she run that way. We reckoned, however, without our host: Grimalkin, far too prudent to commit herself thus, lying by snugly at the back of the building. Our deliberation as to further measures was not protracted. .A wisp of burning straw was thrown in, and the cat, terrified at the idea of conflagration, made a bolt at the hole, and, as luck would have it, sprang right into the middle of the sack, where she met with instant death. The skin having been removed, her carcass was cut into pieces, was soaked twenty-four hours in vinegar, and anointed with garlic and honey until all the disagreeable strong flavour was subdued, after which it formed a capital fri- cassee. W r e were all of us sufficiently accustom- ed to this sort of cookery, having had a good N 2 150 deal of experience thereof in Spain, where many a pretty little kitten suffered the same fate. We spared nothing calculated to give relish to our dish; — neither pepper, black or cayenne, black bread, &c. When it was all ready, we drew round the table, in great good-humour, and be- gan our meal, not forgetting the accompani- ment of a few bottles of wine. It so chanced that the wife of our serjeant entered: for this woman we entertained a very high respect, several of us having been redeemed by her mediation from the malevolent complaints of her husband. To a question from her as to the particular nature of our viand, we replied that it was a cony; and accordingly she seated her- self with the intention of u picking a bit:" in fact, she ate with great heartiness, and did not decline to lubricate her mouthfuls with a glass or two of wine, which had rendered us all, es- pecially the trumpeter, unusually gay. Dinner being finished, the latter left the room, and re- ~ed to it bringing the skin of the cat, which had in the mean time been stuffed with straw, and which he threw upon the table, shouting these words, " Look, Mrs. Serjeant: here is the hide of our Sicilian cony." The good lady became so horrified hereat, that we grew afraid lest she should be ill; and from that time for- ward, the poor trumpeter was no longer one of 151 her favourites. To be serious; — I can assure my readers, that the flesh of a well-fed ca extremely good: it is indeed (presuming her to be properly dressed,) not only agreeable in taste, but actually dainty; and it is imagina- tion and prejudice alone which protect the fe- line race amongst us from the uses of the gas- tronomic art. The same prejudice obtains in Germany with respect to the raven, which is scarcely eaten by any one there without a feel- ing of disgust, whilst in France they can be purchased in every market. Thus, also, in the ship wherein I voyaged from Spain to Si- cily, the cook was in the practice of eating, al- most every day, roasted mice, certainly not from scarcity of other meat, but as matter ci preference. The lower classes of Sicily are likewise very fond of dried beans, and pease roasted upon the coals; either of which may be obtained at any wine-house. Plates-full of beans, boiled in salt water, may be purchased at the corner of every et All sorts of entrails, hardly submit to purification by water, are roasted upon the coals, and eaten by the common people without siightest disgust. They even collect from the streets old bones of meat, which they boil, using the fat to qualify cakes made from the fiour of Turkish wheat: and every where * 152 around you hear the cry of " hot, hot, quite hot!" and a great many hungry mortals are to be seen in crowds enclosing these public fry- ing-pans from morning to night. Snails, both in the shell and out, and polypi, are swal- lowed with infinite gusto; in short, I never in my life saw such an odd assemblage of eatables as is patronised by the good citizens of Paler- mo. Innumerable goats are driven in herds each morning into the town ; and these animals know perfectly well at what houses they are accus- tomed to be milked; so that they halt, of their own accord, at the proper spots. During the operation, the goat-herd cries, with a hoarse voice, in order to attract the attention of pur- chasers, "Milk, milld fresh, warm, fat milk! milk from the mountains — buy! buy!" — Each animal has, depending from his neck, a small bell, the music of which is, when they tinkle in concert, not inharmonious. As soon as the goat-herd has satisfied his customers, he takes the bagpipe, which hangs at his neck, and plays a little tune with it, not very delightful to German ears. With respect to the female sex, I must ob- serve, that we Germans were very much fa- voured by its fair members. A good many of us reaped abundant laurels in the sports of Cu- 153 pid. But we were obliged, at the same time, to exercise great caution; because, if the hus- band by any chance discovered the intrigues of his wife, the cicisbeo would run the hazard, if not on his guard, of getting an unlucky thrust with the poniard. A serjeant of our re- giment, a remarkably fine young man, had been implicated, for a considerable time, in an intrigue with a lady of rank, from whom he received a number of presents; and every one expressed surprise at the luxurious way of his living, as it was evident that his pay bore but a very small proportion to his expenditure. One day when he had " crooked his elbow" a little too much, the secret was let out; and one of his comrades, who possessed some know- ledge of the lady's spouse, hastened to his pa- lace and discovered the whole transaction, in hope of obtaining a reward. A little while af- ter, the unfortunate serjeant was found mur- dered in an obscure alley. Women of pleasure haunt the streets of Pa- lermo in inconceivable numbers; and several amongst our troops carried back to their native country souvenirs more enduring than agree- able of their fascinating society. Communi- cation with these ladies is rendered additional- ly facile by the intervention of numerous pro- curers, both male and female, who offer their 154 living wares in a manner completely destitute of coyness; by which description of traffic, however generally the pleasure may be distri- buted, the profit is almost wholly shared be- tween these respectable persons and the surgi- cal practitioners, who are many of them in the habit of inscribing over their doors, " aqui il cur a il mal venereo." In fact, this proclama- tion is hoisted, in one or more instances, in every street. Several members of our regiment married Sicilian women; commonly, however, from the very dregs of the people, who, devoted to every imaginable and unimaginable vice, ap- peared to be quite unsusceptible of the least good. They were, in short, so many disgraces to their sex ; not capable of preserving fidelity to their husbands even for a single week; on the contrary, ready to barter their favours for a trifle, with any who were fools enough to pur- chase them. Thus, for instance, a very brave and well- behaved soldier, by name Linden, unhappily contracted marriage with a wench of this cha- racter. She had contrived to inveigle him to such a degree, that he at first put faith in all her expressions: but subsequently he learnt that he possessed merely the name of husband, whilst the virtual honours of that title were THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. awarded to a certain Serjeant. For some time the poor deceived man felt a good deal of un- easiness, particularly as he was unable to ob- tain any positive proof. One night, however, that he was upon guard, a furious attack of jea- lousy drove him home, where he discovered his rival cradled in the arms of his abandoned wife. Drawing his sword, he sprang upon the despoiler of his honour: but the weapon glanc- ed aside upon the rib of the miscreant, who, as quick as lightning, darted out of the bed, and succeeded in escaping out of the house. The circumstances of the case were suppress- ed; and the interloping Serjeant professed to have received his hurt by a murderous attack of the inhabitants. 156 the rifleman's comrade. CHAP. X. Pleasures and quarrels of the English soldiers — No hopes of getting discharged from the military service — Arrival of royal French ships — Passage of the English army to Naples — Arrival at Milazzo — Adventures on our voyage. I can not as yet bid adieu to the remem- brance of our various amusements in Palermo. We had taken an apartment near our quarters, where we spent almost every evening in com- pany, at least when not prevented by military occupations. Here we danced, and sang, and drank, and, in short, perpetrated all kinds of festivity. German and Sicilian dances were alternately practised — the latter being taught us by native ladies, who were anxious to take part in our merriment. With this exception, no one was permitted to come amongst us, un- less introduced by a member of our own corps; which regulation was indeed frequently op- posed by soldiers belonging to the other bat- talions, who several times attempted to gain 157 entrance by force, but always in vain. At no time were we on a kindly footing with the third and sixth regiments of the German le- gion; and therefore individuals attached to these corps were exempted from the privilege of being brought in by a friend. This exclu- sion was never forgiven; and the parties against whom it was levelled were perpetually seek- ing opportunities of revenge. The senior of our company, a good-natured fellow of thirty i six, who was a general favourite with both offi- cers and privates, was one evening, whilst we were indulging ourselves with mirth and wine, in a neighbouring public-house close to our apartment, enjoying the lively conversation of his sweetheart. Suddenly twelve men, be- longing to the rifle company of the third bat- talion, entered the place; and falling upon him, although he had not given the slightest provo- cation, proceeded to treat him exceedingly ill. In self-defence, he snatched up a sword, and vowed he would kill the next man who should touch him, a threat which he would undoubt- edly have put in practice, not in any degree wanting courage; his determined look and ges- ture made his cowardly assailants pause, and they debated between themselves in what manner they should endeavour to secure him. Accidentally one of our men passed the house; 153 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. and the terrified girl, her eyes full of tears, re- peats to this man that a soldier of the seventh regiment is on the point of being slain. Imme- diately on receiving this intelligence, he has- tens to give us the alarm; and each individual, starting to his sword and cap, rushes impetu- ously to the opposite wine-shop, which is soon abandoned by the enemy. In the commence- ment, fists alone were the weapons made use of, but shortly swords were plucked from their scabbards, and a regular battle ensued, in which many wounds were inflicted on either side. Fresh members of both battalions now came up half-naked from the barracks, with fixed bayo- nets; and in the dark night it was scarcely pos- sible to distinguish friend from foe. Confu- sion indeed reigned triumphant. The third battalion had a good many men wounded; we, on the other hand, only a few. Patrols were at length dispatched in every direction throughout the town; and numbers •were conveyed to the guard-house, which was soon quite filled; the conflict being ultimately terminated by the dispersion of all the com- batants. On the next morning, an order of the day was put forth by our brigadier, in which we were reproached for want of harmony; and it was strictly forbidden for the soldiers of the 159 two obnoxious battalions to enter at one time the same wine-house. On the side of the ene- my several swords were missing, — the worthy owners thereof having preferred throwing them away to using them courageously: how- ever, be it remembered, these fellows were amongst the twelve who had originally occa- sioned the dispute. A report reached us that the army of Napo- leon had been beaten in all directions. Shortly after, we received the news of his abdication and exile to Elba; as also the intelligence of peace having been concluded with France. The exultation hereupon was universal, since it now appeared quite certain that we should speedily be discharged, according to the terms of our capitulation. But we were again disappointed, as the English government, in spite of the res- toration of peace and downfall of Buonaparte, seemed incredulous of the stability of the pre- sent state of things; and in the exercise of this incredulity, subsequent events proved them to have been wise. After some interval, ap- peared a few French vessels bearing the white flag; and shortly after, a naval detachment, con- sisting of a frigate and several brigs, which ar- rived from Elba, landed their seamen, who se- duced many of our soldiers to go with them on board, and these, of course, never returned. It 160 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. was easy to observe, that the commanders of these ships were more the agents of Napoleon than of the king. Not long after the departure of the frigate and her companions, we received news of the flight of the Emperor from Elba, and that Mu- rat, then king of Naples, had acknowledged him; which occasioned orders for us to proceed to Milazzo, a town appointed as the rendezvous for those troops which were destined to assist the restoration of Ferdinand IV. to his penin- sular monarchy. With infinite satisfaction did we take leave of Palermo, of which place we were heartily tired: and bade adieu, with well-feigned emotion, to our various sweet- hearts, whom we buoyed up with expectation of our speedy return — a catastrophe which we were particularly desirous to avoid. The boats came up; we sprang with renewed vigour into them, and speedily reached the ship, which instantly put off to sea. Our passage occupi- ed but a few hours; and under a favourable wind, we shot into the bay and harbour of Milazzo. Here were already assembled a considerable quantity of troops, English as well as Sicilian; and every day brought fresh reinforcements. The Sicilian forces were burning with desire 161 to measure arms with the Neapolitan maccaro- ?ii, and longing for the period of embarkation. Milazzo has an old castle, reduced to a per- fect ruin; and it was garrisoned by a single re- giment. It is defended by walls, but can not be considered a strong fortress, as is represent- ed by M. Blaquiere. On one side it is wash- ed by the sea, on the other it is bounded by an unfertile and sand-covered plain. We found here extremely good and cheap wine, but nothing else in the least degree re- markable. At length, the wishes of the Sicilians were accomplished. Six thousand men, partly of that country and partly British, were embarked to accompany the king, who came to us on board an English vessel: he was saluted by the whole fleet, which now proceeded towards the Italian coast. On board our ship was an ape, the property of the captain; and by the curi- ous tricks of this animal we were greatly amus- ed. An old gentleman of Naples was likewise on board, in the character of a passenger; he wore a perruque, and the ape had for a long time cast wistful glances thereon; his intentions were obviously to abstract it, but they were foiled by the watchful diligence of the proprie- tor. One day, however, when we had just passed the Stromboli, and every one's atten o2 162 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. tion was absorbed by the view of Etna, which lay before us, the mischievous monkey took ad- vantage of our reveries to spring upon the Nea- politan, to seize the unfortunate wig, and to bound, before any one could intercept him, up to the cross-stay of the middle-mast. The la- mentations of the bereaved old gentleman, whose bald pate was thus left unprotected, ex- cited, on the one hand, our universal commise- ration; but, on the other, when we looked up at the ape, who had put on the perruque the wrong side foremost, we burst into involuntary shouts of laughter, which after a while infected the good-natured loser himself. It was quite impossible to catch the thief, who climbed successively to the very highest point of the mast, making so many grimaces that we were fairly compelled to hold our sides. In the evening he descended, bearing with ex- treme carefulness the stolen perruque under his arm, and hastening to his crib, which was sit- uated under the step of the cabin, where we secured him, and rescued the wig, which we restored to its disconcerted owner. Nothing was safe from the depredations of this ill-natured animal: every thing that came in his way he purloined. He penetrated into the sleeping-rooms of the soldiers — seized the rum-bottles — took them away — thieved the THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 163 caps — and retired with his booty into the masts, &c. &c. These gambols served to di- vert us infinitely; and as the length of the voyage was not such as to occasion tedium, we derived therefrom both health and pleasure. We had left the Sicilian coast in the beauti- ful season of May, when Nature was invested with a robe of surpassing loveliness. The air was genial — the heavens pure and serene: thou- sands of fishes sported around our vessel, and innumerable sea-birds wheeled about the masts, ready to devour whatever might be thrown overboard. The ship had not to contend against any violence on the part of the waves, which uniformly greeted her starboard; and the crew were freed from the labour of making altera- tions in the tackle. At length, a calm held us enchained some days near the Liparian islands, but with a renewal of the same wind which had wafted us from Milazzo, we made further way. The mariners were kind and sociable; and cleanliness was unremittingly observed. We ourselves had no work whatever to do, and were abundantly supplied with food. In a word, every thing was joy and contentment. 164 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE- CHAP. XI. View of the shores of Italy — Arrival in the Bay of Na- ples, and reception there — Description of the Austrian army — ^Excursions — Departure for Genoa, and residence there — Voyage from Genoa to England — Stay at Ports- mouth — My discharge from the army — Enter the service of an English officer — Description of Portsmouth and its inhabitants. Soon did we perceive in the blue distance the coast of Italy, and picturesque objects start- ed into view almost every minute — the pros- pect undergoing perpetual change. But the proportion of our delight was greatly enlarged when a nearer approach to shore enabled us to see these things, which had been before blend- ed in harmonious confusion by distance, in all their beauteous detail. The bay of Naples, backed by the town itself, stretched out in the shape of an amphitheatre, made a sublime im- pression upon our minds. On one side of the city towered Vesuvius, with its neighbour, the Monte Somme; the former always crowned with vapoury cloud, the latter covered well 1G5 nigh to the summit with grapes, the juice of which often served us to drive away care and spleen. The whole country on both sides of the bay is, in fact, like one huge garden, in which bloom all the varieties of southern fruit. The line of the coast is thickly strewed with batteries, in the loop-holes of which are placed pieces of cannon of the largest calibre, looking as if they would oppose the advance of every passing ship. We, however, sailed quite peacefully into port, accompanied by innu- merable boats and gondolas, filled with well- dressed ladies and gentlemen, who alternately raised the cry of King Ferdinand and King George. Every vessel in the harbour hoisted a flag, and we did the same. The press and crowd of people upon the shore can hardly be described. Elegant carriages, fiacres, — lazza- roni, chevaliers, ladies and gentlemen, soldiers of the now dissolved army of Murat, — all were swarming like bees together. The swell of the sea was at this time very strong, and there- fore we were disabled from landing till next morning: however, we were pretty soon at an- chor, but the rest of the day was spent rather tediously, as was also the ensuing night — every one being possessed with an ardent long- ing to explore the interior of the beautiful town which lay before our eyes. Each man was 166 desirous to render his arms and accoutrements as good-looking as possible, in order to attract the admiration of the Neapolitan people, who have a great fondness for display. The wished-for dawn at length broke, and we disembarked without loss of time; the whole expedition, in the course of an hour, passing in review before the royal palace, in the gallery of which the entire staff of the troops then in Naples was assembled. Our corps was particularly distinguished in respect to its appearance, bearing, and attire; and it might clearly be read in our countenances that we had been well entertained whilst on board. In a word, all eyes were directed towards the new-comers, and expressions of pleasurable surprise were passed commonly from one to another, occasionally varied by curses of Murat and his party. A good many of the Austrian troops whom we met here, presented, on the other hand, a most pitiful figure; — by reason partly of their white uniform, which, from its tendency to soil, is unfitted for military service; and partly ow- ing to the victuals which had been furnished to them, in a shameful manner, by the com- missioners. I myself frequently had occasion to observe that these poor fellows were fed upon bread consisting more of straw and bran- THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 167 grudgeon than of corn. They complained also, in particular, of the heavy marches which they had made from the Po to Naples; and in addi- tion to these evils, their pay was scandalously inadequate; they having received only two kreuzers a-piece daily, with the promise that their remaining money should be paid to them afterwards! On the conclusion of the review, we were made acquainted with the situation of our quar- ters, which were fixed in the district of Santa Magdalena, in the back-ground of the bay, at the southern end, near the base of Vesuvius. I should have liked exceedingly to have made an excursion to the adjacent ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum; but the soldiers of Murat, who were roaming about in lawless bands, ren- dered travelling very unsafe. We went how- ever several times to Vesuvius without the permission of our officers, and intended to climb to its summit; but time was always want- ing to enable us to do so: we were obliged therefore to satisfy ourselves with so much as we could see of the mountain without incurring punishment for our curiosity, returning gene- rally much delighted. The fine prospects of the bay and city recompensed us fully for the fatigue of our various rambles. King Ferdinand IV. speedily re-ascended 168 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. his ancient throne, amidst the joyful acclama- tions of his subjects, (m) This circumstance gave occasion to a great many different festivi- ties; and the Neapolitans exerted themselves by all the means in their power to exhibit their attachment to the restored monarch and his family. Our business was now finished here; there- fore we again embarked, and in the month of August, 1815, proceeded to Genoa, where we expected to receive our discharge, as had been decreed by the British parliament: this how- ever was not even yet the case, and the spring of 1816 found us still in service. We made the passage to Genoa in a very short period, being favoured both by wind and weather. Once more were my senses enchant- ed by the gulf of Naples and its beautiful en- virons, particularly by the gigantic volcano and the numerous vineyards surrounding it, whose fruits had so often bewitched me in ano- ther sense: never shall I forget the exquisite flavour of the Lacryma Christi, which how- ever I am doomed no more to taste. Our ves- sel glided pleasantly through the little narrow passes of Ischia and Procida, to both of which islands we approached near enough to distin- guish the various objects on the land. At no great distance might be observed the crater of 169 an extinguished volcano, and the shore was strewed with large and small pieces of pumice- stone. Lovely vineyards stretched themselves over the rest of each island, whilst oranges and other trees peculiar to the warm south were growing in large quantities. By and by all this scene disappeared, and was succeeded by a view of the promontory on which Terracina is situated. Without ex- periencing any cross accident, we approached to Elba and to the adjoining island of Capraja, which latter rises quite bare out of the surface of ocean, like a huge sand-down. This island is in fact uninhabited, and is frequented only by dwellers in Liburna and Genoa, for the pur- pose of fishing. Near the last-mentioned place, we observed the castle of Diamanti, which forms the highest summit of the fortifications of the town, and is only visible in clear weather; its guns com- manding the whole port and roadstead. The lighthouse is the first object perceived on en- tering the harbour of Genoa, the approach to which is so narrow, that from either side the entrance of a vessel can be, if not wholly pre- vented, at least rendered extremely difficult. Close by is the place of public execution; and just as our ship was passing, the gallows were graced by the exhibition of a long-bearded 170 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. Genoese. On the old Mola we came to anchor, and so near shore, that without much effort we could spring to land. Here, in fact, we did disembark, and went through the Punta del Banco, to the quarter St. Thomas. Quite different did we find this part of Italy from its more southern regions : the habits of the people are more cleanly — their characters more refined and open; and it was easy to ob- serve that we were by some degrees nearer to our dear native country. Genoa, during its republican constitution, must have been a very considerable city; for on all sides we heard complaints of the diminu- tion of commerce and prosperity; whilst, ne- vertheless, it appeared to us, that even at the present time both land and sea trades were go- ing on very successfully. The many beautiful palaces, and other fine buildings, prove beyond doubt that the founders of Genoa must have been a wealthy and powerful people. The Doria Palace, at the Gate St. Thomas, as well as that near the Gate del Aqua, are certainly both very remarkable structures: in the latter was at that time lodging Major Gen. Phil- lips; and I had consequently frequent oppor- tunities of seeing the inside of this fine edifice. Paintings in fresco, representing the wars of the Crusades, embellished the whole corridor, 0^. THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 171 the lobbies, and the antechambers, and often have I stood for hours together gazing on the athletic proportions and noble countenances of these heroes. The hall presented an arcade of several thousand feet in length, on the walls of which were depicted groups of females weaving sails. A stranger would stand a chance of ut- terly losing his way by following the labyrin- thine cross- ways of this huge apartment. The galley-slaves in the naval arsenal demand a word or two of notice. These men are inured to the hardest labour; and often did I observe the poor wretches, who by the bye are com- posed of the most depraved and vilest of the population, dragging, like beasts of burden, loads of tremendous weight. The arsenal it- self is very large, and contains all the ware- houses which are concerned in the trade of ship- building: and it is a great pity that this port possesses only wharves for small ships and gal- liots, which latter, however, are very useful, both to defend the coast and to make excursions in; often starting from the port to engage with the corsairs, who are continually crossing this part of the Mediterranean. Some days previ- ously to my departure, for instance, a Tunisian corsair wes captured by one of these small vessels. The fortifications of Genoa are regular, and 172 their construction has been attended with con- siderable expense. Mounting the walls at the Porta St. Thomas, you may walk without inter- ruption all round the city, the parapet being built of brick, and kept in excellent repair. The severity of the current winter tried us a great deal; as, from long experience of warmer climates, we found a northern aspect intolera- ble. Most of us indeed had not witnessed, for several years, either ice or snow in any degree deserving notice. In the spring of 1816 we embarked for En- gland, on the coast of which we arrived in the month of March: here 1 grew ill, and fell short- ly afterwards into a nervous fever of long du- ration, which brought me nigh to death's door. I was conveyed to the military hospital at Portsmouth, where 1 lay for a considerable time quite senseless; my comrades meanwhile being honourably discharged, and sent home to their native countries — a fact which came to my knowledge at a subsequent period. Re- peatedly did I, to all appearance, rapidly re- cover, and as often severe relapses throw me back into my former state of sickness; so that, after the expiration of a year and a half, I was still on English ground, and in the English service: at length I was so far restored as to render my discharge no longer ineligible. Dur- 173 ing my illness I had saved a little money, so that I might perhaps have been worth the sum of a hundred guldens.* The day of my departure was fixed, when by chance I was introduced to the notice of an officer of high rank, who wanted a servant. I engaged myself to this gentleman at a monthly salary of four pounds; and for the space of a year and a half I continued perfectly satisfied. One source of my comfort may have been pro- bably derived from my master's acquaintance with the habits of my own countrymen; for servants in England, speaking generally, are not kindly treated, being regarded by their em- ployers more as necessary evils than in any other light. After some time, my master was ordered from Portsmouth, to be incorporated into a re- giment which was in garrison in the metropo- lis. It was with considerable regret that I found myself obliged to quit this sea-port, where I had formed many agreeable connex- ions, and had altogether passed my time very pleasantly. Portsmouth has so large a harbour, that it is capable, if necessary, of sheltering the whole English fleet, and is defended by three forts. * A gulden is the eleventh part of a sovereign. P2 174 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. The wharves for ships and ammunition are quite astonishing, both as regards convenience and extent. A hospital and a naval school, each arranged for the reception of 3,000 persons, are admirably appropriate to the place. Almost every hour vessels arrive from the various parts of the world which are engaged in commerce. In every quarter of the town, you may hear different sorts of languages — including those of civilized Europe and the ruder tongues of Asia and America; native and foreign sailors thronging about in all directions, in search of the universal object — pleasure. The inhabitants of the place, however, avoid as much as possible any connexion with these sons of Neptune, who, for the most part, are drunken and mischievous: at the same time, much kindness is shown to them when they are placed in circumstances which call for its ex- ercise, as is not unfrequently the case. The guard-rooms are often filled with such guests; the sailors of English vessels not seldom grac- ing these receptacles, being much accustomed to be overcome by liquor, and having general- ly more money to spend than the seamen of other countries. When so thoroughly intox- icated as to be scarce able to raise an arm, they will challenge eveVy person they meet, — shaking their double fist as if to level with the THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 175 earth their supposed antagonists: hence the guards are obliged to fall upon them in a body, in order to secure them and to prevent mischief. When overpowered, and lying as it were in immoveable masses, they resort to the use of oaths, cursing God, and swearing at every body around: it then becomes necessary to gag them, which process is performed by putting a stick across the mouth, fixed by a string passed be- hind the hat — so that neither lips nor tongue can be at all moved. Thus the swearing and roaring are prevented, and blubbering succeeds, only terminated by exhaustion and sleep. Such is a specimen of the extravagance of these people; which pervades, in fact, all their actions; — and yet, in spite thereof, they are by the natives of this maritime country much more respected and humoured than men attach- ed to the land service. I have myself, during my stay here, witnessed the infliction of gross insults by the lowest of the populace upon both officers and privates of the military, whilst the most shabby-looking sailors were treated with astonishing courtesy. The soldier is, in truth, upon English ground, an undervalued being, distasteful to all ranks, except perhaps the very highest, by whom he .is more regarded as an useful engine than with any sympathy in his pursuits or feelings. 176 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. Throughout the whole kingdom, the barracks of the military are placed outside the towns, within which not even the commanding officers reside: the soldiers being only at stated inter- vals of the day permitted to enter the town, and being then frequently watched by the Ser- jeant. Under these circumstances, the English soldier feels himself more advantageously sit- uated abroad than in his own country; and I was extremely happy that I was no longer at- tached to the standard of the British army. I never could, indeed, from first to last, ac- custom myself to the English habits and man- ners; and I think that it almost amounts to an impossibility for any Frenchman or German to do so; for it is hardly to be described how proud, stiff, and reserved is the demeanour of the self-wrapped-up inhabitants of this island. Even those who have been travellers on the continent, and consequently necessitated, in some degree, to accustom themselves to the good German manners, are arrogant enough. THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 177 CHAP. XII. Journey to London — Arrival in the Thames — View of the Metropolis — Custom-house — London and its inhabi- tants — Buildings— Banks of the river — Shops, and their brilliant appearance at night — Guildhall — Royal Ex- change — The Bank — Somerset-house — Westminster Ab- bey—St. Paul's Cathedral — Public Charities— -The la- dies of London — Salutations of the English — Diseases in- cident to the capital — Epitaphs — Observations on the English character — Domestic, social, and commercial habits of the Londoners— A Sunday in London. Now I swam again upon the deceitful ele- ment, and in a vessel of a character quite novel to me — a steam-boat. Utterly surprised was I on entering this vessel, the ingenious arrange- ment of which powerfully excited my curiosi- ty, seeing that it took the place at once of both sails and wind. That without either mast or canvas the boat should outstrip in speed the swiftest sailing-vessel, appeared to me at that time little less than miraculous. Thus whilst we fled along, the shores quickly receded; and in the course of this voyage I obtained a glimpse 178 of Deal and Dover, two large coasting towns, opposite the latter of which, in the blue dis- tance, lay Calais and the French shore; — so near was I to that land which contained my be- loved family. A yearning of affection for my country and my friends came over me: but the desire of becoming better acquainted with the world, — so fair an opportunity of indulging which was now before me, — overcame every other feeling. We anchored by Deal for a few hours, to set ashore passengers. Here is no port, only an open roadstead, which was filled with ships; and here, as well as at Portsmouth, were a great many dismantled men-of-war, their crews be- ing discharged, and roaming about the different sea-port towns, destitute of employ — the En- glish naval force having undergone a great re- duction since the peace with France. Shortly afterwards we rounded the point of Dover, and hastened towards the mouth of the Thames, into which our vessel soon darted. Up the river we went with increased velocity, and but a short time elapsed before the giant- city, — the capital of all the capitals of Europe — rose upon our view. The mere sight of this vast wonder is sufficient almost to realize the English boast, that London alone is as large as all the principal towns of France united. THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 179 The river was filled with vessels of every size and description. An immense number of boats were sailing up and down — some with provisions — others with coals — others, again, with parties of pleasure merely. In a word, the whole presented the semblance rather of a huge public street than of a river. We soon arrived at the Custom-house; and although come from an English sea-port, my master was obliged to produce his papers, and I to exhibit his effects, in order to make manifest that there were amongst them no foreign articles subject to duty. My master being a military officer, was notlong detained; and I hastened, as quick- ly as possible, with two porters, whose assist- ance I had engaged for ten shillings, to our lodgings, which were not very distant from the landing-place; so that my surprise was ex- cited by their asking so much for such a little way: my master however did not think it ex- orbitant, and paid the money without hesita- tion. The first impression made on my mind by the sight of this vast city was not altogether agreeable; and one principal cause of this may be found in the smoky atmosphere by which its long narrow streets are enveloped, and which clothes even the cupolas of its towers. As I approached it by the river, the fine coun- 180 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. try spread around relieved greatly this dusky hue, and formed a striking contrast, in its clearness and beauty, to the sombre mass be- fore me. The capital is seven miles in length, and five miles in breadth, and is computed to contain about 150,000 houses, and a million of inhabitants, (n) The general material employ- ed in building is brick, which soon assumes, owing to the universal use of seal-coal fires, a sooty appearance; and even where architectural elegance has been displayed, the confined situa- tion of such edifices renders it almost impossi- ble to view them to advantage, if indeed they are not wholly overlooked. Most of the houses are two stories in height above the ground- floor; having an under-ground kitchen, with cellar and other appurtenances. The servants' apartments, generally speaking, are not at all to my taste, although my lodging was, it must be confessed, a little better. The streets have all of them flag-stones on each side, for the accommodation of foot-pas- sengers, who would otherwise incur great hazard from the quantity of equestrians, and of carriages of every description. The communication between the city and the borough of South wark,* intercepted by the * The author erroneously says Westminster. THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 181 Thames, is rendered facile by means of five bridges, to which a sixth has just been added. Amongst these the two iron bridges are the most remarkable, which are about 1200 feet long and forty feet wide. The older ones are embellished with carved figures; but it struck me as not a little strange, that the banks of this noble stream, flowing as it does through the first commercial city in the world, should be destitute of quays and other ornamental struc- tures, such as I have seen in Paris and else- where. The shops and warehouses are so numerous and elegant as to baffle all description: they oc- cupy the whole of the ground-floor; and, in this respect, London by far excels any other town. I was soon enabled to observe, that these places not only attracted the females of the metropolis to gaze at them, and to make purchases of various kinds, but were used by these fair ones as rendezvous for meetings with persons of the other sex, — a circumstance by no means objected to by the shopkeepers them- selves. In both winter and summer, this great city is beautifully lighted up with gas, the glare of which species of illumination seems to render unnecessary any assistance from the heavenly luminaries. I had no opportunity, during my Q 182 stay, of seeing more than the outside of the se- veral remarkable public buildings, with the ex- ception of the Tower, whither my master, who had to transact business there, took me. This place might be with greater propriety called Towers, there being more than one, which serve to form the castle or fort, and protect the other buildings of the enclosure. 1 took only a slight view of these buildings, consisting of numerous streets, &c. The Tower Chapel was closed; but a soldier of the garrison, who was on duty, told me that many victims of despot- ism were buried here, and confirmed his as- sertion by naming certain instances. The menagerie contains a good many wild beasts; but they bore the appearance, to me, of being in a very sickly state. Although I should have been much gratified thereby, I could not ob- tain admission to view the jewels of the im- perial crown. The armoury did not please me: it contains an immense quantity of arms, of every description — some amongst them be- ing exceedingly curious; but I had little satis- faction in gazing upon these instruments of destruction. The Mint is likewise close in the neighbourhood, but I could not see its in- terior. This was the sum total of what I saw in the Tower of London: there are many other spec- 183 tacles exhibited therein; but the payment of a shilling for each sight rendered the amuse- ments too dear for the pocket of a servant, (o) The town-house, or Guildhall, of the city, seemed to me no larger than that of many Ger- man towns. The exterior is embellished with statues; and inside is an immense room, on en- tering which you are struck with the appear- ance of two gigantic figures, rudely constructed of wood, and pitifully daubed with paint. These monsters are denominated Gog and Magog, and many grotesque stories are told of them by the lower classes. The hall is ornamented, besides, with numerous pictures and statues of royal and otherwise distinguished individuals. The Exchange is a structure well worthy of observation, it being the very nucleus of com- merce, where merchants of every nation under the sun congregate daily. The Bank of England is of immense extent, and its exterior struck me as being remarkably handsome. The interior, with which I am un- acquainted, is said to be not so good; but the importance of the establishment to the general interests of this mercantile kingdom is incon- ceivably great. The statue of Charles II, which ornaments one of the entrances, looks more like that of a Turk than of an Englishman. Somerset-house bears more of the appear- 184 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. ance of a palace than any other public building in London. It is situated in the very heart of the capital, on the bank of the Thames, which is there wider than at any other point of its metropolitan channel: but you have no view of the river except at the back of the edifice; and even there the prospect of the noble line of hills which rise on the opposite side is coop- ed in by wharves and other buildings. The first view of the splendid Gothic struc- ture, called Westminster Abbey, filled me with admiration; a feeling which was not, how- ever, increased upon a nearer scrutiny. The other churches of Westminster I did not ex- amine, since they have no celebrity except on account of the monuments enclosed therein, which are valuable only to connoisseurs. St. Paul's Cathedral, with its two cupolas and magnificent dome, is venerable and imposing; but its interior strikes the beholder with no- thing more than a sense of extent; the bare walls and vacant area producing an unfavoura- ble contrast with the lavish richness of the ex- ternal decoration. The same observation which I made respecting the Westminster parish- churches will hold good with regard to those of the city, into which I felt no temptation whatever to enter. The metropolis of Britain abounds with pub- 185 lie charities of every kind, which have the re- putation of being admirably adapted to their several purposes, and reflect peculiar honour upon the humane liberality by which they have been established. The large coffee-houses, the Pantheon, and a number of other public buildings and walks, I saw only in passing; my small leisure and my master's short sojourn rendering any fur- ther acquaintance with them impossible. To each of the two great national theatres, Drury- Lane and Covent-Garden, I went but once: in- deed, I had no occasion to repeat my visit in order to be convinced that they were not cal- culated to afford me the least gratification. The various other theatres I know by name alone. Larger than in any other town in the world is the number of courtezans in London, who, like the greater part of their countrywomen, are extremely handsome, and who form sepa- rate classes amongst themselves: independent- ly of all which, a considerable body of married women and girls of fair reputation are to be met with, who bestow their favours with pru- dence and caution, keeping on the safe side of circumstances. The English females general- ly, however, are chaste and estimable, not en- during the least approach of voluptuousness either in word or deed; and it is very possible Q2 186 to forfeit their good graces altogether even by a single unguarded expression, — as was once the case in my own instance. I saw the daugh- ter of a neighbour, whose trade was that of a farrier, in the act of sewing shirts, and asked her, without the most distant idea of giving offence, if she could recommend somebody who would do a similar good office for me. To this question, put in the greatest simplicity, I not only received no answer, but the girl's frowning countenance manifested that I had incurred her displeasure. 1 was afterwards in- formed by a friend, that the custom of the coun- try forbade any allusion, in the presence of virtuous females, to shirts, chemises, garters, small-clothes, or any other article worn in the immediate vicinity of the person. The wo- men of the lower classes, however, are treated by their husbands with great coarseness and vulgarity, against the exercise of which they do not even venture to remonstrate. It is said that instances occasionally occur of wives be- ing sold by their spouses in the public market, but nothing of the kind took place during my stay; and I am disposed to regard the circum- stance, if it ever does happen, as one equally rare as disgusting. The salutations in use amongst these haugh- ty islanders are altogether different from those 187 which custom has established amongst the Germans. Frequently have I heard a fine gentleman commence his address to an ac- quaintance thus; " D — n you, you dog! how d'ye do?" or " Where the devil did you come from?" nor are the other parts of their collo- quy free from the introduction of similar re- finements. When in the company of ladies, however, this mode of talking is wholly laid aside, and they become, for the most part, re- served and silent: indeed, the minutes seem to be anxiously counted until the retirement of the females enables them to indulge in those parts of speech native to and beloved by them. I had heard that it was considered fashiona- ble in London to be out of health at certain periods of the year: my little circle was per- haps too humble to adopt this mode; but there was no lack of sickness nevertheless. Ner- vous disorders are a good deal patronised by the Londoners, at least by the upper classes amongst them: but cases of this kind did not fall within my observation. I hope the tem- perate habits and dispositon to labour so com- mon in Germany, will prevent my country- men from falling victims to this English mala- dy. Instances of self-destruction were reported 188 to me almost daily, and the reasons assigned for them often excited my surprise; whilst the English, on the contrary, thought them quite sufficing. The epitaphs on the grave-stones, in the various burial-places, struck me as be- ing frequently very strange: as, for instance, I read in one place, — " My wife has turned me out of the world: death has become my life, and the king of terrors my brother." A true and thorough description of the En- glish character would probably be beyond my ability: I feel indeed that much higher talents than my own are requisite to comprehend and set down its subtle peculiarities. Frequently when I believed that I had made up my mind on the subject, fresh circumstances induced me to alter my opinion, and a new aspect of the national character was presented to my mind. Often did I feel acutely my want of the address and general intelligence necessary to enable a man to mix with confidence in the so- ciety of this wondrous place; where even the depraved portion of its inhabitants — the com- mon thieves — carry on their profession with a tact and skill, that require, in order to coun- teract them, the exercise of unwearied caution. Social life in London, particularly amongst the polished circles of the west end, differs es- sentially in its peculiarities from the methods \f* ft ♦ . THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 189 adopted in Germany. When we retire to rest, the fashionables of the British metropolis begin to congregate for pleasure; and at the pale dawn, universal bustle and animation still continue. At three o'clock p. m. the Bond- street lounger, just turned out, salutes his friend with " good morningl" and after din- ner, which is taken at seven or eight o'clock, or perhaps later, he exchanges this phrase for " good evening!" so that for him there is no noon at all. These dinners last sometimes, at least the wine and dessert, until the very mid- dle of the night, by which means supper be- comes superfluous, tea being served directly after dinner. During the meal, little is said, and no great deal of wine drunk, all continu- ing pretty orderly; but no sooner is the cloth removed, which is a mute sign for the retire- ment of the ladies, than strong wines are set upon table and lustily pushed about. With the circulation of the glass, politics are intro- duced, and often canvassed with no small as- perity; seldom one of the guests departing without having paid due homage to the rosy god Bacchus, even to the extent in some in- stances of prostration under the table. Very different from this, however, are the proceedings of the plebeian classes. From the earliest to the latest hour, these people are in 190 constant activity. At break of dawn, numer- ous carts and other conveyances are on the alert for the supply of the metropolis with va- rious articles of food, such as vegetables, &c. which are brought in cart-loads from the sur- rounding country places. Later in the morning are to be seen numbers of coal-drays,* drawn by gigantic black horses, the motion of which to and from the coal depots is well nigh perpe- tual, and by which all parts of the town are supplied. As the day advances, the carriages and cabriolets are put into activity, between which it is sometimes difficult for the pedes- trian to steer with safety across the road. Men with bills stuck upon their hats, or attheir backs, go about the streets, offering, for some penny or so, their printed songs, lists of malefactors, dying speeches, &c. or forming a kind of loco- motive advertisement to some trading esta- blishment. Thus the scene eternally changes throughout the whole capital; and on the ap- proach of evening the crowds even increase, owing to numbers of the working-people get- ting free from their day's business — nor is quiet restored until midnight, and then only partially. What a contrast to this ever-active principle of life and motion is presented by the dull, stagnant, unendurable monotony of the Sunday! 191 It affords certainly a remission of labour to the mechanic who toils through all the rest of the week; but to the man of fashion, in particular, its stupidity must be tedious in the extreme. All mirthful indulgences, whether public or private, are strictly forbidden; and before the termination of the day even those who had been longing for it during all the previous six, seem heartily tired of their holiday. My short residence in London, and the su- peradded want of time and opportunity, pre- vented me from obtaining more than a superfi- cial knowledge of its various characteristics; and there are already so many acute and inter- esting accounts of the British metropolis fur- nished by men of talent, that the limited na- ture of my information is scarcely matter of regret. 192 m CHAP. XIII. Journey to Gravesend, and voyage from thence to China — Description of the shipwreck of the Cabalva — Stranding of the vessel — Revolt of a part of the crew, and their punishment — Arrival at the Cape of Good Hope — Horrible scenes during the shipwreck. In the spring of the year 1818, 1 accompani- ed my master on a journey to Gravesend, at which place he visited his friend Captain Dal- rymple, of the East India Company's naval force: I acquired the favourable notice of this latter gentleman, and was by him persuaded to go in his service on a voyage to China. In the vessel I became acquainted with a young Ger- man, who then filled the office of midshipman, and I will take advantage of his journal to make my readers informed of the particulars of our voyage, adding such circumstances as occurred to myself individually. On the morning of the 14th of April, 1818, the Cabalva, an East-Indiaman, of about 1,200 tons, destined by the direction of the Honour- able Company for the coast of China, and com- THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 193 manded by Captain Dalrymple, set sail from Gravesend. The ship's company consisted altogether of 130 men; including six officers, a surgeon, an assistant-surgeon, seven mid- shipmen, one passenger, who had been a pur- ser in the employ of the Company and was des- tined for Canton, and the servant of the cap- tain. At Gravesend I* went on board as midship- man; and the captain, who behaved very kind- ly to me as I had made the same voyage with him once before, offered me, in proof of his friendship, the vacant situation of sixth officer. In the commencement, I was unwilling to un- dertake this charge, which was attended with few solid advantages and would entail upon me some expense: but the captain succeeded in repressing these objections, and accordingly the coat-sleeve of my uniform became decorat- ed with six buttons. We endeavoured to make our crew as com- plete as possible; and having done so, set sail in company with the Lady Melville, a vessel likewise in the Honourable Company's ser- vice. We passed through the Channel under a * The reader will please to observe, that it is the au- thor's friend who speaks, during- this narrative, in the first person. R 194 favourable wind but in dusky weather, being guided by an old experienced pilot. At eleven o'clock in the forenoon of the 17th instant, whilst proceeding quietly under easy sail, and making eleven knots an hour (the Ower-light ship being N. N. E. of us), we in one instant found ourselves aground — at first slightly, but subsequently experiencing, four or five times, very powerful concussions. Our pilot, alarmed by this sudden and unforeseen mishap, grew pale, but shortly recovering his self-possession, he directed the helm to be put a-po'rt, and we again got sea-room and resumed our voyage. The ship-carpenter was instructed to examine the vessel, and reported that there was four inches of water in the well, which in a very short period increased to nine inches. A coun- cil was now held to decide whether we should proceed or go into port to get our ship caulked. The decision was to proceed; and the pilot, quite dejected in consequence of this misfor- tune, having been put ashore, we again made way. By the leak the water increased fourteen inches an hour, and we were compelled to set the pumps in motion, and to work at them day and night. Both wind and weather however were in our favour; and we should have been perfectly contented, did not the unceasing noise THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 195 of the pumps, and the staggering of the ship at the least sea that struck her, constantly remind us of our danger. We passed, with the customary ceremonies, the equinoctial line; and shortly afterwards there arose amongst our people a formidable revolt, which would have been attended with very mischievous consequences, had not the re- solute conduct of the captain and officers speed- ily repressed it. — Captain Dairy mple dined one day on board the Lady Melville, which was always in our close company. The officer who commanded in his absence was desirous of exhibiting to him the skill of our seamen in reefing and handing; and accordingly turned out the hands to reef topsails, promising to each a glass of grog, in case it was done well. Un- luckily those who were on the fore-top execut- ed their task in such a bungling manner, that the fore-topsail was absolutely spoiled; in con- sequence of which they were immediately or- dered down, and severely started. A good deal of grumbling and discontent hence ensued amongst the crew, several of whom stood dar- ingly forth; and did not hesitate to use very menacing expressions. These were promptly imprisoned — a circumstance which, far from tranquillizing, served still more to exasperate the crew; and when the captain, at eight o'clock 196 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. in the evening, came aboard, the hands were turned out for punishment. The lanterns were instantly lighted, and one of the culprits seiz- ed up: the boatswain was ready to execute the captain's sentence, so soon as it should be pro- nounced; when, at once, as on a given signal, a number of belay ing-pins, (short iron bolts,) which seemed to be thrown from the masts, came rattling upon the heads of the officers and those who remained faithful to their duty; and with a furious " hurra" the whole gang rushed on us, shouting " Now all for one, and one for all!" with other expressions of defiance. u Hand up the arms!" vociferated the captain: and in a few moments each of us was provided with pistol, sword, &c. In the mean time the cap- tain had directed that the shrouds should be searched, to discover, if possible, the perpetra- tors of the outrage. I, together with the se- cond officer, performed this duty. We inspect- ed every corner with the points of our swords, but could perceive no one. My companion de- scended again upon deck, having instructed me to stay in the main-top. The punishment of the condemned sailor now proceeded without further disturbance, and he received four dozen lashes; but scarcely had the second culprit been seized up in like manner, when a great confu- sion arose again amongst the crew, and another 197 storm of iron bolts was hurled upon the offi- cers. The captain cried out to me that there must be some miscreant concealed aloft, but I assured him it was not the case; and at that in- stant a fellow was detected upon deck, in the very act of heaving the offensive missiles, and who, without the least delay, was visited with six dozen lashes. In a similar manner five others were punished, each being admonished to be cautious how he misbehaved in future, and to attend to his duty; and the affair being brought to an end, the crew were dismissed, but not without manifesting a good deal of dis- satisfaction. No confidence was therefore placed in them by the officers, who continued the whole night under arms; — but all remain- ed quiet. We proceeded on our voyage with a favour- able wind; and, at the Cape of Good Hope, fell in with the Honourable Company's ship the Scalesby Castle. From this vessel we learnt that the Ower-light ship, just before we cross- ed the Channel, had drifted several miles in shore; by which intelligence the enigma was solved of our having run aground in such well- known roads; and the pilot, captain, and indeed the whole ship's company, were cleared of any neglect or ignorance on the subject.. We now perceived that it must have been the elbow- r2 198 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. point of the Owers, a well-known reef near Portsmouth, on which we were so suddenly stranded, seduced by the false situation of the light-ship. By the same channel, our captain received the pleasant intelligence that his wife had been safely delivered of a little girl. Some days after, we were separated, in a gale, from the Scalesby Castle and the Lady Melville; and our leak grew larger and larger, so that we had twenty inches water every hour. Under these circumstances, we agreed not to proceed directly for China, but to an- chor at Bombay for the purpose of caulking the ship. A contrary wind did not permit us to sail directly up the channel of Mozambique; therefore we took the outer passage, intending to steer between the isles of St. Mauritius, or Isle de France, and Bourbon. The hands at the pumps were doubled, and the officers were commanded not to carry too much sail, lest the ship should be strained, and the leak increase. Wind and weather had continued favourable ever since we rounded Ihe Cape, and on Sun- day, the fifth of July, we believed ourselves to be in the vicinity of St. Mauritius, where the captain had a brother who was colonel in the army, and whom he was desirous to see on the present opportunity. The whole of this day 199 and subsequent night, therefore, we were en- gaged in endeavouring to discover land; but the weather was hazy and rainy, and the dawn of the next morning arose, without unfolding to us the least sign of it. On Tuesday the seventh of July, at four o'clock a. m. on the watch being relieved as usual, and myself called upon deck to take the morning watch, under command of the second officer, I was instructed to keep a good look- out a-head, as our course began to appear dubi- ous. Having therefore relieved the fourth officer, I stationed two men on the fore-yard, and one on each cat-head, mustered the fore- castle watch, and walked the waist, in expec- tation of receiving orders for washing the deck. The moon had already disappeared about an hour, and it wanted pretty much the same time to day-break: the night was at its very darkest, but the sky was cloudless and the stars bright, — the wind was brisk but not heavy, — and the Cabalva cut her way majestically through the dusky waves: we made seven miles and a half an hour, going under easy sail, with a breeze on the quarter. The crew were for the most part stretched in sleep upon the decks, and the heavy melancholy stillness was only interrupted by the sea breaking against our bows, the snoring of the sailors, and the 200 THE RIFLEMAN S COMRADE. measured steps of the officers — diversified oc- casionally by the doleful cry of the birds flying above our masts. Thus I had paced up and down perhaps half an hour, looking now upwards, now around me, — one moment at the sparkling stars — the next at the black horizon, where sea and sky were blended in one line, — anxious to perceive any impending danger, yet little thinking that it was even now upon us, — when suddenly the men stationed aloft shouted out repeatedly, one after another, u Breakers — breakers on the larboard bow! hard aport! hard aport! Too late! All is lost! hard aport!" My faculties were perfectly benumbed by these exclamations; and I felt for the moment as if enchained by heart-withering ice; but I had sense enough to be aware that there was not a single instant to lose. I echoed the omi- nous words to the other officer of the watch, and ran quickly aft to the wheel; the helm flew aport, the vessel rounded to, glanced for a few seconds over the rocky bottom and then, with a tremendous hurl, she struck. By the vio- lence of the concussion, her bottom was entire- ly quashed; the masts trembled like aspens; and every thing was crackling and bursting around. The wheel spun around like a top, until the helm was hard a-starboard again; by 201 which action the man at the wheel was cast clean over to leeward, where he lay the pic- ture of death. I saw him no more: probably he was actually killed on the spot, or so muti- lated as to be unable to seek his own preser- vation. One of the seamen whom I had placed on the fore yard-arm was likewise thrown down, and was either dashed to pieces or car- ried away by the waves. All hands now assembled upon deck — the final concussion having cast most of the sailors out of their hammocks and cots, and no one being willing to remain between decks. Thus, in a few moments, the upper deck was thronged with half-naked people, and a horrible scene of confusion, dismay, and uproar, was exhibit- ed before us; — the orders of the captain and other officers being almost drowned in the pre- vailing tumult, which was aided by the split- ting of the masts, the riving of the sails, and the bursting of the ribs of the vessel — the sea meanwhile driving over us, sometimes to the height of fifteen feet. On all sides the cry arose of "Loosen the boats — set them afloat:" this, however, was easier said than done, since all joined in the exclamation, but no one put his shoulder to the work, and the vessel heeled so violently from side to side, that it was well nigh impossible to set foot firmly upon her. 202 " Cut away the mainmast! down with the foremast! stand clear the masts!'' was often shouted. Every one got out of the way as fast as he could, in order to avoid the hazard of the falling timbers; and a dreadful silence of some minutes duration ensued, during which the work was accomplished with hatchets and simi- lar instruments, until the masts gave way, and fell with all their tackling into the foaming ocean. " There goes the Cabal va!" said I to myself, with an irrepressible pang: still I did not aban- don all hope, and redoubled my efforts to pro- tract her utter destruction, by assisting to throw overboard the anchors, bowsprit, and whatever else might lighten the vessel; the braver amongst the sailors helping us with the good- will of man towards man: as for obedience and subordination, they had become idle words, to which no meaning was attached. — No sooner are the masts cut away in a sinking ship, than the feeling of perfect equality arises amongst her crew. THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 203 CHAP. XIV. Endeavours of the ship's company to save themselves — Several are lost — Characteristic anecdote of a British seaman — Death of the captain — Arrival at the coral-reef — Living" on it — Voyage to a sand-bank, and arrival thereupon. Morning dawned, and from the East the glorious sun uprose, as if to mock our extre- mity. " Horror! horror! horror!" burst from the blanched and parched lips of the mariners, when day-light discovered the utter forlornness of our situation. It seemed to us, after a while, that we descried a sail in the distance, and this belief animated us with new courage: but when the sun had risen a little higher, we perceived that we were in error, having taken the gray point of a coral-reef for a ship. We worked meantime with almost supernatural effort, and in the very lap of danger, for the purpose of floating the large cutter, in which we at length succeeded, and some of the youngest and most active entered therein with eager precipitation, taking advantage of their superior strength to 204 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. push aside sundry weak and invalid wretches, who were thereby left to shift for themselves. Capt. Dalrymple declined going off in this boat; but the sworn officers (at least the men who had been so called,) all jumped on board her, except the second, who afterwards reached shore by swimming in a cork jacket; as did likewise the surgeon, the purser, the passen- ger, some of the midshipmen, and several of the seamen; — and the boat made directly for the reef. Wearied to the last degree, I crept to the forecastle, wound my arms round the best bow- er anchor-stock, and looked earnestly out to see if I could discover either land, a sail, or any other consolatory object; but nothing cal- culated to give me comfort was visible; the dreadful coral-reef, and, further down, some low sand-banks, alone staring me in the face. After the space of an hour, the vessel burst asunder, the poop and forecastle alone remain- ing above water, and the furious breakers con- tinually washing over these likewise. Captain Dalrymple and some others were swimming amongst the ruins of the unfortu- nate Cabalva, hemmed round by pieces of mast, by yards, ribs, and spars — every moment covered by the waves. The large cutter, with thirty men or thereabouts, who had sought 205 her protection, was seen dancing upon ocean with miraculous adaptation to the humours of the angry element, until she touched the rock, when a tremendous surf broke over her with gigantic power, threw every soul clean out, and dashed them against the rocks; indeed, she would in all probability have turned broad- side to the surf before, and been swamped with all the party, as they had no oars, had not one of the midshipmen used the precaution to make fast a rope to the wreck before they shoved off, the slack of which he eased out of the boat, as she was driven along by the waves, thus keeping her end to the reef. After a short interval, I descried the assist- ant-surgeon, an amiable young man, and one of my best friends, striking away from the wreck with infinite presence of mind. Unfor- tunately, however, he placed too much confi- dence in his swimming, and finally, after hav- ing nobly combated with many gigantic break- ers, he sunk before my eyes into the boiling and self-tortured abyss. Whilst I thus hung trembling upon the verge of eternity, but still clinging to a hope that I might reach the rock, about one hun- dred and fifty yards distant, my eyes gazing vacantly upon the mountains of water which came slowly rolling on, one overtopped by the 206 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. other, and menacing with their snowy crests immediate destruction, — whilst the instinct of self-preservation constrained me to hold firmly on the wreck; — suddenly there stalked forth, and hobbled to me along some spars and pieces of wreck, from the cuddy, which was not quite under water, an old seaman; his eyes plainly proclaiming that he had employed the recent moments in spiritual exercise, in the captain's cabin. " 1 think, my dear sir," hiccupped he, " that it is now high time to be off out of this: a'nt you of the same opinion?" " I don't know, Jones," answered I, " what advice it is best to give you; but, for my own part, I had rather weather it out here awhile longer." " At any rate," rejoined Jones, " I must, upon my soul, get a quid of baccy, I can't do no longer without it," and down he dives into the gun-deck, a small part of which was then standing out of water; he soon, however, emerges, holding the desired quid between his fingers, but quickly transferring it from them to his mouth. " Now, my dear sir," resum- ed he, " here I goes!" with which words he jumped gaily overboard, and actually succeed- ed in swimming to the rock. Although en- gaged in a ghastly struggle between life and death, I really could not forbear laughing THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 207 when I looked after this true specimen of the English jack-tar. By good fortune, he caught hold, during his bathe, of a bale of cloth, by aid of which he steered along, and kept his body from being dashed against the rocks. Those who, like myself, had still clung to different portions of the wreck, now grew eve- ry moment less in number. Some of them were already drowned; others had betaken themselves to a conflict with the billows; others again were drifting upon loose spars and rafts towards the reef: no assistance could possibly be rendered by one man to another. The eighty or ninety who had been left behind on the departure of the boat were now reduc- ed to the number of about thirty; and these were in the most forlorn condition. Amongst them I recognised the captain in his pea jacket and flannel dress, the fifth mate and some mid- shipmen. This remnant was in the greatest possible embarrassment as to what course it was best to pursue; in which state of incerti- tude, they exhausted themselves to no effect, and a curious contrast to their exertions was visible in the conduct of certain sailors, who, like our friend before mentioned, were sitting in the captain's cabin, and drinking in cour- age under the semblance of champaigne and brandy. 208 In the mean time, the long-boat, which was large enough to contain all the individuals now left behind, got clear of the wreck: the cap- tain, the fifth mate, myself, and about twenty sailors, took to it; but scarcely was she shoved off, before she went to pieces, being struck against some large planks, and every one was left to provide for his own safety as well as he could, several being drowned in the attempt. Capt. Dalrymple had stept into the boat with- out saying a word, but his wild looks express- ed clearly the anguish of his heart, and his con- dition was altogether truly pitiable. Notfarfrom him, at the time of the boat's being stove in, was a poor lad, the servant of our mess, who was making his first voyage, and now sat co- vered with water. The fall of the timbers had broken his arm. He wept bitterly and called aloud to me for assistance. My feelings were strongly excited: but what could I do? I was compelled to trust him to his own fortune, and shortly afterwards the waves took him away. Soon after I had an opportunity of seeking safety on a large raft of booms, which was now breaking adrift from the wreck; and was ena- bled to pick up several fellow-sufferers by heav- ing a rope's end to them to lay hold of. The captain, with some difficulty, crawled from the mainmast to this raft, he having taken refuge THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 209 upon the former after the destruction of the long-boat. I had sprung on the raft from the forecastle; and two midshipmen, with some twenty sailors, likewise contrived in various ways to gain it. We were fairly launched, and drove towards the rock; but, as if fate would never weary of persecuting us, the spars turn broadside to the surf, by which they are so violently hurled about, that we are cast from one side to the other, and almost wholly incapacitated from holding on. When I bethink me of the actu- ally miraculous manner in which I was pre- served through this scene, my heart overflows wath gratitude to my Creator. Many broke their arms and legs; and every individual stri- ving to keep uppermost, the stronger trampled inhumanly upon the heads and shoulders of their feebler fellow-sufferers. It is impossible, however, to give other than a faint sketch of the scene to those who did not witness it. For my own part, at the approach of each breaker, I let go the spars, and betook myself to swim- ming until it had past — then grasping at them again. Having thus encountered twelve or fourteen of these formidable antagonists, the float was thrown upon the reef. Captain Dal- rymple, on whom I kept an eye as long as it was in my power, disappeared on the attack of s2 210 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. the second breaker, and I saw him no more. Now that sorrow had removed all former ani- mosity, his loss was universally lamented both by officers and men, since his behaviour had been at once kind and resolute, and marked by generous feelings towards every one. Six or seven seamen met their fate at the same time. At length, worn out with toil and despair, we gained the rock, against which our frail conveyance was dashed with violence, and where we found our messmates plunged in the extremity of dismay, howling and lamenting instead of making any exertion to better their circumstances. Thus had we arrived on shore, if that name might be given to a piece of rock not many feet in length, and upon which we stood up to our middle in water. However, my life was for the moment saved. My body was become, from the violence it had sustained, quite black and blue, and the whole of my clothing had been cut into shreds, My companions in suffering received me with a hearty welcome, and one man in particular professed his readiness to do me any service, — a circumstance which I shall never forget. No sooner had I arrived, than he gave me a glass of beer, and covered me with whatever he could procure for the purpose. This good friend's name was William Madden, and we THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 211 had already, before this voyage, been mess- mates on board the Marquis of Ely. Now arrived the captain's cutter, with the fifth officer, and five or six sailors, whom we had left on the wreck: the members of our forlorn party dispersed themselves on differ- ent points of the reef; and, after a short inter- val, several corpses were washed ashore. We found that the number of drowned persons amounted to seventeen, including the captain and assistant-surgeon. All the officers and midshipmen, the purser, surgeon, passenger, and 110 sailors, were saved; but who could speculate on a continuance of this mercy? Es- caping a watery grave, starvation stared us in the face. Our situation was of a nature to baffle all de- scription, and could it have been observed by an uninterested spectator, must have presented a curious aspect. Our coral-reef, which was almost completely covered with water at the time we struck, but which, as the tide ebbed, rose gradually out of the sea, keeping off the vehemence of the surf, — was strewn all over with a confused heap of articles — the relics of the costly lading of the Cabal va; and might have worn the appearance of an enchanted island. Casks of wine, of beer, and brandy; — trunks and bales, some full, some empty; — gold, sil- 212 ver, steel, and glass, wrought in numberless shapes; — fine English muslin, Irish linen, &c. — all were mingled together in the greatest confusion. Disorder, in fact, reigned not only amongst our rescued property, but, worst evil! amongst ourselves. The seamen, almost frantic, grew brutally selfish, — sacrificing to that all other feelings, and thus augmenting by ungenerous conduct the horrors of shipwreck. They be- took themselves, in reckless style, to the wine and other stimulating liquids; cut open the bales of linen, and invested themselves there- with: — ship-boys, servants, the cook, and com- mon sailors, were dressed in purple and scar- let robes, wearing white turbans, and strutting about like kings; whilst a great many sought insane satisfaction in destroying whatever came in their way. Meanwhile the officers, in their miserable rags, were running here and there, and endea- vouring, by every means in their power, to put a stop to these wanton outrages. Some of them knocked in the heads of the spirit and wine casks; some directed the building of a raft, and the repairing of the boats; whilst a few seamen wandered towards some low sand- banks, which lay three or four miles to the north-west. In the midst of all this confusion, THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 213 and whilst some of the people were employed in swimming ashore, the gunner, an old Scotch- man, immediately after having saved himself on the rock, seeing the guns tumble overboard, and take along with them large pieces of tim- ber to which they were lashed, which said lashings belonged to his department, — made a cool observation to one of his mates, and re- ceived as cool a reply: "Ah, David!" says he, "our guns hold on well." — "Yes, sir," re- joined the other; "good lashings!" I was sorry to observe that nothing was in the way of being steadily arranged for the gene- ral welfare. Had our boats been made tho- roughly sea-proof, they could not, it is true, have contained half our number; but not even a single effort was perseveringly made, either with regard to them or to the construction of rafts ; and meantime the water gradually rose, and we were fearful that the tide might come in the night and wash us away. After a while I strolled to the sand-banks, where indeed no great accession of safety could be expected, they being merely downs elevated some two or three feet above the surface of the sea, and subject to overflowing from the first tide. In spite of these dangers, however, I felt incited to make the trial, and proceeded thither in company with five or six sailors, each man 214 taking with him a bottle or two of port, which, together with spirits, were in abundance upon our rock; but we were in want of fresh water, and eatables were out of the question. Without shoes, and wading up to the hips in water, we struggled slowly over the hard and irregular shore, and were fortunate enough to meet with a young shark, which, after the lapse of half an hour, we killed, and hauled him with a string to the bank. This timely supply promised us the materials of a dinner for fifteen or twenty men. About noon, we reached a little sand-bank, which was not many feet above the surface of the sea: its length was about one hundred and forty yards, and its breadth about eighty. We found here a part of our people, and by and by arrived others; appearing, for the greater part, in the most grotesque and ridiculous garbs; and some carrying under their arms several bottles of wine, of which already they had taken no inconsiderable portion. Some were wrap- ped in pieces of cloth of the most glaring and brilliant colours — some in muslins and silks; most of them wearing, as before mentioned, a sort of turban; whilst a few had bonnets or fan- cy caps, which had been sent out to China as private trade: all had muslin, cloth, or beauti- ful skins wrapped round their feet, on account the rifleman's comrade. 215 of their being very much lacerated while wad- ing, like ourselves, from the wreck to the land, barefooted; for not a single pair of shoes had we been able to save: all were provided with a decent stock of cherry brandy or wine, and of course pretty far gone. Some were asleep when we arrived, and a few employed in ban- dying jokes; whilst there were not wanting those who sought the dissipation of severer thought in quarrelling and boxing: some were sitting about, catching birds; which animals seemed perfectly astonished at our arrival, gazing on us with great curiosity, and ap- proaching without the least consciousness of danger. 216 CHAP. XV. Living on the sand-bank — Visit to the wreck — En- deavours of some of the seamen to run away with the large cutter — Curious adventure respecting a wounded comrade — Arrival of the caulker's mate who had been thought dead, and his report. I spoke with some sailors, who appeared the most prudent and courageous, to persuade them to return with me to the wreck; as I believed that, from the restoration of calm, it might be possible to save some victuals and water-casks before the ship went totally to pieces; but they answered me in such fine and elegant terms, and made such long harangues and speeches, that I soon gave over the task, convinced there was not a sober man amongst them. The large cutter had been hauled twenty or thirty yards upon the rocks soon after we had reached them; and the fifth officer, with eight men, after our departure for the sand, had moved her still more out of the way of the breakers, and, as we found afterwards, passed the night in her a little distance from the wreck. 217 A young man, who had filled the office of captain's clerk, besought me, in imploring ac- cents, to lie down by his side and die with him. I was by no means unwilling to gratify him in the former respect, since he had chosen for his exit a very comfortable spot; and I, tired out and bruised all over, and hopeless at the same time of the co-operation of my fellow- sufferers, was extremely desirous of rest; but with regard to the latter clause, I reserved that for further consideration. Shortly, a deep slumber fell over me; and when, after some hours, 1 awoke, 1 perceived the whole remain- der of the ship's company assembled. Those who had last arrive^, had brought with them from the wreck six or seven pieces of pork, three casks of fresh water, and some dozen bottles of wine; but altogether, even with the assistance of the shark and two or three lob- sters, there was but a very spare dinner for 120 men. In the afternoon, came the tide; and it set in so strong, that the rock was completely in- undated, and the wind drove every thing light and floatable over towards our sand-bank, which was situated three or four miles to lee- ward of the wreck. We employed ourselves in seizing hold of every thing which appeared likely to be in any degree serviceable; but of T 218 THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. this character we found but little, bearing in- deed no proportion to the quantity of useless matters, — as for instance, essences and soaps — clothes and shoe-brushes — pomatum — books — hair and tooth-brushes, muslin, &c. A very fortunate windfall occurred to us, however, after a while, and a universal cry of joy was lifted thereat on all sides; — it was a powder- cask, quite dry. With a razor and a piece of glass we struck a light; and, by the help of our newly-found powder, and some remnants of linen and other stuffs, we had shortly a com- fortable fire. Towards evening, 'we constructed a tent out of pieces of wood which had floated from the wreck, and covered it with fine English linen: in this, however, scarcely more than from for- ty to fifty men could find room. When it was completed and arranged as an asylum for the night as snugly as possible, by the exertions of the most active and skilful of our number — the ship-boys, cooks, sweepers, and other equally respectable members of the party rushed into it en masse, thus excluding the officers; to whom, were left the honour and satisfaction of remaining unsheltered the whole night, expos- ed to rain and frost, as guards, heaven save the mark! of their worshipful comrades. The apprehension which, until now, we had 219 all along entertained, of being devoured by the waves, disappeared in the course of the night, when we were enabled to observe that the water was decreasing without having attained the height our fears had anticipated. Hence, although wet through with rain, and stiffened with frost, we saluted the rising day with re- newed courage, and almost lively hearts. The refreshment of a night's sleep had restored their senses to a part of our crew. The small remainder of the provisions was, by general agreement of the well disposed amongst us, placed under the eye and responsibility of the officers, in order to be divided fairly and pro- perly. Still however there were many who stuck to the old motto of " every one for him- self;" and these misguided men, stronger in number than the other party, engaged them- selves in eating and drinking from morning to night, and would have corrupted the rest, had not the vigilance of the more prudent pre- vented it. It was a matter of great good luck that the leaders of this faction resolved ulti- matety to separate from us, and construct, on the other side of the bank (whither they imagin- ed a good many casks of liquor had been drift- ed) a tent of their own. There they formed quite a distinct settlement, which very proper- ly received the denomination of " Beer-Island." ■: riJ \- 220 As we had but a very scanty meal the day before, an early breakfast was served out on the morning of Wednesday, July the 8th, con- sisting of a small slice of fat pork about two ounces weight, and a dram of beer in a coffee- cup; neither biscuit, flour, or any vegetable substance, was to be found. It was resolved that we should pass this day to as good pur- pose as possible, with which object an arrange- ment was proposed to divide ourselves into dif- ferent parties. Some of the strongest and bra- vest individuals amongst us offered of them- selves to wade to the wreck in search of victu- als and fresh water, the forecastle and poop be- ing still visible between the breakers: to secure the large cutter was likewise an important ob- ject of this troop. Another division went to the adjoining sandbanks, on which casks, bales, and other articles of lading of the Cabalva had floated. Those who were either feeble, sick, or indolent, (many belonging to the latter class from whom we had a right to expect better be- haviour) remained still at home, as did like- wise some working people, who erected a flag- pole, enlarged the tent, and unrolled bales of cloth, to dry them in the sun against night. Some, who would not submit to the general arrangement and discipline, were running dis- THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 221 orderly about in all directions without any par- ticular object in view. Mr. Sewell, the first officer, and I, were at the head of the party who went to the wreck. We departed a little while previous to low wa- ter, in order that we might be enabled to re- turn some time before flood. After having waded two hours over a hard and rocky ground, up to our middle in water, we fell in with the large cutter, having on board the peo- ple who had been left behind yesterday, amongst whom we could soon perceive that some secret plan was in agitation; the comple- tion of which, as it turned out, would have in- volved us in utter ruin. These men had com- menced operations very quietly; but no long time had elapsed after our falling in with them, before they became rude and arrogant, direct- ing their offensive language principally against the chief officer, and menacing us in case we should attempt to take any thing out of the boat. When they became aware of our supe- perior number, however, they struck a flag which they had hoisted, and one of them made us acquainted with the whole conspiracy. These pretty fellows had purposed to ab- stract the boat, and to put out to sea on the noon of the same day, without sails, without rudder, without compass, and without any system of t 2 222 action or plan of navigation whatever. They must certainly have perished within the first day or two; and meanwhile the largest boat we possessed, — in which, in fact, lay our only hope of eventual succour, — could never have been restored to us. We found the vessel laden with arms, cutlery, oars, watches, Spanish dol- lars, wine, brandy, beer, muslin, cloth, a drowned lamb, twelve drowned fowls, and a pine-cheese, all heaped one upon another in precious confusion; and in the middle of the whole lay a certain good friend, who had wound six or seven large pieces of muslin around his left leg, which was thereby rendered as thick as his whole body. This man on observing us, immediately, with the tone and language of a great sufferer, complained of his bad leg. "It is either broken or out of joint," said he, "and I have been in a great fever all the night, to allay which I could get nothing but brandy and port: I can exist no longer." My first im- pulse was that of compassion for this individu- al; but on closer inspection, I was led to con- clude that the fever was the consequence in- stead of the precursor of the brandy; and that dread of punishment had rendered the man vociferous. We entered now into consideration how this odd-looking article could be conveyed to the THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 223 tent, in order to be placed under the surgeon's hands; when just in the nick of time a huge empty rum-cask floated by: we caught it, pour- ed out the water, and popped therein the linen man; and as companions of his voyage, we put in likewise a cage containing three live canary- birds, which latter formed subsequently the only provision during a whole day for three men. A pig also, which had just come float- ing by upon the lid of a chest, trembling vio- lently all over, was taken in tow immediately: on tnis lid I read, with considerable surprise, my ovm name, which gave me abundant reason to suspect that my chest had been plundered by some\ good friend or other. Ten of the party now set out on their way home, loaded with sundry articles of utility. I had the charge of my friend in the grog-tub, which I sometimes shoved before me, and sometimes drew along with a rope — and which, in short, proved to me a very great source of annoyance. Another man attended the float- ing pig behind; and was followed by three or four sailors, dragging through the water three live pigs and two live sheep saved from the wreck, the remainder, loaded with drowned fowls, pistols, muskets, &c. closed the proces- sion. Besides what I have related, nothing par- '■ 224 ticular occurred during this day's expedition, excepting that a little jealousy at times broke out amongst the party—- a dangerous feeling un- der such circumstances of jeopardy. My con- voy in the cask were all of them exceedingly noisy, each after his own fashion, during the passage homewards — especially the human biped, who screamed out eternally about his broken leg, his thirst, his bad food, and, though last not least, about his wet seat: to remedy the latter evil, we supplied him with a broken bottle, wherewith to lade out the water; but his actions being of rather an unsteady cast, he frequently lost his equilibrium in the attempt, on which occasions the briny liquid rushed in, in great quantities. About five o'clock in the evening, we arriv- ed, greatly fatigued, upon the sand-bank, and were received, together with our booty, with acclamations of joy and welcome. The grog- coop was dragged on the sand with a loud out- cry; the patient taken out very carefully, and borne to the tent by the third officer and some sailors, who laid him down before the doctor, after having received frequent cautions to this effect: "Ease me down gently! Take care of my left leg!" When the surgeon first perceiv- ed the state in which his patient was, he ex- pressed considerable surprise at the immensity THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 225 of the tumour, and was not without dread of mortification, which rendered the patient ex- ceedingly uneasy. The muslin, however, hav- ing been, piece by piece, unrolled, it was dis- covered that the leg was neither fractured nor dislocated: the surgeon assuring us that it was nothing but a very unimportant contusion. JNly friend now grew quite angry; declaring, with an oath, that his leg was, and must be, broken. Suddenly, whilst engaged in making specu- lation on this interesting subject, and quizzing the half-drunken invalid, we heard several loud hurras uplifted on the shore; towards which all immediately hastened, leaving the broken- legged gentleman to hobble after us as well as he could, or abide behind, which latter course he preferred. These cheers proceeded from the chief officer and his party, who were re- turned from the wreck with the large cutter, after having hauled her three miles, with in- expressible labour, over the rocks and sand: — we gave three cheers in return, and triumph- antly hauled the boat upon the beach, close to the tent, in readiness for the carpenter to commence his repairs. We now proceeded, about six o'clock in the evening, to take our meal, which consisted of a cup of beer, and a small portion of drowned 226 fowl to each man. This latter was divided with the greatest fairness, the average quantity- amounting to no more than half a leg or half a wing: but on the whole we found our situation a good deal improved. Our provisions at pre- sent comprised six young live pigs, five live sheep, fifty pieces ofpork and beef, twenty-four drowned fowls, three casks of beer, four dozen of wine, and one dozen of cherry brandy, a little keg of flour, and five pine cheeses; we possessed, however, neither water nor biscuit. Besides these articles of food, we had a quad- rant and a sextant; the Guide to the East Indies, by Horseburg; Nome's Navigation; several guns, pistols, and cutlasses; a frying-pan, plates, knives, forks, &c. Those who had been on the adjoining sand-bank contributed nothing to the general stock but twenty pieces of salt pork. They all appeared to be pretty well by the head and stated that several of their compan- ions were left three or four miles behind. Farquharson, the caulker's mate, who had shown, at the shipwreck, a good deal of cou- rage and intrepidity, but who not having been upon the coral-reef, was concluded to be dead, made his appearance late this evening, to the joy and astonishment of all, in our tent. This man had been, it seems, one of the first of those who came from the wreck upon the reef; and, THE RIFLEMAN'S COMRADE. 227 without saying a word, had departed thence to the nearest sand-bank, in order to find, if he could, a better place of sojourn for us. What he had to relate, with reference to this voyage of discovery, was not of a very consolatory nature. He had wandered from morning till evening, along a chain of low desert sand- downs, half swimming, half floating, upon a plank, and shoving himself over with a pole from one to the other. On the approach of night he found himself thoroughly exhausted, and, cutting open a bale of cloth that had wash- ed up there, he made a rough couch to sleep on, intending to resume his expedition next morning. When, however, at sun-rise he per- ceived no signs of habitable land, and nothing but low desolate sand-banks stretching away to the N. W. he returned forthwith, and arriv- ed at seven o'clock in the evening, quite fa- tigued, in our tent. As far as he went, he saw various ruins of the lading of the ship, includ- ing, with the exception of victuals, all other kind of things. His opinion was that our sand- bank was the highest of the series, and there- fore the best adapted for our purpose. An hour after our friend's arrival, an officer's watch was set to observe the rising and falling of the water; to keep a look-out for ships, and most particularly to protect us from any invasion of 22$ our provender or other preserved goods. Ac- cordingly, a large watch-fire was lighted and kept burning, and the guard provided with guns and pistols, loaded with pebbles and gun-pow- der, it being generally agreed on that they should challenge the first man whose step might be heard within five paces of the magazines, — which were established near our tent, and sur- rounded by a railing; — and fire immediately, in case no answer was returned, 229 CHAP. XVI. Wounded feet— The large cutter under repair — Se- cond visit to the wreck — Adventures thereupon — Report by an officer of his excursion — Visit to the Beer Island — Life of the inhabitants of that colony — One of them wounds himself — Their method of fishing — Return to our Sand-bank — Its geographical situation — Equipment of the cutter for a voyage. By constantly walking about without shoes upon sharp coral rocks, our feet had become blistered and full of wounds. We anointed them in the evening with brandy and poma- tum, bandaged them in muslin by the advice of some of our suffering companions who had found relief therefrom, and then laid us down to rest. This night, in addition to other incon- veniences, was cold and rainy; notwithstand- ing which we passed it in greater comfort than we had done the night before. By day-break every man was ready to go to his work, except the sick and habitually lazy. The carpenter and his mates proceeded without delay to re- pair the large cutter: the sail-maker, whose 230