ITH
CoRunnn
Gfl-Hcrvry
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
TERENCE FINDS THAT THE SEA-HORSE HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED
BETWEEN-DECKS.
WITH MOORE AT COMMA
BY
G. A. HENTY
Author of "With Cochrane the Dauntless," "A Knight of the White Cross," "In
Freedom's Cause," "St. Bartholomew's Eve," "Wulf the Saxon," etc.
WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS BY WAL PA GET
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1912
of Educ* L
COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
GIFT
tfsr
PREFACE
FROM the termination of the campaigns of Marlborough
at which time the British army won for itself a reputation
rivalled by that of no other in Europe to the year when
the despatch of a small army under Sir Arthur Wellesley
marked the beginning of another series of British victories as
brilliant and as unbroken as those of that great commander,
the opinion had gained ground in Europe that the British had
lost their military virtues, and that, although undoubtedly
powerful at sea, they could have henceforth but little influence
in European affairs. It is singular that the revival of Britain's
activity began under a Government which was one of the most
incapable that ever controlled the affairs of the country. Had
their deliberate purpose been to render nugatory the expe-
dition which after innumerable vacillations and changes
of purpose they despatched to Portugal, they could hardly
have acted otherwise than they did.
Their agents in the Peninsula were men singularly unfitted
for the position. Then the Government divided the com-
mands among their generals and admirals, sending to each
absolutely contradictory orders, and when at last they brought
themselves to appoint one to the supreme command, they
changed that commander six times in the course of a year.
While lavishing enormous sums of money, arms, clothing, and
materials of war upon the Spaniards, who wasted or pocketed
them, they kept their own army unsupplied with money,
transport, or clothes. Unsupported by the home authorities,
M723340
PREFACE
the British commanders had yet to struggle with the faithless-
ness, mendacity, and inertness of the Portuguese and Spanish
authorities, and were hampered with obstacles such as never
beset a British commander before. Still, in spite of this, Brit-
ish genius and valour triumphed over all difficulties, and
Wellesley delivered Lisbon and compelled the French army
to surrender.
Then again, Moore, by his marvellous march, checked the
course of victory of Napoleon and saved Spain for a time.
Cradock organized an army, and Wellesley hurled back Soult's
invasion of the north, and drove his army, a dispirited and
worn-out mass of fugitives, across the frontier, and in less than
a year from the commencement of the campaign carried the
war into Spain. So far I have endeavoured to sketch the
course of these events in the present volume. But the whole
course of the Peninsular War was far too long to be condensed
in a single book, except in the form of history pure and sim-
ple ; therefore, I have been obliged to divide it into two vol-
umes ; and I propose next year to follow up the adventures
of my present hero, who had the good fortune, with Trant,
Wilson, and other British officers, to attain the command of
a body of native irregulars, acting in connection with the
movements of the British army.
Yours sincerely,
G. A. HENTY.
CONTENTS
CHA.
I. THE MAYO FUSILIERS, ....... i
II. Two DANGERS, . ..... *>
III. DISEMBARKED, ........ 39
IV. UNDER CANVAS, ........ 57
V. ROLICA AND VlMIERA, ....... 75
VI. A PAUSE, ......... 94
VII. THE ADVANCE, ........ " 2
VIII. A FALSE ALARM, ........ 131
IX. THE RETREAT, ........ 149
X. CORUNNA, ......... 167
XI. AN ESCAPE, ......... 185
XII. A DANGEROUS MISSION, ...... 203
XIII. AN AWKWARD POSITION, ...... 219
XIV. AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND, ..... 241
XV. THE FIRST SKIRMISH, ....... 259
XVI. IN THE PASSES, ........ 275
XVII. AN ESCAPE ........ ^ .294
XVIII. MARY O'CONNOR, . . . . . .312
XIX. CONFIRMED IN COMMAND, ...... 33
XX. WITH THE MAYOS, ....... 35
XXI. PORTUGAL FREED ......... 3&9
XXII. NEWS FROM HOME, ....... 3 86
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
TERENCE FINDS THAT THE SEA-HORSE HAS BEEN BADLY MAULED
BETWEEN-DECKS, . . ... . frontispiece, 30
Two FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE SEA-HORSE, . 24
" I SHOULD NOT HAVE MINDED BEING HIT, FATHER, IF YOU
HAD ESCAPED," 94
"I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL," . Il6
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE? . . . WE WOULD HAVE
THRASHED THEM OUT OF THEIR BOOTS IN NO TIME," . .156
" POOR OLD JACK ! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I
GOT HIM AT TORRES VEDRAS," 186
TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF A HORSE FROM SIR JOHN
CRADOCK, 220
" IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION,"
SAID CORTINGOS, 232
" THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT
WERE MET WITH HEAVY VOLLEYS," 268
" MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN WITH
HIS PISTOLS," 310
TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR, . 350
"WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SlR
ARTHUR ASKED, SHARPLY, ..,,... 368
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
CHAPTER I
THE MAYO FUSILIERS
|HAT am I to do with you, Terence ? It bothers
me entirely ; there is not a soul who will take
you, and if anyone would do so, you would
wear out his patience before a week's end; there
is not a dog in the regiment that does not put
his tail between his legs and run for his bare life if he sees
you ; and as for the colonel, he told me only the other day
that he had so many complaints against you, that he was fairly
worn out with them."
" That was only his way, father ; the colonel likes a joke as
well as any of them."
"Yes, when it is not played on himself; but you haven't
even the sense to respect persons, and it is well for you that
he could not prove that it was you who fastened the sparrow
to the plume of feathers on his shako the other day, and no
one noticed it till the little baste began to flutter just as he
came on to parade, and nigh choked us all with trying to
hold in our laughter, while the colonel was nearly suffocated
2 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
with passion. It was lucky you were able to prove that you
had gone off at daylight fishing, and that no one had seen
you anywhere near his quarters. By my faith, if he could have
proved it was you he would have had you turned out of the
barrack gate, and word given to the sentries that you were not
to be allowed to pass in again."
" I could have got over the wall, father," the boy said,
calmly; " but mind, I never said that it was I who fastened
the sparrow in his shako."
" Because I never asked you, Terence ; but it does not need
the asking. What I am to do with you I don't know. Your
Uncle Tim would not take you if I were to go down upon my
knees to him. You were always in his bad books, and you
finished it when you fired off that blunderbuss in his gar-
den as he was passing along in the twilight, and yelled out
' Death to the Protestants ! ' "
The boy burst into a fit of laughter. " How could I tell
that he was going to fall flat upon the ground and shout a mill-
ion murders, when I fired straight into the air?"
" Well, you did for yourself there, Terence. Not that the
old man would ever have taken to you, for he never forgave
my marriage with his niece ; still, he might have left you some
money some day, seeing that there is no one nearer to him,
and it would have come in mighty useful, for you are not
likely to get much from me. But we are no nearer the
point yet. What am I to do with you at all ? Here is the
regiment ordered on foreign service and likely to have sharp
work, and not a place where I can stow you. It beats me
altogether ! "
" Why not take me with you, father? "
" I have thought of that, but you are too young en-
tirely."
"I am nearly sixteen, father. I am sure I am as tall as
THE MAYO FUSILIERS 3
many boys of seventeen, and as strong too. Why should I
not go ? I am certain I could stand roughing it as well as
Dick Ryan, who is a good bit over sixteen. Could I not go
as a volunteer ? Or I might enlist ; the doctor would pass me
quick enough."
" O' Flaherty would pass you if you were a baby in arms;
he is as full of mischief as you are, and has not much more dis-
cretion ; but you could not carry a musket, full cartridge-box,
and kit for a long day's march. "
"I can carry a gun through a long day's shooting, dad;
but you might make me your soldier servant."
" Bedad, I should fare mighty badly, Terence; still as I
don't see anything else for you, I must try and take you some-
how, even if you have to go as a drummer. I will talk
it over with the colonel, though I doubt whether he has for-
gotten that sparrow yet."
" He would not bear malice, dad, even if he were sure that
it was me which he cannot be."
The speaker was Captain O'Connor of his Majesty's regi-
ment of Mayo Fusiliers, now under orders to proceed to
Portugal to form part of the force that was being despatched
under Sir Arthur Wellesley to assist the Portuguese in resist-
ing the advance of the French. He was a widower, and Ter-
ence was his only child. The boy had been brought up in the
regiment. His mother had died when he was nine years old,
and Terence had been allowed by his father to run pretty
nearly wild. He picked up a certain amount of education,
for he was as sharp at lessons as at most other things. His
mother had taught him to read and write, and the officers and
their wives were always ready to lend him books ; and as, dur-
ing the hours when drill and exercise were going on, he had
plenty of time to himself, he had got through a very large
amount of desultory reading, and, having a retentive memory,
4 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
knew quite as much as most lads of his age, although the
knowledge was of a much more irregular kind.
He was a general favourite among the officers and men of the
regiment, though his tricks got him into frequent scrapes, and
more than one prophesied that his eventual fate was likely to
be hanging. He was great at making acquaintances among
the country people, and knew the exact spot where the best
fishing could be had for miles round ; he had also been given
leave to shoot on many of the estates in the neighbourhood.
His father had, from the first, absolutely forbidden him to
associate with the drummer boys.
" I don't mind your going into the men's quarters," he
said, " you will come to no harm there, but among the boys
you might get into bad habits ; some of them are thorough
young scamps. With the men you would always be one of
their officers' sons, while with the boys you would soon be-
come a mere playmate."
As he grew older, Terence, being a son of one of the senior
officers, became a companion of the ensigns, and one or other
of them generally accompanied him on his fishing excursions,
and were not unfrequently participators in his escapades, sev-
eral of which were directed against the tranquillity of the in-
habitants of Athlone. One night the bells of the three churches
had been rung simultaneously and violently, and the idea that
either the town was in flames, or that the French had landed, or
that the whole country was up in arms, brought all the inhabi-
tants to their doors in a state of violent excitement and scanty
attire. No clew was ever obtained as to the author of this
outrage, nor was anyone able to discover the origin of the
rumour that circulated through the town, that a large amount
of gunpowder had been stored in some house or other in the
market-place, and that on a certain night half the town would
be blown into the air.
THE MAYO FUSILIERS 5
So circumstantial were the details that a deputation waited
on Colonel Corcoran, and a strong search-party was sent down
to examine the cellars of all the houses in the market-place
and for some distance round. These and some similar occur-
rences had much alarmed the good people of Athlone, and it
was certain that more than one person must have been con-
cerned in them.
" I have come, Colonel," Captain O'Connor said, when he
called upon his commanding officer, " to speak to you about
Terence."
The colonel smiled grimly. " It is a comfort to think that
we are going to get rid of him, O'Connor ; he is enough to
demoralize a whole brigade, to say nothing of a battalion, and
the worst of it is he respects no one. I am as convinced as
can be that it was he who fastened that baste of a bird in my
shako the other day, and made me the laughing stock of the
whole regiment on parade. Faith, I could not for the life of
me make out what was the matter, there was a tugging and a
jumping and a fluttering overhead, and I thought the shako
was going to fly away. It fairly gave me a scare, for I thought
the shako had gone mad, and that the divil was in it. I have
often overlooked his tricks for your sake, but when it comes
to his commanding officer, it is too serious altogether."
" Well, you see, Colonel, the lad proved clearly enough
that he was out of the way at the time ; and besides, you
know he has given you many a hearty laugh."
" He has that," the colonel admitted.
"And, moreover," Captain O'Connor went on, "even if
he did do this, which I don't know, for I never asked him "
("Trust you for that," the colonel muttered), " you are not
his commanding officer, though you are mine, and that is
the matter that I came to speak to you about. You see there
is no one in whose charge I can leave him, and the lad
6 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
wants to go with us ; he would enlist as a drummer, if he
could go no other way, and when he got out there I should get
the adjutant to tell him off as my soldier servant."
" It would not do, O'Connor," the colonel laughed.
" Then I thought, Colonel, that possibly he might go as a
volunteer most regiments take out one or two young fellows,
who have not interest enough to obtain a commission."
"He is too young, O'Connor; besides, the boy is enough
to corrupt a whole regiment ; he has made half the lads as
wild as he is himself. Sure you can never be after asking me to
saddle the regiment with him, now that there is a good chance
of getting quit of him altogether. ' '
" I think that he would not be so bad when we are out
there, Colonel ; it is just because he has nothing to do that
he gets into mischief. With plenty of hard work and other
things to think of I don't believe that he would be any
trouble."
" Do you think that you can answer for him, O'Con-
nor?"
" Indeed and I cannot," the captain laughed ; " but I will
answer for it that he will not joke with you, Colonel. The lad
is really steady enough, and I am sure that if he were in the
regiment he would not dream of playing tricks with his com-
manding officer, whatever else he might do. ' '
"That goes a long way towards removing my objection,"
the colonel said, with a twinkle in his eye ; " but he is too
young for a volunteer a volunteer is the sort of man to be
the first to climb a breach, or to risk his life in some desper-
ate enterprise, so as to win a commission. But there is an-
other way. I had a letter yesterday from the Horse Guards,
saying that as I am two ensigns short, they had appointed one
who will join us at Cork, and that they gave me the right of
nominating another. I own that Terence occurred to me, but
THE MAYO FUSILIERS 7
sixteen is the youngest limit of age, and he must be certified
and all that by the doctor. Now Daly is away on leave, and
is to join us at Cork; but O' Flaherty would do; still, I
don't know how he would get over the difficulty about the
age."
" Trust him for that. I am indeed obliged to you, Col-
onel."
" Don't say anything about it, O'Connor ; if we had been
going to stay at home I don't think that I could have brought
myself to take him into the regiment, but as we are going on
service he won't have much opportunity for mischief, and even
if he does let out a little not at my expense, you know a
laugh does the men good when they are wet through and their
stomachs are empty." He rang a bell. "Orderly, tell the
adjutant and Doctor O' Flaherty that I wish to see them. Mr.
Cleary," he went on, as soon as the former entered, " I have
been requested by the Horse Guards to nominate an ensign, so
as to fill up our ranks before starting, and I have determined
to give the appointment to Terence O'Connor."
" Very well, sir, I am glad to hear it ; he is a favourite with
us all, but I am afraid that he is under age."
11 Is there any regular form to be filled up ? "
" None that I know of in the case of officers, sir. I fancy
they pass some sort of medical examination at the Hors*
Guards, but, of course, in this case it would be impossible.
Still, I should say that, in writing to state that you have
nominated him, it would be better to send a medical certifi-
cate, and certainly it ought to be mentioned that he is of the
right age."
At this moment the assistant-surgeon entered.
"Doctor O'Flaherty," the colonel said, "I wish you to
write a certificate to the effect that Terence O'Connor is phys-
ically fit to take part in a campaign as an officer."
8 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" I can do that, Colonel, without difficulty ; he is as fit as
a fiddle, and can march half the regiment off their legs."
"Yes, I know that, but there is one difficulty, Doctor, he
is under the regulation age."
O' Flaherty thought for a moment and then sat down at the
table, and taking a sheet of paper, be began :
/ certify that Terence O' Connor is going on for seventeen
years of age, he is five feet eight in height, thirty-four inches
round the chest, is active, and fully capable of the performance
of his duties as an officer either at home or abroad.
Then he added another line and signed his name.
"As a member of a learned profession, Colonel," he said,
gravely, " I would scorn to tell a lie even for the son of Cap-
tain O'Connor ; " and he passed the paper across to him.
The colonel looked grave, and Captain O'Connor disap-
pointed. He was reassured, however, when his commanding
officer broke into a laugh.
"That will do well, O' Flaherty," he said; "I thought
that you would find some way of getting us out of the diffi-
culty."
" I have told the strict truth, Colonel," the doctor said,
gravely. " I have certified that Terence O'Connor is going
on for seventeen ; I defy any man to say that he is not. He
will get there one of these days, if a French bullet does not
stop him on the way, a contingency that it is needless for me
to mention."
"I suppose that it is not strictly regular to omit the date
of his birth," the colonel said ; " but just at present I expect
they are not very particular. I suppose that that will do, Mr.
Cleary?"
" I think that you can countersign that, Colonel," the ad-
THE MAYO FUSILIERS 9
jutant said, with a laugh. " The Horse Guards do not move
very rapidly, and by the time that letter gets to London we
may be on board ship, and they would hardly bother to send
a letter for further particulars to us in Spain, but will no doubt
gazette him at once. The fact, too which of course you
will mention that he is the son of the senior captain of your
regiment, will in itself render them less likely to bother about
the matter."
" Well, just write out the letter of nomination, deary; I
am a mighty bad hand at doing things neatly."
The adjutant drew a sheet of foolscap to him and wrote :
To the Adjutant-general, Horse Guards,
Sir, I have the honour to inform you that, in accordance
with the privilege granted to me in your communication of
and he looked at the colonel.
"The i4th inst.," the latter said, after consulting the
letter.
/ beg to nominate as an ensign in this regiment, Terence
O' Connor, the son of Captain Lawrence O' Connor, its senior
captain. I inclose certificate of Assistant-surgeon Cf Flaherty,
the surgeon being at present absent on leave certifying to
his physical fitness for a commission in his Majesty* s service.
Mr. O' Connor having been brought up from childhood in the
regiment is already perfectly acquainted with the work, and
will therefore be able to take up his duties without difficulty.
This fact has had some influence in my choice, as a young
officer who had to be taught all his duties would have been of
no use for senrice in the field for a considerable time after land-
ing in Portugal.
Relying on the nomination being approved by the commander-
10 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
in-chief y I shall at once put him on the staff of the regiment for
foreign service , as there will be no time to wait your reply.
I have the honour to be
Your humble, obedient servant,
Then he left a space, and added :
Colonel Mayo Fusiliers.
" Now, if you will sign it, Colonel, the matter will be com-
plete, and I will send it off with O' Flaherty's certificate to-
day. "
" That is a good stroke, Cleary," the colonel said, as he
read it aloud. " They will see that it is too late to raise any
questions, and the ' going on for seventeen ' will be accepted
as sufficient."
He touched a bell.
" Orderly, tell Mr. Terence O'Connor that I wish to see
him."
Terence was sitting in a state of suppressed excitement at
his father's quarters. He had a strong belief that the matter
would be managed somehow, for he knew that the colonel had
no malice in his disposition, and would not let the episode of
the bird for which he was now heartily sorry stand in the
way. On receiving the message he at once went across to the
colonel's quarters. The latter rose and held out his hand to
him as he entered.
" Terence O'Connor," he said, " I am pleased to be able
to inform you that from the present moment you are to con-
sider yourself an officer in his Majesty's Mayo Fusiliers. The
Horse Guards have given me the privilege of nominating a gen-
tleman to the vacant ensigncy, and I have had great pleasure
in nominating your father's son. Now, lad," he said, in a
different tone of voice, " I feel sure that you will do credit to
THE MAYO FUSILIERS 11
my nomination, and that you will keep your love of fun and
mischief within reasonable bounds."
" I will try to do so, Colonel," the lad said, in a low voice,
" and I am grateful indeed for the kindness that you have
shown me. I have always hoped that some day I might ob-
tain a commission in your regiment, but never even hoped
that it would be until after I had done something to deserve
it. Indeed I did not think that it was even possible that I
could obtain a commission until "
"Tut, tut, lad, don't say a word about age! Doctor
O' Flaherty had certified that you are going on for seventeen,
which is quite sufficient for me, and at any rate you will see
that boyish tricks are out of place in the case of an officer go-
ing on for seventeen. Now, your father had best take you
down into the town and get you measured for your uniforms
at once. You must make them hurry on with his undress
clothes, O'Connor. I should not bother about full-dress till
we get back again ; it is not likely to be wanted, and the lad
will soon grow out of them. If there should happen to be
full-dress parade in Portugal, Cleary will put him on as offi-
cer of the day, or give him some duties that will keep him
from parade. We may get the route any day, and the sooner
he gets his uniform the better."
Two days later Terence took his place on parade as an offi-
cer of the regiment. He had witnessed such numberless drills
that he had picked up every word of command, knew his
proper place in every formation, and fell into the work as
readily as if he had been at it for years. He had been heartily
congratulated by the officers of the regiment.
" I am awfully glad that you are one of us, Terence," Dick
Ryan said. " I don't know what we should have done with-
out you. I expect we shall have tremendous fun in Portu-
gal."
12 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" I expect we shall, Dick ; but we shall have to be careful.
We shall be on active service, you see, and from what they
say of him I don't think Sir Arthur Wellesley is the sort of
man to appreciate jokes. ' '
" No, I should say not. Of course, we shall have to draw
in a bit. It would not do to set the bells of Lisbon ringing."
" I should think not, Dick. Still, I dare say we shall have
plenty of fun, and at any rate we are likely, from what they
say, to have plenty of fighting. I don't expect the Portuguese
will be much good, and as there are forty or fifty thousand
Frenchmen in Portugal, we shall have all our work to do, un-
less they send out a much bigger force than is collecting at
Cork. It is a pity that the 10,000 men who have been sent
out to Sweden on what my father says is a fool's errand are
not going with us instead. We might make a good stand-up
fight of it then, whereas I don't see that with only 6,000 or
7,000 we can do much good against Junot's 40,000."
" Oh, I dare say we shall get on somehow ! " Dick said,
carelessly. " Sir Arthur knows what he is about, and it is our
turn to do something now. The navy has had it all its own
way so far, and it is quite fair that we should do our share. I
have a brother in the navy, and the fellows are getting too
cheeky altogether. They seem to think that no one can fight
but themselves. Except in Egypt we have never had a chance
at all of showing we can lick the French just as easily on land
as we can at sea."
" I hope we shall, Dick. They have certainly had a great
deal more practice at it than we have."
" Now I think we ought to do something here that they
will remember us for before we start, Terence."
" Well, if you do, I am not with you this time, Dick. I
am not going to begin by getting in the colonel's bad books
after he has been kind enough to nominate me for a commis-
THE MAYO FUSILIERS 13
sion. I promised him that I would try and not get into any
scrapes, and I am not going to break my word. When we
once get out there I shall be game to join in anything that is
not likely to make a great row, but I have done with it for the
present. ' '
" I should like to have one more good bit of fun," Ryan
said; " but I expect you are right, Terence, in what you say
about yourself, and it is no use our thinking to humbug Ath-
lone again if you are not in it with us ; besides, they are get-
ting too sharp. They did not half turn out last time, and,
indeed, we had a narrow escape of being caught. Well, I shall
be very glad when we are off; it is stupid work waiting for the
route, with all leave stopped, and we not even allowed to go
out for a day's fishing."
Three days later the expected order arrived. As the baggage
had all been packed up, that which was to be left behind be-
ing handed over to the care of the barrack-master, and a con-
siderable portion of the heavy baggage sent on by cart, there
was no delay. Officers and men were alike delighted that the
period of waiting had come to an end, and there was loud
cheering in the barrack- yard as soon as the news came. At
daybreak next morning the rest of the baggage started under
a guard, and three hours later the Mayo Fusiliers marched
through the town with their band playing at their head, and
amid the cheers of the populace.
As yet the martial spirit that was roused by the struggle in
the Peninsula had scarcely begun to show itself, but there was
a strong animosity to France throughout England, and a de-
sire to aid the people of Spain and Portugal in their efforts
for freedom. In Ireland, for the most part, there was no such
feeling. Since the battle of the Boyne and the siege of Lim-
erick, France had been regarded by the greater portion of the
peasantry, and a section of the population of the towns, as the
14 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
natural ally of Ireland, and there was a hope that when Na-
poleon had all Europe prostrate under his feet he would come
as the deliverer of Ireland from the English yoke. Conse-
quently, although the townspeople of Athlone cheered the
regiment as it marched away, the country people held aloof
from it as it passed along the road. Scowling looks from the
women greeted it in the villages, while the men ostentatiously
continued their work in the fields without turning to cast a
glance at them.
Terence was not posted to his father's company, but was in
that of Captain O'Driscol, although the lad himself would have
preferred to be with Captain O'Grady, with whom he was a
great favourite. The latter was one of the captains whose
companies were unprovided with an ensign, and he had asked
the adjutant to let him have the lad instead of the ensign who
was to join at Cork.
" The matter has been settled the other way, O'Grady ; in
the colonel's opinion he will be much better with O'Driscol,
who is more likely to keep him in order than you are. ' '
O'Grady was one of the most original characters in the
regiment. He was rather under middle height, and had a
smooth face, a guileless and innocent expression, and a habit
of opening his light-blue eyes as in wonder. His hair was
short, and stuck up aggressively ; his brogue was the strong-
est in the regiment ; his blunders were innumerable, and his
look of amazement at the laughter they called forth was
admirably feigned, save that the twinkle of his eye induced a
suspicion that he himself enjoyed the joke as well as anyone.
His good-humour was imperturbable, and he was immensely
popular both among men and officers.
" O'Driscol ! " he repeated, in mild astonishment. " Do
you mean to say that O'Driscol will keep him in better order
than meself? If there is one man in this regiment more
THE MAYO FUSILIERS 15
than another who would get on well with the lad it is meself,
barring none."
"You would get on well enough with him, O'Grady, I
have no doubt, but it would be by letting him have his own
way, and in encouraging him in mischief of all kinds."
O'Grady's eyebrows were elevated, and his eyes expressed
hopeless bewilderment.
" You are wrong entirely, Cleary ; nature intended me for
a schoolmaster, and it is just an accident that I have taken to
soldiering. I flatter meself that no one looks after his sub-
alterns more sharply than I do. My only fear is that I am
too severe with them. I may be mild in my manners, but they
know me well enough to tremble if I speak sternly to them."
"The trembling would be with amusement," the adjutant
grumbled. "Well, the colonel has settled the matter, and
Terence will be in Orders to-morrow as appointed to O'Dris-
col's company, and the other to yours."
"Thank you for nothing, Cleary," O'Grady said, with
dignity. "You would have seen that under my tuition the
lad would have turned out one of the smartest officers in the
regiment."
"You have heard of the Spartan way of teaching their
sons to avoid drunkenness, Captain O'Grady? "
" Divil a word, Cleary; but I reckon that the best way
with the haythens was to keep them from touching whisky.
It is what I always recommend to the men of my company
when I come across one of them the worse for liquor. ' '
The adjutant laughed. "That was not the Spartan way,
O'Grady; but the advice, if taken, would doubtless have the
same effect."
" And who were the Spartans at all? "
"I have not time to tell you now, O'Grady; I have no
end of business on my hands."
16 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
"Thin what do you keep me talking here for? haven't I
a lot of work on me hands too. I came in to ask a simple
question, and instead of giving me a civil answer you kape
me wasting my time wid your O'Driscols and your Spartans
and all kinds of rigmarole. That is the worst of being in an
Irish regiment, nothing can be done widout ever so much
blather; " and Captain O'Grady stalked out of the orderly-
room.
On the march Terence had no difficulty in obtaining leave
from his captain to drop behind and march with his friend
Dick Ryan. The marches were long ones, and they halted
only at Parsonstown, Templemore, Tipperary, and Fermoy,
as the colonel had received orders to use all speed. At each
place a portion of the regiment was accommodated in the
barracks, while the rest were quartered in the town. Late in
the evening of the fifth day's march they arrived at Cork, and
the next day went on board the two transports provided for
them, and joined the fleet assembled in the Cove. Some
of the ships had been lying there for nearly a month waiting
orders, and the troops on board were heartily weary of their
confinement. The news, however, that Sir Arthur Wellesley
had been at last appointed to command them, and that they
were to sail for Portugal, had caused great delight, for it had
been feared that they might, like other bodies of troops, be
shipped off to some distant spot, only to remain there for
months and then to be brought home again.
Nothing, indeed, could exceed the vacillation and confu-
sion that reigned in the English cabinet at that time. The
forces of England were frittered away in small and objectless
expeditions, the plans of action were changed with every
report sent either by the interested leaders of insurrectionary
movements in Spain, or by the signally incompetent men who
had been sent out to represent England, and who distributed
THE MAYO FUSILIERS 17
broadcast British money and British arms to the most unwor-
thy applicants. By their lavishness and subservience to the
Spaniards our representatives increased the natural arrogance
of these people, and caused them to regard England as a
power which was honoured by being permitted to share in
the Spanish efforts against the French generals. General
Spencer with 5,000 men was kept for months sailing up and
down the coast of Spain and Portugal, receiving contradic-
tory orders from home, and endeavouring in vain to co-operate
with the Spanish generals, each of whom had his own private
purposes, and was bent on gratifying personal ambitions and
of thwarting the schemes of his rivals, rather than on oppos-
ing the common enemy.
Not only were the English ministry incapable of devising
any plan of action, but they were constantly changing the
naval and military officers of the forces. At one moment one
general or admiral seemed to possess their confidence, while
soon afterwards, without the slightest reason, two or three
others with greater political influence were placed over his
head ; and when at last Sir Arthur Wellesley, whose services
in India marked him as our greatest soldier, was sent out with
supreme military power, they gave him no definite plan of
action. General Spencer was nominally placed under his
orders by one set of instructions, while another authorized
him to commence operations in the south, without reference
to Sir Arthur Wellesley. Admiral Purvis, who was junior to
Admiral Collingwood, was authorized to control the operations
of Sir Arthur, while Wellesley himself had scarcely sailed
when Sir Hew Dalrymple was appointed to the chief com-
mand of the forces, Sir Harry Burrard was appointed second
in command, and Sir Arthur Wellesley was reduced to the
fourth rank in the army that he had been sent out to com-
mand, two of the men placed above him being almost un-
18 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
known, they never having commanded any military force in
the field.
The 9,000 men assembled in the Cove of Cork knew noth-
ing of these things ; they were going out under the command
of the victor of Assaye to measure their strength against that
of the French, and they had no fear of the result.
"I hope," Captain O'Grady said, as the officers of the
wing of the regiment to which he belonged sat down to dinner
for the first time on board the transport, " that we shall not
have to keep together in going out."
" Why so, O'Grady ? ' ' another captain asked.
" Because there is no doubt at all that our ship is the fast-
est in the fleet, and that we shall get there in time to have a
little brush with the French all to ourselves before the others
arrive."
"What makes you think that she is the fastest ship here,
O'Grady?"
" Anyone can see it with half an eye, O'Driscol. Look at
her lines ; she is a flyer, and if we are not obliged to keep
with the others we shall be out of sight of the rest of them
before we have sailed six hours."
"I don't pretend to know anything about her lines,
O'Grady, but she looks to me a regular old tub."
" She is old," O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, " but give
her plenty of wind and you will see how she can walk
along."
There was a laugh all round the table ; O'Grady's absolute
confidence in anything in which he was interested was known
to them all. His horse had been notoriously the most worth-
less animal in the regiment, but although continually last in
the hunting field, O'Grady's opinion of her speed was never
shaken. There was always an excuse ready ; the horse had
been badly shod, or it was out of sorts and had not had its
THE MAYO FUSILIERS 19
feed before starting, or the going was heavy and it did not
like heavy ground, or the country was too hilly or too flat for
it. It was the same with his company, with his non-commis-
sioned officers, with his soldier servant, a notoriously drunken
rascal, and with his quarters.
O'Grady looked round in mild expostulation at the laugh.
" You will see," he said, confidently, " there can be no mis-
take about it. ' '
Two days later a ship-of-war entered the harbour, the usual
salutes were exchanged, then a signal was run up to one of her
mast-heads, and again the guns of the forts pealed out a salute,
and word ran through the transports that Sir Arthur Wellesley
was on board. On the following day the fleet got under way,
the transports being escorted by a line-of-battle ship and four
frigates, which were to join Lord Collingwood's squadron as
soon as they had seen their charge safe into the Tagus.
Before evening the Sea-horse was a mile astern of the rear-
most ship of the convoy, and one of the frigates sailing back
fired a gun as a signal to her to close up.
"Well, O'Grady, we have left the fleet, you see, though
not in the way you predicted."
" Whist, man ! don't you see that the captain is out of
temper because they have all got to keep together, instead of
letting him go ahead ? "
Every rag of sail was now piled on to the ship, and as many
of the others were showing nothing above their topgallant sails
she rejoined the rest just as darkness fell.
"There, you see!" O'Grady said, triumphantly, "look
what she can do when she likes."
" We do see, O'Grady. With twice as much sail up as any-
thing else, she has in three hours picked up the mile she had
lost."
" Wait until we get some wind."
20 WITH MOORE At CORUNNA
"I hope we sha'n't get anything of the sort at least no
strong winds ; the old tub would open every seam if we did,
and we might think ourselves lucky if we got through it at
all."
O'Grady smiled pleasantly, and said it was useless to argue
with so obstinate a man.
" I am afraid O'Grady is wrong as usual," Dick Ryan said
to Terence, who was sitting next to him. " When once he has
taken an idea into his head nothing will persuade him that he
is wrong ; there is no doubt the Sea-horse is as slow as she can
be. I suppose her owners have some interest with the govern-
ment, or they would surely never have taken up such an old
tub as a troop-ship."
CHAPTER II
TWO DANGERS
THE next day, in spite of the sail she carried, the Sea-horse
lagged behind, and one of the frigates sailed back to her,
and the captain shouted angry orders to the master to keep his
place in the convoy.
" If we get any wind," O'Grady said, as the frigate bore
up on her course again, " it will take all your time to keep up
with her, my fine fellow. You see," he explained to Terence,
"no vessel is perfect in all points; some like a good deal of
wind, some are best in a calm. Now this ship wants wind."
"I think she does, Captain O'Grady," Terence replied,
gravely. " At any rate her strong point is not sailing in a
light wind."
" No," O'Grady admitted, regretfully; " but it is not the
TWO DANGERS 21
ship's fault. I have no doubt at all that her bottom is foul,
and that she has a lot of barnacles and weeds twice as long as
your body. That is the reason why she is a little sluggish."
" That may be it," Terence agreed ; " but I should have
thought that they would have seen to that before they sent her
to Cork."
" It is like enough that her owners are well-wishers of Na-
poleon, Terence, and that it is out of spite that they have done
it. There is no doubt that she is a wonderful craft. ' '
"I am quite inclined to agree with you, Captain O'Grady,
for as I have never seen a ship except when the regiment came
back from India ten years ago, I am no judge of one."
" It is the eye, Terence. I can't say that I have been much
at sea myself, except on that voyage out and home; but I have
an eye for ships, and can see their good points at a glance.
You can take it from me that she is a wonderful vessel. ' '
" She would look all the better if her sails were a bit cleaner,
and not so patched," Terence said, looking up.
" She might look better to the eye, lad, but no doubt the
owners know what they are doing, and consider that she goes
better with sails that fit her than she would with new ones."
Terence burst into a roar of laughter. O'Grady, as usual,
looked at him in mild surprise.
" What are you laughing at, you young spalpeen ? "
"lam thinking, Captain O'Grady," the lad said, recover-
ing himself, " that it is a great pity you could not have ob-
tained the situation of Devil's Advocate. I have read that
years ago someone was appointed to defend Old Nick when
the others were pitching into him, and to show that he was
not as black as he was painted, but was a respectable gentle-
man who had been maligned by the world."
" No doubt there is a good deal to be said for him,"
O'Grady said, seriously. ' ' Give a dog a bad name, you know.
2 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
and you may hang him ; and I have no doubt the Old One
has been held responsible for lots of things he never had as
much as the tip of his finger in at all, at all."
Seeing that his captain was about to pursue the matter much
further, Terence, making the excuse that it was time he went
down to see if the men's breakfast was all right, slipped off,
and he and Dick Ryan had a hearty laugh over O'Grady's
peculiarities.
" I think, O'Grady," Captain O'Driscol said, two days
later, " we are going to have our opportunity, for unless lam
mistaken there is going to be a change of weather. Those
clouds banking up ahead look like a gale from the south-
west."
Before night the wind was blowing furiously, and the Sea-
horse taking green sea over her bows and wallowing gunwale
under in the waves. At daylight, when they went on deck,
gray masses of cloud were hurrying overhead and an angry sea
alone met the eye. Not a sail was in sight, and the whole
convoy had vanished.
" We are out of sight of the fleet, O'Grady," Captain
O'Driscol said, grimly.
" I felt sure we should be," O'Grady said, triumphantly.
"Sorra one of them could keep foot with us."
"They are ahead of us, man," O'Driscol said, angrily ;
" miles and miles ahead."
" Ahead, is it? You must know better, O'Driscol; though
it is little enough you know of ships. You see we are close-
hauled, and there is no doubt that that is the vessel's strong
point. Why, we have dropped the rest of them like hot pota-
toes, and if this little breeze keeps on, maybe we shall be in
the Tagus days and days before them."
O'Driscol was too exasperated to argue.
"O'Driscol is a good fellow," O'Grady said, turning to
TWO DANGERS 23
Terence, "but it is a misfortune that he is so prejudiced.
Now, what is your own opinion ? ' '
" I have no opinion about it, Captain O'Grady. I have a
very strong opinion that I am not going to enjoy my break-
fast, and that this motion does not agree with me at all. I
have been ill half the night. Dick Ryan is awfully bad, and
by the sounds I heard I should say a good many of the others
are the same way. On the main deck it is awful ; they have
got the hatches battened down. I just took a peep in and
bolted, for it seemed to me that everyone was ill. ' '
" The best plan, lad, is to make up your mind that you are
quite well. If you once do that you will be all right di-
rectly."
Terence could not for the moment reply, having made a
sudden rush to the side.
"I don't see how I can persuade myself that I am quite
well," he said, when he returned, " when I feel terribly ill."
"Yes, it wants resolution, Terence, and I am afraid that
you are deficient in that. It must not be half-and-half.
You have got to say to yourself, ' This is glorious ; I never
enjoyed myself so well in my life,' and when you have said
that and feel that it is quite true, the whole thing will be
over."
" I don't doubt it in the least," Terence said ; " but I can't
say it without telling a prodigious lie, and worse still, I could
not believe the lie when I had told it."
"Then I am afraid that you must submit to be ill, Ter-
ence. I know once that I had a drame, and the drame was
that I was at sea and horribly sea-sick, and I woke up and
said to myself, ' This is all nonsense, I am as well as ever I
was ; ' and, faith, so I was."
Ill as Terence was, he burst into a fit of laughter.
"That was just a dream, Captain O'Grady; but mine is a
24 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
reality, you know. I don't think that you are looking quite
well yourself."
" I am perfectly well as far as the sea goes, Terence ; never
was better in my life ; but that pork we had for dinner yes-
terday was worse than usual, and I think perhaps I ought to
have taken another glass or two to correct it. ' '
" It must have been the pork," Terence said, as seriously
as O'Grady himself; "and it is unfortunate that you are
such an abstemious man, or, as you say, its effects might
have been corrected."
"It's me opinion, Terence, my boy, that you are a hum-
bug."
"Then, Captain O'Grady, it is clear that evil communica-
tions must have corrupted my good manners. ' '
"It must have been in your infancy then, Terence, for
divil a bit of manners good or bad have I ever seen in you ;
you have not even the good manners to take a glass of the
cratur when you are asked."
"That is true enough," Terence laughed. "Having
been brought up in the regiment, I have learned, at least, that
the best thing to do with whisky is to leave it alone."
" I am afraid you will never be a credit to us, Terence."
" Not in the way of being able to make a heavy night of it
and then turn out as fresh as paint in the morning," Terence re-
torted ; "but you see, Captain O'Grady, even my abstinence
has its advantages, for at least there will always be one officer
in the corps able to go the round of the sentries at night."
At this moment the vessel gave such a heavy lurch that
they were both thrown off their feet and rolled into the lee-
scuppers, while, at the same moment, a rush of water swept
over them. Amidst shouts of laughter from the other officers
the two scrambled to their feet.
" Holy Moses ! " O'Grady exclaimed, " I am drowned en-
TWO FRENCH PRIVATEERS BEAR DOWN UPON THE SEA-HORSE,
TWO DANGERS 25
tirely, and I sha'n't get the taste of the salt water out of me
mouth for a week."
"There is one comfort," Terence said; "it might have
been worse."
"How could it have been worse?" O'Grady asked, angrily.
"Why, if we hadn't been in the steadiest ship in the
whole fleet we might have been washed overboard."
There was another shout of laughter. O'Grady made a
dash at Terence, but the latter easily avoided him and went
down below to change his clothes.
The gale increased in strength, and the whole vessel strained
so heavily that her seams began to open, and by one o'clock
the captain requested Major Harrison, who was in command,
to put some of the soldiers at the pumps. For three days
and nights relays of men kept the pumps going. Had it not
been for the 400 troops on board, the Sea-horse would long
before have gone to the bottom ; but with such powerful aid
the water was kept under, and on the morning of the fourth
day the storm began to abate, and by evening more canvas
was got on her. The next morning two vessels were seen
astern at a distance of four or five miles. After examining
them through his glass, the captain sent down a message to
Major Harrison asking him to come up. Ih three or four
minutes that officer appeared.
"There are two strange craft over there, Major; from
their appearance I have not the least doubt that they are
French privateers. I thought I should like your advice as to
what had best be done. ' '
" I don't know. You see, your guns might just as well be
thrown overboard for any good they would be," the major
said. "The things would not be safe to fire a salute with
blank cartridge."
"No, they can hardly be called serviceable," the master
$6 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
agreed. " I spoke to the owner about it, but he said that as
we were going to sail with a convoy it did not matter, and
that we should have some others for the next voyage."
" I should like to see your owner dangling from the yard-
arm," the major said, wrathfully. " However, just at present
the question is what had best be done. Of course they could
not take the ship from us, but they would have very little
difficulty in sinking her."
" The first thing is to put on every stitch of sail."
" That would avail us nothing ; they can sail two feet to our
one."
"Quite so, Major; I should not hope to get away, but
they would think that I was trying to do so. My idea is
that we should press on as fast as we can till they open fire at
us ; we could hold on for a bit, and then haul up into the
wind and lower our top-sails, which they will take for a proof
of surrender. ' '
" You won't strike the flag, Captain ; we cannot do any-
thing treacherous. ' '
"No, no, I am not thinking of doing that. You see, the
flag is not hoisted yet, and we won't hoist it at all till they
get close alongside, then we can haul it up, and sweep their
decks with musketry. Of course your men will keep below
until the last moment."
" That plan will do very well," the major agreed, " that is,
if they venture to come boldly alongside."
-"One is pretty sure to do so, though the other may lay
herself ahead or astern of us, with her guns pointed to rake
us in case we make any resistance ; but seeing what we are,
and that we carry only four small guns each side, they are
hardly likely to suspect anything wrong. I am not at all
afraid of beating them off; my only fear is that after they
have sheared away they will open upon us from a distance."
TWO DANGERS 27
" Yes, that would be awkward. However, if they do, we
must keep the men below, and in the meantime you had bet-
ter get your carpenter to cut up some spars and make a
lot of plugs in readiness to stop up any holes they make near
the water-line. I don't think they are likely to make very
ragged holes, the wood is so rotten the shot would go
through the side as if it were brown paper ; still, you might
get a lot of squares of canvas ready, with hammers and nails."
The strange craft were already heading towards the Sea-
horse. No time was lost in setting every stitch of canvas
that she could carry ; the wind was light now, but the vessel
was rolling heavily in a long swell. The major examined the
guns closely and found that they were even worse than he had
anticipated, the rust holes eaten in the iron having been filled
up with putty, and the whole painted. He was turning away,
with an exclamation of disgust, when Terence, who was
standing near, said to him :
" I beg your pardon, Major, but don't you think that if we
were to wind some thin rope very tightly round them three or
four inches thick, they might stand a charge or two of grape to
give them at close quarters; we needn't put in a very heavy
charge of powder. Even if they did burst, I should think that
the rope would prevent the splinters from flying about."
" The idea is not a bad one at all, Terence. I will see if
the captain has got a coil or two of thin rope on board."
Fortunately the ship was fairly well supplied in this respect,
and a few of the sailors who were accustomed to serving rope,
with a dozen soldiers to help them, were told off to the work.
The rope was wound round as tightly as the strength of a
dozen men could pull it, the process being repeated five or six
times, until each gun was surrounded by as many layers of
rope. A thin rod had been inserted in the touch-hole. The
cannon was then loaded with half the usual charge of pow-
28 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
der, and filled to the muzzle with bullets. The rod was
then drawn out, and powder poured in until it reached the
surface.
While this was being done, all the soldiers not engaged in
the work went below, and the officers sat down under shelter
of the bulwarks. The two privateers, a large lugger and a
brig, had been coming up rapidly, and by the time the guns
were ready for action they were but a mile away. Presently
a puff of smoke burst out from the bows of the lugger, and a
round shot struck the water a short distance ahead of the Sea-
horse. She held on her course without taking any notice of
it, and for a few minutes the privateer was silent ; then, when
they were but half a mile away the brig opened fire, and two
or three shots hulled the vessel.
" That will do, Captain," the major said. "You may as
well lay-to now."
The Sea-horse rapidly flew up into the wind, the sheets were
thrown off, and the upper sails were lowered, one after the
other, the job being executed slowly, as if by a weak crew.
The two privateers, which had been sailing within a short
distance of each other, now exchanged signals, and the lugger
ran on, straight towards the Sea-horse, while the brig took a
course which would lay her across the stern of the barque,
and enable them to rake her with her broadside. Word was
passed below, and the soldiers poured up on deck, stooping as
they reached it, and taking their places under the bulwarks.
The major had already asked for volunteers among the officers,
to fire the guns. All had at once offered to do so.
" As it was your proposal, Terence," the major said, " you
shall have the honour of firing one ; Ryan, you take another ;
Lieutenant Marks and Mr. Haines, you take the other two,
and then England and Ireland will be equally represented."
The deck of the lugger was crowded with men, and the
TWO DANGERS 29
course she was steering brought her within a length of the
Sea-horse. Some of the men were preparing to lower her
boats, when suddenly a thick line of red coats appeared above
the bulwarks, two hundred muskets poured in their fire, while
the contents of the four guns swept her deck. The effect of
the fire was tremendous. The deck was in a moment covered
with dead and dying men ; half a minute later another volley,
fired by the remaining companies, completed the work of de-
struction. The halliards of one of the lugger's sails had been
cut by the grape, and the sail now came down with a run to
the deck.
" Down below, all of you," the major shouted, " the fellow
behind will rake us in a minute. ' '
The soldiers ran down to the hold again. A minute later
the brig, sailing across the stern, poured in the fire of her guns
one by one. Standing much lower in the water than her op-
ponent, none of her shot traversed the deck of the Sea-horse,
but they carried destruction among the cabins and fittings of
the deck below. As this, however, was entirely deserted, no
one was injured by the shot or flying fragments. The brig
then took up her position three or four hundred yards away,
on the quarter of the Sea-horse, and opened a steady fire
against her.
To this the barque could make no reply, the fire of the
muskets being wholly ineffective at that distance. The lugger
lay helpless alongside the Sea-horse ; the survivors of her crew
had run below, and dared not return on deck to work their
guns, as they would have been swept by the musketry of the
Sea-horse.
Half an hour later Terence was ordered to go below to see
how they were getting on in the hold.
Terence did so. Some lanterns had been lighted there, and
he found that four men had been killed and a dozen or so
30 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
wounded by the enemy's shot, the greater portion of which,
however, had gone over their heads. The carpenter, assisted
by some of the non-commissioned officers, was busy plugging
holes that had been made in her between wind and water, and
had fairly succeeded, as but four or five shots had struck so low,
the enemy's object being not to sink, but to capture the ves-
sel. As he passed up through the main deck to report, Ter-
ence saw that the destruction here was great indeed. The
woodwork of the cabins had been knocked into fragments,
there was a great gaping hole in the stern, and it seemed to
him that before long the vessel would be knocked to pieces.
He returned to the deck, and reported the state of things.
" It looks bad," the major said to O'Driscol. "This is but
half an hour's work, and when the fellows come to the con-
clusion that they cannot make us strike, they will aim lower,
and there will be nothing to do but to choose between sinking
and hauling down our flag."
After delivering his report, Terence went to the side of the
ship and looked down on the lugger. The attraction of the
ship had drawn her closer to it, and she was but a few feet
away. A thought struck him, and he went to O'Grady.
" Look here, O'Grady," he said, " that fellow will smash us
up altogether if we don't do something."
" You must be a bright boy to see that, Terence ; faith, I
have been thinking so for the last ten minutes. But what are
we to do? The muskets won't carry so far, at least not to do
any good. The cannon are next to useless. Two of that lot you
fired burst, though the ropes prevented any damage being done."
"Quite so, but there are plenty of guns alongside. Now,
if you go to the major and volunteer to take your company
and gain possession of the lugger, with one of the mates and
half a dozen sailors to work her, we can get up the main-sail
and engage the brig."
TWO DANGERS 31
" By the powers, Terence, you are a broth of a boy," and
he hurried away to the major.
" Major," he said, " if you will give me leave, I will have
up my company and take possession of the lugger ; we shall
want one of the ship's officers and half a dozen men to work
the sails, and then we will go out and give that brig pepper. ' '
" It is a splendid idea, O'Grady."
" It is not my idea at all, at all ; it is Terence O' Connor who
suggested it to me. I suppose I can take the lad with me? "
" By all means, get your company up at once."
O'Grady hurried away, and in a minute the men of his
company poured up onto the deck.
" You can come with me, Terence ; I have the major's
leave," he said to the lad.
At this moment there was a slight shock, as the lugger came
in contact with the ship.
" Come on, lads," O'Grady said, as he set the example of
clambering down onto the deck of the lugger. He was fol-
lowed by his men, the first mate and six sailors also springing
on board. The hatches were first put on to keep the remnant
of the crew below. The sailors knotted the halliards of the
main-sail, the soldiers tailed on to the rope, and the sail was
rapidly run up. The mate put two of his men at the tiller,
and the soldiers ran to the guns, which were already loaded.
"Haul that sheet to windward," the mate shouted, and
the four sailors, aided by some of the soldiers, did so. Her
head soon payed off, and amid a cheer from the officers on
deck the lugger swept round. She mounted twelve guns.
O'Grady divided the officers and non-commissioned officers
among them, himself taking charge of a long pivot-gun in
the bow.
" Take stiddy aim, boys, and fire as your guns bear on
her; you ought not to throw away a shot at this distance."
32 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
As the lugger came out from behind the Sea-horse, gun
after gun was fired, and the white splinters on the side of the
brig showed that most, if not all, of the shots had taken effect.
O'Grady's gun was the last to speak out, and the shot struck
the brig just above the water-line.
"Take her round," he shouted to the mate; "give the
boys on the other side a chance." The lugger put about and
her starboard guns poured in their contents.
" That is the way," he shouted, as he laboured away with
the men with him to load the pivot-gun again; "we will
give him two or three more rounds, and then we will get
alongside and ask for his health."
The brig, however, showed no inclination to await the
attack. Some shots had been hastily fired when the lugger's
first gun told them that she was now an enemy, and she at
once put down her helm and made off before the wind, which
was now very light.
"Load your guns and then out with the oars," Captain
O'Grady shouted. "Be jabers, we will have that fellow.
Let no man attend to the Sea-horse ; it's from me that you
are to take your orders. Besides," he said to Terence,
"there is no signal-book on board, and they may hoist as
many flags as they like."
The twelve sweeps on board the lugger were at once got
out, and each manned by three soldiers. O'Grady himself
continued to direct the fire of the pivot-gun, and sent shot
after shot into the brig's stern. The latter had but some
four hundred yards' start, and although she also hurriedly got
out some sweeps, the lugger gained upon her. Her crew
clustered on their taffrail, and kept up a musketry fire upon
the party working the pivot-gun. Two of these had been
killed and four wounded, when O'Grady said to the others :
" Lave the gun alone, boys ; we shall be alongside of her in
TWO DANGERS 33
a few minutes ; it is no use throwing away lives by working it.
Run all the guns over to the other side ; we will give them a
warming, and then go at her."
The Sea-horse had hoisted signals directly those on board
perceived that the lugger was starting in pursuit of the brig.
Terence had informed his commanding officer of this, but
O'Grady replied:
" I know nothing about them, Terence; most likely they
mane ' Good-luck to you ! Chase the blackguard, and capt-
ure him.' Don't let Woods come near me, whatever you
do; I don't want to hear his idea of what the signals may
mane. ' '
Terence had just time to stop the mate as he was coming
forward.
" The ship is signalling," he said.
"I have told Captain O'Grady, sir," Terence replied.
" He does not know what the signal means, but has no doubt
that it is instructions to capture the brig, and he means to
do so."
The officer laughed.
" I think myself that it would be a pity not to," he said ;
" we shall be alongside in ten minutes. But I think it my
duty to tell you what the signal is. ' '
"You can tell me what it is," Terence said, " and it is
possible that in the heat of action I may forget to report it to
Captain O'Grady."
" That is right enough, sir. I think it is the recall."
" Well, I will attend to it presently," Terence laughed.
When within a hundred yards of the brig the troops opened
a heavy musketry fire, many of the men making their way up
the ratlines and so commanding the brig's deck. They were
answered with a brisk fire, but the French shooting was wild,
and by the shouting of orders and the confusion that prevailed
3
34 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
on board it was evident that the privateersmen were dis-
organized by the sight of the troops and the capture of their
consort. The brig's guns were hastily fired, as they could be
brought to bear on the lugger, as she forged alongside. The
sweeps had already been got in, and the lugger's eight guns
poured their contents simultaneously into the brig, then a
withering volley was fired, and, headed by O'Grady, the sol-
diers sprang on board the brig.
As they did so, however, the French flag fluttered down
from the peak, and the privateersmen threw down their arms.
The English broadside and volley fired at close quarters had
taken terrible effect. Of the crew of eighty men thirty were
killed and a large proportion of the rest wounded. The sol-
diers gave three hearty cheers as the flag came down.
The privateersmen were at once ordered below.
"Lieutenant Hunter," O'Grady said, "do you go on
board the lugger with the left wing of the company. Mr.
Woods, I think you had better stay here, there are a good
many more sails to manage than there are in the lugger. One
man here will be enough to steer her ; we will pull at the
ropes for you. Put the others on board the lugger. ' '
"By the by, Mr. Woods," he said, "I see that the ship
has hoisted a signal ; what does it mean ? "
"I believe that to be the recall, sir; I told Mr.
O'Connor."
" You ought to have reported that same to me," O'Grady
said, severely ; " however, we will obey it at once.*'
The Sea-horse was lying head to wind a mile and a half
away, and the two prizes ran rapidly up to her. They were
received with a tremendous cheer from the men closely packed
along her bulwarks. O'Grady at once lowered a boat and
was rowed to the Sea-horse, taking Terence with him.
"You have done extremely well, Captain O'Grady,"
TWO DANGERS 35
Major Harrison said, as he reached the deck, " and I con-
gratulate you heartily. You should, however, have obeyed the
order of recall ; the brig might have proved too strong for
you, and, bound on service as we are, we have no right to
risk valuable lives except in self-defence. ' '
"Sure I knew nothing about the signal," O'Grady said,
with an air of innocence; " I thought it just meant ' More
power to ye ! give it 'em hot ! ' or something of that kind.
It was not until after I had taken the brig that I was told that
it was an order of recall. As soon as I learned that, we came
along as fast as we could to you. ' '
" But Mr. Woods must surely have known."
" Mr. Woods did tell me, Major," Terence put in, "but
somehow I forgot to mention it to Captain O'Grady."
There was a laugh among the officers standing round.
"You ought to have informed him at once, Mr. O'Connor,"
the major said, with an attempt at gravity. " However," he
went on, with a change of voice, " we all owe so much to you
that I must overlook it, as there can be very little doubt that
had it not been for your happy idea of taking possession of
the lugger we should have been obliged to surrender, for I
should not have been justified in holding out until the ship
sank under us. I shall not fail, in reporting the matter, to
do you full credit for your share in it. Now, what is your
loss, Captain O'Grady?"
" Three men killed and eleven wounded, sir."
" And what is that of the enemy ? "
" Thirty-two killed and about the same number of wounded,
more or less. We had not time to count them before we sent
them down, and I had not time afterwards, for I was occupied
in obeying the order of recall. I am sorry that we have killed
so many of the poor beggars, but if they had hauled down
their flag when we got up with them there would have been
36 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
no occasion for it. I should have told their captain that I
looked upon him as an obstinate pig, but as he and his first
officer were both killed, there was no use in my spaking to
him."
"Well, it has been a very satisfactory operation," the
major said, "and we are very well out of a very nasty fix.
Now, you will go back to the brig, Captain O'Grady, and
prepare to send the prisoners on board. We will send our
boats for them. Doctor Daly and Doctor O' Flaherty will go
on board with you and see to the wounded French and Eng-
lish. Doctor Daly will bring the worst cases on board here,
and will leave O' Flaherty on the brig to look after the others.
They will be better there than in this crowded ship. The
first officer will remain there with you with five men, and you
will retain fifty men of your own company. The second
officer, with five men, will take charge of the lugger. He
will have with him fifty men of Captain O'Driscol's company,
under that officer. That will give us a little more room on
board here. How many prisoners are there ? ' '
" Counting the wounded, Major, there are about fifty of
them ; her crew was eighty strong to begin with. There are
only some thirty, including the slightly wounded, to look
after."
" If the brig's hold is clear, I think that you had better
take charge of them. At present you will both lie-to beside
us here till we have completed our repairs, and when we
make sail you are both to follow us, and keep as close as pos-
sible ; and on no account, Captain O'Grady, are you to
undertake any cruises on your own account."
"I will bear it in mind, Major ; and we will do all we
can to keep up with you."
A laugh ran round the circle of officers at O'Grady's
obstinacy in considering the Sea-horse to be a fast vessel, in
TWO DANGERS 37
spite of the evidence that they had had to the contrary. The
major said, gravely :
" You will have to go under the easiest sail possible. The
brig can go two feet to this craft's one, and you will only
want your lower sails. If you put on more you will be run-
ning ahead and losing us at night. We shall show a light
over our stern, and on no account are you to allow yourselves
to lose sight of it."
A party of men were already at work nailing battens over
the shattered stern of the Sea-horse. When this was done,
sail-cloth was nailed over them, and a coat of pitch given to it.
The operation took four hours, by which time all the other
arrangements had been completed. The holds of the two
privateers were found to be empty, and they learned from the
French crews that the two craft had sailed from Bordeaux in
company but four days previously, and that the Sea-horse was
the first English ship that they had come across.
"You will remember, Captain O'Grady," the major said,
as that officer prepared to go on board, " that Mr. Woods is
in command of the vessel, and that he is not to be inter-
fered with in any way with regard to making or taking in sail.
He has received precise instructions as to keeping near us,
and your duties will be confined to keeping guard over the
prisoners, and rendering such assistance to the sailors as they
may require."
"I understand, Major; but I suppose that in case you are
attacked we may take a share in any divarsion that is going
on?"
"I don't think that there is much chance of our being
attacked, O'Grady; but if we are, instructions will be sig-
nalled to you. French privateers are not likely to interfere
with us, seeing that we are together, and if by any ill-luck a
French frigate should fall in with us, you will have instructions
38 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
to sheer off at once, and for each of you to make your way
to Lisbon as quickly as you can. You see, we have trans-
ferred four guns from each of your craft to take the place of
the rotten cannon on board here, but our united forces would
be of no avail at all against a frigate, which would send us to
the bottom with a single broadside. We can neither run nor
fight in this wretched old tub. If we do see a French frigate
coming, I shall transfer the rest of the troops to the prizes
and send them off at once, and leave the Sea-horse to her
fate. Of course we should be very crowded on board the
privateers, but that would not matter for a few days. So you
see the importance of keeping quite close to us, in readiness
to come alongside at once if signalled to. We shall separate
as soon as we leave the ship, so as to ensure at least half our
force reaching its destination."
Captain O'Driscol took Terence with him on board the
lugger, leaving his lieutenant in charge of the wing that
remained on board the ship.
"You have done credit to the company, and to my choice
of you, Terence," he said, warmly, as they stood together on
the deck of the lugger. " I did not see anything for it but a
French prison, and it would have broken my heart to be tied
up there while the rest of our lads were fighting the French
in Portugal. I thought that you would make a good officer
some day in spite of your love of devilment, but I did not
think that before you had been three weeks in the service you
would have saved half the regiment from a French prison. ' '
DISEMBARKED 39
CHAPTER III
DISEMBARKED
AS soon as the vessels were under way again it was found
that the lugger was obliged to lower her main-sail to
keep in her position astern of the Sea-horse, while the brig
was forced to take in sail after sail until the whole of the
upper sails had been furled.
"It is tedious work going along like this," O'Driscol said ;
' ' but it does not so much matter, because as yet we do not
know where we are going to land. Sir Arthur has gone on in
a fast ship to Corunna to see the Spanish Junta there, and
find out what assistance we are likely to get from Northern
Spain. That will be little enough. I expect they will take
our money and arms and give us plenty of fine promises in
return, and do nothing; that is the game they have been
playing in the south, and if there were a grain of sense
among our ministers they would see that it is not of the
slightest use to reckon on Spain. As to Portugal, we know
very little at present, but I expect there is not a pin to choose
between them and the Spaniards."
"Then we are not going to Lisbon?" Terence said, in
surprise.
" I expect not. Sir Arthur won't determine anything
until he joins us after his visit to Corunna, but I don't think
that it will be at Lisbon, anyhow. There are strong forts
guarding the mouth of the river, and ten or twelve thousand
troops in the city, and a Russian fleet anchored in the port.
I don't know where it will be, but I don't think that it will
be Lisbon. I expect that we shall slip into some little port,
land, and wait for Junot to attack us ; we shall be joined, I
40 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
expect, by Stewart's force, that have been fooling about for
two or three months waiting for the Spaniards to make up
their minds whether they will admit them into Cadiz or not.
You see, at present there are only 9,000 of us, and they say that
Junot has at least 50,000 in Portugal ; but of course they are
scattered about, and it is hardly likely that he would venture
to withdraw all his garrisons from the large towns, so that the
odds may not be as heavy as they look, when we meet him in
the field. And I suppose that at any rate some of the Portu-
guese will join us. From what I hear, the peasantry are
brave enough, only they have never had a chance yet of
making a fight for it, owing to their miserable government,
which never can make up its mind to do anything. I hope
that Sir Arthur has orders, as soon as he takes Lisbon, to
assume the entire control of the country and ignore the native
government altogether. Even if they are worth anything,
which they are sure not to be, it is better to have one head
than two, and as we shall have to do all the fighting, it's just
as well that we should have the whole control of things too."
For four days they sailed along quietly. On the morning
of the fifth the signal was run up from the Sea-horse for the
prizes to close up to her. Mr. Woods, the mate on board the
brig, at once sent a sailor up to the mast-head.
" There is a large ship away to the south-west, sir," he
shouted down.
" What does she look like ?"
" I can only see her royals and top-sails yet, but by their
square cut I think that she is a ship-of-war. ' '
" Do you think she is French or English? "
" I cannot say for certain yet, sir, but it looks to me as if
she is French. I don't think that the sails are English cut
anyhow."
Such was evidently the opinion on board the Sea-horse, for
DISEMBARKED 41
as the prizes came up within a hundred yards of her they were
hailed by the major through a speaking-trumpet, and ordered
to keep at a distance for the present, but to be in readiness
to come up alongside directly orders were given to that
effect.
In another half-hour the look-out reported that he could
now see the lower sails of the stranger, and had very little
doubt but that it was a large French frigate. Scarcely had he
done so before the two prizes were ordered to close up to the
Sea-horse. The sea was very calm and they were able to lie
alongside, and as soon as they did so the troops began to be
transferred to them. In a quarter of an hour the operation
was completed, Major Harrison taking his place on board
the lugger ; half the men were ordered below, and the prize
sheered off from the Sea-horse.
"The Frenchman is bearing down straight for us," he said
to O' Driscol ; ' ' she is bringing a breeze down with her, and in
an hour she will be alongside. I shall wait another half-hour,
and then we must leave the Sea-horse to her fate ; except for
our stores she is worthless. Well, Terence, have you any sug-
gestion to offer? You got us out of the last scrape, and
though this is not quite so bad as that, it is unpleasant enough.
The frigate when she comes near will see that the Sea-horse is
a slow sailer, and will probably leave her to be picked up at
her leisure, and will go off in chase either of the brig or us.
The brig is to make for the north-west and we shall steer
south-east, so that she will have to make a choice between
us. When we get the breeze we shall either of us give her a
good dance before she catches us that is, if the breeze is not
too strong ; if it is, her weight would soon bring her up to
us."
" Yes, Major, but perhaps she may not trouble about us at
all. She would see at once that the lugger and brig are
42 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
French, and if they were both to hoist French colours, and
the Sea-horse were to fly French colours over English, she
would naturally suppose that she had been captured by us,
and would go straight on her course without troubling herself
further about it. ' '
" So she might, Terence. At any rate the scheme is worth
trying. If they have anything like good glasses on board they
could make out our colours miles away. If she held on tow-
ards us after that, there would be plenty of time for us to
run, but if we saw her change her course we should know that
we were safe. Your head is good for other things besides
mischief, lad."
The lugger sailed up near the ship again, and the major gave
the captain instructions to hoist a French ensign over an Eng-
lish one, and then, sailing near the brig, told them to hoist
French colours.
" Keep all your men down below the line of the bulwarks,
O'Grady. Mr. Woods, you had better get your boat down
and row alongside of the ship, and ask the captain to get the
slings at work and hoist some of our stores into her ; we will
do the same on the other side. Tell the captain to lower a
couple of his boats ; also take twenty soldiers on board with
you without their jackets ; we will do the same, so that it
may be seen that we have a strong party on board getting out
the cargo."
In a few minutes the orders were carried out, and forty
soldiers were at work on the deck of the Sea-horse, slinging
up tents from below, and lowering them into the boats along-
side. The approach of the frigate was anxiously watched from
the decks of the prizes. The upper sails of the Sea-horse had
been furled, and the privateers, under the smallest possible
canvas, kept abreast of her at a distance of a couple of lengths.
The hull of the French frigate was now visible.
DISEMBARKED 43
" She is very fast," the mate said to the major, " and she
is safe to catch one of us if the breeze she has got holds. ' '
As she came nearer the feeling of anxiety heightened.
" They ought to make out our colours now, sir."
Almost immediately afterwards the frigate was seen to
change her course. Her head was turned more to the east.
A suppressed cheer broke from the troops.
" It is all right now, sir," the mate said ; "she is making
for Brest. We have fooled her nicely."
The boats passed and repassed between the Sea-horse and
the prizes, and the frigate crossed a little more than a mile
ahead.
" Five-and-twenty guns a-side," the major said. "By
Jove ! she would have made short work of us."
As it was not advisable to make any change in the position
until the frigate was far on her way, the boats continued to
pass to and fro, carrying back to the Sea-horse the stores that
had just been removed, until the Frenchman was five or six
miles away.
" Don't you think that we might make sail again, Cap-
tain ? " the major then hailed.
" I think that we had better give him another hour, sir.
Were she to see us making sail with the prize to the south it
would excite suspicion at once, and the captain might take it
into his head to come back again to inquire into it."
"Half an hour will surely be sufficient," the major said.
" She is travelling at eight or nine knots an hour, and she is
evidently bound for port. It would be unlikely in the extreme
that her commander would beat back ten miles on what, after
all, might be a fool's errand."
" That is true enough, sir. Then in half an hour we shall
be ready to sail again. ' '
The major was rowed to the Sea-horse. " We may as well
44 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
transfer the men at once," he said. " We have had a very
narrow escape of it, Captain, and there is no doubt that we
owe our safety entirely to the sharpness of that young ensign.
We should have been sunk or taken if he had not suggested
our manning the lugger in the first place, and of pretending
that the ship had been captured by French privateers in the
second."
" You are right, Major. Another half-hour and the craft
would have foundered under us ; and the frigate would cer-
tainly have captured the Sea-horse and one of the prizes if the
Frenchman had not, as he thought, seen two privateers at work
emptying our hold. He is a sharp young fellow, that."
" That he is," the major agreed. " He has been brought
up with the regiment, and has always been up to pranks of all
kinds ; but he has used his wits to good purpose this time, and
I have no doubt will turn out an excellent officer."
Before sail was made the major summoned the officers on
board the Sea-horse. The troops from the lugger and brig
were drawn up on deck, and the major, standing on the poop,
said in a voice that could be heard from end to end of the ship :
" Officers and men, we have had a narrow escape from a
French prison, and as it is possible that before we arrive at
our destination we may fall in with an enemy again and not be
so lucky, I think it right to take this occasion at once of thank-
ing Mr. O'Connor, before you all, in my own name, and in
yours, for to his intelligence and quickness of wit it is entirely
due that we escaped being captured when the brig was pound-
ing us with its shot, without our being able to make any return,
and it was certain that in a short time we should have had to
haul down our flag or be sunk. It was he who suggested that
we should take possession of the lugger, and with her guns
drive off the brig. As the result of that suggestion this craft
was saved from being sunk, and the brig was also captured.
DISEMBARKED 45
" In the second place, when that French frigate was bear-
ing down upon us and our capture seemed certain, it was he
who suggested to me, that by hoisting the French flag and
appearing to be engaged in transferring the cargo of the ship
to the privateers, we might throw dust into the eyes of the
Frenchmen. As you saw, the ruse succeeded perfectly. I
therefore, Mr. O'Connor, thank you most heartily in my own
name, and in that of your fellow-officers, also in the name of
the four hundred men of the regiment, and of the ship's com-
pany, for the manner in which you have, by your quickness
and good sense, saved us all from a French prison, and
saved his Majesty from the loss of the wing of a fine regiment."
As he concluded the men broke into loud cheering, and
the officers gathered around Terence and thanked and con-
gratulated him most heartily on the service that he had ren-
dered them.
"You are a broth of a boy, Terence," Cap tain O'Grady
said. " I knew that it was in you all along. I would not
give a brass farthing for a lad who had not a spice of divil-
ment in him. It shows that he has got his wits about him,
and that when he steddys down he will be hard to bate. ' '
Terence was so much overpowered at the praise he had re-
ceived that, beyond protesting that it was quite undeserved,
he had no reply to make to the congratulations that he re-
ceived from the captain. O'Driscol, seeing that he was on
the verge of breaking down, at once called upon him to take
his place in the boat, and rowed with him to the lugger.
A few minutes later all sail was set on the Sea-horse, and
with her yards braced tautly aft she laid her course south,
close - hauled ; a fresh breeze was now blowing, and she
ploughed her way through the water at a rate that almost
justified O'Grady's panegyrics upon her. In another three
days she entered the port of Vigo, where the convoy was to
46 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
rendezvous, and all were glad to find that the whole fleet were
still there. On anchoring, the major went on board the
Dauphin, which had brought the head -quarters, and the other
wing of the regiment. He was heartily greeted by the colonel.
" We were getting very uneasy about you, Harrison," he
said. " The last ship of the convoy came in three days ago,
and we began to fear that you must have been either dis-
masted or sunk in the gale. I saw the senior naval officer this
morning, and he said that if you did not come in during the
day he would send a frigate out in search of you ; but I could
see by his manner that he thought it most likely that you had
gone down. So you may imagine how pleased we were when
we made out your number, though we could not for the life
of us make out what those two craft flying the English colours
over the French, that came in after you, were. But of course
they had nothing to do with you. I suppose they were two
privateers that had been captured by one of our frigates, and
sent in here with prize crews to refit before going home.
They have both of them been knocked about a bit. ' '
" I will tell you about them directly, Colonel ; it is rather a
long story. We have had a narrow squeak of it. We got
through the storm pretty well, but we had a bad time of it
afterwards, and we owe it entirely to young O'Connor that
we are not, all of us, in a prison at Brest at present. ' '
" You don't say so ! Wait a moment, I will call his father
here ; he will be glad to hear that the young scamp has be-
haved well. I may as well call them all up ; they will like to
hear the story."
Turning to the group of officers who were standing on the
quarter-deck a short distance away, waiting to hear the news
when the major had given his report, he said : " You may as
well come now and hear Major Harrison's story ; it will save
his telling it twice. You will be glad to hear, O'Connor, that
DISEMBARKED 47
Terence has been distinguishing himself in some way, though
I know not yet in what; the major says that if it had not been
for him the whole wing of the regiment would have now been
in a French prison."
" Terence was always good at getting out of scrapes, Colo-
nel, though I don't say he was not equally good in getting
into them ; but I am glad to hear that this time he has done
something useful."
The major then gave a full account of their adventure with
the privateers, and of the subsequent escape from the French
frigate.
" Faith, O'Connor," the colonel said, warmly, holding out
his hand to him, " I congratulate you most heartily, which is
more than I ever thought to do on Terence's account. I had
some misgivings when I recommended him for a commission,
but I may congratulate myself as well as you that I did so.
I was sure the lad had plenty in him, but I was afraid that it
was more likely to come out the wrong way than the right ;
and now it turns out that he has saved half the regiment, for
there is no doubt from what Harrison says that he has done
so."
" Thank you, Colonel ; I am glad indeed that the boy has
done credit to your kindness. It was a mighty bad scrape
this time, and he got out of it well."
" Of course, Major, you will give a full report in writing of
this, and will send it in to Sir Arthur ; he arrived this morn-
ing. I will go on board the flag-ship at once and report as to
the prizes. Who they belong to I have not the least idea. I
never heard of a transport capturing a couple of privateers be-
fore ; but, I suppose, as she is taken up for the king's service
and the prizes were captured by his Majesty's troops, they
will rank as if taken by the navy, that is, a certain amount of
their value will go to the admiral. Anyhow, the bulk of it
48 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
will go, I should think, to the troops the crew and officers of
the ship, of course, sharing."
" It won't come to much a head, Colonel, anyhow. You
see, they were both empty, and there is simply the value of
the ships themselves, which I don't suppose would fetch above
five or six hundred apiece."
" Still, the thing must be done in a regular way, and I
must leave it in the admiral's hands. I will take your boat,
Major, and go to him at once. You will find pen and ink in
my cabin, and I should be glad if you would write your re-
port by the time that I return ; then I will go off at once to
Sir Arthur."
" I have it already written, Colonel," the major said, pro-
ducing the document.
" That looks to me rather long, Harrison, and busy as Sir
Arthur must be, he might not take the trouble to read it. I
wish you would write out another, as concise as you can make
it, of the actual affair, saying at the end that you beg to re-
port especially the conduct of Ensign O'Connor, to whose
suggestions the escape of the ship both from the privateers
and French frigate were due. I will hand that in as the
official report, and with it the other, saying that it gives further
details of the affair. Of course, with them I must give in an
official letter from myself, inclosing your two reports. But
first I will go and see the admiral."
In a little over half an hour he returned. "The admiral
knows no more than I do whether the navy have anything to
do with the prizes or not. Being so small in value he does
not want to trouble himself about it. He says that the matter
would entail no end of correspondence and bother, and that
the crafts might rot at their anchors before the matter was
decided. He thinks the best thing that I can do will be to
sell the two vessels for what they will fetch, and divide the
DISEMBARKED 49
money according to prize rules, and say nothing about it. In
that way there is not likely ever to be any question about it,
while if the Admiralty and Horse Guards once get into a cor-
respondence over the matter, there is no saying what bother I
might have ; and that he should advise me, if I do not adopt
that plan, to simply scuttle them both, and report that they
have sunk. Now I will just write my official letter and take
it to head-quarters."
In two hours he was back again.
" I have not seen the chief," he said, " but I gave the re-
ports to his adjutant-general. General Fane was with him ; he
is an old friend of mine, and I told him the story of your
voyage, and the adjutant -general joined in the conversation.
Fane was waiting to go in to Sir Arthur, who was dictating
some despatches to England, and he said that if he had a
chance he would mention the affair to Sir Arthur \ and, at
any rate, the other officer said that he would lay the reports
before him, with such mention that Sir Arthur would doubt-
less look through them both. I find that there is a bit of in-
surrection going on in Portugal, but that no one thinks much
will come of it, as bands of unarmed peasants can have no
chance with the French. Nothing is determined as yet about
our landing. Lisbon and the Tagus are completely in the
hands of the French.
" Sir Arthur is going down to Oporto to-morrow, where it
is likely that he will learn more about the situation than he
did at Corunna. Fane says that he hopes we shall soon be
ashore, as the general is not the man to let the grass grow
under his feet.".
After holding counsel with his officers the colonel deter-
mined to adopt the advice he had received, and to sell the
two craft for what they would fetch, the officers all agreeing
to refund their shares if any questions were ever asked on the
4
50 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
subject. The captain of the Sea-horse agreed to accept the
share of a captain in the line, and his mates those of first and
second lieutenant. The colonel put himself in communication
with some merchants on shore, and the two craft were sold for
twelve hundred pounds.
" This gave something over a pound a head to the 400
soldiers and the crew, twice that amount to the non-commis-
sioned officers, and sums varying from ten pounds apiece to
the ensigns to fifty pounds to the major. The admiral was
-asked to approve of the transaction, and said, ' I have no
right formally to sanction it, since, so far as I know, it is not
a strictly naval matter ; but I will give you a letter, Colonel,
saying that you have informed me of the course that you have
adopted, and that I consider that under the peculiar circum-
stances of the capture, and the fact that there are no men
available for sending the prizes to England, the course was
the best and most convenient that could possibly be adopted,
though, had the craft been of any great value, it would, of
course, have been necessary to refer the matter home. ' ' '
A week passed without movement. The expedition had
left England on the i2th of July, 1808, and Sir Arthur re-
joined it towards the end of the month. He had learned at
Oporto from Colonel Brown, our agent there, that, contrary
to what he had been told at Corunna, there were no Spanish
troops in the north of Portugal, but that a body of some 8,000
Portuguese irregulars and militia, half- armed and but slightly
disciplined, were assembled on the river Mondego. After a
consultation with Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, Sir Arthur had
concluded that an attack at the mouth of the Tagus was im-
practicable, owing to the strength of the French there, the
position of the forts that commanded the entrance of the
river, and the heavy surf that broke in all the undefended
creeks and bays near. There was then the choice of landing
DISEMBARKED 51
far enough north of Lisbon to ensure a disembarkation undis-
puted by the French, or else to sail south, join Spencer, and
act against the French army under Dupont.
Sir Arthur finally determined that the Mondego River was
the most practicable for the enterprise. The fort of Figue*ira
at its mouth was already occupied by British marines, and the
Portuguese force was at least sufficient to deter any small body
of troops approaching the neighbourhood. Therefore, to the
great joy of the troops, the order was given that the fleet
should sail on the following morning ; two days later they
anchored off the mouth of the Mondego. Just before start-
ing a vessel arrived with despatches from Spencer, saying that
he was at St. Mary's and was free to act with Sir Arthur, and
a fast vessel was despatched with orders to him to sail to the
Mondego.
On arriving there Sir Arthur received the mortifying intel-
ligence that Sir Hew Dalrymple had been appointed over his
head, nevertheless he continued to push on his own plans with
vigour, pending the arrival of that general. With this bad
news came the information that the French general, Dupont,
had been defeated. This set free a small force under General
Anstruther, and some fast-sailing craft were at once despatched
to find his command, and order it to sail at once to the Mon-
dego. Without further delay, however, the landing of the
troops began on the ist of August, and the 9,000 men, their
guns and stores, were ashore by the 5th.
On that day Spencer fortunately arrived with 3,300 men.
He had not received Sir Arthur's orders, but the moment
that Dupont surrendered he had sailed for the Tagus, and had
learned from Sir C. Cotton, who commanded the fleet at the
entrance to the river, where Sir Arthur was, and at once
sailed to join him. While the troops were disembarking Sir
Arthur had gone over to the Portuguese head-quarters, two
52 WITH MOORE AT C6RUNNA
miles distant, to confer with Bernardin Friere, the Portuguese
commander-in-chief. The visit was a disappointing one. He
found that the Portuguese troops were almost unarmed, and
that their commander was full of inflated ideas. He proposed
that the forces should unite, that they should relinquish the
coast, and march into the interior and commence an offensive
campaign, and was lavish in his promises to provide ample
stores of provisions. The English general saw, however, that
no effectual assistance could be hoped for from the Portuguese
troops, and as little from the promises of their commander.
He gave Friere 5,000 muskets for his troops, but absolutely
declined to adopt the proposed plan, his own intention being
to keep near the coast, where he could receive his supplies
from the ships and be joined by reinforcements.
As soon as they had landed the Mayo regiment was marched
to a village two miles inland, and, with two others of the same
brigade, encamped near it. All idea of keeping up a regi-
mental officers' mess had been abandoned, and as soon as the
tents were pitched and the troops had settled down in them,
O'Grady said to Terence :
" We will go into the village and see if we can find a suit-
able place for taking our meals. It may be that in time our
fellows will learn how to cook for us, but, by jabers ! we will
live dacent as long as we can. My servant, Tim Hoolan, has
gone on ahead to look for such a place, and he is the boy to
find one if there is one anyhow to be got. As our companies
are number i and 2, it is reasonable that we should stick to-
gether, and though O'Driscol's a quare stick, with all sorts of
ridiculous notions, he is a good fellow at heart, and I will put
up with him for the sake of having you with me."
As they entered the village the servant came up. " I have
managed it, Captain ; we have got hold of the best quarters
in the village ; it is a room over the only shebeen here. The
DISEMBARKED 53
ould scoundrel of a landlord wanted to keep it as a general
room, but I brought the Church to bear on him, and I man-
aged it finally."
" How did you work it, Tim ? "
"Sure, your honour, I went to the praste, and by good
luck his house is in front of the church. I went into the
church, and I crossed myself before the altar and said a prayer
or two. As I did so who should come out of the vestry but
the father himself. He waited until I had done and then
came up to me, and to my surprise said in good Irish :
" ' So it's a Catholic you are, my man ? '
" ' That am I, your riverence,' said I, ' and most all of the
rigiment are ; sure, we were raised in the ould country, and
belong, most of us, to County Mayo, and glad we were to
come out here to fight for those of the true religion against
these Frenchmen, who they say have no religion at all, at all.
And how is it you spake the language, your riverence, if I
may be so bold as to ask ? ' '
" Then he told me that he had been at college at Lisbon,
where the sons of many Catholic Irish gentlemen were sent to
be educated, and that he had learned it from them.
" ' And how is it that you are not with your regiment, my
man?'
" ' I am here to hire rooms for the officers, your riverence,
just a place where they can ate a dacent meal in peace and
quietness. I have been to the inn, but I cannot for the life of
me make the landlord understand. He has got a room that
would be just suitable, so I thought I would come to your
riverence to explain to you that the rigiment are not heretics,
but true sons of the Church. I thought that, being a learned
man, I might make shift to make you understand, and that
you would maybe go wid me and explain the matter to him.'
" ' That will I,' says he; and he wint and jabbered away
54 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
with the innkeeper, and at last turned to me and said : ' He
will let you have a room, seeing that it is for the service of
good Catholics and not heretics.' "
" But, you rascal, you know that we are not Catholics."
"Sure, your honour, didn't I say that most all the rigi-
ment were Catholics; I did not say all of them."
" I must go and explain the matter to him, Hoolan. If he
calls upon us, as like he may do, he would find out at once
that you have desaved him."
"Sure, your honour, if you think that it is necessary, of
course it must be dorfe ; but would it not be as well to go to
the shebeen first and to take possession of the room, and to
get comfortably settled down in it before ye gives me away?"
"I think it might be worth while, Tim," O'Gradysaid,
gravely. "What do you say, Terence?"
" I think the matter will keep for a few hours," Terence
said, laughing, "and when we are once settled there it will
be very hard to turn us out."
The room was found to be larger than they had expected,
and O'Grady proposed that they should admit the whole of-
ficers of their wing to share it with them, to which Terence
at once agreed heartily. " I think that with a little squeezing
the place would hold the officers of the five companies, and
the major and O' Flaherty. The more of us there are, the
merrier, and the less fear of our being turned out."
" That is so. We had better put the names up on the
door. You go down and try and make that black-browed
landlord understand that you want some paper and pen and
ink."
With some difficulty and much gesticulation Terence suc-
ceeded. The names of the officers were written down on a
paper and it was then fastened on the door.
" Now, Terence, I will go and fetch the boys ; you and
DISEMBARKED 55
Hoolan make the landlord understand that we want food and
wine for fifteen or sixteen officers. Of course they won't all
be able to get away at once. We must contint ourselves with
anything we can get now ; afterwards we will send up our
rations, and with plenty of good wine and a ham (there are
lots of them hanging from the ceiling down below), we shall
do pretty well, with what you can forage outside."
Terence left this part of the work to Hoolan, who, by
bringing up a number of plates and ranging them on the table,
getting down a ham and cutting it into slices, and by point-
ing to the wine-skins, managed to acquaint the landlord with
what was required. In this he was a good deal aided by the
man's two nieces, who acted as his assistants, and who were
much quicker in catching his meaning than was the land-
lord himself. Very soon the room below was crowded with
officers from other regiments, and Hoolan went up to Ter-
ence :
"I think, Mr. O'Connor, that it would be a good job if
you were to go down and buy a dozen of them hams. A lot
of them have been sold already, and it won't be long before
the last has gone, though I reckon that there are three or four
dozen of them still there. ' '
" That is a very good idea, Tim. You come down with
me and bring them straight up here, and we will drive some
nails into those rafters. I expect before nightfall the place
will be cleared out of everything that is eatable."
The bargain was speedily concluded. The landlord was
now in a better temper. At first he had been very doubtful
of the intentions of the new-comers. Now that he saw that
they were ready to pay for everything, and that at prices
much higher than he could before have obtained, his face
shone with good-humour. He and the two girls were already
busy drawing wine and selling it to the customers.
56 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" I will get some wood, your honour, and light a fire here,
or it is mighty little dinner that you will be getting. The sol-
diers will soon be dropping in, that is, 'if they don't keep this
place for officers only, for there are two other places where they
sell wine in the village. When I came up two officers had a
slice of ham each on the points of their swords over the fire."
" That will be a very good plan, Tim ; you had better set
to work about it at once, and at the same time I will try and
get some bread."
By the time that O'Grady returned with seven or eight
other officers the fire was blazing. Terence had managed to
get a sufficient number of knives and forks ; there was, how-
ever, no table-cloth in the house. He and Terence were
cooking slices of ham on a gridiron over the fire.
" This is first-rate, O'Grady," Major Harrison said; " the
place is crowded down below, and we should have fared very
badly if you had not managed to get hold of this room."
" If some of the boys will see to the cooking, Major, I will
go down with Hoolan and get a barrel of wine and bring it
up here ; then we shall do first-rate. ' '
" How about the rations, Major? " Terence asked.
"They have just been served out. I sent my man down
to draw the rations for the whole wing at once, and told him
to bring them up here."
"And I have told mine," Captain O'Driscol said, " to go
round the village and buy up two or three dozen chickens, if
he can find them, and as many eggs as he can collect. I think
that we had better tell off two of the men as cooks. I don't
think it is likely that they will be able to get much done that
way below. Hoolan and another will do."
" I should think it best to keep Hoolan as forager ; he is
rather a genius in that capacity. I think he has got round
those two girls, whether by his red hair or his insinuating
UNDER CANVAS 57
manners I cannot say, but they seem ready to do anything for
him, and we shall want lots of things in the way of pots and
pans and so on."
" Very well, Terence, then we will leave him free and put
two others on."
CHAPTER IV
UNDER CANVAS
IN a short time O'Grady returned, followed by Hoolan, car-
rying a small barrel of wine.
" It is good, I hope," the major said, as the barrel was set
down in one corner of the room.
"I think that it is the best they have; one of the girls
went down with Tim into the cellar and pointed it out to
him. I told him to ask her for bueno vino. I don't know
whether it was right or not, but I think she understood."
" How much does it hold, O'Grady? "
" I cannot say ; five or six gallons, I should think ; any-
how, I paid three dollars for it."
"You must put down all the outgoings, O'Grady, and we
will square up when we leave here."
"I will put them down, Major. How long do you think
we shall stop here ? ' '
1 ' That is more than anyone can say ; we have to wait for
Anstruther and Spencer. It may be three or four days ; it
may be a fortnight. ' '
Dick Ryan assisted Terence in the cooking, while Tim went
down to get something to drink out of. He returned with
three mugs and two horns.
" Divil a thing else is there that can be found, yer honour,"
58 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
he said, as he placed them on the table ; " every mortial thing
is in use. ' '
"That will do to begin with," the major said ; "we will
get our own things up this afternoon. We must manage as best
we can for this meal ; it is better than I expected by a long
way."
Tim now relieved the two young officers at the gridiron,
and sitting down at the benches along the table the meal was
eaten with much laughter and fun.
" After all, there is nothing like getting things straight from
the gridiron," the major said.
O'Grady had got the bung out of the barrel and filled the
five drinking vessels, and the wine was pronounced to be
very fair. One by one the other officers dropped in, and
Hoolan was for an hour kept busy. The major, who spoke a
little Spanish, went down and returned with a dozen bottles
of spirits, two or three of which were opened and the contents
consumed.
" It is poor stuff by the side of whisky," O'Grady said, as
he swallowed a stiff glass of it ; " still, I will not be denying
that it is warming and comforting, and if we can get enough
of it we can hold on till we get home again. Here is success
to the campaign. I will trouble you for that bottle, O'Dris-
col."
" Here it is. I shall stick to wine; I don't care for that
fiery stuff. Here is success to the campaign, and may we
meet the French before long !
"We are pretty sure to do that," he went on, as he set
his horn down on the table. " If Junot knows his business
he won't lose a day before marching against us directly he
hears of our landing. He will know well enough that unless
he crushes us at once he will have all Portugal up in arms.
Here, Terence, you can have this horn."
UNDER CANVAS 59
The difficulty of drinking had to some extent been solved
by Hoolan, who had gone downstairs, and returned with a
tin pot capable of holding about a couple of quarts. This he
had cleaned by rubbing it with sand and water, and it went
round as a loving-cup among those unprovided with mugs or
horns. When all had finished, the two soldier servants, who
had now arrived with the rations, were left in charge. O'Dris-
col's servant had brought in a dozen fowls and a large basket
full of eggs, and, ordering supper to be ready at eight, the
officers returned to their camp. They found that their com-
rades had done fairly well. Several rooms had been obtained
in the village, and hams, black sausages, and other provisions
purchased, and cooked in a rough way on a gridiron.
" I am afraid that it is too good to last," the colonel said,
as the officers gathered around him as the bugle sounded for
parade ; " a week of this and the last scrap of provisions here
will have been eaten, and we shall have nothing but our ra-
tions to fall back upon. There is one thing, however, that is
not likely to give out, that is wine. They grow it about here,
and I hear that the commissariat have bought up large quan-
tities without difficulty to serve out to the troops. ' '
The regiment had a long afternoon's drill to get them out
of the slackness occasioned by their enforced idleness on the
voyage. When it was over they were formed up, and the
colonel addressed a few words to the men.
" Men of the Mayo regiment," he said, " I trust that, now
we are fairly embarked upon the campaign, you will so be-
have as to do credit to yourselves and to Ireland. Perhaps
some of you think that, now that you are on a campaign, you
can do just as you like. Those who think so are wrong ; it is
just the other way. When you were at home I did not think
it necessary that I should be severe with you ; and as long as
a man was able, when he came into barracks, to walk to his
60 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
quarters, I did not trouble about him. But it is different here;
any breach of duty will be most severely punished, and any
man who is found drunk will be flogged. Any man plunder-
ing or ill-treating the people of the country will be handed
over to the provost-marshal, and, unless I am mistaken, he is
likely to be shot.
' ' Sir Arthur Wellesley is not the man to stand nonsense.
There must be no straggling; you must keep within the
bounds of the camps, and no one must go into the village
without a permit from the captain of his company. As to
your fighting well, I have no fear of that ; we will say
nothing about it. Before the enemy I know that you will all do
your duty, and it is just as necessary that you should do your
duty and be a credit to your regiment at other times. There
are blackguards in the regiment, as there are in every other,
but I tell them that a sharp eye will be kept upon them, and
that no mercy will be shown them if they misbehave while
they are in Portugal. That is all I have to say to you."
"That was the sort of thing, I think, Major," he said, as,
after the men were dismissed, he walked back to his tent with
Major Harrison.
" Just the sort of thing, Colonel," the other said, smiling;
" and said in the sort of way that they will understand. I
am afraid that we shall have trouble with some of them.
Wine and spirits are cheap, and it will be very difficult to
keep them from it altogether. Still, if we make an example
of the first fellow who is caught drunk it will be a useful lesson
to the whole. A few floggings at the start may save some
hanging afterwards. I know you are averse to flogging there
have only been four men flogged in the last six months but
this is a case where punishment must be dealt out sharply if
discipline is to be maintained, and the credit of the regiment
be kept up."
UNDER CANVAS 61
O'Grady and one of the other officers called upon the
priest to thank him for his good offices in obtaining the room
for them.
" I am afraid from what my man tells me that he did not
state the case quite fairly to you. Our regiment was, as he
said, raised in Ireland, and the greater portion of the men are
naturally of your faith, Father, but we really have no claim to
your services whatever."
The priest smiled.
"I am, nevertheless, glad to have been of service to you,
gentlemen," he said, courteously; " at least you are Irish-
men, and I have many good friends countrymen of yours.
And you have still another claim upon us all, for are you not
here to aid us to shake off this French domination ? I hope
that you are comfortable, but judging from what I see and
hear when passing I fear that your lodging is a somewhat noisy
one."
" You may well say that, Father ; and we do our full share
towards making it so ; but having the room makes all the dif-
ference to us. They have no time to cook downstairs, and it
is done by our own servants ; but it is handy to have the
wine and other things within call, and if we always do as well,
we shall have good cause to feel mighty contented ; for bar-
ring that we are rather crowded, we are just as well off here
as we were at home, saving only in the quality of the spirits.
Now, Father, we cannot ask you up there, seeing that it is
your own village, but if you would like to take a walk through
the camps we should be glad to show you what there is to be
seen, and can give you a little of the real cratur. It is not
much of it that we have been able to bring ashore, for the
general is mighty stiff in the matter of baggage, but I doubt
whether there is one of us who did not manage to smuggle a
bottle or two of the real stuff hidden in his kit. ' '
62 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
The priest accepted the invitation, and was taken through
the brigade camp, staying some time in that of the Mayos, and
astonishing some of the soldiers by chatting to them in English,
and with a brogue almost as strong as their own. He then
spent half an hour in O'Grady's tent, and sampled the whisky,
which he pronounced excellent, and of which his entertainer
insisted upon his taking a bottle away with him.
Three days later it was known in camp that two French
divisions had been set in motion against them, the one from
Abrantes to the east under Loison, the other from the south
under Laborde. Junot himself remained at Lisbon. The
rising in the south, and the news of the British landing
caused an intense feeling among the population, and the
French general feared that at any moment an insurrection
might break out. The natural point of junction of these two
columns would be at Leirya. That night orders were issued
for the tents of the division to which the Mayo regiment be-
longed to be struck before daylight, and the troops were to
be under arms and ready to march at six o'clock.
" Good news ! " O'Grady said, as he entered the mess-room
at four o'clock in the afternoon, after having learned from the
colonel the orders for the next morning; " our brigade is to form
the advanced guard, and we are to march at six to-morrow."
A general exclamation of pleasure broke from the five or
six officers present. " We shall have the first of the fun,
boys ; hand me that horn, Terence. Here is to Sir Arthur ;
good-luck to him, and bad cess to the French ! "
The toast was drunk with some laughter. " Now we are
going to campaign in earnest," he went on ; " no more wine
swilling, no more devilled ham "
"No more spirits, O'Grady," one of the group cut in;
" and as for the wine, you have drunk your share, besides
twice your share of the spirits."
UNDER CANVAS 63
" Whin there is nothing to do, Debenham, I can take me
liquor in moderation."
"I have never remarked that, O'Grady," one of the
others put in.
" In great moderation," O'Grady said, gravely, but he was
again interrupted by a shout of laughter.
11 Ye had to be helped home last night, O'Grady, and it
took Hoolan a quarter of an hour to wake you this morning.
I heard him say, ' Now, master dear, the bugle will sound in
a minute or two ; it's wake you must, or there will be a divil
of botheration over it.' I looked in, and there you were.
Hoolan was standing by the side of you shaking his head
gravely, as if it was a hopeless job that he had in hand, and if
I had not emptied a water-bottle over you, you would never
have been on parade in time."
"Oh! it was you, was it?" O'Grady said, wrathfully.
" Hoolan swore by all the saints that he had not seen who it
was. Never mind, me boy, I will be even wid ye yet ; the
O'Grady is not to be waked in that fashion ; mind I owe you
one, though I am not saying that I should have been on
parade in time if you had not done it ; I only just saved my
bacon."
"And hardly that," Terence laughed, "for the adjutant
was down upon you pretty sharply ; your coatee was all but-
toned up wrong ; your hair had not been brushed, and stuck
up all ways below your shako ; your sword-belt was all awry,
and you looked worse than you did when I brought you
home."
" Well, it is a poor heart that never rejoices, Terence. We
must make a night of it, boys ; if the tents are to be struck
before daylight it will be mighty little use your turning in."
"You won't catch me sitting up all night," Terence said,
" with perhaps a twenty-mile march in the morning, and may-
64 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
be a fight at the end of it. If it is to Leirya we are going it
will be nearer thirty miles than twenty, and even you, sea-
soned vessel as you are, will find it a long walk after being up
all night, and having had pretty hard work to-day."
"I cannot hold wid the general there," O'Grady said,
gravely ; "he has been kapeing us all at it from daybreak till
night, ivery day since we landed, and marching the men's feet
off. It is all very well to march when we have got to march,
but to keep us tramping fifteen or twenty miles a day when
there is no occasion for it is out of all reason."
" We shall march all the better for it to-morrow, O'Grady.
It has been hard work, certainly, but not harder than it was
marching down to Cork ; and we should have a good many
stragglers to-morrow if it had not been for the last week's
work. We have got half a dozen footsore men in my com-
pany alone, and you would have fifty to-morrow night if the
men had not had all this marching to get them fit. ' '
"It is all very well for you, Terence, who have been
tramping all over the hills round Athlone since you were a
gossoon ; but I am sure that if I had not had that day off
duty when I showed the priest round the camp I should have
been kilt."
" Here is the general order of the day," the adjutant said,
as he came in with Captain O'Connor. " The general says
that now the army is about to take the field he shall expect
the strictest discipline to be maintained, and that all stragglers
from the ranks will at once be handed over to the provost-
marshal, and all offences against the peasantry or their prop-
erty will be severely punished. Then there are two or three
orders that do not concern us particularly, and then there is
one that concerns you, Terence. The general has received a
report from Colonel Corcoran of the Mayo Fusiliers stating
that * the transport carrying the left wing of that regiment
UNDER CANVAS 65
was attacked by two French privateers, and would have been
compelled to surrender, she being practically unarmed, had it
not been for the coolness and quick wit of Ensign Terence
O'Connor. Having read the report the general commanding
fully concurs, and expresses his high satisfaction at the con-
duct of Ensign O'Connor, which undoubtedly saved from
capture the wing of the regiment. '
"There, Terence, that is a feather in your cap. Sir Ar-
thur is not given to praise unduly, and it is seldom that an
ensign gets into general orders. It will do you good some
day, perhaps when you least expect it."
" I am heartily pleased, my lad," Captain O'Connor said,
as he laid his hand upon Terence's shoulder. " I am proud
of you. I have never seen my own name in general orders,
but I am heartily glad to see yours. Bedad, when I think
that a couple of months ago you were running wild and get-
ting into all sorts of mischief, it seems hard to believe that you
should not only be one of us, but have got your name into
general orders."
" And all for nothing, father," Terence said. "I call it
a beastly shame that just because I thought of using that lug-
ger I should be cracked up more than the others."
" It was not only that, though, Terence ; those guns that
crippled the lugger could not have been fired if you had not
thought of putting rope round them, and that French frigate
would never have left you alone had not you suggested to the
major how to throw dust into their eyes. No, my lad, you
thoroughly deserve the credit that you have got, and I am
sure that there is not a man in the regiment who would not
say the same. ' '
"Gintlemen," Captain O'Grady said, solemnly, " we will
drink to the health of Ensign Terence O'Connor; more
power to his elbow I " And the toast was duly honoured.
5
66 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
"It is mighty good of me to propose it," O'Grady went
on, after Terence had said a few words of thanks, " because I
have a strong idea that in another two or three minutes I
should have made just the same suggestion that you did, me
lad. I knew at the time that there was a plan I wanted to
propose, but sorra a word came to me lips. I was just brim-
ful with it when you came up and took the words out of me
mouth. If I had spoken first it is a brevet majority I had
got, sure enough."
" You must be quicker next time, O'Grady," the adjutant
said, when the laughter had subsided; " as you say, you have
missed a good thing by your slowness. I am afraid your
brain was still a little muddled by your indulgence the night
before."
" Just the contrary, me boy ; I feel that if I had taken
just one glass more of the cratur me brain would have been
clearer and I should have been to the fore. But I bear you
no malice, Terence. Maybe the ideas would not have man-
aged to straighten themselves out until after we had had to
haul down the flag, and then it would have been too late to
have been any good. It has happened to me more than
once before that I have just thought of a good thing when it
was too late."
"It has occurred to most of us, O'Grady," Captain
O'Connor said, laughing. "Terence, you see, doesn't care
for whisky, and perhaps that has something to do with his
ideas coming faster than ours. Well, so we are off to-morrow ;
though, of course, no one knows which way we are going to
march, it must be either to Leirya or along the coast road.
It is a good thing Spencer has come up in time, for there is
no saying how strong the French may be ; though I fancy
they are all so scattered about that, after leaving a garrison
to keep Lisbon in order, and holding other points, Junot will
UNDER CANVAS 67
hardly be able at such short notice to gather a force much
superior to ours. But from what I hear there are some mighty
strong positions between this and Lisbon, and if he sticks
himself up on the top of a hill we shall have all our work to
turn him off again."
" I fancy it will be to Leirya," the adjutant said; " the
Portuguese report that one French division is at Candieros
and another coming from Abrantes, and Sir Arthur is likely
to endeavour to prevent them from uniting."
That evening there was a grand feast at the mess-room.
The colonel had been specially invited, and every effort was
made to do honour to the occasion. Tim Hoolan had been
very successful in a foraging expedition, and had brought in a
goose and four ducks, and had persuaded the landlord's nieces
to let him and the cook have sole possession of the kitchen.
The banquet was a great success, but the majority of those
present did not sit very long afterwards. The colonel set the
example of rising early.
"I should advise you, gentlemen, to turn in soon," he
said. " I do not say where we are to march to-morrow, but
I can tell you at least that the march is a very long one, and
that it were best to get as much sleep as possible, for I can
assure you that it will be no child's play ; and I think that it
is quite probable we shall smell powder before the day is
over."
Accordingly, all the young officers and several of the seniors
left with him, but O'Grady and several of the hard drinkers
kept it up until midnight, observing, however, more modera-
tion than usual in their potations.
There was none of the grumbling common when men are
turned out of their beds before dawn ; all were in high spirits
that the time for action had arrived ; the men were as eager to
meet the enemy as were their officers ; and the tents were all
68 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
down and placed in the waggons before daylight. The regi-
mental cooks had already been at work, and the officers went
round and saw that all had had breakfast before they fell in.
At six o'clock the whole were under arms and in their place
as the central regiment in the brigade. They tramped on
without a halt until eleven ; then the bugle sounded, and they
fell out for half an hour.
The men made a meal from bread and the meat that had
been cooked the night before, each man carrying three days'
rations in his haversack. There was another halt, and a longer
one, at two o'clock, when the brigade rested for an hour in
the shade of a grove.
"It is mighty pleasant to rest," O'Grady said, as the officers
threw themselves down on the grass, "but it is the starting
that bates one. I feel that my feet have swollen so that every
step I take I expect my boots to burst with an explosion.
Faith, if it comes to fighting I shall take them off altogether,
and swing them at my belt. How can I run after the French
when I am a cripple ? ' '
" You had better take your boots off now, O'Grady," one
of the others suggested.
" It is not aisy to get them off, and how should I get them
on again ? No ; they have got there, and there they have got
to stop, bad cess to them ! I told Hoolan to rub grease into
them for an hour last night, but the rascal was as drunk as an
owl."
There was no more talking, for every man felt that an
hour's sleep would do wonders for him ; soon absolute quiet
reigned in the grove, and continued until the bugle again
called them to their feet. All knew now that it was Leirya
they were making for, and that another ten miles still re-
mained to be accomplished. A small body of cavalry which
accompanied them now pushed on ahead, and when half the
UNDER CANVAS 69
distance had been traversed a trooper brought back the news
that the enemy had not yet reached the town. It was just
six o'clock when the brigade marched in amid the cheers and
wild excitement of the inhabitants. The waggons were not
yet up, and the troops were quartered in the town, tired, and
many of them foot-sore, but proud of the march they had
accomplished, and that it had enabled them to forestall the
French.
Laborde, indeed, arrived the same night at Batalha, eight
miles distant, but on receiving the news in the morning that
the British had already occupied Leirya, he advanced no
farther. His position was an exceedingly difficult one ; his
orders were to cover the march of Loison from Abrantes, and
to form a junction with that general \ but to do so now would
be to leave open the road through Alcobaca and Obidos to the
commanding position at Torres Vedras. Batalha offered no
position that he could hope to defend until the arrival of
Loison ; therefore, sending word to that general to move from
Torras Novas, as soon as he reached that town, to Santarem,
and then to march to join him at Rolica, he fell back to
Alcobaca and then to Obidos, a town with a Moorish castle,
built on a gentle eminence in the middle of a valley.
Leaving a detachment here, he retired to Rolica, six miles
to the south of it. At this point several roads met, and he
at once covered all the approaches to Torres Vedras, and the
important port of Peniche, and could be joined by Loison
marching down from Santarem.
The advanced brigade of the British force remained in quiet
possession of Leirya during the next day, and on the follow-
ing, the nth of August, the main body of the army arrived,
having taken two days on the march. The Portuguese force
also came in under Friere. That general at once took posses-
sion of the magazines there, and although he had promised
70 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
the English general that their contents should be entirely
devoted to the maintenance of the English army, he divided
them among his own force.
Disgusted as the British commander was at this barefaced
dishonesty, he was not in a position to quarrel with the Portu-
guese. It was essential to him that they should accompany
him, not for the sake of the assistance that they would give,
for he knew that none was to be expected from them, but
from a political point of view. It was most important that
the people at large should feel that their own troops were
acting with the British, and that no feelings of jealousy or
suspicion of the latter should arise. Friere was acting under
the orders of the Bishop and Junta of Oporto, whose great
object was to keep the Portuguese army together and not to
risk a defeat, as they desired to keep this body intact in order
that, if the British were defeated, they should be able to make
favourable terms for themselves. Consequently, even after
appropriating the whole of the stores and provisions found at
Leirya, Friere continued to make exorbitant demands, and to
offer a vigorous opposition to any further advance.
So far did he carry this that the British general, finding
that in no other way could he get the Portuguese to advance
with him, proposed that they should follow behind him and
wait the result of the battle, to which Friere at last consented.
The Portuguese, in fact, had no belief whatever that the British
troops would be able to withstand the onslaught of the French,
whom they regarded as invincible. Colonel Trant, however,
one of our military agents, succeeded in inducing Friere to
place 1,400 infantry and 250 cavalry under the command of
Sir Arthur.
The addition of the cavalry was a very useful one, for the
English had with them only 180 mounted men ; the country
was entirely new to them, scarcely an officer could speak the
UNDER CANVAS 71
language, and there was no means, therefore, of obtaining in-
formation as to the movements of the enemy. Moving for-
ward through Batalha, and regaining the coast road at Alco-
baca, the British forces arrived at Caldas on the i5th ; and on
the same day Junot quitted Lisbon with a force of 2,000 in-
fantry, 2,000 cavalry, and ten pieces of artillery, leaving 7,000
to garrison the forts and keep down the population of the city.
His force was conveyed to Villa Franca by water, and the
general then pushed forward to Santarem, where he found
Loison, and took command of his division.
The British advanced guard, after arriving at Caldas, pushed
forward, drove the French pickets out of Brilos, and then from
Obidos. Here, however, a slight reverse took place. Some
companies of the 95th and 6oth Rifles pressed forward three
miles farther in pursuit, when they were suddenly attacked
in flank by a greatly superior force, and had it not been that
General Spencer, whose division was but a short distance
behind, pressed forward to their assistance, they would have
suffered heavily ; as it was they escaped with the loss of two
officers and twenty-seven men killed and wounded. Their
rashness, however, led to the discovery that Laborde's force
had taken up a strong position in front of the village of Rolica,
and that he apparently intended to give battle there.
The next day was spent in reconnoitring the French posi-
tion. It was a very strong one. Rolica stood on a table-land
.rising in a valley, affording a view of the road as far as Obidos.
The various points of defence there, and on the flank, were
held by strong parties of the enemy. A mile in the rear was
a steep and lofty ridge that afforded a strong second line of
defence. By the side of this ridge the road passed through a
deep defile, and then mounted over a pass through the range
of hills extending from the sea to the Tagus, and occupying
the intermediate ground until close to Lisbon. Laborde's
72 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
position was an embarrassing one. If he retired upon Torres
Vedras his line of communication with Loison would be lost,
if he moved to meet Loison he would leave open the direct
road to Lisbon, while if he remained at Rolica he had to en-
counter a force almost three times his own strength.
Trusting in the advantages of his position, and confident in
the valour of his troops, he chose the last alternative. Very
anxiously, during the day, the British officers watched the
French line of defence, fearful lest the enemy would again
retreat. By sunset they came to the conclusion that Laborde
intended to stay where he was, and to meet them. The
French, indeed, had been so accustomed to beat the Spanish
and Portuguese, that they had not woke up to the fact that
they had troops of a very different material facing them.
"We ought to have easy work," Major Harrison said, as
the officers gathered round the fire that had been built in
front of the colonel's tent ; " the people here all declare that
Laborde has not above 5,000 troops with him, while, counting
Trant's Portuguese, we have nearly 14,000."
" There will be no credit in thrashing them with such odds
as that," Dick Ryan grumbled.
"I suppose, Ryan," Major Harrison said, "if you had
been in Sir Arthur's place you would have preferred remaining
at Leirya until Junot could have gathered all his forces, and
obtained a reinforcement of some fifty thousand or so from
Spain, then you would have issued a general order saying, that
as the enemy had now a hundred thousand troops ready, the
army would advance and smite them."
" Not so bad as that, Major," the young ensign said, col-
ouring, as there was a general laugh from the rest ; ' but there
does not seem much satisfaction in thrashing an enemy when
we are three to one against him."
" But that is just the art of war, Ryan. Of course, it is
UNDER CANVAS 73
glorious to defeat a greatly superior army and to lose half your
own in doing so; that may be heroic, but it is not modern
war. The object of a general is, if possible, to defeat an enemy
in detail, and to so manoeuvre that he is always superior in
strength to the force that is immediately in front of him, and
so to ensure victory after victory until the enemy are destroyed.
That is what the general is doing by his skilful manoeuvring ;
he has prevented Junot from massing the whole of the army
of Portugal against us.
" To-morrow we shall defeat Laborde, and doubtless a day
or two later we shall fight Loison ; then I suppose we shall
advance against Lisbon, Junot will collect his beaten troops
and his garrison, there will be another battle, and then we
shall capture Lisbon, and the French will have to evacuate
Portugal. Whereas, if all the French were at Rolica they
would probably smash us into a cocked hat, in spite of any
valour we might show ; and as we have no cavalry to cover a
retreat, as the miserable horses can scarcely drag the few guns
that we have got, and the carriages are so rickety that the ar-
tillery officers are afraid that as soon as they fire them they
will shake to pieces, it is not probable that a single man would
regain our ships."
' ' Please say no more, Major ; I see I was a fool. ' '
" Still," Captain O'Connor said, " you must own, Major,
that one does like to win against odds."
" Quite so, O'Connor ; individuals who may survive such a
battle no doubt would be glad that it was a superior force that
they had beaten, but then you see battles are not fought for the
satisfaction of individuals. Moreover, you must remember that
the proportion of loss is much heavier when the numbers are
pretty equally matched, for in that case they must meet to a
certain extent face to face. Skill on the part of the general
may do a great deal, but in the end it must come to sheer hard
74 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
fighting. Now, I expect that to-morrow, although there may
be hard fighting, it is not upon that that Sir Arthur will prin-
cipally rely for turning the French out of those strong positions.
" He will, no doubt, advance directly against them with per-
haps half his force, but the rest will move along on the top of
the heights, and so threaten to cut the French line of retreat
altogether. Laborde is, they say, a good general, and there-
fore won't wait until he is caught in a trap, but will fall back
as soon as he sees that the line of retreat is seriously menaced.
I fancy, too, that he must expect Loison up some time to-
morrow, or he would hardly make a stand, and if Loison does
come up, Ryan's wish will be gratified and we shall be having
the odds against us.
" Then you must remember that our army is a very raw one.
A large proportion of it is newly raised, and though there may
be a few men here who fought in Egypt, the great bulk have
never seen a shot fired in earnest ; while, on the other hand,
the French have been fighting all over Europe. They are
accustomed to victory, and are confident in their own valour
and discipline. Our officers are as raw as our men, and we
must expect that all sorts of blunders will be made at first. I
can tell you that I am very well satisfied that our first battle
is going to be fought with the odds greatly on our side. In
six months I should feel pretty confident, even if the French
had the same odds on their side. ' '
'* The major gave it you rather hotly, Dick," Terence said
to his friend, as they sauntered off together from the group.
" I am glad that you spoke first, for I had it on the tip of my
tongue to say just what you did, and I expect that a good
many of the others felt just the same."
" Yes, I put my foot in it badly, Terence. I have no doubt
the major was right ; anyhow, I have nothing to say against it.
But for all that I wish that either we were not so strong or
ROLICA AND VIMIERA 75
that they were stronger. What credit is there, I should like
to know, in thrashing them when we are three to one ? Any-
how, I hope that we shall have some share in the scrimmage.
We shall get an idea when the orders are published to-night,
and shall see where Fane's brigade is to be put."
CHAPTER V
ROLICA AND VIMIERA
AT nine o'clock in the evening it became known that the
general plan of attack predicted by Major Harrison was
to be carried out. Some five thousand men under General
Ferguson were to ascend the hills on the left of the valley,
while Trant, with a thousand Portuguese infantry and some
Portuguese horse, were to move on the hills on the right ; the
centre, nine thousand strong, and commanded by Sir Arthur
himself, were to march straight up the valley.
Early in the morning the British troops marched out from
Obidos. Ferguson's command at once turned to the left and
ascended the hills, while Trant's moved to the west.
After proceeding a short distance, Fane's brigade moved off
from the road and marched along the valley, equidistant from
the main body and from Ferguson, forming a connecting link
between them ; and on reaching the village of St. Mamed,
three-quarters of a mile from the French position, Hill's brigade
turned off to the right. From their elevated position the
French opened fire with their artillery, and this was answered
by the twelve guns in the valley and from Ferguson's six guns
on the heights. Fane's brigade, extended to its left, was the
first in action, and drove back the French skirmishers and con-
nected Ferguson with the centre. They then turned to at-
76
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
tack the right of the French position ; while Ferguson, seeing
no signs of Loison's force, descended from the high ground to
the rear of Fane, while the Portuguese pressed forward at the
foot of the hills on the other side of the valley and threatened
the enemy's left flank.
BATTLE OF ROLI9A
9
English Miles
Walker & Boittatl sc.
Seeing that his position was absolutely untenable, Laborde
did not wait the assault, but fell back, covered by his cavalry,
to the far stronger position in his rear. A momentary pause
ensued before the British continued their advance. The new
position of the French was of great natural strength, and could
be approached only by narrow paths winding up through deep
ravines on its face. Ferguson and Fane received orders to
ROLICA AND VIMIERA 77
keep to the left, and so turn the enemy's right. Trant simi-
larly was to push forward and threaten his left flank, while
Hill and Nightingale advanced against the front.
The battle commenced by a storm of skirmishers from these
brigades running forward. These soon reached the foot of the
precipitous hill and plunged into the passes. Neither the fire
of the enemy nor the difficulties of the ascent checked them.
Spreading right and left from the paths they made their way up,
and taking advantage of the shelter afforded by great boulders,
broken masses of rock, and the stumps of trees, climbed up
wherever they could find a foothold. The supporting columns
experienced much greater difficulty ; the paths were too nar-
row, and the ground too broken for them to retain their for-
mation, and they made their way forward as best they could
in necessary disorder.
The din of battle was prodigious, for the rattle of musketry
was echoed and re-echoed from the rocks. The progress of the
skirmishers could only be noted by the light smoke rising
through the foliage and by the shouts of the soldiers, which
were echoed by the still louder ones of the French, gathered
strongly on the hill above them. As the British made their
way up, Laborde, who was still anxiously looking for the ex-
pected coming of Loison, withdrew a portion of his troops
from the left and strengthened his right, in order to hold on as
long as possible on the side from which aid was expected.
The ardour of the British to get to close quarters favoured this
movement.
It had been intended that the gih and 29th Regiments should
take the right-hand path where the track they were following
up the pass forked, and so join Trant's Portuguese at the top
of the hill and fall upon the French left. The left-hand path,
however, was the one that would take them direct to the
enemy, and the 29th, which was leading, took this, and the 9th
78 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
followed them. So rapidly did they press up the hill that they
arrived at the crest before Ferguson and Fane, on the left, and
Trant on the right, had got far enough to menace the line of
retreat, and so shake the enemy's position. The consequence
was, that as the right wing of the 2Qth arrived at the top of
the path it was met by a very heavy fire before it could form,
and some companies of a French regiment, who had been cut
off from the main body by its sudden appearance, charged
through the disordered troops and carried with them a major
and fifty or sixty other prisoners.
The rest of the wing, thus exposed to the full fire of the
French, fell back over the crest, and there rallied on the left
wing ; and being joined by the pth, pushed forward again and
obtained a footing on the plateau. Laborde in vain endeav-
oured to hurl them back again. They maintained their footing,
but suffered heavily, both the colonels being killed, with many
officers and men. But the 5th Regiment were now up, and
at other points the British were gathering thickly at the edge
of the plateau. Ferguson and Trant were pushing on fast past
the French flanks, and Laborde, seeing that further resistance
would lead to great disaster, gave the order to retire to a third
position, still farther in the rear. The movement was con-
ducted in splendid order. The French steadily fell back by
alternate masses, their guns thundering on their flanks, while
their cavalry covered the rear by repeated charges.
Gaining the third position, Laborde held it for a time, and
so enabled isolated bodies of his force to join him. Then,
finding himself unable to resist the impetuosity of the British
attack, he retired, still disputing every foot of ground, and
took to the narrow pass of Runa. He then marched all night
to the strong position of Montechique, thereby securing his
junction with Loison, but leaving the road to Torres Vedras
open to the British. The loss of the French in this fight was
ROLICA AND VIMIERA 79
600 killed and wounded, and three guns. Laborde himself
was among the wounded. The British lost nearly 500 killed,
wounded, or taken prisoners. The number of the combatants
actually engaged on either side was about 4,000, and the loss
sustained showed the obstinacy of the righting. Sir Arthur
believed that the French had, as they retreated, been joined
by Loison, and therefore prepared to march at once by the
coast-line to seize the heights of Torres Vedras before the
French could throw themselves in his way.
Great was the disappointment among officers and men of the
Mayo Fusiliers that they had taken no part whatever in the
actual fighting, beyond driving in the French skirmishers at
the beginning of the operations.
" Divil a man killed or wounded ! " Captain O'Grady re-
marked, mournfully, as the regiment halted at the conclusion
of the fight. "Faith, it is too bad, entirely; there we are
left out in the cold, and scarce a shot has been fired ! "
"There are plenty of others in the same case," Captain
O'Driscol said. "None of our three brigades on the left
have had anything to do with the matter, as far as fighting
went. I don't think more than four thousand of our troops
were in action ; but you see if it had not been for our
advance, Hill and Nightingale might not have succeeded in
driving Laborde off the hill. There is no doubt that the
French fought well, but it's our advance that forced him to
retire, not the troops in front of him ; so that, even if we
have not had any killed or wounded, O'Grady, we have at
least the satisfaction of having contributed to the victory."
" Oh, bother your tactics ! We have come here to fight,
and no fighting have we had at all, at all. When we marched
out this morning it looked as if we were going to have our
share in the divarshon, and we have been fairly chated out
of it."
80 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
"Well, O'Grady, you should not grumble," Terence said,
" for we had some fighting on the way out, which is more
than any of the other troops had."
" That was a mere skirmish, Terence. First of all we were
shot at, and could not shoot back again ; and thin we shot at
the enemy, and they could not shoot back at us. And as for
the boarding affair, faith, it did not last a minute. The
others have had two hours of steady fighting, clambering up
the hill, and banging away at the enemy, and shouting and
cheering, and all sorts of fun ; and there were we, tramping
along among those bastely stones and rocks, and no one as
much as took the trouble to fire a shot at us ! "
"Well, if we had been there, O'Grady, we should have
lost about a hundred and twenty men and officers if we had
suffered in the same proportion as the others and we should
now be mourning their loss perhaps you among them. We
might have been saying : There is O'Grady gone ; he was a
beggar to talk, but he meant well. Faith, the drink bill of
the regiment will fall off.' "
" Well, it might have been so," O'Grady said, in a more
contented voice ; " and if I had been killed going up the hill,
without even as much as catching a glimpse of the Frenchies,
I would niver have forgiven them niver ! ' '
There was a roar of laughter at the bull.
" Phwat is it have I said ? " he asked, in surprise.
" Nothing, O'Grady; but it would be an awful thing for
the French to know that after your death you would have
gone on hating them for ever."
" Did I say that? But you know my maneing, and as
long as you know that, what does it matter which way I put
it? Well, now, I suppose Sir Arthur is going to take
us tramping along again. Ah, it is a weary thing being a
soldier!"
ROLICA AND VIMIERA 81
"Why, you were saying yesterday, O'Grady, that your
feet were getting all right," Terence said.
" All right in a manner, Terence. And it is a bad habit
that you have got of picking up your supayrior officer's words
and throwing them into his teeth. You will come to a bad
end if you don't break yourself of it ; and the worst of it is,
you are corrupting the other lads, and the young officers are
losing all respect for their seniors. I am surprised, Major,
that you and the colonel don't take the matter in hand before
the discipline of the regiment is destroyed entirely."
" You draw it upon yourself, O'Grady, and it is good for
us all to have a laugh sometimes. We should all have missed
you sorely had you gone down on that hill over there as
many a good fellow has done. I hear that both the pth and
2Qth have lost their colonels."
" The Lord presarve us from such a misfortune, Major !
It would give us a step all through the regiment ; but then,
you see " And he stopped.
" You mean I should be colonel, O'Grady," the major said,
with a laugh ; ' ' and you know I should not take things as quietly
as he does. Well, you see, there are consolations all round."
The firing had ceased at four o'clock, and until late that
night a large portion of the force were occupied in searching
the ground that had been traversed, burying the dead, and
carrying the wounded of both nationalities down into the
hospital that had been established at Rolica. Sir Arthur
determined to march at daybreak, so as to secure the passes
through Torres Vedras ; but in the evening a messenger
arrived with the news that Anstruther and Acland's division,
with a large fleet of store-ships, were off the coast. The dan-
gerous nature of the coast, and the certainty that, should a
gale spring up, a large proportion of the ships would be
wrecked, rendered it absolutely necessary to secure the disem-
*
82 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
barkation of the troops at once. The next morning, there-
fore, he only marched ten miles to Lourinha, and thence
advanced to Vimiera, eight miles farther, where he covered
the disembarkation of the troops.
The next day Anstruther's brigade were with difficulty,
and some loss, landed on an open sandy beach, and on the
night of the 2oth Acland's brigade were disembarked at
Maciera Bay. The reinforcements were most opportune, for
already the British had proof that Junot was preparing a
heavy blow. That general had, indeed, lost no time in
taking steps to bring on a decisive battle. While the British
were marching to Lourinha, he had, with Loison's division,
crossed the line of Laborde's retreat, and on the same even-
ing reached Torres Vedras, where the next day he was joined
by Laborde, and on the 2oth by his reserve. In the mean-
time he sent forward his cavalry, which scoured the country
round the rear of the British camp, and prevented the gen-
eral from obtaining any information whatever as to his posi-
tion or intentions.
The arrival of Acland's brigade on the night of the 2oth
increased the fighting strength of the army to 16,000 men,
with eighteen guns, exclusive of Trant's Portuguese, while
Sir Arthur judged that Junot could not put more than 14,000
in the field. Previous to leaving Mondego he had sent to
Sir Harry Burrard notice of his plan of campaign, advising
him to let Sir John Moore, on his arrival with 5,000 men,
disembark there and march on Santarem, where he would
protect the left of the army in its advance, block the line
of the Tagus, and menace the French line of communica-
tion between Lisbon and the important fortress of Elvas.
The ground at Santarem was suited for defence, and Moore
could be joined with Friere, who was still, with his 5,000
men, at Leirya.
ROLICA AND VIMIERA 83
The general intended to make a forced march, keeping
by the sea-road. A strong advance guard would press for-
ward and occupy the formidable position of Mathia in the
rear of the hills. With the main body he intended to seize
some heights a few miles behind Torres Vedras, and to cut
the road between that place and Montechique, on the direct
road to Lisbon, and so interpose between Junot and the capi-
tal. At twelve o'clock that night Sir Arthur was roused by
a messenger, who reported that Junot, with 20,000 men, was
advancing to attack him, and was but an hour's march dis-
tant. He disbelieved the account of the force of the enemy,
and had no doubt but that the messenger's fears had exag-
gerated the closeness of his approach. He therefore con-
tented himself with sending orders to the pickets to use
redoubled vigilance, and at daylight the whole British force
was, as usual, under arms.
Nothing could have suited the British commander better
than that Junot should attack him, for the position of Vimiera
was strong. The town was situated in a valley, through
which the little river Maciera flows. In this were placed the
commissariat stores, while the cavalry and Portuguese were
on a small plain behind the village. In front of Vimiera was
a steep hill with a flat top, commanding the ground to the
south and east for a considerable distance. Fane's and
Anstruther's infantry, with six guns, were posted here.
Fane's left rested on a churchyard, blocking a road which
led round the declivity of the hill to the town. Behind this
position, and separated by the river and road, was a hill
extending in a half-moon to the sea.
Five brigades of infantry, forming the British right, oc-
cupied this mountain. On the other side of the ravine
formed by the river, just beyond Vimiera, was another strong
and narrow range of heights. There was no water to be
$4 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
found on this ridge, and only the 4oth Regiment and some
pickets were stationed here. It was vastly better to be
attacked in such a position than to be compelled to storm the
heights of Torres Vedras, held by a strong French army.
The advance of the French was fortunate in another respect.
On the 2oth Sir Harry Burrard arrived in the bay on board
BATTLE OF VIM I ERA.
English Miles
Walter &Boutallsc.
a frigate, and Sir Arthur, thus superseded, went on board to
report the position of affairs, renewing his recommendation
that Sir John Moore should land at Mondego and march to
Santarem. Sir Harry Burrard, however, had already deter-
mined that his force should land at Maciera, and he refused
ROLICA AND VIMIfcRA 85
to permit Sir Arthur's plan of advance to be carried out, and
ordered that no offensive step should be undertaken until Sir
John Moore had landed.
The advance of Junot, happily, left Wellesley at liberty to
act ; and disposing his force in order of battle, he awaited the
appearance of the enemy. It was not until seven o'clock that
a cloud of dust was seen rising above the opposite ridge, and
an hour later a body of cavalry crowned the height and sent
out a swarm of scouts in every direction. Almost imme-
diately afterwards a body of cavalry and infantry were seen
marching along the road from Torres Vedras to Lourinha,
threatening to turn the left of the British position. As the
British right was not menaced, four of the brigades on the
hill on that flank were ordered to cross the valley and to take
post with the 4oth Regiment for the defence of the ridge.
This movement, being covered by the Vimiera heights, was
unseen by the enemy ; the 5th brigade and the Portuguese
were on a second ridge behind the other, and thus assisted
to cover the English left and protect its rear. The ground
between the crest on which the French were first seen and our
position was so thickly covered with wood, that after the
enemy had descended into it no correct view of their move-
ments could be obtained.
Junot had intended to fall upon the English army at day-
break, but the defiles through which the force had to pass had
delayed the march, as had the fatigue of the troops, who had
been marching all night. From the height from which he
obtained a view of the British position it seemed to him that
the British centre and right were held in great strength, and
that the left was almost unguarded. He therefore determined
to attack upon that flank, which, indeed, was in any case the
most favourable, as, were he successful there, he would cut the
line of the British retreat and pen them up on the sea-shore.
86 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
The march of the four brigades through Vimiera to take
post on the British left was hidden from him, and he divided
his force into two heavy columns, one of which was to attack
the British left, and having mounted the height to sweep all
before it into the town ; the other was to attack Vimiera Hill,
held by Anstruther and Fane.
Brennier commanded the attack against the left, Laborde
against the centre, Loison followed at a short distance. Kel-
lermann commanded the reserve of Grenadiers. Unfortu-
nately for the success of Junot's plan, he was unaware of the
fact that along the foot of the ridge on the British left ran a
deep ravine, that rendered it very difficult to attack except at
the extreme end of the position.
" We are going to have our share of the fun to-day,"
O'Grady said, as he stood with a group of officers, watching
the wooded plain and the head of Laborde' s column de-
bouching from among the trees, and moving towards the
hill.
There was a general murmur of satisfaction from the officers,
for although they had all laughed at O'Grady 's exaggerated
regrets at their not being engaged at Rolica, all were some-
what sore at the regiment having had no opportunity of dis-
tinguishing itself on that occasion. No sooner had the
column cleared the wood than the six guns posted with Fane's
and Anstruther' s brigade at once opened fire upon it. It had
been intended that Brennier 's attack should begin at the same
time as Laborde' s, but that advance had been stopped by the
defile, which was so steep and so encumbered with rocks,
brushwood, and trees, that his troops had the most extreme
difficulty in making their way across. This enabled Acland,
whose brigade was in the act of mounting the heights from
the town, to turn his battery against Laborde's column,
which was thus smitten with a shower of grape both in front
ROLICA AND VIMIERA 87
and flank, and to this was added a heavy musketry fire from
the three brigades.
" Take it easy, lads, take it easy," the colonel said, as he
walked up and down the ranks. " They are hardly in range
yet, and you had better keep your ammunition until they get
to the foot of the hill, then you can blaze away as hard as
you like. ' '
Junot, receiving news of the arrest of Brennier's column and
the obstacles that he had encountered, and seeing that the
whole British fire was now directed against Laborde, ordered
Loison to support that general with one brigade, and directed
Solignac to turn the ravine in which Brennier was entangled
and to fall upon the left extremity of the enemy's line.
Fane had been given discretionary power to call up the
reserve artillery posted in the village behind him, and seeing
so strong an attack against his position about to be made
called it up to the top of the hill.
Loison and Laborde now formed their troops into three
columns of attack. One advanced against that part of the hill
held by Anstruther's brigade, another endeavoured to pene-
trate by the road past the church on Fane's extreme left,
while the main column, represented by a large number of the
best troops, advanced against the centre of the position.
The reserve artillery, and the battery originally there, opened
a terrible fire, which was aided by the musketry of the infan-
try. But with loud shouts the French pressed forward, and
although already shaken by the terrible fire of the artillery,
and breathless from their exertions, they gained the crest of
the hill. Before they could re-form a tremendous volley was
poured into them, and with a wild yell the Mayo Fusiliers
and the 5oth charged them in front and flank and hurled them
down the hill.
In the meantime, Anstruther, having repulsed the less serious
88 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
attack made on him, detached the 43d to check the enemy's
column moving through the churchyard, and prevented their
advance until Kellermann brought up a force of Grenadiers,
who, running forward with loud shouts, drove back the
advanced companies of the 43d. The guns on the heights
were turned upon them with great effect, and those of Acland's
and Bowe's brigades on the left of the ridge took them in flank
and brought them almost to a stand-still ; then the 43d, in one
mass, charged furiously down on the column, and after a
fierce struggle drove them back in confusion.
The French attacks on this side had now completely failed,
and Colonel Taylor, riding out with his little body of cavalry,
dashed out into the confused mass, slaying and scattering it.
Margaron, who commanded a superior force of French cavalry,
led them down through their infantry, and falling upon the
British force killed Taylor and cut half his squadron to pieces.
Kellermann took post with his reserve of Grenadiers in a pine-
wood in advance of the wooded country through which they
had advanced, while Margaron's horsemen maintained a position
covering the retreat of the fugitives into the wood. At this
moment Solignac reached his assigned position and encountered
Ferguson's brigade, which was on the extreme left of the
division, and was taken by surprise on finding a force equal
to his own where he had expected to find the hill untenanted.
Ferguson was drawn up in three lines on a steep declivity.
A heavy artillery fire opened upon the French as soon as they
were seen, while the 5th brigade and the Portuguese marched
along the next ridge and threatened the enemy's rear.
Ferguson did not wait to be attacked, but marched his brigade
against the French, who, falling fast under the musketry and
artillery fire which had swept their lines, fell back fighting
to the farthest edge of the ridge. Solignac was carried off
severely wounded, and his brigade was cut off from its line of
ROLICA AND VIMIERA 83
retreat and driven into a low valley, in which stood the village
of Peranza, leaving six guns behind them. Ferguson left two
regiments to guard these guns, and with the rest of his force
pressed hard upon the French; but at this moment Brennier,
who had at last surmounted the difficulties that had detained
him, fell upon the two regiments suddenly, and retook the guns.
The 82d and 7ist, speedily recovered from their surprise,
rallied on some higher ground, and then, after pouring in a
tremendous volley of musketry, charged with a mighty shout
and overthrew the French brigade and recovered the guns.
Brennier himself was wounded and taken prisoner, and Fergu-
son having completely broken up the brigade opposed to him
would have forced the greater part of Solignac's troops to
surrender, if he had not been required to halt by an unexpected
order. The French veterans speedily rallied, and in admirable
order, protected by their cavalry, marched off to join their
comrades who had been defeated in their attack upon the
British centre.
It was now twelve o'clock; the victory was complete; thir-
teen guns had been captured. Neither the ist, 5th, nor Portu-
guese brigades had fired a shot, and the 4th and 8th had suf-
fered very little, therefore Sir Arthur resolved with these five
brigades to push Junot closely, while Hill, Anstruther, and
Fane were to march forward as far as Torres Vedras, and, push-
ing on to Montechique, cut him off from Lisbon. Had this
operation been executed Junot would probably have lost all
his artillery, and seven thousand stragglers would have been
driven to seek shelter under the guns of Elvas, from which
fortress, however, he would have been cut off had Moore landed
as Sir Arthur wished at Mondego. Unhappily, however, the
latter was no longer commander-in-chief. Sir Harry Burrard,
who had been present at the action, had not interfered with
the arrangements, but as soon as victory was won he assumed
90 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
command, sent an order arresting Ferguson's career of victory,
and forbade all further offensive operations until the arrival of
Sir John Moore.
The adjutant-general and quartermaster supported his views,
and Sir Arthur's earnest representations were disregarded. Sir
Arthur's plan would probably have been crowned with success,
but it was not without peril. The French had rallied with
extraordinary rapidity under the protection of their cavalry.
The British artillery-carriages were so shaken as to be almost
unfit for service, the horses insufficient in number and wretched
in quality, the commissariat waggons in the greatest con-
fusion, and the hired Portuguese vehicles had made off in
every direction. The British cavalry were totally destroyed,
and two French regiments had just made their appearance
on the ridge behind the wood where Junot's troops were re-
forming.
Sir Harry Burrard, with a caution characteristic of age,
refused to adopt Wellesley's bold plan. A great success had
been gained, and that would have been imperilled by Junot's
falling with all his force upon one or other of the British
columns. Sir Arthur himself, at a later period, when a com-
mission was appointed by Parliament to inquire into the
circumstances, admitted that, though he still believed that
success would have attended his own plan, he considered that
Sir Harry Burrard's decision was fully justified on military
grounds.
Junot took foil advantage of the unexpected cessation of
hostilities. He re-formed his broken army on the arrival of
the two regiments, which brought it up to its original strength;
and then, covered by his cavalry, marched in good order until
darkness fell. He had regained the command of the passes of
Torres Vedras, and the two armies occupied precisely the same
positions that they had done on the previous evening.
ROLICA AND VIMIERA " 91
One general, thirteen guns, and several hundred prisoners
fell into the hands of the British, and Junot's total loss far ex-
ceeded that of the British, which was comparatively small. At
the commencement of the fight the British force was more than
two thousand larger than that of the French, but of these only
a half had taken an active part in the battle, while every man
in Junot's army had been sent forward to the attack.
Sir Harry Burrard's command was a short one, for on the
following morning Sir Hew Dalrymple superseded him. Thus
in twenty-four hours a battle had been fought and the com-
mand of the army had been three times changed, a striking
proof of the abject folly and incapacity of the British ministry
of the day.
Two of these three commanders arrived fresh on the scene
without any previous knowledge of the situation, and all three
differed from each other in their views regarding the general
plan of the campaign ; the last two were men without any
previous experience in the handling of large bodies of troops,
and without any high military reputation ; while the man dis-
placed had already shown the most brilliant capacity in India,
and was universally regarded as the best general in the British
service. Dalrymple adopted neither the energetic action ad-
vised by Sir Arthur nor the inactivity supported by Burrard,
but, taking a middle course, decided to advance on the follow-
ing morning, but not to go far until Sir John Moore landed at
Maciera.
Sir Arthur was strongly opposed to this policy. He pointed
out that there were at present on shore but seven or eight days'
provisions for the force at Vimiera. No further supplies could
be obtained in the country, and at any moment a gale might
arise and scatter or destroy the fleet, from which alone they
could draw supplies during their advance. The debate on the
subject was continuing when the French general, Kellermann,
92 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
bearing a flag of truce and escorted by a strong body of cavalry,
arrived at the outposts and desired a conference. The news
was surprising, indeed. Junot's force was practically unshaken.
He possessed all the strong places in Portugal, and could have
received support in a short time from the French forces in Spain.
Upon the other hand, the position of the British, even after
winning a victory, was by no means a satisfactory one ; they
had already learnt that it was useless to rely in the slightest
degree upon Portuguese promises or Portuguese assistance,
and that, even in the matter of provisions and carriage, their
commander-in-chief expected to be maintained by those who
had come to aid in freeing the country of the French, instead
of these receiving any help from him. In carriage the British
army was wholly deficient ; of cavalry they had none. When
Sir John Moore landed there would be but four days' pro-
visions on shore for the army, and were the fleet driven off by
a gale, starvation would at once threaten them.
The gallantry with which the French had fought in both
engagements, the skill with which they had been handled, and
above all, the quickness and steadiness with which, after defeat,
they had closed up their ranks and drawn off in excellent order,
showed that the task of expelling such troops from the country
would, even if all went well in other respects, be a very for-
midable one, and the offer of a conference was therefore at
once embraced by Sir Hew Dalrymple.
Kellermann was admitted to the camp. His mission was to
demand a cessation of arms in order that Junot might, under
certain conditions, evacuate Portugal. The advantage of
freeing the country from the French without further fighting
was so evident that Sir Hew at once agreed to discuss the
terms, and took Sir Arthur Wellesley into his counsels. The
latter quite agreed with the policy by which a strong French
army would be quietly got out of the country, in which it held
ROLICA AND VIMIERA 93
all the military posts and strong positions. A great moral
effect would be produced, and the whole resources of Portugal
would then be available for operations in Spain.
By the afternoon the main points of the convention had
been generally agreed upon. The French were to evacuate
Portugal, and were to be conveyed in the English vessels to
France with their property, public or private. There was to
be no persecution of persons who had been the adherents of
France during the occupation ; the only serious difference that
arose was as to the Russian fleet in the Tagus. Kellermann
proposed to have it guaranteed from capture, with leave to
return to the Baltic. This, however, was refused, and the
question was referred to Admiral Cotton, who, as chief repre-
sentative of England, would have to approve of the treaty
before it could be signed.
Kellermann returned to Lisbon with Colonel Murray, the
quartermaster-general, and after three days' negotiations the
treaty was finally concluded, the Russian difficulty being
settled by their vessels being handed over to the British, and
the crew transported in English ships to the Baltic. The
convention was, under the circumstances, unquestionably a
most advantageous one. It would have cost long and severe
fighting and the siege of several very strong fortresses before
the French could have been turned out of Portugal. Heavy
siege-guns would have been necessary for these operations. At
the very shortest calculation a year would have been wasted,
very heavy loss of life incurred, and an immense expenditure
of money before the result, now obtained so suddenly and
unexpectedly, had been arrived at.
Nevertheless, the news of the convention was received with
a burst of popular indignation in England, where the public,
wholly ignorant of the difficulty of the situation, had formed
the most extravagant hopes, founded on the two successes
94: WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
obtained by their troops. The result was that a commission
was appointed to investigate the whole matter. The three
English generals were summoned to England to attend before
it, and so gross were the misrepresentations and lies by which
the public had been deceived by the agents of the unscrupulous
and ambitious Bishop of Oporto and his confederates, that it
was even proposed ^to bring the generals to trial who had in
so short a time and with such insufficient means freed Portugal
from the French. Sir John Moore remained in command of
the troops in Portugal.
CHAPTER VI
A PAUSE
THE Mayo Fusiliers had suffered their full proportion of
losses at the battle of Vimiera. Major Harrison had
been killed, Captain O'Connor had been severely wounded, as
his company had been thrown forward as skirmishers on the
face of the hill, and a third of their number had fallen when
Laborde's great column had driven them in as it charged up
the ascent. Terence's father had been brought to the ground
by a ball that struck him near the hip ; had been trampled on
by the French as they passed up over him, and again on their
retreat ; and he was insensible when, as soon as the enemy
retired, a party was sent down to bring up the wounded. By
thedeath of themajor, O'Connor, as senior captain, now attained
that rank, but the doctor pronounced that it would be a long
time before he would be able to take up his duties. Another
captain and three subalterns had been killed, and several other
officers had been wounded. Among these was O'Grady, whose
left arm had been carried away below the elbow by a round
I SHOULD NOT HAVE MINDED BEING HIT, FATHER, IF YOU
HAD ESCAPED."
A PAUSE 95
shot. As Terence was in the other wing of the regiment he
did not hear of his father's wounds until after the battle was
over, and on the order being given that there was to be no
pursuit the regiment fell out of its ranks. As soon as the
news reached him he obtained permission to go down to
Vimiera, where the church and other buildings had been turned
into temporary hospitals, to which the seriously wounded had
been carried as soon as the French retired. Hurrying down,
he soon learned where the wounded of General Fane's brigade
had been taken. He found the two regimental doctors hard
at work. O' Flaherty came up to Terence as soon as he saw him
enter the barn that had been hastily converted into a hospital
by covering the floor deeply with straw.
"I think your father will do, Terence, my boy," he said,
cheeringly; " we have just got the bullet out of his leg, and
we hope that it has not touched the bone, though we cannot
be altogether sure. We shall know more about that when we
have got through the rough of our work. Still, we have every
hope that he will do well. He is next the door at the further
end ; we put him there to let him get as much fresh air as
possible, for, by the powers, this place is like a furnace ! "
Captain O'Connor was lying on his back, the straw having
been arranged so as to raise his shoulders and head. He
smiled when Terence came up to him.
" Thank God you have got safely through it, lad ! "
"I should not have minded being hit, father, if you had
escaped," Terence said, with difficulty suppressing a sob, while
in spite of his efforts the tears rolled down his cheeks.
" The doctors say I shall pull through all right. I hear
poor Harrison is killed ; he was a good fellow. Though it has
given me my step, I am heartily sorry. So we have thrashed
them, lad ; that is a comfort. I was afraid when they went
up the hill that they might be too much for us, and I was
96 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
delighted when I heard them coming tearing down again,
though I had not much time to think about it. They had
stepped over me pretty much as they went up, but they had
no time to pick their way as they came back again, and after
one or two had jumped on me, I remembered no more about
it until I found myself here with O' Flaherty probing the
wound and hurting me horribly. I am bruised all over, and
I wonder some of my ribs are not broken ; at present they
hurt me a good deal more than this wound in the hip. Still,
that is only an affair of a day or two. Who have been killed
besides the major ? "
" Dorman, Phillips, and Henderson are killed. O'Grady is
wounded, I hear, and so are Saunders, Byrne, and Sullivan ;
there have been some others hit, but not seriously ; they did
not have to fall out."
" O'Grady is over on the other side somewhere, Terence ; I
heard his voice just now. Go and see where he is hurt."
O'Grady was sitting up with his back to the wall ; the sleeves
of his jacket and shirt had been cut off, and a tourniquet was
on his arm just above the elbow.
"Well, Terence," he said, cheerfully, "I am in luck, you
see."
" I can't see any luck about it, O'Grady."
" Why, man, it might have been my right arm, and where
should I have been then ? As to the left arm, one can do
without it very well. Then, again, it is lucky that the ball hit
me below the elbow and not above it. O' Flaherty says they
will be able to make a dacent job of it, and that after a bit
they will be able to fit a wooden arm on, so that I can screw
a fork into it. The worst of it at present is, that I have a
terrible thirst on me, and nothing but water have they given
me, a thing that I have not drunk for years. They have tied
up the arteries, and they are going presently to touch up the
A PAUSE 97
loose ends with hot pitch to stop the bleeding altogether. It
is not a pleasant job ; they have done it to three or four of the
men already. One of them stood it well, but the others cried
a thousand murders. O' Flaherty has promised me a drink of
whisky and water before they do it, and just at present I feel
as if I would let them burn all my limbs at the same price. It
is sorry I am, Terence, to hear that your father is hit so hard,
but O' Flaherty says he will get through it all right. Well, he
will get his majority, though I am mightily sorry that Harri-
son is killed ; he was a good boy, though he was an English-
man. Ah, Terence, my heart's sore when I think what I said
that evening after the fight at Rolica ! I did not mean it alto-
gether, but the words come home to me now. It is not for
meself but for the poor boys that have gone. It was just
thoughtlessness, but I would give me other arm not to have
said those words."
" I know that you did not mean it, O'Grady, and we were
all feeling sorry that the regiment had not had a chance to be
in the thick of it."
"Here they are, coming this way with the pitch kettle.
You had better get away, lad, before they begin."
Terence was glad to follow the advice, and hurried out of
the barn and walked three or four hundred yards away. He
was very fond of O'Grady, who had always been very kind to
him, and who was thoroughly warm-hearted and a good fel-
low, in spite of his eccentricities. In a quarter of an hour he
returned. Just as he was entering, O' Flaherty came out of
the door.
' ' I must have a breath of fresh air, Terence, ' ' he said.
" The heat is stifling in there, and though we are working in
our shirt-sleeves we are just as damp as if we had been thrown
into a pond."
" Has O'Grady's arm been seared? "
7
98 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" Yes, and he stood it well ; not a word did he say until it
was over. Then he said, ' Give me another drink, O'Flah-
erty; it's wake-like I feel.' Before I could get the cup to
his lips he went off in a faint. He has come round now and
has had a drink of weak whisky and water, and is lying quiet
and composed. It is better that you should not go near him
at present. I hope that he will drop off to sleep presently.
I have just given a glance at your father, and he is nearly, if
not quite, asleep too, so you had better leave them now and
look in again this evening. Now that the affair is over, and
there is time to go round, they will clear out some houses
and get things more comfortable. The principal medical of-
ficer was round here half an hour ago. He said they would
fit up rooms for the officers at once, and I will have your
father, O'Grady, and Saunders carried up on stretchers and
put into a room together. If they can bear the moving it
will be all in their favour, for it will be cooler there than in
this oven of a place. I hear the church has been requisi-
tioned, and that the worst cases among our men will be taken
there."
In comparison with the loss of the French that of the Brit-
ish had been very small. From their position on command-
ing heights they had suffered but little from the fire of the
French artillery, and the casualties were almost confined
to Fane's brigade, the 43d Regiment, Anstruther's, and
the two regiments of Ferguson's brigade that had been
attacked by Brennier, and before nightfall the whole of the
wounded had been brought in and attended to, the hospitals
arranged, and the men far more comfortably bestowed than in
the temporary quarters taken up during the heat of the con-
flict. As there was no prospect of an immediate movement,
the soldier servants of the wounded officers had been excused
from military duty and told off to attend to them, and when
A PAUSE 90
Terence went down in the evening he found his father,
O'Grady, and Saunders the latter a young lieutenant com-
fortably lodged in a large room in which three hospital beds
had been placed. O'Grady had quite recovered his usual
good spirits.
" Don't draw such a long face, Terence," he said, as the
lad entered; "we are all going on well. Your father has
been bandaged all over the chest and body, and is able to
breathe more comfortably ; as for me, except that I feel as if
somebody were twisting a red-hot needle about in my arm, I
am as right as possible, and Saunders is doing first-rate. The
doctors thought at first that he had got a ball through his
body; after they got him here they had time to examine him
carefully, and they find that it has just run along the ribs and
gone out behind, and that he will soon be about again. If it
wasn't that the doctors say I must drink nothing but water
with lemon -juice squeezed into it, I would have nothing to
complain of. We have got our servants. Hoolan came in
blubbering like a calf, the omadhoun, and I had to threaten
to send him back to the regiment before he would be sensible.
He has sworn off spirits until I am well enough to take to
them, which is a comfort, for I am sorry to say he is one of
those men who never know when they have had enough."
"Like master, like man, O'Grady."
"Terence, when I get well you will repint of your impu-
dence to your supayrior officer, when he is not able to defend
himself."
Terence went across to his father's bed.
" Do you really feel easier, father? "
"A great deal, lad. I was so bruised that every breath I
took hurt me ; since I have been tightly bandaged I am bet-
ter, ever so much. Daly says that in a few days I shall be all
right again as to that, but that the other business will keep
100 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
me on my back for a long time. He has examined my
wound again, and says he won't touch it for a few days; but
I can see that he is rather afraid that the bone has been
grazed if not splintered. You have not heard what is going
to be done, have you ? ' '
" No, father ; the talk is that no move will be made any-
how until Sir John Moore lands with his troops ; after that I
suppose we shall go forward."
" It is a pity we did not push forward to-day, lad, if, as I
hear, half the force were never engaged at all. Junot would
not have carried off a gun if our fellows had been launched
against them while they were in disorder. As it is, I hear
they have marched away over that ridge in as good order as
they came, and so we shall have all the work of thrashing
them to do over again. ' '
" They say that is what Sir Arthur wanted to do, father,
but Burrard overruled him."
" Did any man ever hear of such nonsense as a general who
knows nothing at all about the matter coming and taking over
the command from a general who has just won a battle, and
who has all the ins and outs of the matter at his finger-ends ! "
"Now, my dear O'Connor," O'Grady broke in, "you
know what Daly said, the quieter you lie and the less you
talk the better. He did not say so to meself; in the first
place, because he knew it would be of no use, and in the sec-
ond, because there is no raison on earth why, because a man
has lost a bit of his arm, his tongue should not wag. And
what does the colonel say, Terence ; is he not delighted with
the regiment ? ' '
"He is that, and he has a right to be," Terence said.
" The way they went at the French, and tumbled them over
the crest and down the hill was splendid. The tears rolled
down his cheeks when he heard that the major and the others
A PAUSE 101
were killed, but he said that a man could not die more glori-
ously. He shook hands with all the officers after it was over,
and sent a party down to the town to buy and bring up some
barrels of wine, and served out a good allowance to each
man. As soon as the firing ceased I heard him tell O'Driscol
that he was proud to have commanded the regiment."
"That is good, Terence; and now, do you think that you
could bring me up just a taste of the cratur? "
"The divil a drop, O'Grady; if Daly and O'Flaherty
both say that you are not to have it, it is certain that it is bad
for you. But I'll tell you what I will do; I have one bottle
of whisky left, and I will promise you that it sha'n't be
touched till you are well enough to drink it, and if we are
marched away, as I suppose we shall be, I will hand it over to
O'Flaherty to give you when you are fit to take it. He tells me
that he will be left to look after the wounded when we move. ' '
" I could not trust him, Terence ; I would hand over a bag
of gold uncounted to him, but as for whisky, the temptation
would be too great for an Irishman to resist. Look here, you
put it into a wooden box and nail it up securely, and write on
it ' O'Grady's arm,' and hand it over to him solemnly, and
tell him that I have a fancy for burying the contents myself,
which will be true enough, though it is me throat I mean to
bury it in."
Knowing that it was best they should be left in quiet, Ter-
ence soon left them and returned to the regiment.
"Well, Dick, what did you think of a battle? " he asked
his chum.
" I don't quite know what I did think. It does not seem
to me that I thought much about it at all, what with the noise
of the firing and the shouting of the men, and the whistle
overhead of the French round shot, and the men cheering,
the French shouting, and the excitement, there was no time
102 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
for thinking at all. From the time the skirmishers came run-
ning up the hill to the time when we rolled the French down
it, I seem to have been in a dream. It's lucky that I had no
words of command to give, for I am sure I should not have
given them. I don't think 1 was frightened at all ; somehow
I did not seem to think of the danger. It was just a horrible
confusion. ' '
" I felt very much like that, too. It was not a bit like what
it was when we took that brig ; I felt cool enough when we
jumped on to her deck. But then there was no noise to speak
of, while the row this morning was tremendous. I tried to
cheer when the men did, but I could not hear my own voice,
and I don't know whether I made any sound or not."
A delay of some weeks took place after the battle of Vimiera.
The Mayo Fusiliers were not among the troops who entered
Lisbon in order to overawe the populace and prevent attacks
both upon French soldiers and officers, and Portuguese sus-
pected of leaning towards the French cause. Throughout the
country everything was in confusion. A strong party, at
whose head were the Bishop of Oporto and Friere, denounced
the convention with the French against whom they them-
selves had done nothing as gross treachery on the part of
the English to Portugal. They endeavoured in every way to
excite the feelings of the population, both in the country and
the capital, against the British ; but in this they failed alto-
gether, for the people were too thankful to get rid of the op-
pression and exactions of the invaders to feel aught but satis-
faction at their being compelled to leave the country.
The Junta at Oporto, at whose head was the bishop, de-
sired to grasp the entire power throughout the country, and
were furious at being thwarted in their endeavours to prevent
a central Junta being established at Lisbon. Throughout
Spain also chaos reigned. Each provincial Junta refused co-
A PAUSE 103
operation with others, and instead of concerting measures for
resistance against the great force that Napoleon was assembling
on the frontier, thought only of satisfying the ambitions and
greed of its members. The generals disregarded alike the or-
ders from the central Junta at Madrid and those of the pro-
vincial Juntas, quarrelled among themselves to a point that
sometimes approached open hostility, and each acted only for
his private ends. Arms had been sent in vast numbers from
England ; yet, while the money so lavishly bestowed by British
agents went into the pockets of individuals, the arms were re-
tained by the Juntas of Seville, Cadiz, and the maritime ports,
and the armies of Spain were left almost unarmed.
The term army is indeed absurd, as applied to the gather-
ings of peasants without an idea of discipline, with scarcely
any instruction in drill, and in the majority of cases, as the-
result proved, altogether deficient in courage; and yet, while
neglecting all military precautions and ready to crumble to
pieces at the first approach of the French, the arrogance and
insolence of the authorities, civil and military alike, were ab-
solutely unbounded. They disregarded wholly the advice of
the British officers and agents, and treated the men who
alone could save them from the consequences of their folly
with open contempt.
After a fortnight's halt at Vimiera the Mayo Fusiliers were
marched, with four other regiments, to Torres Vedras, where
they took up their quarters. In the middle of October
O'Grady and Saunders rejoined, and Terence obtained a few
days' leave to visit his father.
The latter 's progress had been slow ; the wound was un-
healed, pieces of bone working their way out, and the doctors
had decided that he must be invalided home, as it was desir-
able to clear out the hospitals altogether before the army
marched into Spain.
104 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
"They think the change of air will do me good," Major
O'Connor said to Terence, as they were chatting together af-
ter the latter arrived, "and I think so myself. It is evident
that I cannot take part in the next campaign, but I hope to
rejoin again in the spring. Of course it is hard, but I must
not grumble ; if the bullet had been half an inch more to the
right it would have smashed the bone altogether, then I should
have had small chance indeed, for taking off the leg at the hip
is an operation that not one man in twenty survives. O' Flah-
erty says he thinks that all the bits of bone have worked out
now, and that I may not be permanently lame ; but if it is to
be so, lad, it is of no use kicking against fate. I have got my
majority, and if permanently disabled by my wounds, can re-
tire on a pension on which I can live comfortably.
"So I hear that Sir John Moore is going to march into
Spain. By the way, you have got some cousins in Oporto or
the neighbourhood, though I don't suppose you are likely to
run against them."
" I never heard you say anything about them before,
father."
" No ; I don't think that I ever did mention it. A first
cousin of mine went over, just about the time that I was mar-
ried, to Oporto, and established himself there as a wine mer-
chant. He had been out there before for a firm in Dublin,
and when Clancy's father died, and he came into some money
he went out, as I said, and started for himself. He was a
sharp fellow and did well, and married the daughter of a big
land-owner. We used to hear from him occasionally. He
died about a year ago, and left a girl behind him ; she had
been brought up in her mother's religion. He never said
much about his wife, but I fancy she was a very strong Roman
Catholic, and that they did not quite agree about the girl,
who, as I gathered, had a hankering after her father's religion.
A t>AUSE 105
However, after Clancy died we never heard any more of
them.
" There was a letter from their man of business announcing
the death, and stating that Clancy had left his own property,
that is to say, the money he had made in business, to the girl.
What has become of her since I do not know. It was no busi-
ness of mine, though I believe that I was his nearest relation
at least my uncle had no other children, and there were
neither brothers nor sisters except him and my father. Still,
as he left a widow who had a good big property on her own
account, and was connected with a lot of grandee families,
there was no occasion for me to mix myself up in the affair ;
and, indeed, it never entered my head to do so. Yet, Clancy
and I were great friends, and I should be glad to know what
has become of his girl. I fancy that she is about your age,
and if Moore should take you up north you might make some
inquiries there. The mother's family name was Montarlies,
and I fancy, from what Clancy said, her father's property was
somewhere to the north of Oporto, so I expect that at that
town you would be likely to hear something of them. ' '
"All right, father; if we go there I will be sure to make
some inquiries."
On the fourth day after Terence's arrival the hospital was
broken up, the convalescents marched for Torres Vedras, and
Major O'Connor, with four other officers and forty men, were
put on board a ship to be taken to England.
"Your visit has done your father good, Terence," O'Flaherty
said, as, after seeing the party safely on board ship, he re-
turned to the town whence they were to march with the con-
valescents, sixty in number, among whom were five officers.
" He has brightened up a deal the last four days, and his wound
looks distinctly more healthy. I have a strong hope that all
those splinters have worked out now, and your being here has
106 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
given him a fillip, so that he is altogether better and more
cheerful. I hope by the spring he will be able to rejoin us. I
can tell you I am mighty glad to be off again myself. It has
been pretty hard work here, for I have had, for the last fort-
night, a hundred and twenty men on my hands. At first
there were three of us here, but two went off with the last
batch of convalescents, and I have been alone since. Luckily
Major Peters has been well enough to look after things in
general, and help the commissariat man ; still, with forty bad
cases, I have not had much time on my hands. Of course I
knew him and all the other officers, but they all belonged to
other regiments, and it was not like being among the Mayos.
And when do you think we will be starting again ? "
" I have no idea. I have heard that Moore is doing every-
thing he can to hurry on things, but that he is awfully
hampered for want of money. It is scandalous. Here are our
agents supplied with immense sums for the use of these black-
guard Spaniards, yet they keep their own army without
funds."
" If the general has no funds, Terence, he had better be
stopping where he is. There is no getting anything in Portugal
without paying ten times the proper price for it, and from
what I hear of the Spaniards they will charge twenty times,
put the money in their pockets, and then not even give you
what you paid for. As to their being any good to us as allies,
it is not to be hoped for; they will take our arms and our
money, expect us to feed their troops, and will then run away
at the sight of a French soldier; you will see if they don't."
" I hear that the Junta of Corunna says that all the north
will rise as soon as we enter their country."
" They may rise and flock round us until they have got
arms and money, and then they will go off to their homes
again. That is the sort of assistance that is to be had from
A PAUSE 107
them. We should do a deal better if there was not a Spaniard
in the country, and it was left to us to fight it out with the
French."
" In that case, O' Flaherty, we should never cross the frontier
at all. They say that Napoleon is gathering a great army, and
against such a force, with the French troops already in Spain,
our twenty or twenty -five thousand men would fare very
badly, especially as they say that the emperor is coming him-
self."
" That is worse news than the other, Terence. It is only
because the French generals have always been quarrelling
among themselves that the whole Peninsula has not been con-
quered ; but with Napoleon at the head of affairs it would be
a different matter altogether, and my humble opinion is that
we had better stay where we are until he has wiped out the
Spaniards altogether. ' '
Terence laughed.
" You don't take a sanguine view of things."
" You have been with the regiment, Terence, and have had
very little to do with the natives. I have not seen very much
of them either, thank goodness ; but I have seen quite enough
to know that though perhaps the peasants would make good
soldiers, if officered by Englishmen, there is mighty little feel-
ing of patriotism among the classes above them. Reading
and writing may be good for some countries, but as far as
I see here, reading and writing spoil them here, for every man
one comes across who can sign his name is intent either on
filling his pocket, or on working some scheme or other for his
own advantage. If I were Sir John Moore I would send up a
division to Oporto, hang the bishop and every member of the
Junta, shoot Friere and a dozen of his principal officers, and if
the people of Oporto gave them the chance clear the streets
with grape-shot. Why, if it hadn't been for a small guard of
108 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
our fellows with the French garrisons that were marched down
there to embark, the Portuguese would have murdered every
man-jack of them.
" They did murder a good many, and robbed them all of
their baggage ; and if it had not been that our men loaded and
would have fired on them if they had gone further, not a
Frenchman would have got off alive. If this had been done in
Lisbon, where the French had been masters, there might have
been some sort of excuse for it ; but they had never been near
Oporto at all, and therefore the people there had no scores to
settle with them."
"I am afraid, O' Flaherty, that an army worked on your
principles would never get far from the coast, for we should
have the whole country against us."
" So much the better if we never got far from the coast.
How much help have we had from them ? There is not a single
horse or waggon for transport except those we have hired at
exorbitant prices ; not a single ounce of food. They would not
even divide with us the magazines at Leirya, which they had
no share in capturing. The rabble they call an army has
never fired a shot or marched a yard with us, except Trant's
small command, and they were kept so far out of it in both
fights, that I doubt whether they fired a shot ; and yet they
take upon themselves to throw every obstacle in our way, to
dictate to our generals, and to upset every plan as soon as it is
formed.
1 ' Well, I shall be glad to be back with the regiment again,
Terence. There is some fun going on there anyhow, and I
have not had a hearty laugh since O'Grady went off ten days
ago."
" We were all heartily glad to see him back again," Terence
said. " He does not seem a bit the worse for having lost his
hand,"
A PAUSE 109
" No, he has got through it a deal better than I had expected,
considering that he is not what might be called a very temper-
ate man."
" Not by any means. It is not very often that he takes
more liquor than he can carry, but he generally goes very
close to the mark."
"I kept him very short here," O'Flaherty laughed, " and
told him that if he did not obey orders I would have him in-
valided home ; I have got him to promise that he will draw
in a bit in future, and have good hopes of his keeping it, see-
ing that when the army starts again you won't get much chance
of indulging."
" It will be a good thing for others as well as O'Grady,"
Terence said, quietly. " I suppose in Ireland the whisky does
not do much harm, seeing that it is a wet country; but here
I notice that they cannot drink half as much as they were ac-
customed to without feeling it."
" That is true for you, Terence. Haifa bottle here goes as
far as a bottle in the old country ; and I find with the wound-
ed, spirits have a very bad effect, even in very small quantities.
There is one thing, when the troops are on the march they not
only get small chance of getting drink, but mighty little time
to think of it. When you have been doing your twenty miles a
day, with halts and stoppages on these beastly roads and defiles,
and are on your feet from daylight until late in the evening,
and then, perhaps, a turn, at the outposts, a man hasn't got
much time for divarshun ; and even if there is liquor to be
had, he is glad enough when he has had a glass or so to wrap
himself in his cloak and lie down to sleep. I have nearly
sworn off myself, for I found that my head troubled me in the
morning after a glass or two, more than it did after an all-
night's sitting at Athlone. Ah, Terence, it is lucky for you
that you have no fancy for it J "
110 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
"I hope I never shall have, O' Flaherty. If one has got
thoroughly wet through in a long day's fishing, it may be that
a glass of punch may keep away a cold, though even that I
doubt. But I am sure that I am better without it at any
other time ; and I hope some day the fashion will change, and
instead of it being considered almost as a matter of course
after a dinner that half the men should be under the table, it
will then be looked upon as disgraceful for a man to get
drunk, as it is now for a woman to do so."
O' Flaherty looked at his companion with amused surprise.
"Faith, Terence, that would be a change indeed, and you
might as well say that you hope the time will come when you
can whip off a fellow's leg without his feeling pain."
" Perhaps that may come too," Terence laughed ; " there
is no saying."
The next morning the detachment started at daybreak and
marched to Torres Vedras, where they heard that a general
movement was expected to begin. The regiment had now a
comfortable mess, and the situation was freely discussed as
scraps of news arrived from Lisbon. Could the English
ministry have heard the comments on their imbecility passed
by the officers of the British army, even they might have
doubted the perfect wisdom of their plan. On the 6th of
October, Moore had received a despatch stating that 30,000
infantry and 5,000 cavalry were to be employed in the north
of Spain. Ten thousand of these were to be sent out direct
from England, the remainder were to be composed of regi-
ments from the army in Portugal. Moore had the choice of
taking the troops round in ships or of marching them direct.
He decided upon the latter course, for arrangements had been
made by Sir Hew Dalrymple to enter Spain by Almeida, and,
moreover, he thought that the resources of the sea-coast of
Galicia would not be more than sufficient to supply transport
A PAUSE 111
and food for the 10,000 men who were to land there under
the command of Sir David Baird.
The English general's difficulties were indeed overwhelm-
ing. He had soldiers who, although but recently raised, had
shown themselves good fighters ; but he was altogether without
even transport sufficient for the officers. With an ample
supply of money, an experienced staff, and a well -organized
commissariat, the difficulties might have been overcome, but
Sir John Moore was practically without money. His staff
had no experience whatever, and the commissariat and trans-
port officers were alike ignorant of the work they were called
upon to perform. He was unacquainted with the views of
the Spanish government, and uninformed as to the numbers,
composition, and situation of the Spanish armies with whom
he was to act, or with those of the enemy. He had a winter
march of 300 miles before he could join Sir David Baird, who
would have 200 miles to march from Corunna to join him,
and there was then a distance of another 300 miles to be
traversed before he reached the Ebro, which was designated
as the centre of his operations.
And all this had to be done while a great French army was
already pouring in through the passes of the Pyrenees. No
more tremendous, or, it may be said, impossible, task was ever
assigned to an English commander ; and to add to the absurd-
ity of their scheme, the British government sent off Sir David
Baird without instructions, and even without money. The
Duke of York had vainly protested against the plan of the
ministry, and had pointed out that nothing short of an army
of 60,000 men, fully equipped with all necessaries for war
money, transport, and artillery could achieve success of any
kind.
Upon the day Terence rejoined, news came from the engi-
neers in advance that the assurances ir John Moore had
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
received that the road by which the army was to travel was
perfectly practicable for artillery and baggage-waggons, were
wholly false, and it was probable that the artillery and cavalry
would have to make a long circuit to the south.
It was too late now to change the route for the rest of the
army. Nearly half the force had already started on the road
to Almeida, and the supplies for their subsistence had been
collected at that town. Therefore it was necessary that the
main body of the infantry should travel by that road, while
three thousand were to act as a guard for the artillery and
cavalry on the other route.
CHAPTER VII
THE ADVANCE
" TT is enough to drive Sir John out of his senses," the
1 colonel said, as the news was discussed after mess.
" These people must be the champion liars of the world. Not
content with doing nothing themselves, they seem to delight in
inventing lies to prevent our doing anything for them. Who
ever heard of an army marching, without artillery and cav-
alry, one way, while these arms travelled by a different road
entirely, and that not for a march of twenty miles, but for
a march of three hundred ? One battery is to go with u.s.
But what will be the use of six guns against an enemy with
sixty ? Every day the baggage is being cut down owing to
these blackguard Portuguese breaking their engagements to
furnish waggons, and we shall have to march pretty nearly as
we stand, and to take with us nothing beyond one change of
clothes."
Loud exclamations of discontent ran round the table. It
THE ADVANCE 113
was bad enough that in the midst of a campaign waggons
should break down and baggage be left behind, but that troops
should start upon a campaign with scarcely the necessaries of
life had caused general anger in the army ; and no order would
have been more willingly obeyed than one to march upon
Lisbon, shoot every public official, establish a state of siege,
and rule by martial law, seizing for the use of the army every
draught animal, waggon, and carriage that could be found in
the city, or swept in from the country round. The colonel
had not exaggerated matters. The number of tents to be
taken were altogether insufficient for the regiment, even with
the utmost crowding possible. The officers' baggage had been
cut down to twenty pounds a head an amount scarcely suffi-
cient for a single change of clothes and boots. Even the
amount of ammunition to be taken would be insufficient to refill
the soldiers' pouches after the supply they carried was exhausted.
The paucity of baggage would not have mattered so much
had the march begun at the commencement of summer, instead
of just as winter was setting in. In the former case, men
could have slept in the open air, and a solitary blanket and
one change of clothes would have sufficed ; but with the wet
season at hand, to be followed by winter cold, the grievance
was a very serious one. Terence had already learned that the
brigade was to march in two days, and that the great bulk of
the baggage was to be stored at Torres Vedras, which was to
be occupied on their leaving by some of the troops that would
remain in Portugal.
"Faith, it is an evil look-out, Terence," O'Grady, who was
sitting next to him, said, pathetically. " Sorra a drop of
whisky is there in the camp, and now we sha'n't be able to
have even a drink of their bastely spirits, onless we can buy it
at the towns ; and as Anstruther's division has gone on ahead
of us, it is likely that every drop has been drunk up."
3
114 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" It will be all the better for you, O'Grady. Daly tells me
that your arm is not fully healed yet. I know that you would
not like to be left behind when we have once started."
"That is true enough, but a drop of the cratur hurts no
one."
" I beg your pardon, O'Grady, it is very bad for anything
like a wound. The doctor told me, when I was chatting with
him before dinner, that he really did not think that you could
go, for you would not obey his orders to give up spirits alto-
gether."
" Well, I own that it has been smarting a good deal the last
few days," O'Grady admitted, reluctantly, "though I have
not said as much to the doctor. I don't know that you are
not about right, Terence ; but faith, after being kept upon
bastely slops by O' Flaherty, it was not in human nature to
drink nothing but water when one gets a chance. At any
rate, I am not likely to find any great temptation after we
have started."
" Well, you had better begin to-night, O'Grady. I am
going to get away as soon as I can, and if you will take my
advice you will come too."
"What ! and us to march in two dajs? It is not to be
thought of. You mane well, Terence, but a lad like you must
not take to lecturing your supayrior officer. Shure, and don't
I know what to do for meself better than any other ? "
Terence saw that it was useless to endeavour to persuade
him to move, and presently went round to Dr. Daly and said,
quietly :
" Doctor, O'Grady tells me that his arm has been hurting
him a good deal more during the last two days. I expect they
will make a night of it this evening, and again to-morrow,
and if he once begins, nothing will stop him until they break
up. Could not you do anything ? ' '
THE ADVANCE 115
" I will talk to him like a father, Terence. You are a good
boy to have told me ; I might have gone away without think-
ing of it."
" Don't mention my name, Doctor."
The doctor nodded, and Terence went away and took a
vacant seat at some distance from him. Presently the doctor
got up and went round to O'Grady. The supply of claret had
just been finished, and bottles of spirits had been placed upon
the table. O'Grady stretched out his hand to one near him,
but the doctor quietly removed it.
" Not for you, O'Grady," he said; " you have had more
than sufficient wine already. I have been doubting whether
you are fit to go on with the regiment ; and, by the powers, if
you touch spirits to-night or to-morrow, I will put your name
down in the list of those who are to be left behind as unfit for
service ! "
" Sure you are joking, Doctor? "
" Never was more earnest in my life, O'Grady. You don't
want to be left behind, I suppose, in some filthy Portuguese
town, while we march on, and that is what it will come to if
your wound inflames. I told you this morning that it was not
doing as well as it ought to, and that you must cut off liquor
altogether. I have had my eye upon you, and you have taken
down more than a bottle of wine already. I don't think I
ought to let you go with us, even as it is ; but, by the piper
that played before Moses, if you don't go off to your quarters,
without touching a drop more, I will have you left behind ! "
" You are mighty hard on a poor fellow, and must have a
heart of stone to treat a man, who has lost his arm and wants
a bit of comfort, in such fashion. Faith, I would not do it
to a dog."
"There would be no occasion, O'Grady; a dog has got
sense."
116 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
"And I haven't? Thank ye for the compliment. I will
appeal to the colonel. Colonel, the doctor says if I drink a
drop of spirits to-night or to-morrow he will put me down in
the black list. Now, I ask you, do the regulations justify his
using such a threat as that ? ' '
"I think they do," the colonel said, with a laugh. "<I
think that his order is good and sensible, and I endorse it.
You know yourself that spirits are bad for you, with an arm
only just healed up. Now, behave like a raisonable fellow,
and go off to your quarters. You know well enough that if
you stop here you won't be able to keep from it."
" Faith, if the two of you are against me I have nothing
more to say. It is mighty hard that after having lost an arm
in the service of my country I should be treated like a child
and sent off to bed."
" I am going, too, O'Grady," Terence, who had gone back
to his original place, now said. " There is no occasion to go
to bed. I have a box of good cigars in my tent, and we can
sit there and chat as long as you like."
But O'Grady's dignity was ruffled.
" Thank you, Mr. O'Connor," he said, stiffly; "but with
your lave I will do as I said."
"That is the best thing," the doctor said. "You have
not had a long night's rest since you rejoined. I am going
myself, and I see that some of the others are getting up, too,
and it would be a good thing if all would do so, for, with such
work as we have got before us, the more sleep we get, while we
can, the better."
As nearly half the officers now rose from their seats, O'Grady
was mollified, and as we went out he said :
" I think, after all, Terence, I will try one of those cigars
of yours. ' '
On the 1 4th of October Fane's brigade left Torres Vedras.
* I AM TOLD THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, GENERAL."
THE ADVANCE lit
A number of the troops had been stationed along the line of
route to be followed, and these had started simultaneously
with the departure of Fane's brigade from Torres Vedras. The
discontent as to the reduction of baggage ceased as soon as the
troops were in motion. They were going to invade Spain, and
ignorant as the soldiers were of the real state of affairs, none
doubted but that success would attend them there. Among
the officers better acquainted with the state of things there was
no such feeling of confidence, but they hoped that they should
at least give as good an account of themselves as before, against
any French force of anything like equal strength they might
encounter. O'Grady, influenced by the doctor's threats, which
he knew the latter would be firm enough to carry out, had
obeyed his orders, and had confided to Terence, when the
regiment formed up at daybreak for the march, that his arm
felt much better.
" I don't say that the doctor may not have been right,
Terence, but he need not have threatened me in that way, at
all, at all."
" I don't know," Terence replied. " I feel pretty sure that
if he hadn't, you would not have knocked off spirits. Well,
it is a glorious morning for starting, but I am afraid the fine
weather won't last long. Everyone says that the rains gen-
erally begin about this time."
As Terence fell in with his company the adjutant rode up.
" Mr. O'Connor, you are to report yourself to the briga-
dier."
Wondering much at the message, Terence hurried to the
house occupied by General Fane. He and several officers
were standing in front of it.
" I am told that you wish to speak to me, General," he said,
saluting.
" Oh, you are Mr. O'Connor 1 Can you ride? "
118 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" Yes, sir," Terence replied ; for he had often had a scam-
per across the hills around Athlone on half-broken ponies, and
occasionally on the horses of some of his friends in the regi-
ment.
" I have a vacancy on my staff. Lieutenant Andrews was
thrown when riding out from Lisbon with a despatch last night,
and broke a leg. I was on board the flag-ship when your
colonel brought his report about the fight between the trans-
port and the two privateers. I read it, and was so much
struck with the quickness and intelligence you displayed, that
I made a note at the time that if I should have a vacancy on
my staff I would appoint you. ' '
"I am very much obliged, General," Terence said, " but
I have no horse."
" I have arranged that. Lieutenant Andrews will not be
fit for service for a long time. It is a compound fracture, and
he will, the doctor says, probably be sent back to England by
the first ship that arrives after he reaches Lisbon. His horse
is therefore useless to him, and as it is only a native animal
and would not fetch a ten -pound note, he agreed at once to
hand it over to his successor, and in fact was rather glad to
get it off his hands. He has an English saddle, bridle, and
holsters; he will take five pounds for them. If you happen to
be short of cash the paymaster will settle it for you."
"Thank you, sir; I have the money about me, and I am
very much obliged to you for making the arrangement."
Terence was indeed in funds, for in addition to the ten
pounds that had fallen to him as his share of the prize money,
his pay had been almost untouched from the day he left Eng-
land, and his father had, on embarking, added ten pounds to
his store.
" I won't want it, Terence," he said ; " I have got another
twenty pounds by me, and by the time I get to England I
THE ADVANCE 119
shall have another month's pay to draw, and shall no doubt be
put in a military hospital, where I shall have no occasion for
money till I am out again."
" But I sha'n't want it either, father."
" There is never any saying, lad ; it is always useful to have
money on a campaign. You may be in places where the com-
missariat breaks down altogether, and you have to depend on
what you buy ; you may be left behind wounded, or may be
taken prisoner, one never can tell. I shall feel more com-
fortable about you if I know that you are well provided with
cash, whatever may happen. My advice is, Terence, get fif-
teen or twenty pounds in gold sewn up in your boot ; have an
extra sole put on, and the money sewn inside. If it is your
bad luck to be taken prisoner, you will find the money mighty
useful in a great many ways."
Terence had followed this advice and had fifteen pounds
hidden away, besides ten that he carried in his pockets ; he
therefore hurried to the hut where Lieutenant Andrews was
lying. He was slightly acquainted with him, as he had been
Fane's aide-de-camp from the time of landing. The young
lieutenant's servant was standing at the door with a horse
ready saddled and bridled.
' ' I am very sorry to hear of your injury, ' ' he said to the
young officer.
" Yes, it is a horrible nuisance," the other replied ; " and
just as we were starting, too. There is an end of my cam-
paigning for the present. I should not have minded if it had
been a French" ball, but to be merely thrown from a horse is
disgusting."
" I am extremely obliged to you for the horse, Andrews,
but I would rather pay you for it ; it is not fair that I should
get it for nothing."
" Oh, that is all right ! It would be a bother taking it
120 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
down, and I should not know what to do with it when I got
to Lisbon ; it would be a nuisance altogether, and I am glad
to get rid of it. The money is of no consequence to me one
way or the other. I wish you better luck with it than I have
had."
"At any rate here are five pounds for the saddle and
bridle," and he put the money down on the table by the bed.
" That is all right," the other said, without looking at it;
" they are well off my hands, too. I hope the authorities will
send me straight on board ship when I get to Lisbon ; my ser-
vant will go down with me. If I am kept there, he will of
course stay with me until I sail ; if not, he will rejoin as soon
as he has seen me on board. He is a good servant, and I can
recommend him to you ; he is rather fond of the bottle, but
that is his only fault as far as I know. He is a countryman of
yours, and you will be able to make allowances for his fail-
ing," he added, with a laugh.
There was no time to be lost the bugles were sounding
so, with a brief adieu, Terence went out, mounted the horse
and rode after the general, who had just left with his staff,
and taken his place at the head of the column. As he passed
his regiment, he stopped for a moment to speak to the
colonel.
" I heard that you were wanted by the general, Terence,"
the latter said, " and I congratulate you on your appointment.
I am sorry that you are leaving us, but, as you will be with
the brigade, we shall often see you. O'Driscol is as savage as
a bull at the loss of one of his subalterns. Well, it is your
own luck that you have and another's ; drop in this even-
ing, if you can, and tell us how it was that Fane came to pick
you out."
"It was thanks to you, Colonel. If you remember, you
told us at Vigo that Fane was on board when you went to
THE ADVANCE 121
make your report, and that he and Sir Arthur's adjutant-gen-
eral read it over together, and asked you a good many ques-
tions. It was owing to that affair that he thought of me."
" That is good, lad. I thought at the time that more might
come of it than just being mentioned in orders, and I am very
glad that it was for that you got it. At any rate, come in
this evening; I want to hear where you have stolen that horse
from, and all about it."
Terence rode off and took his place with his fellow aide-
de-camp behind the two other officers of the staff. He scarcely
knew whether to be glad or sorry, at present, at the change
that had so suddenly taken place. It was gratifying to have
been selected as he had been. It was certainly more pleasant
to ride through a campaign than to march ; and there would
be a good many more chances of distinguishing himself than
there could be as a regimental officer ; while, on the other
hand, he would be away from the circle of his friends and com-
rades, and should greatly miss the fun and jollity of the life
with them.
"An unfortunate affair this of Andrews," Lieutenant Tre-
vor, his fellow aide-de-camp, said.
" Most unfortunate. I little thought when you and he
lunched with us two days since that to-day he would be down
with a broken leg and I riding in his place. Just at present
I certainly do not feel very delighted at the change. You see,
from my father being a captain in the regiment, I have been
brought up with it, and to be taken so suddenly away from
them seems a tremendous wrench. ' '
" Yes, I can understand that," the other said. " In my case
it is different. My regiment was not coming out, and of course
I was greatly pleased when the general gave me a chance of
going with him. Still, you see, as your regiment is in the
brigade you will still be able to be with it when off duty,
122 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
and when the end of the campaign comes you will return to
it. Besides, there are compensations you will at least get a
roof to sleep under, at any rate nine times out of ten. I don't
know how you feel it, but to me it is no small comfort being
on horseback instead of tramping along these heavy roads on
foot. The brigadier is a capital fellow ; and though he does
keep us hard at work, at any rate he works hard himself, and
does not send us galloping about with all sorts of trivial mes-
sages that might as well be unsent. Besides, he is always
thoughtful and considerate. Is he related to you in any way ? ' '
"Not at all."
"Then I suppose you had good interest in some way, or
else how did he come to pick you out ? ' '
" It was just a piece of luck," Terence said ; "it was be-
cause he had heard my name in connection with a fight the
transport I came over in had with two French privateers."
"Oh, yes, I remember now," the other said; " I had for-
gotten that the name was O'Connor. I remember all about
it now. He told us the story at Vigo, and you were put in
general orders by Sir Arthur. I know the chief spoke very
highly about your conduct in that affair. It is just like him
to remember it, and to pick you out to take Andrews' place.
Well, you fairly won it, which is more than one can say for
most staff appointments, which are in ninety-nine cases out of
a hundred the result of pure favouritism or interest.
"Well, O'Connor, I am very glad to have you on the
staff. You see, it makes a lot of difference, when there are
only two of us, that we should like each other. I own I
have not done anything as yet to get any credit, for at Vimi-
era it was just stand up and beat them back, and I had not a
single message to carry, and, of course, at Rolica our brigade
was not in it ; but I hope I shall get a turn some day.
Then it was your father who was badly wounded ? "
THE ADVANCE 123
" Yes ; I saw him off to England four days ago. I hope
that he will be able to rejoin before long, but it is not certain
yet that the wound won't bring on permanent lameness. I
am very anxious about it, especially as he has now got his
step, and it would be awfully hard on him to leave the service
just as he has got field-officer's rank."
" Yes, it would be hard. However, I hope that the sea-
voyage and English air will set him up again."
Presently one of the officers who were in front turned and
said : " The general wishes you to ride back along the line,
Mr. Trevor, and report whether the intervals between the
regiments are properly kept, and also as to how the baggage-
waggons are going on."
As Trevor turned to ride back the general cantered on,
followed by the three officers and the four troopers who
served as orderlies. Two miles ahead they came to a bridge
across a torrent. The road, always a bad one, had been com-
pletely cut up by the passage of the provision and ammuni-
tion carts going to the front, and was now almost impass-
able.
"Will you please to ride back, Mr. O'Connor, and re-
quest the colonel of the leading regiment to send on the pio-
neers and a company of men at the double to clear the road
and make it passable for the waggons. ' '
The work was quickly done. While some men filled up
the deep ruts, others cut down shrubs and bushes growing by
the river bank, tied them into bundles, and put them across
the narrow road, and threw earth and stones upon them, and
in half an hour from the order being given the bugle sounded
the advance. The head of the column had been halted just
before it reached the bridge, and the men fell out, many of
them running down to the stream to refill their water-bottles.
As the bugle sounded they at once fell in again, and the col-
124 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
limn got into motion. General Fane and his staff remained
at the bridge until the waggons had all crossed it.
" It is not much of a job," Fane said. "Of course the
four regiments passing over it flattened the earth well down,
but the waggons have cut it all up again. The first heavy
shower will wash all the earth away, and in a couple of days
it will be as bad as before. There are plenty of stones down
in the river, but we have no means of breaking up the large
ones, or of carrying any quantity of small ones. A few hun-
dred sappers and engineers, with proper tools, would soon go
a long way towards making the road fairly fit for traffic, but
nothing can be done without tools and wheel-barrows, or at
least hand-barrows for carrying stones. You see, the men
wanted to use their blankets, but the poor fellows will want
them badly enough before long, and those contractors' goods
would go all to pieces by the time they had carried half
a dozen loads of stones. At any rate, we will content our-
selves with making the road passable for our own waggons,
and the troops who come after us must do the same. By the
way, Mr. O'Connor, you have not got your kit yet."
" No, sir ; but I have no doubt that it is with the regi-
mental baggage, and I will get it when we halt to-night."
' ' Do so, " the general said. ' ' Of course it can be carried with
ours, but I should advise you always to take a change of clothes
in your valise, and a blanket strapped on with your greatcoat. ' '
" I have Mr. Andrews' blanket, sir. It was strapped on
when I mounted, and I did not notice it."
" That is all right. The store blankets are very little use
for keeping off rain, but we all provided ourselves with good
thick horse-cloths before leaving England. They are a great
deal warmer than blankets, and are practically water-proof.
I have no doubt that Mr. Andrews told his servant to strap it
on as usual. ' '
THE ADVANCE 125
Many and many a time during the campaign had Terence
good reason for thinking with gratitude of Andrews' kindly
thought. His greatcoat, which like those of all the officers of
the regiment, had been made at Athlone, of good Irish frieze
lined with flannel, would stand almost any amount of rain,
but it was not long enough to protect his legs while lying
down. But by rolling himself in the horse-cloth he was able
to sleep warm and dry, when without it he would have been
half- frozen, or soaked through with rain from above and
moisture from the ground below. He found that the briga-
dier and his staff carried the same amount of baggage as other
officers, the only difference being that the general had a tent
for himself, his assistant-adjutant and quartermaster one be-
tween them, while a third was used as an office-tent in the
day, and was occupied by the two aides-de-camp at night.
The baggage-waggon allotted to them carried the three
tents, their scanty kits, and a box of stationery and official
forms, but was mainly laden with musketry ammunition for
the use of the brigade. After marching eighteen miles the
column halted at a small village. The tents were speedily
pitched, rations served out, and fires lighted. The general
took possession of the principal house in the village for the
use of himself and his staff, and the quartermaster-general ap-
portioned the rest of the houses between the officers of the
four battalions. The two aides-de-camp accompanied the
general in his tour of inspection through the camp.
" It will be an hour before dinner is ready," Trevor said,
as they returned to the house, " and you won't be wanted be-
fore that. I shall be about if the chief has any orders to
send out. I don't think it is likely that he will have; he is
not given, as some brigadiers are, to worrying; and, besides,
there are the orderlies here to take any routine orders out, so
you can be off if you like. ' '
126 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
Terence at once went down to the camp of the Mayo Fusi-
liers. The officers were all there, their quartermaster having
gone into the village to fix their respective quarters.
"Hooray, Terence, me boy! " O'Grady shouted, as he
came up, " we all congratulate you. Faith, it is a comfort to
see that for once merit has been recognized. I am sure that
there is not a man in the regiment but would have liked to
have given you a cheer as you rode along this morning just
before we started. We shall miss you, but as you will be up
and down all day and can look in of an evening, it won't be
as if you had been put on the staff of another brigade. As to
Dicky Ryan, he is altogether down in the mouth, whether it
is regret for your loss or whether it is from jealousy at seeing
you capering about on horseback, while he is tramping along
on foot, is more than I know."
" If you were not my superior officer, Captain O'Grady, I
should make a personal onslaught on you," Ryan laughed.
" You will have to mind how you behave now, Terence; the
brigadier is an awfully good fellow, but he is pretty strict in
matters of discipline."
" I will take care of meself, Dicky, and now that you will
have nobody to help you out of your scrapes, you will have to
mind yourself too."
" I am glad that you have got a lift, Terence," Captain
O'Driscol said ; "but it is rather hard on me losing a sub-
altern just as the campaign is beginning in earnest."
" Menzies likes doing all the work," Terence said, "so it
won't make so much difference to you."
" It would not matter if I was always with my company,
Terence, but now, you see, that I am acting as field-officer to
the left wing till your father rejoins, it makes it awkward."
" I intend to attach Parsons to your company, O'Driscol,"
the colonel said. " Terence went off so suddenly this morn-
THE ADVANCE 127
ing that I had no time to think of it before we marched, but
he shall march with your company to-morrow. You will not
mind, I hope, Captain Holland?"
"I shall mind, of course, Colonel; but, as O'Driscol's
company has now really only one officer, of course it cannot
be helped, and as Menzies is the senior lieutenant, I have no
doubt that he can manage very well with Parsons, who is very
well up in his work."
" Thank you, Captain Holland ; it is the first compliment
that you ever paid me ; it is abuse that I am most accustomed
to."
" It is thanks to that that you are a decent officer, Parsons,"
Captain Holland laughed. " You were the awkwardest young
beggar I ever saw when you first joined, and you have given
me no end of trouble in licking you into shape. How do you
think you will like your work, Terence? "
" I think I shall like it very much," the lad replied. " The
other aide-de-camp, Trevor, is a very nice fellow, and every
one likes Fane ; as to Major Dowdeswell and Major Erring-
ton, I haven't exchanged a word with either of them, and
you know as much about them as I do."
" Errington is a very good fellow, but the other man is
very unpopular. He is always talking about the regulations,
as if anyone cared a hang about the regulations when one is
on service."
" I expect that if Fane were not such a good fellow Dow-
deswell would make himself a baste of a nuisance, and be
bothering us about pipe-clay and buttons, and all sorts of rig-
marole," O'Grady said; " as if a man would fight any the
better for having his belt white as snow ! ' '
" He would not fight any the better, O'Grady, but the
regiment would do so," the colonel put in. " All these little
matters are nothing in themselves, but still they have a good
128 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
deal to do with the discipline of the regiment ; there is no
doubt that we are not as smart in appearance as we ought to
be, and that the other regiments in the brigade show up bet-
ter than we do. It is a matter that must be seen to. I shall
inspect the regiment very carefully before we march to-mor-
row."
There was a little silence among the group, but a smile stole
over several of the faces. As a rule, the colonel was very lax
in small matters of this kind, but occasionally he thought it
necessary to put on an air of severity, and to insist upon the
most rigid accuracy in this respect ; but the fit seldom lasted
beyond twenty-four hours, after which things went on pleas-
antly again. Some of the officers presently sauntered off to
warn the colour-sergeants that the colonel himself intended to
inspect the regiment closely before marching the next morn-
ing, and that the men must be warned to have their uniforms,
belts, and firearms in perfect order.
Terence remained for some little time longer chatting, and
then got possession of his kit, which was carried by Tim
Hoolan across to his quarters.
" We are all sorry you've left us, yer honour," that worthy
said, as he walked a short distance behind Terence; "the
rigiment won't be like itself widout you. Not that it has
been quite the same since you joined us reg'lar, and have
taken to behaving yourself."
" What do you mean, you impudent rascal ? " Terence said,
with a pretence at indignation.
" No offence, yer honour, but faith the games that you and
Mr. Ryan and some of the others used to play, kept the boys
alive, and gave mighty contintment to the regiment."
" I was only a lad then, Hoolan."
" That was so, yer honour, and now you are a man and an
officer, it is natural it should be different. ' '
THE ADVANCE 129
" Tim Hoolan, you are a humbug," Terence said, laugh-
ing.
" Sorra a bit of one, yer honour. I am not saying that you
won't grow a bit more ; everyone says what a fine man you
will make. But sure ye saved our wing from being captured,
and you would not have us admit that, if it had not been for
a boy, a wing of the Mayo Fusiliers would have been captured
by the French. No, your honour, when we tell that story
we spake of one of our officers who had the idea that saved
the Sea-horse, and brought thim two privateer vessels into
Vigo."
" Well, Tim, it is only three months since I joined, and I
don't suppose I have changed much in that time \ but of
course I cannot play tricks now as I used to do, before I got
my commission."
" That is so, yer honour ; the rigiment misses your tricks,
though they did bother us a bit. Three times were we turned
out at night, under arms, when we were at Athlone, once on
a wet night too, and stood there for two hours till the colonel
found out it was a false alarm, and there was me and Mr.
Ryan, and two or three others as was in the secret, nigh chok-
ing ourselves with laughter, to hear the men cursing and swear-
ing at being called out of bed. That was a foine time, yer
honour. ' '
" Attention, Tim ! " Terence said, sharply.
They had now entered the village, and the burst of laughter
in which Hoolan indulged at the thought of the regiment be-
ing turned out on a false alarm was unseemly, as he was ac-
companying an officer. So Tim straightened himself up, and
then followed in Terence's footsteps with military precision
and stiffness.
" There is a time for all things, Tim," the latter said, as he
took the little portmanteau from him. " It won't do to be
9
130 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
laughing like that in sight of head-quarters. I can't ask you
to have a drink now ; there is no drink to be had, but the
first time we get a chance I will make it up to you."
" All right, yer honour ! I was wrong entirely, but I could
not have helped it if the commander-in-chief had been stand-
ing there.
Terence went up to the attic that he and Trevor shared.
There was no changing for dinner, but after a wash he went
below again.
" You are just in time," Trevor said, " and we are in luck.
The head man of the village sent the general a couple of ducks,
and they will help out our rations. I have been foraging, and
have got hold of half a dozen bottles of good wine from the
priest.
" We always try to get the best of things in the village, if
they will but part with them. That is an essential part of our
duties. To-morrow it will be your turn."
"But our servants always did that sort of thing," Terence
said, in some surprise.
" I dare say, O'Connor, but it would not do for the gen-
eral's servant to be going about picking up things. No mat-
ter what he paid, we should have tales going about in no time
of the shameful extortion practised by our servants, who un-
der threats compelled the peasantry to sell provisions for the
use of their masters at nominal prices."
"I did not think of that," Terence laughed. " Yes, as the
Portuguese have circulated scores of calumnious lies on less
foundation, one cannot be too particular. I will see what I
can do to-morrow."
A FALSE ALARM 131
CHAPTER VIII
A FALSE ALARM
THE march was continued until the brigade arrived at
Almeida, which they reached on the yth of November,
and Sir John Moore and the head-quarters staff came up on
the following day. All the troops were now assembled at that
place ; for Anstruther, by some misconception of orders, had
halted the leading division, instead of, as intended by the gen-
eral, continuing his march to Salamanca. The condition of
the troops was excellent. Discipline, which had been some-
what relaxed during the period of inactivity, was now
thoroughly restored. The weather had continued fine, and
the steady exercise had well prepared them for the campaign
which was beginning. Things, however, were in other re-
spects going on unfavourably.
The Junta of Corunna had given the most solemn promises
that transport and everything necessary for the advance of
Sir David Baird's force should be ready by the time that officer
arrived. Yet nothing whatever had been done, and so con-
scious were the Junta of their shortcomings, that when the fleet
with the troops arrived off the port they refused to allow them
to enter without an order from the central Junta, and fifteen
days were wasted before the troops could disembark. Then it
was found that neither provisions nor transport had been pro-
vided, and that nothing whatever was to be hoped for from the
Spanish authorities. Baird was entirely unprovided with money,
and was supplied with ^"8,000 from Moore's scanty military
chest, while at the very time the British agent, Mr. Frere, was
in Corunna with two millions of dollars for the use of the
Spaniards, which he was squandering, like the other British
132 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
agents, right and left among the men who refused to put them-
selves to the slightest trouble to further the expedition.
Spain was at this time boasting of the enthusiasm of its
armies, and of the immense force that it had in the field, and
succeeded in persuading the English cabinet and the English
people that with the help of a little money they could alone
and unaided drive the French right across the frontier. The
emptiness of this braggadocio, and the utter incapacity of the
Spanish authorities and generals was now speedily exposed,
for Napoleon's newly arrived armies scattered the Spaniards
before them like sheep, and it was only on one or two occasions
that anything like severe fighting took place. Within the
space of three weeks there remained of the great armies of
Spain but a few thousand fugitives hanging together without
arms or discipline. Madrid, the centre of this pretended en-
thusiasm and patriotism, surrendered after a day's pretence at
resistance, and the whole of the eastern provinces fell, prac-
tically without a blow, into the hands of the invaders.
At present, however, Moore still hoped for some assistance
from the Spaniards. He, like Baird, was crippled for want of
money, but determined not to delay his march, and sent agents
to Madrid and other places to make contracts and raise money;
thus while the ministers at home squandered huge sums on the
Spaniards, they left it to their own military commanders to
raise money by means of loans to enable them to march. Never
in the course of the military history of England were her oper-
ations so crippled and foiled by the utter incapacity of her
government as in the opening campaigns of the Peninsular War.
While Baird was vainly trying to obtain transport at Corunna,
a reinforcement of some five thousand Spanish troops under
General Romana landed at San Andero, and, being equipped
from the British stores, joined the Spanish general, Blake, in
Biscay. These troops had been raised for the French service
A FALSE ALARM 133
at the time Napoleon's brother Joseph was undisputed King of
Spain. They were stationed in Holland, and when the insur-
rection at home broke out, the news of the rising was sent to
them, and in pursuance of a plan agreed upon they suddenly
rose, marched down to a port and embarked in English ships
sent to receive them, and were in these transported to the
northern coast of Spain.
Sir David Baird was a man of great energy, and, having
succeeded in borrowing a little more money from Mr. Frere,
he started on his march to join General Moore. He had with
great difficulty hired some country carts at an exorbitant rate,
but the number was so small that he was obliged to send up
his force in half-battalions, and so was able to proceed but
very slowly.
Sir John Moore was still in utter ignorance of the situation
in Spain. The jealousy among the generals, and the disincli-
nation of the central Junta to appoint any one person to a post
that might enable him to interfere with their intrigues, had
combined to prevent the appointment of a commander-in-chief,
and there was no one therefore with whom Sir John could
open negotiations and learn what plans, if any, had been decid-
ed upon for general operations against the advancing enemy.
On the day that Moore arrived at Almeida Blake was in
full flight, pursued by a French army 50,000 strong, and
Napoleon was at Vittoria with 170,000 troops.
Of these facts he was ignorant, but the letters that he received
from Lord William Bentinck and Colonel Graham, exposing
the folly of the Spanish generals, reached him. On the nth
he crossed the frontier of Spain, marching to Ciudad-Rodrigo.
On that day Blake was finally defeated, and one of the other
armies completely crushed and dispersed. These events left a
large French army free to act against the British. Sir John
Moore, however, did not hear of this until a week later. He
134 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
knew, however, that the situation was serious ; and after all
the reports of Spanish enthusiasm, he was astonished to find
that complete apathy prevailed, that no effort was made to
enroll the population, or even to distribute the vast quantity
of British muskets stored up in the magazines of the cities.
The general arrived at Salamanca with 4,000 British infan-
try. The French cavalry were at Valladolid, but three marches
distant. On the i8th more troops had arrived, and on the 23d
12,000 infantry and six guns were at Salamanca. But Moore
now knew of the defeat of Blake, and that the French army
that had crushed him was free to advance against Salamanca.
But he did not yet know of the utter dispersal of the Asturian
army, or that the two armies of Castanos and Palafox were
also defeated and scattered beyond any attempt at rallying,
and that their conquerors were also free to march against him.
Although ignorant of the force with which Napoleon had
entered Spain, and having no idea of its enormous strength,
he knew that it could not be less than 80,000 men, and that it
could be joined by at least 30,000 more.
His position was indeed a desperate one. Baird was still
twenty marches distant, his cavalry and artillery still far away.
It would require another five days to bring the rear of his
own army to Salamanca, as only a small portion could come
forward each day, owing to want of transport ; and yet, while
in this position of imminent danger, the Spanish authorities,
through Mr. Frere and other agents, were violently urging an
advance to Madrid.
General Moore was indeed in a position of imminent danger;
but the lying reports as to the strength of the Spanish army
induced him for a moment to make preparations for such a
movement. When, however, he learned the utter ^overthrow
and dispersal of the whole of the Spanish armies, he saw that
nothing remained but to fall back, if possible, upon Portugal.
A FALSE ALARM 135
It was necessary, however, that he should remain at Sala-
manca until Hope should arrive with the guns, and the army
be in a position to show a front to the enemy. Instructions had
been previously sent to Hope to march to the Escurial. Hope
had endeavoured to find a road across the mountains of Ciudad-
Rodrigo, but the road was so bad that he dared not venture
upon it, as the number of horses was barely sufficient to drag
the guns and ammunition waggons along a good road. He
therefore kept on his way until he reached the Escurial ; but
after advancing three days farther towards Madrid, he heard of
the utter defeat of the Spaniards and the flight of their armies.
His cavalry outposts brought in word that more than 4,000
cavalry were but twelve miles away, and that other French
troops were at Segovia and other places. The prospect of his
making his way to join Sir John Moore seemed well-nigh hope-
less; but, with admirable skill and resolution, Hope succeeded
in eluding some of his foes, in checking others by destroying
or defending bridges, and finally joined the main force without
the loss of any of the important convoy of guns and ammu-
nition that he was escorting.
The satisfaction of the troops at the arrival of the force that
had been regarded as lost was unbounded. Hitherto, unpro-
vided as they were with artillery and cavalry, they could have
fought only under such disadvantages as would render defeat
almost inevitable, for an enemy could have pounded them with
artillery from a distance beyond their musket range, and they
could have made no effectual reply whatever. His cavalry
could have circled round them, cut their communications, and
charged down on their lines in flank and rear while engaged
with his infantry. Now every man felt that once again he
formed part of an army, and that that army could be relied
upon to beat any other of equal numbers.
Terence had enjoyed the march to Salamanca. The fine
136 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
weather had broken up, and heavy rains had often fallen, but
his thick coat kept him dry except in the steadiest downpours ;
while on one or two occasions only the general and his staff
had failed to find quarters available. As they proceeded they
gradually closed up with the troops forming a part of the same
division, and at Almeida came under the command of General
Fraser, whose division was made complete by their arrival.
Up to this point the young aide-de-camp's duties had been
confined solely to the work of the brigade to seeing that the
regiments kept their proper distances, that none of the wag-
gons loitered behind, and that the roads were repaired, where
absolutely necessary, for the baggage to pass.
In the afternoon he generally rode forward with Major Er-
rington, the quartermaster-general of the brigade, to examine
the place fixed upon for the halt, to apportion the ground
between the regiments, and ascertain the accommodation to be
obtained in the village. Two orderlies accompanied them,
each carrying a bundle of light rods. With these the ground
was marked off, a card with the name of the regiment being
inserted in a slit at the end of the rod ; the village was then
divided in four quarters for the accommodation of the officers.
But beyond fixing the name of each regiment to the part
assigned to it, no attempt was made to allot any special quar-
ters to individual officers, this being left for the regimental
quartermaster to do on the arrival of the troops.
When the column came up Terence led each regiment to
the spot marked off, and directed the baggage-waggons to their
respective places. While he was doing this, Trevor, with the
orderlies, saw the head-quarters baggage carried to the house
chosen for the general's use, and that the place was made as
comfortable as might be, and then endeavoured to add to
the rations by purchases in the village. Fane himself always
remained with the troops until the tents were erected, and
A FALSE ALARM 137
they were under cover, the rations distributed, and the fires
lighted. The latter operation was often delayed by the
necessity of fetching wood from a distance, the wood in the
immediate neighbourhood having been cut down and burned
either by the French on their advance, or by the British
regiments ahead.
He then went to his quarters, where he received the reports
of the medical, commissariat, and transport officers, wrote a
report of the state of the road and the obstacles that he had
encountered, and sent it back by an orderly to the officer com-
manding the six guns which were following a day's march
behind him. These had been brought along with great labour,
it being often necessary to take them off their carriages and
carry them up or down difficult places, while the men were
frequently compelled to harness themselves to ropes and aid
the horses to drag the guns and waggons through the deep
mud. Between the arrival of the troops and dinner Terence
had his time to himself, and generally spent it with his
regiment.
" Never did I see such a country, Terence," O'Grady com-
plained to him one day. " Go where you will in ould Oirland,
you can alwaj-s get a jugful of poteen, a potful of 'taties,
and a rasher of bacon ; and if it is a village, a fowl and
eggs. Here there are not even spirits or wine ; as for a
chicken, I have not seen the feather of one since we started,
and I don't believe the peasants would know an egg if they
saw it."
" Nonsense, O'Grady ! If we were to go off the main road
we should be able to buy all these things, barring the poteen,
and maybe the potatoes, but you could get plenty of onions
instead. You must remember that the French army came
along here, and I expect they must have eaten nearly every-
thing up on their way, and you may be sure that Anstruther's
138 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
brigade gleaned all they left. As we marched from the Mon-
dego we found the villagers well supplied better a good deal
than places of the same size would be in Ireland except at
our first halting-place."
" I own that, although Hoolan sometimes fails to add to our
rations, we have not been so badly off, Terence. He goes out
with two or three more of the boys directly we halt, laving
the other servants to get the tents ready, and he generally
brings us half a dozen fish, sometimes a dozen, that he has
got out of the stream.
" He is an old hand, is Tim, and if he can't get them for
dinner he gets them for breakfast. He catches them with
night-lines and snares, and all sorts of poaching tricks. I
know he bought a bag with four or five pounds of lime at
Torres Vedras, and managed to smuggle it away in the regi-
mental baggage. I asked him what it was for, and the rascal
tipped me a wink, as much as to say, Don't ask no questions,
master ; and I believe that he drops a handful into a likely
pool when he comes across one. I have never dared to ask
him, for my conscience would not let me countenance such an
unsportsmanlike way of getting round the fish."
"I don't think that there is much harm in it under the
present circumstances," Terence laughed. "It is not sport,
but it is food. I am afraid, Tim, that you must have been
poaching a good deal at home or you would never have
thought of buying lime before starting on this march."
"I would scorn to take in an Oirish fish, yer honour!"
Hoolan said, indignantly. " But it seems tome that as the
people here are trating us in just as blackguardly a manner as
they can, shure it is the least we can do to catch their fish any
way we can, just to pay them off."
" Well, looking at it in that light, Tim, I will say no more
against the practice. I don't think I could bring myself to
A FALSE ALARM 139
lime even Portuguese water, but my conscience would not
trouble me at eating fish that had been caught by somebody
else."
" I will bear it in mind, yer honour, and next time we
come on a good pool a dish of fine fish shall be left at your
quarters, but yer honour must not mintion to the gineral where
you got them from. Maybe his conscience in the matter of
ateing limed fish would be more tender than your own, and
it might get me into trouble."
" I will take care about that, Tim ; at any rate, I will try
and manufacture two or three hooks, and when we halt for a
day will try and do a little fishing on my own account. ' '
11 1 will make you two or three, Mr. O'Connor. I made a
couple for Mr. Ryan, and he caught two beauties yesterday
evening."
" Thank you, Hoolan. Fond as I am of fishing, I wonder
it did not strike me before. I can make a line by plaiting
some office string, with twisted horse-hair instead of gut."
" I expect that that is just what Mr. Ryan did, yer honour.
I heard the adjutant using powerful language this morning
because he could not find a ball of twine. ' '
After this Terence generally managed to get an hour's fish-
ing before the evening twilight had quite faded away ; and by
the aid of a long rod cut on the river bank, a line manu-
factured by himself, and Hoolan' s hook baited with worms,
he generally contrived to catch enough fish to supplement the
ordinary fare at the following morning's breakfast.
" This is a welcome surprise, Trevor," the brigadier said the
first time the fish appeared at table. " I thought I smelt fish
frying, but I felt sure I must be mistaken. Where on earth
did you get them from ? ' '
" It is not my doing, General, but O'Connor's. I was as
much surprised as yourself when I saw Burke squatting over
140 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
the fire frying three fine fish. I asked him where he had
stolen them. He told me that Mr. O'Connor brought them
in at eight o'clock yesterday evening."
"Where did you get them from, O'Connor?"
" I caught them in the stream that we crossed half a mile
back, sir. I found a likely pool a few hundred yards down
it, and an hour's work there gave me those three fish. They
stopped biting as soon as it got dark."
" What did you catch them with ? "
Terence explained the nature of his tackle.
* ' Capital ! You have certainly given us a very pleasant
change of food, and I hope that you will continue the prac-
tice whenever there is a chance. ' '
11 There ought often to be one, General. We cross half a
dozen little mountain streams every day, and the villages are
generally built close to one. I don't suppose I should have
thought of it, if I had not found that some of the men of my
regiment have been supplying the mess with them. I hope
to do better in future, for going over the ground where
some of the troops in front of us have bivouacked I came
upon some white feathers blowing about, and I shall try to
tie a fly. That ought to be a good deal more killing than a
worm when the light begins to fade."
" You have been a fisherman, then, at home? "
" Yes, sir ; I did a good deal of fishing round Athlone, and
was taught to tie my own flies. I wish I had a packet of
hooks the two one of our fellows made for me are well
enough for worms, but they are rather clumsy for flies."
" I used to be fond of fishing myself," Fane said ; " but I
have always bought my tackle, and I doubt whether I should
make much hand at it, if left to my own devices. We are
not likely to be able to get any hooks till we get to Almeida,
but I should think you would find some there."
A FALSE ALARM 141
" I shall be able to get some wire to make them with, no
doubt, sir."
" I fancy after we have left Almeida you won't find many
opportunities of fishing, O'Connor. We shall have other
work on hand then, and shall, I hope, be able to buy what
we want; at any rate, we shall have as good a chance of
doing so as others, while along this road there is nothing to
be had for love or money, and the peasants would no doubt
be glad to sell us anything they have, but they are living on
black bread themselves; and, indeed, the greater part have
moved away to less-frequented places. No doubt they will
come back again as soon as we have all passed, but how long
they will be allowed to live in peace and quietness is more
than I can say. As long as it is only our troops who come
along they have nothing much to complain of, for they can
sell everything they have to dispose of at prices they never
dreamt of before ; but they complain bitterly of the French,
who ate their fruit and drank their wine, killed their pigs and
fowls, appropriated their cattle and horses, and they thought
themselves lucky to escape with their lives. You see there
are very few men about here ; they have all gone off to join
one or other of the Portuguese bands. ' '
" I fancy these Portuguese fellows will turn out useful some
day, General," Major Errington said. "They are stout
fellows, and though I don't think the townspeople would be
of any good, the peasantry ought to make good soldiers if
they were well drilled and led."
" That is a very large if," Fane laughed. " I see no signs
of any leader, and unless we could lend them a few hundred
non-commissioned officers I don't see where their drill in-
structors are to come from. Still, I have more hope of them
than I have of the Spaniards. Those men under Trant were
never tried much under fire, but they certainly improved in
142 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
discipline very much in the short time they were with us. If
we could but get rid of all the Portuguese authorities and
take the people in hand ourselves, we ought to be able to
turn out fifty thousand good fighting troops in the course of a
few months, but so long as things go on as they are I see no
hope of any efficient aid from them. ' '
At Almeida Terence managed to procure some hooks.
They were clumsily made, but greatly superior to anything
that he could turn out himself. He was also able to procure
some strong lines, but the use of flies seemed to be altogether
unknown. However, during his stay he made half a dozen
different patterns, and with these in a small tin box and a coil
of line stowed away at the bottom of one of his holsters, he
felt that if opportunity should occur he ought to be able to
have fair sport. He had suffered a good deal during the
heavy rains, which came on occasionally, from the fact that
his infantry cloak was not ample enough to cover his legs
when riding. He was fortunate enough here to be able to
buy a pair of long riding-boots, and with these and a pair of
thick canvas trousers, made by one of the regimental tailors,
and coming down just below the knee, he felt that in future
he could defy the rain.
At Salamanca there were far better opportunities of the
officers supplementing their outfits. Landing on the Mondego
early in August, they had made provision against the heat,
but had brought no outfit at all suited for wear in winter, and
all seized the opportunity of providing themselves with warm
under-garments, had linings sewn into greatcoats, and other-
wise prepared for the cold which would shortly set in. The
greater part of the troops were here quartered in the convents
and other extensive buildings, and as Fane's brigade was one
of the first to arrive they enjoyed a short period of well-earned
rest. Terence had by this time picked up a good deal of Por-
A FALSE ALARM 143
tuguese, and was able to make himself pretty well understood
by the Spanish shopkeepers. He, as well as the other officers,
was astonished and disgusted at the lethargy that prevailed
when, as all now knew, the great Spanish armies were scat-
tered to the winds, and large bodies of French troops were
advancing in all directions to crush out the last spark of
resistance.
The officers of the Mayo Fusiliers had established a mess,
and Terence often dined there. He was always eagerly ques-
tioned as to what was going to be done.
"I can assure you, O'Grady," he said, one day, " that
aides-de-camp are not admitted to the' confidence of the officer
commanding-in-chief. I know no more as to Sir John's
intentions than the youngest drummer-boy. I suppose that
everything will depend upon the weather, and whether Gen-
eral Hope, with the artillery and cavalry, manages to join us.
If he does, I suppose we shall fight a battle before we fall
back. If he does not, I suppose we shall have to fall back
without fighting, if the French will let us."
" I wish, Terence, you would give these lazy Spaniards a
good fright, just as you gave the people at Athlone. Faith,
I would give a couple of months' pay to see them regularly
scared."
" If I were not on the staff I might try it, O'Grady, but it
would never do for me to try such a thing now. ' '
Dick Ryan, who was standing by, winked significantly,
and in a short time he and Terence were talking eagerly
together in a corner of the room.
"Who is to know you are a staff- officer, Terence?" the
latter urged. " Isn't it an infantry uniform that you are
wearing? and ain't there hundreds of infantry officers here?
It was good fun at Athlone, but I don't think that many of
them believed there was any real danger. It would be alto-
144 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
gather different here ; they are scared enough as it is, though
they walk about with their cloaks wrapped round them and
pretend to be mighty confident."
" Let us come and talk it over outside, Dick. It did not
much matter before if it had been discovered we had a hand
in it. Of course the colonel would have given us a wigging,
but at heart he would have been as pleased at the joke as
any of us. But it is a different affair here."
Going out, they continued their talk and arranged their
plans. Late the following night two English officers rushed
suddenly into a drinking-shop close to the gate through which
the road to Valladolid passed.
" The French ! the French ! " one exclaimed. " Run for
your lives and give the alarm ! "
The men all leapt to their feet, rushed out tumultuously,
and scattered through the streets, shouting at the top of their
voices: " The French are coming! the French are coming!
Get up, or you will all be murdered in your beds ! ' '
The alarm spread like wildfire, and Terence and Ryan made
their way back, by the shortest line, to the room where most
of the officers were still sitting, smoking and chatting.
" Any news, O'Connor? " the colonel asked.
" Nothing that I have heard of, Colonel. I thought I would
drop in for a cigar before turning in."
A few minutes later Tim Hoolan entered.
" There is a shindy in the town, your honour," he said to
the colonel. " Meself does not know what it is about; but
they are hallooing and bawling fit to kill themselves."
One of the officers went to the window and threw it up.
" Hoolan is right, Colonel ; there is something the matter.
There " he broke off as a church bell pealed out with loud
and rapid strokes.
" That is the alarm, sure enough I " the colonel exclaimed,
A FALSE ALARM 145
" Be off at once, gentlemen, and get the men up and under
arms."
"I must be off to the general's quarters!" Terence ex-
claimed, hastily putting on his greatcoat again.
"The divil fly away with them," O'Grady grumbled, as he
hastily finished the glass before him; " sorrow a bit of peace
can I get at all, at all, in this bastely country."
Terence hurried away to his quarters. A score of church
bells were now pealing out the alarm. From every house men
and women rushed out panic-stricken, and eagerly questioned
each other. All sorts of wild reports were circulated.
" The British outposts have been driven in ; the Valladolid
gate has been captured ; Napoleon himself, with his whole
army, is pouring into the town."
The shrieks of frightened women added to the din, above
which the British bugles calling the troops to arms could be
heard in various quarters of the city.
"Oh, here you are, Mr. O'Connor! " General Fane ex-
claimed, as he hurried in. "Mr. Trevor has just started for
the convent ; he may be intercepted, and therefore do you
carry the same message ; the brigade is to get under arms at
once, and to remain in readiness for action until I arrive.
From what I can gather from these frightened fools, the French
have already entered the town. If the convent is attacked, it
is to be defended until the last. I am going to head-quarters
for orders."
A good deal alarmed at the consequences of the tumult that
he and Dick Ryan had excited, Terence made his way through
the streets "at a run ; his progress, however, was impeded by
the crowd, many of whom seized him as he passed and
implored him to tell them the news. He observed that not a
weapon was to be seen among the crowd ; evidently resistance
was absolutely unthought of. Trevor had reached the convent
10
146 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
before him. The four regiments had already gathered there
under arms.
" Have you any orders, Mr. O'Connor?" Colonel Cor-
coran asked, eagerly, for the Mayo Fusiliers happened to be
formed up next the gate of the convent.
"No, sir ; only to repeat those brought by Mr. Trevor, as
the general thought that he might be intercepted on the way.
The troops are to remain here in readiness until he arrives. If
attacked, they are to hold the convent until the last."
" Have you seen any signs of the French? "
" None, whatever, Colonel."
" Did you hear any firing? "
"No, sir; but there was such an uproar what with the
church bells, everyone shouting, and the women screaming
that I don't suppose I should have heard it unless it had been
quite close."
"We thought we heard musketry," the colonel replied,
" but it might have been only fancy. There is such a hulla-
baloo in the city that we might not have heard the fire of
small-arms, but I think that we must have heard artillery."
In ten minutes Fane with his staff galloped in. " The
brigade will march down towards the Valladolid gate," he
said. " If you encounter any enemies, Colonel Corcoran,
you will at once occupy the houses on both sides of the street
and open fire upon them from the windows and roofs ; the
other regiments will charge them. At present," he went on,
as the colonel gave the order for the regiment to march, " we
can obtain no information as to the cause of this uproar. An
officer rode in, just as I was starting, from Anstruther's force,
encamped outside the walls, asking for orders, and reporting
that his outposts have seen no signs of the enemy. I believe
it is a false alarm after all, and we are marching rather to reas-
sure the populace than with any idea of meeting the enemy."
A FALSE ALARM 147
The troops marched rapidly through the streets, making
their way without ceremony through the terrified crowd.
They had gone but a short distance when the bells of the
churches one by one ceased their clamour, and a hush suc-
ceeded the din that had before prevailed. When the head of
the column reached the gate, they saw Sir John Moore and
his staff sitting there on horseback. Fane rode up to him for
orders.
"It is, as I fancied, wholly a false alarm," the general said.
" How it could have started I have no idea. I have had
another report from Anstruther ; all is quiet at the outposts,
and there is no sign whatever of the enemy. There is noth-
ing to do but to march the troops back to barracks. How-
ever, I am not sorry, for possibly the scare may wake the au-
thorities up to the necessity of taking some steps for the pro-
tection of the town."
Terence rode back with General Fane to his quarters.
" I cannot make out," Trevor said, as they went, " how the
scare can have begun ; everything was quiet enough. I was
just thinking of turning in when we heard a shouting in the
streets. In three minutes the whole town seemed to have gone
mad, and I made sure that the French must be upon us ; but
I could not make out how they could have done so without
our outposts giving the alarm. Where were you when it
began?"
" I was in the mess-room of the Mayos, when one of the
servants ran in to say that there was a row. Directly after-
wards the alarm-bells began to ring, the colonel at once gave
orders for the regiment to be got under arms, and I ran back
to the general for orders ; and I must have passed you some-
where on the road. Did you ever see such cowards as these
Spaniards ? Though there are arms enough in the town for
every man to bear a musket and certainly the greater por-
148 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
tion of them have weapons of some sort or other I did not
see a man with arms of any kind in his hand."
11 1 noticed the same thing," Trevor said. " It is disgust-
ing. It was evident that the sole thought that possessed them
was as to their own wretched lives. I have no doubt that, if
they could have had their willl, they would have disarmed all
our troops, in order that no resistance whatever should be
offered. And yet only yesterday the fellows were all bragging
about their patriotism, and the bravery that would be shown
should the French make their appearance. It makes one sick
to be fighting for such people."
The following afternoon Terence went up to the convent.
" Well, O'Connor, have you heard how it all began? " the
colonel asked, as he went into the mess-room.
"No one seems to know at all, Colonel. The authorities
are making inquiries, but, as far as I have heard, nothing has
taken place to account for it."
" It reminds me," the colonel said, shutting one eye and
looking fixedly at Terence, " of a certain affair that took
place at Athlone."
" I was thinking the same myself," Terence replied, quietly,
" only the scare was a good deal greater here than it was
there ; besides, a good many of the townspeople in Athlone
did turn out with guns in their hands, whereas here, I believe
every man in the town hid his gun in his bed before running
out."
" I always suspected you of having a hand in that matter,
Terence."
" Did you, Colonel ? " Terence said, in a tone of surprise.
" Well, as, fortunately, I was sitting here when this row be-
gan, you cannot suspect me this time."
" I don't know ; you and Ryan came in together, which
was suspicious in itself, and it was not two minutes after you
THE RETREAT 149
had come in that the rumpus began. Just give me a wink,
lad, if you had a finger in the matter. You know you are
safe with me; besides, ain't you a staff-officer now, and out-
side my jurisdiction altogether ? "
"Well, Colonel, a wink does not cost anything," Terence
said, " so here is to ye."
He exchanged a wink with the colonel, who burst into a
fit of laughter so loud that he startled all the other officers,
who at once came up to hear the joke.
" It is just a little story that Terence has been telling me,"
the colonel said, when he had recovered his breath, " about
the scare last night, and how a young woman, with next to
nothing on her, threw her arms round his neck and begged
him to save her. The poor young fellow blushed up to his
eyelids with the shame of it in the public streets 1 "
CHAPTER IX
THE RETREAT
O'GRADY asked no questions, but presently whispered to
Terence : " Faith, ye did it well, me boy."
" Did what well, O'Grady ? "
" You need not tell me about it, Terence. I was expecting
it. Didn't I spake to ye the day before about it, and didn't
I feel sure that something would come of it? When that row
began last night, I looked at you hard and saw you wink at
that young spalpeen, Dicky Ryan ; and sure all the time that
we were standing there, formed up, I well-nigh burst the but-
tons off me coatee in holding in me laughter, when everyone
else was full of excitement.
" ' Are you ill, O'Grady?' the colonel said, for I had to
150 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
sit meself down on some steps and rock meself to and fro to
aise meself. ' Is it sick ye are ? ' 'A sudden pain has saised
me, Colonel,' says I, 'but I will be all right in a minute.'
* Take a dram out of me flask,' says he ; ' something must
have gone wrong wid ye.' I took a drink "
" That I may be sure you did," Terence interrupted.
" And thin told him that I felt better ; but as we marched
down through the crowd and saw the fright of the men, and
the women screaming in their night-gowns at the windows,
faith, I well-nigh choked."
" Have you spoken to Ryan about this absurd suspicion,
O'Grady?"
" I spoke to him, but I might as well have spoke to a brick
wall. Divil a thing could I get out of him. How did you
manage it at all, lad ? "
"How could I manage it?" Terence said, indignantly.
"No, no, O'Grady; I know you did make some remark
about that scare at Athlone, and said it would be fun to have
one here. I was a little shocked at hearing such a thing from,
as you often say, a superior officer, and it certainly appears to
me that it was you who first broached the idea. So I have
much more right to feel a suspicion that you had a hand in
the carrying of it out than for you to suspect me."
"Well, Terence," O'Grady said, in an insinuating way,
" I won't ask you any questions now, and maybe some day
when you have marched away from this place, you will tell me
the ins and outs of the business."
" Maybe, O'Grady, and perhaps you will also confess to
me how you managed to bring the scare about."
" Go along wid you, Terence, it is yourself knows better
than anyone else that I had nothing to do with it, and I will
never forgive you until you make a clean breast of it to me."
" We shall see about it," Terence laughed. "Anyhow,
THE RETREAT 151
if you allude to the subject again, I shall feel it my duty to
inform the colonel of my reasons for suspecting that you were
concerned in spreading those false reports last night."
"It was first-rate, wasn't it?" Dick Ryan said, as he
joined Terence, when the latter left the mess-room.
" It was good fun, Dicky ; but I tell you, for a time I was
quite as much scared as anyone else. I never thought that it
would have gone quite so far. When it came to all the troops
turning out, and Sir John and everyone, I felt that there
would be an awful row if we were ever found out. ' '
" It was splendid, Terence. I knew that we could not be
found out when we had not told a soul. Did you ever see
such a funk as the Spaniards were all in, and after all their
bragging and the airs that they had given themselves. Our
men were so savage at their cowardice, that I believe they
would have liked nothing better than an order to pitch into
them. And didn't the women yell and howl ? It is the best
lark we have ever had."
" It is good fun to look back at, Dicky, but I shall be glad
when we are out of this. The Spanish authorities are making
all sorts of inquiries, and I have no doubt that they will get
hold of some of the men in that wine-shop, and it will come
out that two British officers started the alarm."
" What if it did ? " Ryan said. " There were only two
wretched candles burning in the place, and they could not
have got a fair sight at us, and indeed they all jumped up and
bolted the moment we spoke. I will bet that there is not one
among them who would be able to swear to us though we were
standing before him ; and I have no doubt if they were ques-
tioned every man would give a different account of what we
were like. I have no fear that they will ever find us out.
Still, I shall be glad when we are out of this old place. Not
because I am afraid about our share in that business being dis-
152 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
covered, but we have been here nearly a fortnight now, and as
we know there is a strong French force within ten miles of us,
I think that it is about time that the fun began. You don't
think that we are going to retreat, do you ? ' '
" I don't know any more about it than you do, Dicky ;
but I feel absolutely sure that we shall retreat. I don't see any-
thing else for us to do. Every day fresh news comes in about
the strength of the French, and as the Spanish resistance is
now pretty well over, and Madrid has fallen, they will all be
free to march against us ; and even when Hope has joined us
we shall only be about 20,000 strong, and they have, at the
least, ten times that force. I thing we shall be mighty lucky
if we get back across the frontier into Portugal before they
are all on us."
Sir John Moore, however, was not disposed to retire with-
out doing something for the cause of Spain. The French ar-
mies had not yet penetrated into the southern provinces, and
he nobly resolved to make a movement that would draw the
whole strength of the French towards him, and give time for
the Spaniards in the south to gather the remains of their ar-
mies together and organize a resistance to the French advance.
In view of the number and strength of the enemy, no more
heroic resolution was ever taken by a military commander,
and it was all the more to be admired, inasmuch as he could
hope to win no victory that would cover himself and his army
with glory, no success that would satisfy the public at home,
and at best he could but hope, after long, fatiguing, and dan-
gerous marches, to effect his retreat from the overwhelming
forces that would be hurled against him.
While remaining at Salamanca, Sir John, foreseeing that
a retreat into Portugal must be finally carried out, took steps
to have magazines established on two of the principal routes to
the coast, that a choice might be left open to him by which to
THE RETREAT 153
retire when he had accomplished his main object of diverting
the great French wave of invasion from the south.
On the nth of December the march began, and for the next
ten days the army advanced farther and farther into the
country. So far Moore had only Soult's army opposing his
advance towards Burgos, and it might be possible to strike a
heavy blow at that general before Napoleon, who was con-
vinced that the British must fall back into Portugal if they
had not already begun to do so, should come up. He had
been solemnly assured that he should be joined by Romana
with 14,000 picked men, but that general had with him but
5,000 peasants, who were in such a miserable condition that
when the British reached the spot where the junction was to
be effected, he was ashamed to show them, and marched away
into Leon.
The British, in order to obtain forage, were obliged to
move along several lines of route. Sir David Baird's division
joined them as they advanced, and when they reached the
Carrion their effective force amounted to 23,583 men, with
sixty pieces of artillery. On the French side, Soult had on
hearing of the British advance to the north-east, by which, if
successful, they would cut the French lines of communication
between Madrid and the frontier called up all his detached
troops, and wrote to the governor of Burgos to divert to his
assistance all troops coming along the road from France, what-
ever their destination might be.
On the 2ist Lord Paget, with the loth and i5th Hussars,
surprised a French cavalry force at Sahagun, and ordered the
1 5th to turn their position and endeavour to cut them off.
When with the loth Hussars Lord Paget arrived in the rear
of the village, he found six hundred French dragoons drawn
up and ready to attack him. He at once charged and broke
them and pursued them for some distance. Twenty were
154 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
killed, thirteen officers and 154 men taken prisoners. On
the 23d, Soult had concentrated his forces at the town of
Carrion, and that night the British troops were got in motion
to attack them, the two forces being about even in numbers ;
but scarcely had he moved forward when reports, both from
Romana and his own spies, reached Sir John Moore to the
effect that his march had achieved the object with which it
was undertaken. Orders had been sent by Napoleon for the
whole of the French armies to move at once against the British,
while he himself, with the troops at Madrid, 70,000 strong, had
started by forced marches to fall upon him.
The instant Moore received this information he arrested the
forward movement of his troops. His object had been attained.
The French invasion of the south was arrested, and time given
to the Spaniards. There was nothing now but to fall back
with all speed. It was well indeed that he did not carry out
his intention of attacking Soult. The latter had that day
received orders from the emperor not to give battle, but to fall
back, and so tempt Moore to pursue, in which case his line of
retreat would have been intercepted and his army irretrievably
lost.
The order to retreat was an unwelcome one indeed to the
troops. For twelve days they had marched through deep
snow and suffered fatigues, privations, and hardships. That
evening they had expected to be repaid for their exertions by
a battle and a victory on the following morning, and the order
to retreat, coming at such a moment, was a bitter disappoint-
ment indeed.
They were, of course, ignorant of the reasons for this sudden
change, and the officers shared the discontent of the troops,
a feeling that largely accounted for the disorders and losses
that took place during the retreat.
Napoleon led his troops north with his usual impetuosity.
THE RETREAT 155
The deep snow choked the passes through the mountains. The
generals, after twelve hours of labour, reported the roads
impracticable, but Napoleon placed himself at the head of the
column, and, amidst a storm of snow and driving hail, led
them over the mountain. With tremendous efforts he reached
Desillas on the 26th; while Houssaye entered Valladolid on
the same day, and Ney, with the 6th corps, arrived at Rio
Seco.
Full of hope that he had caught the British, the emperor
pushed on towards Barras, only to find that he was twelve
hours too late. Moore had, the instant he received the news,
sent back the heavy baggage with the main body of infantry,
himself following more slowly with the light brigade and
cavalry, the latter at times pushing parties up to the enemy's
line and skirmishing with his outposts to prevent Soult from
suspecting that the army had retreated. On the 26th the
whole army, moving by different routes, approached the river
Esla, which they crossed in a thick fog, which greatly hin-
dered the operation. A brigade remained on the left bank to
protect the passage, for the enemy's cavalry were already close
at hand, and Soult was hotly pressing in pursuit.
A strong body of horse belonging to the emperor's army
intercepted Lord Paget near Mayorga, but two squadrons of
the loth Hussars charged up the rising ground on which they
had posted themselves, and, notwithstanding their disadvantage
in numbers and position, killed twenty and took a hundred
prisoners. Moore made but a short pause on the Esla, for
that position could be turned by the forces advancing from the
south. He waited, therefore, only until he could clear out
his magazines, collect his stragglers, and send forward his bag-
gage. He ordered the bridge by which the army had crossed
to be broken down, and left Crawford to perform this duty.
Short as the retreat had been, it had already sufficed to
156 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
damage most seriously the morale of the army. The splendid
discipline and order that had been shown during the advance
was now gone ; many of the regimental officers altogether
neglected their duties, and the troops were insubordinate.
Great numbers straggled, plundered the villages, and com-
mitted excesses of all sorts, and already the general had been
forced to issue an order reproaching the army for its conduct,
and appealing to the honour of the soldiers to second his
efforts. Valiant in battle, capable of the greatest efforts on
the march, hardy in enduring fatigue and the inclemency of
weather, the British soldier always deteriorates rapidly when
his back is turned to the enemy. Confident in his bravery,
regarding victory as assured, he is unable to understand the
necessity for retreat, and considers himself degraded by being
ordered to retire, and regards prudence on the part of his
general as equivalent to cowardice.
The armies of Wellington deteriorated with the same rapidity
as this force, when upon two occasions it was necessary to
retreat when threatened by overwhelming forces; and yet,
however disorganized, the British soldier recovers hisdiscipline
the instant he is attacked, and fiercely turns upon his pursuers.
At the bridge across the Esla two privates of the 3d gave an
example of splendid courage and determination. It was night.
Some of the baggage was still on the farther bank, and the
two men were posted as sentries beyond the bridge, their orders
being that if an enemy appeared, one should fire and then run
back to the bridge and shout to warn the guard whether the
enemy were in force or not. The other was to maintain his
post as long as possible.
During the night the light cavalry of the imperial guard
rode down. Jackson, one of the sentries, fired and ran back to
give the alarm. He was overtaken, and received over a dozen
sabre cuts ; nevertheless he staggered on until he reached the
( WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TERENCE? WE WOULD HAVE THRASHED
THEM OUT OF THEIR BOOTS IN NO TIME."
THE RETREAT 157
bridge, and gave the signal. Walton, the other sentry, with
equal resolution stood his ground and wounded several of his
assailants, who, as they drew off, left him unhurt, although
his cap, knapsack, belt, and musket were cut in over twenty
places, and his bayonet bent double.
Terence O'Connor's duties had been light enough during
the advance, but during the three days of the retreat to the
Esla he had been incessantly occupied. He and Trevor had
both been directed to ride backwards and forwards along the
line of the brigade to see that there was no straggling in the
ranks, and that the baggage carts in the rear kept close up.
The task was no easy one, and was unpleasant as well as hard.
Many of the officers plodded sulkily along, paying no atten-
tion whatever to their men, allowing them to straggle as they
chose ; and they were obliged to report several of the worst
cases to the brigadier. With the Mayo Fusiliers they had
less trouble than with others. Terence had, when he joined
them at their first halt after the retreat began, found them as
angry and discontented as the rest at the unexpected order,
and was at once assailed with questions and complaints.
He listened to them quietly, and then said :
" Of course, if you all prefer a French prison to a few days'
hard marching, you have good reason to grumble at being
baulked in your wishes ; that is all I have to say about it."
"What do you mean, Terence? " O'Grady asked, angrily.
" Soult's force was not stronger than ours, at least so we heard ;
and if it had been it would make no difference, we would have
thrashed them out of their boots in no time."
" I dare say we should, O'Grady, and what then? "
"Well, I don't know what then," O'Grady said, after a
moment's silence; "that would have been the general's
business."
" Quite so; and so is this. There you would have been
158 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
with perhaps a couple of thousand wounded and as many
French prisoners, and Napoleon with 60,000 men or so, and
Ney with as many more, and Houssaye with his cavalry division,
all in your rear cutting you off from the sea. What would
have been your course then ? ' '
A general silence fell upon the officers.
" Is that so? " the colonel asked at last.
" That is so," Terence said, gravely. "All these and other
troops are marching night and day to intercept us. It is no
question of fighting now. Victory over Soult, so far from
being of any use, would only have burdened us with wounded
and prisoners, and even a day's delay would be absolutely
fatal. As it is, it is a question whether we shall have time
to get back to the coast before they are all posted in our
front. Every hour is of the greatest importance. You all
know that we have talked over lots of times how dangerous
our position is. General Fane told us, when the orders to
retreat were issued, that he believed the peril to be even more
imminent than we thought. We all know when we marched
north from Salamanca, that, without a single Spaniard to back
us, all that could be hoped for was to aid Saragossa and Seville
and Cadiz to gather the levies in the south and prepare for
defence, and that erelong we should have any number of
enemies upon us. That is what has precisely happened, and
now there is grumbling because the object has been attained,
and that you are not allowed to fight a battle that, whether
won or lost, would equally ruin us."
" Sure ye are right," O'Grady said, warmly, " and we are
a set of omadhouns. You have sense in your head, Terence,
and there is no gainsaying you. I was grumbling more than
the rest of them, but I won't grumble any more. Still, I
suppose that there is no harm in hoping we shall have just a bit
of fighting before we get back to Portugal."
THE RETREAT 159
" We shall be lucky if we don't have a good deal of fighting,
O'Grady, and against odds that will satisfy even you. As to
Portugal, there is no chance of our getting there. Ney will
certainly cut that road, and the emperor will, most likely, also
do so, as you can see for yourself on the map."
" Divil a map have I ever looked at since I was at school,"
O'Grady said. " Then if we can't get back to Portugal,
where shall we get to? "
" To one of the northern seaports ; of course, I don't know
which has been decided upon ; I don't suppose the general
himself has settled that yet. It must depend upon the roads
and the movements of the enemy, and whether there is a de-
fensible position near the port that we can hold in case the
fleet and transports cannot be got there by the time we arrive. ' '
" Faith, Terence, ye' re a walking encyclopeydia. You
have got the matter at your finger ends."
"I don't pretend to know anymore than anyone else,"
Terence said, with a laugh. " But of course I hear matters
talked over at the brigade mess. I don't think that Fane
knows more of the general's absolute plans than you do. I
dare say the divisional generals know, but it would not go
further. Still, as Fane and Errington and Dowdeswell know
something about war besides the absolute fighting, they can
form some idea as to the plans that will be adopted."
"Well, Terence," the colonel said, " I didn't think the
time was coming so soon when I was going to be instructed by
your father's son, but I will own that you have made me feel
that I have begun campaigning too late in life, and that you
have given me a lesson."
" I did not mean to do that, Colonel," Terence said, a
good deal abashed. " It was O'Grady I was chiefly speak-
ing to."
" Your supeyrior officer ! " O'Grady murmured.
160 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" My superior officer, certainly," Terence went on, with a
smile ; " but who, having, as he says, never looked at a map
since he left school while I have naturally studied one every
evening since we started from Torres Vedras can therefore
know no more about the situation than does Tim Hoolan.
But I certainly never intended my remarks to apply to you,
Colonel."
"They hit the mark all the same, lad, and the shame is
mine and not yours. I think you have done us all good. One
doesn't care when one is retreating for a good reason, but
when one marches for twelve days to meet an enemy, and
then, when just close to him, one turns one's back and runs
away, it is enough to disgust an Englishman, let alone an Irish-
man. Well, boys, now we see it is all right, we will do our
duty as well on the retreat as we did on the advance, and
divil a grumble shall there be in my hearing."
From that moment, therefore, the Mayo Fusiliers were an
example to the brigade. Any grumble in the ranks was met
with a cheerful " Whist, boys ! do you think that you know
the general's business better than he does himself? It is plenty
of fighting you are likely to get before you have done, never
fear. Now is the time, boys, to get the regiment a good
name. The general knows that we can fight. Now let him
see that we can wait patiently till we get another chance.
Remember, the better temper you are in, the less you will feel
the cold."
So, laughing and joking, and occasionally breaking into a
song, the Mayo Fusiliers pushed steadily forward, and the
colonel that evening congratulated the men that not one had
fallen out.
" Keep that up, boys," he said. " It will be a proud day
for me when we get to our journey's end, wherever that may
be, to be able to say to the brigadier : ' Except those who
THE RETREAT 161
have been killed by the enemy, here is my regiment just as it
was when it started from the Carrion not a man has fallen
out, not a man has straggled away, not a man has made a
baste of himself and was unfit to fall in the next morning.' I
know them," he said to O'Driscol, as the regiment was dis-
missed from parade. " They will not fall out, they will not
straggle, but if they come to a place where wine's in plenty,
they will make bastes of themselves; and after all," he added,
" after the work they have gone through, who is to blame
them?"
At the halt the next evening at Bembibre the colonel's
forebodings that the men could not be trusted where liquor
was plentiful were happily not verified. There were immense
wine-vaults in the town. These were broken open, and were
speedily crowded by disbanded Spaniards, soldiers, camp-fol-
lowers, muleteers, women and children the latter taking
refuge there from the terrible cold. The rear-guard, to which
the Mayo regiment had been attached the evening before,
found that Baird's division had gone on, but that vast num-
bers of drunken soldiers had been left behind. General
Moore was himself with the rear-guard, and the utmost efforts
were made to induce the drunkards to rejoin their regiments.
He himself appealed to the troops, instructing the command-
ers of the different regiments to say that he relied implicitly
upon the soldiers to do their duty. The French might at any
moment be up, and every man must be in his ranks. No
men were to fall out or to enter any wine-house or cellar, but
each should have at once a pint of wine served out to him,
and as much more before they marched in the morning.
After the colonel read out this order, he supplemented
it by saying, " Now, boys, the credit of the regiment is at
stake. It is a big honour that has been paid you in choosing
you to join the rear-guard, and you have got to show that you
162 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
deserve it. As soon as it can be drawn, you will have your
pint of wine each, which will be enough to warm your ringers
and toes. Wait here in the ranks till you have drunk your
wine and eaten some of the bread in your haversacks, and by
that time I will see what I can do for you. You will have
another pint before starting ; but mind, though I hope there
isn't a mother's son who would bring discredit on the regiment,
I warn you that I shall give the officers instructions to shoot
down any man who wanders from the ranks in search of
liquor. The French may be here in half an hour after we
have started, and it is better to be shot than to be sabred
by a French dragoon, which will happen surely enough to
every baste who has drunk too much to go on with the
troops. ' '
Only a few murmurs were heard at the conclusion of the
speech.
" Now, gentlemen," the colonel said, " will half a dozen of
you see to the wine. Get hold of some of those fellows
loafing about there and make them roll out as many barrels
as will supply a pint to every man in the regiment, ourselves
as well as the men. O'Grady, take Lieutenant Horton and
Mr. Haldane and two sergeants with you. Here is my purse.
Go through the town and get some bread and anything else
in the way of food that you can lay your hands upon. And,
if you can, above all things get some tobacco. ' '
O'Grady's search was for a time unsuccessful, as the soldiers
and camp-followers had already broken into the shops and
stores. In an unfrequented street, however, they came across
a large building. He knocked at the door with the hilt of his
sword. It was opened after a time by an old man.
" What house is this? "
" It is a tobacco factory," he replied.
" Be jabers, we have come to the right place. I want
THE RETREAT 163
about half a ton of it. We are not robbers, and I will pay
for what we take." Then another idea struck him. " Wait
a moment, I will be back again in no time. Horton, do you
stay here and take charge of the men. I am going back to
the colonel."
He found on reaching the regiment that the men were
already drinking their wine and eating their bread.
"I am afraid I shall never keep them, O'Grady," the
colonel said, mournfully. " It is scarcely in human nature to
see men straggling about as full as they can hold, and know
that there is liquor to be had for taking it and not to go
for it."
" It is all right, Colonel. I know that we can never keep
the men if we turn them into the houses to sleep ; but I have
found a big building that will hold the whole regiment, and
the best of it is that it is a tobacco factory. I expect it is run
by the authorities of the place, and as we are doing what we
can for them, they need not grudge us what we take ; and
faith, the boys will be quiet and contented enough, so that
they do but get enough to keep their pipes going, and know
that they will march in the morning with a bit in their knap-
sacks. ' '
" The very thing, O'Grady ! Pass the word for the regi-
ment to fall in the instant they have finished their meal. ' '
It was not long before they were ready, and in a few
minutes, guided by O'Grady, the head of the regiment
reached the building.
" Who is the owner of this place? " the colonel asked the
old man, who, with a lantern in his hand, was still standing
at the door.
" The Central Junta of the Province has of late taken it,
your Excellency. ' '
" Good ! Then we will be the guests of the Central Junta of
164 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
the Province for the night." Then he raised his voice,
" Boys, here is a warm lodging for you for the night, and
tobacco galore for your pipes ; and, for those who haven't got
them, cigars. Just wait until I have got some lights, and
then file inside in good order."
There was no difficulty about this, for the factory was in
winter worked long after dark set in. In a very few minutes
the place was lighted up from end to end. The troops were
then marched in and divided amongst the various rooms.
" Now, boys, tell the men to smoke a couple of pipes, and
then to lie down to sleep. In the morning each man can put
as much tobacco into his knapsack and pockets as they will
hold, and when we halt they can give some of it away to
regiments that have not been as lucky as themselves."
The men sat down in the highest state of satisfaction.
Boxes of cigars were broken open, and in a couple of minutes
almost every man and officer in the regiment had one alight
in his mouth. There were few, however, who got beyond one
cigar ; the warmth of the place after their long march in the
snow speedily had its effect, and in half an hour silence reigned
in the factory, save for a murmur of voices in one of the lower
rooms where the officers were located.
"O'Grady, you are a broth of a boy, " the colonel said.
" The men have scarce had a smoke for the last week, and it
will do them a world of good. We have got them all under
one roof, and there is no fear that anyone will want to get
out, and they will fall in in the morning as fresh as paint. Half
an hour before bugle-call three or four of you had best turn
out with a dozen men, and roll up enough barrels from the
vaults to give them the drink promised to them, before start-
ing. Who will volunteer? "
Half a dozen officers 'at once offered to go, and a captain
and three lieutenants were told off for the work.
THE RETREAT 165
" They know how to make cigars, if they don't know any-
thing else," Captain O'Driscol said; "this is a first-rate
weed."
" So it ought to be by the brand," another officer said.
" I took the two boxes from a cupboard that was locked up.
There are a dozen more like them, and I thought it was as
well to take them out ; they are at present under the table.
I have no doubt that they are real Havannas, and have prob-
ably been got for some grandee or other."
" He will have to do without them," O'Gradysaid, calmly,
as he lighted his second cigar; " they are too good for any
Spaniard under the sun. And, moreover, if we did not take
them you may be sure that the French would have them
to-morrow, and I should say that the Central Junta of the
Province will be mighty pleased to know that the tobacco was
smoked by their allies instead of by the French."
" I don't suppose that they will care much about it one way
or another," O'Driscol remarked ; " their pockets are so full
of English gold that the loss of a few tons of tobacco won't
affect them much. I enjoy my cigar immensely, and have the
satisfaction of knowing that for once I have got something out
of a Spaniard it is the first thing since I landed."
"Well, boys, we had better be off to sleep," the colonel
said. " I am so sleepy that I can hardly keep my eyes open,
and you ought to be worse, for you have tramped well-nigh
forty miles to-day. See that the sentry at the door keeps
awake, Captain Humphrey ; you are officer of the day ; upon
my word I am sorry for you. Tell him he can light up if he
likes, but if he sees an officer coming round he must get rid
of it. Mind the sentries are changed regularly, for I expect
that we shall sleep so soundly that if all the bugles in the place
were sounding an alarm we should not hear them."
" All right, Colonel ! I have got Sergeant Jackson in
166 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
charge of the reliefs in the passage outside, and I think that
I can depend upon him, but I will tell him to wake me up
whenever he changes the sentries. I don't say I. shall turn
out myself, but as long as he calls me I shall know that he is
awake, and that it is all right. I had better tell him to call
you half an hour before bugle-call, Sullivan, so that you can
wake the others and get the wine here ; he mustn't be a min-
ute after the half-hour. Thank goodness, we don't have to
furnish the outposts to-night."
In ten minutes all were asleep on the floor, wrapped in
their greatcoats, the officer of the day taking his place next
the door so that he could be roused easily. Every hour one
or other of the two non-commissioned officers in charge of the
guard in the passage opened the door a few inches and said
softly, " I am relieving the sentries, sir; " and each time the
officer murmured assent.
Sullivan was called at the appointed time, got up, and
stretched himself, grumbling :
" I don't believe that I have been asleep ten minutes."
On going out into the passage, however, where a light was
burning, his watch told him that it was indeed time to be
moving. He woke the others, and with the men went down
to the cellars. Here the scene of confusion was great ; drunken
men lay thickly about the floor, others sat, cup in hand, talk-
ing, or singing snatches of song, Spanish or English. Hastily
picking out enough unbroken casks for the purpose, he set the
men to carry them up to the street, and they were then rolled
along to the factory. Just as they reached the door the bugle-
call sounded ; the men were soon on their feet, refreshed by
a good night's sleep. The casks were broached, and the wine
served out.
"It is awful, Colonel," Sullivan said. "There will be
hundreds of men left behind. There must have been over that
CORUNNA 167
number in the cellar I went into, and there are a dozen others
in the town. I never saw such a disgusting scene."
Scarcely had they finished when the assemble sounded, and
the regiment at once fell-in outside the factory, every man
with knapsack and haversack bulging out with tobacco. They
then joined the rest of the troops in the main street. Gen-
eral Moore had made a vain attempt to rouse the besotted
men. A few of those least overcome joined the rear-guard,
but the greater number were too drunk to listen to orders, or
even to the warning that the French would be into the town
as soon as the troops marched out.
CHAPTER X
CORUNNA
AS the confusion in the streets increased from the pouring
out from the houses and cellars of the camp-followers
women and children, together with men less drunk than their
comrades, but still unable to walk steadily who filled the
air with shouts and drunken execrations, Colonel Corcoran
rode along the line.
"Just look at that, boys," he said. " Isn't it better for
you to be standing here like dacent men, ready to do your
duty, than to be rolling about in a state like those drunken
blackguards, for the sake of half an hour's pleasure ? Sure it
is enough to make every mother's son of you swear off liquor
till ye get home again. When the French get inside the town
there is not one of the drunken bastes that won't be either
killed or marched away a thousand miles to a French prison,
and all for ha'lf an hour's drink."
The lesson was indeed a striking one, and careless as many
168 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
of the men were, it brought home to them with greater force
than ever before in their lives, not only the folly but the deg-
radation of drunkenness. A few minutes later, General Moore,
who was riding up and down the line, inspecting the condition
of the men in each regiment, came along.
" Your men look very well, Colonel," he said, as he reached
the Fusiliers. " How many are you short of your number ? "
" Not a man, General ; I am happy to say that there was
not a single one that did not answer when his name was
called."
"That is good, indeed," the general said, warmly. "I
am happy to say that all the regiments of the rear -guard have
turned out well, and shown themselves worthy of the trust
reposed in them ; none, however, can give so good a report
as you have done. I selected your regiment to strengthen
this division from the excellent order that I observed you kept
along the line of march, and I am glad indeed that it has
shown itself so worthy of the honour. March your regiment
across to the side of the street, let the others pass you, and fall
in at the rear of the column. I shall give the Mayo Fusiliers
the post of honour, as a mark of my warm approbation for the
manner in which they have turned out."
Scarcely had the troops left the town when the French
cavalry poured in. Now that it was too late, the sense of
danger penetrated the brains of the revellers, and the mob of
disbanded Spanish and British soldiers and camp-followers
poured out from the cellars. Few of the soldiers had the sense
even to bring up their muskets. Most of those who did so
were too drunk to use them, and the French troopers rode
through the mob, sabring them right and left, and trampling
them under foot, and then, riding forward without a pause,
set out in pursuit of the retiring columns. As they came clat-
tering along the road the colonel ordered the last two com-
CORUNNA 169
panics to halt, and when the head of the squadron was within
fifty yards of them, and the troopers were beginning to check
their horses, a heavy volley was poured in, which sent them
to the right-about as fast as they had come, and emptied a
score of saddles. Then the two companies formed fours again,
and went on at the double until they reached the rear of the
column.
All day the French cavalry menaced the retreat, until Lord
Paget came back with a regiment of hussars and drove them
back in confusion, pursuing them a couple of miles, with the
view of discovering whether they were followed by infantry.
Such, however, was not the case, and the column was not
further molested until they reached Cacabolos, where they
were halted. The rest of the army had moved on, the troops
committing excesses similar to those that had taken place at
Bembibre, and plundering the shops and houses.
The division marched over a deep stream crossed by a
stone bridge, and took up their ground on a lofty ridge, the
ascent being broken by vineyards and stone walls. Four
hundred men of the rifles and as many cavalry were posted on
a hill two miles beyond the river to watch the roads. They
had scarcely taken their post when the enemy were seen ap-
proaching, preceded by six or eight squadrons of cavalry.
The rifles were at once withdrawn, and the cavalry, believing
that the whole French army was advancing, presently followed
them, and, riding fast, came up to the infantry just as they
were crossing the bridge.
Before all the infantry were over the French cavalry came
down at a furious gallop, and for a time all was confusion.
Then the rifles, throwing themselves among the vineyards and
behind the walls, opened a heavy fire. The French general
in command of the cavalry was killed, with a number of his
troops, and the rest of the cavalry fell back. A regiment of
170 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
light infantry had followed them across the bridge, and two
companies of the 52d and as many of the Mayo regiment
went down the hill and reinforced the rifles. A sharp fight
ensued until the main body of the French infantry approached
the bridge. A battery of artillery opened upon them, and
seeing the strength of the British division, and believing that
the whole army was before him, Soult called back his troops.
The voltigeurs retired across the bridge again, and the fight
came to an end. Between two and three hundred men had
been killed or wounded.
As soon as night came on the British force resumed its
march, leaving two companies of the rifles as piquets at the
bridge. The French crossed again in the night, but after
some fighting, fell back again without having been able to as-
certain whether the main body of the defenders of the posi-
tion were still there. Later on the rifles fell back, and at
daybreak rejoined the main body of the rear-guard, which
had reached Becerrea, eighteen miles away. Here General
Moore received the report from the engineers he had sent to
examine the harbours, and they reported in favour of Co-
runna, which possessed facilities for defence which were lack-
ing at Vigo. Accordingly he sent off orders to the fleet,
which was lying at the latter port, to sail at once for Co-
runna, and directed the various divisions of the army to move
on that town.
The rear-guard passed the day without moving, enjoying a
welcome rest after the thirty-six miles they had covered the
day before. By this march they had gained a long start of
the enemy and had in the evening reached the town the
division before them had quitted that morning. The scene as
they marched along was a painful one. Every day added to
the numbers of the stragglers. The excesses in drink ex-
hausted the strength of the troops far more than did the
CORUNNA 171
fatigue of the marches. Their shoes were worn out ; many
of them limped along with rags tied round their feet. Even
more painful than the sight of these dejected and worn-out
men was that of the camp-followers. These, in addition
to their terrible hardships and fatigue, were worn out with
hunger, and almost famished. Numbers of them died by the
roadside, others still crawled on in silent misery.
Nothing could be done to aid these poor creatures. The
troops themselves were insufficiently fed, for the evil conduct
of the soldiers who first marched through the towns defeated
all the efforts of the commissariat ; for they had broken into
the bakers' shops and so maltreated the inhabitants that the
people fled in terror, and no bread could be obtained for the
use of the divisions in the rear. Towards evening the next
day the reserve approached Constantina. The French were
now close upon their rear. A bridge over a river had to be
crossed to reach the town, and as there was a hill within a
pistol-shot of the river, from which the French artillery could
sweep the bridge, Sir John Moore placed the riflemen and
artillery on it. The enemy, believing that he intended to
give battle, halted, and before their preparations could be
made the troops were across the bridge, and were joined by
the artillery, which had retired at full speed.
The French advanced and endeavoured to take the bridge.
General Paget, however, held the post with two regiments of
cavalry, and then fell back to Lugo, where the whole army
was now assembled. The next day Sir John Moore issued an
order strongly condemning the conduct of the troops, and
stating that he intended to give battle to the enemy. The
news effected an instant transformation. The stragglers who
had left their regiments and entered the town by twos and
threes at once rejoined their corps. Fifteen hundred men
had been lost during the retreat, of whom the number killed
172 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
formed but a small proportion. But the army still amounted
to its former strength, as it was here joined by two fresh bat-
talions, who had been left at Lugo by General Baird on his
march from the coast. The force therefore numbered 19,000
men; for it had been weakened by some 4,000 of the light
troops having, early in the retreat, been directed towards
other ports, in order to lessen as far as possible the strain on
the commissariat.
The position was a strong one, and when Soult at mid-day
came up at the head of 12,000 men he saw at once that until
his whole force arrived he could not venture to attack it.
Like the British, his troops had suffered severely from the
long marches, and many had dropped behind altogether.
Uncertain whether he had the whole of the British before
him, he sent a battery of artillery and some cavalry forward;
when the former opened fire, they were immediately silenced
by a reply from fifteen pieces. Then he made an attack
upon the right, but was sharply repulsed with a loss of from
three to four hundred men ; and, convinced now that Moore
was ready to give battle with his whole force, he drew off.
The next day both armies remained in their positions.
Soult had been joined by Laborde's division, and had 17,000
infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and 50 guns ; the English had
16,000 infantry, 1,800 cavalry, and 40 guns. The French
made no movement to attack, and the British troops were
furious at the delay. Soult, however, was waiting until Ney,
who was advancing by another road, should threaten the
British flank or cut the line of retreat. Moore, finding
that Soult would not fight alone, and knowing that Ney was
approaching, gave the order for the army to leave its position
after nightfall and march for Corunna. He exhorted them to
keep good order, and to make the effort which would be the
last demanded from them. It was indeed impossible for him
CORUNNA 173
to remain at Lugo, even if Ney had not been close at hand,
for there was not another day's supply of bread in the town.
He took every precaution for securing that no errors should
take place as to the route to be followed in the dark, for the
ground behind the position was intersected by stone walls and
a number of intricate lanes. To mark the right tracks, bun-
dles of straw were placed at intervals along the line, and
officers appointed to guide the columns. All these precau-
tions, however, were brought to naught by the ill-fortune that
had dogged the general along the whole line of retreat. A
tremendous storm of wind and rain set in, the night was
pitch dark, the bundles of straw were whirled away by the
wind, and when the army silently left their post at ten o'clock
at night, the task before them was a difficult one indeed. All
the columns lost their way, and one division alone recovered
the main road ; the other two wandered about all night, buf-
feted by the wind, drenched by the rain, disheartened and
weary.
Some regiments entered what shelters they could find, the
men soon scattered to plunder, stragglers fell out in hundreds,
and at daybreak the remnants of the two divisions were still in
Lugo. The moment the light afforded means of recovering
their position, the columns resumed their march, the road
behind them being thickly dotted by stragglers. The rear-
guard, commanded by the general himself, covered the rear,
but fortunately the enemy did not come up until evening ; but
so numerous were the stragglers that when the French cavalry
charged, they mustered in sufficient force to repel their attack,
a proof that it was not so much fatigue as insubordination
that caused them to lag behind. The rear-guard halted a
few miles short of Friol and passed the night there, which
enabled the disorganized army to rest and re-form. The
loss during this unfortunate march was greater than that of
174 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
all the former part of the retreat, added to all the losses in
action and during the advance.
The next day the army halted, as the French had not
come up in sufficient numbers to give battle, and on the fol-
lowing day marched in good order into Corunna, where, to
the bitter disappointment of the general, the fleet had not yet
arrived. At the time, Sir John Moore was blamed by the
ignorant for having worn out his troops by the length of the
marches ; but the accusation was altogether unfounded, as is
proved by the fact that the rear-guard upon whom the full
brunt of the fighting had fallen, who had frequently been un-
der arms all night in the snow, had always to throw out
very strong outposts to prevent surprises, and had marched
eighty miles in two days, had suffered far more than the other
troops, owing to the fact that the food supply intended for all
had been several times wasted and destroyed by the excesses
of those who had preceded them yet who, when they
reached Corunna, had a much smaller number missing from
their ranks than was the case with the three other divisions.
After all the exertions that had been made, and the extra-
ordinary success with which the general had carried his force
through a host of enemies, all his calculations were baffled by
the contrary winds that delayed the arrival of the fleet, and
it remained but to surrender or fight a battle, which, if won,
might yet enable the army to embark. Sir John did not even
for a moment contemplate the former alternative. The troops
on arriving were at once quartered in the town. The inhab-
itants here, who had so sullenly held aloof from Baird's force
on its arrival, and had refused to give him the slightest aid,
now evinced a spirit of patriotism seldom exhibited by the
Spaniards, save in their defence of Saragossa, and on a few
other occasions.
Although aware that the army intended, if possible, to em-
CORUNNA 175
bark, and that the French on entering might punish them for
any aid given to it, they cheerfully aided the troops in remov-
ing the cannon from the sea-face and in strengthening the de-
fences on the land side. Provisions in ample quantity were
forthcoming, and in twenty-four hours the army, knowing that
at last they were to engage the foe who had for the last fort-
night hunted them so perseveringly, recovered its confidence
and discipline. This was aided by the fact that Corunna had
large magazines of arms and ammunition, which had been
sent out fifteen months before, from England, and were still
lying there, although Spain was clamouring for arms for its
newly raised levies.
To the soldiers this supply was invaluable. Their muskets
were so rusted with the almost constant downfall of rain and
snow of the past month as to be almost unserviceable, and these
were at once exchanged for new arms. The cartridge-boxes
were re-filled with fresh ammunition, an abundant store served
out for the guns, and, after all this, two magazines containing
four thousand barrels of powder remained. These had been
erected on a hill, three miles from the town, and were blown
up so that they should not fall into the hands of the enemy.
The explosion was a terrible one, and was felt for many miles
round. The water in the harbour was so agitated that the ship-
ping rolled as if in a storm, and many persons who had gone
out to witness the explosion were killed by falling fragments.
The ground on which the battle was to take place was unfit
for the operations of cavalry. The greater portion of the
horses were hopelessly foundered, partly from the effects of
fatigue, partly from want of shoes ; for although a supply of
these had been issued on starting, no hammers or nails had
been sent, and the shoes were therefore useless. It would in
any case have been impossible to ship all these animals, and
accordingly, as a measure of mercy, the greater portion of
176 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
them were shot. Three days were permitted Moore to make
his arrangements, for it took that time for Soult to bring up
his weary troops and place them in a position to give battle.
Their position was a lofty ridge which commanded that upon
which Sir John Moore now placed his troops, covering the
town. On the right of the French ridge there was another
eminence upon which Soult had placed eleven heavy guns.
On the evening of the i4th there was an exchange of ar-
tillery fire, but it led to nothing. That afternoon the sails
of the long-expected fleet were made out, and just at nightfall
it entered the harbour. The dismounted cavalry, the sick, the
remaining horses, and fifty guns were embarked, nine guns
only being kept on shore for action. On the i5th Soult
occupied himself in completing his preparations. Getting his
great guns on to the rocks on his left, he attacked and drove
from an advanced position some companies of the 5th Regi-
ment, and posted his mass of cavalry so as to threaten the
British right, and even menace its retreat to the town from
the position it held. Had the battle been delayed another
day, Sir John Moore had made every preparation for embark-
ing the rest of his troops rather than await a battle in which
even victory would be worthless, for Ney's corps would soon
be up. The French, however, did not afford him an oppor-
tunity of thus retiring.
Terence O'Connor speedily paid a visit to his regiment at
Corunna, for he had, of course, accompanied Fane's brigade
during the retreat. He was delighted to find that there had
been only a few trifling casualties among the officers, and that
the regiment itself, although it had lost some men in the fight-
ing that had taken place, had not left a single straggler behind,
a circumstance that was mentioned with the warmest com-
mendation by General Paget in his report of the doings of the
rear-guard.
CORUNNA 177
" I was awfully afraid that it would have been quite the
other way," Terence said. " I know how all the three other
divisions suffered, though they were never pressed by the en-
emy, and had not a shadow of excuse for their conduct."
11 You did not know us, me boy," O'Grady said. " I tell
ye, the men were splendid. I expect if we had been with the
others we should have behaved just as badly ; but being chosen
for the rear-guard put our boys all on their mettle, and every
man felt that the honour of the regiment depended on his good
conduct. Then, too, we were lucky in lighting on a big store
of tobacco, and tobacco is as good as food and drink. The
men gave a lot away to the other regiments, and yet had
enough to last them until we got here."
"Then they were not above doing a little plundering,"
Terence laughed.
" Plunder is it ! " O'Grady repeated, indignantly. " It was
a righteous action, for the factory belonged to the Central
Junta of the Province, and it was just stripping the French of
their booty to carry it away. Faith, it was the most merito-
rious action of the campaign."
" Have you got a good cigar left, O'Grady? "
" Oh, you have taken to smoking, have you? "
" I was obliged to, to keep my nose warm. On the march,
Fane and the major and Errington all smoked, and they
looked so comfortable and contented that I felt it was my duty
to keep them company."
" I have just two left, Terence, so we will smoke them to-
gether, and I have got a bottle of dacent spirits. Think of
that, me boy ; thirty-two days without spirits ! They will
never believe me when I go home and tell 'em I went without
it for thirty-two mortal days."
" Well, you have had wine, O'Grady."
" It's poor stuff by the side of the cratur, still I am not say-
ia
178 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
ing that it wasn't a help. But it was cold comfort, Terence,
a mighty cold comfort. ' '
" You are looking well on it, anyhow. And how is the
wound? "
" Och, I have nigh forgot I ever had one, save when it
comes to ateing. Tim has to cut my food up for me, and I
never sit down to a male without wishing bad cess to the
French. When we get back I will have a patent machine for
holding a fork fixed on somehow. It goes against me grain
to have me food cut up as if I was a baby ; if it wasn't for
that I should not miss my hand one way or the other. In fact,
on the march it has been a comfort that I have only had five
fingers to freeze, instead of ten. There is a compensation in
all things. So we are going to fight them at last ? There is no
chance of the fleet coming to take us off before that, I hope? "
he asked, anxiously, " for we should all break our hearts if we
were obliged to go without a fight."
" I don't think there is any chance of that, O'Grady, though
I should be very glad if there were. I am not afraid of the
fighting, but we certainly sha'n't win without heavy loss, and
every life will be thrown away, seeing that we shall, after all,
have to embark when the battle is over. Ney, with 50,000
men, is only two or three marches away.
" Well, Dicky, how do you do? " he asked, as Ryan came
up.
" I am well enough, Mr. Staff Officer. I needn't ask after
yourself, for you have been riding comfortably about, while
we have been marched right off our legs. Forty miles a day,
Terence, and over such roads as they have in this country; it
is just cruelty to animals."
"I would rather have been with you, Dicky, than see to
the horrible confusion that has been going on. Why, as soon
as the day's march was over we had to set to work to go
CORUNNA 179
about trying to keep order. A dozen times I have been
nearly shot by drunken rascals whom I was trying to get to
return to their corps. Worse still, it was heartrending to
see the misery of the starving women and camp-followers. I
would rather have been on outpost duty, with Soult's cavalry
hovering round, ready to charge at any moment."
"It is all very well to say that, Terence ! " O'Grady ex-
claimed. "But wait until you try it a bit, my boy. I
had five nights of it, and that widout a drop of whisky to
cheer me. It was enough to have made Samson weep, let
alone a man with only one hand, and a sword to hold in it,
and a bad could in his head. It was enough to take the
heart out of any man entoirely, and if it hadn't been for the
credit of the regiment, I could often have sat down on
a stone and blubbered. It is mighty hard for a man to keep
up his spirits when he feels the mortal heat in him oozing out
all over, and his fingers so cold that it is only by looking
that one knows one has got a sword in them, and you don't
know whether you are standing on your feet or on your knee-
bones, and feel as if your legs don't belong to you, but are
the property of some poor chap who has been kilt twenty-four
hours before. Och, it was a terrible time ! and a captain's
pay is too small for it, if it was not for the divarsion of a
scrimmage now and then ! "
" How about an ensign's pay ? " Ryan laughed. " I think
that on such work as we have had, O'Grady, the pay of all
the officers, from the colonel down, ought to be put together
and equally divided."
"I cannot say whether I should approve the plan, Ryan,
until I have made an intricate calculation, which, now I am
comfortable at last, would be a sin and a shame to ask me
brain to go through ; but as my present idea is that I should
be a loser, I may say that your scheme is a bad one, and not
180 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
to say grossly disrespectful to the colonel, to put his value
down as only equal to that of a slip of a lad like yourself.
Boys nowadays have no respect for their supeyrior officers.
There is Terence, who is not sixteen yet "
" Sixteen three months back, O'Grady," Terence put in.
"Yes, I remember now, but a week or two one way or the
other makes no difference. Here is Terence, just sixteen,
who ought to be at school trying to get a little learning into
his head, laying down the law to his supeyrior officers, just
because he has had the luck to get onto the brigadier's staff.
I think sometimes that the world is coming to an end."
" At any rate, O'Grady," Terence laughed, " I am half a
head taller than you are, and could walk you off your legs
any day."
' * There ! And he says this to a man who has gone through
all the fatigues of the rear-guard, while he has been riding
about the country like a gentleman at aise. ' '
" Well, I cannot stop any longer," Terence said. " I am
on my way up to see how they are getting on with the earth-
works, and the general may want me at any moment."
" I would not trouble about that," O'Grady said, sarcasti-
cally ; "perhaps he might make a shift to do widout you,
widout detriment to the service."
Terence made no reply, but, mounting, rode off up the
hill behind the town. At two o'clock on the i6th a general
movement of the French line was observed, and the British
infantry, 14,500 strong, drew up in order of battle along
the position marked for them. The British were fighting
under a serious disadvantage, for not only had Soult over
20,000 infantry, with very powerful artillery and great strength
in cavalry, but owing to their position on the crest running
somewhat obliquely to the higher one occupied by the French,
the heavy battery on the rocks to their right raked the whole
CORUNNA 181
line of battle. Hope's division was on the British left, Baird's
on the right. Eraser's division was on another ridge some
distance from the others, and immediately covering the town
of Corunna ; and Paget, with his division to which the Mayo
regiment was still attached, was posted at the village of Airis,
on the height between Hope's division and the harbour, and
looking down the valley between the main position and the
ridge held by Fraser.
From here he could either reinforce Hope and Baird, or
advance down the valley to repel any attack of the French
cavalry, and cover the retreat of the main body if forced to
fall back. The battle commenced by the French opening
fire with their field-guns, which were distributed along the
front of their position, and by the heavy battery on their
left, while their infantry descended the mountain in three
heavy columns, covered by clouds of skirmishers. The Brit-
ish piquets were at once driven in, and the village of Elvina,
held by a portion of the 5oth, carried. The French column
on this side then divided into two portions ; one endeavoured
to turn Baird's right and enter the valley behind the British
position, while the other climbed the hill to attack him in
front. The second column moved against the British centre,
and the third attacked Hope's left, which rested on the vil-
lage of Palavia Abaxo.
The nine English guns were altogether overmatched by
those of Soult's heavy battery. Moore, seeing that the half-
column advancing by Baird's flank made no movement to
penetrate beyond his right, directed him to throw back one
regiment and take the French in flank. Paget was ordered
to advance up the valley, to drive back the French column,
and menace the French battery, uniting himself with a bat-
talion previously posted on a hill to keep the threatening
masses of French cavalry in check. He also sent word to
182
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
Fraser to advance at once and support Paget. Baird launched
the 5oth and 426. Regiments to meet the enemy issuing from
Elvina. The ground round the village was broken by stone
walls and hollow roads, but the French were forced back, and
BATTLE OF CORUNNA
Scale
?__ V i Mile
alker frBoutallsc.
the 5oth, entering the village with the fleeing enemy, drove
them, after a struggle, beyond the houses.
The 42d, misunderstanding orders, retired towards the hill,
and the French, being reinforced, again attacked Elvina,
which the 5oth held stubbornly until again joined by the 42d,
CORUNNA 183
which had been sent forward by Moore himself. Paget was
now engaged in the valley, the advance of the enemy was
arrested, and they suffered very heavily from the fire of the
regiments on the height above their flank, while Paget steadily
gained ground. The centre and left were now hotly engaged,
but held their ground against all the attacks of the enemy,
and on the extreme left advanced and drove the French out
of the village of Palavia Abaxo, which they had occupied.
Elvina was now firmly held, while Paget carried all before him
on the right, and, with Fraser's division behind him, men-
aced the great French battery.
Had this been carried, the two divisions could have swept
along the French position, crumpling up the forces as they
went, and driving them down towards the river Moro, in
which case they would have been lost. Owing, however, to
the battle having been begun at so late an hour, darkness
now fell. The general himself, while watching the contest at
Elvina, had been struck by a cannon - ball and mortally
wounded. General Baird had also been struck down. This
loss of commanders combined with the darkness to arrest the
progress of the victorious troops, and permitted the French,
who were already falling back in great confusion, to recover
themselves and maintain their position.
The object for which the battle had been fought was gained.
Night, which had saved the French from total defeat, afforded
the British the opportunity of extricating themselves from
their position, and General Hope, who now assumed the com-
mand, ordered the troops to abandon their positions and to
march down to the port, leaving strong piquets with fires
burning to deceive the enemy. All the arrangements for
embarkation had been carefully arranged by Sir John Moore,
and without the least hitch or confusion the troops marched
down to the port, and before morning were all on board with
184 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
the exception of a rear-guard, under General Beresford, which
occupied the citadel.
At daybreak the piquets were withdrawn and also em-
barked, and a force under General Hill, that had been stationed
on the ramparts to cover the movement, then marched down
to the citadel, and there took boats for the ships. By this
time, however, the French, having discovered that the British
position was abandoned, had planted a battery on the heights
of San Lucia and opened fire on the shipping. This caused
much confusion among the transports. Several of the masters
cut their cables, and four vessels ran ashore. The troops, how-
ever, were taken on board of other transports by the boats of
the men-of-war. The stranded ships were fired, and the fleet
got safely out of harbour.
The noble commander, by whose energy, resolution, and
talent this wonderful march had been achieved, lived only long
enough to know that his soldiers were victorious, and was
buried the same night on the ramparts. His memory was for
a time assailed with floods of abuse by that portion of the
press and public that had all along vilified the action of the
British general, had swallowed eagerly every lie promulgated
by the Junta of Oporto, and by the whole of the Spanish
authorities ; but in time his extraordinary merits came to be
recognized to their full value, and his name will long live as
one of the noblest men and best generals Great Britain has
ever produced.
Beresford held the citadel until the i8th, and then em-
barked with his troops and all the wounded ; the people of
Corunna, remaining true to their promises, manned the ram-
parts of the town until the last British soldier was on board.
The British loss in the battle was estimated at 800 men ;
that of the French was put down at 3,000. Their greater loss
was due to the fact that they assumed the offensive, and were
AN ESCAPE 185
much more exposed than the defenders ; that the nine little
guns of the latter were enabled to sweep them with grape,
while the British were so far away from the French batteries
that the latter were obliged to fire round shot ; and lastly that
the new muskets and fresh ammunition gave a great advantage
to the British over the rusty muskets and often damaged pow-
der of the French. Paget's division had suffered but slightly,
the main loss of the English having occurred in and around
Elvina, and from the shot of the heavy battery that swept the
crest held by them. Two officers killed and four wounded
were the only casualties in that division, while but thirty of
the rank and file were put out of action.
CHAPTER XI
AN ESCAPE
WHILE the battle was at its height Terence was despatched
by the brigadier to carry an order to one of the regi-
ments that had pushed too far forward in its ardour. Scram-
bling over rough ground, and occasionally leaping a wall, he
reached the colonel. " The general requests you to fall back
a little, sir } you are farther forward than the regiment on your
flank. The enemy are pushing a force down the hill in your
direction, and as there is no support that can be sent to you at
present, he wishes your extreme right to be in touch with the
left of the regiment holding Elvina."
" Very good. Tell General Fane that I will carry out his
instructions. Where is he now ? ' '
"He is in the village, sir." Terence turned his horse to
ride back. The din of battle was almost bewildering. A des-
perate conflict was going on in front of the village, where every
186 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
wall was obstinately contested, the regiment being hotly en-
gaged with a French force that was rapidly increasing in
strength. The great French battery was sending its missiles
far overhead against the British position on the hill, the British
guns were playing on the French troops beyond the village,
and the French light field-pieces were pouring their fire into
Elvina. Terence made his way across the broken ground near
the village. Galloping at a low stone wall, the horse was in
the act of rising to clear it when it was struck in the head by
a round shot. Terence was thrown far ahead over the wall,
and fell heavily head-foremost on a pile of stones covered by
some low shrubs.
The shock was a terrible one, and for many hours he lay in-
sensible. When he recovered consciousness, he remained for
some time wondering vaguely where he was. Above him was
a canopy of foliage, through which the rays of the sun were
streaming. A dead silence had succeeded the roar of battle.
He put his hand to his head, which was aching intolerably,
and found that his hair was thick with clotted blood.
" Yes, of course," he said to himself at last ; " I was carry-
ing a message to Fane. I was just going to jump a wall and
there was a sudden crash. I remember I flew out of the sad-
dle that is all I do remember. I have been stunned, I sup-
pose. How is it so quiet ? I suppose the battle is over."
Then he sat suddenly upright.
"The sun is shining," he said. " It was getting dusk when I
was riding back to the village. I must have lain here all night. ' '
Suddenly he heard a gun fired ; it was quickly followed by
others. He rose on his knees and looked cautiously over the
bushes.
" It is away there," he said, " on those heights above the
harbour. The army must have, embarked, and the French are
firing at the ships."
" POOR OLD JACK I HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE
HIM AT TORRES VEDRAS."
GOT
AN ESCAPE 187
His conjecture was speedily verified, for, looking along the
crest which the British had held during the fight, he saw a
large body of French troops just reaching the top of the rise.
He stood up now and looked round. No one could be seen
moving in the orchards and vineyards round. He peered over
the wall ; his horse lay there in a huddled-up heap.
" A round shot in the head ! " he exclaimed ; " that ac-
counts for it. Poor old Jack ! he has carried me well ever
since I got him at Torres Vedras."
He climbed down and got what he was in search of a large
flask full of brandy-and -water, which he carried in one of the
holsters. He took a long drink, and felt better at once.
" I may as well take the pistols," he said, and, putting them
into his belt, climbed over the wall again, and lay down among
the bushes.
He was now able to think clearly. Should he get up and
surrender himself as a prisoner to the first body of French
troops that he came across ? or should he lie where he was
until nightfall, and then try to get away ? If he surrendered,
there was before him a march of seven or eight hundred miles
to a French prison ; if he tried to get away, no doubt there
were many hardships and dangers, but at least a possibility of
rejoining sooner or later. At any rate, he would be no worse
off than the many hundreds who had straggled during the
march, for it was probable that the great majority of these
were spread over the country, as the French, pressing forward
in pursuit, would not have troubled themselves to hunt down
fugitives, who, if caught, would only be an encumbrance to
them.
He was better off than they were, for at any rate he could
make himself understood, which was more than the majority
of the soldiers could do ; and at least he would not provoke the
animosity of the peasants by the rough measures they would
188 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
be likely to take to satisfy their wants. The worst of it was
that he had no money. Then suddenly he sat up again and
looked at his feet.
" This is luck ! " he exclaimed ; "I had never given the
thing a thought before. ' *
On his arrival at Corunna he had thrown away the riding-
boots he had bought at Salamanca. The constant rains had
so shrunk them that he could no longer wear them without
pain, and he had taken again to the boots that he carried in
his valise.
From the time when, at his father's suggestion, he had had
extra soles placed on them, above which were hidden fifteen
guineas, the fact of the money being there had never once
occurred to him. He had had sufficient cash about him to
pay for purchases at Salamanca and on the road, and, indeed,
had five guineas still in his pocket, though he had drawn no
pay from the time of leaving Torres Vedras.
This discovery decided him. With twenty guineas he could
pay his way for months, and he determined to make the at-
tempt to escape.
The firing continued for some time and then ceased.
" The fleet must have got out," he said to himself. " It is
certain that the French have not taken Corunna. We were
getting the best of it up to the time I was hurt, and it would
be dark in another half-hour, and there could be no fighting
on such ground as this, after that. Besides, Corunna is a strong
fortress, and we could have held out there for weeks, for Soult
can have no battering train with him ; besides, everything
was ready for embarkation, and I know that it was intended,
whether we won or lost, that the troops should go on board
in the night."
As he lay there he could occasionally hear the sound of
drums and trumpets as the troops marched from their positions
AN ESCAPE 189
of the night before, to take up others nearer to the town. At
times he heard voices, and knew that they were searching for
wounded over the ground that had been so desperately con-
tested ; but the spot where he was lying lay between the village
and the ground where the regiment he had gone to order back
had been engaged with the enemy, and as no fighting had taken
place there, it was unlikely that the search-parties would go
over it. This, indeed, proved to be the case, and after a time
he fell off to sleep, and did not wake until night was closing in.
He was hungry now, and again crossing the wall he took half
a chicken and a piece of bread that his servant had thrust into
his wallet just before starting, and made a hearty meal. He
unbuckled his sword and left it behind him; he had his pistols,
and a sword would be only an encumbrance.
As soon as it became quite dark he made his way cautiously
down the valley, passed the spot where the French column had
suffered so heavily, and then, turning to the left, traversed
the narrow plain that divided the position on which the French
heavy battery had been placed and the plateau on which their
cavalry had been massed. Numerous fires blazed in the wide
valley behind, where the reserve had been stationed on the
previous morning, and he doubted not that the French cavalry
were there, especially as he found no signs of life on the plateau
above. Coming presently on a small stream he bathed his head
for a considerable time, and then proceeded on his way, feeling
much brighter and fresher than he had done before.
The ground began to ascend more steeply, and after an
hour's walking he stood on the crest of the hill and looked
down on the position that the French had held, and beyond
it on Corunna and the sea. The cold was extreme. He had
brought with him his greatcoat and blanket, and, wrapping
himself in these, lay down in a sheltered position and slept
again till morning broke. His head was now better, and he
190 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
was able to think more clearly than he could the day before.
The first thing was to decide as to his course. It would be
dangerous to make direct for the frontier of Portugal. Now
that the British army had embarked, Soult would be free to
undertake operations in that country, and would doubtless
shortly put his troops in motion in that direction, and his
cavalry would be scattering all over the province collecting
provisions. Moreover, there would be the terrible range of
the Tras-os-montes to pass, and no certainty whatever of being
well received by the Portuguese peasants north of Oporto.
His constant study of the staff maps was now of great assist-
ance to him. He determined to turn west until he reached
the river Minho some distance below Lugo, which he could do
by skirting the top of the hills. He would therefore strike it
somewhere about the point where the river Sil joined it, and,
following this, would find himself at the foot of the Cantabrian
Hills, dividing the Asturias from Leon. Then he could be
guided by circumstances, and could either cross these moun-
tains and make for a seaport, or could journey down through
Leon to Ciudad-Rodrigo, which was still held by a Spanish
garrison, and from there make his way through Portugal to
Lisbon.
He questioned whether it would be wise for him to attempt
to get the dress of a Spanish peasant instead of his uniform, but
he finally decided that until he was beyond any risk of being
captured by parties from either Soult or Ney's armies, it would
be better to continue in uniform. If taken in that dress it
would be seen that he was a straggler from Moore's army, and
he would be simply treated as a prisoner of war ; while, if taken
in the dress of a peasant, he would be liable to be treated as a
spy and shot. Having made up his mind, he started at once,
and in three hours was at the foot of the hills on the other
side of which ran the road from Lugo to Corunna, which
AN ESCAPE 191
proved so disastrous to the army. He presently arrived at a
small hamlet, and the children in the streets ran shrieking
away as they saw him. Women appeared at the doors and
looked out anxiously ; they had not before seen a British
uniform, and at once supposed that he was French. Seeing
that he was alone, several men armed with clubs and picks
came out.
" I am an English officer," he said, " and I desire food and
shelter for a few hours. I have money to pay for it."
The peasants at once came round him. Confused accounts
had reached them of the doings on the other side of the hills.
They knew that an English army had marched from Lugo to
Corunna, hotly pursued by the French, but they had heard
nothing of what had happened afterwards. They eagerly
asked for news. Terence told them that there had been a
great battle outside Corunna, that the French had been repulsed
with much loss, and that the English had embarked on board
ships to take them round to Lisbon, there to march east to
meet the French again.
Nothing could be kinder than the treatment he received.
They told him that Ney's army was between the Sil and Lugo,
but that no French troops had crossed the Minho as yet.
They were eager to know why the English, if they had
beaten the French, sailed away. But when he said that Soult
would have been joined by Ney in a couple of days, and would
then be well-nigh double the strength of the British, who
would be so hotly pressed that they would be unable to em-
bark, the peasants saw that what they considered their deser-
tion could not have been avoided. The news of the terrible
defeats that had, a month before, been inflicted upon their
armies had not reached them, and Terence did not think it
necessary to enlighten them. He told them that the march
north of the English had been intended to bring all the French
192 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
forces in that direction, and so to enable the Spanish armies
to operate successfully, and that not only Soult and Ney, but
Napoleon himself, had been drawn off from the south in pur-
suit of them.
They were filled with satisfaction, and he was at once taken
into one of the cottages. A good meal was shortly placed be-
fore him, his head was carefully bandaged, and he was then
asked how it was that he had not embarked with the rest of
the army. He related how he had been left behind, and then
asked them their opinion as to his best course, telling them the
plan he himself had formed. They agreed at once that this was
the wisest one, but that it would be dangerous to try it until
Ney's force had moved from its present position. They knew
that he had a division at Orense on the Minho, and that par-
ties of his cavalry had scoured the plain as far as the river
Ulla, and urged upon him to remain with them until some
news was obtained of the movements of the French army.
He gladly accepted the invitation, and for a couple of days
remained at the little hamlet. One of the peasants came in
at the end of that time, saying that the French in Corunna had
crossed the mountains and had arrived at Santiago, twenty
miles distant, and that their cavalry were scouring the coun-
try. They also brought news that Romana was at Toabado,
and that he had but two or three thousand men with him, the
rest having been routed and cut up by the French cavalry.
Terence at once determined to join him.
The fact that he still had some troops with him had no in-
fluence in causing him to form this resolution. Romana had
been so often defeated that he knew that his men would,
after their recent misfortunes, scatter at once before even the
weakest French detachment. But Romana himself knew the
country well, was a man of great resource and activity, and
was likely to evade all efforts to capture him. He thought
AN ESCAPE 193
then that by joining him and sharing his fortunes he was more
likely to have some opportunity of making his way to Lisbon
than he would have if left to his own resources, especially as
he had no doubt that Soult would at once prepare to invade
Portugal by occupying all the passes, and thus render it next
to impossible to journey thither alone and on foot. One of
the peasants offered to guide him across the hills to Toabado.
They started at once, and at daybreak next morning reached
the village.
As Romana had been several times in personal communica-
tion with Sir John Moore, Terence was acquainted with his
appearance, and seeing him standing at the door of the prin-
cipal house of the village, went up to him and saluted him.
The latter looked upon him with great surprise.
" How have you managed to pass through the French?"
he asked.
" I have seen none of them, Marquis. I was wounded in
the battle of Corunna, and after lying insensible all that night,
found, when I recovered in the morning, that the French had
advanced and that I was in their rear. I heard their guns from
the heights above the town, and knew that our army had
gained their transports. I lay concealed all day and then
crossed the mountains, and have been resting for two days at
a village on the other side of the hills. The news came that
you were here, and I decided to join you at once. I was on
the staff of General Fane, and, knowing the duties of an
aide-de-camp, thought I might make myself useful to you
until there was an opportunity of my rejoining a British
force."
" You are welcome, sir," Romana said, courteously. " It
was only this morning that we learned from a prisoner that
my men took that you had driven back Soult before Corunna
and had embarked safely. I was in great fear that your army
13
194 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
would have been captured. I see that you have been wounded
on the head."
"It can scarcely be called a wound, Marquis. I was car-
rying a message on the battle-field ; when I was taking a wall
my horse was struck with a round shot. I was thrown over
his head onto a heap of rough stones, and it was a marvel to
me that I was not killed."
" I am just going to breakfast, sefior, and shall be glad if
you will join me. I have no doubt that you will do justice to
it."
Romana, who had commanded the Spanish troops which
had escaped from Holland, was the most energetic of the
Spanish generals. Defeated often, he was speedily at the head
of fresh gatherings, and ready to take the field again. As a
partisan chief he was excellent, but possessed no military tal-
ent, and was, like the Spaniards generally, full of grand but
utterly impracticable schemes, and in spite of his experience
to the contrary, confident that the Spaniards would overthrow
the French.
" I have been unfortunate," he said, in reply to the inquiry
as to how many troops he had with him. " At your English
general's request I took a different course with my army to
that which he was pursuing, in order that his magazines should
be untouched. I crossed his line of retreat, but unfortunately
Franceschi's cavalry come down upon us, cut up my artillery
and infantry, and scattered my force entirely. However,
some three thousand have rejoined, and I expect in a short
time to be at the head of 20,000. I ought to have more, but
these Galician peasants are stubborn fellows. They know
nothing of the affairs of Spain, and although they will fight in
defence of their own villages, they have no interest in any-
thing beyond, and hang back from joining an army that might
operate outside their province, You see, until now it has
AN ESCAPE 195
been untouched by war. They have suffered in no way from
French extortions and outrages. As soon as they feel the
smart themselves, I doubt not they will be as full of hatred
of the invaders as people are elsewhere, and as ready to take
up arms against them."
Romana's troops were but a motley gathering. The force
that he had brought with him from Holland had been landed
at Santander, marched to Bilbao, and joined Blake's army,
and had shared in the crushing defeat suffered by that general
at Espinosa, where most of them were taken prisoners. They
were again incorporated in the French army, and afterwards
took part in the Russian campaign, and in the retreat no less
than four thousand of them were taken prisoners by the Rus-
sians and handed over by them to British transports sent to
Cronstadt to fetch them. Romana himself had escaped from
the battle- field, and afterward raised a fresh force. This had
dwindled away from 15,000 to 5,000 when he joined Moore
on his advance, and now amounted to barely 2,000, of whom
the greater portion had thrown away their arms in their flight.
On the following day Romana, with a small body of cav-
alry, left Toabado, crossed the Minho, descended into the
valley of the Tamega, and took refuge close to the Portuguese
frontier line. Here he was, for a time, safe from the pursuit
of the French, the insignificance of his force being his best
protection. Soult lost no time. As soon as the English army
had left, Corunna opened its gates to him, as did Ferrol, al-
though neither of these towns could have been taken without
a siege, and Soult must have been delayed until a battering-
train was brought from Madrid.
The magazines of British powder and stores that had been
lying for months in Ferrol were invaluable to him.
The soldiers were set to work to make fresh cartridges, and
then, after six days' halt to give rest to his weary and foot-
196 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
sore men, he began to prepare to carry out Napoleon's orders
to invade Portugal. Ney, with 20,000 men, was to maintain
Galicia, and, reinforced by a fresh division, Soult was to
march direct upon Oporto with 25,000 men, leaving 12,000
in hospital, and 8,000 to keep up the line of communication
with Ney. It took some time to complete all the arrange-
ments and to gather the force at St. Jago Compostella, and it
was not until the first of February that he was able to move.
On the day of his arrival on the frontier, Romana despatched
Terence to Sir John Cradock, who now commanded the
British troops in Portugal, which had been augmented by
fresh arrivals from England until their numbers almost
equalled that of the force with which Sir John Moore marched
into Spain.
Romana asked that arms and money should be sent to him,
promising to harass the French advance, and cut their com-
munications from the rear. Terence gladly consented to carry
his despatch ; he was furnished with one of the best horses in
the troop, and at once started on his journey. It was a long
and harassing one ; many ranges of mountains and hills had
to be crossed, by roads difficult in the extreme at the best of
times, but almost impassable in winter. Three times he was
seized by parties of Portuguese militia and raw levies, but was
released on convincing their leaders that he was the bearer of
a communication to the English general.
The distance to be travelled was, in a direct line, over two
hundred and thirty miles. This was greatly increased by the
circuitous nature of the route through the mountainous coun-
try, so that it took nine days, and would have much exceeded
this time, had Terence not found a British force at Coimbra,
and there exchanged his worn-out animal for a fresh one,
placed at his disposal by the officer in command.
Cradock was experiencing exactly the same difficulties that
AN ESCAPE 197
Moore had done. The Spanish and Portuguese authorities
united in pressing him to advance, the former urging upon
him that his presence would be the signal for the Spanish
armies in the south to. unite and entirely overthrow the
French, while the latter were desirous that he should march
to Ciudad-Rodrigo, defeat the French at Salamanca, and so
protect Portugal from invasion from that side.
That Portugal might be attacked from the north and south
simultaneously by Soult and Victor did not enter into their
calculations, but while urging an advance, the Junta would
take no steps whatever to enable the army to move ; they
would neither afford him facilities for collecting transport,
nor order the roads that he would have to traverse to be put
in order, and thwarted all his efforts to raise a strong force
among the Portuguese.
There was, indeed, some improvement in the latter respect.
At their own request, Lord Beresford had been sent out from
England to take the command of the Portuguese armies, and
as he had brought many British officers with him, some 20,000
men had been armed and drilled, and could be reckoned
upon to do some service, if employed with British troops to
give them backbone. The Portuguese peasantry were strong
and robust, and by nature courageous, and needed only the
discipline that they could not receive from their own offi-
cers to turn them into valuable troops. According to the
law of the country every man was liable for service, and had
the corrupt Junta been dismissed, and full power been given to
the British, an army of 250,000 men might have been placed
in the field for the defence of the country, with a proper sup-
ply of arms and money.
But so far from assisting, the Junta threw every possible
impediment in the way. They feared that any real national
effort, if successful, would get altogether beyond their control,
198 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
and that they would lose the power that enabled them to en-
rich themselves at the expense of the people. Not only that,
but they were engaged in a struggle for supremacy with the
Junta of Oporto, which was striving by every means to render
itself the supreme authority of the whole of Portugal.
Terence had hoped that when he arrived at Lisbon he
should meet the army he had left at Corunna, for Sir John
Moore's instructions had been precise that the fleet was to go
thither. These instructions, however, had been disobeyed,
and the fleet had sailed direct for England. It had on the
way encountered a great storm, which had scattered it in all
directions. Several of the ships were wrecked on the coast
of England, and the army which would have been of ines-
timable service at Lisbon, now served only, by the tattered
garments and emaciated frames of the soldiers, to excite a
burst of misplaced indignation against the memory of the
general whose genius had saved it from destruction.
On arriving at head-quarters and stating his errand, Ter-
ence was at once admitted to the room where Sir John Crad-
ock was at work.
" I am told, sir, that you are the bearer of a despatch from
the Spanish general, Romana. Before I open it, will you
explain how it was that you came to be with him ? "
Terence gave a brief account of the manner in which,
after being left behind on the field of Corunna, he had suc-
ceeded in joining Romana.
The general's face, which had at first been severe, softened
as he proceeded.
1 < That is altogether satisfactory, Mr. O'Connor," he said.
" I feared that you might have been one of the stragglers,
among whom I hear were many officers, as well as thousands
of men belonging to Sir John Moore's army. We received
news of his glorious fight at Corunna and the embarkation of
AN ESCAPE 199
his army, by a ship that arrived here but three days since
from that port. Have you heard of the death of that noble
soldier himself? "
"No, sir," Terence replied, much shocked at the news.
" That is a terrible loss, indeed. He was greatly loved by the
army. He saw into every matter himself, was with the rear-
guard all through the retreat, and laboured night and day to
maintain order and discipline, and it was assuredly no fault
of his if he failed."
" Was your own regiment in the rear-guard ? "
" Yes, sir. It had the honour of being specially chosen by
Sir John Moore for its steadiness and good conduct. I was
not with it, but was one of Brigadier-general Fane's aides-de-
camp. It was while carrying a message to him that my horse
was killed and I myself stunned by being thrown onto a
heap of stones."
Sir John Cradock nodded, and then opened Romana's
despatch. He raised his eyebrows slightly. He had been
accustomed to such appeals for arms and money, and knew
how valueless were the promises that accompanied them.
" What force has General Romana with him ? "
"Some two hundred cavalry and three or four thousand
peasants, about a quarter of whom only are armed."
" He says that he expects to be joined by twenty thousand
men in a few days. Have you any means of judging whether
this statement is well founded? "
" That I cannot say. General Romana seems to me to be
a man of greater energy than any Spaniard I have hitherto
met, and I know that he has already sent messages to the
priests throughout that part of Galicia urging upon them the
necessity of using their influence among the peasantry. He
got a force together in a very short time, after the complete
defeat and capture of his own command by the French, at the
200 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
time of Blake's defeat, and I think that he might do so again,
though whether they would be of any use whatever in the
field I cannot say ; but should Soult advance into Portugal,
I should think that bands of this sort might very much
harass him."
" No doubt they might do so. I will see, at any rate, if
I can obtain some money from the political agents. I have
next to nothing in my military chest, and our forces are at a
standstill for the want of it. But that does not seem to
matter. While our troops are ill-fed, ragged, almost shoeless,
and unpaid, every Spanish or Portuguese rascal who holds out
his hand can get it filled with gold. As to arms, they are in
the first place wanted for the purpose of the Portuguese mi-
litia, who are likely to be a good deal more useful than these
irregular bands ; and in the second place, there are no means
whatever of conveying even a hundred muskets, let alone the
ten thousand that Romana is good enough to ask for. By the
way, are you aware whether Sir John Moore intended the
army to sail to England ? ' '
" Certainly not, sir. I know that up to the moment the
battle began the preparation for the embarkation went on un-
ceasingly, and General Fane told me the night before that we
were to be taken here. Whether Sir John may, at the last
moment, have countermanded that order I am unable to say. ' '
" Yes, I know that it was his intention, for I received a
letter from him, written after his arrival at Corunna, saying
that the embarkation could not be effected without a battle,
and that if he beat Soult he should at once embark and bring
the troops round here, as Ney's approaching force would
render Corunna untenable. Just at present the arrival of
20,000 tried troops would be invaluable. General Baird
will, of course, have succeeded Sir John Moore ? ' '
"General Baird was severely wounded, sir. He had just
AN ESCAPE 201
ridden up to General Fane when he was struck. General
Hope would therefore be in command after Sir John Moore
was killed."
" I have heard no particulars of the battle," Sir John said,
" beyond that it has been fought and Soult has been driven
back, that Sir John Moore is killed, and that the army has
embarked safely. And do I understand you that it was towards
the end of the battle that you were hurt ? ' '
" It was getting dusk at the time, General, but I cannot
say how long fighting went on afterwards. ' '
" Will you please to sit down at that table and give me, as
nearly as you can, a sketch of the position of our troops and
those of the French, and then explain to me, as far as you
may have seen or know, the movements of the corps and the
course of events. ' '
As Terence had, the evening before the battle, seen a sketch-
map on which General Fane had written the names and
positions of the British force and those of the French, he was
able to draw one closely approximating to it. In ten minutes
he got up and handed the sketch to Sir John Cradock.
" I am afraid it is very rough, sir," he said, " but I think
that it may give you an idea of the position of the town and
the neighbouring heights, and the position occupied by our
troops. ' '
" Excellent, Mr. O'Connor ! "
"I had the advantage of seeing a sketch-map that the
brigadier drew out, sir."
"Well, benefited from it. Now point out to me the
various movements. It seems to me that this large French
battery must have galled the whole line terribly ; but, on the
other hand, it is itself very exposed."
" General Fane said, sir, that he thought Soult was likely
to be over-confident. Our army was in frightful confusion
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
on the retreat from Lugo, and the number of stragglers was
enormous. Although many came in next day, the field -state
showed that over 2,000 were still absent from the colours.
The brigadier was observing that there was one advantage in
this, namely, that Soult would suppose that the whole army
was disorganized, and might, therefore, take more liberties
than he would otherwise have done ; and that, at any rate, he
was likely to rely upon his great force of cavalry on this plateau
to cover the battery hill from any attack on its left flank. It
was for that purpose that General Paget posted one of the
regiments on this eminence on the right of the valley, which
had the effect of completely checking the French cavalry."
He then related the incidents of the battle as far as they
had come under his notice.
" A very ably fought battle," Sir John Cradock said, as he
followed on the map Terence's account of the movements.
" Soult evidently miscalculated Sir John's strength and the
fighting powers of his troops. He hurled his whole force
directly against the position, specially endeavouring to turn
our right, but the force he employed there was altogether
insufficient for the purpose. From his position I gather that
he could not have known of the existence of Paget's reserve
up the valley, but he must have seen Fraser's division on
the hill above Coranto. I suppose he reckoned that this turn-
ing movement would shake the British position, throw them
into confusion, and enable his direct attack to be successful
before Fraser could come to their support. I am much obliged
to you for your description, Mr. O'Connor; it is very clear and
lucid. I will write a note, which you shall take to Mr. Villiers,
and it is possible that you may get help from him for Ro-
mana. I shall be glad if you will dine with me here at six
o'clock."
" I am much obliged to you, General, but I have nothing
A DANGEROUS MISSION 203
but the uniform in which I stand, which is, as you see, almost
in rags, and stained with mire and blood."
" I think it is probable that you will have no difficulty
in buying a fresh uniform in the city ; so many officers have
come out here with exaggerated ideas of the amount of trans-
port, that they have had to cut down their wardrobes to a
very large extent."
He touched the bell. " Will you ask Captain Nelson to
step in," he said to the clerk who answered. " Captain Nel-
son," he said, as one of his staff entered, " I want you to take
Mr. O'Connor under your charge. He has just arrived from
the north, and was present at the battle of Corunna. He was
on Brigadier Fane's staff. As at present he is unattached, I
shall put him down in orders to-morrow as an extra aide-de-
camp on my staff. He will be leaving to-morrow for the
northern frontier. I wish you to see if you cannot get him
an undress uniform. He belongs to the infantry. I will give
you an order on the paymaster, Mr. O'Connor, to honour
your draft for any amount that you may need. I dare say
you are in arrears of pay."
" Yes, Sir John. I have drawn nothing since we marched
from Torres Vedras in October."
CHAPTER XII
A DANGEROUS MISSION
CAPTAIN NELSON at once took Terence under his charge.
" You certainly look as if you wanted a new uniform,"
he said. " You must have had an awfully rough time of it.
If only for the sake of policy, we ought to get you into a new
one as soon as possible, for the very sight of yours would be
204 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
likely to demoralize the whole division by affording a painful
example of what they might expect on a campaign."
Terence laughed. " I know I look a perfect scarecrow. Do
you think that you can find me something? I really don't
know what I should have done if I had not had my greatcoat,
for I could never have ventured to walk through the street
from the little inn where I put up my horse, if I could not
have hidden myself in it."
" I can, fortunately, put you in the right way without diffi-
culty. There is a man here who has made a business of
buying up uniforms. I believe he sends most of them to
England, where they would certainly fetch a good deal more
than he gave for them ; but I know that he keeps a stock by
him, for there is a constant demand. The work out in the
country here does for a uniform in no time, and many men
who, before marching for the frontier, parted with all their
extra kit for a song, are glad enough to write to him for a
fresh outfit at three times the price he gave them two or three
months before."
" I wonder they don't send their surplus outfit back to Eng-
land direct," Terence said.
" Well, you see, there is the risk of the things being lost or
stolen on the way home, or being ruined by damp before they
are wanted again. Besides, a man thinks there is no saying
whether he shall ever want them again, or how long the war
will last, and is glad to take anything he can get to save him-
self any further bother about them."
Terence was fortunate in being able to buy an undress uni-
form, with facings similar to those of his own regiment, and to
lay in a stock of underclothes at a very much lower price than
he could have purchased them for even at home. Before leav-
ing the shop he put on his new uniform and left the old one
to be thrown away.
A DANGEROUS MISSION 205
" Now, ' Captain Nelson said, when they left the shop, " it
is just our lunch time. You must come with me and tell us
all about your wonderful march and the fight at the end of
it."
" I was going down to see about my horse."
" Oh, that is all right! I sent down an orderly to bring
him up to our stables. There, this is where we mess," he
said, stopping before a hotel. "We find it much more
comfortable than having it in a room at head-quarters. Be-
sides, one gets away from duty here. Of course, the chief
knows where we are, and can send for us if we are wanted ;
but one gets off being set to do a lot of office work in the
evening, and we find ourselves much more free and comfort-
able when we haven't got two or three of the big-wigs of the
staif. So they have a little mess of their own there, and we
have a room kept for ourselves here. ' '
There were more than a dozen officers assembled when the
two entered the room, where a meal was laid ; for Captain
Nelson had looked into the hotel for a moment on their way
to the tailor's, to tell his companions who Terence was, and
to say that he should bring him in to lunch. They had told
some of their acquaintances. Terence was introduced all
round, and as soon as the first course was taken off the table
he was asked many questions as to the march and battle ; and
by the time when, an hour later, the party broke up, they had
learned the leading incidents of the campaign.
"You may guess how anxious we were here," one of tViem
said, " when Moore's last despatch from Salamanca arrived,
saying that he intended to advance, and stating his reasons.
Then there was a long silence ; all sorts of rumours reached
us. Some said that, aided by a great Spanish army, he had
overthrown Napoleon, and had entered Madrid; others,
again, stated that his army had been crushed, and he, with the
206 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
survivors, were prisoners, and were on their way to the frontier
in fact, we had no certain news until three days ago, when
we heard of the battle, his death, and the embarkation of the
army, and its sailing for England. The last was a terrible
blunder."
"Only a temporary one, I should think," Captain Nelson
said. "From Mr. O'Connor's account of the state of the
army, I should think that it is just as well that they should
have gone home to obtain an entirely new rig-out; there
would be no means of fitting them out here. A fortnight
ought to be enough to set them up in all respects, and as we
certainly shall not be able to march for another month ' '
" For another three months, you mean, Nelson."
" Well, perhaps for another three months, the delay will
not matter materially."
" It won't matter at all, if the French oblige us by keeping
perfectly quiet, but if Soult menaces Portugal with invasion
from the north, Lapisse from the centre, and Victor from the
south, we may have to defend ourselves here in Lisbon before
six weeks are out."
"Personally, I should not be sorry," another said, "if
Soult does invade the north and captures Oporto, hangs the
bishop, and all the Junta. It would be worth ten thousand
men to us, for they are continually at mischief. They do
nothing themselves, and thwart all our efforts. They are
worse than the Junta here if that is possible and they
have excited the peasants so much against us that they desert
in thousands as fast as they are collected, while the population
here hate us, I believe, quite as much as they hate the
French. But why they should do so Heaven knows, when we
have spent more money in Portugal than the whole country
contained before we came here."
After the party had broken up, Captain Nelson took Ter-
A DANGEROUS MISSION 207
ence to Mr. Villiers, who, on reading the general's letter and
hearing from Terence how Romana was situated, at once said
that he would hand over to him 20,000 dollars to take to the
Spanish general.
" How am I to carry it, sir? It will be of considerable
weight, if it is in silver."
" I will obtain for you four good mules," Mr. Villiers said,
" and an escort of twelve Portuguese cavalry under an offi-
cer."
" May I ask, sir, that the money shall be packed in ammu-
nition-boxes, and that no one except the officer shall know
that these contain anything but ammunition? "
"You have no great faith in Portuguese honesty, Mr.
O'Connor."
"As to their honesty as a general thing, sir, I express no
opinion," Terence said, bluntly; "as to the honesty of their
political partisans, I have not a shadow of belief. Moreover,
there is no love lost between them and the Spaniards, and
though possibly money for any of the Portuguese leaders might
be allowed to pass untouched by others and even of this I
have great doubt I feel convinced that none of them would
allow it to go out of the country for the use of the Spaniards
if they could lay hold of it by the way."
" Those being your sentiments, sir, I think that it is a pity
the duty is not intrusted to some officer of broader views."
" I doubt whether you would find one, sir ; especially if he
has, like myself, been three or four months in the country. I
have simply accepted the duty, and not sought it, and should
gladly be relieved of it. General Romana sent me here with
a despatch, and it is my duty, unless General Cradock chooses
another messenger, to carry back the reply, and anything else
with which I may be intrusted. I have for the past three
months been incessantly engaged on arduous and fatiguing
208 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
duty. I have ridden for the last nine days by some of the
worst roads to be found in any part of the world, I should say,
and have before me the same journey. Besides, if I receive
the general's orders to that effect, I may have to stay with the
Spanish general, and in that case shall, I am sure, be con-
stantly upon the move, and that among wild mountains. If
this treasure is handed over to me I shall certainly do my best
to take it safely and to defend it, if necessary, with my life ;
but it is assuredly a duty of which I would gladly be relieved.
But that, sir, it seems to me, is a question solely for the com-
mander-in-chief."
Mr. Villiers gazed in angry surprise at the young ensign ;
then thinking, perhaps, that he would put himself in the
wrong, and as his interferences in military matters with Sir
John Cradock had not met with the success he desired for
them, he checked the words that rose to his lips, and said,
shortly: " The convoy will be ready to start from the treasury
at daybreak to-morrow."
" I shall be there if so commanded by General Crad-
ock."
As soon as they had left the house Captain Nelson burst into
a shout of laughter.
" What is it? " Terence asked, in surprise.
" I would not have missed that for twenty pounds, O'Con-
nor; it is the first bit of real amusement I have had since I
landed. To see Villiers who regards himself as the greatest
man in the country, who not only thinks that he regulates
every political intrigue in Spain and Portugal, but assumes to
have the direction of every military movement also, and tries
to dictate to the general on purely military matters quietly
cheeked by an ensign, is the best thing I ever saw."
" But he has nothing to do with military matters, has he ? "
" No more than that mule-driver there, but he thinks he
A DANGEROUS MISSION 209
has ; and yet, even in his own political line, he is the most ill-
informed and gullible of fools, even among the mass of in-
competent agents who have done their utmost to ruin every
plan that has been formed. I doubt whether he has ever
been correct in a single statement that he has made, and am
quite sure that every prophecy he has ventured upon has been
falsified, every negotiation he has entered into has failed, and
every report sent home to government is useful only if it is
assumed to be wrong in every particular ; and yet the man is
so puffed up with pride and arrogance that he is well-nigh in-
supportable. The Spaniards have fooled him to the top of
his bent ; it has paid them to do so. Through his repre-
sentations the ministry at home have distributed millions
among them. Arms enough have been sent to furnish nearly
every able-bodied man in Spain, and harm rather than good
has come of it. Still, he is a very great man, and our
generals are obliged to treat him with the greatest civility,
and to pretend to give grave consideration to the plans
that, if they emanated from any other man, would be consid-
ered as proofs that he was only fit for a mad-house. And to
see you looking calmly in his face and announcing your views
of the Spanish and Portuguese was delightful." And Cap-
tain Nelson again burst into laughter at the recollection.
Terence joined in the laugh. "I had no intention of of-
fending him," he said. " Of course I have often heard how
he was pressing General Moore to march into Spain, and
promising that he should be met by immense armies that
were eager and ready to drive the French out of that coun-
try, and were only waiting for his coming to set about doing
so. I know that the brigadier and his staff used to talk
about what they called Villiers' phantom armies, but as I
only said what everyone says who has been in Spain, it never
struck me that I was likely to give him serious offence."
14
210 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" And if you had thought so, I don't suppose it would
have made any difference, O'Connor."
"I don't suppose it would," Terence admitted; "and
perhaps it will do him good to hear a straightforward opinion
for once."
" It will certainly do him no harm. Now, you had better
tell the chief that you are to have the money. I should think
that he will probably send a trooper with you as your orderly.
Certainly, he has no reason to have a higher opinion of the
Portuguese than you have."
"I will go back with you, Captain Nelson; but as you
were present, will you kindly tell the general? I don't like
bothering him."
" Certainly, if you wish it."
On arriving at head -quarters Terence sat down in the ante-
room and took up an English paper, as he had heard no home
news for the last three months. Presently Captain Nelson
came out from the general's room and beckoned to him. He
followed him in. Four or five officers of rank were with the
general, and all were looking greatly amused when he en-
tered.
" So you have succeeded in obtaining money for Ro-
mana," the general said.
"Yes, sir, there was no difficulty about it. Mr. Villiers
asked me a few questions as to the situation on the frontier,
and at once said that I should have ^"5,000 to take him."
" Captain Nelson tells us that you were unwise enough to
express an opinion as to the honesty of the Portuguese escort
that he proposed to send with you."
"I said what I thought, General, and had no idea that
Mr. Villiers would take it as an offence, as he seemed to."
" Well, he has his own notions on these things, you see,"
the general said, dryly, ' ' and they do not exactly coincide
A DANGEROUS MISSION 211
with our experience ; but then Mr. Villiers claims to under-
stand these people more thoroughly than we can do."
Terence was silent for a moment. " I only went by what
I have seen, you know," he said, after a pause, "and cer-
tainly had no intention of angering Mr. Villiers. But it
seemed to me that, as I was responsible for taking this money
to Romana, it was my duty to suggest a precaution that ap-
peared to me necessary. ' '
" Quite right, quite right; and it is just as well, perhaps,
that Mr. Villiers should occasionally hear the opinions of of-
ficers of the army frankly expressed. Certainly, I think that
the precaution you suggested was a wise one, and if Mr.
Villiers does not do so, I will see that it is carried out.
" I have asked Captain Nelson to go with you, taking the
treasure, to the barracks and see that the money is taken out
of the cases and repacked in ammunition-boxes. It would be
unwise in the extreme to tempt the cupidity of any wandering
parties that you might fall in with by the sight of treasure-
cases. Your suggestion quite justifies the opinion that I had
formed of you from the brief narrative that you gave me of
the battle of Corunna. For the present, gentlemen, I have
appointed Mr. O'Connor as an extra aide-de-camp on my
staff. He served in that capacity with Brigadier-general
Fane from the time that the troops marched from here, which
is in itself a guarantee that he must, in the opinion of that
general, be thoroughly fit for the work.
" I think, Mr. O'Connor, that, going as you will as an of-
ficer on my staff, it is best that you should be accompanied
by a couple of troopers, and I have just spoken to Colonel
Gibbons, who will detach two of his best men for that service.
In addition to your being in charge of the treasure, you will
also carry a despatch from myself to General Romana, with
suggestions as to his co-operation in harassing the advance of
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
the French. I will not detain you further now. Don't for-
get the dinner hour.'*
A large party sat down to table. There were the officers
Terence had seen there in the afternoon, and several colonels
and heads of departments of the army, and Terence, although
not shy by nature, felt a good deal embarrassed when, as soon
as the meal was concluded, several maps were, by the gen-
eral's orders, placed upon the table, and he was asked to give
as full an account as he was able of the events that had hap-
pened from the time General Moore marched with his army
from Salamanca, and so cut himself off from all communication.
It was well that Terence had paid great attention to the
conversations between General Fane and the officers of the
brigade staff, had studied the maps, and had made himself, as
far as he could, master of the details of the movements of
the various divisions, and had gathered from Fane's remarks
a fair knowledge of General Moore's objects and intentions.
Therefore, when he had overcome his first embarrassment, he
was able to give a clear and lucid account of the campaign,
and of the difficulties that Moore had encountered and over-
come in the course of his retreat. The officers followed his
account upon the maps, asked occasional questions, and
showed great interest in his description of the battle.
When he had done, Sir John Cradock said : " I am sure,
gentlemen, that you all agree with me that Mr. O'Connor
has given us a singularly clear and lucid account of the
operations of the army, and that it is most creditable that so
young an officer should have posted himself up so thoroughly,
not only in the details of the work of his own brigade, but in
the general plans of the campaign and the movements of the
various divisions of the army. ' '
There were also hearty compliments from all the officers as
they rose from the table.
A DANGEROUS MISSION
"I doubt, indeed, Sir John," one of them said, "whether
we should ever have got so clear an account as that he has
given from the official despatches. I own that I, for one,
have never fully understood what seemed a hopeless incursion
into the enemy's country, and I cannot too much admire the
daring of its conception. As to the success which has attended
it, there can be no doubt, for it completely paralysed the
march of the French armies, and has given ample time to the
southern provinces of Spain to place themselves in a position
of defence. If they have not taken advantage of the breath-
ing time so given them, it is their fault, and in no way detracts
from the chivalrous enterprise of Moore."
"No, indeed," Sir John agreed; "the conception was
truly an heroic one, and one that required no less self-sacrifice
than daring. There are few generals who would venture on
an advance when certain that it must be followed by a retreat,
and that at best he could but hope to escape from a terrible
disaster. It is true that he gained a victory which, under
the circumstances, was a most glorious one, but this was the
effect of accident rather than design. Had the fleet been in
Corunna when he arrived, he would have embarked at once,
and in that case he would have been attacked with ferocity
by politicians at home, and would have been accused of sacri-
ficing a portion of his army on an enterprise that everyone
could have seen was ordained to be a failure before it com-
menced."
" Did you know General Fane personally before you were
appointed to his staff? "
" No, General ; he commanded the brigade of which my
regiment formed part, and of course I knew him by sight, but
I had never had the honour of exchanging a word with him."
"Then, may I ask why you were appointed to his staff,
Mr. O'Connor?"
WITH MOORfc AT CORUNNA
Terence hesitated. There was nothing he disliked more
than talking of what he himself had done. " It was a sort of
accident, General."
"How an accident, Mr. O'Connor? Your conduct must
have attracted his attention in some way. ' '
" It was an accident, sir," Terence said, reluctantly, " that
General Fane happened to be on board Sir Arthur Wellesley's
ship at Vigo when my colonel went there to make a report of
some circumstances that occurred on the voyage."
" Well, what were these circumstances? " the general asked.
" You have shown us that you have the details of a campaign
at your ringer ends, surely you must be able to tell what those
circumstances were that so interested General Fane that he
selected you to fill a vacancy on his staff. ' '
Terence felt that there was no escape, and related as briefly
as he could the account of the engagement with the two pri-
vateers, and of their narrow escape from being captured by a
French frigate.
"That is a capital account, Mr. O'Connor," Sir John
Cradock said, smiling, as he brought it to a conclusion. " But,
so far, I fail to see your particular share in the matter."
" My share was very small, sir."
" I think I can fill up the facts that Mr. O'Connor's mod-
esty has prevented him from stating," one of the officers said.
"It happened that before we sailed from Ireland six weeks
ago, an officer of the Mayo Fusiliers, who had been invalided
home in consequence of a wound, dined at our mess, and he
told the story very much as Mr. O'Connor has told it, but he
added the details that Mr. O'Connor has omitted. He stated
that really the escape of the wing of the regiment was entirely
due to an ensign who had recently joined a son of one of
the captains of the regiment. He said that, in the first place,
when the cannon were found to be so honeycombed with rust
A DANGEROUS MISSION 215
that it would have been madness to attempt to fire them, this
young officer suggested that they should be bound round with
rope just like the handle of a cricket bat. This suggestion
was adopted, and they were therefore able to pour in the
broadside that crippled the lugger and brought her sails down,
leaving her helpless under the musketry fire of the troops.
In the second place, when the ship was being pounded by
the other privateer without being able to make any reply, and
must shortly have either sunk or surrendered, this young
officer suggested to one of the captains that the lugger, lying
helpless alongside, should be boarded, and her guns turned
on the brig, a suggestion that led not only to the saving of
the ship, but the capture of the brig itself.
" Lastly, when the French frigate hove in sight, the troops
were transferred to the two prizes, and were about to make
off, in which case one of them would almost certainly have
been captured. He suggested that they should hoist French
colours, and that both should be set to work to transfer some
of the stores from the ship to the privateers. This suggestion
was adopted, with the result that on the frigate approaching,
and seeing, as was supposed, two French privateers engaged
in rifling a prize, she continued on her way without troubling
herself further about them. Sir Arthur Wellesley issued a
most laudatory notice of Mr. O'Connor's conduct in general
orders."
Most of those present remembered seeing the order, now
that it was mentioned, and the general, turning to Terence,
who was colouring scarlet with embarrassment and confusion,
said, kindly :
" You see, we have got at it after all, Mr. O'Connor. I am
glad that it came from another source, for I do not suppose
that we should have got all the facts from you, even by cross-
questioning. You may think, and I have no doubt that you
216 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
do think, that you received more credit than you deserved
for what you consider were merely ideas that struck you at
the moment; but such is not my opinion, nor that, I am
sure, of the other officers present. The story which we have
just heard of you, and the account that you have given of the
campaign, afford great promise, I may almost say a certainty,
of your attaining, if you are spared, high eminence in your
profession.
" Your narrative showed that you are painstaking, accurate,
and intelligent. The facts that we have just heard prove you
to be exceptionally quick in conceiving ideas, cool in action,
and able to think of the right thing at the right time all
qualities that are requisite for a great commander. I warmly
congratulate you, that at the very commencement of your
career you should have had the opportunity afforded you for
showing that you possess these qualities, and of gaining the
warm approbation of men very much older .than yourself, and
all of wide experience in their profession. I am sorry now
that you are starting to-morrow on what I cannot but consider
a useless, as well as a somewhat dangerous, undertaking. I
should have been glad to have utilized your services at once,
and only hope that you will erelong rejoin us."
So saying, he rose. The hour was late, for Terence's de-
scription of the campaign and battle had necessarily been a
very long one, and the party at once broke up, all the officers
present shaking the lad warmly by the hand.
" You are a lucky fellow, O'Connor," Captain Nelson said,
as he accompanied him to his room, in which a second bed
had been set up for the young ensign's accommodation.
" You will certainly get on after this. There were a dozen
colonels and two generals of brigade among the party, and I
fancy that there is not one of them that will not bear you in
mind and say a good word for you, if opportunity occurs, and
A DANGEROUS MISSION 217
Sir John himself is sure to push you on. I should say that
not an officer of your rank in the army has such good chances,
and you look such a lad, too. You did not show it so much
when you first arrived ; of course you were fagged and travel-
stained then, but now I should not take you for more than
seventeen. Indeed, I suppose you are not, as you only joined
the service six months ago."
" No ; I am not more than seventeen," Terence said, quietly,
not thinking it necessary to state that he wanted a good many
months yet to that age, for to do so would provoke questions
as to how he obtained his commission before he was sixteen.
" But, you see, I have had a good many advantages. I was
brought up in barracks, and I suppose that sharpens one's
wits a bit. When I was quite a young boy I used to be a
good deal with the junior officers ; of course, that made me
older in my ideas than I should have been if I had always
associated with boys of my own age. Still, it has been all
luck, and though Sir John was kind enough to speak very
warmly about it, I really can't see that I have done anything
out of the way. ' '
" Luck comes to a good many fellows, O'Connor, but it is
not every one who has the quickness to make the most of the
opportunity. You may say that they are only ideas ; but you
see you had three valuable ideas, and none of your brother
officers had them, and you cannot deny that your brains
worked more quickly than those of the others.
" Well, we may as well turn in at once, as we have all got
to be up before daylight. I am very glad that Sir John has
given you a couple of troopers. It will make you feel a good
deal more comfortable anyhow, even if you don't get into any
adventure where their aid may be of vital importance."
" It will indeed ; alone I should have very little influence
with the Portuguese guard. These might be perfectly honest
218 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
themselves, but they might not be at all disposed to risk their
lives by offering any opposition to any band that might de-
mand the ammunition they would believe were in the cases.
I was twice stopped by bands of scantily armed peasants on my
way down, and although they released me on seeing the letter
that I carried to the general, it was evident that they felt but
little good-will towards us, and had I had anything about me
worth taking, my chance of reaching Lisbon would have been
small."
" The Junta of Oporto has spared no pains in spreading all
sorts of atrocious lies against us ever since the escort of the
French prisoners interfered to save them from the fury of the
populace, though perhaps the peasants in this part of the
country still feel grateful to us for having delivered them from
the exactions of the French.
"In the north, where no French soldier has set foot, they
have been taught to regard us as enemies to be dreaded as
much as the French. Up to the present time all the orders
for the raising of levies have been disregarded north of the
Douro, and though great quantities of arms have been sent up
to Oporto, I doubt whether a single musket has been distrib-
uted by the Junta. That fellow Friere, the general of what
they call their army, is as bad as any of them. I hope that if
Soult comes down through the passes he will teach the fellow
and his patrons a wholesome lesson."
" And do you think that the troops here will march north to
defend Oporto? "
" I should hardly think that there is a chance of it. Were
our force to do so, Lisbon would be at the mercy of Victor
and of the army corps at Salamanca. Cuesta is, what he calls,
watching Victor. He is one of the most obstinate and pig-
headed of all the generals. Victor will crush him without
difficulty, and could be at Lisbon long before we could get
AN AWKWARD POSITION 219
back from Oporto. No, Lisbon is the key of the situation ;
there are very strong positions on the range of hills between
the river and the sea at Torres Vedras, which could be held
against greatly superior forces. The town itself is protected
by strong forts, which have been greatly strengthened since
we came. The men-of-war can come up to the town, aid in
its defence, and bring reinforcements ; and provisions can be
landed at all times.
" The loss of Lisbon would be a death-blow to Portuguese
independence, and you may be sure that the ministry at home
would eagerly seize the opportunity of abandoning the struggle
here altogether. Do you know that at the present moment,
while urging Sir John Cradock to take the offensive with
only 15,000 men against the whole army of France in the
Peninsula, they have had the folly to send a splendid expedi-
tion of from thirty to forty thousand good troops to Holland,
where they will be powerless to do any good, while their
presence here would be simply invaluable. Well, we will not
enter upon that subject to-night ; the folly and the incapacity
of Mr. Canning and his crew is a subject that, once begun,
would keep one talking until morning.' *
CHAPTER XIII
AN AWKWARD POSITION
WHEN Captain Nelson and Terence went out, just as the
morning was breaking, they found the two troopers
waiting in the street. Each held a spare horse ; the one was
that upon which Terence had ridden from Coimbra, the other
was a fine English horse.
horse is this? " Terence asked,
220 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" It is a present to you from Sir John Cradock," Captain
Nelson said. " He t6ld me last night that the troopers had
been ordered to ask for it when they took your horse this
morning, and that his men were ordered to hand it over to
them. He wished me to tell you that he had pleasure in
presenting the horse to you as a mark of his great satisfaction
at the manner in which you had mastered the military details
of Sir John Moore's expedition, and the clearness with which
you had explained them."
"I am indeed greatly obliged to the general; it is most
kind of him," Terence said. "Will you please express my
thanks to him in a proper way, Captain Nelson."
They rode to the Treasury, where they found the Portu-
guese escort, with the mules, waiting them. The officer in
charge of the Treasury was already there, and admitted the
two officers.
" I have packed the money in ammunition-boxes," he said.
" I received instructions from Mr. Villiers to do so."
"It is evident that your words had some effect, Mr. O'Con-
nor," Captain Nelson said aside to Terence. " I suppose that
when he thought it over he came to the conclusion that, after
all, your suggestions, were prudent ones, and that it would add
to the chance of the money reaching Romana were he to
adopt it."
"I am glad that he did so, for had the money been placed
in the ordinary chests and then brought to the barracks to be
packed in ammunition -cases, the Portuguese troopers would all
have been sure of the nature of the contents ; whereas now,
whatever they may suspect, they cannot be sure about it,
because there is a large amount of ammunition stored in the
same building."
Some of the guard stationed in the Treasury carried the
chests out, and assisted the, muleteers to lash them in their places.
TERENCE RECEIVES A PRESENT OF HORSE FROM SIR JOHN CRADOCK.
\
AN AWKWARD POSITION 221
" I cannot thank you too warmly, Captain Nelson, for the
kindness that you have shown me," Terence said.
" Not at all," that officer replied ; "I simply carried out
the general's orders, and the duty has been a very pleasant one.
No, I don't think I would mount that horse if I were you," he
went on, as Terence walked towards his acquisition. "I would
have him led as far as Coimbra, while you ride the horse you
borrowed there, then he will be fresh for the further journey."
" That would be the best way, no doubt, though our stages
must all be comparatively short ones, owing to our having
mules with us."
" I should not press them if I were you. I don't suppose
that it will make much difference whether Romana gets the
money a few days sooner or later."
" None whatever, I should say," Terence laughed, as he
mounted his horse. "Still, I do think that he will be able
to gather a mob of peasants. Of course, being almost without
arms, they will be of no use whatever for fighting, but still they
may harass Soult's communications, cut off stragglers, and
compel him to move slowly and cautiously."
Terence now saluted the Portuguese officer, who said, as he
returned the salute :
" My name, senor, is Juan Herrara."
"And mine is Terence O'Connor, sefior. Our journey
will be a somewhat long one together, and I hope that we
shall meet with no adventures or accidents by the way."
" I hope not, senor. My instructions are simple; I am to
place myself under your orders, and to convey eight cases of
ammunition to the northern frontier, and to follow the routes
that you may point out. I was ordered also to pick the men
who are to form the escort. I have done so, and I think I
can answer that they can be relied upon to do their duty un-
der all circumstances. ' '
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
Terence now turned, and with a hearty farewell to Captain
Nelson, rode on by the side of Lieutenant Herrara. The two
British troopers followed them, the four mules with their
two muleteers kept close behind, and the twelve Portuguese
troopers brought up the rear.
" It is a strong escort for four mules carrying ammunition,"
the Portuguese officer said, with a smile.
"It may seem so," Terence laughed, "but you see the
country, especially north of the Douro, is greatly disturbed."
" Very much so, and I think that the precaution that has
been taken is a very wise one. I have been informed what is
really in the cases. Were I going by myself with a sergeant
and twelve men, I should say that to put the money in am-
munition-cases was not only absolutely useless but dangerous,
the disproportion between the force and the value of the am-
munition would be so great that it would attract attention at
once, but as you are with us it is more likely to pass without
observation. You are an officer on the staff of the English
general. You have your own two orderlies, and, as you are
carrying despatches, it is considered necessary that you should
have an escort of our people. The cases in that event would
seem to be of little importance, but to be simply travelling
with us to have the advantage of the protection of our escort. ' '
' ' You are quite right, Senor Herrara, and it would have
been vastly better had the money been stowed in sacks filled
up with grain; then they could follow a short distance behind
us, and it would seem that they were simply carrying forage
for our use on the road."
' ' That would have been very much better, sefior. You
might have it done at Torres Vedras."
" The money is in bags, each containing two hundred dol-
lars. There will be no trouble in transferring them to sacks
filled with plenty of forage. Two of your soldiers have be-
AN AWKWARD POSITION 223
hind them a bundle or two of faggots, a basket of fowls, and
other matters ; these can be piled on the top of the sacks, so
that the fact that the principal load was forage would hardly
be noticed. You might mention to the muleteers that I
thought that it would be a considerable saving of weight if we
used sacks instead of those heavy cases, and that the ammuni-
tion would travel just as well in the one as the other. We
must arrange so that the muleteers do not suspect anything. ' '
'As a rule," Herrara said, " they are very trustworthy.
There is scarcely a case known in which they have stolen
goods intrusted to them, however valuable ; but it would be
easy to place a few packets of ammunition in the mouth of
each sack, and call them in to cord them up firmly. The
sight of the ammunition would go far to lessen any suspicions
they might have."
They reached Torres Vedras that night. Terence spoke to
the officer in command there, and was furnished with the sacks
he required, and enough forage to fill them. The boxes were
put into a room in the barracks, and here Terence, with his
two orderlies, opened the cases and transferred the bags of
money to the centre of the sacks. Two or three dozen packets
of ammunition were obtained, and a few put into the mouths
of the sacks. These were left open, and the room locked up,
two of the Portuguese soldiers being placed on guard before
it. Terence and Lieutenant Herrara were invited to dine at
mess and had quarters assigned to them, and Terence, after
dinner, again, but much more briefly than before, gave the
officers at the station a sketch of the retreat and battle.
The next morning the muleteers were called in to fasten up
the sacks. At the suggestion of the officer in command, a tent
was also taken.
"You may want it badly before you are done," he said.
"If I were you I should always have it pitched, except when
224 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
you are at a village, for you can have the sacks in as beds,
and so keep them under your eye ; and if, as you tell me, you
are giving out that they contain ammunition, it would seem
but a natural step, as you are so able to keep it dry."
The mules looked more heavily laden than upon the pre-
ceding day, but they were carrying no heavier burden, for the
weight of the tent, its poles, the basket of fowls, Terence's
valise, and other articles, were considerably less than those of
the eight heavy cases that had been left behind. The two
officers now rode at the head of the detachment, and two only
of the Portuguese soldiers kept in rear of the mules, which now
followed at a distance of thirty or forty yards behind them.
They stopped that night at Rolica and the next at Leirya.
This was a long march, and a short one the next day brought
them to Pombal, and the following afternoon they arrived at
Coimbra. Here they spent another pleasant evening with the
regiment stationed in the town.
"By the way, O'Connor," one of the officers said, after
the dinner was over and cigars lighted, " I suppose you don't
happen to have any relations at Oporto ? ' '
" Well, I do happen to have some," Terence answered, in
some surprise. " Why do you ask ? "
" Well, that is singular," the officer said ; "I will tell you
how it happened. I was with the party that escorted the
French prisoners down to Oporto. Just as we had got into
the town it was before the row began, and being early in
the morning, there were very few people about a head ap-
peared at a window on the second floor of a big convent
standing on the left side of the road. I remember the name
was carved over the door it was the Convent of Santa Maria.
I happened to catch sight of the nun, and she at once dropped
a little letter, which fell close to me. I picked it up and
stuck it into my glove, and thought no more about it for a
AN AWKWARD POSITION 225
/
time, for the mob soon began to gather, to yell and threaten
the prisoners, and my hands were too full, till we had got them
safely on board a ship, to think any more of the matter. When
I took off my glove the letter fell out. It was simply ad-
dressed ' to an English officer. '
" ' /, an English girl, am detained here, a prisoner, princi-
pally because my Spanish relations wish to seize my property. I
have been made a nun by force, though my father was a Prot-
estant, and taught me his religion. I pray you to endeavour to
obtain my freedom. I am made most miserable here, and am
kept in solitary confinement. I have nothing to eat but bread
and water, because I will not sign a renunciation of my prop-
erty. The Bishop of Oporto has himself threatened me, and it
is useless to appeal to him. Nothing but an English army being
stationed here can save me. Have pity upon me, and aid me '
"It was signed 'Mary O'Connor. 1 Of course no British
troops have been there since, but if we are sent there I had
made up my mind to bring the matter before the general, and
ask him to interfere on the poor girl's behalf; though I know
that it would be an awkward matter. For if there is one
thing that the Portuguese are more touchy about than another,
it is any interference in religious matters, and the bishop, who
is a most intolerant rascal, would be the last man who would
give way on such a subject. ' '
" I have not the least doubt in the world but that it is a
cousin of mine," Terence said. " Her father went out to join
a firm of wine merchants in Oporto. I know that he married a
very rich Portuguese heiress, and that they had one daughter.
My father told me that he gathered from his cousin's letters
that he and his wife did not get on very well together. He
died two years ago, and it is quite possible that the mother,
'5
226 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
who may perhaps want to marry again, has shut the girl up
in a convent to get rid of her altogether, and to make her
sign a document renouncing her right to the property in favour
of herself, or possibly, as the bishop seems to have meddled
in the affair, partly of the Church.
" I quite see that nothing can be done now, but if we do
occupy Oporto, some day, which is likely enough, I will speak
to the general, and if he says that it is a matter that he cannot
entertain, I will see what I can do to get her out."
"It is awkward work, O'Connor, fooling with a nunnery
either here or in Spain. The Portuguese are not so bigoted
as the Spaniards across the frontier, but there is not much
difference, and if anyone is caught meddling with a nunnery
they would tear him to pieces, especially in Oporto, where
men who are even suspected of hostility to the bishop are mur-
dered every day. ' '
" I don't want to run the risk of being torn to pieces, cer-
tainly, but after what you have told me of her letter, I will
not let my little cousin be imprisoned all her life in a nunnery,
and robbed of her property, without making some strong effort
to save her."
" I will give you the letter presently, O'Connor ; I have it
in a pocket-book at my quarters. By the by, how old is your
cousin ? ' '
" About my own age, or a little younger."
The subject of the conversation was then changed, and half
an hour later the officer left the room and returned with the
letter.
" At any rate," he said, " if we do go to Oporto you will
have more opportunity for getting the general to move than
I should."
Terence had handed over the horse he had borrowed, with
many thanks for its use, and received his own again, which
AN AWKWARD POSITION
was in good condition after its rest of seven or eight days.
It was by no means a valuable animal, but he thought it as
well to take it on with him in case any of the other horses
should meet with an accident or break down during the jour-
ney through the mountains.
Coimbra was the last British station through which they
would pass, and the real difficulties of the journey would now
begin. Terence had, before starting, received a sum of money
for the maintenance of himself and his escort upon the way,
and he had done all in his power to see that the troopers were
comfortable at their various halting-places.
The journey as far as the Douro passed without any advent-
ure. They encountered on the road several bands of peasants
armed with pikes, clubs, hoes, and a few guns. These were
for the most part ordenancas or levies, called out when a larger
force than the regular troops and militia was required. They
were on their way to join the forces assembling under the
edicts, and beyond pausing to stare at the British officer with
the two dragoons behind him and an escort of their own troops,
they paid no attention to the party.
They crossed the Douro at St. Joa de Pesquiera, and on
stopping at a large village some ten miles beyond, found it
occupied by a rabble of some two thousand men, absolutely
useless for service in the field, but capable of offering an
obstinate defence to the passage of a river, or of impeding an
enemy's advance through a mountain defile. As they stopped
before the principal inn a man, dressed in some attempt at a
uniform, came out from a door.
" You are a British officer, sir? " he asked Terence, raising
his broad hat courteously.
" I am an officer on the English general's staff, and am pro-
ceeding on a mission from him to the northern frontier to
ascertain the best means of defence, and the route that the
228 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
enemy are most likely to move by if they attempt to invade
Portugal from that direction."
" The French general would hardly venture to do that," the
officer said, disdainfully, " when there will be 50,000 Portuguese
to bar his way. ' '
" He may be in ignorance of the force that will gather to
meet him," Terence said, gravely, and with difficulty restrain-
ing a smile at the confident tone of this leader of an armed
mob. " However, I have my orders to carry out. Do you
not think," he said, turning to Herrara, " that it will be better
for us to go on to the next hamlet, if there is one within two
or three miles. I fear there is little chance of obtaining any
accommodation for our men here. ' '
" There is no need for that," the Portuguese colonel broke
in. " There is a large house at the end of the village that is
at present vacant ; the proprietor, who was a disturber of the
peace, and who belonged to the French faction, was killed last
week in the course of a disturbance created by him. I, as Com-
missioner of the Junta here, had the house closed up, but it is
quite at your service. ' '
As the march had already been a long one, Terence thought
it best to accept the offer. The colonel called a man, who
presently brought a key, and accompanied them to the house
in question. It showed signs at once of mob violence. The
snow in the garden was trampled down, the windows broken,
and one of the lower ones smashed in as if an entry had been ef-
fected here. The door was riddled with bullet holes. Upon this
being opened the destruction within was seen to be complete,
rooms being strewn with broken furniture and litter of all sorts.
"At any rate there is plenty of firewood," the lieutenant
said, as he ordered his men to clear out one of the rooms.
* ' There has been dastardly work here, ' ' he went on, as the man
who had brought the key left the place.
AN AWKWARD POSITION 229
" Yes, I have no doubt the proprietor, whoever he was, has
been foully murdered, and as likely as not by the orders of
that fellow we met, who says he is Commissioner of the Junta.
I should not be surprised if we have trouble with him before
we have done. I should think, Herrara, you had better send
off a couple of men to get what they can in the way of pro-
visions and a skin of wine. This is a cheerless-looking place,
and these broken windows are not of much use for keeping out
the cold. Bull, you had better see if you can find something
among all this rubbish to hang up in front of the window, for
in its present state it merely creates a draught."
The orderly went out, and returned with two torn curtains.
"There has been some bad work going on here, sir," he
said. " There are pools of blood in three of the rooms up-
stairs, and it is evident that there has been a desperate struggle.
One of the doors is broken in, and there are several shot-holes
through it."
" I am afraid there has been bad work. I suppose the man
here was obnoxious to somebody, so they murdered him. How-
ever, it is not our business."
Some of the horses were stabled in a large shed, the others
in the lower rooms of the house, the soldiers and muleteers
taking possession of the large kitchen, where they soon had
a huge fire burning. The windows on this side of the house
were unbroken. The two orderlies soon fastened up the
curtains across the windows of the officers' room, and when the
fire was lighted it had a more cheerful aspect. The burdens
of the mules were brought into the room opposite, where there
was a key in the door and bars across the windows. Presently
the soldiers returned with some meat, a couple of fowls, bread,
and some wine, together with a bunch of candles. The fowls
were soon plucked, cut in two, and grilled over the fire, and
in a quarter of an hour after the men's return the two officers
230 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
sat down to supper. The meal was just finished when there
was a knock at the outer door, and the soldier acting as sentry
came in and said that Colonel Cortingos desired to speak to
them.
" I suppose that is the fellow we saw in the town," Terence
said; " show him in."
The supposition was a correct one, for the man entered, ac-
companied by two others. Terence had no doubt that this
fellow was the author of the attack upon the house, and the
murderer of the proprietor and others. He did not feel dis-
posed to be exceptionally civil to him, but as he had a couple
of thousand men under his command and had certainly put
the only available place in the village at their disposal, he rose
as he entered.
" These two gentlemen," the colonel began, " form, with
myself, the committee appointed by the Junta of Oporto to
organize the national resistance here and in the surrounding
neighbourhood, to keep our eye upon persons suspected of
being favourable to the enemy, and to arrest and send them
to Oporto for trial. We are also enjoined to make close in-
quiries into the business of all persons who may pass through
here."
" I have already told you," Terence said, quietly, " that I
am an officer on the staff of the English general, and that I
have a mission from him to see what are the best means of de-
fending the northern passes, and, I may add, to enter into
such arrangements as I may think proper with the leaders of
any bands who may be gathered for the purpose of defending
them. As I am acting under the direct orders of the general,
I in no way recognize the right of any local authority to inter-
fere with me in any way."
" And I, Lieutenant Herrara, have been ordered by the
colonel of my regiment to command the escort of Portuguese
AN AWKWARD POSITION 231
cavalry told off to accompany this British officer, and also feel
myself free from any interference or examination by civil-
ians."
" I am a colonel ! " Cortingos said, angrily.
" By whom appointed, if I may ask ? "
" By the Junta of Oporto."
" I was not aware that they possessed the right of granting
high commissions," Her rara said, " although, of course, they
can grant temporary rank to those who command irregular
forces. This British officer has assured you as to the object
of his journey, and unless that object has had the approval of
the military authorities at Lisbon he would not have been
furnished with an escort by them."
" I have only his word and yours as to that," Cortingos
said, insolently. " I am acting under the orders of the supreme
authority of this province."
" You are doing your duty, no doubt," the lieutenant said,
" in making these inquiries. This officer has answered them,
and I will answer any further questions if I consider them to
be reasonable."
" We wish, in the first place," Cortingos said, " to examine
any official passes you may have received."
" Our official passes are our uniforms," Herrara replied,
haughtily.
" Uniforms have been useful for purposes of disguise before
now," Cortingos replied. " I again ask you to show me your
authority."
"Here is an authority," Terence broke in. " Here is a
despatch from General Sir John Cradock to General Romana."
"Ah, ah, a Spaniard."
" A Spanish general, a marquis and grandee of Spain, who
has been fighting the French, and who is now with a portion
of his army preparing to defend the passes into Portugal."
232 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
Cortingos held out his hand for the paper, but Terence put
it back again into the breast-pocket of his uniform.
" No, sir," he said ; " this communication is for the Mar-
quis of Romana, and for him only. No one else touches it so
long as I am alive to defend it. ' '
The colonel whispered to his two associates.
" We will let that pass for the present," he replied, an<
turning to Terence again, said, "In the next place we wish
to know the nature of the contents of the sacks that are being
carried by the mules that accompany you."
"They contain ammunition, and forage for our horses,"
Lieutenant Herrara said. " You can, if you choose, question
the muleteers, who fastened up the sacks and had an oppor-
tunity of seeing the ammunition."
" In the name of the Junta I demand that ammunition ! "
Cortingos said, with an air of authority. "It is monstrous
that ammunition should be taken to Spaniards, who have al-
ready shown that they are incapable of using it with any effect,
while here we have loyal men ready to die in their country's
defence, but altogether unprovided with ammunition."
" For that, sir, you must apply to your Junta. Since they
give you orders, let them give you ammunition ; there is
enough in Oporto to supply the whole population, had they
arms ; and you may be assured that I and my men will see
that the convoy intrusted to our charge reaches its destination. "
"I believe that there is not only ammunition, but money
in those sacks," said Cortingos. "It would bean act of
treachery to allow it to pass, when, even if not taken to them
directly, it might fall into the hands of the French. It is
needed here ; my men lack shoes and clothes, and as you say
the object of your mission is to see to the defence of our
frontier, any money you may have cannot be better applied
than to satisfy the necessities of my soldiers. However, we do
IN THE NAME OF THE JUNTA, I DEMAND THAT AMMUNITION,*
SAID CORTINGOS.
AN AWKWARD POSITION 233
not wish to take steps that might appear unfriendly. And,
therefore, if you will allow us to inspect the contents of those
sacks, we will let you pass on if we find that they contain no
money confiscating only the ammunition for the use of the
troops of the province."
" I refuse absolutely," Herrara said, "to allow anything
confided to my charge to be touched."
" That is your final decision," the man said, with a sneer.
" Final and absolute."
"I also shall do my duty ;" and then, without another
word, the colonel with his two associates left the house.
" We shall have trouble with that fellow," Herrara said.
"So much the better," Terence replied. "We have
evidence here that the scoundrel is a murderer. No doubt he
had some private enmity against the owner of this establish-
ment, and so denounced him to the Junta, and then attacked
the place, murdered him, and perhaps some of his servants,
and sacked the house. They won't find it so easy a job as it
was last time ; all the windows are barred, and there are only
three on this floor to defend. The shutters of two of them are
uninjured, so it is only the one where they broke in before
that they can attack, while our men at the windows upstairs
will make it hot for them as they approach. But I should
hardly think that the men he calls soldiers will venture to at-
tack a party of regular troops. ' '
The lieutenant shrugged his shoulders.
" He will tell them some lies, probably assert that we are
French agents in disguise taking money to the French army.
Indeed, there is neither order nor discipline among these
bands, and, roused to a pitch of fury, they would murder their
own leaders as readily as anyone else. The Junta acts as if the
province were altogether independent, and numbers of men of
position have been butchered on the pretence of their being
234 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
adherents of the French, when their sole crime was that they
disapproved of the doings of the bishop and his tools. You
will see that the night will not pass off without something
happening. Of course, 1 shall be sorry to have to order the
men to fire. In the first place it would render it very difficult
for us to resume our journey ; and in the second, if we suc-
ceed in getting out alive, they will send a lying account of the
affair to Lisbon, and there will be all sorts of trouble. Still,
of course, if they attack the house we shall defend ourselves."
The two officers then made a tour of the house and care-
fully examined the means of defence. The broken shutters
were replaced in their position in the window, and were
backed with a pile of the fragments of furniture. The horses
were all brought in from the shed outside, the soldiers were
warned that the mob in the place were likely to attack them,
and four of them were placed as sentries at the upper win-
dows; and, by the looks of the men when the lieutenant made
the communication to them, Terence saw that they could be
relied upon.
" I have no doubt that we shall be able to defend the place
successfully," Terence said to the two British troopers ; " but
if the worst comes to the worst we will all mount inside the
house, throw open the door behind, and then go right at
them. But I hope that we shall avoid a fight, for if we have
one, it will be very difficult for us to make our way to the
north, or to get back across the Douro."
In an hour one of the sentries at the upper window brought
news that a large number of men were approaching. Terence
at once gave some orders that he and the lieutenant had
agreed upon to the two soldiers, and four of the Portuguese
troopers, and then went up with the lieutenant to the win-
dow over the door. He threw it open just as a crowd of men
poured into the garden in front.
AN AWKWARD POSITION
" What is it ?" he asked. " What do you want ? "
" I demand entrance to this house in the name of the Junta
of Oporto," a voice which he recognized as that of Cortingos
replied. " If that is refused I shall denounce you as traitors
to Portugal, and your blood will be on your own heads."
"We respect the orders of the Junta," Herrara replied,
" and are ready to open the door as you demand ; but I
must first be assured that it is really the committee appointed
by the Junta that demand it."
Several of the men had torches, and these were brought
forward, and they saw the man and his two associates stand-
ing in front.
" Good, I will open the door," the lieutenant said, and he
and Terence went down. The bars were removed and the
door thrown open, the two officers walked a few paces outside,
and then halted.
Followed closely by their armed followers, the three men
approached, confident in the strength of their following.
"Enter, gentlemen," Terence said. "I protest against
this invasion, by force, but I cannot oppose it."
The three men entered the door, the two officers standing
aside and allowing them to pass. The instant the three Por-
tuguese had entered Terence and the lieutenant threw them-
selves suddenly upon those following them. Two or three
rolled over with the suddenness of the assault, and the rest
recoiled a step or two. Before they could recover themselves
Herrara and Terence dashed through the door, which was
slammed to and barred by the two English troopers. Mean-
while, the three men had been seized by the Portuguese
troopers, their coats torn off them, and their hands tied
behind their backs, and then they were hurried upstairs.
Yells of fury filled the air outside, shots were fired at the
windows, and men began to beat the door and shutters with
236 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
bludgeons and hatchets. Suddenly a light appeared from a
window above, and Cortingos and his two friends were seen
standing there. By the side of each stood a trooper, holding
a rope with a noose round the prisoners' necks. For a moment
there was a silence of stupefaction outside, followed by a yell
of fury from the mob. Herrara went to the window and
shouted: "My friends." Again there was a moment of
silence, as each wanted to hear what he said. " My friends,
at the first shot that is fired, or the first blow that is struck
at the doors of this house, these three men will be hung out
of the window. They have deceived you grossly. I am an
officer of the National Army, these troopers are men of the
2d Portuguese Dragoons. We have been appointed by the
military authorities of Lisbon to escort this British officer,
who is on the staff of the British general, and whose commis-
sion is to make arrangements with the Spanish general,
Romana to harass the rear of the French, and attack their
convoys should they attempt to enter the northern passes.
" These three scoundrels have deceived you, in order, as
they hoped, to obtain some money that they believed us to be
escorting. As loyal Portuguese, I warn you against attempt-
ing to aid the fellows in a deed which would bring disgrace
upon the national name, and would result in the British
general refusing to assist in the defence of your country.
You are brave men, but you see these three cowards are
trembling like children. We advise you to appoint fresh
officers among yourselves, and to remain faithful to your duty,
which is to march when ordered to the defence of the defiles.
These three fellows we shall take with us, and will see that
they do not further deceive you. Already they have done
harm enough by goading you to theft, and to murder a man
whose only fault was that he was more patriotic than they are.
Be assured that in no case would you be able to carry this
AN AWKWARD POSITION 237
house. It is defended by sixteen well-armed men, and
hundreds of you would throw away your lives in the attempt.
Therefore, I advise you to go back to your quarters, and in
the morning assemble and choose your officers. ' '
The crowd stood irresolute.
" Tell them to go, you cur," Herrara said to Cortingos,
standing back from the window and giving him a kick that
almost sent him on his face. " Tell them to disperse at
once, if you don't want to be dangling from the end of
this rope."
Cortingos stepped forward, and in a quavering voice told
the men to disperse to their quarters,
"We have made a mistake," he said. "I am now con-
vinced that these officers are what they appear to be. I
beseech you do not cause trouble, and disperse at once
quietly. ' '
Hoots of derision and scorn rose from the peasants.
" I have a good mind to fire a shot before I go," one of
the peasants shouted, "just for the pleasure of seeing three
such cowards hung."
Another yell of disgust and anger arose, and then the crowd
melted away.
" Keep these three fellows at the window. Remove the
ropes from their necks, and take your place behind them ;
you will be relieved every hour. If they move, bayonet
them at once."
" We shall die of cold," one of the men whimpered.
"That would be a more honourable death than you are
likely to meet," Terence said, scornfully. " I fancy if I don't
hang you, those men in the village will do so if they can lay
hands on you."
" How about the sentries, sir ? " the corporal of the escort
asked Herrara as they went downstairs.
238 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" They can all be removed except the one keeping guard
over these men he is to be relieved every hour and one
inside the door, he can be relieved every two hours."
The night passed quietly. Just as they were preparing to
start next morning, the soldier on guard over the prisoners
shouted, ' ' There is a crowd of men coming ! ' '
" Get your arms ready," Herrara said to the escort; " but
I don't think there will be any occasion to use them."
Terence went to the door. "Bull, do you and Macwitty
keep close behind; but whatever happens don't use your
weapons, unless I order you to do so."
The crowd stopped at the gate, two of them only coming
forward.
"We are ready to fight, sir,*' one said, addressing Ter-
ence, " but we have no officers; none of us know anything
about drill. We will follow you, if you will command us,
and you will find that we won't turn our backs to the enemy.
We know that English officers will fight."
"Wait a minute or two," Terence said, after a moment's
hesitation, "I will then give you my answer."
Herrara had followed him out and heard the offer.
" I don't know what to do, Herrara," Terence said, as he
re-entered the house. " My instructions are to join Romana,
and to remain with him for a time, sending word to Lisbon
as to the state of things, and aiding him in any way in my
power. Here are between two and three thousand stout,
healthy fellows, evidently disposed to fight. If they were
armed I would not hesitate a moment, but I don't suppose
that there are a hundred muskets among them, and certainly
Romana has none to give them. Still, in the defiles we might
give a good deal of trouble to the French by rolling stones
down, breaking up bridges, and that sort of thing."
" It would be good fun," Herrara laughed. "As for my-
AN AWKWARD POSITION 239
self," he said, "I have orders to return as soon as I have seen
the treasure safely in Romana's camp. If it hadn't been for
that I should have liked nothing better, though there would
not have been much chance for cavalry work in these de-
files."
" I will talk to them again," Terence said. " It is not
often that one gets the chance of an independent command.
It is just the sort of work I should like."
He went out again. "I should like to command a num-
ber of brave fellows," he said, "but the question is about
arms. There have been any quantity sent out by England
for your use; but instead of being served out, the Juntas
keep them all hidden up in magazines. Even now, when
the French are going to invade your country, they still keep
them locked up, and send you out with only pikes and
staves to fight against a well-armed army. It is nothing short
of murder."
" Down with the Juntas ! " cried half a dozen of the men
standing near enough to hear what was said.
" I don't say ' Down with the Juntas ! ' " Terence replied ;
" but I do say take arms if you can get them. Are there
any magazines near here ? ' '
" There is one at Castro, ten miles away," the man said.
"I know that there are waggon-loads of arms there."
" Well, my friends, the matter stands thus : I, as a British
officer, cannot lead you to break open magazines ; but I say
this, if you choose to go in a body to Castro and do it your-
selves, and arm yourselves with all the muskets that you can
find there, and bring with you a good store of ammunition
in carts that you could take with you from here, and then
come to me at a spot where I will halt to-night five or six
miles beyond Castro, I will take command of you. But
mind, if I command, I command. I must have, absolute
240 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
obedience. It is only by obeying my orders without question
that you can hope to do any good. The first man who dis-
obeys me I shall shoot on the spot, and if others are disposed
to support him I shall leave you at once. ' '
" I will consult the others," the man said. " Many of us,
I know, will be glad to fight under an English officer, and
agree to obey him implicitly."
" Very well, I will give you a quarter of an hour to de-
cide."
Before that time had elapsed a dozen men came to the door
with the principal spokesman.
"We have made up our minds, seiior. We will follow
you, and we will arm ourselves at Castro. It is a sin that the
arms should be lying there idle with so many hands ready to
use them."
" That is good," Terence said. " Now, my first order is
that you wait until I have been gone an hour; then, that you
form up in military order, four abreast ; the men with guns
in front, the others after them. You must go as soldiers, and
not as a mob. You must march into Castro peacefully and
quietly, not a man must straggle from the ranks. You must
go to the authorities and demand the arms and ammunition ;
if they refuse to give them to you, march always in regular
order to the magazine and burst it open; then distribute
the muskets and a hundred rounds of ammunition to each
man having one, take the rest of the stores in carts, and then
march away along the road north until you come to the
place where we are halted.
" Observe the most perfect order in Castro. If any man
plunders or meddles in any way with the inhabitants and is
reported to me, I shall know how to punish him. From the
moment that you leave this place remember that you are
soldiers of Portugal, and you must behave so as to be an
AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND 241
t
honour to it as well as a defence. Now let us all shout * Viva
Portugal!'"
A great shout followed the words, and then Terence went
indoors, and five minutes later started with his convoy, telling
the three prisoners they could go where they liked.
CHAPTER XIV
AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND
AS they left the village the Portuguese lieutenant burst into
a sudden fit of laughter.
" What is it, Lieutenant? " Terence asked.
" I am laughing at the way in which you who, as you
tell me, have only been six months in the army without
hesitation organize what is really a rising against the authori-
ties, you having already taken representatives of the Junta
prisoners ' '
" Yes; but you must remember that they took upon them-
selves to endeavour to forcibly possess themselves of the treas-
ure in my charge."
"That is true enough; still, you did capture them. You
treated them with considerable personal indignity, imprisoned
them, and threatened their lives. Then you incite, say 2,500
ordenancas to break open magazines."
" No, no, Lieutenant, I did not incite them. You will re-
member they expressed a desire to march under my command
to fight against the French. I simply pointed out to them
that they had no arms, and asked if they could get any ; and
hearing that there were plenty lying useless a few miles away,
suggested that those arms would do more good in their hands
than stowed away in magazines. Upon their agreeing with
16
242 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
me on this head, I advised them to proceed in a quiet and
orderly way, and to have no rioting or disturbance of any sort.
I said that if they, after arming themselves, came to me and
still wished to follow me, I would undertake to command them.
You see, everything depends upon the manner in which the
thing is put."
" But you must remember, senor, that the Junta will natu-
rally view the matter in the light in which their representatives
will place it before them."
"I think it unlikely," Terence replied, " that they will
have any opportunity of doing so. I took care that they
were removed from the window before I met the deputies of
the men. They will consequently be unaware of the arrange-
ments made, and will, perhaps, go out as soon as we have
left and try to persuade the men to follow and attack us. As
it was possible that they might take this course, I took the
precaution of sending out one of the muleteers, with instruc-
tions to mention casually to the men that I was leaving the
three fellows behind me, and that it might be as well for them
to confine them under a guard so as to prevent their going to
Oporto at present and making mischief. ' '
" I agree with you, sen" or, that they are certainly not likely
to make any report as to the proceedings here."
"I fancy not; in fact I should not be at all surprised if
at the present moment they are hanging from the windows
of the house of the man they caused to be murdered. They
will most richly deserve their fate, and it may save us some
trouble. No doubt the Junta will hear some day that the
ordenancas here rose, killed the three members of their com-
mittee, obtained arms at Castro, and marched into the moun-
tains. The Junta will care nothing whatever for the killing of
its three agents ; plenty of men of the same kind can be found
to do their work. That the mutineers afterwards fell in with
AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND 243
a British officer, and placed themselves under his command,
will not concern the Junta one way or the other, and they
will certainly be a great deal more useful in that way than
they would be in remaining unarmed here.
" They may even, when the French once get in motion,
come to regard the affair altogether as satisfactory. If all the
new levies were to act in exactly the same way, Portugal
would be very materially benefited."
" But how are you going to feed them ? "
" That is rather a serious question. I suppose they will
have to be fed in the same way as other irregular bands.
However, I shall consider myself fully justified in devoting a
fifth of the money I am carrying to that purpose. I obtained
from Villiers ,5,000 to enable Romana to support the levies
he is raising. Those levies will be for the most part unarmed,
and therefore practically useless ; and as these Portuguese will
be at any rate fairly armed, and are likely to be of very much
greater service than a horde of Galician peasants, a portion at
least of the money can be very much more usefully employed
in feeding them than were it all given to Romana. I have no
doubt whatever that when I explain the circumstances to Gen-
eral Cradock, he will entirely approve of my appropriating a
small portion of the money that Villiers has chosen to throw
away on Romana. When you return I shall get you to carry
a report from me to the general, stating what I have done. I
have no doubt he will warmly approve of it."
On approaching Castro they made a detour to avoid the
town.
" There may be more representatives of the Junta there,"
Terence said, " and we may have even more trouble with
them than we had with the last. I don't want any more
bother, especially as I have much greater interest in the money
now than I had before. I have not a shadow of belief in those
244 WITH MOORE AT CORUNtfA
bands of Portuguese peasants, but I do think that, with the
aid of my two troopers, I shall be able to lick these fellows
into some sort of shape, and to annoy Soult, if I cannot stop
him. I hope they will find a good supply of powder, besides
the muskets and ammunition at Castro ; we shall want it for
blowing up bridges and work of that sort. ' '
"I wish I could go with you," Herrara said.
" I really don't see why you should not. I would take
the blame on my own shoulders. One of your troopers could
carry my report to the general, and I will say that under the
circumstances I have taken upon myself to retain you with me
in order to assist me in drilling and organizing this band, con-
ceiving that your services with me would be very much more
useful than with your regiment. You see, you were placed
under my orders, so that no blame can fall upon you for obey-
ing them, and at any rate you certainly will be doing vastly
better service to the country than if you were stationed at Lis-
bon, with no prospect of an advance for a long time to come.
Still, of course, I will not retain you against your will."
" I should like it of all things," Herrara said ; " but do you
really think that the general would approve? "
" I have not the least doubt that he would, and at any rate
if he did not he would only blame me, and not you. Your
help would certainly be invaluable to me, and so would that
of your men. They are all picked soldiers, and if we divided
the force up into twelve companies, they would very soon
teach them as much drill as is necessary for work like this.
Each trooper would command one of the companies, my two
orderlies would act as field officers ; you would be colonel,
and I should be political officer in command."
Herrara burst into a fit of laughter.
" You are the strangest fellow I ever met, senor. Here is
a very serious business, and you take it as easily as if it were
AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND 45
a game of play. However, it does seem to me that we might
do some good service. At any rate I am quite willing to obey
your orders. It would be an adventure to talk of all one's
life."
" That is right, 11 Terence said ; " and there will be some
credit to be gained, too. Indeed, we can safely say that our
band will be very much better organized than nineteen out of
twenty of the irregular bands."
The track they followed was a very bad one, and the point
at which they regained the main road was eight miles north of
Castro. There was a small village here, and they at once
halted. Although they had travelled slowly they knew that
the men could not come along for some time, as they were
not to start until an hour after them, and would be detained
for some considerable time at Castro. It was indeed nearly
three hours before a column marching in good order was seen
coming along the road.
" That is a good sign," Terence said ; " they have obeyed
orders strictly ; whether they have got the arms I cannot tell
yet. The men at the head of the column have certainly mus-
kets, but as the armed men were to go in front that is no
proof."
However, as the column approached, it could be seen that
at any rate a very considerable number were armed.
" We had better form them up as they come, Herrara. If
the head of the column stops it will stop them all, and then
there will be confusion."
The road through the village was wide. When a hundred
ranks had passed they were halted, faced round, and marched
forward, and so they continued until the village was filled with
a dense mass of men, twenty deep. Terence observed with
satisfaction that they had with them six bullock carts filled with
ammunition-cases, spare muskets, and powder-barrels. The
246 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
men who had first spoken to Terence had headed the column,
and these had stopped by his side as the others marched in.
" You have succeeded, I see," he said. " I hope that you
were enabled to accomplish it without violence."
" They were too much surprised to offer much resistance.
Five fellows, who said they were the committee appointed by
the Junta, came to us and told us that unless we dispersed at
once we should be severely punished. We told them that we
had come out of our homes at the orders of the Junta, but
that as the Junta had not supplied us with arms we had come
for them, as we were not going to fight the French with
nothing but sticks. They then threatened us again, and we
told them that if they hindered us from defending the country
we should hang them at once ; and as they saw we meant it,
they went quietly off to their houses. Then we broke down
the door of the magazine. We found four thousand muskets
there. Each man took one, and we left the remainder and
enough ammunition for them, and have brought the rest here,
together with a hundred spare muskets.
" We have observed excellent order, and no one was hurt
or alarmed. The only men who left the ranks were a score
who went round to the bakers' shops by my orders, and
bought up all the bread in the place. We found a bag with a
thousand dollars at the quarters of Cortingos."
" What became of him and his two associates ? "
" They had the impudence to come out and harangue us
when you had gone ; but we tied them up to the branch of a
tree, so there is an end of them."
"And a very fitting end, too," Terence said. "What
have you done with the money ? "
" The bag is in that cart, sefior."
" You had better appoint four of your number as treasurers.
I would rather not touch it. You must be as careful as you
AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND 247
can, and spend it only on the barest necessaries of life. We
shall have few opportunities of buying things in the mountains,
but when we do come upon them they must be paid for. Of
course, we shall go no farther to-night. How many men have
you?"
" About two thousand five hundred, sefior."
" They must be told off into twelve companies. That will
be two hundred and ten to each company. I shall appoint
one of these soldiers to each company to drill and command it.
I propose that each company shall elect its other officers.
Lieutenant Herrara will, under my orders, command the regi-
ment. The two English soldiers with me will each take com-
mand of six companies. The first thing to be done is to tell
off the men into companies."
" This we will at once do. After that they can be marched
just outside the village, and each company will then fall out
and elect its officers. When that is done the men will be
quartered in the village. I have set apart one room in each
house for the inhabitants, and the men must pack as tightly
as they can into the others ; and of course the sheds and
stables must also be utilized."
With the assistance of the troopers the work of dividing
the force up into companies was accomplished in an hour.
Herrara then called his men to him.
" You will each take the command of a company," he said,
" and drill them and teach them the use of their arms. This
force is now under the command of this British officer. Act-
ing under his orders, I take the command of the force under
him. So long as we are out you will each act as captains of
your companies, and your British comrades will act as field
officers, each taking the command of six companies. We are
going to hinder the advance of the French, and to cut their
communications with Spain. It will be a glorious and most
248 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
honourable duty, and I rely most implicitly on your doing
your best to make the men under your command fit to meet
the enemy. Captain Juan Sanches, you will take the first
company ; ' ' and so he allotted to each his command.
The soldiers saluted gravely, but with an air of delight.
1 ' You will, in the first place, march your men to various
spots around the village ; they will then fall out and select six
officers each. You will see that each man knows the number
of his company, so that they can fall in without hesitation as
soon as the order is given. While you are away we shall
examine the houses and allot so many to each company."
In the meantime Terence had been similarly instructing the
two orderlies. Although standing at attention, a broad grin
of amusement stole over their faces as he went on :
" I did not expect this any more than you did," he said;
"but my orders were open ones, and were to assist General
Romana in hindering the advance of the French, and I think
that I cannot do so better than by augmenting his forces by
2,500 well-armed men. I rely greatly upon you to assist me
in the work. You will, as you see, each occupy the position of
field officers, while the Portuguese troopers will each have the
command of a company. In order to support your authority I
shall address you each as major, and you can consider that you
hold that rank as long as we are out with this force. I have
seen enough of you both to know that you will do your duty
well. You will understand that this is going to be no child's
play; it will be a dangerous service. I shall spare neither
myself nor any under my command. There will be lots of
fighting and opportunities for you to distinguish yourselves,
and I hope that I shall be able to speak in high terms of you
when I send in my report to General Cradock."
" We will do our best, sir," Andrew Macwitty said. " How
are we to address you ? ' '
AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND 249
"I shall keep to Mr. O'Connor, and shall consider myself
a political officer with supreme military authority. Your titles
are simply for local purposes, and to give you authority among
the Portuguese."
" We don't know enough uf the lingo to give the words of
command, sir," William Bull said.
" That will not matter. The Portuguese dragoons will teach
them as much drill as it is necessary for them to know. If
you have to post them in a position you can do that well
enough by signs ; but at the same time it is most desirable
that you should both set to work in earnest and try to pick
up a little of the language. You both know enough to make
a start with, and if you ride every day with one or other of
the captains of companies, and when they are drilling the
men stand by and listen to them, you will soon learn enough
to give the men the necessary orders. As a rule, the two wings
will act as separate regiments ; each of them is rather stronger
than that of a line regiment at its full war strength, and it
will be more convenient to treat them as separate regiments,
and, until we get to the frontier, march them a few miles apart.
" In this way they can occupy different villages, and obtain
better accommodation than if they were all together. They
have money enough to buy bread and wine for some time.
You and the captains under you had better each form a sort
of mess. You will, of course, draw rations of bread and wine,
and I will provide you with money to buy a sheep occasionally
or some fowls, to keep you in meat."
The two troopers walked gravely away, but as soon as they
were at a little distance they turned round the corner of a
house and burst into a shout of laughter.
" How are you finding yourself to-day, Major Macwitty ? "
"Just first-rate; and how is yoursel', Major Bull?" and
they again went off into another shout of laughter.
250 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
"This is a rum start, and no mistake, Macwitty."
"Ay, but it is no' an unpleasant one, I reckon. Mr.
O'Connor knows what he is about, though he is little more
than a laddie. The orderly who brought our orders to go
with him, said he had heard from one of the general's mess
waiters that the general and the other officers were saying the
young officer had done something quite out of the way, and
were paying him compliments on it, and the general had put
him on his own staff in consequence, and was saying some-
thing about his having saved a wing of his regiment from
being captured by the French. The man had. not heard it all ;
but just scraps as he went in and out of the room with wine,
but he said it seemed something out of the way, and mighty
creditable. And now what do you think of this affair, Bull ? "
"There is one thing, and that is that there is like to be,
as he said, plenty of fighting, for I should say that he is just
the sort of fellow to give us the chance of it, and I do think
that these Portuguese fellows really mean to fight."
"I think that mysel', but there is no answering for these
brown -skin chaps. Still, maybe it is the fault of the officers
as well as the men."
" It will be a rare game anyhow, Macwitty. At any rate I
will do my best to get the fellows into order. He is a fine
young officer, and a thorough gentleman, and no mistake. He
goes about it all as if he had been accustomed to command
two regiments all his life, and these Portuguese fellows seem
to have taken to him wonderfully. At any rate it will be a
thing for us to talk about all our lives how we were majors
for a bit, and fought the French on our own account."
"Yes, if we get home to tell about it," Macwitty said,
cautiously. " I dinna think we can reckon much on that yet.
It is a desperate sort of a business, and he is ower young to
command. ' '
AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND 251
"I would rather have a young officer than an old one,"
Bull said, carelessly; "and though he is Irish, I feel sure
that he has got his head screwed on the right way. Look how
well he managed last night. Why, an old general could not
have done better. If he hadn't caught those three fellows in
a trap, I doubt whether we should have got out of the scrape.
Sixteen or seventeen men against over two thousand is pretty
long odds. We should have accounted for a lot of them, but
they would have done for us in the end."
" You are right there, Bull. I thought mysel' that it was
an awkward fix, and certainly he managed those Portuguese
fellows well, and turned the lot round his little finger. Ay,
ay ; he knows what he is doing perfectly well, young as
he is."
"Well, we had best be off to look after our commands,"
Bull laughed. " I suppose they will call mine the first regi-
ment, as I have the right wing."
While the men were away, Terence and Herrara, with the
head man of the village, went round to all the houses, and
marked on pieces of paper the number of men who could man-
age to lie down on the floors and passages, with the number
of the company, and fixed them on the doors; they also made an
arrangement with the proprietor of a neighbouring vineyard to
supply as much wine as was required, at the rate of a pint to
each man. When the men returned four men were told off
from each company to fetch the rations of bread, and another
four to carry the wine. They were accompanied by one of
the newly elected sergeants to check the quantity, and see that
all was done in order. To prevent confusion the companies
were kept drawn up until the rations had been distributed ;
then they were taken into their quarters, filling every room,
attic and cellar, barn, granary, and stable in the village. Then
Terence and Herrara in one room, and the troopers in another
252 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
of the little inn, sat down to a meal Terence had ordered as
soon as they arrived.
The next morning at daybreak they marched off. Terence
rode at their head, Herrara at the rear of the regiment, and
each captain at the head of his company. From time to time
Terence rode up and down the line, and ordered the men to
keep step.
" It is just as easy," he said to the captains, " for the men
to do so as to walk along anyhow, and they will find that the
sound of all the footfalls together helps them to march stead-
ily and lessens fatigue. Never mind about the slope of their
muskets ; you must not harass them about little things, else
they will get sulky ; it will all come gradually."
Four marches of twenty miles each took them over the
mountains in four days. The Portuguese marched well, and
not a single man fell out from the ranks, while at the end of
the day they were still fresh enough to allow of an hour's drill.
Even in that short time there was a very appreciable differ-
ence in their appearance. They had already learned to keep
their distances on the march, to slope their muskets more
evenly on their shoulders, and to carry themselves with a
more erect bearing. The first two drills had been devoted to
teaching them how to load and aim, the other two to changes
of formation, from column into line and back again.
"They would make fine soldiers, sir," Bull said, on the
fourth evening, " after they have had six months' drill."
"No doubt they would move more regularly," Terence
agreed, " but in mountain warfare that makes little differ-
ence ; as soon as they have learned to shoot straight, and to
have confidence in themselves, they will do just as well hold-
ing a defile or the head of a bridge as if they had been drilled
for months. We must get hold of some horns of some sort,
and they must learn a few simple calls, such as the advance,
AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND 253
retire, form square, and things of that sort. With such large
companies the voice would never be heard in the din of a
battle. I hope that we shall get at least a week to practise
skirmishing over rough ground and to fall back in good order,
taking advantage of every rock and shelter, before we get un-
der fire. Do you know anything about blowing up bridges ? ' '
" Not me, sir. That is engineers' business."
" It is a thing that troopers ought to know something about
too, Bull ; for if you were far in advance without an engineer
near you, you might do good service by blowing up a bridge
and checking the advance of an enemy. However, I dare
say we shall soon find out how it is best done. Now, to-mor-
row morning we will have three hours of skirmishing work on
these hillsides. By that time the other regiment will have
come up, and then we will march together to join Romana."
The Spanish general was much surprised at the arrival of
Terence at the head of two well-armed regiments. His force
had swelled considerably in point of numbers, for he had sent
messengers all over the country to the priests, and these, hav-
ing a horror of the French, had stirred up the peasants by
threats of eternal perdition if they came back j while Romana
issued proclamations threatening death to all who did not take
up arms. Thus he had some 8,000 men collected, of whom
fully half were his own dispersed soldiers. He received Ter-
ence with effusion.
"Have you brought me arms ? " was his first question.
" No, sir; no transport could be obtained in Lisbon, and
it was found impossible to despatch any muskets to you. I
have, however, four thousand pounds, in dollars, to hand
over. At starting I had five thousand, but of these I have,
in the exercise of my discretion, retained a thousand for the
purchase of provisions and necessaries for these two Portu-
guese regiments which are under my command, and with
254 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
which I hope to do good service by co-operating with your
force. Have you not found great difficulty in victualling
your men ? ' '
" No, I have had no trouble on that score," the marquis
said. " I found that a magazine of provisions had been col-
lected for the use of General Moore's army at Montrui, three
miles from here, and have been supporting my troops on the
contents. The money will be most useful, however, directly
we move. Fully half of my men have guns, for the Galician
peasants are accustomed to the use of arms. I wish that it
had been more, but four thousand pounds will be very welcome.
Do you propose to join my force with your regiments? "
" Not exactly to join them, General; my orders are to give
you such assistance as I can, and I think that I can do more
by co-operating with you independently. In the first place, I
do not think that my Portuguese would like to be commanded
by a Spanish general ; in the second place, it would be ex-
tremely difficult to feed so large a body of troops in these
mountains, and the smaller the number the more easily can
they move about. Besides, in these defiles a large force of un-
disciplined men could not act efficiently, and in case of a
reverse would fall rapidly into confusion. I propose to use
my force as a sort of flying column, co-operating with yours.
Thus, if you attack the head of a column, I will fall on their
flank or rear, will harass their line of communication, blow
up bridges and destroy roads, and so render their movements
slow and difficult. By such means I should certainly render
you more efficient service than if my regiments were to form
a part of your force. ' '
"Perhaps that would be best," Romana said. "Could
you supply me with any ammunition ? For although the
peasants have guns, very few have more than a few rounds of
ammunition, and even this is not made up into cartridges."
AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND 255
" That I can do, sir. I can give you 20,000 rounds of
ammunition and ten barrels of powder. I have no lead, but
you may perhaps be able to obtain that. ' '
"Yes. The priests, in fact, have sent in a considerable
amount. They have stripped the roofs off their churches.
That will be a most welcome supply indeed, and I am heartily
obliged to you."
The gift of the ammunition had the effect of doing away
with any discontent the Spaniard may have felt on finding
that Terence was going to act independently of him. It had
indeed already flashed across his mind that it might be un-
pleasant always to have a British officer with him, from whose
opinion he might frequently differ, and who might endeavour
to control his movements. He had hardly expected that,
with so much on their hands, and the claims that would be
made from Oporto for assistance, they would have sent any
money ; and the sixteen thousand dollars were therefore most
welcome, while the ammunition would be invaluable to him.
Terence had taken out his share of the money, and the cart
with the remainder for Romana was now at the door. The sacks
were brought in, Romana called in four or five officers, the dol-
lars were counted out and a receipt given to Terence for them.
" I will send the ammunition up in half an hour, Marquis."
" I thank you greatly, senor. I will at once order a num-
'ber of men to set to work casting bullets and preparing cart-
ridge-cases. In the meantime, please let me hear what are
your general's plans for the defence of Portugal."
Terence told him that he was unaware what were the in-
tentions of the British general, but that, from what he learned
during the few hours that he was at Lisbon, he thought it
improbable in the extreme that Sir John Cradock would be
able to send any force to check the advance of the French
upon Oporto.
256 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
"In the first place," he said, "he is absolutely without
transport ; and in the second Victor has a large army, and
now that Saragossa has fallen, there is nothing to prevent his
marching direct upon Lisbon. Lapisse is at Salamanca and
can enter Portugal from the east. The whole country is in
confusion ; with the exception of a force gathering under Lord
Beresford there is no army whatever. Lisbon is almost at the
mercy of the mob, who, supported by the government, march
about with British muskets and pikes, killing all they suspect
of being favourable to the French, and even attacking British
soldiers and officers in the streets.
' ' Were the general to march north, he would not get news
of Victor's advance in time to get back to save Lisbon, there-
fore I fear that it is absolutely impossible for him to attempt
to check the French until they cross the Douro, perhaps not
until they cross the Mondego. The levies of the northern
province are ordered to assemble at Villa Real, and I believe,
from what I gathered on the march, that some thousands of
men are there, but I doubt very greatly whether they are in a
state to offer any determined resistance to Soult."
"That is a bad look-out," the general said, gloomily;
" still, we must hope for the best, as Spain will soon raise
fresh armies, and so occupy the attention of the enemy that
Soult will have to fall back. I am in communication with
General Silveira, who will advance to Chaves ; he has four
thousand men. He has written to me that the bishop had
collected 50,000 peasants at Oporto."
"Where they will probably do more harm than good,"
Terence said, scornfully. " I would rather have half a regi-
ment cf British troops than the whole lot of them. It is not
men that are wanted, it is discipline, and 50,000 peasants will
be even more unmanageable and useless than 5,000 would be.
By the way, General, I have now to inform you that General
A& INDEPENDENT COMMAND 257
Cradock has done me the honour of placing me on his personal
staff."
" I am glad to hear it," the marquis said, courteously; "it
will certainly increase your authority greatly."
Terence, leaving Romana, marched his troops to within a
mile of Monterey, choosing a spot where there was a wood
which would afford some shelter to the troops, and would give
them a supply of firewood. At Monterey he would be able to
purchase provisions, and he wished to keep them apart from
Romana's men, whose undisciplined habits and general in-
subordination would counteract his efforts with his own men.
The next ten days were spent in almost incessant drilling, and
in practising shooting. Bread and wine were obtained from
Monterey, and he purchased a large flock of sheep at a very
low price, the peasants, in their fear of the French, being very
anxious to turn their flocks and herds into money, which could
be hid away securely until the tide of invasion had passed.
Laborious and frugal in their habits, these peasants seldom
touch meat, and the troops were highly gratified at the rations
supplied to them, and worked hard and cheerfully at their drill.
Among so many men there were naturally a few who were
inclined to be insubordinate. These were speedily weeded
out. The offenders were promptly seized, flogged, and ex-
pelled from the force, their places being supplied from among
the peasants, many of whom were desirous of enlisting. Ter-
ence sent these off, save a few he selected, to Silveira, as his
own force was quite as large as could properly be handled.
With improved food and incessant drill the men rapidly de-
veloped into soldiers. Each carried a rough native blanket
rolled up like a scarf over one shoulder. This was indeed the
only point of regular equipment. They had no regular uni-
form, but they were all in their peasant dresses. There was
no communication between them and Romana's forces, for the
'7
258 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
animosity between the two peoples amounted to hatred. The
Portuguese would indeed have marched to attack them as will-
ingly as they would have received the order to move against
the French.
During this week of waiting Silveira with 4,000 men arrived
at Chaves, and a meeting took place between him and Romana.
Both had plans equally wild and impracticable, neither would
give way, and as they were well aware that their forces would
never act together, they decided to act independently against
the French. At the end of eight days the news came that
Soult, having made all his preparations, had left Orense on
his march southward.
Terence had bought a quantity of rough canvas, and the
men, as they sat round the fires after their day's work was
over, made haversacks in which they could carry rations for four
or five days. As soon as the news was received that Soult was
advancing, Terence ordered sufficient bread to supply them
for that time, from the bakehouses of Monterey. A hundred
rounds of ball-cartridge were served round to each. A light
cart containing eight barrels of powder, a bag with 1,000
dollars, and the tent, was the only vehicle taken, and the rest
of the ammunition and powder was buried deep in the wood,
and the bulk of the money privately hidden in another spot
by Terence and Herrara. Twelve horns had been obtained ;
several of the men were able to blow them, and these, attached
one to each company, had learned a few calls. Terence and
Herrara took their post at the edge of the wood to watch the
two regiments march past.
" I think they will do," Terence said ; " they have picked
up marvellously since they have been here; and though I should
not like to trust them in the plain with Franceschi's cavalry
sweeping down upon them, I think that in mountain work
they can be trusted to make a stand. ' '
THE FIRST SKIRMISH 259
" I think so," Herrara agreed. " They have certainly im-
proved wonderfully. Our peasants are very docile and easily
led when they have confidence in their commander, and are
not stirred up by agitators, but they are given to sudden fury,
as is shown by the frightful disorders at Lisbon and Oporto.
However, they certainly have confidence in you, and if they
are successful in the first skirmish or two they can be trusted
to fight stoutly afterwards. ' '
CHAPTER XV
THE FIRST SKIRMISH
OOULT had spent a month in making his preparations for
O the invasion of Portugal. The time, however, had not
been wasted by him. Vigo, Tuy, and Guardia had all been
occupied without opposition. Salvatierra on the Minho had
been taken possession of, and thus three roads were open to
him by which to cross low down on the river, namely, at
Guardia, Tuy, and Salvatierra. These roads afforded the
shortest and easiest line to Oporto. Romana and Silveira
had both been of opinion that he would march south from
Orense, through Monterey, and up the valley of the Tamega,
and their plans were all made with a view of opposing his
advance in that direction. The night before Terence marched
he called upon Romana.
" It seems to me probable, Marquis, as it does to you, that
the French will advance by this line, but it is possible that
they may follow the north bank of the Minho and cross at
Salvatierra or Tuy. By that route they would have several
rivers to cross but no mountains or defiles. Were they to
throw troops across there they would meet with no opposition
260 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
until they arrived at Oporto. It seems to me that my best
plan would be to march west and endeavour to prevent such
a passage being made. If I could do so it would prevent your
position being turned. There are no bridges marked on my
map, and if I could secure the boats we should, at any rate,
cause Soult much difficulty and delay. No doubt there are
some local levies there, and we should be able to watch a con-
siderable extent of the river; indeed, so far as I can see, they
must cross, if they cross at all there, at one of the three towns
on the north side, for it is only by the roads running through
these that they could carry their artillery and baggage."
"I think that will be an excellent plan," Romana said,
" for although I believe that they will come this way, I have
been very uneasy at the thought that they might possibly
cross lower down, and so turn our position altogether. But
you will have to watch not only the three places through which
the roads pass, but other parts of the river, for they may throw
a few hundred men across in boats at any point, and these
falling suddenly upon your parties on the bank, might drive
them away and enable the main body to cross without resist-
ance."
" I will keep as sharp a look-out as I can, Marquis."
Marching north from Monterey the troops moved through
Villa Real and Gingo, and then, turning west, crossed the river
Lima, there a small stream, and then following the valley of
that river for some distance, turned off and struck the Minho
opposite Salvatierra, having covered fifty miles in two days.
Here a considerable number of armed peasants and ordenancas
were gathered. They were delighted at the arrival of two
well-armed regiments ; and hearing from Herrara that Terence
was a staff-officer of the British general, and was sent by him
to direct the defence of the river, they at once placed them-
selves under his orders.
THE FIRST SKIRMISH 261
Terence found, to his satisfaction, that on the approach of
the French most of the boats had been removed to the south
side of the river and hauled up the bank. His first order
was that anyone acquainted with the position of any boats on
the other side of the river should at once inform him of it. It
was not long before he heard of some twenty or thirty that
had been hidden by their owners on the other side, in order
that they might have the means of crossing to escape the French
exactions. At nightfall several boats were launched, and
parties of men, directed by those who had given information,
started to cross the river and bring those boats over. The
Minho was at this time in flood and was running with great
rapidity, and Terence felt confident that in its present state
none of the enemy's cavalry would attempt to cross it by
swimming.
He decided on placing the largest part of his force opposite
Tuy, as the principal road south passed through this town,
and he would here be supported by the guns of the fortress
of Valenca. He stationed his first battalion here, with orders
to line the river for six miles above and below this spot.
Half of the second battalion he left under Macwitty, and with
the other half determined to march down towards the mouth
of the river. The next morning all the boats returned, bring-
ing those for which they had been searching, and after closely
questioning the guides he felt assured that there could be so
few remaining that the French would hardly attempt to cross
the river in the face of the crowd of peasants whom they
could not but see lining the southern bank.
As soon as the boats had returned he marched with the three
companies. When half-way between Valenca and Caminha
he met a peasant, who had crossed from the northern bank in
a boat that had escaped the search of the French. He re-
ported that some days before some 10,000 of the French had
262 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
arrived in the neighbourhood of the village Campo Sancos, and
that a division had been hard at work since their arrival trans-
porting some large fishing-boats and heavy guns from the har-
bour of Guardia to Campo Sancos. The guns had been placed
in a battery on a height, and the boats launched in a little
river that ran into the Minho village. Terence learned that the
work was now nearly completed, and the peasant had risked
his life in coming across to give information.
Terence at once sent off a mounted man to Valenca to re-
quest Herrara to march down with the first battalion and to
send on to Macwitty to leave one company to assist the or-
denancas to guard the river between Salvatierra and Valen-
ca, and to take post with the other two in front of the latter
town. At nightfall he was joined by Herrara.
After explaining the situation to him, Terence said :
" It will not be necessary to watch the river above Campo
Sancos, for it would be impossible to row heavy fishing-boats
against this stream, so they must land somewhere between
that place and the mouth of the river. Thus we have only
some eight miles to guard, and as we have eighteen hundred
men, besides the peasants, we ought to be able to do that
thoroughly. I expect they will endeavour to make the pas-
sage to-night, and they will certainly cross, as nearly as they
can, opposite the village. The battery is about a mile below
it, and is no doubt intended to cover their landing. I shall
post myself with two companies of the first battalion there,
and extend another company from that point up to Campos
Sancos. You, with the other three companies and the three
companies of the second battalion, will watch the river be-
low.
" It is unlucky that there is no moon at present. I do not
expect, however, that the attack will take place till morning,
for, in the first place, the peasant said that although the guns
THE FIRST SKIRMISH 263
had been got up to the height they had not yet been placed in
position, and as we have noticed no movement there all day,
nor seen a French soldier anywhere near the river, they will
only be beginning work now, and can hardly have finished
it until well on in the night. Besides, when the first party
who crossed have obtained a footing here, the boats will have
to go backwards and forwards. No doubt the cavalry will be
among the first to cross, and they would hardly get the horses
on board in the dark. It is of vital importance to repel this
attack, for if the French got across they would be at Vianna
to-morrow evening, and at Oporto three days later. I don't
suppose that place will resist for a day ; and if, as is probable,
Victor moves up from the south, he and Soult may be in front
of Lisbon in ten days' time.
" You had better tell your captains this, in order that
they may understand how vital it is to prevent the passage.
From what I hear from the peasants, the boats will not be able
to carry more than three or four hundred men, and wher-
ever they land we ought to be able to crush them before the
boats can cross again and bring over reinforcements."
" Well, Bull, I think we are likely to have fighting to-
night," Terence said, as Herrara marched off with his men.
" I hope so, sir. I don't think they will be able to cross in
our face, and it will do the men a lot of good to win the
first fight."
" If Romana's troops were worth anything, Soult would
find himself in an awkward position. He has got his whole
army jammed up in the corner here, and if he cannot cross
there is nothing for him to do but to march along the river
to Orense, and then come down by the road through Monte-
rey. There are several streams to cross as he marches up the
bank. Romana is sure to have heard of his concentrating
somewhere down near the mouth of the river, and I should
264 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
think that by this time he will have crossed near Orense, and
will arrive in time to dispute the passage of these streams.
He told me that the Galician peasants have been so enraged
by their cattle being carried off for the use of the French
army that they will rise in insurrection the instant the French
march, and if that is the case, they and Romana ought to be
able to give Soult a lot of trouble before he reaches Orense. ' '
" I don't think those fellows with Romana are likely to do
much, sir. The French will just sweep them before them."
11 1 am afraid so, Bull ; still, if we can prevent the French
from crossing here and compel them to follow the long road
through Monterey, we shall have done good service. It
would give Portugal another seven or eight days to prepare,
and will send the enemy through a country where undisci-
plined troops ought to be able to make a stand even against
soldiers like the French."
All through the night Terence and his major patrolled the
bank from the point facing Campo Sancos to a mile below
that on which the French were placing their guns. Every-
thing went on quietly, sentries at intervals kept watch, and
the men, wrapped in their blankets, lay down in parties of
fifty at short intervals.
" The day is beginning to break," Terence said, as he met
Bull coming back from the lower end of the line. "I am
not afraid now, for if we can but see them coming we can
gather two or three hundred men at any point they may be
making for. Besides, our shooting would be very wild in
the dark."
"That it would, sir; not one shot in fifty would hit the
boats, let alone the men ; and when the Portuguese saw the
boats come on without pause in spite of their fire, they would
be likely to lose heart and to get unsteady."
" We may as well stop here, Bull. It will be light enough
THE FIRST SKIRMISH 265
to see across the river in another quarter of an hour, and if
there are no boats coming then, I think it is pretty certain
that they will not begin until to-morrow night. The peas-
ant said that they have only got 10,000 troops there as yet,
and we know that Soult has more than double that, and he
may wait another day for them all to come up."
Ten minutes later one of the sentries close to them shouted
out that he could see boats. Terence ran up to him.
" Where are they, my man ? "
" Nearly opposite, sir."
Terence gazed fixedly for a moment, and then said : "I
see them; they are heading straight across." Then he gave
the order to the man who always accompanied him with a
horn, to blow the alarm.
At the sound, the troops sprang to their feet, and some
hundreds of peasants, who were lying down a short distance
behind, ran up. The horn was evidently heard on the other
side of the river, for immediately the guns of the battery
opposite opened fire, and their shot whizzed overhead. The
boats plied their oars vigorously, and the French soldiers
cheered ; they were but some three hundred yards away
when first discovered. The Portuguese were coming rapidly
up at the double. Terence shouted that not a shot was to
be fired until he gave the order. He was obeyed by his own
men, but the peasants at once began a wild fire at the boats.
By the time these were within fifty yards of the shore Ter-
ence saw with satisfaction that fully a company had come up.
The men stood firmly, although the balls from the French
battery ploughed up the ground around them.
"Wait until the first boat grounds," Terence shouted
again. Another minute and the first fishing-boat touched
the shore. Then the horn sounded, and the front line of the
Portuguese poured a terrible volley into it. A few of the
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
French soldiers only succeeded in gaining the land, and these
were at once shot down. Then the troops opened a rolling
fire upon the other boats. The French replied with their
musketry, but their fire was feeble. They had expected to
have effected a landing with but slight opposition, and the
concentrated fire of the troops and the peasantry convinced
them that, even should they gain the shore, they would be
greatly outnumbered, and would be shot down before they
could gather in any regular formation. Many of the rowers,
who were Spanish peasants forced into the work, had fallen.
Most of their comrades left the oars and threw themselves
into the bottom of the boats, and the craft drifted down the
stream.
Shouts of triumph rose from the Portuguese, who obeyed
the signal to form fours, and marched along parallel with the
boats, forming line occasionally and firing heavy volleys.
The French soldiers now seized the oars and rowed the craft
into the middle of the river, and then slowly and painfully
made their way to Campo Sancos, having lost more than half
of the three hundred men who had left there. The French
battery ceased to fire, and the din of battle was succeeded by
a dead silence. Once convinced that the French had aban-
doned the attempt to land, the Portuguese broke into loud
shouts of triumph, which were only checked when Terence
ordered them to form up in close order. When they did so he
addressed a few words to them, complimenting them upon the
steadiness that they had shown, and upon their obeying his
order to reserve their fire till the French were close at hand.
"I was convinced that you would behave well," he said,
" and in future I shall have no hesitation in meeting a body
of French equal in numbers to yourselves."
Messengers were at once despatched to order up all the
troops that had been posted below, and in two hours the
THE FIRST SKIRMISH 267
whole force, with the exception of the three companies, be-
tween them and Salvatierra, were assembled.
"The question is, Herrara," Terence said, when he and
his colonel had exchanged congratulations on the repulse of
the French, " what will Soult do next?
" That is a question upon which everything depends. I
don't think he will try again here. He has been eight days
in preparing those boats to cross, and now that he knows
there is a very strong force here, and that even if he got
three or four times as many boats he would scarcely be able
to force a passage, my idea is that he will abandon the attack
and march at once for Orense. In that case the question is,
shall we wait until we have assured ourselves that he has
gone, and then follow and harass his rear? or shall we march
up the river and then cross to help Romana to bar his pas-
sage?"
"I think the latter will be the best plan. You see, we
should not be cutting his communication were we to march
now, because when he has crossed the river Avia he will
have direct communication with Ney, and will of course
draw all his supplies from the north, so I think that we had
better lose no time in pushing up along the river."
The troops were ordered to light fires and cook their break-
fast. While this was going on Terence assembled the peasant
bands, and told them that he thought the French would not
make another attempt to cross, but that they must remain in
a state of watchfulness until they received certain news from
the other side that they had marched for Orense.
As soon as breakfast was over and the cooking-pots packed
in the cart, the two regiments started on their march. They
were in high spirits, and laughed and sang as they tramped
along. They had lost but two killed by the French musketry
fire, and there were but five so severely wounded as to be un-
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
able to take their places in the ranks. These Terence ordered
to be taken in a country cart to Pontelima, and he provided
them with money for their support there until cured.
The men having been on foot all night, Terence halted
them after doing fifteen miles. On the following morning,
soon after they had started, they saw a large body of French
cavalry following the road by the river. These were La
Houssaye's, who had been quartered at Salvatierra. The
river here was narrower than it had been below, and halting
the troops and forming them in line, two or three volleys were
fired across the river. These did some execution, and caused
much confusion in the French ranks. The horsemen, how-
ever, galloped rapidly up the river, and were soon out of
range.
"That settles the question, Herrara. The French are re-
tracing their steps, and bound for Orense. Soult has not let
the grass grow under his feet, and the cavalry are evidently
sent on to clear out any bands of peasants that may be gather-
ing at the rivers."
La Houssaye, indeed, twice in the course of the day broke
up irregular bands, and burned two villages. The infantry
and artillery, after passing through Salvatierra, moved by the
main road. This, however, was found to be so bad that the
artillery were, with ten of the sixteen light guns, and six
howitzers, left behind at Tuy, with a great ammunition and
baggage train, together with 900 sick. A garrison of 500
men were left in the fort. Orders were given that all strag-
glers were to be retained at that place.
The march of the French was not unopposed. When they
arrived at the river Morenta they found 800 Spaniards had
barricaded the bridges and repulsed the advance parties of
cavalry. On the iyth, at daybreak, the leading division at-
tacked them fiercely, carried the bridge, and pursued them
THE FRENCH CAVALRY RODE UP TOWARDS THE SQUARES, BUT WERE
MET WITH HEAVY VOLLEYS."
THE FIRST SKIRMISH 269
hotly, until at a short distance from Ribadavia the Spaniards
rallied upon some 10,000 irregulars arrayed in order of battle
in a strong position covering the town. The rest of the divis-
ion and a brigade of cavalry came up, and, directed by Soult
himself, attacked the Spaniards, drove them through the town
and across the Avia with great loss. Twenty priests were
found among the slain. The next day three or four thousand
other irregulars from the valley of Avia were attacked and
scattered, and on the i8th the French cavalry, with three
brigades of infantry, entered Orense.
An hour earlier Terence had arrived on the other side of
the river, and had at once made preparations for blowing up
the bridge. The men had been but a short time at work
when numbers of the townsmen streamed across the bridge
and reported that a great body of the French were entering
the town. Terence had a hasty consultation with Herrara,
and both agreed that they could not hope to hold the bridge
long against the whole French army, especially as they had
learned two hours before from a peasant who had ridden up,
that strong bodies of French troops had crossed the river by
the ferries at Ribadavia and Barbibante, and that they might
shortly be attacked in flank. The powder-barrels were there-
fore hastily repacked, and the troops marched off towards the
hills on their left.
They were but half-way across the plain when a regiment
of French cavalry were seen riding in pursuit. The regi-
ments were at once formed into squares within fifty yards of
each other, and Terence and Bull in the centre of one square,
and Herrara and Macwitty in the other, exhorted the men to
stand steady, assuring them there was nothing whatever to be
feared from the cavalry if they did so. The French rode up
towards the squares, but were met by heavy volleys, and after
riding round them drew off, having suffered considerable loss,
270 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
being greatly surprised at finding that instead of a mob of
armed men, such as they had met at Avia, they were en-
countered by soldiers possessing the steadiness of trained troops.
The regiments resumed their march until far up the hill,
where they proceeded to cut down trees and brushwood and
to form an encampment, as their leader had decided to stay
here and await events until Soult's intentions were clearly
shown. There were two courses open to the French general.
He might advance to Allaritz and then march along the Lima,
be joined by his artillery and train from Tuy, and then move
direct upon Oporto, or he might follow the valley of the Ta-
mega to Chaves, whence he would have the choice of routes,
and take either that over the Sierra de Cabrera to Braga, or
continue his course down the valley until he reached the
Douro.
It was not until the 4th of March that the French again
moved forward. In the meantime Terence was forced to re-
main quiet, except that each day he marched his men farther
among the hills and drilled them for some hours perseveringly.
The affair on the Minho and the repulse of the French cavalry
had given them great confidence in themselves and their leader,
and had shown them the value of steadiness, and of maintain-
ing order and discipline in the ranks. They therefore devoted
themselves even more willingly and zealously than before to
their military exercises, and the ten days taken by Soult in
preparing for the advance were well spent in accustoming the
Portuguese to rapid movements among the mountains, and to
attaining a fair knowledge of what would be required of them
in mountain warfare. Two companies always remained in
the camp, and these had several skirmishes with bodies of
French marauders, and small parties of cavalry making across
the country to ascertain the position and strength of the Por-
tuguese.
THE FIRST SKIRMISH 271
The advance of the French was rapid, and on the 5th
the cavalry and a portion of the infantry reached Villa Real,
where, on the evening of the same day, two divisions of in-
fantry arrived. That night Terence with his men having on
the 4th marched along the hills parallel to the road, made a
forced march, crossed the road and took up a position on the
spur of the mountains between Montalegre and the river.
Even yet it was doubtful which route Soult intended to fol-
low, as the division at Villa Real might be intended only to
prevent Romana and Silveira falling upon his flank. As he
marched down the valley of the Lima, he had learned from
Romana that he and Silveira had decided to fall back to
Chaves, and that he agreed with Terence's opinion that he
had better remain in the rear of the French, and intercept
their communications with Orense.
On the following morning the French advanced in force to
Monterey. Romana abandoned the position as they advanced,
drew off to Verin, and then retired along the road towards
Sanabria. He thus left it open to himself either to follow the
road to Chaves, as agreed upon, or to retire into Spain
through the mountains. Franceschi's cavalry and a battalion
of French infantry overtook between two and three thousand
men forming the rear of Romana' s column. The latter drew
up in a great square. Franceschi attacked the rear face with
his infantry, passed with his cavalry round the sides of the
square, and placed himself between it and the rest of the retir-
ing column. He had with him four regiments of cavalry, and
now hurled a regiment at each side of the square.
The Spaniards were at once seized with dismay, broke
their formation, and in a moment the French cavalry were
upon them, cutting and trampling them down. Twelve hun-
dred were killed and the rest made prisoners. As soon as
Romana heard of the disaster that had befallen his rear-
272 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
guard, he broke his engagement with Silveira and led his force
over the mountains into Spain, where the news of his defeat
caused the Spanish insurgent bands to disperse rapidly to their
homes, where they delivered up their arms ; and even the
priests, who had been the main promoters of the rising, seeing
the failure of all their plans, advised them to maintain a peace-
able attitude in future.
Silveira was not more fortunate, for two thousand of his
troops with some guns, issuing from the mountains just as
Franceschi returned from the annihilation of Romana's rear-
guard, the French cavalry charged and captured the Portu-
guese guns, and drove Silveira down the valley.
Soult paused two days at Monterey, the baggage and hos-
pital train, and a great convoy of provisions being brought up
from Orense, under the guard of a whole division. This ren-
dered it evident that he intended to cut himself off altogether
from Spain, and to subsist entirely upon the country. It was
clear then that it was useless to attempt to fall upon his rear,
and by a long march through the mountains Terence took his
force down to Chaves.
Here he found that Silveira, deserted by Romana and
beaten by Franceschi, had fallen back to a mountain immedi-
ately behind Chaves. Terence continued his march until he
joined him. He found a great tumult going on among his
troops ; always insubordinate, they were now in a state of
mutiny. Many of the officers openly advocated that they
should desist from a struggle in which success was altogether
hopeless, and should go over and join the French. The troops,
however, not only spurned the advice, but fell upon and killed
several of those who offered it, and demanded from Silveira
that he should lead them down to defend Chaves. This he
refused to do, saying that the fortifications were old and use--
less, the guns worn out, and that were they tQ shut them*
THE FIRST SKIRMISH 273
selves up there, they would be surrounded and forced to
surrender.
This refusal excited the mutineers to the highest pitch, and
when Terence arrived they were clamouring for his death. A
small party of soldiers who remained faithful to him sur-
rounded him, but they would speedily have been overpowered
had it not been for the arrival of Terence's command. As
soon as he understood what was happening, he formed his men
into a solid body, marched through the excited crowd, and
formed up in hollow square round the general. The firm ap-
pearance of the force and the fact that they possessed more
arms than the whole of Silveira's army, had its effect. The
mutineers, however, to the number of 3,500, determined to
carry out their intentions, and at once marched away to
Chaves. Silveira remained with but a few hundred men, as
the 2,000 routed by Franceschi had not rejoined him.
"I owe you my life, sefior," he said to Terence, "for
those mad fools would certainly have murdered me."
"It is not surprising," Terence said. "A mob of men
who are not soldiers cannot be expected to observe discipline,
especially when insubordination and anarchy have been abso-
lutely fomented by the authorities, crimes of all sorts perpe-
trated by their orders, and no efforts whatever made to punish
ill-doers."
" Your men seem to be disciplined and obedient," Silveira
said.
" They have been taught to be so, General, and I believe
that I can rely upon them absolutely. If you had but officers
and discipline, I am certain that your soldiers would be excel-
lent ; but as it is, with a few exceptions, your officers are worse
than useless. They are appointed as a reward for their support
of the Junta ; they are ignorant of their duties, and many of
them favour the French ; they regard their soldiers as raised,
If
274 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
not for the defense of Portugal, but for the support of the
Junta. I have seen enough to know that the peasants are
brave, hardy, and ready to fight. But what can they do when
they are but half- armed, and no attempt whatever is made to
discipline them? Have you heard, since these troubles be-
gan, of a single man being shot for insubordination, or of a
single officer being punished even for the grossest neglect of
orders ? It is nothing short of murder to put a mob of half-
armed peasants to stand against French troops."
" All that is quite true," Silveira said, heartily. " How-
ever, I shall do my best, and shall, I doubt not, soon have
another force collected, for now that the French have fairly
entered Portugal, and are marching towards the capital, every
man will take up arms. And you, senor, what do you mean
to do?"
"I shall harass the French as I see an opportunity, but I
shall not subject my men to certain disaster by joining any of
the new levies. I know what my men can do, and what I can
do with them ; but if mixed up with thousands of raw peas-
ants they would be swept away by the latter and share in any
misfortune that might befall them. What I have seen of your
troops to-day, and what I saw of Romana's, is quite enough to
show me that to lead peasants into the field is simply to bring
misfortune and death upon them. Far better that each leader
should collect two or three hundred men and teach them dis-
cipline and a little drill instead of taking a mob thousands
strong out to battle. Those men that have marched down into
Chaves will, you will see, offer no resistance, and will simply
be killed or made prisoners to a man. Now, may I ask if you
have any stores here, General ? We have had great difficulty
in buying food up in the mountains, and as it will be useless
to you, and certainly cannot be carried off, I should be glad
to fill the men's haversacks before we go farther."
IN THE PASSES 275
" Certainly. I had enough meat and bread for my whole
force for a week, and you are welcome to take as much as you
require. Which way do you propose marching ? "
" I am waiting to see which way the French go after leav-
ing Chaves. Whether they go down the valley or across the
mountains to Braga, I shall endeavour to get ahead of them ;
and as my men are splendid marchers, I have no doubt that I
shall succeed in doing so, even if the French have a few hours'
start. If I can do nothing else, I can at least make their cav-
alry keep together instead of riding in small parties all over
the country to sweep in food."
Fires were soon lighted, some bullocks killed and cut up,
and a hearty meal eaten. They had already made a very long
march, and were ordered to lie down until nightfall. Silveira
marched away with his men, and Terence and Herrarasat and
watched the road, down which bodies of French troops could
already be seen advancing from Monterey towards Chaves.
As they approached the town, gun after gun was fired. The
advance-guard halted and waited until the whole division had
come up.
CHAPTER XVI
IN THE PASSES
ON the following day the French cavalry, with a division of
infantry, took up their position beyond the town, so as to
cut off the retreat of the garrison, who were then summoned
to surrender. No reply was made, but for the next twenty-
four hours the defenders, although in no way attacked, kept
up a random fire from the guns on the walls, and with mus-
ketry, to which no reply whatever was made by the French.
276 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
On the following day, the whole army having now come up,
the town was again summoned, and at once surrendered, when
Soult, who did not wish to be hampered with a mob of pris-
oners, contemptuously allowed them to depart to their homes.
After bringing up his sick from Chaves, and discovering
that the passes through the mountains were unoccupied, and
that the Portuguese army was at Braga, Soult, on the i4th,
began to move in that direction, both for the purpose of crush-
ing Friere and getting into communication with Tuy, and
being joined by his artillery from there. As soon as this
movement was seen from the hill where Terence's regiments
had been for three days resting, preparations were made for
marching, and with haversacks well filled with bread and
meat, the troops started in good spirits. Terence procured the
services of a peasant well acquainted with the mountains, and
was led by paths used by shepherds across the hills, and after
a twelve hours' toilsome journey came down into the defiles
that the French were following. There he learned from peas-
ants, that, with the exception of a small scouting party two
days before, there were no signs of any hostile force.
The men were at once set to work to destroy a bridge across
a torrent at the mouth of a defile. It was built of stone, but
was old and in bad repair, and the men had little difficulty in
prising the stones of the side walls from their places, and throw-
ing them down into the stream. Another party made a hole
over the key of an arch. A barrel of powder was placed here,
and a train having been laid, was covered up by a pile of rocks.
A third party formed a barricade six feet high, across the end
of the bridge, and also two breastworks, each fifty yards away
on either side, so as to flank the approaches to the other end
and the bridge. The troops were extended along the hillsides,
one "battalion on each side of the defile, under the shelter of
the rocks and brush.
IN THE PASSES 277
While these preparations were being made, the horses were
taken up to the top of the hills by some paths known to the
peasants of a little village near the mouth of the defile, the
women and children following them. Terence and Herrara
had a consultation, and then the former called Bull and Mac-
witty to him.
" Now," he said, " you understand that while we will de-
fend this defile as long as we can, we will run no risk of a
defeat that might end in a rout. We shall inflict heavy loss
upon them before they can repair the bridge, and can certainly
force their cavalry to remain quiet until they bring up their
infantry. Colonel Herrara, you, with one company of the
second battalion, will hold the village, and we shall sweep the
column advancing along the bottom of the defile with a fire
from each flank, while they will also be exposed to your fire
in front. When they succeed in making their way up to
within charging distance you will evacuate the village and join
Macwitty on the hill.
" They must attack us there on both sides, for no troops
could march through until the hillsides are cleared. It is prob-
able that they may do this before they attempt to attack the
village, but in any case you must keep up a steady fire until
they get within fifty yards of you, then retire up the hill, but
leave a party to keep them in check until the rest have gained
the crest and formed up in good order. By the time you do
this they will have driven in your rear-guard. The French
will be breathless with their exertions when they reach you.
Wait till a considerable number have gained the crest, then, be-
fore they have time to form, pour a heavy volley into them and
charge, and then sweep them with your fire until they reach the
bottom. The next time they will no doubt attack in much
greater force ; in that case we will move quietly off without
waiting for them, and will reunite at the village of Romar,
278 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
five miles in the rear. If we find, as we near it, that the
French are in possession, we will halt, and I will send orders
to the second regiment as to what is to be done. If the force
is not too great we will attack them at night."
" How will you know where we shall be, sir? " Macwitty
said.
" I have arranged with Colonel Herrara that when you halt
you shall light two fires a short distance from each other. I
will reply by lighting one, and the fires are then to be extin-
guished."
This being arranged, Terence went down and applied a
match to the train, and then retired at a run. Three minutes
later there was a heavy explosion, rocks flew high in the air,
and when the smoke cleared away, a cheer from the hillside
told that the explosion had been successful. Terence returned
to the bridge ; a considerable portion of the arch had been
blown away, and putting fifty men to work, the gap was soon
carried across the road and widened, so that there was a chasm
twelve feet across. The parties who were to man the breast-
works were now posted. Terence himself took the command
here. The defenders consisted of a company of Bull's battalion.
Half an hour later a deep sound was heard, and as it grew
louder the head of a column of cavalry was seen approaching.
The whole of the force on the hillsides were hidden behind
rocks or brushwood ; not a head was shown above the breast-
works. The cavalry, however, halted, and an officer with four
men rode forward. When within fifty yards of the bridge a
volley of twenty muskets flashed out from the work behind it.
The officer and three men fell, the other galloped back to the
main body. He had seen nothing beyond the fact that there
was a breastwork across the road, and Franceschi, thinking
that he had but a small force of peasants in front of him, or-
dered a squadron to charge, and clear the obstacle.
IN THE PASSES 279
As before, they were allowed to approach to within fifty
yards of the bridge, when from the breastwork in front, and
the two side redoubts a storm of musketry was poured into
them. The effect was terrible ; the head of the squadron was
swept away, but a few men charged forward until close to the
break in the bridge. Most of these fell, but a few galloped
back, and the remains of the squadron then trotted off in good
order.
No further movement took place for an hour, and then a
body of infantry, some two thousand strong, appeared. As
they passed the cavalry, the first two companies were thrown
out in skirmishing order, and were soon swarming down tow-
ards the stream. The banks of this, although very steep, were
not impassable by infantry, and the defenders of the two side
redoubts spread themselves out along the bank, and, as the
skirmishers approached, opened fire.
For a time the rattle of firearms was incessant. When the
main body of French infantry had, as their commander
thought, ascertained the strength of the defenders, they ad-
vanced in solid order until near the bridge, and then wheeled
off on either flank and advanced with loud shouts. A horn
was sounded, and from the hillsides near a scattering fire of
musketry opened at once. The French, however, pushed
forward without a pause. Terence's horn sounded again, the
men fell back from the bank, and the whole company ran at
full speed across the narrow valley, and took their place with
their comrades on the hillside.
The French crossed the stream under a heavy fire, and,
dividing into two portions, prepared to assault both hills
simultaneously. The combat was obstinate, the French suf-
fered heavily, but pushed their way up unflinchingly. The
Portuguese, encouraged by the shouts of their officers, held
their ground obstinately, retreating only at the sound of their
280 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
horns, and renewing the combat a short distance higher up.
Being sheltered by the rocks behind which they lay, their loss
was but trifling in comparison to that of the French, who
were forced to expose themselves as they advanced, and whose
numbers dwindled so rapidly that when half-way up they
were on both sides brought to a stand-still, and then, taking
shelter behind the rocks, they maintained the contest on more
equal terms.
But by this time a column of 4,000 men was marching
down to the stream, and, dividing like the first, climbed the
hills. The Portuguese now fell back more rapidly, their fire
slackened, and the French, with loud shouts, pressed up the
hill. Presently the resistance ceased altogether, and, firing as
they advanced at the flying figures, of whom they caught an
occasional glimpse, the French pressed forward as rapidly as
the nature of the ground would permit, cheering loudly. At
last they reached the top of the hill, and the leaders paused
in doubt as they saw before them some eleven or twelve hun-
dred men drawn up in line four deep at a distance of fifty
yards. Every moment added to the number of the French,
and as they arrived their officers tried to form them into order.
When their numbers about equalled those of the Portuguese,
two heavy volleys were poured into them, and then, with loud
shouts, the Portuguese rushed at them with levelled bayonets.
The charge was irresistible. The French were hurled over
the crest and went down the hill, carrying confusion and
dismay among those climbing up. The Portuguese pressed
them hotly, giving them no time to rally, and forcing them
down to the bottom of the hill without a check. Then at the
signal they fell back to the post that they had held at the be-
ginning of the fight. The success was equal on both hillsides,
and the regiments cheered each other's victory with shouts
which rose high above the roar of musketry. With their
IN THE PASSES 281
usual discipline, the French speedily rallied, in spite of the
heavy fire that from both sides swept their ranks, and they
prepared, when joined by another regiment which was ap-
proaching at the double to their assistance, to renew the as-
sault.
Terence saw that, this time, the odds would be too great to
withstand. His horn sounded the retreat, and the Portuguese
turned to make their way up the hill just as a French battery
opened fire. Sheltered among the rocks, the infantry below
were unconscious of the movement, for on either side a com-
pany had been left to continue their fire until the main body
gained the top of the hill, when they too were summoned by
the horns to fall back. The wounded had been all taken up
the hill, and were laid in blankets and carried off by their
comrades. As the two regiments marched away from the
crest of the defile the soldiers were in the highest spirits. They
had repulsed with heavy loss a French force of three times
their own strength, and they greeted Terence and Bull, as
they rode together along the column, with enthusiastic
cheers.
The wounded, which in the first battalion numbered forty-
three, were despatched with a party a hundred strong to a
village four miles away among the mountains, and the regi-
ment marched on until it reached the point agreed upon.
Two men were sent forward to reconnoitre the village, and
returned with the report that it had already been occupied by
a very strong force of French cavalry. Half an hour later two
wreaths of smoke rose on the opposite hill. Sticks had been
gathered in readiness, and the answering signal was at once
made. Two minutes later the smoke ceased to rise on either
side. Terence now received the reports of the captains of the
six companies, and found that fifteen men had been killed,
and that his strength was thus reduced by fifty-eight. The
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
men were now told that they could lie down, the companies
keeping together so as to be ready for instant action.
Trifling wounds, of which there were some two or three and
twenty, were then attended to and bandaged. Some of these
were quite serious enough to have warranted the men falling
out, but the delight and pride they felt at their success had
been so great that they had refused to be taken off with their
disabled comrades. Terence made a round of the troops and
addressed a few words to each company, praising their con-
duct, and thanking them for the readiness and quickness with
which they had obeyed his orders.
" You see, my lads," he said, " what can be done by dis-
cipline. Had it not been for the steady drill you have had
ever since we marched, we could not have hoped to oppose
the French, and I should not have ventured to have done so.
Now, you see, you have proved that you are as brave as the
enemy, and not only have you beaten them with heavy loss,
but the effect of this fight will be to render them more cautious
in future and slower in their movements, and the news of the
blow you have struck will inspirit your countrymen every-
where. ' '
Having nothing else to do until after darkness fell, Terence,
after finishing his round, sat down and added an account of
the fight to the report he had written up at their last halting-
place. This was written in duplicate, one copy being in-
tended for General Cradock, and the other for the Portuguese
authorities at Oporto. Outposts had been thrown out towards
the village as soon as they halted, and after opening their
haversacks, eating a meal, and quenching their thirst at a little
rivulet that ran down to the village, the men lay down to
sleep, tired with their long night's march and the excitement
of the battle.
Terence was no exception to the general rule, for although
IN THE PASSES 283
he had had his horse, yet for the greater part of the distance
he had marched on foot, as the ruggedness of the ground
traversed had in most places been too great to travel in safety
on horseback in the dark. When night fell all were on their
feet again, refreshed by a long sleep. Two men were now
sent down to reconnoitre the village again. They reported
that it was still occupied by the cavalry. The infantry, as
they could see by the fires along the road, had bivouacked
there, and one regiment at least had passed through the village
and had occupied the road ahead.
Terence had already written out his instructions to Herrara
in triplicate, and three men were despatched with these. They
were warned to be extremely careful, for the men who had first
been sent, had reported that the French had posted sentries
out on their flanks. One of the messengers was to make a long
detour to cross the road half a mile ahead of the French,
and then to make his way along on the opposite hillside to
the spot where Herrara was posted. The other two were to
make their way as best they could through the village. The
pieces of paper they carried were rolled up into little balls,
and they were ordered that, if noticed and an alarm given,
these were at once to be swallowed.
Soon after ten o'clock the regiment formed up. Terence
had given detailed orders to the captain of each company.
These were instructed to call up their men twenty at a time,
and to explain their orders to them, so that every man should
know exactly what to do. No sound had been heard in the
village, and Terence felt sure that Herrara must have received
his orders, and at a quarter past ten he with one company
moved slowly down towards the village ; Bull, with the main
body of the force, marching westward along the hills. Six
men had volunteered for the service of silencing the French
outposts, and these, leaving their muskets behind, stole for-
284 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
ward in advance of the company, which halted at some little
distance from the French centre.
In a quarter of an hour they returned. Eight French sen-
tries had been surprised and killed, the Portuguese crawling
up to them until near enough to spring upon and stab them
without the slightest alarm being given. The company now
moved silently forward again until within a hundred yards of
the village, when they halted until the church clock struck
eleven. Then they rushed down into the village. As they
entered it shots were fired, and an outcry rose from the other
side, showing that Herrara had managed matters as well as
they had. The surprise was complete ; the street was full of
horses, while the soldiers had taken shelter in the houses. A
scene of the wildest confusion ensued. The horses were shot,
for it was most important to cripple this most formidable arm
of the French service, and the men were attacked as they
poured out of the houses.
Bull, with a hundred men, made his way straight to the
upper end of the village and repelled the desperate attempts
of a squadron of horse that were posted beyond it in readiness
for action, to break through to the assistance of their com-
rades, while Terence and Herrara, each with a hundred men,
held the road at the lower end of the village to check an in-
fantry attack there. It was not long before it was delivered.
The French infantry, disciplined veterans, accustomed to
surprises, had sprung to their feet when the first shot was
fired, and forming instantly into column, came on at a run,
led by their officers. Terence, with fifty men, four deep,
barred the way across the road ; the rest of his men were sta-
tioned along the high ground flanking it on one side, while
Herrara with his hundred flanked the opposite side.
As the French came on the Portuguese on the high ground
remained silent and unnoticed, but when a flash of fire ran
IN THE PASSES 285
across the road and a deadly volley was poured in upon the
enemy, those on the flanks at once opened fire. For a mo-
ment the column paused in surprise, and then opened fire at
their unseen assailants, whose fire was causing such gaps in
the ranks. The colonel and several other officers who had
been at its head had fallen ; in the din no orders could be
heard, and for some minutes the head of the column wasted
away under the rain of bullets. Then a general officer dashed
up, and another body of Frenchmen came along at a run.
Terence's horn rang out loudly ; the signal was repeated in
the village, the fire instantly ceased, and when the French
column rushed into the place not a foe was to be seen, but
the street was choked up by dead horses and men.
These reinforcements did not pause, but making their way
over the obstacles pressed on to where a roar of fire in front
showed how hotly the advance-guard was engaged. Here the
surprise had been rather less complete. Some of the outposts
had given the alarm, and the French were on their feet before,
after pouring terrible volleys into them, a thousand men fell
upon them on either side. Great numbers of the French fell
under the fire, and the long line was broken up into sections
by the impetuous rush of the Portuguese. Nevertheless, the
French soldiers hung together, and the combat raged desper-
ately until the head of the relieving column came up. Then,
as suddenly as before, the attack ceased. Not a gun was
fired, and, as if by magic, their assailants stole away into the
darkness, while the French opened a random fire after them.
An hour later the two Portuguese regiments united on the
road two miles in advance of the village. Their loss had
been eighty-four killed and a hundred and fifty wounded, of
which seventy were serious cases. These were, as before,
sent off to be cared for in the mountain villages. The
French loss, as Terence afterward heard, had been very heavy ;
286 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
three hundred of the cavalry had been killed, and upwards of
four hundred infantry. Great was the enthusiasm when the
two regiments met, and after a short halt marched away to-
gether into the hills and encamped in a wood two miles from
the road.
"What next, Generalissimo?" Herrara, whose left arm
had been broken by a bullet, asked.
' ' I think that we have done enough for the present, ' ' Ter-
ence said. " We will leave it to the rest of the army to do
a little fighting now. We have lost, in killed and wounded,
some two hundred men, and I don't wish to see the whole
force dwindle away. I propose that we do not go near Braga.
I have no idea of putting myself under the command of Friere ;
I have seen enough of him already. So we will travel by
by-roads till we get near Oporto, then we will find out how
matters stand there. My own idea is that when the French
army approaches, the Junta's courage will ooze out of its finger
ends, and that the 50,000 peasants, which it calls an army,
will bolt at the first attack of the French. So, as I don't mean
to be trapped there, we will rest on our laurels until we see
how matters go."
It was well for the corps that Terence abstained from join-
ing the army at Braga. As the French entered the pass of
Benda Nova, the peasants rushed furiously down upon them.
Many broke into the French columns, and fighting desper-
ately, were slain. The survivors made their way up the hill-
side, and then making a detour, fell upon the rear of the col-
umn, killed fifty stragglers and plundered the baggage. This
spontaneous action of the peasants was the only attempt made
to bar the advance of the French, and Friere permitted them
to pass through defile after defile without firing a shot. His
conduct aroused the fury of his troops, and the feeling was
fanned by agents of the bishop, who had now become jealous
IN THE PASSES 287
of him, and his men rushing upon him dragged him from a
house in which he had taken refuge, and slew him a fit end
to the career of a man who had proved himself as unpatriotic
as he was incapable.
On the 1 8th Soult arrived near Braga, and the Portuguese,
who were now commanded by Eben, a German officer in the
British service, drew up to meet him. The French began
their advance on the 2oth, and half an hour later the Portu-
guese army was a mob of fugitives. The vanquished army
lost 4,000 men and all their guns, 400 only being taken pris-
oners ; the rest dispersed in all directions, carrying tales of
the invincibility of the French. Had it not been for the
stout resistance offered by 3,000 men, placed on a position
in the rear commanding the road, which checked the pursuit
of the cavalry and enabled the fugitives to make off, scarce
a man of the Portuguese would have escaped to tell the tale.
Terence had approached Oporto, and encamped in a large
wood, when the fugitives brought him news of the crushing
defeat that they had suffered. The soldiers were so furious
when they heard of the disgraceful rout, that Terence and
Herrara had difficulty in preventing them from killing the
fugitives. The result strengthened his position. The troops
on arriving at their present camping-place were eager to be
led into Oporto. Terence and Herrara had talked the matter
over several times, and agreed that such a step might be fatal.
Standing, as this town did, on the north side of the river, the
only means of leaving it was the bridge of boats, and if any-
thing happened to this all retreat would be cut off.
The defeat at Braga at once confirmed their opinion that
the army of peasants that the bishop had gathered round
Oporto would be able to make but little resistance to the
French attack.
"It would be terrible," Herrara said; " 50,000 fugitives,
288 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
and a great portion of the inhabitants of the town, all strug-
gling to cross the bridge, with the French cavalry pressing on
their rear, and the French artillery playing upon them. It is
not to be thought of."
The troops, however, had been full of confidence in the
valour of their countrymen, and from their own success against
the French believed that the army at Braga would certainly
defeat Soult, and there had been some dissatisfaction that they
had not been permitted to take part in the victory. The
news brought by the fugitives at once dissipated the hopes
that they had entertained. They saw that their commander
had acted wisely in refusing to join the army there, and their
feeling of contempt for the undisciplined ordenancas and
peasants equalled the confidence they had before reposed in
them. Terence ordered the two regiments to form into a
hollow square and addressed them.
" Soldiers," he said, " I know that it was a disappointment
to you that I did not take you to Braga. Had I done so, not
one of you would have escaped, for when the rest fled like a
flock of sheep you could not alone have withstood the attack
of the whole French army. I know that you wish to enter
Oporto. I have withstood that wish, and now you must see
that I was right in doing so. The peasants gathered in its
defence are even less disciplined than those at Braga, and
Soult will, after two or three minutes' fighting, capture the
place. Were you there you could not prevent such a result.
You might hold the spot at which you were stationed, but if
the French broke in at any other point you would be sur-
rounded and killed to a man. What use would that be to
Portugal? You can do more good by living and fighting
another day.
" Even if you should fall back with the other fugitives,
what chance of safety would there be ? You know that there
IN THE PASSES 289
is but one bridge of boats across the river, and that will soon
be blocked by a panic-stricken crowd, and your chance of
crossing would be slight indeed. The men who fought at
Braga, those men who will fight before Oporto, are no more
cowards than you are, and had they gained as much discipline
as you have, I would march down with you at once and join
in the defence. But a mob cannot withstand disciplined
troops. When the Portuguese have learned to be soldiers,
they may fight with a hope of success ; until then it is tak-
ing them to slaughter to set them in line of battle against the
French. Soult may be here in twenty-four hours, therefore I
propose to march you down to the river above Oporto. We
are sure to find boats there, and we will cross at once to the
other side and encamp near the suburb at the south end of
the bridge, and when the fugitives pour over we will take our
station there, cover their retreat, and prevent the French from
crossing in pursuit."
A murmur of satisfaction broke from the soldiers and
swelled into a shout. Soon after evening fell the corps
marched from the wood, and two hours later came down on
the bank of the Douro. As Terence anticipated, there were
plenty of fishermen's boats hauled up, and the regiments
passed over by companies. By three in the morning all were
across, and by five they encamped in a wood beyond the
steep hill rising behind the Villa Nova suburb, on the left
bank of the river. As soon as he had seen the soldiers settled
Terence borrowed the clothes of one of the men, and putting
these on instead of his uniform, he sent for Bull and Mac-
witty, and the two soldiers soon arrived. They looked in
astonishment at their officer.
" I am going into the town," he said, " partly to judge for
myself of the state of things there, and partly on a little
private business of my own. It is possible that I may get
'9
290 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
into trouble. I hope that I shall not do so, but it is as well to
be prepared for any emergency that might happen. If, then,
I do not return, you are to look to Colonel Herrara for orders.
When the French enter Oporto, which I am certain they will
do as soon as they attack it, you may gather your men at this
end of the bridge, cover the retreat, and repulse all efforts of
the French to cross. As soon as those attempts have ceased,
you will march with the two regiments for Coimbra, and
report yourselves to the officer commanding there. Here are
my despatches to the general, in which I have done full justice
to your bravery and your conduct. Here is also a note to
the officer commanding at Coimbra. I have spoken to him
about your conduct, and have asked him to allow you to con-
tinue with the Portuguese until an order is received from Sir
John Cradock. I have given Colonel Herrara a duplicate
of my despatches and official orders, in case you should be
killed."
" Cannot we go with you, sir? " Bull asked.
"I don't think so, Bull. Dress as you might, you could
hardly be taken for anything but an Englishman. Your
walk and your complexion, to say nothing of your hair,
would betray you both at once. The first person who hap-
pened to address you would discover that you were not
natives, and the chances are he would denounce you, and
that you would be torn to pieces before you could offer
any explanation. Now, I think that I can pass readily
enough. The wind and rough weather have brought me to
nearly the right colour, and I know how to speak Portu-
guese well enough to ask any question without exciting
suspicion."
"But why not take two of the men with you?" Mac-
witty said. " They could do any talking that was necessary ;
and should anyone suggest that you are not a native, they
IN THE PASSES 291
could declare that you were a comrade from their own
village."
Bull strongly approved of the suggestion, and Terence,
though in some respects he would rather have been alone, at
last agreed to it.
" They may as well take their arms ; not for use, but to
give them the appearance of two men from the camp who had
come down to make purchases in the city."
Daylight was just breaking as the three crossed the bridge
of boats into the town, and passed through it up the hill to
the great camp that had been established there. It covered a
large extent of ground, and contained tents sufficient for the
whole of the 50,000 men assembled. A short distance away
was the line of intrenchments on which the peasants had been
for some weeks engaged. They consisted of forts crowning
a succession of rounded hills, and connected by earthen ram-
parts, loopholed houses, ditches, and an abattis of felled trees.
No less than two hundred guns were in place on the forts. It
was a position that two thousand good troops should have
been able to hold against an army.
"It is a strong position," Terence said to the two men
with him.
"Yes, the French can never pass that," one of them
said, exultingly.
"That we shall see. They ought not to, certainly, but
whether they will or not is another matter."
They wandered about for a couple, of hours. Once one of
the Portuguese joined a group of peasants, and learned from
them something of the state of things in the town, represent-
ing that they had but just arrived.
" You are lucky. You will see how we shall destroy the
French army. Our guns will sweep them away. Every man
in the town is full of confidence, and the traitors are all
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
trembling in their houses. When the news of the business at
Braga came yesterday, and we learned the treachery of our
generals, the people rose, dragged fifteen suspected men of
rank from the prison and killed them. There is not a day
that some of these traitors are not rooted out."
" That is well," the other said ; "it is traitors that have
brought us to this pass."
" You will see how we shall fight when the French come.
The bishop himself has promised to come out in his robes to
give us his blessing, and to call down the wrath of heaven
on the French infidels."
After having finished his survey of the line, Terence re-
turned to the city, and following the instructions that he had
received as to the situation of the convent at Santa Maria, he
was not long in finding it. It was a massive building; the
windows of the two lower stories were closely barred. He
could not see any way of opening communications with his
cousin, or of devising any way of escape. He, however,
thought that it might possibly be managed if he could send
in a rope to her and a pulley, with means of fixing it ; in that
way he could lower her to the ground. But all this would
be very difficult to manage, even if he had ample time at his
disposal, and in the present circumstances it was altogether
impossible. He stared at the house for a long time in silence,
but no idea came to him, and it was with a feeling of hope-
lessness that he recrossed the bridge and rejoined the troops.
" I am glad to see you back, sir," Bull said, heartily. " I
have been in a funk all this morning that something might
happen to you."
" It has all gone off quietly. I will now tell you and Mac-
witty what my business here is. I may need your help, and
it is a matter in which none of the Portuguese would dare to
offer me any assistance."
IN THE PASSES 293
" I think they would do maist anything for you, sir," Mac-
witty said. " They have that confidence in you, they would
go through fire and water if you were to lead them."
"They would do almost anything but what I want done
now. I have a cousin, a young lady, who is an heiress to a
large fortune. Her father is dead, and her mother, a wealthy
land-owner, has had her shut up in a convent, where they are
trying to force her, against her will, to become a nun. She
is kept a prisoner, on bread and water, until she consents to
sign a paper surrendering all her rights. Now, what I want
to do is to get her out. It cannot be done by force; that is
out of the question. It is a strong building, and even if the
men would consent to attack a convent, which they would
not do, all the town would be up, and we should have the
whole populace on us. So that force is out of the question.
Now, the French are sure to take the place. When they do,
there will be an awful scene. They will be furious at the
resistance they have met with, and at the losses that they
have suffered. They will be maddened, and reasonably, by
the frightful tortures inflicted upon prisoners who have fallen
into the hands of the Portuguese, and you may be sure that
for some time no quarter will be given. The soldiers will be
let loose upon the city, and there will be no more respect for
a convent than a dwelling-house. You may imagine how
frightfully anxious I am. If it had not been for the French
I would have let the matter stand until our army entered
Oporto, but as it is, I must try and do something; and,
as far as I can see, the only chance will be in the frightful
confusion that will take place when the French enter the
town."
" We will stand by you, Mr. O'Connor, you may be sure.
You have only got to tell us what to do, and you may trust
us to do it."
294 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
Macwitty, who was a man of few words, nodded. "Mi.
O'Connor knows that," he said.
" Thank you both," Terence said, heartily. "I must think
out my plan, and when I have decided upon it I will let you
know."
CHAPTER XVII
AN ESCAPE
DURING his visit to the other side of the river Terence had
seen, with great satisfaction, that a powerful battery,
mounting fifty guns, had been erected on the heights of Villa
Nova, and its fire, he thought, should effectually bar any
attempt of the French to cross the bridge.
It would indeed be madness for them to attempt such an
operation, as the boats supporting the bridge could be in-
stantly sunk by the concentrated fire of the battery. He said
nothing of this on his return to camp, as it might have given
rise to fresh agitation among the men, were they to be aware
that their presence was not really required for the defence of
the bridge. After a short stay in camp he again went down
into the town, with the idea that he was more likely to hit
upon some plan of action there than he would be in the camp.
The two men again went with him. Another prolonged
stare at the convent failed to inspire him with any scheme
that was in the slightest degree practicable. He fell back
upon the conclusion he had mentioned to the two troopers,
that the only chance would be to take advantage of the wild
confusion that would prevail upon the entry of the French.
The difficulty that presented itself to him was, that the nuns
would be so appalled by the approach of the French that it
AN ESCAPE 295
would be unlikely that they would think of leaving the
protection such as it was of the convent, and would shrink
from encountering the wild turmoil in the streets. Even if
they did so, it would be too late for them to have any chance
of getting across the bridge, which would be thronged to a
point of suffocation by the mob of fugitives, and might read-
ily be destroyed by one or two of the boats being sunk by
the French artillery.
The one thing evident was, that he must arrange to get a
boat and to station it at the end of some street going down to
the river from the neighbourhood of the convent. That part
of the city being some distance from the bridge, the streets
would soon be deserted, and there would not be a wild rush
of fugitives to the boat, which would be the case were it to be
lying alongside anywhere near the bridge. Upon the other
hand, it would be less likely that the nuns would leave the
convent if all was comparatively quiet in that neighbourhood,
and did they do so it would be difficult in the extreme to
carry off his cousin from their midst, ignorant, too, as he was
of her appearance. After looking for some time at the con-
vent, he returned to the more busy part of the town. Pres-
ently he heard a great shouting ; every window opened, and
he saw a crowd coming along the street. By the candles,
banners, crucifixes, and canopies it was evident that it was a
religious procession. He was about to turn off into a side
street when the thought struck him that possibly it was the
bishop himself on his way up to the camp ; therefore he re-
mained in his place, doffed his hat, and, like all around him,
went down on one knee.
The procession was a long and stately one, and in the
midst, walking beneath a canopy, came the bishop himself.
Terence gazed at him fixedly in order to impress on his mind
the features of the man whose ambition had cost Portugal so
296 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
dearly, and at whose instigation so much blood of the most
honest and capable men of the province had been shed. The
face fully justified the idea that he had formed of the man.
The bishop was of commanding presence, and walked with
the air of one who was accustomed to see all bow before him ;
but on the other hand, the face bore traces of his violent
character. There was a set smile on his lips, but his brow was
heavy and frowning, while his receding chin contradicted the
strength of the upper part of his face. There was, too, a look
of anxiety and restlessness betrayed by a nervous twitching of
the lips.
"The scoundrel is a coward," Terence said to himself.
"He may profess absolute confidence, but I don't think he
feels it, and I will bet odds that he won't be in the front
when the time for fighting comes."
Terence walked away after the procession had passed.
" If one could get hold of the bishop," he said to himself,
"one might get an order on the superior of the convent to
hand over Mary O'Connor to the bearer, but I don't see how
that can possibly be managed. Of course, he is surrounded
by priests and officials all day, and his palace will be guarded
by any number of soldiers, for he must have many enemies.
There must be scores of relatives of men who have been killed
by his orders, who would assassinate him, bishop though he
is, had they the chance. And even if I got an order and it
seems to me impossible to do so it would not be made out
in the name of Mary O'Connor. I know that they change
their names when they go into nunneries, and she may be
Sister Angela or Cecilia, or anything else, and I should not
know in the slightest degree whether the name he put down
was the one that she really goes by. No, that idea is out of
the question."
Returning to the camp, he held counsel with Herrara. The
AN ESCAPE 297
latter, he knew, had none of the bigotry so general among his
countrymen. He had before told him about his cousin being
shut up against her will, and of the letter that she had thrown
out, but had hitherto said nothing of his intention to bring
about her escape if possible.
" I had an idea that that was what was in your mind when
you went off so early this morning, O'Connor. I have a high
respect for the Church, but I have no respect for its abuses.
And the shutting up of a young lady, and forcing her to take
the veil in order to rob her of her property, is as hateful to
me as it can be to you, so that I should have no hesitation in
aiding you in your endeavour to bring about her escape. Have
you formed any plan? "
"No; I have thought it over again and again, but cannot
think of any scheme."
" If that is the case, O'Connor, I fear that it is useless for
me to try to do so ; you are so full of ideas always, that if
you cannot see your way out of the difficulty, it is hopeless to
expect that I could do so. If you can contrive any plan I will
promise to aid you in any way you can point out, but as to
inventing one, I should never do so if I racked my brain ever
so much. ' '
" There must be some way," Terence said. " I used to get
into all sorts of scrapes when I was a boy, but found there was
always some way out of them, if one could but hit upon it.
The only thing that I can think of, is to carry her off in the
confusion when the French enter the town."
" I should say that the nuns would never think of leaving
their convent, O'Connor; it is their best hope of safety to
remain there."
" No doubt it is, but the French don't always respect the
convents very much the contrary, indeed. No, I don't think
that they would go out merely to rush into the street ; but
298 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
they might go out if they thought they could get over the
bridge before the French arrived."
" They might do that, certainly; indeed, it would be the best
thing they could do. ' '
" Do you think that if one were to dress up as a priest, or
as one of the bishop's attendants, and to go as from him with
an order to the lady superior to take the nuns at once across
the bridge to the convent on the other side, she would obey it? ' *
" Not without some written order," Herrara said. " The
bishop would naturally send someone who would be known to
her, or if he did send a stranger he would give him a letter or
some token she would recognize ; otherwise, she could not know
that it was his order."
"That is what I was afraid of, Herrara, but it is what I
shall try, if I can see no other way. Indeed, I see only one
chance of getting over the difficulty. The bishop is a tyrant
of the worst kind. Now, as far as I can remember, tyrants of
his sort that is to say, tyrants who rule by working on the
passions of the mob are always cowards. I watched the
bishop closely when I saw him to-day, and I am convinced
he is one also. Even in that kneeling crowd he could not
conceal it. There was a nervous twitching about his lips
which, to my mind, showed that he was in a state of intense
anxiety, and that under all his swagger and show of confidence
he was, nevertheless, in a horrible state of alarm. That being
so, it seems to me extremely likely that when the fighting be-
gins he will make a bolt of it. He won't wait for the French
to enter, for he would know well enough that in their fury at
their defeat, the fugitives, if they came upon him, would be
likely to tear him limb from limb, just as they have murdered
dozens of infinitely better men ; so I think that he will make
off beforehand. I imagine that he will go secretly, and with
only two or three attendants. ' '
AN ESCAPE 299
" But you could never carry him off without an alarm being
raised, if that is what you are thinking of, O'Connor."
" No, I am not thinking of that ; but if I could, say with Bull
and Macwitty, suddenly attack him like three robbers, we
might carry off something that would serve as a sort of pass-
port to the lady abbess. For instance, he had a tremendously
big ring on. I noticed it as he held up his hands, as if on
purpose to show it off. ' '
' ' That was his episcopal ring, ' ' Herrara laughed. ' * Yes, if
you could get hold of that, it would be a key that would open
the door of any convent. ' '
" Do you think she would hand my cousin over to me if I
showed it to her and gave her a message as from the bishop ? ' '
"Yes, if you knew the name. You see, from the day she
was made a nun she lost her former name altogether ; and
certainly the bishop would send for her under her convent
name."
"That is what I was thinking myself. Then I must get
them all out."
" You have got to get the ring first," Herrara said with a
smile.
" Yes, yes, I mean if I get it."
" But if the French have entered the town you can never
get them across the bridge. ' '
" No, I know that. I mean to get a boat and have it lying
off the end of some quiet street. I could put a couple of our
men into that, for they would only regard it, when I had got
her on board, as an effort on my part to save one of the nuns
from the French. One thing to do would be to get the robe
of a priest, or the dress of one of the bishop's officials."
Herrara thought for some time. " I think that I could do
that for you, O'Connor. Of course I have a good many ac-
quaintances in Oporto, among them some ladies. I was intend-
300 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
ing to go across this evening and see some of them, and im-
plore them to leave the town before it is too late. One of
these friends of mine might buy some robes for me ; a woman
can do that sort of thing when a man cannot. She can pretend
that she wants to buy the robe as a present for the parish
priest, or her father confessor, or something of that sort. At
any rate, it is worth trying."
"It is, indeed, Herrara, and if you could manage it I should
be greatly obliged to you."
"I will go across at once. I expect Soult will be close up
to-morrow morning, or at any rate the next day. It may be
another couple of days before he gets his whole force concen-
trated, but in four days anyhow his shot will be rattling down
into the town. I will go and see what I can do. You had
better get one of my troopers to get the boat for you."
Herrara did not return until early on the following morning.
" I have managed it," he said, as Terence, who was getting
very anxious about him, ran forward to meet him.
" There is one family in Oporto whose eldest son is a brother
officer of mine, and I have visited them here with him, and
have met them several times at Lisbon. Indeed, I may tell
you frankly that had it not been for the troubles, his sister
would, ere this time, have been affianced to me. I had hoped
that they had left the town before this, but they told me that
any movement of that sort might bring disaster on them. Two
of her brothers are in the army, and the bishop could not,
therefore, pretend that the father was a traitor to the country ;
being an elderly man, the latter has in fact held aloof alto-
gether from politics ; but he is certainly not of the bishop's
party, and the bishop considers that all who are not with him
are against him. Had they attempted to leave the town there
is no doubt he would have made it a pretext for arresting the
father, and would certainly do so on the first opportunity.
AN ESCAPE 301
However, they quite believed that the great force that there is
here would be sufficient to defend the fortifications, and were
completely taken aback when I told them that I was absolutely
convinced that the place would fall at the first attack of the
French.
"They agreed to make all preparations for leaving at once.
Their horses have been seized, nominally that they should be
used on the fortifications, but really, I have no doubt, to pre-
vent their leaving. Of course I told them all about what we
had been doing, in which they were intensely interested. For
aught they know, their house may be watched ; so they will
come out in some of their servants' clothes. I told them that
they must leave on the night before Soult made his attack.
Of course he will summon the town, and the bishop will, of
course, refuse to surrender, and you may be sure the French
will attack on the following day. They left me alone with
Lorenza for a time, and I took that opportunity of telling her
about your plan, and what you wanted, and she promised to
procure you the dress of an ecclesiastic to-morrow. I told her
that you were about my size and height.
" She knew your cousin personally, and was very fond of
her, and therefore entered all the more readily into our plans
to get her out. She said that she disappeared suddenly some
months ago, and that her mother had given out that she had
been suddenly seized with the determination to enter a con-
vent, much against her own wishes. Lorenza felt sure that
this was not true, for she knew that your cousin had heard
from her father much about the Reformed religion, and was in
her heart disposed that way. The mother is engaged to be
married to a nobleman who is one of the bishop's warmest
supporters, and the general idea was that Mary O'Connor had
been forced into a nunnery against her will. I sat talking
with them until late last night, and they would not hear of my
302 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
leaving, especially as they said that the town was full of bands
of ruffians, who traversed the streets, attacking and robbing
anyone of respectable appearance. As I had rather a fancy to
try what a comfortable bed was like again, I did not need
much pressing."
" Thank you greatly, Herrara, I am indeed obliged to you ;
things seem to look really hopeful. I have arranged with Bull
and Macwitty that on the evening before the attack is likely
to take place we will watch all night at this end of the bridge.
The bishop won't leave until the last thing, but I would wager
any money he will do so that night. He won't go farther than
Villa Nova, so as to be ready to cross again at once if the
news comes that the French have been beaten off. No doubt
he will make the excuse that as an ecclesiastic he could take
no active part in the defence, but had been engaged in prayer,
which had done more towards gaining the victory than his
presence could possibly have done. ' '
"I should not be surprised if that should be his course,"
Herrara said, smiling. " At any rate, for your sake I hope
that it will be. Have you seen about a boat? "
" Yes, I spoke to Francesco Nortis yesterday evening, and
told him that I wanted to hire a boat with two boatmen for
the next week. They were to be at his service night and day.
He was to tell them that he would not want it for fishing, but
that, in case, by any possibility, the French took the town,
he should be able to go across and bring some friends over.
When I told him that money was no object, he said that there
would be no difficulty about it. They will be glad enough to
get a good week's pay and next to nothing to do for it."
Two days passed quietly. On the first day the news arrived
that Silveira had invested Chaves on the day of the battle of
Braga, and had forced the garrison, which consisted of but a
hundred fighting men, with twelve hundred sick, to capitulate.
AN ESCAPE 303
Day after day news came of the advance of the French. They
had moved in three columns. Each had met with a stout
resistance, but had carried the passes and bridges after severe
loss. One of the columns had been held for some time in
check at the Ponte D'Ave, but had carried it at last, where-
upon the Portuguese had murdered their general and dis-
persed.
On the 26th, six days after the battle of Braga, Franceschi's
cavalry were seen approaching the position in front of Oporto.
The alarm bells rung, the troops hurried to their positions,
but the day passed off quietly, the confidence of the people
being still further raised by the arrival of 2,000 regular troops
sent by Beresford to their assistance. As there were already
seven or eight thousand regular troops in the camp, it seemed
to all that as Soult had but 20,000 men fit for action, the
defences ought to be held against him for any length of time.
The majority, indeed, believed that he would not even venture
to attack the town when upon his arrival he perceived its
strength, especially when they knew that he had but a few
guns with him, his park of artillery being still at Tuy, which
was closely invested by the Spaniards.
On the following day the whole French army settled down
in front of the Portuguese works, and a wild and purposeless
fire was now opened by the defenders, although the French
were far beyond musket-range.
Soult sent in a message to the bishop urging him to surrender.
He assured him that resistance was hopeless, and that it was
his earnest desire to save so great a city from the horrors of a
storm. The message was sent by a prisoner, who was seized
by the mob in spite of the flag of truce that he carried, and
would have been murdered had he not assured the people that
he came with a message from Soult, to the effect that, seeing
the hopelessness of attacking the town or of marching back to
304 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
the frontier in safety, he wished to negotiate for a surrender
for himself and his army.
At one point the Portuguese displayed a white flag, and
shouted that they wished to surrender. A French general ad-
vanced with another officer, but when they reached the lines
the Portuguese fell upon him, killed his companion, and carried
the general a prisoner into the town. The negotiations were
prolonged until evening, but the bishop declined all Soult's
overtures, and the fire from the intrenchments continued. In
the course of the evening Merle's division, in order to divert
attention from the points Soult had fixed upon for the attack,
moved towards the Portuguese left, when a tremendous fire of
artillery and musketry opened upon it. The division made its
way forward, and occupied some hollow ground which shielded
it from fire, within a very short distance of the intrenchments.
Feeling that the crisis was at hand, Terence had everything
prepared. The boatmen were told that they might be required
that night, and that they were to have the boat in readiness
to start at any moment. Herrara had warned his friends, and
went to their house with six of his men, as soon as it became
dusk, to escort them over. Terence with his two troopers,
clad in the dresses of two of the tallest of the men and
wrapped in cloaks, with their broad hats pressed low down
upon their foreheads, went down to the end of the bridge as
soon as it became quite dark. The river was three hundred
yards broad, but the sound of the confusion and alarm that
prevailed in the city could be plainly heard, although the even-
ing had set in rough and tempestuous. The shouts of the ex-
cited mob mingled with the clanging of the church bells.
" That does not sound like confidence in victory," Terence
remarked.
" Quite the other way, sir. I should say that after all their
bragging every man in the place is in a blue funk."
AN ESCAPE 305
A great many people, especially women with children, were
making their way across the bridge. About nine o'clock a
little knot of five or six men, following a tall figure, passed
them.
"That is the bishop," Terence whispered, and in pur-
suance of the orders that he had previously given them, the
two men followed him as he fell in at a short distance behind
the group. These turned off from the main road and took one
that led up to the Serra Convent, standing on the crest of a
rugged hill. As soon as they had passed beyond the houses at
the foot of the hill, and the road was altogether deserted, Ter-
ence said to the men :
" Now is our time. Do you take the attendants ; I will
manage the bishop."
They moved forward quickly and silently until they were
close to the group, then they dashed forward. As the startled
attendants turned round the troopers fell upon them, and with
heavy blows from their fists knocked them to the ground like
nine-pins. The bishop turned round and shouted :
" Villains, I am the bishop ! "
" I know that ! " Terence exclaimed, and sprang at him.
The prelate reeled and fell. Terence threw himself upon
him, and seizing his hand wrested from it the episcopal ring.
Then, upon seeing that the bishop had fainted, probably from
fright, Terence leapt to his feet. The five attendants were
lying on the ground.
"All right, lads," he said, "we have got what we wanted,
but just strip off one of these fellows' clothes. Take this one,
he is a priest."
It took but a minute for the two troopers to strip off the
garment and pick up the three-cornered hat.
" Now, come along, men."
They reached the houses again without hearing so much as
29
306 WITH MOORE AT CORUNN
a cry from the astounded Portuguese, who as yet had but a
vague idea of what had happened to them. The capture of
the clothes had been rendered necessary by Herrara's report,
two days before, that the young lady had failed to get the
clothes, for the shopman had asked so many questions con-
cerning them that she had said carelessly that it made no
matter. She had intended to give them as a present and a
surprise, but as there seemed a difficulty about it she would
give money instead, and let the priest choose his own clothes.
She had purposely entered a shop in the opposite end of the
town from that in which her father lived, so that there would
be less chance of her being recognized.
Herrara said that she would try elsewhere, but Terence at
once begged him to tell her not to do so.
" The bishop is sure to have some of his priests with him,"
he said, " and if I rob him of his ring, I might just as well rob
one of them of his clothes."
On returning to the camp Terence found that his comrade
had already arrived with a gentleman and three ladies. The
tent had been given up for the use of the latter. Herrara had
warned him not to say a word to the old gentleman of his
adventure.
" He and the others know nothing about it," he said, " and
it is just as well that they shouldn't, for he is somewhat rigid
in his notions, and might be rather horrified at your assaulting
a bishop, however great a scoundrel he might be, and would
be specially so at the borrowing of his ring."
At twelve o'clock heavy peals of thunder were heard, fol-
lowed by a tremendous outbreak of firing from the intrench-
ments, two hundred guns and a terrific musketry fire opening
suddenly.
" The French are attacking ! " Herrara exclaimed.
" I don't think so," Terence replied. " It is more likely
AN ESCAPE 307
to be a false alarm. The troops may have thought that the
thunder was the roar of French guns. Soult would hardly
make an attack at night, or, not knowing the nature of the
ground behind the intrenchments, his men would be falling
into confusion, and perhaps fire into each other."
As, after a quarter of an hour of prodigious din, the fire
slackened and presently ceased altogether, it was evident
that this supposition was a correct one. The morning broke
bright and still, and an hour later the cannonade began again.
Terence at once, after telling Herrara to form the troops up
and march them down to the end of the bridge, left the camp,
and after proceeding a short distance took off his uniform and
donned the attire of the ecclesiastic, and then hurried down
into the town. He was accompanied by the two troopers in
their peasant dress. These left him at the bridge. The din
was now tremendous, every church bell was ringing furiously,
and frightened women were already crowding down towards
the bridge.
Their point of crossing had already been decided upon it
was at the end of a street close to the convent, and when
Terence reached the convent the two men were already stand-
ing at the end of the street, awaiting him.
"Now, you do your part of the business and I will do
mine," Terence said, and he moved forward to the door of
the convent, where he would be unseen should anyone look
out.
The two troopers went to the middle of the street, opposite
the window which the officer had described to Terence, and
both shouted in a stentorian voice :
"Mary O'Connor! "
The shout was heard above the tumult of the battle and the
din in the city, and a head appeared at the window and looked
down with a bewildered expression.
308 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" Mary O'Connor," Bull shouted again, " a friend is here
to rescue you. You will leave the convent directly with the
rest. Look out for us."
Then they walked on, and passed Terence.
" Have you seen her face ? "
" We have, sir. We shall know her again, never fear."
Terence now seized the bell and rung it vigorously. The
door opened, and a terrified face appeared at the window.
" I have a message from the bishop to the lady superior."
The door was opened, and was at once closed and barred
behind him. He was led along some passages to the room
where the lady superior, pale and agitated, was awaiting him.
"Have the French entered the intrenchments ? " she asked.
" I trust they have not entered yet, but they may do so at
any moment. The bishop is at the Serra Convent, and from
there has a view over the town to the intrenchments. He
begs you to instantly bring the nuns across, for they will be
in safety there, whereas no one can say what may happen in
the town. Here is his episcopal ring in proof that I am the
bearer of his orders. I pray you to hasten, sister, for a crowd
of fugitives are already pouring over the bridge, and there is
not a moment to be lost."
" The nuns are just coming down to prayer in the chapel,
and we will start instantly."
In two minutes upward of a hundred frightened women
were gathered in the courtyard.
" Are all here ? " Terence asked the lady superior.
"All of them."
"I asked because I know that he is specially anxious that
one, who is a sort of prisoner, should not fall into the hands of
the French, as that might cause serious trouble."
"I know whom you mean," and she called out "Sister
Theresa ! ' ' There was no answer.
AN ESCAPE 309
"It is well you asked," she said. "They have forgotten
her." She gave orders to one of the sisters, who at once en-
tered the house, and returned in a minute with a young nun.
The door was now opened, and they moved out in procession.
Terence could hear regular volleys amidst the roar of guns and
the incessant crack of muskets.
" I fear that they have entered the intrenchments," he said.
" Hasten, sister, or we shall be too late."
With hurried steps they passed along the deserted streets.
As they neared the bridge a crowd of fugitives were hastening
in that direction, and when they approached its head they
found it blocked by a struggling mass.
" What is to be done? " the lady superior asked in conster-
nation.
" We must wait a minute or two ; they may clear off."
But every second the crowd increased, and was soon thick
behind them. Already the line of nuns was broken up by the
pressure. Terence had kept his eyes on the two tall figures
who had followed, at first behind them, and had then quick-
ened their footsteps until abreast of the centre of the line, and
to his satisfaction saw that they had one of the nuns between
them, and were forcing their way with her through the crowd
behind. At this moment a terrible cry arose from the crowd.
A troop of Portuguese dragoons rode furiously down the
street leading to the bridge, and dashed into the crowd, tramp-
ling down all in their way in their reckless terror, until they
gained the end of the bridge. As they rode on to it, two of
the boats, already low in the water from the weight upon
them, gave a surge and sank, carrying with them hundreds of
people. The crowd recoiled with a cry of horror.
"There is no escape now, sister," Terence said; "go
back to the convent."
" Home, sisters! " she cried in a loud, shrill voice, that
310 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
made itself heard even over the screams of the drowning
people and the wails and cries of the mob.
Terence placed himself before the lady superior, and by
main force made a way through the crowd ; which was the
more easy as, seeing their only escape cut off, numbers were
now beginning to disperse to their homes. The movement
was converted into a wild rush when a troop of French cav-
alry came thundering down to the bridge. In a moment all
was mad confusion and fright. The nuns followed their su-
perior, and all thought of decorum being now lost, fled with
her like a flock of frightened sheep along the street leading to
the convent. Terence paused a moment. He saw that the
French troopers threw themselves from their horses, and, all
animosity being for the moment forgotten in the horror of
the scene, set to work to endeavour to save the drowning
wretches, regardless of the fire which, as soon as the French
appeared, was opened by the battery on the height of Villa
Nova.
Then he sped away after the nuns, whom he soon passed.
He turned down the street next to the convent, and, on reach-
ing the end, saw the two troopers with a nun in a boat ten
yards away. Macwitty was standing covering the two boat-
men with his pistols.
11 Row back to the shore again," he roared out in English,
"and take off that gentleman there." The men did not
understand his words, but they understood his gestures, and
a stroke or two took them alongside. Terence leapt in and
told the men to row across the river.
" This is an unexpected meeting, cousin," he said to the girl.
"They have been telling me who you are, and how you
have effected my rescue," she said, bursting into tears.
" How can I thank you ? "
" Well, this is hardly a time for thanks," he said, "and I
MACWITTY WAS STANDING COVERING THE TWO BOATMEN
WITH HIS PISTOLS."
AN ESCAPE 311
am as glad as you are that it has all turned out well. I will
tell you all about it as soon as we are across. ' '
They were nearly over when he exclaimed to the troopers :
" The French have repaired the bridge with planks. See,
they are crossing ! ' '
They sprang out on reaching the opposite shore. A mo-
ment later a rattle of musketry broke out.
" Macwitty," he said, " I will give this young lady into
your charge. Take her straight up to the camp. There are
three ladies there," he said to his cousin, " and in the tent
they have some clothes for you to change into. It will not
be long before I shall rejoin you. But I must join my regi-
ment now ; they are engaged with the enemy."
As he hurried along with Bull, he could hear above the
sound of the musketry the sharp crack of the field-guns from
the opposite side of the river.
" They are covering the passage, Bull."
As he came up he found that Herrara had taken possession
of the houses near the end of the bridge. A part of his troops
filled the windows, while the main body lined the quay.
The French were recoiling, but a mass of their troops could
be seen at the further end of the bridge, and two field batter-
ies were keeping up an incessant fire. Herrara was posted
with a company at the end of the bridge.
" We had better fall back, Herrara, before they form a
fresh column of attack. We might repulse them again, but
they will be able to cross by boats elsewhere, and we shall
be taken in front and rear. Let us draw off in good order.
The infantry will be -sure to march straight against the bat-
tery on the hill behind, and it will be half an hour before the
cavalry can cross, and by that time we shall be well on our
way ; whereas, if we stop here until we are taken in flank and
rear, we shall be cut to pieces. ' '
312 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" I quite agree with you," Herrara said, and ordered the
man with the horn standing beside him to sound the retreat.
The men near at once formed up and got in motion, those
in the houses poured out, and in two minutes the whole force
were going up the hill at a trot, but still preserving their
order. Five minutes later the head of the French column
poured over the bridge. Just as the troops reached the place
of encampment the fire of the battery ceased suddenly.
CHAPTER XVIII
MARY O'CONNOR
NEVER was a large force of men driven from a very strong
position, carefully prepared and defended by a vast
number of guns, so quickly and easily as were the Portuguese
before Oporto. The bishop, after rejecting Soult's summons
and disregarding his prayers to save the city from ruin, sud-
denly lost heart, and after all his boasting, slipped away after
dark to the Serra Convent, leaving the command to the generals
of the army. The feint which Soult had made with Merle's
division the night before against the Portuguese left succeeded
perfectly, the Portuguese massing their forces on that side to
resist the expected attack.
Soult's real intentions, however, were to break through the
centre of the line and then to drive the Portuguese right and
left away from the town, while he pushed a body of troops
straight through the city to seize the bridge and thus cut off
all retreat. Accordingly he commenced the attack on both
wings. The Portuguese weakened their centre to meet these,
and then the central division of the French rushed forward,
burst through the intrenchments, and carried at once the two
MARY O'CONNOR 313
principal forts. Then two battalions marched into the town
and made for the bridge, while the rest fell on the Portuguese
rear. The French right carried in succession a number of
forts, took fifty pieces of artillery, and drove off a great mass
of the Portuguese from the town, while Merle met with equal
success on the other flank. Half the Portuguese, therefore,
were driven up the valley of the Douro, and the other half
down towards the sea.
Maddened by terror, some of them strove to swim across,
others to get over in small boats. Lima, their general, shout-
ed to them that the river was too wide to swim, and that
those who took to boats would be shot down by the pur-
suing French. Whereupon his own troops turned upon him
and murdered him, although the French were but a couple of
hundred yards away ; they then renewed their attempt to
cross, and many perished. Similar scenes took place in the
valley above the town, but here the French cavalry interposed
between the panic-stricken fugitives and the river, and so
prevented them throwing away their lives in the hopeless at-
tempt to swim across. In the meantime incessant firing was
going on in the city. The French column arriving at the
bridge, after doing their best to rescue the drowning people,
sacrificed to the heartless cowardice of the Portuguese cavalry,
speedily repaired the break caused by the sinking boats and
prepared to cross the river, while others scattered through the
town.
The inhabitants fired upon them from the roofs and win-
dows, and two hundred men defended the bishop's palace to
the last. Every house was the scene of conflict. The French
on entering one of the principal squares found a number of
their comrades, who had been taken prisoners and sent to the
town, still alive but horribly mutilated, some of them having
been blinded, others having legs cut off, and all mutilated in
WITH MOORE At CORUNNA
various ways. This terrible sight naturally goaded them to
such a state of fury that Soult in vain endeavoured to stop
the work of slaughter and pillage. This continued for several
hours, and altogether the number of Portuguese who perished
by drowning and slaughter in the streets was estimated at ten
thousand, of which the number killed in the defence of the
works formed but an insignificant portion.
Terence on his arrival at the camp in the wood resumed
his uniform. Herrara had, on the previous day, purchased a
light waggon and two horses for the use of the ladies, and as
soon as the men had strapped on the cloaks and blankets which
they had left behind them when they advanced to the defence
of the bridge, the retreat began. Not until he had seen the
column fairly on its way did Terence ride up to speak to the
occupants of the waggon. He had not been introduced by
Herrara .to his friends, for on his return from his encounter
with the bishop the ladies had already retired to their tent.
11 1 must introduce myself to you, Don Jose. I am Terence
O'Connor, an ensign in his Britannic Majesty's regiment of
Mayo Fusiliers and an aide-de-camp of General Cradock, a
very humble personage, though at present in command of
these troops irregular regiments of the Portuguese army."
" Lieutenant Herrara has told us so much about you, Sen or
O'Connor, that we have been looking forward with much
pleasure to meeting you. Allow me to present you to my
wife and daughters, who have been as anxious as myself to
meet an officer who has done such good services to the cause,
and to whom it is due at the present moment that we are here,
instead of being in the midst of the terrible scenes that are no
doubt at this moment being enacted in Oporto."
Terence bowed deeply to the ladies, and then said to his
cousiii :
" I almost require introducing to you, for I caught but a
MARY O'CONNOR 315
glimpse of you as we crossed the river, and you look so differ-
ent now that you have got rid of that hideous attire that I
don't think that I should have known you."
" You have changed greatly, too, Senor O'Connor.*'
Terence burst into a laugh.
" My dear cousin, it is evident that you know very little
of English customs, though you speak English so well. We
don't call our cousins Mr. and Miss ; you will have to call me
Terence and I shall certainly call you Mary. Macwitty
brought you back to camp all right ? ' '
" Yes ; but it was terrible to hear all that firing, and I was
wondering all the time whether you were being hurt."
" There is a great deal of powder fired away to every one
that gets hit."
' ' Do you know what has happened in the town ? ' ' Don
Jose asked.
" I know no more than what my cousin has no doubt told
you of that terrible scene at the bridge. It is evident that
the French burst through the lines without any difficulty, as
we saw no soldiers, except those cowardly cavalrymen, before
the French arrived. It is probable that the intrenchments
were carried in the centre, and Soult evidently sent a body of
soldiers straight through the town to secure the bridge. I
think he must have cut off the main body of the defenders of
the intrenchments from entering the town and must either
have captured them or driven them off. The fire of cannon
had ceased over there before we retired, and it is clear from
that that the whole of the intrenchments must have been capt-
ured. There was, however, a heavy rattle of musketry in the
town, and I suppose that the houses, and perhaps some barri-
cades, were being defended. It was a mad thing to do, for it
would only excite the fury of the French troops, and get them
out of hand altogether. If there had been no resistance the
316 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
columns might have marched in in good order ; but even
then I fear there might have been trouble, for unfortunately,
your peasants have behaved with such merciless cruelty to all
stragglers who fell into their hands, that the thirst for ven-
geance would in any case have been irrepressible. Still, the
officers might possibly have preserved order had there been no
resistance."
" Shall we be pursued, do you think, sen" or? " Don Jose's
wife asked.
" I do not think so. Possibly parties of horse may scour
the country for some distance round, to see if there is a body
of troops here, but we are too strong to be attacked by any but
a very numerous body of horse ; and if they should attempt
it, you may be sure that we can render a very good account
of ourselves. We have beaten off the French horse once, and,
as since then we have had some stiff fighting, I have no fear
of the men being unsteady, even if all Franceschi's cavalry
came down upon us. Of that, however, there will be little
chance ; the French have their hands full for some days, and
a few scouting parties are all that they are likely to send out."
" You speak Portuguese very well, Terence," Mary O'Con-
nor said, in that language, hesitating a little before she used
his Christian name.
" I have been nearly nine months in the country, during
most of which I have been on the staff, and have had to com-
municate with peasants and others, and for the past two months
I have spoken nothing else ; necessity is a good teacher. Be-
sides which, Lieutenant Herrara has been good enough to take
great pains in correcting my mistakes and teaching me the
proper idioms ; another six months of this work and I have
no doubt I shall be able to pass as a native."
After marching fifteen miles the column halted, Terence
feeling assured that the French would not push out their
MARY O'CONNOR 317
scouting parties more than three or four miles from Villa
Nova. They halted at the edge of a forest, and a party un-
der one of the officers was at once despatched to a village two
miles away, and returned in an hour with a drove of pigs that
had been bought there, and a cart laden with bread and wine.
Fires had already been lighted, and after seeing that the ra-
tions were divided among the various companies, Terence
went to the tent. Herrara was chatting with his friends, and
Mary O'Connor came out at once and joined him.
" That is right, Mary ; we will take a stroll in the wood and
have a talk together. Now tell me how you have got on. I
had expected to find you quite thin and almost starving."
" No, I have had plenty of bread to eat," she laughed;
" the sisters kept me well supplied. I am sure that most of
them were sorry for me, and they used to hide away some of
their own bread and bring it to me when they had a chance.
The lady superior was very hard, and if I had had to depend
entirely on what she sent me up I should have done very
badly. I always ate as much as I could, as I wanted to keep
up my strength ; for I knew that if I got weak I might give
way and do what they wanted, and I was quite determined
that I would not, if I could help it."
" Macwitty told you, I suppose, how I came to hear where
you were imprisoned ? "
" Yes ; he said that the officer had given you the letter that
I dropped to him ; yet how did he come to know that you
were my cousin ? ' '
" It was quite an accident ; just the similarity of name. We
were chatting, and he said, casually, ' I suppose that you have
no relatives at Oporto,' and I at once said I had, for fortu-
nately my father had been telling me about your father and
you, the last time I saw him, that is four months ago. He was
badly wounded at Vimiera and invalided home. Then Cap-
318 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
tain Travers told me about getting your letter and what was
in it, and I felt sure that it was you, and of course made up
my mind to do what I could to get you out, though at the
time I did not think that I should be in Oporto until I en-
tered with the British army."
11 But I cannot think how you got us all to start, and walked
along with the lady superior as if you were a friend of hers.
Macwitty had not time to tell me that. I was so frightened
and bewildered with the dreadful noise and the strangeness of
it all that I could not ask him many questions."
"It was by virtue of this ring," he said, holding up his
hand.
" Why," she exclaimed in surprise, " that is the bishop's ! I
noticed it on his finger when he came one day to me and
scolded me, and said that I should remain a prisoner if it was
for years until my obstinate spirit was broken. But how did
you get it? "
" Not with the bishop's good-will, you may be sure, Mary,"
Terence laughed ; and he then told her how he had become
possessed of it.
The girl looked quite scared.
" It sounds dreadful, doesn't it, Mary, to think that I should
have laid hands upon a bishop, and such a bishop, a man who
regards himself as the greatest in Portugal. However, there
was no other way of getting the ring, and I could not see how,
without it, I could persuade the lady superior to leave her
convent with you all; and to tell you the truth, I would
rather have got it that way than any other. The bishop is, in
my opinion, a man who deserves no respect. He has terror-
ized all the north of Portugal, has caused scores of better men
than himself to be imprisoned or put to death, and has now
by his folly and ignorance cost the lives of no one knows how
many thousand men, and brought about the sack of Oporto."
319
" Did you hear anything of my mother? " the girl asked.
" No ; my Portuguese was not good enough for me to ask
questions without risking being detected as a foreigner at
once. She has behaved shamefully to you, Mary."
"She never liked me," the girl said, simply. "She and
father never got on well together, and I think her dislike be-
gan by his taking to me, and my liking to be with him and
getting to talk English. There was a terrible quarrel between
them once because she accused him of teaching me to be a
Protestant, although he never did so. He did give me a
Bible, and I used to ask him questions and he answered them,
that was all ; but as it did seem to me that he was much
wiser in all things than she was, I thought that he might be
wiser in religion too. I would have given up the property
directly they wanted me to, if they would have let me go
away to England ; but when they took me to the convent
and cut off my hair, and forced me to become a nun, I would
not give way to them. I never took the vows, Terence ; I
would not open my lips, but they went on with the service
just the same. I was determined that I would not yield. I
thought that the English would come some day, and that I
might be freed then."
" What would you have done in England if you had gone
there, Mary?"
"I should have found your father out, and gone to him.
Father told me that your father was his greatest friend, and
just before he died he told me that he had privately sent over
all his own money to a bank at Cork, and ordered it to be put
in your father's name. It was a good deal of money, for he
would not give up the business when he married my mother,
though she wanted him to ; but he said that he could not live
in idleness on her money, and that he must be doing some-
thing. And I know that he kept up the house in Oporto,
320 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
while she kept up her place in the country. He told me that
the sum he had sent over was ^20,000. That will be enough
to live on, won't it? "
"Plenty," Terence laughed. "I had no idea that I was
rescuing such an heiress. I was sure that there was no
chance of your getting your mother's money, at any rate, as
long as the bishop was leader of Oporto. However just your
claim, no judge would decide in your favour. ' '
" Now tell me about yourself, Terence, and your home in
Ireland, and all about it."
" My home has been the regiment, Mary. My father has
a few hundred acres in County Mayo, and a tumble-down
house ; that is to say, it was a tumble-down house when I saw
it four years ago, but it had been shut up for a good many
years, and I should not be surprised if it has quite tumbled
down now. However, my father was always talking of going
to live there when he left the army. The land is not worth
much, I think. There are five hundred acres, and they let
for about a hundred a year. However, my father has been in
the regiment now for about eighteen years; and as I was
born in barracks I have only been three or four times to Bal-
linagra, and then only because father took a fancy to have a
look at the old house. My mother died when I was ten years
old, and I ran almost wild until I got my commission last
June."
"And how did you come to be a staff-officer of the Eng-
lish general ? ' ' she asked.
" I have had awfully good luck," Terence replied. " It
happened in all sorts of ways."
" Please tell me everything," she said. " I want to know
all about you."
" It is a long story, Mary."
"So much the better," she said. "I know nothing of
MARY O'CONNOR 321
what has passed for the last year, and I dare say I shall learn
about it from your story. You don't know how happy I am
feeling to be out in the sun and in the air again, and to see
the country after being shut up in one room for a year.
Suppose we sit down here and you tell me the whole story. ' '
Terence accordingly related the history of his adventures
since he had left England. The girl asked a great many
questions, and specially insisted upon hearing his own advent-
ures very fully.
"It is no use your keeping on saying that it is all luck, M
she said when he had finished. ' ' Your colonel could not
have thought that it was luck when he wrote the report about
that adventure at sea, and your general could not have
thought so, either, or he would not have praised you in his
despatch. Then, you know, General Fane must have thought
that it was quite out of the way or he would not have chosen
you to be on his staff. Then afterwards the other general
must have been pleased with you, or he would not have put
you on his staff and sent you off on a mission to General Ro-
mana. It is quite certain that these things could not have been
all luck, Terence. And anyhow, you cannot pretend that
it was luck that this regiment of yours fought so well against
the French, while none of the others seem to have fought at
all. I suppose that you will say next that it was all luck that
you got me out of the convent."
" There was a great deal of luck in it, Mary. If that cow-
ardly bishop hadn't left Oporto secretly, after declaring that
he would defend it until the last, I could never have got his
ring."
"You would have got me out some other way if he
hadn't," the girl said, with confidence. "No, Terence, you
can say what you like, but I shall always consider that you
have been wonderfully brave and clever."
21
322 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
"Then you will always think quite wrong," Terence said,
bluntly.
" I shall begin to think that you are a tyrant, like the
Bishop of Oporto, if you speak in that positive way. How
old are you, sir? "
" I was sixteen six months ago."
"And I was sixteen three days ago," she said. "Fancy
your commanding two thousand soldiers and only six months
older than I am."
"It is not I, it is the uniform," Terence said. "They
obey me when they won't obey their own officers, because I
am on the English general's staff. They know that we have
thrashed the French, and that their own officers know nothing
at all about fighting, and they have no respect whatever for
them. More than that, they despise them because they know
that they are always intriguing, and that really, although
they may be called generals, they are but politicians. You will
see, when they get English officers to discipline them, they
will turn out capital soldiers ; but they think so little of their
own, that if anything goes wrong their first idea is that their
officers must be traitors, and so fall upon them and murder
them.
" You look older than I do, Mary. You seem to me quite
a woman, while, in spite of my uniform and my command,
and all that, I am really only a boy."
" I suppose I am almost a woman, Terence, but I don't
feel so. You see out here girls often marry at sixteen. I
know father said once that he hoped I shouldn't marry until I
was eighteen, and that he wanted to keep me young. I never
thought about getting almost a woman until the bishop told
me one day that if I chose to marry a sefior that he would
choose for me, he would get me absolution from my vows,
and that I need not then resign my property."
MARY o* CONNOR 323
"The old blackguard!" Terence exclaimed, angrily.
"And what did you say to him? "
" I said that, in the first place, I had never thought of
marrying; that in the second place, I had not taken any
vows ; and in the third place that when I did marry I would
choose for myself. He got into a terrible rage, and said that
I was an obstinate heretic, and that some day when I was
tired of my prison I would think better of it."
" I would have hit the bishop hard if I had known about
that," Terence grumbled. " If ever I fall in with him again
I will pay him out for it. Well, anyhow, I may as well take
off his ring ; it might lead to awkward questions if anyone
noticed it."
" I think that you had certainly better do so, Terence; it
might cost you your life. The bishop is a bad man, and he is
a very dangerous enemy. If he heard that an English officer
was wearing an episcopal ring, and upon inquiring found that
that officer had been in Oporto at its capture, he would know
at once that it was you who assaulted him, and he would never
rest until he had your life. You had better throw it away."
" All right, here goes ! " Terence said, carelessly, and he
threw the ring into a clump of bushes. " Now, Mary, it is
getting dark, and I should think supper must be waiting for us. ' '
" Yes, it is late ; we have been a long while, indeed," the
girl said, getting up hastily. " I forgot all about time."
"We are in plenty of time," Terence said, looking at his
watch. " As we all had some cold meat for lunch as soon as
we arrived, I ordered dinner at six o'clock, and it wants
twenty minutes of that time now."
"It is shocking, according to our Portuguese ideas," she
said, demurely, " for a young lady and gentleman to be talk-
ing together for nearly three hours without anyone to look
after them."
324 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" It is not at all shocking, according to Irish ideas," Terence
said, laughing, " especially when the young lady and gentle-
man happen to be cousins."
They walked a short time in silence, then she said :
" I have obeyed you, Terence, and haven't uttered a word
of thanks for what you have done for me."
" That shows that you are a good girl," Terence laughed.
" Good girls always do as they are told ; at least they are
supposed to, though as to the fact I never had any experience,
for I have no sisters, and there were no girls in barracks ;
still, I am glad that you kept your promise, and hope that you
will always do so. Being a cousin, of course it was natural
that I should try to rescue you."
" And you would not if I hadn't been a cousin ? "
" No, I don't say that. I dare say I should have tried the
same if I had heard that any English or Irish girl was shut up
here. I am sure I should if I had seen you beforehand."
She coloured a little at the compliment, and said, lightly :
" Father told me once that Irishmen were great hands at
compliments. He told me that there was some stone that
people went to an old castle to kiss I think that he called it
the Blarney Stone and after that they were able to say all
sorts of absurd things."
" I have never kissed the Blarney Stone," Terence said,
laughing. " If I wanted to kiss anything, it would be some-
thing a good deal softer than that. ' '
They were now entering the camp, and in a few minutes
they arrived at the tent.
" I began to think that you were lost, O'Connor," Herrara
said, as they came up.
" We had a lot to talk about," Terence replied. "My
cousin has been insisting upon my telling her my whole
history, and all about what has passed here since she was
MARY O'CONNOR 325
shut up a year ago, and, as you may imagine, it was rather a
long story."
A few minutes later they sat down on the ground to a meal
in which roast pork was the leading feature.
"This is what we call in England a picnic, sefiora," Ter-
ence said to Don Jose's wife.
" A picnic," she repeated; " what does that mean? It is
a funny word."
" I have no idea why it should be called so," Terence said.
"It means an open-air party. The ladies are supposed to
bring the provisions, and the gentlemen the wine. Some-
times it is a boating party; at other times they drive in car-
riages to the spot agreed upon. It is always very jolly, and
much better than a formal meal indoors, and you can play all
sorts of tricks."
" What sort of tricks, senor ? "
" Oh, there are lots of them. I was always having fun
before I became an officer. My father was one of the captains
of the regiment, and I was generally in for any amusement
that there was. Once at a picnic, I remember that I got
hold of the salt-cellars and mustard-pots beforehand, and I
filled up one with powdered Epsom salts, which are horribly
nasty, you know, and I mixed the mustard with cayenne
pepper. Nobody could make out what had happened to the
food. They soon suspected the mustard, but nobody thought
of the salt for a long time. The colonel was furious over it,
but fortunately they could not prove that I had any hand in
the matter, though I know that they suspected me, for I did
not get an invitation to a picnic for a long time afterwards."
The three girls laughed, but Don Jose said, seriously :
" But you would have got into terrible trouble if you had
been found out, would you not ? "
"I should have got a licking, no doubt, senor; but I was
326 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
pretty accustomed to that, and it did not trouble me in any
way. At any rate, it did not cure me of my love for mischief.
I am afraid I never shall be cured of that. I used to have no
end of fun in the regiment, and I think that it did us all good.
It takes some thinking to work out a bit of mischief properly,
and I suppose if one can think one thing out well, one can
think out another. ' '
" It seems to have succeeded well in your case, anyhow,"
Herrara laughed. " Perhaps if it had not been for your play-
ing that trick at the picnic you would never have taken com-
mand of that mob, and we should never have gone to Oporto,
and my friends and your cousin would be there now that is,
if they had not been killed."
"It may have had something to do with it," Terence ad-
mitted.
" And now, senor," Don Jose said, " which way are you
going to take us ? "
"We shall go straight on to Coimbra," Terence said,
" unless we come upon a British force before that. Two long
days' march will take us there. After that I must do as I am
ordered ; my independent command will come to an end
there. I hope that I shall soon hear that my regiment has re-
turned from England."
" And what is to become of me? I have not thought of
asking," Mary O'Connor said.
" That must depend upon circumstances, Mary. If I go
down to Lisbon, I hope that we shall all travel together, and
I can then put you on board a transport returning to England.
I am sure to find letters from my father there, telling me
where he is and whether he is coming back with the regiment."
"We shall be very happy, senor," Don Jose said, courte-
ously, "to take charge of the senora, until there is an
opportunity for sending her to England. I have, of course,
MARY O'CONNOR 32?
many friends in Lisbon, and shall take a house there the
instant I arrive, and Donna O'Connor will be as one of my
own family."
" I am extremely obliged to you, Don Jose. I have been
wondering all day as I rode along what I should do with my
cousin if, as is probable, I am obliged to stay at Coimbra
until I receive orders from Lisbon. Your kind offer relieves
me of a great anxiety. I think that it will be prudent for
her to take another name while she is at Lisbon. There will
certainly be no inquiries after her, for the lady superior of
her convent will, of course, conclude that she was accidentally
separated from the others in the crush, and that she was
trampled on, or killed ; and, indeed, there will be such con-
fusion in Oporto that the loss of a nun more or less would
fail to attract attention. At any rate, it is likely to be a long
time before any report the lady superior will make to the
bishop will reach him months, perhaps, for she is not likely
to take any particular pains to tell him news that would cer-
tainly anger him.
" Still, if he goes to Lisbon, as no doubt he will, and by
any chance happens to hear that Miss O'Connor was one of
those who had escaped from the sack of Oporto, he might
make inquiries, and then all sorts of trouble might arise, even
if he did not have her carried off by force, which would be
easy enough in a place so disturbed as Lisbon at present is."
" I think that you are right, sefior," Don Jose said, gravely.
" At any rate it would be as well to avoid any risk. What
name shall we call her ? ' '
" You can call her Miss Dillon, sefior, that is the name of
an officer in our regiment."
" But the bishop might meet her in the street by chance;
what then?"
" I don't think that he would know me," Mary O'Connor
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
put in. "I have seen him, but I don't suppose that he ever
noticed me until he saw me in my nun's dress, and, of
course, I look very different now. Still, he is very sharp,
and I will take good care never to go out without a veil."
"That will be the safest plan, Mary," Terence said,
"though I don't think anyone would recognize you. Of
course, he supposes that you are still snugly shut up in the
convent ; still, it is just as well not to run the slightest
risk."
They made two long marches and reached Coimbra early
on the third morning, bringing the first news that had been
received there of the storming of Oporto. Terence at once
reported himself to the commanding officer.
" I was wondering where these two regiments came from,
Mr. O'Connor," the colonel said. "I watched them march
in, and thought that they were the most orderly body that I
have seen since we came out here. Whose corps are they ? "
" Well, Colonel, they are my corps. I will tell you about
it presently ; it is a long story."
" How strong are they ? "
" The field state this morning made them two thousand
three hundred and fifty-five. They were two thousand five
hundred to begin with ; the rest are either killed or wounded."
" Oh, you have had some fighting then."
" We have had our share, at any rate, Colonel, and I think
I can venture to say that no other Portuguese corps shows so
good a record."
"We have a large number of tents in store, and I will
order a sufficient number to be served out to put all your men
under canvas, with the understanding that if the army ad-
vances this way the tents must be handed back to us. There
are quantities of uniforms also. There have been ship-loads
sent over for the use of the Portuguese militia, who were to
MARY O'CONNOR 329
turn out in their hundreds of thousands, but who have yet to
be discovered. Would you like some of them ? "
" Very much, indeed, Colonel. It would add very greatly
to their appearance ; though, as far as fighting goes, I am
bound to say that I could wish nothing better. ' '
" Really ! Then all I can say is you have made a very valu-
able discovery. Hitherto the fighting powers of the Portu-
guese have been invisible to the naked eye. But if you have
found that they really will fight under some circumstances,
we may hope that, now Lord Beresford has come out to take
command of the Portuguese army, and is going to have a
certain number of British officers to train and command them,
they will be of some utility, instead of being simply a scourge
to the country and a constant drain on our purse. ' '
" Have you heard that Oporto is captured, sir? "
" No, you don't say so ! "
" Captured in less than an hour from the time that the first
gun was fired."
"Just what I expected. When you have political bishops
who not only pretend to govern a country, but also assume
the command of armies, how can it be otherwise ? However,
you shall tell me about it presently. I will go down with
you at once to the stores and order the issue of the tents and
uniforms. My orders were that the uniforms were to be
served out to militia and ordenan9as; under which head do
your men come ? ' '
" The latter, sir ; that is what they really were, but they
hung the three men the Junta sent to command them, and
placed themselves in my hands, and I have done the best
I could with them, with the assistance of Lieutenant Herrara
who, as you may remember, accompanied me in charge of the
escort and my own two troopers and his men, and between
us we have really done much in the way of disciplining them."
330 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
Two hours later the tents were pitched on a spot half a mile
distant from the town. By the time that this was done the carts
with the uniforms came up, to the great delight of the men.
" I have to go to the commandant again now, Herrara;
let the uniforms be served out to the men at once. Tell the
captains to see to their fitting as well as possible. I have no
doubt that the colonel will come down to inspect them this
afternoon, and will probably bring a good many officers with
him, so we must make as good a show as possible."
Herrara' s friends and Mary O'Connor had, on arriving at
Coimbra, hired rooms, as Don Jose had determined to stay
for a few days before going on, because his wife had been
much shaken by the events that had taken place, and his
eldest daughter was naturally anxious to wait until she knew
whether Herrara would be able to return to Lisbon, or would
remain with the corps. By the time Terence returned to the
colonel's quarters it was lunch time.
" You must come across to mess, Mr. O'Connor," the com-
mandant said. "Everyone is anxious to hear your news, and
it will save your going over it twice if you will tell it after
lunch. I fancy every officer in the camp will be there."
CHAPTER XIX
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
TERENCE, after lunch was over, first related to the officers
all that he knew of the siege of Oporto, explaining why
he did not choose to sacrifice the men under him by joining
the undisciplined rabble in the intrenchments, but determined
to keep the head of the bridge. They listened with breathless
interest to his narrative of the attack and capture of Oporto.
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 331
" But how was it that that fifty-gun battery did not knock
the bridge to pieces when the French tried to cross? "
" That is more than I can say, Colonel. I should fancy that
they were so terrified at the utter rout on the other side, which
they could see well enough, for they had a view right over the
town to the intrenchments, that they simply fired wildly.
I don't believe a single ball hit the bridge, though, of
course, they ought to have sunk a dozen boats in a couple
of minutes. My men could have held it for days, though
they were suffering somewhat from the fire of two of the
French field batteries; but I found that no steps whatever
had been taken to remove the boats from the other side.
There were great numbers of them all along the bank, and
the enemy could have crossed a mile higher up, at the spot
where I took my men over, and so fallen on our rear, therefore
I withdrew to save them from being cut up or captured
uselessly. ' '
" Now tell us about those troops of yours, O'Connor."
Terence gave a somewhat detailed account of the manner in
which he took the command and of the subsequent operations,
being desirous of doing justice to Herrara and his troopers,
and to his own two orderlies. There was much laughter
among the officers at his assumption of command, and at the
subsequent steps he took to form his mob of men into an
orderly body ; but interest took the place of amusement as he
told how they had prevented the French from crossing at the
mouth of the Minho, and caused Soult to take the circuitous
and difficult route by Orense. His subsequent defence of the
defile and the night attack upon the French, surprised them
much, and when he brought his story to a conclusion there
were warm expressions of approval among his hearers.
"I must congratulate you most heartily, Mr. O'Connor,"
the colonel said. "What seemed at first a very wild and
332 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
hare-brained enterprise, if you don't mind my saying so,
certainly turned out a singular success. It would have
seemed almost impossible that you, a young ensign, should
be able to exercise any authority over a great body of mere
peasants, who have everywhere shown themselves utterly in-
subordinate and useless under their native officers. It is
nothing short of astonishing; and it is most gratifying to
find that the Portuguese should, under an English officer, de-
velop fighting powers far beyond anything with which they
have been hitherto credited. What are you going to do
now?"
"I was intending to send my despatches onto Sir John
Cradock, and wait here for orders."
" I think that you had better take your despatches on your-
self, Mr. O'Connor. I do not suppose that they are anything
like so full as the story you have told us, which, I am sure,
would be of as much interest to the general as it has been to
us."
" I will do so, sir, and will start this evening. My horse
had three days' rest at Villa Nova, and is quite fit to travel."
" You must be feeling terribly anxious about your cousin,"
the officer who had first told him about her remarked ; ' ' there
is no saying what may have happened in Oporto after it was
stormed."
" I should indeed be, if she were there," Terence replied;
" but I am happy to say that she is at present in Coimbra,
having travelled with us under the charge of some Portuguese
ladies, friends of Herrara. ' '
"You don't mean to say that you persuaded the bishop to
let her out of the convent ? "
" Scarcely," Terence laughed, " though the bishop did un-
wittingly aid me."
"I congratulate you on getting her out," the colonel said.
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 333
" Travers was telling us the day after you left what a curious
coincidence it was that the nun who threw him out a letter
should turn out to be a cousin of yours. Will you tell us how
you managed it? "
" I don't mind telling it, sir, if all here will promise not to
repeat it. The Bishop of Oporto is a somewhat formidable
person, and were he to lodge a complaint against me he
might get me into serious trouble, and is perfectly capable
of having me stabbed some dark night in the streets of Lis-
bon ; therefore, I think it would be as well to omit any de-
tails of the share he played in the matter. Without that the
story is simple enough. Having got a boat with two men in
it at the end of the street in which stood the convent, I went
there in the dress of an ecclesiastic, just as the French burst
into the town. The bishop had fled on the night before to
the Serra Convent on the other side of the river, and I was
able to produce an authority from him which satisfied the
lady superior that I was the bearer of his order for her and
the nuns to make for the bridge, and to cross the river at
once.
" Of course, I accompanied them. The crowd was great
and they naturally got separated. In the confusion my order-
lies managed to get my cousin out of the crowd, and took her
straight to the boat. As soon as I saw that they had gone, I
persuaded the lady superior to take the rest of the nuns back
to the convent at once, as the bridge was by this time broken,
and the French had made their appearance. She got the
nuns together and made off with them as fast as they could
run, and after seeing that they were all nearly back to their
convent without any signs of the French being near, I joined
the others in the boat, and we rowed across the river. It was
a simple business altogether, though at first it seemed very
hopeless."
334 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" Especially to get the authority of the bishop," the col-
onel said, with a smile.
" That certainly seemed the most hopeless part of the busi-
ness," Terence replied; " but happily I was able to manage
it somehow."
" Well, you certainly have had a most remarkable series
of adventures, Mr. O'Connor. Now we will go and inspect
your corps. Of course they will be rationed while they are
here, and will be under my general orders until I hear from
Cradock."
" Quite so, Colonel ; I am sure they will be proud of be-
ing inspected by you. Of course, they are unable to do any
complicated manoeuvres, but those they do know they know
pretty thoroughly, and can do them in a rough and ready
way that for actual work is, I think, just as good as a parade-
ground performance. I will go on ahead, sir, and form them
Up."
" I would rather, if you don't mind, that they should have
no warning," the colonel said ; " we will just go down quiet-
ly, and see how quickly they can turn out."
" Very well, sir."
All there expressed their wish to go, and as all were pro-
vided with horses or ponies of some kind, in ten minutes they
rode off in a body. His officers had been very busy all the
time that Terence had been away, serving out the uniforms
and seeing that they were properly put on. The work was
just over, and the men were sauntering about round their
tents when the party arrived. Herrara came up and saluted.
He was known to the colonel, as he had dined with Terence
at the mess on their way through.
After a few words, Terence said to Herrara :
" Have the assembly blown, and let the men fall in."
Herrara walked back to the tents, and a moment later a
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 335
horn blew. It had an uncouth sound, and bore no resem-
blance to the ordinary call, but it was promptly obeyed. The
men snatched their muskets from the piles in front of the
tents, and in a wonderfully short time the whole were formed
up in their ranks, stiff and immovable.
" Excellently done ! " the colonel said ; "no British regi-
ment could have fallen in more smartly."
Accompanied by Terence, and followed by the rest of the
officers, he rode along the line. The evening before Terence
had impressed upon the captains of companies the necessity
for having the rifles perfectly clean, as they were about to join
a British camp, so that the pieces were all in perfect order.
When the inspection was over the mounted group drew off a
little.
" The troops will form up in columns of companies," Ter-
ence said, and Bull and Mac witty, who were at the head of
their respective regiments, gave the orders. The movements
were well executed. The men, proud of their uniform, and
on their mettle at being inspected by British officers, did
their best, and that best left little to be desired. After march-
ing past, they formed into company squares to resist cavalry,
then retired by alternate companies, and then formed into
line.
" Excellently done ! " said the colonel. " Indeed, I can
hardly believe it possible that a party of peasants have in a
month's time been formed into a body of good soldiers. I
should like the officers to come up."
"Call the officers."
There was an officers' call, and this now sounded, and the
twelve captains with their two majors rode to the front and
saluted. i( Mr. Herrara," the colonel said, " I have seen with
surprise and the greatest satisfaction the movements of the
men under you ; they do you the greatest credit, and I shall
336 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
have pleasure in sending in a most favourable report to the
general, the result of my inspection of the regiments. I hear
from Mr. O'Connor that your men have shown themselves
capable of holding their own against the French, and I can
say that I should feel perfectly confident in going into action
with my regiment supported by such brave and capable troops.
Would that instead of 2,000 we had 100,000 Portuguese troops
equally to be trusted, we should very speedily turn the French
out of Portugal and drive them from the Peninsula."
The officers bowed and rode off. The troops had not learned
the salute, and when the horn sounded they were at once
dismissed drill.
" Well, Mr. O'Connoi, I must congratulate you most heartily
on what you have done. If nothing else, you have added to
our army a couple of strong regiments of capable soldiers.
If I had not seen it myself I should have thought it impossible
that over 2,000 men could be converted into soldiers in so
short a time, and that without experienced non-commissioned
officers to work them up. ' '
Returning to Coimbra with the colonel, Terence rode to the
house where Herrara's friends had taken rooms, and told
them that he was going to leave them. Don Jose at once
wrote several letters of introduction to influential friends
at Lisbon, telling them that he and his daughters had escaped
from the sack of Oporto, and asking them to show every
kindness to the officer, to whom they chiefly owed their
safety.
Terence meanwhile returned to camp, arranged with Her-
rara and the two majors that everything was to go on as usual
during his absence, urging them to work hard at their drill,
and to impress upon the men the necessity, now that they
were in uniform, of carrying themselves as soldiers, and doing
credit to their corps.
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 337
Five days later he arrived at Lisbon, taking with him a re-
port from the commandant of his inspection of the corps.
" I had begun to be afraid that you had been killed or taken
prisoner, Mr. O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, as Terence
presented himself, "or that you must have fallen back with
Romana into Spain. He seems to have behaved very badly,
for, as I hear, although he had 10,000 men with him, half
of them regular troops, he retired without a shot being fired
except by two regiments who were mauled by the French
cavalry and left Silveira in the lurch."
" I was on other business, General, and I fear that you will
think that I exceeded my orders ; but I hope that you will
consider that the result has justified my doing so. Will you
kindly first run your eye over this report by the officer com-
manding at Coimbra ? ' '
Sir John Cradock read the report with a puzzled expression
efface, then he said: "But what regiments are these that
Colonel Wilberforce speaks of in such high terms ? Were they
part of Romana's force? He speaks of them as a corps under
your command, and as being 2,300 strong."
" They were not Romana's men, sir, but a body of ordenan-
cas, of whom, as my report will inform you, I came by a com-
bination of circumstances to take the command, appointing
Lieutenant Herrara, who commanded my escort, colonel, my
two orderlies as majors, and the Portuguese troopers of my
escort as captains of companies. We have been several times
engaged with the French, and I cannot speak too highly of
the behaviour of officers and men."
Sir John Cradock burst into a laugh. "You certainly are
a cool hand, Mr. O'Connor. Assuredly I did not contemplate
when I sent you off that you would return as colonel of two
regiments. ' '
" Nor did I, sir. But, you see, you gave me general in-
22
338 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
structions to concert measures with Romana for the defence
of the frontier. I saw at once that Romana was hopeless, and
was therefore myself driven to take these measures. As
Oporto has fallen I cannot say they were successful, but at
least I may say that we gave Oporto fourteen days' extra time
to prepare her defence, and if she did not take advantage of
the time it was not my fault."
The look of amusement on the general's face turned to one
of interest.
" How did you do that, sir ? "
" My corps prevented Soult from crossing at the mouth of
the Minho, General, killing some two hundred of his men and
driving his boats back across the river. When the French
general saw that he could not cross in face of such opposi-
tion, he was obliged to march his army round by Orense and
down by the passes, which ought to have been successfully
defended by the Portuguese."
" That was good service, indeed, Mr. O'Connor. I received
despatches from our agents at Oporto, saying that Soult's land-
ing had been repulsed by armed peasants."
"My men were little more than armed peasants then, sir,
though they had had a few days' hard drill ; still, a British
officer would scarcely have called them soldiers. ' '
" Well, I think that Wilberforce's report shows that they
have a right to that title now. Take a seat, Mr. O'Connor,
and a newspaper there are some that arrived two days ago
while I look over your report. ' '
Terence had written in much greater detail than is usual in
official reports, as he wished the general to see how well the
men and their officers had behaved. It was twenty minutes
before the general finished it.
"A very remarkable report, Mr. O'Connor; very remark-
able. You must dine with me this evening. I have many
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 339
questions to ask you about it, and also about the storming of
Oporto, of which we have, as yet, received no details, al-
though a messenger from the bishop brought us the news some
days ago. He seems to have made a terrible mess of it."
" He ought to be hung, sir S " Terence said, indignantly.
"After getting all those unfortunate peasants together he
sneaked off and hid himself in a convent on the other side of
the river, on the very night before the French attacked. ' '
"Unfortunately, Mr. O'Connor, we cannot give all men
their deserts, or we should want all the rope on board the
ships in the harbour for the purpose. The bishop is a firebrand
of the most dangerous kind ; and I suppose we shall have him
here in a day or two, for he said in his letter that he was on
his way. There is one comfort : he will be too busy in quar-
relling with the authorities to have any time to spend on his
quarrels with us. Then I shall see you in an hour's time.
Please ask Captain Nelson to come in here ; I have some notes
for him to write."
Terence bowed and retired.
" What a nuisance ! ' ' Captain Nelson said. " I was wanting
to hear all that you had been doing."
" I am to dine with the general," Terence said. " Perhaps
I shall meet you there. ' '
Captain Nelson found that he was wanted to write notes
of invitation to such of the officers who were still at Lisbon
as had dined there when Terence was last the general's guest ;
and as the general's invitations overrode all other engagements,
most of them were present when Terence returned.
" Mr. O'Connor has another story for you, gentlemen," the
general said, when the cloth was removed and the wine put
upon the table. " I am not sure whether I am right in calling
him Mr. O'Connor, for he has been performing the duties of
a colonel, commanding two regiments in the Portuguese ser-
340 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
vice. I will preface his story by reading the report of Colonel
Wilberforce, commanding at Coimbra, of the state of efficiency
of his command."
There was a look of surprise at the general's remarks, and
that surprise was greatly heightened on the reading of Colonel
Wilber force's report.
" Now, Mr. O'Connor," the general said, when he had
finished, " I am sure that we shall all be obliged by your giv-
ing us a detailed statement of the manner in which you raised
those regiments, and of the operations that you undertook
with them ; and the more details you give us the better, for
it is well that we should understand how the Portuguese can
be best handled. I may say at once that, personally, we are
greatly indebted to you for having proved that, when even
partially disciplined and well led, they are capable of doing
very good service, a fact of which, I own, I have been hith-
erto very doubtful."
Smiles were exchanged among the auditors when Terence
described the manner in which he came to command the body
of undisciplined ordenancas. When he spoke of the state in
which he found Romana's army, and the reason for his deter-
mination to keep his column intact, they listened more atten-
tively, and exchanged looks of surprise when he described his
rapid march to the mouth of the Minho, and the repulse of
Soult's attempt to cross from Tuy. He then described how
he had joined Silveira, and the mutiny of that general's troops.
Still more surprise was manifested when he related the action
in the defile and the bravery with which his troops had be-
haved, and the manner in which they had been handled by
the troopers that he had appointed as their officers. The
night attack on the cavalry and infantry of the head of Soult's
column was equally well received. His reasons for not joining
the army at Braga, and of keeping aloof from the mob of
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 341
peasants at Oporto were as much approved as was the holding
of the bridge for a while, and his reasons for withdrawing.
"Well, gentlemen," the general said, when Terence had
finished, " I think you will allow that my aide-de-camp, Mr.
O'Connor, has given a good account of himself, and that if
he went outside my orders, his doing so has been most amply
justified."
"It has, indeed, General," one of the senior officers said,
warmly. " I can answer for myself, that I should have been
proud to have been able to tell such a story."
A murmur of approval ran round the table.
" It is difficult to say whether Mr. O'Connor's readiness to
accept responsibility, or the manner in which, in the short
space of a month, he turned a mob of peasants into regular
soldiers, or the quickness with which he marched to the spot
threatened by Soult, and so compelled him to entirely change
the plan of his campaign, or his conduct in the defence of the
defile, and in his night attack, are most remarkable."
" I should wish to say, General, that in telling this story I
have been chiefly anxious to do justice to the hearty co-opera-
tion of Lieutenant Herrara, and the services rendered by my
own two orderlies and his troopers. By myself, I could have
done absolutely nothing. Their work was hard and incessant,
and the drill and discipline of the troops was wholly due to
them."
" I understand, Mr. O'Connor ; it is quite right for you to
say so, and I thoroughly recognize that they must have done
good service ; but it is to the man that plans, organizes, and
infuses his own spirit into those under his command, that ev-
erything is due. Now, Mr. O'Connor, I think I will ask you
to leave us for a few minutes ; the case is rather an exceptional
one, and I shall be glad to chat the matter over with the offi-
cers present. Well, gentlemen, what do you think that we
342 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
are to do with Mr. O'Connor? " he went on, with a smile, as
the door closed behind Terence.
" My experience affords me no guide, General," another of
the senior officers said. "It is simply amazing that a lad of
seventeen I suppose he is not much over that should have
conceived and carried out such a plan. It sounds like a piece
of old knight-errantry. Clive did as much, but Clive was
some years older when he first became 'a thorn in the side of
the French. What is your opinion, sir? "
" He is already a lieutenant," the general said. " I sent
home a strong recommendation that he should be promoted,
when he was last here, and received an intimation three days
ago that he had been gazetted lieutenant and transferred to
my staff. This time I shall simply send home a copy of the
report he has furnished me with, and that of Colonel Wilber-
force, and say that I leave the reports to speak for themselves,
but that in my opinion it is a case altogether exceptional.
That is all I can do now. The question of course is, whether
he shall return to staff service again, or shall continue in com-
mand of the corps with which he has done so much. If he
does the latter he must have local rank, otherwise he would
be liable to be overruled by any Portuguese officer of superior
rank. I think that the best way would be to send a copy of
the reports to Lord Beresford, saying that my opinion is very
strong that Lieutenant O'Connor should be allowed to retain
an independent command of the corps that he has raised and
disciplined ; and that I will either myself bestow local rank
upon him, and treat the corps as forming a part of the British
army, like that of Trant, or that he should give him local rank
as its colonel, in which case he would operate still independ-
ently, but in connection with Beresford's own force."
" I should almost think that the first step would be best,
General, if I might say so. In the first place, Beresford will
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 343
have any number of irregular parties operating with him,
while such a corps would be invaluable to us. They are
capable of taking long marches, they know the mountains and
forests, and would keep us supplied with news, while they
harassed the enemy. As an officer on your staff, O'Connor
would have a much greater power among the Portuguese pop-
ulation than he would have on his own account in their own
army, and he would be very much less likely to be interfered
with by the leaders of other parties and corps. ' '
" Perhaps that would be the best way, Colonel. I will send
the reports to Beresford, and say that I have appointed Lieu-
tenant O'Connor to remain in command of this corps, which
I shall attach to my own command ; and saying that I shall
be obliged if he will have a commission made out for him,
giving him the local rank of colonel in the Portuguese army.
Beresford is himself a gallant soldier, and will appreciate, as
you do, the work that O'Connor has done ; and as he knows
nothing of the lad's age he will comply, as a matter of course,
with my request. I shall, in writing home, strongly recom-
mend his two cavalrymen for commissions. As to Herrara, I
shall ask Beresford to give him the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
I shall suggest to Beresford that his troopers should all receive
commissions in his army. They have all earned them, which
is more than I can say of any other Portuguese soldiers, so far
as I have heard."
Terence was then called in again.
" In the first place, I have a pleasant piece of news to give
you, Mr. O'Connor, namely, that I have received from home
an official letter, that on my recommendation you have been
gazetted to the rank of lieutenant and transferred to my staff ;
in the second place, I have decided, that while still retaining
you on my staff, you will be continued in your present com-
mand ; I shall obtain for you a commission as colonel in the
344 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
Portuguese service, but your corps will form part of my com-
mand, and act with the British army. I shall request Lord
Beresford to appoint Mr. Herrara to the rank of lieutenant-
colonel, and shall recommend that commissions be given to his
troopers. The two orderlies, of whose services you spoke so
highly, I shall recommend for commissions in our army, and
shall request Lord Beresford to give them local rank as ma-
jors.' 7
Terence coloured with pleasure and confusion.
" I am greatly obliged to you, General," he said; "but
I do not at all feel that the services that I have tried to
perform ' '
" That is for me to judge," the general said, kindly. "All
the officers here quite agree with me, that those services have
been very marked and exceptional and are at one with me
as to how they should be recognized. Moreover, in obtain-
ing for you the rank of colonel in the Portuguese army, I am
not only recognizing those services, but am adding to the
power that you will have of rendering further services to the
army. Although attached to our forces, you will receive your
colonel's commission from Lord Beresford, who is now the
general appointed by the Portuguese government to command
their army."
It was now late, and the party rose. All of them shook
hands warmly with Terence, who retired with his friend
Captain Nelson. The latter told him before they went in
to dinner that he had had a bed put up for him in his own
room.
"Well, Colonel O'Connor," Nelson laughed, " you must
allow me to be the first to salute you as my superior officer."
"It is absurd altogether," Terence said, almost ruefully.
"Still, Captain Nelson, though I may hold a superior rank
in the Portuguese army, that goes for very little. I have
'CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 345
seen enough of Portuguese officers to know that even their
own soldiers have not got any respect for them, and in our
own army I am only a lieutenant."
"That is so, lad; however, there was never promotion
more deserved. And as you hung, or rather left to be hung,
a Portuguese colonel, it is only right that you should supply
the deficiency."
" I hope I shall not have to wear a Portuguese uniform/'
Terence said, earnestly.
" I should think not, O'Connor, but I will ask the general
in the morning. Of course, you will not wear your present
uniform, because you are now gazetted into the staff and out
of your own regiment. Now we will smoke a quiet cigar
before we turn in. Have you any other story to tell me that
you have not already related ? ' '
" Well, yes, I have one, but it is only of a personal inter-
est ;" and he then gave an account of his discovery of his
cousin in the convent at Oporto, and how he had managed
to rescue her, ending by saying : "I have told you the story,
Nelson, so that if by any unexpected accident it is found out
that she is an escaped nun, and her friends appeal to the gen-
eral for protection, you may be aware of the circumstances,
and help."
"Certainly I will do so," Captain Nelson said, warmly.
" You certainly have a wonderful head for devising plans."
*' I began it early," Terence laughed. " I was always in
mischief before I got my commission, and I suppose that helps
me ; but you see I had wonderful luck."
"I don't say anything against your luck ; but good luck
is of no use unless a fellow knows how to take advantage of
it, and that is just what you have done. I suppose that you
will stay here for a day or two. ' '
" My horse wants a couple of days' rest, and I have my
346 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
uniform to get. I suppose I can get one made in a couple of
days, whether it is a Portuguese or an English one."
" Yes, I dare say you will be able to manage that."
The next morning, to his great satisfaction, Terence learned
that the general said he had better wear staff uniform, and he
accordingly went with Captain Nelson and was measured.
"Your Portuguese seems to have improved amazingly in
the two months you have been away," the latter said, as
they came out from the shop ; " you seem to jabber away
quite fluently."
" I have been talking nothing else, and Herrara has acted
as my instructor, so I get on very fairly now."
At this moment a carriage drove past them.
" That is the Bishop of Oporto," said Terence; "I sup-
pose he has just arrived. ' '
"It is a good thing that he does not know you as well as
you know him," Captain Nelson said, dryly ; " if he did,
your adventures would be likely to be cut short by a knife
between your shoulders some dark night. ' '
" He does not know me at all," Terence laughed ; " the
advantages are all on my side in the present case."
"It is an advantage," Captain Nelson laughed. "When
I think that you have raised your hand against that venerable
but somewhat truculent prelate, I shudder at your boldness.
I only caught a glimpse of him as he passed, but I could see
that he looks rather scared."
"Perhaps he hasn't recovered yet from the fright I gave
him," laughed Terence ; "I have seen and heard enough of
his doings, and paid him a very small instalment of the debt
due to him."
The uniforms were promised for the next evening, and
Terence felt when he put them on that they were a consider-
able improvement upon his late one, stained and discoloured
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 347
as it was by wet, mud, and travel. After paying a visit to
the general to say good-bye, Terence mounted and started
for Coimbra.
Upon his arrival there four days later he at once reported
himself to the commandant.
" I received a copy of the general order of last Tuesday,"
the latter said, " and congratulate you warmly on being con-
firmed in your rank. I thought that it would be so, for one
could not reckon that, had another taken your place, your
corps would have maintained its present state of efficiency."
" You are very good to say so, Colonel, but any British
officer appointed to command it would do as well or better
than I should."
"I don't think that he would in any way; but certainly he
would not be followed with the same confidence by his men
as they would follow you, and with troops like these every-
thing depends upon their confidence in their commander."
" The corps is now attached to our army, Colonel; you
were good enough to order them to be rationed before, but I
have now an order from the general for them to draw pay
and rations the same as the British troops."
"That is all right," the colonel said, examining the docu-
ment ; "I will take a copy of it, but as it is a general order
you must keep the original yourself. I see that you have now
adopted the uniform of the staff. It is certainly a great im-
provement upon that of an infantry officer, and appearances go
for a good deal among these Portuguese. I see, by the way,
that you have got your step in our army."
"Yes, Colonel, the general was good enough to recom-
mend me. Of course I am glad in one way, but I am sorry
that it has put me out of the regiment that I have been
brought up with. But, of course, it was necessary, for I
could not have gone over other men's heads in it."
348 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" No, when a man gets special promotion it is always into
another regiment for that reason. You will be glad to hear
that your men have been behaving extremely well in your
absence, and that I have not heard of a single case of drunk-
enness or misconduct among them. I have been down there
several times, and always found them hard at work drilling ;
they seem to me to improve every time I see them."
On leaving the colonel's quarters Terence rode to his
cousin's. Mary rose with an exclamation of surprise as he
entered.
" What a handsome uniform, Terence ! How is it that
you have changed it ? "
" I am now regularly on the general's staff, Mary, and this
is the uniform."
" You look very well in it," she said; "don't you think
so, Lorenza?"
"I do, indeed," her friend agreed; "it does make a
difference."
"Well, to begin with, it is clean and new," Terence
laughed ; " and though the other was not old, it had seen its
best days. But I have more news, Mary ; you have now to
address your cousin as colonel."
Mary clapped her hands, and Don Jose and his family ut-
tered exclamations of pleasure.
"It is quite right," Mary said; "it is ridiculous that Seiior
Herrara should be colonel and you only Mr. O'Connor."
"It does not matter much about a name," he said. " I
commanded before and I shall do so now, but I have got Por-
tuguese rank."
" Why did not they make you an English colonel? " Mary
asked, rather indignantly.
Terence laughed. " I shall be lucky if I get that in another
twenty years, Mary. I am a lieutenant now I have got the
CONFIRMED IN COMMAND 349
step since you saw me last but I am to rank as a colonel in
the Portuguese army as long as I command this corps, which
I am glad to say is now to form a part of the British
army. Herrara is to have the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Bull
and Macwitty will, I hope, get their commissions as ensigns in
the British army, with local rank of majors. The general will
recommend that Herrara's troopers all get commissions in the
Portuguese army."
" Ah, well ! I am pleased that your services are appreciated,
Terence. We are very glad that you have come back, Lorenza
especially so, as, now you have returned, she thinks she will
see more of Senor Herrara."
11 The bishop is in Lisbon, Mary."
"That is not such good news, Terence. I will be very
careful to keep out of his way."
" Do," he said. " I have spoken to Captain Nelson, one
of the general's staff, about you, and if by any chance you
should be recognized as an escaped nun, I hope that Don Jose
will go to him at once and ask him to obtain the general's pro-
tection for you, which will, I am sure, be given. Your father
was an Irishman. You are a British subject, and have a right
to protection. You won't forget the name, Don Jose Cap-
tain Nelson?"
" I will write it down at once," the Portuguese said, " but
as Donna Mary will pass under the name of Dillon, and her
dress has so changed her appearance, I do not think that there
is the smallest fear of her being recognized. Indeed, no one
could know her except the bishop himself."
" You may be sure that I shall not go out much in Lisbon,"
Mary said, " and if I do I will keep my promise to be always
closely veiled."
350 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
CHAPTER XX
WITH THE MAYOS
THE news that Terence brought to the regiment gave great
and general satisfaction. Herrara was delighted to hear
that he was to be made a lieutenant-colonel in his army. Bull
and Macwitty were overjoyed on hearing that they had both
been recommended for commissions, and Herrara' s troopers
were equally pleased. The rank and file felt no less gratifica-
tion, both at the honour of being attached to the British army,
and at the substantial improvement in their condition that
this would entail.
On the following day Herrara's friends and Mary O'Connor
left for Lisbon, and the latter astonished Terence by bursting
into tears as she said good-bye to him.
" I have said nothing yet of the gratitude that I feel to you,
Terence, for all that you have done for me, for you have always
stopped me whenever I have tried to, but I shall always feel
it, always; and shall think of you and love you dearly."
" It has been just as fortunate for me as it has been good
for you, Mary," he said. " I have never had a sister, and I
seem to have found one now."
The girl looked up, pouting. " I don't think," she said,
" I should particularly care about being a sister ; I think that
I would rather remain a cousin."
Terence looked surprised and a little hurt.
" You are only a silly boy," she laughed, " but will under-
stand better some day. Well, good-bye, Terence," and the
smile faded from her face.
" Good-bye, dear. Take great care of yourself in Lisbon,
and be sure that you look out to see if the Mayo Fusiliers
/ / / L t I i.--
TERENCE BIDS GOOD-BYE TO HIS COUSIN, MARY O'CONNOR.
WITH THE MAYOS 351
arrive while you are there. I heard that they were about to
embark again with a force that General Hill is bringing out,
but my father won't be with them, I am afraid. I have not
heard from him, but I should hardly think that he will be fit
for hard service again ; yet, if he should be, he will tell you
where to go to till we get back. At any rate, don't start for
England until the regiment comes. I fancy that it will be at
Lisbon before you are, and Don Jose can easily find out for
you whether father is with it. If he is not, go to Ballinagra.
I have written instructions how you are to travel, but you had
better write to him there directly you land, and I have no
doubt that he will come over and fetch you. I don't know
anything about London, but you had better see Captain Nelson
at Lisbon. Here is a note I have written to him, asking him
where you had better go, and what you had better do when
you get to London."
The day after the party had left, Terence marched with his
corps north, and established himself at Carvalho, where the
road from Oporto passed over the spurs of the Serra de Cara-
mula, in order to check the incursions of French cavalry from
Oporto. In the course of the next fortnight he had several
sharp engagements with them. In the last of these, when
making a reconnaissance with both regiments, he was met by
the whole of Franceschi's cavalry. They charged down on all
four sides of the square into which he formed his force, ex-
pecting that, as upon two previous occasions, the Portuguese
would at once break up at their approach. They stood, how-
ever, perfectly firm, and received the cavalry with such wither-
ing volleys that Franceschi speedily drew off, leaving upwards
of two hundred dead behind him.
The day after this fight Terence received a letter from Mary,
saying that General Hill had arrived before they reached
Lisbon, and that Don Jose had learned that Major O'Connor
352 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
had retired on half-pay. Also that Captain Nelson had obtained
a passage for her in one of the returning transports, and had
given her a letter to his mother, who resided in London,
asking her to receive her until she heard from the major.
A few days afterwards he learned from Colonel Wilberforce
that the English army had marched for Leirya. General
Hill's force of five thousand men and three hundred horses for
the artillery arrived at an opportune moment. The storming
of Oporto, the approach of Victor to Badajos, after totally de-
feating Cuesta's Spanish army, killing three-fifths of his men,
and capturing thousands of prisoners, while Lapisse was ad-
vancing from the east, had created a terrible panic in Portu-
gal. Beresford's orders were disobeyed, many of his regi-
ments abandoned their posts, and the populace in Lisbon were
in a state of furious turmoil. Hill's arrival to some extent re-
stored confidence, the disorders were repressed, and Sir John
Cradock now felt himself strong enough to advance.
Terence's report of the repulse of Franceschi's cavalry was
answered by a letter from Cradock himself, expressing warm
approval at the conduct of the corps.
" There is but little fear of an advance by Soult at pres-
ent," he said. " He must know that we have received re-
inforcements, and he will not venture to march on Lisbon, as
the force now gathering at Leirya could operate upon his flank
and rear. I shall be glad, therefore, if you would march with
your command to the latter town. The example of your
troops cannot but have a good effect upon the raw Portuguese
levies, and, in the event of our advancing to the relief of
Ciudad-Rodrigo, could render good service by clearing the
passes, driving in the French outposts, and keeping me well
informed of the state of the roads, the accommodation avail-
able for the troops, and the existence of supplies."
Immediately on receipt of this Terence marched for Leirya,
WITH THE MAYOS 353
where the British army was under canvas. On the way down
they halted for a night at Coimbra.
''An official letter came for you last night, O'Connor,"
Colonel Wilberforce said. " I kept it until I should have an
opportunity of forwarding it to you. Here it is, duly addressed,
Colonel O'Connor, the Minho Regiment. "
This was the name Sir John Cradock suggested to Terence,
as a memorial of the service they had rendered in repulsing
Soult at that river. It was the first time Terence had seen
his name with the prefix of colonel.
" It looks like a farce," he said, as he broke the seal.
Inside was an official document, signed by Lord Beresford,
to the effect that as a recognition of the very great services
rendered by Lieutenant O'Connor, an officer on the staff of
Sir John Cradock, when in command of the two battalions
of the Minho Regiment, and in accordance with the strong
recommendation of the British general, Lieutenant Terence
O'Connor is hereby appointed to the rank of colonel in the
Portuguese service, with the pay and allowances of his rank.
Colonel O' Connor is to continue in command of the regiments,
which will be attached to the British army, under the com-
mand of Sir John Cradock.
" Here is also a letter for your friend Herrara, and a much
more bulky one ; will you hand it to him ? ' '
Herrara' s letter contained his promotion to lieutenant-
colonel, with an order to remain under Terence's command ;
also fourteen commissions, two giving Bull and Macwitty the
Portuguese rank of major, the remaining being captain's com-
missions for the twelve troopers.
Two days later they reached Leirya. The April sun rendered
shelter unnecessary for the Portuguese, and after establishing
them, for the present, a quarter of a mile away from the British
camp, he went and reported his arrival to the officer in com-
23
354 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
mand, and was told that he could not do better than bivouac
on the ground he had selected. Leaving the headquarters
he soon found where the Mayo regiment was encamped, and
made his way to the officers' marquee. They were just sitting
down to lunch when, at the entry of an officer on the general's
staff, the colonel at once rose gravely. O'Grady was the first
to recognize the newcomer.
" Bejabers," he shouted, " but it is Terence O'Connor him-
self! " There was a general rush to shake hands with him,
and a din of voices and a confusion of questions and greetings.
' ' And what in the world have you got that uniform on for,
Terence ? " O'Grady asked, when the din somewhat subsided.
" We saw that the general had appointed you as one of his
aides-de-camp when you got here after Corunna, but you
would wear your own uniform all the same. ' '
"What matters about his uniform, O'Grady?" the others
exclaimed. " What we want to know is how he saved his life
at Corunna, when we all thought that he was either killed or
taken prisoner."
" Wait till the lad has got something to eat and drink," the
colonel said, peremptorily. " Pray take your seats, gentlemen.
You take this chair by me, O'Connor; and now, while you
are waiting for your plate, tell us in a few words how you
escaped. Everyone" made sure that you were killed. We
heard that Fane had sent you to carry an order, that you had
delivered it, and then started to rejoin him ; from that time
nobody saw you alive or dead."
" The matter was very simple, Colonel. My horse was hit
in the head with a round shot. I went a frightful cropper on
some stones in the middle of a clump of bushes. I lay there
insensible all night, and coming-to in the morning, saw that
the French had advanced, and the firing on the hill over the
town told me that the troops had got safely on board ship.
WITH THE MAYOS 355
I lay quiet all day, and at night made off, sheltered for a
couple of days with some peasants on the other side of the hill,
joined Romana, went to the Portuguese frontier with him, and
then rode to Lisbon, where Sir John Cradock was good enough
to put me on his staff. ' '
" We heard you had turned up safely at Lisbon, and glad
we were, as you may be sure, and a good jollification we had
over it. As for O'Grady, it has served as an excuse for an
extra tumbler ever since. ' '
"Bad excuses are better than none," Terence laughed,
"and if it hadn't been that, it would have been something else. ' '
" Shut up, you young scamp," O'Grady said. " How is
it that you have not answered my question ? Why are you
wearing staff-officer's uniform instead of your own ? "
" Have you not heard, Colonel," Terence said, " that I no
longer belong to the regiment ? ' '
There was a chorus of expressions of regret round the table.
"And how has that happened, Terence?" the colonel
asked. " That is bad news for us all, anyway."
" I was gazetted lieutenant a month ago, Colonel. I suppose
you had sailed from England before the Gazette came out."
"I suppose so, lad. Well, you richly deserved your pro-
motion, if it was only for that affair on board the Sea-horse,
and you ought to have had it long ago."
" I am awfully sorry to leave the regiment. It has been
my home as long as I can remember, and wherever I may be,
I shall always regard it in that light."
"And so you remain on the staff at present, O'Connor? "
" Well, sir, I am on the staff still, but for the present I am
on detached duty."
" What sort of duty, Terence ? "
" I have the honour to command two Portuguese regiments
that marched in an hour ago."
356 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
A shout of laughter followed the announcement.
" Bedad, Terence," O'Grady said, "that crack on your
head hasn't changed your nature, thanks to your thick skull.
I suppose it is poking fun at us that you are. But you won't
take us in this time. ' '
" I saw the regiments pass at a distance," the colonel said,
" and they marched in good order, too, which is more than I
have seen any other Portuguese troops do. Now you mention
it, I did see an officer, in what looked like a British uniform,
riding with the men, but it was too far off to see what branch
of the service he belonged to. That was you, was it? "
" That was me, sure enough, Colonel."
"And what were you doing there ? Tell us, like a good boy."
" Absurd as it may appear, and, indeed, absurd as it is,
I am in command of those two regiments."
Again a burst of incredulous laughter arose. Terence took
out his commission and handed it to the colonel.
"Perhaps, Colonel, if you will be kind enough to read that
out loud, my assurance will be believed."
" Faith, it was not your assurance that we doubted, Ter-
ence, me boy ! " O'Grady exclaimed. "You have plenty of
assurance, and to spare ; it is the statement that we were
doubting. ' '
The colonel glanced down the document, and his face as-
sumed an expression of extreme surprise.
" Gentlemen," he said, rising, " if you will endeavour to
keep silence for a minute, I will read this document."
The surprise on his own face was repeated on the faces of
all those present, as he proceeded with his reading. O'Grady
was the first to break the silence.
"In the name of St. Peter," he said, "what does it all
mean ? Are you sure that it is a genuine document, Colonel ?
Terence is capable of anything by way of a joke."
WITH THE MAYOS 357
"It is undoubtedly genuine, O'Grady. It is dated from
Lord Beresford's quarters, and signed by-his lordship himself
as commander-in-chief of the Portuguese army. How it
comes about beats me as much as it does you. But before we
ask any questions we will drink a toast. Gentlemen, fill your
glasses ; here is to the health of Colonel Terence O'Connor."
The toast was drank with much enthusiasm, mingled with
laughter, for many of them had still a suspicion that the whole
matter was somehow an elaborate trick played by Terence.
"Now, Colonel O'Connor, will you please to favour us
with an account of how General Cradock and Lord Beresford
have both united in giving you so big a step up."
" It is a long story, Colonel."
" So much the better," the colonel replied. "We have
nothing to do, and it will keep us all awake."
Terence's account of his interview with the colonel of the
ordenancas, the demand by Cortingos that he should hand
over the money he was escorting, and the subsequent gather-
ing to attack the house, and the manner in which the leaders
were captured, the rioters appeased and subsequently advised
to direct their efforts to obtain arms and ammunition, excited
exclamations of approval ; but the belief that the story was a
pure romance still prevailed in the minds of many, and Ter-
ence saw Captain O'Grady and Dick Ryan exchanging winks.
It was not until Terence spoke of his rapid march to the
mouth of the Minho, as soon as he heard that the French were
concentrating there, that he began to be seriously listened to ;
and when he told how Soult's attempt to cross had been de-
feated, and the French general obliged to change the whole
plan of the campaign, and to march round by Orense, the
conviction that all this was true was forced upon them.
" By the powers, Terence ! " the colonel exclaimed, bring-
ing his hand down on his shoulder, "you are a credit to the
358 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
ould country. I am proud of you, me boy, and it is little I
thought when O' Flaherty and myself conspired to get ye into
the regiment that you were going to be such a credit to it.
Gentlemen, before Colonel O'Connor goes further, we will
drink his health again."
This time there was no laughter mixed with the cheers.
Many of the officers left their seats and came round to shake
his hand warmly, O'Grady foremost among them.
" Sure I thought at first that it was blathering you were,
Terence; but, begorra, I see now that it's gospel truth you
are telling, and I am proud of you. Faith, I am as proud as if
I were your own father, for haven't I brought you up in mis-
chief of all kinds? Be the poker, I would have given me
other arm to have been with you."
The rest of the story was listened to without interruption.
When it was concluded, Colonel Corcoran again rose.
" Gentlemen, we will for the third time drink to the health
of Colonel O'Connor, and I think that you will agree with
me that if ever a man deserved to be made a colonel it's him-
self."
This time O'Grady and three others rushed to where Ter-
ence was sitting, seized him, and before he knew what they
were going to do, hoisted him onto the shoulders of two of
them, and carried him in triumph round the table. When at
length quiet was restored, and Terence had resumed his seat,
the colonel said :
"By the way, Terence, there was a little old gentleman
called on me three days after we landed to ask if Major
O'Connor was with the regiment. I told him that he was
not, having gone on half-pay for the present on account of a
wound. He seemed rather pleased than otherwise, I thought,
and I asked him pretty bluntly what he wanted to know for.
He brought an interpreter with him, and said through him
WITH THE MAYOS 359
that he hoped that I would not press that question, especially
as a lady was concerned in the matter. It bothered me en-
tirely. Why, from the time we landed at the Mondego till
your father was hit at Vimiera I don't believe we ever had
the chance to speak to a woman. It may be that it was some
lady that nursed him there after we had marched away, and
who had taken a fancy to him. The ould man may have been
her father, and was perhaps mighty glad to hear that the
major was not coming back again. "
Terence burst into a shout of laughter.
" My dear Colonel," he said, " the respectable old gentle-
man did not call on behalf of his daughter, but on behalf of a
cousin of mine, who was wanting to find my father ; and Don
Jose, who was in charge of her, was glad to hear that he was
going to remain in England."
"A cousin!" O'Grady exclaimed. " Why how in the
name of fortune does a lady cousin of yours come to be cruis-
ing about in such an outlandish place as this? "
" That is another story, Colonel, and I have talked until
I am hoarse now, so that that must keep until another sitting.
It is quite time that I was off to see how my men are getting
on."
" Of course you will dine with us? "
" Not to-night, Colonel ; this has been a long sitting, and
I would rather not begin a fresh one. ' '
" Well, we will come and have a look at your regiments."
" I would rather you did not come until to-morrow,
Colonel. The men have marched five-and-twenty miles a day
for the last five days, and they want rest, so I should not like
to parade them again. If you will come over, say at twelve
o'clock to-morrow, I shall be proud to show them."
The corps now possessed five tents, Terence having obtained
four more at Coimbra. Herrara and himself occupied one,
360 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
while two were allotted to the officers of each regiment. Bull
and Macwitty had both by this time picked up sufficient
Portuguese to be able to get on comfortably, and had agreed
with Terence that although they would like to remain to-
gether, it was better that each should stay with the officers of
his own regiment.
At twelve o'clock next day Colonel Corcoran came over
with nearly the whole of the officers of the Mayo regiment,
and was accompanied by many others, as they had the night
before given many of their acquaintances an outline of Ter-
ence's story.
The men had been on foot from an early hour after break-
fast. There had been a parade. Every man's firelock, ac-
coutrements, and uniform had been very closely inspected,
and when they fell in again at a quarter to twelve a most rigid
inspection would have failed to find any fault with their ap-
pearance. Terence joined the colonel as soon as he came on
the ground.
" So your officers are all mounted, I see, Terence? "
"Yes, Colonel; you see the companies are over two hun-
dred strong, for the losses we had have been filled up since,
and one officer to each corps could do but little unless he were
mounted.*'
" The men looked uncommonly well, Terence, uncom-
monly well. I should like to walk along the line before you
move them."
" By all means, Colonel. Their uniforms do not fit as well
as I should like, but I had to take them as they were served
out, and have had no opportunity of getting them altered."
Since the inspection at Coimbra the men had been taught
the salute, and as Terence shouted :
' ' Attention ! General salute ! Present arms ! " the men ex-
ecuted the order with a sharpness and precision that would
WITH THE MAYOS 361
have done no discredit to a British line regiment. Then the
colonel and officers walked along the line, after which the
troops were put through their manoeuvres for an hour, and then
dismissed.
" Upon my word, it is wonderful," Colonel Corcoran said.
Why, if the beggars had been at it six months they could
not have done it better."
There was a chorus of agreement from all the officers round.
" We could not have done some of those movements better
ourselves, could we, O'Driscol?"
" That we could not," the major said, heartily. "Another
three months' work and these two regiments would be equal
to our best ; and I can understand now how they stood up
against the charge of Franceschi's cavalry regiments."
" Now, Colonel, I cannot ask you all to a meal," Terence
said ; " my arrangements are not sufficiently advanced for that
yet ; but I managed to get hold of some very good wine this
morning, and I hope that you will take a glass all round be-
fore you go back to camp."
" That we will, and with pleasure, for the dust has well-
nigh choked me. It is a different thing drilling on this
sandy ground from drilling on a stretch of good turf. Of
course, you will come back and lunch with us, and bring your
friend Herrara."
Herrara, however, excused himself. He did not know a
word of English, and felt that until he could make himself
understood he would feel uncomfortable at a gathering of
English officers. After lunch Terence was called upon to tell
the story about his cousin. Among his friends of the regi-
ment he had no fear of his adventure with the bishop getting
abroad, and he therefore related the whole story as it happened.
" By my sowl," O'Grady said to him, afterwards, " Ter-
ence O'Connor, you take me breath away altogether. To
362 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
think that a year ago you were just a gossoon, and here ye
are a colonel a Portuguese colonel, I grant, but still a colonel
fighting Soult, and houlding denies, and making night
attacks, and thrashing the French cavalry, and carrying off a
nun from a convent, and outwitting a bishop, and playing all
sorts of divarsions. It bates me entirely. There is Dicky
Ryan, who, as I tould him yesterday, had just the same
chances as you have had, just Dicky Ryan still. I tould
him he ought to blush down to his boots. ' '
"And what did he say, O'Grady? "
" The young spalpeen had the impudence to say that there
was I, Captain O'Grady, just the same as when he first joined,
and, barring the loss of an arm, divil a bit the better. And
the worst of it is, it was true entirely. If I could but find
a pretty cousin shut up in a convent you would see that I
would not be backward in doing what had to be done ; but
no such luck comes to me at all, at all. ' '
"Quite so, O'Grady; I have had tremendous luck. And
it has all come about owing to my happening to think it
would be a good thing to take possession of that French lug-
ger."
"Don't you think it, me boy," O'Grady said, seriously.
" No doubt a man may have a turn of luck, though it is not
everyone who takes advantage of it when it comes. But
when you see a man always succeeding, always doing some-
thing that other fellows don't do, and making his way up
step by step, you may put it down that luck has very little
to do with the matter, and that he has got something in him
that other men haven't got. You may have had some luck
to start with enough, perhaps, to have got you your lieuten-
ancy, though I don't say that it was luck; but you cannot
put the rest of it down to that."
At this moment Dick Ryan came and joined them.
WITH THE MAYOS 363
"Well, Dicky," Terence said, "have you had no fun
lately in the regiment ? "
"Not a scrap," Ryan said, dismally. "There was not
much chance of fun on that long march ; on board ship there
was a storm all the way ; then we were kept on board the
transport at Cork nearly three months. Everyone was out of
temper, and a mouse would not have dared squeak on board
the ship. I have had a bad time of it since the day we lost
you."
"Oh, well, you will have plenty of chances yet, Dicky."
" It has not been the same thing since you have gone,
Terence," he grumbled. "Of course we could not always
be having fun ; but you know that we were always putting
our heads together and talking over what might be done. It
was good fun, even if we could not carry it out. I tried to
stir up the others of our lot, but they don't seem to have it in
them. I wish you could get me transferred to your regiment.
I know that we should have plenty of fun there. ' '
" I am afraid that it could not be done, Dicky, though I
should like it immensely. But you see you have not learned
a word of Portuguese, and you would be of no use in the world. ' '
"There it is, you see," O'Grady said. "That is one of
the points which had no luck in it, Terence. You were al-
ways trying to talk away with the peasants ; and, riding about
as you did as Fane's aide-de-camp, you had opportunities of
doing so and made the most of them. Now there are not
three other fellows in the regiment who can ask a simple
question. I can shout Carajo ! at a mule-driver who loiters
behind, and can add two or three other strong Portuguese
words, but there is an end of it. Cradock would never have
sent you that errand to Romana if you could not have talked
enough to have made yourself understood. You could never
have jawed those mutineers and put them up to getting hold
364 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
of the arms. If Dicky Ryan and I had been sent on that
mission we should just have been as helpless as babies, and
should, like enough, have been murdered by that mob.
There was no luck about that, you see ; it was just because
you had done your best to pick up the language, and nobody
else had taken the trouble to learn a word of it. ' '
"I see that, O'Grady," Ryan said, dolefully. "I don't
envy Terence a bit. I know that he has quite deserved what
he has got, and that if I had had his start, I should never
have got any farther. Still, I wish I could go with him. I
know that he has always been the one who invented our
plans. Still, I have had a good idea sometimes."
' ' Certainly you have, Dicky ; and if I have generally
started an idea, you have always worked it up with me.
Well, if you will get up Portuguese a bit, and I see a chance
of asking for another English officer, say as adjutant, I will see
if I cannot get you ; but I could not ask for you without be-
ing able to give as a reason that you could speak Portuguese
well."
" I will try, Terence ; upon my honour, I will try hard,"
Ryan said. " I will get hold of a fellow and begin to-day."
"Quite right, Dicky," O'Grady said. "Faith, I would
do it meself, if it wasn't in the first place that I am too old
to learn, and in the second place that I niver could learn any-
thing when I was a boy. I used to get thrashed every day
regularly, but divil a bit of difference did it make. I got to
read and write, and there I stuck. As for the ancients, I
was always mixing them up together ; and whether it was
Alexander or Caesar who marched over the Alps and burnt
Jerusalem, divil a bit do I know, and I don't see that if I
did know it would do me a hap'orth of good."
" I don't think that particular piece of knowledge would,
O'Grady," Terence agreed, with a hearty laugh ; "still, even
WITH THE MAYOS 365
if you did learn Portuguese, I couldn't ask for you. I don't
mind Dicky, because he is only a year senior to me ; but if
they made me commander-in-chief of the Portuguese army, I
could never have the cheek to give you an order."
Three weeks later came the startling news that Sir Arthur
Wellesley had arrived at Lisbon, and was to assume the com-
mand of the army. Sir John Cradock was to command at
Gibraltar. There was general satisfaction at the news, for
the events of the last campaign had given all who served
under him an implicit confidence in Sir Arthur ; but it was
felt that Sir John Cradock had been very hardly treated. In
the first place, he was a good way senior to Sir Arthur, and in
the second place, he had battled against innumerable difficul-
ties, and the time was now approaching when he would reap
the benefit of his labours. To Terence the news came almost
as a blow, for he felt that it was probable he might be at once
appointed to a British regiment.
Personally he would not have cared so much, but he would
have regretted it greatly for the sake of the men who had
followed him. It was true that they might obey Herrara as
willingly as they did himself, but he knew that the native
officers did not possess anything like the same influence with
the Portuguese that the English did, and that there might be
a rapid deterioration in their discipline and morale. He re-
mained in a state of uncertainty for a week, at the end of
which time he received a letter from Captain Nelson, and
tearing it open, read as follows:
My Dear O' Connor,
I dare say you have been feeling somewhat doubtful as to
your position since you heard that Sir Arthur has super-
seded Sir John Cradock. I may tell you at once that he has
taken over the whole of Sir John' s staff, yourself, of course,
366 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
included. I ventured to suggest to Sir John that he should
mention your case to Sir Arthur, and he told me that he had
intended to take the opportunity of the first informal talk he had
with him to do so. The opportunity came yesterday, and Sir
John went fully into your case, showed him the reports, and
mentioned how he came to appoint you because of the clear and
lucid description you gave of the movements of every division
of Moore* s army.
Sir Arthur remembered your name at once, and the circum-
stances under which he had mentioned you in general orders
for your conduct on board the transport coming out. Sir John
told me that he said, ( There is no doubt that O' Connor is a
singularly promising young officer, Sir John. The check he
gave Soult on the Minho might have completely reversed the
success of the Frenchman' s campaign had he had any but
Spaniards and Portuguese to oppose him. The report shows
that O* Connor has done wonders with those two regiments of
his, and I shall not think of removing him from their command.
A trustworthy native corps of that description would be of the
greatest advantage, and will act, like Trant and Wilson' s
commands, as the eyes of the army. I am much obliged to you
for your having brought the case before my notice, for other-
wise, not knowing the circumstances, I might very well have
considered that the position of a lieutenant on my staff as the
commander of two native regiments was an anomalous one. I
should, no doubt, have inquired how it occurred before I
thought of superseding an officer you had selected, but your
explanation more than justifies his appointment. ' So you see,
Terence, the change will make no difference in your position.
And as I fancy Sir Arthur will not let the grass grow under
his feet, you are likely to have a lively time of it before long.
By the way, a Gazette has arrived, and it contains the appoint'
went of your two men to commissions.
WITH THE MAYOS 367
While waiting at Leirya, Terence had ordered uniforms for
all the officers. He had, after consultation with Herrara, de-
cided upon one approximating rather to the cavalry than to
infantry dress, as being more convenient for mounted officers.
It consisted of tight -fitting green patrol jacket, breeches of the
same colour, and half-high boots and a gold-embroidered belt
and slings. The two English officers wore a yellow band
round their caps, and Herrara a gold one.
" I am sure, Colonel O'Connor," Bull said, when Terence
told Macwitty and him that they had been gazetted to com-
missions, " we cannot thank you enough. Macwitty and I
have done our best, but it has been nothing more than teach-
ing drill to a lot of recruits."
" We had two or three hard fights, too, Bull; and I have
very good reason for thinking most highly of you, for I should
never have got the corps fnto an efficient state without your
assistance. And, indeed, I doubt whether I should have vent-
ured upon the task at all if I had not been sure that I should
be well seconded by you. ' '
"It is good of you to say so, Colonel," Macwitty said;
" but at any rate, it has been a rare bit of luck for us, and
little did we think when we were ordered to accompany you
it was going to lead to our getting commissions. Well, we
will do our best to deserve them."
" That I am sure you will, Macwitty ; and now that the
campaign is going to commence in earnest, and we may have
two or three years' hard fighting, you may have opportunities
of getting another step before you go home."
Three days later an order came to Terence to march north
again with his corps, and to place himself in some defensible
position north of the Mondego, and to co-operate, if necessary,
with Trant and Silveira, also ordered to take post beyond the
river. Cuesta, the Portuguese general, had gathered a fresh
368 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
army of six thousand cavalry and thirty thousand infantry.
The greater portion were in a position in front of Victor's
outposts. Between the Tagus and the Mondego were 16,000
Portuguese troops of the line, under Lord Beresford, that had
been drilled and organized to some extent by British officers.
The British and German troops numbered 22,000 fighting men.
Sir Arthur Wellesley, at Lisbon, had the choice of either
falling upon Victor or Soult. The former would be the most
advantageous operation, but, upon the other hand, the Portu-
guese were most anxious to recover Oporto, their second city,
with the fertile country round it.
Another fact which influenced the decision was that Cuesta
was alike incapable and obstinate, and was wholly indisposed
to co-operate warmly with the British. The British com-
mander, therefore, decided in the first place to attack Soult, and
the force at Leirya was ordered to march to Coimbra. Five
British battalions and two regiments of cavalry, with 7,000
Portuguese troops, were ordered to Abrantes and Santarem to
check Victor, should he endeavour to make a rapid march
upon Lisbon. Four Portuguese battalions were incorporated
in each British brigade at Coimbra, Beresford retaining 6,000
under his personal command. On the 2d of May Sir
Arthur reached Coimbra and reviewed the force, 25,000
strong, 9,000 being Portuguese, 3,000 Germans, and 13,000
British.
Soult was badly informed of the storm that was gathering
about him, or many of his officers were disaffected, and were
engaged in a plot to have him supplanted ; consequently, they
kept back the information they received of the movements of
the British.
WHO ARE YOU, SIR, AND WHAT TROOPS ARE THESE?" SIR ARTHUR
ASKED. SHARPLY.
Sketch Map
of
NORTHERN PORTUGAL.
English Miles
20 40 60
PORTUGAL FREED 369
CHAPTER XXI
PORTUGAL FREED
ON the Qth of May Terence was directing the movements of
his men, who were practising skirmishing among some
rough ground at the bottom of the hill upon which he had
taken up his position, to defend, if necessary, the road that
crossed it. His men had thrown up several lines of breast-
works along the face of the hill to a point where steep ravines
protected the flank of his position. Presently he saw a party
of horsemen riding down the hill behind him. They reined up
suddenly when half-way down the hill and paused to watch
what was being done ; then they came on again. As they
approached, Terence recognized the erect figure of the officer
who rode at the head of the party. He cantered up and saluted.
" Who are you, sir, and what troops are these ? " Sir Arthur
asked, sharply.
" My name is O'Connor, sir. These men constitute the
corps that I have the honour to command."
" Form them up in line," the general said, briefly.
Terence rode away at a gallop, and as soon as he reached
the spot where his bugler was standing for bugles had now
taken the place of the horns that had before served the pur-
pose the latter at once blew the assembly, and then the order
to form line. The men dashed down at the top of their
speed, and in a very short time formed up in a long line with
their officers in front.
" Break them into columns of companies," the general, who
had now ridden with the staff to the front, said.
The manoeuvre was performed steadily and well.
" Send out the alternate companies as skirmishers, while
24
370 WITH MOORE At CORXJNNA
the other companies form line and move forward in support."
When this had been done the order came: "Skirmishers,
form into company squares to resist enemy's cavalry."
This had been so frequently practised that in a few seconds
the six squares were formed up in an attitude to receive cavalry.
"That is very well done, Colonel O'Connor," Sir Arthur
said, with more warmth than was usual with him. "Your
men are well in hand and know their business. It is a very
creditable display, indeed ; you have proved your capacity
for command. I have not forgotten what I have heard of
you, sir, and it will not be long before your services are
utilized."
So saying he rode on. Captain Nelson lingered behind for
a moment to shake hands with Terence.
" You may feel proud of that, O'Connor," he said ; "Sir
Arthur is not given to praise, I can assure you. Good-bye, I
must catch them up;" and, turning, he soon overtook the
general's staff.
That the general was well satisfied was proved by the fact
that three days later the following appeared in general orders :
" The officer commanding-in-chief on Thursday inspected the
corps under the command of Lieutenant (with the rank of colonel
in the Portuguese army) O' Connor. He was much pleased
with the discipline and quickness with which the corps went
through certain movements ordered by him. This corps has al-
ready greatly distinguished itself, and Sir Arthur would point
to it as an example to be imitated by all officers having command
of Portuguese troops. ' '
Soult's position had now become very dangerous. The
Spanish and Portuguese insurgents were upon the Lima, and
the principal portion of his own force was south of the Douro.
PORTUGAL FREED 371
Franceschi's cavalry, supported by infantry and artillery, and
by Mermet's division, occupied the country between that river
and the Vouga, and was without communication with the
centre at Oporto, except by the bridge of boats.
Although aware that there was a considerable force gather-
ing at Coimbra, the French general had no idea that the
whole of the British army was assembling there. Confident
that success would attend his operations, Sir Arthur directed
the Portuguese corps to be in readiness to harass Soult's re-
treat through the mountain defiles and up the valley of the
Tamega, and so to force him to march north instead of mak-
ing for Salamanca, where he could unite with the French army
there.
A mounted officer brought similar orders to Terence. Half
an hour after receiving them the corps was on the march.
The instructions were brief and simple :
" You will endeavour to harass Soult as he retreats across
the Tras-os-Montes, and try to head him off to the north. Act
as circumstances may dictate"
The service was a dangerous one, and Terence felt that it
was a high honour that the general should have appointed
him to undertake it, for he assuredly would not have sent the
corps on such a mission had he not considered that they could
be relied upon to take care of themselves. They would be
wholly unsupported save by parties of peasants and ordenan-
cas ; they would have to operate against an army broken,
doubtless, by defeat, but all the more determined to push on,
as delay might mean total loss.
He followed the line of the Vouga to the point where it
emerged from the hills, crossed these, and came down upon
the Douro some ten miles above San Joao, at nearly the
372 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
same spot where he had before made the passage when on his
way to join Roman a.
He was now well beyond the district held by the French
south of the Douro, and, obtaining a number of boats, crossed
the river, and then made for Mirandella on the river Tua, and
halted some distance from the town, having made a march of
over seventy miles in two days. Learning from the peasants
that there were no French troops west of the Tamega, he
marched the next day to the crest looking down into the
valley, and here halted until he could learn that Soult was
retreating, and what road he was following. He had not long
to wait for news, for, on the night of the 9th, while he was on
his march by the Vouga, the British force had moved forward
to Aveiro. Hill's division had there taken boats, and pro-
ceeding up the lake to Ovar, had landed at sunrise on the
loth, and placed himself on Franceschi's right.
In the meantime Paget's division had marched to Albergaria,
while Cotton's division and Trant's command moved to turn
Franceschi's position on its right. The darkness and their
ignorance of the roads prevented the movement being attended
with the hoped-for success. Had the operation been carried
put without a hitch, Franceschi and Mermet would both have
been driven off the line of retreat to the bridge of Oporto,
and must have been captured or destroyed. As it was,
Franceschi fell back fighting, joined Mermet' s division at Crijo,
a day's march in the rear, and although the whole were driven
on the following day from this position, they retired in good
order, and that night effected their retreat across the bridge
of boats, which was then destroyed.
As Franceschi's report informed Soult that the whole force
of the allies was now upon him, he at once sent off his heavy
artillery and baggage by the road to Amarante. Mermet was
posted at Valongo, with orders to patrol the river and to seize
PORTUGAL FREED 373
every boat. Those at Oporto were also secured. On the
morning of the i2th the British force was concentrated behind
the hill of Villa Nova, and Sir Arthur took his place on the
top of the Serra Convent, from whence he commanded a view
of the city and opposite bank. He saw that the French force
was stationed for the most part below Oporto. Franceschi's
report had led Soult to believe that Hill's division had come
by sea, and he expected that the transports would go up to the
mouth of the Douro, and that the British would attempt to
effect a landing there.
The river took a sharp turn round the Serra Convent, and
Sir Arthur saw that another large convent on the opposite
bank, known as the Seminary, was concealed by the hill from
Soult's position, and that it might be occupied without attract-
ing the attention of the French. After much search a little
boat was found ; in this a few men crossed and brought back
two large boats from the opposite side of the river. In these
the troops at once began to cross, and two companies had
taken possession of the convent before Soult was aware of
what was going on. Then a prodigious din arose. Troops
were hurried through the town, the bugles and trumpets
sounded the alarm, while the populace thronged to the roofs
of their houses wildly cheering and waving handkerchiefs and
scarves, and the church bells added to the clamour.
Three batteries of artillery had been brought up close to the
Serra Convent, and now that there was no longer need of
concealment these were brought forward, and as the French
issued from the town and hurried towards the post held by
the two companies that had crossed opened a heavy fire
upon them. The French pushed on gallantly in spite of this
fire and the musketry of the soldiers, but the wall of the con-
vent was strong, more boats had been obtained, and every
minute added to the number of the defenders. The attack
374 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
was, nevertheless, obstinately continued. The French ar-
tillery endeavoured to blow in the gate, and for a time the
position of the defenders was serious, but the enemy's troops
were now evacuating the lower part of the town, and imme-
diately they did so the inhabitants brought boats over, and a
brigade under Sherwood crossed there.
In the meantime General Murray had been sent with the
German division to effect a passage of the river two miles
farther up. Soult's orders to take possession of all the boats
had been neglected, and it was not long before Murray crossed
with his force. The confusion in the French line of retreat
was now terrible. A battery of artillery, who brought up the
rear, were smitten by the fire of Sherwood's men ; many were
killed, and the rest cut their traces and galloped on to join
the retreating army. Sherwood's men pressed these in the
rear, the infantry on the roof of the Seminary poured their
fire on the retiring masses, and the guns on the Serra rock
swept the long line.
Had Murray now fallen upon the disordered crowd their
discomfiture would have been complete, but he held his force
inactive, afraid that the French might turn upon him and
drive him into the river. General Stewart and Major Harvey,
furious at his inactivity, charged the French at the head of
two squadrons of cavalry only, dashed through the enemy's
column, unhorsed General Laborde and wounded General
Foy. Receiving, however, no support whatever from Murray,
the gallant little band of cavalry were forced to fight their
way back with loss. Thus, as Franceschi had been saved
from destruction from an error as to the road, Soult was
saved the loss of this army by Murray's timidity, and in both
cases Sir Arthur's masterly plans failed in attaining the com-
plete success they deserved.
Terence had engaged several peasants to watch the roads
PORTUGAL FREED 375
leading from Oporto, and as soon as he learned that a long
train of baggage and heavy guns was leaving the city by the
road to Amarante, he crossed the valley, took up a position
on the Catalena hill flanking the road, and as the waggons
came along opened a sudden and heavy fire upon them. Al-
though protected by a strong guard the convoy fell into con-
fusion, many of the horses being killed by the first volley.
Some of the drivers leapt from their seats and deserted their
charges, others flogged their horses, and tried to push through
the struggling mass. An incessant fire was kept up, but just
as Terence was about to order the whole corps to charge down
and complete the work, a large body of cavalry, followed by
a heavy body of infantry, appeared on the scene.
This was Merle's division, that had hastened up from Va-
longa on hearing the firing. The advance of the cavalry was
checked by the musketry fire, but Merle at once ordered his
infantry to mount the hill and drive the Portuguese off. The
latter stood their ground gallantly for some time, inflicting
heavy loss upon their assailants. Terence saw, however, that
he could not hope to withstand long the attack of a whole
French division, and leaving two companies behind to check
the enemy's advance, he marched along the crest of the hill
until he came upon the road crossing from Amarante to the
Ave river.
By this time he had been joined by the rear-guard, who had
retired in time to make their escape before the French reached
the top of the hill. Merle posted a brigade along the crest of
the ridge to prevent a repetition of the attack, and to cover
Soult's line of retreat, if he were forced to fall back ; while
Terence took up his position near Pombeiro, whence he pres-
ently saw the convoy enter Amarante. He had the satisfac-
tion, however, of noticing that it was greatly diminished in
length, a great many of the waggons having been left behind
WITH MOORE At CORtJNtfA
owing to the number of horses that had been killed. His at-
tack had had another advantage of which he was unaware, for
it had so occupied Merle's attention that he had neglected to
have all the boats taken across the river, which enabled Mur-
ray's command to cross the next day, an error which, had
Murray been possessed of any dash and energy, would have
proved fatal to the French army.
The next day Terence heard the sound of the guns on the
Serra height, but the distance was too great for the crack of
musketry to reach him, and he had no idea that the British
were crossing the river until he saw the French marching
across the mouth of the valley towards Amarante. Among
such veteran troops discipline was speedly recovered, and
they encamped in good order in the valley. That town was,
however, in the hands of the Portuguese, Loison, either from
treachery or incapacity, having disobeyed Soult's orders and
retired before the advance of the Portuguese force under Lord
Beresford, and, evacuating Amarante, taken the road to Gui-
maraens, passing by Pombeiro.
He had sent no news to Soult, and the latter general was
altogether ignorant that he had left Amarante. Upon re-
ceiving the news from the head of the column he at once saw
that the position had now become a desperate one. Beresford,
he learned at the same time, had marched up the Tamega
valley to take post at Chaves, where Silveira had joined him.
A retreat in that direction, therefore, was impossible, and he
at once destroyed his baggage, spiked his guns, and at night-
fall, guided by a peasant, ascended a path up the Serra Cata-
lena, and, marching all night, rejoined Loison at Guimaraens,
passing on his way through Pombeiro. Terence had left the
place a few hours before, believing that Soult must return up
the valley of the Tamega, and, ignorant that Beresford and
Silveira barred the way, he marched after nightfall towards
PORTUGAL FREED 377
Chaves and took up a position where he could arrest, for a
time, the retreat of the French army.
He had left two of his men at Pombeiro, and had halted
but a short time after completing his long and arduous march
when his two men came up with the news that Soult had
passed by the very place he had a few hours before left. As
there was more than one route open to Soult, Terence was
unable to decide which he had best take. His men had al-
ready performed a very long march, and it was absolutely
necessary to give them a rest; he therefore allowed them to
sleep during the day. Towards evening he crossed the Serra
de Cabrierra and came down upon Salamende, and sent out
scouts for news. Destroying the guns, ammunition, and bag-
gage of Loison's division, Soult reached the Carvalho on the
evening of the i4th, drew up his army on the position that
he had occupied two months before at the battle of Braga, re-
organized his forces, and ordering Loison to lead the advance,
while he himself took command of the rear, continued his
march. The next day Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had been
obliged to halt at Oporto until the whole army, with its artil-
lery and train, had passed the river, reached Braga, having
marched by a much shorter road.
Terence's scouts brought news that the whole of the French
army were marching towards Salamende. Wholly unsup-
ported as he was, ignorant of the position of Beresford and
Silveira, and knowing nothing of Sir Arthur's march towards
Braga, he decided not to attempt with his force to bar the
way to Soult's twenty thousand men, but to hold Salamende
for a time and then fall back up the mountains. Before do-
ing so he sent a party to blow up the bridge at Ponte Nova
across the Cavado, and also sent his second regiment to de-
fend the passage at Riuvaens.
Thinking it likely that Soult would again cross the
378 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
tains to Chaves, he sent Herrara in command of the force at
the bridge, while he himself remained at Salamende. Here he
had the houses facing the road by which the enemy would
approach, loopholed and the road itself barricaded. Late in
the afternoon the French cavalry were seen approaching, and
a heavy fire was at once opened upon them. The rapidity of
the discharges showed Franceschi that the place was held by
more than a mere party of peasants, and he drew off his
cavalry and allowed the infantry to pass him. For half an
hour the Portuguese held their ground and repulsed three de-
termined assaults ; then, seeing a strong body of troops ascend-
ing the hillside to take the position in flank, Terence ordered
his troops to fall back. This they did in good order, and
took up a position high up on the hill.
The French made but a short pause ; a small body of cav-
alry that Soult had left near Braga brought him the news that
the British army was entering that town. Scouts were sent
forward at once, and their report that the bridge of Pduvaens
was destroyed, and that 1,200 Portuguese regular troops were
on the opposite bank, decided him to take the road by the
Ponte Nova. The night was a terrible one ; the rain had for
two days been continuous, and the troops were drenched to
the skin and impatient at the hardship that they had suffered.
The scouts reported that the bridge here had also been de-
stroyed, but that one of the parapets was still unbroken, and
that the force on the other side consisted only of peasants.
Soult ordered Major Doulong, an officer celebrated for his
courage, to take a hundred grenadiers and secure the passage.
A violent storm was now raging, and their footsteps being
deadened by the roar of the wind, the French crept up, killed
the Portuguese sentry on their side of the bridge before he
could give the alarm, and then crawled across the narrow line
of masonry. Then they rushed up the opposite heights,
PORTUGAL FREED 379
shouting and firing, and the peasantry, believing that the
whole French army were upon them, fled at once. The
bridge was hastily repaired, and at four o'clock in the morn-
ing the whole of the French army had crossed. Their retreat
was opposed at a bridge of a single arch over a torrent, by
a party of Portuguese peasantry, but after two repulses the
French, led by Major Doulong, carried it.
They were just in time, for in the afternoon the British
came upon a strong rear-guard left at Salamende. Some light
troops at once turned their flank, while Sherwood attacked
them in front, and they fled in confusion to the Ponte Nova.
As the general imagined that Soult would take the other road,
their retreat in this direction was for some time unperceived,
but just as they were crossing, the British artillery opened
fire upon the bridge with terrible effect, very many of the
enemy being killed before they could effect a passage. Their
further retreat was performed without molestation. The Brit-
ish troops had made very long marches in the hopes of cut-
ting Soult's line of retreat, and as the French, unlike the
British, carried no provisions for their march, there was now
little hope of overtaking them, especially as their main body
was far ahead.
Sir Arthur halted for a day at Riuvaens, where Terence's
corps was now concentrated, he having marched there the
night he was driven out of Salamende. As soon as the Brit-
ish entered the place, the general inquired what corps was
holding it, and at once sent for Terence.
"Let me hear what you have been doing, Colonel
O'Connor."
Terence had, as soon as he heard that the army had arrived
at Salamende, written out a report of his movements from the
time that he had marched from Vouga. He now presented
it. The general waved it aside.
380 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
" Tell me yourself," he said.
Terence related as briefly as possible the course he had
followed, and the reasons of his movements.
" Good ! " the general said, when he had finished. " Your
calculations were all well founded ; but, of course, you could
not calculate on Soult's night march across the Catalena hills,
and, as you knew nothing of the whereabouts of Beresford
and Silveira, you had good reason to suppose that Soult would
continue his march up the valley of the Tamega to Chaves.
That was the only mistake you committed, and an older sol-
dier might well have fallen into the same error. When you
had found out your mistake, you acted promptly, and could
not have done better than to proceed to Salamende. You
did well to destroy both bridges, and to place half your force
to defend the passage here, for you naturally supposed, as I sup-
posed myself, that Soult would follow this road down to Chaves.
" You were again deceived, but were in no way to blame.
Your position was most judiciously chosen on the Catalena
hills on Soult's natural line of retreat, and I heard that the
enemy's baggage train had been very severely mauled, and
was only saved from destruction by Merle deploying his whole
division against the force attacking it. Again I see you made
a stout defence at Salamende. We saw a large number of
French dead there as we marched in. If everyone else had
done as well as you have done, young sir, Soult's army would
never have escaped me. "
Terence bowed, and retired deeply gratified, for he had
been doubtful what his reception would be. He knew that
he had done his best, but twice he had been mistaken, and
each time the mistake had allowed Soult to pass unmolested ;
and he was, therefore, all the more pleased on learning that
so skilful a general had declared that these mistakes, although
unfortunate, were yet natural.
PORTUGAL FREED 381
Soult reached Orense on the 2oth, without guns, stores,
ammunition, or baggage, his men exhausted with fatigue and
misery, most of them shoeless, and some without muskets.
He had left Orense seventy-six days before with 22,000 men,
and had lately been joined by 3,500 from Tuy. He returned
with 19,500, having lost 6,000 by sword, sickness, assassina-
tion, and capture. Of these 3,600 were taken in the hospitals
at Oporto, Chaves, Vianna, and Braga. One thousand were
killed in the advance, and the remainder captured or killed
within the last eight days.
A day later the news arrived that Victor was at last ad-
vancing and a considerable number of the troops assembled
at Salamende, among them Terence's corps, were ordered to
march to join the force opposed to him. Terence started two
hours before the bulk of the force got into motion, and
traversing the ground at a high rate of speed, struck the road
from Lisbon a day in advance of the British troops. There
was, however, no occasion for action, for Victor, who had
taken Abrantes, had, on receiving news of the fall of Oporto,
at once evacuated that town and fallen back, and for a time
all operations ceased on that side.
The British army had suffered but slight loss in battle, but
the long marches, the terribly wet weather, and the effect of
climate told heavily upon them, and upwards of 4,000 men
were, in a short time, in hospital.
Fortunately, however, a reinforcement of equal strength
arrived from England, and the fighting strength of the army
was therefore maintained. There was still, however, a great
want of transport animals ; the commissariat were, for the
most part, new to their duties, and ignorant of the language.
Sir Arthur Wellesley was engaged in the endeavour to get
Cuesta to co-operate with him, but the obstinate old man
refused to do so unless his plans were adopted; and these
382 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
were of so wild and impracticable a character that Sir Arthur
preferred to act alone, especially as Cuesta's army had already
been repeatedly beaten by the French, and the utter worth-
lessness of his soldiers demonstrated.
The pause of operations in Spain, entailed by the concen-
tration of the commands of Soult, Ney, Victor, and Lapisse
on the frontier, had given breathing time to Spain. Large
armies had again been raised, and the same confident ideas,
the same jealousy between generals, and the same quarrels
between the Juntas had been prevalent. Once again Spain
was confident that she could alone, and unaided, drive the
French across the frontier altogether, forgetful of the easy
and crushing defeats that had before been inflicted upon her.
Like Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley was to some extent deceived
by these boastings, and believed that he should obtain material
assistance in the way of transports and provisions, and that at
least valuable diversions might be made by the Spanish army.
He accepted, too, to some extent, the estimate of the Span-
iards as to the strength of the French, and believed that their
fighting force in the Peninsula did not exceed 130,000 men,
whereas in reality it amounted to over 250,000. The greatest
impediment to the advance was the want of money, for while
the British government continued to pour vast sums into
Cadiz and Seville, for the use of the Spaniards, they were
unable to find money for the advance of their own army.
The soldiers consequently were unpaid, badly fed, almost in
rags, and a large proportion of them shoeless ; and to meet the
most urgent wants, the general was forced to raise loans at
exorbitant rates at Lisbon. And yet, while a great general
and a victorious army were nearly starving in Portugal, the
British government had landed 12,000 troops in Italy and had
despatched one of the finest expeditions that ever sailed from
England, consisting of 40,000 troops and as many seamen and
PORTUGAL FREED 383
marines of the fleet, to Walcheren, where no small proportion
of them died of fever, and the rest returned home broken in
health and unfit for active service, without having performed a
single action worthy of merit.
The Mayo Fusiliers were among the regiments stationed at
Abrantes, and Terence received orders to take up a position
four miles ahead of that town, and hold it unless Victor again
advanced in overwhelming strength, and then to fall back on
Abrantes. This exactly suited his own wishes. It was pleas-
ant to him to be within a short ride of his old regiment,
while at the same time his corps were not encamped with a
British division, for his own position was an anomalous one,
and among the officers who did not know him he was re-
garded as a young staff-officer. He could not explain the
position he held without constantly repeating the manner in
which he had gained a commission as colonel in the Portuguese
service.
During the month that had passed without movement, he
continued his efforts to improve his corps, and borrowed a
dozen non-commissioned officers from Colonel Corcoran to in-
struct his sergeants in their duty, and thus enable them to
train others and relieve the officers of some of their work. He
had in his first report stated that he had kept back ^1,000 of
the money he carried to Romana for the use of his corps, and
as he had never received any comment or instructions as to
the portion that had not been expended, he had still some
money in hand. This he spent in supplementing the scanty
rations served out. Frequently he rode into Abrantes and
spent the evening with the Mayo Fusiliers. The first time he
did so he requested the officers always to call him, as before,
Terence O'Connor.
"It is absurd being addressed as colonel when I am only a
lieutenant in the service. Of course when I am with the corps
384 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
it is a different thing ; I am its colonel, and must be called so ;
but it is really very annoying to be called so here."
"You must be feeling quite rusty," Colonel Corcoran said
to him, " sitting here doing nothing, after nine months of in-
cessant moving about."
" I am not rusting, Colonel, I am hard at work sharpening
my blade; that is, improving my corps. Your men drill my
sergeants four hours a day, and for the other eight each of
them is repeating the instructions that he has received to three
others. So that by the time we are in movement again I
hope to have a sergeant who knows something of his duty to
each fifty men. I can assure you that in addition to the great
need for such men when the troops are out skirmishing, or
otherwise detached in small parties, I felt that their appear-
ance on parade was greatly marred by the fact that the non-com-
missioned officers did not know their proper places or their
proper work, which neither Bull nor Macwitty, nor indeed the
company officers, could instruct them in, all being cavalrymen. "
"Yes, I noticed that when I saw them at Leirya," the
colonel said. " Of course it was of no consequence at all as far
as their efficiency went, but to the eye of an English officer,
naturally, something seemed wanting."
" I should be glad of at least four more officers to each com-
pany, and at one time thought of writing to Lord Beresford
to ask him to supply me with some, but I came to the conclu-
sion that we had better leave matters as they were. In the
first place young officers would know nothing of their work,
and nothing of me ; and in the second place, if they were men
of good family they would not like serving under officers who
have been raised from the ranks ; and lastly, if they became
discontented, they might render the men so. We have done
very fairly at present, and we had better go on as we are ;
and when I get a sufficient number of trained men to furnish a
PORTUGAL FREED 385
full supply of non-commissioned officers, I shall do better than
with commissioned ones, for the men are of course carefully
selected, and I know them to be trustworthy, whereas those
they sent me might be idle, or worse than useless."
" You spake like King Solomon, Terence," O'Grady said ;
" not that he can have known anything whatever about mili-
tary matters."
A roar of laughter greeted this very doubtful compliment.
" Thank you, O'Grady," Terence said. " That is one of
the prettiest speeches I have heard for a long time. I shall
know where to come for a character. ' '
' * You are right there, Terence ; but you may live a good
many years before you get a chance of calling a whole British
army under arms, as you did at Salamanca."
Terence was at once assailed with a storm of questions, for
with the exception of O'Grady, no one had suspected the share
that he and Dicky Ryan had had in that affair. Terence
knew that the latter had kept the secret, for he had asked him
only two or three days before, and he therefore assumed an
expression of innocence.
" What on earth do you mean, O'Grady? "
"What do I mane? Why, that somehow or other you
were at the bottom of that shindy when all the troops were
turned out on a false alarm."
"Really, O'Grady, that is too bad. You know that every
trick that was played at Athlone was your suggestion, and as
we never could find out how that alarm originated, of course
you put it down to me, whereas it is just as likely to have
been your own work. Colonel Corcoran knows that Dicky
and I were in the mess-room at the convent at the time when
the alarm broke out."
" That was so," the colonel agreed, " for I know that you
were talking to me when Hoolan ran in and told us that
25
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
there was a row in the town. On what do you base your sus-
picions, O'Grady?"
" Just upon me knowledge of the two lads, Colonel. Faith,
there never was a piece of mischief afloat that they were not
mixed up with."
" If that is all you have to say, O'Grady," Terence replied,
" I should advise you not to go hunting for mares' nests again.
I know that you can see as far into a brick wall as most peo-
ple, but you cannot see what is going on on the other side."
"All the same, Terence," O'Grady said, doggedly, "to
the end of me life I will always believe that you had a hand
in the matter. There is no one else that I know of except
you and Ryan who would have had the cheek to do such a
thing, and I don't believe that you can deny it yourself."
" I shall not trouble myself to plead not guilty, except be-
fore a regularly constituted court," Terence laughed. "At
any rate, as when the march begins we shall go on first as
scouts, it may be that I shall send in news which will turn out
a British army again."
" I will forgive you if you do, for it is likely that we should
have some divarsion after turning out, instead of marching
out and back again like a regiment of omadhauns. ' '
CHAPTER XXII
NEWS FROM HOME
A WEEK after arriving at Abrantes, seeing that there was
no probability whatever of fighting for a time, Terence
had suggested to Herrara that it would be a good opportunity
for him to run down to Lisbon for a few days to see his fian-
c6e and his friends in the town.
NEWS FROM HOME 38?
" I don't know who you really ought to apply to for leave,"
he said, " but as we are a sort of half-independent corps, it
seems the simplest way for me to take the responsibility. No-
body is ever likely to ask any questions about it ; and now
that it will simply be a matter of hard drill till the army
moves again, you can be very well spared. If it is company
work, it is the captain's business. If the two regiments are
manoeuvring together, they will of course be under Bull and
Macwitty, and I should be acting as brigadier."
" I should like to go very much," Herrara said. " I have
not yet had the pleasure of introducing myself to my family
and friends as a lieutenant-colonel. Of course, I wrote to my
people when I received the commission from Lord Beresford ;
but it would be really fun to surprise some of my school-fel-
lows and comrades, so if you think that it will not be incon-
venient I should like very much to go."
"Then if I were you I should start at once. I will give
you a sort of formal letter of leave in case you are questioned
as you go down. You can get to Santarem to-night and to
Lisbon to-morrow afternoon."
" Is there anything that I can do for you ? "
" Yes ; I wish you would ask Don Jose if he will, through
his friends at Oporto, find out whether my cousin's mother
was there at the time the French entered, and if she was,
whether she got through that horrible business unhurt. I have
been hearing about it from my friends, who were a couple of
days there before the force marched to Braga. They tell me
that, by all accounts, the business was even worse than we
feared. The French came upon some of their comrades tied
to posts in the great square, horribly mutilated, some of them
with their eyes put out, still living, and after that they spared
no one ; and upon my word, I can hardly blame them, and
\n fact don't blame them at all, so long as they only wreaked
388 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
their vengeance on men. The people made it worse for them-
selves by keeping up a desultory fire from windows and house-
tops when resistance had long ceased to be of any use ; and,
of course, seeing their comrades shot down in this way infu-
riated the troops still further.
" I don't suppose it will make the slightest difference in the
world to my cousin whether her mother is dead or not, for I
fancy from what Mary said that her mother never cared for
her in the slightest. Possibly she was jealous that the child
had the first place in the father's affections. However that
may be, there was certainly no great love between them, and
of course her subsequent treatment of my cousin destroyed any
affection that might have existed. That either by some deed
executed at the time of marriage, or by Portuguese law, Mary
has a right to the estate at her mother's death, is clear from the
efforts they made to get her to renounce that right. Still,
there is no more chance of her ever inheriting it than there
would be of her flying. As a nun she would naturally have
to renounce all property, and no doubt the law of this priest-
ridden country would decide that she had done so. She tells
me and I am sure, truly that she refused to open her lips
to say a single word when she was forced to go through the
ceremony ; but as, no doubt, a score of witnesses would be
brought forward to swear that she answered all the usual ques-
tions and renounced all worldly possessions, that denial would
go for nothing."
"Besides," Herrara said, ' it would never do for her to set
foot in Portugal. She would be seized as an escaped nun im-
mediately, and would never be heard of again."
" I have no doubt that that would be so, Herrara ; and as
she has a nice fortune from her father, you may be sure that
she will not trouble about the estates here, and her mother
would be welcome to do as she likes with them, which is, after
NEWS FROM HOME 389
all, not unreasonable, as they are her property and descended
to her from her father. Still, I should be glad to learn, if it
does not give any great trouble, whether if, as is almost certain
for the people from all the country round took refuge there
long before the French arrived she was in Oporto, and if so,
whether she got through the sack of the town unharmed. No
doubt Mary would be glad to hear."
' ' I am sure Don Jose would be able to find out for you with-
out any difficulty," Herrara said ; " indeed I expect he will
soon be going back there himself. Now that there is a British
garrison in the town, that the bishop must be utterly discredited
there, and a good many of his Junta must have been killed,
while the rabble of the town has been thoroughly discomfited,
the place will be more comfortable to live in than it has been
for a long time past. Is there anything else I can do for you ? ' '
"Nothing whatever."
A quarter of an hour later Herrara left for Lisbon, bear-
ing many messages of kind regards on Terence's part to Don
Jose and his family. Terence's last words were :
" By the way, Herrara, if you should be able to find at any
store in Lisbon some Irish whisky, I wish you would get six
dozen cases for me, or what would be more handy, a sixteen
or eighteen gallon keg, and could get it sent on by some cart
coming here, I should be very much obliged. It had better
be sent to me, care of Colonel Corcoran, Mayo Fusiliers,
Abrantes. I should like to be able to give a glass to my
friends when they ride out to see me. But have the barrel or
cases sewn up in canvas before the address is put on ; I would
not trust it to the escort of any British guard if they were
aware of the nature of the contents. Wine would be safe with
them, for they can get that anywhere, but it would be too
much for the honesty of any Irishman if he were to see a cask
labelled Irish whisky."
390 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
A week later Colonel Corcoran said when Terence rode
in:
" By the bye, O'Connor, there is a cask of wine for you at
my quarters ; it was brought up by an ammunition train this
morning. The officer said that a Portuguese colonel had
begged him so earnestly to bring it up that he could not re-
fuse."
" It was Herrara, no doubt, Colonel ; he has gone down to
Lisbon for a week. ' '
" Ah ! I suppose he sent you a keg of choice wine."
" You shall taste it next time you come out, Colonel. I
have been wishing that I had something better than the ordi-
nary wine of the country to offer when you come over to see
me. I will send over a couple of men with a cart in the morn-
ing to bring it out to me."
On leaving that evening Terence invited all the officers
who could get away from duty to come over to lunch the
next day.
" Bring your knives and forks with you," he said ; " and 1
think you had better bring your plates, too ; I fancy four are
all I can muster."
Early next morning Terence told Bull and Macwitty that
he expected a dozen officers out to lunch with him. " And
I want you to lunch with me too. I know that Captain
O'Grady and others have asked you several times to go in
and dine at mess, and that you have not gone. I hope to-day
you will meet them at luncheon. I can understand that you
feel a little uncomfortable at this first meeting with a lot of
officers as officers yourselves ; but, of course, you must do it
sooner or later, and it would be much better doing so at
once.
" The next thing is, what can I give them to eat ? I should
be glad if you will send out a dozen foraging parties in dif-
NEWS FROM HOME 391
ferent directions ; there must be little villages scattered among
the hills that have so far escaped French and English
plunderers. Let each party take four or five dollars with
them. I want anything that can be got, but my idea is a
couple of young kids, three or four ducks, or a couple of geese,
as many chickens, and of course any vegetables that you can
get hold of. My man Sancho is a capital cook, and he will
get fires ready and two or three assistants. They will be here
by one o'clock, so the foraging parties had better return by
ten."
" If there is anything to be brought you shall have it,
Colonel," Bull said ; " Macwitty and I will both go ourselves,
and we will get half a dozen of the captains to go too ; between
us it is hard if we don't manage to get enough."
By ten o'clock the officers rode in, almost every one of them
having some sort of bird or beast hanging from his saddle-bow;
there were two kids, a sucking pig, two hares, half a dozen
chickens, three geese, and five ducks, while the nets which they
carried for forage for their horses were filled with vegetables.
Half a dozen fires had already been lighted, and Sancho had
obtained as many assistants, so that by the time the colonel
and fifteen officers rode up lunch was ready.
After chatting for a few minutes with them, Terence led the
way to a rough table that was placed under the shade of a
tree. Ammunition boxes -were arranged along for seats. Al-
though but a portion of what had been brought in had been
cooked, the effect of the table was imposing.
" Why, O'Connor," the colonel said, " have you got one
of the genii, like Aladdin, and ordered him to bring up a ban-
quet for you? I have not seen a winged thing since we
marched from Coimbra, and here you have got all the luxuries
of the season. No wonder you like independent action, if
this is what comes of it ; there have we been feeding on
392 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
tough ration beef, and here are the contents of a whole farm-
yard."
Almost all the officers had been out before, and Bull and
Macwitty had been introduced to them. They now all sat
down to the meal.
" I am sorry Major O'Driscol is not here," Terence said.
" He could not get away," the colonel said, from the other
end of the table. " If the general had come round and there
hadn't been a field-officer left to meet him there would have
been a row over it. I have brought pretty nearly all the
officers with me, and I dared not stretch it further."
"O'Grady," Terence said, "I wish you would carve this hare
for me, I have no idea how it ought to be cut. I can manage
a chicken, or a duck, but this is beyond me altogether."
" I will do it gladly, Terence; faith, it is a comfort to find
that there is something you can't do." And so, with much
laughter and fun, the meal was eaten.
1 'You have not told us yet where you got all these provi-
sions, O'Connor," the colonel said ; "it is too bad to keep
all the good things to yourself. ' '
"It has been the work of eight officers, Colonel ; they rode
off this morning in different directions among the hills, and
there was not one of them who returned empty-handed."
" The wine is fairly good," the colonel said, as he set down
his tin mug after a long draught, ' ' but it was scarce worth
sending all the way up from Lisbon."
' < That has to follow, Colonel ; I thought you would ap-
preciate it better after you had done eating."
"I have not had such a male since we left Athlone,"
O'Grady said, when at last he reluctantly laid down his knife
and fork. "Be jabers, it would be all up with me if the
French were to put in an appearance now, for faith I don't
think I could run a yard to save me life."
NEWS FROM HOME 393
The tin mugs were all taken away and washed when the
table was cleared.
"You are mighty particular, O'Connor," the colonel said.
" One mug is good enough for us. If we liquored-up a dozen
times which, by the way, we never do one of these wines
is pretty well like another, and if there was a slight difference
it would not matter."
When the board was cleared a large jug was placed before
Terence, and some water-bottles at various points of the table.
"I thought, Colonel, that you might prefer spirits even to
the wine," Terence said.
"And you are right, O'Connor. A good glass of wine
after a good dinner is no bad thing, but after such a meal as
we have eaten I think that even this bastely spirit of theirs
which, after all, is not so bad when you get accustomed to it
is better than wine ; it settles matters a bit."
Terence poured some of the spirit from a jug into his tin
and filled it up with water. " Help yourself," he said, pass-
ing the jug to O'Grady, who sat next to him.
O'Grady was about to do so when he suddenly set the jug
down.
" By the powers," he exclaimed, in astonishment, " but it is
the real cratur ! ' '
" Go on, O'Grady, go on, the others are all waiting while
you are looking at it. If you feel too surprised to take it, pass
the jug on."
O'Grady grasped it. "I will defind it wid me life ! " he
exclaimed. In the meantime the colonel had filled his mug.
, " Gentlemen," he said, solemnly, after raising it to his lips,
" O'Grady is right ; it is Irish whisky, and good at that."
" It is a cruel trick you've played on us," O'Grady said,
with a sigh, as he replaced the empty mug upon the table.
" I had almost forgotten the taste, and had come to take
WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
kindly to the stuff here. Now I shall have to go through it
all again. It is like holding the cup to the lips of that old
heathen Tartarus, and taking it away again."
"Tantalus, O'Grady."
" Och, what does it matter, when he has been dead and
buried thousands of years, how he spilt his name. Where did
you get it from, Terence? "
" I asked Herrara to try and find some for me at Lisbon ;
I thought it was most likely that some English merchant there
would have laid in a stock, and it seems that he has found
one."
" Do you hear that, Colonel ? There is whisky to be had
at Lisbon, and us not know it."
"Well, Captain O'Grady, all I can say is that I shall at
dinner this evening move a vote of censure upon you as mess
president for not having discovered the fact before."
"Don't talk of dinner, Colonel; there is not one of us
could think of sitting down to ration beef after such a male as
we have had and with whisky here, too ! I move, Colonel,
that no further mintion be made of dinner. I have no doubt
that Terence will give us some divilled bones there is as
much left on the table as we have eaten before we start
home to-night."
" I will do that with pleasure. In fact, it is exactly what I
reckoned upon," Terence replied.
"I think, O'Grady, we must send to Lisbon for some of
this."
"Is it only think, Colonel? Faith, I would go down for
it myself, if I had to walk with pays in my boots and to carry
it back on me shoulders. Can I find Herrara there?" he
asked.
" Yes, I can give you the address where he will be found."
"Anyhow, Colonel," O'Flaherty said, "I must and I'm
NEWS FROM HOME 395
sure all present will join me in the matter protest against
Captain O'Grady going down to Lisbon to fetch whisky for
the mess. You must know, sir, as well as I do, that he would
never return again, and we should probably hear some day
that his body had been found by the side of the road with
three or four empty kegs beside him."
There was a general burst of agreement.
" Perhaps, Doctor O' Flaherty," O'Grady said, in a tone of
withering sarcasm, ''it's yourself who would like to be the
messenger. ' '
"There might be a worse one," O' Flaherty said, calmly;
" but as I believe that Captain Hall is going down on a
week's leave to-morrow, I propose that he, being an English-
man, and therefore more trustworthy than any Irish member
of the mess would be on such a mission, be requested to pur-
chase some for the use of the mess, and to escort it back
again. How much shall I say, Colonel ? "
" That is a grave matter, and not to be answered hastily,
Doctor. Let me see, there are thirty-two officers with the
regiment. Now, what would you say would be a fair allow-
ance per day for each man ? ' '
" I should say half a bottle, Colonel. There are some of
them won't take as much, but O'Grady will square matters
up."
"I protest against the insinuation," O'Grady said, rising;
"and, moreover, I would observe, that it is mighty little
would be left for me after each man had taken his whack."
"That is sixteen bottles a day. For a continuance I
should consider that too much ; but seeing that we have been
out of dacent liquor for a month, and may have but a fort-
night after it arrives to make up for lost time, we will say six-
teen bottles."
" Make it three gallons," O'Grady said, persuasively ; " we
396 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
shall be having lots of men drop in when it gets known that
we have got a supply."
1 ' There is something in that, O'Grady. Well, we will
say three gallons that is, forty-two gallons for a fortnight.
We will commission Captain Hall to bring back that quan-
tity."
"If you say forty-five, Colonel, it will give us a drop in
our flasks to start with, and we are as likely to be fifteen days
as fourteen, anyway. ' '
" Let it be forty-five then," the colonel assented. " Will
you undertake that, Captain Hall ? ' '
" Willingly, Colonel. I will get the whisky emptied into
wine casks, and as I know one of the chief commissaries at
Lisbon, I can get it brought up with the wine for the
troops."
After sitting for a couple of hours, the colonel proposed that
they should all go for a walk, while those who preferred it
should take a nap in the shade.
"I move, O'Connor," he said, " that this meeting be ad-
journed until sunset. ' '
" I think that will be a very good plan, Colonel."
The proposal was carried out. O'Grady and a few others
declared that they should prefer a nap. The rest started on
foot, and sauntered about in the shade of the wood for a couple
of hours, then all gathered at the table again. At eight
o'clock grilled joints of fowls and ducks were put upon the
table, and at nine all mounted and rode back to Abrantes.
" How many of those quart jugs have been filled, Sancho ? "
" Eight, sir."
" That is not so bad," Terence said to Macwitty. " That
is twelve bottles ; and as there were sixteen and our three
selves, that is only about two bottles between three men."
" I call that vera moderate under the circumstances, Colo-
NEWS FROM HOME 397
nel," Macwitty said, gravely. "I have drank more myself
many a time."
* ' They were a good many hours over it too, ' ' Terence
added ; " you may say it was two sittings. You will see that
we shall have a great many callers from the camp for the
next few days."
A fortnight later Terence received a letter from Don Jose,
saying that he had heard from his friend at Oporto, and that
they informed him that the Sefiora Johanna O'Connor had
been killed at the sack of Oporto. She had left her own house
and taken refuge at the bishop's. That place had been de-
fended to the last, and when the infuriated French broke in,
all within its walls had been killed.
Terence was not altogether sorry to hear the news. The
woman had been a party to the cruel imprisonment of Mary.
No doubt his cousin would feel her death, but her grief could
not be very deep ; and it was, he thought, just as well for her
that her connection with Portugal should be altogether sev-
ered. Her mother might have endeavoured to tempt her to
return there ; and although he felt sure that she would not
succeed in this, she might at least have caused some trouble,
and it was better that there should be an end of it. As to
the woman herself, she had been in agreement with the
bishop, had been mixed up in his intrigues, and her death
was caused by her misplaced confidence in him. Of course
she had not known that he had left the town, and thought
that under his protection she would be safe in the palace.
"She must have been a bad lot," he said to himself.
" Evidently she did not make her husband happy, and perse-
cuted her daughter, and I regret her death no more than any
other of the ten thousand people who fell in Oporto. ' '
A few days later he received letters both from his father
and Mary. Being under eighteen he opened the former first.
398 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
My Dear Terence,
I have heard all about you and your doings from Mary, and
I am proud of you. It is grand satisfaction that you should
have won your lieutenancy, and that you should be on the
general' } s staff ; as to your being a colonel, although only a
Portuguese one, it is simply astounding. I don't care so much
about the rank, for the Portuguese officers are poor creatures, not
one in fifty of them knows anything of his duty ; but what I do
value is your independent command. That will give you op-
portunities for distinguishing yourself that can never fall in the
way of a subaltern of the line, and I fancy, now that you have
got Wellesley at the head, there will be plenty of such oppor-
tunities.
I was delighted, as you may guess, when I got Mary* s letter
from London. I had just settled at the old house, and mighty
lonely I felt with no one to speak to, and the wind whistling in
at the broken windows, and the whole place in confusion. So
Cutting aside Mary, I was glad enough to have some excuse
for running away. I took the next coach for Dublin ; found,
by good luck, a packet just sailing for London ; and got there
a week later. She is a nice girl and a pretty one ; but I suppose
I need not tell you that. I told her it was a poor place I was
going to take her to, but she would be as welcome as the flowers
in May / but she only laughed and said, that after being shut
up for a year in a single room, and having nothing but bread
and water, it would not matter a pin to her what it was like.
She was in a grand house, and Mrs. Nelson insisted on my
putting up there. We stopped three days and then we took ship
to Cork. We had to prove that the money lying there belonged
to me ; that is to say, that I was the person in whose name it
had been put. I had all sort of botheration about it, but luckily
I knew the colonel of the regiment there, and he went to the
bank with me and testified. -Then we came down here^ and
NEWS FROM HOME 399
Mary hadn't been here a day before she began to spend money.
I said I would not allow it ; and she said I could not help it,
the money was her own, and she could spend it as she liked \
which was true enough ; and at present the place is more topsy-
turvy than ever.
I won't have anything to do with giving orders, but she has
got a score of masons and carpenters over from Athlone, and she
is turning the old place upside down. I sha'n't know it myself
when she has done with it. There is not a place jit to sit down
in, and we are living for the time at the inn at Kilnally, three
miles away, and drive backwards and forwards to the house.
Except that we quarrel over that, we get on first-rate together.
She is never tired of talking about you, and when I hinted one
day that it was ridiculous your being made a colonel, she spurred
up like a young bantam, and more than hinted that if you had
been appointed commander-in-chief instead of Sir Arthur it
would not have been beyond your deserts.
My wound hurts me a bit sometimes, but I am able to get
about all right, and the surgeon says in a few months I shall be
able to walk as straight as anyone. And so, good-bye. I don't
think I ever wrote such a long letter before, and as Mary will
be telling you everything, I don't suppose I shall ever write such
a long one again.
Terence laughed as he put the letter down and opened one
from his cousin.
Dear Cousin Terence,
Here I am with your father as happy as a bird, and as free.
I sing about the place all day, my heart is so light, and should
be perfectly happy were it not that I am afraid that you
will be fighting again soon, and then I shall be very anxious
about you. Your father is just what I thought he would be
400 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA
from what I know of you. He is as kind as if he was my own
father, and reminds me of him. You told me it was a tumble-
down old place, and it is. When we came it was only fit for
owls to live in ; so, of course, I set to work at once. Your father
was very foolish about it, but, of course, I had my way. What
is the use of having money and living in an owVs nest ? So I
have set a lot of men to work.
Your father won't interfere with it one way or the other. I
had a builder down ; he shook his head over it and said that it
would be cheaper to pull it down and build a new one ; but as
it was an old family house I could not do that. However,
between ourselves, I don't think there will be much of the old
one left by the time we have finished. It looks awful at present.
I am building a new wall against the old one, so that it will
look just the same, only it will be new. The windows are going
to be made bigger, and there will be a new roof put on. Inside
it will all have to come down, all the woodwork was so rotten
that it was dangerous to walk upstairs. It is great fun looking
after the workmen. And though your father does keep on
grumbling and saying that I am destroying the old place, I don't
think he really minds.
As I tell him, one could live in a house without windows nine
months in the year in Portugal, but it is not so in Ireland. One
wants comfort, Terence ; and, as I have plenty of money, I
don't see why we should not have it. You can sleep on the
ground, and go from morning till night in wet clothes, when
you are on a campaign, but that is no reason why you should
do it at other times. The weather is fine here now, at least
your father says it is fine, and I want to get everything pushed
on and finished before it changes to what even he will admit is
wet. The people here seem all very nice and pleasant. They
are delighted at having your father back again. I drive
about with him a great deal, and we call upon the neighbours,
NEWS FROM HOME 401
who all seem very pleased that the house is going to be occupied
again.
The poor people seem very poor. I dorft know that they are
poorer than they are in Portugal, but I think they look poorer ;
but they don't seem to mind much. I have made great friends
with most of the children already, and always go about with a
large bag of sweetmeats in what your father calls " the trap."
I think of you very often, Terence, and your father and I
generally talk about you all the evening. By what he says
you must have been a very naughty boy, indeed, before you became
a soldier. Do take care of yourself. We shall be very, very
anxious about you as soon as we hear that fighting has begun
again. I hope you think very often of your very loving cousin,
MARY O'CONNOR.
" She will do a world of good to my father," Terence said
to himself as he put down the letters. ' After being so long
in the regiment he would have felt being alone in that old
place horribly, especially as it has, of course, been a terrible
trial to him to be laid aside just as a big campaign is begin-
ning. She will keep him alive, and he won't have any time
to mope. Even if for no other reason, it is a lucky thing
indeed that I was able to get Mary out. I sha'n't feel a bit
anxious about him now."
THE END.
26
A LIST OF BOOKS
FOR
YOUNG PEOPLE
By G. A. HENTY
BY CONDUCT AND COURAGE
A Story of Nelson's Days. Illustrated. $1.20 net (postage, 16c.).
This, the last of the celebrated Henty Books ever to be published, is a
rattling story of the battle and the breeze in the glorious days of Parker
and Nelson. The hero is brought up in a Yorkshire fishing village, and
enters the navy as a ship's boy.
In the course of a few months after joining he so distinguishes him-
self in action with French ships and Moorish pirates that he is raised to
the dignity of midshipman. His ship is afterward sent to the West
Indies. Here his services attract the attention of the Admiral, who
gives him command of a small cutter. In this vessel he cruises about
among the islands, chasing and capturing pirates, and even attacking
their strongholds. He is a born leader of men, and his pluck, foresight,
and resource win him success where men of greater experience might
have failed. He is several times taken prisoner : by mutinous negroes in
Cuba, by Moorish pirates who carry him as a slave to Algiers, and finally
by the French. In this last case he escapes in time to take part in the
battles of Cape St. Vincent and Camperdown. His adventures include a
thrilling experience in Corsica with no less a companion than Nelson
himself?
WITH THE ALLIES TO PEKIN
A Tale of the Relief of the Legations. Illustrated by WAL PAGET.
$1.20 net.
In this book the writer re-tells the story of the Siege of Pekin in a way
that is sure to grip the interest of his young readers. The experience of
Rex Bateman, the son of an English merchant at Tientsin, and of his
cousins, two girls whom Rex rescues from the Boxers just after the first
outbreak, offer a variety of heroic incident sufficient to fire the loyalty of
the most indifferent lad.
THROUGH THREE CAMPAIGNS
A Story of Chitral, Tirah, and Ashanti. Illustrated by WAL PAGET.
$1.20 net.
The exciting story of a boy's adventures in the British Army. Lisle
Bullen, left an orphan, is to be sent home by the colonel of the regiment
on the eve of the Chitral campaign. The boy's patriotism compels him,
instead, to secretly join the regiment. He early distinguishes himself
for conspicuous bravery. His disguise is discovered and his promotion*
follow rapidly.
BOOKS FOR TOUXQ PfiOPLB
BY G. A. HENTY
" Among writers of stories of adventures for boys Mr. Henty stands
fax the very first ia.uk." Academy (London).
THE TREASURE OF THE INCAS
A Tale of Adventure in Peru. With 8 full-page Illustrations
by WAL PAGET, and Map. $1.20 net.
Peru and the hidden treasures of her ancient kings offer Mr. Henty a
most fertile field for a stirring story of adventure in his most engaging
style. In an effort to~win the girl of his heart, the hero penetrates into
the wilds of the land of the Incas. Boys who have learned to look for
Mr. Henty's books will follow his new hero in his adventurous and
romantic expedition with absorbing interest. It is one of the most cap-
tivating tales Mr. Henty has yet written.
WITH KITCHENER IN THE SOUDAN
A Story of Atbara and Omdurman. With 10 full-page Illus-
trations. $1.20 net.
Mr. Henty has never combined history and thrilling adventure more
skillfully than in this extremely interesting story. It is not in boy nat-
ure to lay it aside unfinished, once begun ; and finished, the reader finds
himself in possession, not only of the facts and the true atmosphere of
Kitchener's famous Soudan campaign, but of the Gordon tragedy which
preceded it by so many years and of which it was the outcome.
WITH THE BRITISH LEGION
A Story of the Carlist Uprising of 1836. Illustrated. $1.20
net.
Arthur Ballet, a young English boy, finds himself in difficulty at
home, through certain harmless school escapades, and enlists in the
famous "British Legion," which was then embarking for Spain to take
part in the campaign to repress the Carlist uprising of 1886. Arthur
shows his mettle in the first fight, distinguishes himself by daring work
in carrying an important dispatch to Madrid, makes a dashing and
thrilling rescue of the sister of his patron, and is rapidly promoted to the
rank of captain. In following the adventures of the hero the reader ob-
tains, as is usual with Mr. Henty's stories, a most accurate and interest-
ing history of a picturesque campaign.
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
BY G. A. HENTY
" Mr. Henty might with entire propriety be called the bovs* Sir
Walter Scott." Philadelphia Press.
IN THE IRISH BRIGADE
A Tale of War in Flanders and Spain. With 12 Illustrations by
CHARLES M. SHELDON. 12mo, $1.50.
Desmond Kennedy is a young Irish lad who left Ireland to join the
Irish Brigade in the service of Louis XIV. of France. In Paris he in-
curred the deadly hatred of a powerful courtier from whom he had
rescued a young girl who had been kidnapped, and his perils are of ab-
sorbing interest. Captured in an attempted Jacobite invasion of Scot-
land, he escaped in a most extraordinary manner. As aid-de-camp
to the Duke of Berwick he experienced thrilling adventures in Flan-
ders. Transferred to the Army in Spain, he was nearly assassinated, but
escaped to return, when peace was declared, to his native land, having
received pardon and having recovered his estates. The story is filled
with adventure, and the interest never abates.
OUT WITH GARIBALDI
A Story of the Liberation of Italy. By G. A. HENTY. With
8 Illustrations by W. RAINEY, R.I. 12mo, $1.50.
Garibaldi himself is the central figure of this brilliant story, and the
little-known history of the struggle for Italian freedom is told here in
the most thrilling way. From the time the hero, a young lad, son of
an English father and an Italian mother, joinn Garibaldi's band of
1,000 men in the first descent upon Sicily, which was garrisoned by one
of the large Neapolitan armies, until the end, when all those armies
are beaten, and the two Sicilys are conquered, we follow with the
keenest interest the exciting adventures of the lad in scouting, in
battle, and in freeing those in prison for liberty's sake.
WITH BULLER IN NATAL
Or, A Born Leader. By G. A. HENTY. With 10 Illustrations
by W. RAINEY. 12mo, $1.50.
The breaking out of the Boer War compelled Chris King, the hero
of the story, to flee with his mother from Johannesburg to the sea
coast. They were with many other Uitlanders, and all suffered much
from the Boers. Reaching a place of safety for their families, Chris
and twenty of his friends formed an independent company of scouts. In
this service they were with Gen. Yule at Glencoe, then in Ladysmith,
then with Buller. In each place they had many thrilling adventures.
They were in great battles and in lonely fights on the Veldt ; were
taken prisoners and escaped; and they rendered most valuable service
to the English forces. The story is a most interesting picture of the
War in South Africa.
14 DAY USE
RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED
LOAN DEPT.
This book is due on the last date stamped below, or
on the date to which renewed.
Renewecl books are subject to immediate recall.
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TIME
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MAY 2 7 1965
LD 21A-40m-4,'63
(D6471slO)476B
General Library
University of California
Berkeley