AN ESCAPE
While the battle was at its height Terence was despatched by the brigadier
to carry an order to one of the regiments that had pushed too far forward
in its ardour. Scrambling over rough ground, and occasionally leaping a
wall, he reached the colonel. "The general requests you to fall back a
little, sir; you are farther forward than the regiment on your flank. The
enemy are pushing a force down the hill in your direction, and as there is
no support that can be sent to you at present, he wishes your extreme
right to be in touch with the left of the regiment holding Elvina."
"Very good. Tell General Fane that I will carry out his instructions.
Where is he now?"
"He is in the village, sir." Terence turned his horse to ride back. The
din of battle was almost bewildering. A desperate conflict was going on in
front of the village, where every wall was obstinately contested, the
regiment being hotly engaged with a French force that was rapidly
increasing in strength. The great French battery was sending its missiles
far overhead against the British position on the hill, the British guns
were playing on the French troops beyond the village, and the French light
field-pieces were pouring their fire into Elvina. Terence made his way
across the broken ground near the village. Galloping at a low stone wall,
the horse was in the act of rising to clear it when it was struck in the
head by a round shot. Terence was thrown far ahead over the wall, and fell
heavily head-foremost on a pile of stones covered by some low shrubs.
The shock was a terrible one, and for many hours he lay insensible. When
he recovered consciousness, he remained for some time wondering vaguely
where he was. Above him was a canopy of foliage, through which the rays of
the sun were streaming. A dead silence had succeeded the roar of battle.
He put his hand to his head, which was aching intolerably, and found that
his hair was thick with clotted blood.
"Yes, of course," he said to himself at last; "I was carrying a message to
Fane. I was just going to jump a wall and there was a sudden crash. I
remember--I flew out of the saddle--that is all I do remember. I have been
stunned, I suppose. How is it so quiet? I suppose the battle is over."
Then he sat suddenly upright.
"The sun is shining," he said. "It was getting dusk when I was riding back
to the village. I must have lain here all night."
Suddenly he heard a gun fired; it was quickly followed by others. He rose
on his knees and looked cautiously over the bushes.
"It is away there," he said, "on those heights above the harbour. The army
must have embarked, and the French are firing at the ships."
[Illustration: "POOR OLD JACK! HE HAS CARRIED ME WELL EVER SINCE I GOT HIM
AT TORRES VEDRAS."]
His conjecture was speedily verified, for, looking along the crest which
the British had held during the fight, he saw a large body of French
troops just reaching the top of the rise. He stood up now and looked
round. No one could be seen moving in the orchards and vineyards round. He
peered over the wall; his horse lay there in a huddled-up heap.
"A round shot in the head!" he exclaimed; "that accounts for it. Poor old
Jack! he has carried me well ever since I got him at Torres Vedras."
He climbed down and got what he was in search of--a large flask full of
brandy-and-water, which he carried in one of the holsters. He took a long
drink, and felt better at once.
"I may as well take the pistols," he said, and, putting them into his
belt, climbed over the wall again, and lay down among the bushes.
He was now able to think clearly. Should he get up and surrender himself
as a prisoner to the first body of French troops that he came across? or
should he lie where he was until nightfall, and then try to get away? If
he surrendered, there was before him a march of seven or eight hundred
miles to a French prison; if he tried to get away, no doubt there were
many hardships and dangers, but at least a possibility of rejoining sooner
or later. At any rate, he would be no worse off than the many hundreds who
had straggled during the march, for it was probable that the great
majority of these were spread over the country, as the French, pressing
forward in pursuit, would not have troubled themselves to hunt down
fugitives, who, if caught, would only be an encumbrance to them.
He was better off than they were, for at any rate he could make himself
understood, which was more than the majority of the soldiers could do; and
at least he would not provoke the animosity of the peasants by the rough
measures they would be likely to take to satisfy their wants. The worst of
it was that he had no money. Then suddenly he sat up again and looked at
his feet.
"This is luck!" he exclaimed; "I had never given the thing a thought
before."
On his arrival at Corunna he had thrown away the riding-boots he had
bought at Salamanca. The constant rains had so shrunk them that he could
no longer wear them without pain, and he had taken again to the boots that
he carried in his valise.
From the time when, at his father's suggestion, he had had extra soles
placed on them, above which were hidden fifteen guineas, the fact of the
money being there had never once occurred to him. He had had sufficient
cash about him to pay for purchases at Salamanca and on the road, and,
indeed, had five guineas still in his pocket, though he had drawn no pay
from the time of leaving Torres Vedras.
This discovery decided him. With twenty guineas he could pay his way for
months, and he determined to make the attempt to escape.
The firing continued for some time and then ceased.
"The fleet must have got out," he said to himself. "It is certain that the
French have not taken Corunna. We were getting the best of it up to the
time I was hurt, and it would be dark in another half-hour, and there
could be no fighting on such ground as this, after that. Besides, Corunna
is a strong fortress, and we could have held out there for weeks, for
Soult can have no battering train with him; besides, everything was ready
for embarkation, and I know that it was intended, whether we won or lost,
that the troops should go on board in the night."
As he lay there he could occasionally hear the sound of drums and trumpets
as the troops marched from their positions of the night before, to take up
others nearer to the town. At times he heard voices, and knew that they
were searching for wounded over the ground that had been so desperately
contested; but the spot where he was lying lay between the village and the
ground where the regiment he had gone to order back had been engaged with
the enemy, and as no fighting had taken place there, it was unlikely that
the search-parties would go over it. This, indeed, proved to be the case,
and after a time he fell off to sleep, and did not wake until night was
closing in. He was hungry now, and again crossing the wall he took half a
chicken and a piece of bread that his servant had thrust into his wallet
just before starting, and made a hearty meal. He unbuckled his sword and
left it behind him; he had his pistols, and a sword would be only an
encumbrance.
As soon as it became quite dark he made his way cautiously down the
valley, passed the spot where the French column had suffered so heavily,
and then, turning to the left, traversed the narrow plain that divided the
position on which the French heavy battery had been placed and the plateau
on which their cavalry had been massed. Numerous fires blazed in the wide
valley behind, where the reserve had been stationed on the previous
morning, and he doubted not that the French cavalry were there, especially
as he found no signs of life on the plateau above. Coming presently on a
small stream he bathed his head for a considerable time, and then
proceeded on his way, feeling much brighter and fresher than he had done
before.
The ground began to ascend more steeply, and after an hour's walking he
stood on the crest of the hill and looked down on the position that the
French had held, and beyond it on Corunna and the sea. The cold was
extreme. He had brought with him his greatcoat and blanket, and, wrapping
himself in these, lay down in a sheltered position and slept again till
morning broke. His head was now better, and he was able to think more
clearly than he could the day before. The first thing was to decide as to
his course. It would be dangerous to make direct for the frontier of
Portugal. Now that the British army had embarked, Soult would be free to
undertake operations in that country, and would doubtless shortly put his
troops in motion in that direction, and his cavalry would be scattering
all over the province collecting provisions. Moreover, there would be the
terrible range of the Tras-os-Montes to pass, and no certainty whatever of
being well received by the Portuguese peasants north of Oporto.
His constant study of the staff maps was now of great assistance to him.
He determined to turn west until he reached the river Minho some distance
below Lugo, which he could do by skirting the top of the hills. He would
therefore strike it somewhere about the point where the river Sil joined
it, and, following this, would find himself at the foot of the Cantabrian
Hills, dividing the Asturias from Leon. Then he could be guided by
circumstances, and could either cross these mountains and make for a
seaport, or could journey down through Leon to Ciudad-Rodrigo, which was
still held by a Spanish garrison, and from there make his way through
Portugal to Lisbon.
He questioned whether it would be wise for him to attempt to get the dress
of a Spanish peasant instead of his uniform, but he finally decided that
until he was beyond any risk of being captured by parties from either
Soult or Ney's armies, it would be better to continue in uniform. If taken
in that dress it would be seen that he was a straggler from Moore's army,
and he would be simply treated as a prisoner of war; while, if taken in
the dress of a peasant, he would be liable to be treated as a spy and
shot. Having made up his mind, he started at once, and in three hours was
at the foot of the hills on the other side of which ran the road from Lugo
to Corunna, which proved so disastrous to the army. He presently arrived
at a small hamlet, and the children in the streets ran shrieking away as
they saw him. Women appeared at the doors and looked out anxiously; they
had not before seen a British uniform, and at once supposed that he was
French. Seeing that he was alone, several men armed with clubs and picks
came out.
"I am an English officer," he said, "and I desire food and shelter for a
few hours. I have money to pay for it."
The peasants at once came round him. Confused accounts had reached them of
the doings on the other side of the hills. They knew that an English army
had marched from Lugo to Corunna, hotly pursued by the French, but they
had heard nothing of what had happened afterwards. They eagerly asked for
news. Terence told them that there had been a great battle outside
Corunna, that the French had been repulsed with much loss, and that the
English had embarked on board ships to take them round to Lisbon, there to
march east to meet the French again.
Nothing could be kinder than the treatment he received. They told him that
Ney's army was between the Sil and Lugo, but that no French troops had
crossed the Minho as yet.
They were eager to know why the English, if they had beaten the French,
sailed away. But when he said that Soult would have been joined by Ney in
a couple of days, and would then be well-nigh double the strength of the
British, who would be so hotly pressed that they would be unable to
embark, the peasants saw that what they considered their desertion could
not have been avoided. The news of the terrible defeats that had, a month
before, been inflicted upon their armies had not reached them, and Terence
did not think it necessary to enlighten them. He told them that the march
north of the English had been intended to bring all the French forces in
that direction, and so to enable the Spanish armies to operate
successfully, and that not only Soult and Ney, but Napoleon himself, had
been drawn off from the south in pursuit of them.
They were filled with satisfaction, and he was at once taken into one of
the cottages. A good meal was shortly placed before him, his head was
carefully bandaged, and he was then asked how it was that he had not
embarked with the rest of the army. He related how he had been left
behind, and then asked them their opinion as to his best course, telling
them the plan he himself had formed. They agreed at once that this was the
wisest one, but that it would be dangerous to try it until Ney's force had
moved from its present position. They knew that he had a division at
Orense on the Minho, and that parties of his cavalry had scoured the plain
as far as the river Ulla, and urged upon him to remain with them until
some news was obtained of the movements of the French army.
He gladly accepted the invitation, and for a couple of days remained at
the little hamlet. One of the peasants came in at the end of that time,
saying that the French in Corunna had crossed the mountains and had
arrived at Santiago, twenty miles distant, and that their cavalry were
scouring the country. They also brought news that Romana was at Toabado,
and that he had but two or three thousand men with him, the rest having
been routed and cut up by the French cavalry. Terence at once determined
to join him.
The fact that he still had some troops with him had no influence in
causing him to form this resolution. Romana had been so often defeated
that he knew that his men would, after their recent misfortunes, scatter
at once before even the weakest French detachment. But Romana himself knew
the country well, was a man of great resource and activity, and was likely
to evade all efforts to capture him. He thought then that by joining him
and sharing his fortunes he was more likely to have some opportunity of
making his way to Lisbon than he would have if left to his own resources,
especially as he had no doubt that Soult would at once prepare to invade
Portugal by occupying all the passes, and thus render it next to
impossible to journey thither alone and on foot. One of the peasants
offered to guide him across the hills to Toabado. They started at once,
and at daybreak next morning reached the village.
As Romana had been several times in personal communication with Sir John
Moore, Terence was acquainted with his appearance, and seeing him standing
at the door of the principal house of the village, went up to him and
saluted him. The latter looked upon him with great surprise.
"How have you managed to pass through the French?" he asked.
"I have seen none of them, Marquis. I was wounded in the battle of
Corunna, and after lying insensible all that night, found, when I
recovered in the morning, that the French had advanced and that I was in
their rear. I heard their guns from the heights above the town, and knew
that our army had gained their transports. I lay concealed all day and
then crossed the mountains, and have been resting for two days at a
village on the other side of the hills. The news came that you were here,
and I decided to join you at once. I was on the staff of General Fane,
and, knowing the duties of an aide-de-camp, thought I might make myself
useful to you until there was an opportunity of my rejoining a British
force."
"You are welcome, sir," Romana said, courteously. "It was only this
morning that we learned from a prisoner that my men took that you had
driven back Soult before Corunna and had embarked safely. I was in great
fear that your army would have been captured. I see that you have been
wounded on the head."
"It can scarcely be called a wound, Marquis. I was carrying a message on
the battle-field; when I was taking a wall my horse was struck with a
round shot. I was thrown over his head onto a heap of rough stones, and it
was a marvel to me that I was not killed."
"I am just going to breakfast, señor, and shall be glad if you will join
me. I have no doubt that you will do justice to it."
Romana, who had commanded the Spanish troops which had escaped from
Holland, was the most energetic of the Spanish generals. Defeated often,
he was speedily at the head of fresh gatherings, and ready to take the
field again. As a partisan chief he was excellent, but possessed no
military talent, and was, like the Spaniards generally, full of grand but
utterly impracticable schemes, and in spite of his experience to the
contrary, confident that the Spaniards would overthrow the French.
"I have been unfortunate," he said, in reply to the inquiry as to how many
troops he had with him. "At your English general's request I took a
different course with my army to that which he was pursuing, in order that
his magazines should be untouched. I crossed his line of retreat, but
unfortunately Franceschi's cavalry come down upon us, cut up my artillery
and infantry, and scattered my force entirely. However, some three
thousand have rejoined, and I expect in a short time to be at the head of
20,000. I ought to have more, but these Galician peasants are stubborn
fellows. They know nothing of the affairs of Spain, and although they will
fight in defence of their own villages, they have no interest in anything
beyond, and hang back from joining an army that might operate outside
their province. You see, until now it has been untouched by war. They have
suffered in no way from French extortions and outrages. As soon as they
feel the smart themselves, I doubt not they will be as full of hatred of
the invaders as people are elsewhere, and as ready to take up arms against
them."
Romana's troops were but a motley gathering. The force that he had brought
with him from Holland had been landed at Santander, marched to Bilbao, and
joined Blake's army, and had shared in the crushing defeat suffered by
that general at Espinosa, where most of them were taken prisoners. They
were again incorporated in the French army, and afterwards took part in
the Russian campaign, and in the retreat no less than four thousand of
them were taken prisoners by the Russians and handed over by them to
British transports sent to Cronstadt to fetch them. Romana himself had
escaped from the battle-field, and afterward raised a fresh force. This
had dwindled away from 15,000 to 5,000 when he joined Moore on his
advance, and now amounted to barely 2,000, of whom the greater portion had
thrown away their arms in their flight.
On the following day Romana, with a small body of cavalry, left Toabado,
crossed the Minho, descended into the valley of the Tamega, and took
refuge close to the Portuguese frontier line. Here he was, for a time,
safe from the pursuit of the French, the insignificance of his force being
his best protection. Soult lost no time. As soon as the English army had
left, Corunna opened its gates to him, as did Ferrol, although neither of
these towns could have been taken without a siege, and Soult must have
been delayed until a battering-train was brought from Madrid.
The magazines of British powder and stores that had been lying for months
in Ferrol were invaluable to him.
The soldiers were set to work to make fresh cartridges, and then, after
six days' halt to give rest to his weary and footsore men, he began to
prepare to carry out Napoleon's orders to invade Portugal. Ney, with
20,000 men, was to maintain Galicia, and, reinforced by a fresh division,
Soult was to march direct upon Oporto with 25,000 men, leaving 12,000 in
hospital, and 8,000 to keep up the line of communication with Ney. It took
some time to complete all the arrangements and to gather the force at St.
Jago Compostella, and it was not until the first of February that he was
able to move.
On the day of his arrival on the frontier, Romana despatched Terence to
Sir John Cradock, who now commanded the British troops in Portugal, which
had been augmented by fresh arrivals from England until their numbers
almost equalled that of the force with which Sir John Moore marched into
Spain.
Romana asked that arms and money should be sent to him, promising to
harass the French advance, and cut their communications from the rear.
Terence gladly consented to carry his despatch; he was furnished with one
of the best horses in the troop, and at once started on his journey. It
was a long and harassing one; many ranges of mountains and hills had to be
crossed, by roads difficult in the extreme at the best of times, but
almost impassable in winter. Three times he was seized by parties of
Portuguese militia and raw levies, but was released on convincing their
leaders that he was the bearer of a communication to the English general.
The distance to be travelled was, in a direct line, over two hundred and
thirty miles. This was greatly increased by the circuitous nature of the
route through the mountainous country, so that it took nine days, and
would have much exceeded this time, had Terence not found a British force
at Coimbra, and there exchanged his worn-out animal for a fresh one,
placed at his disposal by the officer in command.
Cradock was experiencing exactly the same difficulties that Moore had
done. The Spanish and Portuguese authorities united in pressing him to
advance, the former urging upon him that his presence would be the signal
for the Spanish armies in the south to unite and entirely overthrow the
French, while the latter were desirous that he should march to
Ciudad-Rodrigo, defeat the French at Salamanca, and so protect Portugal
from invasion from that side.
That Portugal might be attacked from the north and south simultaneously by
Soult and Victor did not enter into their calculations, but while urging
an advance, the Junta would take no steps whatever to enable the army to
move; they would neither afford him facilities for collecting transport,
nor order the roads that he would have to traverse to be put in order, and
thwarted all his efforts to raise a strong force among the Portuguese.
There was, indeed, some improvement in the latter respect. At their own
request, Lord Beresford had been sent out from England to take the command
of the Portuguese armies, and as he had brought many British officers with
him, some 20,000 men had been armed and drilled, and could be reckoned
upon to do some service, if employed with British troops to give them
backbone. The Portuguese peasantry were strong and robust, and by nature
courageous, and needed only the discipline--that they could not receive
from their own officers--to turn them into valuable troops. According to
the law of the country every man was liable for service, and had the
corrupt Junta been dismissed, and full power been given to the British, an
army of 250,000 men might have been placed in the field for the defence of
the country, with a proper supply of arms and money.
But so far from assisting, the Junta threw every possible impediment in
the way. They feared that any real national effort, if successful, would
get altogether beyond their control, and that they would lose the power
that enabled them to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. Not
only that, but they were engaged in a struggle for supremacy with the
Junta of Oporto, which was striving by every means to render itself the
supreme authority of the whole of Portugal.
Terence had hoped that when he arrived at Lisbon he should meet the army
he had left at Corunna, for Sir John Moore's instructions had been precise
that the fleet was to go thither. These instructions, however, had been
disobeyed, and the fleet had sailed direct for England. It had on the way
encountered a great storm, which had scattered it in all directions.
Several of the ships were wrecked on the coast of England, and the army
which would have been of inestimable service at Lisbon, now served only,
by the tattered garments and emaciated frames of the soldiers, to excite a
burst of misplaced indignation against the memory of the general whose
genius had saved it from destruction.
On arriving at head-quarters and stating his errand, Terence was at once
admitted to the room where Sir John Cradock was at work.
"I am told, sir, that you are the bearer of a despatch from the Spanish
general, Romana. Before I open it, will you explain how it was that you
came to be with him?"
Terence gave a brief account of the manner in which, after being left
behind on the field of Corunna, he had succeeded in joining Romana.
The general's face, which had at first been severe, softened as he
proceeded.
"That is altogether satisfactory, Mr. O'Connor," he said. "I feared that
you might have been one of the stragglers, among whom I hear were many
officers, as well as thousands of men belonging to Sir John Moore's army.
We received news of his glorious fight at Corunna and the embarkation of
his army, by a ship that arrived here but three days since from that port.
Have you heard of the death of that noble soldier himself?"
"No, sir," Terence replied, much shocked at the news. "That is a terrible
loss, indeed. He was greatly loved by the army. He saw into every matter
himself, was with the rearguard all through the retreat, and laboured
night and day to maintain order and discipline, and it was assuredly no
fault of his if he failed."
"Was your own regiment in the rear-guard?"
"Yes, sir. It had the honour of being specially chosen by Sir John Moore
for its steadiness and good conduct. I was not with it, but was one of
Brigadier-general Fane's aides-de-camp. It was while carrying a message to
him that my horse was killed and I myself stunned by being thrown onto a
heap of stones."
Sir John Cradock nodded, and then opened Romana's despatch. He raised his
eyebrows slightly. He had been accustomed to such appeals for arms and
money, and knew how valueless were the promises that accompanied them.
"What force has General Romana with him?"
"Some two hundred cavalry and three or four thousand peasants, about a
quarter of whom only are armed."
"He says that he expects to be joined by twenty thousand men in a few
days. Have you any means of judging whether this statement is well
founded?"
"That I cannot say. General Romana seems to me to be a man of greater
energy than any Spaniard I have hitherto met, and I know that he has
already sent messages to the priests throughout that part of Galicia
urging upon them the necessity of using their influence among the
peasantry. He got a force together in a very short time, after the
complete defeat and capture of his own command by the French, at the time
of Blake's defeat, and I think that he might do so again, though whether
they would be of any use whatever in the field I cannot say; but should
Soult advance into Portugal, I should think that bands of this sort might
very much harass him."
"No doubt they might do so. I will see, at any rate, if I can obtain some
money from the political agents. I have next to nothing in my military
chest, and our forces are at a standstill for the want of it. But that
does not seem to matter. While our troops are ill-fed, ragged, almost
shoeless, and unpaid, every Spanish or Portuguese rascal who holds out his
hand can get it filled with gold. As to arms, they are in the first place
wanted for the purpose of the Portuguese militia, who are likely to be a
good deal more useful than these irregular bands; and in the second place,
there are no means whatever of conveying even a hundred muskets, let alone
the ten thousand that Romana is good enough to ask for. By the way, are
you aware whether Sir John Moore intended the army to sail to England?"
"Certainly not, sir. I know that up to the moment the battle began the
preparation for the embarkation went on unceasingly, and General Fane told
me the night before that we were to be taken here. Whether Sir John may,
at the last moment, have countermanded that order I am unable to say."
"Yes, I know that it was his intention, for I received a letter from him,
written after his arrival at Corunna, saying that the embarkation could
not be effected without a battle, and that if he beat Soult he should at
once embark and bring the troops round here, as Ney's approaching force
would render Corunna untenable. Just at present the arrival of 20,000
tried troops would be invaluable. General Baird will, of course, have
succeeded Sir John Moore?"
"General Baird was severely wounded, sir. He had just ridden up to General
Fane when he was struck. General Hope would therefore be in command after
Sir John Moore was killed."
"I have heard no particulars of the battle," Sir John said, "beyond that
it has been fought and Soult has been driven back, that Sir John Moore is
killed, and that the army has embarked safely. And do I understand you
that it was towards the end of the battle that you were hurt?"
"It was getting dusk at the time, General, but I cannot say how long
fighting went on afterwards."
"Will you please to sit down at that table and give me, as nearly as you
can, a sketch of the position of our troops and those of the French, and
then explain to me, as far as you may have seen or know, the movements of
the corps and the course of events."
As Terence had, the evening before the battle, seen a sketch-map on which
General Fane had written the names and positions of the British force and
those of the French, he was able to draw one closely approximating to it.
In ten minutes he got up and handed the sketch to Sir John Cradock.
"I am afraid it is very rough, sir," he said, "but I think that it may
give you an idea of the position of the town and the neighbouring heights,
and the position occupied by our troops."
"Excellent, Mr. O'Connor!"
"I had the advantage of seeing a sketch-map that the brigadier drew out,
sir."
"Well, benefited from it. Now point out to me the various movements. It
seems to me that this large French battery must have galled the whole line
terribly; but, on the other hand, it is itself very exposed."
"General Fane said, sir, that he thought Soult was likely to be
over-confident. Our army was in frightful confusion on the retreat from
Lugo, and the number of stragglers was enormous. Although many came in
next day, the field-state showed that over 2,000 were still absent from
the colours. The brigadier was observing that there was one advantage in
this, namely, that Soult would suppose that the whole army was
disorganized, and might, therefore, take more liberties than he would
otherwise have done; and that, at any rate, he was likely to rely upon his
great force of cavalry on this plateau to cover the battery hill from any
attack on its left flank. It was for that purpose that General Paget
posted one of the regiments on this eminence on the right of the valley,
which had the effect of completely checking the French cavalry."
He then related the incidents of the battle as far as they had come under
his notice.
"A very ably fought battle," Sir John Cradock said, as he followed on the
map Terence's account of the movements. "Soult evidently miscalculated Sir
John's strength and the fighting powers of his troops. He hurled his whole
force directly against the position, specially endeavouring to turn our
right, but the force he employed there was altogether insufficient for the
purpose. From his position I gather that he could not have known of the
existence of Paget's reserve up the valley, but he must have seen Fraser's
division on the hill above Coranto. I suppose he reckoned that this
turning movement would shake the British position, throw them into
confusion, and enable his direct attack to be successful before Fraser
could come to their support. I am much obliged to you for your
description, Mr. O'Connor; it is very clear and lucid. I will write a
note, which you shall take to Mr. Villiers, and it is possible that you
may get help from him for Romana. I shall be glad if you will dine with me
here at six o'clock."
"I am much obliged to you, General, but I have nothing but the uniform in
which I stand, which is, as you see, almost in rags, and stained with mire
and blood."
"I think it is probable that you will have no difficulty in buying a fresh
uniform in the city; so many officers have come out here with exaggerated
ideas of the amount of transport, that they have had to cut down their
wardrobes to a very large extent."
He touched the bell. "Will you ask Captain Nelson to step in," he said to
the clerk who answered. "Captain Nelson," he said, as one of his staff
entered, "I want you to take Mr. O'Connor under your charge. He has just
arrived from the north, and was present at the battle of Corunna. He was
on Brigadier Fane's staff. As at present he is unattached, I shall put him
down in orders to-morrow as an extra aide-de-camp on my staff. He will be
leaving to-morrow for the northern frontier. I wish you to see if you
cannot get him an undress uniform. He belongs to the infantry. I will give
you an order on the paymaster, Mr. O'Connor, to honour your draft for any
amount that you may need. I dare say you are in arrears of pay."
"Yes, Sir John. I have drawn nothing since we marched from Torres Vedras
in October."