CONFIRMED IN COMMAND
Terence, after lunch was over, first related to the officers all that he
knew of the siege of Oporto, explaining why he did not choose to sacrifice
the men under him by joining the undisciplined rabble in the
intrenchments, but determined to keep the head of the bridge. They
listened with breathless interest to his narrative of the attack and
capture of Oporto.
"But how was it that that fifty-gun battery did not knock the bridge to
pieces when the French tried to cross?"
"That is more than I can say, Colonel. I should fancy that they were so
terrified at the utter rout on the other side, which they could see well
enough, for they had a view right over the town to the intrenchments, that
they simply fired wildly. I don't believe a single ball hit the bridge,
though, of course, they ought to have sunk a dozen boats in a couple of
minutes. My men could have held it for days, though they were suffering
somewhat from the fire of two of the French field batteries; but I found
that no steps whatever had been taken to remove the boats from the other
side. There were great numbers of them all along the bank, and the enemy
could have crossed a mile higher up, at the spot where I took my men over,
and so fallen on our rear, therefore I withdrew to save them from being
cut up or captured uselessly."
"Now tell us about those troops of yours, O'Connor."
Terence gave a somewhat detailed account of the manner in which he took
the command and of the subsequent operations, being desirous of doing
justice to Herrara and his troopers, and to his own two orderlies. There
was much laughter among the officers at his assumption of command, and at
the subsequent steps he took to form his mob of men into an orderly body;
but interest took the place of amusement as he told how they had prevented
the French from crossing at the mouth of the Minho, and caused Soult to
take the circuitous and difficult route by Orense. His subsequent defence
of the defile and the night attack upon the French, surprised them much,
and when he brought his story to a conclusion there were warm expressions
of approval among his hearers.
"I must congratulate you most heartily, Mr. O'Connor," the colonel said.
"What seemed at first a very wild and hare-brained enterprise, if you
don't mind my saying so, certainly turned out a singular success. It would
have seemed almost impossible that you, a young ensign, should be able to
exercise any authority over a great body of mere peasants, who have
everywhere shown themselves utterly insubordinate and useless under their
native officers. It is nothing short of astonishing; and it is most
gratifying to find that the Portuguese should, under an English officer,
develop fighting powers far beyond anything with which they have been
hitherto credited. What are you going to do now?"
"I was intending to send my despatches on to Sir John Cradock, and wait
here for orders."
"I think that you had better take your despatches on yourself, Mr. O'
Connor. I do not suppose that they are anything like so full as the story
you have told us, which, I am sure, would be of as much interest to the
general as it has been to us."
"I will do so, sir, and will start this evening. My horse had three days'
rest at Villa Nova, and is quite fit to travel."
"You must be feeling terribly anxious about your cousin," the officer who
had first told him about her remarked; "there is no saying what may have
happened in Oporto after it was stormed."
"I should indeed be, if she were there," Terence replied; "but I am happy
to say that she is at present in Coimbra, having travelled with us under
the charge of some Portuguese ladies, friends of Herrara."
"You don't mean to say that you persuaded the bishop to let her out of the
convent?"
"Scarcely," Terence laughed, "though the bishop did unwittingly aid me."
"I congratulate you on getting her out," the colonel said.
"Travers was telling us the day after you left what a curious coincidence
it was that the nun who threw him out a letter should turn out to be a
cousin of yours. Will you tell us how you managed it?"
"I don't mind telling it, sir, if all here will promise not to repeat it.
The Bishop of Oporto is a somewhat formidable person, and were he to lodge
a complaint against me he might get me into serious trouble, and is
perfectly capable of having me stabbed some dark night in the streets of
Lisbon; therefore, I think it would be as well to omit any details of the
share he played in the matter. Without that the story is simple enough.
Having got a boat with two men in it at the end of the street in which
stood the convent, I went there in the dress of an ecclesiastic, just as
the French burst into the town. The bishop had fled on the night before to
the Serra Convent on the other side of the river, and I was able to
produce an authority from him which satisfied the lady superior that I was
the bearer of his order for her and the nuns to make for the bridge, and
to cross the river at once.
"Of course, I accompanied them. The crowd was great and they naturally got
separated. In the confusion my orderlies managed to get my cousin out of
the crowd, and took her straight to the boat. As soon as I saw that they
had gone, I persuaded the lady superior to take the rest of the nuns back
to the convent at once, as the bridge was by this time broken, and the
French had made their appearance. She got the nuns together and made off
with them as fast as they could run, and after seeing that they were all
nearly back to their convent without any signs of the French being near, I
joined the others in the boat, and we rowed across the river. It was a
simple business altogether, though at first it seemed very hopeless."
"Especially to get the authority of the bishop," the colonel said, with a
smile.
"That certainly seemed the most hopeless part of the business," Terence
replied; "but happily I was able to manage it somehow."
"Well, you certainly have had a most remarkable series of adventures, Mr.
O'Connor. Now we will go and inspect your corps. Of course they will be
rationed while they are here, and will be under my general orders until I
hear from Cradock."
"Quite so, Colonel; I am sure they will be proud of being inspected by
you. Of course, they are unable to do any complicated manoeuvres, but
those they do know they know pretty thoroughly, and can do them in a rough
and ready way that for actual work is, I think, just as good as a
parade-ground performance. I will go on ahead, sir, and form them up."
"I would rather, if you don't mind, that they should have no warning," the
colonel said; "we will just go down quietly, and see how quickly they can
turn out."
"Very well, sir."
All there expressed their wish to go, and as all were provided with horses
or ponies of some kind, in ten minutes they rode off in a body. His
officers had been very busy all the time that Terence had been away,
serving out the uniforms and seeing that they were properly put on. The
work was just over, and the men were sauntering about round their tents
when the party arrived. Herrara came up and saluted. He was known to the
colonel, as he had dined with Terence at the mess on their way through.
After a few words, Terence said to Herrara:
"Have the assembly blown, and let the men fall in."
Herrara walked back to the tents, and a moment later a horn blew. It had
an uncouth sound, and bore no resemblance to the ordinary call, but it was
promptly obeyed. The men snatched their muskets from the piles in front of
the tents, and in a wonderfully short time the whole were formed up in
their ranks, stiff and immovable.
"Excellently done!" the colonel said; "no British regiment could have
fallen in more smartly."
Accompanied by Terence, and followed by the rest of the officers, he rode
along the line. The evening before Terence had impressed upon the captains
of companies the necessity for having the rifles perfectly clean, as they
were about to join a British camp, so that the pieces were all in perfect
order. When the inspection was over the mounted group drew off a little.
"The troops will form up in columns of companies," Terence said, and Bull
and Macwitty, who were at the head of their respective regiments, gave the
orders. The movements were well executed. The men, proud of their uniform,
and on their mettle at being inspected by British officers, did their
best, and that best left little to be desired. After marching past, they
formed into company squares to resist cavalry, then retired by alternate
companies, and then formed into line.
"Excellently done!" said the colonel. "Indeed, I can hardly believe it
possible that a party of peasants have in a month's time been formed into
a body of good soldiers. I should like the officers to come up."
"Call the officers."
There was an officers' call, and this now sounded, and the twelve captains
with their two majors rode to the front and saluted. "Mr. Herrara," the
colonel said, "I have seen with surprise and the greatest satisfaction the
movements of the men under you; they do you the greatest credit, and I
shall have pleasure in sending in a most favourable report to the general,
the result of my inspection of the regiments. I hear from Mr. O'Connor
that your men have shown themselves capable of holding their own against
the French, and I can say that I should feel perfectly confident in going
into action with my regiment supported by such brave and capable troops.
Would that instead of 2,000 we had 100,000 Portuguese troops equally to be
trusted, we should very speedily turn the French out of Portugal and drive
them from the Peninsula."
The officers bowed and rode off. The troops had not learned the salute,
and when the horn sounded they were at once dismissed drill.
"Well, Mr. O'Connor, I must congratulate you most heartily on what you
have done. If nothing else, you have added to our army a couple of strong
regiments of capable soldiers. If I had not seen it myself I should have
thought it impossible that over 2,000 men could be converted into soldiers
in so short a time, and that without experienced non-commissioned officers
to work them up."
Returning to Coimbra with the colonel, Terence rode to the house where
Herrara's friends had taken rooms, and told them that he was going to
leave them. Don Jose at once wrote several letters of introduction to
influential friends at Lisbon, telling them that he and his daughters had
escaped from the sack of Oporto, and asking them to show every kindness to
the officer, to whom they chiefly owed their safety.
Terence meanwhile returned to camp, arranged with Herrara and the two
majors that everything was to go on as usual during his absence, urging
them to work hard at their drill, and to impress upon the men the
necessity, now that they were in uniform, of carrying themselves as
soldiers, and doing credit to their corps.
Five days later he arrived at Lisbon, taking with him a report from the
commandant of his inspection of the corps.
"I had begun to be afraid that you had been killed or taken prisoner, Mr.
O'Connor," Sir John Cradock said, as Terence presented himself, "or that
you must have fallen back with Romana into Spain. He seems to have behaved
very badly, for, as I hear, although he had 10,000 men with him, half of
them regular troops, he retired without a shot being fired--except by two
regiments who were mauled by the French cavalry--and left Silveira in the
lurch."
"I was on other business, General, and I fear that you will think that I
exceeded my orders; but I hope that you will consider that the result has
justified my doing so. Will you kindly first run your eye over this report
by the officer commanding at Coimbra?"
Sir John Cradock read the report with a puzzled expression of face, then
he said: "But what regiments are these that Colonel Wilberforce speaks of
in such high terms? Were they part of Romana's force? He speaks of them as
a corps under your command, and as being 2,300 strong."
"They were not Romana's men, sir, but a body of ordenanças, of whom, as my
report will inform you, I came by a combination of circumstances to take
the command, appointing Lieutenant Herrara, who commanded my escort,
colonel, my two orderlies as majors, and the Portuguese troopers of my
escort as captains of companies. We have been several times engaged with
the French, and I cannot speak too highly of the behaviour of officers and
men."
Sir John Cradock burst into a laugh. "You certainly are a cool hand, Mr.
O'Connor. Assuredly I did not contemplate when I sent you off that you
would return as colonel of two regiments."
"Nor did I, sir. But, you see, you gave me general instructions to concert
measures with Romana for the defence of the frontier. I saw at once that
Romana was hopeless, and was therefore myself driven to take these
measures. As Oporto has fallen I cannot say they were successful, but at
least I may say that we gave Oporto fourteen days' extra time to prepare
her defence, and if she did not take advantage of the time it was not my
fault."
The look of amusement on the general's face turned to one of interest.
"How did you do that, sir?"
"My corps prevented Soult from crossing at the mouth of the Minho,
General, killing some two hundred of his men and driving his boats back
across the river. When the French general saw that he could not cross in
face of such opposition, he was obliged to march his army round by Orense
and down by the passes, which ought to have been successfully defended by
the Portuguese."
"That was good service, indeed, Mr. O'Connor. I received despatches from
our agents at Oporto, saying that Soult's landing had been repulsed by
armed peasants."
"My men were little more than armed peasants then, sir, though they had
had a few days' hard drill; still, a British officer would scarcely have
called them soldiers."
"Well, I think that Wilberforce's report shows that they have a right to
that title now. Take a seat, Mr. O' Connor, and a newspaper--there are
some that arrived two days ago--while I look over your report."
Terence had written in much greater detail than is usual in official
reports, as he wished the general to see how well the men and their
officers had behaved. It was twenty minutes before the general finished
it.
"A very remarkable report, Mr. O'Connor; very remarkable. You must dine
with me this evening. I have many questions to ask you about it, and also
about the storming of Oporto, of which we have, as yet, received no
details, although a messenger from the bishop brought us the news some
days ago. He seems to have made a terrible mess of it."
"He ought to be hung, sir!" Terence said, indignantly. "After getting all
those unfortunate peasants together he sneaked off and hid himself in a
convent on the other side of the river, on the very night before the
French attacked."
"Unfortunately, Mr. O'Connor, we cannot give all men their deserts, or we
should want all the rope on board the ships in the harbour for the
purpose. The bishop is a firebrand of the most dangerous kind; and I
suppose we shall have him here in a day or two, for he said in his letter
that he was on his way. There is one comfort: he will be too busy in
quarrelling with the authorities to have any time to spend on his quarrels
with us. Then I shall see you in an hour's time. Please ask Captain Nelson
to come in here; I have some notes for him to write."
Terence bowed and retired.
"What a nuisance!" Captain Nelson said. "I was wanting to hear all that
you had been doing."
"I am to dine with the general," Terence said. "Perhaps I shall meet you
there."
Captain Nelson found that he was wanted to write notes of invitation to
such of the officers who were still at Lisbon as had dined there when
Terence was last the general's guest; and as the general's invitations
overrode all other engagements, most of them were present when Terence
returned.
"Mr. O'Connor has another story for you, gentlemen," the general said,
when the cloth was removed and the wine put upon the table. "I am not sure
whether I am right in calling him Mr. O' Connor, for he has been
performing the duties of a colonel, commanding two regiments in the
Portuguese service. I will preface his story by reading the report of
Colonel Wilberforce, commanding at Coimbra, of the state of efficiency of
his command."
There was a look of surprise at the general's remarks, and that surprise
was greatly heightened on the reading of Colonel Wilberforce's report.
"Now, Mr. O'Connor," the general said, when he had finished, "I am sure
that we shall all be obliged by your giving us a detailed statement of the
manner in which you raised those regiments, and of the operations that you
undertook with them; and the more details you give us the better, for it
is well that we should understand how the Portuguese can be best handled.
I may say at once that, personally, we are greatly indebted to you for
having proved that, when even partially disciplined and well led, they are
capable of doing very good service, a fact of which, I own, I have been
hitherto very doubtful."
Smiles were exchanged among the auditors when Terence described the manner
in which he came to command the body of undisciplined ordenanças. When he
spoke of the state in which he found Romana's army, and the reason for his
determination to keep his column intact, they listened more attentively,
and exchanged looks of surprise when he described his rapid march to the
mouth of the Minho, and the repulse of Soult's attempt to cross from Tuy.
He then described how he had joined Silveira, and the mutiny of that
general's troops. Still more surprise was manifested when he related the
action in the defile and the bravery with which his troops had behaved,
and the manner in which they had been handled by the troopers that he had
appointed as their officers. The night attack on the cavalry and infantry
of the head of Soult's column was equally well received. His reasons for
not joining the army at Braga, and of keeping aloof from the mob of
peasants at Oporto were as much approved as was the holding of the bridge
for a while, and his reasons for withdrawing.
"Well, gentlemen," the general said, when Terence had finished, "I think
you will allow that my aide-de-camp, Mr. O'Connor, has given a good
account of himself, and that if he went outside my orders, his doing so
has been most amply justified."
"It has, indeed, General," one of the senior officers said, warmly. "I can
answer for myself, that I should have been proud to have been able to tell
such a story."
A murmur of approval ran round the table.
"It is difficult to say whether Mr. O'Connor's readiness to accept
responsibility, or the manner in which, in the short space of a month, he
turned a mob of peasants into regular soldiers, or the quickness with
which he marched to the spot threatened by Soult, and so compelled him to
entirely change the plan of his campaign, or his conduct in the defence of
the defile, and in his night attack, are most remarkable."
"I should wish to say, General, that in telling this story I have been
chiefly anxious to do justice to the hearty co-operation of Lieutenant
Herrara, and the services rendered by my own two orderlies and his
troopers. By myself, I could have done absolutely nothing. Their work was
hard and incessant, and the drill and discipline of the troops was wholly
due to them."
"I understand, Mr. O'Connor; it is quite right for you to say so, and I
thoroughly recognize that they must have done good service; but it is to
the man that plans, organizes, and infuses his own spirit into those under
his command, that everything is due. Now, Mr. O'Connor, I think I will ask
you to leave us for a few minutes; the case is rather an exceptional one,
and I shall be glad to chat the matter over with the officers present.
Well, gentlemen, what do you think that we are to do with Mr. O'Connor?"
he went on, with a smile, as the door closed behind Terence.
"My experience affords me no guide, General," another of the senior
officers said. "It is simply amazing that a lad of seventeen--I suppose he
is not much over that--should have conceived and carried out such a plan.
It sounds like a piece of old knight-errantry. Clive did as much, but
Clive was some years older when he first became a thorn in the side of the
French. What is your opinion, sir?"
"He is already a lieutenant," the general said. "I sent home a strong
recommendation that he should be promoted, when he was last here, and
received an intimation three days ago that he had been gazetted lieutenant
and transferred to my staff. This time I shall simply, send home a copy of
the report he has furnished me with, and that of Colonel Wilberforce, and
say that I leave the reports to speak for themselves, but that in my
opinion it is a case altogether exceptional. That is all I can do now. The
question of course is, whether he shall return to staff service again, or
shall continue in command of the corps with which he has done so much. If
he does the latter he must have local rank, otherwise he would be liable
to be overruled by any Portuguese officer of superior rank. I think that
the best way would be to send a copy of the reports to Lord Beresford,
saying that my opinion is very strong that Lieutenant O'Connor should be
allowed to retain an independent command of the corps that he has raised
and disciplined; and that I will either myself bestow local rank upon him,
and treat the corps as forming a part of the British army, like that of
Trant, or that he should give him local rank as its colonel, in which case
he would operate still independently, but in connection with Beresford's
own force."
"I should almost think that the first step would be best, General, if I
might say so. In the first place, Beresford will have any number of
irregular parties operating with him, while such a corps would be
invaluable to us. They are capable of taking long marches, they know the
mountains and forests, and would keep us supplied with news, while they
harassed the enemy. As an officer on your staff, O'Connor would have a
much greater power among the Portuguese population than he would have on
his own account in their own army, and he would be very much less likely
to be interfered with by the leaders of other parties and corps."
"Perhaps that would be the best way, Colonel. I will send the reports to
Beresford, and say that I have appointed Lieutenant O'Connor to remain in
command of this corps, which I shall attach to my own command; and saying
that I shall be obliged if he will have a commission made out for him,
giving him the local rank of colonel in the Portuguese army. Beresford is
himself a gallant soldier, and will appreciate, as you do, the work that
O'Connor has done; and as he knows nothing of the lad's age he will
comply, as a matter of course, with my request. I shall, in writing home,
strongly recommend his two cavalrymen for commissions. As to Herrara, I
shall ask Beresford to give him the rank of lieutenant-colonel. I shall
suggest to Beresford that his troopers should all receive commissions in
his army. They have all earned them, which is more than I can say of any
other Portuguese soldiers, so far as I have heard."
Terence was then called in again.
"In the first place, I have a pleasant piece of news to give you, Mr. O'
Connor, namely, that I have received from home an official letter, that on
my recommendation you have been gazetted to the rank of lieutenant and
transferred to my staff; in the second place, I have decided, that while
still retaining you on my staff, you will be continued in your present
command; I shall obtain for you a commission as colonel in the Portuguese
service, but your corps will form part of my command, and act with the
British army. I shall request Lord Beresford to appoint Mr. Herrara to the
rank of lieutenant-colonel, and shall recommend that commissions be given
to his troopers. The two orderlies, of whose services you spoke so highly,
I shall recommend for commissions in our army, and shall request Lord
Beresford to give them local rank as majors."
Terence coloured with pleasure and confusion.
"I am greatly obliged to you, General," he said; "but I do not at all feel
that the services that I have tried to perform----"
"That is for me to judge," the general said, kindly. "All the officers
here quite agree with me, that those services have been very marked and
exceptional and are at one with me as to how they should be recognized.
Moreover, in obtaining for you the rank of colonel in the Portuguese army,
I am not only recognizing those services, but am adding to the power that
you will have of rendering further services to the army. Although attached
to our forces, you will receive your colonel's commission from Lord
Beresford, who is now the general appointed by the Portuguese government
to command their army."
It was now late, and the party rose. All of them shook hands warmly with
Terence, who retired with his friend Captain Nelson. The latter told him
before they went in to dinner that he had had a bed put up for him in his
own room.
"Well, Colonel O'Connor," Nelson laughed, "you must allow me to be the
first to salute you as my superior officer."
"It is absurd altogether," Terence said, almost ruefully. "Still, Captain
Nelson, though I may hold a superior rank in the Portuguese army, that
goes for very little. I have seen enough of Portuguese officers to know
that even their own soldiers have not got any respect for them, and in our
own army I am only a lieutenant."
"That is so, lad; however, there was never promotion more deserved. And as
you hung, or rather left to be hung, a Portuguese colonel, it is only
right that you should supply the deficiency."
"I hope I shall not have to wear a Portuguese uniform," Terence said,
earnestly.
"I should think not, O'Connor, but I will ask the general in the morning.
Of course, you will not wear your present uniform, because you are now
gazetted into the staff and out of your own regiment. Now we will smoke a
quiet cigar before we turn in. Have you any other story to tell me that
you have not already related?"
"Well, yes, I have one, but it is only of a personal interest;" and he
then gave an account of his discovery of his cousin in the convent at
Oporto, and how he had managed to rescue her, ending by saying: "I have
told you the story, Nelson, so that if by any unexpected accident it is
found out that she is an escaped nun, and her friends appeal to the
general for protection, you may be aware of the circumstances, and help."
"Certainly I will do so," Captain Nelson said, warmly. "You certainly have
a wonderful head for devising plans."
"I began it early," Terence laughed. "I was always in mischief before I
got my commission, and I suppose that helps me; but you see I had
wonderful luck."
"I don't say anything against your luck; but good luck is of no use unless
a fellow knows how to take advantage of it, and that is just what you have
done. I suppose that you will stay here for a day or two."
"My horse wants a couple of days' rest, and I have my uniform to get. I
suppose I can get one made in a couple of days, whether it is a Portuguese
or an English one."
"Yes, I dare say you will be able to manage that."
The next morning, to his great satisfaction, Terence learned that the
general said he had better wear staff uniform, and he accordingly went
with Captain Nelson and was measured.
"Your Portuguese seems to have improved amazingly in the two months you
have been away," the latter said, as they came out from the shop; "you
seem to jabber away quite fluently."
"I have been talking nothing else, and Herrara has acted as my instructor,
so I get on very fairly now."
At this moment a carriage drove past them.
"That is the Bishop of Oporto," said Terence; "I suppose he has just
arrived."
"It is a good thing that he does not know you as well as you know him,"
Captain Nelson said, dryly; "if he did, your adventures would be likely to
be cut short by a knife between your shoulders some dark night."
"He does not know me at all," Terence laughed; "the advantages are all on
my side in the present case."
"It is an advantage," Captain Nelson laughed. "When I think that you have
raised your hand against that venerable but somewhat truculent prelate, I
shudder at your boldness. I only caught a glimpse of him as he passed, but
I could see that he looks rather scared."
"Perhaps he hasn't recovered yet from the fright I gave him," laughed
Terence; "I have seen and heard enough of his doings, and paid him a very
small instalment of the debt due to him."
The uniforms were promised for the next evening, and Terence felt when he
put them on that they were a considerable improvement upon his late one,
stained and discoloured as it was by wet, mud, and travel. After paying a
visit to the general to say good-bye, Terence mounted and started for
Coimbra.
Upon his arrival there four days later he at once reported himself to the
commandant.
"I received a copy of the general order of last Tuesday," the latter said,
"and congratulate you warmly on being confirmed in your rank. I thought
that it would be so, for one could not reckon that, had another taken your
place, your corps would have maintained its present state of efficiency."
"You are very good to say so, Colonel, but any British officer appointed
to command it would do as well or better than I should."
"I don't think that he would in any way; but certainly he would not be
followed with the same confidence by his men as they would follow you, and
with troops like these everything depends upon their confidence in their
commander."
"The corps is now attached to our army, Colonel; you were good enough to
order them to be rationed before, but I have now an order from the general
for them to draw pay and rations the same as the British troops."
"That is all right," the colonel said, examining the document; "I will
take a copy of it, but as it is a general order you must keep the original
yourself. I see that you have now adopted the uniform of the staff. It is
certainly a great improvement upon that of an infantry officer, and
appearances go for a good deal among these Portuguese. I see, by the way,
that you have got your step in our army."
"Yes, Colonel, the general was good enough to recommend me. Of course I am
glad in one way, but I am sorry that it has put me out of the regiment
that I have been brought up with. But, of course, it was necessary, for I
could not have gone over other men's heads in it."
"No, when a man gets special promotion it is always into another regiment
for that reason. You will be glad to hear that your men have been behaving
extremely well in your absence, and that I have not heard of a single case
of drunkenness or misconduct among them. I have been down there several
times, and always found them hard at work drilling; they seem to me to
improve every time I see them."
On leaving the colonel's quarters Terence rode to his cousin's. Mary rose
with an exclamation of surprise as he entered.
"What a handsome uniform, Terence! How is it that you have changed it?"
"I am now regularly on the general's staff, Mary, and this is the
uniform."
"You look very well in it," she said; "don't you think so, Lorenza?"
"I do, indeed," her friend agreed; "it does make a difference."
"Well, to begin with, it is clean and new," Terence laughed; "and though
the other was not old, it had seen its best days. But I have more news,
Mary; you have now to address your cousin as colonel."
Mary clapped her hands, and Don Jose and his family uttered exclamations
of pleasure.
"It is quite right," Mary said; "it is ridiculous that Señor Herrara
should be colonel and you only Mr. O'Connor."
"It does not matter much about a name," he said. "I commanded before and I
shall do so now, but I have got Portuguese rank."
"Why did not they make you an English colonel?" Mary asked, rather
indignantly.
Terence laughed. "I shall be lucky if I get that in another twenty years,
Mary. I am a lieutenant now--I have got the step since you saw me
last--but I am to rank as a colonel in the Portuguese army as long as I
command this corps, which I am glad to say is now to form a part of the
British army. Herrara is to have the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Bull and
Macwitty will, I hope, get their commissions as ensigns in the British
army, with local rank of majors. The general will recommend that Herrara's
troopers all get commissions in the Portuguese army."
"Ah, well! I am pleased that your services are appreciated, Terence. We
are very glad that you have come back, Lorenza especially so, as, now you
have returned, she thinks she will see more of Señor Herrara."
"The bishop is in Lisbon, Mary."
"That is not such good news, Terence. I will be very careful to keep out
of his way."
"Do," he said. "I have spoken to Captain Nelson, one of the general's
staff, about you, and if by any chance you should be recognized as an
escaped nun, I hope that Don Jose will go to him at once and ask him to
obtain the general's protection for you, which will, I am sure, be given.
Your father was an Irishman. You are a British subject, and have a right
to protection. You won't forget the name, Don Jose--Captain Nelson?"
"I will write it down at once," the Portuguese said, "but as Donna Mary
will pass under the name of Dillon, and her dress has so changed her
appearance, I do not think that there is the smallest fear of her being
recognized. Indeed, no one could know her except the bishop himself."
"You may be sure that I shall not go out much in Lisbon," Mary said, "and
if I do I will keep my promise to be always closely veiled."