The Moorish slave passed without obstacle to the rear of the camp;
and, making his mute salam to his equally silent charge, quitted him
in a recess between the hills. Louis found his way back to the Spanish
lines, by keeping close to the sea-coast; and, throwing off his
disguise, proceeded close under the wall of Ceuta, till he arrived at
the draw-bridge, which he crossed at day-break.
He employed some hours in self collection before it was necessary to
inform the Marquis Santa Cruz of the interview he had sought in the
Moorish camp; and that the result destroyed his every hope of inducing
the unhappy renegade to forego his scheme of vengeance.
Santa Cruz too much respected the filial devotion of Louis, in what he
had done, to reprimand the rashness of the experiment.
"But there let it cease," said he. "You now owe a duty elsewhere,
and must preserve the loyalty of that name in yourself, which he so
determinately abandons."
"I shall attempt it," replied Louis, as he moved to leave the
apartment. "Allow me to serve in your army as a volunteer, and I will
do my best not to disgrace your confidence."
"De Montemar, I can never doubt _you_."
Louis sighed at the emphasis his veteran friend laid upon the word
you; and, with feelings which only a son in his situation can know, he
replied:--
"When my father has fallen from his proud height of virtue, who dare
think he stands?"
Santa Cruz understood the response; and, with a voice of parental
tenderness, made answer:
"He fell, because his virtue was proud. It is not so with you.
Therefore, let not the lowliness of a wounded spirit, mourning the
transgressions of others, lessen your faith in the power God has given
you to be, what you believed your Father was. Stand erect in your own
virtue, for it is the panoply of heaven; and do not allow infidelity,
even in the shape of a parent, to suppose it can bow a head so armed."
Louis kissed the hand that grasped his, in the zeal of the exhortation;
and without further observation withdrew.
During their conversation, and while the Marquis expressed his
satisfaction at finding that the alleged violation of the first
flag of truce was produced by the outrageous conduct of the Spanish
officer, and not a dishonourable breach of military law on the side
of Ripperda,--he explained to Louis, why the supposition of so base
an act had appeared fuller of despair in his eyes, than even the bold
derelictions of apostacy and treason. To a daring crime of the latter
complexion, a man may be impelled by a sudden passion; and though he
deserve the punishment of his offence, yet remorse may follow the
transgression, and he will as bravely acknowledge the justice of his
sentence, and, to the utmost, make restitution, as he had before
desperately incurred the penalty of the great moral law. But a mean,
over-reaching, treacherous action, proves cowardice of soul; and he
who performs it has never courage to look it in the face; or if it
be pressed upon him, still he crouches under his load of infamy, or
impudently affects ignorance of its existence, while he feels in his
own heart that he has not spirit to retrace his path to reputation by
confession and amendment. Hence, as desertion of honour is the vice of
cowards, it is hopeless in its nature; and society can offer no terms
to him who has so entirely abandoned himself.
Louis had no idea of military glory, when he volunteered his services
to the Spanish arms. His aim was to guard his father's head in the
day of battle; while he hoped to prove to Spain, and to the world,
(should it ever hear of him more,) that he behaved with fidelity to the
country to which that father had constrained him to swear allegiance.
Life's aspect was changed to him. He had hardly entered the morn of
his days; and the clouds were gathered over the opening prospect; at
least, all his dearest objects were snatched from his sight;--the lofty
consciousness of public duties, the race of glory, and the fame of
future ages!--Even at the starting post, he had reached the goal; and
his hardly-risen sun went instant down in darkness.--
"How many before me, and how many that come after me, have destinies
directly the reverse of mine! Nay, their day of brightness is even
lengthened like that of Joshua in the field of Gibeon, till all in
their heart be."
The draught was a bitter one, which Louis found in his cup of trial;
but he was resolved to drink it to the dregs;--"And there," cried he,
"I shall find it has some sweetness."
The observations he could not help making in passing through the
Moorish camp, shewed him the strength of the enemy; and from the
discipline and number of the troops, he did not doubt that the
slender garrison of Ceuta would be lost, should his father determine
on attacking it by storm. The fortifications were in so bad a state,
that Santa Cruz set all hands to work to bring them into order; and,
meanwhile, sent to the lines before San Roque for a reinforcement of
engineers, and as many troops as they could spare.
During these preparations, the Basha was seen visiting his works every
day, surrounded by a guard of horsemen; who, however, in contempt of
the Spaniards, amused themselves in scampering about, throwing the
gerid, and firing at each other in sport, between their own parallels.
It was evident that Ripperda wished to provoke Santa Cruz to a battle,
or to induce him to believe that such was his motive; for he ventured
insulting detachments, even under the fire of the Spanish forts. But
he had another point in view;--to seize the fortified town of Larach.
By retaining possession of that place, the Spaniards might command
the whole of the Atlantic coast of the empire of Morocco. Larach
on the Atlantic, and Ceuta on the Mediterranean, were now all that
remained to Philip in Africa; and the new Aben Humeya was aware, that
while the Moors were making these hostile demonstrations before the
one, the other would consider itself secure; and, therefore, the more
easily fall into his hands. A large body of men were marching from
Mequinez, to complete the army with which he meant to crush the whole
Spanish power, both in Morocco and Algiers; and this reinforcement,
by his orders, was now halted in the vallies of Benzeroel. On such
information, he quitted his camp; and leaving directions with Sidi Ali
how to proceed in his absence, proceeded to the head of this second
army, and to the surprise of Larach.
He was well acquainted with the character of the military governor, Don
Juan d'Orendayn; a vain and ignorant brother of the no less insolent
and vain Count de Paz, his most inveterate enemy at the Spanish court.
But it was not to revenge himself on any individual, that Ripperda
would have moved a single step. It was against the whole Spanish
nation he had sworn vengeance; and high or low, declared enemies, or
professing friends, all were alike to him:--They were Spaniards, and
he drew an unsparing sword.
All the revenge that he took personally on the kinsman of de Paz,
was to make his vanity the cause of his destruction; and sending a
renegade Jew into the town, the pretended deserter informed d'Orendayn,
that Aben Humeya was encamped with a few troops on the banks of the
river on his way to the siege of Ceuta. He added, the fears of these
raw recruits were so great, of Don Juan discovering they were in his
neighbourhood, they had drawn the line of their camp to a fictitious
length, to deceive him with regard to their numbers; and that Aben
Humeya, not being able to place any dependance on these timid men, was
under apprehensions like their own, till he could excite their courage
by mingling them with the veterans before Ceuta. The Jew found himself
believed; and was vehemently seconded by the younger officers in the
garrison, when he advised a sudden sally from Larach, and promised to
Don Juan the glory of making Aben Humeya his prisoner.
Cowardice and ambition contended in the breast of d'Orendayn. The same
day he dispatched a corps of observation, to ascertain the truth of the
deserter; and on its bearing witness that the pavilion of the Basha
stood in the midst of a line of tents, which could not contain more
than four or five hundred men; hesitation was at an end, and the eager
governor gave orders for a sortie that very night; when he hoped to
steal an easy victory.
Ripperda had disposed the strength of his army amongst the numerous
dells and recesses at the foot of the mountains. On one side of his
visible front, was a thick wood; on the other, a small branch of the
river Lecus. His cavalry was posted behind the wood; and his own little
camp, which consisted of six hundred of his best disciplined men,
lay on their arms within their lines. These were nothing more than a
range of hurdles; but so disposed, as to be a sufficient screen for the
assailed to form behind them.
D'Orendayn, believing the whole of the Basha's present force was
contained in that small boundary, came boldly forward with two-thirds
of his own garrison; and with a furious discharge of musquetry, fell
upon the Moorish camp. The night was bright, and seemed to favour the
exploit. After making a shew of some resistance; the attacked gave
ground, and soon after fled towards the mountain. The Spanish commander
blew a summons for the rest of the garrison to join him in the chace;
for he saw that victory over so inconsiderable a body, would yield him
little honour, unless he could secure the person of its formidable
leader. When the pursuers appeared to gain ground upon the fugitives
which surrounded the banner of Aben Humeya; and Orendayn thought he
had already countless rewards in his possession, for this masterly
atchievement; he was advanced into the ambuscade. The Basha, facing
suddenly round, cried aloud:--
"Lahillah Lah, Mahometh ressoul Allah!"
A thousand voices echoed the sound; showers of arrows poured from
the incumbent heights; and, from every opening in the hills, Moorish
infantry rushed upon the astonished victors, while the cavalry from the
wood charged them in the rear.
No Spaniard returned to tell the story. Larach received a Moorish
garrison; and the crescent of Mohammed was flying on its walls, when
a little row-boat, manned by a few Christian merchants who escaped
during the confusion in the town, made the best of its way to reach the
Spanish coast.
The acclamations which followed the return of Aben Humeya to his camp
before Ceuta, were heard in the Spanish fortress; and, soon after,
there was a rumor amongst the Jews in the town, of what had befallen
Larach.
Santa Cruz was confounded when he found the report true. He had
received so insufficient an accession to his force, that it appeared
mere mockery. No artillery was sent, for which he had particularly
dispatched his messenger; and he perceived a spirit of contradiction
to him, in all the orders which the war-minister gave out for the
prosecution of the African campaign. Besides this, the Count de Patinos
came direct from Seville, with a peremptory command from the Queen, for
Santa Cruz to join her there.
An exchange of brides between the royal heirs of Spain and Portugal
was the ostensible reason for the journey of the Court towards the
Spanish frontiers; but the real motive, was a desire of the King's to
view, with his own eyes, the lines he was planning at San Roque, to
shut out the fortress of Gibraltar from all communication with his
people; and to facilitate his operations on that place, in any future
siege. Previous to his visiting this scene of anticipated glory, he
became indisposed, and the court halted at Seville. His illness wore so
dangerous an aspect, Isabella became alarmed; and thought it prudent to
know personally from Santa Cruz, what was likely to be the persistance
of Ripperda, before she should disarm herself, by dispatching those
troops to Africa, which the death of Philip might render necessary to
the maintenance of her son's claims elsewhere.
The small detachment which had been granted, arrived under the command
of Don Joseph de Pinel;--Don Ferdinand d'Osorio was on his staff;
and the young soldier eagerly joined his father, where he longed to
obliterate the memory of his youthful follies, by a conduct worthy
of his hopes. In Lindisfarne, he had regarded the peculiar endowments
of Louis de Montemar with jealousy and dislike, till the ingenuous
character of their possessor compelled him to esteem the object of
his antipathy. But he only envied him, as far as he believed those
admirable qualities had made an impression on the heart his own wished
to attach. When Alice acknowledged her love, this jealousy was no more;
and with it vanished his dislike of her cousin.
During Ferdinand's stay at Val del Uzeda, his mother talked down the
night, in praise of the filial perseverance of the Marquis de Montemar;
in describing his ingenuous and elevated deportment; in imagining
all the various treasures of his yet more elevated mind. Her son
listened with no other feeling than that of emulation, to merit similar
encomiums; and Marcella, answered his enquiries respecting her opinion
of Louis, by a melancholy smile.
"Were I called hence;" said she, "and in my altered state, might chuse
my ministry, I would say, let me be guardian angel to that virtuous
young man!"
"Indeed!" replied Ferdinand, drawing his own inferences from the
innocent reply of his sister. She spoke it from the dictates of a
pure and pious heart; and did not blush when she answered his smiling
remark;--"That she had chosen a work of supererogation; for a virtuous
character needed no ministration: It was sufficient to itself."
"No Ferdinand," returned she, "virtue is not apathy. It feels under
the rack; it bleeds under the axe. But where the weakness of corrupted
nature would shrink and fly, it is steadfast, and combats, or sustains
to the end. Virtue is not an Heathen idol; a block, or a stone. It is a
Christian spirit in a human body; and comfort may wipe the drops from
its suffering brow."
Ferdinand was reproved, and did not venture again to sport with a
sentiment, which suited so well with the vestal state he still hoped
to induce her to make the price of his happiness with Alice. But there
his arguments failed. Marcella recapitulated the simple principles of
religious belief she had imbibed from her Protestant governess; and
shed tears, as she asserted the impossibility of her taking monastic
vows in a church, against the peculiar tenets of which her soul
revolted.
"I could resign my life for you, my dear brother," added she, "but for
nothing this world can produce, dare I sacrifice my conscience."
To providence, then, Ferdinand left his future destiny; and now only
striving to deserve its bounty, he resolved to make Louis de Montemar
the confidant and counsellor of his thoughts. He embraced him on the
African shore, with a grateful acknowledgement of his former generous
interference; and soon convinced Louis, that he held to his heart, the
still faithful lover of his dear Alice.
Before Santa Cruz quitted Ceuta, he held a council, in which he left
positive orders with the Count de Blas, that no sally should be
attempted, until he came back with the men and ammunition which were
necessary to make the first attack the decisive one. An hour passed
in private conference between him and the anxious son of Ripperda.
The Marquis alone, knew that Aben Humeya was other than a Moor; and,
therefore, the Marquis alone knew why the once gay De Montemar was
seldom seen to smile; and why, while he did his military duty with a
precision that neither admitted error, nor relaxation, the glow of
martial enthusiasm was extinguished in his countenance. But the hectic
of fevered diligence still kept its crimson on his cheek and at times
gave a lustre to his eyes of intolerable brightness.
Santa Cruz had hardly set sail, when a spirit, very different from that
of obedience to his commands, manifested itself amongst the heads of
the garrison. The Moors seemed more carelessly disposed in their camp,
revelling and exulting in the easy fall of Larach; and in consequence
of some observations on the unguarded state of their lines, Don Joseph
de Penil proposed attacking the Basha by surprise. The Counts de Blas
and de Patinos warmly assented to the enterprize; and the former
turned to Louis, saying he should lead the volunteers in the sortie.
He thanked the governor for the proposed distinction, but respectfully
reminded him of the Marquis's parting commands. Every lip was now
opened upon the absurdity of Santa Cruz attempting to curb events by
such ill-judged caution; and as de Penil persisted in pressing the
advantage of the present moment, he triumphantly called on Louis to
give the Marquis's reasons for such jealous prevention.
Louis calmly explained the incapability of Ceuta to defend itself,
should the sally be repulsed by the enemy. He gave his reasons for this
opinion, by enumerating all the wants and defects of the garrison; and
ended by repeating the positive charge of the Marquis Santa Cruz, that
no egress should be made from the Spanish lines, until his return with
sufficient means to render defeat almost impossible.
"De Montemar!" exclaimed de Blas, "these considerations are for grey
hairs. If you are ambitious to be a soldier, begin at the right end;
act before you think: and where can an enterprizing spirit have so fair
a field as against these insolent barbarians?"
"Courage," rejoined de Penil, glancing superciliously on Louis, "is an
essential quality in a soldier!"
"So essential," replied Louis, "that he cannot maintain obedience to
his commander without it."
"Some orders are safely obeyed!" said de Patinos with affected
carelessness. "A parade at Vienna, and a sortie from Ceuta are
different things!"
"When disobedience is a proof of courage and good discipline," returned
Louis, "I may have the honour to meet your approbation, Count de
Patinos. Meanwhile, I trust the Count de Blas, who is the governor of
this garrison, and on whose responsibility hangs its fate; I trust,
wherever he may chuse to place me, he will not doubt finding me at my
post."
De Patinos started angrily from his seat.--Louis rose also.
"Gentlemen," cried de Blas, "what is it you mean?"
"To shew I can revenge insult!" cried the haughty Count, touching his
sword, "if it be within the calculation of that philosopher to bid me
draw it." Louis boiled with rising passion; and with a countenance
whose lightning glances could hardly be restrained from giving the
defiance his better principles refused, he sternly answered:--
"Count de Patinos, I do not wear the King's sword, to draw it at the
prompting of every wordy spirit. If I have insulted you unprovoked, I
submit myself to the judgement of all present, and am ready to stand
your fire. But on the reverse, I mean not to assert that courage by a
private duel, which the public service will so soon put to the proof."
De Penil prevented an insolent retort from de Patinos; and de Blas
interfering with a real interest in the reconciliation of the two young
men, the haughty Spaniard grumbled out an enforced apology, and left
the room.
Don Joseph was conscious that he, too, had been guilty of impropriety
towards the Marquis de Montemar; but he was too proud to acknowledge
error to one so much his junior; and saw him retire to his quarters
with an admiration of his superior self command, which he would have
been glad to emulate, but had not generosity enough to praise.
Piqued into obstinacy, he urged de Blas to put the garrison into
immediate preparation for an attack upon the enemy's trenches; and with
the rising sun, the ground before the fortress was filled with Spanish
troops.
Nothing could have been more grateful to the views of Ripperda. He
knew the weakness of his opponent in numbers and artillery; and from a
forward eminence in his lines, with the aid of his glass, he counted
the Spanish columns as they defiled through their gates; and believing
them devoted to his sword, he turned to the Moors, whose thickening
ranks blackened the ground around them; and addressed them in a style
to arouse their fiercest passions. He described their former empire in
Spain; he recapitulated the various acts of injustice which banished
them that kingdom; he exposed the tyrannous animosity of the Spaniards
to the past and present generations of the Moors; and set forth the
shame of permitting so oppressive a race to maintain a foot of land in
Barbary.
The Moors answered his inflaming eloquence as he expected; and with
furious gesticulations and curses which rent the air, they demanded
to be led against their hereditary enemies. He mounted his horse;
and giving his orders of battle into the hands of his two leading
coadjutors, Sidi Ali, and the Hadge Adelmelek, marched out at the head
of his troops into the open field.
The Spaniards were led on, in two wretchedly appointed battalions, by
de Blas, and Don Joseph de Penil. Count de Patinos, in the arrogance
of his assumed contempt of Louis, volunteered his services at the head
of a small detachment of troops, which the governor considered the
_elite_ of his cavalry. De Montemar, and Don Ferdinand commanded the
men who were to carry the trenches.
This first atchievement was speedily done. The workmen fled without
resistance; and even the soldiers in the parallels, when they had
discharged their fire, threw down their arms before the overwhelming
enemy, and begged quarter. But no time was granted to yield, or
to receive mercy. Every avenue from the Moorish camp poured forth
its troops; and at this moment they came rushing on like a storm.
They charged over their vanquished comrades; and over-leaping every
obstacle, fell upon the Spanish advance with a shock that broke its
line. The havock was as great as the surprise; and the way was soon
open to the attack of the second division. It made a halt, and stood
firm. Louis collected the fugitives from the first line, and formed
them behind their comrades, while the battle in front became close and
complex. The Infidels, contrary to their wonted custom, fought hand to
hand; and rallied two or three times, when any extraordinary press of
Spanish force compelled them to recede.
Aben Humeya shewed an eminent example of faith in his new creed. He
appeared to take no care of his person, but rode about under the
heaviest vollies, exhorting, and charging with his men; till at length,
after prodigious efforts, the Spaniards were obliged to give ground.
They retreated; but it was with a backward step; while the Moors,
crowding on them, horse and foot, broke the line in every direction. In
some places, the victors so mingled with the vanquished, that it rather
resembled an affray of single combatants, than a contest of regular
troops. The depth of de Montemar's little phalanx, was insufficient to
sustain the weight of the Basha's charge; it was penetrated and turned;
and in the moment of its defeat, the horse of Don Ferdinand was shot
and fell. A Moor raised his lance to dispatch its rider, when Louis
dashed between his friend and the infidel, and received the weapon on
his face. A random shot killed the lancer, while another gave the just
rescued Ferdinand a less mortal wound.
The Basha, after being twice unhorsed himself, cut off the squadron
under De Patinos; and the confusion among the Spaniards being redoubled
by Count de Blas falling at the same time, the panic-struck infantry
retreated pell mell into their outworks, hardly closing the gates on
the triumphant infidels at their heels. As Don Joseph de Penil galloped
towards the principal entrance, he passed Louis de Montemar, who, black
as a Moor with smoke and toil, stood by a held piece, which he had
brought to that spot, to cover the flight of the Spaniards; and was
firing it on the pursuers, with a quickness and effect, that cleared
the way to a considerable distance.
The enemy halted before this formidable barrier; for Louis's commands
and example soon made it a battery; and as the grape showered from it
on all sides, the fugitive Spaniards entered the fortress in safety.
Aben Humeya drew off his victorious troops; but it was only the recoil
of the tiger, to make his second spring decisive.