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If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The King's Own Borderers, Volume II (of 3) - A Military Romance - -Author: James Grant - -Release Date: January 22, 2022 [eBook #67227] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING'S OWN BORDERERS, -VOLUME II (OF 3) *** - - - - - - - - THE KING'S OWN BORDERERS. - - A Military Romance. - - - BY - - JAMES GRANT, - - - AUTHOR OF - "SECOND TO NONE," "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE YELLOW FRIGATE," - ETC. ETC. - - - - "Memories fast are thronging o'er me, - Of the grand old fields of Spain; - How he faced the charge of Junot, - And the fight where Moore was slain. - Oh the years of weary waiting - For the glorious chance he sought, - For the slowly ripened harvest - That life's latest autumn brought." - - - - IN THREE VOLUMES. - - VOL. II. - - - - LONDON: - GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, - BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL. - - 1865. - - - - - LONDON: - SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET, - COVENT GARDEN. - - - - - - CONTENTS - OF - THE SECOND VOLUME. - - - CHAP. - - I. A LAST REJECTION - II. THE MESS - III. THE PUNISHMENT PARADE - IV. THE OLD REGIMENT OF EDINBURGH - V. THE ADVANCED PICQUET - VI. COSMO JOINS - VII. THE DEPARTURE - VIII. ON THE SEA - IX. PORTALEGRE - X. COSMO'S CRAFT - XI. QUENTIN DEPARTS - XII. ANXIOUS FRIENDS - XIII. THE PARAGRAPH - XIV. THE WAYSIDE CROSS AND WELL - XV. THE MULETEERS - XVI. GIL LLANO - XVII. DANGER IN THE PATH - XVIII. THE CHASSEUR À CHEVAL - XIX. EUGÈNE DE RIBEAUPIERRE - XX. THE GALIOTE OF ST. CLOUD - XXI. THE GUERILLA HEAD-QUARTERS - XXII. A REPRISAL - XXIII. DON BALTASAR DE SALDOS - XXIV. DONNA ISIDORA - XXV. THE JOURNEY - XXVI. A SURPRISE - XXVII. THE VILLA DE MACIERA - XXVIII. OUR LADY DEL PILAR - - - - -THE KING'S OWN BORDERERS. - - - -CHAPTER I. - -A LAST REJECTION. - - "Ae fond kiss and then we sever! - Ae farewell, alas for ever! - Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, - Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee; - Who shall say that Fortune grieves him - While the star of hope she leaves him?" - BURNS. - - -Ignoring the source or cause of the excitement among the household, -Cosmo lounged into the breakfast-parlour, where the silver urns were -hissing amid a very chaste equipage, and where the September sun was -shining in through clusters of sweet briar and monthly roses, and as -he seated himself he handed to his father a long official-like -document, at the sight of which his mother changed colour, and even -Flora, who looked charming in her smiling radiance, lace frills, and -morning dress of spotted white muslin, lifted her dark eyelashes with -interest. - -"What's the matter, Cosmo?--your leave cancelled?" asked Rohallion. - -"Oh no, my lord--nothing so bad as that." - -"A summons from headquarters, I see." - -"Something very like it," drawled Cosmo; "read it to the ladies. -Spillsby, some coffee--no cream." - -The letter ran briefly thus:-- - - -"Horse Guards, &c., &c. - -"SIR,--I have the honour to acquaint you, by direction of His Royal -Highness the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, that it is now in his -power to appoint you to one of the second battalions lately raised -for the line and for immediate foreign service, provided that within -a fortnight you are prepared to assume the command, in which case -your name shall appear in the next Gazette. - - "I have the honour to be, &c., &c. - - "Major the Hon. C. Crawford, - &c., &c." - - -"A fortnight!--are we to have you only for a fortnight, my dear, dear -Cosmo?" exclaimed Lady Rohallion, all her maternal tenderness welling -up at once. - -"You will not, I fear, have me so long, my dear mother," said he; -"and you, Flora," he added in a low voice, as he purposely held his -plate across her for a wing of grouse; "and you----" - -"Give you full leave to go, with my dearest wishes, and your heart -unbroken. Come, Cosmo," she added in the same low voice, and with a -soft smile; "let us part friends, at least." - -Cosmo's eyes seemed to shrink and dilate, while a cold and haughty -smile spread over his otherwise handsome features, as he turned -quietly to discuss his grouse, and said to the butler,-- - -"Spillsby, tell the groom to have a horse saddled for my man--take -Minden, the bay mare--as I must despatch a letter to Maybole within -an hour." - -Breakfast was hurried over in silence and constraint, then Cosmo, -kissing the brow of his mother, who was already in tears,--for the -only real emotion that lingered in the Master's heart was a regard -for his mother--played with the silk tassels of his luxurious -dressing-gown, and lounged into the library to write his answer to -the military secretary, and profess himself to be completely, as in -duty bound, at the disposal of His Royal Highness, and proud to -accept the command offered him. - -He soon penned the letter, and sealed it with the coronet, the shield -_gules_ and fess _ermine_ of Rohallion, muttering as he did so,-- - -"The line--the line after all; a horrid bore indeed, to come down to -that!" - -He threw open his dressing-gown, as if it stifled him, almost tearing -the tasselled girdle as he did so, and planting his foot on the buhl -writing-table, lounged back in an easy-chair, where he strove to read -up Sir David Dundas's "Eighteen Manoeuvres," and fancied how he would -handle his battalion without clubbing the companies or bringing the -rear rank in front; by taking them into action with snappers instead -of flints, as old Whitelock did at Buenos Ayres, or committing other -little blunders, which might prove very awkward if a brigade of -French twelve-pounders were throwing in grape and canister at -half-musket range. - -Soothed by pipe, and by the silence of the place, and by the subdued -sunlight that stole through the deep windows of that old library, so -quaint with its oak shelves of calf-bound and red-labelled folios and -quartos, its buhl cabinets, and square-backed chairs of the -Covenanting days, its half-curtained oriel window, through which were -seen the ripe corn or stubble fields that stretched in distance far -away to the brown hills of Carrick. Soothed, we say, by all this, -Cosmo dawdled over the pages and the diagrams of the famous review at -Potsdam for some time before he became conscious that Flora was -seated near him, busy with a book of engravings. - -Then begging pardon for his pipe and his free-and-easy position, a -bachelor habit, as he said, he arose and joined her. Leaning over -the back of his chair, as if to overlook the prints, while in reality -his admiring eyes wandered alternately and admiringly over her fine -glossy hair, the contour of her head, and little white ears (at each -of which a rose diamond dangled), and her delicate neck, which rose -so nobly from her back and beautifully curved shoulders, he said in a -low voice, and with considerable softness of manner, for him at -least,-- - -"'Pon my honour, friend Flora, I believe you really begin to love me, -after all." - -"How do you think so, or why?" she asked, looking half round, with -her bewitching eyes full of wonder and amusement. - -"Because we always quarrel when we meet, and that is called a Scots -mode of wooing, isn't it?" - -"So our nurses used to say, long ago." - -"And were they right?" - -"Now, dear Cosmo, let us talk of something else, if you please," she -urged pleadingly. - -"Why so?" - -"A dangerous topic has a strange fascination for you." - -"Dangerous?" - -"Unpleasant, at least," said Flora, pettishly. - -Cosmo flung the "Eighteen Manœuvres" of Lieutenant-General Dundas -very angrily and ignominiously to the extreme end of the library, and -folding his arms stood haughtily erect before Flora, whose bright -eyes were fixed on his, with a smiling expression of fear and -perplexity combined. - -"Can it be possible," he began, "I ask you, can it be possible, Miss -Warrender----" - -"Oh, you are about to address me officially--well, sir?" - -"Can it be possible, Flora, that you still love this unknown protégé -of my foolish mother--this nameless rascal, who has run away, heaven -knows where? By-the-bye, I wonder if Spillsby has overhauled the -plate chest since he went!" - -Flora was silent, but his _brusquerie_ and categorical manner -offended her, and filled her eyes with tears. - -"This weeping is enough," continued the exasperated Cosmo, who, -though he had no great regard for Flora, felt his self-esteem--which -was not small--most fearfully wounded; "you do love him." - -"And what if I do?" she asked, very quietly, but withal rather -defiantly. - -"Very fine, Miss Warrender--very fine, 'pon my soul! That old jade, -Anne Radcliffe, with her 'Romance of the Forest,' her 'Castles of -Athlin and Dunbayne,' and this new Edinburgh fellow, Scott, with his -'Marmion,' and so forth, have perfected your education. Your -teaching has been most creditable!" - -"This taunting manner is not so to you,' replied Flora, resuming her -inspection of the book of prints. - -"Oho! we are in a passion again it seems?" - -"Far from it, sir--I never was more cool in my life," said she, -looking up with a wicked but glorious smile. - -"And where has this runaway gone? His friends in the servants' hall -heard something of him last night or this morning, if I may judge -from the pot-house row they made." - -"He has gone into the army," replied Flora, with a perceptible -modulation of voice. - -"The army!" replied Cosmo, really surprised; "enlisted--for what?--a -fifer or triangle boy?" - -"No," replied Flora, curling her pretty nostril, while her eyes -gleamed dangerously under their long thick lashes. - -"For what, on earth, has he gone then?" - -"A gentleman volunteer." - -"A valuable acquisition to His Majesty's service!" said Cosmo, -laughing, and, greatly to Flora's annoyance, seeming to be really -amused; "do you know, friend Flora, what a volunteer is?" - -"Not exactly, sir," said Flora, again looking down on her book of -prints with a sigh of anger. - -"Shall I tell you?" - -"If you please." - -"We never had any in the Household Brigade--such fellows are usually -to be found only with the line corps." - -"Ah--with corps that go abroad and really see service--I understand." - -"Miss Warrender, the Guards----" - -"Well, _what_ is a volunteer?" asked Flora, beating the carpet with a -very pretty foot. - -"A volunteer is a poor devil who is too proud to enlist, and is too -friendless to procure a commission; who has all a private's duty to -do, and has to carry a musket, pack, and havresack, wherein are his -ration-beef, biscuits, and often his blackball and shoebrushes; who -mounts guard and salutes me when I pass him, and whom I may handcuff -and send to the cells or guard-house when I please; who is not a -regular member of the mess and may never be; who gets a shilling per -diem with the chance of Chelsea, a wooden leg, or an arm with an iron -hook if his limbs are smashed by a round shot; who is neither -officer, non-commissioned officer, nor private--neither fish, flesh, -nor good red-herring (to use a camp phrase). Oh, Flora, Flora -Warrender, can you be such a romantic little goose as to feel an -interest in such a fellow as I have described?" - -Mingling emotions, indignation at the Master's insulting bitterness, -pity for Quentin, and pure anger at the annoyance to which she was -subjected, made Flora's white bosom heave as she quietly turned her -eyes, with a flashing expression however, upon the cat-like regards -of the sneering questioner, and said,-- - -"Who are you, sir, that would thus question or dictate to me?" - -"Who am I?" he asked, while surveying her through his glass with -amusement, perplexity, and something of sorrow in his tone. - -"Yes, sir--who are you?" - -"I am, I believe, Cosmo, Master of Rohallion, and Colonel to be, of a -very fine regiment; so I can afford to smile at the pride and -petulance of a moon-struck girl." - -"Oh, how unseemly this is! Whatever happens, let us part friends," -said she politely, perhaps a little imploringly. - -"So be it," said he, kissing her hand as she retired. - -"Now, the sooner I am off from this dreary paternal den the better. -Away to London at once. Andrews!--Jack Andrews," he shouted, in a -tone almost of ferocity: "show me the last newspapers." They were -soon brought, and Cosmo's sharp eyes ran rapidly over the -advertisements. "Let me see," he pondered, "travelling by mail is -intolerable; one never knows who the devil one may be boxed up with -for a week, a fever patient or a lunatic, perhaps! The smacks are -crowded with all manner of rubbish, travelling bagmen, linesmen going -home on leave, sick mothers and squalling babies. What is this? The -good ship _Edinburgh_, pinck-built, near the new quay at Leith, sails -for England without convoy--carries six 12-pounders--master to be -spoke with daily at the Cross--to be _spoke_ with. Faugh! what says -the next advertisement? 'A widow lady, who is to set out for London -next week in a post-chaise, would be glad to hear of a companion. -Enquire at the _Courant_ office, opposite the Old Fishmarket-close, -Edinburgh.' Egad! the very thing--widow lady--hope she's young and -good-looking. I'll answer _this_!" - -Such advertisements in the London and Edinburgh papers were quite -common in those days, when travelling expenses were enormous. - -He replied to it, and departed from Rohallion in a great hurry soon -after. Whether with a fair companion or not, we are unable to say. - -We hope so, and that on the journey of about four hundred miles to -London, the amenity of the fair widow consoled him for the final -rebuff he met with from Flora Warrender. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE MESS. - - "He is more fortunate! Yea, he hath finished; - For him there is no longer any future. - His life is bright; bright without spot it was, - And cannot cease to be. - - O 'tis well with him, - But who knows what the coming hour, - Veiled in thick darkness, brings for us! - _Wallenstein._ - - -The mess-room of the 2nd battalion of the 25th Foot, in old -Colchester Barracks, was a long room, and for its size rather low in -the ceiling, which was crossed by a massive dormant beam of oak. -Good mahogany tables occupied the entire length of the room, with a -row of hair-cloth chairs on each side thereof. It was destitute of -all ornament save a few framed prints of the popular generals of the -time, such as the Duke of York, so justly known as "the soldier's -friend;" Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who fell in Egypt; Sir David Dundas, -the hero of Tournay; Sir David Baird, flushed with triumph and -revenge, leading on his stormers at Seringapatam; the sad and gentle -Sir John Moore, and others. - -The room was uncarpeted, but the number of tall wax candles, in -silver branches, on the long table, and in girandoles, on the -mantelpiece and sideboard, together with the quantity of rich plate -that was displayed, and the brilliance of the assembled company, -about thirty officers in full uniform, their scarlet coats all faced -and lapelled to the waist with blue barred with gold, and all their -bullion epaulettes glittering, had a very gay appearance; thus the -general meagreness of the furniture passed unobserved. - -At mess the coats were then worn open, with the crimson silk sash -inside and over a white waistcoat. Nearly all the seniors still -indulged in powdered heads, while the juniors wore their hair in that -curly profusion introduced by George IV., then Prince of Wales. A -few who were on duty were distinguished by the pipe-clayed -shoulder-belt and gilt gorget, which was slung round the neck by a -ribbon which varied in every corps according to the colour of its -facings. - -Amid much good-humour and a little banter, they seated themselves, -and the president and vice-president--posts taken by every officer in -rotation--proceeded to their tasks of dispensing the viands. - -Quentin was seated next his host, Major Middleton, about the centre -of the table, and he surveyed the gay scene with surprise and -pleasure, though looking somewhat anxiously for the face of his kind -friend Warriston, who was to be a guest that evening, but was still -detained on duty. - -To him much of the conversation was a perfect mystery, being half -jocular and half technical, or that which is stigmatized as "shop." -It chiefly ran on drills, duties, and mistakes--how badly those 94th -fellows marched past yesterday, and so forth; while the standing -jokes about Buckle's nag-tailed charger, Monkton's old epaulettes, -Pimple's last love-affair, and the old commandant's state of mind on -discovering that Colville had a fair visitor in his guard-room, -seemed to excite as much laughter as if they had all been quite new, -and had not been heard there every day for the last six months. - -Some rapid changes would seem to have taken place at the headquarters -of the 2nd battalion. The old colonel of whom Quentin heard on the -march from Ayr, had sold out, and a Major Sir John Glendinning come -in by purchase. One gazette contained a notice of this, and a second -announced the death of Sir John in a duel with an officer of the -Guards. The lieutenant-colonelcy was thus again vacant, and all -present, even Monkton, hoped the step would be given in the regiment, -that old Major Middleton would get the command; thus all would have a -move upward, and who could say but Quentin Kennedy might obtain the -ensigncy which would thus be rendered vacant? But poor Middleton had -served so long, and had seen so many promoted over his head, that he -ceased to be hopeful of anything. - -Some of the youngsters drank wine again and again with our young -volunteer, a spirit of mischief being combined with their -hospitality. To "screw a Johnny Raw" was one of the chief practical -jokes at a mess-table then, as it is at some few still; but -Middleton's influence soon repressed them. - -The cloth removed, the regimental mull, a gigantic ram's head, the -horns of which were tipped with cairngorms and massive silver -settings, was placed before the president, and was passed down the -table from left to right, according to the custom of all Scottish -messes. The mull was the farewell gift of Lord Rohallion, and the -gallant ram was the flower of all that he could procure in Carrick. - -The proposed expeditions to Spain and Holland soon formed the staple -topics for discourse and surmise; but none present had the slightest -idea on which of these the regiment might be despatched. - -When Quentin looked round that long and glittering mess-table, and -saw so many handsome, pleasant, and jovial fellows, all heedless and -full of high spirits, who welcomed him among them, spoke cheeringly -of his prospects and drank to his success, he felt a pang on -reflecting that he must owe it to the death in battle of one at least -among them! - -There was plenty of laughter, fun, and joking. Many of those present -were more or less dandies; but the military Dundreary, the--to use a -vulgar phrase--"heavy swell," who affects the style of Charles -Mathews in "Used Up," was unknown in the days of the long, long war -with France, for men joined the army to become soldiers indeed. -Their predecessors were usually killed in action, and they had the -immediate prospect of finding themselves before the bravest enemy in -the world. - -The solemn regimental snob, or yawning yahoo, whose private affairs -became so "urgent" in the Crimea; the parvenu Lancer or lisping -Hussar, cold, sarcastic, and unimpressionable, are entirely the -growth of the piping times of peace, and to them the stern advice of -the old officer of other times, "Be ever ready with your pistol," is -meaningless now. - -"I joined the service as a volunteer," said Rowland Askerne, the -burly captain of the Grenadiers--as his massive gold rings announced -him--turning to Quentin. - -"Were you long one?" - -"Longer than I quite relished," replied Askerne, laughing. - -"Indeed!" said Quentin, anxiously. - -"Yes--four years; and long years they seemed to me." - -"On foreign service?" - -"Of course; and pretty sharp service, too, sometimes. I carried a -musket with Middleton's company at the capture of Corsica, in '95, -and again with the Gordon Highlanders on the recent expedition -against Porto Ferrajo, in Elba, where I had the ill-luck to be the -only man hit. A French tirailleur put a ball through my left leg, -but he was shot the next moment by my covering file, Norman Calder, -now a sergeant. Some of the Irish in '98 proved better marksmen than -the French; they knocked a number of ours on the head, so I won my -epaulettes fighting against the poor fellows under General Lake, at -Vinegar Hill. I had many a heart-burning before they promoted me; -(by _they_ I mean the Horse Guards) and I swore that when the day -came that they did so, I would tread on my sash and turn cobbler; but -I had not the heart to quit, so I wear my harness still--a captain -only--when I should be lieutenant-colonel by brevet, at least; but -Middleton's case is a harder one than mine, for he has been longer in -the service." - -"We are most likely bound for North Holland," said the adjutant; "and -there many an evil will be ended." - -"The French are in great strength there, and hard knocks will be -going," added Monkton. "Many among us are fated perhaps to find a -last abode among the swamps of Beveland; so, if you escape, Kennedy, -you must certainly gain your pair of colours, with five shillings and -threepence per diem--less the income-tax--to spend on the luxuries of -life--damme!" - -"Glad to hear we are to be off so soon, Monkton," said a smart, but -somewhat blasé-looking young lieutenant, "for we have a most weary -time of it here in Colchester. The course of drill--drill, always -drill--with club, sword, or musket, and the whole routine of barrack -duty, with inspections and guards, are decidedly a bore!" - -"What the deuce would you have, Colville?" asked the adjutant, -bluntly. "What did you come here for?" - -"I came to be a soldier," replied the "used up" sub, with a suave -smile. - -"To be a soldier?" - -"Yes--not to doze life away by marching to and fro at the goose-step, -in that gravelled yard, or by lolling over the window in -shirt-sleeves, to save my shell-jacket. Where are all the castles I -built----" - -"To storm, eh?" asked Buckle, glancing uneasily at the commanding -officer, who was forming his walnut-shells in grand-division squares, -for the edification of the second major. - -"Yes--I had hoped to have achieved something decidedly brilliant ere -this." - -"Console yourself, Colville, and pass the port. Ah, you consider -yourself sharp--up to every sort of thing--a common delusion with -young fellows of your age; but ten years' more soldiering, and the -rubs of life between your twenties and thirties, to say nothing of -those afterwards, will cure you of thinking so. Believe me, -Colville, wherever we go, we shall find plenty of desperate work cut -out for us all. Well, Monkton, in recruiting, you could not pick up -an heiress--eh?" - -"No. Heiresses are not to be found under every hedge." - -"In Scotland, especially." - -"I have considered the matter maturely, my dear friend," said -Monkton, in his bantering tone, "and have come to the sage conclusion -that, if a man marries, with his pay only, he had better hang; if -otherwise, and his wife have a long purse, and expectations, to -enhance the charms of her blushes and orange-buds, let him send in -his papers, and quit; so the service loses your Benedict any way." - -"Purse, or no purse," said Colville, "as Paragon says in the comedy -we acted at York, 'when you see my wife, you shall see perfection, -though I never met the woman I could conscientiously throw myself -away upon.'" - -"Pimple, we hear, has been romantically tender on a flax-spinner's -daughter; and that the route came only in time to save him from the -arms of Venus for those of Bellona, and he is burning now to forget -his loved and lost one amid the smoke of battle," said Colville, with -a tragic air. "Ah, there were great men even before old Agamemnon." - -"But Pimple shall show us by his glorious example, that we have at -least one greater since." - -"Let me alone, Colville, and you also, Monkton," said Boyle, becoming -seriously angry; "I hope to do my duty with the best among you." - -Attention was speedily drawn from the irritation of the little ensign -by the entrance of Warriston, who apologized briefly for being late, -having been detained on duty at the quarters of his own regiment; -then drawing a chair near his friend Middleton, he handed to him the -last number of the _London Gazette_, pointing to a paragraph therein, -and leisurely filling his glass with claret, passed the decanters. -When Middleton read the passage referred to, a crimson flush passed -over his features, and he crushed up the paper as if an emotion, of -rage and pain thrilled through him. - -"What is the matter, major?" asked half-a-dozen voices; "nothing -unpleasant, I hope?" - -"The lieutenant-colonelcy has been given _out_ of the regiment," -replied Middleton, with his brows knit, while his hand still crushed -up the paper; then, as if remembering himself, he smiled, but very -disdainfully. - -"He must have seen much service to be appointed over _your_ head," -said Monkton. - -"Service--yes, the Guards fight many bloody battles about Hounslow, -Hyde Park, and the Fifteen Acres," replied the justly exasperated -field-officer. "Here is my advancement stopped by the promotion of a -fellow who has some petticoat interest about Carlton House, whose -cousin is groom of the backstairs, and who has been compelled to -'eschew sack and loose company,' so he comes from the Household -Brigade to the Line, and may go from the 25th to the devil, perhaps." - -"Be wary, my good friend--be wary," said Warriston, glancing round -the table hastily. - -"And _who_ is he?" asked several, full of curiosity. - -"The son of a general officer--the Master of Rohallion." - -On hearing this name, Quentin felt as if petrified! Here, even here, -his evil spirit seemed to be following him! - -"It is an old name in the regiment," said Monkton. - -"Yes," replied the major; "his father was a gallant officer; I was -his subaltern in America; but here it is;" and he read, "'25th Foot; -to be Lieutenant-Colonel, Major the Honourable Cosmo Crawford, from -the 1st Guards, vice Sir John Glendinning, deceased,' so he comes -over us, in virtue of that court rank which is one of the worst -abuses of our service." - -"Promotion is always slow among the Household troops, so they -indemnify themselves at the expense of the line," said Warriston, in -answer to a question of Quentin's; "every rank among them having a -grade above us; but take courage, my good old friend, this kind of -thing is not likely to happen again." - -With a smile that grew scornful in spite of himself, the worthy old -major strove to conceal the bitterness of his heart, though all -present condoled with him on his disappointment and hard usage by the -powers that be; and for reasons known to himself alone, none shared -his chagrin more than Quentin Kennedy. - -He had been formally enrolled as a member of the regiment, and had -ordered his equipments for it; his name, as a volunteer, had been -sent by Middleton to Sir Harry Calvert, the Adjutant General, at the -Horse Guards, that he might obtain the first vacant ensigncy -(_subject to the approval of the commanding officer_), and that he -might have his passage abroad provided, either by the commissariat -department, or by the commandant at Hillsea, near Portsmouth. His -own honour, and all the circumstances under which he stood prevented -him from quitting; but now, what hope had he of comfort or prosperity -in remaining? His very chances of advancement depended on the veto, -whim, and caprice of this Master of Rohallion, his bitterest enemy! -Of what avail would now be the endurance of campaigning, the hardship -of serving as a volunteer, and risking all the perils of war? - -Perhaps Flora Warrender may come with him as his bride was the next -idea; and it added greatly to the bitterness of the others. - -That night Quentin slept but little, and he seemed barely to have -closed his eyes when he heard the drum beating the assembly. - -Then he sprang from bed just as the grey dawn was breaking, and -proceeded hastily to dress, remembering to have heard last evening -that, at daybreak, the regiment was to have a "punishment parade," -which, to his uninitiated ears, had a very unpleasant sound. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE PUNISHMENT PARADE. - - "Most worthy sergeant, I have seen thee lead, - Where men among us would be slow to follow; - Udsdaggers, yes! By trench and culverine, - Where men and horses too, lay foully heap'd - On other; and hath it come to this, good sergeant, - Beshrew my heart--a prisoner and afeared." - _Old Play._ - - -Plain though it was, being destitute of lace or epaulettes, poor -Quentin was very proud of his volunteer uniform, and being eminently -a handsome young man, he looked very well in it. The coarse buff -crossbelts, the pouch, and bayonet, and, more especially, the Brown -Bess he had to carry, did not suit his taste quite so well. He had -imagined that he would have to shoulder a kind of Joe Manton, or -something like a smart Enfield rifle of the present day, with a -"draw" of ten pounds or less on the trigger, instead of a long -blunderbuss like the regulation musket of those days, weighing -fourteen pounds, with its enormous butt-plate of brass and so forth. - -Thanks to the teaching of the old quartermaster, he proved himself so -apt a pupil under the sergeant-major and old Norman Calder, that -within a week he was reported as "fit for duty," as Monkton said, -"doing as much credit to his preceptors as to the cabbage-stalk," for -so he designated the army tailor. - -But we are anticipating. - -His first parade was an inauspicious one, in so far as it was for -punishment. - -A sergeant of the regiment had been recently tried by a regimental -court-martial for permitting spirits to be brought by a woman to the -main guard-house at night, while he was in command, and by these -means certain prisoners became intoxicated and riotous. He alleged -that he was asleep on that luxurious couch, the guard bed, after -posting his sentinels, and that the fault lay with his corporal and -others; but the plea was urged in vain--the corps was under orders -for foreign service--an example was necessary; so he was now to -receive the award of his dereliction of duty, and as the drum-major -had received some special instructions over night, all knew that it -involved the application of the now (happily) almost obsolete -instrument--the cat! - -The degradation of a non-commissioned officer is always a painful -duty; but when flogging is added thereto, it is doubly painful to the -witnesses, and maddening to the culprit. - -"I told you old Middleton was a Tartar," said Monkton, as he and -Quentin hurried downstairs from their quarters; "he'd certainly flog -ensigns if he could; and the _Gazette_ of last night won't have -improved his variable temper. But here he comes, mounted, with -holsters and blue saddle-cloth, but looking for all the world like an -old woman trotting to market with her butter and eggs. Such a -seat--such a queer length, or rather want of length, in the -stirrup-leathers! Good morning, Buckle--so we are to have a -flogging--ugh? that isn't lively." - -Quentin being a young hand, felt somewhat awed, as he knew not what -was about to ensue. The sun had not yet risen, and the September -morning was chilly and misty; the men of the regiment were falling in -by companies under arms in light marching order--the tall grenadiers -on the right with their black bearskin caps; the smart light company -on the left with green plumes in their shakos, and Saxon horns on all -their appointments; the sergeants were calling the various rolls; the -officers were gathered in a somewhat silent group, and the face of -every man wore a sullen, or rather dejected expression, for a -punishment parade is the kind of parade least liked by soldiers of -all ranks. It acts as a damper on the spirits of all; on this -morning the atmosphere was dense; the sombre sun seemed to linger -behind the uplands of Suffolk, and the shadows to lie deeper in the -silent barrack square. - -Impressed by the taciturnity and gloomy expression of the men, whose -faces wore the pallor incident to all who come from bed in haste at -an unusual hour, Quentin remained silent and full of expectation and -anxiety as he fell into the rear rank of Captain Askerne's company, -to which he was to be permanently attached. He was sensible, -however, that the soldiers viewed him with interest, as a volunteer -is always popular. It was to rescue Thomas Grahame, when lying -severely wounded, and then serving as a simple volunteer in the red -coat of the Caledonian Hunt, that our troops in Holland made one of -their most desperate rallies, and gained to the service the future -Lord Lynedoch, the hero of Barossa. - -The inspection of the companies and the drum for coverers rapidly -followed the calling of the muster-rolls; a bugle sounded; the -officers fell in; the bayonets were fixed, and the regiment, without -music, was marched silently by sections to a secluded part of the -barracks, where, surrounded by high stores and magazines, no -stranger's eye could oversee the proceedings, and then it was formed -in a hollow square, in the centre of which Quentin perceived three -sergeants' pikes (weapons not disused till 1830) strapped together by -the heads, an equilateral triangle being formed by the shafts, which -were stuck in the earth. Near these were the drummers and -drum-major, who carried in his hand a canvas bag, which, as Quentin -was informed in a whisper by the next file on his right, contained -"the cats." - -"The officer with the cocked hat, and without a sash, close by, is -the doctor," he added. - -"The doctor--for what is he required?" - -"You'll too soon see that, sir," was the ominous response. - -"Steady, rear rank--silence," growled old Sergeant Calder. - -At that moment one of the drummers drew forth a cat, and Quentin -could perceive that it consisted of nine tails of whipcord, each -having nine knots thereon, and these were firmly lashed to a handle -about the length of a drum-stick. A slight shudder with an emotion -of sickness came over him; and he looked anxiously at the face of -Major Middleton, but it seemed immovable as he said to the -sergeant-major with studied sternness of tone, - -"March in the prisoner." - -A section in the face of the square wheeled backward and permitted -the unfortunate, with his escort, consisting of a corporal and two -men of the barrack-guard, to march in and halt before the major, on -which the culprit took off his forage-cap and stood bareheaded, the -centre of all observation. - -He cast a haggard glance at the triangles; another half furtively and -restlessly at the stolid faces round him, and then he seemed to -become immovable. There was little need for Mr. Buckle, the -adjutant, to read over the proceedings of the Court, for the hopeless -sergeant knew at once his double degradation and his doom! - -He was to be reduced to the rank and pay of a private, and to receive -_three hundred and fifty lashes_, the utmost number a regimental -court could then award; with the option, if he would avoid this -extreme punishment, of volunteering to serve for life (_i.e._ till -disabled by wounds or age) in the York Chasseurs, or any other -condemned corps, in Africa or the West Indies. - -His name was Allan Grange, the colour-sergeant of the Grenadiers, who -always considered themselves the _corps d'élite_ of a regiment. -Altogether he was a model of a man, erect and strong in figure, his -hair was a little grizzled about the temples, and his face was -somewhat careworn, as if he had known or suffered much anxiety and -trouble in his time. His eye was clear and keen, and save a little -nervous twitching about the muscles of the mouth, he seemed unmoved -and unflinching--unflinching as when on the glorious field of -Egmont-op-Zee, he commanded the Grenadiers of the 25th, after all -their officers had fallen, and with his pike broken in his hand by a -musket shot, led them to that bloody hand-to-hand conflict on the -road that leads to Haarlem. - -Perhaps the poor fellow was thinking of that signal and bloody -day--perhaps of his boyhood and his home; it might be of the future, -that was all a blank; for he seemed as in a dream while the adjutant -read over the formula of the trial, the list of charges and the -sentence, till he was roused by the drum-major proceeding to rip off -with a penknife the three hard-won chevrons from his right arm. It -was done gently, but "the iron seemed to enter his soul" at the -moment, and a heavy sigh escaped him as his chin sank on his breast. - -"Allan Grange," said Major Middleton, raising his voice clearly and -distinctly, that the whole of the hollow square and even its -supernumerary ranks might hear, "you are the last man in the whole -Borderers whom I could have expected to see standing before us as you -do to-day. In cutting off your stripes I feel extreme reluctance and -sorrow, and I think you have known me long enough to be aware of -that." - -"I am, major--I am aware of it," said the reduced man in a hollow -voice. - -"Allan Grange, you have come of a respectable old Scottish stock in -Lothian: you were born in my native place, and are one of the many -fine lads who came with me to the line from the Buccleugh Fencibles. -I know well how, in your native village, the Stenhouse, your name and -progress have been watched by early friends and old schoolfellows; by -none more than your father, who now lies in Liberton kirkyard, by the -good old mother who nursed you; by the old dominie who taught you; by -the grey-haired minister who will ere long see your name affixed, as -that of a degraded man, on the kirk-door. I know how, at the village -inn on the braehead, in the smithy at the loan-end, at the mill -beside the burn, it would be known that Allan Grange had been made a -corporal--that he had gained his third stripe--that he had been made -a colour-sergeant; and I can imagine how the listeners would drink to -your health and to mine, in the hope that we should one day see you -an officer; and now--_now_--by one act of folly you are again at the -foot of the ladder!" - -A heavy sigh escaped the sergeant; the drum-major's knife gave a -final rip, and he stood once more a private on parade! - -"The worst part of your sentence yet remains--unless--unless you -volunteer into the York Chasseurs." - -"Major Middleton," said Grange, firmly, and standing erect, like a -fine man as he was, "I'll not leave the regiment!" - -The man was fearfully pale, and it was evident to all that Middleton, -though a strict and sometimes severe officer, was greatly moved. - -"You will rather take three hundred and fifty lashes than volunteer?" -he asked. - -"I'd volunteer for a forlorn hope; I've done so before now, sir, as -you know well, but I'll not quit the old 25th for a condemned corps. -I'll take my punishment--I've earned it like a fool, and with God's -help, I hope to bear it like a man." - -"Then strip, sir," said Middleton, playing nervously with the blue -ribbons of his gorget. - -All emotion seemed to pass away as the culprit proceeded deliberately -to unclasp his leather stock and unbutton his coat; but before it was -off the major exclaimed in a loud voice, as he drew a letter from his -pocket-- - -"_Stop!_" - -Grange paused, and looked up with a haggard and bloodshot eye. - -"I remit the rest of the sentence, for the sake of one who intercedes -for you." - -"Sir?" - -"I have had a petition from your wife, and willingly grant it. Take -away the triangles. Conduct yourself as you did till this misfortune -came upon you, and ere long, Grange, you may regain the stripes you -have to-day been deprived of. Rejoin your company." - -"I thank you, sir, for the sake of my poor wife and her bairnie. I -have proved that I would rather take my punishment than leave the -regiment and you; and--sir--sir----" - -Here Grange fairly broke down and sobbed aloud; and no man among the -nine hundred there thought the less of him, because his stout heart, -which even the terror of the lash could not appal, now became full of -penitence and gratitude. At that moment many an eye glistened in the -ranks, and many a heart was swelling. - -"There, there--don't make a fuss," said Middleton, testily; "I hate -scenes! Prepare to form quarter-distance column right in -front--stand fast the Light Company." - -And so ended an episode, that, like the warm rising sun now shining -cheerfully into the barrack-square, shed a brightness over every -face, and lent a lightness--a sense of pleasure and relief to every -heart, as the regiment marched back to quarters, and to what was of -some importance after being two hours under arms in the morning -air--breakfast. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE OLD REGIMENT OF EDINBURGH. - - "Such is our love of liberty, our country and our laws, - That like our ancestors of old, we'll stand in freedom's cause; - We'll bravely fight like heroes for honour and applause, - And defy the French, with all their art, to alter our laws." - _The Garb of Old Gaul._ - - -From Major Middleton, who took somewhat of a fatherly interest in -him, Quentin learned much of the past history and achievements of the -regiment he had joined. - -It was one with which the stories of his old military friends at -Rohallion had made him familiar from boyhood; thus, he was in -possession of so many old regimental names, so many stock stories and -anecdotes, which Middleton deemed unknown beyond the circle of their -mess-table and barrack-rooms, that he considered the lad an enigma, -and was puzzled how, or where, he had gained all this information -about the corps; for Quentin, though looking forward to the arrival -of Cosmo with a disgust that almost amounted to terror, kept his own -counsel with wonderful prudence, and never permitted the name of -Rohallion to escape him. - -As there is no official record of the Borderers' achievements prior -to 1808, the account given by the major is perhaps the only one -extant. - -Under David Leslie, Earl of Leven, the 25th Foot were formed on the -10th of March, 1689, from a body of six thousand Covenanters, who, on -the news of William of Orange landing at Torbay, marched from the -West Country and laid siege to the castle of Edinburgh. On their -banners were an open Bible, with the motto, "For Reformation -according to the Word of God." - -Marching north against the loyal Highlanders, they left their -compatriots, all of whom served without pay or remuneration till the -conclusion of the siege, when the fortress was surrendered by the -Duke of Gordon after a noble defence, and after being warned by a -spectre--pale as he "who drew Priam's curtain at the dead of -night"--in fact, by the wraith of the terrible Claverhouse in his -buff coat, cuirass, and cavalier wig, all stained with gouts of -blood, that he had been shot by a silver bullet on the field of -Killycrankie. In one of the rooms of the old fortress this vision is -alleged to have appeared to Colin, Earl of Balcarris, then the duke's -prisoner, and the truth of the episode is admitted by a delirious -biographer of the viscount, who affirms that he is frequently in -communion with the ghost in question, and with others. - -The Earl of Leven, though colonel of infantry under Frederick -Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, and of a regiment which came over -with the Prince of Orange, who made him Governor of Edinburgh Castle -and Master of the Scottish ordnance, was a Whig noble, chiefly famous -for the rapidity of his flight from Killycrankie, and the vigour with -which he horsewhipped the Lady Morton Hall. It is said that he rode -six miles from the Pass without drawing his bridle, though his -regiment, the future 25th, and Hastings, the future 13th, were the -only troops that made any stand against the victorious Highlanders. - -Leven's regiment having been raised in the capital while Sir John -Hall, Knight, was Lord Provost, was designated of Edinburgh, and bore -the insignia yet borne on its colours, the triple castle of the city, -with its crest and motto, _Nisi Dominus Frustra_. - -As Leven's regiment--the same in which "my uncle Toby" fought at -Landen, and with which he went to "mount guard in the trenches before -the gate of St. Nicholas in his roquelaure"--it served in all King -William's useless wars for the well-being of his darling Dutch, and -all the great barrier towns of Europe have heard the drums of the -25th. It was the first British regiment which used the socket in -lieu of the screw bayonet, which its lieutenant-colonel, Maxwell, -adopted in imitation of the bayonets of the French Fusiliers. Prior -to this, our bayonets were screwed into the muzzles of the muskets, -and to fire with them fixed, was, of course, an impossibility. After -fighting at Sheriffmuir, as Viscount Shannon's Foot, it served with -distinction in the wars of the Spanish and Austrian succession, and -shared in the disasters of Fontenoy, ere its soldiers had again to -imbrue their hands in the blood of their own countrymen at Falkirk, -at Culloden, and in defending the Comyn's Tower in the old Castle of -Blair against Lord George Murray, till we find them again among the -troops defeated at Val through the cowardice and incapacity of the -Duke of Cumberland. - -During the seven years' war it suffered severely at the siege of a -small German castle, by the heroism of a sergeant of the enemy. -Under Lord Rohallion a party of the Edinburgh Regiment had made -themselves masters of an outwork, in which they established -themselves at the point of the bayonet. _Under_ this work was a -secret mine, which (as the "Ecole Historique et Morale du Soldat" -relates) was entrusted to a sergeant and a few soldiers of the Royal -Piedmontese Guards. The mine was ready, the _saucisson_ led through -the gallery, the train was laid, and a single spark would blow all -below and above to atoms! - -With admirable coolness the sergeant desired his comrades to retire, -and request the king to take charge of his wife and children. He -then, inspired by a spirit of self-devotion, set fire to the train -and perished, as the mine exploded. The outwork rose into the air -and fell thundering into the fosse, Lord Rohallion, a corporal, and -two men alone escaping, covered with bruises and cuts. The name of -the sergeant was said to be Amadeus di Savillano, son of the -Castellan of the fortress of that name in Piedmont. - -The Edinburgh regiment served at the battle of Minden. The Earl of -Home was then its colonel, and it was in the second line, and on the -left of Kingsley's famous brigade. Landing in England, on the -homeward march, near the Borders, the old colours borne in the seven -years' war were buried by its soldiers, with all honour, and three -volleys were fired over them. - -In those days, when any regiment approached London, the colours were -furled and cased, and no drum was beaten or fife blown during the -march through its limits. The 3rd, or Old East Kentish Buffs, were -alone excepted, and had the exclusive privilege of marching through -the City of London with all the honours of war, in memory of having, -at some period, been recruited from the City Trained Bands. - -Likewise no regiment could beat a drum within the walls, or through -the portes of the Scottish capital, with the exception of the 25th, -or old Edinburgh Regiment. But not long after the battle of Minden, -it chanced that a certain thick-pated lord-provost objected to their -drums beating up for recruits, on the plea that none should beat -there but those of the City Guard. On this, the colonel, Lord George -Henry Lennox (M.P. for the county of Sussex, who died in 1805), was -so incensed, that on his special application the title of the corps -was changed, and its facings were altered from the royal yellow of -Scotland to the royal blue of Britain, and after a time it was styled -the "King's Own Borderers." - -Egmont-op-zee, Martinique, and Egypt added fresh honours to those of -other times; but still on drum and standard are borne unchanged the -castle, triple-towered, with the anchor and motto, _Nisi Dominus -Frustra_, usually the first little bit of latinity learned by the -Edinburgh schoolboy. - -Such is a rapid outline of the past history of this famous old corps, -in the ranks of which Quentin Kennedy hoped to achieve for himself a -position and a name--perhaps, rank and glory too! What boy does not -look forward to some such vague but brilliant future,-- - - "In life's morning march when the bosom is young." - - -The evening subsequent to the punishment parade was the _last_ on -which the battalion mess would assemble, and Quentin was Monkton's -guest. He was again seated near the worthy major, and from him he -learned much of what we have just narrated, many a quaint regimental -story being woven up with what was actual military history. - -"You should tell him of that startling adventure, or rather, I should -say, of those series of adventures, which happened to you when -commanding an out-picquet in America," said Colville, with a -significant but hasty glance at Monkton, for the frequent repetition -of this story formed a kind of covert joke against the worthy major. - -"What--which out-picquet--at the siege of Fort St. John?" - -"Exactly, Major," said Monkton. - -"St. John, on the Richelieu River?" asked Quentin. - -"Yes," said Middleton, with an air of gratification; "you are a very -intelligent young man, and have no doubt read of the defence of that -place." - -Quentin hastened to say that he _had_ heard of it; in fact, the -defence with all its details--the bravery of Majors Preston and André -of the Cameronians, and so forth--formed one of the stock stories of -his old friends, the quartermaster and Jack Andrews; and so -frequently had he heard it, that he was somewhat uncertain at times -that he had not served there too. - -"But the episode of yours, with that devilish Indian fellow, may -scare Kennedy when on sentry," said the adjutant, "a duty he must do -as a volunteer." - -"Scare--not at all!" said Middleton, testily; "it is the very thing -to sharpen his wits and to keep him wide awake. There are others -here who never heard the story, and it is worth listening to; but -before I begin we must send away the marines and replenish the -decanters." - -"Right!" cried Askerne, who was president; "this is the last night of -one of the jolliest messes in His Majesty's service. To-morrow the -plate, which has glittered before us so long--the crystal from which -we have imbibed the full bodied port, the creamy claret, and the -choice Madeira, the sparkling champagne, the old hock, in fact, 'the -entire plant,' to use a commercial phrase, will be packed up and -stored away among dust and cobwebs, while the Borderers march in -quest of 'fresh fields and pastures new.' A long farewell to our -glorious mess!" exclaimed the handsome grenadier, as he poured a -glass of port down his capacious throat. "Mr. Vice-President, order -the last cooper of port before the major begins his story." - -"Ah, the mess!" sighed Buckle, the adjutant; "when we come to be -frying our ration beef in a camp-kettle lid, under a shower of rain, -perhaps, there will be an exchange with a devil of a difference!" - -With the aforesaid "cooper" there came in hot whisky-toddy for the -major and a few select seniors, for it was _then_ the custom at the -messes of Scots and Irish national corps to introduce the Farintosh -and potheen; though I fear our dandies of the Victorian age -(especially such as are horrified at the sight of a black bottle) -might consider such a proceeding a deplorable solecism in good taste. - -"And now, major, for your story," said Askerne, while Colville, -perhaps the only affected man in the regiment, gave his shoulders a -shrug, perceptible only by the glittering of his epaulettes, and -Monkton responded by a sly wink behind his glass of wine, while he -pretended to be looking for the beeswing. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE ADVANCED PICQUET. - - "All quiet along the Potomac, they say, - Except now and then a stray picquet, - Is shot as he walks on his beat to and fro, - By a rifleman hid in the thicket. - 'Tis nothing. A private or two now and then, - Will not count in the tale of the battle; - Not an officer lost--only one of the men, - Breathing out all alone the death-rattle." - - -"In the spring of the year '75, a party of ours, under Lord -Rohallion, then a captain, was sent to the Fort of St. John, on the -Richelieu River, to strengthen the garrison, which was composed of -some companies of the 7th Fusiliers and the 26th, or Cameronians, -under Major Preston, of Valleyfield, in Fifeshire, as gallant a -fellow as ever bore the King's commission. - -"We were in daily expectation of the advance of the rebel General -Montgomery, with a great force, so the duties of guards and sentinels -were performed with great vigilance, as the whole country for miles -around, if not actually in possession of the armed colonists, was -full of people who were favourable to their cause, and were -consequently inimical to the king and to us. - -"Montgomery was expected to approach through Vermont county (now one -of the states) by the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, a long and -narrow sheet of deep water, which forms the boundary between it and -the State of New York; thus, on an eminence which commanded a -considerable view of the country southward, and at the distance of -two miles from Fort St. John, Major Preston, of the 26th, had an -outpost or picquet, consisting of one officer and twenty men, -stationed in a log-hut, from whence they were relieved every week. -The officer in command of this advanced party had to throw forward a -line of sentinels, extending across the road by which the Americans -were expected to approach. At the hut was also a small piece of -cannon, taken from a gunboat recently destroyed on the Lake, a -6-pounder, which was to be fired as a signal for the troops in Fort -St. John to get under arms, and the picquet was well supplied with -rockets to give the alarm by night. - -"Our sentinels there had frequently been found dead and scalped, -without a shot being fired. Sometimes they disappeared altogether, -without leaving a trace, save a few spots of blood on the prairie -grass. Their desertion was never suspected by those in authority; -but that savages and assassins lurked in woods along the eastern and -western shores of Lake Champlain we had not a doubt; thus the -solitary outpost before the Fort of St. John was a duty disliked by -all, and always undertaken with sensations of doubt and anxiety. - -"It was on a beautiful afternoon in the month of September, that with -a sergeant and twenty men of the Borderers, I took possession of this -log hut, relieving a Lieutenant Despard, of the Fusiliers, from whom -I received over my orders, and posted my line of six sentinels at -intervals across the highway and a kind of open prairie which it -traversed. These orders were written and delivered with the parole -and countersign, by Major André, of the Cameronians (afterwards named -'the unfortunate'), and they were simply, that during the night the -sentinels were to face all persons approaching their posts, to stand -firm in a state of preparation at half-cock with ported arms, and to -fire instantly on all who could not give the countersign. - -"Despard informed me that excessive vigilance was necessary, as he -had lost five sentinels in one week, information which made my -fellows look somewhat blankly in each other's faces; 'and these -assassinations have occurred,' he added, 'though we have an Indian -scout, Le Vipre Noir, an invaluable fellow, however unpleasant his -name may sound, attached to the picquet-house. I would advise you to -keep off that bit of prairie in front, Middleton. Zounds! one is -always over the ankles in mud there, and mid-leg deep occasionally; -so it's more like snipe-shooting in an Irish bog, than knocking over -Yankees and Iroquois.' - -"I now found that there was another scout, a Cornishman, named old -Abe Treherne, attached to the post, as well as the native mentioned -by Despard. - -"Abe Treherne was a white-haired squatter and pioneer, who, for more -than forty years, had been in the district, living by the use of his -rifle and hatchet. He wore an Indian hunting-shirt and deer-skin -mocassins, and had so completely forgotten the civilization of his -native England, that he had almost become an Indian by habit, if not -by speech. He was brave, however, and a most faithful fellow to us. -Active and hardy, brown and weatherbeaten by constant exposure; -privation could not impair, nor toil weary his strength, which was -wonderful, for, by the wild life of nature he had led, every muscle -had been developed, till it became like a band of iron. - -"The savage scout, Le Vipre Noir, as he was named, was one of the -Lenni-Lenappe--or unmixed race as they boast themselves--who once -occupied all the vast tract of country which lies between Penobscot -and the shores of the Potomac; but we styled the most of them -Delawares, and by that name they became known. - -"Well, this devil of a Delaware--I think I can see the fellow -now!--was a model of muscular strength and manly beauty, so far as -form and sinew go. He was like a colossal statue of polished copper. -His usual expression was fierce and sullen; his eyes were keen, -black, and glittering, and his red and yellow streaks of war-paint -lent a fiendish aspect to his dusky visage, the features of which -were otherwise clean cut and regular. He was somewhat of a dandy in -his own way, as his fur mocassins and hunting-shirt were gaily -ornamented with scarlet cloth, wampum, and beads, by the Delaware -girls. - -"His head had been denuded of hair entirely, save the scalp-lock, in -which two feathers were stuck. At his girdle hung his pipe and -hunting-pouch, a large musk-rat skin, in the tail of which his -keen-edged scalping-knife was sheathed; he had also a pouch for -ammunition, a long rifle, and a tomahawk, which were never from his -side by night or day. - -"This Delaware was from one of the native villages about the upper -end of the Penobscot river, where the chiefs had signed a treaty of -alliance, offensive and defensive, with our government, and had sworn -to have no communication with the Americans or others, the king's -enemies, without the knowledge of the officer commanding the British -forces in North America. - -"One of our men, named Jack Andrews, had quarrelled with the -Delaware, about a wild goose they had shot. Blows were exchanged; -the savage drew his scalping-knife; but the Borderer clubbed his -musket, and laid the red-skin sprawling among the reeds. Peace was -enforced between them; but the savage was more than ever sullen and -reserved, doubtless brooding on the vengeance he meant to take. - -"Such was Le Vipre Noir, who will bear rather a conspicuous part in -my little story. - -"It was a lovely evening, I have said, when we took possession of the -sequestered picquet-house. The rays of the setting sun, as he sank -beyond those grand and lofty mountain ranges, which rise between the -source of the Hudson and Lake Champlain, shed a red glow across the -water, and bathed in warm light the foliage of the mighty primeval -forest, which for ages had clothed the shores of that magnificent -lake. In the immediate foreground the bayonets of my sentinels -seemed tipped with fire, as they trod slowly to and fro upon their -posts in that voiceless solitude. Before the log-hut the arms were -piled, and my soldiers, with the Cornishman, were cooking their -supper, while the swarthy Indian scout was squatted on his hams at a -little distance, smoking listlessly or half asleep, as the duty of -searching in the woods usually devolved upon him after nightfall. - -"I, too, lit my pipe, and the pouch from which I took my tobacco -called back to mind some half-forgotten thoughts and fancies. - -"They were lovely hands that embroidered that pouch for me, and it -was associated with many a promenade in Paul Street, when we were -quartered in Montreal, with balls at _her_ father's house, in the Rue -de Notre Dame, flirtation and ices in the Place d'Armes, where the -French troops used to parade of old--for, in short, that -tobacco-pouch had been made for me by Ella Carleton, the belle of -that old colonial city. - -"She had a dash of the old French blood in her, and hence her dark -hair and eyes, which contrasted so wonderfully with her pure English -skin, and hence her continental form of eyelid and drooping lash. So -I sighed as I thought of a year ago--cursed the emergencies of the -service that banished me to Fort St. John, and passed my fair Ella's -present to the sergeant of the picquet, that he might supply himself, -for active service is a true leveller, and without impairing -discipline leads to a spirit of _camaraderie_ not to be found in such -tented fields as Hyde Park or the Phœnix at Dublin. - -"After the sun set and twilight stole on, I walked restlessly to and -fro before the log-hut, within which my men were now gathered with -their arms, as the dew was falling. I had seen all carefully loaded -and had examined the flints and priming. I was resolved that due -vigilance on my part should not be wanting if the post were attacked -or my sentinels surprised; and to prevent them from wandering -unconsciously from their beat in the dark, I had six white stakes -placed in the ground, and gave orders that they were to remain close -by them during the night, until relieved, and every hour I went in -person with the reliefs, a most harassing duty. - -"Leaving my sergeant at the picquet-house, a few minutes before -midnight, I went with six men to relieve my sentinels, who were all -posted on the skirts of an open spacs, a large tract of waste ground -which for some miles was covered with long prairie grass, and which -stretched away towards the forest that was traversed by the main road -leading to Fort Edward on the Hudson, about sixty miles distant. - -"Save the gurgle of a runnel that stole under the prairie grass, -there was no sound in the air--not even the whistle of the cat-bird; -there was no moon, but the stars were clear and bright, and guided by -their light we went straight from post to post, relieving the -sentinels; but as we approached the place where the sixth should have -been, on the extreme left of the highway, we advanced _unchallenged_ -to the stake that marked his beat: the place was solitary and the -man--was gone. - -"His musket, undischarged, was lying there, and a pool of blood -beside it at once refuted any suspicion of desertion. But how came -it that he had perished without resistance--without giving an alarm, -and where was his body? All round the place we searched for it, but -did so in vain. - -"Posting another man, I gave him reiterated orders and injunctions to -be on the alert, and wistfully the poor fellow looked after us as we -returned to the picquet-house with the tidings of another mystery, -which added to the consternation that prevailed concerning this -devilish outpost. Neither le Vipre Noir nor Treherne had yet -returned; they were as usual scouting in front of our advanced -sentinels, and when they came back, not together, but separately, -they each reported the country all quiet for miles towards the -mountains. Who then was this determined assassin, unless it were -Satan himself? - -"Next night the sentinel on the extreme right was missing, without -leaving even a trace of blood, and without the grass being bruised or -trodden near his beat; and on the night following, the sentinel on -the roadway was found lying dead on his face; his musket was -undischarged, his head cloven behind, and his scalp gone. - -"The consternation of my picquet had now reached its height. Still -our scouts asserted the country to be quiet around us, though, with a -strange gleam in his eyes, the Indian said, that when he shouted in -the woods he heard an echo. - -"'From whence?' I asked, suspiciously. - -"'From the great barrows by the lake--where the bones of my -forefathers lie. The white man treads there now; but they were great -warriors, and many were the scalps that dried before their tents.' - -"I was but a young officer then, being fresh from our Scottish -Fencibles, otherwise I would have doubled my sentinels; but the idea -never occurred to me, and my sergeant failed to suggest it. The -affair was becoming intolerable. This mysterious assassination of -brave men roused my blood to fever heat, and I resolved that on the -next night I should take the duty of sentinel with a firelock, and -remain on my post as such, not for one hour merely, but for the -entire night, in the hope of solving this terrible enigma. - -"On the evening I came to this conclusion the post was visited by -Charley Halket from the fort, the captain of our first company, who -came cantering up on a fine bay horse. I was glad to see him, for -Halket was one of the most lively and devil-may-care fellows in the -corps, and he sang the best song and was the best stroke at billiards -in our whole brigade. Charley would drink his two bottles at mess -overnight and wing a fellow in the morning, without keeping his arm -in a cold bath, and with an accuracy that showed he had a -constitution of iron; he hunted fearlessly, shot fairly, rode like a -mad-cap; gambled, but simply for excitement, and spent his money like -a good-hearted fellow. He was always laughing and jovial, and I was -about to relate the disasters that had befallen my party, when the -pale and anxious expression of his usually merry face arrested me, -and I feared that the fort had been taken by surprise in rear of our -post. - -"'What the devil is the matter, Halket?' said I. 'I have always -predicted to Preston that we should never have our legs under his -mahogany at Valleyfield again--never taste his Fifeshire mutton, or -test his fine old Burgundy. What is up? Has the fort fallen, -Charley, that you come here with your bay thoroughbred covered with -foam, even to its bang-up tail?' - -"'No, my dear Middleton; but I wish to pass your post.' - -"'To the front?' I asked, with astonishment. - -"'Yes.' - -"'It is impossible!' - -"'Even if out of uniform?' - -"'In or out of uniform, none can pass or repass save our scouts, -whose lives are of little value. Preston's orders are strict and -decisive.' - -"'But if in disguise?' he urged, earnestly, and lowering his tone, as -he stooped from his saddle. - -"'Worse and worse!' - -"'How? explain, pray,' he demanded, as his earnestness became tinged -with irritation. - -"'You might be deemed a deserter by General Burgoyne if found more -than two miles from camp or quarters.' - -"'A deserter!--I?--pooh, man, absurd!' - -"'A general officer has joined the rebels already. Then you might be -hanged as a spy by Montgomery, whose troops are certainly closing up, -if we may judge from the murderous outrages committed by his Indian -allies upon the picquets stationed here.' - -"'It is for that very reason, Middleton, that I am most anxious to -ride southward for about twelve miles into the country along the -shore of the lake, towards Misiskoui.' - -"'You could not return; my sentinels have positive orders to fire -instantly on all----' - -"'Who have not the parole and countersign,' said he, smiling; 'they -are _Quebec_ and WOLFE. You see that I have both!' - -"'From whom?' - -"'My friend André, of the Cameronians--the fort-major.' - -"'He is very rash! I wish he had this infernal picquet to command; -the duty might teach him caution.' - -"'But, my dear Middleton----' - -"'Say no more, Charley--come, don't be rash; duty is duty; and I must -perform mine. Moreover, I value your life and my own honour too much -to risk either to further some mad-cap ramble of yours.' - -"'Zounds, sir!' he began, furiously. - -"'Now don't call me out, Charley; I am on duty and can't go, and when -I am relieved and you are cool, you won't ask me. But tell me, -Charley, what affair is this that seems so urgent? The country in -front is full of perils; already eight or nine sentinels have been -assassinated, and yonder grave covers one of three fine fellows I -have lost.' - -"'Listen to me, Jack,' said he, dismounting, and throwing the reins -of his horse over his arm, and leading me a little way apart from the -soldiers who were smoking and lounging before the log-hut; 'you -remember Ella Carleton?' - -"'I should rather think I do' said I, reddening, and giving him a -very knowing wink, to which he made not the slightest response; -'Ella, whom we used to meet so much a year ago at Montreal.' - -"'The same,' said he. - -"'I remember her perfectly--a charming girl, with features that were -pale but beautifully regular, and with eyes and hair so dark.' - -"'Exactly,' said Halket, whose eyes sparkled with pleasure. 'Her -father, you are aware, is a rich land-owner, in the American -interest.' - -"'Many a bottle of champagne I have drunk in his house in the Rue de -Notre Dame.' - -"'Yet he is an old curmudgeon who hates us red-coats, and for that -reason, as well as for a few others that were more cogent, Ella and I -were privately married about a year ago.' - -"'Married?--whew! Here's news for the mess to discuss over their -wine and walnuts!' I exclaimed, while laughing to conceal an -irrepressible emotion of pique. - -"'I depend on your honour,' said he, earnestly. - -"'To the death, Charley; but you have quite taken my breath away. -Married--you never looked a bit like it!' - -"'We were married a year ago at the cathedral in the Place d'Armes -unknown to all--even to yourself, Rohallion, and others my most -intimate friends,' said Halket, speaking rapidly and with growing -emotion; 'in a month she will be a mother--think of that, Jack! She -is residing at one of her father's country clearings near the -Missiskoui River, in an old hunting-lodge, built by Simon de -Champlain, who first discovered the lake. She has written to me by a -circuitous route, saying that Montgomery's advanced posts are within -a few miles; that her father and all his men are with the rebels; -that the Iroquois are ravaging the country, burning, killing, and -scalping all before them; and thus, for the love I bear her, and for -the sake of our child that is yet unborn, I must strive to save her, -and have her conveyed to Fort St. John. This is all my story, -Middleton. She is about twelve miles distant from this outpost; I -think I know the way, and am certain I should be back before the -morning-gun is fired. If not, I must risk all--commission, rank, -reputation, everything--but Ella must be saved! You understand me -now, don't you, my dear friend?' said he, earnestly, as he grasped my -hand, and I could see that the poor fellow's eyes were filled with -tears. - -"'Perfectly, Charley; I would risk my life to save or serve her or -you; but I think we may find those who will do both more effectually -than either you or I.' - -"'Who do you mean?' - -"'The Delaware scout, and old Abe Treherne, the hunter, will get over -the ground in half the time, and knowing, as they do, every track and -trail in the forest, with ten degrees more safety than you could ever -hope for.' - -"I at once proposed the affair to them, and Treherne entered into it -with great readiness. His reward was to be a pair of handsome -pistols and ten guineas. He knew the old hunting-lodge on Carleton's -clearing quite well, and with the assistance of the horse, undertook -to bring the lady to the picquet-house in safety, and long before -sunrise. The Delaware, however, shook his head. - -"'Le Vipre Noir has some darned doubts, I guess,' said the hunter; -'the woods about the Missiskoui are full of the mocassin prints of -the Yankees and the Iroquois; the tracks, I reckon, are dangerous -enough; and there will be an almighty trouble in bringing a fine lady -a-horse-back through the bush; for all that, Delaware, you'll venture -to bring the White Chief his squaw safe from the hunting-place beyond -the river?' - -"'From the Missiskoui, where once I had a wigwam, and where my squaw -and her little papooses perished at the hands of the white men?' said -the savage, in a husky and guttural voice, while his stealthy eyes -filled with a malevolent gleam, as he sat sullenly smoking under a -tree. - -"'You're a darned fool, Vipre,' said Treherne, angrily. 'Look ye -har--what's the use o' thinking o' that now? What's past is past, -ain't it?' - -"'She appealed to them, and they laughed at her. She appealed to -Manitto, but his face was hidden behind a cloud, and he saw neither -her nor what the pale-faces did to her. She is with Manitto now--but -I yet am here.' - -"'We may have a scrimmage, Delaware--can you bite yet?' asked -Treherne, testily. - -"The savage pointed to his scalping-knife and grinned. - -"'Will you venture with me for twelve bottles of the raal Jamaiky -fire-water?' - -"'Oui, ja, yes!' said the savage, eagerly, in his mixed jargon; 'I -neither fear the feathered arrows of the rebel Iroquois, or the lead -bullets of the Yankees. Go! Le Vipre Noir is a warrior!' - -"'Delaware,' said I, patting his muscular shoulder, 'what are the -greatest of human virtues?' - -"'Courage and contempt of death,' he replied, loftily, while shaking -the two heron's plumes in his scalp lock. - -"'Good,' said Halkett, who had listened to all this preamble with -irrepressible anxiety and impatience; 'here are ten guineas as an -earnest of future reward, Delaware. You will risk this for me?' - -"'For _you_?' said the Indian, scornfully, putting the coins, -however, in the musk-rat pouch, which dangled at his wampum girdle. - -"'For her, then?' said Halket, persuasively. - -"'For neither,' replied the Delaware, while a lurid gleam shone in -his sombre eyes. - -"'How, fellow?' asked Charley, with alarm. - -"'I do so for the reward--for the fire-water and gold that will buy -me powder and blankets; but neither for the squaw nor the papoose of -the pale-face.' - -"'Risk it for what you will, but only serve me; and you, Treherne----' - -"'Make your terms with this darned crittur of a Redskin, and you can -settle with me after, sir,' said Treherne, who had been regarding his -compatriot with a somewhat doubtful expression. 'Come, Vipre Noir, -we must keep the hair on our heads, if we can, certainly; so put -fresh priming into the pan of your rifle, my dark serpent, for the -dew is falling heavily; if the rebel Redskins come on us, it must be -our scalps agin theirs! I'm your brother--let us be off to the bush -ere the sun sets.' - -"Charley Halkett hastily wrote a note to his wife, telling her to -place implicit confidence in the two scouts as true and tried men, -who would convey her safely to the British outpost in front of Fort -St. John, where he, all eagerness and impatience, awaited her; and on -being furnished with this, Treherne slung his long rifle across his -body, stuck a short black pipe in his moustachioed mouth, mounted -Halkett's horse, and, with the swift-footed and agile Indian running -by his side, crossed the open bit of prairie before the log-hut, and -rapidly disappeared in the dense and virgin forest that lay beyond. - -"That forest soon grew dark; twilight stole along the shores of the -silent lake; the last red rays of lingering light faded upward from -the lone mountain tops; one by one the bright stars came twinkling -out, and the old and clamorous anxiety occurred to us all; and each -poor fellow, as he was left on his post, felt himself a doomed man, -who might die without seeing his destroyer, or who might disappear as -others had so mysteriously done, without leaving a trace behind. - -"Slowly and wearily our autumn night wore on, and with our pistols -cocked, Halkett and I visited the sentinels almost half-hourly. The -sky was moonless, and the silence around our lonely post was -oppressive; to the listening ear there came no sounds save those of -insect life among the long and reedy prairie grass. - -"All at once, afar in distance from the deep recesses of the vast -pine forest, there rose the shrill war-whoop of the red man! - -"Like the yell of an unchained fiend, it rung upon the still night -air; but died away, and all became silent--more silent apparently -than before, and I felt the hand of Halkett clutch my arm like a -vice, while hot bead-drops rolled over his temples. - -"I had terrible forebodings, but remained silent, and with reiterated -advice to my sentinels to be 'on the alert,' returned to the -picquet-house. Poor Charley Halkett's alarm excited all my -compassion; the boldest, frankest, and jolliest fellow in the corps -had become a nervous, crushed, and miserable wretch! - -"I thought that lingering night would never pass away. It passed, -however, as others do; the morning came in, bright and sunny, and -without one of our sentinels being missed or molested; and it seemed, -certainly, a very singular feature in those mysterious deaths, that -the only night on which no fatality occurred, should be that on which -we actually had an _alerte_, and when Treherne and the Delaware were -away in the direction of Missiskoui, and _not_ scouting in front of -the post! - -"Morning had come, but there was yet no appearance of our messengers -or Ella Carleton, and old sympathies made me doubly anxious on her -account. - -"Halkett, who was pale with sleeplessness and intense anxiety, walked -with me a little way beyond our advanced sentinels, who were now -shouting to each other their happy congratulations that nothing had -occurred during the night--in short, that they were _all_ there. - -"Lake Champlain, in its calm loveliness, shone brightly under the -morning sun, its surface unruffled by the wind, and not a sail or -boat was visible in all the blue extent of its far stretching vista. -The gorgeous azalias were still in their bloom, so were the snowy -blossoms of the sumach, and the glorious yellow light fell in flakes -between the towering pines of the ancient forest, while the dewy -prairie grass glittered as it rippled beneath the pleasant breeze. - -"The distant landscape and the dim blue hills that look down on the -winding Hudson seemed calm and tranquil, the silence around us was -intense, the hum of a little waterfall alone breaking the stillness -of the autumn morning. - -"Poor Charley was like a madman, and it was in vain that I suggested -to him that Treherne and the Delaware might have been compelled to -make a long detour; that Ella might be ill and unable to travel on -horseback, that her father might have returned, that Montgomery's -advanced guard might be now far beyond the Missiskoui, that our -scouts might have lost their way in going or in returning, not that I -believed either possible for a moment, but I was glad to say anything -that would serve to account for their delay, or soothe his gnawing -anxiety; so in exceeding misery he returned to Fort St. John. The -moment that morning parade was over he hastened to me again, and -slowly the terrible day passed over, without tidings of Ella Carleton -or her guides, and as night drew near I had almost to use force to -prevent Halkett from setting out on foot for the old hunting-lodge on -the Missiskoui, a place he could never have reached alone. - -"Suddenly we were roused, about sunset, by a shout from the picquet, -and as we looked up, the Delaware stood before us--alone! - -"His aspect was fierce but weary; his hunting shirt was torn and bore -traces of blood. His story was brief. They had been attacked by -Indians in a deep gulley some miles distant, in the grey dawn of the -morning; Treherne had been killed and the lady carried off! The -Indian showed his wounds, and then claimed his reward. - -"Poor Halkett, on hearing of this catastrophe, fell, as if struck by -a ball, and was laid on the hard bed of planks whereon the soldiers -slept. He was in a delirium, yet passive and weak as a child. - -"So the hostile Indians were in our neighbourhood! I thought with -horror of what the poor girl--on the eve of becoming a mother--might -suffer at their merciless hands; and all her delicate beauty, her -merry laugh, the singular combination of elegance and _espièglerie_ -in her manner, came vividly back to memory, as I had seen her last, -happy, radiant, and smiling, amid the glare and glitter of a garrison -ball in the city of Montreal. - -"I questioned the Delaware closely; but his story was simple and -unvarying, so he received food, rum, and the reward which Halkett had -promised. - -"An irrepressible anxiety stole over me as night deepened, so taking -my servant's musket and bayonet, I primed, loaded, and fixed a new -flint with care; and proceeding to the distance of fifty yards in -front of my line of sentinels, on the open space where the prairie -grass grew thick and rank, I resolved to pass some hours there as an -advanced sentinel. - -"The sky was dark and cloudy, the stars were obscured by vapour, the -silence was intense, and it smote upon my heart with a sense that was -in some degree appalling, though I knew that my sentinels and the -rest of the picquet were all within hail. The tall prairie grass -waved solemnly and noiselessly to and fro; the sombre forest beyond, -with the myriad cones of its black pines stretched far away to the -distant mountains, but not a sound came from thence, nor from the -lone shores of the vast lake of Champlain, whose vista receded away -for miles upon my right. Even if the night-herons were wading among -its waters I could not hear them, and the whistle of the cat-bird was -silent. - -"Through the dark, I could see where the wild sumach, with its white -blossoms and scarlet berries, waved over the graves of those who had -perished on this fatal out-post. Their aspect was solemnizing in -such a dark and silent hour, and the familiar faces of the dead men -seemed to hover before me. But there was something mysterious and -unaccountable in the total disappearance of those whose blood we had -only traced upon the grass of the prairie. - -"Around where I stood this grass was more than a yard in height and -thick as ripened corn. It was waving steadily to and fro as the -breath of the night wind agitated it. - -"I had been in that solitary place about two hours, and midnight was -at hand, when an emotion like a thrill--a tremor, not of fear, but of -_warning_--a 'grue,' as we Scots call it, came over me. I felt the -approach of some unseen thing, and cast a hurried glance around me. -Something unusual about the appearance of the prairie-grass caught my -eye. - -"Where, when hitherto I had looked in a direct line to the front, the -surface, while swaying to and fro, seemed a flat and unbroken mass, -there was now visible a dark line, a hollow furrow, as if some animal -was crawling slowly and stealthily through it. - -"With every nerve braced, with all the powers of vision concentrated, -I watched this new appearance, and the hollow track seemed to draw -nearer and nearer _to me_, slowly, silently, and almost -imperceptibly, as if a snake or some such reptile were crawling -towards my post; and, ere long, it was not more than fifteen yards -distant. - -"I placed a handkerchief over the lock of my musket to muffle the -click of the lock in cocking, then I took a steady aim and fired! - -"On this, 'piercing the night's dull ear,' there rang a wild, shrill, -and savage cry--a cry like that we had heard on the preceding -night--and a dark figure, bounding from among the grass, came rushing -towards me, but I stood, with bayonet charged, ready to receive him -on its point. - -"He was an Indian, brandishing a tomahawk; but, within a few feet of -where I stood, he fell prone on his face, wallowing in blood. The -report of my musket, and his cry, brought all the picquet to the -front. We dragged him into the log-hut, and discovered that I had -shot our missing scout, the Delaware, Le Vipre Noir, the ball having -entered his left shoulder, and traversed nearly the entire length of -his body. He was mortally wounded, but the powers of life were -strong within him. I was greatly concerned by this misfortune, which -might procure us the enmity of his entire tribe; but why was he -stealing upon our post in the manner he had done? - -"Before this could be resolved, and while we were staunching the -welling blood, and doing all in our humble power to soothe suffering -and prolong existence, a pale and bloody figure, who had given our -sentries the pass-word, staggered into the hut, and sunk, half -fainting, against the guard-bed. He was old Abe Treherne, the scout, -cut, gashed, and apparently dying. - -"He was almost as speechless as the Delaware; but, on seeing each -other, though weak and deplorable their condition, the eyes of these -men glared with rage and hate, and they made such incredible efforts -to reach each other, knife in hand, that the soldiers of my picquet -had to hold them asunder by force. - -"'Search the hunting-pouch of the darned thief--the accursed -red-skin!' said Treherne, in a hollow voice. 'May I never hew -hickory again if I don't have his scalp and his heart tew!' - -"I was about to make the search, when Charley Halket anticipated me, -and shudderingly drew forth its cold and clammy contents. - -"There were four human scalps; three were recognised as belonging to -our own men, the murdered sentinels, and the fourth had attached to -it the long, black, silky hair of a woman--the soft and ripply -tresses of Ella Carleton! - -"'The red-skin fell on us suddenly in the bush, with knife and -tomahawk,' said Treherne, speaking with difficulty, and at intervals; -'he took me unawares from behind, and well nigh clove my head--darned -if I don't think the tommy's stickin' there yet! I fought hard for -my precious life--harder for the poor lady, I guess; but I swowned, -after a time, and then he dragged her into the bush.' - -"'Ella--Ella!' exclaimed Halket, wringing his hands. - -"'The last I saw, 'tween the leaves and the blood that poured into my -eyes, was the glitter of his scalping-knife; and the last I heard was -her death-cry. Shoot the varmint, captain! I searched the bush for -her till I was weary. Shoot the critter dead, soldiers! Ah! he was -well named Le Vipre Noir, by that son of a Delaware dog, his father.' - -"The savage scarcely heard the end of this, for Halket, maddened by -the contents of the hunting-pouch, and brief story of Treherne, -placed a foot upon the prostrate body of the Delaware, then, slowly -and deliberately, while his teeth were set, his eyes flashing fire, -his brows knit by rage and grief, and, while an unuttered malediction -hovered on his lips, he passed his sword-blade twice through the -heart of the scout. The latter, for a moment, writhed upward on the -steel, like a dying serpent, and then expired. - -"Poor Abe Treherne died soon after, for his wounds were mortal. - -"So our false Delaware proved, after all, to have been in the -American interest, and inspired by some real or imaginary wrongs, to -have been the assassin of our sentinels.* - - -* Several sentinels of an outpost were thus actually assassinated -during the American war. A Scottish periodical of the time gives a -Highland regiment--the 74th, I think--the credit of furnishing the -victims. - - -"Fort St. John soon after fell into the hands of the Yankees under -General Montgomery; we were all made prisoners of war, and my poor -friend, Charley Halket, died, and (far from his kindred, who lie in -the Abbey Kirk of Culross) we buried him amid the snow as we were -being marched, under escort, up the lakes, towards Ticonderoga." - - -Such was the major's story of _the advanced picquet_. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -COSMO JOINS. - - "Ye'll try the world soon, my lad, - And Andrew, dear, believe me, - Ye'll find mankind an unco squad, - And muckle may they grieve ye. - For care and trouble set your thought, - Even when your end's attained; - And a' your views may come to nought, - When every nerve is strained."--BURNS. - - -After a careful search through some of the old dog-eared Army Lists, -which, with Burns' poems, Brown's "Self-interpreting Bible," and -Abercrombie's "Martial Achievements of the Scots Nation," formed the -chief literary stores in his snuggery, the old quartermaster -discovered that in the 94th, the famous old Scots brigade, there was -a Captain Richard Warriston. He was the only one of that name in the -service, and doubtless the same officer whom Quentin had mentioned in -his letter as having so kindly befriended him; and by Lord -Rohallion's direction, Girvan at once addressed a letter to the -officer commanding the regiment for some information regarding the -runaway. - -In due time an answer came from Colonel James Campbell, to state -"that no volunteer named Quentin Kennedy had attached himself to the -94th Regiment," thus the household of the old castle were sorely -perplexed what to do, and had to trust to time or to Quentin himself -for clearing up the mystery that overhung his actions. - -In little more than ten days after Cosmo's name had appeared in the -War Office _Gazette_, Quentin received the unwelcome information that -the new lieutenant-colonel, his enemy, had arrived at head-quarters, -and that a parade in full marching order was to take place on the -morrow, when he would formally take over the command of the corps -from poor Major Middleton. - -Though daily expected, these tidings fell like a knell upon Quentin's -heart, and the old sickly emotion that came over him, when Warriston -brought the fatal _Gazette_ to the mess-room, returned again in all -its force. - -"I think this Guardsman will prove a thorough Tartar," said Captain -Askerne, in whose rooms Quentin first heard Cosmo's arrival -canvassed; "and I fear that he won't make himself popular among the -Borderers." - -"From what do you infer that?" said some one. - -"He refused to let the drums beat the 'Point of War' this morning." - -"The devil he did!" said Colville. - -"That looks ill, damme!" added Monkton. - -"I do not understand," said Quentin, as if looking for information. - -"It is," said Askerne, "a custom as old as the days of Queen -Anne--older, perhaps, for aught that I know--for the drums and fifes -of a corps to assemble before the quarters of every officer who is -newly appointed to it, and there to honour the king's commission by -beating the 'Point of War.' Though dying out now, and frequently -'more honoured in the breach than the observance,' it is a good old -custom, peculiar to many of our Scottish regiments. The officer then -gives to the drummers a few crowns or guineas, as the case may be, to -drink his health; but the Master of Rohallion bluntly and haughtily -told the drum-major that he 'would have no such d--d nonsense, and to -dismiss!'" - -"The deuce! this augurs ill," said Colville, with his affected lisp, -as he arranged his hair in Askerne's little camp mirror. - -"Perhaps his exchequer is in a bad way." - -"Not improbable, Monkton," said Askerne; "he was one of the most -lavish fellows in the household brigade, and he played and betted -deeply; but there goes the drum for parade; in a few minutes we shall -see what like our new man is." - -We shall not afflict the reader with details of this most formal -parade, during which the regiment marched past Cosmo in slow and -quick time in open column of companies; then followed an inspection -of the men, their clothing, arms, accoutrements, and everything, from -the regimental colours to the pioneers' hand-saws; but thanks to old -Middleton's unwearying zeal and pride in the Borderers, the somewhat -fractious lieutenant-colonel discovered nothing to find fault with. - -Mounted on a fine dark charger, with gold-laced saddlecloth and -holsters, Cosmo, in his new regimentals, looked every inch a handsome -and stately soldier; and his appearance, together with his clear, -full, mellow voice, when commanding, impressed the corps favourably. -Quentin, from the rear rank of Askerne's company, surveyed him -earnestly, anxiously, and with secret misgivings; for every feature -of his cold, keen, and aristocratic face brought back vividly the -mortifying and unpleasant passages in which they had both borne a -part at Rohallion, and sadly and bitterly he felt that the worst was -yet to come. - -The parade over, the regiment was dismissed, but the orderly bugle -summoned the officers to the front, where they gathered around Cosmo, -who had dismounted and haughtily tossed his reins to an orderly -(Allan Grange, the crest-fallen and reduced sergeant), his -gentleman's gentleman--that town-bred appendage who had excited -alternately the wrath and contempt of sturdy old Jack Andrews, had -resigned, having no fancy for the chances of war as a camp-follower; -so the Master had to content himself with such unfashionable "helps" -as soldiers and batmen. - -Quentin, lingering irresolutely, and half hoping to escape -observation, was about to retire to his quarters, when Askerne called -to him with a friendly smile-- - -"Kennedy, come to the front; Middleton is about to introduce the -officers, and you must not be omitted." - -Poor Quentin felt that his doom had come, and he could feel, too, -that as his heart sank, the blood left his cheeks. But honest anger -and just indignation came to the rescue, and gave him courage. - -"Why should I dread this man--why shrink from one I have never -wronged?" he asked of himself. "Of what am I afraid? The sooner -this introduction is over, and that I know on what terms we are to -be, the better. Perhaps he may be desirous of forgetting the past, -of committing to oblivion all that has occurred, and may be the first -to hold out a friendly hand. Heaven grant it may be so!" - -But this suggestion of his own generous heart was little likely to be -realized. - -With studied politeness and grace, if not with pure cordiality, Cosmo -received each officer as he was presented according to his rank, -until the junior ensign, Boyle, was introduced. - -"Ah!" said Cosmo, detecting one present without epaulettes, "you have -a volunteer with you, I see." - -"One," said Middleton, "whom I wish especially to introduce to your -notice and future care, colonel, as a most promising young soldier, -who in a few weeks has passed through all his drills, and is now fit -for any duty. Mr. Quentin Kennedy--Colonel Crawford." - -The nervous start given by Cosmo, the changing colour of his cheek, -the shrinking and dilation of his cat-like eyes, as he raised and -almost nervously let fall his eye-glass, were apparent to several; -and Quentin saw the whole. Cosmo bowed with marked coldness, and -turned so sharply on his heel, that his spurs rasped on the gravel of -the barrack-yard. - -"Major Middleton," said he, haughtily, before retiring, "tell that -young man, Mr.--what's his name----?" - -"Mr. Kennedy, sir." - -"That when speaking to an officer, he should bring his musket to the -_recover_." - -And so ended this--to Quentin--most crushing interview. - -"What the devil is up now?" said Monkton to Colville; "it is evident -that our new bashaw doesn't like gentlemen volunteers." - -"Then he is devilishly unjust--that's all," said Askerne the -Grenadier who had begun his military life as a volunteer. - -Quentin could have furnished the clue to all this; but to speak of -the friendless childhood which cast him among the household at -Rohallion, and, more than all, to speak of Flora Warrender, and to -make her name the jest of the heedless or unfeeling, were thoughts -that could not be endured. He was, silent, and his tongue seemed as -if cleaving to the roof of his mouth, while wearily and sadly he -turned away to seek the solitude of his bare and scantily-furnished -little room. - -Middleton, who had followed unobserved, entered after him, and just -when Quentin, to relieve his overcharged heart, was on the point of -giving way to a paroxysm of rage, even to tears, the worthy old field -officer caught his hand kindly, and said with earnestness-- - -"Don't be cast down, my boy, by what has occurred to-day. He was -cold and haughty to every one of us, but it is evidently his way, and -may wear off after a time. I hope so, for our Borderers won't stand -it. Take courage, lad--take courage, and don't fret about it; Jack -Middleton will always be your friend, though a hostile commanding -officer is a dangerous rock ahead." - -"Oh, major, you are indeed kind and good," said Quentin, as he seated -himself at the hard wood table, and covered his burning face with his -trembling hands; "but you know not all I have suffered--all I think, -and feel, and fear!" - -"Chut, Kennedy, look up! 'The English pluck that storms a breach or -heads a charge is the very same quality that sustains a man on the -long dark road of adverse fortune,' says an author--I forget who--not -he of the 'Eighteen Manœuvres,' however; so, Quentin; don't, let -Scottish pluck be behind it. To follow the drum is your true road in -life, boy, and who but God can tell when that road may end?" - -"Major Middleton," said Quentin, bitterly, "the colonel's chilling -manner, and more than you can ever know, have crushed the heart -within me. I never knew my father--of my mother I have barely a -memory," he continued in a broken voice--"a memory, a dream! Fate -has made me early a victim--a plaything--a toy! Advise me--I feel my -condition so desolate, so friendless again. What future can there be -for me, if I continue to serve under him; and how can I hope for -happiness, for justice, or advancement under such as he?" - -"Obey and suffer in silence; bear and forbear, and you will be sure -to triumph in the end. 'He that tholes overcomes,' says our Scottish -proverb, and the poor soldier has much to _thole_ indeed; but do your -duty diligently, and you may defy any man--even the king himself." - -Quentin strove to take courage from the good major's words, and -ultimately did so; but Middleton knew not the past of those he spoke -of, and was ignorant of the secret rivalry and settled hatred that -existed between them, especially in the heart of Cosmo; while -Quentin, in his ignorance of military matters, knew not that the -Master, if he chose to exert his powers arbitrarily, might dismiss -him from the corps at once, unquestioned by any authority for doing -so; and that by the stigma thus attached to his name, the chance of -any other commanding officer accepting him as a volunteer would be -utterly precluded; and that Cosmo did not do so was, perhaps, only by -a lingering emotion of justice or of shame for what his family, and -chiefly Flora Warrender and that huge bugbear "the world," would say -if the story got abroad. - -"Better trust to the _chances_ of war," thought Cosmo, grimly, as he -lay sullenly at length, smoking, on a luxurious fauteuil in his ample -quarters, which were furnished with all the comforts and elegance -with which a Jew broker could surround him; "a brat, a boy, a -chick--a d--ned foundling! With all my conscious superiority of -rank, birth, and, what are better, strength of mind and character, -why do I dread this Quentin Kennedy? Why and how does he seem to be -so inextricably woven up with me, my fate and fortune--it may be, -with the house of Rohallion itself? Last of all, why the devil do I -find him here?" (This question he almost shouted aloud as he kicked -away the cushion of the fauteuil.) "Why do I dread him? -_Dread_--I--shame! what delusion is this--what depression is it that -his presence--the very idea of his existence--and contact bring upon -me? In all this there is some strange fate--I know not what; but I -shall trust to the chances of war for a riddance, and to the perilous -work I shall cut out for _him_ in particular." - -And so he trusted; but with what success we shall see ere long. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE DEPARTURE. - - "Our native land--our native vale-- - A long and last adieu; - Farewell to bonny Teviotdale, - And Cheviot mountains blue! - The battle-mound, the border-tower, - That Scotia's annals tell; - The martyr's grave--the lover's bower-- - To each, to all--farewell."--PRINGLE. - - -Cosmo studiously and ungenerously omitted the slightest mention of -Quentin's name or existence in the letters which he wrote home to -Carrick, well knowing that if he did so, the kind old general, his -father, would at once address the authorities at the Horse Guards on -the subject of the young volunteer's advancement; and he knew, that -if appointed to any other corps than the Borderers, Quentin would be -beyond his influence, and free from the wiles and perils in which he -had mentally proposed to involve his future career. - -At last came the day so long looked forward to by all the -regiment--the day of its departure for foreign service, as it proved -in the Spanish Peninsula, the land to which, after several useless -and bloody expeditions to Holland, Flanders, Sweden, and Italy, the -thoughts and hopes and all the sympathies of Britain turned, with the -desire of driving out the victorious French, and restoring the -Bourbon dynasty--almost an old story now, so remote have the -struggles before Sebastopol and the wars of India made the great -battles of those days seem to be. - -The regiment had been under orders, and in a state of readiness for -weeks; but until, for it and for others, the _route_ came in the -sabretasche of an orderly dragoon who rode spurring in "hot haste" to -Colchester Barracks, its members knew not for what country they were -destined. - -The drums beat the _générale_, the signal for marching, early in the -morning of a soft September day, and the four pipers of the regiment -played loud and high a piobroch, that rang wildly, in all its various -parts, through the calm air, waking every echo of the old barrack -square; for the piobroch, we may inform the uninitiated, is a regular -piece of music, containing several portions; beginning with an alarm, -after which follow the muster, the march, the fury of the charge, the -shrill triumph of victory, and the low sad wail for the slain. - -With our battalion of the Borderers, there were to march on this -morning another of the Gordon Highlanders--the 92nd--one of the most -noble of our national corps, together with a strong detachment of the -91th, under Captain Warriston, so the enthusiasm of all was at its -height when, in heavy marching order, with great coats rolled on the -knapsacks, blankets folded behind them, havresacks and wooden -canteens slung, the companies fell in, and there seemed to be a -rivalry between the kilted pipers of the 92nd and the Borderers as to -who should excel most, or (as Cosmo, who was not inspired by overmuch -nationality, said to Middleton) who should "make the most infernal -noise." - -Silent and grim, and keeping somewhat haughtily aloof from all his -officers, Cosmo sat on his black horse, gnawing the chin-strap of his -shako, as if controlling some secret irritation, while watching the -formation of the corps, looking very much the while as if longing to -find fault with some one. - -"And so we are destined to reinforce the army under Sir John Moore?" -said Quentin, for lack of something more important to remark. - -"Yes," said Askerne, as he adjusted the cheek-scales of his tall -grenadier cap; "Sir John is a glorious fellow, and quite the man of -to-day." - -"I would rather be the man of _to-morrow_," said Monkton, with an air -that implied a joke, though there was something prophetic in the wish. - -"I knew Moore when he was serving as a subaltern with the 82nd in -America--he is a brave, good fellow, and a countryman of our own, -too," said Middleton, whose orderly brought forward his horse at that -moment; "and now," he added, putting his foot in the stirrup, "a long -good-bye to the land of roast-beef, and to poor old Scotland, too! I -wonder who among us here will see her heather hills and grassy glens -again--God bless them all!" And reverentially the fine old man -raised his hand to his cap as he spoke. - -A crowd formed by the soldiers' wives and children of the regiment, -now gathered round him, for the old major knew all their names and -little necessities, and was adored by them all. Now he was -distributing among them money, advice, and letters of recommendation -to parish ministers and others, and to none was he more kind than to -the weeping wife of Allan Grange, who, by his reduction to the ranks, -lost nearly every chance of accompanying the troops abroad. - -To the screaming of the bagpipes had now succeeded the wailing of -women, for many soldiers' wives and children were to be left behind, -and to be transferred to their several parishes in Scotland; many to -remote glens that are desolate wildernesses now; and it was touching -to see these poor creatures, looking so pale and miserable in the -cold grey light of the early morning, each with her wondering little -brood clinging to her skirts, as she hovered about the company to -which her husband belonged, his quivering lip and glistening eye -alone revealing the heart that ached beneath the coarse red coat, -amid the monotony of calling rolls and inspecting arms. - -On one of the waggons which was piled high with baggage, huge chests -of spare arms, iron-bound trunks, camp-beds and folded tents, Quentin -tossed the little portmanteau which contained his entire worldly -possessions; then the baggage-guard, looking so serviceable and -warlike with their havresacks and canteens slung crosswise, came with -bayonets fixed, and the great wains rumbled away through the echoing, -and as yet empty streets of Colchester. - -None of the officers were married men, fortunately for themselves -perhaps, at such a juncture. The colours were brought forth with -their black oilskin cases on; the advanced guard marched off, and -just as the sun began to gild the church vanes and chimney-tops, and -while reiterated cheers rang from the thousands of soldiers who -crowded the barrack windows, and whose turn would come anon, the -troops moved off, the brass bands of other regiments--the usual -courtesy--playing them out, the whole being under the command of the -senior officer present, Lieutenant-Colonel Napier of Blackstone, who -afterwards fell at the head of the 92nd Highlanders on the field of -Corunna. - -In the excitement of the scene, Quentin felt all its influences and -marched happily on. He forgot his affronts, his piques and -jealousies, and as the young blood coursed lightly through his veins, -he felt that he could forgive even Cosmo, were it only for Lady -Winifred's sake, when he saw him riding with so stately and -soldier-like an air between Major Middleton and Buckle the adjutant, -at the end of the column, where the splendid grenadiers with their -black bearskin caps and braided wings, made a martial show such as no -company of the line could do in the shorn uniform of the present day. - -All the happy impulses of youth made Quentin's spirit buoyant; thus -his light heart beat responsive to the crash of the drums and -cymbals, and to every note of the brass band. Thus, when on looking -to the rear, he saw so many hundred bayonets and clear barrels (they -were not browned in those days) flashing in the sun, with the long -array of plumed Highlanders that wound through the streets after his -own regiment, he forgot, we say, his grievances, and the cold and -haughty Master--we believe he forgot even Flora Warrender--he forgot -all but that he was a soldier--one of the old 25th, and bound for the -seat of war! Ah, there is something glorious in these emotions--this -flushing up of the spirit in a young and generous breast; but alas! -the time comes when we look back to the long-past days with envy, -regret, and, it may be--wonder! - -The sorrowful parting, the hurried embraces, the last kisses, the sad -and lingering glances of farewell being exchanged along the line of -march every moment, by husbands and wives, by parents and children, -as group after group gradually dropped to the rear of the column they -could but follow with their eyes and hearts, ceased after a time to -impress him by their very number and frequency; thus he soon laughed -with the gay, and enjoyed all the silly banter of the heedless, as -the officers began to group by twos and threes, after Colchester was -left behind, and the troops were permitted to "march at ease" along -the dusty highway between the meadows and ploughed fields. - -"I have never seen so jolly a morning as this," said Ensign Boyle, as -he trudged along with the regimental colour crossed on his left -shoulder; "never since first I saw my own name in print!" - -"How in print?" asked Quentin, with simplicity; "you do not mean on -the title-page of a book?" - -"Not at all--nothing so stupid--I mean in the Army List----" - -"Where you have never been tired of contemplating it since--eh, -Pimple?" asked Monkton; "but I hope you have left your flirting -jacket and best epaulettes with the heavy baggage--you only need your -fighting traps now." - -"I say, Pimple," said Colyear, the senior ensign, who, of course, had -the King's colour, "how much of the ready had that flax-spinner's -daughter, about whom Monkton quizzes you so much?" - -"Rumour said twenty thousand pounds." - -"The devil! You might have done worse--aw--eh!" - -"We're all doing worse, damme, marching for embarkation on this fine -sunny morning," said Monkton. "There goes the band again to the old -air; but, save you, Pimple, few among us leave 'girls behind us' with -twenty thousand pounds." - -"Adieu to Colchester, its morning drills and monotonous guards, and -that devilish incessant patter of little drum-boys practising their -da-da, ma-ma, on the drum from sunrise till sunset," said Colville, -looking back to where the strong old Saxon castle and the brick -steeple of St. Peter were being shrouded in yellow morning haze -exhaled by the sun from the river Colne. - -"Bon voyage," cried a gay staff-officer, lifting his plumed cocked -hat, as he cantered gaily past; "good-bye, gentlemen." - -"Adieu, Conyers," replied Monkton; "can I do anything for you?" - -"Where?" - -"Among the ladies in Lisbon?" - -The officer made no reply, but rode hurriedly on. - -"That is the fellow who had to quit Wellesley's staff for eloping -with some hidalgo's wife, the night after Vimiera," said Askerne. -"Monkton, you hit him hard there." - -"Don't you think old Jack Middleton looks dull this morning?" asked -some one. - -"The colonel is in a devil of a temper, I think," replied Askerne. - -"Perhaps he has left his love behind him," suggested Boyle, raising -his stupid white eyebrows sentimentally; "don't you think so, -Kennedy?" - -"Pimple, allow me to rebuke you," said Monkton, with an air of mock -severity. "An ensign may wear a faded rose next his beating heart; -but in a field-officer, such an insane proceeding is not to be -thought of." - -While this empty talk was in progress, about eight miles from -Colchester, a troop of the Scots Greys approached en route for that -place; and, as they drew near, the drums and fifes of the Borderers -struck up a lively national quick step; the Greys brandished their -swords, and gave a hearty cheer on coming abreast of the colours of -each regiment, and loud were the hurrahs which responded. - -This little episode, and the thoughtless banter which preceded it, -had raised Quentin's spirits to a high state of effervescence. Fresh -hope had come with all her ruddiest tints to brighten the future and -blot out the past, and with all the glorious confidence of youth, he -was again building castles in the air, on this morning march, when -the sun that shone so joyously on the green English landscape, added -to the brilliance of his thoughts and enhanced his joy and happiness. - -From his day-dreams, however, he was roughly awakened by the harsh -voice of the Master of Rohallion, who half reined in his horse, and -turning round with his right hand planted on the crupper, said with -great sternness: - -"Captain Askerne, I must remind you that, though officers may -converse together when the men are marching at ease, such a privilege -can by no means be accorded to a mere volunteer. Mr. Kennedy, rejoin -your section, and keep your place, sir!" - -Askerne's dark and handsome face coloured up to the rim of his -bearskin cap, and his eyes sparkled with rage at the colonel's -petulant wantonness; while poor Quentin, who, lost in his bright -day-dreamings, had certainly, but unconsciously, diverged a few paces -from the line of march to converse with his friends, fell sadly back -into the ranks, and felt that the dark cloud was enveloping him again. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ON THE SEA. - - "A varied scene the changeful vision showed, - For where the ocean mingled with the cloud, - A gallant navy stemmed the billows broad. - Blent with the silver cross to Scotland dear, - From mast and stern, St. George's symbol flow'd, - Mottling the sea their landward barges row'd, - And flashed the sun on bayonet, brand, and spear, - And the wild beach returned the seaman's jovial cheer." - _Vision of Don Roderick._ - - -The kingdom of Spain was at this time the great centre of European -political interest. France, Prussia, and Russia had scarcely -sheathed their swords at Tilsit, when the terrible conspiracy of -Ferdinand, the Prince of the Asturias, against his father, Charles -IV.--a plot imputed to Michael Godoy, who, from a simple cavalier of -the Royal Guard, had, by the queen's too partial favour, obtained the -blasphemous title of the Prince of Peace--afforded the Emperor -Napoleon, whose creature he was, a pretext for interfering in the -affairs of the Spanish Bourbons. He decoyed the royal family to -Bayonne, compelled their renunciation of the crown and kingdom of -Spain, into which he poured at once his vast armies, and, after the -fashion of the cat in the fable, who absorbed the whole matter in -dispute by the monkeys, he solved the problem by seizing the Spanish -empire, and gifting it to his brother Joseph, formerly King of Naples. - -Portugal, at this juncture, deserted by her government and by her -pitiful king, who fled to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, fell easily into -the power of a French army, under Marshal Junot, who was thereupon -created Duke of Abrantes, a town on the Portuguese frontier. - -All Europe cried aloud at these lawless proceedings, and the -Spaniards, so long our enemies, with our old allies the Portuguese, -were alike filled with fury and resentment. The peasantry flew to -arms, and the provinces became filled by bands of guerillas, brave -but reckless; so the whole peninsula was full of tumult, treason, -bloodshed, and crime. - -"England," says General Napier, "both at home and abroad, was, in -1808, scorned as a military power, when she possessed (without a -frontier to swallow up large armies in expensive fortresses) at least -two hundred thousand of the best equipped and best disciplined -soldiers in the universe, together with an immense recruiting -establishment through the medium of the militia." - -War, not "Peace at any price," was the generous John Bull's motto, -and, to aid these patriots, a British army proceeded to the peninsula -in June, 1808, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur -Wellesley. Some sharp fighting ensued along the coast, the prologue -to the long and bloody, but glorious drama, that was only to -terminate on the plains of Waterloo. - -On the 21st of August we fought and won the battle of Vimiera, and -nine days after followed the convention of Cintra, by which the -French troops were compelled to evacuate the ancient Lusitania, and -were conveyed home in British ships; but still the marshals of the -empire, with vast armies, the heroes of Jena, Austerlitz, and a -hundred other battles so glorious to France, were covering all the -provinces of Spain, from the steeps of the Pyrenees to the arid -plains of Estremadura. - -"Soldiers, I have need of you," says the emperor, in one of his -bulletins. "The hideous presence of the leopard contaminates the -peninsula of Spain and Portugal. In terror he must fly before you! -Let us bear our triumphal eagles to the pillars of Hercules, for -there also we have injuries to avenge! Soldiers, you have surpassed -the renown of modern armies, but have you yet equalled the glory of -those Romans, who, in one and the same campaign, were victorious upon -the Rhine and the Euphrates, in Illyria and upon the Tagus? A long -peace and lasting prosperity shall be the reward of your labours." - -The standard of freedom was first raised among the Asturians, the -hardy descendants of the ancient Goths, and in Galicia; then Don José -Palafox, by his valiant defence of the crumbling walls of Zaragossa, -showed the Spaniards what brave men might do when fighting for their -hearths and homes. - -"In a few days," said Napoleon, boastfully, in the October of 1808, -"I go to put myself at the head of my armies, and, with the aid of -God, to crown the King of Spain in Madrid, and plant my eagles on the -towers of Lisbon." - -The Junta of the Asturias craved the assistance of Britain, even -while the shattered wrecks of Trafalgar lay rotting on the sandy -coast of Andalusia. Three years had committed those days of strife -to oblivion, or nearly so, and arms, ammunition, clothing, and money -were freely given to the patriots, while all the Spanish prisoners -were sent home. Then, Sir John Moore, who commanded the British -forces in Portugal, a small but determined "handful," was ordered to -advance into Spain against the vast forces of the Duke of Dalmatia, -which brings us now to the exact period of our own humble story, from -which we have no intention of diverging again into the history of -Europe. - -The body of troops among which our hero formed a unit, sailed in -transports from Spithead, and in the Channel, and when Portland -lights were twinkling out upon the weather-beam, poor Quentin endured -for the first time the horrors of sea-sickness, and lay for hours -half-stifled in a close dark berth, unheeded and forgotten, -overpowered by the odour of tar, paint, and bilge, and by a thirst -which he had not the means of quenching, for he was helpless, unable -to move and longed only for death. - -It was no spacious, airy, and gigantic _Himalaya_, no magnificent -screw-propeller like the _Urgent_, the _Perseverance_, or any other -of our noble steam transports that, on this occasion received the -head-quarters of the "King's Own Borderers," but a clumsy, old, and -leaky tub, bluff-bowed and pinck-built, with her top-masts stayed -forward, and her bowsprit tilted up at an angle of 45 degrees, and -having a jack-staff rigged thereon. She was a black-painted bark of -some four hundred tons, with the figures "200 T."--(signifying -Transport No. 200)--of giant size appearing on her headrails. -Between floors or decks hastily constructed for the purpose, the poor -soldiers were stowed in darkness, discomfort, and filth. The -officers were little better off in the cabin, and hourly their -servants scrambled, quarrelled, and swore in the cooks' galley, about -their several masters' rank and seniority in the order of boiling -kettles and arranging frying-pans, whilst the hissing spray swept -over them every time the old tub staggered under her fore course, and -shipped a sea instead of riding buoyantly over it. - -In the mighty stride taken by civilization of late years, when steam -and electricity alike conduce to the annihilation of time and space, -the soldiers of the Victorian age know little of what their fathers -in the service underwent, when old George III. was King. In stench, -uncleanness, and lack of comfort and accommodation, our shipping were -then unchanged from those which landed Orange William's Dutchmen at -Torbay, or which conveyed our luckless troops in after years to the -storming of the Havannah or the bombardment of Bocca Chica. - -After Quentin had recovered his strength (got his "sea-legs" as the -sailors have it) he presented his pale, wan face on deck one morning, -when the whole fleet, with the convoy, a stately 74-gun ship, were -scattered, with drenched canvas, like sea-birds with dripping wings, -as they scudded before a heavy gale, through the dark grey waters of -the Bay of Biscay, the waves of which were rolling in foam, under a -cold and cheerless October sky. - -On that comfortless voyage to the seat of war, many were the secret -heart-burnings he felt; many were the cutting slights put upon him by -his cold and hostile commanding officer, who went the tyrannical -length of even raising doubts as to whether he should mess in the -cabin or among the soldiers; but to Cosmo's ill-concealed rage and -confusion, the motion was carried unanimously and emphatically in the -poor lad's favour; that the cabin was his place, as a candidate for -his Majesty's commission. - -Cosmo gave a smile somewhat singular in expression, and unfathomable -in meaning, when Major Middleton communicated to him the decision of -the officers; but though victorious in this instance, young as he -was, the new affront sank deep in Quentin's heart, and he felt that -there was "a shadow on his path" there could be no avoiding now. - -So rapidly had events succeeded each other since that evening on -which the Master had so savagely struck him down in the avenue, that -Quentin frequently wondered whether his past or his present life were -a dream. His last meeting with Flora Warrender among the old and -shady sycamores--Flora so loving, so tender, and true!--his last -farewell of old John Girvan (but one of whose guineas remained -unchanged); that horrid episode of the dead gipsy, when he sought -shelter in the ruined vault of Kilhenzie; the drive in the carrier's -waggon; his volunteering at Ayr; the march to Edinburgh, with the -voyage to England in the armed smack, and his subsequent military -life, all appeared but a long dream, in which events succeeded each -other with pantomimic rapidity; and it was difficult to believe that -only months and not years, must have elapsed since the kind and -fatherly quartermaster closed the gate of Rohallion Castle behind -him. And now he was sailing far away upon the open sea, bound for -Spain--a soldier going to meet the victorious veterans of Napoleon, -in England alike the bugbear of the politician and the truant -school-boy; and he was in the 25th too--that corps of which, from -childhood, he had heard so much, and under the orders, it might be -said truly at the mercy, of his personal enemy and bad angel, the -cold, proud Master of Rohallion! - -He found it difficult indeed to realize the whole and disentangle -fact from fancy--reality from imagination; but that the faces of -Monkton, Boyle, and the good Captain Warriston, when he saw him -occasionally, were as links in the chain of events, and gave them -coherency. - -At times, especially after dreams of home (for such he could not but -consider Rohallion), there came keen longings in his heart to see -Flora once again and hear her voice, which often came plainly, -sweetly, and distinctly to his ear in sleep. Of her, alas! he had -not one single memento; not a ring, a miniature, a ribbon, a -glove--not even a lock of her soft hair--the hair that had swept his -face on that delightful day when he carried her through the Kelpie's -pool in the Girvan, and which he had kissed and caressed, in many a -delicious hour spent with her in the yew labyrinth of the old garden, -by the antique arch that spanned the Lollards' Linn, under the -venerable sycamores that cast their shadows on the haunted gate, or -where the honey bee hummed on the heather braes that sloped so -sweetly in the evening sunshine towards the blue Firth of Clyde. - -From soft day-dreams of those past hours of happiness he was roused -on the evening of the 3rd October by the boom of a heavy gun from the -convoy, and several signals soon fluttered amid the smoke that curled -upward through her lofty rigging. They were to the effect that land -ivas in sight--the fleet of transports to close in upon the -convoy--the swift sailers to take the dull in tow; and now from the -grey Atlantic rose a greyer streak, which gradually became broken and -violet-coloured in the sheen of the sun that was setting in the -western waves, as the hills of Portuguese Estremadura came gradually -into form and tint, on the lee-bow of the transport. - -Next morning, when day broke, he found the whole fleet at anchor in -Maciera Bay, and all the hurry and bustle on board of immediate -preparations to land the troops on the open and sandy beach, where, -when the tide meets the river, a dangerous surf rolls at times, and -from thence they were, without delay, to march to the front. - -It was a glorious day, though in the last month of autumn. The ruddy -sun of Lusitania was shining gaily on the hills and valley of -Maciera, and on the plain beyond, where already the grass was growing -green above the graves of our soldiers, who fell three months before -at the battle of Vimiera. But little recked the newcomers of that, -as the boats of the fleet covered all the bay, whose surface was -churned into foam by hundreds of oars, while clouds of shakos and -Highland bonnets were waved in the air, and swords and bayonets were -brandished in the sunshine, as with loud hurrahs, that were repeated -from the ships, and re-echoed by the rocks and indentations of the -shore, the soldiers of the Borderers and the 92nd anticipated a share -in the laurels that had been won at Rolica and Vimiera--hopes many -were destined never to realize; for like the thousands who, -elsewhere, were marching under Moore and others, towards Castile and -Leon, full of youth and health, joy and spirit, many were doomed but -to suffer and die, unhonoured and unurned. - -Portugal, as we have stated, having been rescued from the grasp of -the French by the treaty of Cintra, and Sir John Moore having been -ordered to advance into Spain, notification came that a fresh force -from Britain, under the orders of Sir David Baird, would land at -Corunna, to co-operate with him. Thus the troops on board the little -fleet in Maciera Bay were ordered at once to cross the Tagus, -traverse Portugal, and join him on the frontiers--a march of more -than one hundred and twenty miles, in a land where the art of -road-making had died out with the Romans. - -At this time the British forces in the Peninsula numbered forty-eight -thousand three hundred and forty-one, bayonets and sabres. - -On the 15th of the next month the French in Spain, commanded by the -Emperor in person made a grand total of three hundred and thirty-five -thousand two hundred and twenty-three men, with upwards of sixty -thousand horses; yet, with hearts that knew no fear, our soldiers -marched to begin that struggle so perilous and unequal, but so -glorious in the end! - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -PORTALEGRE. - - "You ask what's campaigning? As out the truth must, - 'Tis a round of complaining, vexation, disgust, - Night marches and day, in pursuit of our foes, - Up hill or down dale, without prog or dry clothes; - And to add to our pleasure in every shape, - The French give us doses of round shot and grape." - _Military Panorama_, vol. ii. - - -On the evening of the 11th October, the armed guerillas who hovered -on the wooded mountains which look down on the rough old winding -Roman highway that leads from the dilapidated citadel of Crato to -Portalegre, saw the glitter of arms in the yellow sunshine, the -flashing of polished barrels and bright bayonets, and the waving of -uncased colours, amid the clouds of rolling dust that betoken the -march of troops; and ere long, the same picturesque gentry, in their -mantles, sombreros, and sheepskin zamarras, might have heard the -martial rattle of the British drum, and the shrill notes of the fife, -together with wilder strain of the Scottish bagpipe, echoing between -the green and fertile ranges of the sierra that there forms the -northern boundary of Alentejo, and the sides of which are clothed in -many places by groves of olive, laurel and orange trees; but from the -latter the golden fruit had long since been gathered, ere it was -quite ripe, to save it alike from the marauding soldiery of friend -and foe. - -Covered with the dust of a march of twenty miles from the rustic -village of Gaviao, they were our old friends of the 25th, the -Highlanders, and Warriston's detachment, that were now approaching -the head-quarters of the division to which they were to be attached. - -On this route from the Bay of Maciera, Quentin had undergone all the -misery of a soldier's life during the wet season in Portugal, where -the towns were then in ruins and desolate, the country utterly -destroyed, and where every one who was not in arms seemed to have -fled towards the coast, for, like the breath of a destroying angel, -the armies of France had passed over the entire length of the land -from Algarve to Galicia, laying all desolate in that wicked spirit of -waste which has been so peculiar to the French soldier in all ages. - -Each day, in lieu of the old Scottish reveille welcoming the morning, -Quentin had heard the sharp note of the warning bugle, or of the -drummer beating hastily the _générale_, through the ruined streets of -Santarem, of Abrantes or elsewhere; through the equally silent lines -of tents when they encamped on the mountains, or the miserable -bivouac when they halted in some wild place where whilom maize or -Indian corn grew, summoning the drowsy and weary soldiers to their -ranks for the monotonous march of another day. - -From the bare boards, the hard-tiled floor, or perhaps the cold -ground, whereon our volunteer had slept with his knapsack for a -pillow, he had been roused by the voices of the sergeant-major, or -Buckle the adjutant, shouting in the grey morning, "Fall in, -25th--stand to your arms--turn out the whole!" while the rain that -swept in sheet-like torrents along the desolate streets, and the gale -that tore in angry gusts among the ruined gables and shattered -windows, formed no pleasant prelude to a day's march that was to be -begun without other breakfast, perhaps, than a ration biscuit soaked -in the half-stale fluid that filled his wooden canteen. - -In camp, the tents were made to hold twelve soldiers each; but some -of these were always on duty. All lay with their feet to the pole -and their heads to the wall or curtain. Each man's pack was his -pillow, and each slept, if he could, with a blanket half under and -half over him. The rain always sputtered and filtered through in -their faces, till the drenched canvas tightened, and the water was -carried off by a little circular trench. - -Quentin shared Askerne's tent with his two subalterns. - -So the night would pass, till the cry of "Rouse!" rang along the -lines, and the bugles sounded the assembly, when the blankets were -rolled up and strapped to the knapsacks; the wet tents were struck -and folded; the pegs and mallets replaced in their bags, and the -troops prepared to march in the grey morning haze, weary, wet, stiff -and sore, by reposing on the damp sod. - -Quentin had always fancied a bivouac a species of military pic-nic, -minus the ladies, pink cream, and champagne; but on the first night -he lay in one, when the baggage guard was lagging in the rear and no -tents were pitched, as he was drenched in a soaking blanket under the -cold October wind that swept down the rocky sierra, he began to have -serious doubts whether man was really a warm-blooded animal. - -"Ugh!" grumbled Monkton on this night, "who, with brains in his -head-piece, would become a soldier?" - -"You remind me," said Askerne, as he shook the water for the -twentieth time from his bear-skin cap, "of a story I have heard of -Maitland, one of our early colonels who served on the staff of the -Duke of Marlborough. It was at Blenheim, I think, when he was riding -along the line accompanied by the colonel and another aide-de-camp, -whose head was suddenly shattered by a cannon shot from the Bavarian -artillery. Perceiving that Maitland looked long and fixedly at the -fallen man, Marlborough said angrily-- - -"'Colonel Maitland, what the devil are you wondering at?' - -"'Simply, that how a man possessed of so much brains as our poor -friend, ever became a soldier,' replied Maitland, and the phlegmatic -victor of Blenheim and Ramilies smiled as he rode on." - -Then the dinner during a halt on the march was not tempting, and the -cuisine was so decidedly bad that even Monkton could not joke about -it. The slices of beef fried in a camp-kettle lid, or broiled on an -old ramrod--beef that had never been _cold_ (the miserable ration -bullocks after being goaded in rear of the troops for miles by -muleteers and mounted guerillas, being shot, flayed and cut up the -moment the drum beat to prepare for dinner) was always tough as -india-rubber; while the soup which the soldiers tried to make with a -few handfuls of rice and the bones of the said bullocks, lacked only -the snails mentioned by Peregrine Pickle, to make it resemble the -famous black broth of the Spartans. - -A little more of this common-place detail, and then we have done. - -For all Quentin suffered, the novelty of treading a new soil and all -the varied scenery of Portugal could scarcely make amends; yet there -were times when he could not but view with interest and pleasure the -old arches and aqueducts, the stony skeletons of departed Rome, the -ruined amphitheatres and temples, especially that of Diana which -Quintus Sertorius built at Evora, while remains of baths and -cisterns, columns, capitals and cornices of marble and jasper lying -prostrate among the reeds and weeds in wild places, made him think of -Dominie Skaill and the rapture with which he would have lingered over -them. Then there were the beautiful vineyards, the verdant valleys -where the lemon and orange trees grew; the steep frowning sierras, -wild and barren, but majestic; the fertile plain overlooked by the -thirteen spires of Santarem; and the old Roman bridges, spanning -rivers that rushed in foam down the granite steeps to mingle with the -Tagus. - -Little convents perched in solitudes where the French had failed to -penetrate, and where now the bells rang in welcome to the British; -tiny wayside chapels and holy wells, presided over by local saints; -wooden crosses and cairns that marked where some paisano or guerilla -had been shot by the French--green mounds that marked where the -French, butchered in their turn, had been buried without coffin or -shroud, all seemed to tell of the new and strange land he traversed. - -Though stout and hardy, poor Quentin's powers of endurance were -sorely taxed. In his knapsack were all the necessaries of a -soldier--to wit, one pair of shoes and long gaiters of black cloth, -shirts, socks, and mitts; a forage cap, brushes, black-ball, -pipeclay, hair-ribbon, and leather. He had to carry a blanket and -great-coat, a canteen of wood for water, and a canvas havresack for -provisions was slung over the right shoulder; a pouch with sixty -rounds of ball cartridge was over the left; add to these his musket, -bayonet, belts, and grenadier cap, and the reader may believe that -the poor volunteer felt life a burden before he saw the hill and -spires of Portalegre. - -Stiff, sore, and weary, on halting he was unable to remove his -trappings, or even to take off his cap without the assistance of his -servant; and he usually found himself all over livid marks, as if he -had been beaten about the back and shoulders with a stick. Not the -least of his discomforts was to march under the hot morning sun after -a night of rain, with two wet pipeclayed cross-belts smoking upon his -chest. - -"Ah, if Flora Warrender or Lady Rohallion could see me now!" he would -think, when, at the close of each day's march, he lay breathless and -powerless on the floor of a billet, or the sod of a camp, or whatever -it might chance to be! - -Use, however, becomes second nature, and after a time Quentin learned -to carry all his harness with ease, or ceased to feel it a burden. - -"Châteaux en Espagne!" He was a skilful builder of such edifices, -and had often erected one of great comfort and magnificence for -himself; but he found a difficulty in dreaming of them while lying -under a drenched blanket, or in a tent on the sides of which the rain -was rushing like Rounceval peas, while he had only a knapsack for a -pillow, and Brown Bess for a bedfellow. - -In the Highland regiments the gentlemen volunteers carried simply a -claymore and dirk; in other regiments generally a musket only; but -Cosmo was resolved to _grind_ Quentin to the utmost; thus he -compelled the poor lad to carry all the trappings of the stoutest -grenadier. - -Rowland Askerne, who loved the lad for his unrepining temper, manly -spirit, and gentleness, and who, like the entire regiment, saw how -studiously the haughty colonel ignored his existence, was unremitting -in kindness to him; and Monkton never ceased to encourage him in his -own fashion. - -"Well, well," he would say, "it's queer work just now, of course; but -some of these fine days you will receive a parchment from the king, -greeting you as his 'trusty and well-beloved,' appointing you ensign -to that company, whereof, I hope, Richard Monkton, Esquire, is -captain; so take courage, Kennedy, my boy!" - -He strove to do so, but felt thankful with all his heart for the -prospect of a few days' halt, as the regiment approached the western -gate of Portalegre, where a captain's guard of Cazadores was under -arms as the Borderers marched in with bayonets fixed and colours -flying, their band playing General Leslie's march, "All the Blue -Bonnets are bound for the Border," since 1689 their invariable quick -step. And now its lively measure woke all the echoes of this -singularly picturesque old Portuguese town, which crowns the summit -of a hill, where its narrow, dark, and tortuous streets, with quaint -mansions overhanging the roadway, are surrounded by an old wall, -among the ruins of which may be traced the foundations of twelve -great towers, and a castle where, as the monks tell us, dwelt Lysias -the son of Bacchus! - -The town was crowded by the regiments composing the division of Sir -John Hope; thus, the deserted convents, the two hospitals, and even -the episcopal palace, had all become temporary barracks; and now in -the stately chambers where the Bishops of Lisbon and the Counts of -Gaviao, of old the Lords of Portalegre, with their white-robed -prebends, or their steel-clad titulados, held their chapters and -courts, and where a hundred years before the period of our story, -Philip, Duke of Avignon, received the submission of the ancient city, -the rollicking Irishman sung "Garryowen" as he pipeclayed his belts -or polished his musket; the grave and stern Scottish sergeant daily -and nightly called the roll, and John Bull in his shirt sleeves or -shell jacket might be seen cooking his rations under a splendid -marble mantelpiece, which bore the bishop's mitre and the count's -coronet, with the knightly _paete gules_ of Christ, and the green -_fleur de lis_ of St. Avis, while the fuel was supplied by the cedar -wood of fine old cabinets, or gilded furniture that had survived the -sojourn of the Marshal Duke d'Abrantes and his suite in the same -place. - -The grenadiers of the Borderers were all billeted in a narrow and -antique street, which was overshadowed by the vast façade of the -cathedral; and there, from the open lattices of their room (in a -house the proprietors of which were either dead or had fled) Askerne -and Quentin sat smoking cigars and enjoying some of the purple wine -of Oporto, from the cool, vaulted _bodega_ of a neighbouring -wine-house, and with their feet planted on a charcoal _brasero_, they -felt, on the evening after their arrival, for the first time, that -they were somewhat at home and could take their ease, with belts off -and coats unbuttoned. And so they sat and watched, almost in -silence, the swift-coming shadows of the October evening as they -deepened in the quaint vista of the old Portuguese street, where the -costumes were so striking and singular; the citizen who seemed to -have no lawful occupation but smoking, in his ragged mantle and broad -sombrero; a secular priest with his ample paunch and shovel-shaped -chapeau; a white-robed Carmelite or grey Franciscan, flitting, -ghostlike, amid the masses of red coats who lounged about the doors -and arcades, most of them smoking, and all chatting and laughing, -till the stars came out, when the bugles would sound tattoo, and when -all loiterers would have to turn in, save the quarter guards and -inlying picquet. - -These were ordered to be of considerable strength, as a numerous band -of homeless and lawless Spanish and Portuguese guerillas, under a -runaway student of Salamanca, named Baltasar de Saldos, hovered among -the hills. This band was of somewhat dubious loyalty, as the members -of it, more than once, had scuffles with the British foraging -parties, and even fired on them--the alliance between this country -and Spain being so recent, that after the long and vexatious wars of -the preceding century, the people could not understand it. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -COSMO'S CRAFT. - - "Small occasions in the path of life, - Lie thickly sown, while great are rarely scattered. - * * * * * - Shame seize me, if I would not rather be - The man thou art, than court-created chief - Known only by the dates of his promotion!" - JOANNA BAILLIE. - - -The two first days after Quentin's arrival in Portalegre, were varied -by the flogging of soldiers for marauding, when they were four months -in arrears of pay. One of these men was flogged by tap of drum; a -measure by which half a minute was allowed to elapse between each -stroke, greatly enhancing the agony; and this process went on during -more than four hundred lashes, till the bare muscles were seen to -quiver under the cats, and then he was removed. - -On the second day, the troops that had recently arrived from England, -together with a battalion of Cazadores from Lisbon, were paraded -outside the walls of the little mountain city for the inspection of -the lieutenant-general commanding. - -Their new uniform and accoutrements contrasted strongly with the -ragged, patched, and war-worn trappings of the corps which had served -during the preceding campaign, and had so rapidly cleared Portugal of -the French. - -The Cazadores were active, bustling, and soldier-like little -Portuguese light infantry, all clad in dark green uniforms of London -make, with smart shakos, having green plumes. Their ranks were ever -redolent of garlic and tobacco, to all who had the misfortune to -march to leeward of them, while their snubby round noses, thick lips, -and dark complexions reminded all who saw them of their Moorish -descent. - -Prior to the infusion of British officers among them, the Portuguese -soldiery were every way contemptible. Murphy tells us that in the -beginning of the war in 1762, "their army was in a most wretched -state, scarcely amounting to ten thousand men, most of whom were -peasants, without uniform or arms, asking charity, while the officers -served at the tables of their colonels;" and matters were not much -improved when Sir Arthur Wellesley arrived to uphold the interests of -the House of Braganza, after which he had few better or braver troops -than the Lusitanian Legion. - -The general of division, Sir John Hope of Rankeillour, took -particular notice of the Borderers, having been colonel of the -regiment about fifteen years before. He had been wounded on the -Helder, like Cosmo Crawford, and had served in the first campaign of -Egypt with great distinction. - -He complimented Cosmo in strong terms upon the appearance and -discipline of the battalion, both of which high qualities the Master -had not the candour or the generosity to say were due to the -enthusiasm, exertions, and genuine _esprit de corps_ of Major -Middleton; and as Sir John rode along the line, wearing a glazed -cocked-hat, an old telescope slung across his well-worn red coat, the -lace and aiguilette of which were frayed by service and blackened by -gunpowder, he looked a thorough soldier. He was tall, well formed, -and in the prime of life, being in his forty-second year; and Quentin -regarded him with deep interest, for he was informed by Askerne, in a -whisper, that "Sir John had joined the army as a volunteer in his -fifteenth year, prior to his first commission as a cornet, in the -10th Light Dragoons." - -"As we are about to enter Spain by the way of Badajoz," said the -general to Cosmo, after the troops had been dismissed to their -quarters, "I am particularly anxious to open a communication with El -Estudiente." - -"Is this a town which lies near it?" asked Cosmo. - -"Oh, no. El Estudiente is a man,' replied Sir John, laughing, while -the staff joined, as in duty bound, and Cosmo reddened with anger. - -"Who, or what is he?" he asked, coldly. - -"A guerilla chief--Baltasar de Saldos, a personage of savage -character, and very doubtful reputation." - -"You recommend him badly, general." - -"But truly, though." - -"In what way can I assist you in the matter?" asked Cosmo, with -increasing coldness of manner, as he began to fear that the -unpleasant duty of opening the "communication" in question, was, -perhaps, to devolve on him. - -"I wish a messenger to convey a despatch from me to him--one of -yours--not an officer, whose life would be too valuable; but if you -have any private, a troublesome fellow, worthless, frequently in the -defaulters' book--you understand me, colonel?" - -"I think that I do, Sir John," replied Cosmo, whose green eyes shrunk -as he inserted his glass in one, and gazed at the general, keenly; -"but is the risk of delivering a message so great in Portugal, after -you have cleared it of the French?" - -"Stragglers, orderlies, and solitary individuals are at all times -liable to be cut off, we scarcely know by whom, the country is so -lawless; but this fellow, Baltasar, is somewhere among the mountains -near Herreruela, beyond the Spanish frontier; and to say nothing of -the wolves that infest the wild places hereabouts, there are three -chances to one against any messenger returning alive, even after he -has delivered our letter to Baltasar." - -"A lively duty!" - -"Portugal and Spain are not without traitors in the French interest -ready to assassinate a redcoat; others are ready to do it merely to -procure his clothing and arms, and some of the low wayside tabernas -are kept by people who would cut any man's throat for the chance of -finding half a vintin in his pocket. Then there are the hazards of -being hanged as a spy by the French, of losing one's way among the -wild, depopulated Sierras, and dying there of starvation, or being -devoured by the black wolves, or by those wild dogs, of which the -Duke of Abrantes strove in vain to clear the country." - -"A pleasant country for a sketching tour!" said Cosmo. - -"Yet Sir John Moore has distinctly ordered me to communicate with -these guerillas, to strengthen us and cover the flank of our advance -towards the Guadiana, as it is not impossible that the enemy may push -forward from Valladolid, and cut off our communication with the main -body of the army, and as scouts and sharpshooters, the guerillas are -invaluable." - -"If your messenger did not return, what proof would you have that he -had ever delivered your letter?" asked Cosmo, with one of his strange -smiles. - -"The presence of Baltasar's armed guerillas on our flank as we -advance through Spanish Estremadura, would be all the reply I wish. -Colonel Napier, of the Highlanders, has said that he would rather go -in person than sacrifice one of his men; but----" - -"I am not so chivalrous," said Cosmo, laughing, as he shrugged his -shoulders and toyed with his gathered reins alternately on each side -of his charger's silky mane; "I have a fellow whom I can very well -spare, one who is a nuisance to the regiment in general, and to me in -particular--one of whom I should like to be handsomely rid: he is -clever, sharp, and resolute, too," he added, as he and the general -rode slowly side by side into Portalegre. - -"He is the very kind of man I require; but," said the worthy general, -hesitating and colouring, "it is not a duty on which I should wish to -risk a valuable life--you understand me, Colonel Crawford?" - -"Oh, perfectly; when will your letter be ready?" - -"Before sunset; but what is the name of the bearer, for however -numerous his chances of failure may be, I must duly accredit him in -my mission to the guerilla chief--those Spaniards are so suspicious." - -Cosmo took one of his own calling cards, and pencilling on it the -name of Quentin Kennedy, handed it to the unsuspecting general. - -"His rank?" asked the latter. - -"Volunteer," was the curt reply. - -"A volunteer, Colonel Crawford!" exclaimed the general; "I spoke of -some private soldier, whose conduct made him worthless. The bearing -of a volunteer must be careful--his honour spotless." - -"Such are not his," said Cosmo, angrily, for this cross-questioning -fretted his fierce and crafty temper; "and I have said that I wish to -be handsomely rid of him." - -"Very good--you are the best judge of how to handle your command; but -if in your place, I should send him back to his friends in Britain." - -"The letter," began Cosmo impatiently. - -"My orderly will bring it to your quarters within an hour. Adieu, -colonel." - -"To-night, then, perhaps to-night!" muttered Cosmo, half aloud, -through his clenched teeth, and with a sombre smile, as he saluted -the general and rode off in search of Buckle, his adjutant. "A -volunteer must always be the first man for duty; I swore to work this -fellow to an oil, and egad! the game for him is only beginning. -Good! to think of the simple general baiting the very trap into which -he is to fall. Once handsomely rid of him, I shall deceive the old -folks at home anew, and pretend that the letters in which I mentioned -that he was serving under me have _miscarried_." - -He cast one of his sinister smiles after Sir John Hope, and spurred -his horse impatiently up one of the streets of Portalegre, towards -the Bishop's palace, where his quarters were, and where the colours -of the Borderers were lodged under a sergeant's guard. - -Sir John Hope was that distinguished Scottish officer, who, after -Waterloo, was created Lord Niddry for his many brilliant services, -and who, two years subsequently, succeeded to the old Earldom of -Hopetoun. Concerning him a very singular story is still current in -the French army. - -It is to the effect, that the eldest son of Marshal Ney challenged -the Duke of Wellington to a mortal duel, for his alleged share in his -father's death--the place of combat to be any spot in Europe he chose -to select. On receiving this cartel, the Duke is said to have -replied: - -"My life belongs to my country and must not be lightly risked in -trifles!" - -On this, one of his aides-de-camp, the Scottish Earl of Hopetoun, -whom he had always mentioned with honour in his despatches, accepted -the challenge in his place, and leaving Scotland, without bidding -adieu to his Countess, Louisa Wedderburn, or their eleven children, -repaired straight to Paris, and met young Ney on the Bois de -Boulogne, where they fired at once. The story adds, that Hopetoun -fell pierced by a ball in the head, in the very place where he had -been wounded during the famous sortie from Bayonne in February, 1814, -and that as he fell, young Ney flung his pistol in the air, -exclaiming-- - -"Sacré Dieu! the Prince of Moskwa is revenged!"* - -* Unfortunately for this story (which contains some strange grains of -truth, and which was told me by the Lieutenant of Marshal St. -Arnaud's Spain troop in the Crimea) the gallant Earl of Hopetoun died -in his bed, from natural causes, at Paris, on the 27th August, 1823. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -QUENTIN DEPARTS. - - "Would ye my death? Can that avail you? - Or life? what life will ye to give? - For this existence, grief-embittered, - Doth hourly die, yet dying live. - My sorrows, if ye fain would slay me, - Your blows so fierce, so fast to deal, - It needs not: one the least, the lightest, - Would task endurance strong as steel." - _Portuguese of Rodriguez Lobo._ - - -On the same evening when Quentin received the despatch from the -adjutant, with instructions to start forthwith by the nearest road -that led towards the frontier, Monkton was preparing to give a little -supper in his billet, and was superintending the cooking thereof in -person. - -The house he occupied had belonged to some titulado of Portugese -Estremadura. The ceilings were lofty, and the cornices of the heavy -and florid Palladian style were elaborately gilded, and everywhere -the green fleur-de-lis of St. Avis (an order founded by Alphonso, for -defence against the Moors, from whom he took Santarem and Lisbon) was -reproduced among the decorations. - -The floors were of polished oak; the furniture, in many instances -richly gilded, was all of crimson velvet stuffed with down, and the -cabinets of ebony were covered with carvings, some representing the -past discoveries, victories, and glories, real or imaginary, of the -kings of Portugal. Many fine paintings bore marks of additions -received from the French in the shape of bayonet stabs and bullet -holes, with finishing touches in burnt cork, by which Venuses and -Madonnas were liberally supplied with moustachios and so forth; while -the frescoes bore such lovely delineations of fair-skinned, -golden-haired, and ripe-lipped goddesses and nymphs, that, as Monkton -said, "they made one long for pagan times again." Over a Venus being -attired in scanty garments by some completely nude graces, was the -motto "_Si non caste tantum modo caute_." - -"Which means?" asked Askerne, who had been trying to make it out. - -"In good Portuguese, 'If you can't be chaste, at least be cautious,' -an old-fashioned aphorism," said Monkton. - -"Poor Portugal!" said Askerne, thoughtfully; "she is left now but -with mere traditions of her past; a country without kings, warriors, -poets or painters. The land of Camoens, of Rodriguez Lobo, of -Antonio Ferreria, Bernardez, the captive of Alcazalquiver, of Andrade -de Cominha, cannot now produce one patriotic song!" - -In one corner of the apartment a dark stain on the floor showed where -blood had been lately shed, and there were the marks of a woman's -hand upon the wall and oak boards, as if she had been dragged from -place to place, thus telling of some terrible outrage--an episode of -its recent occupants, the French. - -"Now, what the devil is the meaning of this?" asked Monkton, looking -up from his culinary operations as Buckle entered; "Kennedy can't be -the first man for duty." - -"No, he is not," replied Buckle, curtly, for having on his sword and -gorget, he felt and looked official. - -"Then why the----" - -"Why select him, you would ask, with the addition of some unpleasant -adjective?" - -"Yes." - -"Because a volunteer is always the first man for any duty that is -dangerous." - -"And is this duty so?" asked Quentin, with very excusable interest. - -"Undoubtedly--there is no use concealing the fact, as foreknowledge -will make you wary; and if successful, it will be reported favourably -to head-quarters, 'that negotiations with the formidable guerilla -chief--what's his infernal name--have been honourably concluded, -through the courage and diplomatic skill of that very distinguished -volunteer, Mr. Quentin Kennedy, now serving with the 25th Foot, whom -I recommend most warmly to your Royal Highness's most earnest and -favourable consideration'--that is the sort of thing," added the -adjutant, putting aside his sword and belt, as the odour of the -cooking reached his olfactory nerves. - -"You think, Mr. Buckle, that the colonel will recommend me thus?" -asked Quentin, his young heart throbbing with delight. - -"And Sir John Hope, too--of course; they can do nothing else," was -the confident reply, for the adjutant believed in what he said. - -Hope, pride, and enthusiasm swelled up in the poor lad's breast as -the adjutant spoke. - -"Ah," thought he, "I should have offered my hand to Cosmo, and shall -do so when I return." - -"Congratulate me, major," he exclaimed, hastening to Middleton, who -entered at that moment; "I have been chosen for an important duty -already." - -"So I have heard--so I have heard," he replied, quickly, shaking his -head and his pigtail with it. - -"And what do you think of it? Here is the despatch, addressed 'Al -Senor Don Baltasar de Saldos, Herreruela, _viâ_ Valencia de -Alcantara.' - -"You are particularly to avoid that town," said Buckle, emphatically. - -"Why?" - -"Because a French garrison occupy it--some of General de -Ribeaupierre's brigade." - -"It is a little way across the frontier," said Quentin; "so, my dear -sir, what do you think of the duty?" - -"Think--that the whole affair is a cruelty and a shame!" exclaimed -the old major, bluntly. "I've been looking at the map, and see that -the place is some miles beyond the frontier--in the enemy's country, -in fact." - -"Come, major, don't discourage him," said Buckle; "he must go now, -and there is an end of it." - -"I wish there was. Does he go in uniform?" - -"Yes; it is safer." - -"How?" - -"In mufti he might be taken for a spy." - -"Uniform did not protect my poor friend André of the 26th, when taken -on a similar mission." - -"Come, come, I'll bet you a pony apiece that Kennedy comes off with -flying colours," said Monkton. "Some more butter, Askerne--where's -the pepper-box?--Quentin is a devilish sharp fellow, and always keeps -his weather eye open, as the sailors say." - -"What is the distance between this and Herreruela?" asked Askerne, -who had hitherto remained silent. - -"About thirty British miles, as a crow flies." - -"And he is to proceed on foot?" - -"But he can do so at leisure--there is no word of breaking up our -cantonments here yet." - -"But in this country miles seem to vary very much, Mr. Buckle," said -Quentin; "when am I supposed to be back?" - -"Back?" repeated Buckle, rather puzzled. - -"Excuse my asking," said the lad, modestly; "but I am so ignorant of -the country, and so forth." - -"True, Kennedy. Well, supposing that you see this Baltasar de -Saldos--fine melodramatic name, isn't it?--he is doubtless a fellow -in a steeple-crowned hat and seven-league boots, all stuck over -pistols and daggers--supposing you sec him at once, there is nothing -to prevent you being back in six days, at latest." - -"So we are about to make a night of it, the first jolly one we have -had since landing at the mouth of the Maciera, and, damme, here is -poor Quentin going to leave us!" said Monkton, who in his shirt -sleeves was devilling a huge dish of kidneys over a brasero, for the -orthodox fuel of which (charcoal) he had substituted the shutter of a -window, torn down and broken to pieces. "One glass more of Oporto -for the gravy, another dash of pepper, and the banquet is complete. -You must have supper with us to-night, ere you go, Quentin." - -The same readily found fuel was roasting on the marble slab of the -richly carved fireplace, a goodly row of sputtering castanos, which -were superintended by Rowland Askerne. - -"Where is Pimple to-night?" he asked, looking up. - -"With Colville, on the quarter guard," said Monkton; "and, rosaries -and wrinkles! where do you think they are stationed?" - -"By your exclamation, opposite a convent, probably." - -"Exactly--el Convento de Santa Engracia; but it hasn't a window to -the street, so they might as well have the wall of China to -contemplate." - -A borrachio skin of Herrera del Duque (the famous wine of the Badajoz -district), of which Monkton had somehow become possessed, lay on the -beautiful marqueterie table, like a bloated bagpipe, while tin -canteens, silver-rimmed drinking-horns, tea-cups, everything but -crystal vessels, were ranged round to imbibe the contents from. - -The plates and other appurtenances of the table were of the same -varied description, and were furnished by the guests themselves, as -the French had carried off or destroyed nearly everything in the -house. A canteen of brandy and a loaf of fine white bread completed -the repast, to which all brought good humour and appetites that were -quite startling, better than any they could ever procure for the -dainties of the mess-table at Colchester. - -Servants were entirely dispensed with; thus the conversation was free -and unrestrained, like the jests and laughter. - -"I can scarcely assure myself that you are actually going to-night," -said the major to Quentin; "the whole arrangement is a black, burning -shame; an older man, one of more experience, one who has been longer -in the country and had served the campaign in Portugal, should have -been sent on this duty." - -"But the greater is my chance of honour!" said Quentin, cheerfully. - -"And peril too. Your health--and success, boy! This wine is -excellent, Monkton--but the service is going to the devil! we have -never been the men we were since the abolition of hair-powder and -pigtails, brigadier wigs and Nivernois hats! Think of a garrison -court-martial according four hundred and odd lashes to a poor devil -yesterday, for borrowing a loaf of bread like this, when we are all -so far in arrears of pay; and yet, I remember when we ate Jack -Andrews' baby in America, men were tucked up to the next tree for -just as little." - -"Jack Andrews' baby," said Quentin, looking up from his devilled -kidneys at the familiar name. - -"It is an old regimental story," said the major, laughing, as he -filled his horn with wine from the gushing borrachio; "it happened -when we were in garrison at Fort St. John on the Richelieu River (a -place I have often told you about); provisions were scarce, for the -Yankees had intercepted all our supplies, so that at times we were -literally starving, while to conciliate the colonists, strict orders -were issued against plundering. It was as much as your life was -worth if the provost marshal caught you stealing anything, even a -kiss from a girl in Vermont or New York, so such a thing as levanting -with a sucking-pig or a turkey-poult, was not to be thought of even -in our wildest dreams: moreover they would not have _sold_ a chicken -for thrice its weight in gold, to a red-coat! - -"Some weeks passed over thus; we were getting very lanky and lean, -and though our lovely countenances were ruddied by the American -frost, we were always hungry, always thirsty, and longed in our -day-dreams for a cooper of the old mess port, or a devilled -drumstick; but these were only to be had at the head-quarters of the -Borderers and Cameronians, then far away in the Jerseys, in pursuit -of the rebels, under Lord Stirling; and we often shivered with hunger -as well as with cold under the ice-covered roofs of our wooden -barracks at night. - -"Lord Rohallion of ours, had a servant named Jack Andrews, a knowing -old file, from his own place in Carrick, who contrived to make off -with a sheep. How or where Jack did it, the Lord only knows, and we -never enquired; but the owner, a Pennsylvanian quaker, made an outcry -about it, and the Provost's guard were speedily on poor Jack's track -with the gallows rope. A stab with a bayonet in the throat soon -silenced the sheep, and Jack brought it under his greatcoat to our -quarters, and while the provost, with Simon Pure, was overhauling the -soldiers' barrack, we tucked up the spoil in a cradle, with a blanket -over it and a muslin cap round its head. We set a piper's wife to -rock it, while Jack pretended to make caudle at the fire, and in this -occupation they were found, when the provost came in, intent on -death, and Broadbrim on retribution. - - "Hush-a-by, baby, on the tree-top, - When the wind blows the cradle will rock," - -sung the piper's wife, patting the sheep tenderly. - -"'Hush,' said Jack to the intruders; 'don't stir for the life that is -in you!' - -"'Why--what is the matter with the baby?' - -"'It's either measles or small-pox; we don't know which,' said Jack. - -"'Yea verily--aye--ho, hum,' snivelled the Quaker. - -"'All right,' said the provost, as he withdrew with his guard to -search elsewhere. The sheep was soon cut up, divided, and a -sumptuous supper Major André, Rohallion and a select few of us had -that night, and ere morning all traces of it had disappeared, save -the skin, which, to the rage of the provost, was found concealed, no -one knew by whom, between the sheets of his bed. Long after the fort -was taken by the Yankees, and none had a fear of coming to the -drumhead, the whole story came out, and many a laugh we had at the -provost marshal and Jack Andrews' baby." - -The names mentioned thus incidentally by the good major recalled so -much of home and of old associations to Quentin, that his warm heart -swelled with kind and affectionate memories; and now, when on the eve -of departing from friends that he loved so well, and who had a regard -so great for him--departing on a lonely and decidedly perilous -duty--he was on the point of telling them the story of his earlier -life, so that, if aught occurred to him, his military companions -might write to Rohallion; but thoughts of the haughty Master chilled -him, and he repressed the suddenly-conceived idea. - -And now the time came when he was compelled to depart. - -He had three days' cooked provisions in his havresack, and he had -still money enough remaining for his wants in a land where he had to -journey almost by stealth, and where the French had left so little -either to buy or to sell. - -He took with him his great-coat and forage-cap; in lieu of his heavy -musket, Askerne gave him a sword, and Middleton a pair of pistols; -and the former accompanied him nearly two miles on the road from -Portalegre. - -"You dare danger fearlessly, Quentin," said he. - -"I dare it as those who are friendless and alone do! The knowledge -that I have few, perhaps none, who would really regret me, renders -life of little value." - -"Come, Kennedy, egad! this bitterness is ungrateful," said Askerne, -in a tone of reproach. - -"True, my friend, forgive me! I believe that you, at least, with -Middleton and Warriston--he's on duty, remember me to him--Monkton, -and a few _others_ that are far, far away, have, indeed, a sincere -regard for me." - -"Well, then, how many more, or what more would you have? The world -is not so bad after all," said Askerne, laughing, as he shook his -hand warmly and bade him adieu, after giving him much good advice -concerning prudence and care of consorting with strangers on the way; -for Askerne and his brother officers saw, or suspected that the -colonel's selection of the lad was the result of bad feeling; while -Quentin deemed it but a part of his hard and venturesome lot as a -gentleman volunteer. - -Often he turned to wave a farewell to Askerne, whose erect and -soldier-like figure was lessening in the distance, as he walked back -to Portalegre. At last, a turn of the road, where it wound suddenly -between some olive groves, hid him entirely; and, for the first time, -an emotion of utter loneliness came over Quentin's heart as he -hastened towards the darkening hills. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -ANXIOUS FRIENDS. - - "Oh, Leolyn, be obstinately just; - Indulge no passion and deceive no trust. - Let never man be bold enough to say, - Thus, and no farther, shall my passion stray; - The first crime past compels us into more, - And guilt grows _fate_, which was but _choice_ before." - AARON HILL. - - -The third day and the fourth passed away at Portalegre; on the fifth -and sixth, Major Middleton and others, who felt a friendly interest -in Quentin Kennedy, began to surmise, when they met on the morning or -evening parade, or in each other's billets, or so forth, that it was -time now he had reported his return, and the good or bad success of -his journey, to the colonel and general commanding the division. - -Other days passed; it was whispered about from staff-office officials -that ere long the division would leave Portalegre, as the whole army -was about to advance against the enemy; and then Captain Askerne, -Monkton, Buckle, the adjutant, and others, became doubly anxious -about the lad, and were interested as much as men could be under -their circumstances, when human life is deemed of so little value as -it is when on active service and before an enemy. - -As for Warriston of the 94th, not being under the immediate command -of Colonel Crawford, he openly and bitterly inveighed against "the -iniquity of having sacrificed a mere youth in such a manner," and -threatened "to bring the matter prominently before Sir John Moore," -who commanded the forces in Portugal. - -"He has, perhaps, gone over to the enemy--a despatch is sometimes -well paid for," said Cosmo, in his sneering manner, when some of -these remarks reached him on parade, one morning. - -"Impossible, my dear sir--impossible!" said Middleton, testily, while -spurring and reining in his horse; "I know the lad as if he were my -own son, and feel assured that he is the soul of honour; that he was -all ardour for the service, and that he would die rather than -disgrace himself." - -"Indeed--ah-aw--you think so?" drawled Cosmo, with his glass in his -sinister eye, as he surveyed the major with a glance of somewhat -mingled cast. - -"I do, colonel," was the emphatic rejoinder. - -"He has disappeared at all events--a dubious phrase. If the fellow -has not levanted to the Duke of Dalmatia with General Hope's -despatch, may his heart not have failed him? may he not have shown -the white feather? Better men than he, among the Belem Rangers, have -done so ere now." - -The imaginary corps referred to contained one of the most offensive -imputations to the ears of Peninsula men; thus Captain Askerne -exclaimed-- - -"Cowardice, Colonel Crawford--would you infer cowardice?" - -"I infer nothing, gentlemen, but that better men than he have shown -the white feather." - -"Not in _the Line_, that I am aware of," was the somewhat pointed -remark of Middleton; and Cosmo, who had lately come from the Guards, -crimsoned with suppressed passion. - -"A volunteer is a soldier of fortune, and none such can ever be a -coward," said Askerne, stoutly. - -"Of course not--the idea is absurd," added Middleton, looking round -the group of officers, who glanced their approval. - -"You are warm, Major Middleton," said Cosmo, sternly, while his eyes -gleamed with their most dangerous expression; "somewhat unnecessarily -warm on this trivial subject, I think." - -"I am at least honest, colonel, as he must be who defends the absent -or the dead." - -"We have had enough of this--to your companies--fall in, gentlemen!" -said the colonel, sternly and impatiently, as he spurred his horse, -unsheathed his sword, and the formula of the parade began, after -which he revenged himself by drilling the corps, under a drizzling -rain, for nearly two hours, forcing Askerne's grenadiers to skirmish -in a swamp, and making old Major Middleton put the battalion twice -through the eighteen manoeuvres. - -About this time a patrol of Portuguese cavalry found near the high -road that led through a desert towards the Spanish frontier, the -remains of a man, almost reduced to a skeleton, picked, gnawed, and -torn asunder, to all appearance recently, by those devouring wolves -and wild dogs which infest the mountains of the district. - -Terrible surmises of Quentin's fate were now whispered among the -Borderers; the officer in command of the patrol was closely -questioned by Middleton, Warriston, and others; but he constantly -stated that the victim had probably been stripped by robbers before -being devoured, as nothing had been found near the remains that might -lead to their identification, or in any way connect them with the -missing Quentin Kennedy. Thus, in default of other proof, as time -wore on, the members of the regiment made up their minds to consider -the poor bones as his, and concluded that he had perished miserably -in the wilderness. - -To do Cosmo Crawford justice, there were times when he was not -without secret emotions of shame, and even of compunction, for the -part he had acted to Quentin. His own conscience, the small still -voice that would speak, could not acquit him; but those gleams of the -better spirit came only briefly and at intervals, and such unwelcome -thoughts were always eventually stifled by the constitutional -malignity of his nature, and he would mutter to himself-- - -"Pshaw! he is well away; what the devil was he to me, or I to him?" - -It was while the troops were lingering at Portalegre and elsewhere -along the Spanish frontier, that Lord Castlereagh's despatch, -containing the first organized plan of the future campaign, arrived -in Lisbon. - -In the northern provinces of Spain, thirty-five thousand horse and -foot were to be employed; ten thousand of these were to be embarked -from British ports, and the rest to be drafted from our army of -occupation in Portugal; and these were supposed to be equal to cope -with the vast hosts pouring through the many passes of the Pyrenees -from France and Germany, and those which already blackened all the -plains of Castile and Arragon. - -We have elsewhere mentioned the vast strength of the French army, -whose head-quarters were at Vittoria. - -The brave but ill-fated Sir John Moore was ordered to take the field -without delay with the troops that were under his own command. Some -fortress or city (unnamed) in Galicia, or on the borders of the -kingdom of Leon, was to be the place for concentrating the whole -allied armies of Britain, Spain, and Portugal; and his specific plan -of operations was _afterwards_ to be concerted with the stupid, -jealous, and uncompromising local juntas, and the obstinate and -impracticable Spanish generals. - -These orders were perilous, loose, and vague; they promised nothing, -but only that war at any hazard was to be waged in Old Castile and on -the banks of the Ebro. - -And now for a time let us change the scene to a not less tuneful or -classic locality--the rocky hills and heather braes of Carrick's -western shore. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE PARAGRAPH. - - "My kindred are dead, my love is fled; - Courage, my heart, thou canst love no more; - Pale is my cheek, my body is weak; - Courage, my heart, 'twill soon be o'er. - Dim are my eyes with tears of sorrow, - They ache for a night without a morrow!" - M.N.S. - - -It was towards the end of the month--the last days of October, now. - -The acorns were falling from the moss-grown oaks, the hollies and -hedge-rows were gay with scarlet berries and haws, the grey sea-gulls -were often seen mingling with the black gleds and hoodie-crows far -afield inshore. The redwing, the fieldfare, and the woodcock had -come again to their old haunts on the braes of Rohallion, in the -oakwood shaw, in the hawthorn birks that overhang the Girvan, and the -deep carse land where the rushes grew and the water flowed of old. - -The autumn winds, as they swept through the hollow glen, shook down -the last brown leaves of the old sycamores, and the spoils of the -past summer lay in rustling heaps about the haunted gate and the guns -of La Bonne Citoyenne on the battery before the castle-keep. From -the tall square chimneys of the old feudal stronghold on the -storm-beaten bluff, the gudeman of Elsie Irvine and other fishermen -from the coves, saw the smoke of the rousing fires ascending into the -grey autumn sky, and the evening lights glittering early in the great -towers, a land-mark now to them as it had been to their forefathers -long ages ago, when the Scot and the Saxon found work nearer home for -their swords than fighting for conquered Spain or ravaged Portugal. - -"People now-a-days, with the help of the penny-post and the -telegraph, and the endless means of communication and of coming and -going, are certainly able to _care for_ a greater number of persons -than they could have done a hundred years ago," says a recent writer -in the "Cornhill;" but he might have said thirty years ago, so far as -the people of Scotland are concerned. Thus, secluded by her own -retiring habits and personal circumstances, as well as by those -incident to the time, content to reside in her narrow circle, and -chiefly among her husband's household and dependents, Lady -Rohallion's heart yearned with all a mother's love for her lost -protégé, the more, perhaps, that the cold and repulsive manner of her -only son Cosmo had cast her warm and affectionate heart somewhat -back, as it were, upon herself; though the memory of much if not all -his shortcomings in the way of filial reverence and regard were now -by her forgotten, or merged in the idea of his absence at the seat of -war. - -Quentin's memory she cherished chiefly in silence; for, still -fostering her hopes or views with regard to Cosmo and the wilful -little heiress of Ardgour, she spoke of the lost one but reservedly, -and at long intervals, to the latter; though, sooth to say, young -Fernie of Fernwoodlee, a neighbouring proprietor, had become so -frequent a visitor at the castle, that, so far as good looks, -assiduity, and unwearying industry as an admirer might go, he bade -fair--gossips said--to supplant both Quentin and the Master of -Rohallion, for a lover lost, and another commencing a campaign, were -just as satisfactory as no lover at all. - -It was about this time that the post-bag brought by John Legate, the -running-footman, from Maybole, was opened before Lord Rohallion by -his faithful old henchman Jack Andrews, and emptied on the -breakfast-table. - -One small missive, bearing Fernwoodlee's crest--a fern leaf all -proper--he handed to Flora, who coloured slightly and said it -referred to a proposed ride as far as the ruins of Kilhenzie, to see -the Eglinton hounds throw off, as the keeper had promised to find a -leash of foxes in the cover there. - -"These fox-hunting fools are beginning their work betimes--why, this -is only October," said his lordship, drily; "they would be better -employed riding in the light dragoons against the enemies of Europe." - -Pushing the rest of the letters across the table to Lady Rohallion, -as if for perusal at her leisure, he opened the latest newspaper, and -betook himself, with true military instinct, to the gazette and -matters pertaining to the war against France and the Corsican, by -land and sea. - -Erelong, it was with an exclamation of astonishment that shook the -powder from his venerable pigtail, that made Lady Rohallion permit -the urn to overrun her teacup, Flora to start nervously, Mr. Spillsby -to drop the egg-stand with its contents, and Jack Andrews to spring -mechanically to "attention" on his lame leg, that his lordship, -raising his voice to an unusually high pitch, read the following -paragraph:-- - -"On the 6th October, the final despatch of the premier reached the -general commanding at Lisbon, and by this time the whole army will -have been in motion across the Spanish frontier, to chastise the -barbarian hordes of the Corsican tyrant, under whose sway the people -of France and Spain alike are groaning. We rejoice to say that -before marching from Portalegre, Lieutenant-General Sir John Hope of -Rankeillour most successfully opened a communication with the famous -guerilla, El Estudiente, a matter fully and finally arranged by the -skill and courage of Mr. Quentin Kennedy, a young volunteer, then -serving with H.M. 25th Regiment, or 'King's Own Borderers.'" - -"Quentin!" exclaimed Flora, rushing behind Lord Rohallion's chair, -her cheeks flushing red, as she peeped over his shoulder. - -"Quentin Kennedy!" said Lady Rohallion, in a breathless voice, as she -grew pale and trembled. - -"The boy is found--found at last! There, read the paragraph for -yourselves," said his lordship, flourishing the paper over his head. - -Poor Lady Rohallion made many ineffectual efforts to do as he bid -her; but her eyes were full of tears, and her spectacles were quite -obscured. - -"Spillsby--Andrews, send for John Girvan: zounds! the 25th, too--the -blessed old number!--here's news for him! The lost is found again! -You'll write him, Winny--and Flora, too--gad, we'll all write!" -continued the old Lord, in a very incoherent way. "The cunning -rogue, to keep us in suspense so long, and to be wearing the buttons -of the old Borderers all the time. It must be he: there can't be two -Quentin Kennedies; oh, no--of course it must be he!" - -"There is something strange in this," said Lady Rohallion, finding -relief in tears; "how many letters, Flora, have we had from Cosmo -since he left us?" - -"Five." - -"Five letters!" - -"One from Colchester; others from Santarem and Abrantes; and two from -Portalegre." - -"Exactly," said Lord Rohallion, on whose benign brow a cloud -gathered; "five letters, and in none of them has one word escaped him -concerning the poor lad who joined the corps before him--the dear old -25th, of my earliest memories. It is not generous, Winny; I don't -envy Quentin his commanding officer; it shows a bad animus, and I am -sorry our boy should behave so." - -Lady Winifred was silent, for she felt the truth of what her husband -said; and Flora, full of her own joyous thoughts, was silent too. - -"Read over the paragraph again, Flora, darling; egad, I must cut it -out, and send it over to Earl Hugh, at Eglinton;" and while Flora -read, Rohallion walked to and fro, rubbing his hands with intense -satisfaction and delight. - -"But, good heavens, my lord," she suddenly exclaimed, while the -colour left her face, "what is this that follows? there is here -another paragraph, about--about----" - -"About what?" - -"Poor Quentin," she added, faintly. - -"Read it!" said Rohallion, impetuously. - -"'We regret to have to add, it is feared that after accomplishing -this valuable public service with the guerilla, our enterprising -young soldier has fallen a sacrifice to his zeal, or the lawless -state of the country, as--as he has not been heard of since.'" ..... - -Flora's sweet voice died away almost in a tremulous whisper as she -read this blighting paragraph, which Lord Rohallion, after hastily -snatching the paper from her, read again and again, with his brows -deeply knit. - -It did not fall upon him with the crushing effect it had upon the two -ladies, who sat silently weeping, for the words of the paragraph -were, to them, terribly suggestive and vague; and now the old -quartermaster, who had been noisily summoned by his veteran comrade -the valet, arrived to join the conclave; and truly, had a -thirteen-inch bombshell, shot from a mortar of similar diameter, -exploded among the breakfast equipage, worthy John Girvan could not -have seemed more astonished and bewildered than he did by the whole -affair. - -Lord Rohallion and he, as old soldiers, endeavoured to explain the -matter away, and to speak from past experience of many instances of -men reported as "missing" who always turned up again; newspaper -paragraphs in general they treated with great contempt, and expressed -their certain conviction that "by this time," no doubt, he had -rejoined the corps. - -Indeed, so certain were they of this that Lord Rohallion desired the -quartermaster to write at once; Flora, with charming frankness, -offered to enclose a tiny note, and the old general wrote at once by -the next mail to the Horse Guards, urging "the immediate promotion of -his young friend to the first ensigncy at the disposal of His Royal -Highness the Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief--in the 25th Foot, if -practicable." - -This done, the male part of the household, though full of the affair, -and their innumerable yarns of the corps, which it had called to -memory, felt more composed on the subject. The quartermaster -furbished up his old red coat, and remained to dinner: Flora's -engagement to ride with young Fernwoodlee and the meet at Kilhenzie, -were committed to oblivion, and were utterly forgotten, as she sat -alone, full of thought, on the old mossgrown garden-seat, with the -autumn leaves whirling round her. - -Through the branches of the stripped trees on which the rooks were -cawing, the sunlight fell aslant upon the copper gnomon of the -ancient sun and moon dial, which occupied the centre of the quaint -Scoto-French garden, and round the pedestal of which Quentin, to -please her, during the last spring, had trained a creeping plant. - -The plant was still there, but its tendrils and trailers were dead, -withered, and yellow, and sadly Flora felt in her heart that she was -lonely, and that Rohallion was now a _broken home_--broken, indeed, -as if Death himself had been there! - -Lady Winifred was also alone. - -The noonday sun was streaming as of old into the yellow damask -drawing-room, and the sea-coal fire crackled on the hearth between -the delft-lined jambs cheerily and brightly. Before it, on the thick -cosy rug, a sleek tom-cat sat winking and purring, and the favourite -terrier of Quentin, coiled up round as a ball, was there too, but -fast asleep beside the many-spotted Dalmatian dog, which always -followed the old-fashioned family carriage. - -The antique ormolu clock, that ticked so loudly on the mantelpiece on -the night when Quentin was rescued from the wreck, and his father's -corpse was cast on the surf-beaten sand, and when he, a wailing -child, was brought by Elsie Irvine to Rohallion, was ticking there -still, quietly, regularly, and monotonously, and Lady Winifred looked -at its quaint dial wistfully, as she might have done in the face of -an old and familiar friend. - -Now Quentin and her beloved and only son were both far, far away; -both were to encounter the perils of war, and she might never see -them more! How much and how many things had happened, she thought, -and still the old clock ticked there monotonously, even as it had -done when, on an evening now many, many years ago, she came a -blooming bride to the old castle by the sea; and so it might continue -to tick, long after she, and her comely and affectionate old Lord, -lay side by side among the Crawfords of past centuries in the -Rohallion aisle of the venerable kirk whose tower she could see -terminating the woody vista of yonder lonely glen. - -The paragraph of the morning had called up a multitude of sad -thoughts that had long been buried, and she felt melancholy, almost -miserable, and opening her escritoire, she looked long and earnestly -on the relics of Quentin's father--his commission in the French -service, the letter in the poor man's pocket-book, and the ring that -was taken from his finger, bearing the name of Josephine--the boy's -mother, doubtless. - -The dominie, to whom the quartermaster lost no time in hastening with -the intelligence, like the old Lord, was stout in his belief that -Quentin would, as he phrased it, "cast up again." - -"Disappeared," he repeated two or three times; "the bairn no since -heard o'; the thing's no possible! He will, he shall return again, -be assured, to receive his reward, for he is worthy of a crown of -gold--worthy of it, yea, as ever were Manlius Torquatus or Valerius -Corvus, ilk ane o' wham, as we are told in Livy, slew a Gaul in -single combat." - -This classic reward did not seem very probable, when a few weeks -after, a long official letter was brought to Rohallion, and added -greatly to the anxiety and perplexity of the inmates thereof. - -In this missive the military secretary, by direction of H.R.H. the -Duke of York, "presented his compliments to Major-General Lord -Rohallion, K.C.B., and regretted to acquaint him that it was -impossible to entertain his request with regard to Mr. Quentin -Kennedy, a volunteer with the 25th Foot, as matters had transpired -which might render his clearance before a general court-martial -necessary." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE WAYSIDE CROSS AND WELL. - - "If in this exile dark and drear, - To which my fate has doomed me now, - I should unnoticed die--what tear, - What tear of sympathy will flow? - For I have sought an exile's woe, - And fashioned my own misery; - Who then will pity me?" - _Cancionero de Amberes_, 1557. - - -As Quentin walked on in solitude after Rowland Askerne left him, he -could not help musing, as he frequently did, on the changes a short -time had wrought in him and in his ideas. It would seem that from a -mere day-dreaming schoolboy, whose most onerous purposes were to fill -his basket with trout from the Girvan, the Doon, or the Lollards' -Linn; to supply the cook with an occasional brace of ptarmigan from -the oakwood shaw, or of blackcock from the Mains of Kilhenzie; from -trying a pad for Flora, or culling the flowers which he knew she -loved most, he had risen to be a man and a soldier, valued by his -comrades, all officers of bravery and position, trusted by his -superiors, and charged with a great and confidential duty--a portion -of the vast game of war and politics now played by Britain for the -deliverance of Spain; and yet, withal, he longed for a companion, and -to hear the voice of a friend, for a sense of intense loneliness -gradually stole over him as the twilight deepened, and the purple -shadows grew more sombre on the hills of Portuguese Estremadura. - -To Quentin it seemed that his bodily strength and bulk had increased, -for drill and marching had developed every muscle to the fullest -extent; thus he was stronger, more active and hardy than before. - -He felt too, that the time had come when youth was no longer a libel -against him; the time for doing something worthy of being mentioned -in a despatch of the commander-in-chief, in the government gazette, -in general orders--something gallant, manly, and dashing; and that he -would turn the occasion to its best account, and achieve something -glorious, "or," as romances and melo-dramas have it, "perish in the -attempt." - -"If I acquit myself well in this, my first duty, it shall in itself -prove a revenge upon Cosmo!" thought he. - -And so he trod manfully and hopefully on, dreaming of the future, -knowing but little of the path he was at present to pursue, and less -of the perils and pit-falls that were around it. - -As the evening deepened into night with great rapidity, for there is -very little twilight in those regions--the mighty shadows of the -sierra fell eastward in a sombre mass across the valley through which -lay the road--a mere bridle path--towards the Spanish frontier, while -the ranges of peaks that faced the west were still glowing in ruddy -saffron or pale purple against the blue dome of the star-studded sky. - -About twelve miles from Portalegre, the road pursued by Quentin -enters a narrow gorge or immense chasm or cleft which rends the -mountains from their summit to their base. Down the steep wall of -rock on one side, a spring trickles for some hundred feet, and at the -foot, near the road-way, it is received into the quaintly carved -basin of an ancient stone fountain, behind which stands a memorial -cross. - -A niche in the shaft of the latter contains a little wayside altar. -An image of the Madonna was rudely and gaudily painted in the recess, -and before it a copper lamp was always kept burning. This shrine, -once reputed to be of great sanctity, had been mutilated and its lamp -destroyed by the French; but it had been replaced by another, which -was always supplied with wick and oil by the passing muleteers, -contrabandists, guerillas, and others. - -The rays of this lamp were burning feebly in the vast rocky solitude, -forming a strange and picturesque feature in the deep dark dell, the -silence of which was broken only by the plash of the slender thread -of liquid that filtered or trickled down the granite face of the -dissevered mountain. - -This cross and well had been built by Alphonso I., in the year that -he achieved his greatest victory over the united arms of five Moorish -sovereigns. It had been deemed holy even in those days, for there he -had halted and prayed when on the march with his mail-clad knights to -the capture of Santarem; and an inscription, frequently renewed, -invited the passer to say a prayer for the repose of his soul, and -the souls of all the good and true Portuguese who drew their swords -against the Moslem. - -A long ray of light shed by the rising moon, shone down the cleft at -the bottom of which the road lay, casting the shadows of the well and -votive cross far along the narrow gorge. The thick foliage of some -gigantic Portuguese laurels, which grew in the interstices of the -rocks, glittered like bronze gemmed with silver sheen, and offered a -resting place for the night; so Quentin, as he felt weary, crept -under the branches, which formed a pleasant shelter. - -The turf below was soft and dry, and to him, who had slept so often -on the bare earth during his march to the frontier, it seemed a -comfortable couch enough. The shaft of King Alphonso's cross on one -side and the wall of rock on the other protected him from prowling -wolves in the front and rear; the stems of the giant laurels formed -barrier on a third side, and the fourth, which was open, he might -defend with his weapons if attacked. - -He took a draught from his canteen, which was filled with rum and -water, and placing it under his head for a pillow, with his sword and -loaded pistols ready by his side, he addressed himself to sleep. - -The air was filled with a strange but delicious perfume, which came -from those little aromatic shrubs that grow wild everywhere -throughout Spain and Portugal. The intense stillness of the place, -the only sounds there being the trickle of the far-falling water and -the croakings of some bull-frogs among the long grass, made him -wakeful for a time. - -He felt neither alarm nor anxiety, but utterly lonely, and he said -over a prayer that in infancy he had often repeated at Lady -Rohallion's knee; then something holy and placid stole over his -heart; sleep at last closed his eyes and he slumbered peacefully -besides the old stone cross of our Lady of Battles. - -So passed the first night of his absence from head-quarters. - -When Quentin awoke next morning after a long and sound slumber, the -result of youth, high health, and the toil of the past day, though he -had acquired all a soldier's facility for sleeping in strange places -and strange beds, or without other couch than the bare sod, he was at -first somewhat confused and puzzled on perceiving the bower of leaves -above him, and a minute elapsed before he could remember where he -was, and how he came to be roosting under those huge Portuguese -laurels. - -Then the despatch rushed upon his memory; he searched his breast -pocket, and found the important document was safe; his weapons were -all right, and he was about to creep forth, when he suddenly -perceived the figure of a man near the well, and, remembering the -reiterated advices of Askerne and others, he paused to observe him. - -His first idea was that the stranger must be a robber, for, to a -Briton, Portuguese and Spaniards too have usually that unpleasant -character in their aspect. Their sallow visages, deep dark eyes, -densely black beards and moustaches, with their slouching sombrero, -and large, many-folded cloak of dark brown stuff, together with a -certain fixed scrutiny of expression when observing strangers, give -them all the bravo look and bearing of the "sensation" ruffian or -mysterious bandit of a minor melo-drama; thus, says a recent writer, -"in consequence of the difficulty of outliving what has been learnt -in the nursery, many of our countrymen have, with the best -intentions, set down the bulk of the population of the Peninsula as -one gang of robbers." - -The Spaniard in question, for such he seemed to be, was a young man -of powerful and athletic form; his face was sallow and colourless, -and his hair and eyes were black. He was closely shaven, save a -heavy moustache, which had a very ferocious twist across each cheek -towards the tip of the ear. His features were very handsome, and his -whole appearance was eminently striking. - -He had a huge cloak--what Spaniard has not, generally to cover his -rags rather than his finery--but this he had flung aside, and Quentin -could perceive that he had a well-worn zamarra of sheepskin over a -gaily embroidered shirt, a pair of crimson pantaloons, which seemed -to have belonged to a hussar, and they ended in strong leather -_abarcas_, which were laced with thongs from the ankle to the knee. -He had a dagger and pair of pistols in his flowing yellow sash, and -close by him lay one of those long, old-fashioned travelling staffs, -shod with iron and loaded with lead, called by the Portuguese a -_cajado_. - -Thus, upon the whole, considering the difference of their stature and -bodily strength, Quentin prudently thought that the stranger was not -a personage to be intruded upon without due consideration. - -Reverently removing his black sombrero, which was rather battered and -rusty, and had a gilt image of our Lady del Pilar on the gay broad -scarlet band thereof, the Spaniard approached the wayside shrine, and -kneeling before it, crossed himself three times with great devotion, -while muttering a short prayer. Then seating himself on the grassy -sward behind the well, he pulled a little book from the pocket of his -zamarra, and began to peruse it very leisurely while smoking a -cigarito and making his frugal breakfast on a few dry raisins and a -crust of hard bread, which he dipped from time to time in the cool -water of the gurgling fountain. - -"This cannot be a bad kind of fellow," thought Quentin, who felt -somewhat ashamed of lurking from one man; so he half-cocked his -pistols, placed them in his girdle, and crept forth from behind the -stone cross, saying: - -"_Buenos dias_, senor." - -"Senor, good morrow," replied the Spaniard, with a hand on his -dagger, while he surveyed Quentin with a quietly grim, but unmoved -countenance, without rising from his recumbent posture; "are there -any more of you under these bushes?" - -"No--I am alone." - -"_Por mi vida_, but you chose a strange hiding-place!" said the -other, with a glance of distrust. - -"A strange sleeping-place, you should say rather, senor--yet not a -bad one," said Quentin, laughing, and willing to conciliate the -stranger, who closed his book after quietly turning down a leaf to -mark his place; "I crept in over night, and have slept there until -now." - -"Signs of a good digestion or a clear conscience." - -"Of both, I hope, thank Heaven." - -"I am indifferently provided with either; yet I can breakfast on this -poor crust, and be thankful to God and our Blessed Lady for it." - -"I can give you something better, Senor Portuguese," said Quentin, -unbuttoning his havresack. - -"_Muchos gracias_," replied the other; "but remember, senor, that I -am a Castilian, and in Spain we have a belief that a bad Spaniard -makes a tolerably good Portuguese." - -"I beg pardon, senor, but your dress----" - -"My dress!" interrupted the other, with a sardonic grin; "_oh, por el -vida del Satanos_, the less you say about that the better. I was not -wont to sport such a costume when rendering Virgil into Castilian, -and Las Comedias de Calderon into Latin, in the Arzobispo College at -old Salamanca." - -"A student?" - -"Perhaps--it was as might be," replied the other, with sudden -reserve; "and you are----" - -"What you see me." - -Quentin gave a portion of his ration-beef and biscuit to the -Spaniard, who took them with many thanks, and with an air that showed -he was a man of breeding far above what his present paisano costume -seemed to indicate. His hands were strong, white, and muscular, yet -seemed never to have been used to work, and a valuable diamond -sparkled in a ring on one of his fingers. In the course of -conversation, Quentin could gather that he was remarkably well -informed of the strength, number, position, and divisions of the -British Army, together with the probable movements towards Castile, -thus he felt the necessity of acting with the greatest reserve, and -getting rid of him as soon as possible; for the most subtle, wily, -and dangerous Spaniards were those in the French interest, which, at -first, he feared his new friend to be. - -"By my life, Senor Inglese," said the Spaniard, laughing, "with all -this victual in your wallet, 'tis a miracle of our Lady's Cross that -the wolves did not come snuffing about you in the night." - -"You are a traveller?" observed Quentin, after a pause, during which -they had been observing each other furtively. - -"I hinted that I had been a student among Salamanquinos," replied the -Spaniard, coldly. - -"And you are now----" - -"What the Fiend and the French have made me!" said he, with a lurid -gleam in his fine dark eyes. - -"And that is----" - -"My secret, senor," said the other, bluntly, adding "_muchos -gracias_," as Quentin smilingly proffered his canteen, the contents -of which he declined to taste. "The well of our Blessed Lady will -suffice for me," he said, and proceeded to twist up another cigarito. -"You are very curious about me, senor; but pray what are you?" - -"What my uniform declares me," said Quentin, showing the scarlet -uniform, which his grey coat had concealed; "a British soldier." - -"Bueno! Your hand. And whither go you?" - -"On duty." - -"Where--to whom?" - -"That is _my secret_," retorted Quentin, laughing. But a dark -expression began to gather in the Spaniard's face, and he looked -searchingly at the young volunteer. - -"Are you going to the front?" he asked. - -"Yes, senor." - -"Strange!" - -"How so?" - -"The British troops have not yet begun to cross the frontier into -Spain. They are still in quarters." - -"Yes." - -"You are not going to the French head-quarters?" - -"No." - -"Still monosyllables!" said the Spaniard, impetuously. "I must be -plain, I find. You are a deserter!" - -"I have said that I am going on duty," replied Quentin, haughtily. -"You need question me no further. I am not bound to satisfy the -curiosity of every wayfarer I may meet." - -"_Morte de Dios!_" swore the Spaniard, with a scowl in his deep eye, -and a hand on his stiletto. - -"I, too, have arms to repress insolence," said Quentin, grasping his -sword. - -On this the Spaniard laughed, and said-- - -"Come--don't let us quarrel. You are a brave boy, and your little -breakfast came to me most opportunely. Let us enjoy the present -without thinking of the future. _Demonio!_ Neither of us may be -what we seem. We more often look like spits than swords in this -world!" - -"Senor, excuse me; but I don't understand your proverb." - -"It means simply, that all men are not what they seem. To you I -appear a _gitano_, a _mendigo_--it may be, a _ladrone_; you appear to -me a deserter; so our circumstances may change--you prove the spit, -and I the sword." - -"Spit again!" said Quentin, angrily, as he conceived there was some -sarcasm concealed in the word. - -"It is a fable. Listen while I read to you what, I suppose, you -never heard before." - -And, opening his book, which proved to be the little pocket edition -of the quaint old literary fables of Don Tomaso de Yriarte, he -rapidly read over the story of the "Spit and Espada." - -"Once upon a time there was a rapier of Toledo; a better was never -seen in the Alcazar, or tempered in the waters of the Tagus. After -having been in many battles, and belonging to many brave cavaliers, -by one of the vicissitudes of fortune which lay the greatest low, it -came at length to lie forgotten in the corner of a scurvy posada. - -"There, desirous in vain to breathe a vein and flash once more in -battle, it lay long unnoticed and covered with rust, till, by command -of her master, a greasy kitchen-wench stuck it through a large capon, -and thus forced that which had been a rapier of high renown, arming -the hands of the noble and valiant, to degenerate into a mere spit! - -"About this time, it likewise chanced that a clownish paisano, by the -sport of fortune became a hidalgo at court, and as he must needs have -a sword, he repaired to the booth of an espadero, who no sooner saw -the kind of customer he had to deal with, than he knew that anything -having a hilt and scabbard would do, and so desired him to call next -day. - -"Against the time of his coming he furbished up an old spit that lay -in his kitchen, and sold it to our courtier as Tisona, the very same -blade with which the Cid Rodrigo of Bivar made the Arabian Khalifs -skip at Cordova, and the Moorish dogs at Jaen. Hence we see that the -innkeeper was a very great fool, and the espadero a very great rogue." - -"And what am I to understand by all this?" asked Quentin, who with -some impatience had permitted the Spaniard to read thus far. - -"Simply, senor, that though by the vicissitudes of fortune, I seem a -spit at present, I may prove in the end to be a good Toledo blade; -for we should never judge solely by appearances;" and pointing to a -hole in his sheepskin zamarra, he laughed and added, "Farewell--I go -towards the mountains." - -"And I towards Spain: I have but two wishes--to reach Herreruela, and -to avoid the French in Valencia." - -"Truly, they are well and wisely avoided," said the Spaniard through -his clenched teeth, while his face became distorted and convulsed by -concentrated hate and passion. "Save myself and another, my whole -family have perished under their hands. Not even our aged mother was -spared, for she died like my helpless old father by their bayonets, -on the night that Junot entered Salamanca; and well would it have -been if some of the young had suffered the same fate _first_. I had -three sisters, senor--three lovelier girls, or three more loving, -good, and gentle, God's blessed sun never shone on. Two suffered -such wrongs on that night of horrors at Salamanca, that they could -not or would not survive them; the youngest, Isidora, happily escaped -by being in the convent of Santa Engracia, at Portalegre." - -Impressed by the undoubted earnestness of the Spaniard, Quentin said-- - -"I am bound to the frontier, bearer of a secret despatch." - -"To whom?" - -"Honour ties my tongue for the present, senor." - -"Enough, then; continue to pursue this road for some miles, you will -find a branch to the left where it runs parallel with the river -Figuero, and leads to Castello de Vide. Proceed straight on and you -will come to Marvao; six miles further on is Valencia de Alcantara, -garrisoned by the French; cross the river Sever, and a league or so -further brings you to Herreruela. Ere long I, too, shall be there, -so we may meet again; but remember that the whole country swarms with -the accursed French, and that your red coat will ensure your -captivity or death." - -"I shall be wary." - -"Be so, or, Santos! I would not give a _claco_ for your life! Do -you see yonder hill?" asked the Spaniard, pointing to a lofty -peak--the highest of the mountain range. - -"Yes--a vapour hovers near it." - -"I am going there to see what news the eagles have for the loyal -Portuguese." - -"The eagles!" - -"Exactly--but I forget that you are a stranger and don't understand -me," replied the other, laughing. - -"Adios, senor," said Quentin, preparing to start. - -"Adios, senor soldado--adios, vaya!" - -The Spaniard pocketed his book of fables, threw his mantle over his -left shoulder, grasped his cajado, and waving his hat, proceeded to -ascend with great activity a steep zigzag path up the mountain side, -while Quentin Kennedy pursued his solitary way, which opened into a -level district covered with green orange, lemon, and olive groves; -and though the warnings of his late acquaintance did not fail to -impress him with anxiety, he felt hopeful that he would achieve in -safety and with honour the duty assigned him--escaping the perils -that might be set him, and the deadly snare into which Cosmo hoped he -might fall. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE MULETEERS. - - "Riper occasions will thy valour claim, - Danger comes on; Typhœus-like it comes, - Whose fabled stature every hour increased." - AQUILEIA--_Old Tragedy._ - - -While Quentin travelled onward, thinking over his recent meeting at -the well, and puzzling himself about the enigma that was probably -concealed by the words of the stranger concerning the eagles having -news for Portugal, he was roused from his reverie by the jangling of -bells, and ere long a string of mules, all sleek, well-fed, of -dapple-colour, and in size larger than any he had ever seen, appeared -in view, descending with sure and steady steps a narrow rocky path -between the olive and orange groves that covered the steep mountain -side. - -He paused for a moment to permit the string or line, which consisted -of twelve mules, to pass along the road in front; but the three -muleteers in charge, all hardy and sturdy fellows in gaudily braided -and embroidered jackets of purple or olive green cloth, smart -sombreros, and gay scarfs, accoutred with ivory-hafted knives and -brass-butted pistols, hailed him immediately, asked whither he was -going, and courteously, with cries of "Viva los Inglesos! viva el -Rey!" offered him a draught of wine from the leathern bota that hung -at the neck of Madrina, and in a trice he found himself accompanying -them on their way. - -Perceiving that he belonged to the British army, they were very -inquisitive to know what he was doing there alone; but Quentin had -heard that some of those muleteers could make their way from the -heart of Castile (then swarming with French troops) to the -cantonments of the British army, along the Portuguese frontier, -evading all infantry outposts and cavalry patrols by their superior -knowledge of the country and its secret paths. He had heard also -that they frequently acted as spies and traitors on both sides: thus -he deemed extreme reserve necessary, and, with a prudence beyond his -years and experience, parried their inquiries, and turned the -conversation to general subjects, chiefly the various merits of their -mules, which were laden with Indian corn, Oporto wine, pulse, flour, -and tobacco; and he failed not, in particular, to extol the beauty of -Madrina, a stately old mare, nearly sixteen hands in height, which -had round her neck and on her gaudy red and yellow worsted head-gear -a row of larger bells than the rest of the train. - -The clear sound of those bells being known to them all, they followed -her with wonderful instinct, docility, and affection. - -So far as he could gather from the conversation, these muleteers were -of Old Castile, the principal arriero being Ramon Campillo from -Miranda del Ebro; he was a short, thick-set fellow, with a pleasant -and sun-burned face, and a beard and head of hair so black and dense -that made Quentin think the process of sheep-shearing might, in his -instance, have been resorted to with ease and comfort. This shaggy -mop he had gathered into a red silk hair-net, over which he wore his -hat of coarse brown velvet, adorned by a band and bob of scarlet -plush. - -These three men carolled and sung as they proceeded along, cracking -their whips, indulging in scraps of old warlike ballads, of -love-songs and seguidillas, pausing now and then to mutter an Ave on -passing a cross or a cairn that had some dark story of bloodshed and -crime. And many a boast they made of their sunny Castile which -France should never, NEVER conquer! and many a story they told of the -Cid Rodrigo, of our Lady of Zaragosa, the Holy Virgin del Pilar, of -miracles and robbers, all pell-mell; but their chief themes were the -recent exploits of their guerilla chiefs, then rising into power; of -Don Julian Sanchez with the hare lip, and his glorious Castilian -lancers; of El Pastor, the shepherd; El Medico, the doctor; El Manco, -the cripple; of Don Juan Martin, the Empecinado, who, when his whole -family had been murdered by the French, after the ladies of his house -had endured horrors worse than death, in the first outburst of his -grief, smeared himself with pitch, and vowed never to sheath his -sword while a Frenchman remained alive in Spain; and who, when the -French nailed a number of patriots to the oaks of the Guadarama, -nailed up thrice that number of French soldiers in their place, to -fill the forest with their dying groans. With enthusiasm they -extolled all those wild spirits whom the war of invasion and -independence had brought forth, calling it a _Guerra de moros contra -estos infideles!_ - -But their local hero of heroes seemed to be Don Baltasar de Saldos, -whom they described as partly a Cid and partly a devil in his hatred -of France and Frenchmen. The mention of his name proved of deep -interest to Quentin, and finding him a ready and wondering listener, -many were the stories they told of him and of his band, which was -composed of Spanish deserters, run-away students, ruined nobles, -unfrocked friars, and all manner of wild fellows who loved him with -ardour and obeyed him with devotion. - -He was the flower of Castilian guerilla chiefs! - -"I have seen and heard enough of French atrocity in our -peregrinations throughout the kingdoms of Andalusia, Castile, Leon, -and Arragon, to make me imbibe somewhat of the same spirit of -vengeance that inspires Baltasar de Saldos--aye, senor, to the full!" -said Ramon, in his energy, spitting away the end of his cigarito, and -crushing it under his heel. - -"In your line one must see much of life," said Quentin. - -"Much--maladita! I should think so. I was present in Madrid on the -23rd of last April, when one hundred and twenty defenceless citizens -were slaughtered in cold blood by the troops of Murat--shot down by -platoons, and for what? For el Santos de los Santos! only because -the epaulettes of his aide-de-camp, the gay Colonel de la Grange, -were splashed with mud by some rash students at the gate of Alcala." - -"A slight cause, surely." - -"But that night, hombre, we had a terrible retribution," said the -second muleteer, through his clenched teeth, as he gave a fierce -twist to the scarlet silk handkerchief which encircled his head, and -the fringed ends of which came from under his sombrero and floated -over his shoulders. - -"Retribution, Ignacio Noain, I think we had, amigo mio!" replied -Ramon, with a bitter laugh; "for it was on that night Baltasar threw -off his student's gown and betook him to knife and musket, and rushed -through the streets, shouting 'Guerra al cuchillo, Salamanquinos!' -and 'Viva el Rey de Espana!' before the head-quarters of Marshal -Murat; and sure vengeance he took, for ere morning the gutters of the -Prado were gorged with the blood of more than seven hundred -Frenchmen, who fell by the muskets and daggers of the loyal -Castilians." - -"Then," said the third muleteer, with a smiling face and in an -encomiastic tone, "it was Baltasar who slew Don Miguel de Saavedra." - -"To the devil with him!" - -"The traitorous governor of Valencia," added the other two. - -"And it was he," said Ramon, "who with his namesake, the Padre -Baltasar Calvo, for twelve days and nights followed the fugitive -French and Valencian traitors, the tools and followers of Godoy, -through the streets, knife in hand, slaying them in cellars, vaults, -and bodegas, till the last who was false to Spain had breathed out -his dog's life, and his heart, reeking on a bayonet, was thrown on -the altar of St. Isidor." - -The fiery energy of the speakers, the expression of their dark -flashing eyes, their picturesque costumes, and the modulation of the -grand old language in which they spoke, made those fierce and -barbarous recitals doubly striking to Quentin Kennedy, who heard them -with something bordering on astonishment, for the English press had -no "own correspondents" then, to let the people at home know what was -enacted abroad. - -"Then, senor," said Ignacio Noam, "it was Baltasar de Saldos who -suggested the singular death to which the Spanish regiment of Navarre -put the timid Italian, Filangheri." - -"And this mode of death?" asked Quentin, whom, sooth to say, the grim -energy and suddenly developed ferocity of the hitherto jolly -muleteers somewhat scared. - -"I shall tell you," said Ramon, "for I saw it. You must know, senor -soldado, that this Italian was Governor of Corunna and a loyal -cavalier to the King; but, terrified or hopeless by the overwhelming -power of Bonaparte, he showed some signs of wavering, and refused to -issue a proclamation of war against the French." - -"Might it not have been wisdom to temporize for a time?" - -"Santos! this is no time for trifling; so Baltasar rushed among the -soldiers of our regiment of Navarre, and incited them to seize the -governor at Villa Franca-del-Vierzo, a town on the road which leads -from Corunna to Madrid, where they dragged him, almost naked, from -the Marquis's palace. - -"'Muera al Filangheri!" shouted Baltasar to the soldiers; 'unfix your -bayonets, plant the ground with them, and toss the traitor in a -blanket!' - -"With shouts of acclamation at a suggestion so novel, they hastened -to do as he suggested. The ground was soon planted thickly with -three hundred bayonets, their sockets fixed in the earth, their sharp -points upward. The breathless governor, pale and imploring mercy, -was tossed thrice into the air from a blanket, as dogs are tossed on -Shrove Tuesday. After the third toss, the blanket was withdrawn, and -the hapless Filangheri fell crash on the bayonets. He was impaled in -every part of his body at once; after this, leaving him miserably to -die, the soldiers dispersed to join Baltasar's band of guerillas in -the mountains of Herreruela; but this destruction of a king's officer -caused Sir John Moore to deem him false to Ferdinand VII." - -"How horrible is all this!" exclaimed Quentin. - -"Desperate times and men, require desperate hearts and stern -measures," said the muleteer Ramon, as he slung his long -musket--which no doubt had a goodly charge of slugs in its -barrel--and took a guitar which hung at the collar of one of his -mules. "But we must not scare you, senor Inglese, as we shall surely -do, if we talk longer thus; so now for something more cheerful:" and -he began at once to sing, with a very mellow voice, a little romance, -in which his companions joined with much laughter, and which began -thus,-- - - "Tiempo es el Caballero, - The world will all divine; - Now my girdle is too narrow, - They'll see my shame--and thine! - - "Tiempo es el Caballero-- - When the maids my garments bring, - I see them wink and nod their heads, - I hear them tittering."* - -* Poetry of Spain. - - -"We have come from Arronches and are going to Castello Branco, in -Lower Beira, along the Portuguese frontier," said Ramon, "and yonder -is the puebla at which we are to halt," he added, pointing to a few -ruined walls that bordered the highway. - -"What walled town is that on the hill, with an old castle?" asked -Quentin. - -"About two leagues beyond?" - -"Yes." - -"That is Castello de Vide, famous for its cloth factory." - -"Castello de Vide--good Heavens, senores arrieros, your pleasant -society has lured me out of my proper way." - -"I am sorry to hear it," said Ramon, drily. - -"I should have gone to the right." - -"Madre de Dios!" - -"To the right?" - -"Towards the French lines?" - -Such were the exclamations of the muleteers as their frowns deepened. - -"I should have gone somewhat in that direction, at all events," said -Quentin, reddening with the annoyance and confusion natural to an -honourable person when viewed with mistrust. - -"Senor Inglese, in what capacity, or for what purpose are you -travelling on foot alone, and in this suspicious fashion, towards the -outposts of General de Ribeaupierre, the commander in Valencia?" -asked the muleteer Ramon, sternly, as he drew himself up, and -proceeded very deliberately to examine the flint and priming of his -long musket. - -"By what right do you ask?" demanded Quentin, whose heart beat -tumultuously at the prospect of being butchered far from help or -justice. - -"Take your hand from your pistol--dare you question us, senor--one to -three?" - -"Yes, I do--by what right do you molest me?" - -"The right of loyal and true Castilians," replied the three -muleteers, with one voice, as the other two, who had not yet spoken, -unslung their bell-mouthed trabucos or blunderbusses, and all their -faces assumed that very formidable scowl, which appears nowhere so -grimly as in the dark and sallow visages of those sons of old Iberia. - -Now ensued a brief, but somewhat unpleasant and exciting pause; and -finding that matters had come to this dangerous pass with him, -Quentin, on reflection, drew forth his sealed missive, and showing -the address to Ramon, said: - -"I am the bearer of this despatch from Lieutenant-General Sir John -Hope, to Don Baltasar de Saldos, the guerilla chief, and if you are -loyal Spaniards, as you say, you will put up those weapons, and -direct me by the nearest and safest route to the hills near -Herreruela." - -"Oh, par todos Santos, but this alters the case entirely!" said -Ramon, as they relinquished their weapons, wreathed their grim fronts -with sudden smiles, and cordially shook hands with him. - -"Why did you not tell us all this at first?" asked the muleteer -Ignacio Noain. - -"Well, even Madrina, I suppose, does not like to be sharply taken by -the bridle," said Quentin, smiling, and feeling considerably relieved -in his mind. - -"No more does she, the old beauty, she would lash out at her own -madre. You have somewhat overshot the way, senor, for a mile or two -along the Figuero; however, you shall not leave us yet awhile. Dine -with us at the old puebla--the French have not left many stones of it -together. Ay de mi! it was a jovial place once; many a bolero and -fandango I have danced with the girls here, and where are they all -now? We have only bacallao (dried ling) and biscuits, with a -mouthful of good wine--real vino de Alicant--to offer you." - -"Thanks, senores, but evening is almost at hand." - -"It will be nightfall when you reach the base of yonder mountain," -said Ramon, pointing to a lofty hill, whose granite brows were all -empurpled by the sunshine; "there Gil Llano, a poor vinedresser, -lives--a Portuguese, who for my sake, if not for your own, will -gladly give you shelter; be sure, however, to show him this." - -With these words, Ramon disengaged from one of the four dozen of -brass bell buttons, with which his jacket was adorned, one of the -many consecrated copper medals that hung thereat, and placed it in -Quentin's hand, just as they entered the ill-fated puebla (village), -which was totally roofless and ruined. Fragments of charred -furniture, broken crocks, cans, and plates strewed the now untrodden -street, where the grass was springing. The broad-leaved vines grew -wild about the crumbling walls and open windows; and a rude cross -here and there marked the hastily made graves of the slaughtered -villagers. - -There, as elsewhere, the wings of the Imperial Eagle, like those of a -destroying angel, had spread desolation and death! - -"When," asked the poor Portuguese, in one of their manifestoes after -the horrors of Coimbra, "did the laws of man authorize the outrage of -women, the slaughter of aged and other defenceless inhabitants of -places which made no resistance; the assassination of men who were -accounted rich, only because they could not furnish that quantity of -treasure of which it was said they were possessed!" - -Halting by the old village well, the muleteers attended first to the -wants of Madrina and her sleek companions. - -"_Arre, arre_, old woman," said Ramon, "thou shalt have a deep cool -draught at last; _arre, arre_!" - -This is an old Moorish term (literally gee-up), whence the muleteers -are familiarly termed arrieros. They then shared with Quentin their -dried fish and hard biscuits, with a few olives and luscious oranges, -that had become golden among the groves that cast their shadows on -the Ebro; and they frequently patted him on the shoulder, and -expressed regret for their suspicions, and the mischief these might -have led to. - -The group around this lonely well, which bubbled through a grotesque -stone face, under an old Roman arch, and the scene around, were -wonderfully striking and picturesque. - -In the immediate foreground were the swarthy Castilian muleteers in -their gaudy dress, and their gaily trapped mules, all resting on the -bright green sward; close by was the ruined puebla; northward rose -Castello de Vide in the distance on its verdant hill, the round -towers of its ancient fortress and ruined walls, that had more than -once withstood the tide of Moorish and Castilian chivalry; to the -east and south rose the great sierras that form the boundary between -Spain and Portugal, all crimsoned with the light of the gorgeous sun -that was setting in gold and saffron behind the cork tree groves that -clothe the hills of St. Mames. - -The frugal repast was barely over when the tinkle of a clear and -silvery bell that rung in some solitary hermitage, concealed afar off -among the chestnut woods in some hollow of the mountains, came at -intervals on the evening wind. - -"Vespers," said Ramon Campillo, taking off his sombrero; "amigos -mios, to prayers." - -Then, with a simple devotion that impressed him deeply, Quentin -Kennedy saw those sturdy and jovial, but rather reckless fellows, -who, but a few minutes before, were (we are compelled to admit it) -quite disposed to knock him on the head, kneel down and pray very -earnestly for a minute or so. - -A few minutes more saw them on their way to Castello de Vide, and him -progressing towards the mountains. They waved their hats to him -repeatedly, and then as the twilight deepened, the breeze of the -valley as it swept over the odorous orange groves brought pleasantly -to his ear the jingle of the mule-bells, and the tinkle of Ramon's -guitar dying away in the distance, with a verse of the song the three -arrieros sung--an old Valencian evening hymn. - - "Thou who all our sins didst bear, - All our sorrows suffering there, - _O Agnus Dei!_ - Lead us where thy promise led - That poor dying thief who said, - _Memento mei!"_ - - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -GIL LLANO. - - "Still, however fate may thwart me, - Unconvinced, unchanged I live; - From those dreams I cannot part me, - That such dear delusions give; - Hoping yet in countless years, - One bright day unstained with tears." - RODRIGUEZ LOBO. - - -The outrages of the French invaders in Spain and Portugal were -doubtless of the worst description; but those reprisals which the -patriots were not slow in making were equal in atrocity. The stories -he had heard of these shook Quentin's confidence in his own safety, -and in his powers mental and physical; they caused him to regard with -something of suspicion, repugnance, and mistrust the dwellers in the -land, and to wish himself well out of it, or at least safe once more -under the colours of the Old Borderers. - -He remembered the intense bitterness, the momentary but clamorous -anxiety caused by his late episode, and how keenly the foretasted -agony of death entered his soul, when the three muleteers threatened -him with their weapons, and when there seemed every prospect of his -falling by their hand in that mountain solitude, and being left there -dead to the wolves; his fate and story alike unknown to all who might -feel the slightest interest therein. He remembered all this, we say, -and he had no desire to endure such an agony again. - -He felt his isolation, his helplessness in many respects, and longed -anxiously for the end of his task, and for the society of his -comrades and friends, of Askerne, Middleton, and others by whom he -was esteemed and trusted. - -This very anxiety made him quicken his pace, and thus about an hour -after parting from the muleteers at the puebla, he saw a light -twinkling on the roadway at the base of the dark green mountain; -then, after passing under some half-ruined trellis where the vines -were carefully trained and made a leafy tunnel, he reached the -dwelling of Gil Llano (pronounced Yano) the vine-dresser, a wayside -cottage, with a few smaller adjuncts where the galinas roosted and -the porkers snorted. - -He knocked at the door, which was slowly opened after some delay, and -after he had been reconnoitred by a pair of keen black eyes through -an eyelet hole; then the proprietor, a swarthy and stout little -Portuguese, black bearded and snub-nosed, appeared with a bare knife -clenched between his teeth and a cocked musket in his hands, to -demand who was there. - -"_Quien es?_" he asked, angrily. - -"_Gente de paez_," replied Quentin, in a conciliating tone. - -"_Pho!_ indeed--your dress doesn't say you are a man of peace." - -"I am a British soldier travelling on duty," said Quentin. - -"How can I assist you, senor?" - -"The muleteer, Ramon Campillo, of Miranda del Ebro, who is now on his -way to Castello Branco, informed me that you are a loyal -Portuguese----" - -"None more loyal!" responded the other, slapping the butt of his -musket. - -"I was to show you this medal, and, if not intruding, remain with you -for the night." - -"Ramon is my good friend," said the Portuguese, carefully looking at -the brass medal, which bore the image of St. Elizabeth, "and this was -my gift to him. You are welcome, senor, to such poor accommodation -as the French have left me to offer." - -The Portuguese conducted Quentin into his cottage, the interior of -which, by its squalor and poverty, showed that poor Gil Llano's -circumstances had not been improved by the influences of the war. - -A candle, in a clay-holder, flickered on the bare table, an iron -brasero, full of charcoal and dry leaves, smouldered on the hearth; -above the mantelpiece were a little stucco Madonna and some gaudy -little Lisbon prints of holy personages, such as St. Anthony of -Portugal, with his beloved pig; St. Elizabeth the queen, who died at -Estremoz in 1336; St. Ignatius Loyola, and others in scarlet and blue -drapery, with golden halos, all pasted on the whitewashed wall. - -The cottage appeared to consist of three or four small apartments, -all roofed with large red tiles, through the holes in which Quentin -could see the stars shining, and suggesting an idea of umbrellas in -case of rain. The rafters were thickly hung with bunches of dried -raisins, by the sale of which to the passing muleteers and -contrabandistas, Gil and his family subsisted. But even this humble -place bore traces of the retreating French. One of the little -windows had been dashed to pieces by a musket-butt, and most of the -woodwork had gone for fuel when Junot's voltigeurs bivouacked among -the vine trellis, half of which they tore down and destroyed. - -Poor Gil Llano, whose whole attire consisted of a zamarra, a pair of -red cotton breeches, a yellow sash, and the net which confined his -hair, made Quentin Kennedy heartily welcome, and spoke with -enthusiasm and gratitude of the British, who had swept Portugal of -the French; and he exulted about the recent battle of Vimiera, which -he had witnessed from the Torres Vedras, where, he frankly admitted, -he had hovered among the cork-trees, and, with his musket, had -"potted" successfully some of Ribeaupierre's dragoons as they fell -back in disorder before the furious advance of General Anstruther's -column. - -Quentin soon felt himself at home, and shared with Llano's family the -supper of ham and eggs, cooked in a crock between the brasero and one -of the stones of Antas, which are supposed, when once heated, to -continue so for two days. He might have excused the flavour of -garlic, but found an Abrantes melon sliced with sugar, and a flask of -Oporto wine, very acceptable. - -The half-clad mother and her meagre, dark-skinned brood, with their -large black eyes, he could perceive regarded him as a heretic and -soldier, doubtfully, even fearfully, and askance--an English heretic -being always associated, in the minds of Peninsula people, with -priestly denunciations and the _autos de fé_ of the Holy Office in -its palmy days. However, after a time, as he manifested no desire to -eat any of the children, but bestowed upon them all he could -afford--a handful of half-vintins, part of the poor quartermaster's -parting gift--confidence became established, and little bare-legged -Pedrillo crept close to his knee; Babieta peeped slily at him from -behind her mother's skirts, and, when he hung Ramon's brass medal -round the tawny neck of Gil, the nursling, the goodwoman Llano's -heart opened to him at once. - -Perceiving that Quentin was so young, she asked, while her dark eyes -filled with a tender expression, if his mother sorrowed for him, and -if she had many other sons, that she could spare him; adding that, -after all she had seen of war, she would rather die than permit -either of her boys to become soldiers, even to fight for Portugal. - -"Ere long Portugal shall have stronger hands than we could furnish to -fight for her," said Gil, confidently. "No miracle the blessed -saints of heaven have ever worked has been half so wonderful as these -marvellous and prophetic eggs that have been found by Don Julian -Sanchez, by El Pastor, the Alcalde of Portalegre and others, in the -nests among the mountains. True it is, senor," he continued, on -perceiving Quentin's glance of inquiry and surprise, "that eggs have -been found laid in the mountains by the birds of the air--eggs -bearing inscriptions which foretell that as Portugal has been -deserted at her utmost need by the House of Braganza, our brave old -king, Don Sebastian, of pious and glorious memory, will come to -protect and rule over us again." - -"Don Sebastian," said Quentin, who had heard this farrago of words -with some wonder; "how long is it ago since he was king?" - -Gil reckoned on his brown fingers, and then said-- - -"About two hundred and thirty years." - -"How--what?" exclaimed Quentin, thinking that he had not heard aright. - -"Exactly, senor; he was taken--some say killed--in battle by the -Moorish dogs at the battle of Alcazal-quiver, on the coast of Fez, in -1578; but his restoration to us is certain now." - -"And _eggs_, do you say, have prophesied this?" - -"By the soul of St. Anthony of Lisbon, yes! The miraculous legends -written on their shells told us so. I saw one with my own eyes as it -lay on the altar of the Estrella convent, where it had been brought -by the Marquis d'Almeida, who found it on the mountain of Cintra." - -"And you read the legend?" - -"No, senor--I cannot read; moreover, it was written in old Latin." - -"By whom, Senor Gil?" - -"God and St. Anthony only know," replied Gil, crossing himself after -dipping his fingers in a little clay font of _agua-bendita_ that hung -beside the mantelpiece. - -Now Quentin remembered the words of the stranger whom he had met by -the wayside cross, and whom he had last seen toiling up the mountain -with the aid of his staff, as he alleged, in search of eagles' nests. -He had some trouble to preserve his gravity, and probably nothing -enabled him to do so but his wonder at the perfect simplicity and the -good faith of this Portuguese peasant in the return of Lusitania's -long-lost hero. - -On inquiring further, he learned, for the first time, that there -still existed in Portugal the sect called of old "Sebastianists," -fondly cherishing a belief that their crusader king (who fell in -battle against Muley Moloc) was detained in an enchanted island, -where he was supernaturally preserved; and that they also cherished a -belief that he would reappear with all his paladins to deliver -Lusitania when at her utmost need! - -Portugal's utmost need had come and gone; Roleia and Vimiera had been -fought and won by Sir Arthur Wellesley; but still the Sebastianists -believed in the ultimate return and intervention of their favourite -hero, and eggs marked by the more cunning with some chemical agency, -bearing legends foretelling the event, were opportunely found and -exhibited: a puerile trick, which Marshal Junot, General de -Ribeaupierre, and others soon contrived to turn against the -inventors; for _other_ eggs bearing mottoes of very different import -were frequently found in the same places. - -A belief similar to that of the Sebastianists long lingered among the -Scots relative to their beloved James IV., who fell at Flodden; among -the Germans, regarding Frederick Barbarossa, who filled all Asia with -the terror of his name, and died on the banks of the Cydnus; among -the Britons concerning their fabulous Arthur of the Round Table; and -among the ancient Irish concerning some now unknown warrior named -Dharra Dheeling. But it was left for the poor Portuguese to be among -the last to console themselves under defeat and disaster with such -delusive hopes; and thus in the year of Vimiera, "many people," says -General Napier, "and those not of the most uneducated classes, were -often observed upon the highest points of the hills, casting earnest -looks towards the ocean, in the hopes of descrying the enchanted -island in which their long-lost hero was detained." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -DANGER IN THE PATH. - - "Beloved of glory, Spain! hail, holy ground! - All hail! thou chosen scene of deeds renown'd, - By warriors wrought in each progressive age, - Who struggled to repel th' oppressor's rage. - Tell thou the world how on thy favoured coast, - Our Wellesley fought, and Gaul her sceptre lost." - _Roncevalles--a Poem._ - - -Proceeding eastward next morning, Quentin was guided by Gil Llano for -some miles towards the Spanish frontier. To avoid all chance of -being seen by cavalry or foraging parties, the officers commanding -which were sometimes really ignorant rather than oblivious of the -actual line of demarcation between Spain and Portugal, the worthy -vinedresser conducted him by unfrequented but steep and devious -mountain paths, which left far on their right flank the little town -and fortress of Marvao, that lies in the Comarca of Portalegre, and -as they were now within six miles of Valencia de Alcantara, which was -the head-quarters of Ribeaupierre's cavalry brigade, the utmost -circumspection was necessary. - -The morning was one of singular loveliness; the white mists were -rolling up the green mountain sides from the greener valleys below, -and there was a peculiar freshness and fragrance in the atmosphere -which made Quentin feel buoyant and happy, for a time at least; the -sun was high in heaven, the dew was glittering on every herb and -tree, and the mountain scenery looked bright and glorious. - -The blood of our soldiers who fell at Roleia and Vimiera had not been -shed in vain for Portugal. Already signs of peace were visible in -her valleys and towns, and all was in repose along her frontier. -Thus Quentin could hear the lowing of oxen and the bleating of sheep -come pleasantly on the morning wind that passed over the green -sierra, bearing with it the odour of the orange groves in the valley -and of the flowering arbutus that bordered the way. - -In a hollow of the hills, Llano showed Quentin a lake, on the borders -of which some of the miraculous eggs had been found by Baltasar de -Saldos in a cypress grove; and he alleged that its waters had the -power of swallowing or sucking into the bowels of the earth whatever -was thrown therein, consequently not a leaf, or reed, or lotus were -to be seen floating there. - -"But its power, senor, is a mere joke when compared with that of the -lake of Cedima, which lies about eight leagues from Coimbra, and -which instantly swallows up the largest logs and trees, if cast -therein." - -"Is there a whirlpool in the centre?" asked Quentin. - -"Saints and angels only know what is in the centre; but in my -father's days--he was a farmer, senor, in the Quinta das -Lagrimas--there came a Danish cavalier who refused to credit the -story, and offered, mockingly, to cross the lake on horseback, in -presence of the Juiz-de-fora, the Reformator of the University, the -Alcalde of the city, and all the great lords of Coimbra. - -"After hearing the bishop (who is always Conde de Arganuil) say mass -in the church of Santa Cruz, and after partaking of the Holy -Communion before the altar there, he mounted his horse, and, in -presence of a vast multitude, proceeded to the lake of Cedima. Then -when he saw its black and ominous water that lay without a ripple in -the sunshine, his heart somewhat failed him, and lest the story of -the lake might be true, and lest his life might indeed be lost, on -perceiving a great stake, or the trunk of an old chestnut tree near -the edge, he tied a thick rope to it, securing the other end to his -right leg. Another rope of similar strength he tied to the neck of -his horse, a fine Spanish gennet, and giving him the spur, he uttered -a shout and plunged headlong into the water. - -"A little way the horse swam snorting, and then began to sink; ere -long his ears alone were visible! Then they too disappeared; the -water bubbled above his nostrils as his head went down; then the dark -water flowed over the rider's shoulders--then over his head, and -while a cry of dismay rose from the terrified people, the steed and -the stranger vanished together and were seen no more." - -"So the ropes proved of no service?" said Quentin. - -"The one that was about the neck of the horse was snapped right -through the centre; but at the end of the other was found the right -leg of the unfortunate Dane, torn off by the thigh, doubtless as the -downward current whirled him into the vortex; and so from that day a -belief in the waters of Cedima has been stronger than ever in -Portugal." - -"After the marvellous eggs and the enchanted island, I can easily -think so," said Quentin. - -When worthy Gil Llano (who expressed a hope to see him again if he -returned that way) had left him, with the information that from the -top of the next hill he would see Spain and the spires of Valencia de -Alcantara, Quentin proceeded all the more rapidly that he was now -alone, and his steps kept pace with the busy current of his thoughts. - -His whole ideas of the duty on which he had been sent were somewhat -vague. He had but three instructions given him: first, to avoid -Valencia (which the reader must not confound with the capital of the -kingdom of the same name); second, to reach Hereruela how he best -could; third, to deliver his despatch; and for the execution of this -he had been sent from Portalegre unsupplied either with money or -credentials to any Alcalde, Juiz-de-fora, or other civil or military -authority, in case of any difficulty arising. - -There were times--and this was one--when Quentin felt as if he were -again at Rohallion--at his home, for such he felt it to be--relating -all these adventures to those who were now there; to the kind and -soldier-like old Lord; to the courteous and gentle Lady Winifred; to -the old quartermaster, with his kind red face and yellow wig, while -Mr. Spillsby the butler and Jack Andrews loitered near to listen; to -the dominie, with his rusty blacks, his square shoe-buckles, and his -musty memories of the classics; and more than all, to Flora Warrender! - -And then, with these thoughts, there seemed to come to his ears the -pleasant rustle of the aged sycamores as the west wind shook their -branches, the cawing of the black rooks on the old grey keep, the -rush of the Lollards' Linn pouring under its arch and over its ledge -of rock; and to his fancy's eye the sierras of Portugal gave place to -the brown hills of Carrick, the distant Craigs of Kyle, and "the -bonnie blooming heather," or the waves of the Clyde as they boiled in -foam over the Partan Craig and climbed the dark headland of Rohallion. - -So the past returned and the present fled! - -Amid those cherished scenes he had long since left his happy boyhood. -Now he felt himself, as we have said, every inch a soldier and a man, -inspired by a sense of duty, of trust, and not a little by the love -of adventure natural to youth. The inborn ambition which the solid -weight of his knapsack and accoutrements, and all his sufferings when -on the march from Maciera Bay, had somewhat chilled; the high spirit -that Cosmo's hatred and cutting coldness had striven to crush, both -sprung up anew in his buoyant heart, and he felt it glowing with -hope, energy, and enthusiasm; and now, when he had reached the summit -of the mountain over which the road passed, and on issuing from a -narrow rocky defile, saw a vast extent of open country beyond, a -glorious and fertile landscape, all vibrating apparently in the rays -of the cloudless sun, he waved his cap and almost cried "hurrah!" for -he knew that he looked down on----Spain! - -Before him, as on a map, he saw the vast extent of Spanish -Estremadura stretching into distance far away, all steeped in a -lovely golden glow, the almost universal verdure of the landscape -relieved here and there by the water of the Salor and other minor -tributaries of the Tagus, winding like blue silk threads through -velvet of emerald green, dotted by thickets of chestnut, orange, and -cork trees; and there, too, were the strong embattled towers and the -spires of Valencia de Alcantara, with the tricolour on its greatest -bastion; and in the distance, half hid in saffron haze, through which -they loomed in purple tint, the ramparts of Albuquerque, on its steep -hill, the heritage of the Condes de Ledesma. Between these cities -lay a little puebla, which he knew must be San Vincente, near, but -not through which, lay his path to the hills that overlooked the -plain. - -Thoughts of the poetry, of the beauty, and romance of Spain came -thronging on his memory, and we must confess they formed an odd chaos -of cloaked cavaliers with guitars and rapiers; dark eyed donnas in -balconies, fluttering fans and veils; lurking rivals, with mask and -dagger; mountain robbers in high-crowned hats, with their legs -swathed in red bandages, after the orthodox fashion of all -melodramatic banditti. These, together with the solid splendour and -wonderful stories of the Alhambra, the wars of the high-spirited -Moors of Granada, ending so sadly in _el suspiro del Moro_, when the -warriors of Ferdinand and Isabella rent the banner of the Prophet -from the weak hand of Boabdil el Chico, not unnaturally made up his -stock ideas of the sunny land he looked upon. - -But it was the land of the Cid Campeador--he at whose name the eyes -of even the most unlettered Spaniard will lighten--for he was the -veritable and redoubtable Wallace of Castile against the enemies of -Christianity and the Christian's God. Such memories as these rushed -on Quentin's mind as he looked down on Estremadura; nor could he -forget, though last not least, that it was the native land of him -"who laughed Spain's chivalry away"--the illustrious Cervantes, the -one-handed soldier of Lepanto. - -A distant but unmistakeable sound of musketry reverberating among the -mountain peaks on his left, roused him somewhat unpleasantly from his -dream, bringing him all at once from the romance of the past to the -reality of present Spanish life. - -Several shots he heard distinctly pealing through the air; others -followed, and after an interval, two dropping shots, but at a greater -distance, as if they proceeded from some flying skirmishers. Then -all became still, and he heard only the voices of the birds as they -wheeled aloft in the sunshine or twittered among the arbutus leaves. - -The road, a narrow and rugged path now as it descended, passed -through a dark grove of wild pines; on issuing from which, Quentin's -nerves received somewhat of a shock on seeing a French light dragoon, -in pale green uniform, lying on his back quite dead, with the foam of -past agony on his lips, and the blood of a recent wound still oozing -from his left temple, through which a musket shot had passed. -Crushed, apparently by a horse's hoof, his light brass helmet lay -beside him. A few yards off lay another _Chasseur à cheval_, and -further off still lay a third, who seemed to have been dragged some -distance by his horse ere his foot had been disengaged from the -stirrup, for a bloody and dusty track was visible from where Quentin -stood to where the Chasseur lay. - -Quentin paused, for his heart beat wildly, and instinctively he -looked to the flints and pans of his pistols, his hands trembling as -he did so--with an excitement justifiable in one so young--but _not_ -with fear. - -These three unfortunates were the first Frenchmen--the first -slain--and, in fact (save the dead gipsy in the vault of Kilhenzie) -they were the _first_ dead men he had looked upon; thus he glanced -timidly, and while his heart swelled with pity, from one to the other. - -There they were, three smart and handsome young men, clad in showy -light cavalry uniforms, each perhaps a mother's pride and father's -hope, left dead and abandoned to the ravens, in that wild place, with -their white faces and glazed eyes staring stonily at the glorious -noonday sun, while the little birds came hopping and twittering about -them. - -Quentin's gentle soul was stirred within him; he was new to this -butcherly work, and war seemed wicked indeed! Those three rigid -figures--those three pale faces with fallen jaws, and those bloody -wounds, made a scaring and terrible impression upon him; but as he -continued hastily to descend the hill, and left them behind, he -foresaw not the callous heart and time that use and wont would bring. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE CHASSEUR À CHEVAL. - - "The soldier little quiet finds, - But is exposed to stormy winds, - And weather."--L'ESTRANGE. - - -After proceeding a little way, the sound of voices, as if engaged in -fierce altercation, made him pause and look round warily, pistol in -hand. He drew behind a gigantic Portuguese cypress that overshadowed -the way, and on reconnoitring, discovered two men engaged in a fierce -and deadly struggle. They were a French cavalry officer and a -Spanish guerilla. - -The Frenchman was almost in rags, for his silver epaulettes and green -uniform, covered with elaborate braiding, had been torn in his -conflict with the Spaniard, for, as they grappled, they rolled over -each other down a gravelly bank into the dry bed of a mountain -stream, where they only paused to draw breath before renewing the -contest, in which the guerilla was apparently getting the mastery. -He had a broadbladed dagger in his sash; but, as the Frenchman held -his wrists with a death-clutch, he was unable to use it. - -"Ah, sacré Dieu!" cried the officer, on whose breast the knees of the -guerilla were pressed without mercy; "I will yield on the promise of -quarter--even from you." - -"Dog of a Frenchman! May thy foot be heavy on my neck if I spare -thee!" was the hoarse and fierce response of the Spaniard, in whom -Quentin, with considerable interest, recognised his friend of the -wayside cross, whom he last saw going bird-nesting up the mountains -in search of the miraculous eggs. - -"Espanole," said the Frenchman, in tones of rage and entreaty -mingled, "would you kill a defenceless and unarmed man?" - -"Why not, if he is French? Who slew my aged father? Who slew my -mother--my sisters--all--all? Who deluged our home with blood, and -desolated it with fire?" - -"Not I--not I--spare me," exclaimed the Frenchman, as he felt his -strength failing him fast; "my mother, Spaniard--hound!--ah, ma -mère--ma mère--mon Dieu!" he added, with a hopeless groan; and these -two French words stirred some deep, keen chord, some long-forgotten -memory in the heart of Quentin, who felt his temples throbbing. - -"Maledita! the strife of our forefathers is but renewed," continued -the Spaniard, in his noble and forcible Castilian, through his -clenched teeth, while his eyes flashed fire, and his moustaches -seemed to bristle; "it is a war to the knife against dogs and -infidels, for what are Frenchmen but dogs and infidels, even as the -Moors were of old?" - -Again, without avail, the hapless Chasseur pleaded for his life; but -the more powerful conqueror heard him to an end, and then laughed -exultingly. - -"I am guiltless of all, of everything but doing my duty," he urged. - -"Duty!" repeated the other; "shall I tell you of our pillaged altars -and desecrated churches, of ruined cities and desolated villages; -shall I tell you of our slaughtered brethren, our outraged wives, -sisters, and ladies of the holy orders, some of whom have been bound -to gun-carriages, stripped, and exposed in the common streets and -plazas? Par Dios! these things are enough to call down Heaven's -thunder on the head of your accursed Corsican!" - -"Ah, morbleu!" gasped the Frenchman, "what a devil of a savage it is! -Peste! I assure you, monsieur, I have never touched even the tip of -a woman's hand since I had the misfortune to cross the Pyrenees. -Tudieu! the Emperor finds us other work and other things to think of." - -By a violent wrench the Spaniard now got his right hand free, and in -an instant, like a gleam of light, his long knife glittered as he -upheld it at arm's length above the poor young Frenchman, whose pale -face and dark eyes assumed a most despairing aspect. - -Quentin could no longer look on unmoved. - -"Hold--hold!" he exclaimed, and sprang towards them threateningly. - -"Oho, amigo mio," said the Spaniard, looking round with a saturnine -smile; "'tis my friend of the laurel bushes--the spit that looked -like a sword." - -"Hold, I say, Spaniard--would you murder him in cold blood?" - -"Demonio, yes; and you, too, if you would protect a soldier of the -false Corsican. Begone, and leave us, or it may be worse for you." - -"I shall not." - -"Maladita!" said the Spaniard, grinding his teeth, and clutching the -throat of the fallen man. - -"Release him, I say," demanded Quentin, resolutely. - -"Vaya usted con cien mill demonios," (Begone, with a hundred thousand -devils), said the Spaniard, absolutely, gnashing his strong white -teeth, which glistened beneath his black moustache. - -"Oh, sauvez moi, mon camarade," implored the poor Frenchman. - -"Thus, then, die--die en el santo nombre de Dios!" - -With this impious shout, the furious guerilla, or whatever he was, -raised the dagger which he had lowered for a moment; but ere it could -descend; Quentin, with lightning speed, snatched up the heavy cajado -which lay at his feet, and, loth to use a more deadly weapon against -a Spaniard, struck the guerilla a blow on the head and rolled him -over. A heavy malediction escaped him, and then he lay motionless -and still, completely stunned. - -Breathless with his recent struggle and its terrors, the French -officer lost no time in springing to his feet. - -"A thousand thanks to you, monsieur! But for you--there--there had -been a vacancy in my troop to-night. But here--come this way; we -have not a moment to lose, for the hills are full of these guerillas. -Peste! they are as thick as bees hereabout; and believe me, the men -of Baltasar de Saldos are not to be trifled with." - -As the Frenchman spoke, he seized Quentin by the sleeve, and half -led, half dragged him through the grove of pines; after which, they -ran down hill for more than a mile, till they reached the main-road -that led directly to Valencia the lesser, when Quentin paused, and -began to reflect that he was going very oddly about the deliverance -of Sir John Hope's despatch, a document that probably announced the -day on which the entire army would break up from its cantonments and -advance into Spain! - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -EUGENE DE RIBEAUPIERRE. - - "Ford. Well, he's not here I seek for. - Page. No, nor nowhere else but in your brain. - Ford. Help me to search my house this one time: if I - find not what I seek, show me no colour for my extremity, - let me for ever be your table sport; let them say of me, 'As - jealous as Ford, that searched hollow walnuts for his wife's - leman.'"--_Merry Wives of Windsor._ - - -Quentin Kennedy was only master of a certain amount of the Spanish -language, which he had rapidly acquired through the medium of his -friend the dominie's sonorous Scottish latinity; but fortunately the -young Frenchman, who seemed to be highly accomplished, spoke English -with remarkable fluency. - -His uniform, we have said, was in rags; his epaulettes had gone in -the recent struggle, the straps of lace for retaining them on the -shoulders alone remained. A hole in the breast of his light green -jacket showed where the gold cross of the Legion had been rent away -by some guerilla's hand, and the state of his scarlet pantaloons made -one see the advantage of wearing a kilt for pugnacious casualties, as -they were now reduced to mere shreds. - -He was a slender young man, in appearance only a year or two older -than Quentin, though really many years his senior in experience of -the world and of life generally. His hair, which he wore in -profusion, was dark brown and silky, and his hands, on one of which -sparkled a splendid ring, were white and almost ladylike. An -incipient moustache shaded his short upper lip; his features were -very regular, and he was so decidedly good-looking, that Quentin -could not help thinking that if he had a sister like him, she must be -charming! - -They quitted the highway and entered a dense thicket by the wayside, -where breathless, hot, and weary, they cast themselves on the cool -deep grass that grew under the leafy shade, and the last of the -contents of Quentin's canteen, divided between them, proved very -acceptable to both. - -"I perceive that you are a French officer," said Quentin; "may I ask -whom I have had the honour of succouring?" - -"Certainly, mon camarade; I am a sous-lieutenant of my father's -regiment, the 24th Chasseurs à Cheval--my name is Eugene de -Ribeaupierre." - -"Any relation of the general who commands in Valencia?" - -"A very near one," said he, laughing; "I am his son, and monsieur's -very obedient servant. Come! let us rest ourselves and talk a -little. The tap on the head you gave that Spaniard was most critical -and serviceable to me." - -"True--it only came just in time!" - -"I hope it may have despatched him outright." - -"I trust not, now that the end was accomplished." - -"Now that we have breathing time, you will perhaps excuse my little -curiosity, and say how you came to be here, within two or three miles -of our sentinels?" - -"The country is quite open," said Quentin, evasively, with a smile. - -"Your troops, we have heard, are closing up from Lisbon and -elsewhere; but have not as yet been rash enough to enter Spain, the -territories of King Joseph." - -"Rash, monsieur?" - -"Peste! I suppose your generals have not forgotten the sharp lessons -we taught them at Roleia and Vimiera?" - -Quentin laughed to hear the pleasant tone in which the Frenchman -spoke of two very important defeats of the Emperor's troops as -"lessons" to the British, but he said plainly enough, - -"I am here because I was sent on duty." - -"To whom, monsieur?" - -Quentin hesitated. - -"Nay, out with it, man--trust me, on my honour--I may well pledge it -to one who has saved me from a barbarous death within this hour, and -earned my warmest gratitude." - -"Well, then, I go to Don Baltasar de Saldos." - -"Diable! the man's a guerilla chief, and we have just had a severe -brush with his people. My patrol, consisting of a sergeant, a -corporal, and twelve chasseurs, were riding leisurely along the road -from San Vincente towards the summit of yonder mountain, when, from a -grove of cork and cypress trees, there flashed out some twenty -muskets. It was an ambush; the leading section of them fell dead; -the rest broke through, sabre à la main, and fled, pursued by the -guerillas, who sprang after them with the yells of fiends and the -activity of squirrels, leaping from bank to rock, and from rock to -tree, firing and reloading so long as we were in range. Struck by a -ball in the counter, my horse reared wildly up, and threw me; for -some minutes I was insensible, and on recovering, found myself in the -paws of yonder Spanish bear, who was thrice my bulk and strength. -You know the rest. I thought it was all up with me. As Francis said -at Pavia, 'tout est perdu, sauf l'honneur!' Baltasar's head-quarters -are in a mountain puebla near Herreruela, where he successfully -defies my father's cavalry. Am I right in supposing that you have -been sent to invite his co-operation in some projected movement?" - -"My orders were simply to deliver to him a despatch and rejoin my -regiment." - -"It is a dangerous and desperate errand, my friend," said the young -Frenchman, while regarding Quentin with some interest; "I mean -desperate to be undertaken by one alone. It looks almost like a -sacrifice of you!" - -"A sacrifice?" repeated Quentin, as his thoughts naturally wandered -to Cosmo. - -"Parbleu, yes--to the exigencies of the service." - -"Some of my friends were not slow in saying as much," replied -Quentin; "but then I--I am only a volunteer, and as such, must take -any hazardous duty, I have been told." - -"Well, here we must lurk till nightfall--you to avoid our patrols, -which are usually withdrawn for a few hours after the evening gun -fires, when the inlying picquet gets under arms; I to avoid those -pestilent guerillas. The shade here is cool, and if we had a bottle -of wine, a sliced melon, and a little ice, our pleasure would be -complete." - -"And you think I must conceal myself here?" - -"Undoubtedly, mon ami; our people are scouring all the highways, and -would be sure to cut you off. Then there is that devilish -Spaniard--ah, the brigand!--he will not be in haste to forget the -knock you gave him on the head, and should he or his comrades fall in -with you, I would not give you a sou for your safety!" - -"Strange, is it not, that the first man I have struck on Spanish -ground should be a Spaniard?" - -"These dons have unpleasant memories for such little attentions, and -here the secret shot or stab usually settles everything; but before -we separate, I shall have the honour of showing you the direct path -to the head-quarters of De Saldos, after which, you must look to your -pistols and put your trust in Providence. I shall keep your secret, -and if there is any other way in which I can serve you, command me." - -"I thank you; but I hope that to-night, or to-morrow morning at -latest, will see my face turned towards Portugal, for I long to -rejoin my corps." - -"The fugitives of my party will spread a calamitous report concerning -me in Valencia, and my father, the poor old general, will suppose -that I am lying shot on the mountains, instead of holding this -pleasant _tête-à-tête_ with one of the sacré Anglais over the -comfortable contents of his canteen," said Ribeaupierre, laughing. -"What a droll world it is!" - -"And your mother--I think I heard you mention your mother. She----" - -"Happily will know nothing about it, as she is with Joseph's court. -She is a gentle and loving creature, with a heart all tenderness. -Ah, the seat of war, would never do for her, and, ma foi! it doesn't -suit me either. It was not willingly I became a soldier, be assured; -and yet, now that I am fairly in for it, and have won my epaulettes -and cross, I should not like to find myself a mere citizen again. -Peste! I shall not in a hurry forget the night on which, by a great -malheur, a great mistake, I was forced to become a soldier." - -"Mistake--how?" asked Quentin, smiling at the young Frenchman's -gestures and energy. - -"Mon camarade, a man says more when under the influences of -eau-de-vie, or champagne, than he ever does under those of -vin-ordinaire, cold water, or a bowl of gruel; and, as your -remarkably potent rum-and-water has put me in that condition when a -man reveals his loves and hates, and, more foolish still, sometimes -his private history, I don't care if I tell you how I became a -soldier. - -"My father," began the garrulous chasseur, "is an officer of the old -days of the monarchy, and held his first commission, like the Emperor -himself, from Louis XVI., the Most Christian King, and they were -brother subalterns in the regiment of La Fere. To the friendship -that grew up between them there, the old gentleman owes his brigade -and the Grand Cross of the Legion, quite as much as to his own -bravery in Germany, Italy, and Flanders. My mother (or she at least -whom I have been taught to call my mother, for she is his second -wife,) was a widow of rank, who lost her whole possessions in the -stormy days of the Revolution. She was without children, and when my -father was assisting the Little Corporal to play the devil at Toulon, -Arcola, Lodi, Marengo, and elsewhere, she most affectionately took -charge of me, and of my education in Paris. - -"As we were not rich, it was proposed to make a doctor of me, and so -I was duly matriculated at the Ecole de Médecine, and commenced my -studies there, not with much enthusiasm or industry either; but in -the vague hope, nevertheless, that I might some day cut a figure and -have my portrait hung among the full lengths of Ambrose Paré, -Maréchal, La Peyronnie, and others in the school. - -"I look back with no small repugnance to the daily tasks I performed -there, and to the horrors of the dissecting-room, after boyish -curiosity grew satiated. My brain became addled by lectures on the -maxillary sinus, on diseases of the stomach, of the pylorus, the -hepatic and abdominal viscera; elephantiasis, aortic aneurism, the -lacteal and glandular system, and Heaven alone knows all what more, -till I imagined that I had alternately in my own person every ailment -peculiar to man. We had plenty of subjects, for daily the guillotine -was slicing away in the Place de la Grève, and I have seen the -loveliest women and the noblest men in France laid on those tables to -be stripped and dissected by the knife of the demonstrator. - -"I was soon voted the worst if not the most stupid student that ever -put his foot within the college walls. The professors were in -despair. They could make nothing of me; and to muddle my poor brain -more, about this time I must needs fall in love. Ah! I perceive -that you now become interested. I was not much over seventeen, and -my first love----" - -"First?" said Quentin. - -"_Oui--ma foi!_ I have had a dozen--was Madame Lisette Thiebault, a -friend of my mother." - -"A widow, of course?" - -"Not at all. She was unfortunately the wife of one of our doctors in -the Rue de l'Ecole de Medecine;" replied the _étourdi_ young -Frenchman. - -"Married!" said poor Quentin, somewhat aghast. - -"_Peste!_ of course she was; but we don't care for such little -obstacles in Paris. Well, Lisette, for so I must name her, was -nearly ten years my senior, and so had what she called a motherly -interest in me. She was a very handsome woman, somewhat inclined to -_embonpoint_, with a clear pale complexion and laughing eyes, exactly -the colour of her hair, which was a rich deep brown. She was always -gay, laughing and smiling, except when her husband, the doctor, was -present, and one could no more make fun with him, than with old Bébé." - -"Who, or what was he?" - -"The mummy of the King of Poland's dwarf--_Ouf!_ what a horror it -is!--which we have in the School of the Faculty at Paris. Lisette -was very fond of me, and, being a little addicted to literature--she -was fond of poetry, too--so we read much together. - -"Ere long, monsieur, the doctor began to think all this very -improper, so he rudely and abruptly put a stop to our studies; he -locked Ovid up, and me out. _Tudieu!_ here was an outrage! I -thought of inviting him to breathe the morning air on the Bois de -Boulogne; but a duel between a first-year's student and an old doctor -was not to be thought of. Madame had a tender heart, so she pitied -me. She considered her husband's conduct cruel, ungrateful, -outrageous, barbarous; so, as it was necessary that my classical -studies should not be neglected, we arranged a little code of -signals. Thus, Lisette, by simply keeping a drawing-room window open -or shut, or a muslin curtain festooned or closely drawn, could inform -me when Bluebeard was at home or abroad; whether the breach was -practicable or not; and thus we circumvented our tyrant for a time, -and I returned with ardour to the study of classical poetry; but as -for the dissecting-room, diable! it saw no more of me. - -"Of the doctor I had always a wholesome dread, as he was a -_Septembriseur_." - -"What is that?" asked Quentin, perceiving a dark expression shade the -face of Ribeaupierre. - -"'Tis a name we have in Paris for those who were concerned as aiders -or abettors of the horrible September massacres--he would have -thought no more of slily putting a bullet into me, than of killing a -wasp; thus, you see, I pursued the acquisition of knowledge under -difficulties. - -"Now came out the edict issued about eight years ago, for raising two -hundred thousand men for the army and marine, and every young man in -France had to inscribe his name for the conscription. I omitted--we -shall call it delayed--to inscribe mine; but my learned friend, M. le -Docteur Thiebault, unknown to me, performed that little service in my -behalf. He was extremely loth that the Republic--it was the glorious -indivisible Republic of liberty, equality, fraternity, and tyranny -then--should be deprived of my valuable aid by land or sea. - -"About the time when he usually returned from visiting his patients, -I had bidden adieu to madame, for our studies were over, and in the -dusk of the evening was on my way home when surprised by a patrol of -the police under a commissaire, at the corner of the Rue Ecole de -Médecine. To avoid them I shrunk into a porch, but they invited me -rather authoritatively to come forth, and on my doing so, a sergeant -passed his lantern scrutinizingly across my face. - -"'A young man,' said the commissaire, who was new in the quartier; -'who are you?' - -"'I am not obliged to say,' said I. - -"'Ah--we shall see that; what are you?' - -"'A student of the Faculty of Médecine. Vive la République! War to -the cottage--peace to the castle!' I replied, waving my hat. - -"'Is your name inscribed for the levy, blunderer? You quote oddly -for a student!' - -"'Of course my name is inscribed,' said I, boldly, though I little -knew that it was so. - -"'Show me your card which certifies this.' - -"'Mon Dieu!' I exclaimed, as a brilliant thought occurred to me; 'do -not speak so loud, monsieur.' - -"'Diable; may we not raise our voices in the streets of Paris?' he -asked. - -"'Not if you knew the mischief an alarm would do me.' - -"'Tête Dieu! 'tis an odd fellow, this!' - -"'Monsieur, pity me!' said I, in a voice full of entreaty. 'I throw -myself upon your generosity--I perceive that I melt your heart. I -have not my card; it is with my wife----' - -"'Morbleu! you are very young to have a wife, my friend, with a chin -like an apple,' said the grim old sergeant, as he passed his lantern -across my face again; 'I hope she is fully grown; but to the point, -my fine fellow, or we shall have to march you to the Conciergerie, -and they have an unpleasant mode of pressing questions there.' - -"'Where is this wife of yours, my little friend?' - -"'In her house, M. le Commissaire, where you see that light above the -lamp with the scarlet bottle. Ah, the perfidious! There she awaits -a lover for whom I am watching.' - -"I acted my part to the life, though jealousy is not a peculiarity of -French husbands. - -"'And this lover?' said the commissaire, becoming suddenly -interested, perhaps from some fellow-feeling. - -"'He is a young brother student of mine.' - -"'His name?' said the commissaire, producing a note-book. - -"'Eugene de Ribeaupierre.' - -"'We know him,' said the other, 'for the greatest young rascal in all -Paris. He destroyed a tree of liberty in the Palais Royal, and -painted the nose of Equality red in the Jardin des Plantes.' - -"'The same, monsieur,' said I, in a whining voice; 'he will come here -disguised in a grey wig and spectacles to delude you, M. le -Commissaire, and me too, unhappy that I am. Ah, mon Dieu, there he -is! there he is! Seize him, in the name of morality and justice, of -the République Démocratique et Sociale!' - -"The patrol instantly laid violent hands on the person of Doctor -Thiebault, who, to do him justice, made a violent resistance, and -broke the sergeant's lantern, to the tune of twenty francs, before he -was borne off to the Conciergerie, where he passed three days and -nights in a horrid vault among thieves and malefactors, before he was -brought up for examination, when it was discovered that it was not a -young student, but an old professor of the healing art, standing high -in the estimation of all Paris, who had been maltreated and carried -off by the watch. - -"So the whole story came out, and on the fourth day I found myself -off _en route_ to join my father's corps of Chasseurs à Cheval, then -serving against the Austrians. My good mother shed abundance of -tears at my departure; the Abbé Lebrun gave me abundance of good -advice and a handful of louis d'or, which I considered of more value, -and in a month after I found myself face to face with the white coats -in the forest of Frisenheim, on the left bank of the Rhine. - -"As a parting gift my dear friend Lisette had given me a holy medal -to save me from bullets and so forth; but, diable! it nearly cost me -my life, for one of the first balls fired near Oggersheim beat it -into my ribs; the ball came out, but the blessed medal stuck fast, -and all the skill of our three doctors was required to extract it, so -after three months I found myself again in my beloved Paris on sick -leave." - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE GALIOTE OF ST. CLOUD. - -"To be generous, guiltless, and of free disposition, is to take those -things for bird-bolts that you deem cannon-bullets. There is no -slander in an allowed fool, though he do nothing but rail; nor no -railing in a known discreet man, though he do nothing but -reprove."--_Twelfth Night._ - - -"So," resumed Ribeaupierre, "this was the way in which I became one -of the 24th Chasseurs à Cheval, in the service of the Republic one -and indivisible, as it boasted to be, as well as democratic and -social; and how I now find myself a sous-lieutenant, under the -Emperor, whom God long preserve!" - -"And Lisette?----" - -"Bah! in my absence I found that she had taken to study poetry with -M. Grobbin, a grenadier of the Consular Guard, the same who was the -cause of the First Consul issuing his remarkable order of the day, -concerning that Parisian weakness for destroying oneself, in the -passion named love. Did you never hear of it?" - -"No." - -"Ma foi! You English know nothing that is acted out of your foggy -little island." - -"And this order----" - -"Stated that as the Grenadier Grobbin had destroyed himself in -despair, for his dismissal by Madame de Thiebault, the First Consul -directed that it should be inserted in the order of the day for the -Consular Guard, 'that a soldier ought to know how to subdue sorrow -and the agitation of the passions; that there is as much courage in -enduring with firmness the pains of the heart as remaining steady -under the grape-shot of a battery; and to abandon oneself to grief -without resistance, to kill oneself in order to escape from it, is to -fly from the field of battle before one is conquered!' The order was -signed by Bonaparte, as First Consul, and countersigned by Jean -Baptiste Bessières." - -"Have you ever seen the Emperor?" asked Quentin. - -"Once, mon ami--only once." - -"In the field?" - -"No; but nearer than I ever wish to see him again, under the same -circumstances at least. Shall I tell you how it was?" - -"If you please." - -"Well, monsieur, it happened in this way. I had just been appointed -a sous-lieutenant in the 24th Chasseurs à Cheval; we had returned -from service in Italy, and were quartered at St. Cloud, where we were -soon tired of the gardens, cafés, waterworks, and so forth. A few of -us had been on leave in Paris for some days, where our spare cash and -prize money were soon spent among the theatres, operas, feasting, and -other means of emptying one's purse, so we were returning cheaply to -barracks by the galiote, which then used to traverse the great bend -of the Seine every morning, leaving the Pont Royal about ten o'clock -for St. Cloud; the voyage usually lasted about two hours, and cost us -only sixteen sous each. - -"On this occasion, as the morning was very wet, the canvas covering -was drawn close, and as we had the galiote all to ourselves--save one -person, a stranger--we were very merry, very noisy, and very much at -home indeed, proceeding to smoke without the ceremony of asking this -person's permission, for which, indeed, we cared very little, as he -appeared to be a plain little citizen some five feet high, about -thirty-six years of age, and possessing a very sombre cast of face, -over which he wore a rather shabby hat drawn well down, a grey -greatcoat with a queer cape, and long boots; and he appeared to be -completely immersed in the columns of his newspaper. - -"We were conversing with great freedom concerning the consulate, -which was just on the point of expanding into an empire, and our -senior lieutenant, Jules de Marbœuf (now our lieutenant-colonel) -was named by us 'Monseigneur le Maréchal Duc de Marbœuf, and -master of the horse to Pepin le Bref.' Then we ridiculed -unmercifully the proposal of the Tribune Citizen Curée, that the -First Consul should be proclaimed Emperor, and in this quality -continue the government of the French _Republic_. - -"'Peste! what a paradox it is!' exclaimed Jules, emitting a mighty -puff of smoke, as he lounged at length upon the cushioned seat of the -galiote. - -"'And the Imperial dignity is to be declared hereditary in his -family,' I added, impudently, reclosing one of the openings in the -awning, which the quiet stranger had opened, as our smoking evidently -annoyed him. - -"'In three days _the pear will be ripe_; France will become an -appanage of Corsica, and I shall obtain my diploma as peer and -marshal of France,' exclaimed Jules with loud voice; 'and you, -Eugene----' - -"'Oh, I shall be Minister of War to the Little Corporal.' - -"'Bravo!' said the others, clapping their hands; 'we shall all pick -up something among the ruins of this vulgar and tiresome Republic.' - -"'M. le Citoyen,' said Jules, with affected courtesy, 'I perceive the -smoke annoys you--you don't like it--eh?' - -"'No, monsieur,' replied the other briefly and sternly. - -"'Then M. le Citoyen had better land, for before we reach St. Cloud, -he will be smoked like a Westphalian ham.' - -"'Take care, Jules,' said I, 'the citizen may be a fire-eater--some -devil of a fellow who spends half his days in a shooting gallery.' - -"'_Parbleu_, he doesn't look much like a fire-eater; but perhaps -monsieur is an editor--an author?' suggested Jules, with another long -puff. - -"'Exactly,' said I; 'he is an author.' - -"'Of what?' - -"'The famous _Voyage à Saint Cloud par mer, et retour par terre_, -taking notes for a new edition.' - -"This sally produced a roar of laughter, on which the citizen -suddenly folded his paper and prepared to rise, as we were now close -to St. Cloud. - -"'Don't forget to record, M. l'Editeur, that last week I pulled a -charming young girl out of the river close by.' - -"'Trust you didn't pull her hair up by the roots, Jules,' said one. - -"'Or rumple her dress?' said another. - -"'Fie!' I exclaimed; 'but you will give us each a copy, M. l'Editeur?' - -"'On receiving your cards, messieurs,' replied the other with a grim -smile. - -"'Here is mine--and mine--and mine,' said we, thrusting them upon him. - -"'And here is mine' said he, presenting to Jules an embossed card, on -which was engraved 'Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul.' - -"We remained as if paralysed, unable either to speak or move; but the -justly incensed First Consul, after quitting the galiote, which was -now moored alongside the quay, said to a gentleman whose uniform -proclaimed him a general officer, and who seemed to be waiting -there,-- - -"'Bessières, take the swords of these gentlemen, who are to be placed -under close arrest, and send the colonel of the 24th Chasseurs to me -instantly.' - -"His massive features were pale as marble; his keen dark eyes shot -forth a lurid glare; his lips were compressed with concealed fury, -and we all trembled before the terrible glance of this little man in -long boots. Ah, mon Dieu! what a moment it was! How foolish, how -triste, how crestfallen we all looked. - -"'Your name, monsieur?' said he suddenly to me. - -"'Eugene de Ribeaupierre,' said I, with a profound salute. - -"'Any relation to the officer who bears that name, and who was -captain-lieutenant in the Regiment de La Fere?' - -"'I am his only son, monseigneur.' - -"'That reply has saved you and your companions from degradation and -imprisonment; but still you must be taught, messieurs, that to -protect, and not to insult the citizen, is the first duty of a -soldier. To your quarters, messieurs, and report yourselves under -arrest until further orders!' - -"The authoritative wave of his hand was enough, and we slunk away -with terrible forebodings of the future. A severe reprimand was -administered through Bessières; but whether it was that our political -opinions had been uttered too freely, or that the First Consul had no -wish to see the 24th figure in the forthcoming pageant of his -coronation as Emperor, I know not, but on the day following our -precious voyage to St. Cloud, we got the route for Genoa, so that was -my first and last meeting with our glorious Emperor, whose name I -have made a _cri de guerre_ in many a battle and skirmish, and for -whom I am ready to die!" he added, with genuine enthusiasm. "Sunset! -there goes the gun in Valencia," he exclaimed, as the boom of a -cannon pealed through the still air. "The evening is advancing, -monsieur, and we must part, unless you will accompany me to Valencia." - -"Impossible!" said Quentin. - -"I will gage my word of honour for your safety there and safe-conduct -to the mountains," said he, as they issued cautiously from the -thicket upon the highway. - -"I thank you, but I am most anxious to complete my task." - -"_Tres bien_--so be it; then we part at yonder cypress-tree. Hola! -what have we here--a dead horse--the charger of one of my men?" -exclaimed Ribeaupierre, as they came suddenly upon a cavalry-horse -lying dead, with all his housings and trappings on, by the wayside. -"It is the horse of Corporal Raoul, one of the three men who fell in -the ambuscade--several bullets have struck the poor nag, and it has -galloped here only to bleed to death. Raoul was a devil of a fellow -for plunder; I know that he always carried something else than -pistols in his holsters--let us see." - -Unbuttoning the flaps of the holsters, Ribeaupierre drew forth a -pistol from each, and these, as they were loaded, he retained; but at -the bottom of one holster-pipe he found a canvas bag. "Parbleu, look -here! Raoul, poor devil, thought no doubt to spend these among the -girls in Paris. Plunder, every sou of it," he added, tumbling among -the grass a heap of gold moidores, which are Portuguese coins, each -worth twenty-seven shillings sterling. "This is Raoul's share of the -sacking of Coimbra, which the Portuguese permitted themselves to make -such a hideous bawling about. It was the plunder of the living, so -you may as well have a share of it _now_ that it is the spoil of the -dead." - -"Who--I?" said Quentin, hesitating. - -"Take it--_ma foi!_" - -"Can I do so?" - -"I should think so; what--would you leave it here to fall into -Spanish hands, or be buried with a dead horse?" said Ribeaupierre, as -he rapidly divided the money, which amounted to one hundred and sixty -pieces in all. "'Tis eighty moidores each; a sum like that is not to -be found often by the wayside." - -He almost thrust his share into Quentin's pocket, and a few minutes -after, they bade each other warmly adieu, with little expectation of -ever meeting again. - -Ribeaupierre pursued his way towards Valencia de Alcantara, while, -following his direction, Quentin proceeded towards the hills near -Herreruela, the rocky peaks of which were yet gleaming in crimson -light, though the sun had set. - -He seemed still to hear the pleasant voice, and to see the dark and -expressive face of his recent companion as he trod lightly on, -clinking his moidores, happy that he was now master of a sum -amounting to more than a hundred pounds sterling, which would enable -him to repay his dear old friend the quartermaster, and would amply -supply his own wants while on service, for some time at least. - -It was a remarkable stroke of good fortune, and he reflected that but -for his meeting with Ribeaupierre, he might have passed without -examining the dead troop-horse that lay by the wayside; he reflected -further, that but for the turn taken happily by the episodes of the -day, he might have fallen into the hands of a French patrol, and been -now, with his despatch, in safe keeping within the walls of Valencia. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE GUERILLA HEAD-QUARTERS. - - "I made a mountain brook my guide, - Through a wild Spanish glen, - And wandered, on its grassy side, - Far from the homes of men. - It lured me with a singing tone, - And many a sunny glance, - To a green spot of beauty lone, - A haunt for old romance."--MRS. HEMANS. - - -Save in the west, where the hues of crimson and gold predominated, -the sunset sky was all of a pale violet. Though the mountain peaks -were rough and barren, and the plains of Estremadura, long abandoned -and for ages uncultivated, were waste and wild in general, the road -by which Quentin proceeded towards Herreruela lay through rich -scenery and land that was fertile. - -The tall Indian corn had been reaped, but its thick brown stubble -remained. In some places it had too evidently been destroyed by fire -to keep it from the French, or by them to harass and distress the -Spaniards. The olive and the vine grew wild by the wayside; the -orange tree and the leafy lime, the fig, and the prickly pear were -frequently mingled in the same place with the variegated holly, while -the myrtle and the lavender flower loaded the air with sweet perfume. - -Darkness came rapidly on; the reddened summits of the sierra grew -sombre, the western flush of light died away, and ere long Quentin -found himself traversing a steep and gloomy road, that led right into -the heart of the mountains. - -A sound that came on the night wind made him pause and listen. - -It was the great bell of Valencia de Alcantara--the same that had -rung so joyously when the Christian cavaliers of Salamanca defended -the wild gorge through which the Tagus rolls at Al-Kantarah (_the -bridge_ of the Moors)--and it was now tolling the hour of ten. - -Ribeaupierre was now with his friends and comrades, doubtless -recounting his adventures and his escape, by the aid of a British -soldier. A knowledge of this caused Quentin some anxiety, lest among -the listeners, there might be some who had neither the gratitude nor -the chivalry of the young chasseur, and who might take means to cut -off his return to Portugal, for he was now fully aware of the risk he -ran on the Spanish side, and began to see something of the snare into -which he had fallen. - -As the last stroke of the bell died away on the wind, a sense of -intense loneliness came over Quentin's heart; the sound seemed to -come from a vast distance, and the narrow road he was traversing -penetrated into the mountains, which seemed to become darker and -steeper on each side of it; but there is something intoxicating in -the idea of peril to a gallant soul. It kindles a glorious -enthusiasm at times, and thus he marched manfully on till a voice in -Spanish, loud, sonorous, and ringing, demanded in a military manner-- - -"_Quien esta ahi?_" (Who comes there?) - -"_Gente de paez_," replied Quentin, while the rattle of a musket and -the click of the lock as it was cocked came to his ear, and he saw -the dark outline of a human figure appear suddenly in the centre of -the path. - -"_Estere ahi_ (Stay there), and say from whence you come," said the -challenger again. - -Quentin naturally paused before replying, as he know not by whom he -was confronted, and could only make out a tall figure wearing a -slouched sombrero, by the pale light of the stars. - -"Presto--quick!" continued the stranger, slapping the butt of his -musket; "from whence come you?" - -"The British cantonments," replied Quentin, conceiving the truth to -be the wisest answer to a Spaniard. - -"_Bueno!_ why didn't you say so at once?" exclaimed the other; "but -what seek you here?" - -"I am bearer of a despatch for Don Baltasar dc Saldos. Am I right in -supposing you are one of his people?" - -"Si, senor; this is his head-quarters." - -By this time Quentin had come close to the questioner, who still kept -his bayonet at the charge, and who seemed to be a Spanish peasant, -accoutred with crossbelts and cartridge-box. He was posted on the -summit of a hastily-constructed earthwork, which was formed across -the road in a kind of gorge through which it passed; and there, too, -were in position three brass field-pieces, French apparently, loaded -no doubt with grape or canister to sweep the steep and narrow -approach. - -Beside them lounged a guard of some forty men or so, muffled in their -cloaks, smoking or sleeping, but all of whom sprang to their feet and -to their weapons as Quentin approached. He had now taken off his -grey coat to display his scarlet uniform, and, when one of the guard -held up a lantern to take a survey of him, loud vivas and mutterings -of satisfaction and welcome greeted him on all sides. - -"Senors, where shall I find Don Baltasar?" he inquired. - -"At his quarters in the puebla, senor. Lazarillo, conduct the senor -to De Soldas," said one who seemed to exercise some authority over -the rest: "but I fear you will find him busy at present. At what -time are those French prisoners to be despatched?" - -"Midnight, Senor Conde," replied he whom he had named Lazarillo. - -"It wants but half an hour to that," said the guerilla officer, who -was no other than the Conde de Maciera, as he looked at his watch; -and it was with emotions of intense pleasure and satisfaction that -Quentin found himself proceeding towards the mountain village which -formed the head-quarters of the formidable guerilla chief, and thus -acting, as he hoped, the last scene in the task assigned him; but he -knew little of the people among whom he was thrown, for in character -they are unlike all the rest of Europe. - -"Nature and the natives," says a traveller, "have long combined to -isolate still more their peninsula, which is already moated round by -the unsocial sea. The Inquisition all but reduced the Spanish man to -the condition of a monk in a wall-enclosed convent, by standing -sentinel and keeping watch and ward against the foreigner and his -perilous novelties. Spain, thus unvisited and unvisiting, became -arranged for _Spaniards only_, and has scarcely required conveniences -which are more suited to the curious wants of other Europeans and -strangers, who here are neither liked, wished for, or even thought -of--natives who never travel except on compulsion, and never for -amusement--why, indeed, should they?" - -Late though the hour, the guerillas, a loose and, of course, -disorderly force at all times, seemed all astir in their quarters. -By the clear starlight Quentin could see that the street consisted of -humble cottages bordering the way, with red-tiled roofs, over nearly -every one of which a huge old knotty vine was straggling. At one end -rose a strong old archway, "old," Lazarillo said, "as the days of -King Bomba," and there, when the puebla had been a place of greater -pretension, a gate had closed the thoroughfare by night. - -Now there was no barrier save a bank of earth and rubbish, hastily -thrown up, and a couple of field-pieces mounted thereon seemed to -hint the rigour with which intruders would be prosecuted; in short, -it prevented any sudden surprise in that direction. There were -lights--pine-torches or candles--burning in all the houses, and, as -he passed the windows, Quentin could perceive the dark-bearded faces, -the striking figures, and varied costumes of the guerillas. Various -groups of them thronged the little street, and a company of them were -parading, under arms, before the largest house in the puebla. - -"That is the posada, senor," said Quentin's guide. "There Don -Baltasar resides; but we have come too late to speak with him, at -least until his work is done." - -"His work," repeated Quentin, inquiringly; "what is about to be done?" - -"_Por Dios!_ you shall soon see," he replied with a grin, as a number -of men bearing blazing pine torches issued from the large house, -which the guide styled the posada, and, by the united light of these, -Quentin was enabled to behold a strange, a wild, and very awful scene. - -As a drum only half braced was hoarsely beaten, the guerillas came -swarming out of the wayside cottages in hundreds, and a singularly -savage but picturesque set of fellows they were. All were strong and -hardy Castilians; many were exceedingly handsome both in face and -form, and there was scarcely one among them that might not have -served as a model for a sculptor or a study for an artist. - -Their Spanish peasant costumes, in some instances were sombre and -tattered, in others new and gay; the jackets, olive or claret colour, -being gaudily embroidered, and worn over the scarlet or yellow sashes -which girt the short, loose trousers. Many were bare-legged and -bare-footed, and many wore long leather abarcas. Not a few wore -fanciful uniforms of all colours, among which Quentin recognised the -brown coats of the Spanish line, and a few scarlet, which had no -doubt been stripped from the dead at Roleia and Vimiera, as they -seemed to have belonged to the 29th regiment, and the Argyllshire -Highlanders. - -Most of them wore the native sombreros; many had their coal-black -locks gathered in a net of scarlet twine, or bound by a large yellow -handkerchief, the fringed end of which floated on the left shoulder, -while others sported regimental shakos and staff cocked-hats. All -were armed with long Spanish guns, sabres, pistols, and daggers, and -all nearly were cross-belted with cartridge-box and bayonet. - -In one or two instances the closely-shaven chin and the tonsure, but -ill-concealed by the half-grown hair, indicated the unfrocked friar, -who had taken up arms inspired by patriotism or revenge against the -destroyers of convents, or it might be to have a turn once more in -the world, while the state of Spain loosed all ties, divine as well -as human. - -Half hidden in the shadow of the starlight night, and half thrown -forward into the strong red glare of the upheld pine torches that -streamed in the wind, the figures of those in the foreground and -those flitting about in the rear--the varied colours of their -costumes, their black beards and glittering eyes, their flashing -weapons, together with the rude mountain village, with its old and -time-worn archway, made altogether a strangely wild and picturesque -scene. - -But its darker and more terrible features are yet to be described. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -A REPRISAL. - - "Proud of the favours mighty Jove has shown, - On certain dangers we too rashly run; - If 'tis His will our haughty foes to tame, - Oh, may this instant end the Grecian name! - Here far from Argos let their heroes fall, - And one great day destroy and bury all!" - _Iliad_ xiii. - - -Quentin's nerves received something like an electric shock when, on -proceeding a little further forward, he saw a line consisting of -sixteen poor French prisoners, partly bound by ropes, standing in -front of the rudely-formed rampart which closed up the archway, and -in front of them were four large pits, whose appalling shape and -aspect left no doubt that they were to be the premature graves of the -unfortunate men who now stood in health and strength beside them. - -Those sixteen persons were of various ranks, as four at least seemed -by their silver epaulettes to be officers, and medals and crosses -glittered on the breasts of several. Their uniform was dark blue, -lapelled with red, and all the privates wore large shoulder-knots of -scarlet worsted. They were all French infantry men, taken in some -recent skirmish. Bareheaded, they stood a sad-looking line, and in -their pale but war-bronzed faces, on which the flickering glare of -the torches fell with weird and wavering gleams, there seemed to be -no ray of hope for mercy or reprieve at the hands of their captors, -who were about to sacrifice them in the horrid spirit of reprisal -which then existed between the Spanish guerillas and the French -invaders. - -"Good heavens!" said Quentin, in an agitated whisper; "are these men -about to be shot?" - -"Si, senor--every one of them!" - -"For what reason?" - -"Being on the wrong side of the Pyrenees," replied the Spaniard, with -a cruel grin. - -"Shot--and without mercy?" - -"Precisely so, senor." - -"By whose order?" - -"One who does not like his orders questioned--Don Baltasar de Saldos." - -"Is he capable of such an act?" - -"Capable! Santiago! The French have made his heart as hard as if it -had been dipped in the well of Estremoz (beyond the mountains), which -turns everything to flinty rock." - -As if to enhance the torture of their anticipated doom, the Spaniards -went slowly and deliberately about the selection of a firing party, -which consisted of no less than sixty men, who loaded in a very -irregular manner, and, as their steel ramrods flashed in the -torch-light and went home with a dull thud on the ball cartridges, a -thrill seemed to pass through the prisoners. - -One, a grim-visaged and grey-moustached old captain of grenadiers, -folded his arms, shrugged his shoulders, and smiled in scorn and -defiance. Doubtless, since the fall of the Bastile and the days of -the barricades, he had seen human lives lavished with a recklessness -that hardened him; but there was another officer who covered his face -with his handkerchief and wept; not in cowardice, for his gallant -breast was covered with the medals of many an honourable field; but -perhaps his heart at that moment was far away with his wife and -little ones in some sunny vale of Languedoc, or by the banks of the -silvery Garonne. - -Some had their teeth clenched, and their eyes wearing a wild glare of -hate, of fear, and defiance mingled; some there were who seemed -scarcely conscious of the awful doom prepared for them, and some -glanced wistfully and fearfully at the newly-dug pits which were to -receive them when all was over. - -Some were occupied by external objects, and the eyes of one followed -earnestly the course of a falling star of great beauty and -brilliance, which vanished behind the hills of Albuquerque. - -A guerilla, clad in somewhat tattered black velvet, now took off his -sombrero, and in doing so, displayed, by a pretty plain tonsure, that -he was an unfrocked or degraded priest; but now inspired by something -of his former holy office, he held up a small crucifix, and -exclaimed-- - -"Frenchmen, if any man among you is a true son of the Church, I pray -God and the Blessed Madonna to receive him, and have mercy on his -soul!" - -"That is the Padre Trevino, our second in command," whispered -Lazarillo; "and he is the best shot among us." - -As Trevino spoke, the sixteen prisoners and all the onlookers, -crossed themselves very devoutly. Some of the doomed closed their -eyes, and by their muttering, seemed to be praying very earnestly. -Intensity of emotion seemed to render them all more or less athirst, -as they were seen to moisten their pale lips with their tongues. - -The stern grey-haired captain on the right alone seemed unmoved; he -had neither a prayer to give to Heaven or to earth, and thus stood -gazing stonily and grimly at his destroyers. - -"On your knees, senors! on your knees!" said Trevino. - -"Never to Spaniards!" replied the old captain. - -"Are they really in earnest, M. le Capitaine?" asked the prisoner -next him, a mere youth. - -"Earnest--ma foi! I should think so, Louis." - -"Ah, mon Dieu--to be shot thus--it is terrible!" he exclaimed, in a -piercing voice. - -"On your knees, Frenchmen," repeated the militant friar, "not to us, -but to God!" - -"To the blessed God, then," said the old captain; "kneel, comrades; -'tis the last word of command you will ever hear from me." - -They all knelt, and now the firing party came forward three paces-- - - ----"a death-determined band, - Hell in their face and horror in their hand." - -And forming line about twenty paces from the prisoners, shouldered -arms. Then Quentin felt his excited heart beating painfully in his -breast, and he held his breath as if suffocating. From the shoulder -the muskets were cast to the "ready," and then followed the terrible -clicking of the sixty locks, a sound that made the youngest victim, -who had been named Louis, a fair-haired lad (some poor conscript, -torn from his mother's arms, perhaps), to shudder very perceptibly -and close his eyes; and now came the three fatal and final words of -command from the unfrocked friar. - -"Camaradas, preparen las armas!" - -"Apunten!" - -("Vive la France! Vive l'Empereur!" cried the old captain, -defiantly.) - -"FUEGO!" - -The straggling volley of musketry broke like a thunder peal upon the -silence of the night, and echoed with a hundred reverberations among -the mountains, till it was heard, perhaps, by the sentinels in -Valencia. Red blood spirted from the wounds of the victims, some of -whom leaped wildly up and fell heavily on the ground. The grey smoke -rolled over them in the torch-light, and when it was lifted upward -like a vapoury curtain by the midnight wind, Quentin could see the -sixteen hapless Frenchmen all lying upon the earth. Six were -screaming in agony, imploring the Spaniards to end it--to finish the -vile work they had begun--writhing in blood and beating the ground -with their heels; but then there were ten, who, alas! lay still -enough, with red currents streaming from the wounds in their yet -quivering corpses. - -Half killed and gasping painfully, the old French captain struggled -into a sitting posture, but fell back again, as another volley poured -in at ten paces ended the butchery. - -In a few minutes more they were stripped, even to their boots, and -flung quite nude and scarcely cold into the pits at the foot of the -breastwork, four being cast into each. - -In the pocket of the poor officer who had wept there was found a -lady's miniature, and three locks of fair hair that had evidently -belonged to little children. The loose earth was heaped over the -dead, the torches were extinguished, and, like a dissolving view or -some horrible phantasmagoria, the whole affair passed away and was -over. - -In the horror excited by the scene and all its details, Quentin -forgot his mission, his despatch, almost his own identity; a sickness -and giddiness came over him, till he was roused by the voice of -Lazarillo, his guide, who said in the most matter-of-fact way-- - -"Follow me, senor--perhaps Don Baltasar can receive you now." - -The house to which he was conducted was the most important in the -place, and had been for ages its chief posada or caravanserie, where -the muleteers passing between Oporto, Lisbon, and the southern and -eastern provinces of Spain, had been wont to halt and refresh. It -was said to have been for a time the residence of the Scoto-Spaniard -Don Iago Stuart, who, with the _Sabrina_ and _Ceres_, two Spanish -frigates, fought Lord Nelson for three hours in the Mediterranean, in -1796, with the loss of one hundred and sixty men. - -The under story was appropriated to the stabling of horses, mules, -and burros, and from thence a rickety wooden stair led to the upper -floor, the walls of which were cleanly whitewashed, the floors -covered, not with carpets, which in Spain would soon become -intolerable with insects, but with thin matting made of the esparto -grass or wild rush. - -Military arms and household utensils were hung upon the walls or -placed on the wooden shelves; the stiff-backed chairs and sofas were -already occupied by some of the before-mentioned picturesque and -motley actors in the late scene, and a large branch candlestick, that -whilom had evidently figured on the altar of some stately church, -with its cluster of sputtering candles, gave light to the long -apartment, and enabled Quentin to examine it, and to see seated at -the upper end, a man in a kind of uniform, writing, occasionally -consulting an old and coarsely engraved map of Alentejo, and -referring from time to time to the Padre Trevino and others, who -leaned on their muskets, and who, lounging and laughing, smoked their -cigaritos about his chair. - -This personage wore a black velvet jacket fancifully embroidered with -silver; a pair of British Light Infantry wings, also of silver, -probably stripped from some poor 29th man who fell at Roleia, were on -his shoulders. He wore a gorgeous Spanish sash, with a buff cavalry -waist-belt and heavy Toledo sabre in a steel scabbard. His sombrero, -adorned by a gold band and large scarlet plume, was stuck very much -on one side of his head, as if he were somewhat of a dandy; but -underneath it was tied a handkerchief, deeply saturated with the -blood of a recent wound. - -"Senor Don Baltasar," said Lazarillo very respectfully, "a messenger -from the British cantonments on the frontier." - -He of the silver wings and Toledo sabre looked up, and Quentin was -thunderstruck on finding himself face to face with the stranger of -the wayside well, the same personage from whom he had rescued Eugene -de Ribeaupierre, and whom he had stunned like an ox by a blow of the -cajado! - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -DON BALTASAR DE SALDOS. - - "We must not fail, we must not fail, - However fraud or force assail; - By honour, pride, or policy, - By Heaven itself! we must be free. - We spurned the thought, our prison burst, - And dared the despot to the worst; - Renewed the strife of centuries, - And flung our banner to the breeze."--DAVIS. - - -A start of extreme astonishment deepening into a black scowl, which -anon changed to something of a scornful smile in the Spaniard's -sallow visage, was Quentin Kennedy's first greeting from the Guerilla -Chief, who then bowed haughtily, and said with an unpleasant -emphasis-- - -"Oho, senor; so you are the messenger! Santos--why didn't you tell -me your errand on the day we met by the cross of King Alphonso? You -would thus have saved yourself a devil of a journey and me this knock -on the head." - -"It would have been unwise to reveal my mission to the first stranger -I met; I deplore the result of our second interview, senor; but I -would not stand by and see an unarmed man killed without interfering." - -"A Frenchman!" said Baltasar with intense scorn. - -"Maledito," said the Padre Trevino, a man with a pair of quiet and -deeply set, but the most treacherous looking dark eyes that ever -glanced out of a human head,. "Maledito!" he repeated, while playing -with the knife in his sash, "so this is the fellow who wounded you -and rescued the French officer?" - -"Yes, Padre; but that is my affair, not yours," said Baltasar, -haughtily. - -"And your precious Frenchman--you conducted him no doubt to -Valencia?" said the Padre, anxious apparently to make mischief. - -"I left him very near it--indeed, he was my guide part of the way -here," replied Quentin with composure. - -"Very accommodating of him, certainly," said Baltasar, in whose face -the scowl returned; it was evident, apart from his indignation at -Quentin, that he had found some of the wrong eggs, the legends on -which foretold the early abandonment of the entire Peninsula by the -British, for his mind was full of ill-concealed anger and -apprehension. "You see now, senor," he resumed with a malevolent -grimace, "you see now that the spit has become a sword, and the sword -only a spit. Por vida del demonio! but Don Tomaso Yriarte was right -after all, for we must never take men or things for what they may -appear." - -While Quentin was pondering what reply to make to this strange -speech, a drop of blood fell from the wound in Baltasar's head, and -made a large scarlet spot on the open map of Alentejo. On seeing -this the eyes of the Spaniard flashed fire, his nostrils seemed to -dilate, and, striking the table with the haft of his dagger, he -exclaimed-- - -"But that the fact of shooting the bearer of a British despatch--a -messenger of Don Juan Hope, as Lazarillo says you are--might -compromise me with the Junta of Castile as well as with your general, -and thus injure the budding Spanish cause, by the Holy Face of Jaen! -I would send you to keep company with those sixteen dogs whom Trevino -shot to-night!" - -"Senor, I was innocent of intending evil against _you_," urged poor -Quentin. - -"And this despatch which you bring, if it be as my soul forebodes, a -notification that I am only to cover the retreat of the British when -falling back upon Lisbon and the sea, _then_ say over any prayer your -heretic mother may have taught you, for you, Inglese, shall not see -the sun of to-morrow rise. I never forgive an insult--a word or a -blow!" - -Though Quentin had been told at Portalegre somewhat of the contents -of the despatch, he knew so little of the great game of war and -politics about to be played in Spain that his mind misgave him, and -he trembled in his heart lest the treasured paper which he now handed -to this ferocious Spaniard, might indeed prove his death-warrant, and -seal his doom! He thought of his pistols, and cast a glance around -him--escape was hopeless, and a cruel smile wreathed the thin wicked -lips of the Padre Trevino. - -Baltasar tore open the long official sheet of paper, and when his -piercing eyes had run rapidly over the contents, to Quentin's great -relief of mind, a smile that was almost pleasant spread over his -sallow visage, like sunshine on a lake. - -"Hombres," he exclaimed to those around him, "listen! There are none -here but true Castilians, so all may share my joy. On the second day -of the ensuing November, the first division of the British army which -is to rescue Spain will enter Castile by the Badajoz road, led by Sir -John Hope, whose advance we are to cover by a collateral movement -along the mountains by the hill ef Albuera. Long live Ferdinand the -Seventh!" - -"Viva el Rey de Espana!" - -"Viva el nombre de Jesus!" - -Such were the kind of shouts that were raised by a hundred voices, -while sundry faces, ere while darkened by hostile and suspicious -scowls, were now wreathed with broad smiles, and many a battered -sombrero and greasy bandanna were flourished aloft, while to the -triumphant vivas the musket-butts clattered an accompaniment on the -esparto-covered floor; and many a somewhat dingy hand shook Quentin's -with energy, while, in token of friendship and alliance, wine, -cigaritos, and tobacco pouches were proffered him on all sides. - -When the hubbub was somewhat over, Quentin (with some anxiety for his -departure, as the atmosphere of the guerilla head-quarters seemed a -dangerous one) said to the chief-- - -"Don Baltasar, my orders were and my most earnest wishes are to join -my regiment at Portalegre, so I should wish to set out by daybreak -to-morrow." - -"But the army will soon be advancing--why not remain with us till it -comes up?" - -"Impossible!" said Quentin, whose heart sank at the suggestion. - -"Perhaps you think that you have seen enough of us; but in a war of -independence, the invaded must not be too tender-hearted." - -"Nay, senor; but if it would please you to give me to-night your -reply to the general commanding our division, it would favour me -greatly." - -This simple question seemed to raise some undefinable suspicion, or -recall something unpleasant to the Spaniard's mind, for, knitting his -thick black brows over his deeply-set and lynx-like eyes, he regarded -Quentin with a steady scrutiny, and said: - -"You are not an officer, it would seem? (How often had this remark -stung poor Quentin.) You have no sash, gorget, or epaulettes?" - -"No, senor," replied Quentin, with a sigh; "I have not the good -fortune." - -"What are you then--a simple soldado?" - -"Senor," replied Quentin, with growing irritation, for, in truth, he -was very weary of his long day's journey, and its exciting episodes; -"the letter you have just read, I believe, tells you what you require -to know." - -"Santos! you are a bold fellow to bear yourself thus to _me_." - -"I am a British soldier on military duty," replied Quentin, loftily, -as he saw that hardihood was the only quality appreciated by his new -acquaintances. - -"What is this? You are styled, _voluntario del Regimiento Viente y -Cinco--Fronteros del Rey_--is that it?" - -"A volunteer of the King's Own Borderers--yes." - -"An English corps, of course, by your uniform?" remarked Baltasar, -while twisting up a cigarito. - -"No, senor." - -"_Maledito_--what then?" he asked, pausing, as he lit it. - -"Escotos." - -"_Demonio_! I saw them at Vimiera, and thought all the Escotos were -bare-legged, and wore Biscayner's bonnets with great plumes. But you -shall have the answer you wish this instant. I am not a man for -delay." - -"A guide also, senor, will be necessary, so that I may avoid the -French patrols." - -"You made your way here without one," said the Spaniard, with one of -his keen and suspicious glances; "moreover, I suppose you are not -without at least one French friend in Valencia; but a guide you shall -have, if we can spare one," he added, dipping a pen in an ink-horn, -and, drawing before him a sheet of paper, he wrote hastily the -following brief despatch, for El Estudiente, as he was sometimes -named, had been well educated by his father, a professor at the -University of Salamanca. - - -"SENOR GENERAL,--I have had the high honour of receiving your -despatch announcing the day of your march into Castile, and, with the -help of God, Madonna, and the saints, I shall be in motion at the -same time towards the hill of Albuera, with my guerilla force, now -two thousand strong, with five 12-pounders, to cover your flank, if -necessary, from the cavalry of Ribeaupierre, who occupy all the -district in and about Valencia. With the most profound esteem, I -have the honour to be, illustrious Senor and General, &c. &c.-- - -"BALTASAR DE SALDOS Y SALAMANCA." - - -While addressing this letter, which he handed to Quentin, he turned -to the Padre Trevino, who had stood all the while leaning on his long -musket, and said, with a sombre expression on his dark face:-- - -"Padre, now that I have a moment to spare, I shall be glad to learn -how your plan for ridding us of General de Ribeaupierre has failed, -and what has become of your remarkably luxuriant beard and whiskers, -which were ample enough to have frightened Murillo himself? You are -now shaven as bare----" - -"As when I threw my gown and sandals over the Dominican gate at -Salamanca," interrupted the ex-friar, with a grin. - -"Exactly so." - -"Well, Baltasar, _amigo mio_, when I entered Valencia this morning, I -had, as you know, a goodly natural crop of black beard and whiskers, -with a wig that for length of matted locks rivalled those of -Lazarillo here. Over these I had a high-crowned sombrero, with a -tricoloured cockade, emblematical of my zealous loyalty to Joseph, -the Corsican. Clad in an old brown mantle, I assumed the character -of a poor, meek man, the bearer of a petition to the French general, -De Ribeaupierre, whom I meant to stab to the heart as he read -it--aye, _por Dios!_ though surrounded by all his staff and -quarter-guard, for I was well mounted, and they never would have -overtaken or stopped me, save by closing the city gate. - -"I reached the head-quarters just as the whole staff were turning -out, for tidings had come that the guerillas of that devil of a -fellow Baltasar the Salamanquino, had cut off a cavalry patrol, and -shot the general's only son, a lieutenant of chasseurs. The -excitement was great in the garrison, where there was such mounting -and spurring, drumming and so forth, that I was almost unheeded, -while noisily importuning the staff-officers that I had a petition -for the general. - -"'Here, Spaniard, give it to me,' said one who was covered with -orders, pausing, as with his foot in the stirrup, he was just about -to mount his horse. - -"I measured him with a glance--I looked stealthily all round me to -see that the streets were clear for a start, as he opened my petition -and read it. - -"I drew closer; the red cloud I have seemed to see on _former -occasions_, came before my eyes; my heart beat wildly, my hand, hot -and feverish, was on my knife. Another moment it was buried in his -heart, and I was spurring along the street towards the southern gate, -which I reached only to find it shut!" - -"A thousand devils!" said Baltasar. - -"_Por Baccho!_" muttered the listeners, with their eyes dilated. - -"Dismounting, I quitted my horse, rushed down an alley, where I saw -the door of a bodega open, and plunged down into it unseen, scrambled -over the borrachio skins into a dark corner and crept behind a heap -of them. There I lay panting and breathless, dreading the proprietor -(but he had been hanged that morning as a spy), and also the French, -armed parties of whom passed and repassed, swearing and threatening; -and from what they said, I learned that I had not killed the -general----" - -"_Not_ killed him? what the devil, Padre!--I thought you always -struck home!" - -"So I do, and so I _did_, but the knife had reached only the heart of -his military secretary." - -"Well, then, 'tis one more Frenchman gone the downward road, the way -we hope to send them all. And you----" - -"I lay for some time in the cool wine vault, among the cobwebs and -dirty borrachio skins. One of them--for the temptation was too -great--I pierced with my yet bloody knife, and a long, long draught -of the vino de Alicante, cold, dry, mellow, delicious, -golden-coloured----" - -"Ha, ha, ha! Bravo Padre Trevino!" chorussed all the laughing -listeners, as they clattered away with their musket-butts in applause -of his atrocious narrative. - -"Thou wert revived, no doubt?" said Baltasar, impatiently. - -"_Amiga mio_, I should think so; it brightened my intellects; it gave -me new ideas--I drew inspiration from that beloved borrachio skin. I -cast away my ample wig, drew from my wallet shaving apparatus, and in -a trice I was shaven to the eyes, as you see me. Abandoning my -cloak, I concealed my dagger in my left sleeve, took a wine skin -under my arm, and walking deliberately to the officer in command of -the guard at the south gate, offered the wine for sale at half its -value, seeming to all appearance a very quiet citizen, anxious in -these hard times to do a little business, even with the enemy. He -took the skin from me, bid me go to the devil for payment; the -sentinel opened the wicket, and I was thrust out of Valencia--the -very thing I wanted. I said nothing about my poor wife or starving -little ones, lest their hearts might relent, but turned my face to -the mountains, and I am here." - -This savage story met, we have said, with great applause, and -Quentin, after the scene he had witnessed in the street of the -puebla, felt no surprise that it did so; but his horror of the Padre -was great, and he felt his repugnance for the guerillas increase -every moment. - -Policy and necessity forced him to dissemble; yet, in that mountain -village there seemed such an atmosphere of blood, dishonourable -warfare, and patriotism gone mad, that he longed intensely to be out -of it, and once again in the more congenial and civilized society he -had left. - -"Supper, senor," said Don Baltasar, rising from the table and -gathering up his papers; "let us rest now, for you must be weary, and -in truth so am I; and then to bed, for the hour is late, and we have -both work to do upon the morrow. Trevino, who has the quarter-guard?" - -"El Conde de Maciera, senor," replied the Padre. - -"Good--not a bat will stir between this and Valencia without his -hearing of it. This way, then," added Baltasar, ushering them into -an inner apartment, where a very different face from any Quentin had -yet seen in the Peninsula shed a light upon the scene. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -DONNA ISIDORA. - - "She sung of love--while o'er her lyre - The rosy rays of evening fell, - As if to feed with their soft fire - The soul within that trembling shell. - The same rich light hung o'er her cheek, - And played around those lips that sung, - And spoke as flowers would sing and speak, - If love could lend their leaves a tongue." - MOORE. - - -Unpleasant though his new acquaintances were in many ways, Quentin -felt a certain sense of lofty satisfaction that he was a successful -though humble actor in the great European drama. His mission was -achieved! The junction with the first division would doubtless be -effected by the guerillas, and as he thought of the castle of -Rohallion and those who were there, of gentle Flora Warrender and his -boyish love, he began to hope--indeed to believe--that he was -actually destined for great things after all. - -In such a mind as Quentin's there was much of chivalry, nobility, and -enthusiasm that mingled with his deep love for a pure and beautiful -young girl like Flora. - -In some respects, the companionship, aspect, equipment, and bearing -of those half-lawless, but wholly patriotic soldiers, seemed a -realization of those day-dreams or imaginary adventures his romance -reading had led him to weave and fashion; but the awful episode of -the night, though fully illustrative of the Spanish character, and of -the mode in which the patriots were disposed to carry on the war, was -a feature in guerilla life never to be forgotten! - -"My sister, the Senora Donna Isidora," said Baltasar, assuming much -of the courtly bearing of a true Spanish gentleman, while introducing -Quentin to a very handsome girl; "Donna Ximena, the mother of our -comrade Trevino," he added, with a deeper reverence, on presenting -him to a woman, so old, little, dark, and hideous, that, after -bowing, he hastened to look again at the younger lady. - -"The senor will kiss your hand, Isidora," said Don Baltasar. - -Quentin did so, just touching with his lip a very lovely little hand, -but, happily for him, the leathern paw of the venerable Trevino was -not presented. Then the party, which consisted of Baltasar, Trevino, -two other Spaniards, whose names are of no consequence, the two -ladies, and their youthful guest, seated themselves at table. - -The mother of the ungodly Trevino was a deaf old crone who seldom -spoke, but always crossed herself with great devotion when Quentin -looked her way, having a proper horror of all heretics, whom she -believed to be the children of the devil, and all to be more or less -possessed of the evil eye. - -Beauty belongs to no particular country, and is to be found, more or -less, everywhere, yet most travellers now begin to admit that Spanish -beauty is somewhat of a delusion or a dream, which poets and -novelists think it proper or necessary to indulge in and rave about; -and some of the aforesaid travellers begin to assert that, beyond a -pair of dark eyes and a set of regular teeth, it cannot be honestly -said that the women of Spain have much to boast of. - -Be that as it may, Isidora de Saldos was a singularly lovely girl, in -somewhere about her eighteenth year, a very ripe age in the sunny -land of Castile. Her eyes indeed were marvellous, they were so soft -and dark, and alternately so sparkling, languishing, and expressive -of earnestness, all the more striking from the pale complexion of her -little face. In their deep setting and with their long thick upper -and lower lashes, those seductive eyes seemed to be black, while, in -reality, they were of the darkest grey. Her dark brown hair was -long, rich in colour, and unrivalled in softness. It was of that -texture which, unhappily, never lasts long, and which often, ere -five-and-twenty comes, has lost alike its length and profusion. - -Her Spanish dress became her blooming years, her figure (which was -rather petite), and the piquant character of her beauty. It -consisted of a scarlet velvet corset, and short but ample skirts of -alternate black and scarlet flounces, all very full; slippers of -Cordovan leather, with high heels, and scarlet stockings, clocked -almost to the knee, over the tightest of ankles. - -A white muslin handkerchief, prettily disposed over her bosom, a high -comb at the back of her head, round which her magnificent dark hair -was gathered and fastened by a long gold pin, that looked -unpleasantly like a poniard (indeed, it could be used as such), with -silver bracelets on her slender wrists, long pendants that glittered -at her tiny ears, a large medal bearing the image of the Madonna hung -round her neck, and a black lace mantilla, depending from the comb -and flowing over all, completed her attire. - -The medal was of pure gold, and bore the inscription, "_O Marie, -concue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous_," and -was, as she afterwards informed Quentin, the gift of the Padre -Trevino, who found it on the body of a Frenchman whom he had shot -near Albuquerque. - -"Did you ever taste a real Spanish olla, senor?" asked Baltasar, as -the covers were removed, and the odour of a steaming and savoury dish -pervaded the apartment. - -Quentin declared that he had not. - -"Then thou shalt taste it to-night. My sister is a famous cook," -said Baltasar; "an olla she excels in--it was the favourite dish of -our old father, the professor at Salamanca, and is the most noble -dish in the world!" - -"If Spanish, it must be," said Quentin, flatteringly. - -"True," said Baltasar, gravely, while giving each of his enormous -moustaches an upward twist; "we consider everything Spanish supremely -good." - -"We are rather a proud people, you see, senor," said Donna Isidora, -laughing; "and so far is pride carried, that to touch royalty is to -die." - -"Manuel Godoy touched royalty pretty often," said Trevino, with a -grim smile, "and we never heard that Her Majesty of Spain resented it -particularly." - -"Did you ever hear of the escape of the sister of Philip III., senor?" - -"I regret to say, Don Baltasar, that I never heard of Philip -himself," replied Quentin. - -"About two hundred years ago our royal family were residing at -Aranjuez," said Baltasar, while filling his own and Quentin's glass -with wine; "it is a country palace twenty miles south of Madrid, and -is remarkable for its size and beauty. One night it caught fire; the -court and all the attendants took to flight, leaving the youngest -sister of Don Philip to perish. She was seen at one of the windows -wringing her hands and imploring the saints to succour her, but a -young arquebusier of the royal guard proved of more avail. He -bravely dashed through the flames, raised her in his arms, and bore -her forth in safety. But Spanish etiquette was shocked that the hand -of a subject--of a man especially--had touched royalty; nay, worse, -that he should have entered her bed-chamber, so the soldier was cast -into a dungeon, chained to a heavy bar, and condemned to _die_! But -the princess graciously pardoned him, and he was sent away to fight -the Flemings under the Duke of Alva. His name was De Saldos, and -from him we are descended." - -Spanish etiquette made Donna Isidora rather silent and reserved; she -somewhat uselessly addressed the old crone Donna Ximena from time to -time, and that worthy matron only responded by mutterings, shaking -her palsied head, or signing the cross beneath the table. At other -times Isidora made an occasional remark to Trevino, by whom she was -evidently greatly admired, for his keen stealthy eyes were seldom off -her face, and a malevolent gleam shot from them whenever, in -dispensing the courtesies of the table, she addressed Quentin Kennedy. - -The past day's skirmish among the mountains, the capture and -slaughter of the sixteen French prisoners, had appetized Baltasar and -his three companions; and though Spanish cookery is seldom very -excellent, Quentin was quite hungry enough to enjoy the olla podrida -of beef, chicken, and bacon, boiled with sliced gourd, carrots, -beans, red sausages, and heaven knows what more, well peppered and -spiced. - -A few strings of rusks, a dish of raisins, with plenty of good -Valdepenas in jolly flasks, closed the repast, after which the -invariable cigars were resorted to, prior to repose. - -As the whitewashed room, though scantily furnished, was close and -warm, and as fighting was over for the night, Baltasar and his -comrades unbuttoned their jackets, and each disencumbered himself of -a _peto_ or wadded stuffing, which was supposed to turn a bullet, all -the better that there was pasted thereon a coloured print of some -local saint. - -The conversation ran chiefly on the new war about to be waged by the -allies in Spain, the various routes likely to be taken by the several -divisions, the probable points of concentration, and so forth. These -were chiefly discussed by Baltasar and his three companions, all of -whom had already seen much service against the French. The extreme -youth of Quentin, and his total ignorance of the country, made them -somewhat ignore his presence, notwithstanding the important despatch -he had brought, the scarlet coat he wore, and that he was the herald -of that great strife that was not to cease, even at the Hill of -Toulouse! - -He sedulously avoided addressing or coming in contact in any way with -the Padre Trevino, of whom he naturally had a proper horror, as an -apostate priest who, exceeding his duty as a guerilla, became an -assassin, and so coolly avowed his deadly design upon the father of -Ribeaupierre. - -The youth, the fair complexion, the gentleness of voice and eye the -donna saw in Quentin, together with certain unmistakeable signs of -good breeding, when contrasted with the dark, fierce aspect and -brusque bearing of those about her now, failed not to interest her -deeply. - -The solitary mission on which he had come; the distance from his own -country, of the exact situation of which, in her strange Spanish -notions of geography (though passably educated for a Castilian), she -had not the slightest idea, for in those points her countrymen are -not much improved since Vasco de Lobiera wrote of the fair Olinda -taking ship in Norway, and sailing to the King of England's "Island -of Windsor;" the knowledge that Quentin was come to fight, it might -be to _die_, for her beloved Spain, all served to present him in a -most favourable light to her very lovely eyes, which rested on him so -frequently that the sharp-sighted Trevino more than once bit his ugly -nether lip with suppressed irritation, while Quentin felt his pulses -quicken with pleasure, for the dark little beauty, in her picturesque -national costume, was a delightful object to gaze upon; thus, a -longer residence than he intended in that mountain puebla might -perhaps have led we are not prepared to say to what species of -mischief. - -As the wine circulated, and the conversation still turned on the war, -Quentin ventured the remark--a perilous one amid such gentry--that he -thought the scene he had recently witnessed was not favourable to the -good success of the Spanish cause. - -Every brow loured as he said this, and the gentle donna looked uneasy. - -"Madre divina! you don't know what you talk about, senor," said -Baltasar, gravely; "had you seen your countrymen, as I have mine, -shot down in poor defenceless groups of thirty or forty at a time, on -the open Prado of Madrid, you would think less harshly of us." - -"And, senor," urged Isidora, in her soft and musical tones, "the poor -people of the city were forced to illuminate their houses in honour -of the sacrifice. Was not such cruelty horrible?" - -"Horrible indeed, senora," replied Quentin, feeling that it really -was so, though sooth to say he would have agreed with anything she -might have advanced, for there was no withstanding those earnest eyes -and that seductive voice. - -"Light as noonday were the streets on that awful night," said -Baltasar, as the fierce gleam came into his eyes and the pallor of -passion passed over each of his sallow cheeks; "ten thousand lamps -and candles shed their glare upon the heaps of slain, where women -were searching for their husbands, children for parents and parents -for children, while the cannon thundered from the Retiro, and the -volleying musketry rang in many a street and square. What says the -Junta of Seville in its address to the people of Madrid? 'We, all -Spain, exclaim--the Spanish blood shed in Madrid cries aloud for -revenge! Comfort yourselves, we are your brethren: we will fight -like you until the last of us perish in defence of our king and -country!' Senor, the massacres of the 2nd of May were a sight to -shudder at--to treasure in the heart and to remember!" - -"And by our holy Lady of Battles and of Covadonga, we are not likely -to forget!" swore Trevino, striking the table with the hilt of his -knife. - -"The spirits of the Cid Rodrigo, of Pelayo the Asturian, and all the -loyal and brave men of old, are among us again," said Baltasar, with -enthusiasm, "and we shall crush the slaves of the Corsican to whom -Manuel Godoy betrayed us!" - -"Godoy," said a guerilla who had scarcely yet spoken, but who seemed -inspired by the same ferocious spirit; "oh that I may yet some day -despatch him as Pinto Ribiero slew that similar traitor, Vasconcella -the false Portuguese." - -"Always blood!" thought Quentin, beginning to fear that from -indulging in bluster and rodomontade, they might fall on him, were it -for nothing more but to keep their hands in practice. - -"I perceive you look frequently at my guitar," said Donna Isidora, on -seeing that Quentin evidently disliked the ferocious tone adopted by -her brother and his companions; "do you sing, senor?" - -"No, senora." - -"Or play?" - -"The guitar is scarcely known in my country; but if you would favour -us----" - -"With pleasure, senor," said she, with a charming smile. - -"Bueno, Dora," said her brother, taking from its peg the guitar and -handing it to her; on which she threw its broad scarlet riband over -her shoulder, ran her white and slender fingers through the strings, -and then a lovely Spanish picture, that Phillips might have doted on, -was complete. - -"What shall it be, Baltasar?" she asked; adding with a swift glance -at Quentin's scarlet coat, "'_Mia Madre no caro soldados aqui_'--eh?" - -"Nay, Dora, that would scarcely be courteous to our guest, who is a -soldier." - -"What then, mi hermano?" - -"Give us one of Lope de Vega's songs. There is that ballad which -compliments the English king who came to seek a wife in Spain." - -Then with great sweetness she sang Lope's verses, which begin-- - - "Carlos Stuardo soy, - Qui siendo amor mi guia, - Al cielo de Espana voy, - Por ver mi estrella Maria." - -While she sang, Quentin thought of the old Jacobite enthusiasm of -Lady Winifred and Lord Rohallion, and how they would have admired -alike the song and the singer; and while his eyes were fixed on her -soft pale face and thick downcast eyelashes, he neither heard the -accompaniment Baltasar beat with a pair of castanets, or by the Padre -Trevino with the haft of a remarkably ugly knife, which seemed alike -his favourite weapon and plaything. - -In a few minutes after this they had all separated for the night, and -Quentin, without undressing, as he proposed to start early on the -following morning, stretched on a hard pallet and muffled in his -great coat, with his sabre and pistols under his head, soon sank into -slumber, the sound, deep slumber induced by intense fatigue; and from -this not even the horrors of the recent massacre, the louring visage -of the suspicious Trevino, the voice, the eyes, of the lovely young -donna, or any other memory, could disturb him. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -THE JOURNEY. - - "Meanwhile the gathering clouds obscure the skies, - From pole to pole the forky lightning flies, - The rattling thunders roll, and Juno pours - A wintry deluge down and sounding showers; - The company dispersed to coverts ride, - And seek the homely cots or mountain side." - Æneis iv. - - -From this long and dreamless sleep Quentin Kennedy started and awoke -next morning, but not betimes, as the sun's altitude, when shining on -the whitewashed walls of the posada, informed him. He sprang up and -proceeded to make a hasty toilet. - -"Breakfast, a guide, and then to be gone!" thought he, joyfully. - -On issuing from his scantily-furnished chamber into the large room of -the posada, or rather what was once the posada, he found a number of -the guerillas busy making up ball-cartridges. Heaps of loose powder -lay on the oak table, and the nonchalant makers were smoking their -cigars over it as coolly as if it were only brickdust or oatmeal. - -The guitar that hung by its broad scarlet riband from a peg on the -wall, brought to memory all the episodes of last night, and Quentin -sighed when reflecting that a girl so lovely as its owner should be -lost among such society, for to him, those patriot volunteers of his -Majesty Ferdinand VII. had very much the air and aspect of banditti. - -He looked forth from the open windows into the street of the puebla; -the morning was a lovely one. The unclouded sun shone joyously on -the bright green mountain sides, while a pleasant breeze shook the -autumnal foliage of the woods, and tossed the large and now yellow -leaves of the ancient vines that covered all the walls of the old -posada, growing in at each door and opening; but Quentin could not -repress a shudder when he saw the four large graves at the foot of -the archway, for the faces and forms of the poor victims came before -his eye in fancy with painful distinctness--the rigid figure of the -grey-haired captain, the other officer who wept for his wife and -children, the conscript whom they named Louis--the manly and -unflinching courage of all! - -Baltasar de Saldos twisted up his enormous whiskerando-like -moustaches, and smiled grimly as only a taciturn Spaniard can smile, -when he perceived this, as he conceived it to be, childish emotion of -his guest. - -"The ladies await us, senor," said Baltasar; and Quentin, on turning, -found the dark and deeply-lashed eyes of Isidora bent on his, as she -smilingly presented her plump little hand to be kissed, and then the -same party who had met last night again seated themselves at table, -and a slight breakfast of thick chocolate, eggs, and white bread, was -rapidly discussed. As soon as it was over, the brilliant young donna -and the withered old one withdrew, bidding Quentin farewell, and -adding that as he was to depart so soon, they should see him no more. - -Quentin, with a heart full of pleasure, belted on his sabre and -assumed his forage cap; he also drew the charges of his pistols and -loaded them anew. - -"And now, Don Baltasar, with a thousand thanks for your kindness, I -shall take my departure," said he. "But how about a guide to avoid -the main road, and escape the enemy's patrols?" - -"As we are so soon to leave this, and commence active and desperate -operations, the end or extent of which none of us can foresee, the -Padre Trevino, who is the very model and mirror of sons, has decided -on sending that excellent lady his mother (a slight smile spread over -the Spaniard's sombre visage as he spoke) across the frontier for -safety. She goes to the convent of Engracia, at Portalegre; and, as -she knows the whole country hereabouts as if it were her own -inheritance, she shall be your guide." - -"She--Donna Trevino?" exclaimed Quentin, who was by no means -enchanted by the offer of such an encumbrance. - -"Si, senor. You will be sure to take great care of her." - -"But--but, Don Baltasar, that old dame! (devil he had nearly -said)--why not send one of your band?" - -"I cannot spare a single man. Spain will need them all. The senora -is very deaf and old, you need scarcely ever address her, and, as she -is taciturn, she will not incommode you. Besides our Spanish -mistrust of strangers, she has--excuse me, senor--a horror of all who -are beyond the pale of the Church." - -"But, senor," urged poor Quentin, "to travel for two or three days -with a deaf old lady!" - -"What are you speaking of, senor? We are only a little more than -thirty miles from Portalegre as a bird flies. You lost your way, and -rambled sadly in coming here; but I shall mount her on a mule, and -you on a horse, and you may easily be there, even though proceeding -by the most steep and devious route, before the sun sets." - -"To-night!" - -"Exactly. There is, as you are aware, a vast difference in -travelling on horseback with a guide, and a-foot, in a strange -country, without one." - -"I thank you, senor," said Quentin, considerably relieved, "and shall -commit myself to the guidance of the old lady, though I fear that she -views me with no favourable eye." - -"Here come your cattle." - -"A noble horse, by Jove!" - -"I have filled your canteen with aguardiente." - -"Thanks, senor." - -"I know that you Inglesos can neither march nor fight, as we -Spaniards do, on mere cold water, with the whiff of a cigar." - -They were now at the door of the posada, where a group of dark, idle, -slouching, and somewhat villanous-looking guerillas were loitering, -to witness the departure. - -"Ah, if these fellows only knew that my pockets were so well lined -with moidores!" thought Quentin. - -Lazarillo held the horse (which had evidently been a French cavalry -charger) and the mule by their bridles. The former had a fine switch -tail, which was now tied or doubled up in the Spanish fashion, as he -had to perform a journey. The latter was a tall, sleek, and handsome -animal, whose figure indicated great speed and strength. - -The saddles were Moorish (the fashion still in Spain), made with high -peak and croup behind; the stirrup-irons were triangular boxes, and -the bridles, bridoons, and cruppers, with their brass bosses, scarlet -fringes, tassels, and trumpery ornaments, closely resembled the -harness of the circus. - -At the pommel of the horse's saddle, hung a leather bottle of wine, -and behind was a handsome alforja, or travelling bag, ornamented with -an infinity of tassels, and containing bread, sausages, a boiled -fowl, and other edibles to be consumed on the journey. Nothing was -forgotten, and as Quentin mounted his horse, the old lady was led -forth by Trevino, who, with Baltasar's assistance, lifted her into -the mule's saddle. - -The venerable donna was muffled up in a large loose garment of -striped stuff, purple and white; it covered her from head to foot, -and but for her thick veil, which entirely concealed her withered -visage, she might have passed for an old Bedouin in a burnous. - -"Senor, this lady is one in whom I am so deeply interested," said -Trevino, with the keen, fierce, and impressive glance peculiar to -him, and with a hand, by force of habit, perhaps, on his knife; "I -say, one in whom I am so deeply interested, that I trust to your care -and honour in seeing her, without hindrance or delay, safe to -Portalegre." - -"I shall see her safe to the gate of the Engracia convent," said -Quentin; "and how about returning the cattle, Don Baltasar?" - -"Leave them there, too--my free gift to the convent. And now, -adios," said he, with a low bow; "doubtless we shall meet again when -the army is in motion." - -"I hope not," muttered Quentin. "Adios, senores." - -A few minutes more and they had left the puebla, with its lawless -garrison, its cannon, and earthen bastions, on which the scarlet and -yellow ensign of Castile and Leon was waving, far behind them, and -were riding at a rapid trot down the green mountain path which -Quentin had travelled alone last night. - -Soon he saw the place where the road branched off to Valencia, and -where he had parted from Ribeaupierre; and, ere long, he passed the -dead horse, already torn and disembowelled by the wolves or the -wandering dogs which infested all the wild parts of Estremadura. - -How changed were the scene, the circumstances, and the companionship -since he had last been in the saddle, cantering along the road to -Maybole, escorting Flora Warrender! - -Leaving this path, and striking off to the left, Donna Ximena, to -whose guidance he silently and implicitly committed himself, and who -rode a little way in front, managing her mule with ease, and, -considering her years, with undoubted grace, conducted him up a steep -and narrow track that led into the wildest part of the mountains, -where the summits of slaty granite were already beginning to be -powdered by frost and snow in the early hours of morning, and where -the valleys, which the industry of the Moors made gardens that teemed -with fertility and beauty, are now desert wastes, abounding only in -rank pasturage. - -Their cattle soon became blown, and, as the pleasant breeze that -fanned the foliage in the forenoon, had already died away, and been -succeeded by an oppressive and sultry closeness, they proceeded -slowly, and now Quentin thought he might venture to converse a little -with his silent companion, for the monotony of travelling thus became -tiresome in the extreme. - -"Donna Ximena," said he, as their nags walked slowly up the mountain -path. "Donna Ximena!" he repeated, in a louder key, before she said, -without turning her head-- - -"Well, senor?" - -"It surprises me much that Don Baltasar permits a girl so lovely as -his sister to reside among those dangerous guerillas." - -To this remark the haughty old lady made no response, so, raising his -voice, he added-- - -"He may now be without a home to leave her in; but, certainly, -Isidora is, without exception, the most beautiful and winning girl I -ever saw--in her own style, at least," he concluded, as he thought of -Flora Warrender. - -He had to shout this remark at the utmost pitch of his voice before -the old lady replied, with a gloved hand at her right ear,-- - -"Yes, senor--she put a large and beautiful sausage into the alforja." - -"Bother the old frump!" said Quentin; then shouting louder still, he -added, "Your head, senora, is so muffled in that mantle and veil, -that it is quite impossible you can hear me." - -"Were you speaking, senor?" - -"The devil! I should think so--yes!" - -"Speak louder." - -"I cannot possibly speak louder, senora; but I was remarking the -danger that might accrue to a girl of such wonderful beauty as Donna -Isidora among the companions of her brother." - -"It is Valdepenas, senor." - -"_What_ is Valdepenas?" - -"The wine in the bota--taste it if you wish--I filled it for you." - -Quentin relinquished in despair any further attempt to make himself -heard or understood, and for some miles they proceeded, as before, in -total silence, while the gathering of the clouds betokened a storm, -and Quentin was certain he heard thunder at a distance; but a few -minutes after, the sound proved to be that of a brass drum -reverberating between the mountain slopes! As these drums were then -used by the French alone, he instinctively reined up, and his silent -guide, to whom he did not deem it worth while to communicate his -alarm, did so too. - -"Ah--you heard that, my venerable friend," said he aloud. - -The sound now became continuous and steady, and his horse, an old -trooper we have said, snorted and pricked up his ears intelligently. -It was the regular but monotonous beating of a single drummer, who -was timing the quickstep for the troops in the old fashion still -retained by the French, when on the line of march, as it proves an -excellent method, in lieu of other music, for getting soldiers -rapidly on. - -Desirous of reconnoitring, Quentin somewhat unceremoniously pushed -his horse past the mule of his fair, but exceedingly tiresome -companion, and dismounting, led it forward by the bridle. - -The path, rugged and narrow, here went right over the steep crest of -a hill between some volcanic rocks that were covered with dark-green -clumps of the Portuguese laurel and wild olive tree; and from thence -it dipped abruptly down into a little green valley where stood a farm -house in ruins. - -There by the wayside was a human skull, white and bleached, stuck -upon the summit of a pole, the grim memorial of some act of -retributive justice for murder and robbery. - -Proceeding slowly and listening intently as he went, for the sound of -the drum was coming every moment nearer, Quentin peeped over the -eminence and found himself almost face to face with the first section -of the advanced guard of a French regiment of infantry; they were -scarcely a hundred yards distant, and were toiling up the steep -ascent. - -In heavy marching order, with their blankets and blue great-coats -rolled, they were clad in long white tunics of coarse linen, with -large red epaulettes, high bearskin caps, each with a scarlet plume -on the left side; the legs of their scarlet trousers were rolled up -above the ankles; all had their muskets slung, and they were -chatting, laughing, smoking, and marching, some with their hands in -their pockets, and others arm-in-arm, in that slouching and free -manner peculiar to all troops when "marching at ease," but more -especially to the French. - -On seeing the alarming sight, Quentin leaped on his horse, and cried-- - -"Away, Donna Ximena for your life--here are a body of the enemy--we -shall be either shot or taken prisoners!" - -And very ungallantly caring little whether his venerable friend, the -mother of the worthy Trevino, fell into the hands of the French, -provided that he escaped them, Quentin goaded the sides of his horse -with his Spanish stirrup-irons, and lashed its flanks with a switch -which he had torn from an olive tree. - -It sprung off with a wild bound; the lady's mule also struck out, and -away they went headlong down the mountain side together at a -break-neck pace, followed by shouts from the French, the first -section of whom were now on the crest of the eminence, and who -unslung their muskets and opened a fire upon them. - -Every shot rung with a hundred reverberations between the mountain -peaks; Quentin, however, never looked back, but rode recklessly and -breathlessly on, thinking as the old lady scoured after him on her -mule, and as he lashed his horse without mercy, that he somewhat -resembled Tam o' Shanter pursued by Cuttie Sark. - -There was no contingency of war of which he had a greater horror than -that of becoming a prisoner. If taken by the enemy, years might pass -on and still find him in their hands, and when released or exchanged, -he would be little better than a private soldier--not so good, in -fact. His time for promotion would be irrevocably past, and all the -stories he had heard of the sufferings to which the French Republican -and Imperial officers subjected our troops when prisoners in the -impregnable citadel of Bitche, the fortress of Verdun, and elsewhere, -crowded on his mind, with a consciousness of the beggared and -hopeless life to which the event might ultimately consign him, even -if he survived the captivity, which, in his restless and irritable -horror of all restraint, he very much doubted. - -Fortunately for him the long-barrelled muskets of the French infantry -were very dissimilar to Enfield rifles in the precision of their -fire; thus, he and his companion were soon beyond all range, and an -opaque vapour, alternating between purple and brown in its tint, that -descended on the mountains, while a storm of blinding rain and -bellowing wind broke forth, put an end to all chance of pursuit; but -they rode on fully ten miles without knowing in what direction, when -the fury of the storm compelled them to take refuge in a thicket. - -Dismounting, Quentin was too breathless and blown to attempt to -outbellow the wind in making excuses to old Donna Ximena; he simply -lifted that good lady off her mule, and conducted her under the -stately chestnut trees, which gave them shelter. He then unslung the -bota and the alforja from his crusader-like demipique, and was -proceeding to secure the bridles of their nags to a branch, when -there burst a shriek from his companion, with the exclamation-- - -"Madre divina! O Madre de Dios!" - -At that instant there shot forth a terrific glare which seemed to -envelop them, and to fill the whole thicket with dazzling light, -showing every knot and twisted branch, and every gnarled stem. - -Then there was a tremendous crash, as a thunderbolt ground a giant -chestnut to pieces, literally splitting its solid trunk from top to -bottom; next rang the roar of the thunder peal as it rolled away over -the vapour-hidden mountain peaks, leaving the dense and murky air -full of sulphurous heat and odour. - -Stunned by the torrent of sound, and half blinded by the lurid glare, -more than a minute elapsed before Quentin discovered that, startled -alike by the flash and the thunder-clap, the horse and mule had torn -their bridles from his hands and galloped madly away, he knew not -whither. - -Even the faintest sound of their hoofs could no longer be heard amid -the ceaseless hiss of the descending rain, every drop of which was -nearly the size of a walnut; so now, there were he and old Donna -Ximena (who crept closer to him than he cared for) left a-foot he -knew not where, in that gloomy thicket, evening coming on and night -to follow, a storm raging, and the French in motion in the -neighbourhood! - -"Here's a devil of a mess!" sighed poor Quentin. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -A SURPRISE. - - "Preciosa. Is this a dream? O, if it be a dream, - Let me sleep on, and do not wake me yet! - Repeat thy story! say I'm not deceived! - Say that I do not dream! I am awake; - This is the gipsy camp; and this Victorian." - _The Spanish Student._ - - -To address or to consult his old and deaf companion would have been -worse than useless, so Quentin angrily sat down to reflect, and, -unfortunately, in sitting down, did so on a prickly pear. Now, there -are more pleasant sensations in the world than to sit upon such an -esculent, or a Scots thistle (when one is inclined to ponder and to -"chew the cud of sweet and bitter fancy"), with their bristling -stamens, especially if one wears the stockingweb regimental -pantaloons then worn; so Quentin sprang up, and issuing from the -thicket, perceived with great satisfaction, that though the rain was -then falling, the clouds were rising and the wind abating; in fact -that the storm, which had most probably concealed their flight from -the French, was gradually passing away; but whether or not, one fact -was evident--that the donna and he must pass the night in the thicket. - -It was fortunate that he had rendered the flight of their cattle of -less consequence, by previously securing the bota of wine and the bag -of provisions, and also that he had ridden with his pistols at his -girdle, and not in holsters. - -As the light increased a little when the clouds dispersed, he -perceived a ruined arch, the use or origin of which it would be -difficult to determine. It seemed to be a portion of a small -aqueduct or vault, Roman, Gothic, or Moorish perhaps--anything but -Spanish. It stood amid the great old trees of the chestnut grove, -and was half hidden by the luxuriant grass, the gorgeous wild -flowers, and odoriferous creepers. It was about six feet in height, -but several more in depth, and heaps of fallen masonry, covered with -moss and lavender-flowers, enclosed it on one side. - -Quentin examined the ruin, and finding it strewed with dry and -withered leaves, blown thither by the wind, he led in his trembling -companion, who seated herself near him, and with muttered thanks -drank a mouthful of wine from the bota, while he drew forth the -contents of the alforja, to wit, a huge loaf of fine white bread, a -boiled fowl, and a red sausage, that, of course, smelt villanously of -garlic. It was in vain, however, that he pressed Donna Ximena to -partake of the guerillas' good cheer. The old lady had evidently no -objection to a comforting drop of the generous Valdepenas, but when -he offered her food she only buried her head in her veil and rocked -herself to-and-fro, as if overcome by weariness or alarm. - -Placing his mouth near her ear, Quentin endeavoured, by roaring as if -he were in a gale of wind at sea, to discover if she knew whereabouts -they were--whether near Valencia de Alcantara or Albuquerque; whether -near Marvao or San Vincente; whether on the Spanish or Portuguese -side of the frontier; but she only shook her head, and made signs of -the cross, as the twilight deepened. - -Quentin thought that Don Baltasar had certainly selected his guide, -as the Dean of St. Patrick counselled all housemaids should be, for -their years and lack of personal charms. - -"By Jove--the plot thickens!" said he, as he tugged away at a -drumstick of the boiled galina and consoled himself with a hearty -pull at the bota, while his companion laid her old muffled head on a -heap of leaves, and appeared to fall sound asleep; at least Quentin -never cared to enquire whether she was so or not. - -There were moments when he seriously considered whether he was not -justified in marching off quietly without beat of drum, and leaving -this venerable bore to shift for herself, while he made the best of -his way to Portalegre, as he had left it, a-foot; but there seemed to -be something so ungallant and ungenerous in leaving an elderly female -(not that the fact of her being the maternal parent of Padre Trevino -enhanced her value) alone, in such a place and at night too, that he -resolved to wait till morning dawned, and then he would see what a -night might bring forth; and this resolution he formed all the more -readily that the rain was still pouring in a ceaseless torrent. - -Hour after hour passed in silence, no sound coming to his ear save -the monotonous patter of the rain falling on the brown autumnal -leaves; to Quentin it proved alike a weary and dreary time, until the -shower began to abate, and for the first time in his life he heard a -nightingale pouring its plaintive and varying notes upon the air. - -Quentin placed their provender and his pistols in a dry place, -gathered a heap of leaves for a pillow, and coiling himself up at the -other end of the ruin, _i.e._, as far away as possible from old Donna -Ximena, he followed her example and courted sleep. - -With the first blink of the day he started from his nest of leaves. -Grey dawn was stealing between the great rough stems of the chestnut -wood. The rain and the wind were over; the vapours of the night had -dispersed, and no trace remained of the past storm save the scathed -and thunder-riven tree, the ruins of which were scattered around its -root. - -The green slopes of the distant hills were visible, dotted by the -drenched merino sheep, thousands of which are annually driven into -Estremadura, to fatten on the rich wild grass of its pastures. In -the distance, and darkly defined against the increasing pink and -violet tints of the sky, were two windmills, quaint and old, like -those which the Knight of La Mancha assailed; their wheels were -broken, and the fans hung motionless and in tatters. - -A herd of wild swine rushed through the grove, snorting and grunting -in their headlong career, but the Donna Trevino still slept soundly, -if Quentin might judge by her breathing, which was low and regular. -After stepping forth to reconnoitre, and finding the whole vicinity -of the thicket silent, and no appearance of either friend or foe on -the roads in any direction, he deemed this the wisest and safest time -to set forth, and returned to wake his companion, whom he really -began to wish--we shall not say where, or with whom--but safe at -least with her son, the Padre Trevino. - -On approaching he perceived that the loose and ample garment of -alternate white and purple stripes in which she was enveloped, was -partly deranged, and the thick black lace veil which covered her head -was open in front, for now one half of it floated over her right -shoulder. Then, on drawing nearer, how great was his astonishment to -behold in the sleeper, not the wrinkled and withered visage of the -deaf old woman, whom all yesterday and all last night he supposed to -be his bore and companion, whom he had left to shift for herself when -the French appeared, and from whom he had crept as far away as -possible in the singular den they tenanted--not the faded visage, we -say, of Donna Ximena, but the pale and delicately cut features, the -wondrously long black eyelashes, and the lovely little face of Donna -Isidora! - -The red pouting lips were parted, and the pearly teeth below were -visible, imparting to her expression a charming air of child-like -innocence and repose. Ungloved now, one white and slender hand, -grasping her gathered veil, was pressed upon her bosom; her left -cheek reposed upon her outstretched arm, and the partial -disarrangement of her picturesque costume, as she had turned in her -sleep, left visible rather more than her short Spanish skirts usually -revealed of two remarkably pretty ankles, cased in their tight -scarlet stockings. - -The hardships to which her brother's recent guerilla life had -subjected her, evidently enabled the adventurous girl to "rough it," -as soldiers say; thus she still slept soundly, while Quentin, half -kneeling down, surveyed with wonder, perplexity, and pleasure, the -beauties thus suddenly revealed by the open veil. - -Touching her hand, he awoke her. - -She started up with an exclamation of alarm, and her hand seemed -instinctively to feel for the bodkin which confined her hair. Aware -that she was discovered now, she assumed a sitting posture, threw -back her thick veil, and a singular expression, half angry and half -droll, came into her dark eyes, as she said-- - -"You have been looking at me as I slept! Was it proper to penetrate -my disguise, senor?" - -"Pardon me, senora; I did not, indeed; I came but to wake you, and -found your veil open; could I refrain from looking--from admiring?" - -"And you have discovered me----" - -"To be young and beautiful----" - -"When you thought me old and hideous--is it not so?" she asked, -laughing. - -"I confess it, and with pleasure, senora. This is very -enchanting--but what romance is it--what absurd comedy is this you -are acting?" - -"Absurd?" - -"Pardon me again; but though it is a game or drama that charms me -very much, it is not without peril.'" - -"To whom?" - -"To both--perhaps most of all to you, senora." - -She replied only by a haughty smile, so Quentin continued-- - -"Now we shall make our way together delightfully to Portalegre, and -there can be no more deafness; or can it be that you and Donna Ximena -changed places here in the night? Oh, tell me what does all this -mean?" - -"I shall tell you, senor," said the now blushing girl; "it means -simply that my brother was most anxious that I, and not Donna Ximena, -should reach the St. Engracia convent, as a place of permanent safety -till these wars and tumults are over. He also wished to supply you -with a guide to Portalegre, where, but for the loss of our horses, we -should have been last night. Thus my brother----" - -"Deemed that as old Donna Ximena you would be safer with me than in -your own character?" - -"Exactly," she replied, laughing; "we thought there would be little -chance of your attentions annoying her." - -"Do you imagine that when the French appeared I would have turned my -horse's head and left you without thought or ceremony, as I left -her--she whom I considered an old, deaf bore and encumbrance? You -have acted well your part, senora. How you made me roar and shout, -as if I was commanding a whole brigade!" - -"And now, senor, that you know I am not Donna Ximena, will you -respect me the less?" - -"On the contrary, I shall respect you a great deal more," said -Quentin with enthusiasm, as he took her hand in his; but she withdrew -it as if to adjust her veil. - -"Then, am I to understand that in your country, youth is more -honourable than age?" - -"Nay, it is not, but youth is more pleasing, certainly." - -"You have been most kind to me, senor." - -"Kind, senora?" Quentin thought she was quizzing him. - -"Yes; I cannot forget how, even as old Ximena, you lifted me from my -mule, conveyed me in here, made a couch and pillow for me, and so -forth. _Beso usted la mano, caballero_ (I kiss your hand, sir)," she -added, taking his hand in hers. - -"Oh, Donna Isidora, I cannot permit you to do this--unless----" - -"Do you not know the customs of Castile? Well, unless what?" - -"You permit me to kiss yours." - -"How simple! there, senor," she added, presenting a very lovely -little hand, which he pressed to his lips. - -"Your cheek now--ah, you will permit me?" urged Quentin, becoming a -little bewildered by the whole situation, and by the clear dark eyes -that looked so softly into his. - -"Do so, senor." - -Quentin was promptly pressing forward, when the point of a very -unpleasant looking little stiletto met his cheek! - -"Senora," he exclaimed, "what do you mean?" - -"That I shall stab you to the heart if you molest me--that is all!" -said she, as a gleam came into her dark eyes that vividly reminded -Quentin of Baltasar. - -"So, so, senora," said Quentin, with an air of pique, "you are -certainly able to take care of yourself." - -"I live in times when it is necessary I should be so," was the dry -retort. - -Quentin surveyed her with growing interest, for her beauty was very -remarkable in its delicacy and darkness. She had a short crimson -upper lip, that seemed to quiver with every passing thought, for she -was an impressionable, enthusiastic, and high-spirited girl. After a -pause, - -"Now that you have done admiring me, I suppose," said she, "you will -kindly say what we are to do?" - -"How?" - -"We cannot remain here among the leaves, like a couple of gitanos, or -two rooks in search of a nest." - -"We shall continue our journey to Portalegre, with your permission, -senora; and now that you have recovered your hearing, and that I am -not obliged to bellow like a madman, you will perhaps, if in your -power, tell me where we are?" - -Donna Isidora laughed and presented her hand; Quentin assisted her to -rise, and on issuing from the ruined arch, she looked about her for -some time. - -"By those two windmills," said she, "I know that we are not far from -Salorino." - -"A town, senora?" - -"Yes; it lies at the base of yonder lofty mountain, on the left bank -of the river Salor." - -"Is it large?" - -"A considerable place for manufactures. This purple and white -striped woollen stuff is made there; but the town must be avoided, as -it is occupied by a troop of Polish Lancers." - -"Then did we ride the wrong way in the rain last night?" - -"Yes; we are still fully thirty miles from Portalegre." - -"Thirty miles yet, senora!" - -"Yes, and Valencia de Alcantara, where the French Light Cavalry are, -lies exactly midway, on the main road, between us and it." - -Quentin's heart sunk at this information. - -"You are certain of all this, senora?" said he, laying his hand -lightly on her arm. - -"Quite, senor." - -"We cannot--you, at least, cannot--proceed thirty miles on foot; so -what in heaven's name shall we do?" said Quentin in great perplexity. - -"The Conde de Maciera, who serves in my brother's band of guerillas -as captain of a hundred lancers, has a villa at the foot of yonder -hill near the Salor; I remember that the wildest bull we ever had in -the arena at Salamanca came from thence. The place is scarcely two -miles distant from this, and could we but reach it, doubtless some of -his domestics might assist us." - -"The idea is excellent; let us set out at once!" - -"Be advised by me, senor, and take some breakfast first," said the -Spanish girl, laughing; "it is a custom we guerillas have, always to -eat when provisions can be had, lest we halt where there are none." - -Quentin at once assented, and opening the alforja produced the fowl -and other edibles, on which they made a slight repast before setting -forth. - -Seating herself within the ruined arch, her head reclined upon her -left hand, Isidora displayed to perfection a lovely rounded arm, and -a pair of taper ankles and little feet, towards which Quentin's eyes -wandered from time to time. - -"You look at me very earnestly, senora," said he, while his cheek -reddened and his heart fluttered on finding the dark searching eyes -of the young donna fixed on him more than once. - -"There is, I can see, a sad expression in your eyes, senor." - -"Do you think so?" asked Quentin, smiling. - -"Yes." - -"But how, or why do you suppose so?" - -"I don't know; I perceive that you are a mere boy (muchacho), and -yet--and yet----" - -"What, senora?" - -"Ave Maria purissima! I can't say--there is something that speaks to -me of thought, reflection, care beyond your years." - -"It may well be so, dear senora; I have never known a relative in the -world; I have been an orphan from infancy, and----" - -"And now," said she, presenting him with her hand, "you are a soldier -who comes to fight for Spain!" - -"And for _you_, too, senora," he added, as he touched her fingers -with his lips, and with a devotion that somewhat surprised himself. -"But are you afraid of me, as old Donna Ximena was?" - -"No--why do you think I am?" - -"You sign the cross so often." - -"Because, senor--excuse me, but the morning air is excessively chilly -here, and I yawn frequently." - -"And you do so?----" - -"For fear Satanas should dart down my throat unseen and unfelt. It -is a belief--superstition you may deem it--that we have in Castile; -though you, perhaps, who have, unfortunately, been educated among -heretics, may know neither the dread nor the holy sign. I know that -it is not used in your country, senor--because I can read." - -"I should think so," said Quentin, amused by her simplicity; "is not -every lady educated?" - -"No--not in Spain." - -"Why?" - -"Lest, if handsome, they should write to their lovers." - -"And yet, senora, they had the rashness to teach you." - -"Do you mean that I am handsome, or that I must have lovers?" - -"I mean both--that being the first of necessity leads to your -possessing the last." - -"My poor father, the good old professor, who was so barbarously slain -by the French, was careful to teach me many things, though our female -literary accomplishments are usually confined to our prayers and -rehearsing legends of the saints, songs of the Cid Rodrigo, or by -Lope de la Vega. In England I believe you have women who could lead -the Junta or shine in the Cortes itself; but what matters their -education, when it only serves to confirm their heresies? And now, -senor, place the bota in the alforja, and sling that over your -shoulder; let us go, and I shall be your guide to Villa de Maciera." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE VILLA DE MACIERA. - - "Innocence makes him careless now. - * * * * - Youth hath its whimsies, nor are we - To examine all their paths too strictly: - We went awry ourselves when we were young." - _Old Tragedy._ - - -Donna Isidora had now divested herself of the large and loose woollen -weed in which she had travelled yesterday, and threw it gracefully -over her arm. In her short but amply flounced skirt she tripped--as -we are writing of a Spanish girl we should have it glided--along by -the side of Quentin, who moderated his pace to suit hers. - -The rain of last night had completely laid the dust; the morning air -was cool and delightful, and save a Franciscan friar of Medellin, -travelling like themselves on foot, with a canvas wallet slung on his -back and a long knotted staff in his hand, they met no one. - -The heavy clouds were banking up from the westward, but the sky was -beautiful overhead, and, refreshed by the torrents of last night, -every herb, flower, and leaf wore their brightest hues. The Salor, a -river which flows from the mountains southward of Caceres, in -Estremadura, and joins the Tagus near Rosmaninhal, in the province of -Beira, and the bed of which frequently becomes quite dry in summer, -now came in sight, swollen by the recent rains, and flowing red and -muddy between groves of olive trees, which were still in full leaf, -as in those regions the olive harvest usually occurs about the month -of December. - -On the surface of the rushing river the large flowers of the white -and purple lotus floated, or sunk to rise again, bobbing in the -eddies; and some brightly feathered birds, though summer was long -since past, twittered about, filling the air with melody and song. - -But the western clouds, we have said, came gathering fast and -heavily, and in sombre masses that alternated between purple and inky -grey, while the wind rose in hot or cold puffs that gradually grew to -gusts; and these, with other indications that rough weather was again -at hand, made the two pedestrians hasten on. - -Ere they crossed the old Roman bridge that spans the Salor, by arches -that must whilom have echoed to the marching legions of Quintus -Sertorius, the sound of distant thunder was heard among the -mountains, and then the clouds gathered so fast, that ere long every -vestige of blue was completely hidden in the sky. - -"If rain comes, what a situation for you, Donna Isidora!" said -Quentin, turning to his companion, to whose usually colourless cheek, -the early morning air and the exercise of walking had imparted a -lovely flush; in fact she seemed radiantly beautiful! - -"Oh, fear not for me, senor, though to have one's only dress wetted, -is rather unpleasant," she replied; "besides, the villa of the Conde -is close at hand." - -At that moment one or two large drops of warm rain plashed on the -road they traversed, causing them to quicken their steps. - -Striking off from the main highway, Isidora led Quentin between two -gate pillars, each of which was surmounted by a marble lion, seated -on its haunches, with its fore paws resting on a shield. This gave -access to an avenue, where two rows of giant beeches, now brown and -yellow, mingled with ilex (whose leaves seem red as blood when viewed -in the sunshine), cast their shadows on two lesser rows of dense and -dark-leaved Portuguese laurels, myrtle and wild gentian; but in this -silent and untrodden avenue, the rank grass and weeds were already -sprouting. - -"This is the villa," said Donna Isidora, as they came suddenly in -sight of a chateau of very imposing aspect; "but Madre Maria! what is -this? It seems quite deserted!" - -A double flight of white marble steps led from a green lawn to a -noble terrace, the balustrades of which were elaborately carved, and -had at regular intervals square pedestals bearing each an enormous -porphyry vase filled with flowers that diffused a delicious aroma. -From the architecture of the villa, a large square mansion with -wings, which rose from the plateau of this stately terrace, and by -its Palladian style, many of the pediments, cornices, capitals, and -especially the statues that adorned it, seemed to have been taken -from the various Roman ruins in the vicinity. - -Around this terrace was a row of orange trees, the fruit of which had -never been gathered, as it lay in heaps under each, just as it had -fallen from the branches when dead ripe. - -The plashing water of a beautiful bronze fountain, where four Tritons -shot each a jet of pure crystal from a trumpet-shaped conch into a -yellow marble basin, alone broke the silence and stillness of the -place. Torn from its elaborate hinges, the front door lay flat on -the tesselated marble floor of the vestibule, having evidently been -beaten in by the simple application of a large stone which still lay -above it; and the tendrils of the gorgeous acacias that covered the -front wall of the villa, had already begun to find their way in at -the open door, and to creep through the shattered windows. - -"The French have been here!" said Isidora, with a dark expression in -her eyes; "De Ribeaupierre's dragoons have done this." - -"The villa is quite deserted, senora," said Quentin, as they stood in -irresolution and perplexity on the terrace. "How far are we from -Salorino?" - -"Six miles at least." - -Quentin hallooed loudly two or three times, but the echoes of the -tenantless abode alone responded, and the deathlike stillness there -made Isidora shrink close to his side. - -"I was not prepared for this," she said, while her eyes filled with -tears; "yet what else can we expect while a Frenchman remains alive -on this side of the Pyrenees?" she added, bitterly. - -"There seems to be no living thing here, senora; not even a household -dog." - -"What shall we do, senor?" she asked, earnestly. - -"Whatever we do ultimately, senora, we must take shelter now, for -here comes the storm again, and with vengeance, too!" - -So intent had they been in observing the indications of desertion and -decay about this noble villa, that they had failed to see how fast -the storm had gathered round them. A gust of wind tore past the -edifice, strewing the terrace with withered acacia flowers and orange -leaves, and then the rain descended in torrents, driving the -travellers for shelter into the open vestibule. - -In blinding sheets it rushed along the earth, from which it seemed to -rise again like smoke or mist, then the thunder hurtled across the -darkening sky, and the yellow lightning played like wild-fire about -the bare granite scalps of the distant sierras, throwing forward -every peak in strong outline from the dusky masses of cloud, amid -which they "were an instant seen, and instant lost." - -"_Madre de Dios!_ there seems a fatality in all this!" exclaimed -Isidora, as the overstrained and half Moorish ideas of etiquette and -female propriety which prevail in Spain and Portugal occurred to her; -then, looking at Quentin, while a blush suffused her cheek, she -added, "to be wandering in this manner is a most awkward situation, -especially for me." - -Quentin made some well-bred reply, he knew not what; but with all its -awkwardness he felt that "the situation had its charm," as he took -her hand and suggested that they should investigate the premises and -see whether the villa was really so deserted as it appeared. - -From the splendid vestibule, the lofty walls and rich cornices of -which were covered with armorial bearings of the past Condes de -Maciera, many of their escutcheons being collared by the orders of -Santiago de Compostella, Santiago de Montesa, the Dove of Castile, -and the Golden Fleece, with the crossed batons that showed how many -had of old commanded the Monteros de Espinosa, or Ancient Archers of -the Spanish Royal Guard, Quentin and Donna Isidora ascended a marble -stair to a large corridor, off which several suites of apartments -opened, and through these they proceeded, every moment fearful of -coming suddenly upon some sight of horror, as the French were seldom -slow in using their bayonets against any household that received them -unwillingly, and the battered state of the entrance door showed that -the villa had been entered forcibly. - -The great corridor, like many of the rooms, was hung with portraits -of grisly saints and meek-eyed Madonnas, and of many a lank-visaged -and long-bearded hidalgo, with breast-plate, high ruff, and -bowl-hilted toledo, looking with calm pride, or it might be defiance, -from the flapping canvas, which had been slashed in mere wantonness -by the sabres of the French dragoons. - -Save that a number of chairs were overthrown, that several lockfast -places had been broken open, and that many empty bottles strewed the -floors, the furniture appeared to have been left untouched. The gilt -clocks on the marble mantel-pieces ticked no more, and the spiders -had spun their webs over the hour-hands and dials, thus showing that -the villa must have been deserted by the family and servants of the -count for some weeks. The damask sofas and ottomans were covered -with dust, and many books lay strewn about on the dry and now musty -esparto grass that covered some of the floors, which were nearly all -of highly polished oak. - -Quentin picked up a lady's white kid glove, and a black fan covered -with silver spangles. - -"These have belonged to the mother of the Conde, who resided here; -where can the poor lady have fled--what may have become of her?" said -Isidora as they wandered on, her voice and Quentin's sounding strange -and hollow in the emptiness of the great villa. - -All the bed-chambers were untouched, save in some instances where a -mirror or cheval glass was starred or smashed by a pistol-shot; and -so, ere long, the visitors in their search found themselves in the -chapel, a little gothic oratory of very florid architecture, which -had evidently formed a portion of a much older edifice than the -present villa; for there, on a pedestal tomb, having a row of carved -weepers round it, and little niches and sockets for twelve votive -lamps, lay side by side the effigies of two knights in chain-armour, -with their cross-hilted swords and military girdles on, and their -hands folded in prayer. Quentin drew near them with interest, for he -remembered the quaint effigy of Sir Ranulph Crawford, Keeper of the -Palace of Carrick, in the old kirk of Rohallion, and while Isidora -knelt for a moment before the little altar, he read on a brass plate -this inscription: - -"Aqui yazen el noble y valiente Conde, Don Fernando de Estremera, y -su hijo, Don Antonio, Condes de Maciera y Estremera; fueron muertos -en una batalla con los Infieles, en tiempo del Rey Don Alfonso de -Castile, Leon, y Galicia. Requiescant in pace." - -"More than seven hundred years ago," thought Quentin. "Sir Ranulph's -tomb is a thing of yesterday compared with this." - -He surveyed with emotions of pleasure and interest this little -oratory, the sanctuary of which, with its half Moorish and -arabesque-like carvings was a miracle of art and a mass of gilding. -It must have been erected almost immediately after the expulsion of -the Arabs from that part of Castile, and so those Counts of Maciera -had lived and died before the days of the Cid himself, - - "The venging scourge of Moors and traitors, - The mighty thunderbolt of war! - Mirror bright of chivalry, - Ruy, my Cid Campeador!" - -for he had been born when Canute the Dane swayed his sceptre over -England, and when Malcolm of Scotland--Rex Victoriosissimus--was -nailing the hides of the Norsemen on the doors of his parish -churches. It was a remote period to look back to, and yet, in some -of her national features, particularly in a proneness to bloodshed, -Spain was pretty much the same as when the Cid shook his lance before -the walls of Zamora. - -Light, many hued, crimson, blue, and green, streamed, with flakes of -dusky yellow, through the chapel's deep-arched windows, shedding a -warm glow on its carved pillars, ribbed arches, and lettered stones -that marked the graves of the dead below, where the Condes de -Maciera, "el noble--el magno," were mingling with the dust; but now -their dwelling-place was desolate, and the heir of all their titles, -a half-desperate outlaw and soldier, was serving as a guerilla in the -band of Baltasar the Salamanquino. - -Various stools and hassocks were still disposed near the oak rail of -the sanctuary, as if to mark where several of the fugitive household -had knelt but recently. - -The chapel suddenly grew very dark, but was lightened as quickly by a -terrific flash without. Against this glare of light the mullions and -tracery of the windows were darkly but distinctly defined, and, as it -passed away, a peal of thunder that seemed directly over their heads, -shook the place. Crossing herself, Donna Isidora sprang close to -Quentin's side, and taking her by the hand, he led her back to a more -cheerful part of the voiceless mansion. - -The weather was completely broken now, and to Quentin it seemed that -unless there was some change, of which there was no probability, as -the year was closing, the army were likely to have a fine time of it, -after breaking up from their snug cantonments in Portugal to open a -campaign in Spain. - -There was not the slightest appearance of the rain abating, so -feeling the necessity for making themselves as comfortable as -circumstances would permit, Quentin set about closing all the doors -and windows, and selecting a room that had evidently been the boudoir -of the Condesa, as its walls were covered by white silk starred with -gold; there, too, were pale-blue damask hangings, starred with -silver, a piano and guitar, with piles of music, illuminated books, -sketches, statuettes, and ornaments, all indicative of a graceful -taste and refined mind. - -These were all untouched, so there Quentin installed his companion, -whose eye was the first to detect a gilt cage, at the bottom of which -a former friend and favourite, a little singing bird, lay dead and -covered with dust. - -She seated herself near the window to watch the black clouds whirling -in masses around the peaks of the great mountain ranges that lay -between her and her temporary home in Portugal, and on the rain -plashing frothily on the marble terrace, gorging the gurgoyles of the -parapet and the basin of the bronze fountain, which had long since -overflowed. - -Meanwhile Quentin bustled about; to have the run of such a house was -not without interest. He soon procured a brasero, which he filled -with charcoal, and lighted by flashing some powder in the pan of a -pistol; and for warmth, he made Isidora place her dainty little feet -upon it. Canisters of biscuits and of fruit of various kinds, -several flasks of Valdepenas and Champagne, a ham, and several other -matters which he found in overhauling the cook's department and -butler's pantry, with all the appurtenances of the table, he -appropriated with a campaigner's readiness, and insisted upon his -fair companion partaking of a repast with him. - -The storm--the rain, at least, as we shall have to show--continued -much longer than they anticipated. But if it lasted for a fortnight, -there seemed to be still provisions enough in the old villa to -prevent them from being starved out even in that time. - -For a period both were now perplexed and thoughtful. - -Donna Isidora was considering how all this unlooked-for deviation and -delay were to be explained to her brother, who, as a Spaniard, was -naturally suspicious, and of whom she stood in considerable awe. The -latter emotion made her conceive that the most peaceful and prudent -course would be, to say nothing whatever about the casual discovery -of her disguise, or her wanderings on the way before reaching -Portalegre; but then, how was she to account for the absence of the -horse and mule, but for the loss of which, after their flight from -the French, she and Quentin would have been last night safe and -separated at the place of their destination! - -Then when remembering the haughty temper of Cosmo, and the cold and -hostile manner in which he was treated by him, Quentin felt some -alarm lest his honour might be impugned by the protracted delay in -rejoining the Borderers; while his own experience, and the hints he -had received from Major Middleton, made him now resolve, however -great his reluctance would be in leaving that fine old soldier and -Askerne, Monkton, and other 25th men, to volunteer into some other -regiment--perhaps in the 94th, if his friend Captain Warriston could -scheme it for him. - -The moidores which Ribeaupierre had so generously shared with him, -made a transfer of this kind appear the more easy in a monetary point -of view; and luckily the army had not yet begun to move, so his -courage was still unimpeachable. - -Reflection showed that Cosmo would render his life intolerable, and -make promotion an impossibility. - -"I shall seek out another colonel, if he can be found in the service. -I can only fail in the attempt, and be no worse than I am," said -Quentin, unintentionally aloud, so that the dark eyes of the Spanish -girl rested inquiringly on him. - -He now seated himself in the same window opposite Isidora, who having -her own thoughts, was silent. Evening was drawing near--the short -evening of a dark November day, and the ceaseless rain still plashed -heavily down, while the wind howled drearily around the solitary -villa. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -OUR LADY DEL PILAR. - - "The foe retires--she heads the sallying host, - Who can appease like her a lover's ghost? - Who can so well appease a lover's fall? - What maid retrieve when man's flushed hope is lost? - Who hang so fiercely on the flying Gaul, - Foiled by a woman's hand before a battered wall." - BYRON. - - -"What a singular adventure this is," thought Quentin; "and what a -perplexing position for us both! It is very romantic, certainly. A -deserted house, a lovely girl, and all that. 'Tis very like some -incidents I have read of, and some I have imagined; but, by Jove! I -wish I could see my way handsomely out of it." - -The last desire resulted from the unpleasant recollection of the -Padre Trevino's face and intonation of voice, when he spoke so -impressively of the _interest he_ felt in the lady committed to his -care, and the sternly expressed anxiety that she should reach -Portalegre "without hindrance or _delay_." - -Was the fellow only acting a part, or could it be that the ugly ogre -actually had some tender fancy for Isidora? Whether he had or not, -an unfrocked friar, especially of his peculiar character, had not -much chance of success with the sister or support from the brother, -so Quentin dismissed the idea. - -"How charming she looks!" he thought, stealing a glance at the long -lashes of the now pensive eyes, the soft features half shaded by the -black lace veil, and the graceful contour of her bust and shoulders, -in her low-cut scarlet velvet corset. "How delightful, if, instead -of being lost in this barbarous place, she were at Rohallion or -Ardgour; what a lovely friend and companion for Flora!" - -Poor Quentin! Alas, this was but the sophistry of the heart, and -was, perhaps, its first impulse towards the donna herself, and might -end by her image supplanting Flora's there. - -"Such desecration, that her hand should even be touched by such a -wretch as Trevino!" - -He had muttered his last thought aloud, so Donna Isidora looked up -and said-- - -"You mentioned the Padre Trevino?" - -"Did I?--surely not?" replied Quentin, as the colour rushed into his -face. - -"Yes--what of him, senor?" she asked, fixing her soft, dark eyes on -him inquiringly. - -"I must have been dreaming." - -"Scarcely," said she, smiling, "while the thunder makes such a noise; -you were thinking aloud." - -"Perhaps." - -"Of what? I insist on knowing." - -"I cannot help reflecting, senora, that such actions as those in -which Trevino seems to exult, must damage the Spanish cause in the -eyes of Europe and of humanity, and thus--excuse me----but I begin to -lose faith in your countrymen, even before we test alliance with them -fully." - -"And what say you of the recent siege of Zaragossa?" - -"Ah, Don José Palafox is a brave man, certainly; and brave too, is -Augustina, the Maid of Zaragossa, who led the cannoneers in the -defence of the Portillo against Lefebre." - -"She had lost her lover in the siege, so apart from inspiration, her -courage was no marvel." - -"And you, senora--if you lost a lover?" - -"I have lost several; but if I lost one whom I loved, you mean?" - -"Yes--and who loved you well and truly?" - -"I would face ten thousand cannon to avenge him!--Augustina did -nothing that I would not dare and do!" replied Isidora, as her eyes -sparkled, and she pressed her clenched hand into the soft cheek that -rested on it. - -"A beautiful little spitfire!" thought Quentin. - -"But, senor, you must be aware that neither Palafox the Arragonese -nor the girl Augustina could have achieved all they did, save for the -aid of our Lady del Pilar?" - -"What lady is she?" asked Quentin. - -"Madre divina, listen to him! It grieves me sadly, amigo mio, to -think--to think----" - -"What?" asked Quentin, as she paused. - -"That you are a heretic, innocently, through no fault of your own, -and yet born to perdition." - -"You are not very complimentary, yet I pardon you, my dear senora," -replied Quentin, laughing as he kissed her hand--which we fear he did -rather frequently now. - -"Shall I try to teach you, and lead your heart as I would wish it?" -she asked, with a gentle smile. - -"If you please, senora." - -"I mean, to instil a proper spirit of adoration in it?" - -"If it is adoration of yourself, senora, I fear my heart is learning -that fast enough already," replied Quentin, with such a caballero air -that the donna laughed and coloured, but accepted the answer as a -mere compliment; "then tell me," he added, "about this Lady del -Pilar, who aided Don José Palafox." - -"She is the guardian saint of the city of Zaragossa, and save but for -her assistance, he had never withstood the arms of France so long; -for it was faith in her, and her only, that inspired Palafox to make -a resistance so terrible!" - -"But tell me about her, Donna Isidora." - -"You must learn, senor, that after the resurrection of our blessed -Lord, when the twelve apostles separated and went to preach the -gospel in different parts of the world, St. George set out for -England, St. Anthony for Italy, and the others went elsewhere; but -Santiago the elder set out for Spain, a land which, say our annals, -the Saviour commended to his peculiar care. - -"Before departing from Judea, he went to the humble dwelling of the -blessed Virgin--the same little hut that is now at Loretto--to kiss -her hand, on his knees to obtain her permission to set forth, and her -blessing on his labours. After bestowing it, she adjured him to -build a church unto her honour in that city of Spain where he should -make the most important, or the greatest number of converts. - -"So the saint set sail in a Roman galley, but was driven through the -Pillars of Hercules into the Atlantic ocean, and after enduring great -perils along the shores of Lusitania, he landed in the kingdom of -Galicia. Proceeding through the land, he went barefooted, preaching -the gospel, teaching and baptizing, but with little success, until he -came to a fair city of Arragon, on the banks of the Ebro and the -Guerva, in the midst of a vast and lovely plain. Surrounded by -fertile fields of corn, and by groves of orange and lime trees, its -stately towers were visible from afar, glittering white as snow in -the sunshine; but in its marble temples false gods and goddesses were -worshipped by the people. - -"Enchanted by the sight of a city so fair, the saint rested on his -staff and asked of a wayfarer how it was named; and he was told that -it was Cæsarea Augusta; so entering, he began to preach in the public -thoroughfares, and ere long made eight disciples, who gave all they -possessed to the poor, and followed him. - -"Full of joy with his success he retired, one evening, to a little -grove on the banks of the Ebro, with his eight new friends, and -there, after long and holy converse, they fell asleep under the -orange trees; but between the night and morning they were awakened by -hearing a choir, possessed of a harmony that was divine, singing 'Ave -Maria gratia plena, Dominus tecum;' yet they saw not from whence the -sound proceeded. - -"Louder swelled this mysterious harmony, and louder still, until they -seemed to be in the midst of it. - -"Listening in wonder and awe they fell on their knees, and lo, senor! -a marvellous silver light, brighter than that of day, filled all the -orange grove, and amid a choir of angels, whose golden hair floated -over their shoulders, whose wings and robes were white as the new -fallen snow, and whose faces bloomed with the purity and radiance of -heaven, there, on the summit of a white marble pillar, stood the -blessed Madonna, with her fair brow crowned by thirteen stars, and -her robe all of a dazzling brightness. With a divine smile on her -face, she listened to the choir, who went through the whole of her -matin service. - -"When it was ended, when the voices of the angels were hushed, their -eyes cast down, and their hands meekly folded on their bosoms, - -"'Santiago,' said she, 'here on this spot raise them the church of -which I told thee, and build it round this pillar, which I have -brought hither by the hands of angels; here shall it abide until the -end of the world, and all the powers of hell shall not prevail -against it!' - -"The saint and his eight disciples, who were all on their knees in -reverence and awe, bowed low at this command; when they looked up, -the Virgin had disappeared with all her shining choir, and nothing -remained but the miraculous pillar of polished marble, standing cold, -white, and solitary, amid the moonlight, by the bank of the Ebro. - -"So around that column he built the famous church of Our Lady del -Pilar, which has been the scene of a thousand miracles; about it, ere -long, grew the vast Christian city now named Zaragossa, which, as my -father the professor always assured me, is but a corruption of the -original name, Cæsarea-Augusta. - -"Santiago rests from his holy labours in Compostella, where he was -martyred by the barbarous Galicians, and where his bones were -discovered in after years by a miraculous star that burned over his -grave. When danger threatens Spain, the clashing of arms and of -armour is heard within his tomb, for he is her tutelary guardian, and -so greatly do we venerate him, that of the canons of his cathedral -seven, at least, must be cardinal priests: and there, at Compostella, -he appeared in a vision to the king, Don Ramiro, before his famous -battle with the Moors, and promised him victory for withholding the -annual tribute of a hundred Christian girls. - -"Time passed over Zaragossa, and even the infidel Moors respected the -holy pillar, for it was found uninjured when the city was re-captured -from them by Don Alphonso of Arragon. - -"And so last year, when the French had pushed their batteries along -the right bank of the Guerva, and had beaten down the rampart; and -when, at their head, General Ribeaupierre had cut a passage through -the ranks of Palafox into the wide and stately Coso: when Lefebre -assailed the Portillo, and was repulsed with the loss of two thousand -men, but returned with renewed fury, when a carnage ensued that must -have ended in the fall of Zaragossa and the capture of Don José, -_then_ it was, senor, that the young girl Augustina, inspired by -vengeance for her lover's fall, appeared among the soldiers, calling -on Our Lady del Pilar to aid her chosen city. - -"Then springing over dead and dying, she snatched a lighted match -from her dead lover's hand and discharged a twenty-six pounder loaded -with grapeshot full at the advancing foe, and animated the citizens -to continue that awful struggle by which Zaragossa was saved, though -the flower of Arragon perished. Foot to foot and breast to breast -they fought, contesting every street and house, from floor to floor, -till the French retired. Augustina received a noble pension, and now -wears on her sleeve a shield of honour with the city's name." - -By the time this story was ended, darkness had almost set in; the -rain was still rushing down in a ceaseless flood, and the vivid -lightning, with its green and ghastly glare, lit up from time to time -the gloomy chambers of the silent villa. - -Remembering that he had seen a lamp in one of the rooms, Quentin was -about to go in search of it, when the sound of a heavy door closing -with a bang that echoed through all the mansion, made him pause, and -as he was Scotsman enough to have certain undefined but superstitious -notions, he turned to his companion, who on hearing this unexpected -noise, had started from her seat with her eyes dilated and her lips -parted. - -"You heard that, senora?" said he. - -"It is the private door of the chapel--the door through which we -passed," she replied. - -"What has caused it to open and shut?" - -"The wind, probably." - -"It can be nothing else, senora, though in truth I was thinking of -those two effigies that for seven hundred years have stood, with -their stony eyes uplifted and their mailed hands clasped in prayer." - -"What of them?" she asked, with surprise. - -"What if they got off their pedestals and took a promenade through -the villa on this stormy night?" - -"Ah, senor, don't talk of such things!" said Donna Isidora, as she -shrunk close to him and laid her hand on his arm. - - - -END OF VOL. 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