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diff --git a/75872-0.txt b/75872-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ba1558a --- /dev/null +++ b/75872-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7826 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75872 *** + + + + + + TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE + + Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. + + Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been + placed at the end of the book, in front of the catalog. + + The tables in this book are best viewed using a monospace font. + + Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book. + + + + + JOURNAL + + OF THE + + WATERLOO CAMPAIGN + + + + + JOURNAL + + OF THE + + WATERLOO CAMPAIGN + + KEPT THROUGHOUT THE CAMPAIGN OF 1815 + + + BY THE LATE + + GENERAL CAVALIÉ MERCER + + COMMANDING THE 9TH BRIGADE ROYAL ARTILLERY + + + IN TWO VOLUMES + + VOL. I. + + + WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS + EDINBURGH AND LONDON + MDCCCLXX + + _The Right of Translation is reserved_ + + + + +PREFACE. + + +This work--the ‘Journal of the Campaign of 1815’--was written by my +father in its present form about forty years ago, from rough notes +jotted down every evening after the scenes and events of the day +were over. It has no pretension to be an account of the military +operations of the war, but merely a diary of the writer’s own +impressions--what he saw and felt while with the army, from the first +landing in Belgium to the final embarkation for England. Of the great +battle, no other description than that of the part taken in it by +his own troop of Horse-Artillery, or those corps in his immediate +vicinity, is given; but from its very nature as a diary, the tedium +of out-quarters, the fatigues of the march, and the hardships of the +bivouac, are made present, as it were, to the reader. My father +having been a very good amateur artist, was much struck, of course, +by new and picturesque scenes, consequently has described them _con +amore_, and in considerable detail. The author himself belonged to +a military race; all his family were either in the army or navy. He +was the second son of General Mercer of the Royal Engineers, who, +after serving on Sir H. Clinton’s staff during the American War of +Independence, was more than twenty years commanding engineer in the +West of England, where his honourable character procured him many +friends. My father (also a general officer at the time of his death) +was born in 1783, and passing as usual through the Military Academy +at Woolwich, obtained a commission in the Royal Artillery at sixteen, +and was sent to Ireland at the time of the Rebellion. In 1808 he went +to the river Plate to join Whitelock’s unfortunate expedition, and +covered the retreat from Buenos Ayres. This proved a most unhappy +affair for him; for having been in South America, he was prevented +from partaking in the glorious campaigns of the Peninsula, and only +saw foreign service again in the campaign of Waterloo. After the +peace, he was placed upon half-pay. In 1824 he was ordered to Canada, +having the brevet rank of major (I should have noticed that at +Waterloo he only held the rank of second captain, although commanding +a troop--Sir Alex. Dickson, whose troop it was, being otherwise +employed). In 1837, being then a lieutenant-colonel, he was again +sent to North America, and commanded the artillery in Nova Scotia +at the time when the Maine boundary-line threatened to terminate in +a war between this country and the United States. He subsequently +commanded the garrison at Dover, after which he retired from active +service, although, being colonel-commandant of the 9th Brigade of +Royal Artillery, he was never placed on the retired list. From that +time to the period of his death, at the advanced age of eighty-five, +he continued to reside at Cowley Cottage, near Exeter. + +Another addition to the numerous books which have been published +about Waterloo will hardly seem out of place at a time when the +subject has been revived both here and in France. It would seem +that men’s interest in this great “World Battle” is as strong now +as fifty years ago; and although this little contribution will not +elucidate any of the questions that are agitated, still (as far as +memory serves) it is the first account of the campaign given to the +world by an artillery officer, and may add another stone to the cairn +raised to the glory of the British army and its immortal chief. At +any rate, the surviving veterans of this stirring epoch will rejoice +to go again over the scenes of their younger days; while the lovers +of peace will congratulate themselves on the cessation of such strife +between two noble nations, whose last (and may it continue to be the +last) hostile _rencontre_ took place upon the plain of Waterloo. + + CAVALIÉ A. MERCER. + + TRIPOLI, SYRIA. + + + + +CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. + + + CHAPTER I. + + PAGE + + Preparations for Departure--Reports of Fugitives--Embarkation + and Departure--The Voyage--Off the Coast--First View of + Ostend--Aspect of the Coast--Ostend Harbour--Its Dangers-- + Unceremonious Landing of Dragoon Horses, 1 + + + CHAPTER II. + + Confusion at Landing--Scene on Shore--Difficulties--Confusion + on the Beach--A Catastrophe--The Town by Night--Difficulties + of the March--Night Quarters--A Pleasant Change--Return + to Ostend--Waiting to Start--Costumes of the Natives--Scenes + in the Town--A Wreck--Fearful Scene--Impressions of Ostend, 14 + + + CHAPTER III. + + Change of Scenery--Arrival at Ghistel--Our Quarters there--Again + on the March--Arrival at Bruges--Our Hotel--First + Impressions of Bruges--Present and Past--The Stadthouse + and Cathedral--Mass in the Cathedral--The Worshippers--The + Ramparts--Dinner, 32 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + Eccloo--Arrival at Ghent--Our Quarters there--My Host--My + Quarters--Louis XVIII. and his Court--French Officers--Marshal + Marmont--French Deserters--Ghent--Street Architecture--The + Place D’Armes--Flemish Postilions--View + from the Citadel--The Corn-Market--The Hôtel de Ville--Meat + and Vegetable Markets--General Order and Cleanliness--A + Suppressed Monastery--The Cathedral--A Royal + Mass--Domestic Architecture--An Interior--Comfortable + Quarters--Numbers of Priests--Costumes--Character of the + People--Immorality--German and English Cavalry, 46 + + + CHAPTER V. + + Again on the March--The Pays de Waes--Lokeren--A Village + Curé--Dendermonde--My Quarters at St Gille--View from + my Windows--Kindness of the Natives--A Flemish Farmhouse-- + Fertility of the Land--At Dinner--Our Host--Attachment + to Napoleon--Peace and War--Flemish Teams--Cattle + and Sheep--Dendermonde, 78 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + Excursion to Alost--Aspect of the Place--We Lose our + Way--Again on the Move--Parting with my Hostess--A Last + Breakfast--On the March--Change of Scenery--Views + from the Hills--Beauty of the Country--Arrival at + Strytem--The Château--Our Quarters there--Comfortless + Prospect--Family Portraits--Choosing our Quarters--A + Private Chapel--Increasing Comfort--Our Mess-Room--Karl--His + History--His Acquirements--An Interruption--The + Maire and his Following--A Garde-Champêtre--A Scene--M. + L’Adjoint’s Speech--Our Answer to it--I am peremptory--The + Deputation in a Fright--The Mayor in Safe + Keeping--Petit Jean--A Sleepless Night, 100 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + Occupations at Strytem--Our Fare--The Country round Strytem-- + Beauty of the Scenery--Rich Cultivation--The Flemish + Farmers--Farming Establishments--Execrable Roads--Drunkenness-- + Frog Concerts--Draining the Moat--Result of the Experiment--The + Duc de Berri--His Brutality--A Dog-Chase--Disposition of the + Troops--Visitors from England--The Duc de Berri again--Artillery + at Waterloo--Our Equipment--Our Organisation, 138 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + My Difficulties--Plundering--The Duke and the Rocket Troop-- + Ride to Ninove--Ninove--The great Monastery--A ruined + Convent--Liederkerke--Aspect of the Country--A Character--The + Lord of Gaesbeke--The Château de Gaesbeke--My Reception--The + Marquis D’Acornati--Interior of the Château: its desolate + Aspect--The Kitchen--The Grounds: their Beauty--Variety of + Views--History of the Château--Career of its Owner--His + Singularities--His Mode of Life--Visits to the Grounds, 163 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + Visit to Hal--Return to Strytem--Start for Brussels--First View + of Brussels--Its Internal Aspect--The Park--The Ramparts--The + Hôtel de Ville--The Cathedral--The Bruxellaises--The + Allée-Verte--Prince D’Aremberg--A Mistake--Anticipations + of the Campaign, 194 + + + CHAPTER X. + + Cavalry Review--The Duc de Berri again--His Unceremonious + Reception--The Duke and Blucher--Dinner after the Review-- + Strytem again--New Species of Game--Change of Quarters--A + Death--Visit from our Host--Our Landlord--A Spy--Approaching + Departure, 212 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + Order to Advance--Preparations--Farewell to Strytem--On the + March--News from Brussels--Halt at Enghien--Doubts as + to my Route--Uncertainties--Braine le Comte--Still without + Orders--Beauty of the Scenery--We are left alone--Sounds + of Distant Battle--Pressing on--Nivelle--Excitement in the + Town--Signs of Battle--Fugitives from the Field--A Wounded + Highlander--Belgian Gasconading, 230 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + At Quatre Bras--Our Bivouac--Morning after the Battle--Our + Position--The Battle-Field--Position of the French-- + Skirmishing--An Alarm--The Retreat--Aspect of the Field--A + Memento of Battle--Alone on the Field--Inactivity of the + Enemy--Their Advance--Orders and Counter-Orders--Napoleon--A + Storm--Our Danger--Our Narrow Escape--Our Retreat--Arrival + at Genappe--The Enemy again--In Action with them--The Rocket + Brigade--An Eccentric Missile--Panic among the Brunswickers-- + Take up Position--Rejoin the Army--Bivouac for the Night-- + Discomforts--Comfortless Night--Speculations as to the + Morrow--A Godsend, 253 + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + Morning of Battle--Survey of the Field--Alarm of Battle-- + Commencement of the Battle--Orders at last--Take up Position-- + The Field of Battle--View from our Position--Our + own Position--We open Fire--Our first Casualty--An Alarmed + Doctor--Death of Captain Bolton--A Wounded Horse--A Cavalry + Charge--Our Situation--Advance of Cavalry--Dangerous + Mistake--New Position--The Brunswickers--Danger of Panic-- + Advance of Cavalry--Their Retreat--Our first Death-- + Skirmishers--Attack Renewed--Effect of our Fire--The Cavalry + again Repulsed--A Narrow Escape--A third Attack and Repulse-- + The Duke--Heavy Fire--Fearful Losses--Further Escapes--A + Remonstrance--Our Losses--Victory--Arrival of Prussians--The + Field by Moonlight--The Prussian Bivouac--Moonlight Thoughts, 291 + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + Preparing to Move--The Field by Morning--The Wounded--The + French Wounded--An Ingrate--A Grenadier à Cheval--A + Welcome Feast--Visitors from Brussels--Visit to Hougoumont--A + Contrast--Garden of the Château--A Striking + Oration--A Noble Enemy--A Keepsake--A Recognition--On + the March--A Comfortable Bivouac--Resume our March--Block + before Nivelles--Reception in the Town--Aspect of + the Town--Arrival of Prisoners--We get on at last--Belgic + Infantry--Our Bivouac--Rejoin the Army--The Greys and + Highlanders--Aspect of the Country--We Cross the Frontier--Our + first Night in France, 338 + + + + +JOURNAL + +OF THE + +WATERLOO CAMPAIGN. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +The return of Napoleon from Elba, though a surprise to many, was far +from being so to those who, well aware of his restless disposition, +his insatiable ambition, and the enthusiastic attachment of the +French soldiery to his person and fortunes, had scarcely expected +that he would have remained so long as he actually did without some +new attempt at disturbing the general peace. + +The steps taken on this occasion by the different European +Powers--their preparations for a renewal of the bloody scenes so +lately ended--are out of my province. They belong to the historian, +and not to the simple journalist, whose affair it is to confine +himself strictly to those transactions in which he was himself a +participator; or at most to glance at those more general subjects, +merely to give connection to his narrative and make it better +understood. + +At the time the news of this extraordinary event arrived, the troop +of horse-artillery which I commanded was stationed at Colchester; +and the reductions necessary to put us on a peace-establishment had +already commenced, when the order arrived for our being immediately +equipped again for foreign service. To do this effectually, another +troop, then in the same barracks, was broken up, and we got the +picked horses of both, thus making it the finest troop in the +service; and such diligence was used, that although our equipment +fell little short of a complete reorganisation, Major Sir A. Fraser, +commanding the horse-artillery in Colchester, was enabled to report +on the third day that the troop was ready to march at a moment’s +warning. + +Meantime the town of Colchester (situated as it is on the great road +from Harwich to London) presented a scene of bustle and anxiety +seldom equalled--couriers passing to and fro incessantly, and +numerous travellers, foreign and English, arriving day and night from +the Continent, many travelling in breathless haste, as if fearful, +even here, of Napoleon’s emissaries. + +The reports spread by these fugitives were various and contradictory, +as might be expected. + +According to some, Louis XVIII. had been arrested in Paris; according +to others, he had sought refuge in the Pays Bas; and again, it was +asserted that his Majesty was at Ostend, awaiting permission to pass +the sea and return to his old and secure quarters in England. + +In the midst of all this, on the 8th April, the post brought our +order to march forthwith to Harwich, there to embark for Ostend--an +order received with unfeigned joy by officers and men, all eager to +plunge into danger and bloodshed, all hoping to obtain glory and +distinction. + +On the morning of the 9th, the troop paraded at half-past seven +o’clock with as much regularity and as quietly as if only going to +a field-day; not a man either absent or intoxicated, and every part +of the guns and appointments in the most perfect order. At eight, +the hour named in orders, we marched off the parade. The weather was +fine, the scenery, as we skirted the beautiful banks of the Stour, +charming, and the occasion exhilarating. + +Near Manningtree we halted a short time to feed our horses, and then, +pursuing our route, arrived at Harwich about three o’clock in the +afternoon. Here we found the transports--the Adventure, Philarea, +and Salus, in which last I embarked--awaiting us; but the tide being +unfavourable, although we immediately commenced operations, we only +succeeded in embarking the horses of one division and those of the +officers; the remainder were therefore put up in the barracks for the +night. As might be expected, the little town of Harwich presented a +most animated spectacle. Its narrow streets of modest houses, with +brick trottoirs, were crowded with soldiers--some, all over dust, +just arrived; some, who had already been a day or two in the place, +comparatively at home, lounging about in undress; others, about to +embark, hurrying along to the beach with baggage and stores; sailors +marketing, or rolling about half-seas-over; country-people bringing +in vegetables and the like, and towns-people idling at their windows, +or in groups at corners of the streets--in short, the usual picture +incident on such occasions. + +The morning of the 10th was foggy, which much retarded us, since +it was necessary to embark the horses in flats to be taken off to +the transports, not easily found in the fog. However, by noon all +were on board, and without any serious accident, although a sailor +was somewhat hurt in endeavouring to recover a horse that had fallen +overboard. In the afternoon our guns, carriages, &c., were embarked; +but as the wind blew right into the harbour, the agent would not +attempt to get out, and we adjourned to Mr Bull’s comfortable house +(the Three Cups), there to pass our last evening in England in the +enjoyment of a good dinner, and perhaps for the last time to sleep in +good beds. + +About two P.M. on the 11th, a light breeze from the N.W. induced our +agent to get under way, and we repaired on board our respective ships +with every prospect of a good and speedy passage. In this, however, +we were disappointed, for the breeze dying away as the sun went down, +we anchored, by signal, at the harbour’s mouth, just as it got dark. + +The evening was splendid. A clear sky studded with myriads of stars +overhead, and below a calm unruffled sea, reflecting on its glassy +surface the lights of the distant town, the low murmuring sounds +from which, and the rippling of the water under the ships’ bows, +were the only interruptions to the solemn stillness that prevailed +after the people had retired to their berths. In our more immediate +neighbourhood stretched out the long, low, sandy tract, on the +seaward extremity of which the dark masses of Landguard fort could +just be distinguished. + +With daybreak on the morning of the 12th came a favourable wind, +though light, and again we took up our anchors and proceeded to sea. +For some distance, after clearing the harbour, our course lay along +the Suffolk coast, and so near in that objects on shore were plainly +discernible. To us, who had long been stationed at Woodbridge, only a +few miles inland, this was highly interesting. We knew every village, +every copse, every knoll--nay, almost every tree. There were the +houses in which we had so oft been hospitably entertained; there were +the sheep-walks on which we had so often manœuvred; and there in the +distance, as we passed the mouth of the Deben, our glasses showed us +the very barrack on the hill, with its tiled roofs illumined by the +noontide sun. About Bawdsey we left the coast, and steered straight +over, with a light but favourable wind: the low sandy shores of +Suffolk soon sank beneath the horizon. At noon fell in with a fleet +of colliers bound for the river, and soon after saw the Sunk-Sand +Light; when, as the wind had died away and the tide was setting us +towards the bank, we anchored until the flood-tide. During the night +a light breeze right aft, and smooth water, enabled us to make good +progress; but towards morning (13th) the wind had very considerably +increased, and although the coast was not in sight, we were sensible +of its neighbourhood from the number of curious heavy-looking boats +plying round us in all directions, having the foremast, with its huge +lug-sail, stuck right up in the bow, or rather inclining over it. +From one of these boats we soon procured a pilot--a little sturdy +fellow, with a full, good-humoured countenance, and his breast +decorated with a silver medal bearing the impress of an anchor, like +our porters’ tickets, the badge of his calling. + +The poor fellow was hardly on deck ere he was surrounded and assailed +by innumerable questions--“Where is Buonaparte?” “Where is the French +army?” “What are the English about?” “Has there been any fighting?” +&c. &c. Of this he understood or heard only the word “Buonaparte,” +and therefore to all kept repeating, “Il est capôte,” accompanied +by a significant motion of the hand across the throat, at the same +time showing much anxiety to get rid of his tormentors and proceed +to business, which he did with such earnestness as soon gave us to +understand there must be more than ordinary difficulty in entering +the port of Ostend. The first and principal care was the getting up a +hawser and coiling it on deck, the use of which we were soon to learn. + +Meanwhile we had been approaching the coast, which, though still +invisible, the pilot informed us was not distant. The first +intimation of the truth of this was the appearance of the church +tower and lofty lighthouse of Ostend; and we had brought about half +their height above the horizon before land began to show itself, +which it did in a number of isolated and rounded yellow hummocks, and +at the same time the houses of the town became distinctly visible. +With that impatience and excessive curiosity always felt upon +approaching for the first time a strange land, especially under the +present interesting state of things, all our glasses were directed +to the coast, which we were rapidly nearing and hoped soon to reach, +when, to our great disappointment, the pilot ordered the vessel to be +hove to, and we found that the tide would not permit our running for +the port before two P.M. Numbers of ships, brigs, and schooners were +lying-to as well as ourselves, and others continually arriving. + +Nothing, certainly, could be more repulsive than the appearance +of the coast--sand-hills as far as the eye could reach, broken +only by the grey and lugubrious works and buildings of Ostend, and +further west by the spires of Mittelkerke and Nieuport, peering +above the sand-hills. The day, too, was one little calculated to +enliven the scene. A fresh breeze and cloudy sky; the sea black, +rough, and chilly; the land all under one uniform cold grey tint, +presenting scarcely any relief of light and shadow, consequently +no feature. Upon reconnoitring it, however, closer, we found that +this forbidding exterior was only an outer coating to a lovely gem. +Through the openings between the sand-hills could be seen a rich +level country, of the liveliest verdure, studded with villages and +farms interspersed amongst avenues of trees and small patches of +wood. An occasional gleam of sunshine breaking out and illumining it, +communicated to it a dreamy appearance that was very pleasing, and +tended to revive our spirits, drooping from the gloomy aspect of the +coast. + +A black-looking mass of timber rising from the waters off the +entrance of the harbour, and which we understood to be a fort, now +became the principal object of our attention. As the tide rises the +depth of water is announced by different flags hoisted on this fort; +and we were delighted when at last that (a red one) indicating the +necessary depth for our ship was hoisted, and we bore up for the +harbour mouth. + +The harbour of Ostend is an artificial one, formed by _jetées_ of +piles projecting as far as low-water mark. The right, on entering, +is merely a row of piles running along in front of the works of the +town; but on the left is a long mole or _jetée_, on the extremity of +which is a small fort. Behind this mole, to the north-east, the shore +curving inwards forms a bight, presenting an extent of flat sandy +beach on which the water is never more than a few feet deep, even at +the highest tides. A tremendous surf breaks on this whenever it blows +from the westward. As the flood-tide sets past the harbour mouth +with great rapidity, a vessel attempting to enter with a westerly +wind is in danger of being swept beyond it and thrown on the beach +just mentioned. And this we now discovered was the cause of the +anxiety displayed by our pilot, and for which we could not before +account. In approaching the harbour, we steered as if going to run +the ship ashore on the broad stone glacis of the town, which extended +into the water all along the sea-front. Even with this precaution +we were drifted so much to leeward that, instead of shooting into +the harbour, we went bump upon the _jetée_.[1] The poor pilot raved +and jumped about like a madman, but there still was method in his +madness; and now we discovered the use of the hawser he had coiled +upon deck, for passing the end of this to the Belgic soldiers, who +upon the shock immediately ran out of their guard-room, the vessel +was saved from swinging round (as she otherwise would have done) and +falling ashore on the beach beyond, stern foremost, and soon dragged +within the influence of the current setting up the harbour. + +Our attention, before engaged by our perilous situation, was now +directed to new and exhilarating objects on the other side, where +the works of the town arose immediately from the sands. These were +crowded with spectators, and, being Sunday, all in their best; so +that the sun, just peeping out as we shot along, imparted to the +scene quite an air of gaiety; and to us it was also a novel one. I +remember being mightily struck with the head-dress of the women, so +different from what we had been accustomed to see at home, and the +comparison was certainly not in favour of my fair compatriots. With +these the fashionable coiffure was a large low _poke_-bonnet, which +I had always fancied very becoming; but there is no describing how +this sunk into meanness and deformity in a moment when I cast my +eyes on the elegantly tapering, high-crowned straws of the _belles_ +on the rampart, encircled sometimes with two, and even three, rows +of gay ribbon or artificial flowers. These gave them such a lofty +commanding air, and withal was so light and graceful. But bonnets +were not allowed long to occupy my attention. Followed by a crowd of +other craft of all sorts and sizes, we shot rapidly along towards +that part of the harbour where a dense assemblage of shipping filled +up its whole breadth, and forbade further progress, so that one +wondered what was to become of the numerous vessels in our wake. +The mystery was soon explained, for each having attained the point, +turning her prow to the town, ran bump on the sands, and there stuck +fast. Those immediately above us had just arrived, and from them +a regiment of Light Dragoons was in the act of disembarking by +throwing the horses overboard, and then hauling them ashore by a long +rope attached to their head-collars. What a scene! What hallooing, +shouting, vociferating, and plunging! The poor horses did not appear +much gratified by their sudden transition from the warm hold to a +cold bath. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Our keel had scarcely touched the sand ere we were abruptly boarded +by a naval officer (Captain Hill) with a gang of sailors, who, _sans +cérémonie_, instantly commenced hoisting our horses out, and throwing +them, as well as our saddlery, &c., overboard, without ever giving +time for making any disposition to receive or secure the one or the +other. To my remonstrance his answer was, “I can’t help it, sir; the +Duke’s _orders are positive that no delay is to take place in landing +the troops as they arrive, and the ships sent back again; so you must +be out of her before dark_.” It was then about three P.M.; and I +thought this a most uncomfortable arrangement. + +The scramble and confusion that ensued baffle all description. +Bundles of harness went over the side in rapid succession, as well +as horses. In vain we urged the loss and damage that must accrue +from such a proceeding. “Can’t help it--no business of mine--Duke’s +orders are positive,” &c. &c., was our only answer. Meantime the +ebb had begun to diminish the depth of water alongside, and enabled +us to send parties overboard and to the beach to collect and carry +our things ashore, as well as to haul and secure the horses. The +same operation commenced from the other vessels as they arrived, and +the bustle and noise were inconceivable. The Dragoons and our men +(some nearly, others quite, naked) were dashing in and out of the +water, struggling with the affrighted horses, or securing their wet +accoutrements as best they could. Some of the former were saddling +their dripping horses, and others mounting and marching off in small +parties. Disconsolate-looking groups of women and children were to be +seen here and there sitting on their poor duds, or roaming about in +search of their husbands, or mayhap of a stray child, all clamouring, +lamenting, and materially increasing the babel-like confusion, amidst +which Erin’s brogue was everywhere predominant. Irish beggars swarm +everywhere and in all quarters of the globe. Even here they pestered +us to death, and one young bare-legged rascal, when he found his +whining and cant unavailing, suddenly changing his tone, tried to +excite our liberality by a dirty joke on the Flemish pronunciation of +their word horse (_pferd_). Add to all this crowds of people from the +town idling about--some as spectators, others watching for windfalls; +some bringing cakes, beer, &c., for sale, others teazing the officers +with various offers of service, and these not always of the most +respectable kind. + +It was not without difficulty that I succeeded at last in +impressing upon Captain Hill the necessity of leaving our guns and +ammunition-waggons, &c., on board for the night--otherwise his +furious zeal would have turned all out to stand on the wet sand or +be washed away. Meantime, although we were on shore, we were without +orders what to do next. Not an officer, either of the staff, the +garrison, nor even of our own corps, came near us. Night approached, +and with it bad weather evidently. Our poor shivering horses and +heaps of wet harness could not remain on the sands much longer, when +the flood began to make again; and it was necessary to look about +and see what could be done. With this intent, therefore, leaving the +officers to collect their divisions, I got one of my horses saddled +and rode into the town. Here was the same bustle (although not the +same confusion) as on the sands. The streets were thronged with +British officers, and the quays with guns, waggons, horses, baggage, +&c. + +One would hardly expect to meet with any delay in finding the +commandant of a fortress, yet such was my case; and it was not until +after long and repeated inquiry that I discovered Lieutenant-Colonel +Gregory, 44th Regiment, to be that personage, and found his +residence. From him, however, I could obtain nothing. He seemed +hardly to have expected the compliment of reporting our arrival, and +stated that he had no other orders but that the troops of every arm +should march for Ghent the moment they landed, without halting a +single day in Ostend. + +Strange to say, neither I nor the Colonel recollected there was +such a person in Ostend as an Assistant-Quartermaster-General, who +should be referred to on such an occasion. Yet this was the case; +and that officer, instead of attending the debarkation of the +troops, or making himself acquainted with the arrivals, kept out +of sight altogether. Baffled at all points, I was returning to the +sands when I met Major Drummond on the Quai Impérial, and related my +story. He had been here some time, and was consequently acquainted +with the locale. His advice was to march to Ghystelle (a village +about six miles from Ostend), and after putting up there for the +night, to return and disembark my guns, &c., in the morning. Whilst +speaking, however, some one (I forget who) came up with the agreeable +information that Ghystelle was already fully occupied by the 16th +Dragoons. He, however, gave me directions for some large sheds about +a mile off, where his own horses has passed the preceding night. +This was some consolation; so riding off immediately to reconnoitre +the place and the road to it, I returned to the beach just as it +got dark; and a most miserable scene of confusion I there found. +Our saddles, harness, baggage, &c., were still strewed about the +sand, and these the flood, which was now making, threatened soon to +submerge. _Pour surcroît de malheur_, the rain came down in torrents, +and a storm, which had been brewing up the whole afternoon, now burst +over us most furiously. The lightning was quite tremendous, whilst +a hurricane, howling horribly through the rigging of the ships, was +only exceeded in noise by the loud explosions and rattling of the +incessant claps of thunder. + +Our people, meantime, blinded by the lightning, had borrowed some +lanterns from the ship, and were busily employed searching for the +numerous articles still missing. The obscurity, however, between +the vivid flashes was such that we were only enabled to keep +together by repeatedly calling to each other, and it was not without +difficulty and great watchfulness that we escaped being caught by +the tide, which flowed rapidly in over the flat sands. At length, +having collected as many of our things as was possible, and saddled +our horses (some two or three of which had escaped altogether), +we began our march for the sheds a little after midnight, with a +farrier and another dismounted man carrying lanterns at the head of +our column. The rain continued pouring, but flashes of lightning +occurred now only at intervals, and the more subdued rolling of the +thunder told us that it was passing away in the distance. Our route +lay through the town, to gain which we found some advanced ditch to +be crossed by a very frail wooden bridge. Half the column, perhaps, +might have cleared this, when “crack” down it went, precipitating +all who were on it at the moment into the mud below, and completely +cutting off those in the rear. Here was a dilemma. Ignorant of the +localities, and without a guide, how was the rear of the column to +join us, or how were the people in the ditch, with their horses, to +be extricated? Luckily none were hurt seriously, and the depth was +not great--not more, perhaps, than six or eight feet; but that was +enough to baffle all our attempts at extricating the horses. Some +Belgic soldiers of a neighbouring guard, of which we were not aware, +fortunately heard us, and came to our assistance; and one of them, +crossing the ditch, undertook to guide the rear of our column and +those below to another gate, whilst one accompanied us to the Quai +Impérial, where, after waiting a while, we were at length assembled, +drenched with rain and starving of cold and hunger. The Quai was +silent and dark; the only light gleamed dimly through the wet from a +miserable lamp over the door of a café, in which people were still +moving; and the only sounds that broke the stillness of the quarter +were the splashing of the rain and the clattering of our steel +scabbards and horses’ feet as we moved dejectedly on--winding our way +through unknown avenues (for in the dark I found it impossible to +recognise the narrow streets through which I had so hurriedly passed +in the afternoon), occasionally illuminated by a solitary lamp, the +feeble light of which, however, was somewhat increased by reflection +on the wet pavement. After following for some time this devious +course, I began to fear I had missed the road, when again we stumbled +upon a Belgic guard, by whose direction and guidance we at length +reached the outer barrier. Here we again came to a standstill, the +officer in charge refusing to let us out. Some altercation ensued: I +forget the particulars, but it ended in his opening the gate. + +Once clear of the town, we hoped soon to reach our lodging; but had +scarcely advanced a hundred yards ere we found that result was more +distant than we had fancied, and that patience was still requisite. +The rain had rendered the fat soil so slippery that our horses could +scarcely keep their legs, and the road running along the narrow +summit of a dyke, with ditches on each side, rendered precaution and +slow movement imperative. Every moment the fall of some horse impeded +the column; our lanterns went out; and after wandering a considerable +time, we at length ascertained, by knocking up the people at a house +by the wayside, that we had overshot our mark, and it was not until +two in the morning that we succeeded in finding the sheds. These were +immensely long buildings attached to some saw-mills, for what use I +know not, unless to store planks, &c., for they were now empty; but +they were admirably adapted to our purpose, since we could range all +our horses along one side, whilst the men occupied the other, in one +of them. A quantity of hay, and some straw, left by our predecessors, +was a valuable acquisition to man and beast under such circumstances. +All our enjoyments are the effect of contrast. It would be considered +miserable enough to be obliged to pass the night under such equivocal +shelter as these sheds afforded, and that, too, in wet clothes; yet +did we now, after twelve hours of harassing work and exposure to the +weather, look upon them as palaces, and, having cared for our poor +beasts as far as circumstances would permit, proceeded to prepare for +that repose so necessary and so longed for. + +I was already ensconced in some hay, when Lieutenant Leathes, who +had been reconnoitring, brought intelligence that the people were +still up in an adjoining miller’s house, and that they were willing +to give us shelter until morning. Thither, therefore, we repaired; +and being ushered into the kitchen, quite a pattern of neatness, +found the good woman and one of her men already busy making a fire +and preparing some coffee for us--unlooked-for luxury! To this +kindness she added the offer of two beds, which were eagerly and +thankfully accepted by Lieutenants Ingleby and Bell. For my part, I +preferred not pulling off my wet clothes and putting them on again +in the morning, and therefore declined. Spite of our fatigue, we +were all so refreshed by the coffee, that a pleasant hour was passed +chatting to our kind hostess and joking with her man Coché, a sort +of good-humoured, half-witted Caliban. At last sleep began to weigh +heavily on our eyelids. The lady retired to her chamber, Coché hid +himself somewhere, and, sinking back in our old-fashioned high-backed +chairs, we were soon unconscious of everything. + +_14th._--Awoke from my slumbers just as the grey dawn began to render +objects visible in the kitchen. My companions still slept soundly, +so without disturbing them I quietly explored my way to the door, +and soon found myself in a pretty little garden, ornamented and +intersected by high hedges or walls of verdure, the young leaves of +which, scarcely yet fully developed, were of the brightest green. +These screens, effectually protecting the beds, in which many an +early flower already blossomed, I thought delightful. It was the +first time I had seen these _brise-vents_, or hornbeam hedges, +which I subsequently found so common. The air of the morning was +delicious, and my clothes having dried during my repose, I again felt +comfortable and happy as I sauntered about the garden, enjoying the +morning song of the little birds, with which the whole neighbourhood +resounded. I could have stayed for ever in this tranquil and, as I +then thought it, lovely retreat. By-and-by my companions turned out, +and we lost no time in getting again under way in order to reach the +gates of Ostend as soon as they opened. + +Sass, or Schlickens, where we had passed the night, is the port of +the Bruges canal, and hence the Treckschuyt from Ostend for that +city takes its departure. It cannot be called a village, there being +only a few small houses connected with the canal business, and some +saw-mills and others worked by wind. Surrounded by marsh, it is a +dreary comfortless place, although this was hidden from me in the +early morning by the verdant screens in the miller’s garden. + +Our road back to the town, now we had daylight, appeared very short, +and, having dried considerably, was not so slippery as last night. +The gates were not yet opened when we arrived; a crowd of workmen of +different kinds had already assembled and were waiting for admission, +as were we, for a few minutes. At last they opened, and we proceeded +to the harbour in search of our ship. The Quais, beach, &c., were +thronged as on the day before, and we added to the bustle in +disembarking our guns and carriages, &c. This was completed by eleven +o’clock, and we were ready to march forward; but the commissariat +detained us waiting the issue of our rations until three P.M.--four +mortal hours, considering our eagerness to get on and explore this +new country, and the bore of being confined to one spot, since it +was impossible to wander about the town, seeing that we could not +calculate the moment when these gentry might find it convenient +to supply us. Of our horses two were still missing, as were some +saddle-bags and a number of smaller articles; and this is not to be +wondered at when the scandalous manner in which they were thrown +overboard, the badness of the weather, the darkness of the night, +together with the ebbing and flowing of the tide, are taken into +consideration. + +The appearance, too, of the troop was vexatious in the extreme. Our +noble horses, yesterday morning so sleek and spirited, now stood +with drooping heads and rough staring coats, plainly indicating +the mischief they had sustained in being taken from a hot hold, +plunged into cold water, and then exposed for more than seven hours +on an open beach to such a tempest of wind and rain as that we +experienced last night. Here was a practical illustration of the +folly of grooming and pampering military horses, destined as they +are to such exposures and privations. As for our men, they looked +jaded, their clothes all soiled with mud and wet, the sabres rusty, +and the bear-skins of their helmets flattened down by the rain. +Still, however, they displayed the same spirit and alacrity as that +which has always been a characteristic of the horse-artillery, more +particularly of G troop. + +Whilst thus awaiting our rations, we had ample leisure to look +about us, and amuse ourselves with the varied groups collected on +the quay and the novelty of the scene. To be sure, the principal of +these were English, and mostly soldiers too. Some were drinking at +the doors of the cabarets, knapsacks on their backs, and prepared +to start; others already in movement, escorting baggage; near us a +battery of field-artillery parked, with their horses picketed in a +long line along the rear of the carriages, quietly eating their corn +out of hair nosebags, which ever and anon they would toss in the +air, the better to get at the few remaining grains of their food; +gunners and drivers lying about ready to fall in or mount at the +shortest notice. Here they had passed the night, and the remains +of their fires were still glowing in some rudely-constructed +fireplaces of loose stones or bricks. Such objects were familiar +to our eyes, but they were intermixed with others which were not. +These were the Flemish peasantry, with their heavy countenances, +walking by the side of their long, narrow waggons, and guiding +their noble horses with admirable dexterity through the throng by +long reins of small (very small) cord passing through holes in the +clumsy highly-ornamental collars or haims. Long blue smock-frocks, +decorated with embroidery in coloured worsted about the breast and +shoulders; their skulls ensconced in night-caps, red or white; many +with long thick queues--and all in clumsy wooden shoes. Women, with +hard weather-beaten features, in long-eared caps, enormous gold +pendants in their ears, a small cross on the breast, suspended from +the scraggy neck by a strip of black velvet, thick petticoats, giving +great swell to the hip, and from their shortness exhibiting a pair of +stout understanders cased in coarse blue stockings and terminating +in heavy _sabots_, enriched about the instep by a rabbit’s skin +clumped about in all directions. From time to time a patrol of the +gendarmerie, in plain blue uniforms, with large white grenades on the +skirts and the ends of their valises, broad belts, and high, stiff, +well-polished boots, passed quietly through the assembled crowds; +their quick inquiring eyes cast searchingly about as they moved +leisurely along. At the corner of the quay was a group of boatmen +(not much differing in outward appearance from our own of the same +class) listlessly reclining on the pavement, or lounging up and down +with folded arms, amusing themselves with the bustling anxiety of +a score of soldiers’ wives, who, loaded with children or bundles, +their ample grey or faded red cloaks flying out loosely behind them, +struggled through all impediments opposed to their progress with an +activity, perseverance, and volubility which seemed highly diverting +to the mariners, many of whom, in broken English, were bantering +these amazons, or exchanging coarse jokes with them; at which play, +however,--the ladies being mostly from the Green Isle--the gentlemen +came off second best. + +Such were the scenes we contemplated, when a loud cry of dismay +suddenly pervaded the crowd, and all simultaneously rushed to the +ramparts. I followed this movement. The morning, though somewhat +overcast, had been fine, and the wind moderate; but as the day +advanced, and the flood-tide set in, the south-westerly breeze +had gradually increased to a gale. On reaching the rampart, I +immediately observed that the flat shore to the northward, as far as +the eye could reach, was covered with a sheet of white foam from the +tremendous surf breaking on it; whilst the spray, rising in clouds +and borne along before the blast, involved the whole neighbourhood +in a thick salt mist. Nothing could be more savage and wild than the +appearance of the coast. In the offing, numerous vessels under small +sail were running for the harbour. One small brig had missed, and +before assistance could be given, had been whirled round the _jetée_, +and cast broadside on amongst the breakers. Her situation was truly +awful. The surf broke over her in a frightful manner, sending its +spray higher than her masts, and causing her to roll from side to +side until her yards dipped in the water, and induced a belief every +moment that she must roll over. Every now and then a huge wave, +larger than its predecessor, would raise her bodily, and then, +rapidly receding, suddenly let her fall again on the ground with a +concussion that made the masts bend and vibrate like fishing-rods, +and seemed to threaten instant annihilation. Of her sails, some were +torn to rags, and others, flying loose, flapped and fluttered with +a noise that was audible from the rampart, despite the roaring of +the surf. The people on board appeared in great agitation, and kept +shouting to those on shore for assistance, which they were unable +to give. Intense anxiety pervaded the assembled multitude as the +shattered vessel alternately rose to view or was buried in a sea of +foam. Numbers ran down to the sands opposite to her; and from them +she could not have been twenty yards distant, yet could they not +afford the despairing crew the slightest aid. Whilst thus attending +in breathless expectation the horrid catastrophe, the return of our +quartermaster with the rations summoned us unwillingly from the +rampart to commence our march. We afterwards learnt that a boat from +the harbour had succeeded in saving the crew (she had no troops on +board); but the unfortunate pilot who thus gallantly risked his +own life for them was killed by the boat rising suddenly under the +vessel’s counter as he stood in the bow, which dashed his brains out. + +Of Ostend I have little to say, my whole time and mind being fully +occupied during the few hours of my stay in it. The impression +it made on me was a dismal one. Narrow dirty streets; gloomy, +old-fashioned, low, mean houses; the whole surrounded by marsh, +sand-hills, or sea; and that sea, from its muddy colour, detracting +nought from the lugubrious effect of the scene. Of the fortifications +I saw still less than of the town; yet, from what little I did see, +it would appear that Ostend depends more upon water than earth or +stone--its great protection consisting in the facility of inundating +the neighbouring marshes. On the Blanckenberg side, situated upon an +eminence (I think of sand), we had a glimpse of Fort Napoleon, and +working parties were busy constructing a redoubt among the sand-hills +toward Nieuport. We had no leisure, however, to visit either. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +Right glad were we to find ourselves at last _en route_ from this +dismal place. In passing through the streets towards the barrier, +soon after leaving the quays, we found that we had likewise left all +the bustle, crowd, and confusion behind us. Few people were moving +about in any of them, and some were totally deserted. The prospect +which presented itself on issuing from the gates was as _triste_ and +repulsive as can well be conceived. In front and to the left marsh! +marsh! for miles, and looking black, dreary, and pestilential; the +distance obscured by a red haze, occasioned by the clouds of sand +blown inland by the gale from a range of sand and sand-hills (the +_dûnes_) extending all along the coast. A straight, ill-paved, and +muddy road, running away in long perspective between two wide ditches +filled with stagnant, stinking water, bordered here and there by +a few stunted willows bending to the blast, and their usual cold +colour rendered still more cold by thus exposing the whitish backs +of their young leaves. Such was the scene, in which our column (men, +horses, and carriages, soiled, and looking miserable; the mounted +gunners leaning to windward, with one hand generally upraised holding +on their helmets; the limber-gunners sitting sideways, turning +their backs to the gale) formed an appropriate accompaniment, as it +proceeded slowly along the causeway. About half-way to Ghystelles,[2] +at a barrier, we were rejoiced at finding the horses that had escaped +from us on the sands. The man said they had been there all night. + +After traversing these marshes for about five or six miles, we +entered on a country almost as flat, but of a very different +character, highly cultivated and well wooded. The road became an +avenue, whilst the adjoining fields were interspersed everywhere with +patches of copsewood, and rows of tufted bushes serving here and +there as boundaries in place of hedges; the scenery, of course, much +more pleasing, although not seen to advantage under the still gloomy, +overcast sky. + +It was late when we reached Ghistel, the appearance of which, +however, was consolatory, and promised some comfort. + +Before we could seek that, a troublesome task still remained to be +performed. Our men could not understand their billets, some of which +were on isolated farms a mile or two from the village; neither could +they inquire their way. It therefore became necessary for us to +accompany and see them safely housed ere we could resign ourselves to +the enjoyments of our auberge. In the village itself they were soon +put up, for many of the people spoke or understood a little English. + +At length, as night set in, our business was finished, and we all +assembled at our auberge, which, though humble, was delightfully +clean, and to us, after last night’s adventure, appeared luxurious. +No less so was the excellent dinner to which we soon sat down; +whilst doing justice to which we could not help laughing at its +spread, for it was composed, not of solid joints, &c. &c., but of +an immense multitude and variety of little dishes of stews and all +sorts of nameless (to us) things. A bottle of good port would have +rendered us superlatively happy, but that was not to be thought of in +Ghistel; so having amused ourselves, and puzzled the neat, pretty, +black-eyed girl who officiated as _garçon_ by our inquiries for this +our national, but by her unheard-of, beverage, we were fain to make +ourselves comfortable, and pass the evening in social chat over the +poor, thin, though well-flavoured liquor that the house afforded. +Some of our number, to be sure, were unreasonable enough to grumble, +and one actually got the stomach-ache, but whether from the wine or +last night’s wetting it is difficult to say, though he swore it was +the former. + +I shall not easily forget my delight on retiring, when I found a most +clean, enticing bed prepared for me, in a pretty little room, the +window of which looked into a quiet well-kept garden. The enormous +pillow at first took me aback. Such a thing! It seemed to occupy half +the bed. I, however, soon made acquaintance with it, and enjoyed a +most delicious sleep. The first steps in a new country are to me +always a source of pleasurable sensations. Everything one sees is +striking, interesting, and makes a lasting impression. This evening +and its enjoyments will long remain a bright spot in my memory. + +_15th._ A fine, mild, grey morning. Our people paraded in much +better order, and very much higher spirits, than yesterday, and all +seemed pleased with their entertainment. The novelty amused them, +and every one had some tale to relate of last night’s adventures. +Their hosts had generally been very kind to them, and allowed them to +take as much forage for their horses as they chose. The poor animals, +therefore, had passed the night equally well. In marching out of +Ghistel, I noticed many houses of a superior description to the +rustic dwellings which alone I saw last night. Some of these had much +the appearance of stage scenery, having façades painted to represent +pilasters, urns, wreaths, festoons, &c. &c., all in very childish +taste. These, no doubt, were the villas or _lusthausen_ of the Ostend +citizens. + +Our march to Bruges (about twelve miles) was through a country +perfectly flat, but rich and highly cultivated; and from the numerous +little woods, farms, and substantial villages--added, again, to the +charm of novelty--it was far from uninteresting. + +About noon we entered the city by a fine, broad, airy street, +rendered pleasing by the intermixture of foliage with its picturesque +buildings, and swarming with people. By-and-by we came to narrower +streets and more antiquated-looking houses; winding our way amongst +which, we at last reached the cavalry barrack, situated in a narrow, +dirty back lane at the further extremity of the town--a large, +heavy, inelegant mass of masonry, more like some old storehouse than +a barrack. Here, in the extensive yard, we parked our guns, and put +our men into the barrack, the rooms of which were large, lofty, and +vaulted, but extremely filthy, so that our people had to regret the +clean comfortable billets and kind hospitality which they would have +enjoyed amongst the inhabitants. A range of ruinous wooden sheds, +extending along two sides of the yard, served as stabling, and +received all our horses. + +Having arranged affairs at the barrack, and called on Sir F. Lyons, +the British commandant, we betook ourselves to our billet at the +Hôtel de Commerce, which, however, we had some difficulty in +finding. As this was the first large hotel we had been in, it had +the recommendation of novelty, and everything in it became subject +of curiosity. The large dreary hall; the comfortless bar adjoining, +and separated from it by an immense window or glazed partition, so +unlike the cheerful snug-looking bar of an English inn; the equally +comfortless and gloomy saloon behind it, into which we were shown; +the squalid, dirty appearance of the domestics (men or boys), in +filthy cotton jackets and _bonnets de nuit_,--all served to chill +one on first entering. Our arrival, followed by orderlies and +servants carrying portmanteaus, &c. &c., caused a sensation in the +establishment, every member of which, not excepting the _chêf_, +was assembled to greet us in the hall. For some minutes a scene of +bustle ensued, which ended in mounting the stairs to inspect our +dormitories. These contrasted strangely with the vast apartments +below. From the head of the staircase a long corridor ran right and +left the whole length of the house, off which a number of doors +opened into as many little cells, each barely large enough to contain +bed, chair, and a small table. The beds (without curtains) were very +homely, but quite clean, the furniture and utensils of the commonest +kind. The attendants, having shown us our rooms, withdrew, and with +the sound of their departing footsteps ended the bustle of the day. +When I again stepped out on the gallery, the stillness of the place +astonished me--hall, staircase, bar, all deserted; not a soul to +be seen, nor a sound heard except that of my own tread over the +creaking floor; no ringing of bells; no calls for chambermaid, boots, +or waiter; no running to and fro;--in short, the place appeared +altogether abandoned, and I hastened into the street to lounge away +the time until dinner, of which, however, I had my misgivings. + +Bruges is a highly interesting town at all times; but after being +shut out from the Continent so many years, the novelty of everything +one saw enhanced this interest amazingly. My ramble led me through +streets of lofty, whimsically constructed houses, the upper parts +of which sometimes projected in the manner one frequently sees in +our old midland towns, the projections decorated with drop-balls +on fretwork; immense windows sometimes occupied the whole front of +each floor; ample portals, the lofty folding-doors of which were +occasionally studded with iron, like those of a fortress or dungeon; +gables, with high pointed roofs, presented almost everywhere to the +street; chimneys of bizarre and fantastic forms, and surmounted by +a finish of semicircular tiles rising pyramidally over each other; +here and there towers or turrets with high conical roofs;--such were +the architectural peculiarities that attracted my attention. The +long streets running in wavy lines, and of unequal breadth, between +these grotesque buildings, exhibited specimens of costume as novel, +and frequently not less grotesque, which, intermingling with the +scarlet and blue uniforms of our soldiers, very much heightened the +picturesque effect. It was only in the principal thoroughfares and +business parts of the town that all this animation was met with. +In those quarters principally inhabited by the richer citizens +the streets were as dull, solitary, and scrupulously clean as it +is possible to conceive. In these I frequently found myself the +only animated being visible--not a loiterer at a door, not even a +head at a window. Many of even the best houses appeared absolutely +uninhabited. Could this have always been the case? Was this the +state of things when Bruges was the central mart for the whole Pays +Bas, and saw merchants from every nation in Europe crowding to its +fairs in search of its linen and woollen cloth, and of the naval +stores and rich productions of India continually arriving from the +north, the Venetian and other Italian States, when the splendid dress +and magnificent palaces of its citizens were sufficient to excite +the indignation and envy of a queen? Surely not. These grass-grown +streets, now so solitary, then exhibited very different scenes. Many +a plumed and portly burgher then trod their pavement, and many a fair +bejewelled dame graced the numerous windows of its palaces, now so +silent. This decay and depopulation dates from the moment when these +wealthy merchants arrogantly resisted their sovereign, Maximilian, +who, aided by Antwerp and Amsterdam, shut up its port of Sluys, and +thus, diverting its commerce into other channels, inflicted on it +that punishment the effects of which are so perceptible even after +a lapse of more than 300 years. From these melancholy monuments +of fallen grandeur, and the death-like silence of these deserted +streets, I suddenly emerged into the midst of bustle in the Grand +Place, where crowds of peasantry were assembled apparently for the +sole purpose of buying and selling little earthen pots of a peculiar +form (_terrines_), the number of which, disposed in long rows on the +ground, really surprised me. The Stadthouse stands in this place. +It has a lofty square tower, surmounted by another of nearly equal +height of an octagonal form. This certainly possesses no beauty, but +the singularity of the construction attracts notice. From the Place +I wandered to the _Cathédrale_,[3] the very lofty spire of which, I +am told, serves as a landmark for vessels approaching Ostend, though +certainly I do not recollect having seen it there. It is even _said_ +by some to be visible from the _banks of the Thames_--a pretty long +view! Entering the temple, I found the garish light of broad day +exchanged for a mysterious twilight, and the busy hum of high market +for a solemn silence, scarcely interrupted by the light step of some +veiled female (of males only a few, very old men, were there) as she +glided to the spot chosen for her devotions, where, rapidly crossing +herself, she sank on her knees before a shrine in some side chapel. +At the high altar, priests in embroidered robes were celebrating mass +with a solemnity which rendered still more ridiculous their repeated +genuflexions, the extinction from time to time of a taper, and the +removal of a crucifix from one end of the altar to another, only to +bring it back the next moment, whilst ever and anon they would bow, +cross themselves, and bow again. + +The nave of the church was not spoilt, as ours are, by pews. A +number of plain chairs were assembled round the pillars, and these +served the worshippers to kneel upon--that is, the men, for the +women invariably sank on the pavement in most picturesque attitudes. +Of the latter, most seemed in earnest; but with the former, a duty +was hurried through, in which the heart had evidently little or +no concern. Some certainly placed both knees on the chairs, and, +leaning over the backs with clasped hands, kept their eyes steadily +on the altar, whilst the rapid motion of their lips betrayed the +hurried manner in which they prayed. Others, however, with one knee +only on the chair, and the body half-turned, gazed about them whilst +mumbling over their daily portion of prayer. People were continually +coming in and going out, which seemed to disturb no one, but rather +served as amusement to the gazers just mentioned. However lukewarm +the frequenters of the temple might evince themselves, yet was there +something very impressive in the scene. In a pictorial point of view +it was most interesting, for the building is a fine Gothic structure, +and the interior of these always affords picturesque scenery, even +without such accessories as those furnished by the various kneeling +groups, more particularly of females. Some good pictures I saw, but +did not like to stop and examine them. A striking feature in this +church are the colossal statues of the Apostles perched upon shelves, +one to each column of the nave: the effect is not good. The pulpit, +and staircase leading up to it, are a most elaborate and ingenious +example of sculpture in wood. The impression on me was one of wonder +at the inexhaustible patience of the artist. Sauntering about the +church, near the great door I stumbled upon something not unlike +a sentry-box; it was a confessional! In this sat a sleek-looking +priest, head resting on his left hand, and the ear inclined to a +little grated aperture in one side, through which a female on her +knees, and shrouded in a black veil, poured out her heart in a loud +whisper. The holy man received the communication with becoming +gravity, though it was easy to divine, by a short perusal of his +countenance, that he was receiving nothing but commonplace, or at +best no very important, intelligence. Everything in this religion +appears most childish mummery;--what more so than this? Leaving Notre +Dame, I sought the ramparts. These no longer exist in a military +sense, but the high grassy mounds which remain, being planted with +trees, serve at once as a pretty promenade, and diversify the views +of the city from without. The moat in most places still remains +green--almost as the meadows--with aquatic plants. Some of the +ancient gateways, also, are still there to tell a tale of other +times. These, with their sombre grey towers, roofed with tile, are +eminently picturesque, and harmonise well with the other buildings +of the town. These towers, with high conical roofs, which one meets +almost everywhere throughout the Continent, particularly in this +country, form a characteristic feature, distinguishing its scenery +from that of the British Islands, where the ruins of ancient castles +have almost invariably their round or square towers terminated by +a castellated parapet and flat roof. True it is that the Irish +round-towers have such roofs; but they are low, and form a very small +portion in the general aspect of the building: as also those solitary +square towers seen along the Scottish Border, and sprinkled here +and there over the soil of Ireland--the dwellings or keeps of petty +chieftains--were also surmounted by high, but not conical roofs. + +Tired of rambling about the streets, I returned to our hotel, where, +to my surprise, an excellent dinner awaited me, exceedingly well +served, and the attendants (who had made themselves clean) very +active and obliging. Among these a boy of fifteen or sixteen was a +perfect beauty--so much so as to excite universal admiration. Nor +must I forget another beauty of a far different kind--some very old +and genuine cognac. It was quite a liqueur; and we were so pleased +with it, that each secured a small stock to carry forward with him. +In short, we went to bed in better humour with the Hôtel de Commerce. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +_16th._ Marched through a country very similar to that of +yesterday--that is, flat rich soil, highly cultivated, very populous, +and diversified with patches of wood, &c.--to Eccloo (_chêf lieu +du canton_), a neat little village consisting of two broad streets +forming a sort of place at the point of union, where we parked our +guns, despite the objections of the inhabitants, who were woefully +afraid of an explosion. The Duke of Wellington, _en route_ to Ostend, +passed as we were forming up, and scrutinised us pretty closely, but +said nothing, although I afterwards learned that it was positively +against orders to park ammunition of any kind in a village. + +The landlord of the only auberge was so very insolent that we formed +a mess for the day in one of our billets, our own servants cooking +for us. The fare was not sumptuous, but, _en revanche_, very cheap, +consisting entirely of our rations. My own billet here was in the +house of a widow, who kept a hardware shop--humble, but, as usual in +this country, a pattern of cleanliness. Returning from the mess, I +joined the old lady and her daughter in their little parlour behind +the shop, and two or three neighbours coming in, the conversation +became animated. The subject was the return of Napoleon and the +probable consequences. According to their ideas, our cause was +hopeless. Last year our hostess had lodged an officer of Cossacks, +whom she described as a most gentlemanly man. + +_17th._ The same description of country accompanied us to Ghent. At +the large village of Lovendeghem the road joined the canal; and here +we obtained the first view of this celebrated city, the birthplace +of Charles V., and the scene of so many interesting events in the +history of the middle ages, forming, with its numerous towers, a fine +termination to the long vista of the canal. + +Nearer the coast the trees had been small and somewhat stunted; +indeed, most of the woods we had seen were merely coppice. Here, +however, they assumed a different character, being of large size and +great luxuriance, giving a much higher interest to the landscape as +they bordered the fine meadows lying along either side of the canal, +on the bank of which our road lay. The scenery now became further +enriched and enlivened by the frequent occurrence of country-seats, +generally of brick, and embowered in foliage; a lawn stretching down +to the canal, and terminated by a terrace with a low parapet-wall and +a summer-house at one end of it. The only boat, however, we met, was +the packet going to Bruges; and the road itself was so solitary that, +had not our eyes convinced us to the contrary, we should never have +imagined ourselves approaching so rich and populous a city. + +About two P.M. we reached the canal harbour, separated from the city +by a handsome _barrière_ (_grille_) or iron railing in imitation of +spears, the shafts painted light blue, with gilded blades. A small +building, with the word “_Octroi_” in large letters over the door, +stood on one side of the gate by which we now entered the capital of +Flanders, and immediately found ourselves in a fine broad street, +with large and stately houses on either side. Yet the very first +impression was that of disappointment. The street was lonely, almost +deserted, and nearly every second house exhibited a board bearing a +notice in French and Flemish that it was to sell or let--“Maison à +louer,” “Huys zu heuer,” or “Maison à vendre,” &c. &c. Curious it +is that two languages should be indispensably necessary; but such +seems to be the case here, for I observed that all proclamations and +public notices of any kind were invariably in French and Flemish. We +proceeded some way through the same sort of quiet and (apparently) +depopulated region; but at last, crossing a broad canal, or, may +be, one of the several rivers which here unite, we came at once +into the very heart of bustle, business, fine shops, and crowds of +people, continuing on nearly a mile, through all which we at last +reached the cavalry barracks (our destination), quite at the further +extremity of the town, near the Barrière de Bruxelles, where we +parked our guns and put up our horses; but there was no room for +the men, consequently they were billeted.[4] Nothing could be more +inconvenient than this arrangement, though I believe it could not +be helped, the place being already crowded with troops, English and +French--for this was the headquarters of Louis XVIII.’s phantom of +an army. Upon ascertaining the situation of our billets, too, we +found things still worse, these being generally in the Quartier de +Bruge, a distance of nearly one and a half miles from the barrack, +and some still farther off--one detachment being billeted at La +Barqué, a cabaret on the canal harbour, and another at some village +still farther off. A serious inconvenience this for horse-soldiers, +whose duties required them to be so continually at the barrack, and +most harassing when it is recollected that the distance from barrier +to barrier is reckoned three miles--the whole distance over an +execrable pavement. It was not without some trouble that I succeeded +in finding my own billet in Bruge Straet, a respectable house, but +nowise remarkable either for size or architecture. My host, a stout +cheerful-looking old gentleman, whose bearing and dress bespoke the +opulent citizen, met me in the gateway, and with great cordiality +(recognising my billet) ushered me into a large room by the side +of the brick-paved entry, announcing it as mine during my stay, +at the same time offering me the use of his whole establishment, +particularly of his cook. This last I accepted with pleasure, having +arranged with my officers that our mess should be in my quarter, +wherever that might be. Meantime, my baggage-cart having been +drawn up the narrow yard and the horses dismissed, the great gates +reclosed, and the bustle of arrival subsided, everything sank into +silence--a silence as predominating in the street without as within +the house. + +My apartment was a large, lofty, long room, running back from the +street, towards which two high windows admitted such insufficient +light that even in fine weather it was particularly gloomy. At the +farther end two folding-doors cut off a portion of its length, and +this was fitted up as a bed-chamber--dark enough. The furniture +of the _salle_ consisted of a few common chairs and a large table +covered with oil-cloth. The floor was without carpet, as the windows +were without either blinds or curtains. How the rest of the house +might have been fitted up I am ignorant, having seen no more of its +interior than the kitchen, which opened into the yard, and that was +certainly the neatest and cleanest I ever saw, with its red floor +and red stoves and highly-polished brass pans, &c. &c. Nor did I +ever see much more of the inhabitants; for, with the exception of +two females in the kitchen, the house seemed deserted. A man-servant +certainly assisted at our dinner, but we rarely saw even him at any +other time. Not a voice--not a foot-fall--not a sound of any kind, +unless emanating from ourselves, ever disturbed the death-like +silence that reigned through this establishment. Mine host was, I +believe, a merchant, and went out every morning to his business, +whence he returned not until the evening, at least as far as I +could ascertain. I saw nothing more of him from my first reception +until I called to take leave and thank him for his attentions and +hospitality. These consisted in the assistance of his servants and +the use of his beer-cask, on which we drew for our daily supply. + +During the seven days we remained in Ghent, our time was so occupied +by duties that there was little leisure to look about us. Twice every +day it was necessary to be at the barracks, so that a very great +portion of my time was spent in walking backward and forward between +them and Bruge Straet. + +Amongst other duties it fell to our lot to furnish a guard of honour +to Louis XVIII., then residing in Ghent, his own troops having been +sent to Alost to make room for the British, which were continually +passing through. Our subalterns were very well pleased with this +arrangement, for the duty was nothing. They found an excellent table, +and passed their time very agreeably with the young men of the _garde +du corps_, some of whom were always in attendance. Many of these were +mere boys, and the anteroom of his most Christian Majesty frequently +exhibited bolstering matches and other amusements, savouring strongly +of the boarding-school; however, they were good-natured, and always +most attentive to the comforts of the officer on guard. The royal +stud was in the barrack stables, and consisted principally of grey +horses, eighteen or twenty of which had been purchased in England at +a sale of _cast horses_ from the Scots Greys. + +We frequently met French officers of all ranks, and formed +acquaintance with many gentlemanly, well-informed men. At the Lion +d’Or and Hôtel de Flandre we found there was a table-d’hôte every +night at 8 o’clock, and, by way of passing the evening, usually +resorted to one or the other for supper. Here we were sure of meeting +many Frenchmen, and as the same people were generally constant +attendants, we became intimate, and discussed the merits of our +national troops respectively over our wine or _ponche_. It was the +first time most of them had had an opportunity of inspecting British +troops closely, though many had often met them in the field; and +they were very curious in their inquiries into the organisation, +government, and equipment of our army. Although allowing all due +credit to the bravery displayed by our troops in the Peninsula, and +the talents of our General (the Duke), yet were they unanimous in +their belief that neither would avail in the approaching conflict, +and that we must succumb before their idol and his grand army; for +though these gentlemen had deserted Napoleon to follow the fortunes +of Louis XVIII., it was evident they still revered the former. Their +admiration of our troops, particularly of the cavalry, was very +great; but they expressed astonishment at seeing so few decorations. +It was in vain we asserted that medals were rarely given in the +British army, and then only to commanding officers, &c. They shook +their heads, appeared incredulous, and asked, “Where are the troops +that fought in Spain?” There might have been something more than +mere curiosity in all this. There might have been an anxiety to +ascertain whether their countrymen were about to cope with veterans +or young soldiers. It might have been thrown out as a lure, to +provoke information relative to the present employment of those +veteran bands. Moreover, I shrewdly suspected many of these gentlemen +were actually spies. Amongst others who had followed Louis XVIII. +was Marmont. I think it was the day after our arrival, passing over +the open space near the Place d’Armes, by the river, I saw a French +general officer exercising a horse in the _manège_, and learnt with +astonishment that this was Marmont; for the man in question had +_two_ good arms--whereas, for years past, I had, in common with +most people in England, looked upon it as a fact that he had left +one at Salamanca. French deserters, both officers and privates, +were daily coming in; it was said they deserted by hundreds. Be +that as it may, I one day saw a column of thirty march up to the +Bureau des Logements. They were in a most miserable plight--all in +rags--and apparently half-starved. All these deserters, as well as +the rest, were forwarded without delay to Alost. The Commissaire des +Logements told me that, after the departure of the French troops to +Alost, there still remained more than 300 of his Majesty’s immediate +followers for whom it was necessary to provide in Ghent. + +The huzzars of the K. G. Legion, stationed about Detto, and toward +the frontier, frequently sent intelligence of hostile movements; but +except this, we were in perfect ignorance of the positions either of +our own or the French army. Regiments arrived from England, halted a +night, and were off again we knew not where. + +Meantime we lived well, and saw as much of the place as our scanty +time would permit. The markets were most abundantly supplied with +everything, and very cheap; so that with the assistance of our +_bourgmestre’s_ cook we kept an excellent table at a moderate rate. +As for our horses, although they had exhibited symptoms of having +felt their exposure on the sands at Ostend when we first arrived, yet +rest and good forage soon restored their original appearance, and we +began to get tired of Ghent and long for a forward move. + +I cannot, however, bid adieu to Ghent without recording a few notes, +which my confined means of observation enabled me to preserve; and +be it remembered that, at that period, the continent of Europe +was almost a _terra incognita_ to Englishmen, to whom everything, +therefore, even trifles, bore a degree of interest, which our present +intimate acquaintance may cause to appear puerile at the present day. + +I need not say that Ghent is a large and populous city, standing +upon ground generally flat, intersected and divided into numerous +islands by three or four rivers, besides canals, which hold their +course through it, nor that it is the birthplace of the Emperor +Charles V.; but I may add that Ghent, independent of its historical +recollections, is, and ever must be, a most interesting place, +particularly to the artist; for where can we see such picturesque +street-scenes as are exhibited here? The streets, bordered by lofty +houses generally of a quaint style of architecture, wind their +devious way--now narrow, now spreading out to an ample breadth--with +an irregularity that certainly leaves no room to complain of +sameness. This irregularity attaches as much to the houses as to the +streets. These are of every variety--high stepped gables towards +the street, little turrets with pointed roofs, others with large +French windows, and, again, others all window, as at Bruges. These, +intermingled with, and partially seen through, the foliage of the +trees, which in many places border the canals, &c., offer most +picturesque morsels, precisely such as one sees in the pictures of +the old Flemish painters, so that they appeared quite familiar. +This effect is considerably heightened by the deep embrasures of +the windows, lofty grotesquely ornamented portals, and, above all, +the rich deep tone of colouring that pervaded the whole. Chapels +and churches, too--some in the Gothic, others Italian, or still +more modern styles--intervened continually, the whole forming rich +perspectives, animated by the varied and bustling crowds of citizens, +peasants, soldiers, &c. One peculiarity struck me as savouring much +of indolence and curiosity combined: almost every house, at one or +more windows of the first floor, had small square mirrors, sometimes +single, sometimes double, so arranged that persons seated within +the room could see the passengers on the _trottoir_ below without +stirring from their seats. In English towns one constantly sees heads +peeping over the blinds; here, no one is seen at the windows. + +Near the centre of the city is the Place d’Armes, a large +square, having the area ornamented by rows of well-grown linden +trees, and its houses of a superior character to those in the +adjoining quarters. This is the focus of business, and in this +neighbourhood one sees all the best shops, some of which astonished +us by the profuse display of Indian goods, particularly silk +pocket-handkerchiefs, which we found of the very finest quality, and +at about half the price they sold at in England. The Place d’Armes +is, however, spoiled in a great measure by the shabby wooden railing +enclosing the promenade. + +In this square was a magnificent hotel, at least as far as outward +appearance went. The Duc de Berri had his quarters in it; and one +day, as I returned from the barrack, I saw him set off for Alost. +This was the first travelling equipage I had seen in the country; +and consequently I was much amused with the coxcombry and costume +of the postilions--their glazed hats stuck on one side; queues, each +with the side-hair neatly plaited in; short, very short jackets; +and, above all, the enormous jack-boots. But if the costume amused, +the dexterity with which they handled their whips astonished +me--“klang-klang-klang,”--between them they almost made music. The +rapid and dexterous manner in which, flourishing their whips over +their heads, they crack them--before, behind, right, and left--is of +a piece with that manual dexterity with which our laboratory-boys +make ball-cartridges, and our drummers, by quickly-repeated but +distinct taps, produce a rolling sound in which the most delicate ear +cannot detect a break. But to return from this digression. + +The very little time I had to myself did not admit of seeing half +the place, and my wanderings were pretty much confined to the +neighbourhood of the line between Bruges Straet and the barrack. +Sometimes, however, I did extend a little to the right and left, +and in one of these excursions got a glimpse, but no more, of some +pleasant gardens--public, I suppose--in which numerous walks, +overarched with verdure, intersected each other, and presented, +as the weather was hot, most inviting retreats. At another time +I wandered as far as the Citadel,--I suppose the one built by +William III. of England, not that of Charles V., of which not a +vestige remains. It must have been but an insignificant work;--the +plan, I think, a parallelogram. The mounds of the ramparts remain +entire, and the wet ditch. At present it is completely overlooked +by the neighbouring houses. From this work, which is situated just +without the _barrière_ of the road to Thermonde, one commands a +prospect, perhaps, of its kind unrivalled. Here are no picturesque +or romantic features, but the eye wanders unimpeded over a region +as flat as the ocean, and, like it, only terminating in the distant +horizon. This region is amongst the richest in the world, and, spite +of its flatness, offers to our view a scene at once pleasing and +astonishing. Verdant meadows, enameled with myriads of yellow and +white flowers, amidst which graze innumerable herds of the finest +cattle, extend for miles from the city, and then, intermingled with +corn-fields, groves, and thickets, amidst which are seen everywhere +villages, farms, and scattered houses, melt gradually away into the +blue distance. In the immediate foreground, a singular hillock, +crowned by a little chapel and environed by trees, rears its form +and enhances the picture by variety of feature and the interesting +peeps admitted between the openings of the foliage. The road from +Thermonde passes through this grove, and, covered as it generally +is (or was, when I saw it) with groups of market-people, carts, +and cattle, &c., throws a charming animation into the scene. The +lengthened perspective, too, of this road running away in a straight +line bordered by trees, and gradually diminishing until lost in the +distance, breaks the unvaried flatness of the meadows, and prevents +one feeling them monotonous. Returning from the Citadel, I joined +the rustic crowd pouring in through the _barrière_, and, following +the stream, was brought by it into an extensive square surrounded +by lofty and antique-looking houses, apparently the exclusive abode +of the humbler classes of merchants or artisans. The crowd here was +immense; and it was not without difficulty that I made my way through +it. I think this is the Marché aux Grains. Not far from thence I +stumbled on the great gun, called the Basilisc,[5] said to have been +cast by order of Charles V., to overawe the Ghentois. As far as I +could see, this enormous piece, which reposes on a mass of brickwork +in an open space at the turn of the street, is a plain unornamented +cylinder of iron (wrought). It was too high for minute inspection. +The pedestal upon which it rests serves also as a public fountain, +about which are usually groups of gossiping women with their pitchers +under their arms, or noisy boys. + +Amongst the buildings of Ghent, interesting from their style, the +ancient Gothic Hôtel de Ville stands pre-eminent, with its rich and +elaborately-ornamented façades. This venerable pile is said to have +been built, at least the older part of it, in the beginning of the +seventh century. Another remnant of antiquity, perhaps still more +old, I discovered in my own neighbourhood--this was the ancient +castle, Castrum Ganda(?), a small open space, in the corner of which +are the remains of thick walls and one tower still nearly entire--its +different storeys affording lodgment to several poor families, from +whom, however, I sought in vain for any information respecting these +ruins. From the direction of the patches of wall, I conjectured that +the open space was once the inner court of the castle. + +In the same quarter was one of the markets, through which I passed +every day in going to and coming from the barrack; it was for meat +and vegetables, &c. The latter were exposed for sale in the open air +in baskets, as with us; and here, as everywhere else, one could not +but be struck with the great abundance and fine quality of every +produce of this rich country. One vegetable seemingly in great +request was the tender root of the hop plant. This, when peeled and +stewed in milk, is really delicious. We had it every day on our +table, and it was a general favourite. A principal occupation of the +market-women was peeling these roots, which were then thrown into a +basin of cold water to keep them fresh, and thus exposed for sale. +The meat-market adjoining was under cover and closed in, like the +central avenue of Covent Garden, forming a long street of stalls, +each full of the finest meat imaginable, cut up into joints, &c., +whilst overhead, suspended under the roof, were innumerable whole +carcasses of bullocks, sheep, and pigs. Nothing could exceed the +cleanliness of this place, or the neatness and propriety of dress of +the butchers, their wives, and daughters. Unlike our markets, there +was no loud talking, no confused gabbling of tongues; everything +seemed conducted with the utmost quiet, order, and decency. The +middle of the passage was thronged with well-dressed people of all +classes and both sexes. On entering I was struck with a singular dull +murmuring sound that pervaded the building, somewhat resembling the +sound of a distant mill, which I soon perceived to be produced by the +active industry of the women, who, instead of sitting idly waiting +for custom, were all busily employed pounding sausage-meat. If ever +I could relish a sausage it would be a Ghent one, for nothing can +exceed the cleanliness of the operators and their operations, or the +goodness of the materials of which they are made. One may form some +idea of the abundance of this fine country from the fact that, having +been all last year the seat of war, and now everywhere occupied by +numerous foreign troops, still there appeared no diminution in the +supplies, and the markets of every town exhibit as great a profusion +as ever. + +With the exception of a slight sandy eminence at Eccloo, the +first undulations of the country we had yet seen were at Ghent. +On the southern side of the town I ascended with pleasure a +hill, which apparently was the commencement of a sort of rolling +country extending towards Deynse. From its summit is an excellent +view of the city and the fine country around it. Meadows of +the liveliest green, intersected by numerous streams, exhibited +everywhere immense quantities of linen exposed for bleaching--such +was the scene immediately below. In the distance, as the plain +became foreshortened, it seemed to be bounded by woods. The city +itself was rendered a more pleasing object by having its sombre +masses broken and relieved by large plots of garden-ground and the +frequent intervention of foliage. On this hill stood a large square +building, once a monastery, but suppressed during the Revolution, +like many others. To what use it is now turned I could not guess, +as not a living soul was to be seen in or about it of whom to make +inquiry. The massive pile, with its numerous windows, high roof, and +yawning portal, was not an unpicturesque object. I sauntered into +its solitary court; grass had almost overgrown the pavement, and +desolation was stamped on every feature. I could not look on all this +without indulging in a dream, and in my mind’s eye embodying fat and +lazy monks strolling about the court, or lounging in idle converse on +the stone benches against the sunny wall; again, some more venerable +figure passing the corridors in silent meditation. On the road from +the town, too, I conjured up groups of ascending and descending +brothers, and though not approving of their vocation, could not but +regret the absence of their picturesque costume. The only convent I +saw besides this in Ghent was an inhabited one, and it is to be hoped +always will be. This is the Beguinage, to which I hardly know whether +the term “convent” should be applied, for it rather resembles a small +town. Each of the sisters has a separate dwelling, with a little +flower-garden in front of it, much in the style of some of our better +kind of alms-houses in England. It appears an old building, and is +surrounded by a moat. + +The Cathedral of St Bavon being in our neighbourhood, and not much +out of the way of my daily walks, I frequently went in to see what +was going on; for one goes to these Catholic ceremonies as to any +other show. This church makes no great appearance from without, but +the interior is imposing and beautiful, as all Gothic interiors are. +The panels of the choir over the stalls are a series of paintings +exceedingly well executed, representing the acts of St Paul, I +believe. The curiosities of the church are the crypt, the tombs, +and the pulpit. The former of these probably originated in the +unsoundness of the ground rendering such a foundation necessary. +Its arches are semicircular, and spring from low but very massive +pillars. Mass is sometimes performed here, but only often enough, +I should imagine, to prevent its desecration. Of the tombs, there +are two of very admirable sculpture--the one in white, the other in +black marble--both, I think, of bishops. The pulpit is like that of +Bruges--an elaborate piece of carving in wood--notable monument of +patience and perseverance. One evening, attracted by the chanting, I +walked in, just as a procession wound slowly from behind the choir, +and advanced with banners and lighted tapers down the side aisle. +The approaching twilight had thrown every part of the church into +a mysterious obscurity, harmonising well with such a scene. Two +boys in scarlet surplices, with shaven heads, but beautiful faces, +came first, swinging about large handsome censers of silver. The +atmosphere was soon impregnated with the smoking frankincense, whose +odour was well calculated to aid the imposing effect. Two banners, +in form resembling the labarum, followed. To these succeeded a train +of priests, in variously-coloured, rich, and picturesque dresses, +some bearing other banners of different shapes and devices; and +a number of boys, all habited like those already mentioned, and +equally fair, flanked the procession, and enveloped it in a light +haze by the fumes of their incessantly swinging censers. The chant +had just died away as I entered the nave, and the procession, with +solemn, silent tread, moved slowly down the aisle--the only sound +that broke upon the ear being the grating rattle of the censer-lids +as they were drawn rapidly up and down the chains. Then again the +full impressive harmony of the chant filled the vaulted roof with its +sweet and solemn notes, died away, and after another pause was again +and again resumed; and thus, having made the circuit of the nave, the +procession became gradually lost in the obscurity of the aisle as it +slowly retired behind the choir, whence at intervals, softened by +distance, the chant still rose over the dividing screen behind the +high altar. + +Puerile as these exhibitions may be, the effect on me was exciting; +and as the last notes were faintly re-echoed through the building, +I left it in a frame of mind far different from that in which I had +entered. + +On the Sunday we passed in Ghent a mass was celebrated expressly +for Monsieur (le Comte d’Artois). Expecting something grand, I +repaired to the cathedral in company with several other officers. +We were received with great civility by the functionaries of the +establishment, and provided with seats in the stalls and organ-loft. +Our party formed the whole congregation, for there were none of +the inhabitants. We had not been long seated ere a slight movement +and the shuffling of feet in the direction of the grand entrance +announced the approach of the illustrious communicant; and Monsieur +entered the choir, followed at a little distance by the gentlemen of +his suite: a small man of good figure, but of no very distinguished +appearance. He was dressed in a blue uniform coat with silver +embroidery, white breeches, and silk stockings. He advanced with a +quick pace to the steps of the high altar, where a single chair had +been placed for him, bowed very low, crossed himself most devoutly, +bowed again, and, kneeling on the chair with his arms resting on the +back, buried his face in his hands, and in this attitude remained +throughout the ceremony. His suite, military and civil, ranged +themselves across the choir behind him. A few found chairs, and knelt +on them, but the greater part remained standing, and seemed little +interested in the service. At length, to my great joy, the last taper +was extinguished, and, tired to death, I made my escape, resolved +never again to attend a royal mass. + +With the interior of the houses in Ghent I had little acquaintance, +having seen no more of them than the rooms inhabited by our own +officers. In our Quartier de Bruges were many very large and even +magnificent ones--some of them in the modern style, with French +windows, of three or four stories, or occasionally only one, with +a basement entirely blank; others, again, in the heavy antique +Flemish style, with large windows in deep embrasures (perhaps with +little panes of glass set in lead, and divided by heavy stone +mullions)--those on the ground-floor defended by an iron cage, as +in Spain; lofty folding-doors, full of iron studs, surmounted by a +cumbrous, tasteless pediment, or an equally cumbrous escutcheon, +looking gloomily magnificent. In all cases, however, the most +scrupulous cleanliness and neatness were general characteristics; and +as the street-doors usually stood wide open throughout the day, the +eye of the passenger, as it glanced through the darkened perspective +of the entrance-hall, was sure to be refreshed by the vivid verdure +of vines and acacias decorating the interior court--a never-failing +accompaniment, particularly to the older houses. + +One of my officers, with whom I had established a breakfast mess, was +billeted in a house (or rather palace) of the latter description +in the Rue de Poivre (Pepper Straet). The rooms in this were of +magnificent dimensions, wainscoted with some dark wood, the doorways +and ceilings ornamented with arabesques. They were scrupulously +clean, but very bare of furniture, the little there was (merely +chairs and tables) clumsy and antique--folding-doors with their +ornamented encasements reaching to the ceiling--neither door nor +window frames painted. The whole house was as deserted and silent as +I have described my own to be--gloomily obscure; but this, as the +weather was hot, formed a recommendation, for it was deliciously +cool. The only inhabitants ever seen either by my companion or myself +were the lord of the mansion--a most precise, polite, frigid little +sexagenarian, and an old domestic in cotton jacket and _bonnet +de nuit_, who sometimes assisted Q.’s servant. The old gentleman +was, however, most civil in going through the ceremony of offering +everything his house afforded, but what that might be there were no +means of ascertaining, for we never either saw or smelt his kitchen. +The garden, an irregular area of no great dimensions, presented a +grove of trees with thickets of underwood, threaded in all directions +by narrow serpentine walks; and to prevent a sense of confinement, +I suppose, the high boundary-wall was painted from top to bottom +in distemper, with the representation of a distant country sky and +all. The effect of this, in my opinion, was vastly inferior to +that which would have been produced by covering it with vines or +flowering creepers. Another of our people dwelt in a house of quite +a different description--it was one of those already mentioned +as having a blank basement, and giving but a single row of large +French windows to the street. My friend’s apartments were truly +luxurious. The walls were covered with French paper representing +the scenery of some tropical region, the furniture (of which there +was even a superfluity) all elegant; the large windows, adorned by +ample draperies, looked out upon a lovely and luxuriant garden, +and the light that entered through them was broken and tempered by +festoons of vine leaves that hung across them, whilst the air came +redolent of delicious odours from the ocean of flowers below, and +the ear was entertained with the sweet warbling of birds suspended +in pretty cages of brass wire in all parts of the house. The family +consisted of several females--handsome, elegant, and simple in their +dress; women--servants, scrupulously neat and clean, but not a man. +These ladies must have been people of some consequence, if we may +judge from the number and respectability of their visitors. The +general aspect of the population of Ghent, as seen in the streets, +&c., did not strike me as having anything very peculiar in it to +attract the attention of a foreigner; the numbers, however, and to +him novel appearance, of the secular clergy form a feature not to +be omitted. An Englishman is totally unused to having the Church +and its accessories so constantly in his presence as he here finds +it. Both eyes and ears remind him perpetually of one and the other. +The _carillons_, and the irregular unmeaning jingle-jangle of the +bells from the numerous churches, continuing more or less throughout +the day--the monotonous nasal chant issuing from every church one +passes (and they constantly recur)--the occasional rencontre of some +procession, and the number of priests to be seen everywhere in black +cassocks and bands, with very small three-cornered cocked-hats stuck +formally on their well-powdered heads--never allow one to forget Holy +Mother Church as a leading member of the commonwealth. These priests +all look sleek and in good case--they are evidently well fed; and +it is amusing to see some of them (very young men) gliding along +with downcast eyes (_vultus dejectu_) and demure steps, whilst ever +and anon a stealthy sidelong glance announces that their thoughts +are not entirely abstracted in devotional meditation--that they are +not insensible to the excitement of the busy scene around them. To +these maybe added the dowdy, homely figures of the Beguines in their +inelegant black dresses, as inelegant and truly _bizarre_ caps of +snow-white linen floating like enormous wings on either side of their +heads. The remainder of the population, as I have said, offered +nothing very striking in the way of costume, at least as far as +regarded the higher classes. People everywhere now have adopted, it +may be said, a common uniform. All the male world wear round hats, +tail or frock coats of sober colours, and trousers. The rich old +_bourgmestres_, for instance, are precisely what one would figure to +himself a _bourgmestre_ to be--fat, portly, aldermanly men, often in +cocked-hats and powdered wigs, a sober or sad-coloured suit of good +broad-cloth, amply cut, breeches ditto, silver knee-buckles, white +or striped silk stockings, clumsy, square-toed, but well-polished, +high-quartered shoes, with enormous silver buckles--quite antiques; +the finish, a handsome cane with golden knob, sometimes ruffles, +figured silk waistcoats, &c. &c. The peasantry frequenting the +markets differed from our people of the same class in the prevalence +of short striped cotton jackets, caps, and _sabots_. Many of them, +like our rustics, wore smock-frocks, much ornamented about the +back, breast, and shoulders by embroidery in coloured worsteds; +these frocks, however, are generally dark-blue. The street groups +of the middle and lower classes were principally characterised +by the frequency of short jackets, generally nankin or striped +cotton, breeches of velveteen, with silver knee-buckles and striped +stockings; cloth, nankin, or a sort of grey linen, foraging-caps of +all shapes--some trimmed with wool or fur, generally having long +pendant tassels from the top, and almost all having immense broad +shades either of leather, or of the same material as the cap. + +Of the manners of a people it would be presumption to speak on so +short an acquaintance. The little intercourse we had with them, +however, made a favourable impression on us. We found those of the +upper classes obliging and polite; the tradesmen civil and attentive; +the labouring classes quiet, orderly, and extremely respectful. + +In point of religion, the men of the upper classes appeared +indifferent or lukewarm, the women very assiduous in the performance +of ceremonies, in which it was obvious the heart frequently had +little concern. The lower orders were superstitious, priest-ridden, +and extremely punctual in the performance of their duties. The +peasantry alone seemed quite in earnest. I may characterise the +whole population, high and low, as priest-ridden; for, however +indifferent the men of the former may be, they are not a whit the +less subservient to these their spiritual, and generally temporal, +masters. + +It would be unjust to condemn as immoral a whole people for the vices +found in their cities. We ought not, therefore, to pass unqualified +censure on the Flemings because this was exhibited to us openly in +the streets of their great cities. I allude to the barefaced manner +in which we were tormented incessantly by a number of boys making the +most impudent and depraved propositions, and that with a pertinacity +not readily repulsed. An instance of moral and religious degradation, +I am happy to say, we rarely met with afterwards until our arrival at +that hotbed of vice--Paris. + +Our last transaction in Ghent was the taking over a number of +baggage-mules from Captain Clive’s Brigade of the German Legion +Artillery. These beautiful animals they had brought with them from +Spain, and I shall never forget the grief and indignation with which +they parted with them. Affection for, and care of, his horse, is the +trait, _par excellence_, which distinguishes the German dragoon from +the English. The former would sell everything to feed his horse; +the latter would sell his horse itself for spirits, or the means of +obtaining them. The one never thinks of himself until his horse is +provided for; the other looks upon the animal as a curse and a source +of perpetual drudgery to himself, and gives himself no concern about +it when once away from under his officer’s eye. The German accustoms +his horse to partake of his own fare. I remember a beautiful mare, +belonging to a sergeant of the 3d Hussars, K.G.L., which would even +eat onions. She was one of the very few that escaped after the +disastrous retreat of Corunna, and had been saved and smuggled on +board ship by the sergeant himself. In the Peninsula the only means +of enforcing some attention to their horses amongst our English +regiments was to make every man walk and carry his saddle-bags whose +horse died or was ill. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +_April 24._--Orders to march to-morrow morning to Thermonde. At a +loss to know where this can be, but find it is Dendermonde. Whether +this be in consequence of any movement of the French army, or only +for the purpose of concentration, we are in the dark. The other +troops of horse-artillery in Ghent have also received orders to +march, but we move independently of each other. To-day passed in +preparation, visiting, and leave-taking. Called on my host, whom +I found in a handsome well-furnished drawing-room at the back of +the house, looking over a very nice garden. Had no idea of so much +cheerfulness and comfort existing under our roof, nor of the two +good-looking women I found with him. After much complimenting we +parted. + +_25th._--Fine morning. Marched early; leaving Ghent by the road +already mentioned as passing under the Citadel, and crossing +that flat but splendid country which I understand extends without +interruption to Antwerp, or rather to the Tête de Flandre. This is +the Pays de Waes, perhaps the highest cultivated land in Europe. It +is said to have been once little better than moving sand, but that +the great quantities of manure laid on it for so many successive +centuries have completely changed its nature, and produced the fine +rich black mould which is now everywhere of considerable depth. If +this be true, it will in some measure account for the hillock already +spoken of, which is entirely of sand. Passing close under this, I +could not but be struck by the circumstance of this sandy mound +standing in the midst of an otherwise unbroken level, and conjectured +it must be artificial--one of those enormous tumuli erected as the +tomb of departed warriors, or as a look-out, which was a common Roman +custom, particularly in so flat a region. It is about the height of +Silbury, perhaps less, but by no means of so regular a form; its +slope, which is covered with trees and bushes, being excavated and +broken in numerous places, probably for the sand. Standing as it +does amidst a grove of trees, through the boles of which one catches +pretty peeps of the blue distance, and crowned by the little chapel, +independent of its historical or geological existence, it is really +a very interesting object, and forms an admirable foreground to a +picture of the Pays de Waes. Every one does not understand the beauty +of a landscape the principal feature of which is a dead level. Yet +these, like others, have their beauties, which consist principally +in the effect under which they are seen, and the delicious tones +of the aerial perspective gradually melting into the purply tints +of extreme distance. I have often found very exquisite beauty in +these flat Flemish scenes, especially when relieved and animated +by groups of men and cattle, such as one sees in Cuyp and all the +Dutch and Flemish masters. Whether from the richness of the soil, or +some peculiar quality of the atmosphere, I know not, but I always +fancied the colouring here much more vivid than in England, and the +distances much more purply--quite Italian. But I am halting under +the hill; so to proceed. Our road led us through the midst of this +magnificent Pays de Waes, everywhere exhibiting such crops and such +pastures as it is difficult to form an idea of--the latter covered +with fine beasts, which I understand are brought hither from Holland +to fatten. We passed through several populous villages, particularly +Locristy and Seven Eeke, and about fifteen miles from Ghent reached +Lokeren, a large manufacturing town, having all the dirty, smoky, +dismal appearance of our northern manufacturing places, to which the +blackish-coloured stone--somewhat, in colour at least, resembling +the slag used about Bristol as a building material--contributes not +a little. The houses, of three and four storeys, appeared tenanted +each by many families; and the population had all the squalid, filthy +character of our own manufacturing population, always excepting those +of Stroudwater and the bottoms in Gloucestershire. Cloth is the +article fabricated here, but of what quality I know not. + +A strong column of Hanoverian infantry, composed of several +battalions of militia, crossing our route, detained us at the +entrance of the town more than half an hour, to the great amusement +of a crowd of gazing weavers and dyers, with upturned sleeves +and blue hands and arms, who surrounded us. The Hanoverians were +fine-looking troops, generally very young, and completely English in +dress and appointments, except that the officers wore particoloured +sashes. Each battalion had a very good band, though rather +noisy, from the number of jingling instruments entering into its +composition--as cymbals, triangles, ottomans, &c. &c.--all which +are much more patronised by foreigners than by us. The Chaussée +terminating at Lockeren, when we continued our march it was on a +bad cross-road, which soon brought us to Zêle--a large populous +manufacturing village, having a wide, clean street. Houses in the +cottage style, and generally only of one floor. The whole population +turned out to see us pass, with the _curé_ at their head--a tall, +respectable-looking old man, who, judging from the good-humoured +countenance with which he scrutinised our column as it passed, and +the air _empressé_ with which he came forward to offer his advice +respecting the road to Dendermonde, I set down either as a very +amiable person, or very zealous in the cause of legitimacy: we were +feeling our way without a guide, and therefore had to ask. The +respectful, quiet, and contented air of his flock spoke also in his +favour, and, together with the bright eyes of numerous pretty women +among the crowd, left a favourable impression of Zêle. + +Henceforward the scenery took a very different aspect, and we +exchanged the smiling, populous, well-wooded country we had been +hitherto traversing for a lugubrious, marshy tract, devoid of +anything that could break its monotony--neither trees nor houses, +and but few cattle, were to be seen, whilst the abominable road +became so slippery that it was with difficulty our horses could keep +their feet. + +About half a league from Dendermonde we struck the Scheldt, but +could see nothing of it or the opposite country for the high dyke by +which the river is here confined, and along the foot of which, for +some little distance, our road lay, until it brought us to a wooden +bridge elevated nearly thirty feet above the water, and so tottering +that it was necessary to pass by single divisions, and even then its +vibrations were not pleasant. Our quartermaster, who had been sent +in advance, met us here, with orders not to halt in Dendermonde, but +to proceed on to St Gille, situated beyond it on the Brussels road. +The appearance of things improved here, from the number of trees +about Dendermonde, which we soon after entered by a long, straight, +narrow, gloomy, mean-looking street of low houses, built of the same +dark stone we had seen at Lokeren. This led us to a spacious quay, +encompassing what I supposed to be the harbour, for the water was +very low, and the mud bare, like Bristol. Passing round the head +of this, we soon left the town again, and almost immediately found +ourselves at St Gille, which consists of a few mean houses scattered +along the Chaussée, the only decent one being that of a _juge de +paix_, on which I found myself billeted. + +In a country so carefully cultivated as this is, a piece of waste +land is a rarity, and therefore we had some difficulty in forming +our park, which at last was done in a small enclosed cemetery, not +without disturbing the ashes of the dead, and running some risk of +breaking our horses’ legs and our own necks, for the graves had all +been so loosely filled in that the horses sank to their shoulders +in the light soil. Our men and horses were dispersed amongst +the neighbouring farms of the commune, and though rather widely +scattered, yet most comfortably put up everywhere. + +Whilst employed at the park my servant had taken my baggage to my +billet, so that on repairing thither I found Madame la Juge, _en +habit de Dimanches_, already waiting at the door to receive me. A +fine and handsome woman, perhaps turned of thirty, and possessing a +degree of _embonpoint_ which, whilst it added dignity to her air, +detracted nothing from the grace of her person. She received me with +more than common politeness, with kindness and cordiality, which, as +an intruder, I felt I had no right to expect, and, conducting me into +the house, assured me that it should be her study to render my stay +at St Gille as agreeable as possible, ushering me into an apartment +destined for my use, and offering the assistance of her servants--in +short, the whole house was at my disposal. All this was not mere +compliment, for in good truth she kept her word to the very letter. +I never experienced greater kindness, or more sincere hospitality, +and under such circumstances soon felt myself perfectly at home in my +neat lodgings. + +What a contrast was this to the gloomy billet I left in the morning +in the silent, solitary Rue de Bruges! Here everything was light, +airy, and cheerful. But I must describe my new home. The _apartment_ +consisted of a saloon of about eighteen feet square, with a little +cabinet or sleeping-room adjoining and opening from it. Both were +as clean as it was possible to conceive anything could be, and +the white walls perfectly immaculate. Furniture of the simplest +kind--chairs of oak or walnut ranged along the walls, two tables +covered with oil-cloth, neat but scanty window-curtains, with +draperies and fringe, and a most brilliant stove, _en faïence_, +ornamented with brass-work, standing out nearly in the middle of +the floor; that floor of red tiles, or brick highly varnished, the +coolness of which, in the present hot weather, was highly grateful. +I have designated this room as light and airy, and truly it was +so, for it was illuminated by no less than six windows. Three of +these in the front commanded a pleasant view over the well-wooded +and beautifully-cultivated country beyond the great Brussels road, +which ran beneath them--the fields more resembling extensive gardens +than anything else. As this part of the house, projected beyond the +_porte cochère_, a window in the side afforded a peep up the road, +terminated by the town of Dendermonde, which hence appeared embosomed +in trees. Two fine acacias in front of the gateway overshadowed this +with their delicate pensile foliage, and screened it from the hot +rays of the afternoon sun. The remaining two windows in the back +looked into a delicious and carefully-kept garden, divided as usual +by those verdant hornbeam walls into different departments. Such was +my saloon. My bed-room, if so it may be called, was equally neat and +simple in its equipment: a low bedstead without curtains, bedding of +humble materials, but so clean that the most fastidious could have +found no fault with it, a chair or two, and a small dressing-table +in the single window, constituted its whole furniture. Having made +arrangements for establishing our mess here, I set off to visit my +people, who, as before mentioned, were scattered by threes and fours +all over the commune amongst the farmers; and with these good and +simple people I found them already quite at home. In most houses I +found them seated at dinner with the family--at all they had been +invited so to do; and everywhere the greatest good-humour and best +possible understanding prevailed between the host and guests. When +I asked, “Ist der meister content mit den Soldaten?”--gibberish +coined for the occasion, as they understood no French, and I no +Flemish--the answer was always a hearty “Yaw, mynheer--yaw! ist +brav--ist goot”--at the same time goodnaturedly slapping one of +them on the back, and leering archly round at the others. Boys, +women, and children would all swarm round me, exclaiming “Goot, +goot, goot!” Then, anticipating my wish to see the horses, one of +them would invite me to the stables, which, though dark, were all +warm and comfortable. Here I found our cattle stowed away, perhaps, +amongst half-a-dozen of their elephants of horses, literally living +in clover, for their racks and mangers were full of it (the finest +I ever saw), and their stalls of clean straw up to their bellies. +These good people seemed quite proud of having made the lucky brutes +so comfortable. I found afterwards from our Juge de Paix that this +bounty was in some measure repaid by the dung, which is here so +valuable that the production of one horse in four-and-twenty hours is +worth at least three or four pounds of hay, and perhaps four times +the quantity of clover. + +These farming establishments were very much alike, generally +speaking; embosomed in orchards, which in their turn are surrounded +by lofty elms. The dwelling-house is usually of brick, only +one floor, a high roof, under which are the dormitories with +garret-windows, sometimes two tiers of them. On the ground-floor the +windows are large and open in the French style, outside shutters +almost invariably _green_. Commonly there are only two rooms on this +floor, one on each side of the passage, the door of which opens on +the yards, as do the windows. One of these rooms is the kitchen, +or ordinary residence of the family, the other is a _salle de +cérémonie_. In the first is the usual display of brass pans, kettles, +crockery, &c., which, with some common benches and a large table or +two, constitute its furniture. As everywhere throughout this country, +the most perfect cleanliness prevails, and the metallic lustre of the +brass is brought out as much as scrubbing can effect. The _salle_ +exhibits a collection of stiff old-fashioned chairs with rush bottoms +and high upright carved backs, ponderous oaken tables, snow-white +window-curtains, and a series of very common prints, in as common +frames, suspended from the walls. These usually represent saints, +&c. On the chimney-piece waxen or earthenware figures of animals, +fruits, &c.; and frequently affixed to the wall over the centre one +sees a kind of deep frame or box with glass front, in which, amongst +cut paper, moss, or shell-work, is either a crucifix or a portrait of +the Virgin and child. The barns, stables, cow-houses, and other out +offices, form the other three sides of a square of which the front of +the dwelling is the fourth. A rough pavement of about ten or twelve +feet wide runs all round in front of the building; the remainder of +the area is one vast dunghill, having a reservoir in the centre to +receive its drainings, whilst it receives those of the cow-houses, +stables, and dwelling by means of gutters constructed for the +purpose. This precious fluid is the great dependence of the Flemish +agriculturist, as the principal fertiliser of his fields. When the +land is to be manured, it is carted out upon the grounds in a large +tub (like a brewing-tub). A boy leads the cart very slowly all over +the field, whilst a man, armed with a scoop, keeps scattering it +in all directions. It must be confessed that the fields after this +aspersion do not exhale the most savoury odours, but then nothing can +exceed their fertility. The country about Dendermonde was, generally +speaking, laid out in long narrow patches, separated from each other +sometimes by a belt of turf, sometimes by a footpath, at others by +ditches, along the edge of which might be a growth of alders, but no +regular hedges anywhere. Towards the Dender, ditches of water were +the common division, and these fields were fertilised by irrigation, +not by the scoop, and a more beautiful verdure could not be seen, +all being pastures; of the other fields or patches, each bore a +different crop, some flax, some wheat, some _trèfle_ or clover, some +buckwheat, some hops--the whole district having the appearance of +one vast garden. The soil in general was a light rich mould, but +degenerating into sand as it approached the Scheldt, on the north +side of St Gille. The absence of hedges was fully compensated by the +numerous copses that enriched the scenery in all directions, together +with the rows of trees with which almost every road was bordered, so +that, although a dead level, nothing could be more pleasing than the +pictures it presented, except the tract towards the Scheldt, which +was bleak enough. + +My rounds finished, I returned to my billet, where I found our people +all assembled, and we soon sat down to a most excellent dinner. The +wine, which we had procured from the town, was thin, pale, almost +white, but of a very piquant flavour, and over it we were enjoying +ourselves, when a servant came in, and announced that M. le Juge, +having that moment returned from the town, begged permission to +pay his respects to M. le Commandant. Permission granted. Enter a +little vulgar-looking man, about sixty years of age, whose coarse +and by no means prepossessing physiognomy was not improved by the +loss of an eye; nor was his person set off to the best advantage +by his costume, consisting of a shabby blue frock, dark waistcoat +sprigged over with golden flowers, and very long drab pantaloons, +hanging about his legs in large folds, evidently unrestrained by any +suspensatory process. His head was surmounted by a sort of forage-cap +of dark-green velvet, with a band of silver lace, and a silver tassel +falling over the crown. Doffing this, with a profusion of bows he +casts his sharp single eye inquiringly round our party, exclaiming, +“M. le Commandant?” I bow. “M. le Commandant, se trouve-t-il bien +ici?” I assent, and express my gratitude to his better half for +her attentions. “Da tout, M. le Commandant, da tout! Elle n’a rien +fait que son devoir aupres de vous, M. le Commandant! Et de plus, +je vous engagé de considerer la maison and les domestiques tous à +votre service, M. le Commandant--tous, tous, tous!” (pronouncing +strongly the final _s_ of the last word) “et si, par hazard, M. le +Commandant aimerait la solitude, voilà la joli promenade là bas,” +pointing to the garden. All this passed with us as mere words; but +we had formed a wrong estimate of our Juge, who fulfilled to the +utmost his professions, and turned out a very worthy fellow. Whilst +this colloquy was in progress, our friend had established himself +at the table with less ceremony than might have been expected from +so complimentary a gentleman, and the bottle, circulating briskly, +had the usual effect of loosening tongues and tightening friendship. +M. le Juge begged to know where we had obtained our wine, which he +did not approve of; it was not such as we ought to drink; begged +permission to send for some of a very superior quality from his own +cellar. The wine is brought accordingly, a bottle drawn by Monsieur +himself with great solemnity and some grimace, relating at the same +time its whole history. Clean glasses are called for, Monsieur fills +a bumper, and after contemplating it for a moment against the light, +hands it to me with a profound inclination. In colour it exactly +resembles what is on the table. I taste it: there is not a shade of +difference in the flavour. M. le Juge fills a glass for each of my +companions, and hands it to them with the same ceremonious bow. It +was easy to see that their opinions coincided with mine; but we did +not wish to hurt the good man, and so we one and all smacked our +lips, and pronounced it excellent. He immediately ordered a further +supply, and insisted on our drinking nothing else. However, the +bottles becoming mingled on the table, none of us could distinguish +the difference, and our friend himself, I observed, filled his own +glass indiscriminately from the one and the other. He meant to treat +us, and took this way of accomplishing it, no doubt. We found him +an intelligent, facetious companion, although, as we got farther +into the night, he did get a little prosy with his anecdotes of the +good people of Dendermonde. _En revanche_, he amused us much with +a description of the process of enrolling the militia then going +on; and droll pictures he drew of the peasantry who were brought +to him for that purpose every day by the _gens-d’armés_. It would +seem that these people were forced into the service sorely against +their will, being much attached to Buonaparte, and quite averse +to the new order of things. This seemed to be the general feeling +amongst the bourgeois of Dendermonde, as far as we could learn; and +it appeared very doubtful whether our worthy host himself, although +a public functionary under the new Government, did not participate +in this rage for Napoleon and Impérialisme. Be that, however, as it +may, he was so well pleased with our society, that the first cocks +crew ere he retired, his hiccoughing adieus and twinkling eye fully +demonstrating that, for him at least, the wine was not quite such +watery stuff as we had at first imagined. To us _port-drinkers_ it +was innocuous. The next day we had leisure to look about us, and +visit Dendermonde--a place, in my mind, inseparably connected with +Corporal Trim and Uncle Toby; and no little amusement was it to my +good Juge and his spouse when I related to them the story. They +thought it all true for a time. + +Whilst my comrades sought the town, I turned to the country, which +for me has infinitely more charms. The steeple of a village church +peering above the trees about a mile from us, on the Brussels +road, attracted me in that direction. The opulent village of +Lebbeke, embowered in orchards, appeared peculiarly animated as I +approached it. White tents, horses at picket in long lines, groups +of artillerymen, peasants and their waggons bringing loads of hay, +intermingled amongst the apple-trees, enlivened the scene. Three +batteries of 9-pounders were parked in the orchards, and their people +partly billeted in the farms, partly encamped near their guns. It was +a curious medley of peace and war. Here a large barn by the roadside, +its doors thrown wide open, and peasants within busily occupied in +threshing, spoke of the former; the guns and their accompaniments in +the opposite orchard, of the latter--the horses, looking cool and +comfortable under the shade of a fine row of elms, quietly eating +their hay, or playfully biting each other. Gunners and drivers, half +undressed, were lounging about the tents, or sitting on the wall by +the roadside, contentedly smoking their pipes; others busy cleaning +their appointments, or raking up the hay in front of the horses. + +Large, substantial-looking farm-houses principally formed the village +street, and by their comfortable appearance aroused the taste for +rural life; but this would be overset by the sight of an officer, +his coat unbuttoned, forage-cap on head, and cigar in mouth, lolling +listlessly out of a casement, as if perfectly at home--a sight +directly antagonistic to the tranquillity of rural retirement. +The Flemish waggons, with their teams and drivers, bringing loads +of hay, amused me much--long-bodied, and on low wheels, drawn by +four, and sometimes five, immense animals, overloaded with fat. +The waggoner, walking beside the fore-wheels, guides his team with +some dexterity by means of long reins of cord running through holes +in the haims. The horses are harnessed two and two, if the team +be of four--otherwise two in the wheel and three leaders abreast, +always separated from the wheelers by exceedingly long traces; the +pole invariably used. The richer farmers, as with us, affect great +show in their teams, the harness being gay with fringes and tassels +of coloured worsted, and the haims are always particularly fine. +These are of wood, flat, about four or five inches broad, the edges +frequently studded with brass nails, the front decorated with painted +flowers, and often with the Imperial eagle. The overgrown horses are +pampered like pet lapdogs, and never required to do one quarter of +the work they are capable of. They are noble brutes. + +However rich the scenery of this country may be from its cultivation, +still, in an Englishman’s eye, there is something wanting. Except on +the pastures along the Dender, no cattle are ever seen animating the +fields. The absence of hedges or other fences obliges the farmer to +keep these shut up, except for a short period after the harvest, when +they are turned out to pick up what they can along the borders and on +the _trèf_ layers. + +The quantity of manure accumulated by keeping them up is +considerable, and no doubt enters into the farmer’s calculation. +Sheep in small flocks (for I do not see that any large ones are kept) +are taken out to pasture by a shepherd and two or three dogs--not at +all resembling our sheep-dogs, except in sagacity, but small black +curs with long tails. I have seen one of these shepherds dozing +on a bank by the roadside, whilst his little flock, grazing in an +adjoining slip of grass-land, was quite as efficiently watched as if +the fellow had been wide awake. This slip was bounded on three sides +by young wheat, and on each of the dividing borders was posted one +of these curs. As the flock moved forward or backward so did the +dogs; and whilst they fed, these intelligent animals kept incessantly +running backwards and forwards on their post like sentinels, +instantly darting at any sheep that attempted to break bounds, and +driving it back into the grass-plot. The day was exceedingly warm, +and their lolling tongues proclaimed that the little animals had no +very light task of it, whatever their master’s might be. + +The town of Dendermonde (of which I saw but little) is situated +on the right bank of the Scheldt, at the point where the little +river Dender flows into it, as the name imports--Dender mond or +mund--_Dender mouth_. This river flows through it, and, being +backed up by sluices, forms the basin I noticed on the day of our +arrival. It is not large, and its population might be about 5000 or +6000--manufacturers of linens, fustians, &c. &c. The fortifications +have nearly disappeared, the only remnant that I saw being something +like a ravelin on the Alost side. It is, however, so surrounded by +water, and the country is so flat, that an extensive inundation could +soon be formed to supply their place if necessary. The general +aspect of the town is mean and gloomy, but on the side next to St +Gille were several good-looking houses, though all built of the same +dark stone. We saw here more pretty women, however, than we had yet +met with, always excepting in Zêle. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +Finding all quiet, and that our move hither from Ghent had only +been for the purpose of bringing us nearer to the cavalry, whose +headquarters were at Ninove, and into a more abundant country for +forage, we now gave ourselves up to the amusements our situation +afforded, as much as the requisite attention to military duties would +allow. Some made excursions to Brussels and Antwerp; some passed +their mornings knocking about the balls at a miserable billiard-table +upon the rickety floor of an up-stairs room in a neighbouring +cabaret; whilst others made a sort of flirting acquaintance with some +of the fair damsels of Dendermonde. The time flew quickly, because we +were happy. + +I was anxious to see Antwerp, and proposed going thither; but day +after day something occurred to prevent me, and at last I had the +mortifying reflection of having passed six idle days within eighteen +miles of it, and yet never been there. My only excursion was to +Alost, or Aulst, as they call it. On the 28th Leathes and I set off +on this expedition. Until within a mile of Alost, the character of +the country we traversed was much the same as that about Dendermonde, +but the villages and farm-houses were less neat and more poor in +their appearance--ragged thatch instead of slates and tiles, &c.--and +the streets of the villages or hamlets narrower and dirtier. During +the whole ride we saw but one house that appeared the residence of +a gentleman, and that was a large heavy-looking brick building, +standing in the midst of an old-fashioned garden, ornamented (if so +it may be called) with painted statues of men and monsters quite in +the Cockney style. _En effet_, this was the _lusthause_ of a wealthy +_bourgmestre_ of the Ville de Gand. Approaching Alost, we found the +character of the country changing, and having seen nothing but a +dead level ever since landing at Ostend, were agreeably surprised +at finding ourselves ascending a gentle slope, and surrounded by a +gently undulating country, yet so slightly so that we were not aware +of it until on it. Passing a sort of advanced barrier, we soon +reached the town, and rode into a respectable sort of square, where +we dismounted at the Maison d’Autriche. No accommodation for horses +here, so we were obliged to resort to a carrier’s in an adjoining +street, where we with difficulty got stable-room, all being crowded +with horses of Louis XVIII.’s cavalry. Being tired when I returned +to Dendermonde, I made no note of my visit to Aulst, and therefore +can say little about it. All I remember is a fine broad street of +handsome houses running up an ascent; a pretty public walk (_en +berceau_) called L’Allée d’Amour (as we should say, _Love Lane_; and +what town or village is there in England which has not its Allée +d’Amour?); a fine church, in which was a series of paintings (good, +I believe) representing the life and adventures of some saint; the +canal harbour, full of boats laden with corn and hay for our cavalry, +the contractors having established here their grand depôt, &c. &c.; +great crowding and bustling in the streets, occasioned partly by this +circumstance, partly by the presence of the Duc de Berri and his +troops, and partly by an unusual influx of travellers. Moreover, I +remember that we got a most delicious omelet and bottle of very fine +Sauterne at the Maison d’Autriche, for which (_garçon_ included) we +paid only five francs; whilst, _en revanche_, as it were, we had to +pay eight to the villain of a carrier for the feed of bad oats which +our horses would not eat; that we saddled them ourselves, and sallied +from Alost, expecting, in due time and without _contre-temps_, to +reach St Gille; that we actually arrived within a mile of Lebbeke, +the spire of whose church was closely seen by us above the trees, +and towards which we attempted a short cut, which attempt ended in +losing ourselves, and wandering about for an hour within 800 yards +of St Gille, and always with the spire of Lebbeke in view, without +being able to reach one place or the other; and that there we might +have wandered till doomsday, had we not fortunately fallen in with a +patrol (foot) of _gens-d’armés_, who put us into the right way--such +is the intricacy of this country, intersected as it is by lanes and +ditches, like network, and the view confined to the neighbouring +field by the multitudinous little woods. We got home! _Chez moi_, +things went on so comfortably that I was quite happy, my worthy host +and his spouse treating me and mine quite as part of the family. +Of Monsieur, however, I did not see very much, for every morning, +immediately after breakfast, he went to his office in Dendermonde, +where he remained all day, and he never ventured another soirée +with our party. The last year (1814) my position in their _ménage_ +had been occupied by a French colonel, of whom they spoke in the +highest terms, always winding up with, “Ah! il était brave garçon, +celui là.” When taking leave of them, which the approach of English +troops rendered necessary, he added to his adieux, “Mais pour l’année +prochaine;” and both these good people confidently expected to see +him again, setting it down as certain that the moment the Emperor +advanced the English would hasten to their ships, never dreaming that +we could resist _him_. So slipped time away, and my present comfort +approached its end. + +_May 1st._--I still slept, when, at five o’clock in the morning, +our sergeant-major aroused me to read a note brought by an orderly +hussar. It was most laconic--_la voici_: “Captain Mercer’s troop of +horse-artillery will march to Strytem without delay. Signed,” &c. &c. + +Where is Strytem? and for what this sudden move? These were questions +to which I could get no answer. The hussar knew nothing, and the +people about me less. One thing was positive, and that was, that +we must be under weigh instanter, and pick out Strytem as best +we might. The sergeant-major, therefore, was despatched to give +the alert; and having given the hussar a receipt in full for his +important despatch, I proceeded to clothe my person for the journey, +having hitherto been _en chemise_. As the trumpeter was lodged in +a house close by with my own grooms, the “boot-and-saddle” quickly +reverberated through the village, and set its whole population +in movement. A gentle tap at my door announced a visitor. What +was my surprise on opening it!--there was Madame la Juge _tout en +déshabillé_, evidently just tumbled out of bed, and apparently much +agitated. Such a scene I did not expect. + +“Ah, Monsieur, vous allez partis!” and she actually began to sob and +cry like a child. Was she serious, or was this acting? If the latter, +she certainly played her part so well that I could not but give her +credit for being in earnest. It is so delightful to believe one’s +self interesting to a fine woman. Advancing my toilette, I tried at +the same time to moderate this outbreak of feeling. She only wept +the more. Meantime M. le Juge arrived on the stage, his old blue +frock carelessly thrown on, and his nether garment occupying both his +hands, one holding it up, and the other arranging it, the eternal +green cap stuck on his head, hardly yet quite awake--unwashed, +uncombed: the good man did not present the most amiable figure by the +side of his neat consort. + +Our people were not accustomed to delay, and the road in front of +the house was already a scene of bustle from the assembling of the +detachments lying nearer home. Although still lachrymose, Madame did +not stand idle; but, seeing my servant sufficiently employed packing +my portmanteau, set about preparing breakfast, to which I soon sat +down, whilst the worthy couple waited on me, recommending this and +that, and pressing me to eat, much in the manner of two fond parents +hanging over the early meal of their darling boy, about to return to +school by the expected coach. I could not but feel grateful for so +much kindness, and consequently sorrow at so soon leaving them; and +so this breakfast was rather a melancholy one, although the morning +sun did shine so bright. The good people were unceasing in their +regrets, and repeatedly made me promise that, if I remained in the +country, I would pay them another visit--a promise I was never able +to fulfil, however. + +To my questions respecting Strytem, Monsieur could give no +satisfactory answers. “It lay in a very fine country, somewhere in +the neighbourhood of Brussels; and we had better take the road to +that city in the first instance, and trust for further information to +the peasantry as we went along.” + +These people are singularly ignorant in this respect, having no +knowledge, generally speaking, of any place more than two or three +miles from home. Monsieur, however, invited me to follow him to his +study--a small room all in a litter--over the gateway, and there, +after some hunting amongst books, old clothes, &c. &c., he rummaged +out the mutilated fragment of an old but very excellent map, which he +insisted on my putting into my _sabretache_, which I did, and still +keep for his sake. + +At length the moment of departure arrived, the parade was formed, my +horse at the door. The tears of Madame flowed afresh as she embraced +me. Monsieur led me by the hand to the gateway. Here the great +coarse Flemish cook, the corner of her apron applied to her eyes, +for she also wept (at the departure of my groom, I suspect), came +running out, her clumsy _sabots_ with their trimmings of rabbit skin +clattering along the stone passage like the hoofs of a cart-horse. +My servant had made her a present for her assistance, in her eyes +so magnificent that she could hardly express her gratitude, and so +poured on me a shower of thanks and blessings, and recommendations to +the protection of saints and saintesses, with a volubility which her +usual taciturn, phlegmatic manner had not led me to expect. “_Prepare +to mount!_” “_Mount!_” The trumpets sound a march, and waiving a last +adieu to the group at the gate of my late home, I turn my back on it +for ever, perhaps. The men were in high spirits, and horses fat as +pigs and sleek as moles--thanks to rest, good stabling, and abundance +of _trèf_. Most of the peasants on whom many of our men had been +billeted accompanied them to the parade, and it was interesting to +witness the kindness with which they shook hands at parting, and the +complacency with which, patting the horses on the neck, they scanned +them all over, as if proud of their good condition. And yet these +were Napoleonists, according to our Juge. For my part, I believe they +were utterly indifferent as to whether they lived under the rule +of Napoleon or the house of Orange, so long as their agricultural +labours were not interrupted: and this alone, I suspect, was the +cause of their aversion to being militiamen. + +Passing through Lebbeke, we found the three brigades of 9-pounders +also getting on march, and the whole village astir. The officers told +us their orders were to march direct to Brussels, and they were +fully persuaded the French army had advanced. + +For about seven miles the road lay through a country differing +little from what we had hitherto seen; but then it became suddenly +hilly. Ascending the first long but not very steep ascent, we were +assailed by a host of beggars, who had stationed themselves here to +take advantage of the slow pace at which carriages were obliged to +ascend the hill. These were the first I recollect having seen in the +country. The ragged boys accompanied the column to the top of the +hill, endeavouring to excite, if not compassion, at least admiration +of the agility with which they rolled themselves along alternately on +hands and feet, like so many wheels--a feat that procured them some +coppers. + +The country had now totally changed its character; still fertile, +highly cultivated, and abundantly populous, yet presenting scenery of +a much more interesting nature. Fine swells enabled one to obtain, +from time to time, most charming views of the rich distance, instead +of, as hitherto, being confined to a few hundred yards of meadow, +shut up, as the flat country was, by trees and small copses. + +Villages and large farms appeared in all directions, intermingled +with extensive woods; the fields exhibited the richest exuberance of +crops--wheat, rye, hops, buckwheat, &c., with their lighter tints +relieving the more sombre tones of the woodlands. Here the spire of +a village church, there the conical roofs and quaint architecture +of a chateau, peered above the foliage of the woods, and increased +the interest of the scene. To me this change was delightful. I +thought I had never seen anything half so rich as the fine landscape +spread before me when I turned to look back on gaining the first +summit. The height, however, was not sufficient to allow me, at +this distance, in a country so thickly wooded, to see Dendermonde +again, though my eye eagerly sought it. The large village of Assche +(town, I should call it, being marked bourg in the map) crowned +this hill, and here we found a battery of Belgian Horse-Artillery +in quarters. The men lounging about in undress, or without their +jackets, without any appearance of a move, induced us to believe +our own was, after all, only another change of quarters--and we +were right. The people here knew Strytem, which they said was only +a few miles distant, to the southward of the road we were on. +Accordingly I despatched an officer to precede us, and make the +necessary arrangements for our reception; at the same time quitting +the chaussée, we plunged into a villanous cross-road, all up and +down, and every bottom occupied by a stream crossed by bridges of +loose planks, which to us were rather annoying from their apparent +insecurity, as well as from the boggy state of the ground for some +yards at either end of them. However, if the road was bad, the beauty +of the country through which it led made ample amends. Descending +from the hill on which Assche is situated, we travelled for two or +three miles through a bottom, between two nearly parallel ridges, +whose slopes exhibited all the luxuriance of vegetation in splendid +crops of grain, &c., and magnificent trees, so peculiar to this +country, whilst an almost continued wood occupied their summits. +This part of our route reminded me strongly of the valley in which +High-Wycombe lies, though there nothing like this exuberance is +seen. About a mile, as it proved, from Strytem, for we had not as +yet seen anything like a village, we ascended the hill again, and +were continuing along the summit when a peasant, in blue smock-frock +and white night-cap, came running after us with a scrap of paper +in his hand, which he presented to me with a most profound bow, +doffing at the same time his dirty cap. A few lines in pencil from +Dr Bell informed me that the bearer would lead us to Strytem; and +he by signs--for he spoke no French--gave us to understand that we +must turn back, having passed the road leading thither. Accordingly +a countermarch, by unlimbering, took place, and, following our +guide, we descended into a most secluded little valley, green and +lovely, the bottom being principally meadow, everywhere surrounded +by stately elms. The road, however, became worse than ever--deep +tenacious mud, sadly broken up. After marching a short distance we +passed a wheel-wright’s shop; then came to a broader space, where +stood a small mean-looking church, a miserable cabaret, a forge, +two very large farm establishments, with a few wretched-looking +cottages;--this, our guide gave us to understand, was Strytem. Bell’s +note spoke of a chateau at the point we were to make for, but here +was nothing of the sort. All seemed disappointment, for the miserable +place itself was so different from the fine spacious streets and +substantial houses of all the villages we had hitherto seen, that +one could scarcely imagine it to be the same country. Our guide, +however, led on, and after passing this poor collection of dwellings, +a high stone wall bounding the road to the left, with a wide gateway +in the centre, announced the chateau, which was so completely shut +in by the woods, &c., that the first glimpse we got of it was on +entering these gates. A spacious green court sloped down to the +building, a dreary-looking old pile of brick, forming three sides +of a square, and surrounded by a broad moat--nearly as green as the +court, from the aquatic weeds floating on its stagnant water. Arched +doors; high but narrow windows, composed of small panes set in lead, +and encased in heavy stone frames; lofty stepped gables, and a tower +occupying one angle of the court, with a conical roof surmounted by +an iron cross and weather-cock, gave it a most venerable and somewhat +imposing aspect. The sombre effect, however, was in some measure +relieved by the lively tints of roses and rich verdure of the broad +leaves of a vine trained over a trellis along the edge of the moat, +as well as the fine fruit-trees everywhere covering the walls of the +front court. A broad gravel-drive descended to the moat, which was +crossed by a stone bridge, substantial, but not ornamental. On our +right were stables, &c., for about half-way down the court; on the +left the enormous roofs of barns and farm-buildings appeared over +the wall, and beyond them, again, the rather inelegant spire of the +village church. An arched doorway communicated on this side with the +farmyard. Behind the chateau the view was bounded by the tufted and +feathery masses of a superb avenue of beeches and a hill covered +with wood seen through the few openings between them, relieving well +the reddish sombre tone and formal outlines of the building. Every +feature of this place is strongly impressed on my memory as I then +beheld it for the first time, not without emotions of disgust; for +though rather a picturesque object to look at, I could not suppress a +shudder at the idea of its becoming my habitation for an indefinite +time. Nothing do I regret more than not having made a sketch of it +from this side, although I did several from other points. + +The road was so narrow, and the turn so sharp, that it required all +the dexterity of our drivers to get decently into the court with +their six-horse teams. They did, however, effect it without carrying +away the gate-posts, to the no small amazement of some half-dozen +boors, whom the novelty of arrival had drawn together, and we +finally formed a very compact little park, three pieces and their +ammunition-waggons on each side of the central path. The _corps de +garde_ was established in the loft over the stables in which were +lodged the officers’ horses; and the rest of the troop were billeted +on the neighbouring farms, which, in general, were so large that they +took a subdivision, or thirty-two horses, each, and, if I mistake +not, that adjoining the chateau a whole division of sixty-four +horses. Having despatched this business, we proceeded to examine +our own quarters. The old gardener, a tall meagre figure, with a +venerable grey head and good-humoured physiognomy, but somewhat bent +by age, accompanied by his daughter, a pale melancholy-looking young +woman, met us on the bridge, the keys of his fortalice in one hand +and his dirty _bonnet de nuit_ in the other. (Be it here remarked +that although neatness and cleanliness characterise the dwellings of +the Flemish peasantry, yet are they not over and above particular in +this respect as regards their own persons.) As he could speak nothing +but Flemish, Mademoiselle came to officiate as his interpreter, but +the _patois_ in which she expressed herself was so unintelligible +that, after listening for some time to her long-winded story, and +comprehending nothing more of it than the constantly-recurring “Mon +père dit,” &c., our politeness gave way, and we begged that the +doors might be forthwith thrown open. The burden of her song or +chant, for such it was, seemed to be an endeavour to dissuade us from +our purpose of lodging there, though I could not well comprehend why. +Leaving, then, the good man to replace his bonnet, and Mademoiselle +to explain to him something or another, we proceeded to examine +the interior, in order to select our rooms. The chateau had been +uninhabited for many years, and, though not ruinous, was in a very +dilapidated state. Nothing could be more chillingly repulsive than +the vast flagged hall into which we first entered. Several doors led +from this, right and left, into suites of apartments, and one, low +and arched, opposite the entrance, opened on a long bridge leading +over the moat to the garden and pleasure-grounds, &c. This hall was +totally devoid of furniture. We found the rooms on the ground-floor +large, lofty, and of good proportions, but only feebly illuminated +by high windows sunk deep in the wall, and of which the heavy stone +mullions intercepted nearly as much light as entered between them. +The walls were hung with tapestry so ancient and so much decayed that +the figures, landscapes, &c., by which it had once been ornamented, +were nearly obliterated. In some rooms old family portraits occupied +the places of the wainscot panels, particularly over the doors. The +only furniture in any of them was a few ponderous tables, and some +high-backed equally ponderous chairs, having both seats and backs +stuffed and covered with tapestry. On the floor above, a large +corridor or hall--for it was directly over and corresponded in size +with the one below--was hung round with full-length portraits of the +Van Volden family (to whom the domain belonged), male and female. +Some of these were common enough; but there were others evidently the +production of no ordinary pencil--one in particular, a lady habited +in a costume such as prevailed about our Charles II.’s time--a +splendidly beautiful creature of some two or three and twenty years +of age, painted in a most masterly style; and, from being in a much +more magnificent frame than any of the others, apparently a person +of higher consideration. “_Mon-père-dit_” (as we had christened the +gardener’s pallid daughter), who accompanied us through the rooms, +could give no information respecting this fair dame--all she knew +was that she had been a person of very high rank, and, she believed, +an ancestress of Madame la Baronne, the present proprietress. By +the way, Madame Van Volden, Baronne Von Lombeke et Strytem (such +were her titles), was at this time residing in Brussels, where she +had a grand mansion--Rue de Dominicans. She possessed also another +estate at or near Vilvorde, between which and her town residence she +divided her time, so that her Strytem tenants saw her very rarely. +Her son, being _maire_ of the commune, paid an occasional visit to +the village, but then always put up at the farmhouse, so that the +chateau had long been locked up and quite neglected. To return from +this digression. Having visited the upper apartments, all which were +as dismal as those below, we proceeded to choose our quarters, much +to the chagrin of Mademoiselle _Mon-père-dit_, who had, no doubt, +entertained hopes that the repulsive appearance of things would have +deterred us from taking up our residence there. I selected a large +salon, immediately off the hall, on the ground-floor. It might have +been about 30 feet by 26 or 28, very lofty, with an immense gaping +fireplace, but without grate. Two great stone-cased windows looked +into the front court, a third across the moat and towards the woods +behind the chateau. There were three visible doors--the one leading +into the great hall, a second into a sort of vestibule or small hall, +whence a staircase ascended to the apartments of the right wing, +and the third into a long, narrow, but lofty room, in one corner of +which I placed my mattress on an old settee. There was also a door +from this room into the vestibule, and beyond that another suite of +apartments, in which our surgeon established himself. The walls of +my salon, like most of the others, were covered with tapestry, and +in the compartments between the windows, over the doors, &c., were +grim-looking portraits of _ci-devant_ Van Voldens, each having the +name and date inscribed at the bottom of it, from which I learned +that most of them were of considerable antiquity; some, I think, +dating 1537. + +I have said that there were three _visible_ doors to this room. I +had been in it some time ere, by accident, I discovered a fourth, +concealed under the tapestry, leading into a very small chapel fitted +up with great neatness (except the altar, which was rather gaudy), +and evidently the only part of the mansion of which any care had +been taken. Such was my new domicile, in which I was soon at home, +although it contrasted as strongly with my late cheerful apartment +at Dendermonde as that did with the gloomy hole at Ghent. Some of +our people found a similar contrast, and could not refrain from +grumbling. “By the Lord, gentlemen,” said old Lieutenant Ingleby, +“you ought to think yourselves very fortunate in getting such a +quarter. In the Peninsula the Duke himself would have thought so, and +was often glad to get so good a roof over his head.” The grumblers +were ashamed, and we heard no more of it. A large salon in the left +wing we chose for our mess-room, and the other officers established +themselves up-stairs. Fires were soon lighted above and below; +servants running up and down;--all was life and movement, and the old +place had not been so gay for years before. Indeed, on returning to +my room after visiting the billets, there was an appearance of home +and comfort about it which I did not expect. A large wood-fire blazed +and crackled in the great chimney. My servant had collected chairs +enough to make a show, ranged round the walls; on one of the great +antique tables in the centre he had placed my writing apparatus and +one or two books, together with a map of the Pays Bas I had brought +from Ghent, in the anticipation of country quarters. Clean linen +was airing over the back of one of the tapestry chairs, with other +preparations for dressing for dinner; whilst coiled up near the +blazing hearth lay my old faithful dog and constant companion for the +last ten years. + +Our mess-room was as much changed, and the preparations for dinner +had given it quite another air to what it had when first seen. Like +most of the others, it was spacious, but, unlike them, inasmuch as +the windows down to the floor were in the modern French style. Of +these there were only two--one looking over the garden and woods, +the other over a small field or lawn, bounded on two of its sides +by double rows of noble beeches, and on the other two (round which +ran the road or lane leading to Brussels) by orchards, hop-grounds, +&c. &c. Each had an old iron balcony, so rust-eaten that they seemed +ready to drop into the water of the moat which lay below them. Over +the elaborately carved antique-looking chimney-piece was a large +painting of a castle, with a number of men apparently employed +clearing the ditch. The floor had been swept, chairs and tables +collected from different parts of the house, and one of the latter +covered by a clean table-cloth, and our canteen apparatus laid out +for dinner--the whole looking so much more comfortable than we +expected, that even our grumblers voted the old chateau not so bad +after all, as they sat themselves down to the well-covered board. For +the feast, not a despicable one, as well as the arrangement of the +salon, we were indebted to the indefatigable activity and unrivalled +skill of our friend Karl--a worthy whom I have not yet introduced; +so, by way of episode, whilst we are enjoying the good viands of his +preparation, let me do so. + +On the memorable night of our landing at Ostend, whilst standing +on the sands, I was accosted by a very handsome youth of about +eighteen or twenty, who asked if I wanted a servant. His costume +indicated that he meant himself, for he wore a green livery-coat +with red cuffs and collar, and a glazed hat with a cockade in it. +His history was, that he had lived some time with General Vandamme, +and had accompanied him to Moscow; but on returning into Saxony, +although he had been a great favourite with the General, this noble +personage one day deserted him most unexpectedly, leaving him, +not only without money, but also without a prospect of recovering +the long arrears of wages due to him--[there was a mystery in +this part of the story]--and after vainly waiting in hopes still +that the General might return or send for him, he had set out and +found his way thus far towards France, when the chance of getting +employment amongst _les officiers Anglais_ (and no doubt some of +their _guinées_) had occurred to him, and I was the first he had +addressed. His figure was rather under the middle size, extremely +well made; face beautiful, and address perfect. Moreover, according +to his own account, he was a pearl without price. He could speak five +or six languages, and cook, cut and dress hair, and a thousand other +things I have forgotten; but the great recommendation was a talent +he had acquired, when with the French army, of _discovering_ and +_appropriating_ the resources of a country--Anglicé, _plundering_. +If Monsieur would but try him, he would find him so attentive, so +faithful. For his part, he was sure he should soon love Monsieur--his +countenance was so amiable. All would not do--I rejected him; but +Leathes took a liking to and engaged him. So thenceforth he became +one of us, and soon a general favourite; for although he had sounded +his own trumpet, he had nowise exaggerated his qualifications, nor +even told us all, for in addition he was the merriest and most +kind-hearted creature I ever met with. He had an inexhaustible fund +of stories and songs, and sang beautifully, and in a most sweet and +melodious voice; was an admirable mimic, and amongst other things +mimicked so well two flutes, that one day, at Strytem, sitting +smoking my cigar on the parapet of the bridge, I actually made +sure two people were playing a duet in the kitchen; but upon going +thither, found only Karl, who, seated on a table, was warbling out a +favourite waltz, like a robin on the house-top. + +Our language he had soon added to his stock, and being now a +tolerable proficient, and evidently so well suited for the office, +we had at once nominated him major-domo (spite of his youth) this +morning on arriving, and placed all the other servants under +his directions. But although understanding and speaking English +sufficiently for all common purposes, and to communicate with the +other servants, he never would address any of us but in French. +To return again to the course of our narrative. Our cheerful meal +had been discussed with many an encomium on the provider, and the +circulation of the bottle had already produced a genial exhilaration +amongst our party, when the door was abruptly thrown open, and in +rushed our friend Karl, holding his sides, and unable to speak for +laughter. “Why, Karl, what the devil’s the matter now?” “C’est +l’adjoint, monsieur, qui demande à vous parler.” “Well, what of that? +Is there anything very comical in this visit?”--“Excusez, monsieur, +il est si drôl--est ce que je lui ferai entrer, monsieur,” and the +merry young dog tried to compose his features. I was about to go out +to meet this functionary and learn his business, but the whole mess +cried out with one voice to bring him in--curiosity being excited by +Karl’s obstreperous laughter; so I desired him to be admitted. Karl +soon returned, ushering in with most ludicrous gravity the worthy +_maire_ and his cortège (for it appeared he had not come alone), who, +each as he crossed the threshold, making a profound salaam, followed +his leader until they were all drawn up in line across the end of +the room. The appearance of the party was certainly comic, and for +a few moments we contemplated each other in silent amazement. The +principal figure of this group--he on the right of the line, Mynheer +Jan Evenpoel, _adjoint-maire_--was a short, fat, square-built man, +with a head like a pumpkin deeply set (_zabullida_, the Spaniards +would say) between his broad high shoulders; countenance stolidity +itself; little pig-eyes, half hid in the swell of his fat cheeks and +the thick overhanging brow; nose pudsy, resembling a lump of brown +clay thrown against his face more than a nose; a monstrous wide +(now half-open) mouth, showing within a row of fangs standing apart +like palisades; a great fat dew-lap; the whole phiz finished by +two enormous projecting ears. Such was the object that had excited +so powerfully the risible faculties of young Karl. Our silent gaze +seemed to paralyse him. There he stood, evidently endeavouring to +assume some sort of an air of office, but trembling visibly, and as +visibly perspiring from his extreme nervousness, twirling his hat in +his hand, looking timidly, first at me, then at the formidable party +round the table, then inquiringly glancing at his own party. The +poor man’s evident anxiety must have excited pity, had it not more +forcibly excited our risibility, as well as that of Karl. + +Three peasants, heavy-looking men, with somewhat more intelligence +in their countenances, yet decidedly equally alarmed, arranged +themselves next to Mynheer Evenpoel. These, as well as their +chief, were all arrayed in their roast-beef suits--jackets of +cotton, unmentionables of black or bottle-green velveteen, +blue-and-white-striped cotton stockings, clumsy silver knee and +shoe buckles,--such was their costume. The eternal _bonnet de nuit_ +for this time had given place to rather smart round hats, with a +profusion of plush on them. Drawn up on their left stood the old +gardener, his two sons--stout peasants, clad something like, though +more humbly than, the rest--and Mademoiselle “_Mon-père-dit_,” also +in her best bib and tucker, trying to look amiable, but evidently +most particularly anxious. Lastly, with a brisk, self-satisfied +air, stepped in one of the most extraordinary-looking personages of +the whole party--a diminutive spare figure with a complexion like +mahogany, but upright, and of a most martial bearing. He was clad +in a short green uniform coat, with large copper buttons decorated +with the imperial eagle of France, green pantaloons, and an enormous +leathern cocked-hat, which he touched by way of salute on entering, +but, soldier-like, retained on his head. In his hand he carried a +sort of javelin, or short hunting-spear. This dignitary, a person of +most decided importance, passing the others, stepped briskly up and +placed himself at the elbow of the trembling magistrate, who drew a +long breath, and gave unequivocal testimony of satisfaction at seeing +his tutelary genius by his side. + +The important personage just described was the _garde-champêtre_--or +_garde-village_, as he was more frequently called--a sort of police +officer placed by Napoleon in every village of his empire. I never +could ascertain precisely the position and duties of these people; +they seemed to be chief police officers, and the _maires_ paid them +great deference, seldom acting in extraordinary cases without their +advice and concurrence. They acted as gamekeepers and constables, +billeted troops, and exercised a general surveillance in the commune. +No doubt they noted and made reports of all they saw and heard, so +that H. I. Majesty had an authorised spy in every village. They were +well paid, and the situation appeared to be a comfortable retreat +for old soldiers, for such we always found them to be. Our present +friend (called familiarly by the peasantry Petit Jean) had served +in a regiment of the line under Marshal Suchet in Catalonia, and +although still only a middle-aged man, had been pensioned on account +of having lost two fingers of his left hand, and placed here for life +as _garde-village_. Well, the whole cortège has entered the room, +and ranged themselves in line across the lower end of it, close to +the wall; the shuffling of feet has ceased, and a profound silence +prevails. We sit staring at them, and wondering what the deuce +they interrupt us for. Bowing and scraping renewed spontaneously; +again silence, but various glances are shot at and signs made to +Mynheer Evenpoel, which in his fright he utterly disregards, and +stands like an owl, without a movement except the evident shaking +of his limbs. After a while old Ingleby, who had been leaning over +the back of his chair eyeing the poor devil, utters in his usual +gruff Yorkshire way, “_Well, sir?_” without reflecting on the fact +of his English not being understood. The tone is enough, however, +and it determines the party to bolder measures--the quaking magnate +is actually shoved forward to the table. Petit Jean also advances, +and again places himself at the poor man’s elbow; his right arm, +outstretched, bears upon the upright javelin, the butt of which +he plants firmly, and with an air, on the floor; in his mutilated +left hand he holds up to us an unfolded sheet of foolscap, which +we soon ascertain to be inscribed by certain characters calculated +to extract hay and corn, &c., from the lofts and granaries of our +clients--in short, the requisition for forage and provisions, &c., +of our quartermaster-general addressed to the commune of Strytem. +The brown little warrior looks complacently round the company +as though he would say, “And I also am a soldier; _Moi!_” After +repeated applications of a very scanty blue cotton handkerchief to +his front--_pour essuyer la sueur_--the worthy magistrate at length, +in a trembling, hesitating voice, opens his oration, gains courage +as he goes on, warms, and even becomes rather energetic towards +the conclusion of nearly a quarter of an hour’s talk, to which we +have listened, but understood not a word. Mynheer salaams, wipes +his front, and stands, mouth half-open, attending the applause +due to his exertions, and our reply to his statements, whatever +they may be. Petit Jean comprehends the dilemma, steps forward +with a military salute, places himself again in an attitude, and, +whilst Mynheer stares and seems to envy his self-possession, +requests permission of messieurs les officiers to explain what M. +l’Adjoint would wish to say, and goes off at score--“M. Evenpoel +only expresses the sentiments of the whole commune when he assures +messieurs les officiers that the arrival of the brave English has +diffused throughout its population the most lively joy. Les Anglais +are a people as generous as they are brave, and M. l’Adjoint rests +satisfied that under the protection of M. le Commandant the peaceful +tranquillity of the commune will remain undisturbed.” Here, at a +glance from Petit Jean, M. Evenpoel and the whole cortège salaam +together, repeating with one consent, “Mais c’est vrai--c’est vrai! +Oui, M. le Commandant, c’est vrai çà!” Petit Jean resumes. “_But_, +M. le Commandant, we sensibly regret the poverty of our commune, +and are _au déséspoir_ that Milor Wellington should have sent his +brave soldiers to so miserable a place--a place so incapable of +affording them the good cheer (bon traitement) that they so richly +merit, whilst the surrounding country abounds in rich and populous +villages, fully adequate to lodge them comfortably (convenablement) +and to supply all their wants. It was only _l’année passée_ that +this poor commune was oppressed and impoverished by being obliged +to provide for a corps of Prussians during several months. These +people, undisciplined and _bien méchants_, plundered us all without +restraint, and wantonly consumed our whole substance--hardly leaving +wherewithal to support our miserable existence. Thus ruined and +impoverished, M. le Commandant, we feel assured, will see that, in +spite of our good wishes, we are in an impossibility of supplying the +immense rations of forage, &c., here demanded;” and here, taking off +his chapeau and making a most profound salaam, he again flourishes +before us the obnoxious sheet of foolscap, whilst M. l’Adjoint, +beginning to fidget, indicates an inclination to renew his harangue +amidst a general buzz of approbation, and a reiteration of “C’est +vrai, mon commandant, c’est bien vrai.” M. le Commandant silences +them by observing, “That a soldier must obey orders--that it is +for his general to think and investigate--that Milor Wellington, +or those acting for him, had no doubt sufficiently informed +themselves as to the resources of the country before they ordered +troops thither--that, having done so, right or wrong, these troops +must live--that it is evident from the good case of all present, +particularly of M. le Maire, that the commune did produce something +to eat and drink;--consequently, the gentlemen are invited to allow +our partaking with them, or we must help ourselves, which would be +bien facheux.” A general grunt--“Ah, mon Dieu!”--accompanied by +deep sighs on the part of Mademoiselle “_Mon-père-dit_.” I should +have stated that M. le Maire and a farmer named Walsdragen were the +only two ignorant of French. The former of these had profited by +an offered chair, and seated himself during the oration of Petit +Jean and my answer. Hearing the concert of sighs and groans, he +opens his little pig-eyes to the utmost, and casting them about on +the surrounding group, seems to demand an explanation. Petit Jean +communicates the awful purport of my answer. Agitation recommences, +and I am conjured, for pity’s sake, at least to delay until an +express be sent to Brussels to acquaint Milor Vellington of the +utter impossibility of so large a body of men and horses being +supported by so poor a place. Poor simple people! I should like +to have witnessed the reception of the delegate. M. le Commandant +observes that M. le Maire may do as to him seemeth best, but cannot +be so unreasonable as to expect that we and our horses should wait +for supper until his messenger return--ergo, as it is already late, +M. le Maire is again invited to lose no more time in talking, but +to proceed forthwith in collecting the articles demanded. But, to +make a long story short, after a deal of action and whispering in +a corner of the room, they made a proposition to furnish one-half +the quantity. And here it flashed across me, that these people must +be dealt with like the Turkish rayah, who, after protesting his +incapability to produce a single egg for a whole hour, at last, upon +the application of the Mikmander’s whip, brings out a whole store +of good things. So I cut the matter short by sending Karl for the +quartermaster, who was without awaiting the result of the Maire’s +visit. The old veteran enters, head erect, shoulders thrown back, and +steel scabbard jangling on the floor as he advanced to the table, and +silently made his salute. The assembled rustics gape and stare at him +in evident alarm, Mynheer trembles, Petit Jean draws himself up, +as if imitating old Hall’s military bearing, whilst I, pointing him +out to the assembled multitude, inform them that in five minutes he +will proceed at the head of a foraging-party to rummage their barns, +granaries, and larders, and help himself. The quartermaster, having +received his orders, makes his salute, without deigning even a glance +at the Maire and party, amongst whom a precious scene of confusion +now takes place, amidst which out they all trundle after old Hall, +without even the ceremony of a parting salaam; and we, replenishing +our glasses, drank success to our foray, rejoicing in having got +rid of the noise. Our quiet, however, was of very short duration, +for in the court Hall was already assembling his party, and neither +understood their remonstrances nor attended to their grimaces; so +with one accord back they came upon us, bursting into the room as +unceremoniously as they had just left it, bellowing like so many +bulls. A new negotiation opened, and terminated with a promise that +everything should be brought in if I would give them _two hours_, +after they had vainly struggled for daybreak--and away they went. +The two hours had nearly elapsed, and we were still at table, when +Petit Jean, foaming with rage, burst into the room unaccompanied: +“Ah, mais ces faquins là bas--ils ne font que se moquer de vous et +de votre bonté, Monsieur le Commandant. Mais excusez, monsieur, je +suis militaire, moi! et je me suis indigne de voir des militaires se +laisser tromper par des vilains paysans; qui qu’ils sont, connaissent +très bien l’accueil q’ils auraient reçus à la main d’un officier +Prussien, ou même Français. Avec permission, monsieur, je m’en vais +amener avec moi vos fourrageurs faire un fourrage militairement;” +and, without waiting for an answer, the little hero bolted, and +following to the hall-door, there we saw him sure enough march out of +the gate perched upon one of our immense gun-horses, looking for all +the world like a monkey on a dromedary. In two hours bread, forage, +and all--nay, more than we had demanded--were brought in. + +Meantime our sergeant of the guard comes in for orders as to what he +shall do with the mayor. “The mayor?--what have you to do with the +mayor?” “Why, we have him safe in the guard-room, sir.” “The devil +you have! and by whose order?” “Why, sir, we thought it best to keep +him until the foraging-party with _Pitty Jan_ returned, least he +might try to hinder ’em.” Here was a dilemma, should the old man +complain to headquarters. However, on sending an officer to release +him, and explain the mistake, Mynheer was too frightened to think of +anything but rejoicing at gaining his liberty. Perhaps conscience +told him that he deserved punishment for the imposition he had +attempted to practise on us. + +Petit Jean from that moment became our great friend and ally. On +almost all occasions he sided with the soldiers in any little +difference between them and the boors. On one occasion a complaint +had been made to me, by a man who lived near the gate, that one of +our gunners had not only plundered his potato-garden, but had also +otherwise ill-treated him. On my going to investigate the business on +the spot, it turned out that he had struck the gunner. Petit Jean, +who had accompanied me officially, on hearing this, turned suddenly +on the fellow, “You sacré cochon! frapper un militaire; sacré vilain +homme! Quoi!--un vil paysan frapper un militaire? Ah, que cela me +révolte!”--and seizing a stake from the hedge, foaming with unfeigned +anger, he fell on the poor devil, and fairly chased him out of sight, +belabouring him all the way. What English soldier would ever take up +the cudgels against his own countryman because the French soldier was +his brother-in-arms? Whenever his patrol duty did not call him out, +he was sure to be found in the guard-room, or somewhere amongst the +men. He might certainly have been a spy in the camp, for Buonaparte +had most accurate information respecting the state, positions, and +numbers of our army, part of which no doubt was communicated by these +_gardes-champêtres_, who, as before mentioned, were all old French +soldiers, and did not conceal their attachment to the Emperor. Spy +or no spy, Petit Jean was always extremely obliging, and frequently +of most essential service to us. Our equipment was in every way too +perfect to leave any care as to what might be reported of our state; +and as to future movements, we were as ignorant of them as Napoleon +himself. But to return to our story. The row was all over, our mess +party broken up, and I retired to my room; but, alas! on getting into +bed I found sleep impossible--the moat under my window was peopled +with millions of frogs, and such was the horrid croaking of these +little wretches, that sleep was out of the question, and the Van +Voldens were avenged. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +The next morning a most superb breakfast was on my table when I +returned from a stroll in the woods--the finest milk, eggs, and +butter I ever saw in my life, and in profusion. My servant had +procured them at the adjoining farm, and so cheap, that he had +brought a large soup-plate full of eggs and an antique jug holding +more than two quarts of milk. During our whole stay at Strytem +there was never any difference in this respect--always abundance. +After breakfast, the usual watering order parade took place in the +grand avenue, under the shade of stately beeches. The contented +countenances of the men, the sleek coats and frolicksome spirit +of the horses, testified sufficiently that neither had fared +indifferently. I found, however, that the chateau farm was rather +crowded, and therefore detached the 1st division, officer and all, +to a small village, with a pretty chateau on the hill, about a mile +from us--Yseringen. This move made all hands completely comfortable, +and so we went on. Nothing could exceed the delicious tranquillity +I enjoyed in Strytem. For those who preferred more bustle and more +society Brussels was at hand, and thither they frequently repaired; +on the other side Ninove, the headquarters of Lord Uxbridge, who +commanded the cavalry, was only three or four miles distant, and all +the surrounding villages were full of cavalry or horse-artillery. +Every one breakfasted in his own apartment. At ten A.M. watering +order parade and inspection of horses, &c. Then, after visiting the +billets and getting through any casual business, I was at liberty, +and, mounting my horse, employed the remainder of the morning in +exploring the country. In the evening we all assembled to our social +meal. Those who had been to Brussels (or, as we used to say, “Up to +town”) usually brought some news, or at least some gossip, which +added zest to the excellent cheer almost always on our board. How +our table was furnished I do not exactly recollect, my notes on the +subject being silent,[6] but believe the meat was ration brought from +Ninove every day by our commissary (Mr Coates), so was the bread. +Poultry, vegetables, &c. &c., we procured in abundance amongst our +neighbours; our wine came from Brussels; candles, wood, &c., from +Ninove. After dinner some took a short ride previous to seeing their +horses done up for the night. For my part, I preferred enjoying the +calm beauties of evening with my cigar under the splendid avenue of +beech in rear of the chateau, and when night closed in, retired to +my antique saloon, which a blazing fire of fagots and a couple of +candles made tolerably comfortable. Here I busied myself in Madame de +Genlis’s ‘Life of Henri IV.,’ sometimes until midnight, tranquil and +happy. At times, as I occasionally looked up from my book and cast +my eyes round, no sound interrupting the solemn stillness save the +ticking of my watch as it lay on the table before me, the croaking +of the frogs, or the moaning of the wind as it eddied round the old +hall, I could almost fancy the deep-toned portraits of _ci-devant_ +Van Voldens, in their sombre velvet suits and stiff ruffs, actually +embued with life, and frowning on my intrusion; or fixing them on +the door of the chapel, I would conjure up figures of warriors, +_bourgmestres_, or damsels clad all in white, raising the tapestry, +and----but then old Bal, getting up from his place before the fire +to scratch himself, or the voice of the sentry in the outer court +solemnly proclaiming “All’s well,” would suddenly recall me from my +reverie to a consciousness that it was bed-time; and so to bed I hied +me, to sleep as well as the eternal frog-concert would allow. Such +was the general tenor of our life at Strytem, varied a little at +times by circumstances to be related as they occurred, and sometimes +disturbed for a moment by reports of hostile movements, or the low +murmurs of a distant cannonade. This last, however, was heard so +frequently, without being followed by any consequences, that we got +accustomed to, and finally disregarded, it. Subsequently we found +that it proceeded from the practice and exercising of the Belgic +artillery at Mons, or somewhere in that direction. My rides, after a +time, brought me somewhat acquainted with the neighbouring country, +but only by slow degrees, for surely never was reconnaissance of any +country more difficult,--it was a perfect labyrinth. + +In the immediate neighbourhood of Strytem the ground arose in a +succession of round-topped hills, of no very great height, and all +very much alike. Of these, the summits, and frequently the slopes, +were clothed with woods of oak, ash, beech, &c. &c., intermixed with +coppice of the finest hazel I ever saw, thus forming a number of +little valleys running into each other, but all, from the profusion +of wood and the overlapping (if I may use the term) of the flanks of +the hills, presenting an appearance of the most perfect seclusion. +Amongst these woods were scattered large tracts of cultivated ground, +laid out in fields of wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, hops, clover, +&c. &c., frequently here enclosed by thick and lofty hedges; quite +in the bottoms, and lying along a small stream of water, which ran +through almost every one of these little valleys, were meadows of the +liveliest verdure, whilst rows of magnificent elms fringed the banks +and overshadowed the rippling waters of the rivulets. Villages and +detached farms were of constant recurrence, and in all directions +one saw the modest spires of the village churches rising above the +massed and verdant foliage. Although these woods were, generally +speaking, of no great extent--perhaps only a few acres--yet were +there some of such extent as to entitle this to the appellation +of a woody, or even forest, country. The Bois de Liederkerke, for +instance, commenced near the village of Paemêle, and extended no less +than four miles in the direction of Assche; everywhere two or three +miles wide, including a great variety of ground, and in different +directions were several others nearly of the same extent. At first, +one is surprised at finding such vast tracts of woodland in a country +so populous and so assiduously cultivated; but the thing is easily +explained. In addition to the ordinary demands for small wood in +husbandry, there are large and numerous hop-grounds requiring a +continual supply of poles; but, above all, the enormous quantity of +fuel required, not only by the peasantry, but also by the inhabitants +of the towns,--wood being almost exclusively used for that purpose. + +The kind of country I have been describing extended northward from +us as far as Assche--perhaps much further, but of that I know +not--and eastward to Brussels. Towards the south the round hills +gradually gave place to longer slopes and plateaux, and the woods +became less frequent, but the villages were numerous, with the same +careful cultivation everywhere. Toward the west, and only a few +miles distant, we were bounded by the Dender, holding its course +through extensive flat meadows covered with luxuriant crops of +hay, or affording pasturage to herds of fine cattle. Beyond the +river-valley the country assumed a different aspect: long and less +abrupt slopes; woods fewer and thinner; a total absence of hedges; +altogether presenting an aspect in many places bare and cheerless, +strongly contrasting with the lovely scenery about Strytem--if I may +call scenery lovely where we find neither rock, nor mountain, nor +precipice, nor torrent; but it is home scenery, and its character +simplicity, luxuriance, abundance, tranquillity, and repose. There +one saw the rustic dwellings of the peasantry situated in secluded +nooks, and embosomed in orchards and hop-grounds; the rural village +with its modest church low down in the rich bottom, surrounded by +smiling fields of grain or clover; a gentle rivulet slowly winding +its devious way amidst the rank luxuriance of vegetation clothing its +overhanging banks; the whole encased, as it were, by wavy heights, +crowned with thick and verdant woods. One thing, however, was wanting +to complete this picture of rural wealth and happiness--it wanted the +animating presence of domestic animals, of herds and flocks dotting +the fair surface of its fields. The farms in this country are not +large as with us; the farmer does not live in a splendid mansion, +still more splendidly furnished, nor does he idle away his time in +shooting or fox-hunting. The Flemish farmer is a plain honest rustic, +clad in homespun grey, a cotton night-cap on his head, wooden shoes +on his feet, and the everlasting short pipe in his mouth; he himself +holds the plough, guides his team, or assists in thrashing out his +grain. Ignorance of their language prevented my acquiring more +information concerning them and their affairs than what could be done +by observation of outward appearance; therefore I could neither learn +the extent of their farms, their ideas on agriculture, the amount +of rents, length of leases, nor the value of land, &c. Coarsely fed +and coarsely clad, still they are an industrious, hard-working, and +contented race; not very intelligent, I allow, but perhaps they are +the happier for it;--they are kind to their inferiors, affable and +communicative with their equals, and respectful, almost to servility, +to their superiors, or those they fancy such.[7] + +Although many of the farming establishments in our neighbourhood +resembled in plan and construction those already described about +Dendermonde, yet were they not universally of this description. That +adjoining the chateau was really a very fine one--substantial brick +house, barns, out-houses of every kind, all on a great scale, and, as +usual, surrounded by a spacious court. But others were very different +from this; many were very humble abodes, constructed of wood or clay, +with thatched roofs and small casement windows, standing along the +edges of the fields, with their barn adjoining but not united, nor +any courtyard for manure, &c., the outbuildings all on a small scale, +as also, I suppose, were their farms. Others, standing likewise open +in the fields, were again of a different character. These had high +thatched roofs injecting several feet beyond the walls, and supported +by rough posts, forming a sort of verandah; this is filled up to the +eaves with firewood--some in logs, some in fagots--which gives to +the exterior a very rude appearance, and must make the interior very +dark, from the great depth of embrasure thus formed both to door and +window; but to balance this, it keeps the house cool in summer and +warm in winter. Although the actual village of Strytem consisted of +no more than the chateau, the farm, and the few mean houses clustered +round the church, yet the commune was extensive, comprising not +only many fine farms, but also other and more important villages. +The real _maire_ was M. le Baron Von Volden, son of the proprietress +of our chateau. He, however, seldom came nearer the place than +Brussels, leaving to his worthy _adjoint_, Jan Evenpoel, the care of +administering the government, and at the time of our arrival either +was in Paris, or had but just returned from it. Where the _maire_ is +thus vested in the person of the _châtelain_, the post seems to be +one of much importance--not confined to the police of the village +alone, but extending to a general superintendence over the welfare +of the commune, the state of the roads, &c. &c. Whether owing to +the baron being so much an absentee I know not, but the roads all +about Strytem were hardly passable after heavy rain (of which we +had a pretty good share), not only from their badness, having no +foundations, and receiving little or no repair, but also from the +unctuous and slippery soil, which makes riding absolutely dangerous +immediately after rain. Some of the worst sloughs, which otherwise +would be quite impassable, are repaired, as in Russia, Poland, +and America, by laying logs transversely, and covering them with +brushwood, and then earth; but these, after a little weathering and +wear and tear, become absolutely dangerous from horses slipping in +between the logs, sometimes up to the shoulder. + +This was one of the drawbacks upon our enjoyment in this otherwise +pleasant country; and, having confessed as much, I may as well +admit that there were a few others which prevented us from living +in a state of absolute and unalloyed happiness. One grievance was +the cheapness of gin--a villanous kind of spirit manufactured in +the country, and on which a man could get “royal” for twopence; for +though our men were really fine fellows and generally very steady +soldiers, yet, like other Englishmen, they could not resist a social +glass nor avoid its consequences; and, indeed, if excuse it be, +they were in a measure driven to the use of this pernicious spirit +by the execrable quality of all the beer in the country, which more +resembled a mixture of cow-dung and water than anything else. The +sale of this poison took place in a small cabaret near the church, +which was usually thronged with our people every evening after +stable-hour; and, strange to say, where they mixed most sociably with +the boors, to my no small astonishment. It is a curious fact, that +upon inquiry at the sergeant-major how they could understand each +other, he replied that the Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire +men, who spoke very broad, could make themselves understood pretty +well, and in like manner could comprehend the Flemish of their boon +companions. Quarrels would sometimes arise in this _tabagie_, which +occasioned a temporary derangement of our tranquil life. But that +was a trifle to another grievance which stuck to us incessantly, and +was the most serious drawback we endured during our sojourn in the +valley of Strytem. I allude to the infernal and eternal frog-concert +that nightly disturbed our rest more or less, and kept us in a +constant state of irritability. For a few days we bore this curse +very philosophically, then began to war against the wretches by +pelting them with stones, firing at them with small-shot, beating +the water with poles, &c. &c., but all to no purpose, for though we +killed them by scores, yet did their numbers never appear to thin +nor their detestable “quoah, quoah” to lessen in intensity. Then we +made the wheeler construct a raft, and with this some one was always +cruising and slaying, yet still no alleviation to the evil. A council +was held, and it was determined that nothing short of draining the +moat would avail, and therefore drained it should be. Curiosity had +some hand in this decision, for we had heard that the moat contained +the largest carp ever seen--a fish several feet in length, and +weighing I know not what. The old gardener, when acquainted with our +resolve and ordered to make the necessary preparations, was perfectly +astounded, and (as did Mademoiselle and the sons) used every sort +of argument to turn us from it; amongst others, he assured us that +_l’année passée_ the Prussians had attempted to drain the moat merely +to kill all the fish--“les sacré vilains hommes!” but the stench +arising from it when low, quickly obliged them to desist. It would +not do--we were peremptory; and at length the old man opened the +voider, closed the feeder, and to our delight the work of destruction +began. Day after day the water gradually receded from the foot of +the old walls and from the opposite bank--already in many places the +oozy slime of the bottom began to appear--already we rejoiced at the +innumerable corpses of our enemies lying on it everywhere; the upper +part of the moat was already, not dry, but waterless; and we were +on the point of seeing the giant leviathan, when lo! the weather, +hitherto cool and showery, became superb, and the heat almost +insufferable. Decomposition, animal and vegetable, commenced with +alarming rapidity, and the mephitic vapours thus produced pervading +every creek and corner of the chateau, obliged us, _bongré malgré_, +to reclose the voider and reopen the feeder,--and thus terminated +_la guerre aux grenouilles_. But, alas! our punishment for having +resisted the entreaties and warnings of the old gardener was not to +close with the sluices. The same hot sun had dried up nearly all the +sources whence the moat had been fed, and many a long day of disgust +and repentance had we to endure ere the waters again covered the +odious slime sufficiently to relieve us from its nauseous stink, and +to enable the frogs to renew their song, which, when they did, was +to us a song of joy; and we had the further mortification of finding +that, with a little patience, we might have saved ourselves all the +trouble and suffering, for we had become so accustomed to it that it +fell on our ear innocuous. + +But the charms of a country life have so occupied my brain as to +chase from it all recollection of being a soldier. To be sure, +professional occupations did not consume a very great portion of +our time, yet still there remain a few little items worthy of being +recorded--_imprimis_, drills. So completely is the whole of this +country (not occupied by wood) under tillage, that it was long after +our arrival at Strytem ere we discovered a spot on which we could +even draw out the troop, much less exercise it. At length, and I +cannot recollect how, we found a piece of scrubby common of some +acres in extent near the village of Denderhout, some miles off on the +other side of the Dender, and not far from Alost. Thither, then, we +repaired occasionally to practise ourselves, and prevent our people +forgetting entirely their drills. Thither also came occasionally +His Highness of Berri with his newly-formed corps of cavalry to +learn theirs. We frequently met, and as the ground was too confined +to admit of both corps working at the same time, the last comers +were obliged to dismount and wait until the others had done, for we +continued our operations when first on the ground, regardless of +the impatience of the royal drill-master, who, though he never said +anything to us, did not fail to betray, by a thousand little pettish +actions, the annoyance he felt at our want of due respect. One day +that they had got in possession and we were obliged to wait, I had a +good opportunity of seeing this curious corps and its savage leader. +The former presented a most grotesque appearance--cuirassiers, +hussars, grenadiers à cheval, and chasseurs, dragoons and lancers, +officers and privates, with a few of the new garde de corps, were +indiscriminately mingled in the ranks. One file were colonels, the +next privates, and so on, and all wearing their proper uniforms and +mounted on their proper horses, so that these were of all sizes and +colours. There might have been about two hundred men, divided into +two or three squadrons, the commanders of which were generals. The +Prince, as I have said, was drill-master. A more intemperate, brutal, +and (in his situation) impolitic one, can scarcely be conceived. +The slightest fault (frequently occasioned by his own blunders) was +visited by showers of low-life abuse--using on all occasions the most +odious language. One unfortunate squadron officer (_a general!_) +offended him, and was immediately charged with such violence that +I expected a catastrophe. Reining up his horse, however, close to +the unhappy man, his vociferation and villanous abuse were those of +a perfect madman; shaking his sabre at him, and even at one time +thrusting the pommel of it into his face, and, as far as I could see, +pushing it against his nose! Such a scene! Yet all the others sat +mute as mice, and witnessed all this humiliation of their comrade, +and the degradation of him for whom they had forsaken Napoleon. +Just at this moment one of our troop-dogs ran barking at the heels +of the Prince’s horse. Boiling with rage before, he now boiled over +in earnest, and, stooping, made a furious cut at the dog, which, +eluding the weapon, continued his annoyance. The Duke, quitting the +unfortunate _chêf d’escadron_, now turned seriously at the dog, but +he, accustomed to horses, kept circling about, yapping and snapping, +and always out of reach; and it was not until he had tired himself +with the fruitless pursuit that, foaming with rage, he returned +to his doomed squadrons, who had sat quietly looking on at this +exhibition. While all this took place, I had made acquaintance with +another general officer who appeared to be there in the capacity +of aide-de-camp--a gentlemanly sort of man, who, having been many +years in England with Louis XVIII., spoke English fluently. This man +pleased me much at the time; he was then in adversity. I met him +afterwards in prosperity--_nous verrons!_ + +Now that I have got on military affairs, it may be as well to record +the manner in which this country was occupied--at least as far as +my knowledge on the subject goes. First, then, headquarters of the +cavalry and horse-artillery at Ninove, where was also the principal +depôt of forage and provisions. The reason for assembling the cavalry +thus at some distance from the expected scene of operations was +the great fertility of this part of Brabant, and the facility of +communication with Alost, to which place, the Dender being navigable, +advantage could be taken of the rich Pays de Waes. The villages, +farms, &c., all round Ninove were full of troops. + + Okegem.--Major M‘Donald’s troop horse-artillery. + + Paemêle.--Sir Robert Gardiner’s do. + + Strytem and Yseringen.--Captain Mercer’s do. + + Lombeke, Notre Dame.--Captain Sinclair’s brigade of 9-pounders. + + Lennik, St Martin.--Headquarters of Lieutenant-Colonel Hawker, + Royal Artillery, commanding two batteries somewhere in his + neighbourhood. + + Beyond Ninove, westward, were the troops, horse-artillery, of + Majors Bull, Ramsay, and Webber Smyth--forget names of villages. + + Liederkerke, Denderlue, and vicinage.--Life Guards and Blues. + + Schendelbeke and Vicinage.--The three huzzar regiments, 10th, + 15th, 18th. + + Lebbeke, &c.--23d Light Dragoons. + + Castre, &c.--16th do. + + Meerbeke.--Headquarters Sir O. Vandeleur with 12th and 13th Light + Dragoons. + + Grammont.--Foot Guards. + + Enghien.--Foot Guards. + + Schaepdale, &c.--Brunswick Infantry; all boys. + + Brussels.--_The_ headquarters--92d Highlanders, Rifles, + Hanoverian infantry, and some Belgian dragoons and huzzars; grand + depôt of forage and provisions, and of artillery stores, &c. &c. + + Mons.--English artillery and Dutch troops of different arms. + + Assche.--Troop of Belgian horse-artillery. + + Courtray, Atto, Tournay.--Believe huzzars of the K.G. Legion. + +Visitors from England were at this time flocking over in great +numbers, and travelling about amongst the cantonments; but ours +was so secluded, being distant from every great road, that none of +them found us out, until Sir G. A. Wood (our Colonel commanding), +coming over to review the horse-artillery, brought with him the +Knight of Kerry and another Irish gentleman (name forgotten), who +passed a day with us in the old chateau, and were mightily pleased +with our snuggery. The inspection took place on the little common +at Denderhout. Six troops[8] were drawn out, and made a splendid +show--for finer, as to equipment, men, horses, &c. &c., could not +possibly be seen. Mine was generally allowed to be the finest (old +G), though there was some hesitation in deciding between it and +Webber Smyth’s. + +The line was scarcely formed when his Royal Highness of Berri +arrived, and as usual got into a pet at finding himself forestalled. +Sir Augustus Frazer, however, with his excellent manners and as +excellent French, soothed him by expressions of regret, &c. &c., +and stating that some of our people had come a long distance, and +unless soon despatched, would hardly be able to get home before +night. Roads bad, &c., otherwise, &c. &c. &c. The Duke cooled down, +and condescended to accompany Sir G. Wood through the ranks. We then +marched past, and off home.[9] + +The French officers were all admiration and astonishment: they had +never seen anything so complete, nor any troop so mounted. + +At Waterloo, on the 18th June, there were present eight troops of +British and two of Hanoverian horse-artillery. The British, as +far as I can recollect, were:--1. Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hew D. +Ross’s; 2. Major Bull’s; 3. Major M‘Donald’s; 4. Major Ramsay’s; 5. +Lieutenant-Colonel Webber Smyth’s; 6. Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Robert +Gardiner’s; 7. Major Beane’s; 8. Lieutenant-Colonel Sir A. Dickson, +_alias_ Captain Mercer’s; also Captain Whinyate’s rocket-troop. +These were armed as follows:--Major Bull’s, six heavy 5½-inch +howitzers; Lieutenant-Colonel Gardiner’s and W. Smith’s, five +light 6-pounders, and one light 5½-inch howitzer--these two being +attached to the hussar brigades; Captain Whinyate’s rockets and light +6-pounders; each of the others had five 9-pounders and one heavy +5½-inch howitzer; and these “heavy drags” (as we called them) were +destined, by Sir Augustus Frazer, who commanded the horse-artillery, +together with Bull’s howitzers, to form a grand battery in reserve, +to be applied as he might find occasion--a formidable reserve it +would have been. However, it never came into play in that manner; +for in the general orders of the army organising it, we were all +posted to different brigades of cavalry, consequently Frazer’s +_grande batterie_ vanished in smoke. In this allotment I fell to +the first division, Lord Edward Somerset, composed of the three +Household regiments--the Scots Greys, 1st Dragoon Guards, and 6th or +Inniskillings. We continued, however, at Strytem, neither reporting +to, nor receiving orders from, Lord Edward; nor did we ever join the +division until 21st June, near Mons, whence we marched with them to +Paris, and then again separated. + +Of the field-artillery I know very little, but remember that, about +the beginning of June, Sir Augustus Frazer, who was Sir G. Wood’s +_right-hand man_, told me that, including the horse-artillery, there +were then twenty brigades of British artillery, or 120 pieces, ready +to take the field. More arrived, I believe, after this; I know +Beane’s troop of horse-artillery did. What number of Hanoverian, +Dutch, Belgic, &c., there might be, I never knew. + +Whence it originated, I cannot conjecture, but, certes, much +indecision did exist about this time as to our armament. Shortly +after our arrival at Strytem, we were ordered to send our light +6-pounders to Ghent, there to be exchanged for _heavies_. These, +after a few days, were to be sent back and replaced by the +9-pounders, which eventually we kept. + +These changes, whilst in progress, cost me considerable anxiety, from +the dread of a move taking place whilst my guns were absent--an +event the more to be dreaded, since the Duke never attended to any +justification if anything went wrong; nor would he have looked to my +superiors, but myself alone, and thus I should have borne the whole +weight of his anger. + +At length, about the beginning of June we were complete, when my +troop establishment was as follows, viz.:-- + + 5 guns, 9-pounders, and 1 heavy 5½-inch howitzer--8 + horses each, 48 + 9 ammunition-waggons--viz., 1 to each piece, + and a spare one per division--6 horses each, 54 + 1 spare-wheel carriage--6 horses, 6 + 1 forge, 1 curricle-cart, 1 baggage-waggon--4 + horses each, 12 + --- + Total in draught, 120 + + 6 mounted detachments--8 horses each, 48 + 2 staff-sergeants, 2 farriers, 1 collar-maker, 5 + 6 officers’ horses, lent them by the Board of Ordnance, 6 + 6 officers’ mules, for carrying their baggage, 6 + --- + Total, 185 + Additional horses unaccounted for above, spare, &c., 30 + --- + General total of animals, 215 + + Besides which, each officer had his own two + horses, and the surgeon one, making 11 more--so + that, including these, we had 226 + === + +The _personnel_ consisted of--Second Captain, Mercer, commanding; +Captain Pakenham (subsequently Newland) as Second Captain; +Lieutenants Bell, Hincks, Ingleby, and Leathes--the former acting +as adjutant to Sir A. Frazer, the latter as supernumerary; and +before we left Strytem, Ingleby exchanged with Lieutenant Breton, +and joined Sir Robert Gardiner’s troop; so that, finally, it stood: +Breton, Hincks, Leathes--surgeon, Hitchins; 2 staff-sergeants, 3 +sergeants, 3 corporals, 6 bombardiers, 1 farrier, 3 shoeing smiths, 2 +collar-makers, 1 wheeler, 1 trumpeter, and 1 acting do., 80 gunners, +84 drivers--the 1 acting trumpeter not included. The organisation was +in three divisions, of two subdivisions each--a subdivision being +one piece of ordnance, with its ammunition-waggon and detachment. +Each division had one spare ammunition-waggon and a proportion of +the other carriages, &c. The division was commanded by a lieutenant, +and the subdivisions, the right of the division by a sergeant, the +left by a corporal--a bombardier to each subdivision. On parade, +the 5½-inch howitzer was the right of the centre division. Perhaps +at this time a troop of horse-artillery was the completest thing in +the army; and whether broken up into half-brigades under the first +and second captains, or into divisions under their lieutenants, or +subdivisions under their sergeants and corporals, still each body was +a perfect whole. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +I have confessed a little farther back that the happiness of our +sojourn in this lovely country was not without some alloy; and having +done so, I may add one or two more items to this balance, _per +contra_. + +Soon after our arrival at Strytem, an officer of the commissariat was +attached to the troop, for the purpose of feeding us and our animals. +His first care was to secure a sufficient number of country waggons, +with their drivers and horses, intending to keep them together ready +for a move. The farmers, finding this a grievance, besieged me, +personally and through Mynheer Evenpoel, to allow them to remain +at home until wanted. This Mr Coates (who, by the way, was an +experienced and excellent commissary) strongly opposed, foretelling +the consequences but too truly; however, I yielded, upon a solemn +promise of M. l’Adjoint that they should be held ready to move at +a moment’s notice. Having committed this folly, I was well punished +for it by the anxiety I experienced at every report of a move; and at +last when the hour did come, they were called and found wanting, and +poor Mr Coates had to mount and hunt them up, when they ought to have +been loaded and on the road. This was a lesson to me. + +Another misery I endured was the constant apprehension of falling +under the Duke’s displeasure for systematic plundering of the +farmers by our people, which I could not well check without risk +of incurring the same on another score--_i.e._, for not doing it! +This is enigmatical; let me explain. Our allowance of forage, though +sufficient to keep our horses in pretty good condition when idle, +was not sufficient when they were hard worked; nor was it sufficient +at any time to put on them that load of flesh, and give them that +rotundity of form which Peninsular practice had established as the +_beau ideal_ of a horse entering on a campaign, the maxim being--“The +more flesh a horse carries, the more he has to lose, and the longer +he will be able to bear privation.” To keep up this, therefore, +it was necessary to borrow from the farmers; and at this time of +the year the superb crops of the _trèfle_ offered themselves most +opportunely. The practice was general amongst cavalry and artillery, +so that all the horses were equally in good case; and it would have +been a most dangerous proceeding, by abstaining from it, to let +your horses appear thinner than those of your neighbour. The quick +eye of the Duke would have seen the difference, asked no questions, +attended to no justification, but condemned the unfortunate victim +of samples as unworthy of the command he held, and perhaps sent him +from the army. We therefore, like others, plundered the farmers’ +fields; with this difference, however, that we did it in a regular +manner, and without waste--whereas many of the cavalry regiments +destroyed nearly as much as they carried away, by trampling about the +fields. The dread of this being reported kept me continually in hot +water, for my farmers (who, under the reign of the Prussians, would +never have dared utter a complaint), hearing how strictly plundering +was forbidden by the Duke, soon became exceedingly troublesome with +their threats of reporting me.[10] How we escaped it is difficult to +say, but certainly we continued helping ourselves; and latterly St +Cyr, and some other farmers, getting more docile, would themselves +mark out where we were to cut. Our neighbour at the chateau farm +(Walsdragen) was the most troublesome. The Duke was not partial to +our corps, which made it still more fortunate for me that these +people never put their threats in execution. It is difficult to +say why, but his Grace certainly treated us harshly, and on many +occasions unjustly. Of his harshness _voici un exemple_. Captain +Whinyates having joined the army with the rocket-troop, the Duke, +who looked upon rockets as nonsense, ordered that they should be put +into store, and the troop supplied with guns instead. Colonel Sir G. +Wood, instigated by Whinyates, called on the Duke to ask permission +to leave him his rockets as well as guns. A refusal. Sir George, +however, seeing the Duke was in a particular good-humour, ventured to +say, “It will break poor Whinyate’s heart to lose his rockets.” “D--n +his heart, sir; let my order be obeyed,” was the answer thundered in +his ear by the Duke, as he turned on the worthy Sir George. Let me +return to the country and its charms. + +With me one of the most delightful occupations is the exploring +a new country; so that, whilst others could not exist except in +Brussels, I found abundant occupation for my leisure riding about +the neighbourhood of Strytem. One of my first rides was, as in duty +bound, to Ninove. Instead of taking the main road from Brussels +thither, which runs through Meerbeke, I took a by one to Liederkerke, +and, turning to the left a short distance from this place, crossed +the gently-flowing Dender, opposite the little village of Okegem, by +a rustic bridge supported on posts, so narrow and fragile that it +was not without demur, and at last leading my horse, that I ventured +over. I found the officers of the troop here very humbly lodged--in +mere cottages, and that of a poor description. Nothing here +comparable to our lordly tapestried saloons at Strytem--to the which, +by the way, we were becoming attached, more particularly since the +fine weather had set in, and taught us to appreciate their coolness +and refreshing _demi-jour_. + +The country, after passing the river, was not interesting, as I have +mentioned elsewhere, but the scenery improved somewhat on drawing +near Ninove, which place, with the immense monastery of white stone +built on the higher part of the ground, had a somewhat imposing +appearance: drawing still nearer, some fragments of old walls begin +to make their appearance amongst the trees, which now became more +numerous, and we enter the place under a dark-browed picturesque +arch, flanked by two circular towers, partly in ruins and overgrown +with ivy, the whole half concealed, until one turns short upon +it, by the clustering foliage of some handsome elms and the thick +shrubbery of bushes growing out of the old walls. As my horse’s feet +resounded under the archway, a flash of romance came across me, and +I thought of the counts of Burgundy and their romantic court, and +pictured in my mind’s eye some lordly pageant streaming from out the +archway in all its glittering array. Sober reality soon banished +romance. A short street brought me from the gate to the head of +the principal one--long, broad, clean; houses low, and of rather a +humble description; on the whole, looking more like the street of +an English country town than anything I had seen in the Pays Bas +here; and standing across it was the monastery which had formed +so conspicuous a feature in the aspect of the town from without. +This, instead of representing the sort of ecclesiastical building +one would expect a monastery to be, was a magnificent modern-built +house of three storeys, pierced with numerous large sashed windows, +looking airy and cheerful--anything rather than the house of sorrow, +repentance, and abstinence. It is, I suspect, a modern restoration +of the monastery of Premonstrantine monks mentioned by Blau, and +the only one he does mention. It was suppressed in 1792. Wandering +into the court, which was overrun with grass and weeds, I met the +only remaining brother of the order, the dress of which he wore. His +appearance was venerable, but whether it was that he was naturally +morose, or because I was a heretic, he would answer none of my +questions, only making a waive of the hand in answer to my inquiry +whether I might walk over the premises. That this reserve did not +arise from ignorance of French, his immediately turning and giving +directions to a labourer in that language testified. Lord Uxbridge +and his staff having taken up their abode here restricted my +observations to the exterior of the building. I saw enough, however, +to learn that the Premonstrantine monks had once been lodged like +princes, and so passed on to look at the town. + +Ninove is prettily situated on the left bank of the Dender, from +which its spacious street ascends by a gentle acclivity; and at +this time it presented a very gay and bustling appearance, from +the presence of the cavalry staff and the active operations of the +commissariat. It may contain about 3000 inhabitants, and was once +surrounded by a wall, with flanking towers, of which some vestiges +still remain. I believe much weaving is done here, and I saw several +mills and tanneries. Blau says the ancient name was “Nienevem, +Ninoviam, Ninovam, _vulgus_ Kandrorum; _nunc_ Ninovam--Gallo belgæ +Ninof appellant; Belgia regalis,” &c. So much for Ninove. For that +time I bid it adieu, and passing the bridge at the bottom of the +street, took my road homewards through the pretty and interesting +country to the southward of it. Old Blau says there was some joke +against the people of Ninove connected with its ancient name Ninevem, +which he compares with the Nineveh of Assyria. In my way home, +passing through Meerbeke, I saw a handsome chateau, where Sir Ormsby +Vandeleur had his divisional headquarters. It was a picturesque +object, and truly Flemish in style, though in situation, &c., it +resembled an English country-house--two storeys, with numerous +large windows, and the usual double tier of dormitory windows in +the high roof. It was flanked at either end by a round tower, with +the characteristic conical roof. The grounds were quite English. A +level lawn of smooth and verdant turf extended from the front to the +road. Shrubberies of laburnums, &c., surrounded it on three sides, +concealing the offices, and these were backed by a thick wood of +lofty forest-trees. To judge from externals, an agreeable quarter. + +The great Bois de Liederkerke afforded me a fine field for +exploration, and many a delightful ride I took amongst its grateful +shades. In one of these I discovered, in the very heart of it, a +cleared spot of a few acres, part of which was occupied by the +blackened ruins of some building, and part exhibited the very +melancholy appearance of a once handsome garden, run wild and gone +to decay--even the very ruins were nearly overrun by brushwood and +weeds. A peasant, whom I met with after leaving the wood, told me +that although he had never seen these ruins, he supposed they must +be the remains of a convent of nuns which once existed somewhere +in the wood, but had been burned many years ago. Ignorance of his +language prevented my understanding a long story he told me--partly +in Flemish, partly in French--but I picked out that the nuns of this +convent had all been ladies of considerable, some of very high, rank. + +The main road to Alost, by Liederkerke and Denderlue, runs through +this wood, and, emerging from it on that side, one exchanges the +gloomy obscurity of the forest and confined view amongst the trees +for the broad light of day and a wide expanse of fine meadows, +covered with herds of cattle, through which the Dender runs brawling +and bubbling along over its pebbly bed, crossed at this point by +a long wooden bridge, immediately beyond which is the village of +Liederkerke, at the time of my visit full of our Household troops. + +It was a curious sensation that of seeing Lifeguardsmen lounging +about the street and before the houses--these people are so +intimately associated in one’s mind with London, the Park, Horse +Guards, &c. Nor was the contrast between their tall full figures and +rosy complexions and the gaunt awkward figures and sallow complexions +of the Flemish peasantry--the smart tight-fitting scarlet or blue +jackets of the one, with the coarse homely garbs and dingy-coloured +smock-frocks of the other--less curious. + +Both banks of the river, which here approach each other and are +rather steep, are well clothed with trees, and form a picturesque +scene. Immediately above and below the bridge, these banks, retiring +from each other, leave between their bases and the river a wide +level of meadow-land, which, being everywhere bounded by low +thickly-wooded hills, and, as before mentioned, thickly sprinkled +with herds of fine cattle or luxuriant crops of hay, now almost +ready for mowing, afford scenes of a different but not less pleasing +character. On the right the hills, projecting like a promontory, +and blending themselves with those on the left, enclose these fine +meadows in an amphitheatre of beautifully variegated and tufted +foliage, unbroken by buildings or any indication of the haunts +of man; whilst the left bank, less thickly wooded, presents here +and there intervening fields, the high thatched roofs of farms +and cottages, and, pre-eminent amongst the whole, the spire of +Denderlue peeping through the foliage. Amongst other excursions, one +was of a more than commonly interesting nature, since it brought +me acquainted, not only with a very lovely spot, but also with a +singularly eccentric character--one whose history is of so romantic +a nature, that I ever regret not having made myself master of it in +all its details; I mean Paul Visconti, Marquis d’Acornati and Lord +of Gaesbeke, the chateau of which he inhabits. The first notice we +had of this singular man was from some officers of the 23d Light +Dragoons, who had been cantoned in his village. On their first +arrival the old gentleman was quite furious at the insult offered +him in sending troops thither at all, but especially without his +having been consulted. The officers, having quartered their men, +proceeded to take up their own abode in the chateau, and the Marquis, +being aware of this, closed his gates, and made preparations to +resist. His garrison consisted of two or three ancient domestics +and six or eight young boys. On approaching the gates, the +officers were somewhat surprised at seeing guns pointed at them +from several embrasures, and at the same time a venerable turbaned +head, projecting from one of them, demanded, in good English, how +they dared trespass on the property of the Marquis d’Acornati, +peremptorily bidding them to depart, or take the consequences. The +captain, a true English gentleman, having heard something of the +Marquis’s peculiarities from the villagers, instead of resenting the +opposition, humoured the old man’s whim, and commenced a parley in +the true language and all the forms of chivalry. This was touching +the Marquis in a tender point. The gates were thrown open, as +were his arms, to these courteous strangers, whom he received and +entertained with the hospitality of the olden times during their +stay, mourned their departure, and never mentioned them afterwards +but in the highest terms of praise. Some of my officers had already +visited Gaesbeke, and their accounts excited my curiosity to see this +extraordinary man. Accordingly one day mounting Nelly I set out. The +road lay through the large village of Lennik St Martin, remarkable in +the distance for its handsome spire, towering above the more humble +ones of the surrounding villages. Here I found Lieutenant-Colonel +Hawker and his adjutant, Lieutenant Anderson. The colonel commanded a +division composed of two batteries, 9-pounders, which were cantoned +in his immediate neighbourhood, but not in Lennik. Hence the country +was exquisite--the scenery acquiring a greater degree of interest +from the increasing height of the hills, though in luxuriance and +verdure, both of arborific and cereal vegetation, it could not exceed +that which I had left behind me. + +At length, after a pleasant ride of about twelve miles, on attaining +the summit of a hill, the noble Château de Gaesbeke appeared in +front, on the edge of a deep ravine, which separated me from it, +surrounded by thick woods, the sombre verdure of which harmonised +well with the mellowed tone of its antique brick walls and towers, +whilst their round tufted tops were finely contrasted with its sharp +angles and pointed conical roofs. Crossing the ravine, I arrived on +a plateau of rich velvety turf, ornamented by a few clamps of the +most superb beech-trees I ever saw in my life, some of their boles +rising almost straight forty or fifty feet, without a twig to break +the smooth rounded surface of their glossy grey bark. Fine as those +composing the great avenue at Strytem were, still they were far +exceeded in size, luxuriance, and beauty of form by these. Artificial +means are employed to produce these magnificent ornaments of the +park or pleasure-ground. Whilst the tree is young it is constantly +watched, and every bud carefully eradicated the moment it pierces the +bark, until, having attained a certain height, nature is permitted to +take her course and push out lateral branches, leaving between them +and the soil a stupendous column of timber. A broad carriage-road, +winding amongst these clumps, led to the great gate of the chateau, +now unsuspicious of another military invasion, standing wide open. +It was approached by a stone bridge thrown over a ditch, which, +running along the front of the chateau, imperceptibly lost itself in +the steep declivity to the right and left. The lofty arched portal +was flanked by round towers, having semicircular embrasures on the +first floor, and above them a row of arched windows with rusty iron +balconies, extending across the gateway also. Toward the right, the +two tiers of large French windows gave a more modern air to the +curtain (if I may so call it), which was terminated in that direction +by an immense elliptical tower, the steep roof of which finished in a +short ridge with ornamental iron-work, and a weather-cock at either +end. To the left, the blank wall ended in a round tower of smaller +dimensions, and without the usual conical roof, its picturesque +antique form only partially seen through the foliage of the trees, +which formed a screen before that front. + +I entered the castle court without seeing a soul, or any indication +of the place being inhabited. True, there was little of ruin. The old +walls appeared generally in good repair; the glass in the windows was +sound, not a pane broken--yet a forlorn deserted aspect reigned over +all; and the bent iron ornaments of the roofs, the grass-grown court, +and the shattered remains of two or three low-wheeled carriages, +lying half buried in the rank vegetation of weeds which had sprung +up around them, added not a little to the cheerless desolate aspect +of the whole. To the right on entering was a long range of two +storeys (which, from the lofty windows, appeared to be the state +apartments), terminating at either end with a tower. From the gateway +into the angle on the same side similar features indicated other +suites of apartments. To the left of the gateway, extending to the +tower on that side, were stables and coach-houses. From this tower a +parapet-wall followed the outline of the ground along the edge of the +declivity, running out in semicircular bastions at intervals of about +fifty yards, until, joining the tower at the extremity of the right +wing, it completed the enclosure of the court, forming an area of an +irregular figure, the low parapet allowing to the windows of the main +building a most striking and extensive view over the rich country +to the westward. The defence of this front was further increased by +a range of casemated apartments, with narrow loop-holes, probably +intended for arrows; but whether they extended the whole length of +the front, or only under the bastions, I forget. They are entered by +a narrow staircase from the court above. In the centre of this court, +upon a rude pedestal, was the fragment of a man in a sitting posture, +of which the Marquis afterwards gave me a printed explanation, drawn +up by himself, tending to show that this must be a remnant of the +celebrated Torse de Belvedere, and that the whole constituted a +figure of Ulysses, seated, and in the act of discharging an arrow +from his bow. But to return. After taking a cursory glance at the +general arrangement of the buildings, and finding that the sound of +my horse’s feet had no effect in extracting their inhabitants, I +rode up to and thundered at a low-arched door which stood half-open +in the great tower. The appeal was answered by a sallow-faced dirty +boy of fifteen, with long uncombed flaxen locks hanging about his +ears, and giving him a peculiarly wild and savage appearance as he +stood staring at me with widely-distended eyes. To my inquiry if the +Marquis were at home, he only answered by a nod, and then disappeared +in the gloom of the dark vaulted passage whence he had emerged. +Returning almost immediately, he had found his tongue, and begged +me to go to the principal entrance to the right wing (what had once +been handsome panelled folding-doors), which he unbolted within, +and, taking my horse as I dismounted, ushered me into a large and +lofty vestibule of handsome proportions, but quite unfurnished, and +in a miserable state of decay. On the opposite side of this, at the +desire of my guide, I entered a fine lofty room, with a coved roof, +painted in blue and white stripes in imitation of the interior of a +Turkish tent, and at the corners, where the drapery was supposed +to be gathered up, ornamented with an imitation of golden cords and +tassels. Round the walls were suspended trophies formed of swords, +daggers, pistols, &c., all richly mounted, and almost all Oriental. +The furniture consisted of large ottomans, covered with a striped +stuff to match the pattern of the tent. These were ranged round the +walls, and there was neither chair nor table in the room, which was +lighted by an arched window opening upon a clumsy wooden balcony, +and commanding a beautiful view over the distant country and of the +deep wooded ravine below. After waiting here about ten minutes, the +object of my curiosity made his appearance, followed by a rather +vulgar-looking fattish man, with whom he had been engaged, and whom +I discovered to be a lawyer of Brussels, and his man of business. +This gentleman soon took his leave, and left me _tête-à-tête_ with +his client. Let me draw his portrait, while still fresh in my memory: +Below the middle size, and a little bent by age; thin, light, and +active; a countenance embrowned by southern suns, if not natural; +regular features, and a face that had evidently once been handsome; +quick, sparkling, intelligent eyes giving to his physiognomy a +vivacious expression, rather at variance with the wrinkled cheek +of the _octogènaire_. His costume was completely Turkish. A white +muslin turban, somewhat soiled, but plentifully beset with precious +stones, covered his head; an ample caftan of blue cloth, vest and +trousers of the same--the former tied across the chest with strings, +the latter large and full-gathered, and at bottom stuffed into a pair +of extremely short boots, strangers apparently to Day and Martin or +their kindred of the Pays Bas. A crimson silk sash girded his waist, +in which was stuck an Oriental poignard, having its handle entirely +covered with precious stones, and scabbard tastefully enchased in +silver filigree. In his right hand he carried a short hunting-spear, +and in his left a small _cor de chasse_. His address, easy and +affable, was evidently that of one accustomed to the best society. +The reception he gave me was most flattering, and even affectionate; +and he incessantly repeated his admiration of England and her sons. +For my part, I told only half the truth in stating that the celebrity +of his chateau and gardens had procured him the honour of this +visit, never hinting how great a lion he was himself. After a short +conversation, he proposed showing me his chateau, &c., and conducting +me through several apartments on the ground-floor, we arrived at +his own bed-room in the extremity of the building. Nothing can be +conceived more desolate and cheerless. Superb as to dimensions and +form, these apartments were completely unfurnished, and in a most +melancholy state of dilapidation. The painting soiled and faded, the +elaborately-moulded ceilings and cornices coming down piecemeal and +covering the floors with their fragments; these floors themselves +rotten, and sinking in many places into holes. The shutters of the +high and numerous windows, some closed entirely, others only half; +others, again, with one leaf, perhaps, on the floor, and one hanging +by a single hinge. Such was the appearance of these once lordly +rooms. I shuddered as I traversed this scene of former splendour--of +present degradation. The mind, always busy on these occasions, called +up the beruffed slashed-sleeve cavalier of other days; the courtly +dame, the stomacher resplendent with costly jewels, ebon locks +falling in ringlets over her bare, well-turned shoulders and swelling +bosom. How changed the scene! The lordly _châtelain_ has given +place to the little curved Turkish figure before me; the brilliant +assemblage of knights and dames to desolation and solitude. + +The dormitory of mine host, where at least some comfort might have +been expected, was only of a piece with the rest. Coarse, scanty, and +not very clean-looking bedding, lying in a confused heap upon a low +bedstead of common deal, without curtains--in short, such a bed as +one sometimes sees in an ostler’s room over the stables--a rickety +deal table, and a couple of old chairs. None of the appurtenances +of the toilet, nor any apparent means of stowing his wardrobe; bare +walls, and nought else. One might have imagined it the abode of +some poor devil whom charity had admitted to occupy a nook in the +deserted mansion. The Marquis showed all with perfect _sang-froid_, +unconscious that there was anything strange in a man of his princely +fortune living like a pauper, and continued leading me from room to +room, until we arrived at one smaller than the rest, and a little +less dilapidated, which he announced as his study--a title to which +a huge table, occupying the greater part of it, and covered with a +heap of papers, pictures, and writing material, all intermingled in +most glorious confusion, seemed to give some colour; and here were +also two or three common chairs. From amongst the litter on the +table, after a little hunting, he rummaged out a small miniature of +a female, which he thrust into my hand with an air of exultation, +as much as to say, “There!--what think you of that?” and evidently +supposing me as intimate with its features as himself, and as +evidently mortified at my asking who the original might be, whilst, +with rather a haughty air, he informed me that it was the portrait +of his dear mistress (kissing it respectfully), the Empress Maria +Theresa, whom he had had the honour to serve as an officer of +Hungarian hussars many years. Whilst laying the miniature again on +the table, he hurried out of the room, motioning me to follow him. +The old man was quite chivalric when speaking on this subject, and +apparently quite in earnest. + +Our next visit was to the kitchen, whither he took me to see the +thickness of the walls, which were no less than 10 feet. Such a +den as this never before sullied the respected name of kitchen. +From the smallness of the windows, or port-holes, and the enormous +thickness of the walls, it was, even at this time of day, almost +dark enough to require candles; spacious and vaulted, with a floor +all decayed--and no wonder, for it was in great part covered by +an immense heap of potatoes, and quite devoid of furniture. Its +occupants were a second Dame Leonarda, and three or four dirty boys, +lounging indolently about. A wood-fire blazed on the ash-encumbered +hearth, over which was suspended an iron pot filled with potatoes. +He then led me through the casemates or subterraneous defences on +the western side, before mentioned; and having thus completed our +survey of the castle, we sallied from the portal to visit the gardens +and _pleasaunce_, the Marquis stepping out with all the briskness +of youth. We had got about half-way over the lawn, under one of the +magnificent clumps of beeches, when suddenly my conductor, stopping, +put his horn to his mouth and blew such a peal as made the woods ring +again. No result followed, and as he had not explained himself, I +was at a loss to conjecture the meaning of this, unless it were to +let me hear the echo. After waiting impatiently a few minutes, the +sound was repeated, and an instant afterwards out came all the boys +scampering through the portal and over the turf towards us, with an +activity strongly contrasted with their former listlessness. This, +however, did not satisfy their master, who, rating them soundly for +their inattention to his first summons, ordered them to bring out +the _carriole_. In a few minutes one of the old carriages I had +seen in the court was drawn out by a miserable half-starved-looking +beast, hardly deserving the name of a horse, and with harness to +match--that is, old, rusty, broken, and mended with bits of cord, &c. +Into the suspicious-looking vehicle we both got, and having exchanged +his hunting-spear for a shabby whip, the Marquis proceeded to do +coachman, and conducted me through his lovely domain; for lovely it +really was, in spite of the neglect evident in all directions--a +circumstance, however, that one scarcely regretted, since it threw +such an air of wildness over the scenery as to make it most charming. + +The ground on which the castle stood ran out in knolls, with very +abrupt slopes, forming deep ravines, at the bottom of which streams +of limpid water ran bubbling along, until finding their way to the +main trunk, or great ravine, under the western front, they there +united their waters and formed a small lake, whose placid surface +was animated by swans and whole flocks of wildfowl, which here found +an undisturbed retreat. The whole of the ground above described, +excepting the level lawn in front of the great gate, was thickly +covered with wood--in some parts impervious from the thick shrubbery +of undergrowth, in others clear from this encumbrance--affording +splendid forest vistas between the boles of the magnificent +trees--the ground beneath carpeted with the most beautiful variety +imaginable of mosses and wild-flowers--innumerable creepers hanging +in festoons from the branches, with here and there a venerable ruin, +fallen against and only supported by its neighbours, increasing +the wildness and charm of this enchanting scenery. At times, +after following a path winding through the thick shrubberies, and +overshadowed by the luxuriant branches of the forest trees, so as to +be in perfect twilight, we suddenly came upon a small cleared space, +carpeted with turf, in the centre of which, perhaps, was a rustic +altar, or the fragment of a column, the marble of which, stained by +damps or the encroachments of variously-coloured lichens, harmonised +well with the tints of the sylvan scene around it. Some of these were +simple cylinders; others were angular, with projecting cornices. +Offerings of flowers there were on many of them--evidence of the +feelings and peculiar sentiments of the noble proprietor, and that, +although neglectful as far as repairs went, he still had eyes to see +and a heart to feel the beauties of his lovely domain. Again emerging +from the _demi-jour_ of the cool _berceau_, the road wound round the +face of a knoll, affording a charming view of the distant country, +with the lordly chateau towering in the foreground; then replunging +into obscurity, it opened again on a scene as extensive but of a +totally different character--the country towards Hal, with its long +and more thinly-wooded slopes and summits. In one place, a clearing +of three or four acres, bearing a crop of potatoes, presented +precisely such a scene as one meets with in America--the ground still +encumbered with roots and branches, the lofty surrounding wall of +grey stems, here and there a tree fallen against its neighbours, or +hanging forward as if ready to come to the ground at a touch; in +short, a scene of such savage wildness as one would hardly expect to +meet in this land of culture and improvement. + +After a delightful drive, we returned to the chateau, passing under +the ramparts of the garden, which, lying on the slope of the hill, +are banked up in such a manner as to form a succession of nearly +level terraces. These are laid out in parterres, ornamented with +statues and fragments, &c. In the centre of these, a circular wooden +tower rises to a great height, forming a conspicuous object from +all the neighbouring country, over which the gallery on its summit +commands a most extensive view. The walls of this tower are of open +work, and, as well as the winding staircase within, are said to be a +_chêf d’œuvre_ of carpentry. + +As it was growing late, I was obliged to decline my host’s invitation +to visit his farm in the valley below; and having, with the +assistance of one of his young pages, saddled my horse, I took leave, +and returned to Strytem highly pleased with my excursion. + +A few days afterwards the Marquis sent me a bundle of papers +containing the history of Gaesbeke and its counts; but being unable +from want of leisure to copy any of it, I can only remember that +the chateau was built about the middle of the thirteenth century by +one of the Counts of Brabant, of whom it long continued to be the +principal residence. Of the present proprietor I could learn little +except what was imparted by himself during our ride, in substance +as follows:--Paul Acornati Visconti, an Italian by birth, inherits +Gaesbeke in right of his mother, and by the father’s side is of the +celebrated family of Visconti of Milan. Early in life he entered the +Austrian army, and served as lieutenant and captain of Hungarian +hussars during the Seven Years’ War. At the peace of 1763, finding +himself free, and in possession of a princely fortune, he gave +himself up to his vagabond propensities, and passed his time in +wandering over Europe, &c. &c. In this way he ran over all Germany, +France, and much of Russia and Poland; traversed Denmark, Sweden, and +Lapland as far as the North Cape. Either Dr Clarke or Acerbi mentions +meeting him at Tornea, or having heard of him there. He then visited +the British Islands, where he remained some time (I think he told +me he had been twelve times to England), extending his wanderings +to the remotest corners of Ireland, the Highlands of Scotland, and +the Western Isles. Here (in England) he became acquainted with many +of our celebrated characters--civil, military, and literary--of +whose intimacy he was not a little proud. He was delighted with +England and its inhabitants, but his fondness for both yielded to +the unaccountable mania with which he was subsequently seized for +Turkey, the Turks, their manners, their institutions, and everything +belonging to them; and after a prolonged residence amongst them, only +returned to his own country when the management of his extensive +estates in Italy and the Pays Bas imperatively required his presence. +What his religious sentiments might have been I know not, but in +every other respect he had become a complete Turk, and so determined +to remain; thus he has always dressed in the Oriental costume, as +I found him, and in every other way conforms to their customs. I +have already described the person of this curious character. His +health and activity are remarkable; and although a little curved, +there is nothing of the old man in his step, which is firm, light, +and active; his usual pace is a little trot. His manner of living is +extremely simple; his diet, I believe, principally vegetable, and his +beverage water. He seldom goes to bed before midnight, rising again +at three o’clock in the morning; and to this habit of early rising he +assured me he was indebted for his good health. Whether he had ever +been married I know not, but that he had a daughter I know, since +in the note of invitation to a fête he intended giving at Brussels, +he particularly mentioned his wish to introduce me to her. Amongst +the people of the neighbourhood I found he bore various characters, +some ascribing his eccentricities to a deranged intellect, others +to philosophy. Others believed him to be a magician, wherefore +the peasantry in general stand in great awe of him. All, however, +allow that he is a most charitable, good man. It is said that his +liberality towards even his most distant relations is so great, that +they amongst them enjoy more of his wealth than he does himself. +That he is wealthy is out of the question; his property is immense. +Besides the Gaesbeke estate, he possesses others both in the Pays Bas +and in Italy. Most of the best houses in Brussels are his, and the +Gaesbeke property alone comprises seventeen villages and parishes. +His own house in Brussels is said to be a magnificent one; in it +he gave the fête to which I was invited, which I afterwards heard +was very splendid, the first people of the country and many of our +most distinguished officers having been present. He seldom resides +in Brussels for any length of time, nor are his visits to that city +frequent, as he prefers retirement and the country. + +The establishment at Gaesbeke consisted only of a gardener, an +old woman as cook, &c., and some five or six boys, from twelve to +sixteen years of age, whom he sometimes dressed in the Hungarian +hussar uniform, at others as Orientals--so said the people. Be that +as it may, they all wore the usual dress of the country when I saw +them. After this first visit the lovely domain of Gaesbeke became a +favourite lounge, and I passed many a delicious morning wandering +about its cool shady walks. Sometimes the Marquis was at home, +sometimes not, but it made little difference--he always received +me with the same kindness, and seemed not a little flattered at +the pleasure I took in his favourite woods; but we neither of us +interrupted the pursuits of the other, for if he were employed he +continued his employment, otherwise he would sometimes accompany me +himself, or send one of his young pages, if there were anything to be +done or seen that required assistance or a guide. It was not without +regret that, eventually, I was obliged to leave his neighbourhood +without having had an opportunity of taking leave of him. + +There was another extraordinary character--a man of great wealth, +too--residing within a few miles of us, at Ternath, or St Ulris +Capelle; but him I only heard of from Leathes, who had visited +him, which I never had an opportunity of doing. This man differed +from Acornati in having his chateau splendidly furnished and his +pleasure-grounds, described as vieing in beauty with those of +Gaesbeke, kept in most excellent order. He had, moreover, a choice +collection of paintings. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +Whilst our army thus revelled in luxury in this fine country, that +of the enemy, we understood, was concentrating on our frontier, +preparatory to the grand blow which was to drive us into the sea. To +meet the threatened invasion, it was generally understood in the army +that the Duke had made choice of two positions in the neighbourhood +of Brussels--the one a little beyond the village of Waterloo, the +other at Hal, the point where the roads from Ath and Mons unite. In +one or the other of these, it was said, he intended to await the +attack, according as the enemy might advance. Frequently, attended +only by an orderly dragoon, he would visit these positions, studying +them deeply, and most probably forming plans for their occupation +and defence. In confirmation, too, of the reports that the French +army would shortly advance, we about this time received an order +to divest ourselves of all superfluous baggage, and were given to +understand that, in case of passing the frontier, the army must be +prepared to forego all shelter but what would be carried with it, +since the operations were to be of the most active nature. Curious +to see these positions, I one day rode over to Hal, which was the +nearest to us. The country through which I passed for a long way was +like that about Strytem; but on approaching Hal it became more open, +free from wood, and without any kind of enclosures. This little town +is situated on the Senne, here a good deal interrupted in its course +by mill-dams, &c., so that it forms numerous ponds in and about the +place, only to be crossed by the stone bridge over which the road +from Braine le Leud and Braine le Château, &c., passes, and in the +town unites with the two great roads from Ath and Mons, which have +previously crossed a small rivulet descending from the north-west, +and thus ascends the steep street in the direction of Brussels. On +this side the ground rises to a considerable height, giving a great +command over the valley and roads winding through it, which may be +seen at a considerable distance descending from the opposite hills, +which recede so much to the southward as to be of no avail against +the positions, although considerably higher. + +The town, as already stated, lies on a steep slope; the houses are of +stone, many of them large and of most respectable appearance; street +wide and airy; many mills, &c., in the lower part, and tan-yards. + +I was obliged to content myself with a very superficial view of +Hal; for, having miscalculated the distance from Strytem, I had +no time for more than to ride through it and back again. The only +thing I saw on the road worth notice was a very pretty villa, +small, but exceedingly neat, standing in the midst of well-kept +pleasure-grounds, quite unlike anything else in the country that I +had hitherto seen. + +I have as yet been so wrapped up in the country that I have passed +over Brussels, to which, however, I had already made several +visits, and to which I must now devote a page. So--to begin at the +beginning--my first visit was about four or five days after our +arrival at Strytem. The weather was particularly favourable. It was +one of those lovely days of spring, succeeding rain, when all nature +seems bursting into new life--when we are ourselves sensible of the +renovating effects of the season, and the elasticity of our spirits +is such, that everything appears beautiful to our sight--when all is +exhilaration and delight, and we are disposed to be in good-humour +with everything around us. The country through which my route lay, +rich in the bounties of nature, and exhibiting a pleasing variety of +feature, made this ride peculiarly agreeable. About half-way, at the +villages of Itterbeke and Dilbeke, the appearance of several riflemen +in grey or black uniforms, round hats having the brim looped up on +one side, and decorated with pendant green plumes, scattered about +the fields, the roads, and posted behind trees, somewhat surprised +me. Near the roadside, too, on the point of a green knoll, stood +one of those rude Rembrandt-like mills, so common in this country; +and on the wooden stairs leading up to the door sat several men, +with their rifles in hand or lying across their knees, whilst their +attention seemed steadily fixed on the surrounding country, as if +something interesting was transacting there. A dropping shot now and +then re-echoing amongst the woods, seemed to confirm the truth of +my apprehensions that the French army had advanced, and that I had +no time to lose in regaining Strytem. The sergeant of the party on +the mill-steps, however, dissipated my apprehensions. These people +belonged to the Duke of Brunswick, and, being all young soldiers, he +obliged them to live in their cantonments, as if in face of an enemy, +with all their videttes and advanced-posts out. The firing, I found, +proceeded from a party practising with their rifles at targets cut +in the shape of, and painted to resemble, French soldiers. This was +my first interview with men (_mere boys!_) with whom subsequently +I had to stand shoulder to shoulder in the great struggle. My +approach to the city was announced by the occurrence of several +pretty country-houses or villas, much in the same style as that I +had seen on the road to Hal, but no indication in the distance--no +towers, spires, or lofty building towering over the trees--until, +passing the summit of a hill, Brussels suddenly burst on my sight, +covering the slope of the hills on the opposite side of the valley--a +glorious picture, and one not readily to be erased from my memory. +From this point, and under such a sky, she showed herself to the +utmost advantage, and the atmosphere was so pure that even from +this distance every detail was distinctly visible. The cathedral +of St Gudule, standing upon a terrace, formed a striking feature. +The tufted verdure of the trees on the ramparts enclosing the city +enabled one easily to follow their outline along the summit of the +heights, whilst on the face of the slope the ramparts themselves, +with their venerable grey towers, gave additional interest to the +scene; the houses, rising in terraces, as it were, tier above tier, +and everywhere intermingled with foliage; innumerable churches and +chapels; palaces, too, amongst which, most conspicuous, was that of +Prince d’Aremberg and the Cour de Flandres, and in the lower town the +beautiful Stadthuys;--all united to form the glorious picture. + +In the vale below, the river Senne wound its way slowly along amidst +green meadows, the surface of which was broken by long stripes of +white linen, spread there to bleach. In the west and south it was +closed by a belt of black forest--the ever-memorable Forest of +Soigney. The Senne was ravishing--it seemed as if one could never +tire of looking on it; and as I lingered to do so, the more prominent +features in the history of that fair city came crowding on my mind, +and, now that the scene of action lay before me, embodied themselves +to my mind’s eye. At first the city seems to have been confined to +the borders of the marsh, and thence gradually to have crept up the +hillside, until at last it was circumscribed by a rampart--the lower +part of the town being evidently the older, and of a different style +entirely from the upper. + +Descending the hill, I entered this lower town by the Barrière de +Gand and a long winding narrow street, bordered on either side by +houses of black stone, three storeys (generally) high, but of a +mean appearance, without _trottoirs_ for the foot-passengers, and +the mud above my horse’s fetlocks; a little farther on I passed the +fish-market, and a fearful penance it was--for the strongest stomach, +I should think, could hardly resist its noisome smell, arising from a +fearful accumulation of garbage flung beneath the tables. + +Passing along, I found the streets in this part of the town crowded +with commissariat waggons, coming for or taking supplies to the +neighbouring cantonments, so that between these and the multitude of +Hanoverian soldiers it was not without difficulty that I made my way +along and reached an expansion of the street where the Marché aux +Herbes is held, much as it used to be in the fore street at Exeter +ere the present market-place was built. The bustle, gaiety, groups of +females, the colour and smell of flowers and herbs, &c., always make +a vegetable-market an agreeable scene. This one was enhanced by the +various uniforms of the British, Belgic, and Hanoverian soldiery, and +the handsome shops surrounding it. These exhibited in their windows +every variety of the choicest productions of India and Europe; and +pre-eminent amongst them all were the jewellers and pipe-sellers, or +tobacconists, with their splendid displays of meerschaums, Turkish +pipes with amber mouth-pieces, rich tobacco-pouches, &c. &c. The +Montagne de la Cour, though restricted after passing the market, +still a broad street, ascended right in front; and at the foot of +this a large hotel (d’Angleterre) occurred so opportunely that I rode +into its court, and, leaving my orderly in charge of my horse, set +off at once, eager to explore this new and interesting ground. + +My first impulse was to seek the park, of which I had so often heard, +and instinctively I ascended la Montagne de la Cour, which proved +the direct road to it. At the top of the ascent I found myself in a +pretty little square (Place Royale) surrounded by handsome houses, +but having very much the appearance of pasteboard. Turning thence +into a broad street, I found myself in a most magnificent square, far +exceeding in beauty, if not in size, any of ours in London--pretty +lawns and thick shrubberies, with fine trees, &c., enclosed by a +handsome iron railing, and surrounded by fine houses, the façades +ornamented by Ionic pilasters, and painted in delicate tints +of buff, green, &c., or white, and the whole forming a splendid +spectacle and delicious spot. The park is laid out in walks winding +through shrubberies and dingles, affording varied and pleasing +scenery, some part of the ground being broken and uneven. In the +centre is a sort of pavilion where refreshments are sold, and near +it is a sheet of water, &c. _Park_ is a misnomer; consider it a +_square_, in our acceptation of the term, and it is one of the most +beautiful in Europe. Its beauty is considerably increased by the old +ramparts with their fine umbrageous trees overtopping by far those +of the park, and completing one side instead of a row of houses. +The glimpse I here got of those ramparts naturally attracted me +thither, and I was delighted with the lovely, airy, and commanding +promenade they afforded. This promenade round the ramparts is the +most delightful imaginable, elevated as they are so much above the +highest houses of the city (on the east and north-east sides), and +overshadowed by stately elms, affording beautiful views over the +city and neighbouring country, always having in the foreground some +imposing and picturesque mass of ancient masonry, overrun with a +rank vegetation of large-leaved weeds, &c.; some grey and venerable +tower--a remnant of antiquity. Descending the hill on either hand, +the height of these ramparts decreases to that of the ordinary +fortifications of the middle ages; but here, in the lower part, the +walls and towers in themselves are far more picturesque, and exhibit +much greater antiquity. They are here, I suspect, the same that +were built when the city was first fortified in 1044, whilst those +above are the more modern fortifications of 1379. Above, as I have +before mentioned, the ramparts present a stupendous mound, with large +square towers, this elevation being there necessary to protect the +city--lying as it does on a declivity--from the higher ground beyond; +whilst here below they are only of moderate elevation and breadth, +with round or octagonal towers, the masonry time-worn and sombre, +almost to blackness, and eminently picturesque. + +But this, my first visit, was too short, and there was too much to +see to admit of lingering long on any one spot; so, reluctantly +quitting the ramparts, I hurried with eager curiosity from street to +street and square to square, catching a slight, and but a slight, +glimpse of anything, yet delighted, and devouring all. There is a +charm which I cannot describe in the contemplation of these heavy +and old-fashioned yet picturesque structures, with their sculptures, +pointed gables, and eccentric variety of windows, such as most of +those (either Gothic, Flemish, or Spanish) with which La Grande +Place is surrounded. Here, too, is that most beautiful building, +the Hôtel de Ville, flanked by hexagonal towers, and surmounted by +its celebrated belfry, rising to a height, it is said, of more than +360 feet; its construction is of open work, and it is impossible to +imagine anything combining at once such majesty, grace, elegance, +and lightness. One would scarcely imagine that a work so delicate +could be enduring; and yet this lovely tower, even now in appearance +fresh and perfect, has already stood more than three, nay, nearly +four, centuries--having been built in 1445. The statue of St Michael +which surmounts it would, in my opinion, be better away; yet this is +a feature more vaunted than the elegant form of the building or its +admirable workmanship. The saint stands upon one foot, and pirouettes +with every breeze. The Hôtel de Ville was commenced in 1380. After +a lapse of four centuries, and notwithstanding the boasted “march +of intellect,” where is the man who could now sit down and conceive +such a structure? Many there are, perhaps, who by help of books and +existing examples, might compile something of the sort, but I doubt +whether any modern architect be capable of the _original conception_; +and I am sure that, spite of the ‘Mechanic’s Magazine’ and the +present philosophical studies of our masons, none of them could +produce more perfect or better work. Like painting, architecture +has had its day. Sir Christopher Wren himself acknowledged his +astonishment at the boldness of the arches of King’s College Chapel, +Cambridge, and confessed his ignorance as to their construction and +mode of placing the key-stones. + +After all, the Hôtel de Ville is irregular in its construction, and +the placing the tower at one extremity of the façade instead of the +centre I have heard censured as a grievous fault;--I like it--there +is originality even in that. The general effect is most imposing. + +Nor is the varied throng frequenting this fine place on market-days +unworthy of it,--their quaint and original costume harmonising well +with the character of the architectural setting around. Many were my +visits to Brussels, and always was I delighted. If I did not see all +that I now speak of at that first one, _n’importe_. The effect of St +Gudule’s (the cathedral) is in this respect very good, situated upon +a terrace to which one ascends by a broad flight of stairs to the +fine Gothic portal, flanked by two handsome towers, and looking out +over the city on the country beyond. Up this flight of steps I did +ascend with solemn pace and slow, and into its beautiful nave: but +the celebrated sculptured pulpit obtained from me no more observation +or admiration than those of Ghent and Bruges. The emotion I feel on +entering a Gothic cathedral is of a nature too solemn to admit of +dwelling upon, or even noticing, such things. + +How strikingly Spanish are the charming Bruxellaises in their +mantillas, gracefully crossed on the bosom! I have often heard and +read that they are so, but had no recollection of the circumstance at +the moment the fact struck me. The mantilla itself, so Spanish, has +its testimony of their ancestry confirmed by the brilliant black eyes +sparkling beneath it; and the prevalence of black dresses amongst +the groups frequenting the park, or _allée-verte_, complete the +illusion, and for a second we forget that these are not Andalusians. +Never having been in company with any of the fair dames of Brussels, +it would be presumption to say more than what I saw of them in +public; my say, therefore, amounts to the having seen many lovely +faces and graceful figures, though I had once foolishly fancied +that all Flemish women must be of the same breed as Anne of Cleves, +or the strapping wenches with whom Rubens and others have made us +familiar--forgetting that, as the offspring of some of the finest +men and handsomest women in Europe, the Austrians, Spaniards, and +French, they ought to show well. From outward appearance it would +be, perhaps, difficult to decide the origin; but in the ladies the +Spanish blood generally seems to predominate. + +In wandering about Brussels one is struck with the frequent +occurrence of ecclesiastical ruins--these are generally the remains +of monasteries suppressed at the Revolution in 1793. The extensive, +and apparently once handsome, house of the Capucines exhibits now +only a heap of rubbish, with about five or six feet of the massive +walls here and there; another, of which the chapel remained pretty +entire, was used by our commissariat as a magazine for hay, straw, +&c. &c. + +A more striking scene, perhaps, cannot be imagined than the +_allée-verte_, with its long vista overarched by thickly-clothed +branches of the stately elms lining it in double rows on either +hand, the broad expanse of calm water covered by crowded and +gaily-painted barges, ornamented with flags and streamers, and +enlivened with music and singing. The spacious roads on each bank +gay with carriages, equestrians, and numerous pedestrians--all +apparently happy, consequently smiling and merry. I took this route +one Sunday with the intention of visiting the Palace of Lavickens, +but, alas! the luxury of lounging amidst the merry crowd under the +shade of the elms, and amongst these joyous groups, detained one in +such wise that, on arriving at the first lock, time no longer served, +and my project was necessarily abandoned. As I turned homeward, +the well-known overture to Lodoiska resounding from a neighbouring +cabaret attracted me thither, and what was my surprise at finding the +orchestra by which it was performed to consist of two pretty girls, +each with a violin, whilst the old mother accompanied them on the +violoncello. I afterwards heard these girls at a café near the Park, +where, the audience being more refined, their performance was more +careful. I thought their music exquisite, as well as their singing, +which they sometimes mingled with it. Had their expressive black eyes +and coquettish _cornettes_ of red-striped cotton anything to do +with it? In my subsequent visits to Brussels, instead of continuing +to frequent the Hôtel d’Angleterre, I found a brother officer whose +horses were billeted on the Hôtel d’Aremberg, and who offered me +stalls whenever I came to town--an arrangement so convenient that his +Highness was patronised by me during the remainder of my sojourn at +Strytem. I am not sure that I ever saw my princely host, but believe +that a tall, thin, elderly man, with a powdered head, a most amiable +countenance, and most gentlemanly bearing, who one day crossed the +stable-yard whilst I was there, must have been the Prince. We looked +at, but did not condescend to bow to, each other. His being on the +wrong side of politics was the cause of his domain being thus invaded +by strangers, and the billetmaster was careful to keep him full. + +One of our lounges at Brussels now was the exhibition of paintings +just opened--a pleasant thing enough, as all the world assembled, and +there was a daily squeeze in the rooms. As for the articles we were +supposed to come to look at, they were below mediocrity--mere daubs, +mostly portraits, and many of British officers. + +The 19th of May 1815 was with us a memorable day; our friend Sir +Augustus Frazer gave a grand, and a very good, dinner to all the +horse-artillery officers, English and German, on the occasion of his +being appointed lieutenant-colonel of that arm. The dinner was at +the Hôtel de la Paix, Place Royale; excellent claret, sauterne, and +champagne flowed in abundance, and the utmost hilarity prevailed. +Many of us then met for the first time, many after a separation of +years, and many for the last time. My friend Bolton sat next to me. +I had not seen him since we were cadets together, but a few weeks +afterwards he was gathered to his fathers on the field of Waterloo. +Frazer had promised me a bed at his friend’s (Lieutenant-Colonel +Maxwell, 21st) lodgings; accordingly, slipping away from the party, I +found my way thither somehow or other, and his servant showing me my +room I was soon fast asleep. From this I was aroused some time after +by persons coming into the room, and, to my infinite horror, found +that I had occupied the bed intended for Bob Cairns. A long dialogue +of regrets, &c. &c., ensued, but I continued obstinately to sleep, as +indignant at having been deceived as they were at my usurpation; so +in the morning I arose early, and left the house and explanation to +Sir Augustus. A few days afterwards poor Bob also was gathered to his +fathers. With an aching head I repaired to the beautiful promenade +on the ramparts, and made the circuit of the city, lingering about +in the fresh morning air until I thought people would be stirring, +and then adjourned to my friend Bell’s, where, being renovated by an +excellent breakfast, I mounted my horse and returned to Strytem--to +see Brussels no more. + +For some time past it had been generally understood that our army +would advance into the French territory on or about the 20th June, in +anticipation of which event I sometimes amused myself speculating on +the probable events of the campaign. I drew out a written plan, in +which we were to fight three battles and arrive in sixteen days at +Paris, finishing by a grand _embrâsement_. This, as will be seen, was +in some measure prophetic, since three battles were fought (Quatre +Bras, Waterloo, and St Denis by the Prussians), and we did arrive in +sixteen days, and the catastrophe was with difficulty prevented by +the Duke. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +_May 29th._--Grand cavalry review near Grammont, in the fine meadows +on the banks of the Dender, for the use of which, it is said, as much +as £400 or £500 were paid. + +The day was lovely, and we marched from Strytem in the cool of the +morning. The roads, although pretty good, were in places so cut up by +the passage of other troops before us, that it became necessary at +times to halt until our men filled up the holes with brushwood and +earth. About noon we arrived on the ground, than which nothing could +be more favourable for the purpose. + +The Dender, flowing through a broad tract of rich meadow-land +perfectly flat, makes a bend from Grammont to the village of +Jedeghem, the ground on its left bank rising in a gentle slope, +whilst on the right the meadows extend back for about half a mile, +and then terminate at the foot of an abrupt wooded height, which +forms, as it were, a chord of the arc described by the river. This +was the arena chosen for the review, and a more favourable one could +scarcely have been chosen. We were formed in three lines. The first, +near the banks of the river, was composed of hussars in squadrons, +with wide intervals between them, and a battery of horse-artillery +(6-pounders) on either flank. Opposite the centre of this line was +a bridge (temporary, I believe) by which the cortège was to arrive +on the ground, descending from the village of Schendelbeke. The +second line--compact, or with only the usual squadron intervals--was +composed entirely of heavy dragoons, having two batteries--the one +of 24-pounder howitzers, the other of 9-pounders--in front of the +centre, and a battery of 9-pounders on either flank. The third was +a compact line like the second, but entirely of light dragoons, +supported also on either flank by a battery of 9-pounders. + +It was a splendid spectacle. The scattered line of hussars in their +fanciful yet picturesque costume; the more sober, but far more +imposing, line of heavy dragoons, like a wall of red brick; and again +the serviceable and active appearance of the third line in their +blue uniforms, with broad lappels of white, buff, red, yellow, and +orange--the whole backed by the dark wood of the declivity already +mentioned--formed, indeed, a fine picture. There were, I understood, +about 6000 men on the field; and as I looked and admired their fine +appearance, complete equipment, and excellent horses, I wondered how +any troops could withstand their attacks, and wished Napoleon and +his chiefs could but see them as they stood. My wish was in part +gratified, for we afterwards learned beyond all question that numbers +of French officers had not only been present, but actually were so +in full uniform (many of them of high rank), and had mingled in the +cortège of the Duke, and so rode through the ranks--the safest plan +they could have pursued, it being impossible to say whether they +did or did not belong to the corps of the Duc de Berri, who, as I +said, still wore the imperial uniforms in which they had come over +to the royal party; and this was still more favoured by a ridiculous +scene which occasioned the absence of the French party from the +review. It was as follows: Arriving on the ground covered with dust, +the different corps had no sooner formed in their position, and +dismounted, than off went belts, canteens, and havresacks, and a +general brushing and scrubbing commenced; for the Duke, making no +allowance for dusty or muddy roads, expected to see all as clean as +if just turned out: accordingly, we had not only brought brushes, +&c., but even straw to wisp over the horses. The whole line was in +the midst of this business, many of the men even with jackets off, +when suddenly a forest of plumes and a galaxy of brilliant uniforms +came galloping down the slope from Schendelbeke towards the temporary +bridge. “The Duke!” “the Duke!” “the Duke’s coming!” ran along the +lines, and for a moment caused considerable bustle amongst the +people; but almost immediately this was discovered to be a mistake, +and the brushing and cleaning recommenced with more devotion than +ever; whilst the cavalcade, after slowly descending to the bridge and +debouching on the meadows, started at full gallop toward the saluting +point already marked out, the Duc de Berri, whom we now recognised, +keeping several yards ahead, no doubt that he might clearly be seen. +At this point he reined up and looked haughtily and impatiently about +him; and as we were now pretty intimate with his manner, it was easy +to see, even from our distant position, that he was in a passion. The +brushing, however, suffered no interruption, and no notice was taken +of his presence. One of his suite was now called up and despatched +to the front. What further took place I know not, but, certes! the +messenger no sooner returned than his Highness was off like a comet, +his tail streaming after him all the way up the slope, unable to keep +pace with him, for he rode like a madman, whilst a general titter +pervaded our lines as the report flew from one to the other that +Mounseer was off in a huff because we did not give him a general +salute. Many were the coarse jokes at his expense; and I was amused +at one of my drivers, who, holding up the collar from his horses +chest with one hand, whilst with the other he brushed away under it, +exclaimed, laughing aloud, “I wouldn’t be one of them ’ere French +fellows at drill upon the common to-morrow for a penny; if they’re +not properly bullyragged, I’m d----.” It turned out afterwards that +he had sent his aide-de-camp to claim the reception due to a prince +of the blood-royal, but Lord Uxbridge excused himself by saying he +had no instructions on that head, &c. &c. About two o’clock the Duke +of Wellington and Prince Blucher, followed by an immense cortège, in +which were to be seen many of the most distinguished officers and +almost every uniform in Europe, arrived on the ground. Need I say +that the foreigners were loud in praise of the martial air, fine +persons, and complete equipment of the men and horses, and of the +strength and beauty of the latter? and my vanity on that occasion was +most fully gratified, for on arriving where we stood, the Duke not +only called old Blucher’s attention to “the beautiful battery,” but, +instead of proceeding straight through the ranks, as they had done +everywhere else, each subdivision--nay, each individual horse--was +closely scrutinised, Blucher repeating continually that he had never +seen anything so superb in his life, and concluding by exclaiming, +“_Mein Gott, dere is not von orse in dies batterie wich is not goot +for Veldt Marshal_:” and Wellington agreed with him. It certainly was +a splendid collection of horses. However, except asking Sir George +Wood whose troop it was, his Grace never even bestowed a regard on +me as I followed from subdivision to subdivision. The review over, +and corps dismissed, I resigned my command to my second captain, +and proceeded direct to Ninove, Lord Uxbridge having invited all +commanding officers to meet his illustrious guests at dinner. On +repairing to the monastery, I found a numerous company assembled, +comprising some of the most distinguished characters in Europe. + +The room in which we assembled, as well as the dining-room, was +of splendid dimensions, but totally void of ornament: plain white +stuccoed walls, and no furniture in the one but a few travelling +articles of our noble hosts; and in the other the dinner-table, +chairs, and benches of the most ordinary kind, evidently brought in +for the occasion. Long corridors running the whole length of the two +wings (standing at right angles to each other), with numerous rooms +of similar dimensions opening from them, seemed to be the plan of the +building. I suppose the dining-room must have been nearly 100 feet +long, nearly square, and about 18 or 20 feet high. In this the tables +were laid horse-shoe fashion. In the centre of the cross-table sat +Lord Uxbridge; on either hand Blucher and Wellington; then the Duke +of Brunswick; the hereditary Prince of Orange; his brother Prince +Frederick; Gneiseneau; Ziethen; Kleist; Dornberg; a Danish general +whose name I forget; Sir Frederick Arentschild, K.G.L. (the Duke of +Wellington’s favourite old hussar); Sir Sidney Smyth; Lords Hill, +Pack, Picton, Elly; and a host of illustrious names, foreign and +British, but not one Frenchman that I recollect. (Perhaps the affair +of the morning might have caused the absence of the Duc de Berri, +&c.) What names!--names familiar to every ear in the history of those +exciting times--names we pronounce with respect regarding those who +bear them as being removed above everyday life. But to have sat at +table with them, to have heard them called out in the familiarity of +everyday conversation--how strange! One can hardly imagine himself +thoroughly awake on such occasions. But to return. + +It was my good fortune to sit between Colonel Sir F. Arentschild and +another no less celebrated officer of the German Legion, Lieutenant +Strenuwitz, a Pole by birth, who had signalised himself on more than +one occasion in the Peninsula by attacking and capturing outposts. +We broke up at an early hour (too early, I think, for old Blucher, +who seemed to enjoy himself much), and retired to another room, where +coffee was served, and after some little conversation we dispersed. +In leaving the dining-room the Duke of Wellington stopped for a few +minutes to converse with old Arentschild, and, pinned in a corner by +them, I had time to contemplate, well and closely, our great leader. +At that time he certainly had not a grey hair in his head. + +It was getting dusk when I mounted my horse to return home, and the +people were beginning to discharge squibs and crackers on the street +of Ninove; the houses were decorated with garlands of laurel and +green boughs, so that everything wore an air of festivity. + +_May 30th._--How delightful the tranquillity of Strytem appears after +the stir and bustle of yesterday! The fields look more gay, the +woods and pleasure-grounds more lovely than ever. Yesterday morning +was passed amidst the din of arms and pomp of war--amidst crowds +of crested warriors and the clang of martial music--the evening in +festivity, amidst magnates of the earth. + +How differently has this lovely day glided by! The morning I +passed in a quiet peaceable ride amidst the charming scenery of +the neighbourhood--wandering through corn-fields, orchards, and +hop-grounds, and exploring the shady recesses of the Bois de +Liederkerke; the evening in voluptuous indolence, sauntering up and +down under the magnificent beeches of the great avenue, indulging +in fairy dreams, and listening to the rural sound that, from time +to time, broke on the stillness of the hour, whilst the smoke of +my cigar hung in wreaths around me as I occasionally stopped to +contemplate the scene. No living soul interrupted the solitude, +except once the gardener’s son, in his blue smock-frock, wooden +shoes, and dirty night-cap, with a long rusty old gun under his arm +and a short pipe in his mouth, crossed the avenue, marched up the +central path of the garden, and disappeared amongst the thickets of +the _pleasaunce_ beyond. He went, I knew (for he always said so), +to the Chasse aux Lièvres for the supply of our table; but as that +was badly supplied, we might have fancied our gamekeeper a bad shot, +had not our worthy doctor one evening (for what purpose he could +best say) also taken a ramble in the said _pleasaunce_, where, to +his infinite surprise, he stumbled upon our chasseur making love +to his sister’s _adjointe_ (a great Flanderkin of a Maritornes), +which instantly explained the deficiency of supply. There he went +then, as I said, for either purpose--his short pipe leaving a long +gossamer-like film of smoke behind him. And this digression brings me +to the close of this delightful day. + +The genial month of May thus terminated amidst the delightful +enjoyments of a country life, and June commenced under happy +auspices, little dreaming of the far different scenes we were +destined to witness ere yet another month had passed. + +The only event that marked this period of our tranquil, even-flowing +existence was the removal of our 1st division from the chateau farm, +in compliance with the urgent request of the farmer (Walsdragen), to +the pretty village of Yseringen, about a mile off, on the hill above +us. I regretted this separation of the troop, but could not withstand +the poor man’s solicitations, who expected every hour his wife’s +_accouchement_. As for the division, it benefited by the change. +The officer (Leathes) got most excellent quarters in a comfortable +well-furnished chateau, whilst his men and horses were equally well +lodged in the adjoining farm. Poor Walsdragen, however, could not +enjoy this relief, for, a few days after, the impending event took +place, and he lost his wife. I shall not forget in a hurry this +melancholy circumstance, for I charged myself with unkindness towards +him in his affliction by having so long withstood his solicitations +to be relieved of our people. I was walking in the avenue, as usual, +after dinner, enjoying my weed; the evening was calm and serene, +the sun just setting; no sound disturbed the stillness save the +hum of insects or the croaking of the frogs. Suddenly one of the +most terrific shrieks I ever heard burst forth, until the woods +rang again. At first, startled as I was, there was no saying whence +the sound came, and taking my cigar from my mouth, I had scarcely +assumed a listening attitude when, again and again, it was repeated +in a manner so appalling as to make my very flesh creep. It evidently +proceeded from the farm; but what could occasion such horrid cries? +This time they were succeeded by loud lamentations of many voices, +male and female. I hurried towards the farm, hardly knowing what to +conjecture. The first idea that flashed on me was an irruption of +some French party, who were plundering, murdering, &c. &c., and this, +in the first instance, seemed in some measure borne out when several +men, without hats, came rushing out of the farmyard with lamentable +cries, and passing by me without notice, proceeded to the bridge of +the chateau, and there, throwing themselves on their knees before an +image of the Virgin and child standing in a niche outside the chapel +already mentioned, commenced a most dolorous mixture of lamentation +and half-chanted supplication--part of a litany, I presume. I stood +somewhat puzzled. After a few minutes of this devotional exercise, +one of them ran away and brought a spade, with which he cut a large +sod, and the whole party hurried back to the house, carrying it +with them. At this moment St Cyr (one of our farmers, and the best +amongst them) came up, and, making Mynheer Walsdragen’s compliments, +reported from him, and at his desire, the death of his wife, which +had just taken place--a strange piece of etiquette at such a moment. +The sod, I learned, was to put under her head, an ancient practice +invariably observed. + +My first idea of an irruption of the enemy did not seem just now +quite so improbable, for we almost daily heard a good deal of firing +in the direction of Mons, and the peasantry were continually bringing +accounts of movements of the French army, none of which ever proved +true; and the firing, we afterwards learned, proceeded from the +practice of the Dutch or Belgic artillery at Mons. + +Our host, the Baron van Lombeke, paid us a visit about the beginning +of this month for the first time. The ostensible motive for this +visit was an inspection of the roads, which he said were immediately +to be put in a complete state of repair. He stayed three or four days +with us, during which his excursions never extended further than the +major’s or the curé’s, so that he saw but little of the roads--which, +together with the circumstance of his having arrived only a few days +before from Paris, induced a suspicion that his real business was +of a very different nature--possibly to ascertain the strength and +positions of our cavalry corps, or something of the sort. + +It seemed odd enough receiving a man as a guest in his own house; +our servants prepared a room for him, and he was waited upon by the +old gardener. Of course he dined, or rather supped, with us; for +I believe he usually partook of the curé’s dinner at one o’clock. +Although what we should call rather vulgar-looking, yet we found +M. le Baron exceedingly well-informed, perfectly the gentleman in +manners, and upon the whole an agreeable acquisition to our little +party. His gardens, and everything about the place, he begged us to +consider as our own. We had done so already; however, we took the +thing as it was meant--a mere compliment; but we felt that there was +more sincerity in the contrast he drew between ourselves and the +Prussians, and the repeated assertions of his satisfaction in having +his chateau occupied by us instead of by them. + +Finding me in want of books, he kindly promised to send me some from +Brussels; and I was agreeably surprised at his punctuality, when, a +day or two after his departure, the old gardener brought me the five +volumes of ‘The Hermit of the Chaussée d’Antin’--a work new to me, +and to which I was indebted for several most agreeable evenings. + +The day marked for our advance into France now approached; and +although no confirmation of the rumour reached us, yet we began to +prepare for it as confidently as if already given out in general +orders. Meantime, as will be seen, our friends beyond the border were +scrutinising our intentions pretty closely. + +It was on the evening of the 15th June, and about sunset or a +little later, that an officer of hussars rode into the village +of Yseringen, Leathes being at the time at dinner with me at our +chateau. He was dressed as our hussars usually were when riding +about the country--blue frock, scarlet waistcoat laced with gold, +pantaloons, and forage-cap of the 7th Hussars. He was mounted on a +smart pony, with plain saddle and bridle; was without sword or sash, +and carried a small whip;--in short, his costume and _monture_ were +correct in every particular. Moreover, he aped to the very life that +“devil-may-care” _nonchalant_ air so frequently characterising our +young men of fashion. Seeing some of our gunners standing at the +door of a house, he desired them to go for their officer, as he +wished to see him. They called the sergeant, who told him that the +officer was not in the village. In an authoritative tone he then +demanded how many men and horses were quartered there, whose troop +they belonged to, where the remainder of the troop was quartered, +and of what it consisted? When all these questions were answered, +he told the sergeant that he had been sent by Lord Uxbridge to +order accommodation to be provided for two hundred horses, and +that ours must consequently be put up as close as possible. The +sergeant replied that there was not room in the village for a single +additional horse. “Oh, we’ll soon see that,” said he; pointing to +one of the men who stood by, “Do you go and tell the _maire_ to come +instantly to me.” The _maire_ came, and confirmed the sergeant’s +statement, upon which our friend, flying into a passion, commenced +in excellent French to abuse the poor functionary like a pickpocket, +threatening to send a whole regiment into the village; and then, +after a little further conversation with the sergeant, he mounted +his pony and rode off just as Leathes returned to the village. Upon +reporting the circumstance to the officer, the sergeant stated that +he thought this man had appeared anxious to avoid him, having +ridden off rather in a hurry when he appeared, which, together with +a slight foreign accent, then for the first time excited a suspicion +of his being a spy, which had not occurred to the sergeant before, +as he knew there were several foreign officers in our hussars, and +that the 10th was actually then commanded by one--Colonel Quentin. +The suspicion was afterwards confirmed, for upon inquiry I found +that no officer had been sent by Lord Uxbridge on any such mission. +Our friend deserved to escape, for he was a bold and clever fellow. +A brother emissary, however, who visited Lombeke Notre Dame the +same evening, was not quite so prudent nor so fortunate, for he was +caught by the sentinel in the act of examining the guns of Sinclair’s +Brigade by aid of a dark-lantern and made prisoner; but in the +hubbub of marching the next morning made his escape, and was heard +of no more. We afterwards learned that a number of officers had been +sent the same evening into our cantonments to ascertain whether we +remained quiet, &c. &c. + +Spite of my eagerness for more active service, it was not without +regret that I saw the time approach when I expected to leave for ever +the tranquil abode of Strytem; and some such thoughts occupied me +this very evening (_15th_), as I sauntered about the great avenue +after Leathes had left me. Most of the other officers had gone to +the ball at Brussels, and I remained quite alone. The balmy softness +of the air, the beauty and repose of the scenery, were, I thought, +more exquisite than ever; and I continued in the avenue until the +increasing obscurity of the evening drove me in to enjoy an hour or +two with ‘The Hermit of the Chaussée D’Antin’; ere I retired for the +night. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +_June 16th._--It would appear that our Quartermaster-General of +the cavalry took a peculiar pleasure in disturbing people at very +unseasonable hours. He served me so at Dendermonde, and now he has +done precisely the same at Strytem. As on that occasion, I was +sound asleep when my servant, bustling into the room, awoke me +_en sursaut_. He brought a note which an orderly hussar had left, +and ridden off immediately. The note had nothing official in its +appearance, and might have been an invitation to dinner; but the +unceremonious manner in which the hussar had gone off without his +receipt looked curious. My despatch was totally deficient in date, so +that time and place were left to conjecture; its contents pithy--they +were as follows, viz.:-- + + “Captain Mercer’s troop will proceed with the utmost diligence + to Enghien, where he will meet Major M‘Donald, who will point out + the ground on which it is to bivouac to-night. + + “Signed, * * * + D.A.Q.M.-Gen.” + +That we were to move forward, then, was certain. It was rather +sudden, to be sure, and all the whys and wherefores were left +to conjecture; but the suddenness of it, and the importance of +arriving quickly at the appointed place, rather alarmed me, for +upon reflection I remembered that I had been guilty of two or three +imprudences. First, all my officers were absent; secondly, all my +country waggons were absent; thirdly, a whole division (one-third +of my troop) was absent at Yseringen. “_Send the sergeant-major +here_,” was the first order, as I drew on my stockings. “_Send for Mr +Coates_” (my commissariat officer), the second, as I got one leg into +my overalls. “_William, make haste and get breakfast_,” the third, +as I buttoned them up. The sergeant-major soon came, and received +his orders to turn out instanter, with the three days’ provisions +and forage[11] in the havresacks and on the horses; also to send +an express for the first division. He withdrew, and immediately the +fine martial clang of “boot-and-saddle” resounded through the village +and courts of the chateau, making the woods ring again, and even the +frogs stop to listen. + +The commissary soon made his appearance. “What! are we off, sir?” +“Yes, without delay; and you must collect your waggons as quickly as +possible.” “I fear, Captain Mercer, that will take some time, for St +Cyr’s are gone to Ninove.” My folly here stared me full in the face. +Mr Coates said he would do his utmost to collect them; and as he was +a most active, intelligent, and indefatigable fellow, I communicated +to him my orders and determination not to wait, desiring him to +follow us as soon as he possibly could. My first-enumerated care was +speedily removed, for I learned that the officers had just arrived +and were preparing for the march, having known of it at Brussels ere +we did. The two divisions in Strytem were ready to turn out in a few +minutes after the “boot-and-saddle” had resounded, but, as I feared, +the first kept us waiting until near seven o’clock before it made its +appearance. This delay allowed us time to make a hearty breakfast; +and, in the uncertainty of when we should get another meal, we each +stowed away a double portion of Walsdragen’s fine eggs. At length the +first division arrived, and the animating and soul-stirring notes +of the “turn-out” again awoke the echoes of the hills and woods. Up +jumped my old dog Bal, and away to parade and increase the bustle +by jumping at the horses’ noses and barking, as parade formed. Away +went the officers to inspect their divisions, and Milward is leading +my impatient charger Cossac up and down the court. I linger to take +a last look of my antique apartment, and bid farewell to my mute +companions the Van Voldens. + +The gardener, his son, and Mdlle. Mon-père-dit, with her pale face +rendered still paler by the agitation of the morning, stand drawn up +in the court, precisely in the same order and on the same ground as +on the day of our arrival. With a profusion of blessings, &c., they +thank me for the great care we have taken of the chateau, and for the +very liberal gratuity which our paymaster, the doctor (Hitchins), +had bestowed upon them. They wish me all manner of success, but +fear we shall have bloody work. The old man mutters something about +Buonaparte _capôte_, which I do not understand, but take for granted +is something friendly, so return thanks, mount my horse, and, once +more, adieu Strytem. + +We had cleared the village and marched some miles well enough, +being within the range of my daily rides; but, this limit passed, I +was immediately sensible of another error--that of having started +without a guide, for the roads became so numerous, intricate, and +bad, often resembling only woodmen’s tracks, that I was sorely +puzzled, spite of the map I carried in my _sabretache_, to pick +out my way. But a graver error still I had now to reproach myself +with, and one that might have been attended with fatal consequences. +Eager to get on, and delayed by the badness of the roads, I left +all my ammunition-waggons behind, under charge of old Hall, my +quartermaster-sergeant, to follow us, and then pushed on with the +guns alone, thus foolishly enough dividing my troops into three +columns--viz., the guns, ammunition-waggons, and the column of +provision waggons under the commissary. For this piece of folly I +paid dearly in the anxiety I suffered throughout this eventful day, +which at times was excessive. + +Rid of all encumbrances, we trotted merrily on whenever the road +permitted, and, arriving at Castre (an old Roman legionary station), +found there the 23d Light Dragoons just turning out, having also +received orders to march upon Enghien. A Captain Dance, with whom I +rode a short distance, told me he had been at the ball at Brussels +last night, and that, when he left the room, the report was that +Blucher had been attacked in the morning, but that he had repulsed +the enemy with great slaughter, was following up the blow, and that +our advance was to support him. The road for the last few miles had +been upon a more elevated country, not so wooded--a sort of plateau, +consequently hard and dry; but immediately on passing Castre, we +came to a piece which appeared almost impassable for about a hundred +yards--a perfect black bog, across which a corduroy road had been +made, but not kept in repair, consequently the logs, having decayed, +left immense gaps. The 23d floundered through this with difficulty, +and left us behind. How we got through with our 9-pounders, the +horses slipping up to the shoulders between the logs every minute, +I know not; but through we did get, and without accident, but it +took time to do so. About noon, after threading our way through +more mud and many watery lanes, doubtful if we were in the right +direction, we came out upon a more open and dry country close to a +park, which, upon inquiry, proved to be that of Enghien. To the +same point various columns of cavalry were converging, and under the +park wall we found Sir Ormsby Vandeleur’s brigade of light dragoons, +dismounted and feeding their horses. Here we also dismounted to +await the arrival of Major M‘Donald; and as I looked upon the day’s +march as finished, deferred feeding until our bivouac should be +established--another folly, for an officer in campaign should never +lose an opportunity of feeding, watering, or resting his horses, &c. +Attracted by the novelty of the scene and the fineness of the day, +we had numerous gay visitors here--ladies and gentlemen--who had +stationed themselves within the park, enhancing by their presence +the gaiety of the scene, for we had halted immediately under the +park wall, and at the point where the road to Braine le Comte by +Steenkerke branched off from the one we were on. All the corps as +they arrived, I observed, took this road, and continued onwards, +which made me somewhat impatient lest I should have halted short +of my destination. Having waited a good half-hour, and no Major +M‘Donald appearing, I began to look about for some one who could +give me information, but no staff-officer was to be seen, and no +one else knew anything about the matter. Corps after corps arrived +and passed on, generally without even halting, yet all professing +ignorance of their destination. Pleasant situation this! Sir Ormsby’s +dragoons were by this time bridling up their horses and rolling up +their nosebags, evidently with the intention of moving off. Seeing +this, I sought out the general, whom I found seated against the bank, +that, instead of a hedge, bordered the road. Whether naturally a +savage, or that he feared committing himself, I know not, but Sir +Ormsby cut my queries short with an asperity totally uncalled for. “I +know nothing about you, sir! I know nothing at all about you!” “But +you will perhaps have the goodness to tell me where you are going +yourself?” “I know nothing at all about it, sir! I told you already +I know nothing at all about _you_!” and starting abruptly from his +seat, my friend mounted his horse, and (I suppose by instinct) took +the road towards Steenkerke, followed by his brigade, leaving me +and mine alone in the road, more disagreeably situated than ever. +I now began to reflect very seriously on the “_to stay_” or “_not +to stay_.” In the former case I bade fair to have the ground all to +myself, for although everybody I spoke to denied having any orders, +yet all kept moving in one and the same direction. In the latter +case, my orders in writing certainly were to stay; but circumstances +might have occurred since to change this, and the new order might not +have reached me. Moreover, it was better to get into a scrape for +fighting than keeping out of the way, so I made up my mind to move +forward too. Accordingly I had already mounted my people when Sir +H. Vivian’s brigade of hussars, followed by Major Bull’s troop of +our horse-artillery, passed. Bull I found was, like myself, without +orders, but he thought it best to stick close to the cavalry, and +advised me to do the same, which I did, following him and them on +the road to Steenkerke. The country about this place appeared more +bare and forbidding than any I had yet seen in the Pays Bas. Just as +we moved off, the column of Household troops made its appearance, +advancing from Ninove, and taking the same direction. + +It was now that the recollection of my absent waggons began to +torment me, and I actually feared never to see them again. However, +there was no help for it now, and I continued onward. + +A few miles farther we crossed the Senne by an old stone bridge, +and about four in the afternoon arrived at Braine le Comte, almost +ravenous with hunger, and roasted alive by the burning sun under +which we had been marching all day. The country had improved and +become more wooded, so that the town looked pretty, surrounded as it +is by gardens and trees. We were not allowed (why, I know not) to +see more; for on arriving at one end of it we turned into a road on +the left, and so, making a circuit round the back of the gardens, +came out at the other end on a piece of bare ground, where we found +several regiments drawn up in close columns, dismounted and feeding. +It was somewhere between Enghien and Braine le Comte that we met an +aide-de-camp (I believe one of the Duke’s) posting away as fast as +his poor tired beast could get along, and dressed in his embroidered +suit, white pantaloons, &c. &c., having evidently mounted as he left +the ball-room. This, I remember, struck us at the time as rather odd, +but we had no idea of the real state of our affairs. + +We had formed up, and were feeding also, but the nosebags were +scarcely put on the poor horses’ heads than the cavalry corps, +mounting again, moved off, one after the other, and we were +constrained to follow ere the animals had half finished. Here, as +before, I could obtain no intelligence respecting our march, the +direction and meaning of which all I spoke to professed a profound +ignorance. Whilst halting, Hitchins, slipping into the town, brought +us out a couple of bottles of wine, the which we passed round from +one to the other without any scruple about sucking it all out of +one muzzle. This renewal of our march was a sad disappointment, for +on finding the cavalry assembled here, we made sure they were only +waiting until the different bivouacs could be arranged, when we +should settle ourselves for the night. + +In marching round the town, many of the houses had a sort of gallery +behind them, which were filled with spectators, particularly many +priests. The gardens were very pretty, and I could not but contrast +the comparative luxury of these people, snug and comfortable, and +sure of their bed when night came on, with our own vagabond situation. + +The country beyond Braine le Comte was pretty, the usual rich and +wooded champaign extending to the foot of an abrupt ridge of hills, +covered with forest to the summit, and toward which our road lay. + +A little hamlet (Long Tour, I think) lay at the foot of the +hills, the straggling street of which we found so crowded with +baggage-waggons of some Hanoverian or other foreign corps, that for +a long while we were unable to pass. The cavalry, therefore, left +us behind, for they broke into the adjoining fields until they had +cleared the impediment. Although annoyed at being thus hindered, +I could not but admire the lightness, and even elegance, of the +little waggons, with their neat white tilts, and as neat and pretty +_jungfrauen_ who were snugly seated under them. We found the ascent +of the hills more difficult than we expected, the road, which went up +in a zigzag (indeed, it could not have been otherwise), little better +than a woodman’s track, much cut up, and exceedingly steep--so much +so, that we found it necessary to double-horse all our carriages, +by taking only half up at once. This delayed us considerably; but, +impatient as I was to get on, I was pleased at not being hurried +through this charming forest-scenery. The hills, as I said, rose +abruptly, and with a very steep acclivity, their sides being covered +with noble forest-trees, amongst the boles of which the eye ranged +without impediment--there being little or no underwood--occasionally +catching glimpses through the foliage of the rich and varied plain +which we had left, and of the grey buildings of Braine le Comte +embosomed in verdure. Groups of dragoons and hussars, mingling with +our guns, &c., all scrambling up the steep ascent, seen amongst the +gigantic trunks of the trees and by the softened light of the forest, +presented delicious pictures. Nor were these less interesting from +the accompanying sounds--the dull tramp of the horses, the rattling +of sabres, and the voices of command, all magnified by the echo +of the forest, which was such that one might have fancied himself +speaking under a vault. + +At length the whole of our carriages were on the summit, but we +were now quite alone, all the cavalry having gone on; and thus we +continued our march on an elevated plateau, still covered with +forest,[12] thicker and more gloomy than ever--here and there passing +a farm and small clearing of a few fields, and then again plunging +into the cool dark woods. At one of these farms I got a draught of +new milk--very grateful after such a hot march and long fast. At +length we had crossed the forest, and found ourselves on the verge of +a declivity which stretched away less abruptly than the one we had +ascended, consequently presenting a more extensive slope, down which +our road continued. A most extensive view lay before us; and now for +the first time, as emerging from the woods, we became sensible of +a dull, sullen sound that filled the air, somewhat resembling that +of a distant water-mill, or still more distant thunder. On clearing +the wood, it became more distinct, and its character was no longer +questionable--heavy firing of cannon and musketry, which could now +be distinguished from each other plainly. We could also hear the +musketry in volleys and independent firing. The extensive view below +us was bounded towards the horizon by a dark line of wood, above +which, in the direction of the cannonade, volumes of grey smoke +arose, leaving no doubt of what was going on. The object of our march +was now evident, and we commenced descending the long slope with an +animation we had not felt before. + +It was here that Major M‘Donald overtook us, and without adverting to +the bivouac at Enghien, of which probably he had never heard, gave me +orders to attach myself to the Household brigade, under Lord Edward +Somerset, but no instructions where or when. I took care not to tell +him they were in the rear, lest he might order us to halt for them, +which would have been a sore punishment to people excited as we now +were by the increasing roar of the battle evidently going on, and +hoped that by marching faster they might soon overtake us. Just at +this moment a cabriolet, driving at a smart pace, passed us. In it +was seated an officer of the Guards, coat open and snuffbox in hand. +I could not but admire the perfect _nonchalance_ with which my man +was thus hurrying forward to join in a bloody combat--much, perhaps, +in the same manner, though certainly not in the same costume, as he +might drive to Epsom or Ascot Heath. The descent terminated in a +picturesque hollow, with a broad pool, dark and calm, and beyond it +an old mill, perfectly in keeping with the scene. The opportunity of +watering our poor brutes was too good to be missed, and I accordingly +ordered a halt for that purpose. Whilst so employed, an aide-de-camp, +descending from a singular knoll above us, on which I had noticed a +group of officers looking out with their glasses in the direction of +the battle, came to summons me to Sir Hussey Vivian, who was one of +them. + +On ascending the knoll, Sir Hussey called to me in a hurried manner +to make haste. “Who do you belong to?” said he. I told him, as also +that the brigade was yet in the rear. “Well,” he replied, “never +mind; there is something serious going on, to judge from that heavy +firing, and artillery must be wanted; therefore bring up your guns +as fast as you can, and join my hussars: can you keep up?” “I hope +so, sir.” “Well, come along without delay; we must move smartly.” In +a few minutes our people, guns and all, were on the hill. The hussars +mounted, set off at a brisk trot, and we followed. Alas! thought I, +where are my ammunition-waggons? Neither this anxiety, however, nor +the excitement of the moment, were sufficient to shut my eyes to the +beautiful picture on that knoll. Conceive a point of ground standing +forth with precipitous slopes over the hollow already mentioned, with +its picturesque mill and calm glassy pool; on this ground, happily +grouped, a band of warriors, in dresses not less picturesque, beneath +a huge cross of the rudest workmanship; a few Salvator-like trees +complete the foreground, the distance presenting a rich and varied +scene of corn-fields (now yellow), and pastures of the liveliest +green, and sombre wood--the whole extending away till in the distance +all the features are massed and mellowed into indistinctness and +purply vapour. Such was the scene. The hussars, to lighten their +horses, untied the nets containing their hay, and the mouths of their +corn-bags, which falling from them as they trotted on, the road was +soon covered with hay and oats. We did not follow their example, and, +although dragging with us 9-pounders, preserved our forage, and also +our place in the column. + +By-and-by a large town appeared in front of us, and the increasing +intensity of the cannonade, and volumes of smoke about the trees, led +us to suppose the battle near at hand, and on the hill just beyond +the town. This town was Nivelle. + +Another beautiful scene, and one full of excitement, now presented +itself. We were descending by a gentle slope toward Nivelle, which +lay spread out before us--its towers and masses of building, +especially what appeared to be the ruins of an ancient castle, +sweetly touched by the golden light of the setting sun, whilst the +greater part lay in deep-toned purple obscurity. Fine trees, with +dark overhanging foliage, bordering the road, formed a foreground and +frame, as it were, to this picture. Beyond the town the ground rose, +also in shadowy obscurity, crowned with sombre woods, over which +ascended the greyish blue smoke of the battle, now apparently so near +that we fancied we could hear the shouts of the combatants--a fancy +strengthened by crowds of people on the heights, whom we mistook for +troops--inhabitants of Nivelle, as we soon discovered, seeking to +get a sight of the fearful tragedy then enacting. Before entering +the town we halted for a moment, lighted our slow matches, put shot +into our leathern cartouches, loaded the guns with powder, and stuck +priming wires into the vents to prevent the cartridges slipping +forward, and, thus prepared for immediate action, again moved on. + +On entering the town what a scene presented itself! How different +from the repose of the country we had been traversing all day! There +all was peace and tranquillity, undisturbed--absolutely undisturbed, +except by the hurried march of successive columns along the highroad. +There the rustic pursued his wonted labours as in profound peace, +the mill went its rumbling round, the birds carolled on the spray. +True, the sounds of battle came borne on the evening breeze--the +brattle of musketry and the boom of cannon shook the air; but it +was distant--very distant--and might be heard, and the ascending +smoke seen, with that sort of thrilling sensation with which we +witness the progress of the storm when we ourselves are secure from +its effects. Here, on the contrary, all was confusion, agitation, +and movement. The danger was impending; explosion after explosion, +startling from their vicinity, and clattering peals of musketry, like +those lengthened thunder-claps which announce to us so awfully the +immediate neighbourhood of the electric cloud. The whole population +of Nivelle was in the streets, doors and windows all wide open, +whilst the inmates of the houses, male and female, stood huddled +together in little groups like frightened sheep, or were hurrying +along with the distracted air of people uncertain where they are +going, or what they are doing. The scene was strangely interesting. +In a sort of square which we traversed, a few soldiers, with the air +of citizens (probably a municipal guard), were drawn up in line, +looking anxiously about them at the numerous bleeding figures which +we now began to meet. Some were staggering along unaided, the blood +falling from them in large drops as they went. One man we met was +wounded in the head; pale and ghastly, with affrighted looks and +uncertain step, he evidently knew little of where he was, or what +passed about him, though still he staggered forward, the blood +streaming down his face on to the greatcoat which he wore rolled over +his left shoulder. An anxious crowd was collecting round him as we +passed on. Then came others supported between two comrades, their +faces deadly pale, and knees yielding at every step. At every step, +in short, we met numbers, more or less wounded, hurrying along in +search of that assistance which many would never live to receive, and +others receive too late. Priests were running to and fro, hastening +to assist at the last moments of a dying man; all were in haste--all +wore that abstracted air so inseparable from those engaged in an +absorbing pursuit. There were women, too, mingling in this scene of +agitation. Ladies, fair delicate ladies, stood on the steps at the +doors of several handsome houses, their hands folded before them, as +if in the agony of suspense, and with an air of deprecation, their +eyes wandering over the excited crowd, whilst ever and anon they +would move their lips as if in prayer. I thought as we passed along +they looked at us, and prayed for our safety and success. I gave +them credit for it, at least, and the very idea had the effect of +inspiration. Strange that the sight--nay, often the recollection--of +all that is tender and compassionate, of woman, should have the +effect of stimulating us to martial deeds. The little knots of +excited citizens assembled on our route would cease their energetic +declamations, and turn to look at us as we passed along. Many would +run up, and, patting our horses’ necks, would call down benedictions +on us, and bid us hasten to the fight ere it were yet too late, or +utter trembling and not loud shouts of “Vivent les Anglais!” A few +there were who stood apart, with gloomy discontented looks, eyeing +their fellow-citizens with evident contempt, and us with scowls, not +unmixed with derision, as they marked our dusty and jaded appearance. +Through all this crowd we held our way, and soon began to ascend +the hill beyond the town, where we entered a fine chaussée bordered +by elms, expecting every moment to enter on the field of action, +the roar of which appeared quite close to us. It was, however, yet +distant. + +The road was covered with soldiers, many of them wounded, but also +many apparently untouched. The numbers thus leaving the field +appeared extraordinary. Many of the wounded had six, eight, ten, and +even more, attendants. When questioned about the battle, and why they +left it, the answer was invariably, “Monsieur, tout est perdu! les +Anglais sont abimés, en déroute, abimés, tous, tous, tous!” and then, +nothing abashed, these fellows would resume their hurried route. My +countrymen will rejoice to learn that amongst this dastardly crew not +one Briton appeared. Whether they were of Nassau or Belgians, I know +not; they were one or the other--I think the latter. One red-coat +we did meet--not a fugitive though, for he was severely wounded. +This man was a private of the 92d (Gordon Highlanders), a short, +rough, hardy-looking fellow, with the national high cheek-bones, and +a complexion that spoke of many a bivouac. He came limping along, +evidently with difficulty and suffering. I stopped him to ask news +of the battle, telling him what I had heard from the others. “Na, +na, sir, it’s aw a damned lee; they war fechtin’ yat an I laft ’em; +but it’s a bludy business, and thar’s na saying fat may be the end +on’t. Oor ragiment was nigh clean swapt off, and oor Colonel kilt +jist as I cam awa.” Upon inquiring about his own wound, we found +that a musket-ball had lodged in his knee, or near it; accordingly +Hitchins, dismounting, seated him on the parapet of a little bridge +we happened to be on, extracted the ball in a few minutes, and, +binding up the wound, sent him hobbling along towards Nivelle, +not having extracted a single exclamation from the poor man, who +gratefully thanked him as he resumed his way. A little further on, +and as it began to grow dusk, we traversed the village of Hautain le +Val, where a very different scene presented itself. Here, in a large +cabaret by the roadside, we saw through the open windows the rooms +filled with soldiers, cavalry and infantry; some standing about in +earnest conversation, others seated round tables, smoking, carousing, +and thumping the board with clenched fists, as they related with loud +voices--what?--most likely their own gallant exploits. About the door +their poor horses, tied to a rail, showed by their drooping heads, +shifting legs, and the sweat drying and fuming on their soiled coats, +that their exertions at least had been of no trivial nature. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +The firing began to grow slacker, and even intermitting, as we +entered on the field of Quatre Bras--our horses stumbling from time +to time over corpses of the slain, which they were too tired to step +over. The shot and shells which flew over our line of march from time +to time (some of the latter bursting beyond us) were sufficient to +enable us to say we had been _in_ the battle of Quatre Bras, for such +was the name of the place where we now arrived, just too late to be +useful. In all directions the busy hum of human voices was heard; +the wood along the skirts of which we marched re-echoed clearly and +loudly the tones of the bugle, which ever and anon were overpowered +by the sullen roar of cannon, or the sharper rattle of musketry; dark +crowds of men moved in the increasing obscurity of evening, and the +whole scene seemed alive with them. What a moment of excitement and +anxiety as we proceeded amongst all this tumult, and amidst the dead +and dying, ignorant as yet how the affair had terminated! Arrived at +a mass of buildings, where four roads met (_les quatre bras_), Major +M‘Donald again came up with orders for us to bivouac on an adjoining +field, where, accordingly, we established ourselves amongst the +remains of a wheat crop. + +Our men dismounted, and the horses tied up to the wheels of the +carriages, every one was despatched with canteens and water-buckets +to a well at the farm, to procure water for themselves and horses. +This being the only water in the immediate neighbourhood, the crowd +of all arms was so great about it that our people were employed fully +two hours after halting ere they had completed watering their horses. +They were then fed with corn, whilst eating which, a patch of wheat +still standing was discovered near our bivouac. This we immediately +cut or pulled up, and thus saved our hay, for there was sufficient +to employ the poor brutes all night, if they preferred eating to +sleeping. + +Our animals cared for, the next consideration was ourselves. The +men had provisions ready cooked in their havresacks, and therefore +soon made themselves comfortable; but we had nothing, could procure +nothing, and were likely to go supperless to bed. We had assembled in +a little circle, discussing the events of the day previous to lying +down, when, to our no small joy, the doctor made his appearance, +followed by one of the servants bearing the remnant of a large +meat-pie that yesterday had formed _part_ of our dinner at Strytem, +and which he, with laudable zeal and presence of mind, had in the +hurry-scurry of the morning thrust into our little cart, thinking, +good man, it might prove useful. No one can doubt that it did so in +a degree; but the sixth part of the _remnant_ of a pie went little +way to satisfy the cravings of our stomachs, which had had so long +a holiday. However, it was something, and we were grateful for it, +and thankful to our worthy Esculapius for having been so provident. +The meal ended and cigars lighted, we sat enveloped in our cloaks, +chatting and listening to the Babel-like confusion at the well, where +crowds were still struggling for water, until, one by one, we sank on +the ground, overcome by sleep, which for my part remained unbroken +until the grey dawn began to peep of the + +_17th June_, when a popping fire of musketry, apparently close at +hand, aroused me again to consciousness of my situation. At first +I could not imagine where I was. I looked straight up, and the +stars were twinkling over me in a clear sky. I put out a hand from +beneath my cloak, and felt clods of damp earth and stalks of straw. +The brattle of musketry increased, and then the consciousness of +my situation came gradually over me. Although somewhat chilly, I +was still drowsy, and, regardless of what might be going on, had +turned on my side and began to doze again, when one of my neighbours +started up with the exclamation, “I wonder what all that firing +means!” This in an instant dispelled all desire to sleep; and up +I got too, mechanically repeating his words, and rubbing my eyes +as I began to peer about. One of the first, and certainly the most +gratifying, sights that met my inquiring gaze, was Quartermaster +Hall, who had arrived during the night with all his charge safe and +sound. He had neither seen nor heard, however, of Mr Coates and his +train of country waggons, for whom I began now to entertain serious +apprehensions. From whatever the musketry might proceed, we could see +nothing--not even the flashes; but the increasing light allowed me to +distinguish numberless dark forms on the ground all around me, people +slumbering still, regardless of the firing that had aroused me. At +a little distance numerous white discs, which were continually in +motion, changing place and disappearing, to be succeeded by others, +puzzled me exceedingly, and I could not even form a conjecture as +to what they might be. Watching them attentively, I was still more +surprised when some of these white objects ascended from the ground +and suddenly disappeared; but the mystery was soon explained by the +increasing light, which gave to my view a corps of Nassau troops +lying on the ground, having white tops to their shakos. Daylight +now gradually unfolded to us our situation. We were on a plateau +which had been covered with corn, now almost everywhere trodden +down. Four roads, as already mentioned, met a little to the right +of our front, and just at that point stood a farmhouse, which, with +its outbuildings, yard, &c., was enclosed by a very high wall. This +was the farm of Quatre Bras. Beyond it, looking obliquely to the +right, the wood (in which the battle still lingered when we arrived +last night) stretched away some distance along the roads to Nivelle +and Charleroi, which last we understood lay in front, but far out +of sight. Along the continuation of the Charleroi road, and in the +direction of Brussels, a little in rear of our right, a few cottages +scattered along it had their little gardens enclosed by banks, with +here and there an elder or some such bush growing on them; and these +were the only enclosures to be seen, all the rest being a wide extent +of corn-land without hedge or wall. On the farther side of the road, +beyond the cottages, the fields were interspersed with thickets of +underwood and a few clumps of trees, which shut in the view in that +direction. To the rear the country appeared perfectly naked and +open. To the left (I always speak with reference to the enemy whom +we fronted) the ground descended very gradually for about two miles, +where it appeared bounded by a long wood extending far away towards +Brussels. In front it descended more abruptly; and then there was a +plain about a mile in breadth extending along our front, from the +wood on the left to that on the right. The great road from Nivelle +to Namur, crossing that from Brussels to Charleroi at Quatre Bras, +ran along this plain, whilst the direction of the latter was nearly +perpendicular to our position. Beyond this plain the ground rose +again to a height somewhat superior to that on which we stood, and +another large wood extended on it from opposite the one on our left, +apparently half-way to that on the right, having the declivity +towards us laid out in fields enclosed by pretty thick hedges. +Between these two woods the opening gave us an extensive view over +the country, in the direction of Gembloux and Namur. + +On the Charleroi road and in the plain was a small village (Frasnes), +with its church, just beyond which the road ascended the heights, +on the open part of which, between the road and the wood towards +the left, was the bivouac of the French army opposed to us. Its +advanced-posts were in the valley near Frasnes, and ours opposite to +them--our main body occupying the ground between Quatre Bras and the +wood on the left. A smart skirmish was going on amongst the hedges, +&c., already mentioned, and this was the firing we had heard all +the morning. Our infantry were lying about, cleaning their arms, +cooking, or amusing themselves, totally regardless of the skirmish. +This, however, from our position, was a very interesting sight to +me, for the slope of the ground enabled me to see distinctly all +the manœuvres of both parties, as on a plan. After much firing from +the edge of the wood, opposite which our riflemen occupied all the +hedges, I saw the French chasseurs suddenly make a rush forward +in all directions, whilst the fire of our people became thicker +and faster than ever. Many of the former scampered across the open +fields until they reached the nearest hedges, whilst others ran +crouching under cover of those perpendicular to their front, and the +whole succeeded in establishing themselves--thus forcing back and +gaining ground on our men. The fire then again became sharper than +ever--sometimes the French were driven back; and this alternation I +watched with great interest until summoned to Major M‘Donald, who +brought us orders for the day. From him I first learned the result +of the action of yesterday--the retreat of the Prussians, and that +we were to do so too. His directions to me were that I should follow +some corps of infantry, or something of the sort; for what followed +caused me to forget it all: “_Major Ramsay’s troop_,” he said, “_will +remain in the rear with the cavalry, to cover the retreat; but I will +not conceal from you that it falls to your turn to do this, if you +choose it_.” The Major looked rather conscience-stricken as he made +this avowal, so, to relieve him, I begged he would give the devil +his due and me mine. Accordingly all the others marched off, and as +nothing was likely to take place immediately, we amused ourselves by +looking on at what was doing. Just at this moment an amazing outcry +arose amongst the infantry at the farm, who were running towards us +in a confused mass, shouting and bellowing, jostling and pushing +each other. I made sure the enemy’s cavalry had made a dash amongst +them, especially as the fire of the skirmishers became thicker and +apparently nearer, when the thing was explained by a large pig, +squealing as if already stuck, bursting from the throng by which he +was beset in all directions. Some struck at him with axes, others +with the butts of their muskets, others stabbed at him with bayonets. +The chase would have been amusing had it not been so brutal; and I +have seldom experienced greater horror than I did on this occasion +when the poor brute, staggering from the repeated blows he received, +was at last brought to the ground by at least half-a-dozen bayonets +plunged into him at once. + +All this time our retreat was going on very quietly. The corps at +Quatre Bras had retired early in the morning and been replaced by +others from the left, and this continued constantly--every corps +halting for a time on the ground near Quatre Bras until another from +the left arrived, these moving off on the great road to Brussels, +ceding the ground to the new-comers. + +At first every one, exulting in the success of yesterday--the having +repulsed the enemy with a handful of men, as it were, unsupported by +cavalry and with very little artillery--anticipated, now our army +was united, nothing less than an immediate attack on the French +position. We were sadly knocked down, then, when the certainty of +our retreat became known. It was in vain we were told the retreat +was only a manœuvre of concentration; the most gloomy anticipations +pervaded every breast. About this time Sir Alexander Dickson paid me +a visit, having just arrived from New Orleans, where he commanded the +artillery, to be our Deputy-Quartermaster-General. He only stayed a +few minutes. + +As the infantry corps on the plateau became fewer, the fire of the +skirmishers amongst the hedges gradually relaxed, and at length +ceased--the Rifles, &c., being withdrawn, and following the line of +retreat. At last, about noon, I found myself left with my troop, +quite alone, on the brow of the position, just by the farm of Quatre +Bras--the only troops in sight being a small picket of hussars, near +the village of Frasnes, in the plain below; a few more in our rear, +but at some little distance, amongst the houses; and a brigade of +hussars[13] far away to the left (about two miles), close to the +wood in that quarter. Thus solitary, as it were, I had ample leisure +to contemplate the scene of desolation around me, so strangely at +variance with the otherwise smiling landscape. Everywhere mementoes +of yesterday’s bloody struggle met the eye--the corn trampled down, +and the ground, particularly in the plain, plentifully besprinkled +with bodies of the slain. Just in front of the farm of Quatre Bras +there was a fearful scene of slaughter--Highlanders and cuirassiers +lying thickly strewn about; the latter appeared to have charged up +the Charleroi road, on which, and immediately bordering it, they lay +most numerously. + +In communicating to me the orders of our retreat, Major M‘Donald +had reiterated that to join Lord Edward Somerset’s brigade without +delay, but still he could not tell me where this brigade was to be +found. Meantime Sir Ormsby Vandeleur’s brigade of light dragoons +having formed up in front of the houses, and supposing from this +that all the cavalry must be nigh, as one step towards finding Lord +Edward I crossed the road to the right of these dragoons, and rode +towards the part where, as before stated, the light was intercepted +by trees and bushes. On passing through these I had an uninterrupted +view of the country for miles, but not a soldier or living being was +to be seen in that direction. As I pushed on through the thickets +my horse, suddenly coming to a stand, began to snort, and showed +unequivocal symptoms of fear. I drove him on, however, but started +myself when I saw, lying under the bush, the body of a man stripped +naked. This victim of war was a youth of fair form, skin delicately +white, and face but little darker; an embryo mustache decorated the +upper lip, and his countenance, even in death, was beautiful. That he +was French I conjectured, but neither on himself nor his horse was +there a particle of clothing that could indicate to what nation he +belonged. If French, how came he here to die alone so far in the rear +of our lines? I know not why, but the rencontre with this solitary +corpse had a wonderful effect on my spirits--far different from what +I felt when gazing on the heaps that encumbered the field beyond. +Seldom have I experienced such despondency--such heart-sinking--as +when standing over this handsome form thus despoiled, neglected, and +about to become a prey to wolves and carrion crows--the darling of +some fond mother, the adored of some fair maid. His horse, stripped +like himself, lay by--they had met their fate at once. Returning +to my troop, I found Sir Augustus Frazer, who had come to order my +ammunition-waggons to the rear that the retreat might be as little +encumbered as possible, and to tell me that what ammunition was used +during the day would be supplied by my sending for it to Langeveldt, +on the road to Brussels, where that to Wavre branches from it. + +Thus divested of our ammunition, it was evident that our retreat must +be a rapid one, since with only fifty rounds a-gun (the number in the +limbers), it could not be expected that we could occupy any position +longer than a few minutes. In the end, this measure had nearly led to +very disagreeable results, as will be seen anon. + +It was now about one o’clock. My battery stood in position on the +brow of the declivity, with its right near the wall of the farm, +all alone, the only troops in sight being, as before mentioned, the +picket and a few scattered hussars in the direction of Frasnes, Sir +O. Vandeleur’s light dragoons two or three hundred yards in our +rear, and Sir H. Vivian’s hussars far away to the left. Still the +French army made no demonstration of an advance. This inactivity was +unaccountable. Lord Uxbridge and an aide-de-camp came to the front +of my battery, and, dismounting, seated himself on the ground; so +did I and the aide-de-camp. His lordship with his glass was watching +the French position; and we were all three wondering at their want +of observation and inactivity, which had not only permitted our +infantry to retire unmolested, but also still retained them in +their bivouac. “It will not be long now before they are on us,” +said the aide-de-camp, “for they always dine before they move; and +those smokes seem to indicate that they are cooking now.” He was +right; for not long afterwards another aide-de-camp, scouring along +the valley, came to report that a heavy column of cavalry[14] was +advancing through the opening between the woods to the left from the +direction of Gembloux. At the same moment we saw them distinctly; +and Lord Uxbridge, having reconnoitered them a moment through his +glass, started up, exclaiming, in a joyful tone, “By the Lord, they +are Prussians!” jumped on his horse, and, followed by the two aides, +dashed off like a whirlwind to meet them. For a moment I stood +looking after them as they swept down the slope, and could not help +wondering how the Prussians came there. I was, however, not left long +in my perplexity, for, turning my eyes towards the French position, +I saw their whole army descending from it in three or four dark +masses, whilst their advanced cavalry picket was already skirmishing +with and driving back our hussars. The truth instantly flashed on my +mind, and I became exceedingly uneasy for the safety of Lord Uxbridge +and his companions, now far advanced on their way down the valley, +and likely to be irretrievably cut off. My situation now appeared +somewhat awkward: left without orders and entirely alone on the brow +of our position--the hussar pickets galloping in and hurrying past +as fast as they could--the whole French army advancing, and already +at no great distance. In this dilemma, I determined to retire across +the little dip that separated me from Sir O. Vandeleur, and take up +a position in front of his squadrons, whence, after giving a round +to the French advance as soon as they stood on our present ground, +I thought I could retire in sufficient time through his intervals +to leave the ground clear for him to charge. This movement was +immediately executed; but the guns were scarcely unlimbered ere Sir +Ormsby came furiously up, exclaiming, “What are you doing here, sir? +You encumber my front, and we shall not be able to charge. Take your +guns away, sir; instantly, I say--take them away!” It was in vain +that I endeavoured to explain my intentions, and that our fire would +allow his charge to be made with more effect. “No, no; take them out +of my way, sir!” was all the answer I could get; and, accordingly, +I was preparing to obey, when up came Lord Uxbridge, and the scene +changed in a twinkling. “Captain Mercer, are you loaded?” “Yes, my +lord.” “Then give them a round as they rise the hill, and retire +as quickly as possible.” “Light dragoons, threes right; at a trot, +march!” and then some orders to Sir Ormsby, of whom I saw no more +that day. “They are just coming up the hill,” said Lord Uxbridge. +“Let them get well up before you fire. Do you think you can retire +quick enough afterwards?” “I am sure of it, my lord.” “Very well, +then, keep a good look-out, and point your guns well.” I had often +longed to see Napoleon, that mighty man of war--that astonishing +genius who had filled the world with his renown. Now I saw him, and +there was a degree of sublimity in the interview rarely equalled. +The sky had become overcast since the morning, and at this moment +presented a most extraordinary appearance. Large isolated masses +of thundercloud, of the deepest, almost inky black, their lower +edges hard and strongly defined, lagging down, as if momentarily +about to burst, hung suspended over us, involving our position and +everything on it in deep and gloomy obscurity; whilst the distant +hill lately occupied by the French army still lay bathed in brilliant +sunshine. Lord Uxbridge was yet speaking, when a single horseman,[15] +immediately followed by several others, mounted the plateau I had +left at a gallop, their dark figures thrown forward in strong relief +from the illuminated distance, making them appear much nearer to us +than they really were. For an instant they pulled up and regarded us, +when several squadrons, coming rapidly on the plateau, Lord Uxbridge +cried out, “Fire!--fire!” and, giving them a general discharge, we +quickly limbered up to retire, as they dashed forward supported by +some horse-artillery guns, which opened upon us ere we could complete +the manœuvre, but without much effect, for the only one touched was +the servant of Major Whinyates, who was wounded in the leg by the +splinter of a howitzer shell. + +It was now for the first time that I discovered the Major and his +rocket-troop, who, annoyed at my having the rear, had disobeyed +the order to retreat, and remained somewhere in the neighbourhood +until this moment, hoping to share whatever might be going on. The +first gun that was fired seemed to burst the clouds overhead, for +its report was instantly followed by an awful clap of thunder, and +lightning that almost blinded us, whilst the rain came down as if +a water-spout had broken over us. The sublimity of the scene was +inconceivable. Flash succeeded flash, and the peals of thunder were +long and tremendous; whilst, as if in mockery of the elements, the +French guns still sent forth their feebler glare and now scarcely +audible reports--their cavalry dashing on at a headlong pace, adding +their shouts to the uproar. We galloped for our lives through the +storm, striving to gain the enclosures about the houses of the +hamlets, Lord Uxbridge urging us on, crying, “Make haste!--make +haste! for God’s sake, gallop, or you will be taken!” We did make +haste, and succeeded in getting amongst the houses and gardens, but +with the French advance close on our heels. Here, however, observing +the chaussée full of hussars, they pulled up. Had they continued +their charge we were gone, for these hussars were scattered about the +road in the utmost confusion, some in little squads, others singly, +and, moreover, so crowded together that we had no room whatever to +act with any effect--either they or us. + +Meantime the enemy’s detachments began to envelop the gardens, +which Lord Uxbridge observing, called to me, “Here follow me with +two of your guns,” and immediately himself led the way into one +of the narrow lanes between the gardens. What he intended doing, +God knows, but I obeyed. The lane was very little broader than our +carriages--there was not room for a horse to have passed them! The +distance from the chaussée to the end of the lane, where it debouched +on the open fields, could scarcely have been above one or two hundred +yards at most. His lordship and I were in front, the guns and +mounted detachments following. What he meant to do I was at a loss +to conceive: we could hardly come to action in the lane; to enter +on the open was certain destruction. Thus we had arrived at about +fifty yards from its termination when a body of chasseurs or hussars +appeared there as if waiting for us. These we might have seen from +the first, for nothing but a few elder bushes intercepted the view +from the chaussée. The whole transaction appears to me so wild and +confused that at times I can hardly believe it to have been more +than a confused dream--yet true it was;--the general-in-chief of the +cavalry exposing himself amongst the skirmishers of his rear-guard, +and literally doing the duty of a cornet! “By God! we are all +prisoners” (or some such words), exclaimed Lord Uxbridge, dashing his +horse at one of the garden-banks, which he cleared, and away he went, +leaving us to get out of the scrape as best we could. There was no +time for hesitation--one manœuvre alone could extricate us if allowed +time, and it I ordered. “Reverse by unlimbering” was the order. To +do this the gun was to be unlimbered, then turned round, and one +wheel run up the bank, which just left space for the limber to pass +it. The gun is then limbered up again and ready to move to the rear. +The execution, however, was not easy, for the very reversing of the +limber itself in so narrow a lane, with a team of eight horses, was +sufficiently difficult, and required first-rate driving. Nothing +could exceed the coolness and activity of our men; the thing was +done quickly and well, and we returned to the chaussée without let or +hindrance. How we were permitted to do so, I am at a loss to imagine; +for although I gave the order to reverse, I certainly never expected +to have seen it executed. Meantime my own situation was anything but +a pleasant one, as I sat with my back to the gentlemen at the end of +the lane, whose interference I momentarily expected, casting an eye +from time to time over my shoulder to ascertain whether they still +kept their position. There they sat motionless, and although thankful +for their inactivity, I could not but wonder at their stupidity. It +seemed, however, all of a piece that day--all blunder and confusion; +and this last I found pretty considerable on regaining the chaussée. +His lordship we found collecting the scattered hussars together +into a squadron for our rescue, for which purpose it was he had so +unceremoniously left us. Heavy as the rain was and thick the weather, +yet the French could not but have seen the confusion we were in, as +they had closed up to the entrance of the enclosure; and yet they did +not at once take advantage of it. Things could not remain long in +this state. A heavy column of cavalry approached us by the chaussée, +whilst another, skirting the enclosures, appeared pushing forward to +cut us off. Retreat now became imperative. The order was given, and +away we went, helter-skelter--guns, gun-detachments, and hussars all +mixed _pêle-mêle_, going like mad, and covering each other with mud, +to be washed off by the rain, which, before sufficiently heavy, now +came down again as it had done at first in splashes instead of drops, +soaking us anew to the skin, and, what was worse, extinguishing every +slow-match in the brigade. The obscurity caused by the splashing +of the rain was such, that at one period I could not distinguish +objects more than a few yards distant. Of course we lost sight of our +pursuers altogether, and the shouts and halloos, and even laughter, +they had at first sent forth were either silenced or drowned in the +uproar of the elements and the noise of our too rapid retreat; for +in addition to everything else the crashing and rattling of the +thunder were most awful, and the glare of the lightning blinding. +In this state we gained the bridge of Genappe at the moment when +the thundercloud, having passed over, left us in comparative fine +weather, although still raining heavily. + +The town of Genappe stands on the slope of a hill rising immediately +from the little verdant valley through which the Lys flows--here +little better than a brook. Arrived at the bridge, we slackened our +pace, and ascended leisurely the narrow winding street, in which +not a living soul was visible. The shutters were all closed, and +stream of water pouring from the roofs formed a perfect torrent of +the gutter running down the middle of it. This solitude was rather a +disappointment, for I had hoped here to have got fire to relight our +slow-match. + +For the last mile or so we had neither seen nor heard anything of +our lively French friends, and now silently wound our way up the +deserted street, nothing disturbing its death-like stillness save the +iron sound of horses’ feet, the rumbling of the carriages, and the +splashing of water as it fell from the eaves,--all this was stillness +compared with the hurly-burly and din from which we had just emerged. + +On gaining the high ground beyond the town, we suddenly came in sight +of the main body of our cavalry drawn up across the chaussée in two +lines, and extending away far to the right and left of it. + +It would have been an imposing spectacle at any time, but just now +appeared to me magnificent and I hailed it with complacency, for +here I thought our fox-chase must end. “Those superb Life Guards +and Blues will soon teach our pursuers a little modesty.” Such +fellows!--surely nothing can withstand them. Scarcely had these +thoughts passed through my mind ere an order from his lordship +recalled us to the rear. On debouching from the town, seeing nothing +in the country right and left of us, and fearful of impeding the +retreat, whilst our hussars retired skirmishing through the street +(the French having again come up), we had continued onward to +gain the position occupied by our heavy cavalry, from which we +were still separated by a small dip of the ground. We returned +then to the end of the town, where the flight of shot and shells +over us (the road was here sunk between two high banks) gave very +intelligible information as to the reason of our recall. The enemy’s +horse-artillery, having taken up a position in the meadows near the +bridge, were annoying our dragoons as they debouched from the town. +The ground was heavy from the rain, and very steep, so that it was +only by great exertion that we succeeded at last in getting our guns +into the adjoining field. The moment we appeared the French battery +bestowed on us its undivided attention, which we quickly acknowledged +by an uncommonly well-directed fire of spherical case. Whilst so +employed, Major M‘Donald came up and put me through a regular +catechism as to length of fuze, whether out of bag A or B, &c. &c. +Although much vexed at such a schooling just now, yet the Major +appeared so seriously in earnest that I could not but be amused; +however, to convince him we knew what we were about, I directed his +attention to our excellent practice, so superior to that of our +antagonist, who was sending all his shot far over our heads. The +French seemed pretty well convinced of this too, for after standing +a few rounds they quitted the field, and left us again without +occupation. The Major vanishing at the same time, I sent my guns, +&c., to the rear, and set off to join Lord Uxbridge, who was still +fighting in the street. Our ammunition was expended, the waggons +having been taken away by Sir Augustus Frazer at Quatre Bras. + +On regaining my troop, I found Major M‘Donald and the rockets with +it. They were in position on a gentle elevation, on which likewise +were formed the lines of cavalry extending across the chaussée. +Immediately on our left, encased in the hollow road, the Blues were +formed in close column of half-squadrons, and it was not long ere +Lord Uxbridge, with those he had retained at Genappe, came sweeping +over the hill and joined us. They were closely followed by the +French light cavalry, who, descending into the hollow, commenced +a sharp skirmish with our advanced-posts. Soon squadron after +squadron appeared on the hill we had passed, and took up their +positions, forming a long line parallel to ours, whilst a battery of +horse-artillery, forming across the chaussée, just on the brow of +the declivity, opened its fire on us, though without much effect. To +this we responded, though very slowly, having no more ammunition than +what remained in our limbers. In order to amuse the enemy and our +own cavalry, as well as to prevent the former noticing the slackness +of our fire, I proposed to Major M‘Donald making use of the rockets, +which had hitherto done nothing. There was a little hesitation +about this, and one of the officers (Strangways) whispered me, “No, +no--it’s too far!” This I immediately told the Major, proposing as a +remedy that they should go closer. Still there was demur; but at last +my proposition was agreed to, and down they marched into the thick of +the skirmishers in the bottom. Of course, having proposed the measure +myself, I could do no less than accompany them. Whilst they prepared +their machinery, I had time to notice what was going on to the right +and left of us. Two double lines of skirmishers extended all along +the bottom--the foremost of each line were within a few yards of each +other--constantly in motion, riding backwards and forwards, firing +their carbines or pistols, and then reloading, still on the move. +This fire seemed to me more dangerous for those on the hills above +than for us below; for all, both French and English, generally stuck +out their carbines or pistols as they continued to move backwards and +forwards, and discharged them without taking any particular aim, and +mostly in the air. I did not see a man fall on either side; the thing +appeared quite ridiculous; and but for hearing the bullets whizzing +overhead, one might have fancied it no more than a sham-fight. + +Meanwhile the rocketeers had placed a little iron triangle in the +road with a rocket lying on it. The order to fire is given--portfire +applied--the fidgety missile begins to sputter out sparks and wriggle +its tail for a second or so, and then darts forth straight up the +chaussée. A gun stands right in its way, between the wheels of which +the shell in the head of the rocket bursts, the gunners fall right +and left, and, those of the other guns taking to their heels, the +battery is deserted in an instant. Strange; but so it was. I saw +them run, and for some minutes afterwards I saw the guns standing +mute and unmanned, whilst our rocketeers kept shooting off rockets, +none of which ever followed the course of the first; most of them, on +arriving about the middle of the ascent, took a vertical direction, +whilst some actually turned back upon ourselves--and one of these, +following me like a squib until its shell exploded, actually put +me in more danger than all the fire of the enemy throughout the +day. Meanwhile the French artillerymen, seeing how the land lay, +returned to their guns and opened a fire of case-shot on us, but +without effect, for we retreated to our ridge without the loss of a +man, or even any wounded, though the range could not have been above +200 yards. As we had overtaken the rear of our infantry, it became +necessary to make a stand here to enable them to gain ground. Major +M‘Donald therefore sent me in pursuit of my ammunition-waggons, +since all in our limbers was expended. Having before sent for these, +we calculated that they could not now be very far off. In going to +the rear I passed along the top of the bank, under which, as I have +said, the Blues were encased in the hollow road. Shot and shells were +flying pretty thickly about just then, and, sometimes striking the +top of the bank, would send down a shower of mud and clods upon them. + +The ammunition-waggons I found coming up, and was returning with +them when I met my whole troop again retiring by the road, whilst +the cavalry did so by alternate regiments across the fields. The +ground offering no feature for another stand, we continued thus along +the road. The infantry had made so little progress that we again +overtook the rear of their column, composed of Brunswickers--some of +those same boys I used to see practising at Schäpdale in my rides to +Brussels. These poor lads were pushing on at a great rate. As soon +as their rear divisions heard the sound of our horses’ feet, without +once looking behind them, they began to crowd and press on those in +front, until at last, hearing us close up to them, and finding it +impossible to push forward in the road, many of them broke off into +the fields; and such was their panic that, in order to run lighter, +away went arms and knapsacks in all directions, and a general race +ensued, the whole corps being in the most horrid confusion. It was +to no purpose that I exerted my little stock of German to make them +understand we were their English friends--a frightened glance and +away, was all the effect of my interference, which drove many of +them off. We, however, still kept on our way, and soon after passed +a few houses by the roadside, which I afterwards found was La Belle +Alliance. Hence we crossed another valley, and on rising the opposite +hill I found a capital position on the top of an old gravel-pit, +which I occupied without loss of time. Behind the ground on which +my guns were formed was a long hedge[16] (a _rara avis_ in this +country), which prevented our seeing anything beyond; and as no +troops were in sight except those following us across the valley, we +had then no idea that we had arrived in the position where our whole +army was assembled, nor that we then stood upon ground which, ere +to-morrow’s sun were set, would for ever be celebrated throughout all +generations! + +We did not long remain idle, for the guns were scarcely loaded ere +the rear of our cavalry came crowding upon the infantry corps we had +passed, and which were then only crossing the valley, the French +advance skirmishing with these, whilst their squadrons occupied the +heights. We waited a little until some of their larger masses were +assembled, and then opened our fire with a range across the valley of +about 1200 yards. The echo of our first gun had not ceased, when, to +my astonishment, a heavy cannonade, commencing in a most startling +manner from behind our hedge, rolled along the rising-ground, on part +of which we were posted. The truth now flashed on me; we had rejoined +the army, and it is impossible to describe the pleasing sense of +security I felt at having now the support of something more stanch +than cavalry. + +The French now brought up battery after battery, and a tremendous +cannonading was kept up by both sides for some time. The effect was +grand and exciting. Our position was a happy one, for all their shot +which grazed short, came and struck in the perpendicular bank of our +gravel-pit--and only one struck amongst us, breaking the traversing +handspike at one of the guns, but neither injuring man nor horse. +Our fire was principally directed against their masses as we could +see them, which was not always the case from the smoke that, for +want of wind, hung over them; then against their smaller parties +that had advanced into the valley to skirmish with the rear-guard +of our cavalry. Here for the second and last time I saw Napoleon, +though infinitely more distant than in the morning. Some of my +non-commissioned officers pointed their guns at the numerous cortège +accompanying him as they stood near the road by Belle Alliance; and +one, pointed by old Quartermaster Hall, fell in the midst of them. At +the moment we saw some little confusion amongst the group, but it did +not hinder them from continuing the reconnaissance. + +Whilst we were thus engaged, a man of no very prepossessing +appearance came rambling amongst our guns, and entered into +conversation with me on the occurrences of the day. He was dressed in +a shabby old drab greatcoat and a rusty round hat. I took him at the +time for some amateur from Brussels (of whom we had heard there were +several hovering about), and thinking many of his questions rather +impertinent, was somewhat short in answering him, and he soon left +us. How great was my astonishment on learning soon after that this +was Sir Thomas Picton! The enemy, finding us obstinate in maintaining +our position, soon slackened, and then ceased firing altogether; and +we were immediately ordered to do the same, and establish ourselves +in bivouac for the night. This we proceeded to obey as a most welcome +order, and retiring from our position down the hill, came to a +large farm, where, breaking through a quickset hedge, we formed +our park in the adjoining orchard, preferring its green turf to the +plashy, muddy fields around, that morning covered with fine crops of +wheat, now little better than sloughs. We were not long, however, in +discovering that it was only exchanging the frying-pan for the fire, +since our smiling turf was nearly ankle-deep in water, the orchard +lying low and hollow, somewhat below the level of the road. But it +was already growing dark, consequently too late to hunt out another, +so we were obliged to put up with it. + +Thoroughly wet--cloaks, blankets, and all--comfort was out of the +question, so we prepared to make the best of it. + +Our first care was of course the horses, and these we had ample means +of providing for, since, in addition to what corn we had left, one +of our men had picked up and brought forward on an ammunition-waggon +a large sack full, which he found in the road near Genappe. Thus +they, at least, had plenty to eat, and having been so well drenched +all day, were not much in need of water. For ourselves we had +nothing!--absolutely nothing! and looked forward to rest alone to +restore our exhausted strength. Rather a bore going supperless to +bed after such a day, yet was there no help for it. + +But our poor animals were not all of them destined to repose, and +much as they had undergone during the last six-and-thirty hours, +some of them were yet obliged to pass the night on the road, and +in harness. Completing our limbers with ammunition from two of +the ammunition-waggons, a non-commissioned officer was despatched +with these, as soon as the horses had been fed, to Langeveldt near +Brussels, where Sir Augustus Frazer had told me in the morning we +should find a depôt from whence to supply what had been expended +during the day. + +These cared for, came the care of ourselves. Our gunners, &c., +soon stowed themselves away beneath the carriages, using the +painted covers as additional shelter against the rain, which now +set in again as heavy as ever. We set up a small tent, into which +(after vain attempts at procuring food or lodgings in the farm or +its outbuildings, all of which were crammed to suffocation with +officers and soldiers of all arms and nations) we crept, and rolling +ourselves in our wet blankets, huddled close together, in hope, +wet as we were, and wet as the ground was, of keeping each other +warm. I know not how my bed-fellows got on, as we all lay for a +long while perfectly still and silent--the old Peninsular hands +disdaining to complain before their Johnny Newcome comrades, and +these fearing to do so lest they should provoke some such remarks, +as “Lord have mercy on your poor tender carcass! what would such +as you have done in the Pyrenees?” or “Oho, my boy! this is but +child’s play to what _we_ saw in Spain.” So all who did not sleep (I +believe the majority) pretended to do so, and bore their suffering +with admirable heroism. For my part, I once or twice, from sheer +fatigue, got into something like a doze; yet it would not do. There +was no possibility of sleeping, for besides being already so wet, +the tent proved no shelter, the water pouring through the canvas in +streams; so up I got, and, to my infinite joy, found that some of +the men had managed to make a couple of fires, round which they were +sitting smoking their short pipes in something like comfort. The hint +was a good one, and at that moment my second captain joining me, we +borrowed from them a few sticks, and choosing the best spot under +the hedge, proceeded to make a fire for ourselves. In a short time +we succeeded in raising a cheerful blaze, which materially bettered +our situation. My companion had an umbrella (which, by the way, had +afforded some merriment to our people on the march); this we planted +against the sloping bank of the hedge, and seating ourselves under +it, he on one side of the stick, me on the other, we lighted cigars +and became--comfortable. Dear weed! what comfort, what consolation +dost thou not impart to the wretched!--with thee a hovel becomes a +palace. What a stock of patience is there not enveloped in one of +thy brown leaves! And thus we sat enjoying ourselves, puffing forth +into the damp night air streams of fragrant smoke, being able now +deliberately to converse on what had been, and probably would be. All +this time a most infernal clatter of musketry was going on, which, +but for the many quiet dark figures seated round the innumerable +fires all along the position, might have been construed into a +night-attack. But as these gentlemen were between us and the enemy, +we felt assured of timely warning, and ere long learned that all this +proceeded as before from the infantry discharging and cleaning their +pieces. Our conversation naturally turned on our present position; +and after discussing all the pros. and cons., we made up our minds to +recommence the retreat with to-morrow’s sun; but when that retreat +was to terminate, baffled all our powers of conjecture. + +Whilst so employed, a rustling in the hedge behind attracted our +attention, and in a few minutes a poor fellow belonging to some +Hanoverian regiment, wet through like everybody else, and shivering +with cold, made his appearance, and modestly begged permission to +remain a short time and warm himself by our fire. He had somehow or +other wandered from his colours, and had passed the greater part +of the night searching for them, but in vain. At first he appeared +quite exhausted, but the warmth reinvigorating him, he pulled out his +pipe and began to smoke. Having finished his modicum, and carefully +disposed of the ashes, he rose from his wet seat to renew his search, +hoping to find his corps before daylight, he said, lest it should be +engaged. Many thanks he offered for our hospitality; but what was +our surprise when, after fumbling in his havresack for some time, +he pulled out a poor half-starved chicken, presented it to us, and +marched off. This was a god-send, in good truth, to people famished +as we were; so calling for a camp-kettle, our prize was on the fire +in a twinkling. Our comrades in the tent did not sleep so soundly but +that they heard what was going on, and the kettle was hardly on the +fire ere my gentlemen were assembled round it, a wet and shivering +group, but all eager to partake of our good fortune--and so eager +that, after various betrayals of impatience, the miserable chicken +was at last snatched from the kettle ere it was half-boiled, pulled +to pieces, and speedily devoured. I got a leg for my share, but it +was not one mouthful, and this was the only food I tasted since the +night before. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +_June 18th._--Memorable day! Some time before daybreak the bombardier +who had been despatched to Langeveldt returned with a supply of +ammunition. He reported that he had been much impeded by the +confusion on the road, which was everywhere crowded with waggons, &c. +Many he had seen overturned, and many plundered, or being plundered; +but his account by no means justified those who stated the road to be +blocked up in such a manner as to be impassable. Indeed, considering +all things, he had performed his journey in sufficiently reasonable +time. + +With the providence of an old soldier, he had picked up and brought +on a considerable quantity of beef, biscuit, and oatmeal, of which +there was abundance scattered about everywhere. Casks of rum, +&c., there were, and having broached one of these--he and his +drivers--every one filled his canteen--a most considerate act, and +one for which the whole troop was sincerely thankful. Nor must I omit +to remark that, amidst such temptations, his men had behaved with the +most perfect regularity, and returned to us _quite sober_! + +The rum was divided on the spot; and surely if ardent spirits +are ever beneficial, it must be to men situated as ours were; it +therefore came most providentially. The oatmeal was converted +speedily into stirabout, and afforded our people a hearty meal, +after which all hands set to work to prepare the beef, make soup, +&c. Unfortunately, we preferred waiting for this, and passed +the stirabout, by which piece of folly we were doomed to a very +protracted fast, as will be seen. Whilst our soup was cooking, it +being now broad daylight, I mounted my horse to reconnoitre our +situation. During the night another troop (I think Major Ramsay’s) +had established itself in our orchard, and just outside the hedge I +found Major Bean’s, which had also arrived during the night, direct +from England. Ascending from the farm towards the ground we had left +yesterday evening, the face of the slope, as far as I could see, +to the right and left, was covered with troops _en bivouac_--here, +I think, principally cavalry. Of these some were cleaning their +arms, some cooking, some sitting round fires smoking, and a few, +generally officers, walking about, or standing in groups conversing. +Many of the latter eagerly inquired where I was going, and appeared +very anxious for intelligence, all expecting nothing less than +to recommence our retreat. I continued on to the position we had +occupied last, and thence clearly saw the French army on the opposite +hill, where everything appeared perfectly quiet--people moving +about individually, and no formation whatever. Their advanced-posts +and vedettes in the valley, just beyond La Haye Sainte, were also +quiet. Having satisfied my curiosity, I returned the way I came, +communicating my observations to the many eager inquirers I met with. +Various were the speculations in consequence. Some thought the French +were afraid to attack us, others that they would do so soon, others +that the Duke would not wait for it, others that he would, as he +certainly would not allow them to go to Brussels; and so they went on +speculating, whilst I returned to my people. Here, finding the mess +not yet ready, and nothing to be done, I strolled into the garden +of the farm, where several Life Guardsmen were very busy digging +potatoes--a fortunate discovery, which I determined to profit by. +Therefore calling up some of my men, to work we went without loss of +time. + +Whilst thus employed, I noticed a very heavy firing going on in +front, but this did not make us quit our work. Shortly after, to my +great astonishment, I observed that all the bivouacs on the hillside +were deserted, and that even Ramsay’s troop had left the orchard +without my being aware of it, and my own was left quite alone, not a +soul being visible from where I stood in any direction, the ground +they had quitted presenting one unbroken muddy solitude. The firing +became heavier and heavier. Alarmed at being thus left alone, when +it was evident something serious was going on, I hastened back and +ordered the horses to be put to immediately. + +Away went our mess untasted. One of the servants was desired to hang +the kettle with its contents under an ammunition-waggon. The stupid +fellow hung the kettle as desired, but first emptied it. Without +orders, and all alone, the battle (for now there was no mistaking it) +going on at the other side of the hill, I remained for a few minutes +undecided what to do. It appeared to me we had been forgotten. +All, except only ourselves, were evidently engaged; and labouring +under this delusion, I thought we had better get into the affair +at once. As soon, therefore, as the troop was ready, I led them up +the hill on the highroad, hoping to meet some one who could give me +directions what to do. We had not proceeded a hundred yards, when +an artillery officer came furiously galloping down towards us. It +was Major M‘Lloyd, in a dreadful state of agitation--such, indeed, +that he could hardly answer my questions. I learned, however, that +the battle was very serious and bloody. Their first attack had been +on that part of our position where his battery stood; but now the +principal efforts were making against our right. All this was told +in so hurried and anxious a manner, that one could hardly understand +him. “But where are you going?” he added. I told him my plan. “Have +you no orders?” “None whatever; I have not seen a soul.” “Then, for +God’s sake, come and assist me, or I shall be ruined. My brigade is +cut to pieces, ammunition expended, and, unless reinforced, we shall +be destroyed.” He was dreadfully agitated, and when I took his hand +and promised to be with him directly, seemed transported with joy; +so, bidding me make haste, he darted up the hill again, and went +to receive that death-stroke which, ere long, was to terminate his +earthly career. I trust before that termination he heard the reason +why I never fulfilled that promise; for weeks elapsed ere he died, +no doubt--otherwise he must have set me down for a base poltroon. My +destiny led me elsewhere. My tutelary spirit was at hand: the eternal +Major M‘Donald made his appearance, and, giving me a sharp reprimand +for having quitted my bivouac, desired me instantly to return to the +foot of the hill, and there wait for orders. Sulkily and slowly we +descended, and forming in line on the ground opposite the farm of +Mont St Jean, with our left to the road, I dismounted the men that +they might be a little less liable to be hit by shot and shells +which, coming over the hill, were continually plunging into the muddy +soil all around us. This was a peculiarly dismal situation--without +honour or glory, to be knocked on the head in such a solitude, for +not a living being was in sight. + +It was while thus standing idle that a fine tall upright old +gentleman, in plain clothes, followed by two young ones, came across +our front at a gallop from the Brussels road, and continued on +towards where we supposed the right of our army to be. I certainly +stared at seeing three unarmed civilians pressing forward into so +hot a fight. These were the Duke of Richmond and his two sons. +How long we had been in this position, I know not, when at length +we were relieved from it by our adjutant (Lieutenant Bell), who +brought orders for our removal to the right of the second line. +Moving, therefore, to our right, along the hollow, we soon began a +very gentle ascent, and at the same time became aware of several +corps of infantry, which had not been very far from us, but remained +invisible, as they were all lying down. Although in this move we may +be said to have been always under a heavy fire, from the number of +missiles flying over us, yet were we still so fortunate as to arrive +in our new position without losing man or horse. In point of seeing, +our situation was much improved; but for danger and inactivity, it +was much worse, since we were now fired directly at, and positively +ordered not to return the compliment--the object in bringing us +here being to watch a most formidable-looking line of lancers drawn +up opposite to us, and threatening the right flank of our army. A +scientific relation of this great struggle, on which the fate of +Europe hinged, I pretend not to write. I write neither history, nor +‘Mémoires pour servir à l’Histoire,’ &c. &c., but only pure simple +gossip for my own amusement--just what happened to me and mine, and +what I _did_ see happen to others about me. Depend upon it, he who +pretends to give a general account of a great battle from his own +observation deceives you--believe him not. He can see no further +(that is, if he be personally engaged in it) than the length of his +nose; and how is he to tell what is passing two or three miles off, +with hills and trees and buildings intervening, and all enveloped in +smoke? Busaco might have been tolerably described, but there are no +Busacos in the Pays Bas. The back of the principal ridge on which our +army was posted descended by a pretty regular slope in the direction +of Waterloo, and but just in rear of its right another shorter and +lower ridge ran a little way almost parallel to it. The highroad +to Nivelle passed along the hollow between the two. Both ridges +terminated in a ravine that enclosed our right flank, running down +from the Château de Hougoumont (although it be pretended now that the +name is “Goumont,” I persist in the orthography which is found in all +the old maps of this department) in the direction of Merke Braine; in +short, a contracted continuation of the greater valley lying between +the two armies and nearly at right angles to it. + +The sides of this ravine (much steeper than any other ground near), +as far as I can recollect, were partially covered with bushes; and, +from the summit of the one opposite to us, the ground ascended by a +very gradual slope for about 800 or 1000 yards; and there, on what +appeared as the height of the land, there were several small clumps +of wood. This slope itself was still covered with fine crops of +standing corn. The crest was occupied by the long line of lancers +already spoken of, whose movements I was ordered to watch, but on +no account to interfere with, unless they attempted to pass the +ravine.[17] Such was our front view. + +To the right we looked over a fine open country, covered with crops +and interspersed with thickets or small woods. There all was peaceful +and smiling, not a living soul being in sight. To our left, the main +ridge terminated rather abruptly just over Hougoumont, the back of +it towards us being broken ground, with a few old trees on it just +where the Nivelle road descended between high banks into the ravine. +Thus we were formed _en potence_ with the 1st line, from which we +(my battery) were separated by some hundred yards. In our rear the +14th Regiment of infantry (in square, I think) lay on the ground. In +our front were some light dragoons of the German Legion, who from +time to time detached small parties across the ravine. These pushed +cautiously up the slope towards the line of lancers to reconnoitre. +The corn, down to the edge of the ravine nearer the Nivelle road +and beyond it, was full of French riflemen; and these were warmly +attacked by others[18] from our side of the ravine, whom we saw +crossing and gradually working their way up through the high corn, +the French as gradually retiring. On the right of the lancers, two +or three batteries kept up a continued fire at our position; but +their shot, which could have been only 4-pounders, fell short--many +not even reaching across the ravine. Some, however, did reach their +destination; and we were particularly plagued by their howitzer +shells with long fuses, which were continually falling about us, and +lay spitting and sputtering several seconds before they exploded, to +the no small annoyance of man and horse. Still, however, nobody was +hurt; but a round-shot, striking the ammunition-boxes on the body +of one of our waggons, penetrated through both and lodged in the +back of the rear one, with nearly half its surface to be seen from +without--a singular circumstance! In addition to this front fire, +we were exposed to another on our left flank--the shot that passed +over the main ridge terminating their career with us. Having little +to occupy us here, we had ample leisure to observe what was passing +there. We could see some corps at the end near us in squares--dark +masses, having guns between them, relieved from a background of grey +smoke, which seemed to fill the valley beyond, and rose high in the +air above the hill. Every now and then torrents of French cavalry +of all arms came sweeping over the ridge, as if carrying all before +them. But, after their passage, the squares were still to be seen +in the same places; and these gentry, who we feared would next fall +on us, would evaporate, nobody could well say how. The firing still +increased in intensity, so that we were at a loss to conjecture what +all this could mean. + +About this time, being impatient of standing idle, and annoyed by +the batteries on the Nivelle road, I ventured to commit a folly, for +which I should have paid dearly had our Duke chanced to be in our +part of the field. I ventured to disobey orders, and open a slow +deliberate fire at the battery, thinking with my 9-pounders soon to +silence his 4-pounders. My astonishment was great, however, when our +very first gun was responded to by at least half-a-dozen gentlemen +of very superior calibre, whose presence I had not even suspected, +and whose superiority we immediately recognised by their rushing +noise and long reach, for they flew far beyond us. I instantly saw my +folly, and ceased firing, and they did the same--the 4-pounders alone +continuing the cannonade as before. But this was not all. The first +man of my troop touched was by one of these confounded long shot. I +shall never forget the scream the poor lad gave when struck. It was +one of the last they fired, and shattered his left arm to pieces as +he stood between the waggons. That scream went to my very soul, for +I accused myself as having caused his misfortune. I was, however, +obliged to conceal my emotion from the men, who had turned to look at +him; so, bidding them “stand to their front,” I continued my walk up +and down, whilst Hitchins ran to his assistance. + +Amidst such stirring scenes, emotions of this kind are but of short +duration; what occurred immediately afterwards completely banished +Gunner Hunt from my recollection. As a counterbalance to this +tragical event, our firing produced one so comic as to excite all +our risibility. Two or three officers had lounged up to our guns to +see the effect. One of them was a medico, and _he_ (a shower having +just come on) carried an umbrella overhead. No sooner did the heavy +answers begin to arrive amongst us than these gentlemen, fancying +they should be safer with their own corps, although only a few yards +in the rear, scampered off in double-quick, doctor and all, he still +carrying his umbrella aloft. Scarcely, however, had he made two paces +when a shot, as he thought, passing rather too close, down he dropped +on his hands and knees--or, I should rather say, hand and knees, for +the one was employed in holding the silken cover most pertinaciously +over him--and away he scrambled like a great baboon, his head turned +fearfully over his shoulder, as if watching the coming shot, whilst +our fellows made the field resound with their shouts and laughter. + +I think I have already mentioned that it was not until some days +afterwards that I was able to resume my regular journal, consequently +that everything relative to these three days is written from memory. +In trying to recollect scenes of this nature, some little confusion +is inevitable; and here I confess myself somewhat puzzled to +account for certain facts of which I am positive. For instance, I +remember perfectly Captain Bolton’s brigade of 9-pounders being +stationed to the left of us, somewhat in advance, and facing as +we did, consequently not far from the Nivelle road. Bolton came +and conversed with me some time, and was called hastily away by +his battery commencing a heavy fire. Query--Who, and what, was he +firing at? That he was himself under a heavy fire there is equally +no doubt, for whilst we were not losing a man, we saw many, both of +his men and horses, fall, and but a few minutes after leaving me, +he was killed himself--this is a puzzle. I have no recollection of +any troops attempting to cross the ravine, and yet his fire was in +that direction, and I think must have been toward the Nivelle road. +A distressing circumstance connected with this (shall I confess it?) +made even more impression on my spirits than the misfortune of Gunner +Hunt. Bolton’s people had not been long engaged when we saw the men +of the gun next to us unharness one of the horses and chase it away, +wounded, I supposed; yet the beast stood and moved with firmness, +going from one carriage to the other, whence I noticed he was always +eagerly driven away. At last two or three gunners drove him before +them to a considerable distance, and then returned to their guns. +I took little notice of this at the time, and was surprised by an +exclamation of horror from some of my people in the rear. A sickening +sensation came over me, mixed with a deep feeling of pity, when +within a few paces of me stood the poor horse in question, side by +side with the leaders of one of our ammunition-waggons, against which +he pressed his panting sides, as though eager to identify himself +as of their society--the driver, with horror depicted on every +feature, endeavouring by words and gestures (for the kind-hearted +lad could not strike) to drive from him so hideous a spectacle. +A cannon-shot had completely carried away the lower part of the +animal’s head, immediately below the eyes. Still he lived, and seemed +fully conscious of all around, whilst his full, clear eye seemed +to implore us not to chase him from his companions. I ordered the +farrier (Price) to put him out of misery, which, in a few minutes, he +reported having accomplished, by running his sabre into the animal’s +heart. Even _he_ evinced feeling on this occasion. Meantime the roar +of cannon and musketry in the main position never slackened; it was +intense, as was the smoke arising from it. Amidst this, from time +to time, was to be seen still more dense columns of smoke rising +straight into the air like a great pillar, then spreading out a +mushroom-head. These arose from the explosions of ammunition-waggons, +which were continually taking place, although the noise which filled +the whole atmosphere was too overpowering to allow them to be heard. + +Amongst the multitudes of French cavalry continually pouring over +the front ridge, one corps came sweeping down the slope entire, and +was directing its course straight for us, when suddenly a regiment +of light dragoons (I believe of the German Legion) came up from the +ravine at a brisk trot on their flank. The French had barely time +to wheel up to the left and push their horses into a gallop, when +the two bodies came in collision. They were at a very short distance +from us, so that we saw the charge perfectly. There was no check, +no hesitation, on either side; both parties seemed to dash on in a +most reckless manner, and we fully expected to have seen a horrid +crash--no such thing! Each, as if by mutual consent, opened their +files on coming near, and passed rapidly through each other, cutting +and pointing, much in the same manner one might pass the fingers of +the right hand through those of the left. We saw but few fall. The +two corps re-formed afterwards, and in a twinkling both disappeared, +I know not how or where. It might have been about two o’clock when +Colonel Gould, R.A., came to me, perhaps a little later. Be that as +it may, we were conversing on the subject of our situation, which +appeared to him rather desperate. He remarked that in the event of a +retreat, there was but one road, which no doubt would be instantly +choked up, and asked my opinion. My answer was, “It does indeed look +very bad; but I trust in the Duke, who, I am sure, will get us out of +it somehow or other.” Meantime gloomy reflections arose in my mind, +for though I did not choose to betray myself (as we spoke before the +men), yet I could not help thinking that our affairs _were_ rather +desperate, and that some unfortunate catastrophe was at hand. In this +case I made up my mind to spike my guns and retreat over the fields, +draught-horses and all, in the best manner I could, steering well +from the highroad and general line of retreat. + +We were still talking on this subject, when suddenly a dark mass of +cavalry appeared for an instant on the main ridge, and then came +sweeping down the slope in swarms, reminding me of an enormous surf +bursting over the prostrate hull of a stranded vessel, and then +running, hissing and foaming, up the beach. The hollow space became +in a twinkling covered with horsemen, crossing, turning, and riding +about in all directions, apparently without any object. Sometimes +they came pretty near us, then would retire a little. There were +lancers amongst them, hussars, and dragoons--it was a complete +_mêlée_. On the main ridge no squares were to be seen; the only +objects were a few guns standing in a confused manner, with muzzles +in the air, and not one artilleryman. After caracoling about for a +few minutes, the crowd began to separate and draw together in small +bodies, which continually increased; and now we really apprehended +being overwhelmed, as the first line had apparently been. For a +moment an awful silence pervaded that part of the position to which +we anxiously turned our eyes. “I fear all is over,” said Colonel +Gould, who still remained by me. The thing seemed but too likely, +and this time I could not withhold my assent to his remark, for it +did indeed appear so. Meantime the 14th, springing from the earth, +had formed their square, whilst we, throwing back the guns of our +right and left divisions, stood waiting in momentary expectation of +being enveloped and attacked. Still they lingered in the hollow, +when suddenly loud and repeated shouts (not English hurrahs) drew +our attention to the other side. There we saw two dense columns of +infantry pushing forward at a quick pace towards us, crossing the +fields, as if they had come from Merke Braine. Every one, both of +the 14th and ourselves, pronounced them French, yet still we delayed +opening fire on them. Shouting, yelling, and singing, on they came, +right for us; and being now not above 800 or 1000 yards distant, it +seemed folly allowing them to come nearer unmolested. The commanding +officer of the 14th, to end our doubts, rode forward and endeavoured +to ascertain who they were, but soon returned, assuring us they were +French. The order was already given to fire, when, luckily, Colonel +Gould recognised them as Belgians. Meantime, whilst my attention was +occupied by these people, the cavalry had all vanished, nobody could +say how or where. + +We breathed again. Such was the agitated state in which we were kept +in our second position. A third act was about to commence of a much +more stirring and active nature. + +It might have been, as nearly as I can recollect, about three P.M., +when Sir Augustus Frazer galloped up, crying out, “Left limber +up, and as fast as you can.” The words were scarcely uttered when +my gallant troop stood as desired in column of subdivisions, left +in front, pointing towards the main ridge. “At a gallop, march!” +and away we flew, as steadily and compactly as if at a review. I +rode with Frazer, whose face was as black as a chimney-sweep’s from +the smoke, and the jacket-sleeve of his right arm torn open by a +musket-ball or case-shot, which had merely grazed his flesh. As we +went along, he told me that the enemy had assembled an enormous mass +of heavy cavalry in front of the point to which he was leading us +(about one-third of the distance between Hougoumont and the Charleroi +road), and that in all probability we should immediately be charged +on gaining our position. “_The Duke’s orders, however, are positive,” +he added, “that in the event of their persevering and charging home, +you do not expose your men, but retire with them into the adjacent +squares of infantry._” As he spoke, we were ascending the reverse +slope of the main position. We breathed a new atmosphere--the air +was suffocatingly hot, resembling that issuing from an oven. We were +enveloped in thick smoke, and, _malgré_ the incessant roar of cannon +and musketry, could distinctly hear around us a mysterious humming +noise, like that which one hears of a summer’s evening proceeding +from myriads of black beetles; cannon-shot, too, ploughed the ground +in all directions, and so thick was the hail of balls and bullets +that it seemed dangerous to extend the arm lest it should be torn +off. In spite of the serious situation in which we were, I could +not help being somewhat amused at the astonishment expressed by our +kind-hearted surgeon (Hitchins), who heard for the first time this +sort of music. He was close to me as we ascended the slope, and, +hearing this infernal _carillon_ about his ears, began staring round +in the wildest and most comic manner imaginable, twisting himself +from side to side, exclaiming, “My God, Mercer, what _is_ that? What +_is_ all this noise? How curious!--how very curious!” And then when a +cannon-shot rushed hissing past, “_There!--there!_ What _is_ it all?” +It was with great difficulty that I persuaded him to retire: for a +time he insisted on remaining near me, and it was only by pointing +out how important it was to us, in case of being wounded, that he +should keep himself safe to be able to assist us, that I prevailed on +him to withdraw. Amidst this storm we gained the summit of the ridge, +strange to say, without a casualty; and Sir Augustus, pointing +out our position between two squares of Brunswick infantry, left +us with injunctions to remember the Duke’s order, and to economise +our ammunition. The Brunswickers were falling fast--the shot every +moment making great gaps in their squares, which the officers and +sergeants were actively employed in filling up by pushing their men +together, and sometimes thumping them ere they could make them move. +These were the very boys whom I had but yesterday seen throwing +away their arms, and fleeing, panic-stricken, from the very sound +of our horses’ feet. To-day they fled not bodily, to be sure, but +spiritually, for their senses seemed to have left them. There they +stood, with recovered arms, like so many logs, or rather like the +very wooden figures which I had seen them practising at in their +cantonments. Every moment I feared they would again throw down their +arms and flee; but their officers and sergeants behaved nobly, not +only keeping them together, but managing to keep their squares closed +in spite of the carnage made amongst them. To have sought refuge +amongst men in such a state were madness--the very moment our men +ran from their guns, I was convinced, would be the signal for their +disbanding. We had better, then, fall at our posts than in such a +situation. Our coming up seemed to reanimate them, and all their +eyes were directed to us--indeed, it was providential, for, had we +not arrived as we did, I scarcely think there is a doubt of what +would have been their fate.[19] Our first gun had scarcely gained +the interval between their squares, when I saw through the smoke the +leading squadrons of the advancing column coming on at a brisk trot, +and already not more than one hundred yards distant, if so much, for +I don’t think we could have seen so far. I immediately ordered the +line to be formed for action--_case-shot!_ and the leading gun was +unlimbered and commenced firing almost as soon as the word was given: +for activity and intelligence our men were unrivalled. The very first +round, I saw, brought down several men and horses. They continued, +however, to advance. I glanced at the Brunswickers, and that glance +told me it would not do; they had opened a fire from their front +faces, but both squares appeared too unsteady, and I resolved to +say nothing about the Duke’s order, and take our chance--a resolve +that was strengthened by the effect of the remaining guns as they +rapidly succeeded in coming to action, making terrible slaughter, +and in an instant covering the ground with men and horses. Still +they persevered in approaching us (the first round had brought them +to a walk), though slowly, and it did seem they would ride over +us. We were a little below the level of the ground on which they +moved--having in front of us a bank of about a foot and a half or +two feet high, along the top of which ran a narrow road--and this +gave more effect to our case-shot, all of which almost must have +taken effect, for the carnage was frightful.[20] I suppose this state +of things occupied but a few seconds, when I observed symptoms of +hesitation, and in a twinkling, at the instant I thought it was all +over with us, they turned to either flank and filed away rapidly to +the rear. Retreat of the mass, however, was not so easy. Many facing +about and trying to force their way through the body of the column, +that part next to us became a complete mob, into which we kept a +steady fire of case-shot from our six pieces. The effect is hardly +conceivable, and to paint this scene of slaughter and confusion +impossible. Every discharge was followed by the fall of numbers, +whilst the survivors struggled with each other, and I actually saw +them using the pommels of their swords to fight their way out of the +_mêlée_. Some, rendered desperate at finding themselves thus pent up +at the muzzles of our guns, as it were, and others carried away by +their horses, maddened with wounds, dashed through our intervals--few +thinking of using their swords, but pushing furiously onward, intent +only on saving themselves. At last the rear of the column, wheeling +about, opened a passage, and the whole swept away at a much more +rapid pace than they had advanced, nor stopped until the swell of the +ground covered them from our fire. We then ceased firing; but as they +were still not far off, for we saw the tops of their caps, having +reloaded, we stood ready to receive them should they renew the attack. + +One of, if not the first man who fell on our side was wounded by his +own gun. Gunner Butterworth was one of the greatest pickles in the +troop, but, at the same time, a most daring, active soldier; he was +No. 7 (the man who sponged, &c.) at his gun. He had just finished +ramming down the shot, and was stepping back outside the wheel, when +his foot stuck in the miry soil, pulling him forward at the moment +the gun was fired. As a man naturally does when falling, he threw +out both his arms before him, and they were blown off at the elbows. +He raised himself a little on his two stumps, and looked up most +piteously in my face. To assist him was impossible--the safety of +all, everything, depended upon not slackening our fire, and I was +obliged to turn from him. The state of anxious activity in which +we were kept all day, and the numbers who fell almost immediately +afterwards, caused me to lose sight of poor Butterworth; and I +afterwards learned that he had succeeded in rising and was gone to +the rear; but on inquiring for him next day, some of my people who +had been sent to Waterloo told me that they saw his body lying by the +roadside near the farm of Mount St Jean--bled to death! The retreat +of the cavalry was succeeded by a shower of shot and shells, which +must have annihilated us had not the little bank covered and threw +most of them over us. Still some reached us and knocked down men and +horses. + +At the first charge, the French column was composed of grenadiers à +cheval[21] and cuirassiers, the former in front. I forget whether +they had or had not changed this disposition, but think, from the +number of cuirasses we afterwards found, that the cuirassiers led +the second attack. Be this as it may, their column reassembled. They +prepared for a second attempt, sending up a cloud of skirmishers, +who galled us terribly by a fire of carbines and pistols at scarcely +40 yards from our front. We were obliged to stand with port-fires +lighted, so that it was not without a little difficulty that I +succeeded in restraining the people from firing, for they grew +impatient under such fatal results. Seeing some exertion beyond words +necessary for this purpose, I leaped my horse up the little bank, +and began a promenade (by no means agreeable) up and down our front, +without even drawing my sword, though these fellows were within +speaking distance of me. This quieted my men; but the tall blue +gentlemen, seeing me thus dare them, immediately made a target of me, +and commenced a very deliberate practice, to show us what very bad +shots they were and verify the old artillery proverb, “The nearer the +target, the safer you are.” One fellow certainly made me flinch, but +it was a miss; so I shook my finger at him, and called him _coquin_, +&c. The rogue grinned as he reloaded, and again took aim. I certainly +felt rather foolish at that moment, but was ashamed, after such +bravado, to let him see it, and therefore continued my promenade. As +if to prolong my torment, he was a terrible time about it. To me it +seemed an age. Whenever I turned, the muzzle of his infernal carbine +still followed me. At length bang it went, and whiz came the ball +close to the back of my neck, and at the same instant down dropped +the leading driver of one of my guns (Miller), into whose forehead +the cursed missile had penetrated. + +The column now once more mounted the plateau, and these popping +gentry wheeled off right and left to clear the ground for their +charge. The spectacle was imposing, and if ever the word sublime +was appropriately applied, it might surely be to it. On they came +in compact squadrons, one behind the other, so numerous that those +of the rear were still below the brow when the head of the column +was but at some sixty or seventy yards from our guns. Their pace +was a slow but steady trot. None of your furious galloping charges +was this, but a deliberate advance, at a deliberate pace, as of men +resolved to carry their point. They moved in profound silence, and +the only sound that could be heard from them amidst the incessant +roar of battle was the low thunder-like reverberation of the ground +beneath the simultaneous tread of so many horses. On our part was +equal deliberation. Every man stood steadily at his post, the guns +ready, loaded with a round-shot first and a case over it; the tubes +were in the vents; the port-fires glared and sputtered behind the +wheels; and my word alone was wanting to hurl destruction on that +goodly show of gallant men and noble horses. I delayed this, for +experience had given me confidence. The Brunswickers partook of this +feeling, and with their squares--much reduced in point of size--well +closed, stood firmly, with arms at the recover, and eyes fixed on +us, ready to commence their fire with our first discharge. It was +indeed a grand and imposing spectacle! The column[22] was led on +this time by an officer in a rich uniform, his breast covered with +decorations, whose earnest gesticulations were strangely contrasted +with the solemn demeanour of those to whom they were addressed. I +thus allowed them to advance unmolested until the head of the column +might have been about fifty or sixty yards from us, and then gave the +word, “Fire!” The effect was terrible. Nearly the whole leading rank +fell at once; and the round-shot, penetrating the column, carried +confusion throughout its extent. The ground, already encumbered with +victims of the first struggle, became now almost impassable. Still, +however, these devoted warriors struggled on, intent only on reaching +us. The thing was impossible. Our guns were served with astonishing +activity, whilst the running fire of the two squares was maintained +with spirit. Those who pushed forward over the heaps of carcasses +of men and horses gained but a few paces in advance, there to fall +in their turn and add to the difficulties of those succeeding them. +The discharge of every gun was followed by a fall of men and horses +like that of grass before the mower’s scythe. When the horse alone +was killed, we could see the cuirassiers divesting themselves of the +encumbrance and making their escape on foot. Still, for a moment, the +confused mass (for all order was at an end) stood before us, vainly +trying to urge their horses over the obstacles presented by their +fallen comrades, in obedience to the now loud and rapid vociferations +of him who had led them on and remained unhurt. As before, many +cleared everything and rode through us; many came plunging forward +only to fall, man and horse, close to the muzzles of our guns; but +the majority again turned at the very moment when, from having less +ground to go over, it were safer to advance than retire, and sought +a passage to the rear. Of course the same confusion, struggle amongst +themselves, and slaughter prevailed as before, until gradually they +disappeared over the brow of the hill. We ceased firing, glad to take +breath. Their retreat exposed us, as before, to a shower of shot +and shells: these last, falling amongst us with very long fuses, +kept burning and hissing a long time before they burst, and were a +considerable annoyance to man and horse. The bank in front, however, +again stood our friend, and sent many over us innocuous. + +Lieutenant Breton, who had already lost two horses, and had mounted a +troop-horse, was conversing with me during this our leisure moment. +As his horse stood at right angles to mine, the poor jaded animal +dozingly rested his muzzle on my thigh; whilst I, the better to hear +amidst the infernal din, leant forward, resting my arm between his +ears. In this attitude a cannon-shot smashed the horse’s head to +atoms. The headless trunk sank to the ground--Breton looking pale +as death, expecting, as he afterwards told me, that I was cut in +two. What was passing to the right and left of us I know no more +about than the man in the moon--not even what corps were beyond +the Brunswickers. The smoke confined our vision to a very small +compass, so that my battle was restricted to the two squares and my +own battery; and, as long as we maintained our ground, I thought it +a matter of course that others did so too. It was just after this +accident that our worthy commanding officer of artillery, Sir George +Adam Wood, made his appearance through the smoke a little way from +our left flank. As I said, we were doing nothing, for the cavalry +were under the brow re-forming for a third attack, and we were +being pelted by their artillery. “D--n it, Mercer,” said the old +man, blinking as a man does when facing a gale of wind, “you have +hot work of it here.” “Yes, sir, pretty hot;” and I was proceeding +with an account of the two charges we had already discomfited, and +the prospect of a third, when, glancing that way, I perceived their +leading squadron already on the plateau. “There they are again!” I +exclaimed; and, darting from Sir George _sans cérémonie_, was just +in time to meet them with the same destruction as before. This time, +indeed, it was child’s play. They could not even approach us in any +decent order, and we fired most deliberately; it was folly having +attempted the thing. I was sitting on my horse near the right of my +battery as they turned and began to retire once more. Intoxicated +with success, I was singing out, “Beautiful!--beautiful!” and my +right arm was flourishing about, when some one from behind, seizing +it, said quietly, “Take care, or you’ll strike the Duke;” and in +effect our noble chief, with a serious air, and apparently much +fatigued, passed close by me to the front, without seeming to take +the slightest notice of the remnant of the French cavalry still +lingering on the ground. This obliged us to cease firing; and at the +same moment I, perceiving a line of infantry ascending from the rear, +slowly, with ported arms, and uttering a sort of feeble, suppressed +hurrah--ankle-deep in a thick tenacious mud, and threading their way +amongst or stepping over the numerous corpses covering the ground, +out of breath from their exertions, and hardly preserving a line, +broken everywhere into large gaps the breadth of several files--could +not but meditate on the probable results of the last charge had I, in +obedience to the Duke’s order, retired my men into the squares and +allowed the daring and formidable squadrons a passage to our rear, +where they must have gone thundering down on this disjointed line. +The summit gained, the line was amended, files closed in, and the +whole, including our Brunswickers, advanced down the slope towards +the plain. + +Although the infantry lost several men as they passed us, yet on +the whole the cannonade began to slacken on both sides (why, I know +not), and, the smoke clearing away a little, I had now, for the first +time, a good view of the field. On the ridge opposite to us dark +masses of troops were stationary, or moving down into the intervening +plain. Our own advancing infantry were hid from view by the ground. +We therefore recommenced firing at the enemies’ masses, and the +cannonade, spreading, soon became general again along the line. +Whilst thus occupied with our front, we suddenly became sensible of +a most destructive flanking fire from a battery which had come, the +Lord knows how, and established itself on a knoll somewhat higher +than the ground we stood on, and only about 400 or 500 yards a +little in advance of our left flank. The rapidity and precision of +this fire were quite appalling. Every shot almost took effect, and +I certainly expected we should all be annihilated. Our horses and +limbers, being a little retired down the slope, had hitherto been +somewhat under cover from the direct fire in front; but this plunged +right amongst them, knocking them down by pairs, and creating +horrible confusion. The drivers could hardly extricate themselves +from one dead horse ere another fell, or perhaps themselves. The +saddle-bags, in many instances, were torn from the horses’ backs, +and their contents scattered over the field. One shell I saw explode +under the two finest wheel-horses in the troop--down they dropped. +In some instances the horses of a gun or ammunition-waggon remained, +and all their drivers were killed.[23] The whole livelong day had +cost us nothing like this. Our gunners too--the few left fit for duty +of them--were so exhausted that they were unable to run the guns up +after firing, consequently at every round they retreated nearer to +the limbers; and as we had pointed our two left guns towards the +people who were annoying us so terribly, they soon came altogether +in a confused heap, the trails crossing each other, and the whole +dangerously near the limbers and ammunition-waggons, some of which +were totally unhorsed, and others in sad confusion from the loss of +their drivers and horses, many of them lying dead in their harness +attached to their carriages. I sighed for my poor troop--it was +already but a wreck. + +I had dismounted, and was assisting at one of the guns to encourage +my poor exhausted men, when through the smoke a black speck caught +my eye, and I instantly knew what it was. The conviction that one +never sees a shot coming towards you unless directly in its line +flashed across my mind, together with the certainty that my doom was +sealed. I had barely time to exclaim “Here it is then!”--much in that +gasping sort of way one does when going into very cold water takes +away the breath--“whush” it went past my face, striking the point of +my pelisse collar, which was lying open, and smash into a horse close +behind me. I breathed freely again. + +Under such a fire, one may be said to have had a thousand narrow +escapes; and, in good truth, I frequently experienced that +displacement of air against my face caused by the passing of shot +close to me; but the two above recorded, and a third which I shall +mention, were remarkable ones, and made me feel in full force the +goodness of Him who protected me among so many dangers. Whilst +in position on the right of the second line, I had reproved some +of my men for lying down when shells fell near them until they +burst. Now my turn came. A shell, with a long fuse, came slop +into the mud at my feet, and there lay fizzing and flaring, to +my infinite discomfiture. After what I had said on the subject, I +felt that I must act up to my own words, and, accordingly, there I +stood, endeavouring to look quite composed until the cursed thing +burst--and, strange to say, without injuring me, though so near. +The effect on my men was good. We had scarcely fired many rounds +at the enfilading battery when a tall man in the black Brunswick +uniform came galloping up to me from the rear, exclaiming, “Ah! mine +Gott!--mine Gott! vat is it you doos, sare? Dat is your friends +de Proosiens; an you kills dem! Ah, mine Gott!--mine Gott! vill +you no stop, sare?--vill you no stop? Ah! mine Gott!--mine Gott! +vat for is dis? De Inglish kills dere friends de Proosiens! Vere +is de Dook von Vellington?--vere is de Dook von Vellington? Oh, +mine Gott!--mine Gott!” &c. &c., and so he went on raving like one +demented. I observed that if these were our friends the Prussians +they were treating us very uncivilly; and that it was not without +sufficient provocation we had turned our guns on them, pointing out +to him at the same time the bloody proofs of my assertion. Apparently +not noticing what I said, he continued his lamentations, and, “Vill +you no stop, sare, I say?” Wherefore, thinking he might be right, +to pacify him I ordered the whole to cease firing, desiring him to +remark the consequences. _Psieu, psieu, psieu_, came our _friends’_ +shot, one after another; and our friend himself had a narrow escape +from one of them. “Now, sir,” I said, “you will be convinced; and we +will continue our firing, whilst you can ride round the way you came, +and tell them they kill their friends the English; the moment their +fire ceases, so shall mine.” Still he lingered, exclaiming, “Oh, dis +is terreebly to see de Proosien and de Inglish kill vonanoder!” At +last darting off I saw no more of him.[24] The fire continued on both +sides, mine becoming slacker and slacker, for we were reduced to the +last extremity, and must have been annihilated but for the opportune +arrival of a battery of Belgic artillery a little on our left, which, +taking the others in flank nearly at point blank, soon silenced and +drove them off. We were so reduced that all our strength was barely +sufficient to load and fire three guns out of our six. + +These Belgians were all beastly drunk, and, when they first came up, +not at all particular as to which way they fired; and it was only +by keeping an eye on them that they were prevented treating us, and +even one another. The wretches had probably already done mischief +elsewhere--who knows? My recollections of the latter part of this day +are rather confused; I was fatigued, and almost deaf. I recollect +clearly, however, that we had ceased firing--the plain below being +covered with masses of troops, which we could not distinguish from +each other. Captain Walcot of the horse-artillery had come to us, and +we were all looking out anxiously at the movements below and on the +opposite ridge, when he suddenly shouted out, “Victory!--victory! +they fly!--they fly!” and sure enough we saw some of the masses +dissolving, as it were, and those composing them streaming away in +confused crowds over the field, whilst the already desultory fire of +their artillery ceased altogether. I shall never forget this joyful +moment!--this moment of exultation! On looking round I found we were +left almost alone. Cavalry and infantry had all moved forward, and +only a few guns here and there were to be seen on the position. A +little to our right were the remains of Major M‘Donald’s troop under +Lieutenant Sandilands, which had suffered much, but nothing like us. +We were congratulating ourselves on the happy results of the day, +when an aide-de-camp rode up, crying “_Forward, sir!--forward! It is +of the utmost importance that this movement should be supported by +artillery!_” at the same time waving his hat much in the manner of a +huntsman laying on his dogs. I smiled at his energy, and, pointing to +the remains of my poor troop, quietly asked, “_How, sir?_” A glance +was sufficient to show him the impossibility, and away he went. + +Our situation was indeed terrible: of 200 fine horses with which we +had entered the battle, upwards of 140 lay dead, dying, or severely +wounded. Of the men, scarcely two-thirds of those necessary for four +guns remained, and these so completely exhausted as to be totally +incapable of further exertion. Lieutenant Breton had three horses +killed under him; Lieutenant Hincks was wounded in the breast by a +spent ball; Lieutenant Leathes on the hip by a splinter; and although +untouched myself, my horse had no less than eight wounds, one of +which--a graze on the fetlock joint--lamed him for ever. Our guns +and carriages were, as before mentioned, altogether in a confused +heap, intermingled with dead and wounded horses, which it had not +been possible to disengage from them. My poor men, such at least as +were untouched, fairly worn out, their clothes, faces, &c., blackened +by the smoke and spattered over with mud and blood, had seated +themselves on the trails of the carriages, or had thrown themselves +on the wet and polluted soil, too fatigued to think of anything +but gaining a little rest. Such was our situation when called upon +to advance! It was impossible, and we remained where we were. For +myself, I was also excessively tired--hoarse, to making speech +painful, and deaf from the infernal uproar of the last eleven hours. +Moreover, I was devoured by a burning thirst, not a drop of liquid +having passed my lips since the evening of the 16th; but although, +with the exception of the chicken’s leg last night, I may be said to +have eaten nothing for two whole days, yet did I not feel the least +desire for food. + +The evening had become fine, and but for an occasional groan or +lament from some poor sufferer, and the repeated piteous neighing +of wounded horses, tranquillity might be said to reign over the +field. As it got dusk, a large body of Prussian artillery arrived, +and formed their bivouac near us. There was not light to see more +of them than that their brass guns were kept bright, and that their +carriages were encumbered with baggage, and, besides, appeared but +clumsy machines when compared with ours. All wore their greatcoats, +which apparently they had marched in. As they looked at us rather +scowlingly, and did not seem inclined to hold any communication with +us, I soon returned to my own people, whom I found preparing to go +supperless to bed--the two remaining officers, the non-commissioned +officers and men having all got together in a heap, with some painted +covers spread under and others drawn over them--at a distance from +our guns, &c., the neighbourhood of which, they said, was too +horrible to think of sleeping there. For my part, after standing all +day amongst all these horrors, I felt no squeamishness about sleeping +amongst them; so pulling down the painted cover of a limber over +the footboard in the manner of a tent roof, I crept under it, and +endeavoured to sleep. The cramped situation in which I lay, and the +feverish excitement of my mind, forbade, however, my obtaining that +sound and refreshing sleep so much needed--I only dozed. From one +of these dozes I awoke about midnight, chilled and cramped to death +from the awkward doubled-up position imposed upon me by my short and +narrow bed. So up I got to look around and contemplate a battle-field +by the pale moonlight. The night was serene and pretty clear; a +few light clouds occasionally passing across the moon’s disc, and +throwing objects into transient obscurity, added considerably to the +solemnity of the scene. Oh, it was a thrilling sensation thus to +stand in the silent hour of the night and contemplate that field--all +day long the theatre of noise and strife, now so calm and still--the +actors prostrate on the bloody soil, their pale wan faces upturned to +the moon’s cold beams, which caps and breastplates, and a thousand +other things, reflected back in brilliant pencils of light from as +many different points! Here and there some poor wretch, sitting up +amidst the countless dead, busied himself in endeavours to stanch the +flowing stream with which his life was fast ebbing away. Many whom +I saw so employed that night were, when morning dawned, lying stiff +and tranquil as those who had departed earlier. From time to time +a figure would half raise itself from the ground, and then, with +a despairing groan, fall back again. Others, slowly and painfully +rising, stronger, or having less deadly hurt, would stagger away with +uncertain steps across the field in search of succour. Many of these +I followed with my gaze until lost in the obscurity of distance; +but many, alas! after staggering a few paces, would sink again on +the ground, probably to rise no more. It was heart-rending--and yet +I gazed! Horses, too, there were to claim our pity--mild, patient, +enduring. Some lay on the ground with their entrails hanging out, and +yet they lived. These would occasionally attempt to rise, but, like +their human bed-fellows, quickly falling back again, would lift their +poor heads, and, turning a wistful gaze at their side, lie quietly +down again, to repeat the same until strength no longer remained, and +then, their eyes gently closing, one short convulsive struggle closed +their sufferings. One poor animal excited painful interest--he had +lost, I believe, both his hind legs; and there he sat the long night +through on his tail, looking about, as if in expectation of coming +aid, sending forth, from time to time, long and protracted melancholy +neighing. Although I knew that killing him at once would be mercy, I +could not muster courage even to give the order. Blood enough I had +seen shed during the last six-and-thirty hours, and sickened at the +thought of shedding more. There, then, he still sat when we left the +ground, neighing after us, as if reproaching our desertion of him in +the hour of need. + +The Prussian bivouac near at hand offered a far different and more +cheering scene. There all was life and movement. Their handsome +horses, standing harnessed and tied to the carriages, sent forth +neighings of another character. Dark forms moved amongst them; and +by the bivouac-fires sat figures that would have furnished studies +for a Salvator. Dark, brown, stern visages, rendered still sterner by +the long drooping mustache that overshadowed the mouth, from which +appended their constant companion, the pipe. Many there were, too, +busily occupied with the first great care of all animals--cooking, +or eating the mess already cooked. Save these I have mentioned, +no living being moved on the moon-lit field; and as I cast up my +eyes at the lustrous lamp of heaven, I thought on the thousand dear +connections far, far away, on whose peaceful dwelling it now looked +down, their inmates sleeping in tranquil security, ignorant as yet +of the fatal blow which had now for ever severed them from those +they loved, whose bodies encumbered the ground around me. And here, +even here, what a contrast between this charnel-house and the distant +landscape within my ken! Over it the same fair planet shed her mild +beams, illuminating its groves and yellow corn-fields, its still and +quiet villages, whose modest spires here and there arose from the +horizon--emblems of peace, tranquillity, and repose. Long I continued +to gaze on this sad and solemn scene; and all this slaughter, I said, +to gratify the ambition of one man, and that man--whom?--one who has +risen from a station humble as my own, has already devastated Europe, +and filled it with blood and mourning--who only recently left behind +him 400,000 gallant men, a prey to the sword and the intemperance of +a northern clime--fearful holocaust on the altar of that ambition! + +At length I again crept into my cell, and again slept by fits and +starts, until the first blush of day reddened the eastern sky, and +aroused us all to new exertion. As I emerged from under my cover a +shudder crept over me, when the stronger light of day enabled me to +see the corpse of one of my drivers lying mangled and bloody beneath +my lair. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +_19th._--The cool air of the morning lasted not long; the rising sun +soon burst in all his glory over our bloody bivouac, and all nature +arose into renewed life, except the victims of ambition which lay +unconscious of his presence. I had not been up many minutes when +one of my sergeants came to ask if they might bury Driver Crammond. +“And why particularly Driver Crammond?” “Because he looks frightful, +sir; many of us have not had a wink of sleep for him.” Curious! I +walked to the spot where he lay, and certainly a more hideous sight +cannot be imagined. A cannon-shot had carried away the whole head +except barely the visage, which still remained attached to the torn +and bloody neck. The men said they had been prevented sleeping by +seeing his eyes fixed on them all night; and thus this one dreadful +object had superseded all the other horrors by which they were +surrounded. He was of course immediately buried, and as immediately +forgotten. Our first care after this was to muster the remaining +force, to disentangle our carriages from each other, and from the +dead and dying animals with which they were encumbered. Many sound +or only slightly-wounded horses, belonging to different corps of +both armies, were wandering about the field. Of these we caught +several in the course of the morning, and thus collected, with what +remained of our own fit for work, sufficient to horse four guns, +three ammunition-waggons, and the forge. Of men we had nearly enough +for these at reduced numbers, so we set to work equipping ourselves +without delay. Although supplies of ammunition had been sent to us +during the action, yet little remained. The expenditure had been +enormous. A return had been called for yesterday evening just as +we were lying down to rest, but, fatigued as we all were, it was +impossible to give this correctly. As near as I could ascertain, we +must have fired nearly 700 rounds per gun. Our harness, &c., was so +cut to pieces, that but for the vast magazines around us from which +we could pick and choose, we should never have got off the field. +Soon after daybreak an officer came from headquarters to desire +me to send all my superfluous carriages to Lillois, where a park +was forming, and to inform me that a supply of ammunition would be +found in the village of Waterloo. Accordingly the carriages were +sent without delay; but this requiring all the horses, they were +obliged to make a second trip for the ammunition. Whilst this was +doing I had leisure to examine the ground in our immediate vicinity. +Books and papers, &c., covered it in all directions. The books at +first surprised me, but upon examination the thing was explained. +Each French soldier, it appeared, carried a little accompt-book of +his pay, clothing, &c. &c. The scene was now far from solitary; +for numerous groups of peasants were moving about busily employed +stripping the dead, and perhaps finishing those not quite so. Some of +these men I met fairly staggering under the enormous load of clothes, +&c., they had collected. Some had firearms, swords, &c., and many had +large bunches of crosses and decorations; all seemed in high glee, +and professed unbounded hatred of the French. + +I had fancied we were almost alone on the field, seeing only the +remains of Major Bull’s troop of horse-artillery not far from us (the +Prussians had gone forward about, or a little before, daybreak); +but in wandering towards the Charleroi road I stumbled on a whole +regiment of British infantry fast asleep, in columns of divisions, +wrapped in their blankets, with their knapsacks for pillows. Not a +man was awake. There they lay in regular ranks, with the officers and +sergeants in their places, just as they would stand when awake. Not +far from these, in a little hollow beneath a white thorn, lay two +Irish light-infantry men sending forth such howlings and wailings, +and oaths and execrations, as were shocking to hear. One of them had +his leg shot off, the other a thigh smashed by a cannon-shot. They +were certainly pitiable objects, but their vehement exclamations, +&c., were so strongly contrasted with the quiet resolute bearing of +hundreds, both French and English, around them, that it blunted one’s +feelings considerably. + +I tried in vain to pacify them; so walked away amidst a volley of +abuse as a hardhearted wretch who could thus leave two poor fellows +to die like dogs. What could I do? All, however, though in more +modest terms, craved assistance; and every poor wretch begged most +earnestly for water. Some of my men had discovered a good well of +uncontaminated water at Hougoumont, and filled their canteens; so I +made several of them accompany me and administer to the most craving +in our immediate vicinity. Nothing could exceed their gratitude, +or the fervent blessings they implored on us for this momentary +relief. The French were in general particularly grateful; and those +who were strong enough, entered into conversation with us on the +events of yesterday, and the probable fate awaiting themselves. +All the non-commissioned officers and privates agreed in asserting +that they had been deceived by their officers and betrayed; and, to +my surprise, almost all of them reviled Buonaparte as the cause of +their misery. Many begged me to kill them at once, since they would +a thousand times rather die by the hand of a soldier than be left +at the mercy of those villanous Belgic peasants. Whilst we stood by +them, several would appear consoled and become tranquil; but the +moment we attempted to leave, they invariably renewed the cry, “Ah, +Monsieur, tuez moi donc! Tuez moi, pour l’amour de Dieu!” &c. &c. +It was in vain I assured them carts would be sent to pick them all +up. Nothing could reconcile them to the idea of being left. They +looked on us as brother soldiers, and knew we were too honourable to +harm them: “But the moment you go, those vile peasants will first +insult, and then cruelly murder us.” This, alas! I knew, was but too +true. One Frenchman I found in a far different humour--an officer +of lancers, and desperately wounded; a strong square-built man, +with reddish hair and speckled complexion. When I approached him +he appeared suffering horribly--rolling on his back, uttering loud +groans. My first impulse was to raise and place him in a sitting +posture; but, the moment he was touched, opening his eyes and seeing +me, he became perfectly furious. Supposing he mistook my intention, +I addressed him in a soothing tone, begging he would allow me to +render him what little assistance was in my power. This only seemed +to irritate him the more; and on my presenting him the canteen +with water, he dashed it from him with such a passionate gesture +and emphatic “_Non!_” that I saw there was no use in teasing, and +therefore reluctantly left him. Returning towards our position, I +was forcibly struck by the immense heap of bodies of men and horses +which distinguished it even at a distance; indeed, Sir Augustus +Frazer told me the other day, at Nivelles, that in riding over the +field, “_he could plainly distinguish the position of G troop from +the opposite height by the dark mass which, even from that distance, +formed a remarkable feature in the field_.” These were his very +words. One interesting sufferer I had nearly forgotten. He was a +fine young man of the grenadiers à cheval, who had lain groaning +near us all night--indeed scarcely five paces from my bed; therefore +was the first person I visited as soon as daylight came. He was a +most interesting person--tall, handsome, and a perfect gentleman in +manners and speech; yet his costume was that of a private soldier. +We conversed with him some time, and were exceedingly pleased with +his mild and amiable address. Amongst other things he told us that +Marshal Ney had led the charges against us. In this, however (if +we understood him rightly), he must have been mistaken, since that +Marshal is an infantry general. Be that as it may, we all felt deeply +interested for our unfortunate prisoner, and did all in our power for +him, which consisted in kind words and sending two careful men to +lead him to the village--a most painful undertaking, for we now found +that, besides one ball in the forehead, he had received another in +his right thigh, which, together with his being barefooted, could not +but render his journey both tedious and painful. + +I now began to feel somewhat the effects of my long fast in a most +unpleasant sense of weakness and an inordinate craving for food, +which there were no means of satisfying. My joy, then, may be +imagined when, returning to our bivouac, I found our people returned +from Lillois, and, better still, that they had brought with them a +quarter of veal, which they had found in a muddy ditch, of course in +appearance then filthy enough. What was this to a parcel of men who +had scarcely eaten a morsel for three days? In a trice it was cut +up, the mud having been scraped off with a sabre, a fire kindled and +fed with lance-shafts and musket-stocks; and old Quartermaster Hall, +undertaking the cooking, proceeded to fry the dirty lumps in the lid +of a camp-kettle. How we enjoyed the savoury smell! and, having made +ourselves seats of cuirasses,[25] piled upon each other, we soon +had that most agreeable of animal gratifications--the filling our +empty stomachs. Never was a meal more perfectly military, nor more +perfectly enjoyed. + +We had not yet finished our meal, when a carriage drove on the ground +from Brussels, the inmates of which, alighting, proceeded to examine +the field. As they passed near us, it was amusing to see the horror +with which they eyed our frightful figures; they all, however, +pulled off their hats and made us low bows. One, a smartly-dressed +middle-aged man, in a high cocked-hat, came to our circle, and +entered into conversation with me on the events of yesterday. He +approached holding a delicately white perfumed handkerchief to his +nose; stepping carefully to avoid the bodies (at which he cast +fearful glances _en passant_), to avoid polluting the glossy silken +hose that clothed his nether limbs. May I be pardoned for the +comparison: Hotspur’s description of a fop came forcibly to my mind +as we conversed; clean and spruce, as if from a bandbox, redolent of +perfume, he stood ever and anon applying the ’kerchief to his nose. +I was not leaning on my sword, but I arose to receive him from my +seat of armour, my hands and face begrimed and blackened with blood +and smoke--clothes too. “I do remember when the fight was done,” &c. +&c. It came, as I said, forcibly to my mind as I eyed my friend’s +costume and sniffed the sweet-scented atmosphere that hovered round +him. The perfumed handkerchief, in this instance, held the place of +Shakespeare’s “pouncet-box”--the scene was pleasant to remember! With +a world of bows my man took leave, and proceeded, picking his steps +with the same care as he followed the route of his companions in the +direction of Hougoumont. + +Having despatched our meal, and then the ammunition-waggons to +Waterloo, and leaving the people employed equipping as best they +could, I set off to visit the Château likewise; for the struggle that +had taken place there yesterday rendered it an object of interest. +The same scene of carnage as elsewhere characterised that part of the +field over which I now bent my steps. The immediate neighbourhood +of Hougoumont was more thickly strewn with corpses than most other +parts of the field--the very ditches were full of them. The trees +all about were most woefully cut and splintered, both by cannon-shot +and musketry. The courts of the Château presented a spectacle more +terrible even than any I had yet seen. A large barn had been set on +fire, and the conflagration had spread to the offices, and even to +the main building. Here numbers, both of French and English, had +perished in the flames, and their blackened swollen remains lay +scattered about in all directions. Amongst this heap of ruins and +misery many poor devils yet remained alive, and were sitting up +endeavouring to bandage their wounds. Such a scene of horror, and one +so sickening, was surely never witnessed. + +Two or three German dragoons were wandering among the ruins, and +many peasants. One of the former was speaking to me when two of the +latter, after rifling the pockets, &c., of a dead Frenchman, seized +the body by the shoulders, and, raising it from the ground, dashed +it down again with all their force, uttering the grossest abuse, and +kicking it about the head and face--revolting spectacle!--doing this, +no doubt, to court favour with us. It had a contrary effect, which +they soon learned. I had scarcely uttered an exclamation of disgust, +when the dragoon’s sabre was flashing over the miscreants’ heads, +and in a moment descended on their backs and shoulders with such +vigour that they roared again, and were but too happy to make their +escape. I turned from such scenes and entered the garden. How shall I +describe the delicious sensation I experienced! + +The garden was an ordinary one, but pretty--long straight walks +of turf overshadowed by fruit-trees, and between these beds of +vegetables, the whole enclosed by a tolerably high brick wall. Is +it necessary to define my sensations? Is it possible that I am not +understood at once? Listen then. For the last three days I have +been in a constant state of excitement--in a perfect fever. My eyes +have beheld nought but war in all its horrors--my ears have been +assailed by a continued roar of cannon and cracking of musketry, the +shouts of multitudes and the lamentations of war’s victims. Suddenly +and unexpectedly I find myself in solitude, pacing a green avenue, +my eyes refreshed by the cool verdure of trees and shrubs; my ear +soothed by the melody of feathered songsters--yea, of sweet Philomel +herself--and the pleasing hum of insects sporting in the genial +sunshine. Is there nothing in this to excite emotion? Nature in +repose is always lovely: here, and under such circumstances, she was +delicious. Long I rambled in this garden, up one walk, down another, +and thought I could dwell here contented for ever. Nothing recalled +the presence of war except the loopholed wall and two or three dead +Guardsmen;[26] but the first caused no interruption, and these last +lay so concealed amongst the exuberant vegetation of turnips and +cabbages, &c., that, after coming from the field of death without, +their pale and silent forms but little deteriorated my enjoyment. +The leaves were green, roses and other flowers bloomed forth in all +their sweetness, and the very turf when crushed by my feet smelt +fresh and pleasant. There was but little of disorder visible to tell +of what had been enacted here. I imagine it must have been assailed +by infantry alone; and the havoc amongst the trees without made by +our artillery posted on the hill above to cover the approach to +it--principally, perhaps, by Bull’s howitzer battery. + +I had satisfied my curiosity at Hougoumont, and was retracing my +steps up the hill, when my attention was called to a group of wounded +Frenchmen by the calm, dignified, and soldier-like oration addressed +by one of them to the rest. I cannot, like Livy, compose a fine +harangue for my hero, and, of course, I could not retain the precise +words, but the import of them was to exhort them to bear their +sufferings with fortitude; not to repine, like women or children, +at what every soldier should have made up his mind to suffer as the +fortune of war, but, above all, to remember that they were surrounded +by Englishmen, before whom they ought to be doubly careful not to +disgrace themselves by displaying such an unsoldierlike want of +fortitude. The speaker was sitting on the ground, with his lance +stuck upright beside him--an old veteran, with a thick bushy grizly +beard, countenance like a lion--a lancer of the Old Guard, and no +doubt had fought in many a field. One hand was flourished in the air +as he spoke, the other, severed at the wrist, lay on the earth beside +him; one ball (case-shot, probably) had entered his body, another had +broken his leg. His suffering, after a night of exposure so mangled, +must have been great: yet he betrayed it not. His bearing was that +of a Roman, or perhaps of an Indian warrior, and I could fancy him +concluding appropriately his speech in the words of the Mexican king, +“And I too; am I on a bed of roses?” I could not but feel the highest +veneration for this brave man, and told him so, at the same time +offering him the only consolation in my power--a drink of cold water, +and assurances that the waggons would soon be sent round to collect +the wounded. He thanked me with a grace peculiar to Frenchmen, and +eagerly inquired the fate of their army. On this head I could tell +him nothing consolatory, so merely answered that it had retired last +night, and turned the conversation to the events of yesterday. This +truly brave man spoke in most flattering terms of our troops, but +said they had no idea in the French army we should have fought so +obstinately, since it was generally understood that the English +Government had, for some inexplicable reason, connived at Napoleon’s +escape from Elba, and therefore had ordered their army only to make +a show of resistance. After a very interesting conversation, I +begged his lance as a keepsake, observing that it never could be of +further use to him. The old man’s eyes kindled as I spoke, and he +emphatically assured me that it would delight him to see it in the +hands of a brave soldier, instead of being torn from him, as he had +feared, by those vile peasants. So I took my leave, and walked away +with the lance in my hand.[27] Ever since my groom (Milward) has +been transformed into my lancer-orderly; and I propose, if ever I +return to England, consecrating it to the memory of the interesting +old hero. In passing Bull’s bivouac it was my fate to witness another +very interesting scene. A wounded hussar had somehow or another found +his way there from another part of the field, and, exhausted by the +exertion, had just fainted. Some of those collected round him cried +out for water, and a young driver, who, being outside the throng, had +not yet seen the sufferer, seized a canteen, and ran away to fill +it. Whilst he was absent the hussar so far recovered as to be able +to sit up. The driver returned at this moment, and, pushing aside +his comrades, knelt down to enable the hussar to drink, holding the +canteen to his lips, and in so doing recognised a brother whom he had +not seen for years! His emotion was extreme, as may be supposed. + +On regaining my own bivouac I found the ammunition arrived, and, +what was still more satisfactory, Mr Coates with his whole train of +Flemish waggons--our baggage and provisions. He had got intelligence +in time of the battle of Quatre Bras and its results, and therefore +altered his route to meet us on our retreat. On approaching the +Charleroi road he had been swept away by the torrent of fugitives, +and actually carried, _malgré lui_, beyond Brussels, some way on +the road to Antwerp, before he could succeed in disentangling his +train from the rabble rout, which he described as exceeding all +imagination. As he brought the wherewithal, &c., of course his +joining was hailed with joy by every one. + +Since the order to send away my carriages I had received none; but +as my diminished troop was completed as far as could be done here, +I resolved to move off this horrid place; and accordingly, at three +P.M., we joyfully took to the Nivelles road--by instinct, perhaps, +for I knew nothing of the movements of the army, nor by what road +they had gone forward.[28] About a mile or so from the field I formed +our bivouac for the night in a sweet and wholesome orchard near the +road, with a turf-like velvet, and perfectly dry. This in itself was +a luxury; it was a luxury to breathe pure uncontaminated air; it was +a luxury to be out of hearing of groans, cries, and lamentations. +This was not all. Mr Coates brought us a ham and a cheese; the +neighbouring farmhouse supplied us with eggs, milk, and cider: so +that in due time we sat down to an excellent dinner, seasoned with +that sauce which no cook, however _scientific_, has yet learned to +equal--hunger. Hilarity reigned at our board--if we may so term the +fresh turf at the foot of an apple-tree; and over our grog and cigars +we managed to pass a most pleasant evening. Previously, I had caused +my servant to bring me a bucket of water, and prepared myself for +our repast by the enjoyment of that first of luxuries, a thorough +wash and clean clothes. This was the first time I had undressed +since leaving Strytem--four whole days and three whole nights. It +may be imagined with what joy I got rid of my bloody garments. Like +the birds, we all retired to rest with the close of day, and the +delicious sleep I enjoyed it is impossible to describe. + +_20th._--Awoke early, and at first could not imagine where I was. +The cheerful sunbeams were playing amongst the leaves and branches +overhead. The farmer’s people were moving out with their cattle to +commence their daily labours. All was peace and rural tranquillity. +The events of the last four days passed across my recollection, +and I could for a moment scarcely believe them other than a +troubled dream; but I raised myself on my elbow, and there was the +battle-field, still encumbered with the slain. Ah! there it lay, +bathed in the full blaze of sunshine. Starting up, I roused our +people, and would have immediately recommenced the march, but upon +inquiry, found that, although the farriers had worked throughout the +night, they had not yet completed the shoeing. It was ten o’clock +before they did so; and then we put ourselves in movement on the road +to Nivelles, amidst crowds of stragglers, sutlers, &c., all pushing +forward to overtake the army. It was like the highroad to some great +fair. Every one appeared light-hearted, and it was delight to leave +_that_ field behind one. + +Arrived at the gate of Nivelles, we found such a throng that there +were no hopes of passing for at least some hours. I therefore drew +up my troop in a pretty meadow by the roadside, where, besides +being out of the dust, we could enjoy the cool shelter of the fine +umbrageous elms by which it was surrounded, and water and feed our +cattle. Mr Coates had preceded us and procured a fat cow, which one +of our men slaughtered and cut up; and the meat being distributed, +we were provided with the needful wherever we might bivouac. Up +to this point I had no orders, nor did I know anything of the +armies--English, Prussian, or French. We knew, to be sure, that the +latter had been defeated on the 18th, and retired, followed by the +other two; but we had no notion of the extent of the defeat, and +therefore expected to find them again in position. Here I expected +to get some information when I could get into the town; but the gate +still continued so choked with waggons that it was impossible even +for an individual to enter except in turn. + +An order overtook us here to send back an officer to take charge +of the guns and carriages we had left behind, until they could be +rehorsed and forwarded to us again. Lieutenant Hincks, who rejoined +us yesterday, being far from well, and suffering much from his +contusion, I with some difficulty persuaded him to take this duty. +On the opposite side of the road was a neat house, standing in a +shrubbery, apparently deserted. Some of my men, wandering into the +yard, discovered here three privates of the Guards. I forget what +account they gave of themselves, but remember they complained of +having eaten nothing for three days. We gave them a lump of beef and +some bread, not reflecting at the time on the strange circumstance +of their being thus left behind. I have since thought they remained +here with the intention of deserting as soon as the coast was clear. + +At length I effected my own entrance into the town, hoping to gain +some information, or even meet some one who could give me orders. +The first thing that struck me on passing the gates was the contrast +the present aspect of the streets presented to that when we passed +through on the evening of the 16th. Then all was sadness, despair, +and lamentation; now all joy, confidence, and revel. The countenance +of every one you met beamed exultation and triumph, Belgians as +well as English. Men came up with frankness, took our hands, and +paid us some compliment. The women, by smiles and kind looks, +testified their sympathy; whilst the lower orders, in the joy of +their hearts, would slap one on the thigh, _en passant_, with an +emphatic “Bon!” “Brave garçon!” “Brave Anglais!” “Bon!” Or, if a +number were collected at some corner, they would demonstrate their +feelings by a cheer of “Vivent les Anglais!” The numerous cafés +and cabarets (of which every door and window was open on account +of the oppressive heat) were crammed with officers and soldiers of +every arm and of every nation, eating, drinking, swearing, singing, +and smoking. Music of some sort increased the _bouhara_ in most of +them. In many private houses, too, of the first appearance, large +parties of officers were regaling themselves; and even in the streets +many little assemblages of soldiers were to be seen enjoying their +pipes and their beer in some shady corner. It was one complete +scene of festivity. The streets were, moreover, crowded almost to +suffocation with scattered soldiery: columns on their march; long +files of country waggons laden with forage or provisions; together +with the pretty little, low, light baggage-waggons of the German +infantry, with their snow-white tilts. Here quartermasters and their +attendants were running about chalking the doors of the houses (the +headquarters were here to-night) with the names of those who were to +take up their temporary abode in them. “Lieutenant-Colonel ----” on +one; “Deputy-Assistant-Adjutant-General” on another; “1st company of +such a regiment” on another, and so on. Then several commissaries +(followed by a swarm of Flemish waggoners) hurry along in search of +the Magazin des Fourrages. Further on, officers of the general staff +are arranging the march of troops. Suddenly a loud shout announces +something extraordinary even on this day of excitement. Every one +hurries to the spot, pushing each other, jumping, shouting. “What +can it mean?” I inquired. “Monsieur l’Officiere, c’est un convoi +des prisonniers que vient d’arriver,” replied my man, doffing at +the same time his _bonnet de nuit_ and making a most respectful +salaam. I stopped to see the convoy pass. The prisoners, dressed in +grey _capôtes_ and _bonnets de fourrage_, march steadily on. Some +_vieux moustaches_ look very grave, and cast about furious glances +at the noisy crowd which follows them with the perseverance of a +swarm of mosquitoes, _sacréeing_ and venting all kind of illiberal +abuse on them and their b---- of an Emperor. Many, however, younger +men, laugh, joke, and return their abuse with interest, whilst the +soldiers of the escort (English) march doggedly along, pushing aside +the more forward of the throng, and apparently as if only marching +round a relief. The crowd passed on, and so did I, until, meeting +some of our own people, I learned that Sir Augustus Frazer was here, +and soon after found out his billet. To find one’s self in a quiet, +genteel, well-furnished room, after such scenes of bustle, &c., as +had occupied our last few days, is a pleasing change. Exactly such +was that in which I found Sir Augustus engaged with his adjutant. +He was in his slippers; his writing materials were arranged on the +table, and on another were some books and maps. The open windows +looked into a little shady garden gay with flowers and flowering +shrubs. There was an air of cheerfulness, of home and home’s comfort, +about the place that was quite refreshing. My visit was necessarily +a short one. I learned much more of our battle and its consequences +than I had known before, and that I had better push on with the crowd +until I got orders, or fell in with Lord Edward Somerset’s division. +Frazer and Bell told me many flattering things about G troop, and +considered it a certainty that I should get the brevet--_nous +verrons_! + +Quitting them, I plunged again into the crowd and fought my way +towards the gate by which I had entered, but was agreeably surprised +at meeting my people in the street, Newland having pushed on the +moment he observed the crowd at the gate get somewhat thinner. +Traversing the town with our carriages proved a tedious operation; +for in addition to what I before found to struggle with, we now fell +in with an endless column of Belgic infantry marching the same route +as ourselves--a most annoying obstruction. The march of these people +was a sort of triumphal procession: colours displayed; bands, with +their clattering jangling cymbals, making a most martial noise; +officers and men prancing along with short quick steps, bended knees, +and stamping the pavement as if they wished to break holes in it, +swaggering like turkey-cocks, and trying to appear indifferent, +which was belied by the frequent upward glances at the fair dames in +the windows, who certainly were doing all they could to blow up the +vanity of these their brave countrymen by throwing out flowers on +them, waving of handkerchiefs, clapping of hands, and faintly crying +“Viva!” + +We crept along the flank of this column of heroes, unnoticed and +unknown, and soon after, clearing the Porte de Binche, got ahead +and clear of them. The road was almost as much crowded as the +streets of Nivelles, and I found it useless to expect to make rapid +progress. For the first few miles the country was prettily wooded +and interspersed with villages and neat houses; but then it began +to get less wooded, less thickly inhabited, and in every way less +interesting. Continued struggling on until towards evening, when our +adjutant (Bell) overtook me with a little scrap of paper, on which +was an order for me to bivouac either at Rœulx or Binche; but as we +could not very well learn where these places were, and no guide was +to be procured, and the evening began to close in, I determined on +halting on a high and rather exposed piece of ground where we then +happened to be. The bivouac was badly chosen--no water near, no house +near, no wood near, no shelter of any kind near, and we were somehow +all cross and out of humour. Set the men to work, scrubbing and +cleaning appointments, this being the first opportunity of so doing. +Went to sleep at nightfall. I think the nearest village to us was +Haine. Some rustics who came to gape at us from a neighbouring farm +told us that the King of Westphalia and another French general had +passed the night of the 18th there with a few attendants, but that +early on the morning of the 19th they had departed in a great hurry, +evidently afraid of being overtaken. + +_21st._--Paraded early, and, considering all things, tolerably +clean and neat. Descended to a lower country, equally dismal +and uninteresting, without the one advantage which the other +possesses--viz., that of commanding a distant prospect, always +more or less pleasing. At noon arrived in the neighbourhood of +Mons, where we overtook the Greys, Inniskillings, Ross’s troop +of Horse-Artillery, and several other corps, both of cavalry and +infantry. We had, in short, now rejoined the army. The Greys and the +Inniskillings were mere wrecks--the former, I think, did not muster +200 men, and the latter, with no greater strength, presented a sad +spectacle of disorganisation and bad discipline; they had lost more +than half their appointments. Some had helmets, some had none; many +had the skull-cap, but with the crest cut or broken off; some were +on their own large horses, others on little ones they had picked up; +belts there were on some; many were without, not only belts, but +also canteens and havresacks. The enemy surely had not effected in +a single day so complete a disorganisation, and I shrewdly suspect +these rollicking Paddies of having mainly _spoilt_ themselves. The +other corps all looked remarkably well, although they, too, had +partaken in the fight. We overtook these corps about a mile from +Mons, on a hill, whence that place, with its old fortifications, +looked venerable and picturesque. Descending thence, the road crossed +a broad, flat, marshy piece of ground, which appeared nearly, if +not entirely, to surround the place. Here our further progress was +obstructed by a number of trees felled across the road, and forming +a sort of abatis, and we were consequently obliged to make a detour +through the meadows, and cross a rivulet by (I think the Trouille) a +mill-dam, over which the cavalry were obliged to file. This rendered +it a very tedious operation; and that part where at the mill we had +to pass our guns, &c., over a bridge of planks barely broad enough, +was a rather ticklish one. We crossed after the Greys, and came with +them on the main road to Maubeuge at the moment a Highland regiment +(perhaps the 92d), which had come through Mons, was passing. The +moment the Highlanders saw the Greys an electrifying cheer burst +spontaneously from the column, which was answered as heartily; +and on reaching the road the two columns became blended for a few +minutes--the Highlanders running to shake hands with their brave +associates in the late battle. This little burst of feeling was +delightful--everybody felt it; and although two or three general +officers were present, none interfered to prevent or to censure this +breach of discipline. A few hundred yards further on I found Lord +Edward Somerset, with his brigade, formed in a field of clover by +the roadside; and now, for the _first time_, I reported myself to +him, and requested orders. These were simply to proceed straight to +Malplaquet, and there bivouac for the night. Accordingly I continued +my route independent as heretofore of my brigade. Nothing could be +more horridly uninteresting than this country. Well cultivated, yet +no habitations, or very few--no enclosures, or rather no hedges, +there being banks to some of the fields; no trees, and hills just +high enough to prevent an extended view, without adding one jot +of beauty to the landscape. Most dismal country! To add to our +wretchedness, the clouds which had been collecting all the morning +began to drop their contents, so, snugging ourselves under our +cloaks, on we jogged sulkily enough. We had left the great Chaussée +de Maubeuge, and had been marching some time on a cross-road, +occasionally confined between bare banks--not such ramparts as one +sees in the county of Cork, but low clay banks about knee-high, with +the ditch whence the material has been taken. In this way we had +reached a point where a greater elevation of the ground allowed some +scope of vision; and when emerging from between the banks, we came on +something like a heath, bordered on one side by a large wood. Here an +assemblage of rustics appeared awaiting us. Their principal object, +no doubt, was to gaze at the strangers; but they gave themselves +infinite trouble to make us comprehend that we were about to cross +the frontier and enter on the soil of France. Drawing a long line in +the mud, right across the road, and vociferating altogether, “Ici, +monsieur!” “Voila, monsieur!” “Regardez, monsieur!” “C’est ici, +monsieur, que vous entrez en la France!” and when we crossed their +line, they grinned and jumped about like so many monkeys. I could +not divine what pleasure they derived from seeing strangers violate +the sacred territory, nor what could induce the energetic “Voici, +monsieur, la France, voilà la Belgique!” which they roared in chorus. +How different would have been the feelings and actions of Englishmen +on a similar occasion! Frenchmen, however, draw amusement from +everything--even misfortune. But did they look upon our invasion as +a misfortune? From what I have seen of these people, it appears very +doubtful whether they care a farthing who reigns over them. Be that +as it may, we undoubtedly entered France amidst cheers and greetings +of the populace. + +Soon after this we arrived at Malplaquet without being able to see +it--the truth is, that it consists of a number of large farm-houses, +&c., all standing isolated, and surrounded by thick orchards. In +one of these we established our bivouac. A beggarly-looking old +house, built of wattles, plastered with clay (which in many places +had fallen off), windows without glass, and doorways without doors, +stood in one corner of our orchard, and as this was very cheerless +from the heavy rain, we agreed to do comfortable and dine in the +_house_. Accordingly, our prog and materials were conveyed thither, +and the dame was desired to make a fire in her best _salon_; yet, +after all, it was a matter of doubt whether we should not have been +more comfortable under the apple-trees, barring the droppings. The +place was a perfect picture of misery; rooms disgustingly filthy, and +besides, blackened with smoke; floor of earth, broken into all sorts +of holes and inequalities; ceiling of loose planks and full of large +holes, as were the partitions; furniture--a rickety table, two or +three as rickety chairs, and a sort of chest of walnut, serving the +place of a chest of drawers, black as ebony from age and dirt. The +mistress, a grown-up daughter, and three or four young children, were +the only inmates of this wretched mansion we saw--filthy as their +dwelling, their clothes all in rags, and without shoe or stocking. +These poor creatures were so alarmed at us that they scarcely seemed +to know what they were doing. Our dinner, of course, was none of the +most comfortable; but some hot grog and cigars afterwards put us all +in good-humour, and we passed the evening admirably. In due time we +retired to the nests our servants had provided for us in the orchard, +and I was soon sound asleep, but was aroused about two o’clock by the +sergeant-major, with a lantern in one hand and a paper in the other, +which a dragoon had just brought from headquarters. This was an order +to march at four A.M. Raining hard. + + +END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. + + +PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The port of Ostend is what people usually term a “dry harbour.” +It is dry at low tide, but the flood brings in about 16 or 18 feet +water. + +[2] _Ghistel_, according to the map of Maillart, &c. + +[3] The Church of Notre Dame ceased to be a cathedral 1801, when it +was united to the diocese of Ghent. + +[4] M‘Donald’s troop had arrived ten days before us. + +[5] La Folle Marguerite (?), 18 feet long and 3 feet in diameter, +near the Marché de Vendredi; it is called the Mannekens Aert. It is +named after a Countess of Flanders celebrated for the violence of +her temper. It is also designated the Wonder of Ghent, is made of +malleable iron, and, according to another account, was used by Philip +Van Arteveldt at the siege of Oudenarde in 1382.--Quin’s ‘Moselle,’ +&c., vol. i. p. 160. + +[6] The moat supplied us daily a dish of very fine carp, and the +gardener’s sons occasionally shot us a hare or two. + +[7] Such crops I never before saw, particularly those vividly-green +crops of _trèf_, which really appeared so thick that one might walk +on them without sinking to the ground. But to me the height attained +by the rye was most astonishing. In one field which I rode through +nearly every day, it was as high as my head, when mounted on my +little horse Cossack, about 14¾ hands high, so that it could not have +been less than 7 or 8 feet, the ears remarkably full and looking well. + +[8] The _captains were_--viz., Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hew D. Ross, +Major Bull, ---- Ramsay, Lieutenant-Colonel W. Smyth, Major M‘Donald, +Captain Mercer. + +[9] The Duke of Wellington was so indifferent to the manner in which +officers dressed, that they indulged in all sorts of fancies. I +remember, at this inspection, Ramsay wore the light-cavalry belt +instead of a sash; Bull wore beard and mustache; so did Newland; +I wore the mustache. The usual dress of hussars was frock-coat +open, with a red waistcoat richly laced with gold. At that time our +regimental pantaloons were _pepper-and-salt_, with straps of brown +leather inside the legs and round the bottom, and a red stripe down +outside seam. + +[10] A report _was_ sent to Brussels, but it never reached the Duke, +for the simple people went in the first instance to Sir G. Wood, and +there it was strangled. + +[11] We had been ordered nearly a fortnight ago to keep this quantity +ready, and the hay rolled, &c. &c. + +[12] I believe this is the Bois de la Houssier. + +[13] Sir Hussey Vivian’s, I believe. + +[14] These appear to have been the cuirassiers of Milhaud, together +with the light cavalry of the corps commanded by Count Lobau, sent to +assist Ney in his attack on Quatre Bras.--See O’Meara’s ‘Translation +of Memoir of Napoleon,’ lib. ix. cap. v. p. 109. + +[15] That this was Napoleon we have the authority of General +Gourgand, who states that, irritated at the delay of Marshal Ney, +he put himself at the head of the chasseurs (I think), and dashed +forward in the hope of yet being able to catch our rear-guard. + +[16] This was the spot where Picton fell on the morrow, and in this +hedge was the so well-known Wellington Tree. + +[17] The light cavalry of the 2d Corps formed in three lines across +the causeway from Nivelle, &c., nearly at the height of the first +woods at Hougoumont, scouring all the plain by the left, and having +main guards near Braine le Leude, and its battery of light artillery +on the causeway of Nivelle.--‘Memoir of Napoleon,’ lib. ix. cap. vi. +p. 134; O’Meara’s Translation. + +[18] I believe Jägers of the Hanoverian corps. + +[19] One day, on the Marine Parade at Woolwich, a battalion coming up +in close column at the double march, Lieutenant-Colonel Brown, who +stood near me, remarked, “That puts me in mind of your troop coming +up at Waterloo, when you _saved_ the Brunswickers.” Until this moment +I never knew that our having done so had been remarked by anybody; +but he assured me it was known to the whole army; and yet the Duke +not only withheld that praise which was our due, but refused me the +brevet rank of major; and, more than that, actually deprived me of +that troop given to me by Lord Mulgrave, the then Master-General, +_for_ that action, as recommended by my commanding officer, Sir G. +Adams Wood. + +That the Duke was not ignorant of their danger I have from Captain +Baynes, our Brigade-Major, who told me that after Sir Augustus Frazer +had been sent for us, his Grace exhibited considerable anxiety for +our coming up; and that when he saw us crossing the fields at a +gallop, and in so compact a body, he actually cried out, “Ah! that’s +the way I like to see horse-artillery move.” Another proof. + +[20] The following extract, from a related account of a conscript, +translated from the French and published by Murray, is so true and +exact as to need no comment:--“Through the smoke I saw the English +gunners abandon their pieces, all but six guns stationed under the +road, and almost immediately our cuirassiers were upon the squares, +whose fire was drawn in zig-zags. Now, I thought, those gunners would +be cut to pieces; but no, the devils kept firing with grape, which +mowed them down like grass.” It is pleasant, after all, to find we +were observed and spoken of as we deserved, though not by those who +ought to have done it. I may here mention that Sir James Shaw Kennedy +in his book is, I think, mistaken in saying that the Brunswickers +were saved by Major Bull’s and Captain Mercer’s batteries, since +after the usual interval on the right of the Brunswick square +occurred one of English and then Major Bull’s battery, and the front +of the French attacking column was only equal to our own. + +[21] These grenadiers à cheval were very fine troops, clothed in blue +uniforms without facings, cuffs, or collars. Broad, very broad buff +belts, and huge muff caps, made them appear gigantic fellows. + +[22] Gourgand says:--“Cette division de deux mille grenadiers à +cheval, et dragons tous gens d’élite, s’étaient engagés sur le +plateau, sans l’ordre de l’Empereur,” &c. &c.--P. 88., ed. London. +He speaks of the cavalry of reserve of the Guard. Could these be the +people? + +[23] “The field was so much covered with blood, that it appeared +as if it had been flooded with it,” &c.--Simpson’s ‘Paris after +Waterloo,’ &c., p. 21. + +[24] At one time I thought this a French _ruse de guerre_. I remember +the man perfectly, with his silver arrow and chain attached to his +black shoulder-belt. In Sir John Sinclair’s ‘Translation of Baron +Muffling’s Account,’ London, 1816, and at p. 29, I find that about 4 +P.M., whilst the cuirassiers, after charging through the 1st British +line, were roaming over the interval between it and the 2d, “the +enemy advanced a battalion on the plain of the platform, at hardly +500 yards’ distance from the position, so as, perhaps, to establish +his infantry on this side of the little wood of Hougoumont and in +La Haye Sainte.” Could this have been the one? At p. 35 he says, +“The shot from Bulow’s artillery reached the British, and the Duke +was obliged to send notice of it.” Query--Did the Duke observe this +himself, or was it communicated to him by my black hussar? + +[25] Here were more cuirasses than men; for the wounded (who could +move), divesting themselves of its encumbrance, had made their +escape, leaving their armour on the ground where they had fallen. + +[26] In some accounts of the battle, and visits to the field, &c., it +has been stated that this garden was a scene of slaughter. Totally +untrue! As I have stated in the text, I did not see above two or +three altogether. There certainly might have been more concealed +amongst the vegetation, but they could not have been many. + +[27] During the remainder of the campaign Milward carried it; and +on returning to England I even rode into Canterbury followed by my +lancer--a novelty in those days. Whilst in retirement on half-pay, +it was suspended in my library; but on going to America in 1823 +I deposited it in the Rotunda at Woolwich. On my return in 1829 +the lance was gone. In 1823 or 1824 it seems Lieutenant-Colonel +Vandaleur, of the 9th Lancers, came to Woolwich to look for a model. +Mine pleased him, and he took it to St John’s Wood Riding-House, +where it was tried against others in presence of the Duke of York, +and approved of as a model for arming the British lancers. After +a long hunt I at last found it at the Enfield manufactory, spoilt +completely, the iron-work and thong taken off, and flag gone. It cost +me a long correspondence with the Board before I succeeded in getting +it restored and put together. When I received it from him who had +so long wielded it, the flag was dyed in blood, the blade notched, +and also stained with blood; inside the thong was cut Clement, VII., +probably the number of his troop. [It is now in the possession of Dr +Hall, an old Waterloo man, and sincere friend of my father.--ED.] + +[28] Sir George Wood incurred the Duke’s extreme displeasure for not +securing and parking the French guns immediately after the action, +for the Prussians got hold of many of them; and it was only through +the indefatigable activity of Sir Augustus Frazer that they were +regained--partly by coaxing, partly by blustering. However, they were +all recovered. + + + + +MESSRS W. 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