CHAPTER XX.
State of Feeling in France—Rocket-Practice—The Prince Regent’s Hobby—The Mayor’s Ball—The Flag-of-Truce.Head Quarters, St. Jean de Luz,January 18th, 1814.
State of Feeling in France—Rocket-Practice—The Prince Regent’s Hobby—The Mayor’s Ball—The Flag-of-Truce.
Head Quarters, St. Jean de Luz,January 18th, 1814.
My dear M——,
Aftertwo or three days’ continual rain, we have at last a clear beautiful day; thermometer in my room at 63°.
In the midst of a terrible storm the day before yesterday a little cockle shell of a sloop arrived in the open bay here, with the Count de Grammont on board and Colonel Abercrombie, with despatches and a paper of the 10th. This told us the principal news. We have thus heard that the Danes are with us; ideas of peace thrown aside, and the Allies across the Rhine. This is popular news here; for almost all are against a peace with Bonaparte, partly from public feelings that such a peace would be injurious to England and the world, partly the fact that any peace would not be desirable to our military men, especially to those on the staff, whose splendour would be much shorn by it. The civilians and regimental officers, who are not on the eve of a step, are alone inclined to a peace; to many it will be ruinous.
We again hear of refractory conscripts, and men refusing to march, in the right of the department de Landes and elsewhere, and I believe it in some degree. But this alone will not do without a more general feelingand even then scarcely, unless a portion of the army takes a part and declares its views against the common enemy Bonaparte, whom all Europe are now hunting like a mad dog.
The Count de Grammont has made a most expeditious trip. He had had communications with the persons on his former property here, and I suppose his visit home was connected with this, to know what line to pursue, &c. The feelings of this part of France seem, as yet, to be still the same: all desire peace, and for that purpose are eager to get rid of Bonaparte; but there is no feeling manifested towards the Bourbons, not hitherto, at least; and I really believe the military men, and even many civilians, would rather have Bonaparte if they could be sure of a peace with him. He has done much for them, and on a great scale. The Code Napoleon has been a great work, and from what I hear is much liked. Instead of being governed, and oppressed in fact, by the rich, as they were before, they are now governed by the law, and that a good law; and as the mayor here and several others say, well administered, when the state was not concerned. The only defect seemed to be that the magistrates having been latterly ill-paid, a temptation to corruption on their part existed; and this was a change from anarchy, and therefore the more felt, as then the strongest (I mean in means and territory) was everything and the poor man nothing. In short, the only really great grievance felt at this distance from the court of the tyrant seems to have been the horrid conscription and its tremendous increase of late, and the want of commerce. Nor would the French feel either of these so much as any other nation in Europe. The first she would not feel so much, on account of the natural tendency of the inhabitants to a military life and habits; the last, from the great internal resources of France in other respects, making loss of commerce of much less importance to herthan to almost any other power which had been accustomed to enjoy them. I do not mean less than Austria, which has been so generally shut out from commerce to any extent, but compared with England, Holland, or Sweden.
Thursday, 20th.—Another change again in the weather. Yesterday it was quite a fine, sunny, warm day, till one or two o’clock, like our May, and we were all out, witnessing some experiments made with the rockets, about two miles off, when a storm gathered, and soon the rain and wind came, and has continued to this time. The night has been very boisterous, and one of our Commissariat transports has been on shore in the bay here, stranded, and it is feared that five or six lives are lost: all hands are now at work moving the stores—corn and hay.
All the military men in the vicinity were here with Lord Wellington, including General Frere, the Spanish General. The ground-rockets, intended against cavalry, did not seem to answer very well. They certainly made a most tremendous noise, and were formidable spitfires; no cavalry could stand if they came near them, but in that seemed the difficulty, for none went within half a mile of the intended object, and the direction seemed extremely uncertain. The ground was very bad, and on a flat, or along a road, where they would ricochet or bound along straight they might do very well, but in the present experiment they went bang into the ground, sometimes within two hundred yards, and sometimes one way and sometimes another. Some of them, instead of going fourteen hundred yards, as intended, were off in a hundred, and some pieces of the shell came back even amongst us spectators, one very near Dr. N—— and me, whilst we were standing on one side, out of the way as we thought. The fire, however, seemed very strong, as one got into a green hedge, and set it in a blaze directly;the furze and heath were on fire, and only put out by the rain. Those which were let off at an elevation supposed for burning towns, &c., were much more successful, and some went very near the spot, compared with others; that is, I think they would have hit Bayonne, for instance, somewhere or other, and no doubt have set fire to the town; but the part of the town you could not very well choose, for their power seemed very different, and the wind at times carried them three hundred or four hundred yards away from the direction intended.
Upon the whole I do not think they were much admired, though in certain cases they might be useful, especially when the enemy are in a mountainous track, like at the battle of Pamplona, and near us. Where guns could not be got up without great difficulty, these rockets could be carried by hand, or on mules, and being let off near, would have tremendous effect even upon infantry when in column. General ——, who is very wise and knowing in the secret views and springs of everything (or at least would be thought so), says that all that fuse of the Crown Prince and Sir Charles Stewart, as to the effect of the rockets in the North, was to please the Prince Regent in England, the great patron of the rockets.
The stranded ship was, I hear, driven out of the harbour of Sacoa by the gale. This is quite extraordinary, for the vessels are there quite shut up. The place is, however, too full by far, for no transport likes to move again when once safe there. The packet lost in the harbour of Passages last week shows you the sort of gales and seas we have here.
This morning, a French picquet of about thirty men were marched off from hence, prisoners; they were surprised by us two nights ago. We got close, and when challenged, an old Highlander called out “deserter,” so the sentinel did not fire, and our men got in among them and carried off the picquet. I am not very glad of this,for I fear it will lead the French to try and return the compliment, and make the outpost duty much more dangerous and troublesome than it has been. If it only leads to their shooting our next deserter, so much the better. Deserters continue to come in and tell strange stories. They say that Marshal Soult has issued orders, that whenever a foreigner is to be on outpost duty, all his necessaries, knapsack, &c., are to be taken from him, and he is besides to be watched and placed with others. They even say that a German posted on sentry has his shoes taken away from him. This, barring exaggeration, no doubt is nearly true.
It is reported that last week three hundred young conscripts belonging to one regiment were employed to carry bread to the brigade, and that when near one of the French sentinels, they were challenged by him, but from not understanding matters, they made no answer, and advanced; upon which he fired at them, when the whole three hundred threw down their bread and ran into camp, crying, that the enemy were coming.
But the best story of all, if true, was told by the mayor of Biaritz, who states that he understands three French divisions are under orders to proceed direct to Lyons, whether to meet Schwartzenburg or on account of disturbances does not seem clear, even if the story be true.
Friday, January 21st.—In spite of the wet yesterday, Lord Wellington having heard of the surprised picquet, set off to the front to inquire about it, or, as he said last night, to know if it was worth while to surprise it again, as it has been renewed by the French; but he thought not, and was back here to dinner, and in the evening at a ball at the mayoralty. This ball was an attempt to ascertain how far anything of the sort would answer. The mayor was to manage it, and ask all the ladies, and a list of the officers to be asked was given to him, and tickets sent out, and he was to provide the best entertainmenthe could for a dollar-a-head from the gentlemen only, which will be collected accordingly. It went off, however, but ill, and will not in my opinion be renewed. There were about a dozen or fifteen elderly women, French, who have remained here, and who seemed of the better order, but who came in our country town fashion, with the cloak, the woman servant, and the large lantern, only many of them brought the maid in with them to sit behind and look on. Then there were about sixteen or eighteen younger ladies, French, but who seemed to be nearly all the tradesmen’s families in the place, none of the better sort, but from behind the counter in the morning. They were, however, well dressed, and danced tolerably for French—for English very finely. About half a dozen old Frenchmen, some respectable; and about eight young beaux of the place, who had escaped the conscription, and who had remained here, made up the French party. There were six English ladies altogether, but who, excepting one, declined dancing French dances or waltzes, and there was nothing else but one country dance, which went off ill. I have no doubt the French either thought them excessively fine, or that they could not dance. There might be quite as much of the latter as the former. Then to complete the assembly, came about two hundred officers, all in their best, and forming a very smart squeeze. What would your fine ladies in London have not given for such a display of gentlemen? All the field officers of six battalions of the Guards, and about fifty other guards’ officers, and all the head-quarters’ staff, generals, aides-de-camp, were there.
I think Cobbett would have admitted that, with so many fine young men there, the whole Peninsula squad could not be quite so despicable in the eyes of the English fair. Three sets of cotillions were formed, and some waltzes, but the whole went off but indifferently.A Frenchman of about forty or fifty, one of the police of the town, volunteered a hornpipe, which was tolerably good. About 12 or 1 o’clock a long table was opened for the ladies, covered with pastry of different shapes: no meat—the wine, claret. At half-past one I came away, leaving the dancers rather beginning to romp. This will not do, because the belles are not good enough to please in a sober way, and if liberties are taken they would be offended, or at least their male relations would be for them. Lord Wellington was soon off, and whilst there seemed to be principally occupied with little military arrangements. He, however, seemed pleased with the thing, and asked me as I passed, if I thought Gazan ever had a better ball? I only said, “I am sure there never were so many gentlemen in the mayor’s house before.” Better dancing, however, there may have been.
Still rain, without ceasing. I have been skipping with one of my mule ropes, instead of my walk to-day with my umbrella. I got to the wrecked ship yesterday. The best account seems to be that she pulled up the post to which she was fastened in Sacoa harbour, and drifted out; the captain was on shore; the missing are three men and a woman, and they are supposed to be lost, and it is believed that the men were in the rigging trying to make things right, when the mast broke. The Guards were set to work as fatigue-parties at low water, and the cargo removed on shore, consisting of hay and biscuit, not much damaged by the wreck. The hay, however, of which one truss fell to my share, was previously almost mouldy with wet, perhaps a little taste of salt may give it a relish, and any how it is as good as coarse straw and furze, and better than nothing, which is my mules’ long forage at present. The muleteer is so popular, the Portuguese give him so much drink to make him dance and amuse them, that he is very ill with it, and lying below with a blister and emetic; and the mules thereforeget no grass, as I cannot turn them out; and straw I cannot afford them.
Another ingenious trick has just been told me of the French here. They advanced towards Murillo’s Spaniards,—the latter fired at them; they sent in to say they were very much surprised, for they understood they were at peace with the Spaniards now, as a treaty was signed. Murillo sent back for answer, that he knew of no peace, and that, if the Cortes or Regency had signed such a peace, still he should continue to do as the English did, and fire at the French until orders came to him to the contrary, and that regularly through the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo. This is all as it should be, but the trick is a curious one.
Saturday, 22nd.—The weather is now more like winter than it has yet been. At St. Jean de Luz we have a raw, cold air, no sun, a damp fog. La Rhüne and all the hills round are covered with snow; nothing but a little sleet has fallen here.
Sunday, Post-day.—A fine day, but really like winter; the coldest we have had, and a north-east wind, which will, I think, before it arrived here, have frozen you all up stiff in England and in Holland. We were all yesterday surprised by the news that the French picquets were all withdrawn near Bayonne on our front on this side, and that we might proceed close in to the works round Bayonne. What this exactly means we none of us know; Lord Wellington, however, was over immediately, to have a peep into the town on that side. Careless about himself, he got so close, that I understand there were some French in a house within about forty yards of him; nor did he move until he thought a French frigate lying in the harbour seemed to be making preparations to fire at the party. I mentioned to you it was on the 10th of December, in front here, that he got quite in the midst of the broken Portuguese, where therewere cross fires on all sides, and was fearful on moving off quickly back, even though he wanted to go and order up fresh troops, lest the bad example might increase the disorder, and throw the men in greater confusion; so he went leisurely back, until out of sight, and then cantered off to the unbroken part of the column.
We have more reports of insurrections in France, and the French have been circulating the story, that the preliminaries of peace (a general peace) are already signed, and have sent the report in here. I suspect that it is all a trick, for all shifts and schemes are now resorted to; amongst others, Bonaparte has sent back Palafox to Spain—it is concluded, to intrigue, for he is well known now, and the Cortes have, I am told, refused to receive him or take any notice of him. The promotion of O’Donoghue as Lieutenant-general, and his quitting the situation of War Minister in consequence, is considered a sort of triumph on our part, for he was suspected of being inimical to Lord Wellington and the British interests. Of his successor, Moreno, I know nothing, except that he has generally been of the War Council, and in civil-military employments, and has not seen much service.
Head-Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, January 26th, 1814.—I have now another letter to thank you for, of the date of the 11th instant, and papers to the same period, for which my best thanks are also due. These arrived by the sloop of war, with Colonel Bunbury, and are particularly acceptable, for (except Lord Wellington), no one has letters by the packet, or papers later than the 5th. Colonel Bunbury brought one of the 13th for Lord Wellington. In some degree, however, all your papers now lose their interest, for we have a sort of information through Paris very much quicker, and though not very much to be depended upon, and not very full or accurate, yet it gives us, making all due allowances, a tolerableinsight into what is passing. We have thus now papers of the 17th from Paris, from which it appears the Allies have been at Besançon, Dijon, and even Langres, whilst your accounts only carry them to the frontiers of Switzerland.
The deficiency of my Spanish maps does not signify, for I merely sent them home as a sort of memorial of Vittoria. All I had were only about the tenth part of Lopez, and nearly one-half of what I had are gone to the bottom in the little Catherine, in which I sent two parcels.
General G—— was always famous here for hospitality and very large parties. The only objection to them was the too great crowd at dinner. From what I saw, however, I liked him extremely. There was a wide distance between him and Lord Wellington in material points for a Commander-in-Chief, though I believe he was more popular with those under him, and particularly with his staff.
You need never apologize for forwarding a letter by any officer sent out express in a ship of war, and direct to head-quarters, for that is the best of all conveyances when available. They are sure to use the greatest expedition, and to have the best sailing-vessel. An officer coming out with convoy in a transport to join his regiment is quiteune autre chose, and to be as much avoided.
We have for the last three days had a touch of your late weather, and have had snow on the ground to the sea’s edge every night fresh, and remaining all day on the ground. It is still not very cold in reality, and indeed less so than could be wished, for if colder, we should feel it less. This seems paradoxical, but the truth is, that the ground here is not hard, and the snow, when trodden upon in the streets, melts, and forms a most chilling mud, and there is a cold evaporation going on worse than a hard frost. It is here every day like the first beginning of a cold thaw.
Yesterday one of my deputies, passing through here, dined with me. He is a very gentleman-like, quiet, and most diligent character, and I only hope my mention of him, in particular to General Pakenham, the Adjutant-general, coupled with that of Colonel Royals, whose Adjutant he has been, may do him some service. He has been down at Coimbra, and elsewhere. His name is Arden, and he is a lieutenant in the 61st. He was last from St. Andero, and told me a curious story about a late flag-of-truce there.
Much of our clothing was, you may have heard, carried to Santona, near there, as a prize. Many of our men were, consequently, in absolute tatters. Lord Wellington proposed to Soult to buy it at a valuation, and let the Governor of Santona have the money to pay his garrison. Soult agreed, and gave an order, with a pass. Mr. Drake, the Commissary, was ordered to go into Santona, in consequence, with a flag to treat. Instead of one trumpeter, five persons improperly went with him. The French officer on the post came out, told him he did not understand a flag-of-truce with five persons, and the Spaniards drawn up so near, that he might suspect treachery, and must do his duty, though Soult’s orders and pass might be all regular. In short, said he, “I return in, and in one minute I fire a gun at you; so make the best of your way off.” Though the party offered to be taken in as prisoners, the Frenchman went in; so off they ran, and just as they turned the corner of a house, a twenty-four pounder was after them. The Governor was angry with the officer. A new flag with one person advanced: Drake was admitted, but was blinded for nearly a league; and yet the person near him and another, let in afterwards, were permitted to see all. When the mission was understood, and the party discovered to be civilians, the Governor was very polite. He gave them good wine, but bad bread and meat, which the power of fancy madeDrake think was horseflesh. He then said that the shoes, gaiters, pantaloons, and some of the caps, his men then wore, so that as to those the mission was too late; but the jackets they were welcome to purchase, with some other things, and a bargain was soon made. The Governor then said, “I know your road home is infamous to St. Andero—you shall return in our privateer row-barge.” This they did in a very short time, and the finale was a formal complaint from the Spanish authorities at St. Andero, against Drake, for having dared to let a French row-boat enter St. Andero without their leave and their pass. When in the town all the children, &c., crowded round Drake and his party to see an Englishman. This made the Governor very angry, and he had them dispersed, asking them “what there was to look at in an Englishman?” at which they shouted under his nose—“Viva los Ingleses! Viva! Viva!” I wish the higher class of Spaniards were as staunch as the peasantry and rabble.
Saturday.—Our regular mail has not yet arrived; so your papers up to the 11th have been in most constant request; for, though there was one here up to the 13th, there was no regular set to the 11th. The snow has ended in torrents of cold rain again; the roads, almost more impassable, if that be possible, than they were before, of course impede all movement, even if intended. Nothing but a rising or commotions, would tempt us out, and that must be without cannon in a great measure, and dependant for provisions principally on the country, as our transport diminishes daily in the army, from the death of mules, or desertion of muleteers.
The life of the subaltern officers just now is very arduous and unpleasant; winter quarters they certainly have, but that is all; four or five in a room, comforts very few, a great deal of duty with forage parties, and going to Passages for corn, bread, &c., and always in thewet, and up to the knees in mud. Matters, however, must, in my opinion, end soon.
We have French papers to the 20th, and by them find the Allies at Langres, Dijon, and Lyons; we are told that they are well received. Upon this it must very much turn at last. The news from the French camp and from Bayonne is of peace. Our mayor has had a letter from his confidential friend at Bayonne. The basis was at last agreed upon on both sides, and a congress to take place at Basle. This may be fabricated, for the purpose of keeping the country and army here quiet until the event be really so. The French must now or never get rid of Bonaparte, if they wish it. It is not very flattering to the Bourbons, that even the repeated sufferings and disasters the nation has endured from Bonaparte scarcely seem to be able to rouse up the least attachment to them; and that even the last necessity seems hardly to make the people willing to run any risks for the old royal family. Yet I am almost sure the feeling would rapidly spread, from the sort of despair now prevailing as tola pauvre France, if a good beginning could be but once made.
You must remember the article of capitulation as to theCommissaire de Guerreand his family, the brother’s wife, and two daughters, &c., at St. Sebastian. They have never yet returned to France, and are now here. The exchange of theCommissairecould never be arranged; and the ladies, though offered to return without him, would not do so, expecting that he would every day be able to accompany them. Lord Wellington let them remain at Passages, until the matter was finally settled; and there they have been all the time in the same house with one of our Commissaries, Mr. M——. And now, when they were all to go back, the latter has declared himself the admirer professed of the youngest girl, and they are after all halted here at St. Jean de Luz until hecan marry her, and then the rest of the party pass into the French lines. I met them at dinner yesterday; they are a pleasant family. The girl pleasing and rather pretty, and in the English style; the mother a clever woman; the other girl not pretty, but odd, and, I think, clever.
Our new Admiral is arrived, having left England on the 21st. All our mails are thus forestalled, as we have still only mail papers and letters to the 5th. We are told that there is no news in particular, but that all is warlike. Our story here is, however, of a still later date, and may possibly still be true. The only other news we have is from Catalonia; and that, it is to be feared, is bad. You will, however, get it before you have this, I conclude, from theGazette. General Donkin told me his letters stated that we had made an attack on Moulins del Rey on the Lobregat, near Barcelona; that the Spaniards were to cross the river and turn the French: that they were too slow and too late, and so the whole plan failed; but that we suffered but little, and that the loss was nearly all Spanish, who lost two colonels killed. I do not believe that all Spain would drive Suchet or his army out, except by time, and wear and tear—never by force. The Government, however, have behaved well, I believe, as to the late French attempts through Ferdinand, and through our English hero—Palafox.
I am sorry not to be able still to admire the latter. It is mortifying to strike out the name of one of the few Spanish heroes which this five years’ war has produced. I am now, however, satisfied that the Spanish insurrection, and all its good consequences, was owing to the thorough ignorance and want of calculation, and of information and judgment of the Spaniards. If they had had more common sense, and knowledge of the true state of things, even their zeal and patriotism (which Iadmit were considerable) would never have induced them to adopt a course so devoid of all prospect of a favourable result, and which every thinking, impartial, able man must have pronounced a desperate mad scheme. We owe it principally, I am sure, to their excessive pride and ignorance, their good opinion, yet want of knowledge of themselves. And this accounts for the most able men at first all going the wrong way.
Sunday, 30th, Post-day.—Nothing but wind and rain, wind and rain for ever, and no more news. Some of the deserters say that the French head-quarters are removed to my old place, Mont de Marsan; but I should think that this can scarcely be yet. The new Admiral dined at head-quarters yesterday, but I understand, has brought little news. One ship under his orders, it is feared, has been lost already, as we have a report of a sloop of war,The Holly, lost at Passages, and several of the crew with it. This is certainly a terrible coast. There is now a vessel riding in the bay here, very uneasy, and cannot enter; and one was as nearly as possible lost yesterday morning close to Sacoa; the surf broke over her. The exertions of the French pilots were astonishing.
Sunday, later, 5 o’clock, 30th.—We have two French officers come out here from England to seek a better fate by a littleintrigo, I suppose. One is a Basque of this country on half-pay from our service, and the other, a Monsieur La Fitte, I believe a clever man, and a La Vendée hero.