CHAPTER VII.
Aboutan hour after sunrise, on the following morning, the tents and baggage, which had been left on the Spanish side of the river, came up; and we were once more enabled to shelter ourselves against the inclemency of the weather. And it was well that their arrival was not longer deferred, for we had hardly time to pitch the former when a heavy storm of wind and rain began, which, lasting with little intermission during two entire days, rendered our situation the reverse of agreeable. The position which we occupied was, moreover, exceedingly exposed: our camp stretched along the ridge of a bleak hill, totally bare of wood; indeed, the only fuel within our reach consisted of furze, the green and prickly parts of which we chopped and gave as forage to our horses, whilst the stems and smaller branches supplied us with very indifferent material for our fires.
The left column of the army had not long established itself in France ere crowds of sutlers, andother camp-followers, began to pour in. These persons, taking possession of such of the enemy's huts as had escaped the violence of our soldiers, opened their shops in due form along the highroad, and soon gave to the spot which they occupied the appearance of a settled village during the season of a fair, when booths and caravans of wild beasts crowd its little street. This village became, before long, a favourite resort of the idle, and of such as still retained a few dollars in their purses; and many were the bottles of nominal brown stout which, night after night, were consumed at the sign of the "Jolly Soldier."
I hardly recollect any period of my active life more devoid of interesting occurrences than that which intervened between the crossing of the Spanish border and the advance of the army towards Bayonne. We continued on the heights of Handaye from the 8th of October till the 9th of November, during the greater part of which time the weather was very inclement—cold showers of rain unceasingly falling, and tremendous gusts of wind prevailing. Indeed, we began to fear at last that nothing more would be done this season, and that we should either fall back to the towns of Irun and Fontarabia, or spend the winter under canvas. That we were wantonly kept here, no one imagined: on the contrary, we were quite aware that nothingbut the protracted defence of Pampeluna hindered our advance; and joyful was the news which at length reached us that that important city had surrendered.
Of course I did not confine myself to my tent, or within the hounds of the camp, all this while. I shot and fished as usual; made excursions to the rear and to the front, as the humour directed; and adopted every ordinary expedient to kill time. On these occasions adventures were not always wanting, though they were, for the most part, such as would excite little interest were they repeated. But one I recollect which deserves narration more, perhaps, than the others, and that I will detail.
During the time that the British army occupied its position along the Spanish bank of the Bidassoa a vast number of desertions took place. As this was an event which had but rarely occurred before, many opinions were hazarded as to its cause. For my own part, I attributed it entirely to the operation of superstitious terror on the minds of the men, and for this reason: It is the usual custom, in planting sentinels in the immediate presence of an enemy, to station them in pairs, so that one may patrol as far as the next post while the other remains steady on his ground. Perhaps, too, the wish of giving greater confidence to the men themselves may have some weight in dictating the arrangement;at all events, there can be no doubt of the fact, and that much increased confidence does arise from it. Such, however, was the nature of the ground covered by our pickets among the Pyrenees, that in many places there was hardly room for a couple of sentinels to occupy a single post, and it was only at the mouths of the various passes that, for insuring the repose of the army, two were more desirable than one. Rugged as the country was, however, almost every foot of it had been contested; and the dead, falling among rocks and cliffs, were left in various instances, from necessity, unburied. It was exactly in those parts where the dead lay unburied that single sentinels were planted. That soldiers and sailors are often superstitious everybody knows; nor can it be pleasant for the strongest-minded among them to spend two or three hours of a stormy night beside a mangled and half-devoured carcass. Indeed, I have been myself more than once remonstrated with for desiring as brave a fellow as any in the corps to keep guard near one of his fallen comrades. "I don't care for living men," said the soldier; "but, for Godsake, sir, don't keep me besidehim." And wherever I could yield to the remonstrance, I invariably did so. My own opinion, therefore, was, that many of our sentries became so unmanned by superstitious dread, that they could not keep their ground. They knew that if theyreturned to the picket a severe punishment awaited them; and hence they went over to the enemy rather than endure the pangs of a diseased imagination.
As a proof that my views were correct, it was remarked that the army had no sooner descended from the mountains, and taken up a position which required a chain of double sentinels to be renewed, than desertion in a great degree ceased. A few instances still occurred, as will always be the case where men of all tempers are brought together, as in an army; but they bore no proportion whatever to those which took place among the Pyrenees. With a view of stopping the practice entirely, an order was issued which prohibited the men from passing the advanced sentries, and assured all who might be caught on the neutral ground—that is, on the ground between the enemy's outposts and our own—that they should be arrested, brought back, and treated as deserters.
I had ridden towards the front one morning, for the purpose of visiting a friend in the fifth division, when I learned that three men had been seized a few days previously half-way between the two chains of posts, and that one of them had confessed that their intention was to desert. A court-martial was immediately ordered; the prisoners were condemned to be shot; and this was the day on whichthe sentence was to be carried into execution. I consequently found the division, on my arrival, getting under arms; and being informed of the circumstances, I determined, after a short struggle with my weaker feelings, to witness the proceeding.
It was altogether a most solemn and impressive spectacle. The soldiers took their stations and formed their ranks without speaking a word, and looked at one another with that peculiar expression which, without seeming to imply any doubt on their part of the perfect propriety of the measure, indicated sincere reluctance to become spectators of it. The same feeling evidently pervaded the minds of the officers; indeed, you could well-nigh perceive the sort of shudder which ran through the frames of all who were on parade.
The place appointed for the execution was a little elevated plain a few hundred yards in front of the camp, and near the picket from which the culprits had deserted. Hither the different battalions directed their steps; and the whole division being formed into three sides of a hollow square, the men "ordered" their arms, and stood still. At the vacant side of this square a grave was dug—the earth which had been excavated being piled up on its opposite bank; and this, as the event proved, was the spot to be occupied by the prisoners.
We had stood thus about five minutes, when themuffled drums of the corps to which the culprits belonged were heard beating the dead march; and they themselves, handcuffed and surrounded by their guards, made their appearance. One was a fine young fellow, tall and well made; another was a dark, thick-set, little man, about thirty years of age; and the third had nothing remarkable in his countenance except an expression of deep cunning and treachery. They all moved forward with considerable firmness, and took their stations on the mound, when, the word "Attention" being given, a staff-officer advanced into the centre of the square and read aloud the proceedings of the court. By these, sentence of death was passed upon all three; but the most villanous-looking among them was recommended to mercy, on the ground that he had added treachery to his other crimes.
As soon as the reading was finished, the prisoners were commanded to kneel down upon the ground, and a handkerchief was tied over the eyes of each. During the progress of this operation I looked round—not so much from curiosity as to give a momentary relief to my own excited feelings—upon the countenances of the soldiers. They were, one and all of them, deadly pale; indeed, the teeth of many were set close together, and their breathing seemed to be repressed. It was altogether a most harrowing moment.
The eyes of the prisoners being tied up, the guard was withdrawn from about them, and took post perhaps ten yards in their front. As soon as this was done, the same staff-officer who had read the proceedings of the trial, calling to the informer by name, ordered him to rise, for that the commander of the forces had attended to the recommendation of his judges, and spared his life. But the poor wretch paid no attention to the order; I question, indeed, whether he heard it; for he knelt there as if rooted to the spot, till a file of men removed him in a state of apparent stupor. What the feelings of his companions in crime must have been at this moment I know not; but their miseries were of short duration; for, a signal being given, about sixteen soldiers fired, and they were instantly numbered with the dead. The little man, I observed, sprang into the air when he received his wounds; the other fell flat upon his face; but neither gave the slightest sign of vitality afterwards.
The discharge of the muskets in the faces of the culprits was followed by a sound as if every man in the division had been stifled for the last five minutes, and now at length drew in his breath. It was not a groan, nor a sigh, but a sob, like that which you unconsciously utter after dipping your head under water. And now all excitement wasat an end. The men were dead; they died by musket-shots; and these were occurrences, viewing them in the abstract, by far too common to be much regarded. But in order to give to the execution its full effect, the division formed into open column of companies and marched round the grave, on the brink of which the bodies lay; after which each corps filed off to its tents, and, long before dark, the scene of the morning was forgotten. Not but that it produced a good effect by checking the prevalence of the offence of which it was the punishment; but pity soon died away, and every feeling of disgust, if, indeed, any such had at all arisen, was obliterated. The bodies were thrown into the hole and covered up, and I returned to my tent to muse upon what I had seen.
I have stated that on the 3d of November intelligence of the fall of Pampeluna reached us. From that day we began to calculate in earnest upon a speedy renewal of operations, and to speculate upon the probable extent of our progress ere a new halt should be ordered, or the troops placed in quarters for the winter. But so much rain had fallen during the preceding fortnight that the cross-roads were wholly impassable; and, what was worse, there appeared no promise of a change in the weather.
I had the honour to be personally acquaintedwith the distinguished officer whose unlooked-for death in 1823 caused so great a sensation of sorrow throughout Scotland—I mean the Earl of Hopetoun, at that period Sir John Hope. Sir John had lately joined the army, relieving Sir Thomas Graham in the guidance of the left column, and taking rank as second in command under Lord Wellington. Whilst our division occupied the heights of Handaye, I spent several agreeable evenings in his company; the particulars attending one of which, as they had at the time a more than ordinary degree of interest in them, I shall take the liberty to repeat.
On the 7th of November I dined with the General. We sat down to table about six o'clock, and were beginning to experience as much satisfaction as good cheer and pleasant company can produce, when an orderly dragoon rode into the courtyard of the house. He was immediately admitted; and being ushered into the room where we sat, he handed a sealed packet to our host. Sir John opened it, glanced his eye over its contents, put it into his pocket, and motioning to the orderly to withdraw, renewed the conversation which had been interrupted. Though more than half suspicious that the packet contained intelligence of importance, we—I mean the General's guests and staff—soon returned to our former lively chat,when the clattering of another horse's hoofs was heard, and Colonel Delaney entered. He was accompanied by an officer of the corps of guides; and requesting permission to hold a few minutes private conversation with Sir John Hope, they all three retired together.
"We shall have something to do before twenty-four hours pass," said one of the aides-de-camp; "Delaney always brings warlike communications with him." "So much the better," was the general reply. "Let us drink to our host, and success to to-morrow's operations." The toast was hardly finished when Sir John returned, bringing with him only the officer of the corps of guides—Delaney was gone; but of the purport of the communication not a hint was dropped, and the evening passed on as if no such communication had been made.
About nine o'clock our party broke up, and we were wishing our friends good night, when a French officer, who had deserted, was brought in. He was civilly, but very coolly received. He had little information to give, except that a batch of conscripts had lately joined the army, most of whom were either old men or boys—so thoroughly was the youth of France by this time wasted, through a continuance of wars. We who were guests stayed not, however, to hear him out,but, mounting our horses, returned each to his tent.
On reaching the camp of my own corps, I found—as, indeed, I had expected to do—that the order for an attack was issued, and that the brigade was to be under arms by four o'clock next morning. Once more, therefore, I made up my mind for the worst; and having instructed my friend as to the manner in which I wished my little property to be disposed of—having assigned my sword to one, my pelisse to another, and my faithful dog to a third—I was, if you please, enthusiast enough to recommend my soul to the mercy of its Creator, and then lay down. For a while Grey and myself chatted, as men of any reflection so situated are wont to chat. We agreed, as indeed we always did on such occasions, each to act as executor to the other, and having cordially shaken hands, lest an opportunity of so doing should not occur again, we fell fast asleep.
I had slept, perhaps, an hour and a half, when I was awoke by the voice of the orderly sergeant, who came to inform us that the movement of the army was countermanded. I will not say whether the intelligence was received as acceptable or the reverse; indeed, I question whether we ourselves knew at the moment whether we were relieved by the reprieve or the contrary. One thing, however,is certain, that we did not sleep the less soundly from knowing that at least to-morrow was secured to us, to be passed in a state of vigour and vitality, though perfectly aware that the peril of a battle must be encountered before long; and hence that it was really a matter of very little moment whether it should take place now or a few days hence.
On mustering next morning upon the parade-ground, we learned that our intended operations were impeded only by the very bad state of the by-ways. Though the rain had ceased for some days past, such was the quantity which had fallen that no artillery could, as yet, move in any other direction than along the main road. The continuance of dry weather for eight-and-forty hours would, however, it was calculated, remove this obstacle to our advance; and hence every man felt that he had but a couple of days to count upon. By good fortune, these days continued clear and serene, and the justice of our calculations was in due time evinced.