Star.
London, England, 1828-09-04 00:00:00

just such a gliMpse did we obtain of them, vanishing
over therridge of.this hill, as did Geary Crayon of the
It..ut gentleman. Upon-teething the summit of the
ridge of heights, the redoubt which bad covered their
advance fell intri-otir possession; but they still retained
foirr otlievs, irith their connecting 'lines of intrench-
meets, span the level Of 'the same height on which we
Ater? no* established, an'd into which. they had retired.
Meantime oar troops were drawn up along a road,
Arch passed over the hill, and which, having a high
bank at each .14de, protected us in some measure from
the.geheral fire, of their last line of redoubts.
• ss -Here our brigade remained a considerable time,
until Marshal Beresford's artillery, Which, in conse-
quence of theAradness of the roads, had been left in the
pillage of Mont Blanc, could be brought up; and until
the Spaniards,.. under Don Manuel Freyre, could be re-
foribed, and'htpught back to the attack.
se rioting this pause, we were ordered to sit down
along.the sides of the road, the embankments of which
afforded usisetsection from- the point-blank shot of the
rkdoibts and 'fortified houses into which the enemy bad
, wired, but not fromtbltir shy, which therthrew
"aitiniorsts witligieat precision, and by which we lost. a
good'smArosers; and latterly. thermoved round sotne.
guns to "position, fromwhich the line of the road was
completely raked by their fire. During this period of
the battle, General Pack sate on horseback in the middle
of the road, shosiing an example of the most undaunted
bravery to' the troops. I think I see bibs now, as he
then appeared, pelfectly calm and unmoved, and with
a placid smile spool* face amidst a perfect storm of:
shot and shells.. His Aide-de-Camp, Le Strange, who
was afterwards killed at Waterloo, had his horse shot
Oder him,-and both came down together. A few mi•
notes ifterwasds, I observed 'General Pack suddenly
turn pale, and Seem as if going tolaint. This was oc•
itsioned by alsall which had passed through his leg.
He rode *lowly iodic rear, where be bid. his wound
dressed, sad its a4ew minutes rettuned•sgain.

. • •
"Marshal Beresford's artillery having.• at length nr-
iived, and the Spinish-troops being once more brought
Of ward; General Pack-rode up in front of our brigade,
nd made the following announcement: 4.1 have just
how been with Lieneral Clinton,-and he has beets pleased
to grant my request,* that in the cflarge which we are
pow to make upon the enemy's redoubts, the 4.24 regi-
orient shall have thubonour of leading on the attack.—
The 42d will advance. The order was immediately
passed along the troops, ind.l could hear the last words.
dying away in the•distance along our lines. ,
•
.16We immediately began to form for the charge upon
the redoubts, which were about two or three hundred.
,girds distantoand to which we hid to pass over some,
ploughed fields.. ThUstenadiersuf the.42d reginseily
followed by.tbje other cbmgianies; led the wiy, and be-
•gan to ascend from the road; but no sooner were the
'feathers of their bonnets seen rising over the embank-
inenri limo such a tremendous fire was Openeti from the
redoubts stud intrenchments, as in a very short time,
'would have inKshilaleirtlisins. The right wing, there-
fore, hastily fOtrtsed into line, and without waiting ftv
the left„which was, ascending by companies from the
road, rusheeitpOndre batteriese.whieli vomited tor th'ill
storm of fire. grapeshot, and musketry, the most inces-
sant, furious, and 'terrific I ever witnessed.

a Amidst the clouds of.smoke in which they were
curtained, the wholectine nf.redoubts would every now
end then.strart intu view amidst the wild and frightful
blase, aird then vanish again into utter darkness. Our
men were mown down by sections: I caw six of the
company to Which! belonged fall together, 'as if swept,
eiray by the discharge of. one gun, and the whole
ground over *bier we rushed was covered with the
dead: The redoubts were erected along the side of a
road, and defended by broad ditches filled with water.
Jut before ouiirocipi imiihed this obstruction, hew.
e'er, the faimy deseriedlbem, and fled in all direc-
tions, leaving efieir. list lineof strong holds in oar pos-I
Session: but they still possessed tivo fortified houses'
close by, from which they kept op a galling and deb.
#llllCtilit fire.
I was.then standing at the side of one of tube butte-
ries, !bleb *e bad just taken, along with some of the,
kesiuient;ind a rotag officer, one .of the tallest and
'finest lookioirben I Over hibelds This was the first
time he had eier been under fire,.but hebeffaved 'like a'
hero, and had snatched up-a musket belonging to some
soldier who had fallen, with which he was filing away
upon the enemy like the most practised veteran. I
happened to turn about My head for i moment, and'
when I looked back again be was lying stretched on his:l
back, the blood Welling from his breast, and his feet
quivering in the last convulsions of expiring nature.—
Me had arrived from England only a short time before,'
and in his march from Passages thrOugh France to join
1114 regiment, had been taken prisoner by a maratiling
Party of French in our rear. He had escaped from his
*nasl during a dark night, and concealed himself in a
Wood fur a day or two, until they were gone. When
almost famished with hunger he proceeded on Isis
March, and luckily met with a British Officer' of'rank,
who supplied him with the means of reachingabis rte.'
frient. He bad joined us only two or three days pre-
Onus to the battle, and wits standing close beside de
in dr flesh of ycluthond health, and hope—in the very
modest elf victory—the proudest one of life t his eye
but twinkled once, and he lay a corpse at my feet I
" What an thea, efirit andribed,
. st ...Thai posits' with man's breath away. • • r
That sliest him isafing, sense, and mind, '
And leav'st bins cab! anausidass day
a While I was yet gazing upon him in a kind of
stupor,.l.reeeitedu blow, ai if from a hag* club, 'on.tbe'
elbow. A musket ball had passed through the: upper
part of my arns,sand splintered the bone. I felt Planned,
and, in a feet moments, became faint and diisy,
fell. The first sensation*which I was consciois of after
my fall was that of a burning thirst, universally felt
after gun-shot wounds. I observed our men still falling
around me, in consequence of the fire from the two for.
tified houses; but at last the firing suddenly ceased, and
A dead silence ensued. My faintness now beginning to
wear off, I raised my head, and thrbugh the clouds of
smoke which were clearing away, I observed that the
road was covered with troops in blue uniform. At first
I.sopposed them to be Spaniards, but was soon unde-
.ceired, And..discovered them to be French. Out of
abostt4oo men which the VILI Regiment brought into
scarcely 90 leached the fatal redoubt from which
41Se Will 4ad'fled.
cre be Nohow): •