Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-01-27

restraint undes which thsy iiv6s Y7sosuf, for
aiding the hopes Of lover, be to systems of res
friction, severity, and espionage! Opportunity,
to an English woman, wants the piquancy OF
novelty. As it is constantly recurring, it v
constantly neglected. In Spain, they seize it
when IT does present itself for, once rejected, IT
may never be founded again.
But, beyond the beauty of Lisbon q city
beyond even the brightness of those souls that
| inhabited it there was laxity OF law and man.
ner in it at the period to which speak u il
cense inscparable from the presence of a foreign
force in a PROSTATE, shackled, and dependent
| country; an absence as much of word as Of
physical polacc; which to disposition such as
nnino, was peculiarly acceptable. Add to this,
the farther fact, that l was fresh in a strange
capital; among people to whose manners, and
almost to whose language, l was stranger;
! where, little being fully understood, all had crc-
/ dit for being as it ought to be and where the
mere novelty Of my situation was charm al
most inexhaustable such allurements consi-
dcred, could fail to be charmed with the Pc
ninsulas
| My stay in this land of delight, then, was
something short of three years. / was present
at the famous battle of Talavera and, after
wards, at the desperate contest of Albuera, un-
tried their strength against our English cavalry.
was q sharer, too, in the more partial affair of
Busaco; and took part in the duty of covering
] the retreat that followed a retreat in which the
whole of the southern line of Portugal, from the
/ Spanish frontier to Lisbon, was depopulated and
laid waste; in which converts were deserted,
cities consumed by FIRE, and women born to
rank and atjiuence, compelled to seek protec-
ton from the meansst followers of the British
army.
The conclusion of my Peninsula campaign
was not favourable to my fortunes. As a SOL
der, did my duty in the field ; but opportunity
for man to distinguish himself cannot always be
commanded. l had project once, with few
fellows as desperate, Or as careless, as myself,
for dashing at the enemy's military chest but
our scheme fell to the ground, for we never got
chance of carrying it into execution. In the
meantime, as regarded promotion, my general
conduct was not such as to make friends. Re-
peated successes, in one peculiar pursuit, in
spred me with an excessive confidence in my
self, and with very contemptuous estimate of
most other persons. / saw men, whom, at all
points, rank far below myself, graced with the
favour Of superiors, and rich in the gifts of for
| tune. When a chance did occur for making
such usurpers feel their proper place, was it in
human nature to resist the temptation! AlIhope
of patronage, under such regime, was of course
out Of thefqueston. Iinterfered with every bo-
dy; and, at last, began to take pride in doing
so. The recompense of these good Offices was
in due time to be paid.
A Spanish officer, with whom was associated
in the convoy of certain treasure, proposed to
me one night, after our halt upon the march, to
take 4 trip down the Tagus, and bring his wife
upon the journey. had met this lady, a short
time before, in Lisbon; and (according to nv
invarlablc custom in such cases) fancied that she
had liking for my person. 1t was a fine moon
light evening when we left Villa Nova, and we
ran down with the tide to the Quinta of my
friend; but no sooner than we had taken the
Signora on board, than the aspect Of the weather
suddenly changed, and we were exposed, during
the whole night, TO considerable danger.
| From the moment almost that we left Silve-
ra's house, the weather began to be unfavoura-
bic. The darkness, after the moon had gone
down, was extreme. The wind, which set in
squalls across rapid and contrary tide, seemed
to acquire greater force at every successive
gust, and was accompanied, from time to time,
with heavy showers of rain. Our boat, though
caplcious enough, was unlocked, and slightly
igged-evidently unfit for rough treatment of
any KIND ; and, to make matters worse, our sail
ors became alarmed, and Silveira, who knew the
river, was Ill from sea-sickness. How curious-
ly, In the arrangement of the human heart and
mind, do our passions balance and compensate
each other! Aman might reasonably, perhaps.
be expected to keep his wits about him in such
a dilemma as this. For myself, had some little
nautical experience and, besides, my compan.
ions were afraid; and it helps mans valour
greatly to see other people frightened. But
SilVeIra's wife, who was as little of heroine
as any woman ever met With was compell-
ed to support her during almost the whole of the
night; for the sea kept dashing into our open
boat, and her husband, from illness, could
scarcely take care of himself; and vet, under
these circumstances, while she expected, be-.
heve, to be washed overheard every half minute.
/ could perceive that had not been quite mis-.
taken in my suspicion of her good opinion of me.
Whatever interest, however, J might have
felt in the progress of this little excursion, its
termination was such as certainly had not con-
templated. With the utmost exertions both Of
the Spaniard and myself, we did not get back "a
our halting place until evening on the day after
we had started. AT daybreak twelve hours be-
tore) treacherous quarter-maste had marched
forward with our escort ; my friend the colonel
did not let slip so favourable an opportunity to
get rid of a man whom he doubtless considered
as troublesome coxcomb; and to avoid the in.
evitabic result of court-martial, asked and
obtained permission to resign.
Upon home service, my affairs, in pecunia-
ry point Of view, would have been very little af-
fected by the loss of my commission. On SER
vice however, abroad, the consequence vasdif-
ferent. AS soldier, enjoyed many advanta-
ges and mmunitieS, which civil individual
could scarcely, even for money procure Be-
sides, though no discredit attached to nv fault.
for Silveira, indeed, had never been brought TO
any aCCOunt,l still was.sJJp to a certain nn;n. .,