The times., 1899-07-30
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saddened every countenance. We seemed to see
him borne in blanket by the rear of the regi-
ment. the moon acting as one big torch to
light the awful procession as it moved slowly
along, men falling around him as il anx-
ious, even in death, to follow their gallant
leader, and the enemy's guns firing salvos as
I if to cheer the warriors last moments. He knew
that they were beaten. Thus Sir John Moore
hade his final adeu to the regiment, all shat
| tered save his martial spirit and lofty mind
these unbroken and remained infexible He
! yielded his last breath with sigh of love for
his country and of yearning for his profession.
After this toast drunk the band with muf-
fed drums played Peace to the Fallen Brave -
! but either the instruments out of tune or
I our souls not tuned TO harmony. The music
sounded mournful and low; dark gloom like
a Pyrenean cloud hung cold, damp, and clammy
( around; we tried to shake it of, but in vain.
/ There are glimpses of Wellington, too,
which are. interesting. In describing the
scenes which followed the taking of Ba-
dajoz the warm-hearted young Irishman
makes use of some lively language, al
/ though he says that many of the scenes
which he witnessed could not even be hint
+ ed at. Apparently the English troops got
1 beyond the control of their officers, and
/ held a carnival of riot, bloodshed, de-
bauehery, and everything else which might
J suggest itself to the mind of a reckless
man half-mad with Spanish wine and the
consciousness of victory. Blakeney says
/ that there was no safety for women even
| in the churches and that men, women,
and children were shot in the streets for
( no reason. Blakeney's own regiment was
not az this siege, but he mentions that he
and a eomrade endangered their own lives
! two or three times by conveying women to
a church where a guard was mounted. Aft
! er two or three days of this sort of thing.
! the Ninth Regiment came into town. or
! ders were issued against plundering and
1 rioting, and things quieted down almost
at once. That was what the sack of town
meant within the memory OF our grand
fathers.
There is considerable shrewdness in the
comments of Blakeney on the movements
OF some generals of whom he disapproved
For example. he remarks of La Pena one
OF the generals of Spain:
General Graham, previous to leaving Tarifa
requested La Pena TO make short marches and
thus bring the troops fresh into gction But the
spanish general. as is common with the weak
imagining that genius marked by diversity
oi opinion, and mistaking mulish obstinacy for nm
shaken determination, disregarded this sound ad-
vice He acted the principle of differing
from the British general in everything; and ac-
eordingly he marched the army for sixteen hours
the geater part Of the time during a cold night
making frequent momentary halts, which ALWAYS
tend to harass rather than refresh troops.
There are some generals nowadays who
seem to be actuated by the same not very
laudable motives.
Altogether, the book is both readable
and valuable as throwing new and vivid
light on one of the great historic cam
paigns of the century 1t is to be regret
ted that more of the subalterns of the
British army have not had time to record
their experiences in as entertaining fash
ion, for however much a bore war utera-
ture may be to those to whom it is an old
story. 1t is likely to prove interesting to
future generations, who live under chang
ed conditions and need all the helps to
their imagination which they can find. to
give them anything like correct idea of
the past Boston: Little, Brown G. Co.
Sa1