446 The Captain of Rifles. [ APRIL, 



Frenchmen's coats, some in white breeches and huge jack-boots, some 

 in cocked hats and queues j most of their swords were fixed 011 their 

 rifles, and stuck full of hams, tongues, and loaves of bread, and not a 

 few were carrying bird-cages. There never was a better masked 

 corps." 



The reflection that follows this glorious achievement is manly and 

 natural, though expressed with the characteristic oddity of the writer. 



" There is nothing in life half so enviable as the feelings of a soldier 

 after victory. Previously to a battle, there is a certain sort of some- 

 thing that pervades the mind, not easy to be described. It is akin to 

 neither joy nor fear, and probably anxiety may be nearer to it than any 

 other word in the dictionary. But when his battle is over, and crowned 

 with victory, he finds himself elevated for a while into the regions of 

 absolute bliss ! It had ever been the summit of my ambition to attain a 

 post at the head of a storming party my wish had now been accom- 

 plished ; and I do think, that after all was over, and our men laid 

 asleep on the ramparts, I strutted about as important a personage, in 

 my own opinion, as ever trod the face of the earth. But as the sun 

 began to rise, I began to fall from my heroics, and when he showed 

 his face, I took a look at my own, and found that I was too unclean a 

 spirit to worship, for I was covered with mud and dirt, and with the 

 greater part of my dress torn to rags." 



The Spaniards and Portuguese had, by this time, become completely 

 tired of finding apartments for their guests, and had adopted all kinds of 

 contrivances, to prevent them from making te the house their home." An 

 usual contrivance was to say that some epidemic was in the family. 

 The gallant Rifleman, pleasantly records a surprising cure on one of 

 those occasions: "I received a billet, on a neat little house in El vas, 

 occupied by an old lady and her daughter, who were very desirous of 

 evading such an incumbrance." They accordingly kept the house fast, 

 and resisted for a long time, a series of kicking at the door, until it had 

 nearly given way. The old lady then tried her invention, came down, 

 and whispered in the captain's ear, that there was a fever in the house, 

 of which her daughter was lying dangerously ill. The captain instantly 

 declared that he was a medico (doctor), and might be of use to the 

 young patient. He now made his way up stairs, " where there was a 

 very genteel-looking young girl, the very picture of Portuguese health, 

 "lying, with her eyes shut, in full dress on the top of the bed clothes, 

 where she had just hurriedly thrown herself." 



The nature of her illness was of course rapidly determined, and the 

 medico proceeded secundum artem. " I walked up to the bedside, and 

 hit her a slap on the thigh with my hand, asking her at the same time, 

 how she felt herself. Never did Prince Hohenlohe perform a miracle 

 more cleverly ; for she bounced almost as high as the ceiling, and 

 flounced about the room, with a countenance, in which shame, anger, 

 and a great portion of natural humour were so amusingly blended, that 

 I was tempted to provoke her still further by a salute. Having thus 

 satisfied the mother, that I had been the means of restoring her 

 daughter to health, she thought it prudent to put the best face upon it, 

 and invited me to partake of their family dinner : in the course of 

 which I succeeded so well in eating my way into their affections, that we 

 parted with mutual regret, the ladies telling me, I was the best officer 

 they had ever seen." 



