A NARROW ESCAPE. 81 



But when the hen to thy discerning view 



Her sober pinion spreads of duskier hue, 



The attendant keeper's prudent warning hear, 



And spare the offspring of the future years ; 



Else shall the fine which custom laid of old, • 



Avenge the slaughter by thy forfeit gold." — Pte. 



I forgot to state, after tlie surrender of Fort St. 

 Philippe, the particulars of a narrow escape that the 

 late Admiral Sir C. Adam, Colonel Provost, two officers, 

 and mj'self, had of being made prisoners by a detach- 

 ment of French cavalry : 



The military corps of the army, and the officers and 

 crews of the line-of-battle ships commanded by Sir 

 Charles Adam, were all in high spirits at our capturing 

 the fort of St. Philippe, and having made the whole 

 garrison prisoners of war. A day or two afterwards, 

 Sir Charles Adam proposed our having a pic-nic to 

 the mouth of the Eiver Ebro, where it emptied itself 

 into the Mediterranean, and was considered the finest 

 and largest river in Spain. Our party consisted of Sir 

 Charles, Colonel Prevost, Captain Arabin, E.A., and an 

 Engineer officer and myself. Sir Charles very kindly 

 undertook to provide all that regarded the commissariat, 

 for on shore we had only our rations. A mule was 

 provided for the conveyance of the eatables, &c., which 

 fortunately did not start till sometime after us, or, as 

 the sequel will show, it would have fallen into the 

 hands of the French. I lent Sir Charles a strong grey 

 horse, as he was a large heavy man, and another horse 

 to Captain Arabin. I rode a very handsome Arab 

 stallion. We started early in the morning, anticipatmg 

 much pleasure in this excursion to the banks of the 

 Ebro, distant about twelve miles. But the Camiuo 

 Eeal, or royal road, which led to Saragossa and Valencia 



G 



