280 HEROES OF SCIENCE 



US after a smart gallop. He had witnessed from a 

 distance our steady and successful charge, and our 

 capture of the guns, and he now saw how we were 

 thrusting the French out of this hamlet. Through 

 the sound of the musketry, and in the midst of 

 much confusion, I heard a shrill voice calling out, 

 * Where are the colours of the 36th ? and I turned 

 round (my brother ensign, poor Peter Bone, having 

 just been knocked down), and looking up into Sir 

 Arthur's bright and confident face said, ' Here they 

 are, sir.' Then he shouted, * Very well done, my 

 boys ! Halt, halt — quite enough.' 



" The French were now at their last run, in spite 

 of every effort of Solignac to rally them. Several 

 of our bloody-minded old soldiers said in levelling, 



' they would bring down the on the white 



horse,' and sure enough the gallant fellow fell, just 

 as the 71st Highlanders, who were on our left, 

 being moved round en potence, charged down the 

 hill, with their wounded piper playing, sitting on 

 the ground, and completed the rout of the enemy, 

 taking General Solignac of course prisoner." 



Subsequently Murchison's regiment joined the 

 expedition of Sir John Moore, and participated in 

 the disastrous retreat upon Corunna. " Murchison 

 (writes Professor Geikie) suffered much, although 

 he was strong and in good health, from the ex- 

 cessive fatigue. On one occasion, after a fruitless 

 midnight march against the enemy, who was 

 supposed to be advancing to the attack, Murchison, 

 commanding that night an outlying picquet, threw 



