Iberia Won 18

Iberia Won 18

XXXIV. “Soult was now so near, &c.”

 

“Lord Wellington suddenly stopped in a conspicuous place, he

desired that both armies should know he was there, and a double spy

who was present pointed out Soult, then so near that his features

could be plainly distinguished. The English general, it is said,

fixed his eyes attentively upon this formidable man, and, speaking

as if to himself, said: ‘Yonder is a great commander, but he is a

cautious one and will delay his attack to ascertain the cause of

these cheers; that will give time for the sixth division to arrive

and I shall beat him.’ And certain it is that the French general

made no serious attack that day.” Napier, _ibid._

 

 

XXXVI. “But vain its poise ’gainst that enormous height.”

 

“Some guns were pushed in front of Zabaldíca, but the elevation

required to send the shot upward rendered their fire ineffectual.”

Napier, _ibid._

 

“’Tis Nature’s storm-artillery ushers in the night.”

 

“A terrible storm, the usual precursor of English battles in

the Peninsula, brought on premature darkness and terminated the

dispute.” Napier, _ibid._

 

 

XXXVII. “Dumb be your voices, while the thunder-chime, &c.”

 

Bedecke deinen himmel, Zeus,

Mit wolkendunst, und übe!

Goethe (_Prometheus_).

 

“Curtain thy heavens, Zeus, with clouds and mist, and exercise thy

arm!”

 

“While roar the elements with rage sublime,” &c.

 

Nè quivi ancor dell’ orride procelle

Ponno appieno schivar la forza e l’ira;

Ma sono estinte or queste faci or quelle,

E per tutto entra l’acque, e’l vento spira * *

La pioggia ai gridi, ai venti, al tuon s’accorda

D’orribile armonía, che’l mondo assorda.

Tasso. _Gerus. Lib._ vii. 122.

 

--“Ye feel as feathers, dust.”

 

----La materia humana--

Viento, humo, polvo, y esperanza vana!

Lope de Vega, _Sonetos_.

 

 

XXXIX. “Pack’s corps, whose swift approach by Soult unguest.”

 

General Pack was in command of the sixth division till this battle,

when he was wounded, and the command passed to general Pakenham.

 

 

XL. “Stern was the fight, and Gaul had battled ne’er so well.”

 

Throughout the entire Peninsular campaigns, the French never fought

with such desperate valour as on this and the few preceding and

following days. In Soult they had the utmost confidence; they saw

that a crisis had arrived, and trembled for France. “The fight

raged close and desperate on the crest of the position, charge

succeeded charge, and each side yielded and recovered by turns;

yet this astounding effort of French valour was of little avail.”

Napier, _ibid._

 

 

XLI. ----“Lusia’s rifles swell the fray.”

 

General Ross’s brigade of the fourth division was posted on this

strongly contested height, having a Portuguese battalion (the

seventh caçadores, tenth regiment) in his front, with its flank

resting on the chapel. “The seventh caçadores shrunk abashed, and

that part of the position was won.” Napier, _ibid._ The inequality

with which the Portuguese fought was remarkable throughout the

Peninsular War. They fought well, or gave way, in great measure

according to the impulse of the movement. Here they gave way, then

inspired by the example of Ross’s brigade renewed the combat, but

again gave way. “Soon, however, they rallied upon General Ross’s

brigade * * and the tenth Portuguese regiment fighting on the right

of Ross’s brigade yielded to their fury.” Napier, _ibid._ Sometimes

they fought extremely well.

 

 

XLIII. “Ev’n gallant Ross.”

 

This epithet was well deserved by general Ross, and is assigned

to him by Napier. “That gallant officer.” Book xxi. c. 5. I am

proud to record the exploits of my countryman, whose name and

achievements are endeared to me by early recollections. A lofty

column is erected in his honour at the beautiful village of

Rosstrevor, within seven miles of which, at Newry, my early years

from infancy to the period of my going to College were passed.

All my summers were spent in and near Rosstrevor, one of the most

charming sea-bathing spots in the British dominions. The noble Bay

of Carlingford stretches before it, girt by an amphitheatre of

lofty hills, and Killowen Point, the Wood-house, Greencastle, the

light-house, and Grenore, with the ancient and picturesque town

of Carlingford, the stupendous mountain overhanging it, and the

bleak tract extending along to Omeath, contrasted with the sunny

and wooded slopes beyond, have left impressions indelible even

during much travel in foreign lands. I rejoice to perceive that a

railway is about to open up this magnificent region, and trust that

this new means of intercourse will be eminently beneficial to the

warm-hearted inhabitants of all the surrounding district.

 

“But to return next instant with no lack

Of desperate courage.”

 

Φεύγειν μὲν οὐκ ἀνεκτὸν, οὐδ’ εἴωθαμεν.

Eurip. _Iphig. in Taur._ 104.

 

“For to fly is not tolerable, neither has it been our custom!”

 

“Each gains and yields by turns--the sod is dyed with gore.”

 

This action between Ross’s brigade and Clauzel’s second division

was one of the most terrific during the war. “The fight,” says

Napier “raged close and desperate on the crest of the position,

charge succeeded charge, and each side yielded and recovered by

turns.”

 

 

XLV. “So stood Leonides, with Persia’s life-blood red.”

 

ἐν Σπάρτᾳ δ’ ἐρέω

πρὸ Κιθαιρῶνος μάχαν:

ταῖσι Μήδειοι κάμον ἀγκυλότοξοι:

Pind. _Pyth._ i.

 

“In Sparta I will sing the fight before Cithæron, where the Median

bowmen fell.” For the details of the battle, and of the Trachinian

treason, see Herodotus, _lib._ 7. Pindar does not name Thermopylæ,

but Cithæron being in its immediate neighbourhood would make the

allusion at once intelligible. Pindar with instinctive good taste

prefers the name “Cithæron” to that of “Thermopylæ,” the latter

name, though to us so magnificent, sounding somewhat vulgar to

Greek ears, as indicating the θερμὰ λουτρὰ, or hot-baths from which

it was derived.

 

 

XLVII. “That now in spite of Hell she will be free.”

 

Siasi l’inferno e siasi il mondo armato.

Tasso, _Gerus. Lib._ xiii. 73.

 

 

 

 

IBERIA WON.

 

Canto III.

 

 

I.

 

But France though vanquished oft doth oft renew

The assault which British arms alone can quell.

Her columns fresh the wrested prize pursue,

And at the Siérra’s foot their numbers swell.

Exhausted War’s munitions now, so well

Have England’s sons with fire the foeman plied,

And anxious eyes upon their leaders dwell:--

“See, see, brave hearts,” young Morton stoutly cried,