Under Wellington's Command: A Tale of the Peninsular War

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 18: The Sack Of A City.

  For the next four days the troops worked night and day, theoperations being carried on under a tremendous fire from the Frenchbatteries. The trenches being carried along the whole line of theSmall Teson, on the night of the 13th the convent of Santa Cruz wascaptured and, on the 14th, the batteries opened fire against thetown and, before morning, the 40th regiment carried the convent ofSan Francisco; and thus established itself within the suburb, whichwas inclosed by an entrenchment that the Spanish had thrown upthere, during the last siege. The French artillery was verypowerful and, at times, overpowered that of the besiegers. Somegallant sorties were also made but, by the 19th, two breaches wereeffected in the ramparts, and preparations were made for anassault.

  That evening Terence received an order to march at once to theplace, and to join Pack's Portuguese. The assault was to be made bythe 3rd and light divisions, aided by Pack's command and ColonelO'Toole's Portuguese riflemen. The main British army lay along theCoa, in readiness to advance at once and give battle, shouldMarmont come up to the assistance of the besieged town.

  On the 19th both the breaches were pronounced practicable and,during the day, the guns of the besiegers were directed against theartillery on the ramparts, while the storming parties prepared fortheir work. The third division was to attack the great breach. Thelight division was to make for the small breach and, upon enteringthe inclosure known as the fausse braye, a portion were to turn andenter the town by the Salamanca gate; while the others were topenetrate by the breach.

  Colonel O'Toole, with his Portuguese, was to cross the river and toaid the right attack; while Pack's Portuguese were to make a falseattack on the San Jago gate, on the other side of the town, and toconvert this into a real assault if the defence should provefeeble.

  The French scarcely appeared conscious that the critical moment wasat hand, but they had raised breastworks along the tops of bothbreaches, and were perfectly prepared for the assault. When thesignal was given, the attack was begun on the right. The 5th, 77th,and 94th Regiments rushed from the convent of Santa Cruz, leaptdown into the fausse braye, and made their way to the foot of thegreat breach; which they reached at the same moment as the rest ofthe third division, who had run down from the Small Teson. Aterrible fire was opened upon them but, undismayed by shell, grape,and musketry from the ramparts and houses, they drove the Frenchbehind their new work.

  Here, however, the enemy stood so stoutly that no progress could bemade. Unable to cross the obstacle, the troops neverthelessmaintained their position, although suffering terrible losses fromthe French fire.

  Equally furious was the attack on the small breach, by the lightdivision. After a few minutes' fighting, they succeeded in burstingthrough the ranks of the defenders; and then, turning to the right,fought their way along the ramparts until they reached the top ofthe great breach. The French there wavered, on finding that theirflank was turned; and the third division, seizing the opportunity,hurled themselves upon them, and this breach was also won.

  O'Toole's attack was successful and, on the other side of the town,Pack's Portuguese, meeting with no resistance, had blown open thegate of San Jago, and had also entered the town. Here a terriblescene took place, and the British troops sullied their victory bythe wildest and most horrible excesses. They had neither forgottennor forgiven the treatment they had experienced at the hands of theSpanish, both before and after the battle of Talavera; when theywere almost starved, while the Spaniards had abundant supplies, andyet left the British wounded unattended, to die of starvation inthe hospitals, when they evacuated the city. From that time theiranimosity against the Spaniards had been vastly greater than theirfeeling against the French, who had always behaved as gallantenemies, and had treated their wounded and prisoners with thegreatest kindness.

  Now this long-pent-up feeling burst out, and murder, rapine, andviolence of all sorts raged for some hours, wholly without check.Officers who endeavoured to protect the hapless inhabitants wereshot down, all commands were unheeded, and abominable atrocitieswere perpetrated.

  Some share of the blame rests with Wellington and his staff, whohad taken no measures whatever for maintaining order in the town,when possession should be gained of it--a provision which shouldnever be omitted, in the case of an assault. The Portuguese, whoseanimosity against the Spaniards was equally bitter, imitated theexample of their British comrades. Fires broke out in severalplaces, which added to the horror of the scene. The castle wasstill held by the French, the troops having retreated there as soonas the breach had been carried. There was not, therefore, even theexcuse of the excitement of street fighting to be made for theconduct of the victors.

  In vain, Terence and his officers endeavoured to keep their mentogether. By threes and fours these scattered down the sidestreets, to join the searchers for plunder; until at last, heremained alone with his British and Portuguese officers.

  "This is horrible," he said to Ryan, as the shouts, shrieks, andscreams told that the work of murder, as well as plunder, was beingcarried on. "It is evident that, single handed, nothing can bedone. I propose that we divide into two parties, and take these twohouses standing together under our protection. We will have twoEnglish officers with each, as there is no chance of the soldierslistening to a Portuguese officer. How many are there of us?"

  There were the twelve captains, and twenty subalterns.

  "Bull and Macwitty, do you take half of them; Colonel Herrara,Ryan, and I will take the other half. When you have once obtainedadmission, barricade the door and lower windows with furniture.When the rioters arrive, show yourselves at the windows, and saythat you have orders to protect the houses from insult and, if anyattack is made, you will carry out your orders at whatever cost.When they see four British officers at the windows, they willsuppose that special instructions have been given us with respectto these two houses.

  "If they attack we must each defend ourselves to the last, holdingthe stairs if they break in. If only our house is attacked, comewith half your force to our assistance; and we will do the same toyou. We can get along by those balconies, without coming down intothe street."

  The force was at once divided. Terence knocked at the door of onehouse, and his majors at that of the other. No answer was receivedbut, as they continued to knock with such violence that it seemedas if they were about to break down the doors, these were presentlyopened. Terence entered. A Spanish gentleman, behind whom stood anumber of trembling servants, advanced.

  "What would you have, senor?" he asked. "I see that you are anofficer. Surely you cannot menace with violence those who are yourallies?"

  "You are right, senor; but unfortunately our troops have shaken offall discipline, and are pillaging and, I am afraid, murdering. Themen of my own regiment have joined the rest, and I with myofficers, finding ourselves powerless, have resolved at least toprotect your mansion, and the next, from our maddened troops. I cangive you my word of honour that I and these gentlemen, who are allmy officers, have come as friends, and are determined to defenduntil the last your mansion, which happened to be the first we cameto. A similar party is taking charge of the next house and, ifnecessary, we can join forces."

  "I thank you indeed, sir. I am the Count de Montego. I have my wifeand daughters here and, in their name as well as my own, I thankyou most cordially. I have some twenty men, sir. Alone we could donothing, but they will aid you in every way, if you will but giveorders."

  "In the first place, count, we will move as many articles of heavyfurniture as possible against the doors. I see that your lowerwindows are all barred. We had better place mattresses behind them,to prevent shot from penetrating. I hope, however, that it will notcome to that; and that I shall be able to persuade any that maycome along that these houses are under special protection."

  The count at once ordered his servants to carry out the Britishofficer's instructions, and the whole party were soon engaged inpiling heavy furniture against the door. The count had gone up toallay
the fears of his wife and daughters who, with the femaleservants, were gathered in terrible anxiety in the drawing roomabove. As soon as the preparations were completed, Terence, Ryan,and Herrara went upstairs and, after being introduced to theladies, who were now to some extent reassured, Terence went out onto the balcony with Ryan; leaving Herrara in the drawing room, ashe thought it was best that only British officers should showthemselves.

  Terrible as the scene had been before, it was even worse now. Thesoldiers had everywhere broken into the cellars, and numbers ofthem were already drunk. Many discharged their muskets recklessly,some quarrelled among themselves as to the spoil they had taken,and fierce fights occurred.

  In two or three minutes Bull and Macwitty appeared on the balconyof the next house.

  "I see it is too far to get across," Terence said. "If you cannotfind a plank, set half a dozen men to prise up a couple from thefloor."

  Presently a number of soldiers came running along down the street.

  "Here are two big houses," one shouted. "There ought to be plentyof plunder here."

  "Halt!" Terence shouted. "These houses are under special protectionand, as you see, I myself and three other British officers areplaced here, to see that no one enters. I have a strong force undermy orders, and anyone attempting to break down the doors will beshot instantly, and all who aid him will be subsequently tried andhung."

  The men, on seeing the four British officers--three of them in thedress of field officers, and one, the speaker, in the uniform ofthe staff--at once drew back.

  "Come on, mates," one said, as they stood indecisive; "we shallonly lose time here, while others are getting as much plunder asthey can carry. Let us go on."

  But as the wine took effect, others who came along were lessdisposed to listen to orders. Gradually gathering, until they werein considerable numbers, several shots were fired at the officers;and one man, advancing up the steps, began to hammer at the doorwith the butt end of his musket. Terence leaned over the balconyand, drawing his pistol and taking a steady aim, fired, and the manfell with a sharp cry. A number of shots were fired from below, butthe men were too unsteady to take aim, and Terence was uninjured.

  The man fell, with a sharp cry.]

  Again he stood up.

  "Men," he shouted, "you have shown yourselves to be brave soldierstoday. Are you now going to disgrace yourselves, by mutiny againstofficers who are doing their duty, thereby running the risk ofbeing tried and hung? I tell you again that these houses are bothdefended by a strong force, and that we shall protect them at allhazard. Go elsewhere, where booty is to be more easily obtained."

  His words, however, were unheeded. Some more shots were fired, andthen there was a general rush at the doors; while another partyattacked that of the next house. The officers were all providedwith pistols, and Terence hurried below with Ryan.

  "Do not fire," he said to the others, "until they break down thedoor. It will take them some time and, at any moment, fresh troopsmay be marched in to restore order."

  The door was a strong one and, backed as it was, it resisted for aconsiderable time. Those who first attacked it speedily broke thestocks of their guns, and had to make way for others. Presently theattack ceased suddenly.

  "Run upstairs, Dicky, and see what they are doing, and how thingsare going on next door."

  Ryan soon returned.

  "They are bringing furniture and a lot of straw from housesopposite. They have broken down the next door, but they have notgot in yet."

  "Let the servants at once set to work, to draw pails of water fromthe well in the courtyard, and carry them upstairs.

  "Ryan, you had better go into the next house and see if they arepressed. Tell them that they must hold out without my help for ashort time. I am going to send six officers out by the back of thehouse, to collect some of our men together. Another will be inreadiness to open the back door, as soon as they return.

  "I shall keep them from firing the pile as long as I can. The counthas two double-barrelled guns. I don't want to use them, if I canhelp it; but they shall not get in here. Do you stop, and help nextdoor. There can be no fighting here yet for, if they do burn thedoor, it will be a long time before they can get in."

  The native officers started at once. They were of opinion that theywould soon be able to bring in a good many of their men; for thePortuguese are a sober race, and few would have got intoxicated.Most of the men would soon find that there was not much booty to beobtained, and that even what they got would probably be snatchedfrom them by the English soldiers; and would consequently be gladto return to their duty again.

  An officer took his place at the back door, in readiness to removethe bars; another went up with Terence to the first floor; and theremainder stopped in the hall, with six of the menservants.

  Terence went upstairs and looked down into the street. There was alot of furniture, with bundles of faggots and straw, piled there.

  "Now," he said to the officer, "empty these pails at once; theservants will soon bring some more up. I will stand here with theseguns, and fire at any one who interferes with you. Just come outinto the balcony, empty your pails over, and go back at once. Youneed scarcely show yourself, and there is not much chance of yourbeing hit by those drunken rascals."

  Yells and shouts of rage were heard below, as the water was thrownover. As fast as the pails were emptied, the servants carried themoff and refilled them. At last, two soldiers appeared from a houseopposite, with blazing torches.

  The guns had been loaded by the count with small shot, as Terencewas anxious not to take life. As soon as the two men appeared, heraised the fowling piece to his shoulder and fired both barrels, inquick succession. With a yell of pain, the soldiers dropped theirtorches. One fell to the ground, the other clapped his hands to hisface and ran down the street in an agony, as if half mad. Half adozen muskets were discharged, but Terence had stepped back themoment he had fired, and handed the gun to the count, who wasstanding behind him, to recharge.

  Two other soldiers picked up the torches, but dropped them asTerence again fired. Another man snatched up one of them, and flungit across the street. It fell upon some straw that had beenthoroughly soaked by the water, and burned out there harmlessly.

  It was not long before the servants began to arrive with the fullbuckets and, when these also had been emptied, Terence, glancingover, had little fear that the pile could now be lighted. The pailswere sent down again, and he waited for the next move.

  The fighting had ceased at the other door. The soldiers havingdrawn back from the barricade, to see the effect of the fire. Ryanran across the plank and rejoined Terence.

  "Things are quiet there, for the present," he said. "There has notbeen much harm done. When they had partly broken down the door,they began firing through it. Bull and Macwitty kept the othersback from the line of fire, and not a pistol has been dischargedyet. Bull cut down one fellow who tried to climb over thebarricade, but otherwise no blood has been shed on either side."

  Help was coming now. One of the Portuguese officers was admitted,with twenty-four men that he had picked up. The others came inrapidly and, within a quarter of an hour, three hundred men wereassembled. All were sober, and looked thoroughly ashamed ofthemselves as they were formed up in the courtyard.

  Terence went down to them. He said no word of blame.

  "Now, men," he said, "you have to retrieve your characters. Half ofyou will post yourselves at the windows, from the ground floor tothe top of the house. You are not to show yourselves, till youreceive orders to do so. You are not to load your guns but, as youappear at the windows, point them down into the street. Theofficers will post you, five at each window.

  "The rest of you are at once to clear away the furniture in thehall; and, when you receive the order, throw open the door and pourout, forming across the street as you do so. Captain Ryan will bein command of you. You are not to load, but to clear the streetwith your bayonets. If any of the soldiers are too drunk to get outof your
way, knock them down with the butt end of your muskets; butif they rush at you, use your bayonets."

  He went round the house, and saw that five men were in readiness ateach window looking into the street. He ordered them to leave thedoors open.

  "A pistol will be fired from the first landing," he said; "thatwill be the signal, then show yourselves at once."

  He waited until Ryan's party had cleared away the furniture. Hethen went out on to the balcony, and addressed the crowd ofsoldiers who were standing, uncertain what step to take next, manyof them having already gone off in search of plunder elsewhere.

  "Listen to me, men," he shouted. "Hitherto I have refrained fromemploying force against men who, after behaving as heroes, are nowacting like madmen; but I shall do so no longer. I will give youtwo minutes to clear off, and anyone who remains at the end of thattime will have to take his chance."

  Derisive shouts and threats arose in reply. He turned round andnodded to the count, who was standing at the door of the room witha pistol in his hand. He raised it and fired and, in a moment,soldiers appeared at every window, menacing the crowd below withtheir rifles. At the same moment the door opened, and thePortuguese poured out, with Ryan at their head, trampling over thepile raised in front of it.

  There was a moment of stupefied dismay amongst the soldiers.Hitherto none had believed that there were any in the houses, withthe exception of a few officers; and the sudden appearance of ahundred men at the windows, and a number pouring out through thedoor, took them so completely by surprise that there was not even athought of resistance.

  Men who had faced the terrors of the deadly breaches turned andfled and, save a few leaning stupidly against the opposite wall,none remained by the time Ryan had formed up the two lines acrossthe street. Each of these advanced a short distance, and were atonce joined by the defenders of the other house, and by those atthe windows.

  "Do you take command of one line, Bull; and you of the other,Macwitty. I don't think that we shall be meddled with but, shouldany of them return and attack you, you will first try and persuadethem to go away quietly. If they still attack, you will at oncefire upon them.

  "Herrara, will you send out all your officers, and bring the men inat the back doors, as before. We shall soon have the greater partof the regiment here, and with them we can hold the street, ifnecessary, against any force that is likely to attack it."

  In half an hour, indeed, more than fifteen hundred men had beenrallied and, while two lines, each a hundred strong, were formedacross the street, some eighty yards apart, the rest were drawn upin a solid body in the centre; Terence's order being that, ifattacked in force, half of them were to at once enter the houses onboth sides of the street, and to man the windows. He felt sure,however, that the sight of so strong a force would be sufficient toprevent the rioters interfering with them; the soldiers being, forthe most part, too drunk to act together, or with a common object.

  This, indeed, proved to be the case. Parties at times came down thestreet but, on seeing the dark lines of troops drawn up, theyretired immediately, on being hailed by the English officers, andslunk off under the belief that a large body of fresh troops hadentered the town. An hour later a mounted officer, followed by somefive or six others and some orderlies, rode up.

  "What troops are these?" the officer asked.

  "The Minho Portuguese Regiment, general," Bull answered, "commandedby Colonel O'Connor."

  The general rode on, the line opened, and he and his staff passedthrough. Terence, who had posted himself in the balcony so as tohave a view of the whole street, at once ran down. Two of the menwith torches followed him.

  On approaching, he at once recognized the officer as GeneralBarnard, who commanded one of the brigades of the light division.

  "So your regiment has remained firm, Colonel O'Connor?" the generalsaid.

  "I am sorry to say, sir, that it did not, at first, but scatteredlike the rest of the troops. My officers and myself, for some time,defended these two large houses from the attack of the soldiery.Matters became very serious, and I then sent out some of myofficers, who soon collected three hundred men, which sufficed todisperse the rioters without our being obliged to fire a shot. Theofficers then again went out, and now between fifteen and sixteenhundred men are here.

  "I am glad that you have come, sir, for I felt in a greatdifficulty. It was hard to stay here inactive, when I was awarethat the town was being sacked, and atrocities of every kindperpetrated but, upon the other hand, I dared not undertake theresponsibility of attempting to clear the streets. Such an attemptwould probably end in desperate fighting. It might have resulted inheavy loss on both sides, and have caused such ill feeling betweenthe British and Portuguese troops as to seriously interfere withthe general dispositions for the campaign."

  "No doubt you have taken the best course that could be pursued,Colonel O'Connor; but I must take on myself the responsibility ofdoing something. My appearance, at the head of your regiment, willhave some effect upon the men of the light division; and those whoare sober will, no doubt, rally round me, though hitherto myefforts have been altogether powerless. All the officers will, ofcourse, join us at once. I fear that many have been killed intrying to protect the inhabitants but, now that we have at leastgot a nucleus of good troops, I have no doubt that we shall besuccessful.

  "Have you any torches?"

  "There is a supply of them in the house, sir."

  "Get them all lighted, and divide them among the men. As soon asyou have done this, form the regiment into column."

  "Are they to load, sir?"

  "Yes," the general said shortly; "but instruct your officers thatno one is to fire without orders, and that the sound of firing atthe head of the column is not to be considered as a signal for therest to open fire; though it may be necessary to shoot some ofthese insubordinate scoundrels. By the way, I think it will be bestthat only the leading company should load. The rest have theirbayonets, and can use them if attacked."

  Some forty torches were handed over, by the count. These werelighted and distributed along the line, ten being carried by theleading company.

  "You have bugles, colonel?"

  "Yes, sir. There is one to each company."

  "Let them all come to the front and play the Assembly, as theymarch on.

  "Now, will you ride at their head by my side, sir? Dismount one ofmy orderlies, and take his horse."

  By the time all the preparations were completed, they had beenjoined by nearly two hundred more men. Just before they started,Terence said:

  "Would it not be well, general, if I were to tell off a dozenparties of twenty men, each under the command of a steadynon-commissioned officer, to enter the houses on each side of theroad as we go along, and to clear out any soldiers they may findthere?"

  "Certainly. But I think that when they see the regiment marchingalong, and hear the bugles, they will clear out fast enough oftheir own accord."

  With bugles blowing, the regiment started. Twenty men, with anofficer, had been left behind at each of the houses they haddefended; in case parties of marauders should arrive, and endeavourto obtain an entrance.

  As they marched by, men appeared at the windows. Most of these weresoldiers who, with an exclamation of alarm when they saw thegeneral, followed by two battalions in perfect order, hastily randown and made their escape by the backs of the houses; or camequietly out and, forming in some sort of order, accompanied theregiment. Several shots were heard behind, as the search partiescleared out those who had remained in the houses and, presently,the force entered the main square of the town and halted in itscentre, the bugles still blowing the Assembly. Numbers of officersat once ran up, and many of the more sober soldiers.

  "Form them up as they arrive," the general said to the officers.

  In a few minutes, some five hundred men had gathered.

  "Do you break your regiment up into four columns, Colonel O'Connor.A fourth of these men shall go with each, with a strong party ofofficers. The
soldiers will be the less inclined to resist, if theysee their own comrades and officers with your troops, than if thelatter were alone. I will take the command of one column myself, doyou take that of another.

  "Colonel Strong, will you join one of the majors of ColonelO'Connor's regiment; and will you, Major Hughes, join the other?

  "All soldiers who do not, at once, obey your summons to fall inwill be taken prisoners; and those who use violence you will shoot,without hesitation. All drunken men are to be picked up and sentback here. Place a strong guard over them, and see that they do notmake off again."

  Five minutes later, the four columns started in differentdirections. A few soldiers who, inflamed by drink, fired at thosewho summoned them to surrender, were instantly shot and, in half anhour, the terrible din that had filled the air had quietened down.

  Morning was breaking now. In the great square, officers were busydrawing up the men who had been brought in, in order of theirregiments. The inhabitants issued from their houses, collected thebodies of those who had been killed in the streets, and carriedthem into their homes; and sounds of wailing and lamentation rosefrom every house.

  Lord Wellington now rode in, with his staff. The regiments that haddisgraced themselves were at once marched out of the town, andtheir places taken by those of other divisions. But nothing couldrepair the damage that had been done; and the doings of that nightexcited, throughout Spain, a feeling of hostility to the Britishthat has scarcely subsided to this day; and was heightened by theequally bad conduct of the troops at the storming of Badajoz.

  Long before the arrival of Lord Wellington, the whole of the Minhoregiment had rejoined. Terence ordered that the late comers shouldnot be permitted to fall in with their companies, but should remainas a separate body. He marched the regiment to a quiet spot in thesuburbs, and ordered them to form in a hollow square, with the menwho had last joined in the centre. These he addressed sternly.

  "For the first time," he said, "since this regiment was formed, Iam ashamed of my men. I had thought that I could rely upon youunder all circumstances. I find that this is not so, and that thegreed for plunder has, at once, broken down the bonds ofdiscipline. Those who, the moment they were called upon, returnedto their colours, I can forgive, seeing that the British regimentsset them so bad an example; but you men, who to the last remainedinsubordinate, I cannot forgive. You have disgraced not onlyyourselves, but your regiment, and I shall request Lord Wellingtonto attach you to some other force. I only want to command men I canrely upon."

  A loud chorus of lament and entreaty rose from the men.

  "It is as painful to me as it is to you," Terence went on, raisinghis hands for silence. "How proud I should have been if, thismorning, I could have met the general and said that the regiment hehad been good enough to praise so highly, several times, had provedtrustworthy; instead of having to report that every man desertedhis officers, and that many continued the evil work of pillage, andworse, to the end."

  Many of the men wept loudly, others dropped upon their knees andimplored Terence to forgive them. He had already instructed his twomajors what was to be done, and they and the twelve captains nowstepped forward.

  "Colonel," Bull said, in a loud voice that could be heard all overthe square, "we, the officers of the Minho regiment, thoroughlyagree with you in all that you have said, and feel deeply thedisgrace the conduct of these men has brought upon it; but we trustthat you will have mercy on them, and we are ready to promise, intheir name, that never again will they so offend, and that theirfuture conduct will show how deeply they repent of their error."

  There was a general cry from the men of:

  "Indeed we do. Punish us as you like, colonel, but don't send usaway from the regiment!"

  Terence stood as if hesitating, for some time; then he said:

  "I cannot resist the prayer of your officers, men; and I am willingto believe that you deeply regret the disgrace you have broughtupon us all. Of one thing I am determined upon; not one man in theregiment shall be any the better for his share in this night'swork, and that this accursed plunder shall not be retained. Ablanket will be spread out here in front of me, and the regimentwill pass along before me by twos. Each man, as he files by, willempty out the contents of his pockets, and swear solemnly that hehas retained no object of spoil, whatever. After that is over, Ishall have an inspection of kits and, if any article of value isfound concealed, I will hand over its owner to the provost marshal,to be shot forthwith."

  The operation took upwards of two hours. At Herrara's suggestion atable was brought out, a crucifix placed upon it, and each man ashe came up, after emptying out his pockets, swore solemnly, layinghis hand upon the table, that he had given up all the spoil he hadcollected.

  Terence could not help smiling at the scene the regiment presented,before the men began to file past. No small proportion of the menstripped off their coats, and unwound from their bodies rolls ofsilk, costly veils, and other stuffs of which they had takenpossession. All these were laid down by the side of the blanket, onwhich a pile of gold and silver coins, a great number of rings,brooches, and bracelets, had accumulated by the time the whole hadpassed by.

  "The money cannot be restored," Terence said to Herrara, "thereforeset four non-commissioned officers to count it out. Have the jewelsall placed in a bag. Let all the stuffs and garments be made intobundles. I shall be obliged if you will take a sufficient number ofmen to carry them, and go down yourself, with a guard of twentymen, to the syndic, or whatever they call their head man, and handthem over to him. Say that the Minho regiment returns the spoil ithad captured, and deeply regrets its conduct.

  "Will you say that I beg him to divide the money among thesufferers most in need of it, and to dispose the jewels and otherthings where they can be seen, and to issue a notice to theinhabitants that all can come and inspect them, and those who canbring proof that any of the articles belong to them can take themaway."

  The regiment was by this time formed up again, and Terence,addressing them, told them of the orders that he had given; sayingthat, as the regiment had made all the compensation in their power,and had rid itself of the spoils of a people whom they hadprofessedly come to aid, it could now look the Spaniards in theface again. Just as he had concluded, a staff officer rode up.

  "Lord Wellington wishes to speak to you, colonel," he said. "Wehave been looking about for you everywhere, but your regimentseemed to have vanished."

  "Then I must leave the work of inspecting the kits to you, Herrara.You will see that every article is unfolded and closely examined,and place every man in whose kit anything is discovered underarrest, at once. I trust that you will not find anything but, ifyou do, place a strong guard over the prisoners, with loadedmuskets, and orders to shoot any one of them who tries to escape."

  Walking by the side of the staff officer--for he had returned thehorse lent him by General Barnard--he accompanied him to a house inthe great square, where Lord Wellington had taken up his quarters.