Boys of the Light Brigade: A Story of Spain and the Peninsular WarStrang, Herbert
General
Boys of the Light Brigade: A Story of Spain and the Peninsular War
Strang, Herbert
Peninsular War, 1807-1814 -- Juvenile fiction
During the night, therefore, Jack and his chums were busy in carrying
out the colonel’s orders. It was found next day that there were not
sufficient draught animals to serve for the transport of all the
remaining stores, and the 95th were employed for many hours in burning
and blowing up valuable stuff to prevent it from falling into the hands
of the French.
The regiments of the Reserve were to march in the evening for Cambarros,
a village some nine miles in the direction of Villafranca. Before they
started, Captain O’Hare paraded his company and repeated to them the
substance of what Colonel Beckwith had said to the officers.
"I’ve heard a deal of grumbling at times," he said. "You don’t want to
retreat. No more do I, but our chance’ll come, please the pigs; and
then I know who’ll be at the front—not the grumblers and skulkers, but
the men who know how to obey. Now, my boys, I trust ye. I don’t want
the general to send for me by and by and say: ’O’Hare, ye’ve the most
blackguardly company in the whole army.’ We’ll do better than the best,
and sure I’ll be proud of ye. And if there should be a man among ye
with a deal o’ power over the company—a good soldier let us say, but
with a long tongue and a way of speaking that—well, a way of
speaking"—the captain studiously kept his eyes from Corporal Wilkes: "if
there’s such a man, to him I’d say, with all my solemn seriousness:
Ye’ve a deal of persuasion; then use it for the glory o’ the regiment;
and bedad, I believe he’d know what I meant."
Corporal Wilkes, looking straight in front of him, had turned a
brick-red, and was unusually silent as the company marched off. To
Sergeant Jones, the little Welshman, toddling along by his side, he
remarked presently:
"I hope you’ll mind what Peter said, Sergeant. As for me, ’tis a good
thing for the glory o’ the regiment that the second battalion’s off
another way, for all my good resolutions would be turned into sour milk
by the long fiddle-face of Corp’ril MacWhirter."
After their sleepless night, and hard work during the day, both officers
and men were glad to fling themselves down on rough beds of hay and
straw when they reached Cambarros at dusk. But they had hardly settled
to rest when some dragoons came riding in with news that the enemy were
advancing in force. The order was immediately given to get under arms,
and the march was continued through the night.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account