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
He accompanied Jack to the door, and looked after him with a mocking
smile. Jack, pulling his cloak more closely around him, and his
sombrero lower over his eyes, walked rapidly to his quarters, where,
proceeding directly to his room, he threw himself upon his bed with a
sigh of weariness and contentment.
But it was long before the much-needed sleep came to him. He lay awake,
unable to keep his thoughts from running round the circle of his
adventures and dwelling on his unexpected meeting with Miguel. The more
he thought of his conversation with that gentleman the more puzzled he
felt. As a child, Juanita had shrunk from the boy and had never
willingly gone into his presence. It was very odd that she should have
overcome her dislike and now be ready to marry him. Perhaps she still
disliked him, and had agreed to the match merely because it was desired
by Don Fernan and Miguel’s father, Don Esteban. But even then it was
extraordinary, for Don Fernan himself had never shown any liking for
Miguel, and had indeed on many occasions taken him severely to task and
punished him for acts of deceit and dishonesty. Miguel did not appear to
Jack to have changed: what had altered Don Fernan’s opinion of him?
Then, too, there was Don Fernan’s letter, in which he had spoken of his
anxiety on behalf of his daughter. Why, if he were satisfied with the
proposed match, should he be anxious about her future? And what had
General Palafox to do with all this? Miguel was the general’s trusted
messenger; could Palafox have influenced Don Fernan’s judgment? Jack
wished he could go to Saragossa, and enquire for himself into all the
circumstances—see Juanita, and discover whether she were in truth a
willing bride. And then he thought of the phrase Don Fernan had so
carefully impressed upon his memory: "Palafox the man, Palafox the
name," and with this repeating itself to the hundredth time in his weary
brain he at length fell asleep, and slept on until he was awakened about
ten o’clock next morning by loud cries in the street.
Springing from bed, he ran to the window. Men were waving their hats,
women their fans and handkerchiefs. At every window there was a
fluttering scarf. Loud vivas rose into the air as an officer in full
uniform, followed by a gorgeously-dressed orderly, clattered by.
The officer smiled with gratification at the warmth of the cheers, and
kissed his hand gallantly to the ladies who peeped at him out of their
mantillas. Jack smiled satirically.
"Pooh! It’s only Don Miguel Priego! Confound the sneak!"
He was about to withdraw, when the orderly turned his head to the left,
as though seeking a share of the admiration so lavishly bestowed on his
superior. Jack noticed that one eye-socket was closed; the man’s
remaining eye had a curiously malign glitter that gave the beholder a
strange sense of uneasiness.
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