Then followed the bloody and needless battle of Toulouse. We need not here stop to inquire who was the cause of that fearful carnage, or to refute the foolish assertion that the French gained a victory. Such a statement is inconsistent with the fact that Soult had to abandon Toulouse and all his lines of defence, while Wellington attained the object he had in view. It is said that Soult knew before the battle that Napoleon had abdicated, and that his only motive for fighting was a desire to retrieve his fame as a general; but we think no brave man—and Soult was brave—would sacrifice the lives of thousands for so unworthy a motive. After a furious contest the enemy were driven from the heights; again and again they returned to the attack with a gallantry which nothing but British valour could resist. At length they desisted from the attempt, and the field of battle remained in possession of the allies. That same evening Soult evacuated the city, and the following morning the allies took possession of it. In the course of the day they received official notice that Napoleon had abdicated. Then our soldiers began to think of home and all its endearments; they had done enough for fame, and a grateful country was waiting to welcome them to their native shores. The soft peace march, “Home, brothers, home,” must have sounded sweetly in the ears of the Royal Welsh and the other veterans, who, under the command of their able leader, had liberated two kingdoms, fought eight pitched battles against the bravest soldiers and most skilful generals of France, reduced many fortresses by assault, and at length established themselves in the two principal cities in the South of France. Britain had issued from all her trials the most triumphant nation in the world, and had welcomed back with acclamation the wearied soldiers who had done so much to sustain her honour. Such men had a right to rest on their laurels. Their rest was brief. The caged eagle escaped from Elba. The veterans of the Peninsula had to buckle on their armour again. The Royal Welsh took part in that brief but glorious campaign which was brought to a close at Waterloo. Then for a period of forty years they had no opportunity of displaying their courage. Now followed the Crimean war, and deeds equalling “Greek and Roman fame,” which earned for some of them the proud distinction of the Victoria Cross. The gallant Welshmen gained their first Victoria Cross at the battle of the Alma. Russell’s picturesque letters and Kinglake’s bewitching pages have rendered many readers familiar with the chief incidents of that engagement; and it is here unnecessary for us to dwell upon them, for in future pages we shall relate the circumstances under which Colonel (then Captain) Bell gained at that first Crimean fight the honourable distinction of the reward “For Valour.”