Military Memoirs of Capt. George CarletonDefoe, Daniel
History
Military Memoirs of Capt. George Carleton
Defoe, Daniel
Adventure stories; Great Britain -- History, Military -- Fiction; Soldiers -- Fiction
In _Molviedro_, as I said before, _Mahoni_ commanded, with eight
hundred Men, besides Inhabitants; which, together with our having but
little Artillery, induc'd the Officers under the Earl of _Peterborow_
reasonably enough to imagine and declare, that there could be no visible
Appearance of surmounting such Difficulties. The Earl, nevertheless,
instead of indulging such Despondencies, gave them Hope, that what
Strength serv'd not to accomplish, Art might possibly obtain. To that
Purpose he proposed an Interview between himself and _Mahoni_; and
accordingly sent an Officer with a Trumpet to intimate his Desire. The
Motion was agreed to; and the Earl having previously station'd his
Troops to advantage, and his little Artillery at a convenient Distance,
with Orders they should appear on a slow March on the Side of a rising
Hill, during the time of Conference, went to the Place appointed; only,
as had been stipulated, attended with a small Party of Horse. When they
were met, the Earl first offer'd all he could to engage _Mahoni_ to the
Interest of King _Charles_; proposing some Things extravagant enough (as
_Mahoni_ himself some time after told me) to stagger the Faith of a
Catholick; but all to little Purpose: _Mahoni_ was inflexible, which
oblig'd the Earl to new Measures.
Whereupon the Earl frankly told him, that he could not however but
esteem the Confidence he had put in him; and therefore, to make some
Retaliation, he was ready to put it in his Power to avoid the
Barbarities lately executed at _Villa-Real_.
"My Relation to you," continued the General, "inclines me to spare a
Town under your Command. You see how near my Forces are; and can hardly
doubt our soon being Masters of the Place: What I would therefore offer
you, said the Earl, is a Capitulation, that my Inclination may be held
in Countenance by my Honour. Barbarities, however justified by Example,
are my utter Aversion, and against my Nature; and to testify so much,
together with my good Will to your Person, was the main Intent of this
Interview."
This Frankness so far prevail'd on _Mahoni_, that he agreed to return an
Answer in half an Hour. Accordingly, an Answer was returned by a
_Spanish_ Officer, and a Capitulation agreed upon; the Earl at the same
time endeavouring to bring over that Officer to King _Charles_, on much
the same Topicks he us'd with _Mahoni_. But finding this equally
fruitless, whether it was that he tacitly reproach'd the Officer with a
Want of Consideration in neglecting to follow the Example of his
Commander, or what else, he created in that Officer such a Jealousy of
_Mahoni_, that was afterward very serviceable to him in his further
Design.
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