Here, again, another difficult question occurs, which recalcitrant
History once more declines to solve. The Frenchmen had hardly been
observed to cast their single anchors in Cardigan Bay, before they
were also observed to pull them up again, and go on. Why? The
commander of the expedition had doubted already at Ilfracombe--was he
doubting again in Cardigan Bay? Or did he merely want time to mature
his plans; and was it a peculiarity of his nature that he always
required to come to anchor before he could think at his ease? To this
mystery, as to the mystery at Ilfracombe, there is no solution; and
here, as there, nothing is certainly known but that the Frenchman
paused--threatened--and then sailed on.
III. OF ONE WELSHMAN IN PARTICULAR, AND OF WHAT HE SAW.
He was the only man in Great Britain who saw the invading army land on
our native shores--and his name has perished.
It is known that he was a Welshman, and that he belonged to the lower
order of the population. He may be still alive--this man, who is
connected with a crisis in English History, may be still alive--and
nobody has found him out; nobody has taken his photograph; nobody has
written a genial biographical notice of him; nobody has made him into
an Entertainment; nobody has held a Commemoration of him; nobody has
presented him with a testimonial, relieved him by a subscription, or
addressed him with a speech. In these enlightened times, this brief
record can only single him out and individually distinguish him--as
the Hero of the Invasion. Such is Fame.
The Hero of the Invasion, then, was standing, or sitting--for even on
this important point tradition is silent--on the cliffs of the Welsh
coast, near Lanonda Church, when he saw the four ships enter the bay
below him, and come to anchor--this time, without showing any symptoms
of getting under weigh again. The English colours, under which the
Expedition had thus far attempted to deceive the population of the
coast, were now hauled down, and the threatening flag of France was
boldly hoisted in their stead. This done, the boats were lowered away,
were filled with a ferocious soldiery, and were pointed straight for
the beach.
It is on record that the Hero of the Invasion distinctly saw this; and
it is _not_ on record that he ran away. Honour to the unknown brave!
Honour to the solitary Welshman who faced the French army!
The boats came on straight to the beach--the ferocious soldiery leapt
out on English soil, and swarmed up the cliff, thirsting for the
subjugation of the British Isles. The Hero of the Invasion, watching
solitary on the cliffs, saw the Frenchmen crawling up below
him--tossing their muskets on before them--climbing with the cool
calculation of an army of chimney-sweeps--nimble as the monkey, supple
as the tiger, stealthy as the cat--hungry for plunder, bloodshed, and
Welsh mutton--void of all respect for the British Constitution--an
army of Invaders on the Land of the Habeas Corpus!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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