The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — CompleteSmollett, T. (Tobias)
General
The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete
Smollett, T. (Tobias)
Adventure stories; Gothic fiction
It would have been impossible for the mother of our adventurer, such as
she hath been described, to sit quietly in her tent, while such an
heroic scene was acting. She was no sooner apprised of the general’s
intention to attack the enemy, than she, as usual, packed up her
moveables in a waggon, which she committed to the care of a peasant in
the neighbourhood, and put herself in motion with the troops; big with
the expectation of re-acting that part in which she had formerly
acquitted herself so much to her advantage.—Nay, she by this time
looked upon her own presence as a certain omen of success to the cause
which she espoused; and, in their march to battle, actually encouraged
the ranks with repeated declarations, importing, that she had been
eye-witness of ten decisive engagements, in all of which her friends
had been victorious, and imputing such uncommon good fortune to some
supernatural quality inherent in her person.
Whether or not this confidence contributed to the fortune of the day,
by inspiring the soldiers to an uncommon pitch of courage and
resolution, I shall not pretend to determine. But, certain it is, the
victory began from that quarter in which she had posted herself; and no
corps in the army behaved with such intrepidity as that which was
manifested by those who were favoured with her admonitions and example;
for she not only exposed her person to the enemy’s fire, with the
indifference and deliberation of a veteran, but she is said to have
achieved a very conspicuous exploit by the prowess of her single arm.
The extremity of the line to which she had attached herself, being
assaulted in flank by a body of the spahis, wheeled about, in order to
sustain the charge, and received them with such a seasonable fire, as
brought a great number of turbans to the ground; among those who fell,
was one of the chiefs or agas, who had advanced before the rest, with a
view to signalise his valour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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