We were now selected and classified for the actual assault. The difficulty was, not to procure men enough, but how to refuse applications, for all were ready. Nor were these offers founded in ignorance of the nature of the expected service; the candidates were not such novices. The watch-word of Nelson was not forgotten,—‘England expects every man to do his duty;’ and the resolution which everywhere prevailed was entered into with a thorough consciousness that life was then scarcely worth an hour’s purchase. And yet every countenance was bright, for every heart was firm; and it was clear that the elevation and strength of mind so universally prevalent was the effect of principle, well considered and approved. Indeed, there was no stimulus at hand to produce superficial excitement; no drops of Scheidam to generate Dutch courage; the men were kept in the utmost silence and order. It is true here and there a soldier might be perceived stealing from the trenches with a little refreshment in his canteen for the friend with whom he was to part; and in return, more than one message, the last to be delivered on earth, was sent from many a brave man to mother, wife, or some other valued relative, with directions that if killed the knapsack of a certain number, with its contents, should be duly forwarded. The night was dry, but clouded, the air thick with watery exhalations from the river, the ramparts and the trenches were unusually still, yet a low murmur pervaded the latter, and in the former, lights were seen to flit here and there; while the deep voices of the sentinels at times proclaimed that all was well in Badajos. The French confiding in Phillipon’s direful skill, watched from their 170lofty station the approach of enemies whom they had twice before baffled, and now hoped to drive a third time, blasted and ruined, from the walls.