FOOTNOTES:
[1] The technical term for a particular movement in the art of Irish village dancing.
[2] It is very common for the wounded to cheer their more fortunate comrades as they pass on to the attack. The most remarkable occurrence of this description took place at the battle of Vimiera, five days after the battle above described. A man of the name of Stuart, the piper belonging to the 71st regiment, was wounded in the thigh very severely, at an early period of the action; and having refused to be removed, he sat upon a bank, playing martial airs during the remainder of the battle. He was heard to address his comrades thus:—“Weel, my bra’ lads, I can gang na’ longer wi’ ye a fightin’, but Deel burn my saul if ye shall want music.” For this the Highland Society justly voted him a handsome set of pipes with a flattering inscription engraved upon them.
[3] Men under sentence of court-martial were allowed the option of either suffering the sentence, or volunteering to serve on the coast of Africa.
[4] Such articles as sugar, wine, sago, &c., are termed medical comforts.
[5] Conquer or die.
[6] This valuable officer was soon after killed in the trenches before St. Sebastian.
[7] While this General was observing the attack of the storming party, a cannon-ball struck the bottom of the hill, and rolled at a moderate pace, close to his feet.
[8] The author of “the Subaltern,” says that the day the town was taken, was dark and tempestuous: the morning, perhaps, might have begun so; but from nine o’clock, it was to my recollection a sunny and delightful day. However, I agree with him when he says that the weather was bad, the day Soult attempted to push across the Bidassoa, to relieve San Sebastian—I know that the Portuguese who were ordered from the siege, to assist in opposing him, were wetted through just as they started; but I think this was not on the day of storming the town.
[9] The author of the “Subaltern” has gone too far in heightening the horrors of the siege, by stating that it was burnt; his words are “long before midnight it was one sheet of flame, and by noon on the following day, little remained of it except its smoking ashes.” I walked about the town many times on the following day, but saw no marks of fire; perhaps the town was subsequently burnt.
[10] The prepared skin of a pig, in which the Spaniards transport the wine from one place to another.
[11] The author of this little sketch has had the account of the circumstances related in it from the Benedict Colonel himself.
[12] For the history of this melancholy occurrence, see Colman’s Broad Grins.
[13] Since writing the above, diligent inquiry has been made into the family connexions of both, but the relationship could not be traced.
[14] In this terrific storm between thirty and forty transports were lost, on board one of which were General Baron Bock and his gallant son.
[15] Officers of the army, in the transactions which may require the interference of an agent, cannot be too much on their guard against a set of pretenders who prowl about the Horse Guards for “clients,” in order to lay them under heavy contributions. They are persons of neither substance nor character: their usual practice is to scrape acquaintance with military officers, and artfully learn their intentions regarding exchanging, promotion, &c., and positively promise to obtain their wishes. Thus they manage to draw money from the dupe, which he finds very hard to get back again. They generally pretend to be officers on half-pay; and some, I am sorry to say, are of that body.
The best house decidedly for the half-pay or pensions to do business with, is Window’s, of Craig’s Court. It is a house of long standing—of wealth and respectability; and officers will there be certain of the most liberal treatment. Not only has he obliged the half-pay by advancing their quarterly stipend, but, in many instances, a much larger sum, without any indemnity, except the officer’s honour. In this respect, Mr. Window far exceeds Cox and Greenwood: the latter are very liberal: but their liberality is confined to the full-pay.
[16] The human body is divided into the head, the trunk, the superior and inferior extremities.—Syst. of Anat.
[17] O’Halloran, in his introduction to the history of Ireland, informs us that the great military hospital attached to the antient palace of Tara, was called “the house of the Sorrowful Soldier.”
[18] A name of reverence given to fairies.
[19] It was by some supposed that Collyer, the Bush-ranger, was the same who for several years terrified the people near Dublin by his robberies; but that is not the fact. Collyer, the Dublin desperado, was not transported.
[20] A term given by the Bush-rangers to a dreary flat, called “Murderer’s Plains.” The following statement, sworn before A. W. H. Humphrey, Esq., Justice of Peace in New Norfolk, Van Diemen’s Land, mentions this; and as the statement shows very strongly the daring spirit of the Bush-rangers, I copy it.—It is from a daily journal, called “The Bengal Hurkaru.”
“John Yorke being duly sworn, states—about five o’clock in the evening of November 27, (1816) I fell in with a party of Bush-rangers, about fourteen men and two women; Michael Howe and Geary were the only two of the gang I knew personally. I met them on Scantling’s Plains—I was on horseback; they desired me to stop, which I accordingly did on the high road—it was Geary that stopped me; he said he wanted to see every man sworn to abide by the contents of a letter. I observed a thick man writing, as I suppose, to the Lieutenant-governor. Geary was the man who administered the oath on a prayer-book, calling each man for that purpose regularly—they did not inform me the contents of the letter. Michael Howe and Geary directed me to state when I came home, the whole I had seen, and to inform Mr. Humphrey, the magistrate, and Mr. Wade, the chief constable, to take care of themselves, as they were resolved to take their lives, and to prevent them from keeping stock or grain, unless there was something done for them—that Mr. Humphrey might rear what grain he liked, but they would thrash more in one night, than he could reap in a year. They said they could set the whole country on fire with one stick. I was detained about three-quarters of an hour, during which time they charged me to be strict in making known what they said to me, and what I had seen. On my return from Port Dalrymple, I called at a hut occupied by Joseph Wright, at Scantling’s Plains; William Williams, and a youth, were there, who told me the Bush-rangers had been there a few days before, and forced them to a place called Murderer’s Plains (which the Bush-rangers called the Tallow Chandler’s Shop), where they made them remain three days, for the purpose of rendering down a large quantity of beef fat, which Williams understood was taken from cattle belonging to Stynes and Troy.” [21]
[21] These people lost 150 head of cattle.