With the British Legion: A Story of the Carlist Wars

by G. A. Henty

The next day drilling began, or rather was supposed to begin; but as the men had all got their bounty, and some of them the money for which they had sold their clothes, most of them spent their time in the wine-shops, and a large proportion of them were helplessly drunk. Their regular uniforms had now been served out to them, but it was only this that showed them to be soldiers. Arthur and his companion were among those who for the first few days attended drill. They were both put in the same company; and as their captain was an old officer, and did his best to get his men into order, they very quickly picked up the rough drill, which was at present all that could be expected; and before they had been there a fortnight they were both appointed corporals. By this time most of the men had spent all their money. The drill therefore became well attended, and the motley crowd began to have the appearance of soldiers. Two or three other transports had now come in, and the number in camp had swollen largely.

Insubordination was punished severely by the unstinted use of the cat, and this caused the men to appreciate the fact that they were no longer their own masters. Even the sergeants were able to sentence evil-doers to four dozen lashes, and as they were always moving about among the men, these comparatively minor floggings had more influence in sobering them than the very severe sentences inflicted by the regular courts-martial. The colonel, Godfrey, was an excellent officer for the post. He could, when necessary, be very severe, but his manner was mild, and he avoided punishment unless it was absolutely necessary, in which case he showed no mercy. He was liked by the men, who generally spoke of him as "Daddy".

Ten days after landing, a steamer came in to fetch the troops to the town of Bilbao. Coming near the mouth of the Bilbao river, it was found dangerous to enter. A heavy swell was running, and a large barque was at the time going to pieces on the sands. The steamer was therefore sent back to Castri, twelve miles away. Here the force was landed and quartered in a convent, and the next day a company of the 9th Regiment came down to escort them through the mountains, as ammunition had not yet been served out, and Carlists were known to be in the hills.

The people of this place were civil and friendly, and the men enjoyed their short stay. At daybreak next morning the troops were roused early, and soon they were collected outside the town. When they got to a difficult gorge they were halted for an hour, and the brigadier-general, Colonel Shaw, told them that the Carlists were in their neighbourhood, and that they must be perfectly steady and quiet if fire were opened upon them. However, they met with no enemies, and after a march of about twenty miles they got to Portugalete, where they were to stay for some time. The work was hard, the drill continuous. The natives here were hostile, and several of the men were stabbed in the streets.

The people throughout Northern Spain were, as a rule, bitterly hostile; the province was semi-independent, with a republican form of government, and the peasantry entirely under the control of their grandees and priests. They cared little about the succession, but a great deal about their privileges. The government wished to deprive them of some of these privileges, and to make them contribute a fair share towards the revenue of the country. Don Carlos, on the other hand, had promised to support their ancient rights, and for these they were all ready to fight. He had also a certain following in the southern provinces, for the ancient law in Spain prevented females from ascending the throne. Ferdinand had before his death abrogated this law, and appointed as his successor his little girl Isabella; but Don Carlos, who was the next male heir, protested against this change of law, and claimed the sovereignty himself.

To add to the confusion that reigned throughout the country, the government of the regent was hopelessly corrupt. The ministers had all their own hangers-on--their generals whom they wished to push forward, their own avaricious schemes to realize; and the consequence was that, so far, the Carlists had more than held their own.

The latter were thorough fighters, able to march long distances, and to strike heavy blows where they were least expected. Their leader, Zumalacarreguy, had so far baffled Mina, and inflicted heavy losses upon him. The war was conducted with terrible ferocity, little quarter being given on either side, although the British government had intervened, and induced both parties to sign a convention by which they agreed to conduct the war on more humane principles. Zumalacarreguy had but some eight thousand men, but was able in case of need to add largely to these. The queen's party had twenty-three thousand, but of these nine thousand were locked up in garrison towns. Mina was thwarted by the ministry of war at Madrid, and hampered by the fact that the Carlists had spies in every village, who reported the movements of his troops to the enemy. His cruelty, too, drove numbers of those who would otherwise have remained neutral, to the Carlist side.

From the day on which he landed at Santander, Arthur had devoted every spare moment to the study of Spanish, and he found that his Latin helped him considerably. He had made the acquaintance of an Irish priest, who was glad to add to his scanty stipend by teaching him Spanish, for which purpose Arthur had drawn a small sum from his store.

The time passed slowly at Portugalete.

"It is all very well for you, Hallett," Jack Roper said, "to be grinding away at Spanish, but I don't see that it will do us much good. I know that you have made up your mind to get a commission as soon as you can. I should not care about having one even if I could get it. As far as I can see, the berth of a non-commissioned officer is as comfortable as that of a colonel. He has no responsibility as long as he does his work all right, and he has none of the anxiety that the officers experience. I never was any hand at learning, beyond reading and writing, which were necessary to me as a clerk. I came out here for the fun of the thing, and mean to get as much amusement out of it as I can; though I cannot say that the fun has begun yet. This beastly convent is like an ice-house, and we don't even get good rations. No wonder the men are going sick in dozens."