On the high grounds which begirt the town, the white tents of the besiegers were, however, discernible, and to the left the Portuguese standard waved in the wind. But all was quietness there. The trenches seemed to be empty, except of their ordinary guards; the batteries were unprovided with artillery, and some even in ruins; the only token of hostility, indeed, which was exhibited on either side, came from the town, from which an occasional shot was fired, as the allied pickets or sentinels relieved one another, or a group of officers, more curious than wise, exposed themselves unnecessarily to observation. Nevertheless, the whole presented a spectacle in the highest degree interesting and grand, especially to eyes as yet unaccustomed to war and its "sublimities."
I was gazing with much earnestness upon the scene before me, when a shot from the castle drew my attention to ourselves, and I found that the enemy were determined not to lose the opportunity which the calm afforded, of doing as much damage as possible to the ships which lay nearest to them. The ball passed over our deck, and fell harmless into the water. The next, however, struck only a few feet from our bow; and the third would have been perhaps still better directed, had not a light breeze fortunately sprung up, and carried us on our course. It soon wafted us beyond the range of cannon; and the enemy perceiving that his balls fell short, ceased to waste them.
By this time we had approached within a short distance of Passages; and, at eight o'clock, that wished-for harbour came in view. Perhaps there are few ports in the world more striking, in every respect, than Passages. As you draw near to it, you run along a bold rocky shore, in which no opening can be discerned; nor is it till he has reached the very mouth of the creek that a stranger is inclined to suspect that a harbour is there. The creek itself cannot be more than fifty yards wide: it runs directly up between overhanging cliffs, and presents altogether the appearance rather of an artificial cut than of an aperture of nature's formation. From the bare faces of these cliffs various kinds of dwarf trees and shrubs grow out in rich luxuriance, and their summits are crowned with groves of lime and cork trees.
Passing through the creek, we arrived in a spacious basin or harbour, on the left of which is built a little straggling town. Here the scene became highly picturesque and beautiful. The houses, though none of the whitest or most clean in external appearance, were striking from the peculiarity of their structure; with balconies projecting from the upper stories, and wooden staircases leading to them from without. The absence of glass, too, from most of the windows, which were furnished only with wooden lattices, powerfully impressed upon my mind that I was no longer in happy England. Nor did the general dress and appearance of both men and women fail to interest one who beheld them for the first time. The men, with their broad hats, swarthy visages, mustachoed lips; red, blue, or yellow sleeved waistcoats; their brown breeches, stockings, and shoes with coloured ties; their scarlet sashes fastened round the waist, and brown jacket slung over one shoulder, formed a remarkable contrast to the smock-frocked peasantry whom I had left behind. With the dress of the women I was not so much struck, because I had seen garments not dissimilar in Scotland. They wear, for the most part, brown or scarlet petticoats, with a handkerchief tied round the neck and bosom, so as to form a sort of stomacher. Their waists are long, and the head and feet bare; their hair being permitted to hang over their backs in ringlets, if it be not gathered up into a knot. But the expressive countenances of these creatures—their fine dark laughing eyes, their white teeth, and brunette complexion—are extremely pleasing.
To complete the picture, the background behind Passages is on all hands beautifully romantic. Hills rise one above another to a very considerable height, all of them covered with rich herbage and ample foliage; while far away in the distance are seen the tops of those stupendous mountains which form a barrier, and no imaginary one, between France and Spain.
Though we entered the harbour as early as nine o'clock in the morning, and were ready for disembarkation in ten minutes afterwards, that event, so ardently desired and so long deferred, did not occur till a late hour in the evening. Soldiers are, as every person knows, mere machines; they cannot think for themselves, or act for themselves on any point of duty; and as no orders had been left here respecting us, no movement could be made till intelligence of our arrival had been sent to the General commanding the nearest division. This having been done at last, we were directed to come on shore; and all the boats in the harbour, as well those belonging to the vessels lying there, as to the native fishermen, were put in requisition to transport us. In spite of every exertion, however, darkness had set in ere the last division reached the land; and hence we were unable to do more than march to a little wooded eminence about a couple of miles from the town, where we bivouacked.
This was the first night of my life which I had ever spent in so warlike a fashion; and I perfectly recollect, to this hour, the impression which it made upon me. It was one of the most exquisite delight. The season chanced to be uncommonly mild; not a breath of air was stirring; everything around me smelt sweet and refreshing, after a long imprisonment on board of ship; above all, I felt that soldiering was no longer an amusement. Not that there was any peril attending our situation, for we were at least ten miles from the garrison of St Sebastian, and perhaps twenty from the army of Marshal Soult; but the circumstance of being called upon to sleep under the canopy of heaven, the wrapping myself up in my cloak, with my sabre hanging on the branch of a tree over my head, and my dog couching down at my heels, these things alone were sufficient to assure me that my military career had begun in earnest.
When I looked round me again, I saw arms piled up, and glittering in the light of twenty fires, which were speedily kindled, and cast a bright glare through the overhanging foliage. I saw men enveloped in their greatcoats, stretched or sitting round these fires in wild groups; I heard their merry chat, their hearty and careless laugh, with now and then a song or a catch chanted by one or two: all these things, I recollect, were delightfully exciting. I leant my head against a tree, and putting my pipe in my mouth, I puffed away in a state of feeling which any monarch might envy, and which, in truth, I have never experienced since.
When regiments are employed upon active service, everything like a general mess is laid aside. The officers divide themselves into small coteries of two, three, or four, according as they happen to form mutual friendships, or find the arrangement attended with convenience. I was fortunate enough to have contracted an intimacy with one of my comrades, whose memory I have never ceased to cherish with the fondest affection, and whose good qualities deserve that his memory should be cherished with affection as long as the power of thinking and reflecting remains by me. He is now at peace, and lies, beside two others of his companions in arms, at the bottom of a garden. But let that pass for the present. My friend was an old campaigner. He had served during the greater part of the Peninsular war, and was therefore perfectly acquainted with the course which soldiers ought to pursue, if they desire to keep their health, and to do their duty effectually. At his suggestion I had brought with me a fowling-piece; he, too, brought his; between us we mustered a couple of greyhounds, a pointer, and a spaniel; and were indifferently furnished with fishing-rods and tackle. By the help of these we calculated on being able, at times, to add something to the fare allowed us in the way of rations; and the event proved that our calculations had not been formed upon mistaken grounds.
With him I spent the greater part of this night—chatting, sometimes of days gone by, and sometimes of the probabilities of the future. Though several years older than myself, Grey had lost none of the enthusiasm of the boy, and he was a perfect enthusiast in his profession. He described to me other scenes in which he had taken part, other bivouacs in which he had shared; and effectually hindered me from losing any portion of that military excitement with which I first sat down. But at length our eyelids began to grow heavy, in spite of all the whispers of romance, and every one around us was fast asleep. We accordingly trimmed our fire to keep it burning till after daybreak, and having drunk our allowance of grog to the health of our friends and relatives at home, we wrapped our cloaks about us and lay down. In ten minutes I was in the land of forgetfulness.