But General Picton was not the character which we, by prejudice, were led to think him. Convinced of the baneful effects of allowing his men to plunder, he set his face sternly against it, but in other respects he was indulgent; and although no man could blame with more severity when occasion required, he was no niggard of his praise when it was deserved. Nothing could surpass his calm intrepidity and bravery in danger; and his presence in battle had the effect of a talisman, so much had his skill and valour gained the confidence of the men under his command.
FOOTNOTES:
[8] The provost marshal is invested with power to inflict summary punishment on all soldiers whom he may find plundering, or straggling from their regiment.
[9] I asked Dennis what the expression meant. He said that during the rebellion, a number of Hessian soldiers had been in Ireland, and an ‘United Man,’ having shot one of them, was busy plundering him, when one of his comrades asked share of the booty. ‘Kill a Hessian for yourself, my gay fellow,’ was the reply.
[10] English Robbers.
CHAPTER XI.
From Torres Vedras, we removed to Alcoentre, a small village some miles in rear of Rio Mayor; and we were kept pretty busy while in it, strengthening our position, making batteries, breast-works, abattis, &c.
The general of the brigade was quartered in the same village; and as he had, or seemed to have, a great antipathy to every thing Scottish, our regiment of course was included, and he found means to annoy us a good deal. Perhaps, he believed, with many people in England, that the Scots run wild about their native hills, eating raw oats like horses, with nothing but a kilt to cover their nakedness, and that they had no right to receive any other treatment, when they entered the army, than what is usually given to any wild animal when caged. ‘Rousing up with a long pole’ seemed to be his hobby. When exercising in the field, our regiment could do nothing right. When our guard turned out to salute him, they were either too late, or they did not present arms properly; and he would order the sergeant to drill them for an hour; while he stood by and gave vent to the harsh epithets which he was in the habit of using on those occasions, ‘Scottish savages—stupid—barbarous,’ &c.
I have often been led to think that he studied expletives on purpose. He pretended that he could not understand a word that any of us said—that we spoke Gælic; and his aid-de-camp was called to interpret, although he had no right to understand what was said better than himself, for I believe he was also an Englishman.
As a sample—he once took a fancy to the wooden cases which the Portuguese use instead of stirrup irons, and ordered his Scottish servant to get a pair for him; for although he disliked the Scots, he employed them as his servants. The man procured them; but they were not fellows.