[“OUR HERO.”]
A TALE OF THE FRANCO-ENGLISH WAR NINETY YEARS AGO.
By AGNES GIBERNE, Author of “Sun, Moon and Stars,” “The Girl at the Dower House,” etc.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE BATTLE OF CORUÑA.
Well might Moore cast anxious glances towards the harbour of Coruña, where the vessels from Vigo should have been. They had been delayed by contrary winds; and this failure on their part to arrive in time was a most serious matter. The British Army, brought thus far in safety, would now lie without the means of escape in a narrow trap, between Scylla and Charybdis, hemmed in by the pitiless ocean on one side, by the ever-increasing hordes of the enemy on the other.
With unfaltering courage he at once set himself to examine the position, assigning the troops to their various quarters, some in the town of Coruña, some in villages hard by. One range of rocky hills, three or four miles off, would have been the right line of defence; but Moore had not men enough to occupy it. He saw at once that, should he attempt to do so, the French might be able to turn his position, and to cut him off from embarkation.
That post of vantage had to be left to the foe. Moore was obliged to content himself with a lower ridge, nearer to the walls, which was quickly put into a state of defence.
A short rest was given to the soldiers, new muskets and ammunition were supplied, and the officers strenuously exerted themselves to restore discipline. But this was no longer difficult. When once the Army stood at bay, facing the enemy, every trace of insubordination vanished. The greater number of Moore’s soldiers were young; yet in their fighting powers they could not have been outdone by veterans.