[14]. “Dundas” is the famous drill-book of Sir David Dundas, who succeeded the Duke of York as Commander-in-Chief.
I never remember our having as much as one adjutant’s drill; all was done by the commanding officer himself. Our adjutant was left ill at Lisbon, and he that acted was more of a good penman (an essential point) than a drill. I forget now how the circumstance of our having been sent an adjutant from the Guards occurred, but one of their sergeant-majors did reach us in the capacity of adjutant. On his arrival at headquarters he dined with the Colonel, who invited him to attend parade the next morning. We were under arms at ten, and never once ordered arms until two! Not a man fell out of the ranks, not a man coughed, and not a man moved his pack. When the drill was over, “Well,” said Colonel Wallace, “what do you think of the state of the battalion?”—“Very steady indeed, sir,” replied the Guardsman. He left us that night, and we never saw him afterwards.
On the 24th of May we reached Campo Mayor, and here I became acquainted with Maurice Quill. It would be quite idle in me to attempt giving any very detailed account of a character so well known; one who, whenever he opened his mouth, was sure to raise a laugh, and often before he had time to speak; and he by whom I was introduced (Dr. O‘Reily) was little, if anything, inferior to Quill in either eccentricity or humour.
The first question Quill asked O‘Reily was, if we all slept soundly the night Brennier got away from Almeida. O‘Reily replied, “that some of our army certainly slept sounder than was desirable; but that in their affair at Albuera they did seem to have had their eyes perfectly open, not only during the action, but after it.” At this moment, a couple of hundred of those troops that had been broken by the Polish horse, having escaped from the enemy, passed us.
During our conversation, O'Reily, as was customary with him, became quite abstracted, and apparently absorbed in his own reflections, and upon our turning round we discovered him in one of Mendoza’s attitudes! “What are you squaring at?” demanded Maurice. “My good friend Quill,” replied O‘Reily, “I have long felt the difficulty of coming to a satisfactory conclusion as to the probability of science being eventually able to overcome savage strength. There is much, sir, to be said on both sides of the question, and I have great doubts concerning the battle about to be decided.”—“What battle? why, sure, we are not going to fight another so soon?” said Quill. “The fight to which I allude, sir,” said O‘Reily, with Quixote-like gravity—for he paused between every word—“is the one pending between Crib and the black man Molineux; it will be a contest of science against brute strength”—and he threw himself into one of the finest defensive attitudes I ever saw; “there,” said he, “there is the true science for you; nevertheless, it might be overcome by savage strength, and there is the rub, sir. I have devoted much time in endeavouring to come to a satisfactory conclusion on this point, but hitherto without effect, so I must await the issue of this fearful encounter; and, my dear Quill, having said so much on the subject, allow me to wish you a very good morning.” It was evident that, although Quill was no novice, O‘Reily had taken “a rise out of him,” and it afforded us matter of amusement for many a day after.
We remained in Campo Mayor until the 27th of May (in order to allow the stores and battering train from Elvas to arrive), on which day we passed the Guadiana at a ford, distant from San Christoval about three cannon-shots; we received no interruption in our passage of the river, and the operation was performed without loss. The 28th, 29th, and 30th were taken up in marking out our camp, and constructing huts; and as the weather was beautiful, and our camp abundantly supplied by the peasantry, we passed a very agreeable time of it.
The river ran within a few yards of us; its marshy banks being thickly covered with plantations of olives, afforded a delightful shade to us when we either went to fish or bathe. Its breadth at this point might be about sixty toises, and it is well stocked with fine mullet. We had several expert fishermen amongst us, and they contrived not only to supply their own tables with fish, but also to increase the comforts of their friends.