III. And shall the boastful Chief maintain his word, Though Heaven hath heard the wailings of the land, Though Lusitania whet her vengeful sword, Though Britons arm, and Wellington command! No! grim Busaco's iron ridge shall stand An adamantine barrier to his force; And from its base shall wheel his shatter'd band, pearance of them is as the appearance of horses and as horsemen, so shall they runne. 5. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains, shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battel array. 6. Before their face shall the people be much pained; all faces shall gather blacknesse. 7. They shall run like mighty men, they shall climb the wall like men of warre, and they shall march every one in his wayes, and they shall not break their ranks. 8. Neither shall one thrust another, they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9. They shall run to and fro in the citie; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climbe up upon the houses: they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10. The earth shall quake before them, the heavens shall tremble, the sunne and the moon shall be dark, and the starres shall withdraw their shining." In verse 20th also, which announces the retreat of the northern army, described in such dreadful colours, into a "land barren and desolate," and the dishonour with which God afflicted them for having "magnified themselves to do great things," there are particulars not inapplicable to the retreat of Massena; Divine Providence, having, in all ages, attached disgrace as the natural punishment of cruelty and presumption. As from the unshaken rock the torrent hoarse Bears off its broken waves, and seeks a devious course. IV. Yet not because Alcoba's mountain-hawk His Lord's imperial thirst for spoil and blood: For full in view the promised conquest stood, And Lisbon's matrons from their walls, might sum The myriads that had half the world subdued, And hear the distant thunders of the drum, That bids the bands of France to storm and havoc come. V. Four moons have heard these thunders idly roll'd, Have seen these wistful myriads eye their prey, As famish'd wolves survey a guarded fold— At length they move-but not to battle-fray, Nor blaze yon fires where meets the manly fight; Beacons of infamy, they light the way Where cowardice and cruelty unite To damn with double shame their ignominious flight! VI. O triumph for the Fiends of Lust and Ne'er to be told, yet ne'er to be forgot, What wanton horrors mark'd their wreckful path! The peasant butcher'd in his ruin'd cot, The hoary priest even at the altar shot, Childhood and age given o'er to sword and flame, Woman to infamy ;-no crime forgot, By which inventive demons might proclaim Immortal hate to man, and scorn of God's great name! VII. The rudest sentinel, in Britain born, With horror paused to view the havoc done, Gave his poor crust to feed some wretch forlorn,1 1 Even the unexampled gallantry of the British army in the campaign of 1810-11, although they never fought but to conquer, will do them less honour in history than their humanity, attentive to soften to the utmost of their power the horrors which war, in its mildest aspect, must always inflict upon the defenceless inhabitants of the country in which it is waged, and which, on this occasion, were tenfold augmented by the barbarous cruelties of the French. Soup-kitchens were established by subscription among the officers, wherever the troops were quartered for any length of time. The commissaries contributed the heads, feet, &c. of the cattle slaughtered for the soldiery: rice, vegetables, and bread, where it could be had, were purchased by the officers. Fifty Wiped his stern eye, then fiercer grasp'd his gun. Nor with less zeal shall Britain's peaceful son Exult the debt of sympathy to pay; Riches nor poverty the tax shall shun, Nor prince, nor peer, the wealthy nor the gay, Nor the poor peasant's mite, nor bard's more worthless lay.1 or sixty starving peasants were daily fed at one of those regimental establishments, and carried home the relics to their famished households. The emaciated wretches, who could not crawl from weakness, were speedily employed in pruning their vines. While pursuing Massena, the soldiers evinced the same spirit of humanity, and in many instances, when reduced themselves to short allowance, from having outmarched their supplies, they shared their pittance with the starving inhabitants, who had ventured back to view the ruins of their habitations, burnt by the retreating enemy, and to bury the bodies of their relations whom they had butchered. Is it possible to know such facts without feeling a sort of confidence, that those who so well deserve victory are most likely to attain it?-It is not the least of Lord Wellington's military merits, that the slightest disposition towards marauding meets immediate punishment. Independently of all moral obligation, the army which is most orderly in a friendly country, has always proved most formidable to an armed enemy. 1 [The MS. has for the preceding five lines— "And in pursuit vindictive hurried on, And O, survivors sad! to you belong Tributes from each that Britain calls her son, From all her nobles, all her wealthier throng, To her poor peasant's mite, and minstrel's poorer song."] VIII. But thou-unfoughten wilt thou yield to Fate, Minion of Fortune, now miscall'd in vain! Can vantage-ground no confidence create, Marcella's pass, nor Guarda's mountainchain? Vainglorious fugitive! yet turn again! Behold, where, named by some prophetic Seer, Flows Honour's Fountain,2 as foredoom'd the stain From thy dishonour'd name and arms to clear Fallen Child of Fortune, turn, redeem her favour here! 1 The French conducted this memorable retreat with much of the fanfarronade proper to their country, by which they attempt to impose upon others, and perhaps on themselves, a belief that they are triumphing in the very moment of their discomfiture. On the 30th March, 1811, their rear-guard was overtaken near Pega by the British cavalry. Being well posted, and conceiving themselves safe from infantry (who were indeed many miles in the rear), and from artillery, they indulged themselves in parading their bands of music, and actually performed "God save the King." Their minstrelsy was, however, deranged by the undesired accompaniment of the British horse-artillery, on whose part in the concert they had not calculated. The surprise was sudden, and the route complete; for the artillery and cavalry did execution upon them for about four miles, pursuing at the gallop as often as they got beyond the range of the guns. 2 The literal translation of Fuentes d' Honoro. |