START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVENTURES IN HOLLAND AND AT WATERLOO; AND EXPEDITION TO PORTUGAL*** E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) and Wayne Hammond from page images generously made available by the National Library of Australia (https://www.nla.gov.au/) Note: Images of the original pages are available through the National Library of Australia. See http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-63907533/view?partId=nla.obj-63910340 ADVENTURES IN HOLLAND AND AT WATERLOO; AND EXPEDITION TO PORTUGAL. Proceedings in Holland, Under the Command of General Sir Thomas Graham, &C., &c. by CORPORAL KNIGHT. Melbourne: R. Bell, Printer, 97 Little Collins Street East. 1870. _About thirty-three years ago_, THOMAS KNIGHT _(the author of this work) published a very interesting account of his adventures. A few members of the Stock Exchange bore the principal portion of the expense of printing them. While attached to the Army in Portugal, he was in the same regiment as my brother, Major F. E. Ebsworth, and servant to him._ FRED. EBSWORTH. _Sydney, 11th March, 1867._ Adventures in Holland and Waterloo; AND THE EXPEDITION TO PORTUGAL. My father was a cabinet maker at Frome, in Somersetshire. I was bound apprentice to a weaver, not liking such a quiet life I ran off to sea, and entered on board a collier at Southampton, as cabin-boy. In returning we were driven into Ramsgate by a squall. The cook and I left the captain to prepare his own dinner. We were fortunate enough to fall in with a return post-chaise, and were carried along like gentlemen to Canterbury. This was in the year 1811, or the beginning of 1812, when soldiers were much wanted, and I thought myself a sharp sort of fellow, and was fond of a frolic. More than one sergeant tried to cajole me. Two rifle brigadesmen came to the town on furlough; they had green jackets; but their fine promises were too much for me. At length they got the best of me, and enlisted me. I was taken down to Shawn Cliff to the regiment, and had to be inspected by the doctor; and the following day I was taken to Hyde to be sworn in by the magistrate. He asked me which I would go for--limited service or unlimited service. âWhat is the difference in the money?â I asked. âLimited service is 10 guineas, and unlimited service 16 guineas.â I said, âas I may not live seven years, I will take the 16 guineas.â I received 8 guineas (one half of my bounty) and returned towards the barracks. I was gaping about at what the soldiers were doing, when one old chap came up to me and said I was his first cousin. âI am not quite so green as to be done in that way,â I answered. However, I soon fell in with a few jolly comrades, and spent forty shillings out of the half of my bounty. After buying a few articles I stood in need of, the rest of my bounty went in two days more. Then I had to go through my discipline, after which I went on guard, and considered myself an old soldier. There were 200 of the ablest men picked out to go to Holland. One was a married man, who had a family of children; the wife was making a great fuss about her husband going out, and I said I would not mind taking his place. I did so. The following day the general had to inspect us. He said it was not proper I should go out, as I could not stand the fatigue; and asked who selected me. I told him I had a notion of going out in place of private Rourke, who had a wife and family. âBravo!â he cried. âWell, we will try you.â The day after, we marched to Dover, and then went on to Deal, in all eighteen miles. This I found severe work, but did not let it appear so, as we were about to leave England. I and five others were billetted at Deal Castle, in the Walmer Road. In the course of the evening a mutton pieman came into the room, calling out, âAll hot! toss or buy.â We bought and ate all his pies, shied the little dishes at one another, made the pieman drunk, and enlisted him. His master came to fetch him away, and we compelled him to pay a guinea smart money, which lengthened the treat. The next day we went to Ramsgate, and had hopes of passing a night there; but were marched through the town, put on board ship, and not allowed to pass the sentry without leave from the commanding officer. As I and the rest of my comrades could not get leave, I was resolved to get the better of them; so when night came I pulled off some off my clothes, slipped over the side, and swam on shore. I had a good âspreeâ that night among some friends I had been living with, as I thought it might be my last in Great Britain. The next morning I went on board, and was confined in the chain locker, which I did not mind, since I was happy there as on the quarter-deck. We set sail the following day, and soon came in sight of Ostend. We had to land in boats; and before the last men were on shore, the first were quite uproarious from drinking Hollands. The colonel, in âfalling us in,â said he would work us for that. We then marched to Ghent, and were quartered in some old outlandish buildings for that night. We then proceeded to Bergen-op-Zoom, to which our army was laying siege. After the town had been taken, additional troops were placed to keep possession of it, whilst other regiments had to march to the rear. We next marched to Cotterie, from there to Ypres, and then (in 1814) to Dixmieux, and quartered at a house in the town. The people were very sulky; they obliged me to cook in my canteen, and gave me a pretty piece of work to make it look smart on field-day, which was not so whenever I found people desirous to attend on me and treat me as they ought. But these people were so bothersome and troublesome, that I bothered them in every fashion, by marching into their clean rooms with my dirty shoes, till at last I forced them to pay me proper attention. Notwithstanding, I went to the billet-master to procure a fresh billet; and he asked me where I would like to go. I was fortunate enough to get a billet on a shop. I went with the billet to a house in the Market-square, knocked at the door, and two beautiful girls made their appearance, one about my age (seventeen years), the other about nineteen. They kindly accepted the billet, and in I walked; and they sent me down good refreshment, which I required. I was very thankful to get into such good quarters, and assisted them in all the little jobs about the house, such as cooking and serving other men. Our rations were drawn from the town butchers and bakers, and our grog issued by the non-commissioned officers of companies. Some used to take the bottles and canteens âafter,â but I used to take the right sort of canteen (when once down my throat I thought it was the best place for it), consisting of a half-pint of good Hollands gin. One afternoon, after the gin had been served out, some of us soldiers assembled and decided that we would have some sport with snowballs. There were a dozen or fifteen round it, and we consulted as to what we had better do with it. It would not do to leave it in one of the public streets, and the colonel not being a favorite with us, we rolled the snowball up to the front door of his quarters, which obliged him to go out at the back of the house. He laughed at the trick, but was never after without a sentry. Sometimes the inhabitants gave us a challenge (arranged to be outside the town) to have some sport with snowballs. There we commenced the battle with officers and soldiers. We beat the inhabitants up and down, the snow congealing over the ditches and houses; and down it was with many a one: plump they went into the ditches, roaring out for help. The windows that day had a bad time of it. After all was over we offered to pay for the broken ones, but the inhabitants would not permit such a thing; as we accepted the challenge they would pay all expenses. What with skating, sliding, and drinking âschnapps,â we spent our time pretty merrily; and then had orders to advance into the frontiers of France (1815). We marched to Louis, and brigaded with the 52nd Light Infantry, the 71st Scotch, and the 15th Hussars attached to our brigade (the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division), commanded by General Sir Frederick Adam. Our field-days (two in the week) were Tuesdays and Fridays; the French occupied the ground on Mondays and Thursdays. Our brigade sent out daily 100 rank and file, one captain, two subalterns, and a portion of the squadron considered on piquet duty. The river divided the small town called Munge. The 15th Hussars, with their horses, occupied the Market House; the sentries were on a portion of the bridge (a division across it), the French sentry on one side, and the British on the other; the 7th Black Horse had the barracks, opposite the French side of the river; fourteen sentries by day and twenty-eight by night, a portion of the 15th Hussars, patrolling on the banks of the river, looking out for any alarm. Two companies of the Rifles were ordered to take the advance post. We marched to Turp, two leagues from Louis, head-quarters, there to remain till further orders. Our field-days were as usual. We had a league further to go. I was very badly off for clothing at the time, and the colonel told us we could patch our clothing with any thing of a dark nature, as our rifle uniform was supposed to be of a dark green. I went to the quarter-masterâs stores to procure two pairs of pantaloons, at eighteen francs per pair; I also drew a pair of boots at the same price. I put on a pair of pantaloons to go to field-day in. In jumping of ditches in skirmishing order, I split the first pair of pantaloons into pieces; the other pair went in the same manner; I then had to put on my old patched _friends_, while I could get one pair made out of the two damaged ones; my boots went in the same way,--coming home from field-day the weather was very severe, the soles parted company from the upper leathers, so I had to tread along on my bare toes. I went on guard on the 15th day of June: it came to my turn at eleven oâclock at night to relieve a soldier on outlying sentry. The sentry, in giving up the orders to me, said that âI was to keep a sharp look out betwixt those two trees, and when you see the beacon guard blaze up, you are to set fire to this.â I said, âWhat do you mean, you gapes? Do you mean to set fire to a turnip field as the seed of the turnips is up to our heads?â I found out by his winks and words that I was not to set fire to any such sort of thing, but to retire to the guard-house and give the sergeant information when I saw the beacon blaze. About one oâclock on the sixteenth morning the sergeant of the guard informed the colonel what the sentry had seen. The colonel gave orders to the orderly bugler who was on guard, to sound the assembly; I got permission, after changing the guard, to go and take leave of the people I was quartered on. The woman of the house filled my haversack with bread and cheese, etc. I fell in, marched off about four oâclock on the morning. We marched on during the sixteenth day, and on the sixteenth evening came into a long town called Tourwee; halted outside the town to take a little refreshment, and proceeded on during the night with a guide. After some distance, about three leagues (nine miles), the guide left us, giving the colonel instructions which way he was to take, but the latter, missing his way, came upon a battery occupied by the French: the sentry on the ramparts called out, â_Qui Vive?_â (_Qui Vive_--English, âHalt! who comes there?â) The colonel gave orders to the men to retire in double time; the sentry challenging three times, and no answer in return, fired a round shot from the battery after us; but, fortunately enough, without doing any harm. We came into a village which we had passed through during the night: the colonel thought it was requisite to put the men into the different houses till the following morning, till the seventeenth approached. Accordingly, myself, with eleven others, were put into one house together. We kept the old man (Pizan) busily employed in bringing wine out of the cellars during the remainder of that night; so we had an excellent âchevot.â The following morning the bugle sounded âturn out the whole,â just at the dawn of day. We formed companies, marching off in sections from the right, down a hill in the breadth of the township. At the foot of the hill there was a rapid stream of water, and a narrow bridge over it, wide enough for about one rank and file to go over abreast. The colonel waded through the river on horseback; it took him up rather higher than the flaps of his saddle; the men began to file march over the river, officers and soldiers. The colonel observing the men coming over the bridge, he called out, âAdvance through the water;â I saw a great many of my height up to the armpits; I put up my pouch over my shoulder, and also my rifle--I had a hard struggle to stand against the stream. After we had crossed the river we formed companies; we marched off up a lane and through a wood, and passed by our old friends, the 52nd, lying down half dead at the top of the hill, from fatigue; they gave us three cheers, and we turned and saluted the same; we marched on to where the French had been encamped on the fifteenth night, and our army had driven them back on the sixteenth morning. The ground was covered with dead and wounded--we marched on to Mount Reveille; from there to Quatre Bras, and from there to Mount St. Jean, in which place the French lay in the rear. On Saturday, the seventeenth, we took up our position in the meadow at the foot of the hill of Mount St. Jean, when the commissary butchers were ordered to kill and cut up for the Light Brigade--some having got wood, others muddy water from the ditch--hanging our camp kettles, we lost no time in cooking it, when we were not a little astonished by a volley of shot rattling about us; but being loathe to lose our beef, some of which was cooked, and some quite raw, we tore off a few morsels, stuffing what we could into our haversacks, quickly ready to advance. Great was our disappointment, however, to find that we had been disturbed by the Brunswickers, who never having seen a rifleman in our dark uniform, took us for French. We still kept on the advance, and came into the hard road turning towards Brussels, to the left, passing by the Coldstream Guards on our present right; they gave us three cheers, and returned a salute. We marched leisurely towards Brussels, within four leagues, or twelve miles, turning towards Brussels to the left, coming into Moret Reveille early in evening. THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. On the 17th of June, 1815, the Duchess of Richmond gave a little tea entertainment at Brussels, with dancing in the programme, and for which latter purpose the Brusselsâ carpets had to be taken up. A few hours previous to this eventful festivity, the commander of the British regulars had been taking pot luck with the Prince of Orange and Count Von Schwillensweiper, of the German embassy. Scarcely had the apples and nuts been placed upon the table, when an aide-de-camp, all stuccoed over with rural mud, rushed into the apartment, and placed before his Grace a dirty despatch, sealed with a pipe stem. âTake a chair and a nobbler,â said the Duke to the muddy young gentleman, after which he opened the tobacco-scented missive, and, then, with his characteristic determination, said nothing more. The fact was, that Bonaparte had begun hitting Blucher, who had immediately sent to tell his big brother. âHeâs at him again,â--_ce coquin Bony_--quietly remarked the Duke, when the messenger had quitted the room, and then he placed a lot of nut-shells to show the position of the armies; âvery simple,â continued his Grace, âIt lies in a nutshell--in for a penny, in for a pound, and to-morrow we shall pound away.â The ball was brilliant in the extreme, but it did not escape attention that the Duke wore thick boots before midnight. The commander-in-chief slipped out, pretending he wanted a smoke. Picton, whose presence of mind never forsook him, put a truffed sausage in each pocket. The Prince of Orange whispered to the Duchess that âNey had turned up, and was teasing the Prussians.â âNey turned up,â replied her witty Grace of Richmond--what _Nay retrouse_. They kept up the capering till daylight, long before which the Belgian belles couldnât imagine what had become of the red coats. The famous engagement of the 18th of June--it must be borne in mind, that June is summer-time in Belgium--was fought in a corn field, to the great injury of the crops. The rival armies were considered as two of the best teams that had ever met. It began, some historians say, at ten oâclock sharp, while others contend that the Emperor had not breakfasted at that time, but the fact is, that the battle seems to have resembled many quarrels. It is difficult to say exactly, how it commenced. Charges were made from either side in turn, and there was a good deal of recrimination, and bad language followed. Sir Thomas Picton, at the head of his gallant men, who were all picked ones, fought till he was out of breath. Hundreds of poor fellows cut about till they hadânt a leg to stand upon, and the brave Lord Uxbridge found himself with only one. To heighten the horrors of the scene, it came on to rain in the afternoon, and the smell of gunpowder is described as having been most oppressive. âSire,â exclaimed a distinguished general officer, as he stood upon a looking-out arrangement, like a fire escape, âI see troops in the distance. They must be Prussians--they look blue.â â_Sacre bleu_,â roared the Emperor, âblue be confounded.â His Imperial Majesty spoke polite English with fluency. âTheyâll all look blue before I have done with them.â It was the Prussian blue notwithstanding. At last somebody told the French emperor that the Prussians were coming up to have a finger in the pie. âYou be hanged!â (_allez rous faire pendre_) roared Napoleon; âIts Grouchy, but he knows better,â and fancying that his Grenadiers had got their second wind, he ordered them to charge like mad. With a tremendous shout of â_Vive le Empereur_,â which means âhoor-oar,â and sounds just like it. They came on the British columns crouched in the mud, and the Frenchmen fancied they had gone down to avoid punishment. â_Ces coquins boutiquiers_,â sneered the Emperor, as he began to cut up a pipe of tobacco. At this moment, the iron Duke, whose ferruginous nature made him turn rusty at times, got quite out of temper, and gave his celebrated order for his men to get up and âGive it âem hot.â This, of course, decided the whole business. âConfound it,â said the Emperor, looking through his opera-glass, âThere some mistake?â He was right. In a few minutes an âaideâ galloped up to tell him âthat his men were demoralised, and turning like red-shanks.â âItâs all upâ--_tout est en dessus_--cried Napoleon, blowing his nose from excess of emotion. âYour orders, sire,â anxiously continued the staff officer. âMy carriage!â was the mournful utterance of the unfortunate commander, still busy with his pocket handkerchief. It was Bonaparteâs last order on the field of Waterloo!-- JAMES RICHARDSON, 18th Royal Irish Regiment, Melbourne. From the severity of the weather during our march our men were constantly falling; our shoes came off, and we had to walk in our stockings; our bed at night was a corn field; our covering, blankets soaking in wet. Some setting out to forage, picking up a little wood and putting it on the fire, we had a little rest; and much we needed it. Awaking early next morning (Sunday, 18th), we wrang our blankets, folded them up, and put them under our straps on our knapsacks. We had orders to remain there until further orders, when we had an order to take up ground as a reserve, and there to remain under an expectation of the French coming down the lane to cut off our rear. We lay there until eleven oâclock, when we had orders to advance and to cover the 52nd lines in skirmishing order; in case of being driven in by the cavalry, to form on the right of the 52nd lines, and to the left of the artillery; and to remain there to fire in line until the bugle sounded the advance, firing in skirmishing order. About half-past four oâclock, observing some heavy cavalry charging down to cut off the Light Brigade--supposed to be 800 of the âCuirassiers,â who charged up within about 500 yards on to the field of artillery--General Adam called to the officers commanding the artillery to commence firing on the French Cuirassiers. From the first round of the artillery they made a roadway between the columns; the second round from the artillery we could not observe them for smoke; and from the third round we were completely masked by smoke and darkness, as the smoke contracted along the right of the lines. The trumpet sounded from the cavalry, and the Light Infantry Corps of bugles and drums rolled for the charge; and on we stepped, cheering and charging. We made the infantry give way, and took possession of thirty-two field pieces of artillery and a number of prisoners belonging to Napoleonâs army. The 42nd Highlanders charged the French into the wood of Genappe, just at the back of a farm called Hugenot,--the farm that was taken and re-taken seven times during the 18th; very heavy slaughter round the wood and farm; the 42nd were nearly cut to pieces; about 200 came out of the wood out of 700 engaged. Wellington gave orders to retire, to bring the French out of the wood after us. The inhabitants of Brussels were informed that Napoleon had captured Field-Marshal Wellington; they were all up in arms in Brussels, throwing their baggage into the river to prevent the French from plundering. The British Army faced about, made a heavy charge on the French, and drove them back to their former position (in the wood). We kept skirmishing, taking up ground in different positions, till close up nightfall, when we observed some heavy columns coming up from the rear, from the Brussels side. We expected it was Grouchy, with 40,000 French troops. I made the remark that we were all hemmed in betwixt two fires; but, however, it turned out to be Blucher with the same reinforcement for us. We brought our right shoulders forward, and we made a desperate attack on the French. I witnessed the French firing over their shoulders at us, under their retreat. Leaving the farm and the wood to our right, when up the brow of the hill leading towards Brussels, about half a mile distant,--the French officers of all ranks and soldiers lay so thick on the ground that you could scarcely get a yard of ground but what we stumbled against either a horse or man,--we came into the road leading from Brussels to Paris. By this time it became nightfall with us. We took up our position on the right of the road, and threw ourselves down on the ground to have some rest. We had nothing to eat; and were almost asleep before we reached the ground. Awaking early on Monday, 19th, we could scarcely believe our eyes, that there were only six of us together. We went on foraging. Some Brunswickers and ourselves got a big âporkerâ in the farmyard; we brought him into camp and hoisted him on three poles, and put a good fire under his jacket; so, as it was getting ready, we cut off slices of it to our heartâs content. We managed to get some wine, when we proceeded on our way. We came down to a village, distant about half a mile, called Floreice, on the main road from Brussels to Paris--that which the French occupied during the three days of Waterloo. We went out in search of our comrades, and had some of the Brunswickers with us. On the right of the Paris road, about half a mile from the village, we discovered some of the rifles, as we thought; but they turned out to be Brunswickers, for their uniform and ours were so much alike. We were informed by an officer of that corps that an officer and some of the rifles lay over to the left of the road; and the officer, discovering us, jumped up and shook us by the hand; glad he was to see us alive. Out of 205 rank and file who went into the field on the 18th June, about eleven oâclock, 172 killed and wounded were lost, leaving thirty-three men. We lay there that day and part of the next, when we had orders to advance. We refreshed ourselves with fruit from the roadside. The potato fields suffered much also. When encamped our swords and bayonets served us for spades. On our journey to Paris, we travelled at the rate of four leagues (twelve miles) per diem. At the end of the day, as soon as the tents were pitched, throwing my accoutrements and knapsack into the tent, and taking my haversack and canteen, I used to make an object of proceeding into the country to procure some provender. I one day had to visit a wine cellar. I took a good drop of wine, filled my canteen, and brought up a pitcher with a portion of wine in it; and who should be in the room but the provost-marshal. As soon as he saw me deliver the pitcher in the kitchen, he kicked it over with his foot, called the sergeant of the provost, and told him to go down into the cellar and bring up a soldier: I had concealed myself behind the door of the cellar. The sergeant passed me, went down, looked about, but could not discover me; he went up and told the captain that I was not there, saying that the cellar was too dark for him to see me. I was in a rifle dress. âTake a light down, sergeant,â said the provost-marshal, which he did, and then hunted about for me again, but still could not find me. However, in coming up the cellar steps, he saw me behind the door, and brought me into the apartment where the captain was standing. âOh,â he said, âMr Rifleman, I have got you at last. I have had a great deal of trouble in catching you.â He ordered the sergeant to appoint four men to take me to the rear guard; so the four men came up and told me to march on, one on each side and two in the rear, the captain giving them strict orders not to let me go. They brought me down to the rear guard, and put me into an apartment where there were twenty more prisoners. The captain also gave orders to the sergeant to âfall us in,â and march us into an orchard to receive the punishment that was to be inflicted upon us. âCome, Mr Rifleman,â he said, âI will begin with you first.â He just read over a small sentence to me, to the effect that I was to receive twenty-four lashes, and ordered me to strip off. I was tied to an apple-tree, and, coming round me, the captain said, âIf you will join the provost, it will prevent you from being punished.â âNo, captain,â I answered; âI will not leave my regiment.â He then ordered the drummer to put the âcatâ on my back. When I had received one dozen, the captain again told me if I would consent to his request he would cease flogging me. I still refused, and he ordered the drummer to give me the other dozen. As soon as they had finished they took me down, and the captain ordered the sergeant to empty my canteen of the wine; they then gave me my canteen and haversack and told me to proceed to the camp. I picked up my clothing, and went over a wall out of the orchard. I then commenced to put my clothes on. In the meantime they had another man tied up to the same tree as I had been at, and, I believe, they gave him five or six lashes, when he bellowed out, begging for mercy, and said that he would never plunder any more if the captain would let him down. I heard no more of him, but proceeded towards the camp, leaving the Provost about half a mile to the rear of me. I got into a farm house and filled my canteen with good wine again, and was fortunate enough to pick up part of a loaf. Coming out of the yard I knocked a fowl down, put it into my haversack, and proceeded into the camp. It was late in the evening. I went into the officersâ marquee and told him what had taken place, giving him full particulars. He asked me to pull off my clothes and he examined my back. âOh!â he said, âthey have not hurt you much.â But I told him I felt very sore, and that I should be hardly able to carry my knapsack on the morrow. He said he would get it put on the baggage waggon, so that I had nothing to carry but my accoutrements, sixty rounds of ball cartridge in my pouch, and forty in my haversack; the weight of these caused my shirt to stick to my back, and gave me great pain. Afterwards I usually kept myself very quiet. The Prussians had the advance of the British Army, when the French came up the River Seine, which they had to cross. They opposed the Prussians. An express order came to the rear for the British Army to push forward in forced marches; so we proceeded on at the rate of twenty-one miles per diem, under a broiling sun, and, on the third evening we formed on the top of the hill where the Prussians were encamped. On the following morning we erected a substantial battery. By giving the French a few rounds from the artillery, after a short time, we compelled them to move. Word was then given to charge, and we drove them across the river; but before we arrived at the river, the enemy blew up the Bridge of Lourai, which left them on the St. Denis side, and we on the other. We discovered a flour mill on the banks of the river, and I said to one of my comrades, âI will go down and see if I can find some flour.â Accordingly, I proceeded to the mill, got inside without any difficulty, and discovered a large flour bin, in which I found as much flour as my haversack would hold. In coming down the mill steps from out of the mill, I met another man coming up upon the same errand as myself; he called out, âMiller, what is the price of a sixpenny loaf?â I said, âFaith, comrade, if I have a white jacket, I have no white feather; better to be a miller than starving.â As my uniform was all green, the flour on the skirts of my coat caused me to appear more like a magpie than a rifleman. There was plenty of wine in all the farm houses, and I availed myself of it by mixing it with the flour, by which we soon had a good pot of dumplings; it made good âprog,â I can assure the reader. Our pontoons being someway down the river, the Prussians went down to cross the pontoons--the boats came up the river the following day to take the British army over. As soon as we all got across the river, the Prussians and the British army made a rapid attack across St. Denis until we came up to where there was a bridge leading across an arm of the river; the bridge was obstructed by trees being thrown across it to prevent us from crossing. On each angle of the bridge, there was a _chevaux de frise_, and in the main road a large trench was cut about twelve feet deep, and twelve feet wide; and also a barricade formed across the road, consisting of empty wine casks filled with earth, &c.; but in spite of all this opposition, our artillery unyoked their horses from the guns to draw the trees from off the bridge; the sappers and miners also cleared away to let the army over, and filled up the trenches. After we got across upon the main road, our cavalry sounded the trumpet, and the light infantry the key bugles, and the bands played from the regiments of the line. We had about three miles to go before we entered Paris; the Prussians on our right were bombarding the outlets of the city. Previous to our arrival within a quarter of a mile of the township, they sent out a flag of truce, agreeing to surrender Paris to us; so we marched into the town with colours flying and drums beating, the people on the tops of the houses, and leaning over the balconies, some thousands of them singing out, â_Vive le Roi!_â and others, in opposition, â_Vive Napoleon!_â But witnessing the number of the army, they thought it best to desist; we went through the Palais Royal, and then marched out and took up our quarters convenient to the river; the fifty-second light infantry and the seventy-first Scotch regiments, and the rifles, occupied the opposite side of the road to that on which the seventy-second light infantry were; a portion of the cossacks were stationed along with us, and also the artillery; the commissariat took up their department on one side of the camping ground to serve us out with rations. I often amused myself by looking at the river side, and going into a river on top of the horsesâ backs naked: when the horse would be out of his depth, he would strike off swimming, and the man would swim alongside of the horse; they used to go a considerable way from the bank, turn their horses heads round, and swim back after them. The constant practice amongst the soldiers was plunder. When the inhabitants came out to see the soldiers, before they returned to the town they were robbed; reports went to Wellington about these offences, and upon all those that were caught corporal punishment was inflicted. When our light brigade was in camp, scarcely a day passed without some flogging; I was very keen myself to see if I could get something in the way of provender to enable me to be strong and long-winded. I went out one night with several others about a mile from the camping ground, to procure some vegetables in the gardens belonging to the Pizans, or market-gardeners; we had a strong mud wall to go over, dividing the road from the garden, about ten foot high; we all got over the wall and went up through the gardens, and the owners of the place hearing us began to fire away with their old muskets at us, and compelled us to retire. In coming back to cross the wall, I made a leap with the rest of my comrades--unfortunately, in trying to get over, I caught hold of the top of the wall, which being, as I said before, of mud, gave way, and down I came on the broad of my back inside the garden again; and I was alarmed about my bones, when I concealed myself under the wall. The gardeners were at this time going up and down looking for us; they were calling out, in French, â_Sacre non de dieu!_â (which means in plain English, âDamn your eyes and limbs!â) also, that âwe were a lot of thieves.â There was a dog not far from me, that set to howling, which enlightened them as to where I was concealed, when they all came up and dragged me out by the collar, and vowed vengeance on me; they brought me to the gateway, and in pushing me through the gateway into the road, one fellow gave me a rap on the back of the head with a pole, which made me see all the colours of the rainbow; I thought this was too much to stand from a Frenchman: but their being too strong for me, I proceeded quietly to the camp determining to watch my chance. We used often to meet them coming into market with their vegetables, so, instead of going over mud walls any more, we helped ourselves from their carts to get an excellent supply. Our field-days were on Tuesdays and Fridays, something better than a league of three miles towards St. Denis, in an angle of Mont Mart. We used to go through our evolutions, of forming line and squares, &c., during the day, and then retire to camp. Some time in August (I cannot remember the exact date), there were two men ordered by Wellington to be executed; one belonged to the 71st regiment of the line, and the other to the 52nd light infantry. The 71st man was to be hung on a tree, and the 52nd man to be shot; and, as the regiment stood in close column to watch the execution, placed in such a position that every man could witness it, the man was first hanged; and we then changed front to the rear to witness the man who was to be shot; when we faced about, the man was kneeling on his coffin, and his grave before him; the Chaplain was praying with the man some considerable time while he was on his coffin, and when the Chaplain was about to bid him farewell, he shook hands with him. Immediately the provost-marshal ordered the sergeant to draw the cap over his eyes; as soon as he did so, the General of the Brigade gave orders for the men to prime and load. Just as the men were coming to the ârecover,â and then to the âpresent,â waiting for orders to fire, an orderly dragoon came into the field as hard as he could; the General called out to stop the execution till the dragoon came up; when he arrived before the General, he pulled round his sabretash, and presented a despatch from Wellington to the General of Brigade; when he opened it and discovered the contents, he ordered the man to be liberated, and the cap to be drawn from off his head, which was thrown on the ground, and unfastened his arms, which were pinioned behind him. He jumped off the coffin, and stood for a minute or two quite confused, when he wheeled himself about and went up through the columns as smart as ever I saw a man walk. The General called out to form line of regiments, to step off in slow time by subdivisions, and to march past the gallows where the man was hanging from the tree, for an example against plundering. The General called out to the Colonels to march their regiments to their respective camping grounds; which we did, the band playing âOver the hills and far away,â leaving the corpse hanging on the tree behind us. Some short time after this occurrence, all hands were to attend parade--sick, lame and lazy--at the square of the general hospital. There was a man brought up by the provost to be flogged for plundering; his sentence was for 1,000 lashes. When he was tied up to the triangles, he received 500 lashes and never cried âOh!â to it; the other 500 were to be delivered at another time. He was conveyed away to the hospital to be dressed by the doctor, and we marched back to the camping ground. A fortnight after, the brigade all mustered again and assembled in the general hospital yard; the man was brought out and then received the other 500 lashes; at the first lash the blood spurted out, but he took the whole of the lashes without uttering a word; and we marched back again to our camping ground. We used to have parades and field-days as usual. Nothing more took place of any importance, as far as I witnessed, until the early part of October, when the brigade all fell in one morning, marched toward the city, and formed in line, with the cavalry and artillery on each flank, and there remained till further orders, while they were taking down the statues that Bonaparte had taken from other countries. From the sulky looks of the inhabitants that day, we expected some disturbance; but seeing the numbers of the allied army, they kept themselves quiet. We marched back into the camp during the evening, and there lay till further orders. On the 12th of October we had orders to break up camp, and our brigade marched to Versailles, four leagues from Paris, and there to remain till further orders. Our brigade field-days were as usual; there was very little I can give an account of for the short time that we were in Versailles. The Rifles were then ordered to march to Calais, to embark for Great Britain. We went on board the troop ship after stopping in Calais only two days. The Jewish inhabitants came on board to know if any of the soldiers had anything to dispose of; they said they would buy anything, so the men asked them would they buy blankets, and they replied they would--those being the campaign blankets; the men asked how much they would give for a blanket, they said eighteen francs, to which some of us agreed, some selling half a one only, which my comrade and myself did, dividing one between us for our use, and selling the other and dividing the money. I purchased a few articles with the proceeds, from the French Jews, such as I stood in need of. The following morning we proceeded on our way, and the second day we sighted Dover, at which place we had to land. We found on the beach, Colonel Duffay (formerly belonging to the forty-third light infantry) who took the command from Colonel Ross; he gave orders for all those that had articles on the top of their knapsacks to take them off and to leave them on the beach; I picked up some of my things and concealed them about me as well as I could; we then marched up to the quarter-masterâs stores--companies being called for, and the list being gone over to go forward and give in their blankets, haversacks, and canteens: some had none, others threw in half a one, but those were as well off who threw in nothing, as those who had only a half one. After this had been done, we marched to the heights, and took up our position in barracks, and there remained till further orders. Our parades and duty were very moderate; we remained here for two months, when we had orders to march to Ramsgate, to embark on board of troopships for Ireland. We disembarked six miles from Waterford, at a place called Darsage--marched six miles into Waterford, took up our position on the Quay, and there remained till the billets were issued out--only one night. The following morning we marched to New Ross, in the County of Wexford, twelve miles; we came up to the bridge leading into the town, when the band struck up playing through the town, and we formed in the Market Square. Shortly after the billets were handed out by the sergeants of companies; I received a billet for six of us, and went to the house, which was a hucksterâs shop. The woman of the house said, âWell, men, we have not much room to put you into;â but we said we could put up with that; so she showed us an apartment where we had to reside, and we put our knapsacks, &c., all up on one side of the room and slept on the other. We came out into another apartment to get a smoke of our pipes, where there was a large turf fire, and we sat down beside if, and the woman of the house asked us if we would take any refreshments, and we replied that we would; she asked us what we would take, and we said âanything;â so with that she put a big pot on the fire, full of potatoes, about fourteen pounds. While they were boiling, she threw in a quantity of eggs on the top, and set about laying the tablecloth; she then took a lot of bacon and fried two pansfull of it, and set it all down before us, with plenty of good table ale, bread, &c. After we had made a good meal, I asked the woman of the house what the expenses would be, she said, âTwo tenpenny pieces;â I said to my comrade, âYou pay threepence halfpenny, and I will do the same.â I told two others to pay the same, and two threepence each, making in all one and eightpence; after we had smoked our pipes a bit, we made our departure to go to the town; we went into the market and saw a great quantity of provisions; I asked the price of potatoes per stone, and was told three halfpence; I asked what the eggs were per dozen, they told me two pence; how much the bacon was per lb., they said three halfpence. I thought to myself our dinners were charged for very moderately. We then retired down through the town, and took two or three glasses of whisky. In the evening we returned and took some more refreshment, the following morning we did the same, and continued this kind of living until Monday. Sunday being a halting day, I had a pair of boots that wanted soleing and heeling; I took them to the shoemaker belonging to the company, but he said he would work for nobody on the Sabbath day. As our route was for Dublin, I knew my boots would not carry me there, and I was determined to get them mended by Monday. I tied them up in my handkerchief, went down through the town with them to see if I could get them done there; I was informed by a man where I could; he directed me to a back lane, and knocked at the door of a house; I asked the person who opened it if he was a shoemaker; he replied, âI am;â I said, âI have a pair of boots to mend;â he replied that he did not work on the Sabbath, but, as I was a soldier on the line of march, he would do them for me; so I went in; he set to work to mend them at once, and was not long before he had them repaired. I asked what he charged; he said, âAs you are a soldier I will only charge you tenpence,â for which I said I was very thankful, and asked him if he would take a glass of whisky, at which he agreed, and we went out at once to a whisky shop; I called for half a pint, and totted out a good bumper to the old man, which he kindly accepted,
{'title': 'Adventures in Holland and at Waterloo; and Expedition to Portugal by Thomas Knight', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}