THE MAN AND

WHEN I was at the siege of Gibraltar

"I say, old fellow

I appeal for protection to the chair. (Hear, hear.) When I was at the siege of Gibraltar, my post was for some time in the Queen's Battery, which immediately fronted the besiegers' works. It was my special duty to acquire as accurate a knowledge of those works, their armament, position, defences, and progress, as it was possible to obtain by constant observation and a very middling spy-glass, while enveloped in dust and smoke, choked with sulphur, and exposed to inces sant compliments of shot and shell. The knowledge thus obtained I had the honour of imparting to our gallant Lieutenant-Governor, General Boyd, when he came out to the front from time to time. This circumstance procured for me the glorious distinction of going out as guide when we made a sortie by night for the purpose of surprising the enemy's works, burning and destroying them.

I am not going to describe the sortie; you will find all about it in Drinkwater. Let me only say that it proved a real surprise to the enemy; their works were ruined, their guns spiked, and their approaches in a corresponding degree retarded, which was just what we wanted.

The affair was nearly over, their gabions along the whole front were in a blaze; but though outnumbered at our point of attack, the enemy fought stoutly, and a good deal of savage skirmishing was still going on. I was in the thick of a regular mêlée, hard knocks at close quarters, when my attention was arrested by a diminutive Frenchman, an officer in splendid uniform, who was doing chivalrous deeds, as if he fancied his own arm might yet restore the lost combat. He was a mere pigmy; and his plucki

ness had so won upon our fellows that they were bent upon effecting an object to which his own valour was the only obstacle-that of taking him alive. Flourishing his sword, he skipped about, facing every point of the compass in succession, and thrusting, with loud cries of defiance, at every one that approached him. Don't kill him!" the men cried. "Take him alive; don't hurt the little chap;" though the little chap had already disabled a sergeant and a private who had ventured too near him. I shouted, taking off my hat and entreating him for his own sake to surrender: it was clear, indeed, that he had no chance left but either to be taken prisoner or to bite the dust. He returned my salute, but still maintained the defensive, spinning round and round, and lunging at the horizon. As we had done our work, and it was high time to get back to our lines lest the enemy should attack us in force, I began to fear it would be out of my power to save the little Frenchman's life. Our men, too, were beginning to lose patience, and showed a disposition to close upon him with fixed bayonets; in which case, though he might very possibly have set his mark upon one or two more of them, the consequences to himself might have been far from agreeable. At that moment, and just as I was thinking, as a last effort, of trying what I could do by approaching him in person, he seemed to awake suddenly to a consciousness of his own peril, rushed towards me, threw down his sword, clasped his hands, uttered a piercing shriek, and dropped on his knees at my feet.

-a very

He was my prisoner;grand capture, to be sure. In an instant he became calm, gentlemanly, and garrulous. Walking with me side by side as our party withdrew, he was kind enough to commence a perpetual stream of talk,

which lasted all the way, and in which he found time to tell me who he was, and all about his own family and history; how he had fought in many battles, and always came off with more glory than all the rest of the combatants together; not forgetting to mention how much sooner Gibraltar would have fallen-it was sure to fall at last had only his suggestions been appreciated as they deserved. He begged to assure me that he was a person of great importance. He bore, as he was pleased to state, the name of Montmaur; and his nomde-guerre, by an inversion of the syllables, was Mormon. He was of noble birth, and turned of thirty; but his distinguished talents and acquirements in the art of war, known throughout Europe and universally recognised in the French service, had so excited the envy of his military superiors that they had succeeded by finesse in preventing his rising to a higher grade than that of lieutenant in a regiment of the line.

The next day, when M. de Montmaur was presented before the Governor, his Excellency seemed a little nonplussed. To shut up a diminutive object like that in durance would have looked absurd; one would as soon have thought of imprisoning a tomtit. Formally to parole him would have been formality in a matter of no importance -always better let alone. The result was that, having far weightier matters to attend to, his Excellency let the business stand over, and ended by doing nothing; so that M. de Montmaur remained a prisoner at large. He rather attached himself to me, as his first English acquaintance, and, so far as garrison regulations permitted, used to follow me about everywhere. The consequence was, that my brother officers were accustomed to speak of him as my "little dog Mormon." Among the officers he soon became popular. I had given due publicity to his gallantry when captured, and that was quite sufficient

to place him on a good footing with military men. Besides this, he was good-humoured, clever, and always lively; could take a joke, and repay it with interest. As a musician, both vocal and instrumental, he was decidedly above par; when casualties were brought in from the batteries, he was handy in assisting the surgeons; and in fencing, dancing, and cookery we soon found out that he equalled the most highly educated of his own accomplished countrymen. The consequence was, that M. de Montmaur was a welcome guest at every mess; and whenever an adventurous settee brought us fruit, or vegetables, or fish, or fresh meat, he was specially invited to share the feast. If he sometimes talked big, either about his prowess, his military attainments, his extraordinary adventures, his hairbreadth escapes, his varied accomplishments, or his innumerable conquests among the fair, this only added to our amusement; his vanity was so openhearted that we liked him all the better. His more extravagant sallies were generally received with cheers, shouts of laughter, and much thumping on the table, all which he took to his own credit, probably unconscious that the said thumping was a grim regimental pun, practically and conventionally signifying "That's a thumper!" When he had succeeded in eliciting a vociferous demonstration, he always went home to his quarters in a high state of exhilaration.

In the garrison, however, we had one individual, with whom M. de Montmaur, though it was not his own fault, never established amicable relations. This was a foreign officer in our service; he was from the north of Europe-a Captain Schnaub, who, though he wanted neither courage nor capacity, had certainly failed in making himself generally popular amongst us. was a tall, large, powerful man, his stoutness almost verging on corpulency. His manner was rough, so were his jokes. Unfortunately,

He

also, he viewed all Frenchmen with hostility, and this feeling he had no opportunity of exhibiting, except towards M. de Montmaur, whom he was in the habit of treating as ignominiously as the general feeling of the garrison would permit. To me our little prisoner had mentioned the subject more than once, pompously remarking that he feared he should be under the painful necessity of teaching "ce cher Capitaine Se-che-naubbe" a lesson in "politesse."

At length, in M. de Montmaur's opinion, the time for administering this very necessary lesson arrived, and he communicated with me in due form. He commenced the conference by intimating that, though little in stature, he was as brave as a lion."

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To this I merely responded by a bow. He next went on to state that "his sense of honour was not inferior to his bravery."

In short, seeing that he had a communication to make, and was taking a very roundabout way of coming to the point, I brought him to it at once. He then gave me to understand that the moment had at length arrived, when, without appearing either captious or precipitate -he would like to see the individual, present company excepted, whose discretion and amiability came anything next his own-he felt himself free to terminate a long series of insolences. Observing next the seawall, he said, a party of officers in conversation, among them "ce cher Capitaine Se-che-naubbe," he had been impelled by that courtesy which so eminently distinguished him to approach and salute them. His salute was politely and smilingly returned by the whole party, with one exception. "Ce cher Capitaine" gave no token of recognition; nay, worse, actually held up a key, and looked at him through it, as if it had been an eyeglass, thereby conveying the offensive imputation that he was so diminutive, so insignificant, as not to be discernible by the This raised a laugh

naked eye.

among the gentlemen present; and, more offensive still, the laugh was taken up and audibly re-echoed by certain non-commissioned officers and privates who were standing not far off. For this insult M. de Montmaur felt himself entitled to prompt satisfaction.

"Well," said I, "you state the case as a party interested. Before pronouncing on it, I should like to ascertain the impression of one or two of the officers present. Considering that you and I have been so much together, and that it was I, moreover, who had the honour of receiving your surrender, I shall view the insult, if any was intended, as offered to myself. The quarrel in that case will be mine; I am the person to whom the Captain will owe satisfaction." (Such, in those days of duelling, were our notions of honour.)

"Ah," cried the little Frenchman, "that is brave! that is noble ! that is just exactly what I knew you would say! But I have anticipated your chivalrous sentiments by equal chivalry on my own part. My challenge is already sent; I despatched it an hour ago; and I have the Captain's acceptance in my pocket. The only favour, therefore, which I now ask, is your obliging company as my friend."

The affair came off;-the weapons rapiers; the time, that same afternoon; the field of slaughter, a retired spot beyond the barracks, and not far from the southern extremity of the Rock. Nevertheless, the business having got wind, a few officers lounged down to see; and several other persons, civilians as well as soldiers, stood looking on at a distance.

The parties being placed, a few thrusts were exchanged without effect. The Captain looked sulky enough. It was evident he keenly felt his ridiculous position; he, the biggest man in the garrison, stuck up vis-à-vis in mortal combat with the least. The poor man fenced as if he couldn't help himself. The little Frenchman, on the contrary, was all activity and enterprise. At length, after a brisk passage of

arms, the two stood facing each other for a few seconds in perfect stillness, their swords barely touching at their extremities. Suddenly the little Frenchman swelled to twice his natural size, stamped, shouted "Hah!" sprang forward a yard, sprang back again. It was done in the twinkling of an eye. There he stood, just in his former attitude, as though he had never moved. At first I was not aware of any result; but three inches of his sword had taken effect, just as surely as when a spider, having netted a wasp, jumps at him, nips, and jumps away again. The Captain had got an ugly progue in his sword-arm, between wrist and elbow. The first token was, that he used some shocking bad language; next, he turned deadly pale; then his sword gradually went down, down, down; then the weapon fell from his grasp he could hold it no longer. M. de Montmaur, scorning to profit by his success, bowed politely to his antagonist, thanked him for the honour of "dis meeting," and expressed himself "perfect satisfy." The Captain was taken away by his second, growling thunder, and followed by the doctor. The officers present, with whom he was far from popular, were not sorry that he had got a lesson, and surrounded the victor. A few words commendatory of M. de Montmaur's pluck and skill took such an effect that the little lieutenant was quite beside himself. He gesticulated, he wept. He called all Olympus to witness that no insult, however gross, should ever induce him henceforth to draw his sword, in single combat, against the Brittish uniform; and in proof of his sincerity he entreated, he implored, that some one present would only have the kindness to kick him or pull his nose, and see if he wouldn't take it like a lamb. To prevent his making a more complete ass of himself, I got him off the field, gave him an early supper, with only a short allow ance of grog, and sent him to bed.

Captain Schnaub, who, with all

his little peculiarities of character, was a zealous officer, appeared at his post on the third day with a slung arm, and in a fortnight was well. So ends the first part of my

story. Much obliged; no more wine. I'll trouble you for a little of THAT. Thanks; only half a tumbler thank you, thank you. I'll just light another cigar, and proceed.

Meanwhile the siege went on. Compared with their prodigious expenditure of powder and shot, the enemy did us very little damage; and the whole garrison felt convinced that, unless provisions should fail, which they never did entirely, we could keep out our foes from the fortress for whatever time they chose to remain before it. Meanwhile, vainglorious and lively as ever, M. de Montmaur remained with us; simply, I suppose, because the besiegers had no prisoner of ours to exchange for him; or, if they had a prisoner, preferred exchanging him for some one else.

In process of time, as the siege proceeded, my post and duties were altered. There was reason to suspect that certain residents in Gibraltar, Spaniards, or others who favoured the foe, were in the habit of concealing themselves in the rough ground about the summit of the Rock, and from that elevated position making signals to their friends outside both by day and night. One or two delinquents were caught and hanged. I had it in charge to look after this class of offenders, while taking also the general superintendence of our posts along the summit, and seeing that our men there stationed had their eyes about them. Treachery is easy in a place besieged, simply because everybody takes it for granted that everybody else is on the alert, and therefore gives himself no trouble. It was also my duty to take note of all the enemy's movements, and to report upon them as occasion required. The arrangement, so far as it concerned