The romance of war, or, The Highlanders in Spain

21 June 1813

Battle of Vitoria

EL CONVENTO DE 8ANTA CRUZ.

believed in their effioncv ; but he remembered that it was Catalina'i wish— indeed, almost her last request that such should be done, and he paid the onzas rather as a duty of affection than religion. This act left him in indifferent pecuniary circumstances, as it carried off the whole month's subsistence which he had received from the regimental paymaster after the storm of Almarez. Pay was a scarce matter with the Peninsular troop?, who, at the time the battle of Vittoria was fought, had not received a single farthing for upwards of six months.

THE SOMASCE OF BAB. 309

The prospect before them must have been one of no ordinary in- terest to the martial legions of France. At the moment that the distant bells of the convent of Santa Clara de Alava struck a quarter to ten, the memorable battle of Vittoria began.

THE ROMANCE OF XTA.B. 8U

With much difficulty Stuart gained the extremity of the ridge, and the whole soul-stirring display of the field of Vittoria burst at once upon his gaze, extending over a space of ground fully six miles in length. Truly, thicker than leaves in autumn, the bodies of men were strewed along the whole length of the hostne armies. The warm light of the setting sun was beaming on the mountain tops, but its lustre had long since faded on the sylvan vale of the Zadorra, where the shadows of evening were setting on the pale faces of the dead and the dying. The plains of Vittoria, too, were growing dark, but at the first view Ronald was enabled to perceive, and his heart beat proudly while he did so, that the allies had conquered, and the boastful story of the Gaul was false.

THE BOMANCE OF WAB. 315

" Ho, Demonios ! a rare request ! Par Diez ! no, no, mi amigo. I will have these bright epaulets (which I beg you will not spoil by struggling so), and I will have this golden cross and other things, without either the risk or trouble of trying points with you. Hah ! have you forgotten the night when we first met at Albuquerque ? By our Lady of Majorga, you shall this night know that I have not ! We have many odd scores to pay off, and they may as well be settled here on the field of Vittoria, as elsewhere. Besides, Senor Valour, when your corse is found, you will be mentioned among the killed in the Oaceta de la liegeveia. Hah ! hah ! "