ready taken notice, whilst the detachment that arrived on the line, faced the cypress wood, and bent back so as, in part, to shelter the rear of the encampment. As the weather chan ced to be remarkably favourable, and as no traces of an enemy could be perceived, we very naturally looked for ward to a peaceable and pleasant tour of duty; and we made no scruple, as well officers as men, to wander so far from the head-quarters of our post, as the prospect of a few luxuries, in the way of eating and drinking, invited. The sentinels being carefully planted, Charlton left me in charge of the guard, whilst, with a few followers, he hurried off to the chateau, for the purpose of ascertaining the state of its cellars and larder. He was not long absent; and when he did return, he returned not empty-handed. An ample supply of wine, with a cheese, a piece of bacon, and a turkey, fell to our share; whilst the men were made happy with a moderate allowance of brandy, which served to wash down the less delicate rations of pork and biscuit.

We were thus circumstanced, and evening was beginning to approach, when there suddenly appeared, advancing along the high road, a corps of some two or three hundred wellmounted cavalry. Our picquets instantly stood to their arms, and the buglers, obeying the orders given to them, sounded the assembly, for the purpose of putting the division on its guard. The enemy's horse, nothing daunted by these preparations, moved on. One squadron, continuing to occupy the road, the rest spreading themselves over the fields adjoining, came down at a brisk trot, apparently with the design of making an attack upon our post. The sentinels, having stood till they had arrived within point-blank range, gave them fire, and as the enemy still pressed on at a canter, they fell back. Instantly our people extended themselves, and darting forward to a dry ditch, which ran a little in front of their station, threw themselves into it, and made ready to dispute their ground with the cavalry. It appeared, however, that the reconnoitring party had either effected their purpose, or had done as much as they deemed it prudent and safe to do; for they ventured not within a hundred yards of us. We gave them,

however, a few random shots; upon which they pulled up, remained for a minute or two stationary, and then wheeling about, as if by word of command, retired in the most perfect order. It was not so with those upon the high road. Whether the squadron which occupied it mistook their orders, or whether it was deemed a matter of consequence to get, in that direction, as near the camp as might be, I know not; but the enemy not only drove in the sentinels there, but charged, or rather endeavoured to charge, the body of the picquet itself. They were received by the rifles with a close and well-directed volley, which killed three men and two horses, besides wounding several others, and the rest not willing to abide another discharge, fell instantly into confusion. They galloped back with the same precipitation which had distinguished their approach, and in ten minutes after they had shown themselves, the whole body was out of sight.

This was the very first occasion, during the course of our Transatlantic warfare, that the Americans had in any way ventured seriously to molest or threaten our posts, or shown the smallest disposition to act vigorously on the offensive. I cannot deny that it produced a curious effect upon us. Not that we experienced the smallest sensation of alarm. We held them in too much contempt to fear their attack; I question whether we did not wish that they would hazard one; yet we spoke of the present boldness, and thought of it too, as a meeting on which we had in no ways calculated, and for which we could not possibly account. It had not, however, the effect of exciting an expectation, that the attempt would be renewed, at least in force; and though we unquestionably looked upon our position, from that moment, with a more cautious eye, we neither felt nor acted upon the supposition, that any serious danger would be incurred, till we ourselves should seek it. Nothing occurred during the remaining hours of daylight, calculated to produce any change in these anticipations. The enemy made their appearance no more; and having carefully ascertained that an unbroken chain of videttes was established; having examined our men's arms, satisfied ourselves that they were in good order, and taken other necessary pre

cautions, we trimmed our fires, as darkness thickened, and drew near them.

Charlton and I were in the act of smoking our cigars, the men having laid themselves down about the blaze, when word was passed from sentry to sentry, and intelligence communicated to us, that all was not right towards the river. We started instantly to our feet. The fire was has tily smothered up, and the men snatching their arms, stood in line, ready to act as circumstances might require. So dense, however, was the darkness, and so dazzling the effect of the glare from the bivouac, that it was not possible, standing where we stood, to form any reasonable guess as to the cause of this alarm. That an alarm had been excited, was indeed perceptible enough. Instead of the deep silence which five minutes ago had prevailed in the bivouac, a strange hub bub of shouts, and questions, and as many cries, rose up the night air; nor did many minutes elapse, ere first one musket, then three or four, then a whole platoon, were discharged. The reader will easily believe that the latter circumstance startled us prodigiously, ignorant as we were of the cause which produced it, but it required no very painful exertion of patience to set us right on this head; flash, flash, flash, came from the river; the roar of cannon followed, and the light of her own broadside displayed to us an enemy's vessel at anchor near the opposite bank, and pouring a perfect shower of grape and round shot, into the camp.

For one instant, and only for an instant, a scene of alarm and consternation overcame us; and we almost instinctively addressed to each other the question, "What can all this mean?" But the meaning was too palpable not to be understood at once. "The thing cannot end here," said we-" a night attack is commencing;" and we made no delay in preparing to meet it. Whilst Charlton remained with the picquet, in readiness to act as the events might demand, I came forward to the sentries, for the purpose of cautioning them against paying at tention to what might pass in their rear, and keeping them steadily engaged in watching their front. The men were fully alive to the peril of their situation. They strained with their

hearing and eyesight to the utmost limits; but neither sound nor sight of an advancing column could be perceived. At last, however, an alarm was given. One of the rifles challenged-it was the sentinel on the high road; the sentinel who communicated with him challenged also; and the cry was taken up from man to man, till our own most remote sentry caught it. I flew to his station; and sure enough the tramp of many feet was most distinctly audible. Having taken the precaution to carry an orderly forward with me, I caused him to hurry back to Charlton with intelligence of what was coming, and my earnest recommendation that he would lose no time in occupying the ditch. I had hardly done so, when the noise of a column deploying was distinctly heard. The tramp of horses, too, came mingled with the tread of men; in a word, it was quite evident, that a large force, both of infantry and cavalry, was before us.

There was a pause at this period of several moments, as if the enemy's line, having effected its formation, had halted till some other arrangement should be completed; but it was quickly broke. On they came, as far as we could judge from the sound, in steady array, till at length their line could be indistinctly seen rising through the gloom. The sentinels with one consent gave their fire. They gave it regularly, and effectively, beginning with the rifles on their left, and going off towards the 85th on their right, and then, in obedience to their orders, fell back. But they retired not unmolested. This straggling discharge on our part, seemed to be the signal to the Americans to begin the battle, and they poured in such a volley, as must have proved, had any determinate object been opposed to it, absolutely murderous. But our scattered videttes almost wholly escaped it; whilst over the main body of the picquet, sheltered as it was by the ditch, and considerably removed from its line, it passed entirely harmless.

Having fired this volley, the enemy loaded again, and advanced. We saw them coming, and having waited till we judged that they were within excellent range, we opened our fire. It was returned in tenfold force, and now went on, for a full half hour, as heavy and close a discharge of mus

ketry, as troops have perhaps ever faced. Confident in their numbers, and led on, as it would appear, by brave officers, the Americans dashed forward till scarcely ten yards divided us; but our position was an admirable one, our men were steady and cool, and they penetrated no farther. On the contrary, we drove them back, more than once, with a loss which their own inordinate multitude tended only to render the more severe.

The action might have continued in this state about two hours, when, to our horror and dismay, the approaching fire upon our right flank and rear, gave testimony that the picquet of the 85th, which had been in communica tion with us, was forced. Unwilling to abandon our ground, which we had hitherto held with such success, we clung for a while to the idea that the reverse in that quarter might be only temporary, and that the arrival of fresh troops might yet enable us to continue the battle in a position so eminently favourable to us. But we were speedily taught that our hopes were without foundation. The American war-cry was behind us. We rose from our lairs, and endeavoured, as we best could, to retire upon the right, but the effort was fruitless. There too the enemy had established themselves, and we were surrounded. "Let us cut our way through," cried we to the men. The brave fellows answered only with a shout; and collecting into a small compact line, prepared to use their bayonets. In a moment we had penetrated the centre of an American division; but the numbers opposed to us were overwhelming; our close order was lost; and the contest became that of man to man. I have no language adequate to describe what followed. For myself, I did what I could, cutting and thrusting at the multitudes about me, till at last I found myself fairly hemmed in by a crowd, and my swordarm mastered. One American had grasped me round the waist, another, seizing my wrist, attempted to disarm me, whilst a third was prevented from plunging his bayonet into my body, only by the fear of stabbing one or other of his countrymen. I struggled hard, but they fairly bore me to the ground. The reader will well believe, that at this juncture I expected no thing else than instant death; but at VOL. XXII.

the moment when I fell, a blow upon the head with the butt-end of a musket dashed out the brains of the man who kept his hold upon my swordarm, and it was freed. I saw a bayonet pointed to my breast, and I intuitively made a thrust at the man who wielded it. The thrust took effect, and he dropped dead beside me. Delivered now from two of my enemies, I recovered my feet, and found that the hand which dealt the blow to which my preservation was owing, was that of Charlton. There were about ten men about him. The enemy in our front were broken, and we dashed through. But we were again hemmed in, and again it was fought hand to hand, with that degree of determination, which the assurance that life and death were on the issue, could alone produce. There cannot be a doubt that we should have fallen to a inan, had not the arrival of fresh troops at this critical juncture turned the tide of affairs. As it was, little more than a third part of our picquet survived; the remainder being either killed or taken; and both Charlton and myself, though not dangerously, were wounded. Charlton had received a heavy blow upon the shoulder, which almost disabled him, whilst my neck bled freely from a thrust, which the intervention of a stout leathern stock alone hindered from being fatal. But the reinforcement gave us all, in spite of wounds and weariness, fresh courage, and we renewed the battle with alacrity.

In the course of the struggle in which we had been engaged, we had been borne considerably out of the line of our first position, and now found that the main-road, and the picquet of the rifles, were close in our rear. We were still giving way-for the troops opposed to us could not amount to less than fifteen hundred men, whilst the whole force on our part came not up to one hundred-when Captain Harris, major of brigade to Colonel Thornton, came up with an additional company to our support. Making way for them to fall in between us and the rifles, we took ground once more to the right, and driving back a body of the enemy which occupied it, soon recovered the position from which we had been expelled. But we did so with the loss of many brave men, and, among others, of Captain Harris. He