the subject about which I wrote to you. I only beg that you will not allow your zeal to carry you so far as to risk yourself by putting yourself in the power of any vagabonds should you fall in with them. They should be traced, and then a strong body of soldiers sent to seize them in the night. General Oakes is also employing people to make the same discovery. I shall perhaps see you in a day or two on my passage to Palermo.

Sincerely yours

'JOHN MOORE.'

Immediately after this letter came an order from the quartermaster-general, directing me to proceed, according to a route sent with the order, to a certain place in the mountains with one hundred men and the necessary number of officers, where I should meet and join detachments from the Guards and other regiments sent from different parts of the island on the same service. I put myself and party accordingly en route at nine at night, and marched for many hours over the worst road I ever saw before or since, till we came to a very curious old walled town on the summit of a high mountain, which we passed through without

CH. I.

SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS.

39

waking the inhabitants, after well examining the town and satisfying myself that none of the people we were in search of were in it. At last, after a harassing night march, we saw, at 11 o'clock A.M., the other detachments in the valley below us, not one of them having seen or heard anything of the objects of our pursuit, so we marched home again. The whole thing turned out to be that a body of poor Calabrese peasants had passed over from the opposite shore, bringing their arms with them, and were proceeding to Palermo to see the King, and to beg to be allowed to enter the Sicilian army, as they had not the means of subsistence in Calabria. Thus closed my first campaign, which I only relate to show you that I got approbation from Sir John Moore because I was active and zealous, and to induce you to do the same whenever you are employed on service of any kind.

Soon after this we embarked for England, and, touching at Gibraltar, where we remained for a fortnight, we landed at Portsmouth; but in less than three months we again embarked and sailed for Gottenburg, in Sweden.

CHAPTER II.

Expedition to Sweden-Portugal-Convention of Cintra-Aide-deCamp to Sir John Moore-Anecdote of Moore-March to Salamanca- -Retreat on Coruña-General Lefevre Desnouettes-Lugo -Army Disorganised-Officers Grumbling-Their Duty to obey, not to criticise-Battle of Coruña-Death of Sir John MooreMajors Napier and Stanhope of the 50th Regiment-Sir David Baird-The Duke of York-Sir David Dundas-General Order on the Death of Moore-Despatch of the Battle of Coruña.

WE remained at anchor at Gottenburg for several weeks, while Sir John Moore, whose army was about 10,000 men, went to see the King at Stockholm, to consult with him as to the operations of the force under his orders; but, finding Gustavus to be full of wild impracticable schemes, and that he would not listen to reason, and required him to place the British army under his command, in order to divide it into different parts and place it under the orders of his own generals, Sir John Moore refused to co-operate with him, and manfully told his Majesty that he was sent to Sweden by the King of England, his master, and the com

CH. II.

KING GUSTAVUS.

4I

mand of the British army intrusted to him; that he was ready to act in concert with the Swedish army, and to undertake anything that was feasible; but that he neither could nor would run the risk of having that army destroyed in attempting what was impracticable, and that, seeing he could be of no use, he should immediately carry the troops home again; and, finally, that his master had given him the command, and that to him alone would he deliver it up. Upon this Gustavus flew into a violent rage, put Sir John Moore under arrest with a sentinel at his door, and swore he would take command of the British army in spite of him. Sir John Moore, knowing that he had a madman to deal with, made his escape during the night in the dress of a peasant; and one day a number of us were on board the Victory,' Sir James Saumarez's flagship, at a ball given by the officers of that ship (which was the one in which Lord Nelson was killed at Trafalgar) to the Swedish ladies of Gottenburg, when a fishing-boat came alongside, and a peasant ran up the side and sprang on the quarter-deck! All the officers looked astonished, and wondered who the devil that impudent fellow was, when I looked at him and instantly recognised the general! He

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laughed, and, taking off his peasant's cap, asked the admiral if he did not know him. Of course we were all delighted to see him back, as we had heard a rumour of something having gone wrong. Had he not been able to get away, I believe it was the intention of the admiral and Sir John Hope, the second in command, to have sailed round to Stockholm and demanded his release forthwith. Colonel Colborne, who had accompanied him, was left there for some time, and joined us at sea on our way back to England, as we sailed the day after Sir John Moore came on board the Victory.' Upon arriving at Portsmouth, Sir John went up to London to give an account of this foolish wild-. goose chase, for it was nothing else; and we were only sent to Sweden to get Sir John Moore out of .the way, and serve a political intrigue of Mr. Canning and Lord Castlereagh! That's the fact, and deny it they never could; and, as Sir John Moore boldly and fearlessly told Lord Castlereagh what he thought of his conduct, he made him his enemy for life; though I must do Lord Castlereagh the justice to believe that he was kept up in his anger and dislike of Sir John Moore by interested people, who never failed to give a wrong construction to