Page 1 Advertisements Column 4

Horowhenua Chronicle, 22 March 1910, Page 1

Letters from the Penin= sula, IBoß=ißi2. s *— ]. After the lapse of a century, D j. War re has opened and edited ; packet of letters, written by hi uncle, Lieutcnant-General Sir Wil liam Warre, from the Peninsula l_ The letters reflect the life aind opin ,_ ions of a staff'officer who was en gaged chiefly in the organisation o the Portuguese Army. Genera Warre began life in business, Iml he wished to be a soldier, and 1» came to his desire through a practical joke. One afternoon, Pedrc y Alyes, tho Portuguese partner ol William Warre and Co., fell flsleej I in the office. His pigtail lapped over to young "William's side of the desk, and the mischievous clerk, who was closing the clay's letters, scaled tlio ribbon down' with the great seal of the firm, and fled. To this prank we owe "Letters from 1 the Peninsula, 1808-1812." Wil- . li.nm Warre was sent to study at Bonn. He ran away, followed'the Austrians, fell into tho hands of - the French, and narrowly escaped hanging as a 'non-combatant. When j he was nineteen lie received his commission in the 52nd Light Infantry, and in 1808 went to Portu- • gal as A.D.C. to General Ferguson. He took part in Sir "John Moore's retreat. His letters, however, on tiiis incident are disappointing; a i few bare facts, and nothing more. He held that it was impossible to help Portugal, and that the English had been infamously deceived about the country: "The people are willing . . but we have not seen ... a symptom of organisation or, till lately, even a recruit. Nothing can be more really despicable than their army, and in want of everything; though in abundance." Of the arrival at Corunna, he writes: "We were very weak, just enough to man the works, and dreaded an assault, the boats being able to take only 500 at a time, and weather very bad. However, we not only got ourselves but most of the wounded into safety, though all most overcome with fatigue." The English officers actually taught tXe compamy to wash oftener than on Sunday morning! This is surely the greatest unrecorded victory of the campaign. At the passage of the Donro, the Siege of Badajos, Salamanca, Vimiero, and Ciudad Rodrigo General Warre was present. At Salamanca lie carried his wounded chief, Beresford, into the town and nursed him through his illness. Mail Notices. _4 ALTERATION OF TIME-TABLE. The following is the timetable for the despatch of mails from the local Post Office on and after to-day (Monday), 6th inst. :— For Weraroa, Manakau, Otaki, and Wellington, 8 a.m. For Palmerston North and intermediate offices, to New Plymouth and Auckland (*ia Main Trunk), 11.15 a.m. For Weraroa and Foxton, 12 noon. For Ohau, Manakau, Otaki Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Pareir.ata, Plimmerton, Wellington and Southern Offices of New Zealand, 4 p.m. For Wellington only, 6.15 p.m. For Foxton, Palmerston North and intermediate offices to Wanganui and Ohakune, 7 p.m. Mails for Australian States, Boutb Africa, United Kingdom and Continent of Europe, every Friday, 8 a.m. Under the new railway timetable mails reach Levin as under:— From Southern Offices of New Zealand, Wellington and intermediate offices therefrom to Levin at 11.50 a.m. From New Plymouth, Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa districts, Palmerston North, etc., 4.42 p.m. From Palmerston North, 7 p.m. From Wellington and Otaki, 7.40 p.m. For Children's Hacking Cough at night, Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, Is 6d and 2s 6d. Job Printing at London Rates. WE have just landed a heavy shipment of Printing Papers, Letter Papers, Typewriting Paper, Tinted Papers, Account Forms, Envelopes, Visiting Cards, Fancy Cards, Etc., Etc., enabling us*to quote prices for Job Printing hitherto unknown in the Dominion. CALL AT " THE CHORNICLE" Office for Estimates. Horowherma Publishing Company.