REMINISCENCES OF A SOLDIER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 183, 28 June 1862, Page 5

REMINISCENCES OF A SOLDIER.

[From a MS-, by the Author of the " JExmailla, " Maid of Israel," §-c] Amongst those who most distinguished themselves in the war in Spain, between Don Carlos and Isabella his niece, was Don Diego Leon. Don Carlos claimed the throne by the Salique law, which prohibits any female from inheriting the crown, but Ferdinand VII. the Cortes or Parliament of Spain to assimilate the laws of Spain to those of Portugal and England, and consequently on his death Isabella was acknowledged Queen of Spain by all the liberal party, who were aware that Don Carlos was entirely under the diminion of the priests, and tliat if he ascended the throne of Castile, the Inquisition in nil itl * powers would be re-established, van Diego Leon was with his uncle, the two first of rank to acknowledge Isabella. His history is one known to f eWj —ami tlie mysteries-of the Courts-of Christina and Isabella will, when known unfold more than will be agreeable to royal ears. The first time I met Don Diego on the field, he was commanding the regiment of the Hussars of the Princess^ the finest regiment in the Spanish cavalry it was at the action of Alcuadeto. General Alaiz was commanding the division to which I belonged, and Narvaez was commanding G,OOO men of the army of Andalusia. We had Don Carlos and his army in front, haying intercepted his retreat to the Basque Provinces. Alaiz, as brave an old soldier as ever drew a sword, sent word to Narvaez to advance and attack the Carlists on one side, whilst we attacked them on the other; but Narvaez. left us to do the work by ourselves, aud the night came on, the action being undecided. Don Carlos lfept his bivouac fires burning, and when day light came, we found he had left us to bury the dead, and beat a retreat in the night. That i

evening Narvaez made his appearance, and recrhninntions commenced between them—Nnrvaez stating tliat lie hud not received notice "from Alaiz, and tho latter asserting that it was his pride that kept .him from coming to help us. Both generals forwarded their complaints to the Queen's mother, and Narvaw. being' the greatest; favorite was ordered to take command of our divMon. Alaiz, who was ordered to give np the command, and repair to Madrid under arrest, drew up the division and having gone through the ceremony of handing it ovev, grounded arms, and saluting, Narvaez said that the troops were now under his command. Narvnez gave the order to fix bayonets, but not a musket was raised. The Captain of Grenadiers, of the ISth regiment, to which I then belonged—Basnuez—took a musket from the right hand file of his company, and told Narvaez if he did not take himself off the ground, ho would put the ball into him. Nnrvaez immediately galloped'off-to Don'Diesro Leon, and ordered him* to charge the 18th for rebels. But Bon Diego replied that it was useless to give such an order, for the Hussars would never draw a sword against the lSi.li with whom they had been in a many a hardfought field. Narvaez now made his way to the village of Alcaudetn, and we came in at night-fall. No sooner did Basquez hear that Narvaez was in the place than he took twelve of his men, and wont to seek Naryaez's quarters,' with the intention of giving him a quietus, in the shape »l four balls. Going down1 the street he 'met our Brigadier-Ganeral, Solano, who, seeing Basquez with twelve soldiers, and fixed bayonets, wanted to know where he was going. "To shoot Narvaez," replied the Uatalonian, twisting his whiskers. The Brigadier entreated him, for to command he knew was .useless, to give up his intention, but was soon silenced by the reply that he had better keep himself quiet, or he would share the fate of a traitor. Solano thought it best to take a back way to Narvaez, and warn him of the danger, which, as he knowwhere Narvaez was, he was enabled to do, before Basquez found his lodgings. Narvaez was not long in taking the hint. He went off. to his own division, and left ours to be commanded by .Solano. Al iz and Don Dipgo were, however, two old soldiers, and the order arriving for Don Diego Leon to go also to Madrid under arrest, they both started together, and, as Basquez's fate was linked with theirs, he remained under arrest with the regiment. Now, poor Don Diego was, I might say, the handsomest man in Spain. That ho -was one of the bravestI do know, for I saw him in the action of Los Anoa, when the Vice-King of Navarre overturn seventeen with his own lance, and he always prided himself on being one of the best dressed and best mounted." Queen Victoria presented Espartero with a General's uniform which cost £560, and Don Diego immediately sent for one to equal it. But let us return to the Colonel of Hussars.—Shortly after his arrival in Madrid, under arrest, he was riding down the Prado, or principal walk in Madrid, in full dress, mounted on his Andalusian horse. He stood about six feet two, and his countenance was one which few women could look upon without admiring. There was that fire in his eye which told a bile of love, and of command ; and women will love the brave. Christina was driving down in her carnage and six. The handsome cavalier reined his horss on one side, and gave her.the military salute. "Who is that officer'?'' said she to the Garde de Corps, who rode alongside the carriage. "Don Diego Leon, your Majesty." "I thought so," replied Christina; "let him come to the palace .at six o'clock to-night." He went in as Colonel of the Hussars, and came out in the morning as General, the red sash having, it is said, been put on by the Royal hands. It wili be supposed that after, this there was no more said of arrest of Alaiz and Basquez ; they were 'both released. Alaiz came with us to Navarre, as vice King, and Don Diego, as commanding the cavalry. When Alaiz again joined us at Pampuluua, he rode down the ranks. We were drawn np to receive him at the entrance of the town. ''Well, Almanza," said he, " here is ' Old Waistcoat' and ' Cap Peak,' with you attain." " Viva, viva, Alaiz," was t.'ie response. He. was in the habit of wearing a .waittcoat like Napoleon, out of which he used to kike the snuff by * thumb fulls, and .his cap peak might have served for any four of moderate dimensions. Alaiz afterwards became minister of war, and Don Diego, now a prime favorite of Christina, was uiade vice King of Navarre. In the Pronunciamento of 1840,. when Christina wished again to braa.: the Constitution of 1837, by assuming the right to the crown of naming the mayors of towns—by some fifteen thousand dollars the liberal party obtained the certificate of her marriage with-Munoz, the tobacconist's son, of Rianz&res, now Duke of Rianzares, &c, &c. ; consequently by the will of Ferdinand, oh marrying, she ceased to be regent of Spain. The national guard of Madrid were the first to take up arms, and the rest of Spain was not slow in answering the call. The Queen mother retired to Valencia, and sent for Don Diego. Espartero was in Barcelona at'the time, but there was one of the British army—Captain Turner—-watching her movements. Colonel Wilde being with Bspartero. The Queen found that Espartero was likely to side with the people : consequently, she and Don Diego laid their plans .to induce Espai'tero to come to Valencia, when it was arranged that " quatro tiros,'' or, "four balls,'' should finish his career. With the duplicity of a true Bourbon, she wrote to. Espartero to come to Valencia, as she was willing to agree to all the demands of the people. But 1 turner, at the same time, wrote to Col. Wilde, telling him of the plot.. Both letters came by the same post. Espartero gave orders for his escort to be ready to start for Valencia the following morning. Wilde was diniug on board a British man-of-war in the Bay, when his, letter from Turner was brought him. He handed it over to the Captain:—"What think you ofthpf?'1 " Like Spanish treachery," was the reply. " But, what do you intend to do 1" " Time enough to s.eo the General to-night " Accordingly, he went in with his usual familiarity,—"Well, General, anything new1?" " O'yes > a letter here from the Queen to come to Valencia to settle everything in favor of the people." He handed Wilde the letter, which he perused with a smile. " Now, General, what thinkyou of that1?" handing him Turner's letter. "Damnation," was the soldier's reply ; "if she wants to shoot me, let her come to the head of the army and shoot me there." This reply was sent to Christina. Don Diego and she, finding it was a forlorn hope, determined to male* a movement on Madrid, fancyiug that the troops would adhere to him. We liked him as a General, but liked the cause of liberty better. He commenced his march on Madrid with about 6000, cavalry included. Coming to the town of Alcoy, we found the walls manned by the National Guard, We were ordered to bring the scaling- ladders to the front. There were no ditches to the town. We advanced without a cheer, which gave the garrison an idea of our intentions, lor they did not fire a shot. As soon as we came within about three hundred yards they put their caps on their bayonets, and gave a cry which was quickly responded to by the 3rd and IStii, " Viva Espartero'" "Viva La Libartad," " Viva la Junta de Madrid." We left our ladders tor Don Diego to pick up, the National Guards opened the gates, and we passed a merrier night playing the guitiir, and dancing with the ladies than we should With some of the crows singing our requiem beneath the walls. Don Diego and Christina now made off for France. Espartero is a true soldier every inch, and as incapable of treachery as he supposes others to be. Don Diego was to him what Ney was to Bonaparte, bravest of the brave. Espartero recalled him to Spain, gave him the best horse he had, and made him Knight Grand Cross of St. Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic, thinking that he would thus secure his friendship. But woman, woman, in good or evil, thou canst sway our fate ! In an.evil hour the ambitions Concha persuaded Don Diego to again join in the plot, to take possession of the young Queen in the palace, Upset and shoot the .resent Espartero, and recall the Queen Mother. Don Diego hesitated, but finally gave way to woman's love. Only one regiment and some discontented troops joined in the mutiny. The palace was attacked, and most of the halberdiers of the guard fell at their posts ; two balls went through the room where Isabella and her sister Luisa Femalnda were on their knees praying to the Virgin Mary for help. In the meantime the whole garrison of Madrid and National Guard had got to arms, and the tables were soon turned. The palace next morning was a scene of death, for every room was filled with corpses. Don Diego and Concha took to flight. Concha escaped but Don Diego was taken, his horse having knocked up. Being brought back to Madrid, Espartero told him that this was the second time he had sought his life; it was now apparent that one of them must di«. "You have lost the game, but you shall meet a more noble de.ith than you would have given me. You shall not be shot in the back as a traitor, but die as a soldier." "Good," said Diego, " One favorforoldfriendship's sake." "Nameit,''saidEspartero. "Let me go out in my own carriage and six and command the firing party." "Be it so." The next day, Don Diego drove down the main street of Alcala in lus carriage and six., the four hussars and officers behind the carriage, who were to finish his earthly career, but the streets were lined with the national guards on either side, and a regiment was a£ the gate of Alcala to escort the General to the church of San Isidro.

He was dressed in his Captain General's uniforih ; his breast covered with decorations, and as the carriage slowly drove down the street, he took off his hat to the numerous ladies who lined the balconies and "windows, saying, "Goodbye, ladies, Don Diego is going," Arrived at the ground, .lie stepped lightly from his carriage, and being well accustomed to seeing a military execution, he walked deliberately up to where his coffin was placed, • saying, ".Officers, you know I have leave to command myself; Don Diego is too much used to meet death to fear him. Soldiers, take your distance j now aim at my heart, I don't

'•want to have my fiico knocked about—ready ! - fire !" So fell Don Dief.'o, and so foil Ney—two of the best and bravest cavalry offioevs in modern Jays.

LATER NEWS FROM THE NORTH. By the Clutha we have Auckland papers to i June 17. "We make the followh-g extracts :— I Waitktuxa.—We make tho following extract, from if letter of a Waitctuna Correspondent dated 11th June. The remainder of the letter, which relates to a different subject, will appear in our next. " The lluK of the native, government is now flying in defiance on the brink of the Waitetuna, and Naylov's'party has received notice not to attempt to bridgH. the.river- It is a source of anxiety with those resident in this isolated and unprotected settlement, who understandthat the relations between the Government aiid" the Maori government are conducted by Messrs C. O. Davis and F. D. Fenton; whether those two persons inay not order the dozen policemen they have appointed, and who are now swaggering about the harbour, dressed in Light Cavalry uniform, 'to pulldown the flag. lam quite at a loss to guess the object in irritating the minds of the natives about this road, which months ago I mentioned could not at present be made. On the meeting of the General ■Assembly'perhaps, we may learn the purport of this "teasing," as well as the object in paying the policemen £10 ;per annum, to pass their time in loafing, and abusing the Government' for underpaying them, | and also whore the money is to come from for their pay aud for their cavalry uniforms."— Auclclander, June 17. s , ConoaiANßEti. —The return of Mr. John White and John Hobbs from Coromandcl has left matters there much as they stood before. Lydia aud those about her profess themselves willing to accept of any terms the Government may oifer. But they profess too much. Te Him has kept out of the way; and there is no reason to doubt that the particular natives to whom the land belongs have been intimidated by the King party,and are not free agents in the matter. Hone Rophia (John Hobbs) has himself a claim upon . the land, as great, it is said, as Te Hira, but all his influence has been spent in vain.— Aueldander,June 17. ' . QttAitTZ Cbusiiiko Company.—Wo believe that we are correct in informing ouf readers that a company has been '■ originated to work the reef discovered by Messrs. Keven, Woodiu, and Co., at Coromandcl. The stock is divided into one hundred shares, of which. Messrs. Keven, Woodin and the four men who have been working with them, retain ten shares each. The shares are valued -at £50, and the forty which are disposable have, as we understand, been ail disposed of.' We believe a meeting will be held this evening to consider and arrange for a Deed of Settlement. It. is proposed to send for a quartz-crushing machine to be worked by a steam engine ; and it is expected that the claim taken up by Messrs. Keven and party wi.l be worked at less expense than'any of the numerous claims in the Australian Colonies, which are making such large returns to their owners. The mine will bo made near the top of the mountain, and ,will drain ifself; find the distance from the sea is so trifling that all the heavy expense which Australian diggers are put to for car;iiip;e of machinery and provisions will be" avoided. —Ibid. SIR GEORdE GREY'S NATIVE POLICY. It is rather remarkable-that the people of Auck land should have bsen indebted to a- Hawke's Bay newspapbi'-'for the first programme of Sir George Gi-oy's-native polic3r. We lately noticed a series of bills whiekMiv Sewell had circulated for discussion, 'before laying them before the General Assembly, but we arc again indebted to the Hawke's Bay Herald, which quotes from a Canterbury Press which has not reached us, .the heads of three bills in relation to j native questions, on which the Hawhe's Bay Herald, of the 29fch May, makes the following remarks :— Within the past few days, the policy of the Government has been further developed by the publication of the analysis of three draft bills bearing upon native affairs. The-o have only, so far as we are aware, appeared in one of the colonial journals; and. indeed, it was by accident that they -were seen at all in this Province. Yet the bills are of a -most momentous character, involving an annual payment of £25,000, and a loan of £100,000, for native purposes, and proposing to confirm, by,means..of Crown grants, the native proprietors in the freehold of the extensive tracts of unoccupied territory known as native land. — Aucklander, June 17. . ELEcrioNs fob hie City West. —Mr. James Williamson, Ken-uora, had a walk-over for the City of Auckland West on Saturday. He was the only candidate to supply the vacancy in.the representation of this constituency in the House of Representatives, created by the resignation of Mr. J. C. Firth. Mr. Thomas Russell,solicitor, nominated Mr. Williamson, and Mr. G. B. Owen seconded the nomination. No other candidate having been proposed, the returning officer declared Mr. Williamson duly elected. The election-was held inside the Supreme Court, and did not last a quarter of an hour.— Southern Gross, June 16. ■-• '

His Excelt/enoy the Governor did not visit Coromandel on his way to the North, we have been informed. Nothing was seen of the Harrier thereon, Thursday evening last. — Ibid Corojiandel. —The Southern Cross with a great flourish of trumpets and much abuse of the New Zealander introduces the following news about Coromandel ;—Last Friday nig-ht, Messrs. Keven and Woodiu returned to Auckland from Coromandel with the view of forming' a quartz-crushing company, to assist in working their claim on Keven's . reef. The richness of Keven's reef is now so notorious, and its. extent and course so well defined, that we need not revert to those points again. Suffice it to say, that the original six claimants and discoverers of the reef,whose names appear in our paper as claimants for the Provincial reward of £2,000, determined to divide their claim of 400 feet into 100 shares, of £50 each, to defray the cost'of-machinery,- retaining CO shares in their own possession. So soon as it was known in town on Saturday that a company was being formed to work the claim; the liveliest interest was felt ; and the number of shares, open for sale were taken in a few hours. There was no puffing nor advertising about the matteiii;; and this; proves the deep-seated conyictiou iii'the public m'ir.l of Auckland that the quartz reefs of Coromandel are mines of wealth which it is our duty to develope. Keven's reef has been taken up by claimants for miles, we have been told, along its line; and the claimants only awn it the arrival of proper crushing machinery tobegin active operations. The first quartz-crushing machinery here will be that ordered by Messrs. lleveh and Woodin on behalf of the company now formed: and we may venture to predict, from what we know of the reef, that it will pay a dividend from the first fortnight the machinery is at work.

- Messrs. Keven and Woodin's working party are now engaged building a smithy, tool shop, and houses on the flat towards the creek. Other claims are being worked, especially No. 1 South on Koven's reef, from which an excellent prospect was obtained. Those acquainted with mining operations will understand why it is that large samples of gold have not come up. If the alluvial diggings were developed, which they cannot be on the flat until spring, should they be proved to exist where the deep sinking has been attempted, the gold would have been obtained by the simple process of washing the dirt; but, in the case of quartz reefing, heavy and costly machinery is required before there is any return. The only machine at the disposal of the prospectors hitherto has been a small burdan mill which crushes about lib. of quartz at a time ; but this machine has shown that any specimen from Keven's reef, hitherto crushed in it, yielded from 2to 3 grains of g-old to 1 lb. of quartz. We hope soon to see a stamper machine, able to crush 25 tons of quartz per day on the spot; and, doubtless, many similar machines will be .brought into use afterwards. . A partv is sinking on Preece's Point to strike Keven's reef there, but we have only heard of them getting a specimen. The diggers, not interested in the quartz-reefing, are waiting patiently for-the opening of Paul's land. The claims are staked oflj and have been balloted for by the diggers, so that ucti^e work may be expected when it is opened. Tiiere will be no delay in getting1 out the precious metal, were that district once subjected to the laws which ordinarily govern real estate ; and we hope that Sir G. Grey will be more successful than his minister in obtaining the natives' assent to the sale or leasing of the land. We should state that Mr. Turton, R.M. has found it ncccssarv to remove the " darkness " from the mind of the troubled Lydia, by a promise to pay her £100 for the gold taken away by the diggers! One would fancy that this was establishing a precedent for pay—1 ment at a rate that would be found somewhat extravagant if adopted on a large scale. Mr. Keven brought up a beautiful specimen picked u-p by a prospector on ]suropean territory. He has also a sample pf fine gold, obtained by means of the little mill'from a few handsful of dirt taken off the face of the hill on which he has struck the reef.

George III! and Scotch METArnysios,—The King also was much in favor of the scheme—(The Irish Union.) " I only hope," he said to Dundas, about this time, " Government is not pledged to anything in favor of the lloinau Catholics." •' No;" the Minister answered ; "it will bea matter for future consideration;" and on going on to allege Ids scruples upon the Coronation Oath, lie endeavored to explain that this oath applied to his Majesty only ■in > N .his executive capacity, and not as part of the legislature. But George 111. angrily rejoined, "None of your Scotch metaphysics, Mr. Dundas ! None of your Scotch metaphysics."— Life of the Right Hon. Win. PUt, By Earl Stanhope.

THE FIJI ISLANDS. (From the Australian and New Zealand Gazette,

April" 19.) A crowded meeting of the Royal Geographical Society was held on Monday evening, Lord Ashburton, president, in the chair. Among those present were the Duke of Wellington, Sir It. I. Murchison, the Earl of Sheffield,-Lord Hereford, General Sir T. Phillips, Sirs A. Scott Wang]), Monteith, Portlock, Ivnollys, andEber, Admiral Erskine, Dean of Westminster, Bight Hon. Sir Thomas Freniantle, Colonels the Hon. U. Plunket, White, Strange, Sotheby, Lardner, and •Shaft'rier, Sir John Login, Captains Collinsoi), Burstal, Mayne, Pim, Gunnel, Campbell, Vernon, and Stirling, 11. N., Majors Cooke, Brownlow, Showers and Montagu. Captains Blako^ton, Pounden, Woodhend, and Whitby, Sir Digby Neave, Lieutenant Briue, It. N., Drs. Bright, Camps, King, M'Cosh, Goss, Lister, Tuke, Beke, Bernays, Learmouth, Messrs. Brieriy, Spenser St. John, Charles While, Galton, Osbonie Smith, Arrowsmith, Findlay &c. Commander E. J. Pollard, It. N., Colonel C. P, Rigby, and Messrs. J. Braithwaite, U. Cockerton, J. F.'H. Irwin, J. Jones. C. P. Pauli and J. T. White were elected Fellows. Views of the Fiji Islands and specimens of their natural productions, a panoramic view of the Cashmere Mountains, and Ziegler's Geological Map of the World were exhibited. The first paper read was " The Fiji Islands, &c, by Mr. Bcnsusan." After describing the geographical position of the group, the manners and customs of the natives, the delightful climate and scenery, the author expatiated on the eligibility of tho archipelago for the purpose of growing cotton, asserting that no known locality in the world was better adapted for that purpose, that land was cheap and available, and labor conld be easily obtained in the vicinity at a lower cost than'any coolie labor. The plantations of cocoauut trees were very remunerative; a plantation which would cost, -say £100, would yield, after the seventh year, £200 annually for forty years. Indigo, eoltee, rice, &c, could all be grown, aud fine pearls were also found there.

The second paper read was, " Remarks on the late Government Mission to the Fiji Islands, by Berthold Beemann, Ph. Dr." The author, after referring to the offer .of cession made by the Fijians,-and urging the necessity of the British Government accepting it, gave a minute description of the islands. The soil appears to be highly productive, and almost every part capable of cultivation, the weather side being covered by ah exuberant growth of trees, shrubs, and herbs. Mangrove swamps are limited chiefly to the mouths of the rivers, hence the almost total freedom of the country from malignant fevers. Alluding1 to the production of cotton, the author stated that, although an introduced plant, it had become in some parts perfectly wild, and spread over all the littoral parts of the group, the quality being very superior. . Tile Rev. George Priehard, missionary, bore testimony to the truthfulness of the statement which had been made regarding the beauty and fertility of the islands, and the capacity of the ports. He advocated the acceptance of the islands by Great Britain, from apolitical point of view, as forming some counterpoise to the possessions and influence of France in the Pacific, as -well as on commercial grounds, on account of the cotton-producing capabilities of the islands, which would render us independent of the United States. He pointed out the benefit it would 1)3 to the shipowner trading to Australia to have the opportunity of procuring a return cargo from these islands, instead of. being obliged, as was now repeatedly tho case, to let his ship come home in ballast. ■ ! Dr. Seemann, in reply to some questions put by the President, said that the land in Fiji was owned by a landed gentry, possessing the right to dispose of their land with the consent of their chief, and, as yet, no disputes had arisen about the selling of it. With regard to the labor, the Fijians were great agriculturists, and laborers could also be procured from, the neighboring islands. Count Strzelecki stated that when he visited the South Sea Islands in. ISS7, the prevailing sentiment was in favor of a cession of the sovereignty of the different groups to Great Britain. Mr. J, Crawfurd, who questioned the accuracy of the_ view which had been advanced as to the. capability of the islands to become a cotton-growing district, owing to there being but a, very small proportion of land suitable for its cultivation, hoped that the proposed cession would never bo accented by Great Britain. ■ ■ Admiral Sir Edward Belcher trusted the British Government would accept the cession, as we required some port in those seas to enable our ships -to refit, and also stood in need of a naval station. Sir Edward said that he had found cotton growing luxuriantly, and equal in quality to any grown in America, on almost all the South Sea Islands. After some remarks from Sir ■ Roderick Murchison in allusion to the value to botanists, &c.,'qf Dr. ScQmann's forthcoming work on these islands, the meeting adjourned.