Tales and Sketches.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1026, 18 March 1882, Page 2 (Supplement)

Tales and Sketches.

—VV I " SHANGHAIED."

Tho word which puzzles you in tho title of this paper will not be found in- Johnson, Wobstor, or other liko literature, It is' of such modern origin, that the time-honoured, old, Anglo-Saxon parts of speech contained in their' folios repudiated To"oiety.' I But it has such a definito moaning for that !-part of tho English-speaking family who are II of tho seafaring persuasion, that lam con"vinced it will not easily die out of the lantguag'o.iiiltß natural placo is California, that great factory of words and phrases more remarkable for novolty and euorgy than for cloganco; and it camo into existence about forty years ago, Many people still living shared in tho first great Saoramonto gold-rush, and canremombor tho number of vessels of all sizes, from tho grout Indiamahto the tiny schooner, that wero left forsaken in tho harbour,of San Francisco-captains, mates, seamen, ; and cabin-boys, throwing all scruples ,to' the winds, having "mado tracks for the diggin's," to sharo'iu tho golden harvest,. Some commanders and ollicors, howovcr, to their honour be it told, resisted tho "fever," remained'staunch to thoir ships; and mado ovory offorfc' to obtain men to roplacO'their faithless crews. They offered fabulous wages —twenty times tho usual amon'nt. They wero willing to put into aiiy, port tho crew might-name, so.it was sqiho placo where there was n reasonable chancoof obtaining other men. But it.was all of no use; < they could not inducq sufficient hands to join to make up tho 'limited ship's company, they were prepared to put to soa with. .It was after they, had exhausted cvory means of persuasion that, recoura'e was had to thd most objectionable process, known at Shangi haeing.' . .' '' ; Sliangliacing 6i"mply incans'drugging sea-men,-and conveying tlidm on board «ship' winch puts to sea before they recovor, and was at the time abovo! mentioned, as is still to a greater or less extent, practised in ovory foreign port where men have been scarco,! and tho rate of. wages high enough to' make' it worth the while of boardinghouso masters to take the.rjsk. Sailors nsuallyget amonth's 1 pay.in advance bofore sailing; aud.inthei ovenfc of a' man's being Shanghaied,; those' who bring him on board get paid that amount,; So poor Jack has to pay his ow.n knidnappers, who seldom get punished; for he rarely returns' to 'the sarno port; and if, he did, would 1 usually bo'moro intonton'havingaj Bprco than in putting the law in force against his- betrayers. Moreover, it would bq, very hard for him-,to provo anything j . against them; for it is not such an unusual! i thing for a sailor to, ship on board a vesselwhile he' is intoxicated, as they would assert! ho was; ami-ho would; not bo able to" produce witnesses to gainsay them. How.Shanghaeinggot its name I do not know, Perhaps from some ingenious native of tho Flowery Land to whom Shanghai had given birth, ~and .who was one of the first to discover that keeping a grog-shop and supplying crews to deserted merchantmen was just as lucrative and. a more reliable speculation than gold-grubbing in the diggings: besides being an my, gentleman-like busiupas; requiring'only gonitis, not muscle. : . In the yearlß7o'l was second-mate of the barqtto-Kingfisher-of Liverpool. Wa were lying'.off Callao, liavingdischarged our cargo, waiting fpr a charter,...At that time, there Was a great demand 'for guauo, and wo were expecting to sail in a day or two for the Chincha Islands, to load-with that fragrant commodity. But tho skipper knew' that ships were scarce, and h« stood out for a higher freight than tho merchants were willing to- give. '■-■■' It was Saturday afternoon, and eight bells (four o'clock) bad just struck, We; had finished Washing down and putting things suug for Sunday, when the captain—"old mau," we called him—cainc on deck, "That rascal, Achoy, hasu'fc brought our clean clothes off yet, has he?" asked the captain, ■ " No, sir," I replied: " I've seen nothine of him." •: ■ . ■ "Well, just take ono.of the boats, the gig, and give him a |iiht from me, that suppose I'-'no c'atchce clothes to-night, bono catcheo dollar;' and at the same time leave this letter at the agent's," ' " Ay, ay, sir," I replied; and was diving below to >nt on .1 jacket, when he stopped me, Saying: "Hold on a bit. You had better take a couple of tho apprentices to pull you ashore; for I don't want any of the men to leavo, tho sjn'p., Wages afe.ihigh' hero; and there havo boon a good many desertions from the: craft lying closer in.'"'; ■ ' "Very good, sir," And in a few minutes tho two boys and" myself-were on our way ashore. We passed close' to a largo fullrigged ship called the, John E. Chew, flying the -still's- and stripes, ;Sho bad come up laden from the Chincha Islands more tlian a week before, and I was,surprised to find she had'not sailed yet;, for, making .ovory allowance for the dila'tOriness of the-Peruvian doiis, sho : 'had had'ample time to get her papers and clear tho custom-house,.l. remarked asinuch to the lad pulling the strokeoir.. '.',.'. ,■-,'.

"Old Pietro, the bumboat-man, told.me," unid he, " that she is shorthauded; some of Iter crew 'having skedaddled'for thoManto diggiii's." Pietro says' they are paying five dollars a day clown there to string hands." : "Pietro," I replied, "had better kepp his chattering tongue from,, spreading idlo .yarns aboard'tjio .Kingfisher, or,his visits will, be protty soon put astop'to.—ln.bow.; ;staudby to fend heroff; "'aud.we ,drew up to the lnnding-ptyce, [ ■;.' ..,, ,' .... . ■;,■< At. the' same time the gig of the John E Chew,'.w.hic'hl'had seen putting off from her as wo passed, brought up alongside of us, The man in., her ■ stcrnsheets; whom'l supposed to be the captain, was as tall, wiry, Icau, and qrafty-lookiiig a speoimenof muscular .humanity as ever hailed'frbm Boston. The men who pulled did not look like foremast hands, and'l <took them to'be petty office,:who could be trusted not'to tiiko French-leave. Tho'Yankee" skipper arid'. I' landed together j and I noticed, as I hurried off on my errand, that ho took' a good look at me, , 'i'he agent >live<l some distance off; and I suppose it 1 Was' about half-past five o'clock! when I tiirhed into .the street in which our' Chinese Washerman was domiciled. It was as disreputable-looking, a thoroughfare as could wejl be imagined. Tho houses were shabby, onorstoried wooden shanties, inhaj bited by. Be'ameu's„ : boarding-house keepers, Chinese stevedores,! and " watersido cliarabtcrs" of all sorts j and.evory second hoilse' was a grog-shop, I was very thirsty, and was regretting that these latter had such a mean, uninviting appearance, when a placard with a bright red triangle, and the words " Bass's India Pale Ale" conspicuously displayed on it, caught'my oyo, It was hiiug oh the open dbOr of one of the drinking dens;' and glancing in, I caught a glimpse, of .tlify sinister features of the. captain of the John C, Chew, I stopped.' The temptation was great. It was months since I had tasted, jt drop' of good English beer. " Well," said I to myself, " what is good enough for the skipper of a big ship like' that ought ,to be good enough for tho second-mate of a.bit barqucy, so here goes." I marched in. The place was very .dark; but I saw the outline of a man : bqhind the ;couutcr,.though I could not distinctly see his face: He was leaning over, talking in low tons to the Ame> r'.can captain, They both looked'up as I came in; and in reply to my request for a bottlo of Bass, the'bar-keeper .said,."AH right. Step inside) and I'll bring.it to you." j

I had no wish to disturb their conversation, so I complied, I fancied afterwards, that as I passed into the room behind the shop, I observed, a sharp glance to pass between tho two whisperers, who were tho only occupants of the placo, The room I entered was a vile den, smelling most horribly of bad spirits and stale tobacco. As my eyes got used to tho darkness, I saw it contained a rough table, all notched and stained, and a few battered ohairß, on one of which I sat down. My beer was a long time in being brought in; and I shouted and hammered on the table sovoral times'before the bar-keeper appeared, with the bottlo in one hand, and a large tall glass in tho: other, He said something in gruff tones about ■'' having had to go to tho cellar for it; " and proceeded to draw the cork. As far as I oould seo, the glass was quite empty,' and' the capsiilo on the bottlo undisturbed ; but as I had no suspicion of any foul play being intended, of course 1 did not cxamino them particularly, As I said before, I was vory thirsty j and I took a good long pull before setting tho glass down, I then poured the rest of tho beer into it. and was thinking of finishing it off and departing, when I felt a numb sort of sleopi; ness come over me. I knew at once I had been drugged, and made a rush for tho door j but before I reached it, I staggered, andiclj full .length on the floor, where, after one or two iiioffebtual attempts to cry for aid, I bo< came insensible.- j I was awakened to consciousness by being roughly bundled into tho stcrnshectJ of 4 bOftt. ■:■,:'■■■ 'I

"Steady, Jack," I heard some one sayj "or you'llbe rousing him up," ," No fear," replied a'gruff voice'l rcoog-j nised asthe bar keeper's j "I gavo him tod good a dose for that. I guess ne won't stir this side of sunrise,":,-, :■ .-.. i ;-.■; ; '

I know by the sound of the ;bars that tho boat had put off-from- shoro •' and knowing now that I. was being: Shanghaied, I tried tq call out for assistance. But my throat and mouth wore wrapped round with-many-folds! of a worsted comforter, ;whioh, while leavingl my nostrils free, allowed only a' muffled sound to escape I tried to put my hands to remove itj but could not- stir thorn. A long monkoy-jaekot had been buttoned tightly! round me, with my arms inside instead of hi the sleeves, forming a' veritable straightjacket. My legs seemed to have some weight! on them which prevented mo moving themJ and a slouch-hat had been placod on ray I head, completely covering my eyes, I strug-i gled, but it was ho use. I was helpless as} an infant, j

" There I I told you so," said the first! voice; "he's, woke up," And the oars j stopped. . j "Woke up I'has lief" rojolned the bar-; keeper, "I'llsoon give him some sirup, as'U put him to sleep again, Just you' ketch hold of his nose."

I was laying on my baok., Almost imme-i diately, I felt a rough band oloßing my noa-i trils, At the Bama time, somo one pulled! tho comforter down from my mouth, and as| I gasped for breath, forced the neck of a 1 bottle between my teoth. I had no option but to swallow sputteringly somo of its contents. The bottlo was then withdrawn, the comforter replaced, my nostrils released, and in a few minutes I relapsed into unconsciousness. , i ~ ,

On agajn awakening, I found myself lying in the bunk of a small ;cabin. Tins' of preserved meat, barrels, of sugar and flour, and other stores .of that, sort,, scattored around the place, showed me it was used as a steward's storeroom, The bunk had no mattress or bed-clothes in it. There was a port over it; and as tho monkey-jacket and comforter had been taken off me, I raised myself and looked out, Callao was visible in the distance ; but I could see, from tho position of the. shipping, that the vessel I was in was lying very far out. In fact, as I aftorwards discovered, she had been moved to her present berth during the night. But the thing that interested me most was a British gnnboat lying about tho third of a mile off, and tho nearest vessel iu sight, her broad unionjaok drooping over the atom, I guessed it to he about eight o'clock in the morning, I was about to try the door, when a key turned in it, and it opened for the entrance of no other than tho captain of the John E, Chew, I was not surprised, fori had already formed an opiniou of whore I was.

" Well, my lad, how do you feolnow?' ho said in a brusque manner, '' How do I feel ?" I replied, " Why, how should you expect a man to foel who has been nearly drugged to death ?—as you very well know," 1 added, looking straight at hiin, , , . "Ho, ho I that's how the laud lies, is it? —Drugged, eh J I don't know anything about drugging; but I know you came on board lost night in a state of beastly intoxication ;so I put you in here, to take care of you, instead of letting you go to your proper place, the foc'sle."

"My proper place I How is that?" I inilitred.

"How's that!" ho repeated! "That's iool, that is. But I supposo the drink has (nocked it all out of your hoad. Why, man, you've shipped before tho mast ivith me, Captain John Price, master of the United State 1 ship John 15. Chew, port of New fiavcii, : on a voyage from Callao toTrycasfc Trieste], Your wages' is thirty dollars a nonth j and you've had a month's pay mad'aucc, which I've got witnesses to provo." le spoke this as if he were repeating a leson whioh he wished to impress on my menory. But now, changing his tone to one of nenase, .which was emphasised by tho dismay, of. ti. revolver which.he drew from a' pocket behind him, he 'continued':• "And |ook ye hero, my lad j you'd 1 better turn to and do your ; d}ity; 'for,';'if; you tryaiiy : of yoiir'sliines onwith' mo,'/ you'll find 'you've got hold of "the wrong, lioas i'' And now we understand -each otheri' come pa .deck, and give a.haud togot i undcr r weigh,fpr I'm going to make sail right away,—l am. 1 ' , . . ; " I shall do nothing of the kind," I said; ''and you had better put me off to my own sliip,.the Kingfisher—" "Now, just you shut up I" he' interrupted. "Iwantnohe of your.lying yarns. I tell ;ou plainly, that if you'don't go to your duty it 1 once, I'll put you in irons dpwn in'.the lazarcctb. until I "got you in. blue water; and Ijheii'l'll string you up by the .thumbs (o.the mizzon riggin', and latlier you properly; and lead you a dog's life afterwards. Whereas, if youbohaye.as a'sensible man, I don't see why you shouldn't be as oomfortableon board this - craft; as any idther. He spoke ' and lpoked'Bodeterm'iliedly,'thatlfolfcho would be as good as his word, and that my best oliahce would be to appear cowed ana'convinced ; so, sifter a pause, I said: "It's very hard that ii man should be dragged.off'and shipped whether he will or no; But if it cannot bo helped, I suppose I. must make the host of,it Onlyi I warn you, Captain Price, that kidnapping a British subject is a very serious, offence,".

" Oil, I guess I'll take my chance of that," he replied; and stepping on deck, motioned me to follow him.'

'/Here, Mr. Snoll," lie called, "this now land has got sober at last, and wants someihing to do." ;■ : ' ' .

"Ay, ay, sir," replied the mate from ; the' forepart of the ship, wlure he was superintending the men who manned the.windlass.. Then coining aft, he said: "She's hove short, sir.": • ' ; . , :,. .

"Very well. Loose and sheet home,the topsails,. ..We'll take, a starboard.cant with this ibreozc.T-Here! .me-"let's see "howsinartiyou can bo in loosing that rriizzeii 'topsail,, And mind tricks; or 1^ " land' 'he gave a significant look ; arid a tap on 'his revolver pocket • ' ;. ' I Would like to have straugled him j .but I could only do as I was bid,,, As 1 went up

the mizzon rigging, I gazed despairingly at the gunboat; but I could oxpeot no help from her. She waa,too far off for a shout to be'heard, evon i( I dyed to raise one. And as to swimming, it-Would have been certain death, for the place swarmed with sharks. When I got on the yard, I saw a small shore skiff alongside amidships, which I had not observed before Three mon-came on board' from hor, and my blood 'boiled' as 'I recognised the villainous bar-keeper as one of them, "Come on board to be paid for me," I said to myself; "and I've been sent up here to be out of the way," I was confirmed in this belief by seeing thorn'and the captain disappear down the companion-way, the latter making a warning'gesture to me as lie did so, He evidently thought I was completely tamed,' and only wanted a reminder to ! keop mo quiet, But at l that very nioment a'ray of hopohadflashijdinto my mind; All the ship's boats oxcept the gig had been brought ,on board and seoured./ It was hooked on to the davit falls, but. was still ill the wator. If I could but reach;that boat, unhook the falls, and shove off, .1 could surely make such an outcry bofore I was captured as would attract tho gunboat's To cast loose; and Joworone of the other boats would take them at least live minutes, ib I had only tho skiff to take into account* ■; The idea was no sopnor;conceived than acted on.

Grasping a baok-stay, I slid rapidlyi down, Fortuno, favoured me..': All the men who wero not aloft wero at the windlass,, The ]fpro• and main topsails; bad been sheeted homo, and ns I reached the boat' tho cry of "Aliaweigh!" and .tho rapid .cjankirtg of tho windlass palls, told me that the anchor had left ; thc ground and tho Vessel was moying,; A moment after, I was discovered, and I heard shouts and a hurried tramping along tho deok,, With nervous.cagorness, I unhooked the frills.; but my heart sank as 1 found the boat's laiiitor was made fast on deck.'

;I,felt in my ppokot for my clasp-knife. By the greatest good luck, it had not' been taken from me j an instant sufficed to open it, cut tho painter, and give a vigorous shove against the ship's sido, As I .drifted under tho stern, Captain Job Price's face appeared just abovo me. : He had his revolver iu his hand. .'1 .

"Comeback!"he oried with;a horrible oath, "or I'll drill a hole through you." . My only reply was to ; throw myself down in tho boat, and make as small a target oi myaolf as possible; for I saw by tho maii'i face he meant murder,

" I'll give, you one mor« chance," ho yelled., But t lay close, for I knew the ship was gathoring way every second, and his voice already sounded farther off than.before, Anothor second or two' passed, and then he fired. Tho ball struck a thwart above mo,! and glanced off. Again and again I heard the reports; of tho revolver, and,each timo the boat was bit; but I was, not touched, the distance between ns being now enough for tho gunwale of the boattobe a protection tome. - ,

,| When he had emptied all six chambers of i his revolver, I stood up, and saw the John i E. Chew some fifty yards off, gradually steal- | iflg away boforo the wind; but I also saw another sight that was not by any means so , pleasant. This was the skiff putting off i from the ship in pursuit of me, with the barf ;! keeper and his two companions in it, I i tried to drag out a thwart; but thoy all defied my efforts to move them. With the ! strength of desperation, I .then tried the ! seats in'the stern; and'after repeated attempts, succeeding in loosening one of them. A final wrench, and it came away in my hands, It was about fivo feet long, nine inches in width, and an inch thick. I then commenced to paddle with it, first on one side, and then on the other, standing up and using all my strength, and shouting as loud as I could, to draw tho gunboat's notice, But the boat was too heavy for this mode of propulsion to have much effect on her, and the skiff gained fast on me. The bar-keeper was standing in her bows, ono man was rowing, and the other was seated in the stern. They said not a word as they camo up, And when tho bows of tlio skiff touched the stern of the gig, the bar-keeper made a spring, As ho did so, I swung round Iny improvised paddle, aud hit him with the edge of it fairly across th 6 side of his head, He gave a howl, and fell over into the : water, nearly swamping the skiff as he went down. In the confusion that ensued, the rower dropped one of his oars; and before they could recover it, pick up the half-drowned bar-keeper, and bale out the water they had shipped, I had, by vigorous paddling, put a good hundred yards between the two boats, When tho occupants off the skiff had recovered from thoir catastrophe, I was surprised to find that they allowed no intention of following me. On the contrary, my friend the bar-keeper was huddled into the stern; and tho other two taking an oar apiece, began to pull as hard as thoy could for tho shore, at right angles to tho course Iwas pursuing, I was 1 greatly, relieved; and ob looking round, soon discovered the cause of this change of tactics-tho steam-launch belonging to the gunboat was coming rapidly in my direction, As I afterwards found out, the reports of the revolver had been heard bythosoon board; and as the launch was just coming off from shore, she was ordered to proceed on, and see what was the matter, Captain Price had also' observed; that the British lion was on tha alert; and'the John E, Chew's main topsail, which had been backed, was filled again; and she bore away under a press of canvas, leaving her boat with ine as a trophy. On the launch s arrival alongside of me, I told the middy in charge my story j and he, taking the gig in tow, took me on board tho gunboat, I repeated my tale to the captain. He seemed rather incredulous; and sent au officer, on board the Kingfisher to make inquiries, ' who brought, my skipper back with him., Hoover, as t\m ."old man',' verified my yarn in some'of its details, the naval captain began to take tho thing up more warmly. But when jtcaino.to iny producing legal proof of what had occurred, he seemed anything but satisfied. '"You sec," he said,'." you, have not the gho3t of a case against the master of the American'ship. He,'of course, would say that you came or were brought ou board drunk,' and that you agreed to sail with him. Nay, I have no doubt his Officers would swear io'that or any. other tale. he might choose to "invent, And if you were really] one of his crew, ho had a right to try'to prevent you deserting. On the ' other hand, if he'had wounded' you, I' should 'feci' it my duty to give chase and bring him back; and, as it is, I shall demand redress from the United States' consul. With regard' to this grog-drugging vagabond of a bar-keeper," lib continued, "the case is different, and I think something might be done; solshall take you oh shore with meat once, to point out tho house and get him arrested," ' Nothing was done, however; .for on proceeding 1 to the street in which I had'been, drugged, I found the houses so like each qther that I could not take it on my conScience to swear to any particular one'as being the place; and as for the bar-keeper, lie was not Been or heard of as long as the Kingfisher was in the neighbourhood, Sol had, as our "old man" said, "to'take the lesson fpr what it was worth." And he added: "Sarve you right for going into such a den:" '. I now command as fine a ship as the Jolitt ,E. Chew; and two years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Captain Job Price-it was in: Melbourne—and boforo we parted, he Had received as good a "lathering" as ever lieproniisqd me; and though Iliad made 'myself liable to a fine of five pounds, which I ; duty paid,i do not think I ever, Bpent five , pWds iii my : life with such a sweet, con< ; spiousness of having got value for it, (

A STORY OF THE PENINSULA. No; I will sit just whore I am, Wheneyer I go back to those old times; lain ashamed of my present luxury. But como .you and rites child; because my voice isJttot clear, Now, are you ready F Then please not to interrupt me, because it throws' out .my memory j and I hare not told that, atoVy/or a long while now, > .'■' ■ ' ' l

After the battle of Talavera,. which.was* very hard-fought field, and by no means decisive, the British army, and I may say thje; whole Peninsula.cause, was in the greatest jeopardy for several days, 'fjur force was' small; wo had lost agreat'mahy of pur beat troops in the two days of combat; we had no clear knowledge of the strength,' or intentions of the enemy j we could not trust the Spanish General to act in concert witli us, or even to keep us informed of'his move-. '.mints j'the French were in fat supenot force, both in our front and in our rear';' we wore hommed in the narrow valley of the Tagiis, between a rapid river'and trackless '.mountains; : worst' of all perhaps, or at any rate most, depressing, we could count one another's bones with famino, For an entire month, we. did not receive so much as ten full rations.; Tho]Spaniards did tho feedmgs'ancl left tis to'do the fighting' 1 Their rhenwe're like dripping-pans, ours hke gridirons. You may suppose what our oondition was, whon I toll you, my dear Julia, that the offal of a goat, rank, leathery, reeking, would sell for as much as my best sheep is wortli; and that I have seen dainty young officers, who would turn up their noses at oold meat in England, chase the gaunt Bwine in the forest, and devour the flesh, with the bristles on, raw and quivoring. Spanish ham raw, and without any garlic—and the Spaniards, whose place it was to supply us, even acousotl us of theft for this.

What with anxiety, weariness, and famine; wo wore all very miserable, as you may suppose ; many of our best friends lay dead or wounded—l myself had lost a beloved school: fellow, as brave a young fellow as ever breathed, in that terrible charge of the 23rd; we expected the French to fall upon us in overwhelming numbers; and as yet we had not that implicit confidence in our great commander, then Sir Arthur Welleslcy, which aftorwards mado us so irresistible, The Wiseßt of us thought that the whole scheme of the campaign was wrong (as is now confessed freely),:enforced 1 upon our General perhaps by the politics of the day, While tho more foolish of us (who were a thousand times as many naturally) were convinced by starvation that the object of the patriotic Spainards was to destroy us also, They could not bear to see us upon their land, although we were there to defend it,' And the more of us that died instoad of them the better they enjoyed it, I may bo narrow-minded, and an unfair witness; but nine out of ten of us say the snine. Many a time we longed for a good charge into the centre of the Spanish army. -But we got to respect the French, andliko them; they are hot hidalgoes, but gentlemen, and overy bit as brave as bur own fellows.' If they.had been led as well as we were, with one head present over them, instead of a lot of jealous marshals, counter-marching one another, we should have to erhbsrk in 1809; for we wore not many, and the few we had were starved.

Howover, I am rambling into big questions, instead of going through with my little one. When we retired, after Talavera, leaving our flick, and wounded there to the caro of the Spaniards, who deserted them, nothing but a bold strokoon the part of our' commander, and the remissness of Napoleon's puppet-king, preserved us. Sir Arthur crossed the Tagus, just in time, by tiic bridge of Arzobispo, and then it became of vital import to seize the bridge of Almaras lower down, by which our retreat might be inter? cented." To make sure of this momentous point, a force of light cavalry was sent in advance, with all possible despatoh, And tho first to arrive at the bridge were the same Hussars of whom I spoke before, niost dashing, impetuous, reckless fellows,

' The hight was very sultry, and unusually dark,, darker than I have ever known a summer pight in England, and I suppose that is quite'natural. Wo woro eight orten miles higher un" the river, laboring along 'with tho lame-horsed guns, and places where,rio horse could drag them up, Then the black night fell upon us, and we boiled our empty'kefctles, Men who have marched far with nothing in their stomachs fall into a jog-trot sort of resignation, a weary trust in Providence that, having had the bad side, they ought to find tho good one turning up, I remember the night quite well, because I had never been so lame in all my. life, and I went down to the Tagus, where a little brook ran in. from n place they call the "Heza.d Ibor,": and though I could not spare : tlie time'to bathe, because somebody else would have gobbled up my supper, I soaked my hot feet in the cool mountain water, and from limping was able to jump again, For all of its, officers as well as men, had taken a strong pull at tho guns that day, I assure you that we were mors full of fatigue than of anything else to sleep upon; for a quarter of unground wheat was all tho bread we had for supper, and the moat was an ounco of goat's flesh. Vy"e were thankful, we enjoyed it, and we tried to sparo some for our frionds with weaker appetites, who had taken the fover, or been wounded, But there was a heavy feeling in the air around us j and .the night, that came over, seemed to lie upon our bodies, instead of drawing round mjjke' Ercnrtanß^---- ------^-'-"'■—■•--

Tho insects were enough to eat us up; the heavier the air is the harder they do labor. Thero is a fearful creaturo there with a saw in his head, like a prawn's, and in his tail a gimblet, with a fir-conestruoture to it. When a weary man ia fast asleep, this fellow takes his stand in some sensitive part of tho system, wherd he can find a little emience of the surface, not far from an equal depression. Then he spreads his legs, like a painter's trestle, and works his head-saw through the hills before him, while he screws the cutting worm of his tail-gimblet into the valley behind him. And the worst of it is, that you never can-catch him.

In spito of all our weariness, these, and other plagues, allowed us scarcely a wink of sleep, and we distinctly heard trumpets miles away, and the sound of small arms, carried to us by tho peculiar condition of the night and the formation of the hills around us. We were puzzled, for we thought that the French could not bo there, but none could ever say where the Spaniards might be, for their great delight was to keep us in the dark about it. We marched very slowly on the following day down the left bank of theTagus, the weather being most oppressive, the track very difficult, and our horses broken down. But when we arrived on the evening after, that opposite the boat bridge at Almarazs, whjcji had been so important to us, we saw a very sad and moving sceno, which w ( ill never quit my memory, ' In a bend of the river, where the setting sun threw shadows on the yellow ground it had scorched up, a firing party was taking position,,and before them stood 'a British officer,

I had never seen a thing of that kind yet, neither had those around me, but we knew,' as if by instinct, what it was, and we drew aside and trembled, The verdict of the court martial was boiug read aloud, and wo heard the words-" cowardice and treachery! in presence of the enemy," and the sentence—"death,"

There stood a group of- officers, illustrious nowi throughout Europe, as long as any history ' shall last; the Commander-in-Chief, looking-stern as the rocks, and a part of the celebrated Light Division, drawn up like a : wall, and as mute and still, But the-faces

of many of tinmen #ere wotting, iorfhey loved the man they yere'to slfs, i, !>; He stood calmly looking as firm as I am noff, v arid he even seemed to smile at mh. a fuss abjmt his life, He was asked if np had anygjing to jiay,_ andJiejiaid,^Nothing,'^jnd T"st3e[y-stepfn?-wn't'"and-took"liisplace-iwliepei ttiKdatee had been measured, and stood witli his arms at his side, his heels together,. jmdii«4«oSd ch"eat"eipiaded : .f6r the Bullets, I b.w him, with the sunset on hijs face; 'and''knew him—the maii who had wed : my life—the bravest'man I ! had'ever mep •'with: ■' '•'■■■--'■ •"■■' '•■ ■' ■'• •"

Tho guns were levelled at him, he waj opening his lips tosay " Fire 1 !"' as 1 he had elaimed ! the right to do so, when, swifter thai a flash of steel, a man leaped before .the muzzles, turned round, and cried,' "Shoo 'me; 'shoot' Wl ' I did ,; it all; ! He pew nothiiig of it.' Shoot rn'o, iif ybii'must murder ahy'dHo. '•'"''' • i,: ' , i ,: :: " '' '•''.'"' '' !l|r .

It was the' mere dickof tl)'e;trigger : tha; ■they tee-' not 1 both'shot' together. '! Thi General held his hand up, the inon dro'p^ei. their muskets, ; the'two In such'peril stood side by side, each challenging the death-shot In a moment it was brothers, "and a : buzz of'.wonder'broke ; th i awful ailencei Before we could see any'mbr< of them, they were both under guard, by Si' Arthur's orders, for the further consideratioi. of their caso. / ' „.'.'.■ ,;,," Now ,tbo story Is a sfcriiigelone, yet not t( be doubted, in the face oi all the evidence These two brothers wore of good birth, and i, family well] known in JUnglaiid-H-well known not only for their property and lpagfybul also for.' ttibjr j strong,. p .saidjttiafc thpughj.)i!i, other pepph .thought, andj never,acted upon ,what,jthey thought, 1 as. ; otjipra, ; \y;'puld' ha'yio ,doie h wh( thought', bjv" And^thjsseemV.to'i'lia'yq shpwi .itself ip. jibe'...actifgmi o| jtyvp,,jwbioh.; have npt.Jjeen _ahle,at.alJ : to|undprst i and J , .n{ to tho present'nipriient, and'pygopd'friend. General (^nk— though ;he will npf .con'feswl .—isnowis,er i^'.irr..-. -. .-,- ;.,Mi! :,i riiH' However,.,! can .toll you. : tl\at, ; theae.iwc brothors, piip and, Lewi's, were in the sam< regiment of Hussars, attached, to the: LjgW Division, ,'bf wjiicli you have heard me speak before. A fashionabje.and aproudfegimenl it was, famous for discipline,;dash, ing. , Lewis, the younger brother, hndV-.beer with it and was exceedingly popular, both with, ,the men and liis.-brother-.officers, though considered rather, odd< and romantic in his views aometimep. He was given to roving among the woods whenever he ,cou|d; get the, opportunity,,and; was always collecting,plants and moaae>,[which of course lie had to leave behind him. His colonel had'called'him to order orico or twice for habits rather u'nsoldierlike; but''the knowledge of the country which holiad.obtained had more than ohbo proved useful; he brought many welcome contributions'to the mess, such as fish, fruit, truffles;'&c!; and above all there was no calmer head, no •stronger hand,- no bolder heart than his' in the charge, the surprise,- or the rally.- ■ '• The elder brother' Philip had only joined quite l lately, exchanging from som'p other regiment; l and there had not'been time t'oi know much about him yet, except that he! was very different from liis brother Lewis in j everything oxcept. appearance. In person: the brothers resembled one another like] twins; though I bolieve there were three orl four years between them. But Lewis had I been exposed to climate, and hardship, while his brother the Viscount—for he was that by courtesy—had beenjiving at home in luxury. But they were not like twins in anything except the outward form, I do boliovo, For instance, there was no special love between them; they avoided one another when they could woll do so, and seemed to have widely different tastes. .

All this came out afterwards, as you must know i for no especial heed of them ,was takon with so many great events around us, Neither would we have heard that much about them, except for'the extraordinary upshot of the case. We had plenty of young noblemen, and heirs, to titles, headed off like poppies, when the French struck straight, But the oddness of this thing, and the contradiction of opinion, made us notice it, And I tell you, Julia, that I am only too glad to have been out of the way. when it happened; because I should not have known what to say if they had called upon me for evidence,

The night had been very dark j all agreed to that, and we had found it so, a few leagues higher up the river. A very close and heavy cloud fell over all the land, without any mist or dow (which help to carry light they say) and without a flash of lightning to enliven it, Those\Hussars, or rather a detachment of them, not more than a hundred and fifty sabres, iinder urgent orders of despatch, roderinto the black pine-wood between the mountains and the: river-bank, I was told by one of them (quite a boy, who died gallantlyMu action at the Coa next year): that they could hardly see their hands before their faces in the depth of that pine wood j and but for that officer, who seemed to know every stick of it, they could not have found their way to the rickety boat-bridge. Tiiere they dismounted, sent fifty of their number across, saw to their horses, and sat down by the dark gleam of the river to their scanty, hot, dry rations, New hereupon hangs the whole gist of the question, so far as there be any question, where a man only pleads guilty, but is the advocate jagainst himself. Did the younger brother r lfewiß—who was the senior officer, >ymi must understand, and in command of the squadron, with his elder brother under him -did he cross the boat-bridge, as he should have done—for the danger wbb upon the other side, if any—or did he, as he himself declared, send his brother across, and remain with the main body ? The night was so dark, and the brothers so alike in figure, stature, dress, walk, and'gesture, that the story must be left between themselves.

. That night the most marvelldus disgrace that ever befell a fine rogiment befell those Ilussars, They were stricken with a panic, they were scared of their lives; or rather of their wits.j,.for they never thought twice of their lives in the matter, I do believe. At any rate, off they went, helter-skelter, with what the French call a same qui'j>mt,\ every man jumping on the first horse he.could catch, and tearing away as if the Devil tore behind him, ; In the morning the bridge was wide open for the French, and the still more important ford below; and if they only had Napoleon with, them or even Soult unthwarted, not a British soldier who fought at Talavera would have told a tale, unless it; were in, a French, prison. The two best troops of the best British Horse that ever struck stirrup or drew sabre were leagues away on the, road to Deleytoza, and came baok-.at evening, with even their horses hanging thoir tails, like a dog to bo thrashed, It, is .said that the blackest hour of that black night, when they all lay sleeping—except the outpost across the river—sleeping the heavy sleep of men deadly weary, and with nothing on their stomachs to make, them dream, a fear came through the air around them.ja shudder, without voice or sound, a terror of the spirit,, and a trembling of the flesh. .AH at once it seized them, asleep or waking, lying on their backs, or sitting up agaiuat a tree, thanking the Lord for being still alivcj or swcariiig at the insects for knowing it; whatever they were doing, whoever they were, howsoovor they Btrove to man themselves, a black fear came into tiie marrO\v of their hearts; man breathed" it. into niitn, hbrso into \ horse, and not'one of them stayed .tliew to coughpr.tosadrti,' ~,,/, Their friends across the river ,tp,ok the fee)-., ing at a breach. - Like frogs; on .the, leap they aprangoyer the bridge, caught their horses-,--and cluhgitO: their necks, while they.spurred'

: them anyhow, any where, any whither, 1 to be lout of that black devilish wood. Three or four were killed against the branches; the 'others caught' the main lot and added to their terror. Bridles, were not.dreamedjrf; all was spur and lie-along; and horses' throate wereknocked up by the heels of •Korßrar :,n rhFdevir take'tho' hindmost" was the only cue among as brave a lot of men as ever feared the Lord, ;■" Oheman alone'remained behind; an officer who had not shared the panic, but could nb more atop'it'in the dark than you or Icoulk make a rabid dog sit up and beg. This was •the bfficeriwho had orossedtlie river ;' that is admitted beyond all'doubt, and shown by a. curious circumstance, which Ishall remember, by and bye perhaps.' The brother in.'coirjraand (the senior in the regiment; though the ■ younger by birth) 'should ! have certainly done this, because that was .the' | side ; whe.i , e' , 'thß attack 'should be; 'however it'appears froiji. his own statement that ; thfl'elder brother, Philip,' wasthe brother was the cause of all-thtf BuaW whicji was clearly shown ito' 1 have' begun wife thp 'Officer who remained in command oil our side oftheTagus.'.:r-Ji . ;,v:..:i'. ,;•<.; ! ■I The rest of Julia',"gqes into a mf fewwprdsi; and; I am you L many thanks for having'listened : to' ; B n long a tale with so much patience, Our great commander, after sifting all' the- facts! ■o; far as the hurry permitted, referred 1 the matter', home }■■ for the'(sentence of C6urt| martial' confirmed; by himself; could' not m set'aside 1 lightly;''' Home iinfluonce ! was brought to bear, no doubt;'for the father'of stdod;high with * the vernment, and had a special hold, 'it)'was ;Baid,i'Withlhis Royal Highness',';'How thai may'have been! cannot say; bu'taUch thingj never seem to fail of their dueweightl^'The 1 upshot of it was! that the Headlbng'flussarsj ias we called them,'until they'redcelhed their disgrace' by dying'almost to ol rffan <in 'b'attlej >lost both 1 the officers of that great nights'care '■ The 1 younger was ■■ cashiered, • 'and' the■ clde: drewuphis commission with applause, l h'a'v lingaoted'riobly,and sayedhispoor'brbthei attliQ risk of his life. - -'■■'■• ' : . ; '' ■ i;,."OBnt:! uncle John," cried. Julia Touch wood, who had' listened'most ; attentively tt that long story, "you know best of course, becauso ; you were' there, and saw'it ! 'all which makes all the difference'; but'for mj part! I' see nothing 'wonderfully noble ins man jumping suddenly before a : lot of gum to save his- owri'brother from 1 their contents; Why* Iwould have done as mubh astuatfor) Dicky,.. Youi may think Lam 'boasting; anc| perhaps I am. ,■ But I feel'sure that' I could .dothat much.''> ' ''■'•'• ■ '■■">' ■■ ■• ■'"•■> : ■■ |

, I'SodoL '• I know you would," Colouel Weatcomboanswered quietly ;'' iii moments of excitement we think nothing of our lives. The noble notion was not that. 'The nobility was.that a nobleman should tako upon him.} self, fori the sako of a younger brother,' the, sliameiof arrant cowardice and treachery—j for that was charged: and supposed tbLbe! proven-the ruin to-his life/ the ■ contempt' forever,:thescorn!of his 1 regiment, his l rela-j .tives, and country.'- He was a man of the' •world-he knew it—he knew Mat he would! /blast, all his yoring life to the root—yet he' iacediit all to save His brother," :

"I should like to. know something as ; to what he had been," said' the sceptical Julia, as'if loihersejf,. "Imean before he wentout trSpain.' {Whether tie'had shown himself so very noble then, or whether he had been ! loose and slippery, You knew what his brother was; but nothing about him." " But, my dear child, these were the facts, according to his own confession of them, It is a maxim of law which I have heard at! Potty Sessions——". •■:■;:;;.,

"I don't care thai;" she answered; snap-j ping her long, strong, tapering iforefingep—j " for! the; maxims of the laws; even bribery conld!not change them. My plan is to judge people.by their 1 nature, in accordauce with their acts; and ,their character's, and looks, And I say that the man, who had proved himself thoroughly brave in. a thousand perils, could not have run away,; could never have given the shameful order to run away, and would have stuck to the bridge of boats for ever, till Spanish starvation made him drop between them J' "But suppose that he was bribed, my dear; or 'had some other crooked inotivo, Something of the sort seemed to be implied, in some side-words' or—-"

. " Unole John; I am quite ashamed of 'you, A man who saved your, lifc.'aud stood to be shot at, as well as even you could do ?'•' ' ''Well, it is mean, shabby, low, and hasty of my mind .to'be crossed with such vile ideas, And it never could have happened to mo but for the quantity of the world that I havo 'se'eaV— From "Ch'rislowell" in Good Word,.