CHAPTER XII.
I GET A COMPANY IN THE CAMPAIGN OF 1706.
On Whit-Sunday, the famous 23rd of May, 1706, my young lord first cameunder the fire of the enemy, whom we found posted in order of battle,their lines extending three miles or more, over the high ground behindthe little Gheet river, and having on his left the little village ofAnderkirk or Autre-eglise, and on his right Ramillies, which has givenits name to one of the most brilliant and disastrous days of battle thathistory ever hath recorded.
Our Duke here once more met his old enemy of Blenheim, the BavarianElector and the Marechal Villeroy, over whom the Prince of Savoy hadgained the famous victory of Chiari. What Englishman or Frenchman dothnot know the issue of that day? Having chosen his own ground, havinga force superior to the English, and besides the excellent Spanish andBavarian troops, the whole Maison-du-Roy with him, the most splendidbody of horse in the world,--in an hour (and in spite of the prodigiousgallantry of the French Royal Household, who charged through the centreof our line and broke it,) this magnificent army of Villeroy was utterlyrouted by troops that had been marching for twelve hours, and by theintrepid skill of a commander, who did, indeed, seem in the presence ofthe enemy to be the very Genius of Victory.
I think it was more from conviction than policy, though that policy wassurely the most prudent in the world, that the great Duke always spokeof his victories with an extraordinary modesty, and as if it was not somuch his own admirable genius and courage which achieved these amazingsuccesses, but as if he was a special and fatal instrument in the handsof Providence, that willed irresistibly the enemy's overthrow. Beforehis actions he always had the church service read solemnly, andprofessed an undoubting belief that our Queen's arms were blessed andour victory sure. All the letters which he writ after his battlesshow awe rather than exultation; and he attributes the glory of theseachievements, about which I have heard mere petty officers and menbragging with a pardonable vainglory, in nowise to his own bravery orskill, but to the superintending protection of heaven, which he everseemed to think was our especial ally. And our army got to believe so,and the enemy learnt to think so too; for we never entered into a battlewithout a perfect confidence that it was to end in a victory; nor didthe French, after the issue of Blenheim, and that astonishing triumph ofRamillies, ever meet us without feeling that the game was lost before itwas begun to be played, and that our general's fortune was irresistible.Here, as at Blenheim, the Duke's charger was shot, and 'twas thought fora moment he was dead. As he mounted another, Binfield, his master of thehorse, kneeling to hold his Grace's stirrup, had his head shot away bya cannon-ball. A French gentleman of the Royal Household, that was aprisoner with us, told the writer that at the time of the charge ofthe Household, when their horse and ours were mingled, an Irish officerrecognized the Prince-Duke, and calling out--"Marlborough, Marlborough!"fired his pistol at him a bout-portant, and that a score more carbinesand pistols were discharged at him. Not one touched him: he rode throughthe French Curiassiers sword-in-hand, and entirely unhurt, and calm andsmiling, rallied the German Horse, that was reeling before the enemy,brought these and twenty squadrons of Orkney's back upon them, anddrove the French across the river, again leading the charge himself, anddefeating the only dangerous move the French made that day.
Major-General Webb commanded on the left of our line, and had his ownregiment under the orders of their beloved colonel. Neither he nor theybelied their character for gallantry on this occasion; but it was abouthis dear young lord that Esmond was anxious, never having sight of himsave once, in the whole course of the day, when he brought an order fromthe Commander-in-Chief to Mr. Webb. When our horse, having charged roundthe right flank of the enemy by Overkirk, had thrown him into entireconfusion, a general advance was made, and our whole line of foot,crossing the little river and the morass, ascended the high ground wherethe French were posted, cheering as they went, the enemy retreatingbefore them. 'Twas a service of more glory than danger, the Frenchbattalions never waiting to exchange push of pike or bayonet with ours;and the gunners flying from their pieces, which our line left behind usas they advanced, and the French fell back.
At first it was a retreat orderly enough; but presently the retreatbecame a rout, and a frightful slaughter of the French ensued on thispanic: so that an army of sixty thousand men was utterly crushed anddestroyed in the course of a couple of hours. It was as if a hurricanehad seized a compact numerous fleet, flung it all to the winds,shattered, sunk, and annihilated it: afflavit Deus, et dissipati sunt.The French army of Flanders was gone, their artillery, their standards,their treasure, provisions, and ammunition were all left behind them:the poor devils had even fled without their soup-kettles, which areas much the palladia of the French infantry as of the Grand Seignior'sJanissaries, and round which they rally even more than round theirlilies.
The pursuit, and a dreadful carnage which ensued (for the dregs of abattle, however brilliant, are ever a base residue of rapine, cruelty,and drunken plunder,) was carried far beyond the field of Ramillies.
Honest Lockwood, Esmond's servant, no doubt wanted to be among themarauders himself and take his share of the booty; for when, the actionover, and the troops got to their ground for the night, the Captain badeLockwood get a horse, he asked, with a very rueful countenance, whetherhis honor would have him come too; but his honor only bade him go abouthis own business, and Jack hopped away quite delighted as soon as hesaw his master mounted. Esmond made his way, and not without dangerand difficulty, to his Grace's headquarters, and found for himself veryquickly where the aide-de-camps' quarters were, in an out-building ofa farm, where several of these gentlemen were seated, drinking andsinging, and at supper. If he had any anxiety about his boy, 'twasrelieved at once. One of the gentlemen was singing a song to a tune thatMr. Farquhar and Mr. Gay both had used in their admirable comedies, andvery popular in the army of that day; and after the song came a chorus,"Over the hills and far away;" and Esmond heard Frank's fresh voice,soaring, as it were, over the songs of the rest of the young men--avoice that had always a certain artless, indescribable pathos with it,and indeed which caused Mr. Esmond's eyes to fill with tears now, outof thankfulness to God the child was safe and still alive to laugh andsing.
When the song was over Esmond entered the room, where he knew several ofthe gentlemen present, and there sat my young lord, having taken offhis cuirass, his waistcoat open, his face flushed, his long yellowhair hanging over his shoulders, drinking with the rest; the youngest,gayest, handsomest there. As soon as he saw Esmond, he clapped down hisglass, and running towards his friend, put both his arms round him andembraced him. The other's voice trembled with joy as he greeted thelad; he had thought but now as he stood in the court-yard under theclear-shining moonlight: "Great God! what a scene of murder is herewithin a mile of us; what hundreds and thousands have faced dangerto-day; and here are these lads singing over their cups, and the samemoon that is shining over yonder horrid field is looking down on Walcotevery likely, while my lady sits and thinks about her boy that is at thewar." As Esmond embraced his young pupil now, 'twas with the feelingof quite religious thankfulness and an almost paternal pleasure that hebeheld him.
Round his neck was a star with a striped ribbon, that was made of smallbrilliants and might be worth a hundred crowns. "Look," says he, "won'tthat be a pretty present for mother?"
"Who gave you the Order?" says Harry, saluting the gentleman: "did youwin it in battle?"
"I won it," cried the other, "with my sword and my spear. There was amousquetaire that had it round his neck--such a big mousquetaire, as bigas General Webb. I called out to him to surrender, and that I'd give himquarter: he called me a petit polisson and fired his pistol at me, andthen sent it at my head with a curse. I rode at him, sir, drove my swordright under his arm-hole, and broke it in the rascal's body. I founda purse in his holster with sixty-five Louis in it, and a bundle oflove-letters, and a flask of Hungary-water. Vive la guerre! there arethe ten pieces you lent me. I should like
to have a fight every day;"and he pulled at his little moustache and bade a servant bring a supperto Captain Esmond.
Harry fell to with a very good appetite; he had tasted nothing sincetwenty hours ago, at early dawn. Master Grandson, who read this, do youlook for the history of battles and sieges? Go, find them in the properbooks; this is only the story of your grandfather and his family. Farmore pleasant to him than the victory, though for that too he may saymeminisse juvat, it was to find that the day was over, and his dearyoung Castlewood was unhurt.
And would you, sirrah, wish to know how it was that a sedate Captainof Foot, a studious and rather solitary bachelor of eight or nine andtwenty years of age, who did not care very much for the jollities whichhis comrades engaged in, and was never known to lose his heart in anygarrison-town--should you wish to know why such a man had so prodigiousa tenderness, and tended so fondly a boy of eighteen, wait, my goodfriend, until thou art in love with thy schoolfellow's sister, and thensee how mighty tender thou wilt be towards him. Esmond's general andhis Grace the Prince-Duke were notoriously at variance, and the former'sfriendship was in nowise likely to advance any man's promotion of whoseservices Webb spoke well; but rather likely to injure him, so the armysaid, in the favor of the greater man. However, Mr. Esmond had the goodfortune to be mentioned very advantageously by Major-General Webb in hisreport after the action; and the major of his regiment and two of thecaptains having been killed upon the day of Ramillies, Esmond, who wassecond of the lieutenants, got his company, and had the honor of servingas Captain Esmond in the next campaign.
My lord went home in the winter, but Esmond was afraid to follow him.His dear mistress wrote him letters more than once, thanking him, asmothers know how to thank, for his care and protection of her boy,extolling Esmond's own merits with a great deal more praise than theydeserved; for he did his duty no better than any other officer; andspeaking sometimes, though gently and cautiously, of Beatrix. News camefrom home of at least half a dozen grand matches that the beautiful maidof honor was about to make. She was engaged to an earl, our gentleman ofSt. James's said, and then jilted him for a duke, who, in his turn, haddrawn off. Earl or duke it might be who should win this Helen, Esmondknew she would never bestow herself on a poor captain. Her conduct, itwas clear, was little satisfactory to her mother, who scarcely mentionedher, or else the kind lady thought it was best to say nothing, and leavetime to work out its cure. At any rate, Harry was best away from thefatal object which always wrought him so much mischief; and so he neverasked for leave to go home, but remained with his regiment that wasgarrisoned in Brussels, which city fell into our hands when the victoryof Ramillies drove the French out of Flanders.
The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., a Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne Page 29
