We
Passed Unobserved Till We Arrived At The Carlist Lines Above
Bilbao; There We Were Stopped.
My presence of mind, however, did
not desert me.
I was disguised as a carman, as a Catalan, and the
coolness of my answers deceived my interrogators. We were
permitted to pass, and soon were safe within the walls of Bilbao.
There was an illumination that night in the town, for the lion had
burst his toils, Flinter had escaped, and was once more returned to
re-animate a drooping cause. I have just arrived at Santander on
my way to Madrid, where I intend to ask of the government a
command, with twenty thousand men."
Poor Flinter! a braver heart and a move gasconading mouth were
surely never united in the same body. He proceeded to Madrid, and
through the influence of the British ambassador, who was his
friend, he obtained the command of a small division, with which he
contrived to surprise and defeat, in the neighbourhood of Toledo, a
body of the Carlists, commanded by Orejita, whose numbers more than
trebled his own. In reward for this exploit he was persecuted by
the government, which, at that time, was the moderado or juste
milieu, with the most relentless animosity; the prime minister,
Ofalia, supporting with all his influence numerous and ridiculous
accusations of plunder and robbery brought against the too-
successful general by the Carlist canons of Toledo. He was
likewise charged with a dereliction of duty, in having permitted,
after the battle of Valdepenas, which he likewise won in the most
gallant manner, the Carlist force to take possession of the mines
of Almaden, although the government, who were bent on his ruin, had
done all in their power to prevent him from following up his
successes by denying him the slightest supplies and reinforcements.
The fruits of victory thus wrested from him, his hopes blighted, a
morbid melancholy seized upon the Irishman; he resigned his
command, and in less than ten months from the period when I saw him
at Santander, afforded his dastardly and malignant enemies a
triumph which satisfied even them, by cutting his own throat with a
razor.
Ardent spirits of foreign climes, who hope to distinguish
yourselves in the service of Spain, and to earn honours and
rewards, remember the fate of Columbus, and of another as brave and
as ardent - Flinter!
CHAPTER XXXV
Departure from Santander - The Night Alarm - The Black Pass.
I had ordered two hundred Testaments to be sent to Santander from
Madrid: I found, however, to my great sorrow, that they had not
arrived, and I supposed that they had either been seized on the way
by the Carlists, or that my letter had miscarried. I then thought
of applying to England for a supply, but I abandoned the idea for
two reasons. In the first place, I should have to remain idly
loitering, at least a month, before I could receive them, at a
place where every article was excessively dear; and, secondly, I
was very unwell, and unable to procure medical advice at Santander.
Ever since I left Coruna, I had been afflicted with a terrible
dysentery, and latterly with an ophthalmia, the result of the other
malady. I therefore determined on returning to Madrid. To effect
this, however, seemed no very easy task. Parties of the army of
Don Carlos, which, in a partial degree, had been routed in Castile,
were hovering about the country through which I should have to
pass, more especially in that part called "The Mountains," so that
all communication had ceased between Santander and the southern
districts. Nevertheless, I determined to trust as usual in the
Almighty and to risk the danger. I purchased, therefore, a small
horse, and sallied forth with Antonio.
Before departing, however, I entered into conference with the
booksellers as to what they should do in the event of my finding an
opportunity of sending them a stock of Testaments from Madrid; and,
having arranged matters to my satisfaction, I committed myself to
Providence. I will not dwell long on this journey of three hundred
miles. We were in the midst of the fire, yet, strange to say,
escaped without a hair of our heads being singed. Robberies,
murders, and all kinds of atrocities were perpetrated before,
behind, and on both sides of us, but not so much as a dog barked at
us, though in one instance a plan had been laid to intercept us.
About four leagues from Santander, whilst we were baiting our
horses at a village hostelry, I saw a fellow run off after having
held a whispering conversation with a boy who was dealing out
barley to us. I instantly inquired of the latter what the man had
said to him, but only obtained an evasive answer. It appeared
afterwards that the conversation was about ourselves. Two or three
leagues farther there was an inn and village where we had proposed
staying, and indeed had expressed our intention of doing so; but on
arriving there, finding that the sun was still far from its bourne,
I determined to proceed farther, expecting to meet with a resting-
place at the distance of a league; though I was mistaken, as we
found none until we reached Montaneda, nine leagues and a half from
Santander, where was stationed a small detachment of soldiers. At
the dead of night we were aroused from our sleep by a cry that the
factious were not far off. A messenger had arrived from the
alcalde of the village where we had previously intended staying,
who stated that a party of Carlists had just surprised that place,
and were searching for an English spy, whom they supposed to be at
the inn. The officer commanding the soldiers upon hearing this,
not deeming his own situation a safe one, instantly drew off his
men, falling back on a stronger party stationed in a fortified
village near at hand. As for ourselves, we saddled our horses and
continued our way in the dark.
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