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.
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