LANDMANN'S RECOLLECTIONS OF MILITARY LIFE. * TELE earlier and larger portion

of this continuation of Colonel Landmann's military recollections has not the variety of subjects,

the number and eminence of characters, possessed by the preceding

-volumes. Neither does it contain so close and striking a picture of the manners of the age. A garrison-officer's residence at Gibraltar

is the subject of the first volume, varied by confinement on board a tramport.ship during the blockade of Cadiz. The unaffected cheerful good-nature of the author imparts pleasantness to his account of garrison parties, pie-flies, military or nautical stories, anecdotes of the day, and excursions on the main-land, though we were then (1806-1808) at war with Spain. The whole, however, was hardly worth publication either essentially or by the accident of circumstances.

The greater part of the second volume is matter of a different stamp ; and, much as has been written of late years about war and Wellington, we know of nothing that contains so striking a pic- ture of the march and the battle as seen by an individual, or so close and homely a sketch of the Great Captain in the outset of the European career of Sir Arthur Wellesley. Colonel Landmann was associated with the army that first landed in Portugal, and which after fighting the battles of Rolica and Vimiera was stopped

in full career by Sir Harry Burrard. As our author had little to do as an engineer officer, he became a sort of extra man, now act- * Recollections of my Military Life, By Colonel Landmann, late of the Corps of Engineers ; Author of "Adventures and Recollections," Sm. In two volumes Es Engineers th

Published by Hurst and Blackett.

ing as aide-de-camp, now as volunteer, and anon as spectator; while his self-Imposed professional duties consisting of examining

the country and mapping particular parts, took him over a wide extent of ground, and enabled him to see a great deal more than would fall to the kt of an officer on particular duty.. His records

of these few weeks' experience give a very full and striking idea of active war, the fulness of detail aiding the effect. Now and then we have a decisive charge, or some large operation conducing to a large result, but more generally it is a picture of individual dis- comfort, exposure, and privation, the ludicrous or sordid mixing largely with the terrible or pathetic. Men who have faced the enemy all day are " afraid " to go to sleep at night, lest they should be trampled on by horses which may have broken their pickets, and gladly take refuge under a waggon. Hunger, if it does not tame the British lion, seriously discomposes him, as well as cold and wet in a night bivouac. The road, the rear, and the ground after a battle, are painted with a painful minuteness ; the wounded murdered for their property by camp followers or straggling soldiers; a priest administering the sacrament to all who have sense enough to intimate their willingness to receive it; Por- tuguese peasants following to give the coup de grace to Frenchmen when their pastor has left the penitents, and the stripped dead placed by revolting levity in positions intended for burlesque or worse. Here are some of the various incidents our observer records.

"I soon overtook a lady, dressed in a nankeen riding-habit, parasol, and straw bonnet, and carrying a rather large rush hand-basket. "The unexpected sight of a respectably-dressed woman in such a situation greatly perplexed me; for the musket-shot were showering about pretty thickly, and making the dust fly on most parts of the road. Moreover, at this place, several men killed, and others mortally wounded, all perfectly stripped, were lying scattered across the road, so that in order to advance she was absolutely compelled to step over some of them.

"At first I thought the lady was unconscious of her danger, or was so bewildered at the surrounding confusion, in which she might have been ac- cidentally involved, that she did not know she was then going towards the enemy. I therefore could not resist saying to her, en passant, that she had much better go back for a short time, as this was a very unfit place for a lady to be in, and was evidently a very dangerous one. Upon this, she drew herself up, and with a very haughty air, and, seemingly, a perfect contempt of the danger of her situation, evidently proceeding from extreme agitation, she replied, 'Mind your own affairs, sir,—I have a husband before me.' I obeyed. * * "I had nearly gained the top, when the voice of an Englishman, calling loudly for help, caught my ear. I pushed forward, leaving my pony, for it would have been hopeless to expect that such an animal, or indeed any other on such ground, could have carried me up in time to be of service, in a case of so pressing a nature as it evidently was by the repeated cries for help and then of murder : I stopped not to fasten my pony, I knew he would not run away; and in a few seconds, through the under-brush, I saw a woman, one of the British nation too, with a large stone in her hand levelling a finishing-blow at a poor fellow of the Ninth or Forty-fifth Regiment, Ido not now recollect to which he belonged.

"This wretch was at the man's back, as he eat on the ground, having had one of his legs broken on the preceding day by a musket-shot, and was therefore quite helpless. My sudden appearance for a moment suspended the course of this infernal creature; - and she remained with her hand raised, grasping a stone as big as both her fists, pausing, no doubt, to consider how far my presence ought to check her murderous views ; and during this mo- mentary hesitation, from the opposite side, out of the thicket, a man stepped forth, whom I immediately perceived was a private soldier in the fifth bat- talion of the Sixtieth Regiment. "His occupation was not doubtful : plunder had induced him to straggle from his corps and remain in the rear, and I sincerely hope his cupidity was confined to the property of the dead. This man was a German, and he also, as well as myself, had seen the diabolical intent of the woman before us. My hand was still strongly grasping the hilt of my sword, which I had half- drawn, with a determination of stopping. by force the further progress of

i

th fiend ; but the German lost no time in considering : he ran up, his rifle half up to his shoulder, and, without any parley or ceremony, merely mut- tering as he sprung upon her, 'You be no fouman, py Got ! you be de title!' he put his rifle close to her ear, and before I had had time to form any clear conjecture as to his views, the upper half of her head vanished, and was dis- persed into atoms amongst the bushes, and her body in falling almost ex- tended to the wounded soldier.

"Under any other circumstances, such a sight would have filled me with horror ; I nevertheless here shouted loudly 'Bravo ' with the most ample satisfaction ; and whilst I was engaged in giving the unfortunate MA a drink of wine out of my canteen, who informed me that the woman had al- ready struck him one desperate blow on the shoulder with the stone, be- cause he would not submit peacefully to be plundered of every stitch he had on, my German was engaged in very deliberately reloading his rifle and then, having carefully untied the woman's apron, which was richly 'filled with watches, rings, and valuables of all kinds, he darted from the spot, and disappeared amongst the bushes, casting at me a ferocious glance. "I felt no disposition to remonstrate with the rifleman, or to pick a quar- rel with him in any shape, for his situation was too desperate."

It is curious that some of the English officers had a doubtful opinion of the Sepoy General, as Napoleon called Wellesley, and equally curious to observe how quickly he established himself in the confidence of the army. The following exhibits our author's first sight of Sir Arthur, and his first interview. He had ascended to the top of an old tower to take a survey of the country.

"Whilst I was thus engaged, I suddenly heard the sound of the footsteps of several persons behind me, and also the rattling of steel scabbards, which indicated the presence of staff-officers; then immediately I heard a voice asking hastily, and in a tone of authority, for a glass, and at the same mo- ment I was tapped on the shoulder and desired to make room, for the space was very small, and insufficient for two persona to rest their glasses so as to observe the enemy at the same time. I now, as required, turned round, and Sir Arthur Wellesley was before me ; upon which I presented my telescope to his Excellency.

"Sir Arthur took a very careful survey of the country, as far as it was possible from that spot, and particularly examined the position occupied by the enemy; after which I related to him my reconnoissance of the preceding day, prin- cipally in regard to the hills to the Eastward, adding, that I fully believed from my own observation, and also from the information I had obtained, that the road I had there followed up to the two windmills led to the rear of the enemy's position, round his right flank, and therefore offered a good opportunity forcutting off his retreat ; whilst at the same time, a movement

by that route would intercept the expected junction of General Loison with Laborde; the former being understood to be on his march from Thomar, or its vicinity, with six thousand men, and the latter occupying the hills of Columbeira, in our front. "Sir Arthur Wellesley appeared to be satisfied with my communication, and not displeased at the liberty I had used in making the above suggestion ; for he immediately ordered Major-General Ferguson and Brigadier-General Bowes, with their brigades, and the artillery of Light Brigade to march by the road I had spoken of to him ; and then said to me, 'At; you have reconnoitered that country, you will go with Ferguson.' "I departed accordingly, bounding with joy at my recommendation having been adopted."

It is well known that Sir Harry Burrard, though declining to interfere during the battle of Vimiera, stopped a movement con- templated by Wellesley, by which he intended to cut off Junot from Lisbon. Various stories are told of the behaviour of Sir Arthur Wellington on the occasion. One has something about going to shoot red-legged partridges, another about going to din- ner. According to Colonel. Landmann's account, Sir Harry was the man whose ideas tended dinnerwards.

"On our coming up to Sir Harry Burrard, I was introduced ; upon which he said to me, This is a glorious victory ; we must have a plan of the ground, and of the movements of the troops, to be sent off with the de- spatches.' I promised the plan (for I knew it was making by the several officers under my command); and then added, in reply to the General's ob- servation as to our having gained a glorious victory, that 'we are in a fair way to gain a brilliant victory ; the battle is very well commenced.'

"At this moment, Sir Arthur, who had been at too great a distance to hear my observation' came up, and pressed Sir Hang to order General Hill to move on towards Lisbon ; adding, that his division was quite fresh, since the men had dined whilst the first line had been fighting ; that they had not marched one step more than to take up the position they then occupied, and had not fired a single shot during that day. Sir Arthur made some further observations about the advantages we possessed, arising from local circumstances and of momentary value only. But Sir Harry resisted every argument for advancing, by making some allusion to a conversation they had had on the preceding evening on board of the Brazen; after which, Sir Harry suddenly turned to me, repeating the necessity of my getting a plan for mm of the operations immediately; then asking me what was the hour, and without waiting my reply, inquired of Sir Arthur at what time his dinner would be ready, assuring us, as he tapped his full-sized waist two or three times with his open hand in a most inquisitive manner, that the sea air had very much sharpened his appetite.

"On perceiving that Sir Harry Burrard had determined on not following up our advantages, Sir Arthur Wellesley reined in his horse four or five yards, dropped the bridle on his horse's neck, pulled down his cocked hat to the bridge of his nose, and having folded his arms, he drooped his head, and re- mained during some minutes in that position, evidently regretting that he could not follow his own opinion. "There can be no doubt that, had we pursued the advantages we had so far obtained, the enemy must before night have surrendered at discretion. Yet all the time whilst Sir Arthur remained in that pensive position, Sir Harry went on talking half to me and half to himself, when he several times repeated, Well, I think we have done enough for one day' : to which I once or twice replied, The victory is well commenced.'"