The Fishguard Invasion by the French in 1797 Part 6

"Go on as far as you can," whispered Davy. "If they see this slit, they can only come one at a time, and-"

He didn't finish, but it wasn't necessary. Nan and I stumbled on in the interior, and found ourselves ere long in quite a large cave, where even in the dusky light we could discern objects extremely like kegs, also bales and packages of all sorts. Outside we heard the cries and screams of the Frenchmen, baulked of their prey; for (probably fortunately for themselves) they did not discover the narrow and hidden entrance to our cave. We were soon joined by Davy, who remarked that if they had a guide with them, there were a few things he didn't know yet.

"There's plenty of food here-and spirits-if we want to stay," he continued; "but perhaps we may as well get to the top and see what is going on."

CHAPTER VI.

WELSH WIVES.

We did prefer (as soon as we had got our breath again) knowing what was going on in our usual world overhead to remaining in ign.o.ble security in Davy's locker, for so we named his cave. Accordingly we scrambled and crawled and pushed our way up the far-end of the cavern, till at last the aperture resembled a chimney lined with ferns instead of soot more than aught else. We emerged at last into the open air full of morning sunshine, and perceived that we were now quite beyond the enemy's lines and once more among our own people.

The first thing to be done in this situation was naturally-to talk; as good and true Celts we all agreed to that; and when we got into the high-road we found no dearth of people to talk to. They were gathering like ants from every quarter, and the one topic which each man liked to discourse on was simply this: how he was going to fight the French. The bonfires last night had aroused the country, and some of the men we met had come from distant parts of the county.

Among other items of news they told us that the men of St. David's had rushed in a body to their cathedral, from the roof of which they had insisted on tearing off the lead; six blacksmiths had come forward, and had at once cast the said lead into bullets. Old and young, master and man, all had turned out. A dissenting minister was there (the Reverend Mr. Jones was his name), and after him marched all the men of his congregation. The news had come as he was preaching to them, and the worthy man had at once changed rhetoric for action. "Let us fight a good fight," said he, and proceeded to put his words to the proof and himself at the head of his men.

A choleric major rode about the lanes near St. Dogmael's collecting recruits. He met a Mr. Jones (another one): "Come along to fight the French," was Major James' greeting. But Mr. Jones had business which called him elsewhere.

"By the Lord Harry," said the Major, drawing his sword, "if you don't come this minute I'll slice your head off like a turnip."

The fear of the French was an unknown quant.i.ty, but the fear of the Major was very well known indeed, and Mr. Jones went.

We mingled exultantly with the throng of our people, and presently our eyes were gladdened by the sight of a gallant body of men-all well equipped and well mounted-the Castle Martin Yeomanry. These were joined by the Cardiganshire Militia, the Fencible Infantry of Colonel Knox, and some seamen and artillery, the whole under the command of Lord Cawdor.

We had got into Fishguard by this time, and we hung about the door of the "Royal Oak," where a council of war was being held by our officers-namely, Lord Milford, Lord Cawdor, Colonel Knox, Colonel Colby, Colonel Ackland, Colonel Dan Vaughan, Major James, and the Governor of Fishguard Fort, Colonel George Vaughan. The troops formed in the turnpike road just outside the town, and here we three had to separate, for Davy wished to accompany the troops, Ann to join her Aunt Jemima, and I to get something to eat at my father's house, for I had only had hasty s.n.a.t.c.hes. .h.i.therto, and I had a growing boy's appet.i.te. My parent was so much astonished at the course of events that he was not even surprised to see me when I walked, as bold as bra.s.s, into his shop; and never even asked if I had taken French leave of my master. But before satisfying my natural filial affection I (together with Davy) escorted Nancy to the abode of her relative, who, however, was not at home. As we turned to go, Nancy having taken leave of Davy in an affectionate manner, because, as she said, he had appeared just in the nick of time, we espied that stalwart female, Jemima Nicholas, coming along the road from Goodwick surrounded by twelve Frenchmen, {129} whom she had had the courage and address to bring-probably allured by false promises-all the way from Llanunda; a.s.sisted by the military, she now conducted them into the guard-house at Fishguard.

Leaving Nancy under the efficient protection of her aunt with light hearts, Davy and I went our several ways; but ere long, after recounting my adventures and receiving a large amount of hero-worship from my mother, I once more found myself on the road leading to the scene of action. It seemed impossible to keep away. On the top of a high rock I saw a crowd of people in a state of great and evident excitement. I hastened to join them, and perceived at once the reason of their gesticulations. There were the three tall men-of-war and the lugger, with all sail set, standing out from the land, and apparently sailing away with all speed to the place from whence they came. We could hardly believe our eyes. We looked at Carnunda; there floated the French flag, and the rocks were dark with men.

"The Lord hath delivered them into our hand," said the Reverend Mr.

Jones, who stood near.

This sight increased the confidence of our people amazingly, as much as (we afterwards heard) it struck dismay into the hearts of General Tate and his men, they not being animated by the spirit which moved the cla.s.sic heroes to burn their boats so as to destroy the means of retreat and to force themselves to action. The base desertion of their comrades, the large supply of brandy in the farm-house cellars, and a providential but comic mistake, seem to have been the three princ.i.p.al causes of the failure of the French-one may say of the utter and singular collapse of their undertaking.

The mistake occurred in this manner. Large numbers of the country-women (among whom were Jemima and Nancy) had a.s.sembled on a hill commanding an extensive prospect, including the French outpost at Carnunda, desiring, with the curiosity of their s.e.x, to see as much as possible of what was going forward. It was, by the way, the same hill on which I had also stationed myself. Most of the women wore their distinctive shawl, a scarlet whittle, this being the colour appropriated by the daughters of Pembrokeshire; while their Cardiganshire neighbours have adopted the white whittle. All of them at that time wore high black hats. Lord Cawdor, as he was riding about inspecting things in general, was struck by the resemblance of a ma.s.s of these women to a body of regulars, and he called upon the daughters of Cambria to give a proof of their patriotism by marching towards the enemy in regular order. The females responded by a considerable cackle, which, however, signified a.s.sent. I saw Jemima and her niece in the front of the regiment which moved forward boldly towards the enemy. Ere long a sudden dip in the ground rendered them invisible to the French, at which place, turning into a side lane, they came again to the back of the hill whence they had started, and renewed their former course; it was done almost in the way in which, I am told, these effects are managed in a theatre. This manuvre caused much laughter among the spectators, and no little puffing and panting to the fair s.e.x who accomplished it, many of whom were somewhat stout and not very young. However, it had the desired effect. General Tate acknowledged afterwards that they had been taken for a regiment of regulars, and the French troops (greatly composed of convicts) utterly lost heart. If they had but realised that it took a matter of seven days for the news to travel to London, they need not have distressed themselves on the score of quick aid from England.

In the meantime parties of marauders in a half-drunken state continued to prowl about the neighbourhood. A considerable number of militia and peasantry encountered five of these men, who were dragging with them a young calf. They dropped the calf and advanced to the combat, while our men, thinking the odds unfair, singled out five of our sailors (of whom Davy Jones was one), and Mr. Whitesides, a Liverpool gentleman who a.s.sisted, as a stranger, at the selection, dismissed them to their work with this benediction:-

"Take time, my boys, and do it well!"

The French soldiers fired, and one of our men fell, wounded in the foot; then it was the tars' turn, and they fired with such judgment that three of the enemy lay flat on the ground, and the remaining two departed rapidly. One of the three proved to be dead, the other two badly wounded. This encounter of a few, with a mult.i.tude looking on, took one back to the old days of Arthur's knights, or to the still older days of Goliath of Gath.

Considerable numbers of Frenchmen were by this time in a very unpleasing state of body and mind in consequence of rash indulgence in port wine and poultry boiled in b.u.t.ter. They were captured in small groups by the peasantry, who laid in wait for them behind the gorse bushes which abound in this region, and who jumped out on them with scant ceremony whenever they had a chance. A man belonging to Llanunda village, taking a cautious peep through his own little window from the outside, perceived one of the enemy making free with his food and wine; the Frenchman was enjoying himself thoroughly, he had made an excellent fire from most of the furniture, and he was toasting his legs thereat as he sipped the generous wine with the air of a connoisseur. This was more than the Taffy could stand. He had not saved that wine from a wreck at considerable personal risk to see it sending a glow through the veins of a foreigner; he flung himself into the room with a strong expression behind his teeth and a hay-fork clenched tightly in his hand. The Frenchman jumped up and thrust with his bayonet at the master of the house, who turned aside the blow, then, taking the foe on his pitchfork, tossed him into the fire, as he might have pitched a truss of hay on to the rick.

A party of marauders set forth with the view of plundering Manorowen, a gentleman's seat in the vicinity; but being followed by a detachment of the Yeomanry, they returned in a very different manner from what they had antic.i.p.ated.

And now we, on our knoll-and there were some thousands of us, including peasantry, fishermen, shopkeepers, and the resident gentry of three counties-raised a shout of pride and triumph as Lord Cawdor at the head of his small troop of Yeomanry Cavalry rode off to inspect the enemy at close quarters. The sinking sun shone on their glittering accoutrements and splendid uniforms, and a glow of satisfaction filled our hearts as we noted the fine chargers they bestrode, for a Pembrokeshire man loves horseflesh as truly as a Yorkshire man; and not even my cloth has ever restrained me from being a genuine Philhippos. The Castle Martin Yeomanry have always been celebrated for their horses; and indeed it was no matter of surprise to any one to hear, as we did hear afterwards, that General Tate mistook these men for the staff surrounding some English general, the main body of whose troops were defiling around the side of the mountain; in truth, as the courteous reader knows, none other than the old women. Lord Cawdor, at the head of his forty yeoman, trotted close under Carnunda, the stronghold of the enemy, who could, if they had possessed guns, have swept them all off the face of the earth. As it was they narrowly escaped falling into an ambush. A force of French soldiers were lying in wait for them a little further up the road, and had Lord Cawdor taken this route, as was his lordship's first design, his men might have been surprised, though even in that case we may well believe they would have given as good as they got.

However, darkness falling suddenly, caused a change of plans; Lord Cawdor and the reconnoitring party rejoined the main body, and the British troops took up their quarters for the night in Fishguard.

CHAPTER VII.

GENERAL TATE'S LETTER.

I also retired to Fishguard in order to calm my mother's mind about my safety-and also to get my supper.

My mother was, as mothers are, overjoyed to see me, and gave me an ample and excellent supper, liberally seasoned with more hero-worship. I really believe she thought me capable of facing and fighting the whole French force single-handed, and she considered that I had guided Ann George through untold dangers into safety. The other way would have been much nearer the truth, but she did not see it so. Ah well! after-life has nothing half so sweet in it as that first truest love; and a little knocking about against the harsh angles of the world soon takes off the undue self-esteem it may have fostered. All I know is, I would be glad to have somebody who believed in me utterly now.

[Picture: The "Royal Oak" at Fishguard]

The times were too exciting for a lad of my age to sit with his toes under the table; my mother, too, was busily engaged in making preparations to receive the strangers who were quartered in our house, so as soon as supper was ended I fared forth into the street again to pick up sc.r.a.ps of intelligence, and try to find out the latest news.

I was too full of excitement to care to go to bed, and I found most of my fellow-townsmen were of my mind in this matter. I turned in first at Jemima Nicholas's house to see how she and her niece were getting on after their novel experience of warlike tactics on a large scale.

Jemima, an immensely powerful woman, seemed only sorry that they had not come to close quarters with the enemy: she was truly a Celtic Amazon who took a pleasure in fighting for fighting's sake.

Nancy, to my surprise, seemed to have been indulging in the luxury of tears.

"What on earth is the matter with you, Nan?" I asked, with unfeeling openness. "Your eyes are quite red."

Nancy shot a glance of anger at me from the orbs in question, but vouchsafed no answer.

"Why, don't you know," interposed Jemima, "that her young man was wounded in the fight up there just now?"

"D'you mean Davy Jones?" I asked. "Oh, I knew one of the sailors got shot; but I didn't know which it was; I never thought of inquiring."

"You unfeeling young heathen!" burst out Nancy. "But there, it's no good talking; boys have no more heart than cabbages."

"A cabbage _has_ a heart, Nancy," I retorted.

"Well, so've you-much the same sort," cried Ann, too cross for similes or logic.

Very much offended, I got up, but delivered this shaft before I departed: "_All_ those sailors were my friends equally, so it made no odds to me which of them was wounded. And how was I to know Davy Jones was your young man, when it's my belief you didn't know it yourself yesterday."

But the door slammed abruptly just behind my more backward leg, and the rest of my remark was cut off.

I wended my way into the main street, and soon found the centre of attraction to be the old hostelry, the "Royal Oak." Men and boys, and many of the gentler s.e.x also, swarmed round its window and its quaint old porch. The interior was filled with officers discussing the position of affairs. With a good deal of trouble and squeezing, and being in those days of an eel-like figure, I slipped and shoved myself close to one of the windows, where, balancing on my hands and with my nose glued to the pane, I inspected all those men of mark, and tried to find out what their intentions might be.

This position might, affording as it did ample opportunity for the horse-play of the rude, seem _infra dig._ to those who have only known me in my later years; but it must be remembered I was then but a boy not given to stand on my dignity and strongly moved by curiosity, or perhaps I might call it by the higher t.i.tle-desire of knowledge.

For a good s.p.a.ce there was not much to observe, save the various uniforms of the gentlemen and their manner of taking snuff and of laying their hands on their swords. Of a sudden I felt rather than heard a thrill of excitement in the crowd behind me: this soon resolved itself into a most unmistakable pushing and making-way on the part of some, and of craning forward and tiptoeing on the part of others around me.

With difficulty I turned my head, and I beheld a most unexpected sight.

Two French officers were striving to make their way through the hindering, turbulent crowd, the nearer members of which shrank from them as though they bore with them the plague, while the more distant ones pressed forward to catch a sight of these foreigners in the same way that people like to gaze on the more savage members of a menagerie. This caused the strange lurch, the ebb and flow in the crowd. But still the men kept on making for the door of the inn, and no one actually opposed their pa.s.sage.

One of them carried in his hand a white flag, and almost before I could believe the evidence of my eyes-for the ears had no work to do, every one being too much astonished to speak-the two envoys from the French camp were disappearing through the entrance and being ushered into the presence of Lord Cawdor and his officers.

Now I had reason to be proud of my 'vantage-place. Once more my face was pressed, with considerable outside pressure indeed, against the pane, and I saw with my own eyes that French aide-de-camp, Monsieur Leonard, present, with many a bow and flourish, the written communication from his general to Lord Cawdor. At the sight of those grimaces the crowd around me awoke from their trance of astonished silence-from the absolute stupefaction which had possessed them as it had possessed me.