Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - "Roemische Elegien"

Ferdinand Raimund - "Der Diamant des Geisterkoenigs"

William Shakespeare - "Leben und Tod Koenigs Richard des zweyten"

Edith Wharton - "The Greater Inclination"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

Under Wellington\'s Command

G >> G. A. Henty >> Under Wellington\'s Command




The fighting had ceased at the other door. The soldiers having
drawn back from the barricade, to see the effect of the fire. Ryan
ran across the plank and rejoined Terence.

"Things are quiet there, for the present," he said. "There has not
been much harm done. When they had partly broken down the door,
they began firing through it. Bull and Macwitty kept the others
back from the line of fire, and not a pistol has been discharged
yet. Bull cut down one fellow who tried to climb over the
barricade, but otherwise no blood has been shed on either side."

Help was coming now. One of the Portuguese officers was admitted,
with twenty-four men that he had picked up. The others came in
rapidly and, within a quarter of an hour, three hundred men were
assembled. All were sober, and looked thoroughly ashamed of
themselves as they were formed up in the courtyard.

Terence went down to them. He said no word of blame.

"Now, men," he said, "you have to retrieve your characters. Half of
you will post yourselves at the windows, from the ground floor to
the top of the house. You are not to show yourselves, till you
receive orders to do so. You are not to load your guns but, as you
appear at the windows, point them down into the street. The
officers will post you, five at each window.

"The rest of you are at once to clear away the furniture in the
hall; and, when you receive the order, throw open the door and pour
out, forming across the street as you do so. Captain Ryan will be
in command of you. You are not to load, but to clear the street
with your bayonets. If any of the soldiers are too drunk to get out
of your way, knock them down with the butt end of your muskets; but
if they rush at you, use your bayonets."

He went round the house, and saw that five men were in readiness at
each window looking into the street. He ordered them to leave the
doors open.

"A pistol will be fired from the first landing," he said; "that
will be the signal, then show yourselves at once."

He waited until Ryan's party had cleared away the furniture. He
then went out on to the balcony, and addressed the crowd of
soldiers who were standing, uncertain what step to take next, many
of them having already gone off in search of plunder elsewhere.

"Listen to me, men," he shouted. "Hitherto I have refrained from
employing force against men who, after behaving as heroes, are now
acting like madmen; but I shall do so no longer. I will give you
two minutes to clear off, and anyone who remains at the end of that
time will have to take his chance."

Derisive shouts and threats arose in reply. He turned round and
nodded to the count, who was standing at the door of the room with
a pistol in his hand. He raised it and fired and, in a moment,
soldiers appeared at every window, menacing the crowd below with
their rifles. At the same moment the door opened, and the
Portuguese poured out, with Ryan at their head, trampling over the
pile raised in front of it.

There was a moment of stupefied dismay amongst the soldiers.
Hitherto none had believed that there were any in the houses, with
the exception of a few officers; and the sudden appearance of a
hundred men at the windows, and a number pouring out through the
door, took them so completely by surprise that there was not even a
thought of resistance.

Men who had faced the terrors of the deadly breaches turned and
fled and, save a few leaning stupidly against the opposite wall,
none remained by the time Ryan had formed up the two lines across
the street. Each of these advanced a short distance, and were at
once joined by the defenders of the other house, and by those at
the windows.

"Do you take command of one line, Bull; and you of the other,
Macwitty. I don't think that we shall be meddled with but, should
any of them return and attack you, you will first try and persuade
them to go away quietly. If they still attack, you will at once
fire upon them.

"Herrara, will you send out all your officers, and bring the men in
at the back doors, as before. We shall soon have the greater part
of the regiment here, and with them we can hold the street, if
necessary, against any force that is likely to attack it."

In half an hour, indeed, more than fifteen hundred men had been
rallied and, while two lines, each a hundred strong, were formed
across the street, some eighty yards apart, the rest were drawn up
in a solid body in the centre; Terence's order being that, if
attacked in force, half of them were to at once enter the houses on
both sides of the street, and to man the windows. He felt sure,
however, that the sight of so strong a force would be sufficient to
prevent the rioters interfering with them; the soldiers being, for
the most part, too drunk to act together, or with a common object.

This, indeed, proved to be the case. Parties at times came down the
street but, on seeing the dark lines of troops drawn up, they
retired immediately, on being hailed by the English officers, and
slunk off under the belief that a large body of fresh troops had
entered the town. An hour later a mounted officer, followed by some
five or six others and some orderlies, rode up.

"What troops are these?" the officer asked.

"The Minho Portuguese Regiment, general," Bull answered, "commanded
by Colonel O'Connor."

The general rode on, the line opened, and he and his staff passed
through. Terence, who had posted himself in the balcony so as to
have a view of the whole street, at once ran down. Two of the men
with torches followed him.

On approaching, he at once recognized the officer as General
Barnard, who commanded one of the brigades of the light division.

"So your regiment has remained firm, Colonel O'Connor?" the general
said.

"I am sorry to say, sir, that it did not, at first, but scattered
like the rest of the troops. My officers and myself, for some time,
defended these two large houses from the attack of the soldiery.
Matters became very serious, and I then sent out some of my
officers, who soon collected three hundred men, which sufficed to
disperse the rioters without our being obliged to fire a shot. The
officers then again went out, and now between fifteen and sixteen
hundred men are here.

"I am glad that you have come, sir, for I felt in a great
difficulty. It was hard to stay here inactive, when I was aware
that the town was being sacked, and atrocities of every kind
perpetrated but, upon the other hand, I dared not undertake the
responsibility of attempting to clear the streets. Such an attempt
would probably end in desperate fighting. It might have resulted in
heavy loss on both sides, and have caused such ill feeling between
the British and Portuguese troops as to seriously interfere with
the general dispositions for the campaign."

"No doubt you have taken the best course that could be pursued,
Colonel O'Connor; but I must take on myself the responsibility of
doing something. My appearance, at the head of your regiment, will
have some effect upon the men of the light division; and those who
are sober will, no doubt, rally round me, though hitherto my
efforts have been altogether powerless. All the officers will, of
course, join us at once. I fear that many have been killed in
trying to protect the inhabitants but, now that we have at least
got a nucleus of good troops, I have no doubt that we shall be
successful.

"Have you any torches?"

"There is a supply of them in the house, sir."

"Get them all lighted, and divide them among the men. As soon as
you have done this, form the regiment into column."

"Are they to load, sir?"

"Yes," the general said shortly; "but instruct your officers that
no one is to fire without orders, and that the sound of firing at
the head of the column is not to be considered as a signal for the
rest to open fire; though it may be necessary to shoot some of
these insubordinate scoundrels. By the way, I think it will be best
that only the leading company should load. The rest have their
bayonets, and can use them if attacked."

Some forty torches were handed over, by the count. These were
lighted and distributed along the line, ten being carried by the
leading company.

"You have bugles, colonel?"

"Yes, sir. There is one to each company."

"Let them all come to the front and play the Assembly, as they
march on.

"Now, will you ride at their head by my side, sir? Dismount one of
my orderlies, and take his horse."

By the time all the preparations were completed, they had been
joined by nearly two hundred more men. Just before they started,
Terence said:

"Would it not be well, general, if I were to tell off a dozen
parties of twenty men, each under the command of a steady
non-commissioned officer, to enter the houses on each side of the
road as we go along, and to clear out any soldiers they may find
there?"

"Certainly. But I think that when they see the regiment marching
along, and hear the bugles, they will clear out fast enough of
their own accord."

With bugles blowing, the regiment started. Twenty men, with an
officer, had been left behind at each of the houses they had
defended; in case parties of marauders should arrive, and endeavour
to obtain an entrance.

As they marched by, men appeared at the windows. Most of these were
soldiers who, with an exclamation of alarm when they saw the
general, followed by two battalions in perfect order, hastily ran
down and made their escape by the backs of the houses; or came
quietly out and, forming in some sort of order, accompanied the
regiment. Several shots were heard behind, as the search parties
cleared out those who had remained in the houses and, presently,
the force entered the main square of the town and halted in its
centre, the bugles still blowing the Assembly. Numbers of officers
at once ran up, and many of the more sober soldiers.

"Form them up as they arrive," the general said to the officers.

In a few minutes, some five hundred men had gathered.

"Do you break your regiment up into four columns, Colonel O'Connor.
A fourth of these men shall go with each, with a strong party of
officers. The soldiers will be the less inclined to resist, if they
see their own comrades and officers with your troops, than if the
latter were alone. I will take the command of one column myself, do
you take that of another.

"Colonel Strong, will you join one of the majors of Colonel
O'Connor's regiment; and will you, Major Hughes, join the other?

"All soldiers who do not, at once, obey your summons to fall in
will be taken prisoners; and those who use violence you will shoot,
without hesitation. All drunken men are to be picked up and sent
back here. Place a strong guard over them, and see that they do not
make off again."

Five minutes later, the four columns started in different
directions. A few soldiers who, inflamed by drink, fired at those
who summoned them to surrender, were instantly shot and, in half an
hour, the terrible din that had filled the air had quietened down.

Morning was breaking now. In the great square, officers were busy
drawing up the men who had been brought in, in order of their
regiments. The inhabitants issued from their houses, collected the
bodies of those who had been killed in the streets, and carried
them into their homes; and sounds of wailing and lamentation rose
from every house.

Lord Wellington now rode in, with his staff. The regiments that had
disgraced themselves were at once marched out of the town, and
their places taken by those of other divisions. But nothing could
repair the damage that had been done; and the doings of that night
excited, throughout Spain, a feeling of hostility to the British
that has scarcely subsided to this day; and was heightened by the
equally bad conduct of the troops at the storming of Badajoz.

Long before the arrival of Lord Wellington, the whole of the Minho
regiment had rejoined. Terence ordered that the late comers should
not be permitted to fall in with their companies, but should remain
as a separate body. He marched the regiment to a quiet spot in the
suburbs, and ordered them to form in a hollow square, with the men
who had last joined in the centre. These he addressed sternly.

"For the first time," he said, "since this regiment was formed, I
am ashamed of my men. I had thought that I could rely upon you
under all circumstances. I find that this is not so, and that the
greed for plunder has, at once, broken down the bonds of
discipline. Those who, the moment they were called upon, returned
to their colours, I can forgive, seeing that the British regiments
set them so bad an example; but you men, who to the last remained
insubordinate, I cannot forgive. You have disgraced not only
yourselves, but your regiment, and I shall request Lord Wellington
to attach you to some other force. I only want to command men I can
rely upon."

A loud chorus of lament and entreaty rose from the men.

"It is as painful to me as it is to you," Terence went on, raising
his hands for silence. "How proud I should have been if, this
morning, I could have met the general and said that the regiment he
had been good enough to praise so highly, several times, had proved
trustworthy; instead of having to report that every man deserted
his officers, and that many continued the evil work of pillage, and
worse, to the end."

Many of the men wept loudly, others dropped upon their knees and
implored Terence to forgive them. He had already instructed his two
majors what was to be done, and they and the twelve captains now
stepped forward.

"Colonel," Bull said, in a loud voice that could be heard all over
the square, "we, the officers of the Minho regiment, thoroughly
agree with you in all that you have said, and feel deeply the
disgrace the conduct of these men has brought upon it; but we trust
that you will have mercy on them, and we are ready to promise, in
their name, that never again will they so offend, and that their
future conduct will show how deeply they repent of their error."

There was a general cry from the men of:

"Indeed we do. Punish us as you like, colonel, but don't send us
away from the regiment!"

Terence stood as if hesitating, for some time; then he said:

"I cannot resist the prayer of your officers, men; and I am willing
to believe that you deeply regret the disgrace you have brought
upon us all. Of one thing I am determined upon; not one man in the
regiment shall be any the better for his share in this night's
work, and that this accursed plunder shall not be retained. A
blanket will be spread out here in front of me, and the regiment
will pass along before me by twos. Each man, as he files by, will
empty out the contents of his pockets, and swear solemnly that he
has retained no object of spoil, whatever. After that is over, I
shall have an inspection of kits and, if any article of value is
found concealed, I will hand over its owner to the provost marshal,
to be shot forthwith."

The operation took upwards of two hours. At Herrara's suggestion a
table was brought out, a crucifix placed upon it, and each man as
he came up, after emptying out his pockets, swore solemnly, laying
his hand upon the table, that he had given up all the spoil he had
collected.

Terence could not help smiling at the scene the regiment presented,
before the men began to file past. No small proportion of the men
stripped off their coats, and unwound from their bodies rolls of
silk, costly veils, and other stuffs of which they had taken
possession. All these were laid down by the side of the blanket, on
which a pile of gold and silver coins, a great number of rings,
brooches, and bracelets, had accumulated by the time the whole had
passed by.

"The money cannot be restored," Terence said to Herrara, "therefore
set four non-commissioned officers to count it out. Have the jewels
all placed in a bag. Let all the stuffs and garments be made into
bundles. I shall be obliged if you will take a sufficient number of
men to carry them, and go down yourself, with a guard of twenty
men, to the syndic, or whatever they call their head man, and hand
them over to him. Say that the Minho regiment returns the spoil it
had captured, and deeply regrets its conduct.

"Will you say that I beg him to divide the money among the
sufferers most in need of it, and to dispose the jewels and other
things where they can be seen, and to issue a notice to the
inhabitants that all can come and inspect them, and those who can
bring proof that any of the articles belong to them can take them
away."

The regiment was by this time formed up again, and Terence,
addressing them, told them of the orders that he had given; saying
that, as the regiment had made all the compensation in their power,
and had rid itself of the spoils of a people whom they had
professedly come to aid, it could now look the Spaniards in the
face again. Just as he had concluded, a staff officer rode up.

"Lord Wellington wishes to speak to you, colonel," he said. "We
have been looking about for you everywhere, but your regiment
seemed to have vanished."

"Then I must leave the work of inspecting the kits to you, Herrara.
You will see that every article is unfolded and closely examined,
and place every man in whose kit anything is discovered under
arrest, at once. I trust that you will not find anything but, if
you do, place a strong guard over the prisoners, with loaded
muskets, and orders to shoot any one of them who tries to escape."

Walking by the side of the staff officer--for he had returned the
horse lent him by General Barnard--he accompanied him to a house in
the great square, where Lord Wellington had taken up his quarters.



Chapter 19: Gratitude.


"Your regiment has been distinguishing itself again, Colonel
O'Connor, I have heard from three sources. First, General Barnard
reported to me that he, and the other officers, were wholly unable
to restrain the troops from their villainous work last night; until
he found you and your regiment drawn up in perfect order, and was
able, with it, to put an end to the disorder everywhere reigning.
In the second place, the Count de Montego and the Marquis de
Valoroso, two of the wealthiest nobles in the province, have called
upon me to return thanks for the inestimable service, as they
expressed it, rendered by Colonel O'Connor and his officers, in
defending their houses, and protecting the lives and honour of
their families, from the assaults of the soldiers. They said that
the defenders consisted entirely of officers. How was that?"

"I am sorry to say that my men were, at first, infected by the
general spirit of disorder. Left alone by ourselves, I thought that
we could not do anything better than save, from spoliation, two
fine mansions that happened to be at the spot where we had been
left. We had to stand a sharp siege for two or three hours; but we
abstained, as far as possible, from using our arms, and I think
that only two or three of the soldiers were wounded. However, we
should have had to use our pistols in earnest, in a short time, had
I not sent out several of my officers by the back entrance of the
house; and these were not long in finding, and persuading to return
to their duties, a couple of hundred men.

"As soon as we sallied out the affair was at an end, and the
soldiers fled. The officers were sent out again and when, an hour
later, General Barnard came up, we had some seventeen hundred in
readiness for action; and his arrival relieved me of the heavy
responsibility of deciding what course had better be adopted."

"Yes, he told me so, and I think that you acted very wisely in
holding your men back till he arrived; for nothing could have been
more unfortunate than a conflict in the streets between British and
Portuguese troops. There is no doubt that, had it not been for your
regiment, the disgraceful scenes of last night would have been very
much worse than they were. I should be glad if you will convey my
thanks to them."

"Thank you, sir; but I shall be obliged if you will allow me to say
that you regret to hear that a regiment, in which you placed
confidence, should have at first behaved so badly; but that they
had retrieved their conduct by their subsequent behaviour, and had
acted as you would have expected of them. I have been speaking very
severely to them, this morning; and I am afraid that the effect of
my words would be altogether lost, were I to report your
commendation of their conduct, without any expression of blame."

Lord Wellington smiled.

"Do it as you like, Colonel O'Connor. However, your regiment will
be placed in orders, today, as an exception to the severe censure
passed upon the troops who entered the town last night. And do you
really think that they will behave better, another time?"

"I am sure they will, sir. I threatened to have the three hundred,
who had not joined when General Barnard arrived, transferred to
another regiment; and it was only upon their solemn promise, and by
the whole of the officers guaranteeing their conduct in the future,
that I forgave them. Moreover, every article taken in money,
jewels, or dress has been given up; and I have sent them to the
syndic, the money for distribution among the sufferers, the
jewellery and other things to be reclaimed by those from whom they
were taken. Their kits were being examined thoroughly, when I came
away; but I think that I can say, with certainty, that no single
stolen article will be found in them."

"You have done very well, sir, very well, and your influence with
your men is surprising.

"Your regiment will be quartered in the convent of San Jose. Other
divisions will move in this afternoon, and take the place of the
1st and 3rd brigades. Your regiment, therefore, may consider it a
high honour that they will be retained here.

"I daresay that it will not be long before I find work for you to
do again. Lord Somerset will give you an order, at once, to take
possession of the convent."

Terence returned to the regiment in high spirits. The work of
inspection was still going on. At its conclusion, Colonel Herrara
reported that no single article of plunder had been found.

"I am gratified that it is so, Herrara," he said; "now let the
regiment form up in hollow square, again.

"Men," he went on, "I have a message for you from Lord Wellington;"
and he repeated that which he had suggested. "Thus you see, men,
that the conduct of those who at once obeyed orders, and returned
to their ranks, has caused the misconduct of the others to be
forgiven; and Lord Wellington has still confidence that the
regiment will behave well, in future. The fact that all plunder has
been given up to be restored to its owners had, of course, some
effect in inducing him to believe this. I hope that every man will
take the lesson to heart, that the misdeeds of a few may bring
disgrace on a whole regiment; and that you will, in future, do
nothing to forfeit the name that the Minho regiment has gained, for
good conduct as well as for bravery."

A loud cheer broke from the regiment, who then marched to the
convent of San Jose, and took up its quarters there. Two hours
later, the two Spanish nobles called upon Terence. The Count de
Montego introduced his companion.

"We have only just heard where you were quartered," he went on. "We
have both been trying in vain, all the morning, to find you; not a
soldier of your regiment was to be seen in the streets and,
although we questioned many officers, none could say where you
were.

"You went off so suddenly, last night, that I had no opportunity of
expressing our gratitude to you and your officers."

"You said enough, and more than enough, last night, count," Terence
replied; "and we are all glad, indeed, that we were able to protect
both your houses. Lord Wellington informed me that you had called
upon him, and spoken highly of the service we had been able to
render you. Pray say no more about it. I can quite understand what
you feel, and I can assure you that no thanks are due to me, for
having done my duty as a British officer and a gentleman on so
lamentable and, I admit, disgraceful an occasion."

"My wife and daughters, and those of the Marquis of Valoroso, are
all most anxious to see you, and thank you and your officers. They
were too frightened and agitated, last night, to say aught and,
indeed, as they say, they scarcely noticed your features. Can you
bring your officers round now?"

"I am sorry to say I cannot do that, senor. They have to see after
the arrangements and comfort of the men, the getting of the
rations, the cooking, and so on. Tomorrow they will, I am sure, be
glad to pay you a visit."

"But you can come, can you not, colonel?"

"Yes, I am at liberty now, count, and shall be happy to pay my
respects to the senoras."

"The more I hear," the marquis said, as they walked along together,
"of the events of last night, the more deeply I feel the service
that you have rendered us. I am unable to understand how it is that
your soldiers should behave with such outrageous violence to
allies."

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