On Whit-Sunday, the famous 23rd of May, 1706, my young lord first
came under the fire of the enemy, whom we found posted in order of
battle, their lines extending three miles or more, over the high
ground behind the little Gheet river, and having on his left the
little village of Anderkirk or Autre-eglise, and on his right
Ramillies, which has given its name to one of the most brilliant
and disastrous days of battle that history ever hath recorded.
Our Duke here once more met his old enemy of Blenheim, the Bavarian
Elector and the Marechal Villeroy, over whom the Prince of Savoy
had gained the famous victory of Chiari. What Englishman or
Frenchman doth not know the issue of that day? Having chosen his
own ground, having a force superior to the English, and besides the
excellent Spanish and Bavarian troops, the whole Maison-du-Roy with
him, the most splendid body of horse in the world,--in an hour (and
in spite of the prodigious gallantry of the French Royal Household,
who charged through the centre of our line and broke it,) this
magnificent army of Villeroy was utterly routed by troops that had
been marching for twelve hours, and by the intrepid skill of a
commander, who did, indeed, seem in the presence of the enemy to be
the very Genius of Victory.
I think it was more from conviction than policy, though that policy
was surely the most prudent in the world, that the great Duke
always spoke of his victories with an extraordinary modesty, and as
if it was not so much his own admirable genius and courage which
achieved these amazing successes, but as if he was a special and
fatal instrument in the hands of Providence, that willed
irresistibly the enemy's overthrow. Before his actions he always
had the church service read solemnly, and professed an undoubting
belief that our Queen's arms were blessed and our victory sure.
All the letters which he writ after his battles show awe rather
than exultation; and he attributes the glory of these achievements,
about which I have heard mere petty officers and men bragging with
a pardonable vainglory, in nowise to his own bravery or skill, but
to the superintending protection of heaven, which he ever seemed to
think was our especial ally. And our army got to believe so, and
the enemy learnt to think so too; for we never entered into a
battle without a perfect confidence that it was to end in a
victory; nor did the French, after the issue of Blenheim, and that
astonishing triumph of Ramillies, ever meet us without feeling that
the game was lost before it was begun to be played, and that our
general's fortune was irresistible. Here, as at Blenheim, the
Duke's charger was shot, and 'twas thought for a moment he was
dead. As he mounted another, Binfield, his master of the horse,
kneeling to hold his Grace's stirrup, had his head shot away by a
cannon-ball. A French gentleman of the Royal Household, that was a
prisoner with us, told the writer that at the time of the charge of
the Household, when their horse and ours were mingled, an Irish
officer recognized the Prince-Duke, and calling out--"Marlborough,
Marlborough!" fired his pistol at him a bout-portant, and that a
score more carbines and pistols were discharged at him. Not one
touched him: he rode through the French Curiassiers sword-in-hand,
and entirely unhurt, and calm and smiling, rallied the German
Horse, that was reeling before the enemy, brought these and twenty
squadrons of Orkney's back upon them, and drove the French across
the river, again leading the charge himself, and defeating the only
dangerous move the French made that day.
Major-General Webb commanded on the left of our line, and had his
own regiment under the orders of their beloved colonel. Neither he
nor they belied their character for gallantry on this occasion; but
it was about his dear young lord that Esmond was anxious, never
having sight of him save once, in the whole course of the day, when
he brought an order from the Commander-in-Chief to Mr. Webb. When
our horse, having charged round the right flank of the enemy by
Overkirk, had thrown him into entire confusion, a general advance
was made, and our whole line of foot, crossing the little river and
the morass, ascended the high ground where the French were posted,
cheering as they went, the enemy retreating before them. 'Twas a
service of more glory than danger, the French battalions never
waiting to exchange push of pike or bayonet with ours; and the
gunners flying from their pieces, which our line left behind us as
they advanced, and the French fell back.
At first it was a retreat orderly enough; but presently the retreat
became a rout, and a frightful slaughter of the French ensued on
this panic: so that an army of sixty thousand men was utterly
crushed and destroyed in the course of a couple of hours. It was
as if a hurricane had seized a compact numerous fleet, flung it all
to the winds, shattered, sunk, and annihilated it: afflavit Deus,
et dissipati sunt. The French army of Flanders was gone, their
artillery, their standards, their treasure, provisions, and
ammunition were all left behind them: the poor devils had even fled
without their soup-kettles, which are as much the palladia of the
French infantry as of the Grand Seignior's Janissaries, and round
which they rally even more than round their lilies.
The pursuit, and a dreadful carnage which ensued (for the dregs of
a battle, however brilliant, are ever a base residue of rapine,
cruelty, and drunken plunder,) was carried far beyond the field of
Ramillies.
Honest Lockwood, Esmond's servant, no doubt wanted to be among the
marauders himself and take his share of the booty; for when, the
action over, and the troops got to their ground for the night, the
Captain bade Lockwood get a horse, he asked, with a very rueful
countenance, whether his honor would have him come too; but his
honor only bade him go about his own business, and Jack hopped away
quite delighted as soon as he saw his master mounted. Esmond made
his way, and not without danger and difficulty, to his Grace's
headquarters, and found for himself very quickly where the aide-de-
camps' quarters were, in an out-building of a farm, where several
of these gentlemen were seated, drinking and singing, and at
supper. If he had any anxiety about his boy, 'twas relieved at
once. One of the gentlemen was singing a song to a tune that Mr.
Farquhar and Mr. Gay both had used in their admirable comedies, and
very popular in the army of that day; and after the song came a
chorus, "Over the hills and far away;" and Esmond heard Frank's
fresh voice, soaring, as it were, over the songs of the rest of the
young men--a voice that had always a certain artless, indescribable
pathos with it, and indeed which caused Mr. Esmond's eyes to fill
with tears now, out of thankfulness to God the child was safe and
still alive to laugh and sing.
When the song was over Esmond entered the room, where he knew
several of the gentlemen present, and there sat my young lord,
having taken off his cuirass, his waistcoat open, his face flushed,
his long yellow hair hanging over his shoulders, drinking with the
rest; the youngest, gayest, handsomest there. As soon as he saw
Esmond, he clapped down his glass, and running towards his friend,
put both his arms round him and embraced him. The other's voice
trembled with joy as he greeted the lad; he had thought but now as
he stood in the court-yard under the clear-shining moonlight:
"Great God! what a scene of murder is here within a mile of us;
what hundreds and thousands have faced danger to-day; and here are
these lads singing over their cups, and the same moon that is
shining over yonder horrid field is looking down on Walcote very
likely, while my lady sits and thinks about her boy that is at the
war." As Esmond embraced his young pupil now, 'twas with the
feeling of quite religious thankfulness and an almost paternal
pleasure that he beheld him.
Round his neck was a star with a striped ribbon, that was made of
small brilliants and might be worth a hundred crowns. "Look," says
he, "won't that be a pretty present for mother?"
"Who gave you the Order?" says Harry, saluting the gentleman: "did
you win it in battle?"
"I won it," cried the other, "with my sword and my spear. There
was a mousquetaire that had it round his neck--such a big
mousquetaire, as big as General Webb. I called out to him to
surrender, and that I'd give him quarter: he called me a petit
polisson and fired his pistol at me, and then sent it at my head
with a curse. I rode at him, sir, drove my sword right under his
arm-hole, and broke it in the rascal's body. I found a purse in
his holster with sixty-five Louis in it, and a bundle of love-
letters, and a flask of Hungary-water. Vive la guerre! there are
the ten pieces you lent me. I should like to have a fight every
day;" and he pulled at his little moustache and bade a servant
bring a supper to Captain Esmond.
Harry fell to with a very good appetite; he had tasted nothing
since twenty hours ago, at early dawn. Master Grandson, who read
this, do you look for the history of battles and sieges? Go, find
them in the proper books; this is only the story of your
grandfather and his family. Far more pleasant to him than the
victory, though for that too he may say meminisse juvat, it was to
find that the day was over, and his dear young Castlewood was
unhurt.
And would you, sirrah, wish to know how it was that a sedate
Captain of Foot, a studious and rather solitary bachelor of eight
or nine and twenty years of age, who did not care very much for the
jollities which his comrades engaged in, and was never known to
lose his heart in any garrison-town--should you wish to know why
such a man had so prodigious a tenderness, and tended so fondly a
boy of eighteen, wait, my good friend, until thou art in love with
thy schoolfellow's sister, and then see how mighty tender thou wilt
be towards him. Esmond's general and his Grace the Prince-Duke
were notoriously at variance, and the former's friendship was in
nowise likely to advance any man's promotion of whose services Webb
spoke well; but rather likely to injure him, so the army said, in
the favor of the greater man. However, Mr. Esmond had the good
fortune to be mentioned very advantageously by Major-General Webb
in his report after the action; and the major of his regiment and
two of the captains having been killed upon the day of Ramillies,
Esmond, who was second of the lieutenants, got his company, and had
the honor of serving as Captain Esmond in the next campaign.
My lord went home in the winter, but Esmond was afraid to follow
him. His dear mistress wrote him letters more than once, thanking
him, as mothers know how to thank, for his care and protection of
her boy, extolling Esmond's own merits with a great deal more
praise than they deserved; for he did his duty no better than any
other officer; and speaking sometimes, though gently and
cautiously, of Beatrix. News came from home of at least half a
dozen grand matches that the beautiful maid of honor was about to
make. She was engaged to an earl, our gentleman of St. James's
said, and then jilted him for a duke, who, in his turn, had drawn
off. Earl or duke it might be who should win this Helen, Esmond
knew she would never bestow herself on a poor captain. Her
conduct, it was clear, was little satisfactory to her mother, who
scarcely mentioned her, or else the kind lady thought it was best
to say nothing, and leave time to work out its cure. At any rate,
Harry was best away from the fatal object which always wrought him
so much mischief; and so he never asked for leave to go home, but
remained with his regiment that was garrisoned in Brussels, which
city fell into our hands when the victory of Ramillies drove the
French out of Flanders.