cr own readers

THE BATTLE OF CORUNNA. 109
gazing every now and th en with very wistful eyes
toward th e ships.
5. When we reached the 95th, th e well-k nown
rifle corps, I was happy to meet an old friend alive
and merry among the officers of this regiment. Th ese
gentlemen appeared in better spirits than most of th e
others with whom we had conversed. \Ve were
surprised, indeed, to find them laughing heartily ; and
upon ask ing the cause of th eir mirth, we were shown a
good-sized pig, which the regimental cooks were busily
cut ting up. It seems th at th is unfortunate grunter had
been disturbed by th e French pickets near the village
of Elvina, just in front of the spot where the 95th
were stationed. He had made good his retreat, as he
though t, but fell right upon our fri ends th e sharpshooters.
Th ese merry soldiers, delighted with their
good luck , pressed us much to stay and partake of
their windfall ; but we wished to retrace our steps
along a part of the lin e, so as to gain the road to
Corunna, and return on board before sunset.
G. I ask ed the commanding officer of one of the
regiments, sta tioned near th e top of th e position,
wheth er he thought anything could possibly rouse the
men up. In reply , he said, with a very expressive
smile and a slight nod of his head, implying that even
th en he suspected wha t was about to take place,
" You'll see by-and-by, sir, if the French th ere choose
to come over."
i . Th ese words had hardly been uttered, when a
movement along th e whole of the enemy's line became
apparent. Almost at th e same instant a fur i­
ous cannonade opened from a battery mounting
eleven guns (eight and tw elve pounders), of the