Scareship_Issue8

“You will get nothing worse,” prophesied the captain.
“And you will lead a company before the day is out, for I sense
that my command is near its end. Every time I have been wounded
the officer below me was grazed by a spent ball. And all their
names,” he lowered his voice at this point, “all their names began
with M.” 12
In the meantime nearly a dozen more air ships had passed
over us and the English had nearly ceased firing. Behind us four
guns were being hauled into position. Thereupon we quit our
sheltered position to march upon the great Rock.
There were three battalions in our regiment. The first was
ordered to advance along the narrow track past the Inundation,
while the other two were to fire steadily upon the English forces. I
was in the second.
The English seemed to have rallied, and we drew several
volleys of musketry, which did little damage to our ranks.
Surprised by the whistle of the bullets, I kept turning my head. My
comrades were more familiar with that sound than I, and they
made several jokes at my expense.
“All in all,” I said to myself, “a battle isn’t such a terrible
thing!”
We were then approaching the foot of the Rock, and as I
raised my eyes, an unforgettable spectacle presented itself. The
smoke of the enemy’s guns hung like a canopy over the ground.
Above it, however, the Rock rose dramatically, filling the morning
sky. 13
Several of our flying ships had sailed past the Lion’s
head, 14 but another three dozen or so had lowered their sails and
12 Mérimée is presumably thinking of himself in the narrator’s role.
13 Mérimée generally avoids such dramatic touches in his mature work.
14 Due to its distinctive profile, Gibraltar was known among the English as the
Lion Couchant. The latter term is common in heraldry and means “lying down
with the head raised.”
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