HLI Chronicle 1909 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

HIGHLAND LIGH'r INFANTRY CHRONICLE.inhabitants, but these orders do not seem tohave always been successful in deterringsome of them from picking up a thing or two.On two occasions the hypocrisy of two ofthe men caused some considerable amusementto their comrades 011 the march. One of them,it appears, had stolen a hen, and placed it inhis haversack; but, unaware that there was ahole in it, the hen's head came out and hungdangling down in the sight of all in the rear.His comrades, with the intention of " pullinghis leg," brought up the subject of pilferingfrom the Spaniards, and every now and thenone of them would give a pull at the hen'shead, till at last almost the whole of it wasexposed to view. :Meanwhile the man trudgedon quite ullconscious, and joined heartily inuttering the bitterest invectives against those~ who would rob the poor inhabitants! Indue time he was warned of what was happeningbehind his back, when his feelings and lookscan be more easily imagined than described.The other's case was equally laughable.His comrades spotted that his haversack wasprimed with the SpaniardR' sausages, from thefact that a dog followed close at his heels allday. The same trick was played on thisfellow too, the hypocrite professing the mostviolent detestat,ion of a.ll plunderers untilexposed by his comrades.The division, on rejoining Sir John Hope'sarmy, was quartered in Alba de Tormes, atown some three leagues from Salamanca,where it remained until the commencementof the retreat to Corunna, probably one of themost trying retreats ever performed by aBritish Army. Undertaken in the depth ofwinter, through a mountainous country, andacross villainous roads, with the victoriousFrench Army daily pressing more closely ontheir rear, their sufferings were dreadful; butwe will leave the story of their retreat andBattle of Corunna to a later number.S. BERKOVITCH & SONS, IMPORTERS AND BONDERS OFFINEST TURKISH TOBACCOAND CIGARETTE MANUPACTURERS,89 GLA88HOU8E 8TREET, REGENT 8TREET,~ LONDON, W. ~Supply Omcers' Mess Depot Scottish Riflesand H.L.I.. ., :.• I ;