The
task was no easy one, and was unpleasant as well as hard. Many of the
officers plodded sulkily along, paying no attention whatever to their men,
allowing them to straggle as they chose; and they were obliged to report
several of the worst cases to the brigadier. With the Mayo Fusiliers they
had less trouble than with others. Terence had, when he joined them at
their first halt after the retreat began, found them as angry and
discontented as the rest at the unexpected order, and was at once assailed
with questions and complaints.
He listened to them quietly, and then said:
"Of course, if you all prefer a French prison to a few days' hard
marching, you have good reason to grumble at being baulked in your wishes;
that is all I have to say about it."
"What do you mean, Terence?" O'Grady asked, angrily. "Soult's force was
not stronger than ours, at least so we heard; and if it had been it would
make no difference, we would have thrashed them out of their boots in no
time."
"I dare say we should, O'Grady, and what then?"
"Well, I don't know what then," O'Grady said, after a moment's silence;
"that would have been the general's business."
"Quite so; and so is this. There you would have been with perhaps a couple
of thousand wounded and as many French prisoners, and Napoleon with 60,000
men or so, and Ney with as many more, and Houssaye with his cavalry
division, all in your rear cutting you off from the sea.
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