"
"Personally, I should not be sorry," another said, "if Soult does invade
the north and captures Oporto, hangs the bishop, and all the Junta. It
would be worth ten thousand men to us, for they are continually at
mischief. They do nothing themselves, and thwart all our efforts. They are
worse than the Junta here--if that is possible--and they have excited the
peasants so much against us that they desert in thousands as fast as they
are collected, while the population here hate us, I believe, quite as much
as they hate the French. But why they should do so Heaven knows, when we
have spent more money in Portugal than the whole country contained before
we came here."
After the party had broken up, Captain Nelson took Terence to Mr.
Villiers, who, on reading the general's letter and hearing from Terence
how Romana was situated, at once said that he would hand over to him
20,000 dollars to take to the Spanish general.
"How am I to carry it, sir? It will be of considerable weight, if it is in
silver."
"I will obtain for you four good mules," Mr. Villiers said, "and an escort
of twelve Portuguese cavalry under an officer."
"May I ask, sir, that the money shall be packed in ammunition-boxes, and
that no one except the officer shall know that these contain anything but
ammunition?"
"You have no great faith in Portuguese honesty, Mr.
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