O'Connor has given us a singularly clear and
lucid account of the operations of the army, and that it is most
creditable that so young an officer should have posted himself up so
thoroughly, not only in the details of the work of his own brigade, but in
the general plans of the campaign and the movements of the various
divisions of the army."
There were also hearty compliments from all the officers as they rose from
the table.
"I doubt, indeed, Sir John," one of them said, "whether we should ever
have got so clear an account as that he has given from the official
despatches. I own that I, for one, have never fully understood what seemed
a hopeless incursion into the enemy's country, and I cannot too much
admire the daring of its conception. As to the success which has attended
it, there can be no doubt, for it completely paralysed the march of the
French armies, and has given ample time to the southern provinces of Spain
to place themselves in a position of defence. If they have not taken
advantage of the breathing time so given them, it is their fault, and in
no way detracts from the chivalrous enterprise of Moore."
"No, indeed," Sir John agreed; "the conception was truly an heroic one,
and one that required no less self-sacrifice than daring. There are few
generals who would venture on an advance when certain that it must be
followed by a retreat, and that at best he could but hope to escape from a
terrible disaster.
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