Terence made a round of the troops and addressed
a few words to each company, praising their conduct, and thanking them for
the readiness and quickness with which they had obeyed his orders.
"You see, my lads," he said, "what can be done by discipline. Had it not
been for the steady drill you have had ever since we marched, we could not
have hoped to oppose the French, and I should not have ventured to have
done so. Now, you see, you have proved that you are as brave as the enemy,
and not only have you beaten them with heavy loss, but the effect of this
fight will be to render them more cautious in future and slower in their
movements, and the news of the blow you have struck will inspirit your
countrymen everywhere."
Having nothing else to do until after darkness fell, Terence, after
finishing his round, sat down and added an account of the fight to the
report he had written up at their last halting-place. This was written in
duplicate, one copy being intended for General Cradock, and the other for
the Portuguese authorities at Oporto. Outposts had been thrown out towards
the village as soon as they halted, and after opening their haversacks,
eating a meal, and quenching their thirst at a little rivulet that ran
down to the village, the men lay down to sleep, tired with their long
night's march and the excitement of the battle.
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