: her lovely black eyes,
long eyelashes, and raven hair, betrayed a symptom of Moorish blood, at
the same time that her ancient family-name and high good-breeding gave
her the envied appellation of _Vieja Christiana_.

This fair creature was pleased to bestow a furtive glance of approbation
on my youthful form and handsome dress. My vanity was tickled. I spoke
French to her: she understood it imperfectly, and pretended to know
still less of it, from the hatred borne by all the Spaniards at that
time to the French nation. We improved our time, however, which was but
short, and, before we parted, perfectly understood each other. I
thought I could be contented to give up everything, and reside with her
in the wilds of Spain. The time of our departure came, and I was torn
away from my Rosaritta, not without the suspicions of my captain and
shipmates that I had been a too highly favoured youth. This was not
true. I loved the dear angel, but never had wronged her; and I went to
sea in a mood which I sometimes thought might end in an act of
desperation; but salt water is an admirable specific against love, at
least against such love as that was.

We joined the admiral off Toulon, and were ordered by him to cruise
between Perpignan and Marseilles. We parted from the fleet on the
following day, and kept the coast in a continued state of alarm. Not a
vessel dared to show her nose out of port: we had her if she did.
Batteries we laughed at, and either silenced them with our long
eighteen-pounders, or landed and blew them up. In one of these little
skirmishes I had very nearly been taken, and should, in that case, have
missed all the honour and glory and hair-breadth escapes which will be
found related in the following pages. I should either have been sabred
in mere retaliation, or marched off to Verdun for the remaining six
years of the war.

We had landed to storm and blow up a battery, for which purpose we
carried with us a bag of powder and a train of canvas. Everything went
on prosperously. We came to a canal which it was necessary to cross,
and the best swimmers were selected to convey the powder over without
wetting it. I was one of them. I took off my shoes and stockings to
save them; and, after we had taken the battery. I was so intent on
looking for the telegraphic signal-box, that I had quite forgotten the
intended explosion, until I heard a cry of "Run, run!" from those
outside, who had lighted the tr