with the works of the city and Fort St. Lucia on the other
side of it, lying before them, Cranfield discoursed at length on his
art, dealing largely in its technical terms: bastions, and curtains,
covered ways, scarps and counter scarps, with ravelins thrown out in
front of them, until Mrs. Shortridge, who listened with open-mouthed
admiration, got so confused that she imagined that a ravelin was some
kind of missile to be hurled at the French. Dona Carlotta and the
other Portuguese ladies were not so attentive, not understanding the
language of the lecturer, and feeling less interest in the defence of
their country than in the attentions of the foreign officers, who were
devoting themselves to their special service. But Lady Mabel, who
prided herself on being a soldier's daughter, lent a willing ear to
Cranfield, asked many questions, and even contrived to understand much
that he had to say.

L'Isle now thought that the engineer had held the first place in Lady
Mabel's attention long enough; so he broke in upon his eulogy on this
inland Gibraltar, the master-piece of "_o gran Conde de Lippe_."

"The whole thing is certainly grand and complete in itself," said he,
looking around; "and is a monument to the engineering talents of the
Count de Lippe. But, after all, constructing a great fortress in
Portugal is like building a ducal palace on a dairy farm; the thing
may be very fine in itself, but is altogether out of place. Half a
dozen such strongholds as Elvas, with its forts, would swallow up the
Portuguese army, yet be but half garrisoned, and leave not a man to
take the field. See the extent of the works between this and St.
Lucia, that other sentinel standing guard over Elvas on the south. It
would need twelve thousand men to garrison the city and the forts. I
never heard that this fortress was of use to any but the French, who
got it without fighting; and the possession of it helped them to
obtain the convention of Cintra; but for which we would have tumbled
Junot and his fellows into the Tagus. The Count de Lippe was
wonderfully successful in regenerating the army, and restoring the
military character of Portugal in the last century; but his
countryman, Schomberg, in the century before, showed how Portugal
could be better defended, and we have now in the country one who
understands it better than the Duke de Schomberg himself."

There was so much truth in what L'Isle said, that Cranfield was
obliged to yield up