s
it was called, favoured the action of the irregular troops, these
do not seem to have been utilized as they might have been, the
principal engagements of the war being fought on open ground. For
eighteen months the peasants of La Vendee, in spite of the fact
that they had no idea of submitting either to drill or discipline,
repulsed the efforts of forces commanded by the best generals
France could furnish; and which grew, after every defeat, until at
length armies numbering, in all, over two hundred thousand men were
collected to crush La Vendee.

The losses on both sides were enormous. La Vendee was almost
depopulated; and the Republicans paid dearly, indeed, for their
triumph, no fewer than one hundred thousand men having fallen, on
their side. La Vendee was crushed, but never surrendered. Had the
British government been properly informed, by its agents, of the
desperate nature of the struggle that was going on; they might, by
throwing twenty thousand troops, with supplies of stores and money
into La Vendee, have changed the whole course of events; have
crushed the Republic, given France a monarch, and thus spared
Europe over twenty years of devastating warfare, the expenditure of
enormous sums of money, and the loss of millions of lives.

G. A. Henty

Chapter 1: A French Lugger.

Some half a mile back from the sea, near the point where the low
line of sandy hill is broken by the entrance into Poole Harbour,
stood, in 1791, Netherstock; which, with a small estate around, was
the property of Squire Stansfield. The view was an extensive one,
when the weather was clear. Away to the left lay the pine forests
of Bournemouth and Christ Church and, still farther seaward, the
cliffs of the Isle of Wight, from Totland Bay as far as Saint
Catherine Point. Close at hand to the south was Studland Bay,
bounded by Handfast Point. Looking towards the right was a great
sheet of shallow water, for the most part dry at low tide, known as
Poole and Wareham Harbours, with its numerous creeks and bays.

Netherstock was an old house, with many nooks and corners. The
squire was a justice of the peace but, unless there was some
special business on, he seldom took his place on the bench. He was
a jovial man, who took life easily. He was popular among his
neighbours, especially among the poorer classes; for whom he had
always a pleasant word, as he rode along; and who, in case of
illness, knew that they could always be sure of