was instantly swallowed up with all his crew. The rest of
the flotilla bore up to right and left, and hovered on the edge of the
tormented waters. Suddenly Lieutenant Cheyne of the _Woodlark_ caught
a glimpse of the true course and dashed through, and boat after boat
came following with reeling decks and dripping crews; but in the whole
passage no fewer than eight of the flotilla were destroyed. The bridge
was quickly constructed. Thirty-six two-masted vessels were moored
head to stern, with an interval between each vessel, across the 800
yards of the Adour; a double line of cables, about ten feet apart,
linked the boats together; strong planks were lashed athwart the
cables, making a roadway; a double line of masts, forming a series of
floating squares, served as a floating boom; and across this swaying,
flexible, yet mighty bridge, Wellington was able to pour his left wing,
with all its artillery and material, and so draw round Bayonne an iron
line of investment.

This movement thrust back Soult's right, but he clung obstinately to
the Gave. He held by Napoleon's maxim that the best way to defend is
to attack, and Wellington's very success gave him what seemed a golden
opportunity. Wellington's left had crossed the Adour, but that very
movement separated it from the right.

Soult took up his position on a ridge of hills above Orthez. He
commanded the fords by which Picton must cross, and his plan was to
crush him while in the act of crossing. The opportunity was clear, but
somehow Soult missed it. There failed him at the critical moment the
swift-attacking impulse which both Napoleon and Wellington possessed in
so high a degree. Picton's two divisions crossed the Gave, and climbed
the bank through mere fissures in the rocks, which broke up all
military order, and the nearest point which allowed them to fall into
line was within cannon-shot of the enemy. Even Picton's iron nerve
shook at such a crisis; but Wellington, to use Napier's phrase, "calm
as deepest sea," watched the scene. Soult ought to have attacked; he
waited to be attacked, and so missed victory.

By nine o'clock Wellington had formed his plan, and Ross's brigade was
thrust through a gorge on Soult's left. The French were admirably
posted: they had a narrow front, abundant artillery, and a great
battery placed so as to smite on the flank any column forcing its way
through the gorge which pierced Soult's left. Ross's men fought
magnificen