her by
one o'clock in the morning, and withdrew with them to the ramparts,
where we lay by our arms until daylight.

There is nothing in this life half so enviable as the feelings of a
soldier after a victory. Previous to a battle, there is a certain sort
of something that pervades the mind which is not easily defined; it is
neither akin to joy or fear, and, probably, _anxiety_ may be nearer to
it than any other word in the dictionary: but, when the battle is
over, and crowned with victory, he finds himself elevated for awhile
into the regions of absolute bliss! It had ever been the summit of my
ambition to attain a post at the head of a storming party:--my wish
had now been accomplished, and gloriously ended; and I do think that,
after all was over, and our men laid asleep on the ramparts, that I
strutted about as important a personage, in my own opinion, as ever
trod the face of the earth; and, had the ghost of the renowned
Jack-the-giant-killer itself passed that way at the time, I'll venture
to say, that I would have given it a kick in the breech without the
smallest ceremony. But, as the sun began to rise, I began to fall from
the heroics; and, when he showed his face, I took a look at my own,
and found that I was too unclean a spirit to worship, for I was
covered with mud and dirt, with the greater part of my dress torn to
rags.

The fifth division, which had not been employed in the siege, marched
in, and took charge of the town, on the morning of the 20th, and we
prepared to return to our cantonments. Lord Wellington happened to be
riding in at the gate at the time that we were marching out, and had
the curiosity to ask the officer of the leading company, what regiment
it was, for there was scarcely a vestige of uniform among the men,
some of whom were dressed in Frenchmen's coats, some in white
breeches, and huge jack-boots, some with cocked hats and queues; most
of their swords were fixed on the rifles, and stuck full of hams,
tongues, and loaves of bread, and not a few were carrying bird-cages!
There never was a better masked corps!

General Crawford fell on the glacis, at the head of our division, and
was buried at the foot of the breach which they so gallantly carried.
His funeral was attended by Lord Wellington, and all the officers of
the division, by whom he was, ultimately, much liked. He had
introduced a system of discipline into the light division which made
them unrivalled. A very rigid exaction