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and honourable life gaily danced in bright perspective, and, like a beacon to the shipwrecked mariner, cheered his drooping spirit, and soothed the hour of separation. Morning came, and with it tears and sighs; Conrad alone wore a face of smiles, and appeared happy; though, could his feelings have been analysed, they would have been found any thing but tranquil; for, although he appeared cheerful, sorrow lurked within. A hasty meal being concluded, and Mr. Yorke's carriage at the door, to convey him to the neighbouring town, whence the coach started, he prepared to depart: every thing was pronounced ready, but still the dreaded moment was deferred; Emily had still something to say; a parcel was forgotten; Mr. Camden had a last injunction to give, which caused him to linger, until Conrad, declaring he should be too late, bade a last farewell to all around him, gave his weeping sister the final kiss of brotherly affection, and with an emphatic "God bless you all," rushed from the house, and throwing himself into the carriage, pronounced the words " Drive on," and in a few minutes was quickly pursuing the road to the metropolis.

CHAP. III.

They close, in clouds of smoke and dust,
With sword-sway, and with lance's thrust;
And such a yell was there,

Of sudden and portentous birth,

As if men fought upon the earth,
And fiends in upper air.

WALTER SCOTT.

Is it fair to pierce the veil of solitude, and observe Conrad as he pursued his journey? Shall we own that the long suppressed grief, that weighed heavy upon him, then found relief in a few burning tears, which, however, he dashed indignantly away? perhaps he thought as unworthy his calling, but which, in truth, did honour to his feelings. Shall we tell of the desolation he felt as he wended his way? No! grief is sacred! it is enough to say, Conrad knew the value of his friends. Every one knows what it is to leave home for the first time, to be a prey to that sense of loneliness, that blank, that sinking of the soul, when torn from all that is dear, the individual is cast among strangers, indifferent alike to him or his concerns.

In vain the bereaved spirit looks around for something to comfort it! Time, and time only, can restore its composure, by other scenes, interests, and pursuits.

Our hero reached London in safety, where he was kindly received, and hospitably entertained, by Major Taylor, who proved of the most essential service to him during the interval he spent in preparations; for, being for the first time cast in such a vortex of dissipation, his position would have been most dangerous without some one to guide his first steps. With youthful enthusiasm, he conjured up a thousand pictures of future glory, and in anticipation was already a hero. His uniform, sword, and various appointments were examined again and again with increased delight; a little pardonable vanity swelled the heart of the young soldier, as he surveyed himself, for the first time, accoutred as one of the defenders of his native country; and the recollection of the pain of leaving his home was swallowed up in the allengrossing thought of coming glory. In March, being fully equipped, he left town by the mail for Portsmouth, at which place he embarked on board a transport bound for Lisbon, which he

reached in safety in the middle of April, and immediately joined his regiment. It is not our

intention to enter into a minute detail of Conrad's military exploits; it will suffice to mention only a few leading features of the contest that followed his union with the British army.

His regiment was one of the foremost in driving Soult from Portugal; and in the subsequent action of Talavera, wherever the contest raged with the greatest fury, Ensign Blessington shone conspicuous. On the evening following that glorious day, Conrad, accompanied by Ernest Bonner, whose corps was also engaged, walked over the well-contested field; and the various scenes of misery which presented themselves to the sight, made a strong impression on his youthful mind, such as he, perhaps, never felt again, — for age and habit blunt the feelings, Here, lay several severely wounded and dying soldiers, from whose labouring breasts at intervals issued the heavy groans, which alone told that life yet lingered in the mangled body, now scarcely distinguishable from the inanimate loads of clay by which they were surrounded. These last presented the most ghastly spectacle: large and frightful wounds were every where

visible, through which life had flowed in the torrents of blood which now saturated the earth, and bathed the limbs so lately bearing their gallant owners full of health and ardent expectation to the "battle field." There, were engaged one party of Highlanders in removing their still surviving comrades, and another in paying the last sad duty to the departed by consigning them to one common grave. Dying horses kicked and uttered the most appalling cries, as, half mad from pain and fright, they lay upon the muddy soil, deep trampled with their own and master's gore. On every side were to be seen helmets, broken arms, horse furniture, gauntlets, balls, and cartridges; while that most degraded, cruel, and wretched set of beings, who strip the dead, pursued their avocations with heartless industry, scarce deeming it necessary to ascertain if death had yet terminated the sufferings of the individual whom they were so impatient to despoil.

The surrounding country still smoked from the recent conflagration; for, by some untoward circumstance, the long dry grass which grew every where in abundance took fire, and many unfortunate creatures were burnt to death before

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