opportunity of thus retiring.

Terence O'Connor speedily paid a visit to his regiment at Corunna, for he
had, of course, accompanied Fane's brigade during the retreat. He was
delighted to find that there had been only a few trifling casualties among
the officers, and that the regiment itself, although it had lost some men
in the fighting that had taken place, had not left a single straggler
behind, a circumstance that was mentioned with the warmest commendation by
General Paget in his report of the doings of the rear-guard.

"I was awfully afraid that it would have been quite the other way,"
Terence said. "I know how all the three other divisions suffered, though
they were never pressed by the enemy, and had not a shadow of excuse for
their conduct."

"You did not know us, me boy," O'Grady said. "I tell ye, the men were
splendid. I expect if we had been with the others we should have behaved
just as badly; but being chosen for the rear-guard put our boys all on
their mettle, and every man felt that the honour of the regiment depended
on his good conduct. Then, too, we were lucky in lighting on a big store
of tobacco, and tobacco is as good as food and drink. The men gave a lot
away to the other regiments, and yet had enough to last them until we got
here."

"Then they were not above doing a little plundering," Terence laughed.

"Plunder is it!" O'Grady repeated, indignantly. "It was a righteous
action, for the factory belonged to the Central Junta of the Province, and
it was just stripping the French of their booty to carry it away. Faith,
it was the most meritorious action of the campaign."