The first signs of coming trouble were seen in Parliament in the spring of 1738, when there was a great debate, culminating in an address of both Houses, respecting Spanish depredations12 in the South American seas. The newspapers thereupon did their utmost to make matters worse by furious attacks upon Spain. Into the merits of the question it is unnecessary to[56] enter here. The grievances13 of the English against the Spaniards in respect of restrictions14 on trade and of the right of search, and of Spaniards against English for evasion15 of those restrictions, were at least half a century old; and it is sufficiently16 evident that both sides alike had good ground of complaint. The English, in fact, chafed17 less against the restrictions themselves than against the arbitrary and capricious fashion in which they were enforced, owing to the dishonesty and corruption18 of the Spanish authorities. It was a complaint, as early as in the reign of Charles the Second, that Spanish governors would encourage British vessels19 to violate the regulations for a time in order to make a sudden swoop20 on them for their own profit, when they had been enticed21 in sufficient numbers to make a remunerative22 prize. Altogether, it is only surprising that it should have needed fifty years, an unscrupulous Opposition23, and a fable24 of Jenkins's ear to set the two nations fighting over the question of American trade.
1739.
Oct. 19 30 .
Walpole, for his part, strove his hardest to avert25 war, and even came to a convention with Spain as to the damages which she should pay for injuries inflicted26 on British ships; but this was not what the nation desired. The convention was furiously denounced in both Houses as a half-hearted measure, and by no man more vehemently27 than by William Pitt. The animosity against Spain was inflamed28 to the highest pitch; but amid all the clamour for war the Opposition did not fail to produce and to support the annual motion for the reduction of the Army.[128] The estimates provided only for a small increase of the garrisons30 in the West Indies, Minorca, and Gibraltar; yet this most obvious of precautions in the prospect31 of a rupture32 with Spain was opposed by the very men who were shrieking33 loudest for war. Walpole's unfailing dexterity, however, carried him triumphantly35 through the session; and though half a million was voted for the augmentation of the forces, he still hoped to prolong the years[57] of peace, and with them of his own tenure36 of office. But meanwhile the proud spirit of Spain had taken offence at the invectives and insults of the self-styled patriots37 in the English Parliament; and when the plenipotentiaries met in pursuance of the convention to adjust the regulation of commerce between the two nations, the Spaniards refused to proceed with the business unless the right of search, the very point which had been denied in Parliament, were first admitted. Walpole had now to choose between resignation and war, and to his shame he chose war. The open declaration of hostilities38 was proclaimed in London on the 19th of October, amid the pealing39 of joy-bells from every steeple in the city. "They may ring their bells now," muttered Walpole, doubtless with memories of the War Office in Marlborough's day strong upon him, "they will be wringing40 their hands before long."
Nov. 15 26 .
Already, in the course of the summer, an augmentation of some five thousand men had been made to certain regiments42 of horse and foot both at home and in colonial garrisons.[129] Recruits offered themselves in such abundance that officers could pick their men, and the enthusiasm for the war spread to all parts of the kingdom.[130] Seven hundred men were enlisted43 in Edinburgh alone; and the Irish, attracted by the offer of a bounty44, came over in numbers to take service, though only to be met by an order that, as papists, they should not be admitted.[131] The people were, in fact, intoxicated45 at the prospect of plundering46 New Spain. Not a man called to mind the expedition of Venables and Penn, nor thought of the thousands who started with them, big with expectation of gold told up in bags, and had never returned. In November the King opened Parliament, and, having announced the increase already made to the forces, declared his [58]intention of raising several corps47 of marines, and left the Commons to debate upon the same. Then the old instinct of faction48 at once recovered strength. Though war had actually been declared, the proposal was severely49 criticised as an insidious50 augmentation of the standing Army. Pulteney declined to distinguish between marines and land-forces, as if the point could at the moment have been of the slightest importance; several members expressed their hope that the marines would at least be drafted from the standing Army, and an address to the King to that effect actually found ninety-five supporters. Finally, old Shippen, for the twenty-third time, brought forward his annual motion for the reduction of the Army. These were the men who had brought on the war, and this was the way in which they prepared to support it.[132] When it is remembered that these creatures claimed the name of patriots, it is hardly surprising that patriotism52 should have found a definition as the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Nov. 21 Dec. 2.
1740.
March 3 14 .
However, orders were issued for the formation of six regiments of marines,[133] under Colonels Wolfe, Robinson, Lowther, Wynyard, Douglas, and Moreton, with a strength of eleven hundred men apiece; and either in deference53 to the House of Commons, or possibly for greater despatch54, these corps were actually filled mainly by drafts from existing regiments, as the event was to prove, with disastrous55 results.[134] Meanwhile Admiral Vernon's squadron in the West Indies attacked Porto Bello, and having blown up the defences returned triumphant34 to Jamaica. This piece of work was undoubtedly56 well done, but the exploit was magnified in England as though Vernon had captured [59]the whole of Spanish America. When a nation goes to war with a light heart it must needs exaggerate the most trifling57 success; and Vernon became the hero not only of the hour but of the whole war, once again with disastrous results. Elated by his good fortune, the Admiral three months later made an attempt on Carthagena, but found that the capture of the port was a task beyond the strength of his squadron, or indeed of any squadron without the assistance of seven or eight thousand troops. His report, however, indicated the spot where a blow might be struck in earnest at Spain, and to his influence must be ascribed the choice of the field of operations.
The Government now girded itself for a serious effort against New Spain, and decided58, like Cromwell, that New as well as Old England should take a share in the conflict. Directions were accordingly issued for the raising of four battalions59 of Americans under the colonelcy of Deputy-Governor Spotswood of Virginia; the recruiting sergeant61 was set to work on both sides of the Atlantic; and all through the summer preparations went forward for a secret expedition. It was hoped that it would sail for its destination at the end of June or the beginning of July, that being declared by experts to be the latest possible date at which operations could be conducted with any hope of success.[135] In April the regiments appointed for the service began to assemble in the Isle62 of Wight, and all was bustle63 and activity. There was not a little difficulty with these troops, for the new regiments of marines were remarkable64 neither for drill nor discipline; but by the energy of Brigadier-General Wentworth they were licked into shape with creditable rapidity. Lord Cathcart, who had been selected for the chief command, was indefatigably65 vigilant66, and indeed he had good cause, for the ignorance and stupidity of the authorities with whom he had to deal was almost incredible. Thus, for instance, the War Office, having depleted67 regiments of the Line to[60] make up the new corps of marines, did not hesitate to order one of the regiments so depleted upon active service; and Cathcart, bound as he knew to a deadly climate in the heart of the tropics, found that part of the force allotted68 to him consisted of boys who had not strength to handle their arms.[136] Such were the first-fruits of the cry of "No Standing Army."
Aug. 3 14 .
By intense labour the military officers sifted69 out this unpromising material and turned the residue70 to the best account, struggling manfully and not unsuccessfully to have all ready for the expedition to start in July. Moreover, on the death of Colonel Spotswood, the intended second in command, Lord Cathcart begged that his place might be filled by Brigadier Wentworth, as a reward for the diligence and the capacity which he had shown in the camp.[137] The request was duly granted, with very tragical72 consequences. At the same time, however, the General discovered that, although it was now late in July, the Admiral who was to escort his transports had no orders to sail, while his fleet was not even so much as manned.[138] None the less he pushed his preparations strenuously73 forward, and, choosing the anniversary of Blenheim as a day of good omen51 for the embarkation74, put eight regiments of six thousand men on board ship.[139] Then came vexatious delays, due partly to foul75 winds, partly to official blundering. Three times the ships got under way, the men cheering loudly at the prospect of sailing at last, and three times the wind failed them or turned foul. Cathcart grew more and [61]more anxious. The favourable76 season was slipping away fast. The men had been cooped up in the transports for six weeks and had consumed most of the victuals77 intended for the voyage. Scorbutic sickness was seriously prevalent, and there had already been sixty deaths. "Surely," wrote the General, "some fresh meat might be given to the troops"; but the authorities had given no thought to such matters. August passed away and September came, bringing with it the news that a Spanish fleet had put to sea, and that a French fleet also was about to sail from Brest. France had already manifested sympathy with Spain, as was natural from one Bourbon king to another, and the intentions of the ships from Brest might well be hostile. Such a contingency78 might have been foreseen, but it was not; so there was further delay while the British fleet was reinforced. Then, when the ships were ready, men could not be found to man them. Two old regiments of the Line, the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-sixth, were turned over to the fleet to make up its complement79; but these were insufficient80, and Cathcart was ordered to send six hundred of his marines also to the men-of-war. He obeyed, not without warning the Government that an infectious fever, which had already proved terribly fatal, was raging in the fleet; but his warning was not heeded81, possibly in the pressure of business could not be heeded. So the days dragged on; the transports waited, and the men died. Cathcart's patience was strained almost beyond endurance. Apart from the trouble with army and fleet, an endless shower of vexations poured on him from Whitehall. His instructions were constantly altered, and no effort was made to keep his destination unknown. One statement which was communicated to him as an important secret had been the talk of all the coffee-houses in Portsmouth long before it reached him. The newspapers published details of every ship-load of arms and stores that was sent to the West Indies, and as a climax83 printed in full a proclamation which had been prepared for Cathcart to[62] issue on his arrival in South America.[140] Such were the English ideas of organising victory.
Oct. 24 Nov. 4.
1740, Dec. 23. 1741, Jan. 3.
At length, on the 4th of November, the fleet sailed, just four months too late, and after a very stormy passage, which scattered84 the ships in all directions, the bulk of the transports arrived at St. Rupert's Bay, Dominica, on the 3rd of January 1741. Already the force had suffered heavy losses. The fleet was very sickly, over one hundred soldiers had died, and worst of all, Lord Cathcart himself had been seized with dysentery and was also dead.[141] Wentworth assumed the command in his stead; and the fleet after a day or two proceeded to St. Kitts, where all the missing ships were found at anchor safe and sound. But among them too sickness had made sad havoc85, and of the six hundred marines transferred despite Cathcart's warnings to the men-of-war, many were dead and few fit for duty. From thence the fleet sailed, as had been appointed, for Jamaica, where it found Vernon's squadron awaiting it in the harbour, and the American battalions, now regimented under the command of Colonel Gooch, in camp on the island. The Americans were in a very bad state. Their ranks had been filled without difficulty, but with bad material: they were guiltless of drill or discipline, and on arrival at Jamaica had at once become disorderly and mutinous86. There was good excuse for their discontent, for the English Government, though it had made arrangements for the payment and victualling of the British troops, had made none whatever for the Americans, who were thus compelled to fall back on such meagre resources as Jamaica could provide.[142] Moreover, the Americans were even more sickly than the British, and had buried scores of men since their disembarkation. By the first returns sent home from [63]Jamaica it appears that of the nine thousand soldiers who had started from England and America in October, seventeen officers and six hundred men had died before the end of the year, while fifteen hundred more were actually on the sick-list.[143]
Feb. 24 March 7.
Still the survivors87 remained in good spirits. There was for the present all possible harmony between army and navy,[144] and the losses could to some extent be made good by embarking88 the four independent companies which lay in garrison29 in Jamaica. But meanwhile the French fleet was concentrated off the coast of Hispaniola, and until it should be dispersed89 the commanders dared not undertake any operations against the Spanish Main. It is true that France and England were not at open war; but this, as shall presently be seen, was no reason why the fleets and armies of the two nations should not fight each other. When, therefore, the fleet at last sailed from Jamaica on the 7th of March, Vernon was fully71 resolved to attack the French if he should fall in with them.[145] He was, however, relieved of any such responsibility. Sickness had driven the French fleet back from the Caribbean Sea to Brest, and the British were free to go whither they would. It was thereupon decided to attack Carthagena without delay, for though Cathcart's instructions gave Wentworth the option of first attempting Havana, yet the Cuban port was considered to be too well defended, whereas Carthagena would, it was hoped, fall an easy prey90. The fact was that Vernon had set his heart on Carthagena, and he found little difficulty in carrying his point.
March 4 15 .
On the 15th of March, accordingly, the fleet anchored at Playa Grande, two leagues to windward of Carthagena, and the English commanders could judge of the work before them. The city of Carthagena lies at the head of an inland lake, which extends at its greatest length for some seven miles north and south. To this lake [64]there are two entrances, of which the eastern, known from its narrowness as the Boca Chica or Little Mouth, alone was practicable for line-of-battle ships. The western side of the Boca Chica was defended by three forts—St. Jago and San Felipe at the entrance from the sea, and Fort Boca Chica, a far more formidable work, half way up the passage. On the eastern side a fascine-battery had been thrown up at the entrance, while another stronghold, Fort St. Joseph, sealed up the inner end. To force the Boca Chica so as to admit the fleet to the harbour was the first task to be accomplished92 by Wentworth and Vernon.
March 9 20 .
March 11 22 .
On the 20th of March a portion of the squadron, under Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle93, battered94 down the forts of St. Jago and San Felipe; three hundred grenadiers were successfully landed on the western shore of the Boca Chica; and on the 22nd the whole of the land-forces were disembarked excepting the Thirty-fourth, the Thirty-sixth, and the Americans, of which last, owing to their indiscipline, but three hundred were trusted ashore96. From the moment of disembarkation Wentworth seems to have lost his head. He knew his profession by book, but he was wholly without experience. Though encamped on an island surrounded everywhere by at least a league of water, he lived in mortal terror of a surprise, and posted guards so numerous and so strong that he could hardly find men to relieve them. Vernon and Ogle watched him with amazement97 for two days, and then losing all patience sent him a letter, the first of a very remarkable series that was to pass between Admirals and General before Carthagena. "Push forward part of your force to Fort Boca Chica," they said in effect, "put the rest of your men under canvas, hasten your engineers to the siege of the fort, and choose a few picked men for your guards instead of harassing98 your whole army."[146] It was excellent if elementary advice, though hardly such as a General looks for from an Admiral.
[65]
March 12 23 .
March 22 April 2.
Wentworth, to do him justice, seems to have taken this counsel in good part, but the delay in opening the siege of Fort Boca Chica was not altogether his fault. There was but one engineer in the whole army who was the least competent to carry on a siege, and there seems to have been considerable difficulty, first in getting him to the scene of action at all, and secondly99 in making him work when he reached it.[147] Ground was broken at last on 23rd March, but when the batteries had been built, there were so few efficient artillerymen with the army that Vernon's seamen101 were perforce borrowed to work the guns. Finally, on the 2nd of April Wentworth opened fire; and then it was discovered that by some mistake the camp had been pitched directly in the same straight line with the battery, so that every shot from Fort Boca Chica that flew over the British guns fell among the tents, killing102 and wounding over a hundred men on the first day. Nevertheless, with the help of a furious cannonade from some of the men-of-war, the guns of Fort Boca Chica were silenced, and then Vernon and Ogle began again to stir up Wentworth to action. "We hope," they wrote on the 3rd of April, "that you will order your troops to make a lodgment under Boca Chica to-night ... the longer you delay, the harder your work will be." Wentworth hesitated, and nothing was done. "You ought to storm the fort to-night before the moon rises," they wrote again on the 4th. Wentworth still hesitated, and another day was lost. Then the naval104 officers became more peremptory105. "Diffidence of your troops," they wrote, "can only discourage them. In our opinion you have quite men enough for the attack of so paltry106 a fort. You should have built another battery, for your men would be all the healthier for more work. Knowing the climate, we advise you to pursue more vigorous measures in order to keep your men from sickness."
The tone of the two sailors towards the soldier was rather that of a contemptuous nurse towards a timid[66] child, but the last letter had the desired effect, for Wentworth ordered the fort to be stormed on the very same day. The English no sooner mounted the breach107 than the Spaniards fled almost without firing a shot, and the dreaded108 fort of Boca Chica fell into Wentworth's hands at the cost of two men wounded. Moreover, the Spaniards in the forts on the other side of the channel also partook in the panic and abandoned them, leaving the entrance to the harbour open to the British. The operations so far had cost one hundred and thirty men killed and wounded, but two hundred and fifty had perished from sickness, and over six hundred were in hospital. The rest of the work needed to be done quickly if it were to be done at all.
April 5 16 .
April.
It was, however, first necessary to re-embark all the troops in order to carry them to the head of the harbour for the attack on the city of Carthagena. This process occupied more than a week, and did not improve relations between army and navy. Vernon had already complained loudly, and probably with some justice, of the laziness of the soldiers: the blue-jackets had done all the hard work at the first landing of the regiments, and they were now called upon to do it again. At length, however, the transports got under way and proceeded towards the inner harbour, the entrance to which, like that of the outer port, lay through a narrow channel with a large fort, called the Castillo Grande, on one side, and a small redoubt on the other. The passage was more effectually blocked by a number of sunken ships which the Spaniards had scuttled110 after the forcing of Boca Chica. The fleet, however, quickly disposed of all these obstacles. The Spaniards abandoned Castillo Grande, and the naval officers, with their usual deftness111, contrived112 to find a channel through the sunken ships. A few broadsides cleared the beach for the disembarkation, and on the 16th of April Wentworth landed. He had begged hard for five thousand men, but had been answered curtly113, though not unjustly, by the naval commanders that, while they were ready to[67] land them if required, they thought fifteen hundred men quite sufficient, since time above all things was precious.[148] So with fifteen hundred men Wentworth proceeded to the further task before him. There was now but one outwork between him and Carthagena, a fort standing on an eminence114 about seventy feet above the plain, and called Fort St. Lazar. The approach to it from the head of the harbour lay through a narrow defile115, at the mouth of which the Spaniards offered some slight resistance. They soon gave way on the advance of the British, but poor Wentworth, always a General by book, with his head full of ambuscades and other traps for the unwary, halted his men instead of pushing on boldly, or he would almost certainly have carried Fort St. Lazar then and there, and broken into Carthagena itself on the backs of the fugitives116. Vernon had urged upon him on the day before that he had only to act vigorously to ensure success, but Wentworth was far too much oppressed by the responsibilities of command to avail himself of such sound advice. He advanced no further than to within a league of St. Lazar, encamped, and pressed the Admiral to send him the remainder of his men.
Vernon acceded117 to the request, but with no very good grace. "I send the men," he wrote, "but I still think such a number unnecessary. Delay is your worst enemy; their engineers are better than yours, and a vigorous push is your best chance. No time should be lost in cutting off the communication between the town and the surrounding country. We hope that you will be master of St. Lazar to-morrow." The advice was sounder than ever, but Wentworth could not nerve himself to act on it. Shielding himself behind the vote of a council of war, he replied that the escalade of St. Lazar was impossible; the walls were too high and the ditch too deep. Would it not be possible, he asked, for the ships to batter91 the fort and sweep the isthmus118 that divided the town from the surrounding country[68] for him. This was too much. The fleet had borne the brunt of the work so far, but it could not do everything. Vernon's tone, always overbearing, now became almost violent. "Pointis,[149] who knew the climate, tried the escalade and succeeded," he retorted, "the ships can do no more. If you had advanced at once when the Spaniards fled from you, we believe that you would have taken St. Lazar on the spot."
After digesting this unpalatable document for a day Wentworth decided after all for an escalade. Though he lacked Vernon's experience of the tropics he had a sufficient dread109 of the rainy season, which had already sent sickness into his camp to herald119 its approach. By some mischance, for which he disclaimed120 responsibility, neither tents nor tools were landed with the men;[150] and for three nights the troops, young, raw and shiftless, were compelled to bivouac. On the third day they began to fall down fast. A council of war was held, and although General Blakeney, an excellent officer, opposed the project to the last, it was decided to carry St. Lazar by assault. The fort indeed was nothing very formidable in itself, and could have been knocked to pieces without difficulty from another eminence called La Popa, about three hundred yards from it. The only engineer, however, had been killed before Boca Chica was taken, the artillerymen were wholly ignorant of their duty, and the tools had not been landed; so that although a battery on La Popa would have served the double purpose of destroying St. Lazar and battering121 the walls of the city, no attempt was made to erect122 it. And meanwhile the Spaniards had made use of their respite123 to strengthen St. Lazar by new entrenchments which were far from despicable, and had reinforced the garrison from the town. There, however, the matter was; and the problem, though it might be difficult in itself, was so far simple in that it admitted of but one solution. St. Lazar was practically inaccessible124 except [69]on the side of the town, where it was commanded by the guns of Carthagena. The fort must, therefore, be carried from that side before daylight, and carried as quickly as possible.
April 9 20 .
Early in the morning of the 20th of April the columns of attack were formed. First came an advanced party of fifty men backed by four hundred and fifty grenadiers under Colonel Wynyard, then the two old regiments, the Fifteenth and Twenty-fourth, jointly125 one thousand strong; after them a mixed company of the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-sixth; then the Americans with woolpacks and scaling-ladders, and finally a reserve of five hundred of Wolfe's marines. The design was to assault the north and south sides of St. Lazar simultaneously126, Wynyard taking the southern or weaker face, while Colonel Grant with the old regiments, on which Wentworth principally relied, assaulted the northern. A couple of Spanish deserters were at hand to guide the columns to their respective positions.
At four o'clock the march began, the fireflies still flickering127 overhead against the darkness, the air close and still, and alive with the chirping128, whistling, and croaking129 of the noisy tropic night. Within the camp men were lying in scores under the scourge130 of yellow fever, some tossing and raving131 in delirium132, some gasping133 in the agonies of the last fatal symptom, some prostrate134 in helpless and ghastly collapse135, waiting only for the dead hour before the dawn when they should die. These were left behind, and the red columns disappeared silently into the darkness. Before long Wynyard's men reached the foot of the hill and began the ascent136. The ground before them was so steep that they were forced to climb upon their hands and knees, and the officers began to doubt whether their guides might not have played them false. Still the grenadiers scrambled137 on almost to the top of the hill, and then suddenly, at a range of thirty yards, the Spaniards opened a deadly fire. Now was the time for a rush, which would have swept the Spaniards pell-mell from their[70] entrenchments. One man with the traditions of Cutts the Salamander would have carried the fort in two minutes; a few score of undisciplined Highlanders with naked broadswords would have mastered it even without a leader; but the officers had no experience except of the parade ground. They were conscious of a heavy fire in front and flanks, so they wheeled their platoons outwards139 to right and left for "street-firing," as it was called, and advanced slowly in perfect order, the men firing steadily140 at the flashes of cannon103 and musketry that blazed before them over the parapet. Raked through and through by grape and round shot, the soldiers stood without flinching141 for a moment, and loaded and fired as they had been taught, while the grenadiers lit their fuses coolly and hurled142 their hand-grenades into the belt of flame before them. They did not know, poor fellows, that the grenades provided for them were so thick, owing to the negligence143 of the authorities of the Ordnance144, that not one in three of them would burst. So Wynyard's column fired dutifully on, though the men that composed it were mown down like grass.
On the northern face of the hill, where Grant's column was engaged, a like tragedy was enacted146. Grant himself was shot down early, and after his fall no man seemed to know what should be done. The men faced the fire gallantly147 enough and returned it with perfect order and steadiness, but without effect. There were calls for the woolpacks and scaling-ladders, but the undisciplined Americans had long since thrown them down and fled; and even had the ladders been forthcoming they were too short by ten feet to be of use. There were appeals for guns to silence the Spanish artillery100, but these had been placed in the rear of the columns and were not to be brought forward. So for more than an hour this tragical fight went on. Day dawned at length; the light grew strong, and the guns of Carthagena opened fire on Grant's column with terrible effect. Still the English stood firm and fired[71] away their ammunition149. It was all that they had been bidden to do, and they did it. Wynyard, his grenadiers once thrown into action, seemed incapable150 of bringing up other troops to support them. General Guise151, who was in charge of the combined attack, showed magnificent courage and set a superb example, but it was something more than courage that was wanted. It was now broad daylight, and the Spaniards began with unerring aim to pick off the English officers. Finally, a column of Spanish infantry152 issued from the gates of Carthagena to cut off the English from their ships, and at last at eight o'clock Wentworth gave the order to retire, Wolfe's marines coming forward to cover the retreat. The troops had been suffering massacre153 for close on three hours, but until that moment not a man turned his back. There was no pursuit and the retreat was conducted in good order; but the troops, who had borne up hitherto against hardship and sickness, were thoroughly154 and hopelessly disheartened.
April 10 21 .
April 14 25 .
The losses in the assault were very heavy. Of the fifteen hundred English engaged, forty-three officers and over six hundred men were killed and wounded, and the Fifteenth and Twenty-fourth both lost over a fourth of their numbers. The treachery of the guides was answerable for much, but the mismanagement of the officers was responsible for more. Colonel Grant was picked up alive, indeed, but desperately155 wounded. "The General ought to hang the guides and the King ought to hang the General," he gasped156 out in his agony; and a few hours later he was dead. Wentworth, striving hard to put a good face on the disaster, ordered a battery to be erected157 against Fort St. Lazar on that same evening; but by this time yellow fever had seized hold of the army in good earnest, and it was a question not of building batteries but of digging graves. On the 21st the General called a council of war and announced to the Admiral its decision that the number of men was insufficient for the work, and that the enterprise must be abandoned. "Since the engineers or[72] pretended engineers of the army declare that they do not know how to raise a battery, we agree," answered Vernon and Ogle, "though if our advice had been taken we believe that the town might have fallen." Then with studied insolence158 of tone they proceeded to offer a few obvious suggestions for the withdrawal159 of the troops. The military officers, not a little hurt, remonstrated160 in mild terms against the taunt161, and after a short wrangle162 Wentworth requested a general council of war, by which it was finally determined163 that the attack on Carthagena must be given up as impracticable.
April 17 28 .
It was indeed high time. Between the morning of Tuesday the 18th and the night of Friday the 21st of April the troops had dwindled164 from sixty-six hundred to thirty-two hundred effective men. The two old regiments had been much shattered in the attack of St. Lazar, and the residue of the British force consisted chiefly of young soldiers, while the twelve hundred Americans who still survived were distrusted by the whole army, and were in fact little better than an encumbrance165. On the 28th the troops were re-embarked95, poor Wentworth being careful to carry away every scrap166 of material lest the Spaniards should boast of trophies167. The naval officers grudgingly168 consented to blow up the defences of Boca Chica, and then for ten terrible days the transports lay idle in the harbour of Carthagena.
April 24 May 5.
The horrors of that time are quite indescribable. By the care of Cathcart hospital-ships had indeed been provided for the expedition, but these had neither nurses, surgeons, cooks, nor provisions. "The men," wrote Smollett, himself a surgeon on board a man-of-war, "were pent up between decks in small vessels where they had not room to sit upright; they wallowed in filth169; myriads170 of maggots were hatched in the putrefaction171 of their sores, which had no other dressing172 than that of being washed by themselves in their own allowance of brandy; and nothing was heard but groans173 and lamentations and the language of despair invoking174 death[73] to deliver them from their miseries175." So these poor fellows lay in this sickly, stifling176 atmosphere, with the raging thirst of fever upon them, while the tropical sun burnt fiercely overhead or the tropical rain poured down in a dense177, gray stream, filling the air with that close clammy heat which even by a healthy man is grievous to be borne. The sailors also suffered much, though less heavily, being many of them acclimatised; and surgeons could have been spared from the men-of-war for the transports could Wentworth have been brought to ask them of Vernon, or Vernon to offer them to Wentworth. So while the commanders quarrelled the soldiers perished. Officers died as fast as the men, all discipline on the transports came to an end, and the men gave themselves up to that abandoned listlessness which was seen in Schomberg's camp in Ireland, when the bodies of dead comrades were used to stop the draughts178 in the tents. Day after day the sailors rowed ashore to bury their boats' loads of corpses179, for there was always order and discipline in the ships of war; but the raw soldiers simply dragged their dead comrades up on deck and dropped them overboard, without so much as a shroud180 to their bodies or a shot to their heels. Vernon railed furiously at this nastiness, as he called it,[151] not reflecting that men untrained to the sea might know no better. So after a few hours the bodies that had sunk beneath the water came up again to the surface and floated, hideous181 and ghastly beyond description, about the transports, while schools of sharks jostled each other in the scramble138 to tear them limb from limb, and foul birds with ugly, ragged82 wings flapped heavily above them croaking for their share. Thus the air was still further poisoned, sickness increased, and the harbour became as a charnel-house. At length, on the 5th of May, it was resolved to return to Jamaica; and two days later the fleet sailed away from the horrors of Carthagena. By that time the men nominally182 fit for service were reduced to seventeen hundred, of whom[74] not above a thousand were in a condition to be landed against an enemy.[152]
August 12 23 .
August 18 29 .
Arrived at Jamaica the commanders deliberated as to what should next be done. There were still men enough, it was thought, for a successful descent upon Cuba, though the British regiments were terribly short of officers, having lost over one hundred since they had left England. But the plague was not stayed by the removal to Jamaica. Within the month that elapsed after the abandonment of Carthagena eleven hundred men died; the strength of the British was reduced to fourteen hundred, and of the Americans to thirteen hundred, men.[153] For the next three weeks the troops continued to die at the rate of one hundred a week, the Americans, as always throughout this expedition, perishing even more rapidly than the British. At last, after long disputes, it was decided to make an attempt upon Santiago de Cuba. The fleet sailed on the 23rd of August, and on the 29th anchored on the north coast of the island, in a bay which Vernon, in honour of Prince William, named Cumberland Haven183.
Then the Admiral again came forward with the same advice as he had offered at Carthagena. He urged Wentworth to take a picked force of a thousand men only, together with a thousand bearers, and with this column to make a forced march and take Santiago by surprise, the fleet meanwhile co-operating by sea. In the hands of an enterprising commander it is possible that such a plan might have succeeded; it was in fact just such a stroke as had been beloved of Drake and of the greatest of the buccaneers, but it was beyond the spirit of Wentworth. The risk indeed was great. The town lay ninety miles distant from Cumberland Haven, the only road was a path cut through the jungle, and there were rivers on the way which a few hours of rain might render impassable whether for advance or retreat. In a word Wentworth would have none of such [75]ventures. The ill-feeling between army and navy was embittered184; the troops lay idle in their camp, and, worst of all, sickness increased rather than abated185 at the close of the rainy season. By the middle of November there were hardly sufficient men to supply reliefs for the ordinary guards, and at the beginning of December there were less than three hundred privates fit for duty. A council of war was called, and it was decided to re-embark the troops for Jamaica, whither Wentworth, despite violent protests from Vernon, decided to accompany them.
1742.
March 9 20 .
May.
Still the curtain was not yet to fall on this awful drama. The military force was now so much reduced that four of the eight regiments were drafted into the other four, and only the Fifteenth, Twenty-fourth, Wolfe's, and Fraser's were left. The yellow fever continued to rage unchecked. Two hundred and fifty of the men left in hospital by Wentworth on his departure for Cuba died in a single fortnight.[154] Then in February 1742 there came a reinforcement of three thousand men, namely, one battalion60 of the Royal Scots, the Sixth, and the Twenty-seventh Foot. They arrived healthy, but began to sicken at once.[155] All kinds of new projects were now debated, an attack on Guatemala, on Yucatan, on Panama; but the troops continued to die at the rate of fifteen men a day, and it was of little profit to discuss plans in the presence of such a general as yellow fever. At length, after much delay, the expedition put to sea for the third time, and sailed against Porto Bello. The voyage was protracted186 by inclement187 weather to nineteen days, and at the end of those nineteen days, although none but healthy and selected men had been embarked, the Sixth regiment41 alone had thrown ninety-eight corpses overboard, and of the whole force nearly a thousand were [76]sick or dead.[156] In such circumstances the enterprise was abandoned, and the expedition, once more delayed by unfavourable weather, returned again to Jamaica. There the hospitals were emptier and the graveyards188 fuller than at Wentworth's departure, for five hundred of the sick which he had left behind him had succumbed189. The survivors who returned from Porto Bello soon filled up the hospital again, and by the end of July it was crowded with eight hundred men. One hundred and fifty of these died in August, and three hundred more were dead by the middle of October. By this time such few men as remained of the four thousand Americans had been discharged, the survivors numbering little more than three hundred, and all hope of further operations had been abandoned. The commanders indeed still met and discussed their plans with each other and with Governor Trelawny, the contention190 growing so hot between them that Trelawny and Sir Chaloner Ogle drew their swords upon each other, and were with difficulty prevented by Wentworth from adding to the death-roll. But when yellow fever is killing men before they can arrive within range to kill each other, councils of war are even less than ordinarily profitable. Of the regiments that had sailed from St. Helen's under Cathcart in all the pride and confidence of strength, nine men in every ten had perished.[157]
A great historian has asked, When did this Spanish war end?[158] and the answer is that it ended imperceptibly in the gradual annihilation of the contending armies by yellow fever. The French fleet was driven back to France by it, the Spaniards were left defenceless by it, the English were palsied for attack by it. There was indeed desultory191 fighting, not without incidents of signal gallantry, between the colonists192 of Carolina and [77]Georgia and their Spanish neighbours in Florida, but the operations were too trifling to merit record in this place. The one gleam of light in the whole dark history is the heroic voyage of Anson, who had been sent round Cape193 Horn, with some vague idea that his fleet and Vernon's should co-operate in attacks on Central America. In Anson's fame the Army also has some faint though melancholy194 share, for about three hundred Chelsea pensioners195, weak, aged145, and infirm, were barbarously driven on board his ships, nominally to man them, but in reality only to find at sea the grave which past service should have ensured them on English soil. Whether with Anson or with Vernon, whether on the Atlantic or the Pacific, the war had nothing but failure and death for the red-coats.
It remains196 to say something of the human share in the catastrophe197 of the expedition to Carthagena. Wentworth has hitherto been made the scapegoat198 for every misfortune, and it is probable that he must remain so; yet the blame of the avoidable disasters must not be laid wholly to his charge. So far as he had been tried up to the time of his command he had proved himself a diligent199 and painstaking200 officer; he had been installed as Cathcart's second by Cathcart's own request, and could he have remained a subordinate would probably have done well enough. Though lacking experience of active service, in or out of the tropics, he did his best to make good the deficiency by consulting those officers who knew more than himself. He tried his hardest to work in concert with the naval officers, and never wrote home a word of complaint against Vernon until he had endured his arrogant201 and overbearing tone for more than a year. But his own training, like that of his men, had been mechanical only, and he could neither rise above the stiff formalities of his profession himself, nor raise his men above them. It will be seen that this same mechanical training could produce astonishing results on the familiar battlegrounds[78] of Flanders, but it was out of place on the Spanish Main, as it was soon to prove itself out of place on the Ohio. Again, poor workman though Wentworth was, the tools to his hand were not good. He himself had only with great difficulty taught six of his regiments the rudiments202 of discipline in the Isle of Wight. His regimental officers were, without exception, young and inexperienced, while some few of them, who had obtained commissions through political jobbery, are described as the most abandoned wretches203 of the town. The American troops, which formed a third of the whole force, were incomparably worse than the worst of the English, and being made up to some extent of Irish papists were more than a little untrustworthy. Again, although the least foresight204 must have shown that the brunt of the work would fall upon the artillery, the gunners furnished to Wentworth were raw yokels205, just caught up from the plough and wholly ignorant of their duty, while their commander was incapable, and his second a drunkard. Of the engineers it is sufficient to repeat that after the chief was killed not one could be found with the slightest knowledge of his duty. Moreover, of the eight battering cannon furnished to him one was found to be unserviceable and the rest were all of different patterns, while the shells, like the hand-grenades, were of bad quality. Again, the stores of all kinds were so unspeakably bad as to call forth148 the bitterest complaints from Wentworth; and beyond all doubt bad food contributed to increase the sickliness of the Army and to weaken the men against the attacks of yellow fever. In fact, the trail of the incompetent206 Newcastle is over the whole expedition; but these blunders and deficiencies only the less excuse Wentworth for failing to adopt a swifter and more dashing system of operations.
Walker & Boutall del.
To face page 78.
CARTHAGENA 1741.
From a contemporary plan by
Capt. Ph. Durrell.
Vernon, on his side, boasted loudly that had he been invested with the sole command he would have accomplished every object at a far lower sacrifice of life; and it is probable that he spoke207 truth. Certainly he[79] never ceased to impress upon Wentworth the necessity for bold and active measures. Nevertheless it was Vernon who was mainly responsible for the fatal friction208 between army and navy. He seems to have been by nature a bully209; imperious, conceited210, insolent211, and without an idea of tact212. The ill-feeling between the two services had shown itself before the expedition joined Vernon's fleet at Jamaica; and the Thirty-fourth regiment, which had been detailed213 for service on the men-of-war, lost half of its numbers through ill-usage on board ship before a shot was fired. It would have been a sufficiently difficult task for Vernon to have composed these differences, but far from attempting it he set himself deliberately214 to aggravate215 them. Still, when the whole history of the expedition is examined the blame for its failure must rest not with the General, not with the Admiral, not even with the Government, but with those benighted216 and unscrupulous politicians who gambled away the efficiency of the Army and of the military administration for the petty triumphs of party and the petty emoluments217 of place and power.
Authorities.—The most familiar account of the expedition to Carthagena is of course that of Smollett, a great part of which is repeated in Roderick Random218. Other sources are the State Papers, Colonial Series, "North America and West Indies," No. 61, and Admiralty Papers, "Jamaica," No. 1. There is indeed more to be gleaned219 from the enclosures sent home by Vernon than from Wentworth's despatches. All the returns, however, are in the Colonial Series, as well as a criticism of the conduct of the expedition, and an excellent narrative220 by Lord Elibank.
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1
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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3
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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5
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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7
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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8
aspirants
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| n.有志向或渴望获得…的人( aspirant的名词复数 )v.渴望的，有抱负的，追求名誉或地位的( aspirant的第三人称单数 )；有志向或渴望获得…的人 | |
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9
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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11
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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12
depredations
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| n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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13
grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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14
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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15
evasion
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| n.逃避，偷漏(税) | |
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16
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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17
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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18
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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19
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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swoop
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| n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击 | |
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enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
remunerative
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| adj.有报酬的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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25
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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28
inflamed
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| adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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31
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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32
rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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33
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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34
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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35
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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36
tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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37
patriots
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| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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38
hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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39
pealing
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| v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的现在分词 ) | |
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40
wringing
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| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
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41
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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43
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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44
bounty
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| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
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45
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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46
plundering
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 ) | |
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47
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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48
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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49
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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50
insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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51
omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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52
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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53
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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54
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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55
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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56
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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57
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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58
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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59
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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60
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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61
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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62
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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63
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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64
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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65
indefatigably
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| adv.不厌倦地，不屈不挠地 | |
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66
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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67
depleted
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| adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词 | |
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68
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
sifted
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| v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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70
residue
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| n.残余，剩余，残渣 | |
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71
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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72
tragical
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| adj. 悲剧的, 悲剧性的 | |
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73
strenuously
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| adv.奋发地，费力地 | |
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74
embarkation
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| n. 乘船, 搭机, 开船 | |
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75
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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76
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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77
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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78
contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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79
complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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80
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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81
heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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83
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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84
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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85
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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86
mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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87
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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88
embarking
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| 乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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89
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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90
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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91
batter
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| v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员 | |
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92
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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93
ogle
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| v.看；送秋波；n.秋波，媚眼 | |
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94
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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95
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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96
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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97
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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98
harassing
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| v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人） | |
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99
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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100
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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101
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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102
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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103
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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104
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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105
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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106
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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107
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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108
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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109
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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110
scuttled
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| v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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111
deftness
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112
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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113
curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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114
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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115
defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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116
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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117
acceded
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| v.（正式）加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职 | |
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118
isthmus
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| n.地峡 | |
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119
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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120
disclaimed
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| v.否认( disclaim的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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121
battering
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| n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 ) | |
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122
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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123
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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124
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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125
jointly
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| ad.联合地，共同地 | |
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126
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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127
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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128
chirping
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 ) | |
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129
croaking
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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130
scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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131
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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132
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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133
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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134
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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135
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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136
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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137
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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138
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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139
outwards
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| adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形 | |
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140
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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141
flinching
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的现在分词 ) | |
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142
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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143
negligence
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| n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意 | |
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144
ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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145
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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146
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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147
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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148
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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149
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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150
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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151
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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152
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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153
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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154
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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155
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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156
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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157
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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158
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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159
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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160
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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161
taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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162
wrangle
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| vi.争吵 | |
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163
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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164
dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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165
encumbrance
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| n.妨碍物，累赘 | |
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166
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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167
trophies
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| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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168
grudgingly
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169
filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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170
myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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171
putrefaction
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| n.腐坏，腐败 | |
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172
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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173
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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174
invoking
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| v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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175
miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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176
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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177
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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178
draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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179
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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180
shroud
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| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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181
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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182
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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183
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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184
embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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185
abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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186
protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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187
inclement
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| adj.严酷的，严厉的，恶劣的 | |
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188
graveyards
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| 墓地( graveyard的名词复数 )； 垃圾场； 废物堆积处； 收容所 | |
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189
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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190
contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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191
desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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192
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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193
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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194
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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195
pensioners
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| n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 ) | |
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196
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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197
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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198
scapegoat
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| n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊 | |
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199
diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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200
painstaking
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| adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的 | |
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201
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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202
rudiments
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| n.基础知识，入门 | |
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203
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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204
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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205
yokels
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| n.乡下佬，土包子( yokel的名词复数 ) | |
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206
incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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207
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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208
friction
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| n.摩擦，摩擦力 | |
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209
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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210
conceited
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| adj.自负的，骄傲自满的 | |
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211
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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212
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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213
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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214
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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215
aggravate
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| vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火 | |
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216
benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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217
emoluments
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| n.报酬，薪水( emolument的名词复数 ) | |
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218
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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219
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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220
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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