passed
the whole of his cavalry and the rest of his infantry across the
rivulet, and, in spite of artillery and musketry fire, these moved
up in grand order, the infantry inclining towards the two villages
as before, the cavalry bearing straight up the slope, and, when
they reached the crest, charging furiously upon our horse
stationed there. They were superior in numbers, but on this head
accounts differ. At any rate, they overthrew our cavalry, who fled
in the greatest disorder, pursued by the allied horse.

"The infantry poured into the gap thus made, Blenheim was entirely
isolated, and we were exposed to assault both in front and rear.
Nevertheless, we repulsed all attacks, until Marcin sent orders
for us to retire; then we sallied out, after setting fire to the
village, flung ourselves upon the enemy, and succeeded in cutting
our way through, our regiment forming the rear guard. The whole of
Marcin's army were now in full retreat, harassed by the allied
cavalry; but whenever their squadrons approached us, we faced
about and gave them so warm a reception that they attacked less
formidable foes. As for the garrison in Blenheim, you know they
were at last surrounded by Marlborough's whole force, with
artillery; and with the Danube in their rear, and no prospect of
succour, they were forced to surrender.

"It was a disastrous day, and I have not yet recovered from the
wound I received there. Wad five thousand infantry been posted in
a redoubt, halfway between Blenheim and Oberglau, so as to give
support to our cavalry, the result of the battle would have been
very different. Still, I suppose that most battles are lost by
some unlooked-for accident--some mistake in posting the troops. We
can only say that, had the allied forces been all composed of such
troops as those Eugene commanded, they would have been beaten
decisively; and that had, on the contrary, Eugene commanded such
troops as those under Marlborough, Marcin would never have held
his ground."

"How many British troops were there in the battle, Captain
O'Donovan?"

"Somewhere about twelve thousand, while the Continental troops
were forty-seven or forty-eight thousand. There is no doubt that
they were the backbone of the force, just as we flatter ourselves
that our three regiments were the backbone of the defence of
Oberglau."

Chapter 3: A Strange Adventure.

When the party broke up, O'Neil and O'Sullivan, as usual, came in
for a quiet chat t