pen, of
retreating towards Valencia, which they reached, after suffering
great hardships, before Berwick could overtake them.

"French troops were poured into Spain, while no reinforcements
were sent from England. Galway and the Portuguese advanced to meet
the Duke of Berwick, who was marching with a large army to occupy
Catalonia.

"The two forces met, on the plain of Almanza, on the 24th of
April. We and the Spaniards were superior in number to the
English, Dutch, and Portuguese. The battle was maintained for six
hours. The Portuguese infantry did little, but the English and
Dutch repulsed charge after charge, even after the Portuguese and
Spanish allies on both wings were defeated. But, in the end,
victory remained with us. Galway and Das Minas, the Portuguese
general, were both wounded, and five thousand of their men killed,
and yet the Dutch and English infantry held together.

"But on the following day, being absolutely without supplies, some
effected their escape and succeeded in reaching Portugal, while
the main body surrendered. Valencia, Saragossa, and other towns
opened their gates to us, and, for a time, the cause of the
Archduke Charles seemed lost.

"Our success was, however, balanced by the loss, in the same year,
of the whole of the Spanish possessions in Italy. As yet, in spite
of the disasters that had befallen him, the cause of Charles was
not altogether lost, for he received fresh promises of support
from England, whose interest it was to continue the war in Spain,
and thus compel France to keep a considerable body of troops
there, instead of employing them against Marlborough in Flanders.

"Galway and Das Minas were taken back to Portugal, in an English
fleet, after their disaster, and General Stanhope, who, they say,
is an officer of great military experience and talent, has been
sent out to take the command; and as a portion of Catalonia is
still held for Charles, there may yet be a good deal of hard
fighting, before the matter can be considered finally settled."

"Thank you, O'Neil. I feel that I know something about it, now.
Are there any of our regiments there?"

"Yes, three of them. There is also an Irish regiment in the
Spanish service, under Colonel Crofton;" and with this, the talk
ended for the night.

After three months' work Desmond was dismissed from drill, and had
obtained such a proficiency with the rapier that he felt that he
could now relax his work, and see something of