#meet my worst boy right after Etienne (but less dangerous)

[vicoliciechi]

@midnightwalkin HAS FOUND A DARK CORNER.

     HE GROANED in his (stolen) scarf as he walked out of the jazz club and back into the cold city. Rain had finally let go of the buildings and streets, but thick clouds still hovered above the skyline, threatening to bring wet havoc back at any given moment. As long as he was given time enough to find a good shelter, it was all good. Irial shoved his hands in his pockets, fingertips brushing against the wallet of his latest victim. Luckily for him, he had left home with a bunch of bills, unwillingly guaranteeing Irial’s survival for a few more days. His smile was a crooked moon on his face. Unforeseen kindness was always the best.

     The door opened again - the bell rang again. Irial turned to look over his shoulder and sort of recognized the man now talking towards him. He was sitting all alone at a table not too far from Irial’s, but after a couple of glances Irial had focused on the rest of the club. However, he now addressed his smile at the unknown man - although now it was less scary and more amiable. Grins dripping darkness better fit other, better moments. “Great show, uh?” His earring shimmered in the light coming from a nearby lamppost (not near enough to underline the lack of a shadow at his feet). “Are jazz bands always this good in town?”

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Thursday 5 July 1838

4 50

10 5

awaked 2 or 3 times during the night, so terribly bit by something – had slept between my 2 cloaks (my old maclean plaid and 8 years old green and black Paris merinos) – my artillery man, lance-corporal Colin Morrison, an Edinburgh man, was waiting for me – a fine looking soldier-like, civil man of apparently 24 or 25 – very fine morning – off at 6 – soon passed the little fortified gate (drawbridge and double trench) out of the town, leaving (left) the sandy inlet and the long bridge over the river (Urumea) and the road to Passages – we soon passed thro’ the ruined village (vide line 2 above) and pursued our road by a steepish ascent towards Hernani distant 4 English miles – about a mile or more from St. Sebastian, a fort, (left) on the hill [manned] by Spanish soldiers – hilly road – hilly country – but not much wood beyond bush wood – Colin talked all the way and explained their positions at the useless siege of Hernani – for what have the chistianos got by it? merely a little more elbow-room about St. Sebastian and a walk of 4 miles into the country – nothing else – the carlists are still all roundabout – the Christianos destroyed the convents and village and houses about St. Sebastian for fear of their affording shelter to the carlists – whatever the carlists do, the xtians and British Legion rob just as much – and Colin has often been ashamed even for our artillery (about 120 men at St. Sebastian but entered as marines because we have no right to send a land force tho’ everybody sees thro’ this flimsy subterfuge) – Colin has seen our artillery ordered to go to the different villages 8 or 10 miles off and take even the very beds the people slept and what was worse oblige them to carry their own things thus plundered to St. Sebastian – the artillery men are quite sick of all this – but the officers wish to stay – they like to be on service – and the commandant has extra allowances and Lord John Hay has £6 a month extra for table money as commodore etc. etc. – Colin cannot like the Spaniards – they have no heart – give us no thanks whatever we do for them – They think they can do anything and everything, and can do very little – will not stir themselves more ambition than the English but not courage to follow it – they themselves (the Xtianos) could have done nothing at Hernani without the English -  the Carlists fight better – never saw men behave better than some of them did at Hernani – but they are all light armed – have nothing but musquettry  - or else he agreed with me they might easily take even St. Sebastian by a corp de main and Hernani – I see nothing to prevent it – the 200 or 300 of the British legion at Hernani, look miserable – whatever happens they are always put into the worst quarters and have the worst of everything and cannot get paid – they live on their rations and plunder and as they can – they had confidence in the bravery of general Evans, but not in his talent – he brought the artillery into action at Hernani much too close to the enemy’s fire – if Don Carlos had had any artillery, all our men would have been blown to pieces – Hernani a poorly walled little fortified town, Colin said of about 500 inhabitants – 1 longish narrow street opening into a little grande place and one or 2 little side streets – more picturesque than good – a few of the houses handsomely carved on the gable front towards the street and seeming to have been inhabited by better sort of people – porte cochère into large room where stood carts or what not and au fond the large wide stone (handsome perhaps if clean) staircase – altogether Spanish – walked thro’ the town to the last xtiano guard perhaps ¼ mile from the town – 4 or 5 men there one with a telescope watching the carlists in force on the opposite hill, and taking care that the last xtiano sentry at a house a little distance below us was not surprised – the women with the legion are chiefly if not all Irish – I saw the serjants’ wife bargaining in the street – she contrives to do pretty well for she washes etc. for the men, and when they got paid she gets something, and they can live on her husbands’ rations and her allowance of ½ ditto – I think Colin said they had per man 1lb. beef (very good considering) 1lb. bread 1/4lb. cheese – I forgot what of potatoes and I think a gill of rum – 20 or more above proof – would bear 4 water and still be as strong as our rum in England – the artillery have all this for 5d. English and Colin said they (the artillery) could sell it to the [pursuer] at St. Sebastian if they chose for 10d. that is the price it cost him at St. Sebastian – a road direct from Hernani along the valley to Passages but not open because the middle part of it in possession of the carlists – or I should have liked to walk the round back this way to St. Sebastian – 12000 of the legion at Passages – 12 companies with 4 officers to each = 48 that is the colonel and major and two more I forget what he called them – I had thought of breakfasting at Hernani – Luisa had said there was a café there where I could breakfast – but seeing no signs of it, I said nothing but turned back – off from St. S- at 6 at the last guard (about 1/4mile out of Hernani) at 7 35 and back again at the fonda at St. S- at 9 10 having just gone on the ramparts to see the breach made under the d. of Wellington – breakfast immediately – café au lait – I was thirsty and thought the warm breakfast would quite refresh – the café seemed to have a queer taste – took the milk by itself – it was hardly down before it was up again! (surely it was goats’ milk which never did and perhaps never will agree with me) – lay down for 50 minutes till 10 and was dozing when the Captain rapped at my door – said I had not breakfasted but should be ready in ¼ hour – I had luckily brought up my wine from dinner last night – ate a little bit of bread and drank a little wine and water which did very well for me – had Luisa up and got her to write

SH:7/ML/E/21/0141

me out the bill – myself 20 réals – George 12 reals and 4 reals = 1 piastre or 1 franc .:. my bill was just 8 fr. – gave la fille 1 piastre or franc (took it from George who had exchanged a 5fr. piece) and in paying Madame veuve Iriarte gave her two 5fr. pieces saying that the 2 fr. over where for Mademoiselle Luisa – at the quai in 2 or 3 minutes but no captain – waited for him 20 minutes and embarked and put off from the jetty at St. Sebastian at 11 40 – dawdled a little in the port for one of our rowers (3 now instead of 4 as in coming) to pick up a bottle of wine or something – we were now myself and George our captain and 3 rowers – doubled the rock island to the westward as in entering and rowed 20 minutes till 12 – then hoisted 2 sails and went I should suppose at the rate of 5 knots an hour – a good deal of surf (considering the fineness of the day) under the citadel-rock and between this and the rock-island – we had considerably less to the westward of the island under the tower fort which Colin had told me they (our men) fortified without ever receiving anything for their labour – they did a great deal of work at first – they understood our government set all down to the Spanish debt – yes! said I, but Spain will never pay I think – In sight of Passages at 12 35 – sick at 1 ¼ - again at 2 ¼ and Fontarabia in sight at 2 35 – St. Sebastian-citadel, and rock-island, and tower fort – Passanges – all high green rock to the bay of Fontarabia (i.e. to the striking projecting rock called Pointe de Figuier [Figueres?]) – at the French end of it (north side of this bay as I call it, of Fontarabia – embouchure of the Bidassoa) red rock head looked at a distance like a red-tiled town – then while from this end all the way to St. Jean de Luz – land at 3 50 at St. Jean de Lux near the douane – the solider or douanier seemed afterwards ½ ashamed to have questioned me about my little packet of night things but I went in and opened it out – a good deal of surf in entering the little harbour at the embouchure of the little river Nivelle – I can well believe the difficulty and danger of getting in a bad weather – soon walked to the Inn – M. Junca and all glad to see me – followed me to A-‘s door, as if to see the happy meeting – but they fell back for all was deadly still – poor A- was poorly and all had seemed more glad to see [me] back than she – I had thought to try the land-way or at least go to the frontier, and stand on the bridge between the French sentry at one end and the Spanish at the other – no danger or difficulty so far – but A- wanted to be off immediately back to Bayonne – a diligence would go at 5 – But I fell faint – ordered a mutton chop – had it in the salle à manger and M. Junca and Conigo and others came round me – M. Junca had discovered that I was carlist – found it out from my manner on embarking yesterday – Conigo a contrebandier – M. Junca the means of getting formation for Mr. Mitchell  shewed me one of the notes Mr. M- pays him weekly I think for conveyance of messengers M. Junca a very good sort of little man – said I had trusted him and he would do the best he could for me – paid Conigo the 50/. as agreed and gave him 5/.  over for his crew – all parted good friends – the diligence, an omnibus à 6 places de chaque coté  (12 persons) horsed by M. Junca – about 7 persons besides A- and myself and George 6 women and a boy inside, and a gentleman on the box outside with the cocher – waited ¼ for us – off at 5 ¼ at the barrier at 7 ¼ - to leave our passport and take a receipt for it – I got impatient of waiting, and A- and I walked to our hotel St. Etienne – 12 minutes and arrived there at 7 ½ - ordered dinner – then had Josephine to do my hair at 7 50 – then a minute or 2 with A- all had heard of A-‘s not going to St. S- our coachman had not returned when she got back to St. Jean de Luz – poor M. Junca had looked after us, and not seeing the boat (while he turned aside we had put into the port of Socoa to land A-) was quite alarmed was just going to give orders for sending out after us when he saw A- returning and heard what had happened – A- said she had not got back till 5, and if I had not left her the umbrella could not have got back at all – the people told me she had got back between 3 and 4 – however I thanked heaven she had turned back – she could not have borne the boating and the impossibility of getting her anything comfortable at St. S- would have been terrible – with her a minute or two after my hair was done but I soon came to my room and wrote  the following in pencil in my little note book  she means to trouble everybody as little as she can will do for herself   I gently said well if you can do better I shall be very glad   I saw before she was all wrong and guessed the nature of her illness  it is astonishing how little I care  I was guiltless of thinking of her yesterday or this morning till my arrival   when at the moment I forgot my anticipations and ran up to the people and then to her I was soon set right  how different my last reception on returning from Spain to Lady S. de R-! dinner at 8 ½ to 9 25 and then had Josephine ¼ hour very fine day tho’ a light shower just before leaving St. Jean de Luz F71 ½° at 9 55