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- 6. IFLA Publications Edited by Michael Heaney International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Fédération Internationale des Associations de Bibliothécaires et des Bibliothèques Internationaler Verband der bibliothekarischen Vereine und Institutionen Международная Федерация Библиотечных Ассоциаций и Учреждений Federación Internacional de Asociaciones de Bibliotecarios y Bibliotecas Volume 162
- 7. Linked Data and User Interaction DE GRUYTER SAUR The Road Ahead Edited on behalf of IFLA by H. Frank Cervone and Lars G. Svensson
- 8. ISBN 978-3-11-031692-6 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-031700-8 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-039616-4 ISSN 0344-6891 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2015 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Cover Image: Directed network diagram of linked data elements (c) 2015 H. Frank Cervone Typesetting: Dr Rainer Ostermann, München Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck ♾ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com
- 9. Contents About IFLA VII H. Frank Cervone Linked Data and User Interaction: An Introduction 1 Paola Di Maio 1 Linked Data Beyond Libraries Towards Universal Interfaces and Knowledge Unification 3 Emmanuelle Bermès 2 Following the User’s Flow in the Digital Pompidou 19 Patrick Le Bœuf 3 Customized OPACs on the Semantic Web The OpenCat Prototype 31 Ryan Shaw, Patrick Golden and Michael Buckland 4 Using Linked Library Data in Working Research Notes 48 Timm Heuss, Bernhard Humm, Tilman Deuschel, Torsten Fröhlich, Thomas Herth and Oliver Mitesser 5 Semantically Guided, Situation-Aware Literature Research 66 Niklas Lindström and Martin Malmsten 6 Building Interfaces on a Networked Graph 85 Natasha Simons, Arve Solland and Jan Hettenhausen 7 Griffith Research Hub Connecting an Entire University’s Research Enterprise 98 Contributors 119 Index 120
- 11. About IFLA www.ifla.org IFLA (The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and informa- tion services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession. IFLA provides information specialists throughout the world with a forum for exchanging ideas and promoting international cooperation, research, and development in all fields of library activity and information service. IFLA is one of the means through which libraries, information centres, and informa- tion professionals worldwide can formulate their goals, exert their influence as a group, protect their interests, and find solutions to global problems. IFLA’s aims, objectives, and professional programme can only be fulfilled with the co-operation and active involvement of its members and affiliates. Currently, approximately 1,600 associations, institutions and individuals, from widely divergent cultural backgrounds, are working together to further the goals of the Federation and to promote librarianship on a global level. Through its formal membership, IFLA directly or indirectly represents some 500,000 library and information professionals worldwide. IFLA pursues its aims through a variety of channels, including the publication of a major journal, as well as guidelines, reports and monographs on a wide range of topics. IFLA organizes workshops and seminars around the world to enhance professional practice and increase awareness of the growing importance of librar- ies in the digital age. All this is done in collaboration with a number of other non-governmental organizations, funding bodies and international agencies such as UNESCO and WIPO. IFLANET, the Federation’s website, is a prime source of information about IFLA, its policies and activities: www.ifla.org. Library and information professionals gather annually at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress, held in August each year in cities around the world. IFLA was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1927 at an international conference of national library directors. IFLA was registered in the Netherlands in 1971. The Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Library), the national library of the Netherlands, in The Hague, generously provides the facilities for our headquarters. Regional offices are located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Pretoria, South Africa; and Singapore.
- 13. Linked Data and User Interaction: An Introduction The book that is in your hands is the culmination of several years’ work by some of the best and brightest minds in the information sciences. The topic of user interaction based on library linked data had its origin in a satellite meeting of the 2013 International Federation of Library Associations’ (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress (WLIC). The volume you are reading is an edited version of the majority of the talks and presentations at that satellite meeting held in Singapore. As was noted in the original call for papers, the amount of linked data that is being made available through libraries and other information agencies has increased dramatically in the last several years. Following the lead of the National Library of Sweden in 2008, several libraries and library networks have begun to publish authority files and bibliographic information as open, linked data. While providing data is an important step in making information more accessible to a wide audience, applications that consume this data are also a critical component in the information ecosphere. Today, the use of linked data is not yet widespread. In particular, a specific problem is that there are no widely used methods for integrating linked data from multiple sources or significant agreement on how this data should be presented in end user inter- faces. Existing services tend to build on one or two well integrated datasets – often from the same data supplier – and do not actively use the links provided to other datasets within or outside of the library or cultural heritage sector to provide a better user experience. The main objective of the satellite meeting was to provide a forum for discus- sion of services, concepts, and approaches that focus on the interaction between the end user and linked data from libraries and other cultural heritage institu- tions. Of particular interest were papers presenting working end user interfaces using linked data from both cultural heritage institutions (including libraries) and other datasets. Special thanks must be extended to several people who were active members in the IFLA Information Technology Standing Committee (ITSC) at the time: – – Alenka Kavčič-Čolić, then chair of the ITSC; – – Reinhard Altenhöner, past chair of the ITSC; – – Edmund Balnaves, current chair of the ITSC; – – Lars G. Svensson, current secretary of the ITSC; and
- 14. 2 Linked Data and User Interaction: An Introduction – – Emmanuelle Bermès, chair of the semantic web special interest group who actively pursued making the satellite meeting a reality. H. Frank Cervone Chicago, IL Past secretary of the IFLA Information Technology Section IT Standing Committee member, 2007–2015
- 15. Paola Di Maio 1 Linked Data Beyond Libraries Towards Universal Interfaces and Knowledge Unification Introduction There have been many talks about linked data. Writing up a keynote address on the topic is a privilege, given the illustrious speakers who have preceded me, yet it can be a hard act to follow. I consider it a great opportunity to stand on the shoulders of giants and look forward and will try to expand the vision further. From the technical to the socio-technical From a technical point of view, linked data has been discussed at great length. It is proposed as a mechanism to tackle challenges such as information overload, mostly from a computational perspective, where the priority concerns tend to be increasing the efficiency of the computational performance, the handling of large datasets, scalability. The focus has been mostly about quantitative issues such as how to publish and query zillion triples type of challenges, and how to increase quality, such as precision and recall, of search results from large datasets. This talk contributes a socio-technical systems perspective to linked data discourse. For most purposes, we can define socio-technical systems as being made up of people, technologies and the environment. The latter is intended not only as a physical, geographical environment made of water and air, but also the cultural environment, made up of heterogeneous social norms and wide-ranging cognitive patterns. This perspective considers the web as a “Digital Ecosystem”, essentially an open, unbounded, partially ordered (chaotic even) digital space, which accounts for the existence of multiple dimensions and multiple goals, often appearing to be conflicting. Complexity and Multidimensionality There is no single matrix to define complexity exhaustively. For example the complexity of natural systems can be defined by the density of interactions of a
- 16. 4 Paola Di Maio system’s components, functions and processes, among other factors and by the regularity and predictability of their dynamics and patterns. In social systems complexity is characterized by innumerable additional dimensions corresponding to the diversity and richness of human traits, from the cognitive to the behavioural, the ethical and emotional, from the individual to the collective, to name just a few. As a pertinent example, at least two views of linked data models are com- monly promoted (Figure 1.1). Such a dichotomy is possibly the result of different points of view, which can be very resource intensive, and at times even pointless, to resolve. Either way our knowledge is partial/incomplete/imperfect, with very few exceptions. Language, logic and the unrefined cognitive apparatus are not perfect, with very few exceptions, and can prompt a view of the world full of con- tradictions and paradoxes. Figure 1.1: Two views of linked data. Alignment In a world full of apparent contradictions and paradoxes, where systems are multi-dimensional and support a multiplicity of goals, it can help to shift the per- spective to achieve some alignment of the dimensions which make it up. It may be a good idea to create layered systems that can achieve multiple goals simulta- neously.
- 17. Linked Data Beyond Libraries 5 Dichotomies aside, linked data common sense is getting a hold in the infor- mation technology community. And linked library data has a lively user base of early adopters, as a glue to bridge across the babel of existing library data stan- dards such as FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) and RDA (Resource Description and Access).1 The Report of the Stanford Linked Data Workshop2 provides some useful defi- nitions: “Library data” is any type of digital information produced or curated by libraries that describes resources or aids their discovery. Data covered by library privacy policies is gen- erally out of scope. This report pragmatically distinguishes three types of library data based on their typical use: datasets, element sets, and value vocabularies. “Linked data” refers to data published in accordance with principles designed to facilitate linkages among datasets, element sets, and value vocabularies. A report published by the W3C LLD Incubator Group3 informs us that: ... Although the level of maturity or stability of available resources varies greatly – many existing resources are the result of ongoing project work or the result of individual initia- tives, and describe themselves as prototypes rather than mature offerings – the abundance of such efforts is a sign of activity around and interest in library linked data, exemplifying the processes of rapid prototyping and “agile” development that linked data supports. At the same time, the need for such creative, dynamically evolving efforts is counterbalanced by a need for library linked data resources that are stable and available for the long term.... Established institutions are increasingly committing resources to linked data projects, from the national libraries of Sweden, Hungary, Germany, France, the Library of Congress, and the British Library, to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Such institutions provide a stable foundation on which library linked data can grow over time. In the case of underlying well-formed information structures, such as data which has been exported from relational databases or integrated library systems, linked data works well and this may be the case for the majority of linked library data, and possibly one of the reasons of its relative success. 1 http://www.slideshare.net/rjw/library-linked-data-progress. Accessed on 17 December 2014. 2 http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub152/LinkedDataWorkshop.pdf. Accessed on 17 Decem- ber 2014. 3 http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/lld/XGR-lld-20111025/. Accessed on 17 December 2014.
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- 20. I CHAPTER VIII THE LOST REGIMENTAL BOOKS Story of the lost regimental books and the honesty of the soldiers MUST now tell a more creditable story. At this time I commanded a company, and had also unofficially the charge of the accounts and payments of another company, the captain having a great dislike to bookkeeping. In those days the military chest of the army was so low that the troops were frequently two or three months in arrear of pay; but the soldiers’ accounts were regularly made up and balanced every month, and carried forward ready for payment when money was available. I was then sufficiently lucky to have a donkey of my own, although before this I was, like most subalterns, contented to share a donkey or mule with another officer, for the carriage of our limited baggage and spare provision; the Government allowing us forage for one animal between every two subalterns, and one ration of forage to each captain. My good and trusty beast carried two hampers covered with tarpaulin, on which was printed most distinctly my name, “Lieutenant Anderson, 24th Regiment,” and in these I carried not only my few changes of clothes and spare provisions, but also my two companies’ books, ledgers, etc., and at that time about two hundred dollars in cash. We had all native servants at this time; mine, a Portuguese boy, was always in charge of my baggage and donkey. The day we marched into Cartaxo, all the baggage arrived in due course except mine, and for some hours we could hear nothing of my boy nor of my donkey. At last, about
- 21. dusk, he came up crying, and told me he had lost my all. I waited for many days, still hoping to hear something of my property, but all to no purpose. There were no records kept of the soldiers’ accounts except the company’s ledgers, so I was thus, in consequence of my loss, entirely at the mercy of my men, and had no other course left to me but to parade my own, and then the other company, and explain the situation, and my confidence in them all, and then to take from their own lips the amount of balances, debit or credit, of their respective accounts. I committed their statements at once to paper, but of course I could not say if they were correct or not. I then gave up all hope of ever seeing my lost property again. I was advised to request the adjutant-general of the army to circulate a memorandum in General Orders, describing my donkey and baggage, and offering a handsome reward for discovery, recovery, or for any information respecting them. A few days afterwards I received a letter from a corporal of the 5th Dragoon Guards, stationed at Azambuja, informing me that on the very evening of my loss he found my donkey feeding in a cornfield near his quarters; soon afterwards, seeing two soldiers of the 24th Regiment, he asked them if they knew Lieutenant Anderson; being told that they did, he asked if they would take charge of the donkey, to which they willingly consented, so he gave all over to them, with directions to be sure to deliver them in safety. This letter I at once took to my commanding officer, who ordered me to go without delay to Azambuja to see the corporal, and ask if he thought he could remember and identify the men. I rode off alone through a wild country, a distance of twenty miles, got to Azambuja in good time that evening, and found the corporal, whose name I cannot now remember. He expressed great surprise at my not having received the things, as more than a month had passed since he had given them over to the two men of the 24th. He said one was a grenadier and the other a battalion man, that he had not noticed them much, but thought he might be able to point them out. On this I went to General Sir Lowry Cole and told him my story; he at once ordered the corporal to accompany me back to Cartaxo. That evening we
- 22. started under heavy rain, and rode all night. The corporal was a tall and powerful man, and I must confess that I felt a little afraid of him. The night was very dark, and the ride for many miles was through a long wood. I more than once thought that if the corporal was himself the thief he might now dispose of me without any one being the wiser, so I ordered him to ride some distance in front, on pretence of looking for the road, so as to give me time for a bolt should he turn upon me. My fears proved ungenerous and unfounded, for without any accident we arrived at Cartaxo. I reported myself to my commanding officer, who ordered the adjutant to parade the whole regiment in front of my quarters. This was done, and man after man was called in for the corporal’s inspection, then passed out by a back door, without any communication with those still outside. After about a hundred had passed, the corporal, looking at the next man who entered, said, “I’ll swear this is one of them.” The accused became at once indignant and insolent, denying all knowledge of the charge. He was searched, and a few dollars were found between his coat and the lining, but these he said he got, like most soldiers, in course of the war. The adjutant then proceeded to call in the remaining men; at last the corporal fixed his eyes on one of the men who entered, and said, “This is the other man; I feel sure these are the two men; I’ll swear to them both.” This was a private of the grenadiers, and he, like the other, boldly denied the charge. Both were then secured and sent under escort to the guard-house, and were given till twelve o’clock to make a full confession; if they did not, they would be brought to a general court-martial, and would be shot if found guilty. They both knew that such tragic ends were then by no means uncommon. They were also told the serious inconvenience and loss which their officers and fellow-soldiers had sustained, and if they would tell how the books could be recovered the commanding officer would be as easy as possible with them, and that Mr. Anderson did not care much for the rest of the things. But still they denied, swearing vengeance on the corporal. At last they saw their danger and sent for the sergeant-major and made a full confession, saying they knew
- 23. there was money in the hampers, and that tempted them; they had led the donkey into a wood near Azambuja, tied him to a tree, taken the money, and buried the hampers and all their contents on the spot, and offered to show the place. I was ordered to march the two prisoners under a strong escort to the wood they mentioned, and there we found, still tied to the tree, the skeleton of my poor donkey, dead for at least a month. We began to dig, and soon came upon my long-lost and precious hampers, and found everything destroyed by the rain, but the books, though greatly injured, were still legible. We marched back to Cartaxo, and on arrival the prisoners were recommitted to the guard-house. My next care was to compare the verbal statements given to me by the men with the original accounts in the ledgers; and here comes the cream of my long story, and my reasons for going into this lengthy digression. To their honour, therefore, be it told, there was not half-a-crown’s difference between the accounts in the ledgers and those given by each soldier from memory, the voluntary statements of no less than a hundred and fifty men! I consider this a great proof of the general honesty and integrity of the British soldier. The two prisoners were brought before a regimental court-martial, found guilty, and sentenced to corporal punishment and to be put under stoppages of pay until the money taken from me was made good. The former they suffered, but I never got back a shilling of my money. One of them died some months afterwards from wounds received at the battle of Fuentes d’Onoro, and the other was killed by another soldier in a boxing match. We remained at Cartaxo, with the armies in the various relative positions which I have already described, and without any great fighting, until the morning of the 7th March, 1811, when we heard that the main body of the French army had been for some days retreating, and that their headquarters, under Marshal Massena, and their rear guard had that morning retired from Santarem.
- 25. T CHAPTER IX THE BATTLE OF FUENTES D’ONORO Much fighting—We drive the enemy across the Mondego at Coimbra—Battle of Fuentes d’Onoro—I go into the French lines to take away the body of a friend HE whole of our troops were put en route to follow them. The 1st Light Division and our headquarters and brilliant staff were all much excited, and anxious to be at them. We soon arrived at, and crossed without opposition, the formidable causeway and works which so long defied us, and which even now startled us not a little. In a few hours more we were passing through the now empty and deserted town of Santarem. We were now halted, and could not see much, but amongst the many signs of devastation and plunder we passed under the remaining walls of that once peaceful convent where, two years ago, we had spent many happy days and hours. Nothing now remained but the bare crumbling walls. The dear nuns were gone, no one knew where, most likely to Lisbon. The building was destroyed and plundered by the enemy, and we afterwards heard that such was the fate of all the convents within reach of the French during their advance towards the Lines of Torres Vedras, and that many of the nuns who had not time to escape, or who trusted to their religion and calling for protection and safety, were shamefully treated by the French officers and soldiers. Of this I can have little doubt, for when our advance was over, and we got settled amongst the inhabitants, we heard many sad stories of this description.
- 26. We had not advanced many miles from Santarem when we heard the distant firing of our Light Division and our advanced field train, now evidently up with the enemy. This went on till dusk, and we then bivouacked for the night. Next morning we were again in pursuit, without pressing the enemy, rather to allow them to get away, unless they offered battle. Their first stand was for some hours in force in front of the village of Pombal. As soon as our troops got within reach they opened a heavy fire from a numerous artillery upon us, but our troops and guns, being now well up, returned the compliment with their accustomed vigour and interest; some manœuvring and changes of position followed on the part of the French, and additional troops were shown and brought into action. Our 1st Division was then hurried to the front to support our troops, and having got into action, the fight was continued with determined valour for some time, until the enemy began to give way, and finally to retreat in some confusion. We followed them till dusk, when we halted and took up our position for the night. For days after this we had no fighting, till we drove them across the Mondego at Coimbra, and by some other bridges and fords of that splendid river, at each of which places there was a great deal of fighting. The scenes of destruction and murder which we frequently passed in the villages and on our daily march, were dreadful. Houses and furniture burnt, men and women mutilated and murdered, lying about in the most disgusting and barbarous manner, some with their throats cut, some with their eyes and ears gone, and others cut up and most dreadfully exposed; all this for revenge, because they would not, or could not, supply the French army with provisions, and in the hope that these savage proceedings would terrify others into instant compliance. The French were suffering fearfully at that time from want of food, and their deserters to us were then unusually numerous. We had almost daily evidence of the former fact, for as we entered villages which they had left, it was an ordinary sight to see in the houses one or more dead French soldiers lying on the floor in full uniform, their arms still grasped in their hands as if asleep, also sitting in chairs with their caps on, and in full uniform,
- 27. their firelocks standing upright between their legs, and quite dead; evidently they had died from want of food. I may mention that during our pursuit of the enemy we always took up our position each night in the open fields, without any covering beyond our blankets, and these were generally saturated with wet, for in Portugal rains are frequent, and dews and fogs unusually heavy during the night. If we remained for a few days or weeks we cut down some trees and bushes and made ourselves as comfortable as we could in shelters. In permanent quarters the army was always housed in the neighbouring towns and villages. When the towns and villages were deserted we were distributed among a number of empty houses and streets. The country abounded with game, especially hares, so during our idle time we were coursing or shooting with success. Each company cooked its own food, and divided it in the usual form. The officers of one or two companies messed together, giving and taking dinner with their friends occasionally. We arrived near the frontiers of Portugal driving the enemy before us, passing through Vizeu, Mangualde, Celorico, and Guarda, and some of the other villages we had occupied. The army was halted for some weeks, and many of the inhabitants joined us and again occupied their houses, but in all of these places we found the same sad evidence of the reckless destruction of houses and property of every description. When we reached the town of Sabugal on the Coa we found the enemy strongly posted to dispute our passage of that river. After a good deal of fighting our Light Division forced and carried the bridge, and a general engagement for some hours followed, with much slaughter on both sides. In the evening the enemy gave way and continued the retreat. It rained fearfully during the night. In the fields which my brigade occupied we were up to our ankles in mud. It was one of the most trying nights we ever had; our men suffered so much from the wet and cold that two or three were found dead on the ground when the assembly sounded next morning. Massena halted his army again in the neighbourhood of Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida, in both of which fortresses he had a strong garrison; there he was allowed to remain unmolested for some months longer. We
- 28. in like manner halted, and were put in quarters in the different villages in advance of the Coa, my brigade being comfortably housed at Alfaiates, and while here we enjoyed ourselves much in field sports and coursing. Headquarters were again near us, and Lord Wellington mixed frequently with us in the chase. Our quartermaster got sick about this time, and I was appointed to do his duty, which gave me an opportunity of improving my Portuguese. About the last week in April, 1811, the army was again put in motion to the front. Early on the morning of the 3rd of May we came in sight of the French army posted in order of battle in and beyond the village of Fuentes d’Onoro. The weather was beautiful, and both armies fought without either gaining any decided advantage. On that day the casualties on both sides were numerous, when night stopped the battle. Next morning at daylight it was renewed, and continued at various intervals in various parts of the line, until again checked by darkness. On the following morning, the 5th of May, it began again in earnest, and was more formidable and general, the numbers of killed and wounded and prisoners on both sides being very considerable. Upon the whole the French gained ground upon us, where my brigade and divisions were posted, and drove us from the village of Fuentes. This occurred about midday, and the weather being unusually hot, a suspension of hostilities was agreed upon for the purpose of carrying away the wounded and burying the dead. I had charge of one of the fatigue parties sent on this service, and passed at once over to the village of Fuentes, then in possession of the enemy, from which they had driven us. We were received most kindly, and proceeded at once to our work of burying the dead and removing the wounded. This was continued for only an hour, when the bugles of both armies sounded “To arms!” on which the French troops near us immediately fell in, shouldered their arms, and taking off their caps, gave us three cheers. We at the same time, shaking hands with some of them, made off as fast as we could back to our own lines, and there, forming in order of battle, took off our caps and returned the same hearty good cheers. Then, and not until then, was a shot fired by either of the contending parties, and the
- 29. battle again commenced with more vigour than ever, and continued with fearful slaughter until night. Amongst our losses on that memorable day was a very dear friend of mine, Lieutenant Edmond Kelly Ireland, of the 24th Regiment. I was with him when he fell, and I knew where to find him. He was equally well loved and regretted by all his brother-officers, and Lieutenants Moorsoom and Pell and I, after a talk, determined to go at once to the French lines to claim his body; so, accompanied by two of our soldiers carrying a blanket, and without leave, we moved boldly off to the French side until stopped by one of their sentries. We answered “English officers,” on which he ordered us to stand still, then turned out his guard, or picquet. A French officer and a dozen men then advanced, and asked who we were and what we wanted, and being told we came to request to be allowed to look for and claim the body of an officer and friend of ours who fell that day on their ground, our brave foe said at once, “Certainly, gentlemen; give me up your swords and I shall be happy to conduct you wherever you wish to go.” We accompanied him under escort to his bush hut. He spoke freely and kindly of the battle, boasting a little that they had driven us off so much of the ground and from the village. He gave us a glass of brandy and water and biscuits, then said, “Gentlemen, I shall now conduct you where you like,” so off we went to the spot where I knew poor Ireland fell. We soon recognized him amongst heaps of slain; he was lying on his back stripped of all his clothing. He was shot right through the head, and must have died at once. We placed him in the blanket and carried him back with us, returning as we came, by the French officers’ bivouac, there receiving our swords. In a quarter of an hour more we were safely back in our own lines, without having been missed. Our next work was to dig a grave, and that being damp and watery, we opened another in a higher ground, and there we laid our dear and much- lamented friend. Our doings soon became known; some one told all to our colonel, who at once assembled all the officers, and gave us a most severe lecture, pointing out to us how improper and imprudent
- 30. our conduct was, and how difficult it would have been, if we had fallen into the hands of a dishonourable enemy, to prove that we were not deserters, and we were cautioned not to attempt any such folly for the future. Later, we were told by one of the senior officers that, although obliged to reprimand us, no one thought more highly of our conduct than our good Colonel Kelly. We fully expected to renew the fight on the morning of the 6th, but to our surprise and satisfaction, as that day dawned not a Frenchman was to be seen. They retired beyond our reach during the night, and so ended the battle of Fuentes d’Onoro, fought on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of May, 1811.
- 32. W CHAPTER X IN SCOTLAND On sick-leave in England—In Scotland—Journey of seventy miles in twenty-four hours on foot after a ball—Appointed to assist at brigade office, 1813— Appointed captain and brigade-major in the York Chasseurs E remained a week or more in the neighbourhood. The whole army was then again put in motion towards the south-east of Portugal, in consequence of the state of affairs previous to the battle of Albuera, under Marshal Beresford. The weather during a part of this march was very wet and stormy; our army suffered much from fever and ague. I was myself amongst the number, and was attacked so severely that after some days’ suffering, without any covering or shelter, I was ordered to the rear and then on sick-leave, in December, 1811, and I arrived in Plymouth in January, 1812. My leave was for six months, which enabled me to visit my father and friends in Scotland. I was ordered to join the depot of my regiment at Maldon, in Essex, and soon after I was sent with a recruiting party to Dornoch, in my own native country. Lieut.-General Sir David Baird was then the colonel-in-chief of my regiment, and he thought that by sending me with a party to the Highlands I might find some countrymen for his regiment; but in this both he and I were disappointed, for I remained at Dornoch four months and never got a man. I was now ordered to leave my recruiting party with an officer of the 21st Regiment and to proceed to the Isle of Wight to embark for India to join the first battalion of my regiment.
- 33. This most unexpected official letter reached me while actually at a public ball; but I determined to enjoy myself for at least one night, so danced away till six in the morning, then went to bed and slept till nine, when I started on foot on a journey of seventy miles (two- thirds of which was over Highland moors and mountains) without even a path to guide me; but I was then young, and, moreover, I fancied myself in love, and that gave me heart and vigour to push on. In the last forty miles I was obliged to have a guide, and having walked the whole of that day and night, I completed my journey in twenty-four hours. I may also mention that my lady-love was at this time the acknowledged belle of all the country, but for various reasons our courtship ended in nothing beyond a sincere and friendly feeling, even to this day. I found another official letter countermanding my orders for India and directing me to return with my recruiting party and rejoin the depot at Maldon. Six weeks after this the remains of my regiment returned from Portugal and were quartered at Chelmsford, in Essex, and there we joined soon after. General W. P. Acland commanded the district, and soon ordered an inspection of the regiment. When he came to the companies’ books he was so much displeased with the irregular and imperfect manner in which they were kept that he found fault with all except Lieutenant Anderson’s books, and ordered all the officers to be confined to barracks until our lieutenant-colonel could report that the books were properly posted and ready for his final inspection. This was a great triumph for me, and much good, as I shall presently show, came out of it; for in about a month England was sending a considerable force to Holland, and amongst the staff for that service General Acland’s brigade-major was included. On the following day I was actually marching off in charge of our barrack guard, when an orderly arrived to say the general wished to see me at once. Another unfortunate officer was then crossing the barrack yard with his gun on his shoulder, going with others on a shooting excursion, but as he was next for duty he was ordered to get ready at once to take my place in charge of the guard, much to his annoyance. I repaired at once to the general’s quarters, and on being shown in he said, “My
- 34. brigade-major has been ordered away, and I want you to come and assist me at the brigade office until a successor is appointed.” I thanked him, and said I should be most happy to attend and do my best. He then took me to the office and made me copy some returns; in course of the day he looked in, examined my work, and ordered me to come to him every morning. Here I must mention that beyond dining with him occasionally in my turn with the other officers of the garrison, I knew nothing of General Acland, nor he of me; but now, being nominally on his staff, I used to ride with him and dine with him more frequently, and so began to feel myself a great man, for I had much to do, having no less than six regiments and depots in the district, the reports and correspondence all passing through my hands; and my responsibilities and duties were increased by the general’s frequent absence in London and other places, on which occasions he always authorized me to act in his name and to carry on all correspondence and duties as if he were present, except that if any unusual thing occurred, or any official letter arrived requiring his opinion and decision, I was to forward all such matters to his address, which he always left with me. I was also to keep his absence a secret from every one. In this way I got on most happily, when one morning he asked me, “How long have you been in this service, and what service have you seen?” I told him, and that my first battle was under him, as commanding my brigade at Maida. This seemed to surprise him, for he was not aware of my having been at Maida. He then said, “Bring me a memorandum in writing of your services.” I did so on the following morning, without suspecting what use he was going to make of it. Conceive, then, my joy and surprise in seeing myself a fortnight afterwards gazetted as captain of a company in the York Chasseurs. Of course, I thanked my benefactor with all my heart and soul; but he only said, with his accustomed kindness, “You deserve it, and I hope you will get on.” This was not all, for he next applied to the Horse Guards to have me permanently confirmed as his brigade- major; but that was refused on the ground that I was appointed to a new regiment where experienced officers were immediately required, and therefore I must join at Sandown barracks in the Isle
- 35. of Wight with as little delay as possible. Still, he kept me for some weeks longer with him. At last the time came when I was obliged to leave. He then asked me to write to him occasionally, but he lived only for three years after. I did write repeatedly, and as often heard from him, and it is in fond and grateful acknowledgment of my much-lamented friend that I gave my dear son the name of Acland. Had I never seen General Acland I would not have been a captain for ten years or more. On joining the York Chasseurs at Sandown barracks I was pleased at finding the officers a fine set of young fellows, all promoted from other regiments for their services or strong family interest. Lieut.- Colonel Coghlan was a smart, experienced officer, very kind to all, but a strict disciplinarian; and as there was no end to our parades, we soon became a most efficient regiment, and the most united and happy corps of officers I ever knew.
- 37. I CHAPTER XI VOYAGE TO BARBADOS Portsmouth—Guernsey—Sail for Barbados—Honest Henry—Frightful storm— Adventure at Funchal HAD the good fortune to see at Portsmouth the Prince Regent of England, the Emperor of Russia, the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, the Duke of Wellington, Marshal Blücher, Marshal Beresford, Lord Hill, Lord Combermere, Prince Esterhazy, Contezoff, and many more distinguished English and foreign officers, all in uniform, and covered with their brilliant stars and orders. This was immediately after the first occupation of Paris and the declaration of peace. It was a glorious day, and all the world was there to see them. A few months afterwards we embarked for Guernsey, and remained there till October of the same year, when we embarked for Barbados. Our residence in Guernsey was more than usually gay. There were several other regiments of the line stationed there at the same time, and the people of the town and neighbourhood were more than hospitable, for we had constant dinner-parties and public and private balls. The young ladies were more than usually numerous, and very many of them very beautiful. In such a society, and with such luring temptations, it cannot appear a matter of wonder that most of our young men were, or fancied they were, desperately in love; and to encourage our pretensions our kind and ambitious colonel (who was himself a married man) at every ball slyly hinted to the elderly ladies
- 38. and mothers, as his officers passed near, “That is the nephew or cousin of Lord So-and-so,” and “That is a young man of considerable property in the West Indies,” and so on, in the most seductive manner, until he made us all out to be men of substance and wealth. How far this marvellous information was believed I know not, but it did not in any way lessen the continued friendship and hospitality which we invariably received. Every evening after dinner carriages from our friends assembled in front of our messroom, and as the constant use of these caused many of us to be absent from parades on the following mornings, with the consequent displeasure and reprimand from our colonel, we used to allow them to remain stationary for some time after the appointed hour for our departure, knowing well that our colonel (who lived opposite our messroom) was watching us all the time, and that, although he did pitch into us for being absent from his parades, he was nevertheless as anxious for our enjoyment and fun as we were ourselves; therefore we pretended to show no desire to be off, until this mock indifference brought our kind commander over and in amongst us, saying, “Gentlemen, gentlemen, you are late: why are you not off?” On this one of our captains (Parker), who was for many years private secretary to his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent and a man of courteous address, used to get up and say, “Really, colonel, you are very good, but we have determined not to go to any more parties for fear of being late for parades in the morning.” Then he would answer, “Pooh, pooh! d—n the parades; you must all go—you must all go.” And so we started for our rooms and dressed and were off as usual. So long were our dancing and parties continued that most of us were again absent from parade the following morning. Our colonel still continued to send sergeants to town to look for us, and to say he wished to see us immediately. Soon after that, Captain Parker followed alone to smooth the way and to prepare for our reception. This he effectually did by his well-timed excuses and his courteous manner, so that when we arrived in barracks the colonel was so perfectly satisfied that he only said he was glad to hear that we enjoyed ourselves so much. This was latterly almost an everyday
- 39. occurrence, and I mention it here to show how happy young men may be under a good and kind colonel. But all things must have an end, and so had our fun in Guernsey; for, as I have already said, we all embarked in October for Barbados, leaving our sweethearts and friends without coming to any positive understanding as to the future. On our voyage we called at the Cove of Cork, where we remained for some days, and were then joined by the 40th Regiment in transports, bound for the West Indies and finally for New Orleans, and here our good and much respected friend Colonel Coghlan left us and retired on half-pay. I was at this time in command of one of our transports, and here must notice an instance of true honesty that occurred. Being tired of visiting the Cove, I agreed with some officers to take a run up to Cork for a day or two; but, before leaving my ship, I gave orders to the senior officer not to allow any of the men to go on shore. On my return to the Cove I met some of the officers, who told me that my servant had deserted, having got leave to land on the pretence of taking my clothes to be washed. This alarmed me not a little, for I had then between three and four hundred pounds belonging to the troops and to myself in one of my trunks, in dollars and doubloons, and as I entrusted my servant, whom I had long known, with my keys, I now made sure all was gone; I hurried on board and found the door of my cabin locked, and, inquiring for the key, an officer handed it to me, saying my man Henry gave it to him with a request to let no one have it except his master, should I return before he did. I instantly opened my cabin, and the first thing I observed was my bunch of keys hanging by a piece of twine from the top of the berth; I seized them with a trembling hand and heart, and instantly opened the money trunk, and on counting my bags and treasure, to the honour of poor Henry be it told, not one dollar was missing. Poor, honest Henry was never afterwards heard of by me, and I was glad he had secured his escape, for had he been captured and brought back he must have been severely punished.
- 40. We finally sailed from the Cove of Cork escorted by a line-of-battle ship and two small men-of-war, and for a day or two made good progress; but we were then caught in a severe gale, right against us, and after struggling for a day or two the sign was made by our commodore to return to “port in view,” namely Bantry Bay, on which all the fleet put about, and, led by the line-of-battle ship, steered direct for that safe and splendid anchorage, which is very extensive within, but narrow and dangerous at its entrance, so that not more than one ship can enter with safety at a time. As we were passing in, one of our fleet, the Baring transport, with the 40th Regiment on board, got so near the rocks that she struck, and immediately after went broadside on, and finally became a total wreck. My ship followed in her wake and passed within fifty yards of the stranded vessel, and it being then early in the day, it was most distressing and heart-rending to see the sufferers all in confusion crying for help, which from our position it was quite impossible to render, for we were obliged to run in, in order to save ourselves. So was every other ship as she reached and entered the same narrow passage. But the men-of-war and other vessels which had got safely into the bay soon sent their boats to the rescue, and all the soldiers and crew, excepting about fifteen wretched men, women, and children who were drowned in their hurry to jump on the rocks, were saved, but the ship and nearly all the baggage and cargo were lost. I remember as we passed the ill-fated ship seeing an officer’s wife standing and screaming on the poop, her infant in her arms, and with no covering beyond her nightdress; I heard afterwards that the child fell out of her arms and was drowned, but she herself was saved. The survivors were encamped on the beach for some days, and then were divided for a time amongst the other transports, on which the whole fleet again returned to the Cove of Cork to charter another vessel for the sufferers. About a week after that we sailed once more for our destination. The weather was fair and beautiful until we arrived off Funchal, in Madeira, and thence we had a dead calm. Some of my brother- officers from another ship came on board, and being, as we
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