'
But the ground through which the mountaineers must have descended,
although not of great extent, was impracticable in its character, being
not only marshy but intersected with walls of dry stone, and traversed in
its whole length by a very broad and deep ditch, circumstances which must
have given the musketry of the regulars dreadful advantages before the
mountaineers could have used their swords, on which they were taught to
rely. The authority of the commanders was therefore interposed to curb
the impetuosity of the Highlanders, and only a few marksmen were sent
down the descent to skirmish with the enemy's advanced posts and to
reconnoitre the ground.
Here, then, was a military spectacle of no ordinary interest or usual
occurrence. The two armies, so different in aspect and discipline, yet
each admirably trained in its own peculiar mode of war, upon whose
conflict the temporary fate at least of Scotland appeared to depend, now
faced each other like two gladiators in the arena, each meditating upon
the mode of attacking their enemy. The leading officers and the general's
staff of each army could be distinguished in front of their lines, busied
with spy-glasses to watch each other's motions, and occupied in
despatching the orders and receiving the intelligence conveyed by the
aides-de-camp and orderly men, who gave life to the scene by galloping
along in different directions, as if the fate of the day depended upon
the speed of their horses.
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