Sharpe's Watchman

Major Blas Vivar was a remarkably persuasive man. In Sharpe's Rifles he persuaded Lieutenant Sharpe to release Harper and fight to bring a precious national relic to Santiago de Compostela. He also managed to persuade Harper, a prisoner who disliked and resented his officer, that Sharpe was a man to be admired and followed no matter what. Exactly how he did this is unknown, but whatever he said must have made quite an impression.“Harps won’t step out of line again, sir. Major Vivar had a word with him, sir. God knows what he said, but he scared the bloody daylights out of him.” (Sergeant Williams, Sharpe’s Rifles, Ch. 6)